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“… Sometimes, I really don’t want to communicate with a god like you.”

Taking a deep breath, Cronus’s complexion swiftly returned to normal.

His efforts to rally help were not unknown to Laine; in fact, most of the gods on his side were aware of this.

However, except for his Queen of Gods, everyone thought this was a measure of the Divine King, unwilling to accept defeat, promising benefits everywhere.

But now, Laine saw at a glance the real reason he did so was because his Divine Child was about to be born.

If he could not take control of the starry sky now, afterwards, he might not have the time to consider this matter.

“It’s not hard to guess, Cronus, you’ve always been like this.”

“From when you deceived your father with words back in the day, to the moment you bravely took up the Sickle when everything was ready. Given a choice, you always want the best, but if there’s no choice, you don’t mind gambling once.”

Shaking his head, Laine felt somewhat emotional.

In this regard, he felt that he might have some similarities with Cronus.

“Perhaps, but now I’m quite relieved.”

Smiling a bit, Cronus seemed a little more relaxed.

“It seems my first child is a goddess? At least she won’t be the one who threatens my throne.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe because I’ve dealt with you more often, I understand you better. If the Divine King were about to be replaced again, you wouldn’t be discussing the starry sky with me, would you?”

At a loss for words, Laine had to admit Cronus was speaking the truth.

He couldn’t help but think that, possibly due to his influence, Cronus seemed much wiser than the myths portrayed.

“Alright, let’s not waste time, as you’re probably not too interested in my Mount of the Gods.”

Stretching out his hand and with the effect of Divine Power, a Star Map appeared in the hands of the Divine King.

Hundreds of spots of varying sizes and brightness appeared, each representing a star domain.

Like oceanic domains, star domains are the standard divisions of the starry sky.

“You have twelve Star Gods under your command, and they have a leader, correct?”

Cronus’s palm glided across the Star Map, slowly saying, “Aside from these core parts of the starry sky, you may choose any other, I don’t mind even if you take a few extra.”

Glancing over the Star Map, Laine casually asked.

“So, what do you want, Eclipse? Melded with the ‘Solar Eclipse,’ it is indeed much more powerful than before.”

“It works well on the Sun, but only on the Sun.”

“I know, which is why I want not just the ‘Eater of Suns’ but also the Codex of Creation, I need to borrow it.”

The Goddess of Light has her Queen of Gods and Crius, the God of Meteorology, to fend off; unlike Hyperion, the God of Sun, Cronus had no intention of doing anything to the Mother of Light.

A balanced starry sky was what he wanted. Moreover, having already anticipated a hefty price to seal a Sun God, the growth in his Divine Authority wouldn’t amount to much more than what he’d expend if he added the powerful Mother of Light.

“I need it to break open a seal. Despite Hyperion’s strength no longer being formidable as the bifurcated God of Sun, the Origin of the celestial body of the Sun remains as strong as ever.”

Nodding, Laine understood Cronus’s thoughts.

Like the ocean, although the original Sea God Pontus greatly weakened due to the division of his Godhood, the power of the Ocean and Water in the whole world continued to increase every day, and the Sun was no different.

Being the supreme celestial body of the starry sky, the seal it laid down cannot be easily broken by even a being of Divine Power Level 20, let alone Cronus being somewhat short of that mark.

But imprisoning the God of Sun with the Sun itself goes against the Order. With the Codex of Creation, the Divine King could easily release Helios.

Only with another Sun God in hand could there be a real possibility of Victory in the conflict over the starry sky. Otherwise, even if Hyperion was defeated, faced with the masterless Sun, the Divine King would be at a loss.

“Fine, I can lend you the Divine Artifact, but these star domains, let’s not bother with them for now.”

On Cronus’s Star Map, there were hundreds of star domains both large and small, but it’s the core area around the Sun and Moon that represents the essence of the starry sky and the original boundaries of the starry sky at the beginning of the world.

The remote areas are domains that extended as the world expanded. There, energy tides surged, and various desolate and dangerous places were numerous. Although not very dangerous for gods, these didn’t add much help to the governing Star Gods of those domains.

It would take thousands of years to gradually transform those areas into outstanding territories.

Laine saw right through Cronus’s double-edged strategy. By letting others have these star domains, he was also making them work to govern the starry sky.

After all, as the Divine King, even if those places were not under his direct control, as long as they changed because of him, he would be able to increase his power.

“Once the turmoil in the starry sky is over, if you still need my help, then we can talk about the star domains.”

Gazing at the orbital tracks of celestial bodies on the star map, Laine beckoned with his hand.

The next moment, space rippled, and the brass book fell into his palm before flying towards the Divine King.

“The thing you wanted.”

“Well, if there comes a day, I will.”

Receiving it, feeling the Divine Artifact extremely compatible with his own Divine Authority, the Divine King promised.

“But what about the ‘Eclipse’?”

“Don’t worry,” Laine shook his head, “It has no Wisdom, and once it leaves my vicinity, I fear it will not heed your commands.”

“Let it stay in the Spirit Realm for the time being. When you need it, use the Codex to invoke the power of the Spirit Realm, and it will naturally appear.”

“However…”

Finally, glancing eastward, Laine said with a smile, “You must remember to set the right time.”

“If you summon it too early, it might not be able to distinguish friend from foe.”

“I will.”

Nodding in response, Cronus quickly found the special page within the artifact.

Seeing that matters were concluded, Laine waved his hand. His purpose for today was already achieved, and he had no intention of lingering.

“Since everything is done, I won’t stay any longer.”

“I wish you success, Cronus.”

A portal of light emerged, and with a step through, Laine’s figure vanished.

Atop Mount of the Gods, watching the spot from which Laine had departed, the Divine King did not rush to leave, instead standing quietly for a moment longer.

Through the matter with Hecate, Cronus had gained a deeper understanding of humans and deities.

He had not realized the significance of ‘faith’, but he had discovered something else. If humans could possess free will and souls like Hecate, could they too have some potential to attract the attention of the ‘World Master’?

If so, then Laine’s interest in human knowledge made sense.

Perhaps the other party wished to create some beings with enough ‘potential’. Sadly, the Golden Humanity had disappointed him.

“Creating worlds…”

“This must be the secret of ‘bestowing Godhood’. In addition to the corresponding power, one also needs a candidate capable of bearing it,” mused Cronus.

“God of Destruction Perse, it remains to be seen whether one day your daughter will be the one to reprimand you.”

“This is fitting, as the price for your arrogant disrespect,” he thought with a shake of his head.

The Divine King no longer dwelt on such musings, instead channeling power into the brass book in his hand, closely sensing this one-third of a top-tier sacred artifact.

Unlike the sickle, though both seemed to reside in the realm of High-Grade Artifacts when evaluated, Cronus immediately felt the difference when he actually held it.

A naturally formed Divine Artifact was distinctly different from a man-made one, carrying no such user restrictions as the sickle.

What’s more, crucially, the brass book was just a third of a complete artifact, harboring even more hidden power.

“A part of Genesis Artifact, even just this fragment alone is very close to that step.”

“The Divine Authority of ‘Order’… If this were my Divine Artifact, even if its greatest function isn’t combat when combined with the Divine Authority of the king, I could possess up to seventy percent of the Father God’s power,” he reflected.

Uranus was truly capable of contending with and even defeating the personified Primordial Gods, which Cronus knew well. Even without taking that final step, an ordinary Divine Power Level of 20 would only have a third of his strength.

‘The Sky’, Divine Authority, the symbol of paternal authority; each of these aspects suggested a slight step beyond the pinnacle of mighty Divine Power. And Cronus now, had not yet achieved even a third of that.

Feeling a twinge of envy, yet looking at the brass book, Cronus had no intention of claiming it as his own. After all, he could feel that this artifact, similar to a bonded artifact, could be subdued by its owner at will.

“It’s just an artifact, after all. In the future, I might not necessarily have a better one.”

“Soon, when the starry heavens serve me, the mountains, too, shall bow before me,” Cronus thought with a cold smile, recalling his eldest brother.

Ocean Deity Sovereign Oceanus had already completely surpassed the ancient Sea God Pontus.

Without accidents, he would be the final victor of the struggle over the seas. No one knew if the expanding power of the Ocean Deity Sovereign might harbor other ambitions.

Thus, once the problem with the stars was resolved, the next target for suppression by Cronus would be him.