车生活

Gliding through the sky, until landing upon Mount Olympus, the atmosphere among the gods was somewhat peculiar.

Through many twists and turns, first came the siege on the Divine King, brimming with confidence, followed by a swift counter-suppression. Then, just as defeat seemed certain, the Sun plunged into the mortal world. And before they could celebrate, the Great Sun was pressed into the ocean.

To this day, the God of the Ocean remains unconscious, and the whereabouts of the ancient God of Sun are unknown.

In the end, the invincible Divine King for some reason departed, leaving behind a throne that forged a connection with three deities.

The position of Divine King is not one to be shared, so there must be a hierarchy established among them. Thus, the atmosphere was very delicate, so much so that the gods had not even had time to notice the newly opened surface layer of the Spirit Realm.

“My fellow deities,” finally, in front of Mount Olympus, Zeus, considering something, looked around and said, “The most difficult time has passed, and we have achieved our ultimate victory.”

“But before we celebrate, I believe we all need a little rest. I need to have a good talk with Metis about today’s events; I imagine this is a common sentiment among us all.”

Upon hearing these words, the gods nodded in agreement. After the recent turmoil, they now felt a genuine sense of fatigue.

Besides, they had somewhat guessed that Zeus and his brothers would likely discuss the matter of the Divine King’s throne in private.

“Go on, Zeus. I also need to take care of your foster father.”

Supporting the still-unconscious God of the Ocean, the original Water Goddess emphasized the words “foster father.”

“Let’s talk about the victory celebration when everyone has recovered. I reckon you brothers have some things you might want to say to each other.”

With an unchanged expression, Zeus nodded, then bid farewell to each deity in attendance. They all had their palaces on Mount Olympus, so there was no need for further arrangements. In the end, only the participating brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, and their sister Hestia, remained.

Without much exchange, the four of them looked at each other and then returned directly to the Divine Palace at the mountain’s peak. At the entrance, a deity was waiting there.

That was none other than Zeus’s wife, Metis. As for his other two sisters, Demeter and Hera, they were far from ready to fight, so they had stayed above the ocean.

This deity, not adept in battle but of special status, had not joined the assault on the Mount of the Gods, but she still witnessed the anomalies between heaven and earth.

“Zeus, how did it go? Have you become the Divine King?”

Taking quick steps, the black-haired, beautiful goddess was the first to greet him. She did not concern herself with anything else but immediately asked the most crucial question.

Metis was also shocked by Cronus’s power, and even had some scepticism about it. However, when the last vestige of Divine Power left the body of the second-generation Divine King, the Laws of the present world had already started to change. It was perhaps because the new king had not yet taken the throne, so this change had not yet fully taken effect.

Thus, whether they had fought or not, the gods were very clear that the former Divine King was no longer present.

“…Not yet,”

After a pause, Zeus knew that Metis must have noticed the awkward atmosphere among the brothers. She still asked the question at this moment, clearly not just seeking a simple answer.

She was hinting that Zeus was the expected choice of most, that the majority of deities still supported him, and she was reminding him to quickly draw conclusions on these matters, rather than waiting for the gods to gather before deciding.

A king elected by others does not hold as much authority as one who decides for himself.

“Metis, the Father God has abdicated, but the new king has not been decided.”

Despite knowing this was not very likely, Zeus said:

“However, if no one objects to me—”

“Wait!”

Before he could finish, as expected, Poseidon interjected.

“Now, the throne of the Divine King is linked to all three of us, Zeus, I think there’s still room for discussion,”

“Hades, what do you think?” Without immediately responding, Zeus turned to his other brother.

In the past, Hades had rarely ever disagreed with him on most matters, and Zeus hoped this time would be the same. But the outcome disappointed him. Although Hades was not as vehement as Poseidon, he still tactfully expressed his own opinion.

“Speaking solely of the throne, let’s set that aside for the moment. But Zeus, the past of our Father God and his brothers does indeed worry me a great deal.”

The future Lord of the Underworld actually never saw himself as the Divine King; after all, the status of the Underworld in the present world was awkward, or rather, its very existence was awkward.

While the essences of the four Primordial Gods encircled that place and it boasted an environment almost like a realm unto itself, be it the Nether Moon or the River of Vows, their masters were powerful deities, no less significant than him.

However indifferent he felt, Hades was not averse to seeking some advantage for himself.

They had all seen how Cronus had treated the God of Sun and the two Sea Gods. Who knew what Zeus might do in the future for the sake of his own authority?

The God of the Underworld was indeed a man of few words, but he was well aware that this was when his brothers were at their weakest. If Zeus was unwilling to give his two elder brothers anything now, what the future held was clear without asking.

At the very least, the other party needed to give him an attitude that would put him at ease.

“But you all know very well, whether it’s the role played in the overthrow of our Heavenly Father or the Prophecy once left by him, I am the new Divine King, and that’s indisputable,”

Setting aside any wishful thinking, Zeus finally got serious. And aside from substituting ‘curse’ with ‘Prophecy,’ what he was saying was true indeed.

“Ahem—”

At that, Zeus’s eldest sister, the goddess of fire and protector, Hestia, let out a slight cough. The battle that had just concluded had left her thoroughly exhausted, for although she couldn’t threaten the Divine King herself, she had continually used her authority to bolster protection for the gods.

But now, faced with the dispute between her two younger brothers, she still mustered her spirit. This was hardly the time for their brotherly conflict to arise.

“Poseidon, Zeus makes sense; based on his merits, he is indeed more suited to become the Divine King.”

“I think there’s no need for you to argue over this. Even if he were to relinquish the throne, the Sea Gods would not accept you as the Divine King,”

“Hmph!”

Poseidon scoffed coldly, yet he still held some respect for his elder sister. And she was right—the deities of the stars were mostly neutral, and those who truly stood by Zeus were essentially the deities under the two sovereigns of the seas.

Therefore, whether they would accept another deity who could be seen as a Sea God becoming the Divine King was rather obvious.

But he was not about to give up. Turning to Zeus, perhaps enticed by the position of Divine King, Poseidon unexpectedly caught a loophole in Zeus’s words with surprising precision.

“Yes, the Prophecy. Let’s not discuss whether it is a Prophecy or a curse for now, but could the words of the previous Divine King serve as the basis for your succession?”

“Uranus was overthrown by the consensus of the deities. If his words can also be used as a basis, are you suggesting the deities of the past were all mistaken?”

His eyes narrowing slightly, Zeus had not anticipated that his normally less shrewd brother would speak so cuttingly. From the perspective of the world, a curse left by a God-given Divine King could lend legitimacy to Zeus, but from the perspective of the deities, he indeed could not use it as grounds for ascending to the throne.

“And what have you done, Poseidon? Have you forgotten, or was it not I who rescued you from the belly of our Father God?”

“If you have any dignity left as a member of the Deity Race, you wouldn’t speak to me like this!”

The voice was ice cold. Although Poseidon’s power had risen with the changing climate of the world, he was still no match for Zeus.

The Cyclopes were indeed excellent craftsmen. Perhaps the Arrow of Thunder may not have been as effective against Great Divine Power, but if the opponent was Poseidon, Zeus could do with one hand.

He would only need to hold the Divine Artifact with that hand.