Chapter 94: Courtship Rights Battle (4.5k)
Athens, War God Mountain.
The pantheon of gods gathered in the grand hall of the alliance, their faces clouded with worries and gloom.
The current situation was far from optimistic.
On one hand, the Old Gods, led by Kronos and Typhon, eyed them with covetous intent, and due to their own mighty nature of immortality, were unbeatable in hundreds of battles, presenting an exceptionally thorny issue that was hard to fend off;
On the other hand, Zeus, the God King who bore the heavenly destiny, had turned against them, even seizing the opportunity to strike at the Bronze Clan and Poseidon, leading to the complete fall of the Sea of Okeanos.
Although Justice Goddess Themis and Goddess of the Hearth Hestia had returned at a critical moment, successfully stopping Typhon and his demon army from landing, they simply could not replace the roles of Poseidon and the Bronze Clan, nor could they change the present dire situation of being enemies on three fronts.
If there was no turn of events before the third Giant War, their defeat was certain!
After a prolonged silence, Hermes, with a twinkling gaze, spoke in a ghostly whisper,
"Is there a possibility... that we could make peace? Compared to us, wouldn't Typhon and Kronos prefer to be closer to the Father God?"
"Theoretically feasible,"
Athena nodded lightly, but then her tone shifted,
"But guess why Typhon and Kronos have not attacked Olympus but chose to first conquer Thessaly and the entire Peloponnesian Peninsula?"
Hermes pondered for a moment, his brow slightly furrowed.
"They, too, are not sure?"
"Not just that..."
Luo En took over the conversation, sighing helplessly,
"Pure human faith and dreams woven from the untainted souls of mankind can firmly restrict the real bodies of the Old Gods in Tartarus Hell. If they want to retrieve their original power and achieve true liberation, weaken the authority of the New Gods, they must obliterate the human city-states."
The gods shook their heads upon hearing this.
Humans and their belief were indeed the shackles of the Old Gods but were their own foundation; once humanity was slaughtered by Kronos and Typhon, there was no guarantee that these predecessors wouldn't take them down too.
So, by first conquering the earthly city-states and extinguishing the sacred flames worshiping the gods, they could regain their peak power and then contend with Zeus for the ultimate crown.
Thus, the contradiction between humans and the Old Gods was almost irreconcilable.
Of course, there was another reason for the irreconcilable situation that Luo En did not mention.
For the sake of divine convergence, Typhon and Kronos had become fanatically desperate.
And coincidentally, whether it was the [bloodline] needed by Typhon to perfect [Immortality] or the [Foundation] Kronos needed to create the [Crown], both were on War God Mountain.
One was those descendants with Typhon's Blood, and the other was the two Titan Main Gods, Mnemosyne and Themis.
Currently weakened, if they wanted to cooperate with the Old Gods, they would need to offer a bargaining chip compelling enough to sway them.
That price, whether it was humanity or the offspring of Typhon and the two Titan Main Gods, was an outcome Luo En could not accept.
Moreover, if Zeus could be considered a personified being, then Typhon and Kronos were the type who didn't act human at all.
Once Typhon and Kronos got what they wanted and broke free from their chains, given the character of these two, it was hard for Luo En to ensure they wouldn't turn on them and swallow up the weakest side of Olympus first.
And even if, retreating a great step back, Typhon and Kronos were willing to keep their promises and unite to attack Zeus first,
No matter if the Old Gods who broke free from their chains won, or if Zeus, more powerful with Heaven's Mandate Protection, prevailed, the end for the side of the New Gods was self-evident.
Even without waiting for the battle to end, the New God Alliance, which had sacrificed allies to cling tenaciously to life, would become everyone for themselves and gradually fall apart.
All in all, the strategy of making peace might seem clever, but in practice, it was a dead end.
"So what do we do? We can't just sit and wait for death, can we?"
The hot-tempered Ares slammed the table and stood up indignantly.
"If you ask me, we should just go straight to Olympus and get an explanation from the Father God. I don't believe he can defy the Destiny Contract and kill us all!"
"What if he doesn't kill us outright but imprisons us for three to five hundred years, waiting for the temporal effect of the Destiny Contract to expire, or for the Old Gods to obliterate our holy land and attack Olympus? What will you do then?"
Hera retorted with a cold huff, then glared at her impulsive son.
"Sit down!"
Ares, lost for words, could only sit down sullenly.
If they couldn't reconcile with the Old Gods nor hold Zeus accountable, it was indeed a dead-end dilemma.
The gods were immensely troubled by the current situation and even started to regret getting mixed up in this Giant War.
"Actually, to win this Divine War, there's not no way..."
Luo En's lingering murmur came, causing the hearts of the gods to shake, all turning towards him in unison.
"How so?"
"Zeus's last move used the pretext of wiping out the remnants of the Bronze Clan, without overtly tearing off relations, meaning he still harbors apprehensions. And throughout the entire Divine Era, who could intimidate our His Majesty the King of Gods?"
"The Three Fates!"
With Luo En's profound reminder, the gods suddenly realized.
That's right! As the King of Gods with the mandate of heaven, Zeus enjoys heaven's favor but also bears the restrictions of fate.
This was both his strength and his weakness.
Seeing that the gods understood his point, Luo En spoke gravely about his plan.
"Before the arrival of the third Giant War, I will go to the Temple of Fate and have The Three Fates limit His Majesty the King of Gods' abusive authority."