Chapter 180

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 180: The Beginning of the Air Raid (2)

"Four places. I immediately contacted the three gods."

[Four places... The response from the divine realms we just contacted was lukewarm.]

[Four? Then aside from the one just now, the divine realms we contacted earlier are also on the list of suspects.]

[The divine realms I contacted were...]

After compiling the lists of divine realms each of us had contacted, we narrowed it down to nine.

Since three gods had contacted them in succession, the situation could’ve shifted in that time, so we decided to be cautious and included nine divine realms as suspects.

"So there really was someone colluding with Olympus..."

"They're moving again. After a brief hesitation, they're advancing once more."

When I looked in the direction Artemis pointed, I saw a dot moving.

It's like they're saying, ‘How will you stop us?’

"Ask those nine divine realms if they can open their divine gates."

"Right. If they’re the ones colluding, they won’t open the gates themselves."

Following Artemis' suggestion, I contacted the godss again.

Soon, the outlines of the situation began to emerge.

[They’re cutting communication.]

[This one says, ‘Why should we trust you and open the divine gate?’]

[This divine realm openly says Zeus promised to preserve their soul form, so they’re siding with him. The betrayal and withdrawal of the minor divine realms—it's becoming clearer...]

We expected it, but seeing the outcome still came as a shock.

To think the minor divine realms were quietly defecting one by one...

If we hadn’t obtained Triaina from Poseidon, we might never have noticed these movements.

Finding him was truly a stroke of luck.

Let’s organize the situation again.

What gods need to survive is SP.

Gods get SP from their followers.

Minor divine realms are currently losing followers to the aggressive marketing of the major divine realms.

They were unsealed only recently, so their SP is already low.

Now they’re even losing followers.

At this rate, they’ll run out of SP and have to self-seal.

Rather than die like that, siding with Zeus seems like a better deal to them.

"But these gods don't have any SP left anyway. They don’t seem like a threat..."

"Didn’t Zeus turn gods into Black Thunder? He may have offered to spare some gods in exchange for surrender, and turn the rest into Black Thunder."

"R-Really? But... if they become Black Thunder, that’s death. Would gods really agree to that?"

"Even minor gods can round up a few sacrificial types if they have a divine realm. Like how apostle gods operate. If you were told by Kim Jiho to die, you'd have to obey. That’s what being an apostle god means, right?"

"Ah… I see…"

"Or Zeus could be conquering the minor divine realms through the Okeanos Path. The six legions haven't stopped moving, so they’re probably marching to attack. He’s alternating between carrot and stick tactics. Even after the Black Thunder incident, the major divine realms are still greedy, and the minor ones are desperate to survive..."

So in the end, it all comes down to SP…

Human worship is limited, and the major divine realms have the upper hand in recruitment.

Suddenly, I felt angry.

I get the long-standing conflict between major and minor divine realms, but even in this crisis, they’re scrambling for profit?

These so-called gods act no different from human politicians.

At this rate, everything's going to fall apart.

“Sigh... if we're just going to lose everything one by one, maybe I should just wipe them all out?”

"Are you saying you’ll attack them yourself, Lord?"

"Hmm…"

I blurted that out in anger, but now that I think about it, it actually seems feasible?

I do have the conditions needed.

I know the Okeanos Path and possess Poseidon's spear, Triaina, which lets me interfere with it.

Even if I wipe out minor divine realms, I won’t consume much SP thanks to soul absorption.

"Wait... you're going to destroy divine realms? No matter how strong you are, that’s..."

"Why not? I’ve got soul-type skills, the power of Apollo’s sun, and the minor gods are weak from SP loss. If I infuse the solar energy with soul suppression, they won’t even be able to fight back."

If I do end up fighting the minor divine realms...

My opponents wouldn’t be Olympus' fully charged gods, but weak, recently unsealed ones.

With a wide-area skill like the power of the sun, I could wipe them all out.

Rather than letting them join Zeus, wouldn't it be better for me to clean them up?

"Now that you mention it, it might actually be possible… Yeah, those gods are totally drained."

"Um… Lord, I understand your concern, but if you destroy divine realms, public opinion among the gods will turn against you."

And what, we just worry about public opinion and let Zeus wipe us all out?

Besides, I’m already Zeus' number one target because of the SP exchange system.

I’m not going to sit back and let the alliance fall apart and die with them.

"I’m against wiping out divine realms too. Right now, public sentiment among gods is extremely favorable toward the Soul God. There haven’t been many gods who’ve earned such wide support. But if you destroy minor divine realms, that goodwill will flip instantly."

"Yeah. That would make you an enemy of all minor divine realms. In that case, they might all rush to Zeus' side just to survive."

"Exactly. Even so, if you're going to wipe out a divine realm, you need justification."

Justification, huh…

Now that I’ve cooled off a bit, I realize that if I act aggressively from the start, everyone will just run to Zeus.

I need to give them a choice.

What kind of counteroffer could I present…?

As I thought about it, my eyes landed on Artemis.

Looking at her brought back a certain memory.

[An SSS-rank god has been appointed as an Apostle.]

[A high god has been made an Apostle. If four more high gods are appointed as Apostles, your Apostle limit will increase and your rank will be promoted to 'Divine Realm.']

Right. When I accepted her as an Apostle, it said if I accepted four more high gods, I’d be promoted to a divine realm.

If I made a divine realm myself, I could increase the number of Apostles I can have.

"So in the end, everything comes back to SP, huh?"

"Yeah, that's the bottom line."

"Then I'll just accept them as my Apostles."

"...What? As Apostles?"

Exactly.

If betrayal is the concern, then making them my Apostles solves the problem.

"Kuuga. You’re enjoying soul mediation, right?"

"Yes. It’s a new world. Thinking back on how I used to desperately seek worship from humans... I never imagined I'd gain such unearned income. I live each day with gratitude now."

"Right. A god who had even lost their name is already recovering in such a short time. The biggest issue in the lesser divine realms right now is SP. We should make them apostles and let them share in the sweet profits of soul mediation."

"B-But becoming an apostle isn’t a simple matter. For a god, being told to become an apostle is a huge humiliation. It’s no different than being told to live as a slave."

"It’s not like I’m asking them to be apostles forever. Once the war with Zeus is over, we’ll release everyone without exception. We’ll sign a contract not to issue any outrageous commands."

"With those conditions...?"

Artemis fell deep into thought.

Kuuga chimed in from the side.

"Under those terms, there will be no shortage of divine realms willing to accept."

"Exactly. And if they still won’t agree, we’ll require them to keep their gates open at all times. If they don’t accept even that, then they need to be eliminated. They’re just going to become enemies anyway."

Unification of power is necessary.

If the high-ranking gods aren’t taking action, then I’ll have to take control of the lesser divine realms.

I can’t just keep leaving things to Loki and Michael, thinking they’ll handle it.

Everyone prioritizes their own divine realm’s problems over the war with Olympus.

I’m no longer the weak S-rank deity I used to be…

I have more than enough power now.

Rather than being wiped out while scattered like a bunch of disorganized stragglers, I need to take the lead.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"The conditions sound reasonable, but… Soul God, do you even have the capacity for this? You do not even have a full divine realm yet. Right now, your power is barely at the level of an apostolic garden."

"If I can get four more high-ranking gods, I’ll unclock the full divine realm. If I can bring in just four, we’ll have enough room."

"Where will you get them from?"

"Even among the lesser divine realms, their leaders should be of that level, don’t you think?"

"Yes, many of the lesser realms used to have some very prominent gods."

"Good. Then we move immediately."

First, we’ll go to the four places where activity has stalled.

These factions are heavily suspected of colluding with Olympus.

Since they initiated the issue, it’s okay to apply a bit of pressure.

"You guys will have to come with me. Show them how rich with SP life has been since becoming apostles."

"It would be an honor for me."

"Me too? A shame, since the temple construction is almost done, but this seems more important. Fine, I’m in."

With them in tow, we headed to Asura’s Path, where Poseidon's spear Triaina was embedded.

The trident stood alone on the desolate land, radiating a brilliant light from its tip.

Upon seeing Triaina, Artemis showed a strange expression.

"Uncle Poseidon's symbol… Triaina. So even he was defeated by you."

"Well, it’s more accurate to say he brought about his own downfall."

"Still, with Apollo, then Poseidon… That makes three major Greek gods you’ve taken down. You’ve caused more damage on your own than we took in the Gigantomachy."

"It was all just my struggle to survive against Zeus."

I approached Triaina.

Cthulhu said that using the Okeanos Path required this spear.

Just before I grabbed it, Kuuga spoke with concern.

"Lord Deity. Poseidon’s spear is the ultimate divine artifact for gods. Even if this is your domain, leaving such an item in another divine realm seems risky."

"Hmm…"

"He’s right. Gods really aren’t that different from humans. Actually, they’re worse when it comes to greed. Even if Asura is an ally now, things could change in the blink of an eye."

Now that I think about it, among all the gods I’ve met, there weren’t many who felt truly omnipotent.

Their hierarchy is just like humans, and they’re greedy, desperate to live long lives...

They’re basically just long-lived soul humans.

Asura might be a trustworthy ally now, but who knows what could happen in the future?

"Good point."

Fwoosh.

I pulled out the spear and shrunk its size.

Triaina, which was originally larger than I was, shrank down to the size of my upper body.

Longer weapons are usually better, but I already have enough divine weapons.

Shlick.

I extended a tentacle from my back and attached the spear tightly to my body.

At the same time, I activated Triaina’s function.

[Would you like to sail through Okeanos? SP will be consumed to transform Triaina. Transformation allows faster traversal of Okeanos.]

"I’ll use SP."

Whoosh.

Triaina flew out from my back, began glowing blue, and started to transform.

It grew rapidly and landed on the ground.

"That’s…"

"Isn’t that a submarine?"

Just as Kuuga said, it looked exactly like a submarine.

A blue submarine.

A rugged, cylindrical shape, like a missile.

Its size was unbelievable — far too large to have come from a spear — big enough to easily fit hundreds of people.

"How do we get in?"

Whiiirrr.

As I mumbled, the center of the submarine glowed, and a golden staircase appeared.

At the top of the stairs, a circular golden door materialized.

So that’s the entrance?

As I climbed the stairs, the door slid open automatically.

Artemis and Kuuga followed me inside.

Once we entered, the interior revealed a design reminiscent of a Greek temple, all decorated in marble.

I guess Poseidon designed it.

All these Greek gods have the same aesthetic.

Beep.

A screen appeared in front of me.

It looked like an enlarged version of the one that used to display Okeanos.

[Where would you like to go?]

"Here."

I selected one of the planets where the military activity had stalled.

[Destination set. Traveling to Lesser Divine Realm-142…]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]