"If thatâs the case, whatâs the meaning of a nation, and whatâs the meaning of an army? Shouldnât the world simply be a place where personal valor determines everything, and wars wouldnât even erupt?"
"If two kingdoms could resolve their dispute by just having their strongest champions duel, why bother sending armies at all? Isnât that redundant?"
"!"
With eyes slightly widened, Andrea was obviously listening intently.
Previously, as a Godhood Practitioner, she had never really explored such matters. Moreover, since there hadnât been a large-scale war in Athens for a long time, she had no need to understand this.
"So what is the purpose of an army, or is there actually a way to diminish the impact of the powerful?"
"Of course there is," Laine said with a smile and a nod, not keeping her in suspense. "And it all originates from the Divine King on Mount Olympus."
"As everyone knows, Zeus is the King of All Gods. Although he often proclaims himself as the Lord of Ten Thousand Thunders, the Lord of the Sky, anyone with a bit of insight knows that what truly allowed him to rise above all gods was his âKingship.â"
"This power originally came from the most ancient Divine Kingâs strength, an embodiment of the worldly willâs authority over the law of governance in the mortal realm. He entrusted this power to the original Heavenly Father, thus the First Divine Kingâs divine authority could accomplish many thingsâhe could even act with the authority of the world under the name of the Divine King, anchoring new, logical âconceptsâ, thus allowing the world to prematurely birth corresponding Godhood."
"The original âChronologyâ Godhood stemmed from this; it was supposed to exist only in the Third Era, following the birth of seasons and the ascendancy of the twelve principal gods, but because of the supreme authority of the First Divine King, it appeared directly in the distant past, at the very beginning."
"..."
Listening silently, Andrea felt she was touching on knowledge mortals would never comprehend.
Just hearing what Laine presented as âcommon knowledge,â the former princess was somewhat speechless.
Who is this âeveryoneâ? Definitely not me, right?
"Of course, this was the innate Kingship of the First Divine King," Laine continued, not minding Andreaâs slight sarcasm. "But it was not the same for later Divine Kings."
"They did not inherit the position of Divine King for their great deeds for the world, but because of the misconduct of their predecessors and also due to fate."
"Since it wasnât earned on their own, it naturally wouldnât be as intact. Thus, in truth, the authority of the Divine King has been gradually diminished in transferring, and by the time it reached Zeus, his Kingship wasnât much stronger than his inborn âThunder.â"
"However, maybe due to a favor of fate or some other reason, Zeus found a method, a way to supplement his âKingshipâ differently. This method, on the divine level, is embodied by the âtwelve principal godsâ, and on the âmortalâ level, it is him establishing the âKingshipâ order based on the lineage of Demigods."
"This is the manifestation of his rights and the source of his power. He wouldnât actively destroy the twelve principal gods system he established, so even if he has issues with his own daughter, he canât act against her as long as she doesnât disrupt the order; neither would he disturb the Demigodsâ Kingship order, hence you see, even though there are always mortal kings challenging the gods, including his own son, he has never thought about letting the âchurchâ replace the âaristocracyâ, or the âTheocratic Nationâ replace the âKingdom.â"
"Because for the Divine King, mortal challenges only tarnish his reputation, but if handled properly, they instead prove the greatness of gods."
"But if he actively destroys the Kingship order he personally established, then what is damaged is his genuine interests and authority."
"...Is that so?"
Seemingly comprehending something, Andrea deduced further.
"So when Tantalus murdered his children during the feast for the gods, the Divine King only disposed of him personally and promoted his god-worshipping descendants to power. When Sisyphus imprisoned a deity, the gods waited until he died to punish him, while his god-respecting grandson still inherited the throne."
"The gods didnât choose kings from the devout, simply because the Divine King himself didnât want that to happen?"
Her worldview seemed to be shaken; Andrea felt her perception of the gods crumble further.
With the death of Theseus, her reverence had already diminished greatly. Now, it was almost gone.
"Yes, so in reality, among the whole of Olympus, Zeus is the one who âabides by the lawâ the most."
"The other gods might still commit acts that break the divine order, but Zeus, operating under the philosophy âanything not forbidden is allowed,â will never voluntarily violate the rules he himself has set, unless he is left with no other choice but to choose the lesser of two evils."
In such a case, if the Divine Court could establish a just and fair law, perhaps things would indeed be different because of such a âlaw-abidingâ Divine King.
But sadly, the rules Zeus established are mostly those that help build and maintain his âKingshipâ, and for other matters, he simply acts as if they donât exist.
"But what does this have to do with the way wars are fought, is it because of this âKingship orderâ?"
Resting her cheek on her hand and leaning on the table, Andrea asked again.