The War God did not want to fight.
If possible, he wished to join forces with the other party and wait until they had dealt with all the other gods, until no god remained to interfere or swoop in for the spoils.
Then, he would decide victory and defeat with the other party.
That was what the War God most wanted.
Naturally, Candle Shade would not form an alliance with him.
But neither did he want to be picked off by the other gods in the end.
Candle Shade stared straight at the War God.
He neither refused nor agreed.
The War God's expression changed from anticipation to hesitation, and finally stiffened into something ugly.
"So, you disagree?"
"I truly do not want to fight you."
"There should be quite a few gods watching us from the shadows. Are you really going to fight me to the death here, only to be devoured by other gods in the end?"
He could lose, but he did not want to die to a sneak attack and become someone else's spoils.
To be devoured by a god so much weaker than himself was an immense humiliation to the War God. On the other hand, if he lost to a powerful enemy like Candle Shade, he would not be nearly as angry.
The reason he had been so furious that One Kill, the god-blessed one he had favored, already had a god he believed in was actually because the god One Kill worshipped was not stronger than him.
If the god One Kill worshipped had been as strong as him, or even stronger, then the War God might not have been so angry. He might even have thought that One Kill had good judgment, worthy of being the heaven-chosen god-blessed one he had picked.