Chapter 38

At this very moment, Zeus had no chance to dodge; he was still busy holding open the exit of the abyss for the Hecatoncheires!

He had no choice but to hold it open now, for the commotion caused by the birth of these giants was too great to hide. If he had released them earlier, Kronos and the others would have been prepared.

Just as Zeus prepared to take the hit with his powerful divine body, a figure appeared.

Theron appeared before Zeus. Facing the joint attack of seven great gods, including the King of Gods himself, the expression on Theron's face remained unchanged. He simply smiled and raised his hand.

In an instant, the power of laws erupted. Countless threads of fate emerged from everyone present, eventually converging into a vast torrent that appeared before Theron, causing the entire world to resonate and tremble.

He borrowed the power of this world, utilizing the fate of everyone present to withstand the blow.

It was as if he had distributed this terrifying attack among every living being in the world, even including the attacking Titans themselves.

This maneuver was so earth-shattering and unheard of that the Titans were stunned, frozen in place for a moment.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Zeus let out another earth-shaking roar. He swung his Thunder Scepter with all his might, and under the impact of the terrifying thunderous power, the sealed gate of the abyss was finally torn wide open.

The massive Hecatoncheires finally crawled out. They let out excited roars, waving their hundred arms as they charged toward the Titans in the sky. As their colossal forms moved, they nearly blotted out the sun.

At such a moment, even the stupidest god knew it was time to fight for their lives; the situation could not have been worse!

The six ancient Titans finally stopped hesitating and began a desperate struggle, seeking a final turning point.

As for the King of Gods, Kronos, he was filled with shock and rage. More than Zeus releasing the Hecatoncheires, he could not believe that Theron was actually this powerful!

His heart sank completely, but he knew he had to fight for his life; there was no time left to prepare.

He could only grit his teeth, grip his Sickle tightly, and charge at Theron, already prepared for the possibility of his own defeat.

This was a true desperate struggle, giving everything and casting all else aside.

Yet, to his complete surprise, the powerful attack he had imagined did not come.

Theron merely defended passively, appearing somewhat strained under his frantic assault.

Kronos felt extremely surprised. In his perception, although Theron possessed divine power as strong as a Titan's, it was still inferior to his own might as the King of Gods. Yet, Theron managed to dodge his attacks every single time.

Kronos sensed carefully and soon discovered something. He widened his eyes in disbelief and blurted out, "You aren't powerful at all! Your strength comes entirely from theft?!"

Theron smiled at him. "Oh my, you figured it out."

"Unfortunately, you discovered it too late."

Kronos had been so cautious—so cautious that for tens of thousands of years, even while deeply wary, he had never truly made a move. Even when testing the waters, he would retreat after a single strike.

As a result, he had never discovered that the mysterious Theron in his mind was actually far from as powerful as he had imagined.

But as Theron said, he had discovered it too late.

Chapter 65: The Curse of the King of Gods

"You were lying to me! You were lying to me the whole time!"

The angry roar of Kronos resounded throughout the world. As the King of Gods, he had never been so uncomposed.

But he could not be blamed; anyone who discovered that a mysterious existence they had treated with caution for tens of thousands of years was actually a bluffer would likely find it unacceptable.

In the eyes of Kronos and the other Titans, Theron was ancient and powerful. Even when his outward appearance showed only weak divine power, he had been able to stand against the powerful Sky God.

Later, he had repeatedly entered and exited the cages set by Kronos at will, unable to be imprisoned in Tartarus. All of this proved Theron's power.

Under such circumstances, who would dare to believe that his true strength was only what he showed on the surface?

The reason Kronos was so wary of Theron was that he felt he was powerful enough to threaten his position. If he had known he wasn't that strong, why would he have cared so much?

If he hadn't cared so much, how would he have ended up on the opposite side of Theron?

At the very beginning, Theron had supported him; he had even defeated the first-generation King of Gods, Uranus, with Theron's help.

Kronos recalled the words Theron had spoken when helping him defeat Uranus. He had said that when he was brave and fearless, fate was on his side.

The subtext of those words was that when he began to take precautions out of fear and panic, he lost those fine qualities, and naturally, fate no longer favored him.

He was wrong. He shouldn't have devoured his children out of fear, nor should he have targeted Theron out of dread. He had been wrong from the very beginning!

The things he feared were not enough to threaten him at all in the first place!

He could have been bolder and directly moved to imprison Theron forever. If he failed once, he could have tried a second or third time. With the power Theron had displayed at the time, it would have been impossible for him to steal so much support from the world!

But he had been too cautious back then. Because he wasn't sure of the other's depth, he chose to give up! He had actually chosen to give up!

If only he had known, if only he had known...

At this moment, Kronos finally understood everything, but he understood it too late—far, far too late.

If the first-generation King of Gods lost due to his arrogance, then Kronos had lost due to his excessive caution.

"I advised you a long time ago," Theron said calmly. "I also told you not to delve into the curse."

"That was the only time you could have changed your fate, but you refused me. From that moment on, everything about you was already destined."

Kronos stared blankly at the youth before him, looking at the face that had once filled his heart with fear, feeling that the world was so absurd.

"No, impossible... The Fates clearly said I would not be defeated. How could I possibly lose?!" Kronos couldn't help but mutter to himself, as if clutching at a final straw.

"Of course you won't be defeated. You are the great King of Gods. You will never be defeated; you have simply lost. You lost to yourself."

Theron narrated calmly, as if speaking of a trivial matter.

Kronos lifted his head blankly. As he looked at the youth before him, an indescribable anger suddenly surged in his heart.

It was all because of him! It was all because of him!

If not for Theron, he wouldn't have reached this day!

Even if he lost, he should make this bluffing liar pay the price!

He charged at Theron like a madman, but before he could make a move, he was firmly grabbed by the hundred arms of a Hecatoncheire.

He turned his head and realized that his allies had all been captured. Those Hecatoncheires used their terrifying strength to restrain every Titan god who still attempted to struggle.

And that rebellious son he hated so much, Zeus, also arrived before him, holding his Thunder Staff high.

Every god had heard the conversation between Kronos and Theron just now. Although they didn't understand what Kronos meant by "theft," the fact that Theron had been bluffing and wasn't actually that powerful was clearly conveyed.

Upon hearing this, Zeus immediately began to think, and many things that had seemed strange before were suddenly explained.

He had always been puzzled: if Theron were truly as powerful as the Titans claimed—able to face the creative might of the King of Gods, or even stronger—why would he deign to dwell in the Void?

Why choose to help him defeat the King of Gods instead of doing it himself? And why had he never made a move during these ten years of fighting?

There had always been something strange about it.

The Twelve Titans had ignored these oddities because their initial impression was too deep, and their worship and trust in Theron had reached a blind level.

But Zeus was a third-generation god. He hadn't experienced the era of Uranus and hadn't witnessed Theron's actions, so he naturally hadn't felt the shock the Twelve Titans had felt back then. Thus, he had always found it strange.

But now, everything made sense.

So... it was just a bluff.

Zeus felt confident instantly, and more than half of his vigilance and fear toward Theron dissipated.

However, he also learned from Kronos's lesson. He did not want to give Theron, who had just forcibly taken the joint attack of seven Titans, any more opportunities to shine at such a time.

He stepped forward, arrived before Kronos, and under the gaze of all the gods, he assumed the posture of a victor and spoke in an incomparably mocking tone:

"Great child-eating King of Gods, do you still refuse to admit your defeat?"

"Your greed and stupidity have ruined you. Everything today is what you deserve. In the name of the new King of Gods, I will imprison you forever. That will be your final destination."

In this way, Zeus forcibly drew everyone's attention to himself, including Kronos, who hated Theron to the core.

Theron knew Zeus's intentions, but instead of stopping him, he was happy to see it happen and even deliberately lowered his presence.

He watched as Kronos's hatred shifted from himself to Zeus.

"Zeus, don't get cocky! When I break free from the shackles of these hundred arms, I will lash you severely! Don't forget, you can neither harm me nor kill me!"

Zeus laughed upon hearing this. He said in an incomparably contemptuous tone, "You are right, but I can imprison you forever."

"Listen, the abyss of Tartarus is letting out a low roar. It can't wait to feast on you, the King of Gods."

Having said that, he ignored Kronos, as if he were merely a defeated subordinate not worth paying attention to, and instead looked at the gods: "Victory belongs to us!"

The gods cheered excitedly upon hearing this. In the midst of the celebratory atmosphere, Zeus came to Theron and said with a smile, "Great Lord Theron, thank you for your righteous help."

"Now is the time to celebrate our victory. I know you never liked such lively scenes, so I won't keep you."

He adopted a somewhat firm posture, showing none of his previous respect and courtesy, and did not even mention the conditions he had promised Theron.

Theron smiled, appearing completely indifferent to this. "It is my honor to be able to help you."

"I indeed do not like crowds, so I shall take my leave."

With that, Theron turned and left without hesitation, so decisively that it caught Zeus by surprise.

He had thought that this Lord Theron would use this merit to propose some conditions or demand some benefits, but he had actually left so readily?

However, at such a critical moment, Zeus had no time to think. He still had to deal with the aftermath of Kronos and the other gods.

Moreover, a weak, bluffing god was not worth caring about.

To ensure his presence was felt by all the gods, he personally imprisoned the six defeated Titans and threw them into the abyss of Tartarus. The gods let out unwilling and angry wails, causing the entire earth to tremble.

Finally, when it was Kronos's turn, the former King of Gods stared at him fixedly and said in a voice filled with resentment:

"Zeus, don't get cocky. I curse you; you will surely be replaced by your strongest offspring!"

At the very last moment, Kronos still chose to curse Zeus, even though he had hated Theron more just a short while ago.

But there was no help for it; no god could accept being mocked incessantly after their defeat. Zeus had indeed stolen the spotlight from Theron and successfully stolen Kronos's hatred as well.

Almost before Kronos's voice had faded, in the endless abyss, the Titan of Death and Souls, Iapetus, also said in an incomparably angry voice:

"Zeus, I also curse you; you will surely be surpassed by your own offspring in your rights as a god!"

When they finished these resentment-filled curses, the abyss of Tartarus finally closed completely.

As Zeus listened to these two curses, he stood frozen in place.

At this moment, he clearly felt the response of fate. It was the aura of destiny, a power that all gods of Chaos found difficult to resist.

This intuition told him that this curse would inevitably be fulfilled; this was the power of an oath.

Even as powerful as Zeus was, he felt a chill in his heart at this moment. He remembered that Kronos had once been cursed in the same way, only it had been interrupted at the time.