I Am a Prophet in Greece - 42

Poseidon snorted disdainfully, assuming Theron was still talking tough. He did not believe he could lose. He was even looking forward to the upcoming meeting of the gods.

What bullshit fate? What bullshit prophecy? He, Poseidon, would prove that he could become king of the gods too!

The God King Becomes a Wage Slave

"You mean you want me to serve as a witness?"

In the rear hall of Mount Olympus, Theron looked at the six gods before him, his expression somewhat surprised.

"Great Lord Theron, you have witnessed the birth of two generations of god kings. Now that the third generation has come, it should also be witnessed by you."

Zeus laughed heartily, his tone utterly sincere.

Today was the first formal assembly of the new Olympian gods. After celebrating their victory, it was finally time to divide the spoils.

Naturally, the most eye-catching prize was the throne of the god king. Then came the division of territories. In the present world, the sky, the earth, the sea, and the underworld were the four broadest domains, and the ones most coveted by the gods.

The earth belonged to Gaia, the Mother Goddess of Earth. None of them dared act rashly there, so they could only divide the other three domains.

Poseidon was a hundred times unwilling to invite Theron as a witness.

He knew Theron supported Zeus and had even prophesied that Zeus would become god king.

But Zeus's reasoning was flawless. A new god king needed fate itself as witness.

And Theron would merely bear witness, not participate in their internal election. Only then did Poseidon forcibly suppress his dissatisfaction.

He could only keep consoling himself inwardly. It was fine. Letting Theron witness him becoming god king would give him the perfect chance to enjoy Theron's expression after his prophecy was overturned. That would surely be a wonderful sight.

In contrast to Zeus's confidence and Poseidon's certainty of victory, Hades remained calm, silently observing the reactions of the gods. No one knew what he was thinking.

The other three beautiful goddesses were entirely in the mood to watch a show.

Naturally, Theron did not mind serving as a witness. What mattered most to him now was gaining the world's recognition as soon as possible and obtaining all the power of Chaos World, thereby acquiring the great power of creation.

To gain the world's recognition, he needed to do things that developed the world.

Kronos, the second-generation god king, had spent thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of years diligently accomplishing countless tasks. He had even created the Golden Age of the gods and brought forth the Golden Humans before finally earning the world's recognition.

Theron was now walking the path Kronos had once walked, and Kronos had already proven that it was an exceedingly long road.

The good news was that after tens of thousands of years of effort, he had at least obtained the sole ticket of entry. It did not matter if his progress was slow; after all, he was now the only one who could walk this path.

Unless someone sealed Theron away forever and locked him in Tartarus as well, no matter who became god king, they would no longer gain the world's recognition.

Still, the progress of gaining the world's recognition determined how much power he could obtain. Theron was more than willing to involve himself in matters that could help build the world.

Electing a god king was a good thing, both for this world and for Theron.

After all, once you became god king, you had to do things for the world, didn't you? The more you did, the better the world developed, and the stronger Theron would become along with it.

If the first two god kings had received rewards of power simply by doing their jobs, then beginning with the third generation, that system had changed.

Now, the god king did the work, but Theron intercepted all the rewards.

In other words, whoever became god king would be exploited for free, becoming the ultimate wage slave without receiving any benefits at all.

Not only that, the god king was also the primary person responsible. If the world failed to develop properly or its development stagnated, Chaos World's first target of dissatisfaction would be the god king.

Whether Uranus or Kronos, both had essentially been overthrown and cast down from godhood because they had allowed the world's development to stagnate.

Given the current situation, if Zeus said he no longer wanted to be god king, Theron would have to hold him down and sincerely tell him—

"No, you do."

After all, if neither you nor I became god king, and nobody wanted the position, then who would work for Theron?

And if something happened in the world later, who would take responsibility for Theron?

However, Theron had done all this quite discreetly. No god knew about it. They were even fighting until their heads bled over the chance to be Theron's free laborers and scapegoats.

"Then let us begin." Zeus spoke first. He looked at his brothers and sisters, but before he could state his thoughts, a crisp voice interrupted him.

"Wait!"

Everyone turned toward the sound and discovered that the one who had spoken was the beautiful goddess of the hearth, Hestia.

Hestia wore an elaborate long gown. Beneath the costly fabric, her voluptuous figure was faintly visible. Meeting the gods' puzzled gazes, she said solemnly:

"I have no interest in this divine authority. I only enjoy traveling among mortals. Therefore, from this day onward, I will not participate in any disputes concerning divine authority within Olympus."

She looked at her younger brothers and sisters. Seeing the uncertainty on Zeus and Poseidon's faces, as if they were still weighing her words, she simply swore an oath:

"I, Hestia, hereby swear that I will remain eternally chaste and will not marry any male god."

Under the current divine order, if a goddess wished to participate in the struggle, she could only support another male god.

That was why Zeus had pursued Hestia. Husband and wife were one, and winning a goddess's heart was equivalent to gaining that goddess's support.

Hestia's oath was proof that she truly would not participate in any struggle for divine authority, nor would she support any male god because she had married him.

Her declaration surprised every god.

In their eyes, no god would refuse divine authority. It represented honor, and it represented power.

But Hestia felt much more at ease.

Lately, she had needed to deal with Zeus's courtship while also brushing off Poseidon's attempts to win her favor. She understood both brothers' intentions perfectly, yet truly did not know whom she should support.

In that case, she would support neither of them.

With that thought, Hestia looked toward Theron and softly said, "Please bear witness."

Theron smiled and nodded, indicating that he had seen and heard.

Following Hestia's declaration, the atmosphere became somewhat delicate. Zeus gave a light cough and continued what he had been saying.

"In that case, let us continue."

As he spoke, he looked deeply at the gods and said calmly, "The brutal god king Kronos was ended by my own hand, and the new era was created by me. Therefore—"

"I will become the new king of this world. Who supports it, and who opposes it?"

"I oppose it!"

Before anyone could react, Poseidon spoke bluntly. "Zeus, you did indeed contribute greatly in this battle, but that does not mean you are the person best suited to become god king!"

Hearing this, Zeus looked at Poseidon with a half-smile. "Then who do you think is suitable?"

Without even thinking, Poseidon said, "Naturally, we should see whom everyone recognizes. Only if all the gods believe someone is suitable can they truly be considered suitable. We should ask for everyone's opinion."

As he spoke, he turned a hopeful gaze toward Demeter.

He knew that Demeter, the agricultural goddess who represented harvest, was the softest-hearted. He had pleaded with her so earnestly; she would definitely support him.

But to Poseidon's surprise, Demeter instinctively lowered her head and avoided his gaze.

Zeus was not angered by Poseidon's rudeness. A trace of mockery flashed through his eyes as he said with a half-smile, "Fine. Then let us ask the gods for their opinions."

"Demeter, Hera, Hades, what do you think?"

The beautiful Hera was the first to speak. "I think Zeus is better suited to be god king."

Poseidon: "?"

Poseidon froze, disbelief appearing on his face. He could not understand it. Hera had clearly accepted his praise, so why had she chosen Zeus?

But before he could react, he heard Demeter speak in a somewhat guilty yet resolute voice:

"I also believe Zeus is better suited to be god king."

Poseidon: "??"

But that was not the end. Seeing that everyone had expressed their stance, Hades said indifferently, "Then Zeus it is."

Poseidon: "???"

Poseidon had no idea what had happened. He did not understand why a situation that had seemed certain to end in his victory had suddenly turned out like this. He stood there stunned, unable to make sense of it no matter how hard he tried.

Then he heard Theron say with a smile in his voice:

"It seems the gods already have their answer. In that case, I hereby declare Zeus to be the new god king."

After speaking, the white-robed youth gave Poseidon, who looked as though he had been struck by lightning, a deeply meaningful glance.

Poseidon: "..."

He felt as though he had been played, but he had no evidence.

Gaia's Fury: Revenge Against the World

Zeus became god king just like that, under Poseidon's disbelieving gaze.

In this secret clash between the two, Zeus had ultimately won a complete victory, while Poseidon did not even know where he had lost.

But Zeus had no intention of kindly explaining it to him. He could not be bothered with this foolish brother and simply said, "The old era has ended, and a new era has quietly arrived."

"I wish to establish an entirely new order, but I cannot accomplish that alone. Therefore, I intend to establish twelve positions of principal gods. Together, we will build a new order and lead the gods in governing the world more effectively."

The gods were drawn in by this idea, and for a moment, no one cared about the dejected Poseidon anymore.

Zeus was very satisfied with their reactions. A smile appeared on his face as he continued, "As for how the sky, sea, and underworld should be divided, I believe we might as well draw lots."

"Let fate tell us who is best suited to what. It is the fairest and most appropriate method."

After he said this, the gods all instinctively looked toward Theron. Theron merely maintained his smile and said nothing.

He seemed to truly be nothing more than a witness—he would bear witness, but not participate.

Poseidon was extremely dissatisfied. He still wanted to fight for the throne of god king, but things had reached this point, and no one paid him any attention.

Filled with unwillingness, he could only temporarily suppress his dissatisfaction and decide to seek another opportunity later.

Both he and Hades agreed to draw lots, because as Zeus had said, it was indeed the fairest method.

And the final results satisfied the gods as well.

Poseidon drew the sea, Hades drew the underworld, and Zeus drew the sky.

Poseidon was the god of tsunamis and earthquakes. The sea falling under his domain would greatly enhance his power and laws.

Hades was the god of darkness. The underworld never saw the light of day, and it would likewise greatly strengthen him.

As for Zeus, there was even less need to say anything. He already possessed authority over the sky and had later gained control over lightning. Lord of the Sky was the position best suited for him.

Under Theron's witness, they went on to complete several more detailed divisions. Overall, everyone was fairly satisfied. The gods all received the benefits they wanted—except Poseidon.

Poseidon had not known where he had lost until he saw Zeus whispering intimately with Demeter one moment and engaging in ambiguous flirtation with Hera the next. Only then did he finally understand.