Hall of the Gods

After swallowing Aksu, Pash flew straight down. For the moment, he was no longer in a position to fight, and even if he did, he could not use his full strength. Most of his attention was devoted to suppressing Aksu, whom he had swallowed into another dimension.

"Aren't we killing the remaining Highgods?" Pash asked Rhodes, who was still maintaining the Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Prison.

"No. I'm planning to subdue them and put them to work for us."

In fact, Rhodes had only just remembered something. Accomplishing it would require a great many people, so he intended to unite this continent, which would be named Blood Peak in the future.

With too few people, its effectiveness would be greatly diminished, so he needed a large number of gods.

With a wave of his hand, the purple glow dissipated. The Highgods who had not dared move discovered that the strange force field around them had vanished and that they could see outside again. They exchanged glances, all silently breathing sighs of relief.

Does this mean we get to live?

After dispersing his domain, Rhodes watched the Highgods fly obediently over and said, "I'll give you a chance. Swear to the Overgods that you will remain loyal to us forever, and I'll spare your lives today."

They looked at one another. In the end, a Fire-Element Highgod stepped forward and answered Rhodes respectfully.

"My lord, we have already sworn to the Overgods to serve Aksu. I'm afraid we cannot..."

The hope of survival was right before their eyes, yet their oaths prevented them from living. Despair filled the Highgods' eyes.

"It's fine. Pash has already killed Aksu. Your previous oaths should become invalid in a little while, and then you can swear your allegiance again." Rhodes waved a hand and spoke casually.

"Thank you, my lord." The men who had been in despair instantly perked up again, their emotions riding a roller coaster. When Aksu had abandoned them, they had wished he would die, but their oaths had kept them from doing anything. Now that they heard the news of his death, they were overjoyed.

Not only could they keep living, but Aksu was dead too. Good things really did come in pairs.

Rhodes waved a hand, signaling for the five Highgods to wait at the foot of the mountain.

The six of them sat down around the stone table again, one after another.

"We should establish an organization and occupy a continent. Only then can we develop and grow stronger," Rhodes said bluntly. As for that tiny organization he had once had, it was long gone. They had not even managed to escape.

They had been slaughtered to the last person. Fortunately, his old lair was still safe. Rhodes did not believe anyone could break into it. More importantly, he wondered how anyone who did break in would feel upon finding a bare mountain with absolutely nothing on it.

As for Di'ers and the others, Rhodes was filled with emotion. They had been friends for many years, after all, and had even helped guard his home. When the Infernal Realm had fallen into chaos, Rhodes had told Di'ers and the others to be cautious and hide if trouble arose.

Their unfortunate encounter with the Demon Alliance was something Rhodes had never anticipated. One day, he would certainly avenge Di'ers and take back Heavenly Thunder Mountain.

"Great, Rhodes! I never felt comfortable back in the Amethyst Alliance. Let's establish our own organization. Otherwise, always being under someone else feels strange." Pash was the first to voice his support.

"Big brother, big brother, we all support you! Let's establish our own organization, and no one will get to boss us around." The Four Divine Beasts all raised their hands in agreement.

How could joining someone else's organization be as comfortable as establishing their own?

"Good. Then we'll establish our own organization. Everyone is fighting for supremacy in the Infernal Realm. If we don't compete for anything, we'll only look out of place. Let's have a proper fight with the Demon King and his lot." Brimming with boldness, Rhodes agreed outright.

After all, he was currently the only one who could contend with the Demon King. Pash counted as a powerful fighter, but they lacked Highgod combatants beneath them. The Four Divine Beasts had only just become Midgods, and there was not even a trace of their Fusion Innate Divine Ability yet. No one knew how many tens of thousands of years it would take to develop it.

Rhodes now had to shoulder the organization's banner, lead the charge, swallow up other organizations, and strengthen himself.

"Boss, will our organization still be called the Thunder Region, like the one you established before?" Pash asked.

"No, we won't use that name anymore. There are more of us brothers now, so that name doesn't fit. There's no Heavenly Thunder Mountain here either, so it wouldn't be a good name. Think about whether you have any good names for our organization."

"Big brother, how about the Six Divine Beasts Clan?" The speaker was Black Tortoise of the Four Divine Beasts. Perhaps because their leader Lei Ding had kept him in check, he had not spoken much before. Now that he had become a Midgod and gone through a major battle, his true nature was showing more and more.

Rhodes was curious too. By all rights, Black Tortoise should have been the steadiest, yet he had turned out to be the most irrepressible of the four.

"No, no, that sounds awful. How about the Brotherhood Alliance?" Before Rhodes could object, Pash rejected it outright. It really sounded terrible, and he proposed a new name as well.

"No good. Pash, your name is pretty ordinary too. I have one for everyone to consider. How about we call ourselves the 'Hall of the Gods'?"

Originally, Rhodes had wanted to name it the "Hall of the Sovereigns," but in the end, he chose the similar-sounding Hall of the Gods instead. It also expressed his hope that all six brothers and sisters would eventually become Sovereigns.

"Big brother really knows best. That name sounds good," said Vermilion Bird Nemo, the only woman.

"Good."

"That's a good name."

"Then I'll be the Earth God from now on." There was no need to think about whose voice that was-it belonged to that little tortoise.

"From now on, I shall be the Thunder God, Rhodes."

"From now on, I shall be the War God, Pash."

"From now on, I shall be the Water God, Lei Ding."

"From now on, I shall be the Wind God, Laius."

"From now on, I shall be the Fire God, Nimo."

"From now on, I shall be the Earth God, Bowen."

"Good. From now on, let the name of the Hall of the Gods spread throughout every plane!" Rhodes said joyfully. After all, establishing this organization was tied to a major undertaking that lay ahead.

It was something that could truly bring them to the pinnacle of the Four Supreme Planes-not just one of them, but all of them. (Can any readers guess what Rhodes is planning to do by establishing an organization?)

Pash and the Four Divine Beasts were all incredibly excited. Though the Four Divine Beasts were still relatively weak, they were all full of confidence in themselves. Given enough time, they would certainly be no weaker than anyone else.

Pride was etched deep into the bones of every Divine Beast.

The brothers gazed deeply at one another. From now on, these were brothers they could entrust with their lives.

"We, Rhodes, Pash, Lei Ding... the six of us, with the Overgods as our witnesses, become brothers and sisters... Should we break this oath, we shall surely die."

Before, it had only been a change in how they addressed one another. This time, with the Overgods as witnesses, the six would henceforth share prosperity and ruin alike.

Although Pash did not know why Rhodes held the Four Divine Beasts in such high regard, he trusted that Rhodes would not harm him, so he willingly swore the oath. The Four Divine Beasts were even less dissatisfied. To begin with, these two powerful men, who were so much stronger than them, had not killed them. They had also honed them for several hundred years and taught them Fusion Profound Mysteries. What could they possibly be dissatisfied about?

As for Rhodes, his decision rested on his knowledge of just how absurdly powerful the Four Divine Beasts' Fusion Divine Ability eventually became in the original story. If he did not bring them into his camp now, was he supposed to become their enemy instead?

An organization that would one day be far more glorious and domineering than the Four Divine Beasts Clan was founded on an utterly obscure mountain peak.

PS: First chapter. Those of you who haven't bookmarked or invested, please do so. Thanks to everyone who cast monthly votes and recommendation votes. If you have any votes left, please support the author again. My deepest thanks! Book reviews haven't been showing up lately. I reckon things will be fine after the conference, so those of you who commented, don't worry.