Titan Giant

The night sky was filled with stars.

Boundless starlight spilled over the halls of the gods on Mount Olympus, lending those tall, magnificent halls an added air of sanctity.

At that moment, lights suspended in midair poured their radiance over the grandest plaza on Mount Olympus, where low tables laden with sumptuous dishes had been set out.

The gods gathered, passing cups and exchanging toasts amid a lively clamor.

Great quantities of wine spilled across the ground, and countless fruits lay scattered about.

Over the past thousand years, the population of the Old Humans, who now called themselves the "Divine Clan," had fallen by more than half, yet their supplies had more than doubled.

Every god present was at least A-Rank. In principle, they no longer needed to consume outside food to live forever without aging.

Yet none of them had abandoned the appetites they had possessed as humans, nor was it easy to do so.

As the central figure, the strongest person present, and a guest who had traveled from afar, Jiang Yang naturally occupied the seat of honor at the head of the gathering.

After decades of apocalypse and a thousand years of the new era, the Divine Clan had long grown accustomed to honoring the strong above all.

"King Jiang's visit to Olympus truly is a delight."

Beside him, Hera raised her wine cup, dressed in splendid finery. Her face was young and beautiful, preserved at its loveliest moment.

Every principal god of Olympus was now a King-Rank existence. Only those at King-Rank could become principal gods.

Although the endless monsters of the apocalypse had retreated from the untamed lands, mutant beasts and other creatures that had gained formidable power during the apocalypse still required immense strength to exterminate.

These powerful savage beasts actually far outnumbered the Divine Clan, but they lacked the Divine Clan's unity. Each fought alone, which was why they had been wiped out one by one.

By now, few savage beasts remained, but all were immensely powerful beings that dominated their own territories.

During that time, the Divine Clan had suffered casualties as well. Otherwise, there would not have been only a few hundred gods gathered on Mount Olympus today.

Even that number included some fellows from the research departments who devoted themselves to scientific research.

There were actually even fewer combat gods who remained active around the world, displaying their divinity before others.

Seeing Hera offer him a toast, Jiang Yang did not slight her and quickly raised his cup in return. This woman was Zeus's wife. Though her reputation was not exactly great, she was still an old acquaintance.

"You're too kind, sister-in-law. All humanity is one family now. There's no need for such formality. By the way, has Zeus still not emerged from seclusion?"

At the word "humanity," Hera visibly froze for a moment. A thousand years of life as a goddess had already made her forget the few decades she had once spent as a human.

"Not yet. Zeus said he absolutely wouldn't come out until he broke through. But before entering seclusion, he told me to make sure you were properly entertained if you came. So I've brought out all the delicacies Olympus has discovered over the past thousand years, along with our treasured wines."

"Jiang Yang, I supplied that thousand-year-old wine!"

Nearby, at the mention of wine, Poseidon, whose face was already flushed red from drinking, hurried to speak, as though afraid Jiang Yang would not know.

"Hahaha, thank you, Brother Poseidon."

Jiang Yang laughed heartily, raised his cup, and drank freely.

The gods happily drank and chatted, enjoying themselves immensely.

Just then, a stunning woman as radiant as the moon on the horizon approached Jiang Yang with a cup of crimson wine. A trace of moisture shone in her beautiful eyes as she spoke softly to him.

"Captain, it's been so long."

Her voice was light and melodious, like dancing notes of serene beauty, tinged with adoration.

Jiang Yang looked up and could not help smiling with nostalgia.

"It's been so long, Artemis."

The newcomer was Artemis, Goddess of the Moon, now one of the twelve principal gods of Mount Olympus.

She was the daughter of Zeus and his lover Leto, who had died during the apocalypse, and the elder sister of the Sun God Apollo, born to the same mother.

At the sight of her, Hera's expression immediately darkened.

"Artemis, what's this? Even now, you still can't forget King Jiang? You should be calling him Uncle!"

"Uh... well..."

Jiang Yang looked awkward. Come on, I know you don't like Zeus's children with his lover. But we're holding a banquet here. Could you not bring up a subject like that?

Yet Artemis was not intimidated by Hera at all. Her pale blue eyes, cool as water, flickered slightly as she shot back without hesitation.

"Hera, don't stick your nose into everything. Has jealousy already robbed you of your reason? Are you worried that if Jiang Yang and I get together, you'll lose your so-called authority as 'Queen of Heaven'?"

"Artemis, is that how you speak to your mother?"

Hera slammed the table and rose, glaring at Artemis. She was the dignified Queen of Heaven, a principal god for a thousand years, the God King's wife, exalted as the Queen of Heaven. This was the first time Artemis had mocked her before such a crowd.

Even the music that had filled the sky over the plaza had stopped.

In the middle of the plaza, seeing his mother humiliated, the burly God of War Ares let the alcohol rush to his head. He smashed his wine cup on the ground and strode furiously toward Artemis, shouting.

"Artemis, how dare you disrespect my mother?"

Halfway there, he was stopped by a young man who was likewise somewhat drunk.

"You're going to stop me, Apollo?!"

"If you want to hurt my sister, have you asked me?"

Flames blazed in Apollo's eyes. He was clearly extremely displeased.

The two glared fiercely at each other as auras of light and fierce dominance began to rise. Behind each of them, a hazy patch of light and shadow took shape.

These were embryonic domains: a clash between the Light Domain and the Battle Domain.

The gods hurried to distance themselves. They had not expected the Sun God and the God of War to face off before the two goddesses even came to blows.

Before this, they might have panicked. After all, this was a battle between two King-Rank Awakened who were close to Emperor-Rank.

With Zeus in seclusion, if these two truly lost their tempers in battle, the Olympian Gods' Pantheon would probably be destroyed, and they might even be caught in the fallout.

But with Jiang Yang present today, their hearts were somehow filled with a sense of security.

Artemis and Hera were arguing, Apollo and Ares were about to fight, and Jiang Yang had quite a headache himself.

Zeus, you're always fooling around, and now you want me, Jiang the sucker, to clean up your mess?

But when he saw Artemis's faintly misted eyes...

The scales in his heart immediately tipped so far they reached his grandmother's house.

He stood, walked over to Artemis, and smiled as he stroked her head, then said to Hera.

"Sister-in-law, let Artemis call me whatever she likes. After all, she and I once fought together for more than ten years."

At those words, Hera said nothing more, but her eyes still rested hatefully on Artemis.

Artemis could no longer hold herself back. She threw herself into Jiang Yang's arms and sobbed softly.

"Captain, I've missed you so much. I've missed Ania so much!"

Hearing Ania's name again, Jiang Yang's hand paused, and sorrow tinged his golden eyes.

"Me too. There, don't cry."

Just then, a clattering crash rang out, accompanied by the sound of shattering cups.

In the center of the plaza, tables laden with fruit, wine, and delicacies suddenly shattered across the ground.

Jiang Yang looked up to see Apollo and Ares already grappling, each driving his fists toward the other's face. It seemed they had accumulated plenty of grudges over the years.

But both still barely retained a shred of clarity and had not used their supernatural powers.

Still, Jiang Yang felt that if this continued, given their tempers, they would probably lose control very soon.

He was just about to go over and break up the fight physically.

Suddenly.

Heaven and earth shook, as though the whole of Mount Olympus were about to be overturned.

The gods panicked. Unable to keep their footing, they flew into the air.

Even Apollo and Ares, still locked in a grapple, were stunned.

Jiang Yang's expression changed as well, but he quickly calmed down, for he had sensed a familiar aura.

Soon, a Titan Giant that towered between heaven and earth abruptly rose from Mount Olympus. His figure was so immense that it blotted out the heavens, casting a vast shadow over the Divine Mountain.

Lightning that tore through heaven and earth wreathed his entire body. His eyes were like two enormous globes of lightning, and his open mouth resembled a bloodstained setting sun.

Facing the lofty starry sky, the Titan Giant suddenly let out a wild roar that shook heaven and earth.

"Roar!"