Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 320 Contempt
Zeus, seated atop the sacred mountain, gazed out and took in all that was in the heavens, earth, sea, and the underworld.

He saw in the underworld a magnificent, enormous serpent and a small baby. The serpent looked down at the baby with a cold and terrifying expression.

The God-King's face was ashen, but his hand, gripping the lightning bolt, tightened.

Even a god-king as powerful as him had not anticipated such an unexpected turn of events, and his brow furrowed slightly. However, he still had a hunch.

His intuition told him that the baby couldn't possibly have died so easily.

……

Beneath the underworld, beside the abyss, a magnificent serpent looked down upon the infant, and then a deep voice sounded in the girl's ear.

“I knew it was him, so what?”

The sound was like thunder, deep and suppressed.

The girl looked up at her father, blinked, and seemed puzzled.

She had not expected her father's answer.

"So... now it's up to you to decide the baby's future."

The girl spoke again respectfully.

But the giant serpent turned its head slightly, its vertical pupils fixed on its daughter, the serpent goddess who appeared infinitely majestic to outsiders.

Its gaze had a tangible quality, as if it wanted to see through this daughter inside and out. Its cold, terrifying intensity remained unchanged regardless of the girl's identity.

“Mona, that’s not what I’m asking. What I’m asking is, so why did you bring this little one here?”

The giant snake lowered its head, its enormous, ocean-like pupils drawing ever closer to the girl. When those enormous, transparent pupils descended, it was as if the entire sky had collapsed.

The girl looked up at those crystal-clear pupils that were almost within reach.

The girl's tiny figure was reflected in those terrifying, obscure pupils, as was everything around her. It was as if the entire world and the girl themselves were being swallowed up by those immeasurable pupils.

Her lifeless eyes were completely calm; the eyes of the deceased were expressionless, yet her hands unconsciously clenched.

She is afraid.

Even though she was the daughter of a snake and became the Queen of Magic after experiencing three worlds, the deepest part of her heart was still that fear.

Fear, despair, worship, love... a variety of emotions have never left me.

And those magnificent, glassy pupils reflected all these emotions, the monster coldly watching it all.

The minds of gods and men are meaningless in the eyes of monsters.

"Because... I want to remove this obstacle for you, Father."

A dry, hoarse voice rang out.

The giant serpent's pupils looked down at the tiny figure, its gaze completely unwavering.

The giant serpent's cold voice rang out again.

"After removing the obstacles, what happens next?"

The girl hesitated for a moment.

"After that, no one will be able to stop you, and you can devour the world."

"so what."

The giant snake's pupils looked down at her, and it repeated itself once more.

The girl hesitated, but she seemed to realize something.

The sound of a snake rang out.

"A meaningless act."

"Whether there are obstacles or not, I will swallow this world whole. What's the point of clearing obstacles in advance?"

Such words would surely seem unbelievable to ordinary people.

How can removing obstacles be a meaningless act?
but……

The girl fell silent. Yes, what was the point of clearing obstacles in advance for her father?

To swallow the world even faster?

But what meaning does time have for something that is eternal and immortal?

"Mortals with lifespans of less than a hundred years rush about, trying to accomplish as much as possible in their short lives. But what does it mean to me? What difference does it make whether it's a hundred years earlier or a hundred years later?"

At this point, the giant snake let out a sneer.

“I know very well the identity and origin of this little guy, and I also know very well that he carries the expectations of that tiny god. He knows that neither humans nor gods can defeat me, but he believes that heroes can defeat me. He is waiting, waiting for the day when this little guy grows up and defeats me, so as to stop that agreement.”

"That's exactly what that little bug that's spying on us is thinking."

On the mountaintop, Zeus's face remained unchanged as he stroked his beard, pretending not to have heard the following words.

"But so what?"

"Those little bugs are always like this, dreaming of defeating me, even pinning their hopes on such a newborn little thing. But I am always the victor. Heroes, gods, creators, even the mighty omnipotent still lose to me. Their temporary survival cannot change their fate."

"No one can stop it, and this little one even less can."

"Because this is my will."

The terrifying pupils coldly looked down at the girl, and also at the baby.

Sometime during the night, the baby had opened his eyes and was looking at the giant snake. But he didn't cry or show any fear; instead, he stared at the snake with his big, round eyes.

He appeared to be clenching his fists, showing no fear whatsoever in the face of some of the most terrifying monsters in the universe, but rather as if he were ready for battle.

This tiny baby, whose eyesight is still failing, possesses something incomprehensible about him.

The newborn creature, yet already instinctively eager to confront its destined foe, received only the giant snake's breath and contempt in its eyes. Its contempt extended not only to the small lump of flesh, but also to the divine father behind it.

"Then, Father, what will you do with this baby?"

The girl bent down.

She understood her father's meaning, but she still wanted to know his attitude towards keeping the baby.

"You're just a little kid, do whatever you want."

The giant snake withdrew its head, and amidst the shaking of the mountains and the earth, it closed its eyes again and fell asleep.

After the giant serpent lay dormant beside the abyss, the girl held the baby in her arms, her eyes gleaming as she pondered something.

Finally, she carried the baby to the snake-people city she ruled.

On the mountain, Zeus's furrowed brows relaxed.

Despite the turmoil, the infant truly carried a heavy destiny. Did the giant serpent know this? Probably, but even knowing, it still held the infant's fate in contempt.

The monster arrogantly believed that even if there were setbacks, victory would ultimately belong to it, and that fate would have to bow down to its own will.

Arrogant, conceited, haughty, and stubborn...

However, from another perspective, otherwise how could it be that monster?
"Heh, let's see who wins in the end."

Holding lightning in his hand, Zeus remained outwardly calm in the face of the monster's arrogance, but inwardly he sneered.

Just like the monster's arrogance, Zeus was also convinced that he had the strongest hand.

On the surface, Zeus's only response to the loss of his illegitimate son was to throw Hermes off Mount Meru, so that he could reflect on his mistake on Earth.

This appears to be nothing more than Zeus showing affection for his son, while no one knows the secret contest between the father of gods and men and the giant serpent.

But because of this... someone finally discovered the truth.

"You mean, my husband had a child with a mortal woman, and I named him Hercules without his knowledge?"

Inside the palace, Hera, the Queen of Gods, tried her best to keep her voice steady, making her servants afraid to even breathe.

A somber atmosphere filled the palace. Finally, Hera waved her hand, signaling for her servants to leave.

She was a proud and self-assured goddess, always appearing with an elegant and composed demeanor, never allowing anyone to see her angry and repulsive side.

After the divine servant withdrew, the goddess gritted her teeth and finally angrily threw the peacock feather fan in her hand to the ground.

"Zeus! You licentious god, how could you, how could you..."

Shame and indignation.

Hera was filled with immense shame and anger.

Her husband cheated on her again, having an affair with a mortal woman and fathering a child out of illegitimate origin. And this time, unbeknownst to her, out of a sliver of pity, she named the child Hercules?
Hercules, the glory of Hera.

Hera's Glory?

What an absurd joke! She actually made her husband's illegitimate child her glory?

The unprecedented and immense humiliation made Hera almost dizzy, and she wanted to kill that bastard child immediately.

She stormed into Zeus's palace, angrily accusing him of infidelity.

But Zeus frowned as he listened to Hera's accusations, and as Hera's curses grew more intense, the father of gods and men finally interrupted her in anger.

"Enough! You woman, I've already given you the promises you wanted, so stop bothering me."

"A promise? You had an affair with a mortal woman and fathered so many illegitimate children. Now you've made me suffer such humiliation for your illegitimate child, which you secretly gave birth to, without my knowledge. And you still talk to me about promises?"

Hera trembled with rage, and this most revered goddess in the universe couldn't help but shed tears.

But Zeus's face remained cold; he was already extremely impatient.

"Hera, I promised to share half of my power with you, to make you the mistress of the sky. Didn't I give that to you? You command the gods with an air of superiority, and they all obey you meekly. Isn't that the power I shared with you?"

"Haven't I kept my promise to you? Why are you still making a scene here? What are you doing bothering me?"

Zeus rebuked him.

Hera, however, couldn't help but widen her eyes. Her beautiful eyes stared at Zeus, her chest heaving slightly as she gritted her teeth.

"You...do you think I'm arguing with you for power?"

Zeus remained silent, merely watching her indifferently.

In the heavy rain, a little bird was shivering in the rain because it had no shelter. The beautiful and noble young woman felt a pang of pity for the poor bird in the rain.

"Little bird, little bird, come and hide here with me."

Gently calling out, the girl cradled the little bird in her arms, warming it with her body heat.

The little bird nestled in the girl's arms, chirping merrily, making her giggle.

Just then, the little bird suddenly transformed into a handsome young man, the curly-haired, dashing boy laughing and joking.

"Hera, marry me..."

The girl blushed deeply as she watched the boy approach with a playful grin...

Recalling the proposal, Hera pursed her lips and fled the palace as if escaping.

As Zeus watched Hera's departing figure, he stroked his throne. He knew Hera was unhappy, but he had already been scolded enough by her and had no energy left to comfort her.

Zeus wasn't in a hurry; he knew that no matter how angry Hera was, she would eventually return.

"It's just finding a mortal to play with, why are you so angry?"

Sighing in my heart.

(End of this chapter)