Foolish Brother Odin

Chapter 473 The one who knows you best is your enemy
As the first goddess to be subdued by Downs, Gulveig is the most qualified to speak on this: "His Majesty the God-Emperor's divine sword is like [fate], always able to bypass the goddess's defenses and break through her bottom line. No matter how reserved she is, in the end, she will still be conquered, won't she?"

To put it bluntly, the Aesir's Palace of Pleasure always puts on such a grand show to ensure that the conquered have a sufficient understanding of their own identity.

Do you really think you can act superior just because you come from some great pantheon? The Asgardians won't tolerate that.

Hestia had finally finished her dance, and her entire divine body seemed to be exhausted. She needed Artemis, her dance partner, to help her off the stage.

Her face flushed red as she looked at Downs, who had returned to his Titan form. Beside him were Freya, Gulvig, and Frigga, who were also Titans, as well as Amaterasu, who was a God-King. Below them were a group of main gods, such as Ereshkigal, Scáthach, and Ishtar, and finally a bunch of goddesses who were just pretty faces. This lineup of beauties filled her mouth with bitterness.

I could only bow to each person one by one, guided by my good niece, and finally sit at the end of the table.

There was no way around it; before Downs officially conferred divine titles upon Hestia, no matter how high her original status was, she was still a slave goddess, just like Amaterasu.

The more gently Amaterasu explained the rules to Hestia, the more uneasy the goddess of the hearth felt.

Accepting one's fate is a process, which may be long or short.

Often, we don't just look at her own efforts, but also at the needs of the situation.

The only thing Hestia can do now is to deliberately curry favor with her new ruler—the God-Emperor Tangs.

It wasn't that she knelt down quickly, but that she knew how cruel Zeus was to the gods who surrendered.

Towns has been very kind.

Hestia left the stage, but the song and dance performance did not end. Instead, it was replaced by nymph goddesses who had surrendered from the Olympian pantheon, female warriors who were originally under Hestia's command, and some Amazonian female warriors.

There's nothing we can do about it; the Aesir gods just love watching this.

After a long and frantic night, Thor and the other core deities finally gathered around.

"Father God, why do we need to retreat after this battle?" King Baldr of Light asked humbly.

Towns glanced at his son, who wasn't particularly capable in combat, and still offered him a word of advice, smiling slightly as he said, "Some things, if pushed too far, will only cause the two sides that were originally mortal enemies to turn against us and unite against us. Right now, we can't take advantage of the World Tree, so why not slow down the pace of our attack and let... let the arrow fly a little longer?"

Badr was a little confused, Thor seemed to understand but not quite, while Catherine and Gilgamesh next to him listened with great interest.

Ekaterina cautiously asked, "Are we letting the Kronos father and son continue their infighting, and at most letting our second uncle have a chance to 'show his skills'?"

Downs smiled and waved to the side. Hestia was stunned for a moment, but Amaterasu and Artemis nudged her from behind before she realized it was time for her to pour the wine herself.

He poured Towns a full glass with his clumsy hands.

To everyone's surprise, Downs drank it down in one gulp, held it in his mouth, and then abruptly pulled her over, pressed his lips to hers, and gave her a mouthful of chewed wine, making her blush bright red.

"Hahaha!" Downs laughed heartily, only then temporarily letting go of his newly acquired prey: "Ekaterina, the fact that you can think like this proves that you are already a qualified strategist."

"Qualified" is already a very good evaluation for Towns's sons, who are all muscle-bound and have big brains.

Unfortunately, her strategic skills are only "qualified" and not enough to qualify her to stand alone, not to mention that her combat ability is a natural weakness.

As Downs expected, Gilgamesh, whom he valued most, spoke up: "Father, do you mean that if we leave it alone, the Olympian pantheon might split a second time, or at worst, Zeus and Cronus will continue their deadly battle?"

Towns laughed and hugged the two petite goddesses like dolls.

His movement elicited a soft whimper and a gasp. Hestia instinctively transformed into the form of the Aesir, though her tolerance for physical impact wouldn't increase, and she would revert to her original form upon losing consciousness. At least in her conscious state, the size would match perfectly.

Hestia wouldn't tell you that after she grew larger in the back hall, that bastard Downs simply transformed into a giant... basically, he just wanted her to beg for mercy.

As Downs continued, he smiled mysteriously: "The secret lies with the three virgin goddesses of Olympus."

The words "virgin goddess" made the two goddesses so shy that they didn't dare to look up.

Gilgamesh was startled, then frowned: "Athena?"

Towns smiled but said nothing.

The person who understands you best in the world may not be yourself; it could very well be your enemy!

Downs would bet that no one in the entire Aesir tribe knew Zeus better than him.

His calculations were correct; at this very moment, the Olympian gods were experiencing another turbulent upheaval.

This time, Zeus lost face big time.

Not only were all the temples on Mount Olympus completely destroyed, but two god-kings were also killed.

When Artemis was first captured, Hera could still slander her as a wicked woman who was devoted to the enemy.

Hestia, as Zeus's eldest sister, was always independent and strong-willed, never meddling in the affairs of other gods. Her capture is truly indefensible. And then Hermes died as well. It's impossible to explain away her fate.

The slave gods of the subordinate worlds who were still observing last time have almost all run away this time. The few remaining ones didn't not want to run away, but they just happened to be caught and dared not run.

This time, both external and internal troubles erupted at the same time.

Zeus and his people dared not even stay near Thrace, much less rebel against the more intensely resistant Asia Minor, and instead gathered in Syracuse in southern Italy.

Why is it safer here?

Theoretically, this place is surrounded by the sea on three sides, which is within Poseidon's sphere of influence.

They have some influence, but not much.

It's very simple; even along the coast of Syracuse, one can clearly see the terrifying changes in the world.

Since two of the seven seas have already left.

The direct consequence of the massive theft of water was a significant drop in the water level of the Mediterranean Sea, which connects to Atlantis.

Originally a deep-water port, only the lowest steps led to the sea.

The water level dropped so suddenly that many ordinary people's boats ran aground on the exposed rocks on the shore. Countless fishermen, sailors, and ship owners wept and wailed, writing prayers to Poseidon, but in reality, they were all lamenting.

Poseidon was extremely annoyed.

After all, the direct destruction of two Atlantean kingdoms under his command caused extreme panic among the other five families, and Poseidon was busy sending priests to appease them. Mortal believers on earth could change their professions and beliefs, but the Atlanteans and aquatic creatures of the deep sea were the true foundation of Poseidon's faith.

(End of this chapter)