Foolish Brother Odin

Chapter 488 Flag Bearer and Chess Player

The world of Jinlunga, Asgard, the Silver Palace.

Towns is playing Go with Athena.

Athena asked curiously, "Your Majesty, why are you so comfortable leaving Odin on the other side of the Mutant Star Sector? Aren't you afraid...?"

Downs gave a wicked smile: "No one knows my wretched yet incredibly capable brother better than I do. Think about it, since Odin is a god-king who is power-hungry and irresponsible, how would he handle a situation where he gains more territory but it doesn't end up in his pocket, and if something goes wrong, he'll be bankrupt?"

"..." Matters of the imperial family are not for outsiders to interfere in. This applies to both the mortal realm and the divine realm.

Athena chose to remain silent.

"I may not believe Odin's loyalty, but I won't deny his intelligence. He can still distinguish what's important." With a laugh, Downs made another move: "Are you trying to say that there are always some beings in the world who are unwilling to be pawns and want to be players?"

"I wouldn't dare." Athena lowered her head meekly, almost burying her chin between the compartments of the front armor.

Towns seemed to be answering his own question: "There are always some guys who are unwilling to be pawns, but lack the ability to be players, so they can only be flag bearers. Yeah, the kind who raise the flag. It can be a white flag, a black flag, or a red flag. But in the end, due to the pressure of survival, he will be a good pawn."

Athena seemed to understand these words, but she still tried her best to answer: "Using the universe as a chessboard and the gods as chess pieces. Your Majesty has great vision!"

"Heh!" Towns remained noncommittal.

His divine gaze seemed to transcend space, reaching the other side of the mutated star sector.

He was really curious about what Zeus would do, and whether Zeus had the courage to take such a desperate gamble.
"If Your Majesty were Zeus, what would Your Majesty do? Your Majesty may not answer this question; I am merely curious." In a sense, Athena had been well-trained by Amaterasu, even paying close attention to her form of address.

Upon hearing this question, Downs paused for a moment. In his view, Zeus was far from being in dire straits.

Downs clutched his heart and asked himself, if he were in Zeus's shoes at this moment, the situation, though dire, could still be saved. However, a price would have to be paid…

Instead of answering directly, he asked Athena, "If you were Zeus, what would you do?"

Athena didn't hesitate. She gave the answer she had already thought of: "I will first ally with my grandfather Uranus, temporarily handing over the Greek world to Cronus. Then, I will gather all my forces, kill Odin, and reclaim those subordinate worlds. Finally, using the elemental resources of those subordinate worlds as leverage, I will appease Uranus, unite the other neutral gods of the first generation, such as the powerful goddess of night, Nyx, and kill all the opponents before the Aesir army arrives."

An answer brimming with murderous intent.

The goddess of wisdom and war reveals her decisiveness at this moment.

Should I say she truly lives up to her name as Athena?

Downs never underestimated her. Compared to the simple Artemis and Hestia, who was gentle yet strong but unable to exert her full power due to her divine duties, Athena was the most difficult of the three virgin goddesses to deal with.

Fortunately, the foolish couple Zeus and Hera actually managed to force Athena into the hands of Downs.

This twist of fate made Towns chuckle.

"Your Majesty, what do you think of my answer?" Athena asked tentatively.

Downs knew that Athena was appropriately displaying her ambition and ability.

She was never, and was unwilling to, be a decorative object in the divine realm.

If Downs's calculations are correct, Athena envisioned her future based on the idea that since she could no longer stay in the Olympian pantheon, she would seek refuge with Downs, give birth to a divine child, and rise in status through her son, eventually establishing a power base within the Aesir, perhaps even making her child the king of the gods.

This assumption holds true only if there are many more powerful pantheons in this chaotic universe waiting to be conquered. Unfortunately, as the Aesir gradually gained the upper hand, a sense of destiny became increasingly clear in Downs's mind—the Olympian pantheon was the last pantheon in this unit universe that needed to be conquered.

Towns doesn't know if he'll have another chance to escape this single universe and return to the multiverse to continue his journey.

If this chaotic and primitive universe contains only so many pantheons, then this is the end.

Athena's abilities will no longer have a use.

Well, when Downs prepares to carry out his plan of "The universe is so big, I want to go out and see it," he will definitely take Athena with him, and Odin's main soul will also be taken away.

Without his main soul, Odin's power ceiling would be locked at the level of a god-king, and he would never have the chance to reach the level of a god-emperor in his lifetime.

Before her, Athena, with her piercing gaze, was unaware of her fate.

Towns, however, didn't mind giving her a little hope.

"I have some ideas, but they're not fully developed yet. However, I understand your ambition. In this ever-fighting universe, there should be a place where you can be of use."

Towns' statement is based on the premise of 'continuous fighting'.

These words were enough to surprise Athena, and she did not look away: "May I ask Your Majesty what you have done?"

"No!" Tang Si's cold tone startled Athena. She realized that this God-Emperor was indeed a peerless genius. How could he possibly reveal the true strategy to a newly appointed goddess like her?

A deity easily seduced by a goddess is not qualified to take this step.

"I went too far. I'm sorry." Athena readily admitted defeat.

Downs, with a profound and enigmatic air, said, "Actually, your plan isn't bad. However, even if you follow your method, Zeus will still fail. Because you don't understand Odin."

Odin ended up in this state because the one who competed with him for the Golden Ring was the god of time travel, Downs.

Don't be fooled by Odin's penchant for making empty promises and his dislike of keeping them; he seems unreliable by all appearances. It's simply because he lacks the ability to create a better situation.

When Odin is no longer required to keep his promises, and a stronger being is there to back up his boasts, his ability to "write empty checks" becomes a deadly weapon.

Towns really knows his 'foolish brother' very well.

Because at the same time, Odin was mobilizing his new gods for war in this way.

"Zeus may or may not return. But we must prepare for the worst, which is that Zeus will come."

A commotion arose among the gods of the newly surrendered small world. A former god-king stepped forward and bowed: "Then we..."

"Proceed according to plan, blow up all the smaller worlds and smash them into the Greek world. Then we'll all go to Alexandria in the Greek world and temporarily join forces with Cronus and the other Titans."

"Ah?!" The gods were all astonished.

“What are you afraid of?” Odin suddenly raised his voice: “The small worlds you lost today will be compensated to you double by my elder brother Downs in a month.”

Since it wasn't Odin who was footing the bill, Odin didn't mind using his status as the eldest brother to encourage these new gods who already had no way out to fight desperately.

All the blame lies with God Emperor Towns Paulson!
All glory belongs to the God Emperor Towns Paulson!
(End of this chapter)