When Thalos received the news, it was already close to the moment the spatial corridor would shut completely; the thick Mutant Star Region now blocked any form of exchange between the two world clusters. For the time being, the only thing that could affect the Greek world was Odin's bunch.
This was Zeus's last chance to turn the tables—his final window.
Truly: miss this village, there's no next inn.
In theory, if Zeus could mend the rift among the third-generation Olympian god-kings, completely unite the Titans' strength, and gather all the first-generation deities like Nyx, goddess of night, then with the combined power of four divine "generations," they could sweep aside Odin and the rebel slave-gods, "shell" all the small worlds into cannonballs to counter the Ginnungagap World Tree's assault, and the Greek pantheon might still fight the Aesir to a standstill.
But that existed only in theory.
So Thalos wasn't the least bit annoyed by the possibility that Zeus and the Titans might reconcile.
"Your Majesty isn't worried the trouble will get bigger?" Athena sidled up obediently, pressing her variable front armor to Thalos's chest.
Thalos's lips quirked. "I've heard of huddling for warmth—but I've never seen hedgehogs huddle for warmth."
At that, Athena let out a rare knowing laugh. "Hahaha! Your Majesty's metaphor is spot on."
Her willingness to surrender early was largely because she had judged Zeus could never truly harmonize with his father—or even his grandfather.
It's hard enough for two strangers with no conflicting interests but a common enemy to cooperate, let alone two parties with a blood feud.
Never mind Kronos—Zeus had a fundamental conflict even in working with his grandfather Uranus. Zeus's best arts were thunder, and thunder relied heavily on the power of "Sky" and "Wind."
Uranus had long been the Greek world's sky itself. The sky is only so big, and after repeated impacts by asteroids and even small worlds, the domain of Sky—broadly and narrowly—had already shrunk. In that situation, how much divine power could Zeus possibly draw from Uranus?
Call it cooperation if you like; less nicely, it's carving meat.
Conflicts of divine domain at that level are irreconcilable.
The same went for Zeus with his father and the second-generation Titans. Kronos had indeed been a harvest god before; after his overthrow, the "Agriculture" office passed to Demeter. For Zeus to work with Kronos, he would have to make Demeter and other core subordinates yield their offices.
If Thalos had guessed right, Zeus could at most yield the offices of god-kings who'd been captured or defected—Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Heracles, and Helios. As for the rest, Zeus wouldn't retreat an inch.
Having missed the best timing to snipe the Aesir, Zeus had no choice left!
He could only hunker down and play it step by step.
Once he confirmed the spatial corridor had closed completely, Thalos rose, surveying the fawning faces of the former three "virgin" goddesses of Olympus with a victor's smile.
"Come. To the Golden Palace!"
"Yes!" the three goddesses answered in unison, their voices sweet.
Soon, in the Golden Palace's great hall, as Brynhild intoned the roll, a thousand gods bowed together, welcoming the arrival of His Majesty the God-Emperor Thalos.
The keen sensed something: behind the God-Emperor, the three Olympian goddesses now stood ranked ahead of the slave goddess-king Amaterasu; and behind Frey there was a new attendant god—Apollo, former Olympian god-king of light.
The tableau was delicate.
Anyone with the least political sense would understand: their Lord Thalos had begun his conquest and integration of the Olympian pantheon.
Which meant the decisive battle with Olympus was at hand.
The gods' hearts burned hotter.
Thalos sat imperiously upon the God-Emperor's throne and beckoned; Hermod stepped forward on his behalf to read out the round's war report:
"In this round of Aesir–Olympian fighting, our side compelled the surrender of four enemy god-kings and slew one god-king, Heracles; slew Helios the sun and eighteen other Major Gods; captured Macaria, the Goddess of Rest, and two other Major Gods; slew lesser gods…"
"We acquired two of Atlantis's Seven Seas from the Greek world, with a total sea area of about two thousand square kilometers and an average depth of 1,024 meters; obtained a continental landmass of 1.23 million square kilometers; siphoned three hundred million cubic meters of wind element…"
"As of the disappearance of the spatial corridor, we have temporarily taken control of all Greek subordinate worlds and forced their slave-gods into provisional rebellion under the banner of the third-party god-king Odin…"
As Hermod read, the gods' eyes in the hall grew ever more fevered.
Fighting with heads down, most only felt they were winning, lacking a holistic view.
With a tally in hand, everyone understood: this round, they had won both substance and face.
Seeing Zeus still feuding with his father, all felt the same thing in their hearts—the next decisive battle would surely bring the Aesir complete victory.
Whether they could rise another rung on merit would depend on that fight.
When Hermod finished and stepped aside, Thalos spoke.
"Our victory this round is not the end—but the Aesir prize merit and punish guilt most of all! Some awards for this round can be issued in advance. I'll say this up front: the situation is dynamic. If spoils in hand are snatched back, don't blame me for demoting the gods responsible."
"That is only natural," said Enki, god of the sea and wisdom, taking the lead.
A chorus of assent followed.
In the past, the Aesir's biggest gap with the Olympians lay in total elements. Thanks to Odin's timely release of Kronos to vex Zeus, the Aesir had achieved success beyond expectations.
First came the increase in "Sky" and "Wind" elements; Thalos awarded this portion directly to the most meritorious—Thor—further elevating the thunder god's might.
Next came the water-element boost from the two seas. Though Thalos also held the "Water" office, Enki and the Lady of the Lake had long been his two direct Major Gods. Crucially, their domains had expanded so massively they could no longer manage them alone. Thalos, decisive as ever, had Enki split his office as well and likewise establish Seven Seas: aside from Enki himself as sea-god of Vanaheim, the other six seas would go to deities who had once held "Ocean" offices.
Lastly there was the continent Gilgamesh had seized with the Ea. Thalos incorporated that land into the Ginnungagap world and merged it into the underworld, Helheim. It was almost comical; with the surge in mortal deaths, Helheim was finally buckling and needed to expand its physical space.
What shocked the gods most was Thalos having Hermod announce—
"Lady Hela of the Underworld, brave and loyal, with resounding war merit—hereby elevated to Goddess-King!"
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