Chapter 212

War. War never truly ends… Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t say that right now. Talking about this makes me think of a world destroyed by nuclear war or something.

Well, whether it’s the wars of humans or the wars of gods, looking at the big picture, things don’t really change much… And even now, those words seem fitting somehow.

I was watching with the children from above as the Divine Hall plains were in the midst of an intense battle.

The war between the Ennead and Olympus. The first and final war among the gods.

Is this what battles between superhumans in games or movies are like? From the perspective of an onlooker, it was quite an exciting war.

“Overall, the Ennead seems to be dominant.”

“Well, of course. Those guys have been trained by constantly coming after me—they’re the elite of the elites. Even the scorching desert heat couldn’t break them. How could Olympus’ amateurs possibly beat them?”

Ifrit highly praised the Ennead, with whom he had a close relationship.

After all, the origin point of the Ennead gods was near the desert where Ifrit resided. So, it made sense, didn’t it?

“Undeniably, individually, the Ennead has greater power.”

The Ennead gods using faith to summon sandstorms while charging forward. Leading them all was Amun, the head of the Ennead.

Would Baal look like this when he grows up into an adult, as I saw 300 years ago? Amun, who bears a striking resemblance to Baal, didn’t hesitate to charge towards the Olympian gods.

Wielding two unique S-shaped swords, Amun rushed forward like a mad warrior, wildly slashing at the Olympian gods. His appearance was closer to that of a berserk fighter than the leader of a faction.

Olympus tried to concentrate their forces to stop the rampaging Amun, but even the stronger gods couldn’t withstand his blades and were easily defeated.

It was like watching a wolf wreak havoc among sheep.

“Someone needs to restrain that wild Amun. Athena or Ares should be able to stop him for a moment…”

Sylphid looked worried as she observed the battlefield. Indeed, it would take more than just any ordinary god to stop someone like that.

Unless one of the top-tier gods of Olympus stepped in…

“Oh. Athena is stepping in.”

Sylphid pointed with her finger at Athena, who was riding a chariot.

Athena charged forward in a chariot pulled by two snow-white divine horses, cutting through the ranks of the Ennead gods toward Amun.

She hurled a long spear held in her hand directly at Amun.

An attack so powerful that most gods would shatter instantly under its force. However, Amun crossed the twin swords in his hands and managed to block the spear.

Though slightly pushed back, which suggested he couldn’t fully withstand the impact.

“Ho. Amun being pushed back? They say there are two war gods in Olympus. One of them must be that beautiful goddess.”

Ifrit marveled at such a sight.

“Amun, on the other hand, enduring Athena’s assault like this—truly worthy of being called the king of the Ennead.”

In this strange situation, where we’re just spectators praising each other’s strength, even though we aren’t the ones actually fighting.

Well, it’s kind of like cheering on mutual acquaintances in a friendly manner, I guess.

Anyway, Athena and Amun continued to clash weapons against each other.

Amun relentlessly attacked Athena with his dual swords, while Athena, still mounted on her chariot, wielded her spear and used the shield on her wrist to block the assaults.

At first glance, it seemed evenly matched, but gradually the advantage was tilting toward Amun.

“Even if they are divine horses, ultimately, they can’t pose a significant threat to a major deity.”

Sylphid gave a cold analysis. While the chariot was effective against lesser gods, it wasn’t much help against Amun.

Rather, Athena expended energy trying to protect the horses from Amun’s attacks.

It might have been better if another god, someone like Zeus, took on Amun while Athena handled the battlefield chaos.

“Hmm… If only Ares were here… He excels especially in chaotic battles like these…”

Ares, the guy who once caused a ruckus deep in the forest, claiming he’d burn it down if the sage didn’t appear.

Unfortunately, I subdued him and stripped him of his faith, reducing him to a state where he couldn’t even maintain his self-identity.

“Because of that, Olympus had an edge over other factions due not only to Zeus’s own power but also the destructive force of Athena and Ares, the two war gods. Now that one of them has been rendered combat-ineffective by Mom…”

“But you can’t just let someone come in and threaten to burn down the forest, can you?”

Had it just been a casual meeting, he might have seemed simple-minded enough to be useful in various ways. But burning down the forest wasn’t acceptable.

“Thanks to that, the tide of this war is leaning toward the Ennead’s advantage.”

Zeus was scattering lightning bolts, and many other gods were using their powers to fend off their opponents, but the Ennead gods weren’t pushovers either.

At this rate, Olympus’s defeat seemed inevitable.

But…

“Hm? What’s that…?”

In one corner of the battlefield, a group of gods came rushing in.

They weren’t from either the Ennead or Olympus. These gods, armed with weapons, ran straight toward the Ennead forces.

Though weaker compared to the two main factions, their large numbers allowed them to launch an attack on the Ennead gods.

“Hm? Who are those gods…?”

“They must likely be allies of Olympus.”

Since the gods of the Divine Hall couldn’t exist independently, interacting with other gods was natural.

Thus, among the gods, there were those who were close friends and others who had bad relations.

Naturally, there would be gods participating in the war between Olympus and the Ennead based on their own circumstances.

Some gods joined to support their friends, others because losing a trading partner was unacceptable, and some participated for personal gain.

In reality, even gods not belonging to a major faction got dragged into the war.

The only fortunate thing was that this war didn’t affect humans.

Well, since I threatened them so much, it’s understandable why that happened.

“With this, the situation becomes unpredictable, doesn’t it?”

“No, Olympus isn’t the only one with reinforcements.”

Ifrit looked at another group of gods rushing into the battlefield.

They began attacking the Olympian gods.

“This number… It looks like more than half of the Divine Hall gods?”

From well-known deities to obscure ones.

Excluding mountain gods, river gods, and land spirits who couldn’t cross over due to the separation between the Divine Hall and the human world… Hmm, there are no Esir or Lokapala gods here either.

Excluding those cases, almost all the gods had jumped into the war, swinging their weapons.

“If only a few gods survive this, it would be nice.”

“Isn’t that impossible? Though, if it did happen, Mom wouldn’t need to intervene directly.”

With Shamash’s words, I let out a bitter laugh.

Despite many gods joining the fray, the battlefield descended further into chaos, but the overall situation hadn’t changed much.

Even with reinforcements for both Olympus and the Ennead, the balance of power hadn’t returned to its original state.

Hmm. Could the absence of just one war god make such a huge difference? Will this end in Olympus’s defeat?

The battle between Amun and Athena was leading to Athena’s defeat. After falling off her broken chariot, Athena was resisting using her spear and shield, but defeat was only a matter of time.

Zeus was throwing lightning bolts from afar, felling many gods, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide of battle.

Was it because he claimed to be the king of the gods? Or was it because he possessed the authority of King Baal?

Did he think engaging directly on the battlefield would tarnish his authority? Was he unaware that nurturing authority without action holds no value?

Taking the lead in the most crucial moments is also part of maintaining authority. Did this foolish god not understand that?

The Olympian gods fell one by one. Athena’s shield shattered and was slashed by Amun’s twin swords.

Poseidon’s trident broke, Hestia’s fiery brazier crumpled, Hermes lost his swift legs, and Aphrodite was disfigured by a strong poison.

Gradually, Olympus crumbled.

In this situation, Zeus began emitting lightning from his entire body as if realizing it was time to act. Did he not think it was already too late?

He should have fought directly instead of Athena before her battle with Amun. That way, the situation wouldn’t have deteriorated this far.

After all, Athena’s chariot-driven charge probably couldn’t have been stopped except by someone as strong as Amun. If Zeus had intervened earlier, the atmosphere of the battlefield might have shifted.

Zeus failed because he avoided direct involvement to preserve his authority.

Just as Zeus leapt into the midst of the many Ennead gods, surrounded by lightning…

“Is that…?”

Another group of gods appeared on the battlefield.