In the celestial realm of Olympus, in the hall of the God-King, the gods gathered.
Poseidon, the sea god, whose body was covered with cracks and seemed to be on the verge of breaking apart at any moment, was now in the God-King's hall, which originally belonged to Zeus. Under the gaze of the gods, he walked steadily and sat on the throne of the God-King.
His expression was stern and solemn, seemingly indifferent to his severe injuries. The trident, his divine weapon, and the thunderbolt spear he had just seized were suspended on either side behind him.
"Poseidon, you and Zeus are brothers. No matter what Zeus did, you shouldn't have killed him directly," said Hera, the queen of the gods.
As Zeus's partner, she had many complaints about Zeus's affairs, but that didn't mean she could calmly watch him be killed by Poseidon. If not for Poseidon's unexpected final outburst, more than one Olympian god would have stepped forward to stop him in the moment of crisis. They wanted to see a mutual destruction between Poseidon and Zeus, not a one-sided victory. But now, it was too late.
The gods focused their gaze on Poseidon, pondering the cracks covering his body and showing a hint of eagerness.
Poseidon was fierce and powerful. However, after defeating Zeus, his condition seemed less than ideal.
"What? Should I have killed you instead?" Poseidon's sharp gaze swept over Hera, and he spoke calmly.
Under Poseidon's gaze, Hera's heart tightened. Despite his severe injuries, Poseidon still exuded a terrifying and formidable aura, deterring her from provoking him further and inviting disaster. Faced with Poseidon's calm words, Hera chose silence.
At this moment, feeling Poseidon's weakened aura, Ares, the god of war, licked his lips and stepped out from the gods, speaking righteously, "Poseidon, you have lost the order and etiquette that an Olympian god should maintain."
This war god was a restless figure. Seeing Poseidon similarly injured, he felt a stir of eagerness.
Zeus was dead. Poseidon was severely injured. Hades and Athena were currently incapable of contesting the position of God-King. Ares saw his chance.
"Order and etiquette? I want to be the next God-King. My word is order, my attitude is etiquette," Poseidon said calmly, directly exposing his ambition.
The gods were not surprised. They had long known Poseidon's desire for the throne. Now that Zeus was dead, Poseidon, as the instigator, had enough qualifications and prestige to assume the position of God-King, provided he could suppress the dissenting voices.
"Poseidon, you want to be God-King. You are formidable and fearsome, but I do not acknowledge you. I do not fear you," Ares said, his eyes flashing with brilliance.
"Do not acknowledge me? Do you think I am just bluffing because I appear strong outside but weak inside? Come, Ares, use your divine sword and see if I am just bluffing," Poseidon said, standing up slowly, grasping the trident in one hand and the thunderbolt spear in the other.
The thunderbolt spear, newly seized and not fully refined, was still a formidable divine weapon for forced use.
Ares was unafraid. "Very well, let me experience your strength!"
In just a few minutes, there was a loud crash. Ares's body was sent flying, crashing through numerous magnificent celestial buildings before landing heavily on the ground in front of the God-King's hall, creating a deep pit in the golden-brick ground.
Before he could stand up, Poseidon appeared in an instant, stomping down on Ares's chest, pinning him heavily underfoot.
This was undoubtedly a great humiliation for the war god. His face flushed, and he roared, "Poseidon, I will..."
Boom! The trident scraped past Ares's face, piercing into the golden ground, and his voice abruptly stopped.
Poseidon, with one foot on Ares, raised the thunderbolt spear and aimed it at Ares's forehead, whispering ominously, "This time, I won't slip. Ares, if you see me as a tyrant and do not acknowledge me, are you ready to face death?"
Staring at the crackling thunderbolt spear, Ares's expression changed.
"Wait!" He shouted.
The destructive arcs of lightning stopped just short of Ares.
"I misunderstood you," Ares said reluctantly. "Zeus was tyrannical and overbearing, foolish and suspicious. You, Poseidon, risked yourself to kill the tyrant Zeus and have also led the gods to defeat the Titans in the past. In all fairness, you are worthy of the new God-King position!"
A war god should never lose a battle. At that moment, he seemed to grasp the philosophy upheld by an undefeated war god from another universe.
Poseidon remained unmoved, his expression steady. He withdrew the trident and lifted his foot off Ares's chest, returning to the God-King's hall. Ares, climbing out of the pit, followed dejectedly.
During Poseidon and Ares's departure from the hall, no god dared to usurp the God-King's seat.
"Who else thinks I am unworthy of being God-King?" Poseidon's gaze swept over the gods' faces as he asked in a deep voice.
Are you really severely injured, Poseidon? The gods were silent, contemplating.
Poseidon appeared gravely injured, like a porcelain doll about to shatter. Based on the information he revealed, he had violated his divine oath and fought fiercely with Zeus, which suggested his injuries were genuine.
Yet, despite his weakened aura, he had just overpowered Ares.
"My divine essence is unstable, and my divine body is on the verge of breaking," Poseidon said. "If any of you want to challenge me, now is the best time. Don't miss it."
As if to prove his point, a few more cracks appeared on his body, making him seem even more vulnerable after the fight with Ares.
I don't believe you. The gods had no reaction.
At this moment, Apollo, the sun god, smiled and said, "My father was tyrannical, and his current fate is his own doing. But for the stability of the multiverse, Olympus cannot be without a God-King. Poseidon led the gods to overthrow the Titans and revealed Zeus's true nature, overthrowing him. I think no one is more suitable to be the new God-King than Poseidon."
Under Poseidon's sharp gaze, Ares, still shaken, nodded in agreement. "Poseidon, no, the esteemed fourth God-King, you leading Olympus, has my full support."
He quickly changed his tone.
"Since there are no objections, I, Poseidon, the sea god, formally declare myself as the fourth God-King of Olympus," Poseidon declared.
"A new era for Olympus begins with the change of the God-King," Poseidon said slowly. "Coincidentally, my divine essence is about to shatter. I intend to take this opportunity to redefine my divine doctrine, reshape my divine essence, and lead the gods into a new era."
Meanwhile, deep in the underworld, in Tartarus, three Hecatoncheires resided on the bronze gates sealing Tartarus. None of them noticed a will quietly approaching. Instead of entering Tartarus, it whispered to the turbulent abyss, unbeknownst to the giants.
"Tartarus, I need your help. Poseidon killed his brother and usurped the throne, using your power to plot against Hades, this rebellious son. He has ignored the dignity of us primordial gods. Awaken, Tartarus, the primordial god of my era!" The mother of gods whispered to Tartarus.
Suddenly, the deepest part of the underworld, the forbidden prison of Tartarus, stirred unnaturally.
The mother of gods continued whispering, "Awaken, awaken..."
Few knew, not even the gods, that Tartarus was not merely a forbidden zone in the underworld but a slumbering primordial god as ancient as the mother of gods.
The monster Typhon, who once wreaked havoc on Olympus, was a child born from the power of Tartarus, leaked by the mother of gods.
After being reprimanded by Poseidon, the mother of gods was frightened away but became increasingly furious as she pondered. Finally, she decided to awaken Tartarus to retaliate for Poseidon's insult!
---
"The Faceless Clone has succeeded."
"The throne of the Olympian God-King... The powerful divine essence I need is within reach," the Time Dragon in the Great Ring Multiverse thought joyfully.
Time flowed slowly. Decades passed in a flash.
Suddenly, a colossal silver dragon materialized, covering the starry vacuum. The star scepter floated before the silver dragon, rotating slowly and emitting silver light, beautiful and dreamy.
Garon exhaled slowly. The starry realm, boundless and infinite, was gradually coming under his control. Using the authority of the Star Plane King, Garon efficiently controlled the river of time to achieve his goals. The more he influenced and controlled, the faster his control grew, like a snowball.
Now, the river of time in the starry realm had taken Garon's shape.
Like the hero domain, the starry realm now felt like Garon's divine kingdom. In the river of time under his jurisdiction, he was omnipotent, receiving a significant boost.
Even outside the starry realm, his abilities had improved considerably.
While controlling the river of time, Garon himself was also growing, rapidly due to the vast influx of time energy
.
"Now, I'm at quasi-divine rank eighteen," Garon thought, evaluating himself.
Even outside the starry realm or hero domain, he was already powerful.
With the right methods, his strength increased rapidly, enough to astonish the gods.
"However, managing the river of time in the starry realm only raised me to quasi-divine rank eighteen. The starry realm is relatively unique among the many planes. Ordinary planes wouldn't provide such a significant boost; it's equivalent to several hero domains."
Garon's eyes sparkled.
"I want to increase my power quickly. The best way is to continue becoming more plane kings, controlling the rivers of time within them."
"Besides the starry realm, where else is suitable? Beastland, Elysium, Acheron, Celestia..."
Garon didn't want to constantly trouble the Nine-Faced Dragon God to find plane cores for him. Generally, plane cores were hard to locate and required significant time and effort.
However, there were exceptions, like planes with existing kings.
The plane king was essentially the plane core.
"Let's narrow it down."
"Beastland, Mechanus, Celestia, the Nine Hells."
"Currently, there are three planes with active plane kings."
"Beastland's Beast Lord, Mechanus's Singularity, Celestia's Archon, and the Nine Hells' Archdevil."
Garon pondered.
Due to the different sizes, levels of maturity of the plane consciousness, and differences among the plane kings themselves, these plane kings had varying levels of strength.
Garon ranked them.
The first tier included the Archon and Archdevil, who, in their planes, possessed the highest power, comparable to the Nine-Faced Dragon God or the Jade Emperor.
The second tier included Singularity, likely equivalent to the Earth Elemental Lord, possibly slightly stronger.
The third tier was the Beast Lord of Beastland.
Beastland wasn't a particularly powerful plane. After losing the Radiant Forest in the war between dragons and giants, it weakened significantly. The Beast Lord was undoubtedly the weakest among the plane kings.
"If I include myself as a plane king, I'd be in the second tier, still inferior to the Archon and Archdevil."
Garon estimated, continuing to think, "Entering another plane king's domain, my divine transformation would exempt me from plane suppression. I'd only need to deal with the plane king enhanced by their plane."
"Hmm... Should I probe Singularity or the Beast Lord?"
Mechanus was stronger than Beastland, offering more enhancement for Garon, but Singularity would be harder to deal with.
Garon thought for a moment and decided to play it safe, choosing the softer target first.
"The Beast Lord, it is."
He prepared to visit Beastland to probe the Beast Lord's strength.
During the war between dragons and giants, the Beast Lord mostly stayed out, only intervening at the end to cut off the doomed Radiant Forest.
Garon was unsure of the Beast Lord's exact strength but estimated it couldn't be too formidable based on Beastland's condition.
"Before going to Beastland, let's check the situation in the Abyss," Garon thought, his eyes narrowing. A faint light flowed in his eyes as he actively observed recent events in the river of time.
While Garon focused entirely on the starry realm's river of time, the demon princes, archdevils, and other forces in the Abyss did not remain idle.
In the sixth layer of the Abyss, the Endless Mazes, the Eye Tyrant God Great Mother, unable to match the Archdevil, eventually abandoned the Endless Mazes, watching helplessly as the Archdevil marked her long-held domain with the devil's insignia.
Besieged by the devil army, the demon spider legion, mainly occupying the upper layers of the Abyss, suffered greatly. They faced attacks from the Demon King Alliance and the Worm King, and with the devil army's pressure, their situation looked dire.
Currently, the devil army had conquered thirteen layers of the Abyss.
The Abyssal Plain, the Perforated Hive, the Forgotten Land, the Great Abyss, the Bloodworm Territory, the Endless Mazes, the Phantom Domain, the Flaying Abyss, the Boiling Sea, the Rotten Land, Morath's Domain, the Twelve Trees, the Blood Rock Realm...
Among them, the two Abyssal evil gods of the Pantheon—the Goddess of Misfortune Beshaba and the Sea Goddess Umberlee—who controlled the Blood Rock Realm, were forced to abandon their domains and divine kingdoms due to the devil army's invasion, temporarily relocating to the Inferno.
The Pantheon wasn't idle either. Although they didn't invade the Abyss, they began purging lower planes like the Inferno, the Wind Howl Abyss, and the Acheron Battlefield, continuing to sweep out the few remaining mad gods after the Dawn War and suppressing all divine-like forces defying their rule.
Shifting focus back to the Abyss, the previously unstoppable devil army was halted at the fourteenth layer.
In the fourteenth layer, the Steam Marsh, birthplace of the demon prince Demogorgon and domain of the Chaos Queen. The Chaos Queen and the Eye Tyrant God Great Mother, along with numerous demon lords, gathered in the Steam Marsh, creating a stalemate with the devil army.
The Spider Queen Lolth, leading another faction, faced the Demon King Alliance and the Worm King's coalition. Despite her ferocity, she struggled against the combined forces of the demon princes and the Worm King, falling into a disadvantageous position.
"The Abyss's situation is tumultuous and unpredictable... The once strongest, most formidable Spider Queen Legion is now on the brink of collapse," Garon thought. "However... once I form the divine essence and forge the Sword of Time's Destruction, the Abyss's situation won't matter. I'll descend and carve my way through, even subduing the Abyssal will, experiencing what it's like to be the Abyssal Lord."
Garon withdrew his gaze from the Abyss, blinking as he contemplated.
Then, the silver dragon spread its wings, merging into the river of time, disappearing from the starry realm and heading towards Beastland.
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