Who is Odin?
He's not that dimwit third brother Vili, much less the adorably dumb Ishtar.
Don't be fooled by how miserably Odin is doing in this life, to the point of having to self-stylize as a god-king. In truth, from his standpoint, he hasn't actually made many mistakes. It's purely that his good big brother Thalos is even more outrageous, more monstrous, and has had him completely under his thumb from start to finish.
In this moment, Odin once again felt his fate being callously toyed with by his big brother.
He could hoodwink Kronos, he could deceive his subordinates, he could intimidate newly surrendered slave-gods, but the one person he couldn't fool was himself.
No one knew better than he did that he had long since defected from the Aesir; ever since Ragnarok, his big brother Thalos had treated his remnant soul as a pathfinder, an expendable scout.
Support?
Doesn't exist!
The only thing that kept big brother from finishing him off and scattering his soul was so-called family ties.
As for whether big brother actually cared for him… perhaps not even their old father Bor knew; perhaps big brother was only pretending to care, unwilling to drive him to absolute ruin.
And the kicker is, Odin brought all of this on himself.
He couldn't even stand on moral high ground to condemn his own big brother.
Precisely because he and his men were living so wretchedly, they all the more needed so-called "win-ology," a mental-victory coping method to numb themselves and escape a reality they couldn't bear.
For all that they were gods, they might be worse off than many mortals in Ginnungagap.
No one knew Thalos better than Odin—of all the people to send, why send Hades's daughter? Odin had just cracked open Tartarus beside Hades's lair and let the Titans out. Once that matter wrapped up, could Zeus not blame Hades? And would Hades possibly let Odin off?
Sending Macaria over was forcing Odin to accept—and then to bear the brunt of Hades's potential fury.
If Odin dared not accept, he could kiss his Rilanka world goodbye.
Everything is a transaction!
As long as Odin kept working hard against the Olympian pantheon, he was Thalos's good little brother.
If Odin dared try to extricate himself, he would be the Aesir's arch-traitor who must be executed!
This move of Thalos's left Odin both furious and helpless.
Without the Aesir's tiger-skin banner to wave, Odin couldn't even raise a standard.
At that moment, Yekaterina asked with a half-smile, "What's wrong, Second Uncle? Any other questions? Everything is within Father God's and Second Uncle's plan, isn't it?"
She nearly choked Odin to death with that.
Odin's head throbbed. Those divine children big brother had before—sure, they could all fight, but none were this clever!
Feeling the eager gazes of Ah Puch and the others, Odin knew that the boasts he had made had most likely been guessed by big brother—and then turned into a trap for him.
What else could Odin do? He was desperate too!
The lies he'd told—he'd have to patch them up through tears if he had to.
If he agreed, he'd look badass.
If he refused, his bluff would be blown! He'd most likely have to bid farewell yet again to the god-king throne he'd just wrested back with such difficulty.
Odin forced an awkward laugh. "Of course it's in our brothers' plan. Who'd have thought that after all these years, our tacit understanding is still intact!"
"Of course."
Yekaterina smiled like a blooming flower; her dignified poise and stunning smile left onlookers with nothing to criticize.
She offered a graceful curtsey, smiling as she said, "Then please, Second Uncle, transfer the Rilanka world over here as soon as possible. Command of the other newly surrendered pantheons will also be entrusted to you, temporarily. During the period when the Mutant Star Region is impassable, please ensure the Olympian pantheon cannot reassert control over the various subordinate pantheons."
In that instant, Odin even felt like slaying his niece with his own hands, cursing Thalos as a bastard in his heart.
Isn't this just forcing me to bear Zeus's wrath?
No—wait, there are those idiot Titans under Kronos to hold the front. Uh, maybe it's not entirely impossible—just a bit risky.
Odin knew full well he had been completely put back on the spit and couldn't wriggle free.
After racking his brains, he resigned himself in the end—though he still wanted to struggle a bit: "I'm short on helpers here, niece. Go back and tell big brother to send more hands."
"All right, no problem," Yekaterina agreed instantly. "Don't worry, Second Uncle. As long as we succeed this time, the chief credit is yours!"
Every muscle in Odin's cheeks twitched ever so slightly.
Yekaterina left, and scarcely had she stepped out when cheers erupted in the Great Dogon Temple.
"Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!" Ah Puch was the most excited of all.
When he was thrown into the Tartarus prison, he had been despairing. Hearing Odin brag, he kept feeling it was all unreliable. Who knew Odin would actually pull it off—bringing in the prison-busting divine artifact, the "Fate-Steel Pillar," and then waiting for the Aesir to launch a full-scale incursion, accomplishing the great feat of inciting a Titan rebellion.
Even if Ah Puch had harbored greater doubts about Odin before, once he saw the Aesir truly sending support and delivering gifts, most of the misgivings in his heart dissolved at once.
The only remaining question was—wasn't God-Emperor Thalos perhaps a bit too trusting of his second brother's combat capability? At a time like this, shouldn't Odin have been allowed to retire with success? Why have him hold the very front line? If Zeus went crazy and, instead of hitting his own father Kronos, came to hit Odin, wouldn't Odin be done for?
This point, Ah Puch just couldn't make sense of.
Just then, Ah Puch suddenly found a beautiful yet sorrowful face nearly pressed to his own.
"Ah?!" Ah Puch cried out involuntarily.
"What are you yelling for? Didn't you hear my edict?" Odin feigned annoyance.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I was just so happy I zoned out for a moment."
"Then don't zone out." Odin chuckled softly, shoving Macaria into Ah Puch's arms. "I just announced a reward for the god most loyal to me among the pantheon—that's you, Ah Puch. All right, this Macaria is yours."
Ah Puch was sharp; he instantly realized that if he accepted her, his name would be added to Hades's hate list.
How could he dare oppose Hades!
Ah Puch nearly pissed himself on the spot.
"No, um, Your Majesty, you don't even have a goddess to attend you right now. For me to take a goddess before my liege does—that wouldn't be proper, would it?"
Odin immediately realized the old coot had probably guessed something. But if Odin himself had fallen into the pit, was he going to let his own man get out?
Like hell!
Odin's face darkened as he pretended to get angry—but not at Ah Puch. "Hmph! Though my infiltration of Tartarus was part of our brothers' plan, that bastard Zeus slept with my goddess. I must avenge this. From now on, I'm taking a vow of chastity! The next goddess I sleep with can only be Zeus's queen, Hera."
After swearing his vicious oath (talking big), Odin shifted tone. "Ah Puch, you've followed me for years with steadfast loyalty and still have no partner. Macaria, as the Goddess of Rest, suits you best. That settles it."
Ah Puch was dumbfounded—what else could he say?
He could only accept it.
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