Seeing that Menoetius didn't dare respond, Poseidon cursed inwardly: a cowardly piece of trash!
He could only continue on his own: "Speaking of which, Zeus's breadth of mind in another regard is not small at all."
"Hm?" At this, Menoetius finally lifted his head, looking over with some drunken curiosity.
Poseidon glanced at Menoetius, arched a brow at him, and laughed mockingly: "With so many goddesses packed into his heart, how could it possibly be small? Hahaha—"
"With goddesses, he's the most amorous and also the most affectionate, but at the end of the day, he's greedy."
"Having the wise goddess of intelligence wasn't enough. At some unknown time, he even had a child with the goddess of wisdom's younger sister, that Dione, tsk tsk tsk..."
Here Poseidon shook his head, face full of scorn and feigned regret, though in truth he was even more jealous!
Dione was simply too beautiful!
And her daughter truly deserved to be the goddess of love and beauty!
Her beauty had surpassed anything language could describe, reaching a state even the gods found hard to imagine.
Just thinking of the name Aphrodite made Poseidon's heart blaze uncontrollably, his very divinity seeming to reel, scorched by that ultimate beauty.
The beauty goddess's allure was irresistible even to Poseidon with his particular tastes.
Because no deity or being in the universe could resist the primordial sources of "beauty" and "love."
In any being's eyes, the goddess of love was the most perfect creation they could imagine, possessing an absolute, incomparable charm enough to overturn all beings.
Poseidon paused, forcibly tamped down the heat in his chest, then continued: "Not only that— even the goddess of civilizational memory and that immaculate justice and order were taken in by Zeus's honeyed words."
"If that were all, it could still be overlooked. But Zeus didn't even spare the nurse who raised him in his youth."
"The two ash-tree nymphs are now his personal attendants, and as for a certain goat nymph—Amalthea—Zeus dotes on her to the utmost."
"For her, he actually deigned to personally order the great Oceanus and the loving Mother of All Rivers to employ their primal power to regenerate her divine body and refine her essence."
"Hmph, what is he really thinking—what god doesn't know?"
"Isn't it just to swap out that nymph's essence, raise her station a bit, so that in the future he can, with perfect propriety, make her one of his wives as well."
"This has been plotted for a long time. I'd say it's about to succeed. That nymph is now in the Ocean's deepest core."
"Alas, it's the Oceanus couple I pity, being forced to lower themselves and carefully tend to such a little goat goddess."
Hearing this, Menoetius only nodded along, never interrupting rashly, but his eyes were quietly changing.
Poseidon secretly noted his reaction, the corner of his mouth curving in an almost imperceptible arc.
He shifted the topic and said: "However, to be fair, when it comes to the goddesses he loves, Zeus is very devoted."
"For the beloved goddesses he acknowledges, he truly spares no effort, leaving nothing in reserve. Whether supreme honors or powerful offspring, they monopolize the best of the universe."
"Zeus may not be faithful, but for the goddesses he fancies, he does care a great deal. One could say he agrees to their every request."
Menoetius's hand holding the cup paused, as if lost in thought.
Poseidon laughed inwardly, knowing the fish had bitten. He said no more, simply drawing Menoetius into more hearty drinking.
They drank for a long time, until Menoetius, trying to drown his sorrows, showed obvious signs of divine intoxication.
Only then did Poseidon slowly rise and say: "Menoetius, my dear friend, you go on enjoying this leisure. I must go attend that tedious Assembly of All Gods."
"Alas, Zeus loves to make the gods run around. All the gods and nymphs in the universe, except those not permitted, all must be present."
"The gods of the entire universe are now gathered on Olympus. Even this vast ocean is left empty because of it."
These seemingly casual words, like a final thunderclap, split apart all the hesitation in Menoetius's heart.
With that, Poseidon stood to leave, and Menoetius rose unsteadily to see him off.
After sending away the ill-intentioned Sea King, the already drunken, reckless, and arrogant god stood in his small, crude undersea temple and thought more and more that perhaps... he could make an issue of the God-King's beloved goddess.
The God-King treated his goddesses extremely well. That was a widely known fact.
And this Amalthea had the unparalleled, special identity of the God-King's nurse!
Zeus was even willing to go to such lengths for her, owing a favor to the Oceanus couple, just to remold her essence. The degree of favoritism needed no further comment!
So—
Could he seize this nymph and use her as a bargaining chip to force the God-King to release his father?
Releasing the former God-King was certainly impossible, but if it was only releasing his father, and restoring his elder brother's and his own honors, that might not be out of the question!
And the opportunity was truly rare. The God-King's other beloved goddesses he couldn't defeat, and those he could were all at the God-King's side.
Only this nymph, far from Olympus and in the midst of remolding, was the best target!
Also, as the Sea King just said, all the gods in the universe were presently going to Olympus to attend the Assembly of All Gods. This stretch of Ocean would be emptier than ever, and absolutely no deity would be able to come stop him!
An opportunity like this, once missed, would never come again!
And the Sea King said this nymph was about to complete her gestation!
Then there was even less time to waste!
If she completed the process and returned to Olympus—indeed, even if the Oceanus couple merely returned from Olympus—there would be no chance at all!
The more Menoetius thought, the more feasible the plan seemed, and it had already become a matter of utmost urgency!
He was about to set out to consult his elder brother Atlas, but halfway there he abruptly stopped.
His elder brother had lately calmed under Pleione's companionship, and his children now served beside the God-King...
On this matter, his brother might not support him.
Besides, Pleione watched too closely. This would be hard to hide.
More importantly, if it failed, dragging his brother's whole family down would be bad.
Better not to let him know. Even if it failed, he alone would bear all the guilt. After all, his brother would be unaware.
Thinking thus, a trace of resolve flashed in Menoetius's eyes. He whirled around, leaving not a shred of hesitation, and silently slipped toward the Ocean's deepest core.
Meanwhile, atop the radiant, bustling Olympian temple, Zeus, deftly navigating among the gathered goddesses, had already lifted his gaze almost at the very moment Poseidon and Menoetius clinked cups.
The God-King's unseen, indifferent gaze pierced endless space-time and fell precisely upon that deep sea.
He had just separated from Hera. With so many goddesses present, it wasn't good to cling to Hera alone.
Mainly, the atmosphere among Metis and the few gathered goddesses was getting quite heated—so heated it was about to explode.
If he didn't go smooth things over, the temple would surely erupt again.
He clearly "saw" Poseidon's petty, unpresentable scheming. The Most High's heart was full of disdain, and somewhat angered.
Not at Menoetius—who argues with a fool?
He was angry at Poseidon, that utterly foolish younger brother.
For their mother goddess's sake, it wasn't appropriate to deal with him completely.
But a harsh lesson was still necessary!
It also further steeled his resolve to sleep with his wife!
Zeus flicked his fingertip toward Menoetius's direction, sending out a threadlike, nearly invisible spark of lightning. It slipped into the void and vanished, and he paid it no more heed.
Menoetius was just an insignificant pawn. What waves could he stir?
On the contrary, that idiot could even take the initiative to offer up a perfect sacrifice to the God-King's supreme might at the upcoming Assembly of All Gods.
However, before opening the Assembly, there was one crucial matter that had to be completed.
That was to completely and perfectly secure the long-coveted "Order."
For the newborn Divine Order to rely only on Themis alone to supervise was far too arduous.
How could he bear to let his beloved goddess be submerged by busy, exhausting work?
He needed to add a few reliable subordinate administrators for her.
Though he himself could control everything, the Divine Order was the cornerstone of the universe, the most vital and most important thing. Only by entrusting its day-to-day management to his own wives and children could he truly be at ease!
Moreover, even among wives and children, only Themis, who symbolized sacred justice and order, could give the gods absolute reassurance.
Only Themis would never put the private before the public.
[A special discount will be available from December 30th until Three Kings' Day.]
[Use 37B44 to get 33% off all levels until January 6th]
[Unlock +20 Advanced Chapters on Patre on. com /Mutter]
[For every 50 Power Stones, 1 Bonus Chapter will be released]
[Thank you for reading!]