Chapter 674: The Deal

"This is merely my duty."

Hercules placed his hand over his chest, his expression humble and respectful, his voice gentle and calm: "Your Majesty, Hercules is not a heartless stone. I deeply appreciate everything you have done for me! And I thank you for your trust! If I cannot devote myself wholeheartedly while serving a lord like you, then what difference is there between Hercules and a beast? As I said before, I will spare no effort for your cause until my sword breaks and my shield shatters."

Li Mochen thought that the Hercules of several thousand years ago could never have been so humble and polite, nor could he have spoken such fine words. The one recorded in mythology would fight if he disliked something, take whatever he wanted, and sleep with whoever caught his eye—no different from a savage bandit.

Presumably, the millennia of being the God of Strength had worn down some of his edges, making him much easier to get along with.

"But I hope this sword and shield will be stronger and sharper. You should take on greater responsibilities for me, Hercules."

Li Mochen smiled and patted Hercules on the shoulder: "By the way, this time Dell rescued your teacher Chiron as well. He urgently wants to see me. Want to come along?"

"Teacher?"

Hercules looked surprised, then bowed with joy: "Please, by all means take me with you, Your Majesty!"

He then sincerely thanked the 'Free Angel' Delfinia: "My deepest gratitude to you, Prince Edric. You rescued my wife and freed my teacher—they were both eternal pains for me. Now I finally have the chance to make amends. I will always remember your kindness."

Delfinia quickly dodged and hid behind Li Mochen. She dared not accept Hercules' bow so openly in front of Li Mochen.

Although this Lord of Fate had always been magnanimous, Delfinia Edric had now accurately recognized her place.

The subsequent meeting between Hercules and Chiron was not as passionate as Li Mochen had imagined. The two simply embraced and pounded each other's chests, and everything was understood without words.

It was worth noting that when Chiron saw Hercules, his eyes were also full of surprise. It was evident that the former God of Strength had changed greatly from his mortal days.

"Great Lord of Fate! The centaur Chiron pays his respects."

After saying this, Chiron somewhat rudely stared at Li Mochen for a long time, the waves in his eyes even stronger than when he had looked at Hercules.

Hercules could understand his emotions. The young man before them had trounced various pantheons, including the Church of Light, and single-handedly resisted many ancient god-kings.

Now, not only was he one of the most powerful gods in this world, but his pantheon had also recently repelled a siege by four major pantheons.

Hercules had witnessed this Lord and the Fate Pantheon step by step reach their current state, yet even he felt a surge of emotion upon first seeing him.

But Chiron was different; he had been trapped in Zeus's prison, completely unaware of the outside world.

The impact this man from the heyday of the Olympian pantheon felt was entirely different from Hercules'.

"Forgive me, you have astounded me, Your Majesty Wiltonshire."

Chiron was indeed shaken by the young lord: "Now I finally understand why Olympus, the Aesir, and the two so-called Lords of Radiance were defeated by you."

"This victory was actually quite fortunate. I won through the hearts of the people, not through strength."

Li Mochen chuckled. He actually wanted to ask what the other had seen and why he thought Zeus's defeat was inevitable.

But after a moment's thought, he dropped the idea. After this war, he had a mountain of matters to deal with and no time for idle chat.

"Mr. Chiron, I heard from my Free Angel that you have something to tell me in person, something very urgent and important, is that right?"

Chiron bowed: "Yes, Your Majesty. I was eager to see you partly out of curiosity about you, and partly because what I am about to say is very important to you and to this world."

Li Mochen's expression turned serious: "Please, go ahead. I am all ears."

"Chaos is awakening!"

Chiron's expression was grave: "The moment I broke free, I sensed his presence."

"Chaos?"

Li Mochen raised an eyebrow: "The Chaos I know? Nyx's father? The primordial god of this world?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I speak of 'Χaοc' (Chaos)."

Li Mochen continued: "How far along is his awakening? When will he truly wake? Can it be stopped?"

"He already has some consciousness. The true awakening will be about a year from now. It is difficult to stop the process; forcing it would only hasten his awakening."

Chiron hesitated slightly: "If five or more god-kings join forces, they could place a seal on him."

But upon hearing this, Li Mochen relaxed.

Chaos was the god of 'Chaos', the primordial god of this world, widely recognized by both the magical and scientific communities as the most ancient deity.

It is worth noting that the original meaning of 'Chaos' (Χaοc/Chaos) was not the modern sense of 'chaos'—the formless state before the world's creation—but 'chasm' or 'gap'.

It was originally a boundless, dark chasm that then developed self-awareness and gained control over 'Chaos' power.

After Chaos, Gaia came into being.

In ancient times, his status was unparalleled; he was the ruler of the entire world. While Chaos existed, his daughter Nyx, the Night Goddess, also held authority above all gods, wielding absolute kingship.

It was only after Chaos suddenly disappeared that Nyx fell from her position as the supreme god.

However, Li Mochen did not see this as a major threat. The ancient gods, born in the earliest and most archaic ages, all possessed terrifying abilities.

For instance, Nyx's husband, 'Chronos, the God of Time and the First Cause'; Nyx herself, whose earliest identity was 'Ananke, the Goddess of Inevitable Fate', known for the saying 'Fate can be broken, but necessity must be obeyed'; and 'Phanes', who fell alongside Chronos, Nyx's son, the god-king of all gods, a hermaphroditic god who governed both time and space.

Also, Nyx's granddaughter, Phanes' daughter Heimarmene: the Goddess of Creative Fate, who governs the fate of the entire universe (especially the causality that correctly inherits the rules), representing all forces in the universe (destructive and creative) and irresistible destiny.

And Phanes' wife, the Queen of Gods Adrasteia: the Goddess of Natural Law, who established all cosmic and natural laws in the form of rules. Within all laws, without exception, various limits are uniformly included. She established and determined various regulations in the form of law, and no one can defy them.

Also Phusis, the Goddess of Natural Order, who complements Adrasteia; Eros, the god of the universe, sky, and vitality; Dionysus, the omnipotent god, capable of anything; and another child of Chronos—Aether: the god of the highest, infinite, and heaven, the super-cosmic abyss, symbolizing Chronos' supreme glory.

These gods all wielded extremely powerful divine laws, but the problem was that their divine ranks were generally low, with weak divine ranks everywhere.

Thus, when Chaos disappeared and Gaia gave birth to the three brothers—'Uranus, the Sky God', 'Pontus, the Deep Sea God', and 'Ourea, the Mountain God'—the world's hegemony quickly shifted to the Titan lineage. Some of them died in the struggle for faith hegemony, while others disappeared along with Chaos.

After all, compared to time, space, order, etc., the divine offices of sky, earth, and sea were easier to attract followers, and their growth was much faster.

So Li Mochen thought that after sleeping for thousands of years, this god might not even reach the rank of god-king. The only thing to fear from these ancient gods was the mythical artifacts they wielded that accompanied the world's birth.

In Eastern terms, these were so-called 'primordial treasures', which Li Mochen greatly coveted.

Moreover, since his awakening was a year away, there was nothing to fear. By then, the ownership of the God Above Gods might already be decided.

Even if Chaos awakened and was powerful enough, it would only add another player to the board.

Besides, he might not come after Li Mochen for now. The Chaos lineage and Gaia were deeply hostile. Since Nyx's return, she had never cooperated with Gaia. Of course, if he also feared Li Mochen's growth rate, that would be another matter.

As for the five god-kings sealing him together, that was just talk.

"Chaos was already corrupted by Chaos long ago, Your Majesty. I don't mean himself, but the 'Chaos' outside the universe."

Chiron saw Li Mochen's thoughts from his expression and spoke more coldly: "I think his power now would not be inferior to yours. He also wields the most powerful artifacts of this world. His children are also awakening and returning."

His eyes flickered: "Don't you find it strange, Your Majesty? From what I know, Nyx should have been eliminated from this contest for the God Above Gods long ago. Under normal circumstances, she should have realized she had no chance."

Li Mochen's expression finally turned solemn. He knew what Chiron meant by 'Chaos'—here it referred to disorder and confusion.

"But Chiron, how do you know this? I'm not doubting you, but Gaia and Zeus were completely unaware."

"Nyx must have obscured their divine perception. I myself have some special abilities and have been in contact with the sleeping Chaos."

Chiron smiled bitterly: "I'm not asking you to do anything now, Your Majesty, but please be prepared. Chaos's awakening is inevitable, and he may bring deep disaster to this world. As the greatest faith gods of this world, you and the Lord of Radiance will be the pillars to resist them."

"So you will also go to see the Lord of Radiance?"

"Yes, I must warn the god-kings."

Chiron replied frankly: "The breeding of Chaos is a disaster for everyone in this world, an enemy that all people and gods must face. And eliminating Chaos is my mission in this world."

Li Mochen felt a slight regret. Upon hearing the word 'mission', he knew that he probably could not recruit this centaur.

He was almost certain that this being was a projection of some outer-domain great god.

But Li Mochen's response was still magnanimous: "Go ahead, Lord Chiron. I will take this matter seriously and prepare. Rest assured, it will be more serious than you imagine. If you can persuade them to join forces, I have no problem with that."

This indeed needed attention. Although he had not encountered the Five Chaos Gods, from the information he had gathered, these chaotic forces were extremely terrifying.

If Chiron was not lying, the situation could be very dire.

Li Mochen was actually looking forward to it. If Chiron could really persuade the Lord of Radiance and the ancient god-kings to join hands against Chaos, it would be a good thing for him and the Fate Pantheon, buying them as much time as possible.

"You are most wise!"

Chiron bowed deeply, then revealed something that surprised and delighted Li Mochen.

"Besides that, I have brought you two gifts as thanks for freeing me."

"Gifts?"

Then Li Mochen saw Chiron take out a longbow and a mass of star source matter.

The former shimmered with spiritual light, clearly extraordinary. In fact, it was no ordinary item; after a brief identification, Li Mochen recognized it as an ultimate mythical artifact.

The mass of star source matter was about three-quarters of what he had collected in the Primordial Void Realm.

"This bow is called 'Rainbow of Victory'. Due to my race, I love archery and collected many longbows and shortbows in the mythical age. Though somewhat outdated in this era, its lethality is still considerable. And this source matter is one of my treasures. I hope they can help you in the future."

"I am very grateful, Mr. Chiron."

Li Mochen suppressed his emotions and said sincerely: "You have already helped me greatly."

This source matter could further strengthen more swords in his sword formation, meaning the 'All-Heaven Thunderfire Star Core Sword Formation' would be harder to restrain in the future, with the increase in power being secondary.

"When I came to this world, I encountered it. But I think you are its true master. Fate guided me to place it in your hands."

Chiron smiled: "Also, it must be mentioned that those ancient gods possess large amounts of source matter and artifacts born at the dawn of the world, all related to high-level laws like fate, time, and space. Yet the Titans and Nyx have only found a small portion of them."

Li Mochen raised an eyebrow, thinking that Chiron's words were meant to tempt him with profit.

However, Li Mochen admitted that he was indeed stirred by greed.

※※※※

After Chiron left, Li Mochen bestowed the 'Rainbow of Victory' upon Hercules. Despite being a renowned strongman, Hercules was also a formidable archer. He originally had a longbow made from the bones of the Hydra, but abandoned it after accidentally injuring his teacher, believing the bow carried the Hydra's curse.

Li Mochen also guessed that Chiron's intention was for him to pass the 'Rainbow of Victory' to Hercules, so that the latter would not give up archery due to a mistake thousands of years ago.

After that, Li Mochen was overwhelmed by various affairs, entering the busiest period of his life. The impact of the Granden Island divine war was too great; it was a turning point for the entire world situation.

Although they had not successfully landed, they had driven Odin's army out of Hawaii. In the battle, they severely wounded several pantheons, injuring or even destroying several powerful gods, including Ares.

Especially Ares, the God of War—his condition was reportedly very bad, injured beyond normal recovery, as good as fallen. That day, Queen Hera returned to Mount Olympus and quarreled with Zeus, even engaging in a small-scale battle that destroyed several temples on the mountain.

Afterward, Hercules' 'ex-wife', the Youth Goddess Hebe, was imprisoned by Zeus. Her two children were stripped of their divine offices and exiled to the outer domains.

It is worth noting that Hebe's crime was 'unchastity'.

This was undoubtedly an absurd charge on Mount Olympus, but no one in the pantheon thought it improper, nor did anyone plead for them. Even Queen Hera herself remained silent on the matter.

This was because the impact of Hercules' betrayal of the pantheon was too severe. If the God of Strength had been treated properly, the Olympian pantheon would not have lost such an extremely powerful 'deputy god-king'.

When Hercules himself learned of this, he felt nothing special.

"Hebe was just a sacrifice. She never liked me, and never hid it from me. She was a straightforward, innocent woman, and also very wanton. But my betrayal had nothing to do with her. In fact, from the moment I was driven mad by their scheme, I had already lost my identification with Olympus."

Yet this incident stirred up enormous waves across the entire world.

First, Li Mochen's identity as 'Lord of War' was increasingly recognized by the military. In the competition for the god of war, Ares was completely eliminated, and his faith was essentially expelled from the armed forces of various countries.

As for Odin, being one of those who besieged Li Mochen, his faith and authority suffered a massive blow. This increased Li Mochen's followers by at least twenty million—what was valuable was that these people were all powerful magic-energy professionals or soldiers.

Then the 'Fate Alliance' expanded further. The Battle of Granden Island had proven the strength and vitality of the Fate Pantheon, which sharply raised the pantheon's influence among high-level governments worldwide.

Within just a few days, sixty-five percent of countries globally had joined, including France and the Slavic Empire to the north.

Although these two countries still had the Lord of Radiance as their state religion, the main purpose of the 'Fate Alliance' was not to promote the Fate Pantheon but to maintain 'peace, stability, and social order' throughout the world—this won popular support.

Thus, Li Mochen had recently gained several more titles—Lord of Peace! World Protector!

Then, on all fronts of the Fate Alliance, the situation greatly improved. The opposing gods no longer dared to act recklessly on the battlefield and became more cautious in battle; while the Fate gods gained immense confidence, becoming bolder, more unrestrained, and less inhibited in divine wars.

The Battle of Granden Island gave them tremendous confidence. Since even the combined forces of the four major pantheons could do nothing to them, and since their god-king was already so powerful, what did they have to fear?

The key was the cohesion of hearts. Previously, the vast majority in the pantheon had been huddling together for warmth, or even using the Fate Pantheon as a stepping stone. They were not optimistic about the pantheon's future and were constantly planning escape routes.

Even though Li Mochen had won successive divine wars and developed numerous powerful divine arts, many still saw it as unsustainable. Only the divine war at Granden Island changed the minds of most people.

The result of cohesive hearts was that more human and material resources were gathered, greatly strengthening their power in all aspects.

The most notable change came from South America. Previously, the Fate Alliance's coalition forces faced massive resistance in Brazil, with chaos behind the lines, rebels rising everywhere, and countless guerrilla forces disrupting the coalition's supply lines into a tangled mess.

Now, although the followers of Radiance in this region still resisted and interfered desperately, the suppression by governments at the national level was much more decisive and powerful.

Most Radiant churches also became more restrained. Their purpose was to interfere with the Fate Pantheon's operations in South America, not to provide evidence for the Fate Pantheon to purge them.

At this point, many churches had been charged with inciting followers, providing funds and supplies to rebels, etc., leading to mass arrests of personnel and seizure of buildings.

Only because the Old and New Radiant faiths still had strong influence and a large base of followers in these countries were they not banned as illegal religions.

Yet the ongoing war and turmoil still greatly affected public sentiment. Currently, a large number of Colombians and Venezuelans were beginning to lean toward the Fate Pantheon, a trend even more pronounced in Brazil, which had already experienced a year of war.

Li Mochen speculated that the divinity of the Lord of Radiance would also be affected to some extent. This behavior of the Radiant Church contradicted the Lord of Radiance's divinity and scriptures.

It was unlikely that the Lord of Radiance himself issued such orders; this was probably the work of Isis or the King of Angels.

Further south, in Argentina and Bolivia, large-scale conversions also occurred. They were forced to pray at Assur's temples during the day, while at night they secretly prayed to Li Mochen, hoping the Lord of Fate would deliver them from disaster.

Next was South Korea, where more people began to believe in the 'Lord of Fate'.

This was originally a country where 'Buddhism' and the 'Radiant Church' shared the faith, but starting a few years ago, the faith of the Lord of Fate spread throughout the country. First, many women defected, then it spread to the entire society, almost completely consuming the followers of the 'Radiant Church' over these years.

What troubled Li Mochen was that his official Fate Church had limited influence in this country, while many small churches that sold dog meat under the sign of his sheep's head were more popular.

These followers were also regarded by Li Mochen as sources of 'pollution' and were excluded.

Thus, after the Battle of Granden Island, Li Mochen immediately sent a capable team to settle in South Korea. Using the powerful deterrent effect after the war, they forcibly eliminated resistance from the government and local religions, integrating the faith of South Korea's 1.2 billion people.

※※※※

Ten days after the war, a goddess both unfamiliar and familiar to Li Mochen stepped into the Fate Divine Kingdom.

"You are?"

On the twenty-eighth floor of the magic tower in Fate's Domain, Li Mochen looked uncertainly at the woman before him, dressed in black, cold, beautiful, and proud: "Should I address you as His Highness Lucifer? Or Lady Ishtar?"

He had actually sensed Lucifer's aura from her, but the difference between this graceful goddess and Lucifer's muscular, horned form was too great.

"Ishtar!"

Ishtar gave a light snort, squinting as she met Li Mochen's gaze: "I sense your thoughts, very disrespectful toward me. But ignorance is excusable. Only this once, I can forgive your rudeness. According to our two agreements, I have come."

Li Mochen laughed: "As promised a year ago, I will issue a decree that our Venus and Night Goddess, Lady Ishtar, has returned. Then the second agreement—I said I would give you an explanation. Please follow me."

He led Ishtar directly to the twentieth floor of the magic tower. Ishtar saw Anthony, Angela, Prometheus, Heracles, Fenrir, Thetis—a host of powerful subordinate gods under his command—all gathered there.

Then she saw four cages nearby, which made her eyes flicker with surprise.

Those were divine aberrations! Four divine aberrations with divine rank 19! They should have been captured from the Dark Abyss of the Dark World, but she wondered when Li Mochen had done such a thing.

Li Mochen had not sought her help in this matter, which made Ishtar slightly displeased.

But the Fate Pantheon's own strength was indeed sufficient, especially after the addition of the 'Divine Power Angel' Heracles, their lineup could be called luxurious.

Even Li Mochen himself already possessed such strength.

"Lady Ishtar, you should have brought those things I mentioned, right?"

"I have!"

Ishtar waved her right hand, and three crystals containing immense energy appeared beside her.

Li Mochen recognized them as the cores of three small worlds—nothing surprising; Ishtar had been a main god for thousands of years. It would be strange if she didn't have such assets.

There were also source essences: a mass of 'Sand and Stone' source essence and a mass of 'Jealousy' source essence. These were useless to Ishtar herself and everyone present, so Li Mochen casually glanced and looked away.

Sand and Stone was suitable for the Moon Rabbit, but its ability was a great harm to the living environment of humans and all living beings.

"Then let's begin. The time is about right."

Li Mochen raised his hand and threw out a purple-gold token inscribed with the seal-script character 'Yi' (易). As the token shone brightly, covering everyone in this floor of the magic tower.

They all felt a violent disturbance in the surrounding time-space. Then the next moment, Ishtar's expression changed slightly. They were still inside the magic tower, and the interior space of the tower remained unchanged.

But outside the tower, a huge change had occurred. The entire magic tower they were in had been cut away by a force, forming an independent small space. And beyond this space, it was no longer Li Mochen's Fate Divine Kingdom, but a strange and vast void.

It seemed to be somewhere in the outer domain void, but Ishtar could not find the location of the Radiant World. What shocked her even more was that around them were thousands of similar small independent spaces.

In some of these spaces, there were floating buildings like Li Mochen's magic tower; some resembled the cave dwellings of Eastern immortals; some looked like sci-fi warships; and some were simply impenetrable nothingness.

But the auras emanating from within were all extremely powerful.

"Incredible!"

Prometheus also looked at the scene before him with shock: "Forcibly pulling thousands of spaces from all realms and piecing them together—such divine power and authority can only be associated with a Supreme God, or the so-called 'Creation-level' divine authority."

"This is a trading assembly organized by a Supreme God. This great being holds the authority of trade and space, and holds such a trading event every ten years."

At this moment, a huge light screen appeared before Li Mochen, displaying an item list in English.

The list was constantly refreshing. The various item names started from half a page and quickly increased to over seventy pages, each page containing a thousand entries.

Li Mochen then used his magic power to cast the divine aberrations from the cages into the screen, along with the star beast core he had obtained half a year ago.

Then the names of these items also appeared in the list on the light screen.

"The trading method is simple. Just do as I did and throw the items in. Do it as quickly as possible. If you're late, the items you desire might be snatched away, and you might miss buyers."

"I want to know what exactly is going on? Thousands of god-kings, by the Root Above, I must be crazy or dreaming."

Ishtar, while also throwing her items into the light screen, looked at Li Mochen with a puzzled gaze: "That token of yours is the key to participating in this god-king-level grand trade, right? How did you get it?"

"I was invited by an Eastern Emperor. You should know him—Zhuanxu, also known as the True Martial Emperor."

Li Mochen explained while browsing the list: "It is said that this Supreme God's requirements are very strict. Even for god-kings, not everyone can receive an invitation. But Zhuanxu is very familiar with this Supreme God and helped me obtain the qualification from him."

This was actually one of the supports from Zhuanxu and the people behind him for Li Mochen. They couldn't directly intervene, so they had to use this kind of edge-playing method.

Sure enough, as soon as Li Mochen listed his four divine aberrations, he received a trade request. Unsurprisingly, it was for 'Solidity' and 'Defense' source essences.

The quantity was not large, but it was appropriate, matching the value of the four divine aberrations.

But the key was that although 'divine aberrations' had some demand, it was usually hard to find buyers, let alone those who could offer what he needed.

Then the star beast core he listed also received a trade request. The other party actually offered a mass of 'Eternity' source essence—enough to elevate the 'Eternity' law of the Scarlet Dragon Armor to the pseudo-truth level!

This seemed abnormal no matter how you looked at it, but since it was a trade, it was reasonable.

"Then what are the trading rules?"

Ishtar continued to ask, while curiously flipping through the list interfaces. Her eyes sparkled; there were too many things here that she dreamed of. Her mind was shaken, and she could hardly contain herself.

"Mostly barter. There's a scale beside the light screen. The Supreme God can use his trade authority to evaluate the value of both parties' items. It is said he is very fair, never makes mistakes, and has never deceived anyone. But whether the trade itself is worthwhile depends on your own judgment. After a successful trade, we all need to pay a portion of purified attribute-less divine power and soul gold coins as commission to this Supreme God, to replenish his divine power consumption. If items really can't be sold, you can also sell them to the Supreme God. He will buy them at seventy percent of the market price and give you credit points to use for purchasing other things. Also—"

Li Mochen glanced at the void outside: "If you feel that the items in your hands can't reflect their value through normal trading, you can participate in the upcoming auction. If you choose to do so, this Supreme God must take a ten percent commission."

Ishtar had already flipped to the auction item list page, and everyone present involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

At the top of the list were three 'Truth'-level artifacts. Below, pseudo-truth-level mythical armaments of the quality of 'Gungnir's Holy Spear' numbered as high as twenty.

Ishtar glanced at it and directly closed the light screen. She knew these things were too far from her; even if she sold everything she owned, she couldn't afford them.

Even the vast majority of items in the seventy-plus pages were beyond her reach.

Ishtar regretted it. If she had known it would be like this, she would have scrounged up more good things before coming.

Ishtar even felt a bit resentful toward Li Mochen. Although the guy had said before that it was best to bring everything, if Li Mochen had told her the details, then besides selling everything she owned, she could have made her subordinates sell everything they owned too.