Chapter 334 The Referee and the First Helper
"Hera, I'm afraid I'll disappoint you."
"If Themis were here, I'd be happy to ask her for her opinion and let her use the golden scale to measure the true goddess of beauty. But if you let me make the judgment - I'm afraid it's hard for me to abandon my feelings for you and make a truly fair judgment."
Raising his hand to suppress the power that was about to riot, Zeus once again silently demonstrated his authority. But in the face of Hera's request, the king of gods flatly refused.
Whether he had such deep feelings or not is one thing, but since he said so, then it's true.
"It's impossible to make a 'truly fair judgment'... Does this also require thinking, Zeus, shouldn't your queen be the most beautiful one?"
Hera didn't take Zeus's excuses to heart at all, and her words were still sharp and pressed step by step. However, Aphrodite, who was not far away, sneered at this scene.
"Hera, it is meaningless to force the God King. The authority of the gods is inviolable. You cannot change this. I am the goddess of beauty. This is a fact recognized by the world and a truth recognized by the laws of the world!"
"Really? It's just a skin. If the 'beauty' you understand is just the beauty of the appearance, it can only reflect your shallowness. Power and strength are the treasures that decorate women, and marriage is its guarantee - but it is also true that you only have a face to look at."
Unceremoniously, beside the golden throne, Hera retorted.
She had long been dissatisfied with Aphrodite, and the other party was the same with her. The grievances between the two sides were not a matter of one or two days.
Once, the newly born goddess of beauty married Ares under the overt and covert coercion of the God King and his wife, and Hera took the opportunity to classify her into the restrictions of marriage, thereby broadening her authority. But for the goddess of beauty, marriage is exactly what she can't stand.
Indulgent emotions and free joy come from the beauty of nature. This is the power and instinct of Aphrodite, who is the embodiment of love and beauty and was born from the legacy of the Father. For her, the existence of marriage is tantamount to putting her in a cage, which is something she cannot tolerate. So it didn't take long for the goddess of beauty to let herself go.
Therefore, Hera, who once presided over the marriage between her son and Aphrodite, felt that her authority was violated, and she hated the goddess of beauty from then on. Even the believers in the world have a lot of contradictions because of this.
The favorite thing of Aphrodite's clergy is to use their own charm to attract the spouses of the clergy of the Queen of Heaven Church, so as to destroy their marriages and gain the favor of God. On the other hand, if someone can resist this temptation, or even persuade the believers of the goddess of beauty to take the "right path", they will get extra gifts from Hera.
In short, the contradiction between the two is known to all gods, and even the king of gods is a headache. However, due to her power and status, Hera usually had the upper hand. However, this time, facing the irony of the Queen of Heaven, Aphrodite could not help but clench her fists.
‘You forced me to do this! ’
She thought to herself that she had not intended to use a ‘big move’. After all, once this was done, it would be difficult to end. However, in order to protect her reputation as the ‘goddess of beauty’ and to prevent Hera from really stealing the concept of ‘beauty’, she could not care less.
Silently, the golden belt around Aphrodite’s waist suddenly lit up with a light that ordinary people could hardly see. She picked up the wine glass in front of her and took a sip.
The wine slid from the corner of her mouth, flowed along her neck, passed through her collarbone, and seeped under her clothes. Aphrodite turned her head and smiled brightly at the distance.
"Ares, tell me, who is more beautiful, me or your mother goddess?"
"...Ah..."
Her eyes were dazed. In Ares' eyes, his wife, who had always been distant from him, was so beautiful.
Her eyes were like the stars in the sky, her lips were like the sweetest wine, and her skin was as white and smooth as milk. At this moment, she was the moon in the night sky, the only one among the gods!
"Needless to say, Afu, how could the mother goddess compare to you..."
Boom!
Before the words fell, a huge roar sounded from the top, and the next moment, the whole temple shook. But soon after, under the power of the king of gods, all the noise was suppressed again.
Beside the golden throne, Hera glared at her disappointing son, her eyes were about to spit fire. Ares dared to say such words in front of the gods. She could almost imagine that her son admitted that he was not as beautiful as Aphrodite. This matter might be laughed at by the gods for ten thousand years!
"Enough!"
With a roar, Zeus finally couldn't bear to watch any more. Even while speaking, he couldn't help but glare at Ares.
This idiot, how could he and Hera give birth to such a thing. If you inherited one tenth of my ability, you wouldn't be played around by Aphrodite.
"Huh--"
Exhaling, Zeus's anger was only for a moment, and Ares was just a small matter. But he had originally planned to let the existence of the golden apple ferment among the gods, but he never expected that even if the armed robbery was prohibited, the situation could escalate so quickly.
Add fuel to the fire? No need, these are just Hera and Aphrodite, he can't imagine what will happen if he continues to let it go...Zeus decided to speed up the progress after glancing at Athena, who was involved but still felt like she was out of the "script".
He was quite satisfied with the development of the matter. In terms of creating conflicts, the effect of the golden apple was better than expected. Although the two people who had the most intense conflict were not the ones he wanted, he should not hesitate any longer and should proceed directly to the next step.
So Zeus showed anger on his face, as if he was angered by the argument between the goddess of beauty and the queen of heaven. But he glanced at the gods and seemed helpless.
"You are all my relatives, my arms, or the respected ancient gods - it is not a wise move to fight for such a false reputation, and it will only make this matter a laughing stock."
"Then how do you plan to solve it?"
As if watching the fun, Hecate did not know when to conjure a big pumpkin for herself. She sat on the pumpkin and shook her calves, breaking off a piece and putting it in her mouth.
"Since the goddess of the magic net is so interested in this, it seems that you are not going to fight for the golden apple, so why not let you decide where it belongs."
A divine light flashed in his eyes, and Zeus said unintentionally.
Many gods present were terrified, but before they could question, Hecate shook her head.
"Don't leave this kind of troublesome matter to me, little Zeus, I'm here to watch the fun, not to make myself the fun."
Hecate sneered as she glanced at the Queen of Heaven and the Goddess of Beauty, who had the most intense verbal conflict before, and then lay back, and then disappeared in a flash.
It turned out that a big pit that could just accommodate one person appeared in the center of the pumpkin at some point.
"Come on, Zeus, start your performance. Let me see what you are going to do."
"...Since you don't want to, forget it. But the arrival of the goddess of discord is indeed an accident."
Zeus was not angered by the presumptuous words, and when facing Hecate, he seemed to have a high tolerance.
He looked at the gods and looked at each one separately, as if he wanted to select a fair judge.
Some people looked expectant, and some people didn't want to be involved, but in the end Zeus didn't choose any one. When the last god moved away from his eyes, the king of gods smiled.
"I know that many of you here want to be the judge, but what I want to say is that, except for Themis's golden scales, no god can make all the gods feel that his judgment is fair and correct."
"So, I decided to leave it all to fate."
Stretching out his hand, the tricolor scepter of the king of gods appeared in his palm, and Zeus waved it gently, and a phantom appeared in the air.
Through the phantom, the gods saw a temple and a believer kneeling there to pray, and when the image was raised, they saw a city.
"That is my believer, one of my agents in the world. Not long ago, he prayed to me and prepared to dedicate a grand event to me and my favorite daughter as a gift to the gods."
"Maybe this is the revelation of fate... The world is selecting wise and fair heroes, and the conflicts between the gods need such a person. Why not let this event decide who the golden apple belongs to?"
The gods looked at each other and they thought this proposal was acceptable.
No matter who among the gods is the judge, they will not be convinced. Although it is a bit of a joke to hand it over to a mortal, they can use various means to ensure that the mortal's choice is not affected by the will of the gods.
As for the fact that this event is held in Athens, it may give some gods an advantage... Athens is not the only one in the Church of Knowledge, and there are not necessarily fewer visitors from other countries gathered now, and the quality is even higher.
"Then let it be."
Her anger has not subsided. Hera looked at Ares and Aphrodite expressionlessly, and finally glanced at Athena standing quietly beside her.
It has already made such a big joke... No matter what, the golden apple must be hers!
·······
Hua——
Hua La La——
……
In the east of the earth, a human event is being held; on the Sea of Pontonoris, a marriage ended without success. The couple who were supposed to be the protagonists did not even have the opportunity to say a word, and could only huddle aside and watch the gods who almost broke out into a war.
On the cliff of the sky, at the end of the sea, the long river that flows forever flows endlessly, and has never stopped flowing.
That is the [River of the World], the symbol of the office of Oceanus, the god of the ocean, the beginning of the ocean currents in the world, and the boundary between the sea and the void.
Here, a temple that is always flowing stands between the waves of the river. Except for the Oceanus couple, almost no one can set foot here.
But today, there was obviously a small accident here. In the empty hall, I don’t know when there was a third person.
"What do you think... Oceanus, this is your last chance."
"In the past, you worked hard for three epochs, but you know very well that if there is no accident, even if another three epochs pass, you can't succeed on your own."
Standing in the shadow - or rather, the place where he stands will definitely become a shadow.
Erebus looked at the still hesitant Oceanus and stated the facts lightly.
This is his last attempt in a short period of time. After Zeus's wedding banquet is over, he has other things to do. The Sea of Pontonoris... He still had something to do with Pontos.
Although the other party had been asleep for a long time, it would not be difficult to wake him up if he wanted to.
"You know, Oceanus, in this world, most people don't want others to have smooth sailing just because they have suffered. On the contrary, they get wet in the rain and want more people to get wet with them."
"And in this world, there are only two people who once did not have great power, but later had it and are still active in this world."
"Lian, and Zeus-unfortunately, they both have ill will towards you."
"Your Highness Erebus, there are indeed some misunderstandings between us." Saying words that he didn't really believe in, the Ocean God used this excuse more than once to refuse, but his attitude of refusal softened again and again: "But malice, isn't it-"
"Hehe, doesn't Ryan's sword hurt, or did you forget it so quickly?"
The Lord of Darkness smiled faintly and continued:
"As for Zeus-I dare say that as long as he is still the king of gods, you will never be able to unify the sea, even if Pontus has been asleep for a long time and Poseidon can't even stop one of your hands."
"..."
Lies don't hurt people, the truth is the sharpest knife. The sword mark that once cut off the long river was indeed fresh in the memory of Oceanus, and Zeus' attitude was almost revealed.
Even though he sent two daughters to him one after another, one was swallowed by him, and the other gave birth to the goddess of grace with him, Zeus still did not relax his vigilance against Oceanus.
No matter what, the other party would never allow him to unify the sea, work together with his wife, and become the true supreme who controls the sea and water.
"Tell me what you want me to do."
After a moment of silence, just when Erebus was about to leave, Oceanus finally gave in.
The other party was right. If he simply waited, he might not be able to seize the opportunity even if he really had it. However, although he gave in, Oceanus had made a decision that he would never be cannon fodder.
No matter how fantastic the other party's words were, Oceanus would not do anything unless his method could allow him to reach a higher realm first.
As for after reaching it... that was another matter. What choice he would make at that time would naturally depend on the situation before making a decision.
