Greece brings evildoers.

Chapter 679 The Battle for the Empress

The following day, twelve goddesses of fate from four divine eras gathered under the Kabbalah Tree of Life and chanted incantations together.

The stars twinkled and danced, their lines intersecting to form a series of patterns that foreshadowed the future.

Countless streams of light representing possibilities descended from the sky, once again intertwining and converging on the figure on the field, surrounded by the twelve goddesses of fate.

After an unknown amount of time, the starlight went out.

Lorne slowly opened his eyes inside the magic circle, a relieved smile spreading across his face.

Upon seeing this, the goddesses from various eras who were waiting outside for the results quickly surrounded them and anxiously asked:
"Success?"

"Yes, I've found that sliver of a chance to win."

Lorne nodded, his gaze deep and resolute.

Upon hearing this, the goddesses couldn't help but show joy, and the anxiety that had been gripping their hearts for days finally subsided.

Tonight, I can finally get a good night's sleep.

Because the chances of winning in this war of gods among the five great European gods are no longer 0.

Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance of victory, their king, their god, will eventually bring about this miracle!

"What do we do next?" the goddesses asked.

“This divination has already taken up a lot of time. If the various divine generations remain empty for too long, trouble may arise. You should all return to your respective homes, stabilize the situation, and try to delay the arrival of the divine war. I need some time to arrange some things,” Lorne replied.

The goddesses nodded and pondered:
"Then after we get back, we will immediately reinforce our troops and prepare for war in full force, and try our best to buy you time."

"No, quite the opposite. I hope that after you go back, you will not make any preparations related to the start of war. Eat and sleep as usual, hold all the banquets that should be held, and you can even withdraw some of the troops that are stationed in the city."

"A feint!"

As soon as Lorne spoke, Athena, Hecate, and Thetis, the three goddesses who possessed wisdom and the power of intrigue, immediately realized what was going on.

Morgan, Vivian, Holo, and other quick-witted goddesses immediately came up with the answer.

"Are you trying to scam them?"

Lorne nodded and said:

"In the battles of Babylon, Canaan, Salamis, and Cilicia, they suffered repeated defeats. After three or four losses in a row, any normal person would be extremely cautious about the upcoming battle. Therefore, they will not easily start a war until they have a clear understanding of our strength and are fully prepared."

"In other words, the more relaxed we appear on the surface, the less we take this divine war seriously, the more nervous the Persian Empire becomes, and the less likely it is to act rashly. After all, the Great Ming Emperor who rules Persia is a wise man who knows how to weigh things. And the greatest strength and weakness of wise men is caution."

Hecate smiled and pointed out the secret, her gaze towards her grand-disciple revealing a hint of emotion and amazement.

By anticipating the enemy's psychological weaknesses, employing reverse thinking, and exploiting these weaknesses to develop a strategic plan.

Even if the truth is revealed later, it will buy more time than a head-on confrontation.

It has to be said that her grand-disciple's skill in "scheming" has completely surpassed that of her grandmaster.

Even so, Hecate, drawing on her seasoned experience, added the following:
“Reducing the number of troops and lowering the defenses on all lines is too deliberate. It would be best to have nine fakes and one real, eight fakes and two real, while maintaining a loose exterior and a tight interior, so that the Great Ming Emperor will believe that we have an ambush waiting for them.”

Thetis and Athena, not to be outdone, also offered their own opinions:

"Don't be too rigid about the appearance of the gods. Sometimes a few will disappear, and sometimes a few will appear, making it seem like they're about to do something big."

"We can also use the passing merchant ships from foreign lands to spread rumors, some true and some false. For example: in the five great pantheons of Europe, each has a primordial deity presiding over it: Phanes, the First Cause of the Norse; Danu, the Mother of Origin of the Celts; Eurynome, the Goddess of Chaos and Order of Rome; Tiamat, the Mother of the Five Dragons of Babylon; and Ananke, the Goddess of Necessity of Greece..."

Morgan and Vivian, who were eager to try, couldn't help but speak up:
"Add one more thing, this is the goddess who is paired with Fanes, and also the mentor who guides Fanes to the origin."

"At the same time, she also controls the inevitable fate of the five great generations of gods and determines the future of the world."

Generally speaking, in the divine world that began with matriarchal worship, goddesses were often more powerful than gods.

Examples include Danu in Celtic mythology, Tiamat in Babylonian mythology, and Eurynome from Roman and Pyrrhic mythology.

Furthermore, she, the Goddess of Necessity, was also Phanes's mentor, guiding him into the path of Origin.

If the disciple Phanes is already so powerful, able to fight two opponents at once in the Canaanite Age without being at a disadvantage, what about his mentor Ananke?
Although the above statements do not have any explicit references, they all unmistakably imprint the word "powerful" on Ananke, the "Goddess of Inevitability."

Once war breaks out, the origin gods of the five great pantheons of the Persian Empire will inevitably focus their attacks on Ananke, the goddess of necessity.

To put it bluntly, this is just a case of a fox borrowing the tiger's might to mislead the opponent beforehand, leaving them with the unfortunate task of taking the blame afterward.

After all, her "gold coins of the Goddess of Necessity" had already been squandered by some unfilial grand-disciple? Now she's just a female secretary in charge of the Greek pantheon.

Hecate realized this and fiercely rebuked the surrounding goddesses:

"I see now, you're trying to put me on the hot seat. You want me to die out there so you can inherit my position as goddess, right?!"

"Don't worry, we're not leaving you to do this hard work all by yourself. We'll all help you."

The goddesses echoed in unison, expressing their agreement.

“And us!” Urd led his two sisters forward and said, “Once the plan begins, we will join forces with the other Fate Maidens to disrupt the fate lines of the five great ages of the European continent, shielding them from all external perception and spying. At that time, as long as we don’t reveal it, no one will know that your ‘Origin’ is an imposter.”

The three Lake Fairy sisters, the three Destiny children, and the three goddesses of beauty all nodded in agreement, indicating that they would spare no effort in supporting the plan.

Forced into a situation, Hecate didn't get angry but laughed instead:
"So, you acknowledge me as the Goddess?"

So she dug a pit for us to fall into! What a cunning fox!

The goddesses glared angrily, inwardly cursing this scheming goddess full of wicked intentions.

In the end, however, they reluctantly agreed to let Hecate bestow this title upon them.

After all, right now, no one is more convenient than this goddess of intrigue to draw fire and confuse the enemy than Lorne.

—It's just a title anyway, and the person can be changed.

While outwardly offering Hecate congratulations with smiles, the goddesses secretly hoped that this "Queen of Gods" would die soon so that they could take her place.

Seeing the group of goddesses vying for power, Lorne was both amused and exasperated, and quickly gave the order:
"There's no time to lose. You all go back and prepare. I need to stay here and talk to Tiamat and the others alone."

Upon hearing Lorne's reminder, the goddesses nodded knowingly and each led their respective small groups of gods to their posts.

A rough estimate suggests that the number of small groups seems to have doubled since they arrived.

Especially around Hecate.

Athena and Thetis, who had previously been as close as sisters to this goddess of intrigue, distanced themselves from each other. The Three Graces and the Nine Muses surrounded Hestia, while Hera and Artemis stood together like mother and daughter... The scene was as bizarre as it could be.

Alas, women.

Lorne sighed, shook his head, and walked toward the great temple in Eden.

~~
Several days later, in Egypt.

The withered grass, taller than a person, rustled and fell to both sides in the wilderness.

A young man, exuding an air of nobility but dressed in rags, ran while glancing back. The clamor and shouts following him, along with the barking of hunting dogs, made him curse inwardly.

Damn Jews, a bunch of ungrateful wretches! Why didn't Ramses II send troops to slaughter you all?

The refugee was none other than Pandora, the witch who went by the alias "Moses".

Originally, she had become the adopted son of an Egyptian princess and lived a comfortable life in the Egyptian palace.

Unexpectedly, the group of Jews who claimed to be her own people discovered her identity and insisted on recruiting her to lead these so-called "compatriots" out of Egypt and back to their homeland of Canaan.

To be honest, Pandora didn't want to give up her good life and get involved with these "fellow countrymen" who had become slaves.

But not long ago, her superior gave her an order to agree to the request, to infiltrate the Jewish community, and to take the opportunity to carry out some schemes.

Unexpectedly, she had just quietly invited several Jewish elders in charge into her home to discuss the possibility of a peaceful escape with them.

Unexpectedly, an Egyptian servant arrived at the door by sheer coincidence, overheard their conversation, and learned that she was Jewish.

Before Pandora could react, the Jewish elders inside rushed out and silenced the person who knew the truth.

Pandora could easily guess that this was most likely a pledge of allegiance from the Canaanite gods, a way to force her to follow the Jews to the bitter end.

Pandora didn't want to agree so quickly, lest she fall into a passive position.

But she underestimated the extent of this nation's ingratitude.

The next day, news spread throughout Peer, the capital of Egypt during the Age of Gods, that she was Jewish and had connections with several tribal elders.

A group of Jewish slaves came forward to testify, vividly describing how a prophet wanted to lead them out of their misery and back to their homeland.

To make matters worse, the body of the dead servant was "coincidentally" discovered by outsiders.

Soon, a group of fully armed Egyptian soldiers stormed into her residence to arrest her.

Now, it's like mud falling into your pants—even if it's not shit, it's still shit.

Pandora could only flee the capital, Peer, with the group of Jewish elders, and they were separated as soldiers pursued and intercepted them.

Of course, she did this on purpose.

If those Canaanite gods hiding in the shadows hadn't intervened, most of the Jewish elders who had wronged her would probably be dead by now, either in the bellies of fish or in ravines, or, if they were lucky, they would have been caught and taken back to be enslaved.

If they take action, they will inevitably attract the attention of the Egyptian gods, and their lives will not be easy either.

Pandora snorted coldly. Hearing the barking of dogs and the sound of horses' hooves fading into the distance behind her, she stopped and looked around.

She recognized this place; she vaguely remembered it being called "Midian".

However, looking around, the vegetation is sparse and there is little cover. If you go any deeper, you will be in an open desert, which will easily expose your whereabouts and allow you to be caught by the Egyptians' cavalry and hunting dogs.

If they want to get away then, they'll inevitably face trouble.

Let's find somewhere to hide first.

Pandora looked around and then disappeared into a hidden cave nearby.

Before I could even sit down and catch my breath, a familiar burning sensation and resonance came from my chest.

Pandora pulled open her collar, ripped out the glittering Gorgon emblem, and threw it to the ground.

Lorne's figure was then projected out from within.

Seeing Pandora with a man's face, ragged clothes, and panting heavily, he couldn't help but be somewhat surprised:
"It's only been a few days, what happened to you?"

"Don't even mention it, it's all because of those Jews."

Pandora cursed and recounted her miserable experience of being scammed in fits and starts.

Lorne couldn't help but chuckle after hearing this:
"You're a witch who's a master of deception and seduction, yet you've been outsmarted by a human."

"Humans? They're a bunch of beasts! I've never seen such shameless two-legged creatures!"

Pandora grew angrier and angrier, wishing she could abandon her disguise and rush over to mow down all the Jews and the Canaanite gods who were plotting behind the scenes.

Seeing that his subordinate was about to lose his temper, Lorne immediately smiled and comforted him.

"Alright, don't be angry. Your task is complete. Leave the rest to me."

Pandora's eyes lit up, and she immediately showed excitement. Following her superior's instructions, she inscribed a magic circle on the ground and sprinkled divine blood.

Moments later, a dazzling light burst forth in the cave.

In the vibrant Garden of Eden, atop the throne of a temple shimmering with gold and red light, a majestic figure, sculpted from flames, thunder, storms, and water ripples, steps out and descends from the temple of the gods onto the land of humankind.

As the light in the magic circle went out, the divine blood that served as the medium merged into Lorne's body, and his aura and appearance underwent a subtle, imperceptible change, transforming him into the male form that Pandora had previously disguised himself as.

At the same time, Pandora also felt that the identity information and cognition she had constructed with that trace of Origin Power were being taken back by her superior.

From this moment on, he was the true Moses.

The witch, now restored to her original appearance, felt greatly relieved and asked curiously:
"It seems you intend to personally lead this group of Jews back to their homeland?"

"This matter concerns the outcome of the war of gods, and there is no room for error. To be on the safe side, I will certainly take action myself."

Lorne stretched his body, stepped out of the magic circle, and walked towards the outside of the cave:

“Come on, let’s go meet those Jews and Canaanite gods who just cheated you.”

Watching her boss's retreating figure, Pandora's face revealed a hint of anticipation and excitement.

It is well known that gods are not very forgiving, and very few gods will swallow their anger after suffering a loss.

So, the time for revenge has come?
Meanwhile, in the skies above the Egyptian pantheon, a golden ship pulling the sun sails through the vast starry sky.

Ships circled this bountiful country, making round trips.

At the bow of the ship, the sun god Amun-Ra, wearing a crown and holding a scepter, glances at a corner of the earth with a slightly puzzled look.

Just now, there seemed to be an unusual aura passing by.

Strange, it disappeared again?

Is it an illusion...?

As the starry sky rippled, Amun-Ra frowned and looked ahead.

Suddenly, a chaotic wave of red and black surged from the void, and a giant serpent, its entire body pitch black and stretching for hundreds of miles, opened its massive mouth, covered with ring-shaped serrations, and lunged at the vibrant kingdom below.

Apophis, the Serpent of the Underworld? That beast is causing trouble again!
Amun-Ra dismissed his doubts, frowned, raised his scepter, and unleashed a burst of intense celestial light, engaging in his usual duel with his arch-enemy.

(End of this chapter)