Myth: The Spiritual Dominator

A medium-sized town east of the Aigario Mountains.

Since the coalition forces were defeated at the fortress, Athens' temporary command post was moved.

Although no further action has been taken, differences have already emerged.

Not surprisingly, because of the Trojans' backstabbing, it was no longer possible for the Western nations to come together.

In addition, since Olympus's movements were unclear, Athens also restrained its actions.

Of course, there was another factor. That was that outside the western frontier, problems arose in the sea borders east of Athens.

As we all know, Athens is a seaside city.

When it was first established, it was fought over by Athena and Poseidon, and since then it has touched upon the interests of the ocean more than once.

This conflict reached a climax when Theseus came to power.

However, due to his strength, this contradiction has never evolved much.

However, the times are different now. The monarch of Athens has changed, and the Western countries are clearly showing their strength.

A large number of troops are gathering in the west, and the gods may take action at any time.

At this moment, it was like seeing an opportunity to give it a try.

The originally quiet shipping lanes in the East China Sea gradually began to be covered with dark clouds.

One in the east and one in the west, like two waving hands, trying to destroy the kingdom in the middle.

Faced with this situation, Athens naturally could not turn a blind eye.

But although the situation at sea is important, Andrea cannot ignore the affairs of the Western Front at this time.

So when the news of the unusual movement in the East China Sea came, who would deal with it became a difficult problem that had to be solved.

But at this moment, Ryan, who had no intention of intervening in the ocean but was ready to wait for the arrival of the second goddess of fate, received an unexpected visitor in his room.

……

bang——

The porcelain cup fell onto the table with a slight sound.

The faint scent of tea lingers in the room, bringing with it a hint of mist.

Traveling day and night, from the sea to the land, Nereus looked at the humans in front of him, but still could not see anything wrong.

No matter how you look at it, this is just an ordinary human being... But the more so, the more the son of the ancient sea god believes in his own judgment.

After all, after more than ten days of further exploration and seeking help from river gods and lake gods in various places, Nereus was almost certain that the person in front of him was definitely a priest.

Moreover, the source of his power is definitely not a positive force like [Light], nor is it an attribute like [Royalty] or [Earth], but a source from the other side.

Of course, this in itself is not a problem.

After all, whether it is the gods of the underworld or some Titan gods deep in the starry sky, they all possess similar characteristics.

But there was one thing Nereus was sure that none of them could do.

That is, they absolutely cannot let a priest hide the divine aura on himself, and even if he faces him, the genuine sea god, head on, he will not notice any problems.

Nereus didn't know whether Zeus could do this.

After all, the King of Gods never needs to ask his clergy to hide their aura. Even if there is something shameful, the God of Wind will do it for him.

But what Nereus can confirm is that the Lord of the Ocean, who is in the sea and at the pinnacle of powerful divine power, can never do this.

In this case, there are only a few possibilities for the identity of the person in front of you.

Excluding the Dark Lord, who could barely be considered half of his own, and combining some other judgments, Old Man Hai unexpectedly accurately pinpointed Ryan's origins.

It came from the abyss and was related to the being who fought against Zeus - after all, even the time of their activities was so similar.

It was around the time of the Feast of the Golden Apple that the God-King fought against that terrifying existence, and it was also at that time that Ryan first left his mark.

Several coincidences combined together point to the answer that is the true result.

So as soon as Nereus confirmed this, he came to the door.

"Sir, if there are any omissions in my analysis, please point them out... and I apologize for my prior investigation."

"But as I said, I came here with sincerity."

"I pay my highest respects to that great being who came from the abyss."

"And in terms of facing a common enemy, I also think we have a lot to cooperate on."

Nereus' voice was calm and without beating around the bush, he chose to get straight to the point.

From the moment he arrived to the moment he sat down, the eldest son of the ancient sea god readily explained the reasons why he came to the house.

The ancient sea god even apologized to the mortal in his eyes, saying that he had no intention of investigating Ryan's whereabouts.

It was only because the river gods all over the world noticed his whereabouts that he came to him.

"……is that so."

"In that case, I accept your apology, but cooperation is not necessary."

Putting down the teacup, at this moment, looking at the kind old man in front of him, Ryan was actually a little surprised.

After a quick recollection, Ryan could understand how the other party had discovered his whereabouts.

If nothing unexpected happens, it should be during the years when he traveled around the continent after the Banquet of the Golden Apple.

In Chaos's human world, river gods and lake gods spread everywhere are very common.

Their traces can be seen in almost every country, and it is entirely possible that they will find some traces.

However, these were expected, but Ryan was still not sure about Nereus's purpose.

After all, before taking his own actions, Erebus had already used his authority to cover up everything.

Without knowing the specific situation, it was really strange that this sea god suddenly came to the door.

"Your Highness Nereus, forgive me for being blunt, but facing the God King who had just ascended the throne, the Sea Gods were not stingy in their obedience.

"Since you didn't resist then, why not now?"

"The God King now possesses even greater power. Why have you suddenly changed your mind now?"

Looking at the old man in front of him, since the other party had already removed a layer of his vest, Ryan simply admitted it.

As an apostle of the Lord of Hell, he would naturally not agree to such a problematic agreement.

"Hehe...it seems that Your Excellency has known about this world much earlier than we thought. If that's the case, I can save some time explaining."

"We suddenly changed our minds, and that's naturally because we have another supporter."

"I wonder if the great one from the abyss has paid attention to the recent developments on Mount Olympus?"

Still laughing, Nereus spoke slowly.

"Olympus...you mean, the welcoming darkness—"

"I didn't say anything."

He interrupted quietly, but judging by Nereus's expression, it didn't look like he had said it carelessly.

So that's it... At this moment, Ryan finally understood the intention of the person in front of him.

The real reason why Nereus dared to rebel against the God-King was that he had somehow become part of some conspiracy of Erebus.

But obviously, this son of the ancient sea god, whose presence was not strong, was not as peaceful as he thought.

The so-called rebellion against Zeus might just be something he wanted to do incidentally.

What Nereus really wants to do may just add some twists and turns to what the Dark Lord wants to do.

Whether actively or passively, when a person becomes a pawn of a higher-ranking person against another higher-ranking person, in order to prevent the other party from abandoning him and to give himself more room to maneuver, perhaps the best way is to attract a third higher-ranking person, and it would be best if he does not have any obvious inclination towards the current situation and does not have too strong ability to interfere with the situation.

And it is obvious that the best choice is the Ringed Serpent, which once fought Zeus but only stopped at the underworld.

At least in Nereus' eyes, the beings of the abyss cannot or do not want to come to the earth easily.

In this case, if he has more ideas, it will be easier for him to act.

For a moment, Ryan was basically certain that there was probably more hidden behind the whole thing.

For example, what exactly did Erebus do, how did he convince the ancient sea god to work for him, and what further ideas did Nereus have.

But no matter what, Ryan already had a clear understanding of the main context of the matter.

"Original God... I understand."

After thinking for a moment, Ryan looked up and met Nereus' gaze.

Sure enough, everything is changing, and Erebus is still doing something as usual.

But he probably didn't expect Nereus to make such a choice...or maybe he didn't actually include the existence of hell in his plans.

Anyway, now that they had met, Ryan couldn't pretend not to have seen it.

In order to prevent any unexpected changes, he must go and investigate it in person.

As for the goddess of fate or something else...it doesn't matter where you wait.

"So, Your Highness Nereus, tell me why you are here."

"What are you going to do to deal with our 'common enemy' Zeus?"

"Of course, the priority is to clip his wings and weaken his influence - of course, we also have some small selfish motives of our own."

"That is, we can take this opportunity to take back some of the power that originally belonged to us."

"The master of Olympus is the king of gods Zeus, and besides him, Hades and Poseidon are the gods with the highest status."

"We intend to take action against the monarch of the sea - although he is only the monarch in name only."

"And to show our sincerity, we are willing to give him as a gift to the respected great man after we capture him."

"I think the abyss of Tartarus should be his best destination."

The first goal has been achieved. No matter what the other party will do or not, as long as the message has been conveyed, Nereus believes that it is a success.

As for Erebus, if he knew what he did today, he would have already made preparations.

He did not tell his father God who was still sleeping at the bottom of the sea about what happened today.

From beginning to end, it was all planned by him and Oceanus.

So if an accident does happen, it's no big deal.

The gods are immortal, so he will not really pay an irreparable price. Instead, it is the Lord of the Ocean...

Logically speaking, because the other party has the advantage, the Ocean God System should also dominate the future distribution of interests.

But in the final analysis, my father is your real opponent.

Therefore, Nereus said that it would not be a big deal if he really got involved and dragged Oceanus into the water.

The first goal was to get rid of the possible manipulation of the original god, so he successfully persuaded the Ocean God to support him; the second goal was to change the status comparison between the gods, so he would not lose out either way.

As for Poseidon's life or death, that is only the third goal.

The Abyss is indeed a good place for Nereus.

There they can isolate themselves from the pull of worldly laws, and even the laws that have been disturbed by the departure of the Sea Emperor can be handled by them.

"……okay, I get it."

He nodded slightly. Although he didn't know what Nereus was thinking, Ryan knew that the other party must have other plans.

But as long as he gets involved, everything in the process will eventually be revealed.

"However, the great Midgard Serpent will personally give an answer to this matter, rather than letting me decide on my own."

"So after three days, recite your majesty's name during the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods, and you can seek the results yourself."

"Whether you agree or not, I will not tell anyone about what happened today."