"What a coincidence..." Thea greeted the old man cheerfully. Initially, his eyes were as wide as saucers, but then something seemed to occur to him. His fury gradually subsided. Watching this textbook display of changing facial expressions, Thea was tempted to pull out her phone and turn it into a meme.
"What exactly do you want?!" the old man demanded aggressively.
Unfortunately, Thea had already seen through his bluster. These deities were, to put it kindly, willful—or to put it bluntly, completely unrestrained. This personality trait meant they rarely engaged in conspiracies.
Take Athena turning Arachne into a spider—she committed such an outrageous act openly without any attempt at concealment! They acted with impunity. The only upside was that, accustomed to dominance, they rarely lied. Their acting skills were subpar.
"I can't reason with an avatar. I need to go in and talk to your true form!" Thea declared boldly, simultaneously testing his limits.
Nonsense! Poseidon's avatar wanted to curse. Avatar and true form shared consciousness—there was no such thing as the avatar disagreeing while the true form agreed. Seeing Thea acting shamelessly, he genuinely had no words.
After some consideration, he finally retreated half a step. "Fine, I won't argue about Hera's claim to the throne. But I know Hades is preparing to attack Olympus."
The old man's words proved he understood the situation. You can't fool me.
But Thea saw something else in this. If he were truly content with the status quo, he wouldn't bother gathering intelligence. The human world had the internet, but the Greek gods didn't. Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus essentially never spoke to each other.
Yet he knew about Hades' imminent march on Olympus. Either Hades had approached him too, or he'd been secretly monitoring events.
She wasn't worried about him being interested—she was worried about him not being interested. If he wanted to get involved, then there was room to maneuver.
Thea organized her thoughts. "Your Majesty, Sea King, Olympus is currently the weakest. You're in the middle. Hades is the strongest. You don't deny that, do you?"
The old man huffed proudly.
"Once Olympus falls and the gods flee to the mortal realm, who will be Hades' next target?"
"He can't suppress me. The mortal realm is too small—the gods are his target, while the ocean is infinitely vast." The old man completely dismissed her concern.
Thea scoffed. Infinitely vast ocean? You might as well just say you'll hide somewhere he can't find you. After all, the ocean covered seventy percent of Earth's surface. If this old man truly committed to running, he'd be hard to track down.
"Fine, let's look at it from another angle. If all the gods are eliminated by Hades and enter the realm of the dead, every fallen deity will increase his power. Hades at that point would be at his strongest in history. Would you tolerate Hades growing infinitely more powerful? Would he leave you alone?"
Thea's argument was somewhat speculative. The gods weren't idiots—if they couldn't win, they could still run.
She herself had countless planets to flee to, not to mention New Genesis as a backup. The gods each had their own means. Even Ares, currently on his last legs, probably wouldn't die so easily.
Still, the possibility of all the gods dying in battle existed. Who knew what methods the Underworld might have to prevent their escape?
Poseidon naturally didn't want someone lording over him. Before, the three brothers had been equals. Zeus, though strong, hadn't arbitrarily seized their domains. If Hades became the leader, whether he'd tolerate Poseidon remained questionable.
Nevertheless, even so, Poseidon still didn't want to send troops. There's no benefit for me at all! Sitting back and watching both sides bleed each other dry, then reaping the rewards—that was his plan.
Thea noticed his expression shift slightly. Her words were having some effect. Based on her divine sense, he seemed focused on benefits. What were benefits? Benefits fell within the realm of wealth, and even with some deviation, she could sense a portion of his true thoughts.
"Queen Hera is prepared to unite the gods' forces and strike directly into the Underworld. We just need to know where the Sea King stands," Thea said, dropping another bombshell when the old man pretended ignorance.
Just as he was calculating when to intervene for maximum profit, this earth-shattering statement left him momentarily stunned. It took him a while to grasp Thea's meaning.
"You...? You mean you plan to attack the Underworld? Not defend it?" They're just threatening to attack you, and they haven't even done anything yet! Are you really going to counterattack? Do your tempers need to be this explosive?!
Of course, she wouldn't say this was her idea. She threw the blame onto Hera, pretending to be just a bystander helping out. She even shrugged to express her helplessness and confusion.
Then she began listing the participating gods one by one, including even the uncooperative Apollo and the two who'd fled. Regardless, the momentum was definitely building. Ten of us against one—Hades, no matter how strong, has limits, right?
This explanation tipped the scales in Poseidon's heart further toward the gods' side. Thea and Diana were unknown quantities, but he knew his nephews and nieces well. Setting aside the others, if both Apollo and Heracles showed up, those two alone would give Hades a serious headache.
Add in Hera, who'd previously been a step below the three brothers—or rather, Queen Hera now, who could legitimately claim Zeus's top-tier divine equipment. Once equipped, her comprehensive strength wouldn't fall short of any major god.
Poseidon calculated silently. Hmm? This force is actually quite strong! Combined with Hera's assertiveness and proactive offense, this wasn't really a problem.
So what should my position be?
"If I join the fight, what do I get?"
"Peace for the divine realm," Thea replied, then noticed the contemptuous curve of the old man's lips. "And jurisdiction over the River Styx."
"Oh? Hera is willing to grant me control of the River Styx?"
"Wrong—not Hera, but Hades. We're fighting for peace, forcing Hades to sign a peace treaty so the post-Zeus era can transition smoothly."
These words genuinely moved Poseidon. "This is all Hera's idea? Her personality has changed drastically."
In Poseidon's eyes, Hera had been a petty woman, always fixating on trivial matters. This was the main reason he opposed her becoming queen. Now, seeing her with such far-reaching vision and significant goals, his sister and sister-in-law seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.
Originally, Thea had only wanted him to send troops. Now, seeing his interest piqued, she thought, Might as well bring him personally too.
"All three of you are pillars of the divine realm. It's time to set aside old grudges and work together to overcome this crisis. If we're signing an agreement, it would be best if your true form attended. Where is your true form currently?" Thea still hadn't forgotten about the Sea King's treasury. Given the opportunity, she definitely wanted to take a look.