GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

"I am the GodKing of the Virut Pantheon, Ode the celestial." Ode shouted with an imposing voice. He might not have the confidence to fend off the attacker but he had to look the part. That's what being a god is after all, who knows, maybe a miracle will occur.

A chuckle rang out from the hurricane. "Finally, a big fish." The voice said again. Ode started to feel uneasy. He could feel a vague threat to his life. He became vigilant and was ready to run at the first sight of an anomaly.

"Stop right there. I am the God of all battles. And I decree that you shall not pass." Ode postured grandly.

"Is that so? Your domain is irrelevant here. I am not here for a battle, I am just here to make trouble. But a battle is a side effect that I welcome with open arms."

"Why must we fight? You are a highly esteemed Origin god. What are you doing in this backwater plane? You deserve so much better. What will make you stay out of this war? I can help you achieve your goals if you simply state them. I'm sure that we can come to an arrangement." Ode tried his last card in his bid to persuade Guntu to leave.

The clergymen and believers within the shield looked like they had been struck by lightning. They could hear what they were talking about because the shield was preventing targeted mental transmissions. Only broadcasted messages could get past it and they couldn't believe that their most powerful god was trying to lobby the opposition.

It was a shameless act, but Ode didn't care. As long as it would get Ghoto to stop participating in the war, he would do anything. He certainly didn't care about the opinions of these weak people. If he fails in his negotiations all these people will die. They are just lucky ramble. What does their opinion matter?

"Wait. Are you trying to bribe me?" Guntu asked in astonishment.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Feel free to ask for anything." Ode maintained. He is the richest god on the plane and so he felt confident in bribing Guntu.

"Just wait right there. The best way to talk to someone of equal standing is face to face. It is a sign of respect." Guntu said with a serious voice as if he was really considering the option. Meanwhile, he was snickering to himself.

'Is this stupid god serious?' he thought to himself. Why would he accept a bribe not to fight? He is stuck here in the plane for the next foreseeable future and the gods are his playthings.

If he did accept the bribe, it would be the best method to get rid of him. But that's going to be a rather tall order because he doesn't lack money. The 100 beads of origin essence he spent for bail would have been able to hire the most expensive assassin to kill a celestial god ten times over. Normal origin gods cannot fork out that amount just for a fight in the lower plane. He is not a normal origin god, even if he lacked money he still won't accept the bribe. He would rather fight and will certainly appreciate it if they bring another army for him to knock around. He will take his time playing with them this time around.

People whose lifespan is still bound by time are exceptionally susceptible to his voice of destruction. Those people are going to die anyway, his voice only acts as the catalyst and brings that inevitable end forward. Only origin gods and divine gods can resist his voice of destruction because they have the privilege of eternal life. But divine gods can only put up a longer resistance, they will still fall if he uses his weakest technique, the ring of destruction. Only origin gods and celestial gods can make him bring out his domain, and that is if the opponent is truly powerful.

Guntu became excited that a celestial god had finally shown up. Could the celestial god make him get serious? He was looking forward to the fight but the shield was blocking his path. How would they fight if the shield remained? The shield had to go. So he examined the shield.

'This is troublesome.' He complained. The shield had no weakness he could exploit. He had to bring it down with brute force. But he was trying to limit his strength so that he wouldn't go off the rails and damage the plane again. He did not plan to have another encounter with the will of the realm, not so soon after she just bleed him. The suppression of the plane had also removed his control of the world. If he had it, he would have just made everything turn to ash with a single thought. Actual effort on his side is something that only origin gods deserve. But now he had to put in conscious effort to limit his power. It was a hassle, but not too much. Besides, it will only make their fight worth it if he has to work for it.

"No other option then." He said before glancing around like a thief. He was about to do something potentially criminal. The hurricane began to slowly condense. Too fast and it might rip the spatial barrier of the plane. It didn't stop shrinking until it became a tiny ball the size of a peanut.

"Just a little bit." He thought to himself as the tiny ball approached the shield. The shield offered no resistance at all and the ball penetrated it. The ball left a trail of cracks in the fabric of reality. Guntu watched the crack carefully and made sure they were not expanding. It was only until the cracks healed and disappeared that he breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was close," Guntu said. Then he turned his attention to the celestial god. He was ready to fight. Only, there was no celestial god.

"Huh, where is the so-called God King?" He muttered. Then he scanned his surrounding but he still couldn't find any god.

"He ran? What kind of God King runs?" Guntu was incredulous and angry.

He shouted. "To think I risked destroying the plane for you. I'll be coming for you. Ode is it. You have not seen the last of me. You have not seen the last of Guntu, soon to be called the hero of the people."

His voice reverberated and leveled the ground for miles around him. The clouds in the sky also dispersed and sunlight showed onto the ground revealing the desolate surface.

He would have gone to fight the God King in the divine plane, but he was afraid of being trapped. He was a trouble maker, not a fool. He never paid attention to the gods of the plane until recently so he doesn't know how many heavy hitters they have. If rushes blindly into the divine plane and is ambushed, he might die and that will mean an automatic failure of his mission to protect Hadrick. Ancestor Ghastorix will have his hide. It is not the death that scares him but the consequence of failing his mission.

He grunted and gave up on the thought of immediate retribution for his blemished pride. Instead, he turned into his hurricane ground the formal location of the temple for good measure. Then he continued his trail of destruction.

Divine plane. The divine kingdom of God King Ode. The supreme of the Pantheon.

Ode's eyes widened as soon as he saw the hurricane condensing. He could feel the threat to his life rising rapidly. He chose to deactivate his avatar immediately. He might not have known how but he knew he would die unfailingly if that ball touched him.

He made a decision there and then, and called the gods for another urgent council meeting.

Ode went straight to the point when the gods had gathered.

"We have to increase our strength to weather this storm. So I have decided to bring back divine battles to create more celestial gods."

His declaration surprised the gods and it led to various emotions within them. They all had different thoughts in their minds. Some felt that Ode was being magnanimous and he was considering the greater good of the gods. Others felt he was a wise leader to allow the risk to his position just for the big picture. But some others felt that Ode wanted to create more celestial gods so that he can kill them and absorb them to grow stronger.

"Truly farsighted, god King Ode. You are the best leader we could ask for." No matter what they felt or thought, Ode was still the GodKing, so they didn't dare say anything negative. They kept their thoughts to themselves and didn't voice their suspicions. Especially not during this precarious time of war. Every help they could get is welcomed.