A long silence stretched out, neither Ye Wen nor Hades seeming inclined to speak, until the Lord of the Underworld noticed a slight shift in Ye Wen's expression, breaking the quiet.

"Nothing much!" Ye Wen played with the Ring of Persephone in his hand—the Ring of Persephone that Hades had mentioned. "It's just that since you aren't inclined to start a war, why not just tell the King of the Gods your thoughts directly?"

Hades and Zeus were brothers. Even though Zeus was the King of Olympus, Hades's opinion surely couldn't be ignored, right? If what Hades had just said was true, then Poseidon would certainly share his dissatisfaction with war. With two brothers opposed, even Zeus, the King of the Gods, seemed to have no logical reason to unilaterally launch an attack on the Heavenly Court.

"Because of an old agreement!" Hades, knowing what Ye Wen was thinking, didn't hide anything and revealed the matter that piqued Ye Wen's curiosity. "There was an agreement among us brothers back then: absolutely no internal conflict!"

It turned out that when the Olympian gods first arrived in this world, they swiftly claimed territory through their formidable power. However, intense infighting subsequently caused the strength of the Olympian gods to continuously wane, even forcing them to relinquish some of their territory. This situation enraged the proud gods of Olympus. They set aside their grievances, united, and signed an agreement stating that on matters concerning the standing of the Olympian gods in the Immortal Realm, they must unconditionally obey the decision of the King of the Gods, Zeus.

"While this agreement itself doesn't possess any special power to bind us to its fulfillment, anyone who violates it will be branded a traitor to the gods of Olympus, and the Olympian gods will unite to mete out punishment to the traitor!"

Even as the King of the Underworld, Hades had no desire to become a pariah surrounded by enemies!

"How does launching a war against the Heavenly Court relate to the status of the Olympian gods in this world?"

Hades let out a cold chuckle. "It has no relation at all. But Zeus can forcefully tie the two matters together; it only takes a few words!"

Hearing this, Ye Wen knew there was no need to ask further; the matter was quite clear. Zeus was merely using the pretext of displaying the might of the Olympian gods so that the various powers in this world would not dare to look down upon the Olympians! With such an excuse, the Olympian gods could openly declare war. Hades and Poseidon, despite their dissatisfaction, would have no choice but to reluctantly send troops to participate in this farce of a war.

"Then, what is Zeus's real reason for starting the war?"

"Everyone in this world, or perhaps every deity, knows that the reason Zeus wages war time and again is simply because life on Mount Olympus has become too boring."

Ye Wen had talked with Hades for a while, half-expecting the claim that the wars were due to boredom to be just a rumor. He hadn't expected even Hades to confirm it. He had even considered that Zeus was constantly instigating conflicts to erode the influence of his two brothers—at least that kind of dark, internal struggle seemed more in line with his worldview.

Hades didn't look at Ye Wen but instead tilted his head up toward the star-studded night sky. "No matter how many soldiers die, for deities at our level, it's meaningless. The needless deaths of soldiers only cause me displeasure; it has no effect on my strength!"

"It's the same for Poseidon!" It turned out that the soldiers Hades was constantly losing were, in essence, cannon fodder. Furthermore, the methods of the Olympians and the Heavenly Court differed; the Olympians simply didn't station soldiers everywhere, merely declaring a place as their territory and leaving it at that. Any trouble that arose was usually handled personally by a major god—which also served as an excuse to wander around and relieve boredom.

Besides, if Hades or Poseidon truly intended to act against Zeus, the number of soldiers would be irrelevant. They would simply meet face-to-face and settle the score, as the brothers were not separated by vast distances with garrisons led by powerful figures, like opponents from two different factions.

"If he's bored, couldn't he find some other fun? Must it be war?" Ye Wen couldn't comprehend Zeus's mindset. Surely the King of the Gods, who presided over all Olympians, couldn't be that unimaginative?

Hades didn't move his gaze. "He tried. Once, Zeus wanted to select some outstanding, powerful individuals and send them to the far north to find something. If they succeeded in bringing it back, they would receive a divine reward from the King, even a godhood!"

"What thing?" Ye Wen was indeed curious. What could Zeus value so highly that he would risk creating another deity for it?

"Odin's Valkyries."

"." Hades's single word left Ye Wen speechless. "It was absolutely the right decision not to let my junior sister and Huayi go with him. That old lecher!"

Valkyries were a type of deity within the Aesir, not a specific god or person. Legend held that these deities appeared as exceptionally beautiful young women, deeply connected to warfare. Thus, in Ye Wen's previous world, the Valkyries also had the moniker of 'Warrior Maidens' (Nü Wushen), generally depicted as beautiful women clad in magnificent armor, sometimes even possessing pure white wings.

It wasn't surprising that Zeus would set his sights on the Valkyries. That old ghost had an almost fanatical interest in all things beautiful. Coupled with the demise of the Aesir, recruiting a group of champions to search for any remaining Valkyries out of extreme boredom was perfectly in character.

"Then, what happened?"

"What happened?" A mocking smile seemed to appear on Hades's face. "None of the champions sent out ever returned. Judging by the sudden dissipation of the blessings bestowed upon them by Hera just before they left, all those heroes met their demise!"

Ye Wen wasn't surprised. If someone had managed to capture a Valkyrie, that would have surprised him! A Valkyrie, after all, was a deity. And among the selection Zeus made, there didn't seem to be any experts capable of slaying gods, not even one of Zeus's own bastards. How could they complete such a formidable task?

However, sometimes things aren't as simple as they appear. Hades then dropped another bombshell: "But for him, this outcome was exactly what he wanted to see!"

"Hm?"

"After Zeus realized all the dispatched champions had died, he immediately rushed to the places where the blessings vanished and went to search for the surviving Valkyries himself!"

"." So, all those heroes he sent out were merely meant to act as a displacement system; the real capture work was intended for himself to carry out. "So, he succeeded?"

"No! He failed!"

Hades seemed to recall something extremely joyful. "He finally paid the price for his recklessness. He blundered right into a barrier set up by Odin before his death, unable to unleash even half of his divine power, nearly perishing in that icy wilderness!"

"Truly pathetic."

This final utterance from Ye Wen—he wasn't sure if it was his imagination, as he hadn't seen Hades speak aloud—yet he distinctly heard the words, albeit faintly.

"After that, he stopped contemplating other ways to relieve boredom. Every few centuries, as if following a routine, he launches a war against the Heavenly Court, finding amusement in observing the various developments of the conflict! Occasionally, he would even transform into the guise of an ordinary soldier to befriend some of the young participants in the war... Of course, those young people were, without exception, exceptionally beautiful."

Hearing this, Ye Wen suddenly shuddered, a chill running down his spine!

"Sometimes, Zeus even creates a clone, sends it down to the mortal world to be born, grow up like a normal child, and upon reaching maturity, exhibit extraordinary combat prowess, eventually joining this war. Each time, he arranges for the clone to die in battle, and the soul, carrying all those memories, returns to Zeus's main body, as if he had truly experienced an epic war through the flesh of a mortal. He does this every time."

Ye Wen's eyelid twitched, and he finally understood why Zeus was so keen on starting wars. He was merely setting up a suitable battlefield for the self that was born into the world, allowing that 'self' to gain an extraordinary experience to satisfy his entertainment.

"So that's it. What he truly wants from war is just to set up a suitably grand stage for his incarnated self!"

Hades finally withdrew his gaze from the night sky, as the eastern horizon was beginning to show a sliver of light; dawn was approaching.

"Then... if we could set up a grand stage for Zeus in a similar manner, perhaps he wouldn't need to wage war on the Heavenly Court?"

"Hm?" Hades turned to look at Ye Wen. In fact, they had considered this idea before. Athena had once proposed something similar. But unless Athena and Hades genuinely fought each other at full strength with their respective forces, it would be difficult to create a massive enough stage for war to satisfy Zeus. However, this Easterner before them... perhaps he might have a different suggestion?

Ye Wen did have a suitable suggestion. Ever since he heard that Zeus had become addicted to playing war games, he thought about directly applying that story to this world. More crucially, the main characters of that story could all be found here! With Athena, Hades, and Poseidon—who could make a cameo if necessary—a few more extras would suffice! The only tricky part was..." a crucial tool was missing!

"In fact, since the King of the Gods enjoys this kind of combat simulation, let's just arrange one for him!"

Hades said nothing, but a hint of disappointment flickered in his eyes. He assumed Ye Wen's method was similar to Athena's—staging a theatrical battle.

"Of course, this war game must be realistic enough!"

Ye Wen could actually imagine that the Olympian gods weren't so foolish as to have never considered this approach. The main reason it couldn't be implemented was that the wars they could arrange weren't realistic enough! And Zeus was accustomed to wars that were vast and visceral; getting him to find 'thrills' in something that resembled mere child's play would be almost impossible.

"Realistic enough that... it's actually a real war!"

Hades's expression shifted slightly, clearly settling into a posture of waiting for the conclusion, watching Ye Wen quietly, eager to hear more of the Easterner's thoughts.

"Since Goddess Athena and you both oppose war, I assume you have some means of coordination? For this war game arranged for the King of the Gods, it should be entirely acceptable for the two of you to play the roles of the warring sides, correct?"

"No problem." Ye Wen nodded. "I know what you're thinking. Perhaps you feel that as members of the Olympian gods, you absolutely cannot fight to the death against each other. And not just the two of you, even your subordinate gods wouldn't fight each other to the death, right?"

Hades fell silent for a moment before finally nodding.

Ye Wen wasn't sure why Hades was silent. Perhaps Hades felt that whether his subordinates lived or died didn't matter? But that wasn't his concern; he just needed to present his idea.

"It's actually quite simple. You and Goddess Athena just need to participate in the war game in the same manner as Zeus chose! This way, you can fight each other without restraint. Even if one side is ultimately defeated, it just means that one version of their journey ends sooner, and they return to their main body anyway."

"Interesting!" Before Hades could respond, a clear, feminine voice cut in. Ye Wen wasn't unfamiliar with it; it was the voice of Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom—who had somehow been lurking nearby?

Ye Wen hadn't noticed, but Hades seemed to have long been aware of Athena's surveillance, not even shifting his eyes, continuing to stare at Ye Wen. Athena displayed no sense of being a voyeur; after revealing her presence, she walked directly before Ye Wen and Hades and sat down on an empty stone stool.

"Strong one from the East, your suggestion is intriguing. Elaborate further."

Ye Wen wasn't overly concerned about Athena having been hidden. First, Athena's hiding spot was quite far away. It seemed that even if Athena's power surpassed his, it was limited, so she didn't dare approach too closely. If she hid too near, Ye Wen would undoubtedly detect her. At such a distance, Ye Wen didn't believe Athena could launch any threatening attacks against him, so even if he hadn't noticed her lurking, it wouldn't have mattered much. He was, however, surprised by Hades’s true strength!

"It's quite straightforward. You both infuse a portion of your divine power into human vessels, and then, in human form, lead an army of humans in a war—let's call it a Holy War!"

"In this scenario, one of you must play the role of Justice, and the other, Evil. The one playing Evil must seek to destroy the land, while the other fights under the banner of defending it, engaging in a Holy War!"

"Hmm, a war initiated with the goal of defending the land can indeed be called a Holy War..." Athena's face broke into a brilliant smile, a beauty so radiant it seemed capable of eclipsing the nascent morning light on the horizon.

Hades's expression remained relatively unchanged, though a slight flicker of displeasure was discernible. "Does this mean I will have to play the role of the one destroying the land?"