Chapter 656: Forced Retreat

When the battle between Hades and Angela began, the surrounding space started to violently tremble.

Their exchange speed was only slightly inferior to that of the several God-Kings, with their weapons striking over two thousand five hundred times per microsecond.

This was mainly because the spacetime in the vicinity was largely frozen, causing the flow of time to be abnormally slow. Yet within this hall, the speed of Hades and Angela remained completely unaffected.

Hades was disappointed once again. The 'half-dream world' woven by Angela was extremely stable. Even though the cold force he and the ice dragon Gustav had unleashed had frozen spacetime to a certain degree, and even though he had freely released and spread his power in all directions, he could not affect the dream space in the slightest.

After realizing that the goddess of the underworld and dreams had a far firmer grasp over dreams and the underworld than he had imagined, Hades changed his strategy and abandoned all hope of luck—Angela's 'Sin-Cutting Blade' and 'Dream Holy Spear' also forced him to concentrate fully.

When Hades' 'Bident of the Underworld' clashed head-on with the 'Sin-Cutting Blade', the force transmitted from the other side left the Greek underworld king utterly astonished.

Although somewhat lacking in quality, in terms of quantity, Angela could overwhelm him.

The lethality of the 'Dream Holy Spear' was unparalleled; each of its strikes forced Hades to muster all his concentration and power to counter.

He dared not resist it head-on and could only try to evade. But this was extremely difficult. The manifested dream armament concentrated six powerful divine authorities with causal powers: 'Inevitable Hit', 'Luck', 'Inevitable Break', 'Pierce', 'Lethal', and 'Certain Kill'.

Hades could not understand how the goddess before him had achieved this. Had she connected all the fantasies and dreams of everyone in America?

Yet what shocked Hades even more was Angela's combat skill. Her divine authority in battle, combat technique, swordsmanship, and defense had only just begun, but when actual combat began, aside from lacking the power feedback from the source, her performance in attack, block, and sword use was exemplary—even surpassing his own peak!

In just twenty minutes, they had exchanged millions of rounds! Angela made not a single mistake; she even displayed a certain strategy, gradually putting him at a disadvantage without his notice, making him, Hades, dance to her rhythm!

In terms of speed, Angela could mostly keep up. The 'Dream Holy Spear' and the ice dragon Gustav she manifested were enough to compensate for her shortcomings.

I see! This must be the power of the so-called data network, right? A new divine authority born in this era—truly unexpectedly powerful—

Hades spoke with admiration. After twenty minutes of fierce battle, he had largely figured out Angela's abilities.

She had connected tens of thousands of large and medium-sized computers and databases across America and Canada through the data network, calculating the optimal combat method for herself and predicting his actions.

Although the catastrophe of the source had paralyzed economic activities worldwide, forcing most people into shelters, the vast majority of these computers and databases continued to operate. In fact, they were installed in the world's most solid buildings with the most thorough defense mechanisms. Even the gods' tearing at the web of laws had limited impact on them.

What does it matter if you understand?

Angela's 'Sin-Cutting Blade' continued to slash, and wherever the blade light passed, it left a trail of ice crystals. The powers they wielded, besides death, plague, and dreams, were primarily ice-based.

Thus, all moisture in this half-dream world had completely frozen, reaching absolute zero.

Lord Hades, the power of words cannot win this battle!

She knew that the opponent before her could neither destroy her data network nor do anything to those large computers and databases.

The cities of the Mandate Pantheon and the Sun-Demon Alliance in south-central America were all under extremely tight protection. Now, in this worldwide war of gods, both sides remained in a stalemate.

The Olympian and Aesir Pantheons had not managed to tear apart the faith of the Mandate Pantheon as they had hoped. The latter's abundance of faith and law sovereigns had withstood the offensive of the two pantheons.

Even at the level of lesser gods, they held a slight advantage. The forty-five divine-grade exoskeletons produced by the Sun-Demon Alliance, plus some from the Moshlar legacy, totaling sixty-two 'Chosen Knights' with combat power equivalent to intermediate gods, played a huge role in this divine war. They stood as pillars, helping the Mandate Pantheon hold their sphere of influence.

Led by the 'Battle Angel' Roberta and the 'Eternal Angel' Atlas, over a dozen gods who cared little for killing and fighting were even launching counterattacks.

The invalidation of the 'Treaty of Separation of Human and Divine Rule' meant that the combat-oriented powerful gods of the Mandate Pantheon were also no longer restrained.

They invaded the territories of the Olympian and Aesir Pantheons, destroying their temples, striking at and ending the faith of the Aesir and Olympian gods.

This small squad of gods tied up more than twice their number. The offensive of the two pantheons against the Mandate Pantheon had left great voids in their own territories and spheres of influence.

They could not, like Li Mochen, fill every corner of the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and the Teutonic Republic with their subordinate gods. Nor could they wage guerrilla warfare, for the World Serpent Jörmungandr coiled its body in the world's oceans. This powerful being, capable of rivaling a vice-God-King, could strike from any part of the world at any time.

This was undoubtedly a full-scale war, and the defense of the Mandate Pantheon remained solid!

Indeed!

Hades let out a sigh, then directly withdrew from Angela's temple and from this half-dream world.

I will temporarily give up, and I must admit that you indeed have the strength to hold this underworld and be crowned king in this underworld.

In the twenty minutes of combat, he had confirmed that he could not take down the queen of the Mandate Pantheon within a day or two. She also had enough divine power to fight and exhaust him.

As a goddess of the underworld and dreams with a divine rank of seventeen, Angela did not even need faith; almost all deaths and dreams worldwide provided her with a continuous stream of source power.

On the contrary, the underworld army that had followed Hades into this underworld prison was suffering heavy casualties.

The Mandate Pantheon had only deployed the 'Divine Will Legion' for the defense of the underworld. Yet the twin gods of sleep standing before Angela's throne were putting his soldiers into eternal slumber one by one.

Within Angela's temple, the twin brothers had each increased their power by one or two levels.

Hypnos, the god of sleep, made them fall asleep quickly, while Thanatos, the god of death, granted them death in their dreams.

※※※※

Fierce battle also erupted between Prometheus and Thor. Their battlefield was not fixed, ranging from Manhattan to Los Angeles, from Los Angeles to Sydney, from Sydney to Berlin.

Thor was trying to use his speed advantage to shake off Prometheus. When the latter ran at full speed, his velocity approached that of light. Thus, during his high-speed movement, time was essentially stagnant. However, Prometheus possessed powerful precognitive abilities.

After truly becoming Li Mochen's subordinate god, his powers of prophecy and divination were greatly enhanced. He could also catch up to Thor by leaping through flames. Wherever there was fire, he could leap there in advance, while the Thunder God Thor often arrived belatedly.

This battle lasted for three hours and twenty minutes, after which both stopped, exhausted, above the city of Houston.

As the largest city in the southwestern United States, Houston had become the new development center for the Wieldenstein family and the Sunrise-Light Magic Alliance. Thus, the forces invested here by the Aesir and Olympian pantheons were second only to those in Atlanta.

Yet both Prometheus and Thor now stood in the high sky, with no intention of continuing the fight.

Not because there was an understanding between them, but because by now, both had nearly exhausted their divine power and had to catch their breath.

Both Prometheus and Thor possessed the divine rank of nineteen. Although the former had not established a church, he still had many followers among mortals. Thor's worship in America and Australia had been largely usurped by Li Mochen, and in the newly conquered territories of the Aesir pantheon, new faith had yet to be established. The believers he had were seized, not truly devoted to him. However, the subjects of the Ten Thousand Beasts Empire and the lightning of this world still provided him with considerable divine power.

Their divine power reserves were evenly matched, and before this, the two had already fought for several days and nights.

In this latest engagement, which lasted only two and a half hours but was several times more intense, neither could sustain the rapid consumption.

"I won't let you succeed, Thor!"

Prometheus said, his eyes glinting as he focused on restoring his divine power. "You cannot harm a single blade of grass in this city!"

"But you can't stop me!"

Thor responded to Prometheus with a heavy blow from Mjölnir. The hammer roared down, unleashing ten thousand colossal lightning serpents from the void, striking toward Houston.

Prometheus did not intercept. The ones stationed here were the 'Guardian Angel' Achilles and the 'Earth Angel' Christine.

The latter erected a massive stone wall outside the city, while Achilles provided it with an impenetrable barrier.

At the same time, the 'Guardian Angel' was also fighting the 'Strong God' Heracles.

"Join my lord's ranks, Heracles!"

Notably, Achilles was now wearing the 'Resolute Sacred Guardian Armor' he had worn before his death at Troy—a powerful mythical armor forged by Hephaestus, the god of fire, forging, and craftsmanship, with materials provided by Thetis. Thetis had since infused it with certain 'Metal' and 'Solidity' essences, making the armor shine and accentuating Achilles' heroic bearing.

Relying on this mythical weapon, which approached the level of pseudo-truth, Achilles, though suppressed in battle by Heracles' exquisite combat skills, could still largely hold his ground at the outskirts of Houston.

The phrase 'largely' was used because Achilles had sustained some injuries.

When prepared, few could breach Achilles' nearly flawless defense.

Only Heracles' heavy sword and his almost unmatched brute force could cause continuous vibrations in his internal organs.

But Achilles paid it no mind, gazing at Heracles with fervent eyes: "How did Zeus treat me? And how did he treat you? Don't you know, Heracles? He dared not let you or me achieve apotheosis through the flesh. He destroyed me, and he annihilated your physical body, even scheming to make you kill your own son."

"But you didn't give up, Heracles! You comprehended truth from strength, obtained laws, and made all forces in this world your source of divine power. This even forced Hera to marry her daughter, the goddess of youth Hebe, to you to win you over. But are you happy, Heracles? Zeus dared not give you a substantial divine office. Even though there were vacancies among the twelve Olympians, he was unwilling to make you a pillar of the Olympian pantheon! In all his worlds, your image is absent from his temples, and your likeness is missing from the murals."

"And your wife Hebe, how did she treat you? She refused to heal your wounds but committed adultery with Ares and his sister. Your sons with Hebe, the 'Unconquered God Alexiares' and the 'Invincible God Anicetus,' inherited their authority from Ares. What relation are they to you?"

Heracles remained silent, only continuing to strike at Achilles with his heavy sword at a steady, unhurried pace. Yet his attacks were unstoppable, effortlessly cutting through Achilles' longsword and shield, causing the 'Guardian Angel's' armor to groan.

But when he heard these words, his aura became somewhat frenzied, and a reddish tint appeared in his eyes. His attacks grew wild, breaking through Achilles' defenses more frequently. Each impact was heavier and more irresistible.

Achilles was not alarmed but delighted. He continued to resist Heracles' onslaught with his longsword while speaking: "Come on, Heracles! Do you not dare to resist Zeus, who inflicted all this upon you, but instead vent your anger on your friend?"

"You are my only friend on Mount Olympus, Heracles! In those thousands of years of suffering, only you helped me and looked after me! I do not want to fight you; I do not want to oppose you. And now we have this opportunity!"

Achilles was struck again by the heavy sword, and golden blood spilled from his mouth, but his eyes shone: "You have seen it too, haven't you? Zeus and Odin together could not defeat my lord! You had no choice before, but now someone can help you!"

"My lord told me personally that if you are willing to join his ranks, the position of the Angel of Strength will be yours. Fenrir will not mind this office; he will transfer to become the Angel of Slaughter!"

He shouted loudly: "Tell me, what are you hesitating about, Heracles? What forces you to serve Zeus? Is it merely the bond of father and son—"

At that moment, both sensed something and looked behind them.

It was a Titan giant, 3,600 meters tall, who, with a thunderous roar, suddenly broke free from the heavy chains binding him.

Heracles was startled, while Achilles showed surprise and delight.

—It was the 'Eternal Angel' Atlas, and Prometheus' younger brother, the 'God of Rashness and Violent Wrath,' Menoetius.

He had also participated, alongside Atlas, in the war of the Titans against Zeus, and was eventually defeated and captured by Zeus in the battle at Mount Tricoryphus.

Originally, this Titan of divine rank seventeen had been fighting the 'Earth Angel' Christine under the control of numerous chains. But now, the chains on Menoetius had somehow shattered.

He immediately turned against his captors, punching another Titan giant holding chains into a pulp of flesh and blood. The latter, only of divine rank ten and at the level of a high god, was no match for Menoetius' strength, which had increased tenfold in his rage.

High in the sky, Prometheus was also overjoyed, his spirits lifted by Menoetius' escape. He knew Li Mochen's strategy had worked.

The many mages loyal to the Lord of Destiny, though most lacked the power to intervene in this battle among major gods, their combined strength and wisdom had sufficed to help the Destiny Pantheon remove the chains from Menoetius.

※※※※

In the Dark World, Li Mochen was still locked in fierce combat with Odin and Zeus. The situation changed five hours later.

At that moment, with a gesture of Li Mochen's hand, the operation of the 'Zhou Tian Thunder Fire Star Core Sword Formation' underwent a dramatic transformation. This was an update he had made based on his combat experience and the divine authority of 'Artificial Intelligence,' upgrading the auxiliary combat intelligence of this sword array.

This made Zeus and Odin, who had gradually adapted to this 'Zhou Tianlei Mars Core Sword Formation', frown deeply. They had originally planned to use many of the formation's inertial patterns to counterattack.

But now, Li Mochen had acted first, optimizing the combat intelligence of these four hundred and one sword tools and replacing their thinking logic.

This gave the 'Zhou Tianlei Mars Core Sword Formation' a more reasonable and exquisite mode of operation, using less power and faster speed to slash out sword qi.

And whether in defense or attack, they became more flawless, also making Li Mochen stronger.

——Since Li Mochen elevated the four authorities of 'Combat', 'Sword Strike', 'Combat Skill', and 'Defense' to the pseudo-truth level, they had only struck Li Mochen's divine body twice in total.

Both injuries were very severe, but Li Mochen's flesh and power recovered as before.

And now, Li Mochen had also elevated his 'Shield Combat' divine authority from the previous high level gradually to the ultimate level. This made the 'Thebes Sacred Shield' more obedient in his hands, and also defended against more spear thrusts and bombardments from the two of them.

This fellow before them seemed impossible to kill, yet grew stronger every moment—this feeling made Odin's gaze dark and cold, and Zeus's face nearly twisted.

To make matters worse, at the top of the Destiny Township Magic Tower, the 'Divine Will' gun in Li Mochen's secondary body roared again after three hours!

This time, his target was Frigg, the 'Love and Hearth Goddess' of the Aesir pantheon.

The gods of the Olympian pantheon had been holding back considerable strength, not giving Li Mochen an opportunity. Only in Berlin, Frigg, who was fighting the 'Nature Goddess Artemis', revealed a flaw at this moment.

Li Mochen fired without hesitation, using his accumulated power to weave the fate of Frigg being hit in an instant.

Odin's face changed drastically; he unhesitatingly threw out a replicated 'Gungnir Sacred Spear' from his hand and struck the bullet before it hit Frigg.

But the fate Li Mochen had set was still irreversible. Although the bullet was shattered by the 'Gungnir Sacred Spear', the fragments still hit the briefly petrified Frigg. Then this Nordic 'Goddess of Home, Love, and Hearth' also had her body and soul shattered, like Venus.

But her power was stronger, and with Thor's help, who came with endless thunder to rescue, her injuries were slightly better than Venus's.

Just as Odin was distracted, the 'Longinus Sacred Spear' at the top of the Destiny Township Magic Tower pierced toward Zeus for the third time. The previous two times had been defused by the seamless cooperation of Odin and Zeus, but at this moment, Odin had no time to attend to other matters.

Zeus had to exhaust all his strength to defend against this strike of the 'Longinus Sacred Spear'.

He withstood it, but blood again seeped from the corner of Zeus's mouth. The power Li Mochen had infiltrated further aggravated his injuries and dissipated his strength.

Seeing this, Odin was furious. He aimed at Grimm, the 'God of Language, Fairy Tales, and Legends', who was also fighting outside Berlin, and threw the replicated 'Gungnir Sacred Spear' again the moment it returned to his hand.

But the spear, only halfway through its flight, was struck by a bullet from Li Mochen, deflecting the powerful mythical weapon from its intended trajectory.

Unlike Odin and Zeus, Li Mochen's mastery of 'Fate' and 'Time Sequence' gave him immensely powerful predictive abilities, allowing him to react before his opponents acted. Only in battle with the two god-kings did he dare not use it, as it would consume a large amount of his divine power and increase his burden. Meanwhile, the strong intuition and 'Truth' and 'Pseudo-Truth' combat and combat skills of Odin and Zeus allowed them to respond accurately without prediction.

But if only used to intercept their attacks on his subordinates, Li Mochen's ability in this area was perfectly suited.

Zeus and Odin also understood this, so they had never made any effort in this regard. This time, Odin's throw of the 'Gungnir Sacred Spear' was purely an act of venting anger.

In fact, without fate power guiding it, the 'Gungnir Sacred Spear', which only had the causal abilities of 'sure hit' and 'wish', though ranked as high as pseudo-truth, was ultimately a melee divine weapon. Its probability of hitting a long-range target was far inferior to Li Mochen's sniper rifle 'Divine Will'—a mythical weapon forged by Anthony, which, besides the Typhon's Eye ability, also had no less than seven abilities to lock onto enemies remotely and ensure hit rate.

Thus, Odin's strike against Grimm, the 'God of Language, Fairy Tales, and Legends', was not only useless but also greatly reduced his pressure on Li Mochen's main body.

The latter took the opportunity to launch another offensive frenzy against Zeus. He certainly could not hit the opponent again with the 'Longinus Sacred Spear', but at the cost of being severely wounded by a spear strike, he traded injury for injury, manipulating the 'Zhou Tianlei Mars Core Sword Formation' to create over seventy-two sword marks on Zeus's body in a single instant. Although most of the injuries were extremely minor, they all channeled Li Mochen's power into Zeus's divine body, wreaking havoc inside.

Zeus's face twisted, and he could no longer bear it. He erupted violently, his thunder-fire spear controlling a massive purple thunderbolt seventeen thousand meters long, striking fiercely against Li Mochen's 'Thebes Sacred Shield', sending the latter's body hurtling dozens of kilometers under the immense force.

As Li Mochen was knocked back, Zeus roared, 'Are you just going to watch?'

His voice, accompanied by the exploding boundless thunder, filled the entire sky and reached several divine kingdoms.

The Goddess of Freedom, Eris, frowned slightly, then looked worriedly in another direction toward the Night Goddess's 'Eternal Night Kingdom'. She could not set aside her concern for the Night Goddess Nyx and deeply knew her mother's character.

Eris truly could not abandon her and risk going to the dark world to fight. Especially since that world was the region where the Night Goddess's power was strongest.

——If not for the fact that the vast majority of beings in the dark world could not provide faith power to deities, her mother Nyx would long have been the most powerful deity in this world, surpassing the Lord of Light.

Moreover, Eris had never expected to win in this struggle for the God Above Gods. Taking the ticket granted by Gaia was more for understanding the roots and the core.

Was it worth joining this dangerous battle for a competition with little chance of victory?

Meanwhile, in the Pantheon, the Earth Mother Goddess Rhea asked her mother Gaia with some doubt, 'Mother Goddess, do you not plan to intervene? This descendant of Hyperion is already very powerful, with terrifying talent, and can grow even stronger in a very short time.'

'So what?'

Gaia sneered, 'Will eliminating this little one help me return to the roots and become the God Above Gods? At this time, am I not more pleased to see the death of this traitor Zeus?'

She looked into the void, a hint of mockery in her eyes, 'Are you feeling sorry for these sons of yours, Rhea? But Zeus is not purely your blood.'

Rhea fell silent. The reason she had left this world in her early years was to avoid being drawn into the conflict between Gaia and Zeus.

Back then, the Olympian pantheon should have been very powerful, strong enough to withstand the combined forces of all enemies, but internal strife within the pantheon led to defeat, ultimately ceding the faith of this world to the Lord of Light.

'Furthermore, if no new disruptors appear, then in the upcoming struggle for the roots, I have almost no hope. So why should I participate and lend them a hand?'

'Grandmother Rhea, Mother Goddess's judgment is correct!'

Athena spoke behind them, 'If we let him grow, then Mother Goddess still has a chance. But if he fails, Mother Goddess will be driven out of the light world in the shortest time. I suspect the Night Goddess thinks similarly. After Eris's betrayal, her chance of becoming the God Above Gods is almost negligible.'

'Don't underestimate her, Athena! Or Zeus and Odin.'

Gaia shook her head, her expression not optimistic, 'These fellows have prepared for thousands of years in the outside world, almost all of them have sufficient trump cards to win. Before everyone reveals their cards, no one can be sure they will emerge victorious from this competition.'

So why should she get involved and make Zeus and Odin, these two competitors, happy?

Meanwhile, at the Solar Altar in Heaven, Isis frowned deeply.

'It seems this is beyond your control, Holy Mother, isn't it?'

Michael, also watching, asked thoughtfully, 'Should we intervene? Since the mythical age, this is the first time I have seen someone with such terrifyingly outstanding talent. No, not even in the mythical age. In the blink of an eye, he has become an existence capable of confronting Odin and Zeus head-on. Even Beelzebub, the Sloth Demon King, who is said to have the most exceptional talent in this world, is far inferior.'

'I very much want to take this opportunity to kill him!'

Isis sighed, 'I know this will surely bring our destruction. So, watch—'

She knew that once she and the Lord of Light stood on the opposite side of Li Mochen, the temporarily defeated Gaia would eagerly counterattack them.

This one's power in the roots was still strong; she only lacked a reliable helper now.

Michael shook his head, 'But I guess in at most ten years, he will become an even more terrifying existence, surpassing Odin eventually. Unless—'

'Unless the struggle for the God Above Gods is settled within these ten years.'

Isis spoke the words for him, 'That is also what I hope and wish for. We have no other choice.'

※※※※

Three hours later, the great battle ended with Zeus's withdrawal.

During this time, he and Odin had managed to strike Li Mochen's divine body once more, but the result was no different from before. Li Mochen quickly recovered and continued fighting them without any damage.

This completely extinguished Zeus's desire to fight. He feared that his subordinate gods would be sniped by Li Mochen again, and dreaded the 'Longinus Sacred Spear' that was already poised to strike.

After three hours, the sacred spear had accumulated immense power again, sending chills down Zeus's spine.

Crucially, they were also at a disadvantage in the mortal realm's battle. With the defection of Menoetius, the 'God of Rashness and Violent Anger', and the severe injuries of Venus, the 'Goddess of Love, Beauty, and Desire', and Frigg, the 'Goddess of Home, Love, and Hearth', they had lost their advantage in this divine war. The Fate Pantheon was preparing a counterattack, and its offensive was fierce and violent.

So Zeus decisively withdrew. Continuing the fight was pointless; it would only cause more losses. Although reluctant to admit it, he could no longer do anything about the Lord of Fate.

After Zeus left, Odin did not linger on the battlefield either.

Even without Zeus, his power alone was still sufficient to suppress Li Mochen. The 'Longinus Sacred Spear' that Zeus could not withstand might not be something he could not handle.

But this was meaningless. In a solo battle, even if they fought for three days and three nights, he could not harm Li Mochen. Moreover, the latter had two bodies, dividing himself into two, able to fight him while attending to other matters.

After the two god-kings left one after another, Li Mochen, still standing in place, first felt emptiness. He had gathered all his power, all his will, all his thoughts, reaching a rare state of unity of spirit, energy, and mind—the so-called 'Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown' and 'Five Energies Facing the Origin'—solely to deal with the battle against Odin and Zeus.

But the battle was only half over when his opponents simply left, leaving Li Mochen with a sense of frustration and loss, like a heavy hammer swung with full force hitting nothing.

Yet just a second later, an indescribable joy and exhilaration spread and even exploded in his chest. Li Mochen was immensely excited and also let out a long sigh of relief.

This could be said to be the pivotal battle for him to establish his banner and foundation in the light world, far surpassing any battle he had faced there before. If he failed, all his previous efforts would dissolve, come to nothing, and be meaningless.

But he ultimately succeeded! He successfully forced back Odin and Zeus! And successfully established a foothold in the roots, forming a tripartite balance with these ancient god-kings and pantheons!