A sudden dizziness caused Atlas to falter, and the power god, seeing stars, watched his brother's spear stop before him.
Without waiting for Atlas to protest, Zeus rose to congratulate Menoetius. Zeus, rising with him, praised the victory of the god of courage.
After all, they were blood brothers. Atlas pulled out the weapon from the stone pillar and retreated with a wry smile, magnanimously dropping the matter.
Aphrodite breathed a sigh of relief. Her expression stiffened for a moment as she met Zeus's knowing gaze, then she joyfully applauded the god of courage.
Zeus descended the steps and came before Menoetius. "To defeat a middle-tier god with the power of a lesser god, you are truly worthy of the divine office of courage!"
The king of the gods raised his scepter and commanded, "There are still quite a few monsters lingering on the earth. God of Courage, bring the Silver humans the courage to defeat them!"
This was a mission fraught with both danger and opportunity, but the opportunities outweighed the dangers. Few monsters could truly threaten deities; the rest were mere cannon fodder that could be dealt with given time. However, Echidna, hidden beneath the earth, was a danger that could not be ignored.
Zeus's command harbored the idea of using the god of courage as bait to lure out Echidna. Echidna's dominion over childbirth was precisely what Hera required. The goddess of marriage would proactively offer assistance to Menoetius, and the two deities would have an opportunity to interact through this endeavor. Upon its completion, Menoetius could be legitimately promoted. Zeus, Hera, and Menoetius would all gain what they desired in this process.
The opportunity was there; now it was up to Aphrodite.
The goddess of love also understood this was an excellent chance. Gritting her teeth, she separated the dominion of inspiration from her divine office of love and, to Zeus, handed over the power to strengthen the divine office of courage.
Zeus said solemnly, "As a reward for winning the competition, I bestow upon you the divine office of inspiration!"
The divine office of courage easily merged with the divine office of inspiration. Driven by faith, Menoetius smoothly broke through the obstacles and was promoted to middle-tier godhood.
Aphrodite felt a pang of heartache, but seeing Hera intently watching the god of courage, she found solace. Curiosity would be an excellent breakthrough, the most fertile soil for the budding of love.
The next competition was archery, with Apollo and Artemis being the favorites. The moon goddess Selene and the god of disaster, Cannas, had no intention of vying for faith and thus did not participate. Most gods favored the spear; few were skilled archers. The twins had learned archery under the tutelage of their elder uncle, Cannas. And Cannas, possessing the divine offices of tracking and hunting, was a rare master of archery. The god of disaster, who loved hunting, was often found roaming the forests with his retinue, which was no secret.
As expected, the archery competition concluded with Apollo and Artemis tied for first place. Cannas smiled proudly and generously shared his divine office of hunting with the two deities.
The running race also concluded smoothly. The star-night goddess Astraea effortlessly defeated all her opponents, obtaining the domain of the star-sea god Astraeus and mastering the power of the stars.
The tug-of-war competition, however, became deadlocked. The god of tsunamis, Poseidon, and the god of power, Atlas, faced off. The two middle-tier gods exchanged blows, evenly matched. The gods watched intently, awaiting their decision. The tug-of-war between the sea and power lasted for three days and nights. Atlas narrowly defeated Poseidon at the last moment, becoming the victor. Poseidon, in turn, earned the respect of the gods, and the scandal of him sleeping with a mare was no longer mentioned.
The first athletic games thus concluded. The gods, weary from the prolonged festivities, returned to their temples to rest.
Poseidon, having washed away his shame in the competition, arrived outside the temple of Athena, the goddess of strategy. The vigilant goddess was unwilling to associate with the notorious Poseidon and refused him entry.
"Athena, goddess of strategy and planning, do you not wish to know why I have come?"
Poseidon, blocked outside the door, spoke with a hidden meaning. Gentle waves surged in his deep blue eyes. The power of the sea's rhythm counteracted the ferocity of the tsunami. Even by Athena's discerning standards, Poseidon had to be acknowledged as a charming deity.
The goddess of strategy frowned, feeling disgusted by Poseidon's veiled provocations. She coldly rebuked, "I have no desire to associate with you. In fact, this is our first meeting!"
Poseidon's face stiffened, having not expected Metis's daughter to be so unfeeling.
"I wish to form an alliance with you!" Seeing Athena's increasingly impatient expression, Poseidon quickly stated the purpose of his visit.
"There are only two vacant positions for supreme gods. We both have hope of obtaining this honor, so why not unite to strive for it?"
Athena looked at Poseidon as if he were an idiot and slowly said, "I will obtain the position of supreme god through my own strength, not by becoming a pawn for some fool."
Tyche had previously mentioned to the gods her intention to pass on her supreme god position to the lineage of the next great ocean god. Athena was undoubtedly the most outstanding among the third generation of sea gods. As long as she successfully broke through to middle-tier godhood, the honor of supreme god would naturally fall to the goddess of strategy. How could Poseidon's intentions be hidden from the wise daughter? He was after Athena's supreme god position.
Poseidon stared intently at Athena, unconcerned about being called a fool by the goddess of strategy. Instead, he posed a question that caught Athena completely off guard, "Do you know who your father is?"
The goddess of wisdom, Metis, had revealed everything to her daughter as soon as Athena ascended Mount Olympus. Athena was well aware of the consequences if this secret were to be known by the gods, and she had sworn to her mother never to reveal it to anyone.
The goddess of strategy's heart skipped a beat. Feigning ignorance, she asked, "I have no father. I was conceived solely by my mother."
Poseidon smiled maliciously, "This is a great secret. Are you sure you want to hear my answer here?"
Athena hesitated for a moment, then reached out to open the door, preparing to let Poseidon into the temple. Just then, a voice rang out, "I too would like to know this secret, Poseidon!"
The speaker was none other than Cheimon, the goddess of winter. The white-haired goddess smiled charmingly, a ring of ice spreading at her feet.
"Goddess of strategy, allowing yourself to be in the company of a wolf is not the action of a wise person."