— — — — — —
"Did they at least offer any kind of compensation?"
Ryo asked, though he didn't expect much.
Before long, he planned to get a list from Uesugi Kenshin. Right now, he needed to figure out which gods were showing even the slightest bit of goodwill. After all, in any conflict, you divide and conquer. Fight one side, pull in another.
"'You may send Moon Rabbits to supervise.' That's what they said. Or at least, that's how most of them see it."
Kenshin didn't spell it out, but the meaning was clear enough. To those in the upper layers, someone like Ryo was still treated as… something other than one of them.
Yes, he had broken into the four-digit rank. But that didn't mean he could truly step into the three-digit tier. That was the general consensus.
Through the authority of the Central Core, the gods all knew that Ryo's spirit rank was only at the level of an elite four-digit. His combat strength might be rated as rule-breaker, but that was largely due to his Another Cosmology.
They didn't understand what the Cosmo really meant. But they trusted the system's evaluation and assumed he was just riding the coattails of a powerful artifact.
To them, the gap between Ryo and the three-digit tier —their tier— was still vast. So vast that they wouldn't need to worry about his life or death for thousands of years.
"Heh. So Kurousagi being on my side counts as their contribution now?"
Ryo let out a mocking laugh.
There were probably only three or four Moon Rabbits left in the entire Little Garden. An incredibly rare race.
Arcadia had been targeted precisely because its members were rare. That alone spoke volumes about how unfair things were.
And if they weren't even pretending to be fair, then those upper-layer bastards had no shame left at all.
Compared to that, the faction of buddhas, who paid upfront and traded information properly, practically looked like saints.
Seeing the undisguised displeasure on his face, Kenshin sighed, her gaze turning distant. "In a way… that's also why Indra and the rest of us tolerate you."
The Trickster's actions had been deeply disruptive to the gods. Under normal circumstances, even suspicion alone would've warranted an investigation by the Heavenly Army.
But Indra believed that while a Trickster brought chaos, there was also a silver lining.
They forced the complacent gods of the upper layers to wake up. To remember what it meant to be dangerous.
The problem was, there were far too few gods who still thought that way. So few that even Indra worried about the future of the divine.
Kenshin let out another sigh before continuing, "I managed to secure equal footing for you in the rules. You can make some moves when it comes to the number of allies."
There was no way Arcadia could face the Greek pantheon head-on, even if it was only against Zeus's subordinate communities.
The difference in scale was just too large.
That was why Arcadia needed allies. A lot of them. Enough to actually participate in the war.
But there was a limit. Too many allies would provoke Zeus's dissatisfaction.
Previously, Ryo had negotiated for twenty allied communities. But now, with Mars as the main battlefield, that number had been raised.
"How many?" Ryo narrowed his eyes.
"Thirty allied communities."
"Nearly a fifty percent increase… Looks like Ares's authority over Mars is pretty significant."
Ryo tapped his finger lightly against the armrest, then let out a cold chuckle. "Well then. Seems like I'll be taking quite a hit in this war."
"Not necessarily. As long as the intensity stays within certain limits, it can actually temper your members. These wars are meant to release built-up tensions, not fight to the death."
"So in their eyes, this is just a great opportunity for training?"
A smile slowly spread across Ryo's face.
"That look… You're plotting something, aren't you?"
Kenshin's eyelid twitched. Ryo's expression practically screamed bad intentions.
"Of course not."
Ryo shook his head with a smile. The denial was so unconvincing that even Kurousagi, who had been silent the whole time, shot him a skeptical look.
"By the way, Miss Kenshin—if I wanted basic intel on the upper-layer gods, how much do you think I'd have to pay Thousand Eyes?"
"You're not planning to assassinate them, are you? You can't even go to the Upper layers."
Kenshin was startled at first, then her expression turned strange. "Wait… don't tell me you're going after their subordinate communities?"
Every upper-layer pantheon had its extensions in the lower layers.
Under Athena, for example, there were communities like Perseus and Nike. Queen Halloween had even more: Avalon, the Land of Shadows, the Queen's Knights, the Celtic pantheon, and so on.
If she allowed her subordinates to take on Floor Ruler roles, the entire South Area would practically belong to her.
Since the gods had their "tentacles" in the lower layers, targeting those communities—whether through direct attacks or schemes—would still hurt them.
Kenshin had a strong suspicion that Ryo was planning exactly that.
"Of course not," Ryo said with a cheerful smile. "I just want to send them invitations to form an alliance. After all, a golden opportunity like a divine war is more than Arcadia can handle alone."
"Y…You…"
Kenshin's mouth twitched hard.
Use those very subordinates—who were benefiting from exploiting Arcadia—to fight against Greece. Then use Greece to wipe out those same subordinates.
If that balance slipped even a little, it would cost lives. A lot of them.
"You're playing with fire."
"Funny enough, the first Divinity I ever held was a Fire Divinity," Ryo replied with mock surprise.
Kenshin froze for a moment, then sighed. "Don't tell me you're planning to ally with Zeus?"
"Why not?"
Ryo smiled back. "Between Zeus and me, aside from one unpleasant incident, there's nothing much, right?"
"One unpleasant incident"? You nearly wiped out tens of thousands of years of his foundation…
Kenshin was at a loss for words.
She wanted to argue, but she knew her words wouldn't sway him. In the end, all she could do was sigh again.
"I don't have what you're looking for. Mata probably has the most complete intelligence. If you really want it, go ask her."
That was as far as she could help.
If the Heavenly Army was caught cooperating with lower-layer communities to sabotage others, the punishment would be severe.
Compared to her, Mata—who regularly bent the rules—was far better suited for this kind of operation.
At the very least, with Mata involved, Ryo wouldn't accidentally break any rules and end up targeted by the Heavenly Army.
"Thanks."
Ryo's expression turned serious as he gave his thanks.
"Do you want me to act as an intermediary?" Kenshin asked. "With your current standing, you might not be able to bring those subordinates to the table."
"I'd appreciate that."
Ryo paused for a moment, then added with a smile, "And while you're at it, let those communities know I'll be hosting a reception for our dear 'allies' at the closing banquet of the Gift Game."
His expression grew exaggerated as he continued, "I've even come up with a name for the event."
Kenshin and Kurousagi were just about to comment when Ryo beat them to it.
"Though it's a bit long, so I'm giving it a shorter version."
"—The Avengers."
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