Chapter 590 - 81: Return to Ephesus, Silly Moon God
On the way back to Ephesus.
Indeed, just as Athena said, it was extremely unsettled, not to mention all kinds of fierce beasts.
Some of these beasts, Shen Fei guessed, might even have some connection to certain divine spirits, but now he had three divine spirits backing him, and they were all main gods.
If he killed them, so be it. Some wild gods still wanted to take revenge on him?
Moreover, in Shen Fei’s eyes, only the Twelve Main Gods and those old gods were considered real gods. Were Nymph Goddesses and Sea Nymphs considered gods?
At most, they were merely elves.
As long as a god’s intervention wasn’t required to kill them, they weren’t considered gods.
There were also various wars and deserters; he even got caught in a war between two cities. Although there appeared to be no war in some major cities, actually, wars were still quite frequent between two cities nowadays.
Like the famous Trojan War, it was notable because it involved too many divine spirits.
That didn’t mean there weren’t other wars happening, but some cities without guardian gods were simply brought under a governing umbrella, though often the governance cost for cities was quite high.
In Ancient Greece, there were no extremely convenient means of communication, so mostly they were made members of certain alliances.
With the help of the Minotaur and the Moon God, one side could be easily assisted to victory, along with a promotion of Artemis’ faith.
Traveling tirelessly, Shen Fei and his companions finally returned to Ephesus.
Upon returning to Ephesus, he noticed some differences. Right in the center of Ephesus, there was now a statue of Artemis, unlike the statues crafted in the past with bows and arrows and a hunter’s attire.
Though not as exquisite and lifelike as those in the temple, this statue, with palms slightly joined at the abdomen, appeared more sacred, and its decorations were all symbols and emblems of the moon.
In front of it.
There was a bronze-cast pedestal, atop which lay bronze-bound books, inscribed with what Shen Fei had previously called the ’Moon God’s Holy Scripture’.
"It seems that the faith has spread."
Shen Fei nodded slightly. Ephesus had long since been under his control. Before leaving, he had instructed the nobles to promote Artemis’ faith surrounding the Moon God.
Though now he understood that without Zeus’s permission, even if your ’rank’ allowed it, the ’divine authority’ would still not come to you.
But the ’rank’ needs to be sufficient.
In simple terms, if the powers above acknowledged it.
Even if you didn’t have the ability, a position could still be granted to you, but maintaining it depended on what followed. For instance, if a superior were to support you continually, like Ares always losing to Athena yet still being the God of [War].
If a superior was not supportive, even if you had the ability,
You could never attain that position.
In Greek mythology, connections were more important than your abilities.
Shen Fei went to the Artemis Temple, which had undergone some repairs, with many lunar symbols added. Shen Fei arrived at the divine statue’s location and respectfully worshipped, saying, "My God."
Crisp, cool silver light cascaded onto the stone statue, instantly transforming it into Artemis.
Compared to the previously more wild attire.
This time, a slight sacredness showed, and Artemis’ face, once youthful and pure, now bore a touch of holiness.
Draped in a silken, silver-tinged robe, the garment worn was almost bursting, the bulging fullness tightly bound yet imparting a different kind of beauty, with silver threads faintly enveloping from ankles to thighs, perfectly outlining her leg shape.
If some contented soul saw this, they might blurt out ’sorry, goddess’ as a sign of awe.
Of course, Shen Fei only glanced slightly before averting his gaze; staring at the goddess directly would be somewhat irreverent.
Upon seeing Shen Fei at first glance, Artemis’ expression was a bit complex.
"What kind of deal did you make with Athena?"
Artemis could clearly sense the divine power Athena left on Shen Fei, and even the shield Athena always kept by her side had fallen into Shen Fei’s hands.
Shen Fei did not hide anything. Although Athena arranged so many things for him, even planning his assessments, in the end, it was to help him confront Ares in the future.
Only this naïve Moon God truly stood on the same boat with him.
Artemis pondered with a murmur, "No wonder, a big event happened a few days ago. Selene discovered an unconscious Orion while patrolling the night sea and found him injured.
When she used moonlight for healing, for some reason, it led to a shift in the moon’s path, causing abnormal tides that inundated coastal villages near Athens for three nights..."
Artemis said, "What I heard is that Selene said at the time she didn’t know what happened either..."
"Is this matter serious?"
Shen Fei wondered, previously hearing from Athena that when Helius’ son, Phaethon, was allowed to drive the Sun Chariot, it led Zeus to punish Helius by removing his position as Sun God.
That position was given directly to Apollo.
Just from hearing Artemis say that influencing the sun and moon’s motion seems quite a serious matter, Artemis hesitated a bit and explained, "The stability of the sun and moon is the foundation of Mount Olympus’ stability. If the sun and moon have problems, the gods will also have issues."
’The foundation of Mount Olympus’ stability...’
Shen Fei nodded slightly; this was another piece of trivia. He suddenly recalled the time when Chi You devoured the ’Source of Sun Law,’ causing changes in Fire Cloud Grotto.
Apparently, the sun and moon are crucial parts of a grotto heaven.
"Now the Father God is furious, wanting to thoroughly investigate this. If it’s discovered that some god messed around, they will be severely punished." Artemis’ expression changed slightly. Earlier, she had wondered why Selene, who never had issues, suddenly made such a big error.
"Athena did this?"
Shen Fei nodded but frowned slightly, "Orion? Poseidon’s son?"
"Yes."
Shen Fei reminded, "My god, aren’t you saying the Divine King is actually also looking to use this as an excuse to strip Selene of the [Moon] divine authority?"
Artemis was momentarily taken aback and instinctively replied, "Selene is the Father’s lo..."
Shen Fei naturally understood, but based on all that Zeus had done before.
This scoundrel shows no true affection for women. If something threatens his position as Divine King, let alone lovers,
Even his wife might end up being devoured.
Now, there is a perfect opportunity. Although Athena was also trying to undermine Zeus, why wouldn’t Zeus capitalize on this and just happen to transfer the [Moon] divine authority from Selene?
To Zeus, his offspring and old gods threaten his position as the Divine King. If so, why should the crucial [Moon] divine authority remain with an old god with unclear affiliations?
Why not give it to Artemis?
At least in the eyes of the Divine King, only Athena and Pollux, still within his belly, were the true rebels.
Artemis struggled to keep up with Shen Fei’s thinking, but she seemed to grasp the outcome, "So, Selene’s divine authority will be stripped away, right?"
"Yes."
Shen Fei nodded, this might also be an unspoken transaction between Athena and Zeus, resulting in only Selene being the actual victim.
But who cares?