...

At this moment, Victor stood quietly near the Shulbon Tree, his hands in his pockets.

There were no other tourists here besides him.

Because of the opening hours of the Divine Arena, few people leave that bustling place to come to the vicinity of this tranquil sacred tree.

After all, the legend of the golden apple has been proven, so the fame of this sacred tree has not been as great as before.

He stood quietly beneath the sacred tree, his gaze fixed intently on the tree's grooves and veins.

He remained silent, as if he were waiting for someone.

After a long time.

A nun dressed in a white robe with golden wheat ear patterns along the hem and her eyes veiled in black veil slowly walked towards him.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Victor turned his head slightly, his gaze shifting to Michaela walking behind him.

"Well done."

Michaela walked up to Victor and bowed slightly to him.

"No, it's all thanks to your careful guidance, Father Victor."

Viktor didn't offer much modesty, simply turning his head away seemingly casually.

After shifting their gaze from Michaela's abundance, they looked toward the towering sacred tree that seemed to reach into the clouds.

The tree was more robust than before, its massive silhouette resembling a sharp blade, seemingly ready to pierce the sky at any moment.

Among those dense branches, many tender buds gleaming with golden light have already sprouted, looking as if they are about to bear rare fruits.

Michaela straightened up, slightly puffing out her ample chest, and said proudly:

"Thank you, Goddess of Abundance, all of this is thanks to you for bringing us."

The reason why the sacred tree can grow so lush and strong today is entirely due to the patient nurturing of the nuns of the Church of Abundance.

Michaela gained a great deal of divine power in her battle with the goddess of fertility for the throne.

Therefore, she can now act like the goddess of abundance, actively bringing a bountiful harvest to the earth.

Even the golden apples that came before were ripened and fell thanks to Michaela's efforts.

Viktor listened to Michaela's words, nodded calmly, and said in a low voice:

"This should calm down a lot of the rumors about the golden apple."

After all, the fact that the golden apple only chose goddesses and not humans had already spread through the words of Zeus, the king of the gods.

Everyone understands that the golden apple has nothing to do with humans.

As a result, the hype surrounding the golden apple has significantly decreased.

This is exactly the effect Victor hoped for.

The legend of the golden apple needs to be spread by the gods themselves to be more convincing.

However,

"Although there is only one goddess now, that's because the other goddesses have not yet fully descended into this world."

Once these goddesses descend, some gods will surely be unhappy that Hera obtained the golden apple.

In addition, once these deities descend, all that is needed is a little inquiry.

This reveals that the golden apple's ability to choose the most beautiful goddess in the world was something Zeus himself proposed.

When the time comes, the "most beautiful goddess" he specifically nominated for this Golden Apple incident will have consequences affecting the other gods.

The jealousy between goddesses is even stronger than that between humans.

Michaela nodded and continued:

"Soon, as faith increases, other deities will also return one after another."

Today, the Arena of Gods has not lost its popularity despite the Golden Apple incident.

The people's discontent was directed only at the shady dealings surrounding the Golden Apple, not at the Arena of the Gods itself.

Those who participate in the Arena of the Gods can also gain the power of the gods, and many people yearn to become stronger through this method.

It is this yearning that is causing the influence of those statues of gods to continue to spread, and the faith in the gods to gradually recover.

Only when they receive a positive response from humanity will the gods realize that they are still needed in this world.

Only after learning this news did they return one by one.

Zeus was a pioneer in this regard.

If it weren't for Zeus creating the Colosseum of the Gods, they might not have been able to return to Earth.

However, this god-king's situation was quite unfortunate.

To protect the arena of gods from being affected and thus prevent hindering the return of other gods, he had no choice but to bow down and apologize to humanity.

This act caused him to lose a great deal of his faith.

In the eyes of the masses, gods should be high above, and the image of Zeus apologizing to mankind is deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Therefore, very few people would choose to believe in a god who bows down to humanity.

Finally, when all the gods returned together.

That will be the moment when Victor wipes them all out.

Of course, among these gods, there is one who can never return.

That is, the goddess of abundance.

Her token has been lost, and she cannot be summoned like other gods.

Nor can one absorb faith through statues.

"Similarly, there is another god who has not made any move so far."

Michaela bowed slightly and said softly:

"The hearth goddess, who represents the family, seems to have the fewest followers."

After all, what people want is power, and clearly, the goddess who represents the family cannot give them power.

Michaela was somewhat worried, because if there was insufficient faith, the gods would not descend.

If this goddess fails to return to the human world, it remains to be seen whether it will affect Victor's plans.

Just as Viktor was pondering this matter,

Suddenly, he felt a strong sense of crisis wash over him.

Viktor, who is often in danger, is extremely sensitive to any attack.

He instinctively swerved to the side to avoid it.

Immediately afterwards, a chilling sword aura grazed past Viktor, turning the surrounding land into a frozen wasteland.

Michaela was startled by the sudden attack, covering her mouth with her hand and staring dumbfounded at the frost marks on the ground.

Viktor narrowed his eyes, scanning the direction of the source with suspicion.

Not far away, a winged goddess floated in the air, holding a sharp longsword that emitted a silver light.

"I've found you."

She didn't cover her eyes, her gaze revealing a complex mix of human emotions, and softly asked Victor:

Tell me why.

"I was not chosen by the golden apple."