Chapter 138: Ch 137: Do What You Want

Aiden looked at the representative for a few seconds before letting out a small sigh. The man was trying to appeal to his emotions by bringing up his devotion toward his goddess, but there was no way Aiden was going to fall for something so obvious.

If they wanted to play with emotions, then Aiden could play the same game.

"I understand your feelings."

The representative’s eyes brightened slightly, thinking that he had finally managed to convince Aiden.

"But if you want me to hand these people over to you, then there is one condition."

The representative immediately became cautious. He could immediately tell that this was a trap.

"What condition?"

Aiden smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"You swear your loyalty to Goddess Apophis."

The representative froze at that offer.

Not only him, but the priests standing behind him also looked shocked by those words, not knowing what they should say about this.

Aiden ignored their shocked expressions and continued to speak.

"My goddess has already taken down the Church of Prey, and these people are responsible for many of the problems that you suffered. So if you want to use my goddess’s name and power to get your revenge, then you should at least become her followers. Of course, that applies to your gods as well."

Aiden’s voice remained calm, but there was no room for negotiation in his words. This was his way of giving the other side an easy way out.

Becoming a follower even as a god did not mean you had to give up your godhood, so there was no real loss here.

But the representative’s expression became complicated at his offer.

"You want the gods themselves to swear loyalty?"

"Of course. Isn’t that only natural? To use our power, you have to be a part of us first. Why should I allow other gods to use my goddess’s influence while refusing to acknowledge her? If this is truly about revenge, then I don’t see why you should have a problem with it."

Aiden looked at him as if the question was obvious, but the representative remained silent.

Aiden could tell that they were struggling to accept his condition, but he was not willing to give them another option.

"You said that you understand how much I love my goddess, right?"

The representative nodded slowly.

"Then you should understand why I want to make sure that her revenge is satisfactory in the end. I am not going to allow you people to borrow her strength and then walk away as soon as your enemies are defeated."

Aiden smiled as he continued.

"If you truly want to repay those who harmed your gods, then do it as followers of Goddess Apophis."

The representative lowered his head and exchanged a look with the others.

It was a difficult decision for them, but they had already lost too much to walk away now.

Finally, the representative stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"If this is the price we must pay for your help, then I will accept it."

Aiden’s smile widened.

"Good. Then we have an agreement."

He glanced toward the captured priests before adding one final condition.

"And make sure the gods swear the same oath. I want everyone involved to understand exactly whose name they are carrying when they take their revenge."

...

More than twenty smaller gods gathered together and took the oath in Goddess Apophis’s name. It was a beautiful ceremony where Aiden could feel his goddess’s influence growing.

But his goddess looked indifferent to seeing all these gods pledging their loyalty to her.

Finally, once the oaths were done, Aiden handed the priests over to these gods and followers and allowed them to extract their revenge.

Whatever happened from here on was not his responsibility. What he did need to focus on was merging his region with God Steller’s.

Since this region was so backward, it was hard to develop outright. Moreover, it was also different in the regard that human rule was prevalent here. The nobles of this land were particularly influential.

They had enjoyed all kinds of luxuries without giving back to the common folks, and Aiden had a feeling they would rebel against his goddess and prevent the spread of their religion.

But that was a problem with an easy solution at least.

"Still, let’s give these fools a chance first. If they swear their loyalty to our cause and agree to serve people, then I can let them go and also upgrade their residence while renovating this village. But if not..."

Aiden was sure he would find a capable individual to replace the noble. He might even introduce democracy here once he was sure these people were ready for such a thing.

"Well, as long as you are sure. So, do you want to call all of the nobles here together?"

Goddess Apophis asked, and that had been Aiden’s first choice. But thinking a little bit about it, Aiden was sure that it would be better if he had a little natural support first.

"Well, why don’t we visit a few nobles before we call them all? I am sure they will welcome us."

Aiden was sure that they won’t be welcomed happily by the nobles. After all, they were here to undermine their authority.

But that rebellion was what he needed to break before he could establish a base here. Otherwise, it would cause trouble in the future.

His goddess let out a sigh before nodding.

"Sure, do what you want."

She agreed without much fuss. She had realized as well by now that there was no point in telling Aiden no. He would just go behind her back and do what he wanted to do.

It was far better to keep an eye on him outright like this and let him do what he wanted instead. She would just handle the aftermath once it came down to it.

Not that Aiden would leave much trouble for her anyway. He was far too loyal to allow trouble for her.