Chapter 52: Chapter 52: This Ominous Feeling
Although Zeus's words had kept Eros tossing and turning all night, there was still work to be done.
He set aside her bizarre declaration for now. If nothing else, their conversation had helped him clarify his thoughts.
He couldn't keep seeing things only from his previous perspective, he needed to be more flexible, more dialectical in his thinking.
Yes, this demi-human city-state would collapse rapidly if Acheron disappeared. But conversely—
It was because of Acheron's presence that this place had grown so quickly and on such a massive scale.
If the demi-humans were left to their own reproductive abilities and development speed, even forming a small tribe of a few dozen would've been a miracle.
The existence of a god was essentially a legal and functional cheat code. So why not use it?
It was like dealing with a magnetic field overpowered character, the rise and fall of the world revolved around just a handful of the strongest. Everyone else was just an NPC waiting for a respawn timer.
Don't criticize Eros for treating this city like a farming sim.
Even if, hypothetically, he wiped out the entire demi-human population in the Silver Whirlpool by accident… so what?
As long as Acheron worked a little harder, a new generation of Sirens would soon emerge and take control of the river again.
It was just a normal sandbox game, easy to knock down and rebuild at will.
That's why Zeus had told him not to put too much of his heart into it.
So Eros stopped worrying whether his "routes" were optimal or not. Instead, he simply unleashed every idea he had at once.
No more fussing over proper pacing or sustainability. This was going to be a brute-force experiment.
Acheron used her divine power to raise ore veins from the riverbed, and swarms of sea monsters hauled the minerals out of the mud.
A steady stream of gold, silver, and copper flowed into the once-crude city. Eros wasted no time, he launched a full-blown redesign and regional development plan.
Farming, mining, fishing… there were even designated areas for artisanal production.
Construction running into logistical issues? No problem. With Acheron around, divine power could fix anything.
At first glance, the River God role sounded unimpressive, commonplace and weak.
But in reality, it was a composite divine domain, essentially a budget version of Poseidon's authority. It offered a diverse set of versatile powers.
In terms of urban development, a river god's role was surprisingly useful.
And so, under Acheron's relentless labor and Eros's brilliant command, the city-state underwent a dramatic transformation in just a short span of time.
The price?
Acheron was absolutely wrecked. She was drained dry, completely exhausted.
"You call this exhaustion? This is nothing! It's not even one-tenth as majestic as your father's Abyssal Capital. What's the big deal?" Eros complained, frustrated.
All he'd asked was for her to help forge some building materials and metals using divine power. Was that so outrageous?
"You should stop pushing her," Hera commented, her tone deceptively kind as she looked at the limp and hollowed-out Acheron.
"Besides, isn't this city already impressive enough?"
"At this level, it could easily serve as a palace for a god. And yet you're letting mortals live in it?"
It was only natural to question this. Typically, it was the god's followers who devoted their lives, blood, and bones to building temples and divine dwellings.
When had a god ever sacrificed their own power to give their followers a better place to live?
"I mean, sure, the demi-humans could've done the work too, but that would've taken way too much time," Eros said, waving dismissively.
If Acheron didn't pull her weight, how else was he supposed to activate "rapid construction" and "unlimited resources" features?
What, you expect him to do manual crafting himself? That's exhausting, okay?
"What I'm saying is, don't break her, or are you planning to go marry Poseidon in her place?"
This Phantom Demon Emperor Fist thing was absolutely terrifying. Hera had been watching Acheron the whole time.
Just one sentence, "this is part of the plan," and Acheron would instantly and unconditionally obey Eros's command.
Even scarier, Hera still didn't understand how the technique worked. She'd tried to get Eros to explain, but all she got were vague answers.
"Fine, fine. We'll stop for now and let her rest," Eros relented.
He didn't want a moment of fun to ruin the next stage of his plan. Besides, the core construction was already done.
It was still just the early blueprint of a city, but under Eros's direction, the demi-human community had begun to take real shape.
As for their internal hierarchy and caste system, Eros didn't interfere much.
Compared to humans, the inherent differences between demi-human species were even more distinct.
But why was he even thinking about this?
The future belonged to humans anyway. Demi-humans would eventually scatter, vanish into legend.
Humans… just how favored by the gods were they, that they could overthrow races far more powerful than themselves?
At that moment, far away in the Abyssal Capital—
"I didn't expect he was the one behind all this," Athena said, declining the Oceanid's invitation to stay longer. Her expression was unreadable.
"Well, it is Eros. I'm not even surprised," Apollo replied with a bright, almost smug smile.
"We didn't mean it like that…" Prometheus sighed, casting a sidelong glance at Apollo.
Judging from the Oceanid's attire earlier, it was extremely obvious what the purpose of that outfit was.
And yet this guy wasn't embarrassed at all, in fact, he looked proud.
Was this really the radiant God of Light, Apollo?
"What? It looked good. That's all that matters, right?"
Apollo was already planning to replicate the outfit's design and make some of her own.
No way Athena and Prometheus weren't thinking the same, those two were some of the brightest minds on Olympus.
In times like this, you didn't pass up a good chance to stand out.
"Plagiarism is disgraceful," Athena declared, before casually adding:
"But if you get permission from the creator, then it's not plagiarism."
She hadn't really wanted to visit that place called the Silver Whirlpool, but now it seemed like a necessary trip.
"Besides, I have a few ideas of my own that I'd like to discuss with Eros in person."
"What are you planning?" Prometheus asked, uneasy at the look on Athena's face.
"Hmm, I was thinking… I'd like to collect a bit of his blood, for future human creation, of course."
Athena flashed a radiant smile.
It sounded perfectly reasonable, and yet for some reason, Prometheus felt a chill creep down her spine.
As if a prophecy of doom had just whispered in her ear.
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