Chapter 186: Someone

The gods have returned; reckoning is coming.

This was the thought rising in every living being's heart at this moment.

The Quetzalcoatl's reckoning upon humanity was even minor compared to the Indian deities' reckoning upon the heavenly gods—this here is the true reckoning of all gods.

Thinking of this, people trembled violently in their chests.

Earlier, Quetzalcoatl and God had clashed; even the residual shockwaves had swept across the entire world and reached the surrounding stars. Had it not been for the gods' protection, they would surely have been decapitated—but now… with so many gods and terrifying beings filling the sky, who will protect them this time?

For a moment, everyone's faces turned hopeless, filled with deep dread, profound terror.

Death is always the most terrifying thing.

Yet before fear could take full hold, their tense, desperate hearts began to slightly recover.

Wait a minute—it's not just me who will die, it's everyone on Earth. If we're all going to die, what's there to fear? We're all going down with this planet anyway.

"What's there to fear? When you die, your cock points to heaven; if you don't die, you live ten thousand years. Either way, you're dead—so why not enjoy the spectacle of the gods' battle? Maybe by witnessing it, our memories will be etched so deeply that even reincarnation cannot erase them."

"When you're reborn in your next life, if you end up in some awesome fantasy world, you might use this memory of the gods' battle to instantly comprehend the truths of heaven and earth, achieve transcendence, and even become a god."

"Besides, when gods fight, their divine power flies everywhere—might it strike us and drag us into reincarnation? With the memory of the gods' war and residual divine power lingering in our souls? That's a guaranteed OP cheat. You'd practically be guaranteed the path to godhood."

A middle-aged man from China, smoking, exhaled slowly, his gaze never leaving the sky over Beimeizhou, speaking to those around him.

At this, everyone froze.

Holy shit!

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard—but somehow, it makes perfect sense, and I can't refute it.

According to this guy, this whole thing is basically a free giveaway of OP cheat systems.

The world never lacks people with wild imaginations; similar words were playing out everywhere, and suddenly no one cared about life or death anymore.

Sometimes it's like this: when one person is afraid, a whole group stops being afraid.

Death is terrifying—but if we're all dying together, with so many companions on the road to hell and the yellow springs, what's there to fear?

More importantly, witnessing a battle of this scale—dying would be worth it.

"Who's on the side of Heaven? Who's on the side of the Maya gods?" Director Takahashi's face was blank; he'd just finished watching one god, and another appeared—he couldn't keep up, couldn't memorize or distinguish the factions.

Professor Zhongtian and his group fell silent, equally unable to immediately identify all the gods.

"Professor Beishan, Professor Zhongtian—what are all these mythological deities?"

A senior official asked.

"There are so many—I can't possibly recognize them all. I can only identify part of them." Both replied in unison.

Then they scanned the gods occupying the entire sky over Beimeizhou, naming one by one those they could recognize.

A quick glance was enough—they recognized the ones they knew instantly; the ones they didn't know, no matter how hard they stared, remained unknown. Soon, they identified deities from Greek, Egyptian, Australian, and other mythologies.

As they continued, Section Chief Saito suddenly spoke up.

"There don't seem to be any Chinese gods."

Everyone froze.

Huh?! Right—Professor Zhongtian and Professor Beishan had been listing gods nonstop, yet not a single Chinese god had been mentioned.

Instantly, everyone turned their gaze upward.

Chinese gods, in both attire and appearance, were clearly distinct from other mythologies—not as confusing as Greek and Norse gods, with high recognizability. Even if people knew nothing of other mythologies, they all knew Chinese mythology.

Thus, they didn't need Professor Zhongtian or Professor Beishan to point them out—they could confirm for themselves.

They scanned back and forth, eyes widening more and more.

"There really aren't any Chinese gods," Director Takahashi said after searching twice, finding no trace of them.

Seeing this, a senior official exclaimed in horror: "Could it be… the Chinese gods are truly dead…"

With the gods' return now underway, and Chinese gods still absent, it naturally sparked speculation. After all, when the gods returned, China had shown no divine phenomena—they'd already suspected the Chinese gods might be dead.

But the strange imagery captured by satellites over China had made them hesitate to judge.

Now, with Chinese gods still absent, it was deeply suspicious.

Everyone shook their heads—neither agreeing nor denying.

"They might not be dead. Thor himself said most Maya gods haven't returned—they're still guarding the Original Battlefield. Maybe the Chinese gods are the same: they never returned, and are still guarding the Original Battlefield. After all…"

Here, Section Chief Saito paused, glanced around, then spoke slowly:

"After all, China has always upheld peace. Other gods have no reason to reckon with China. If other nations' gods don't reckon with themselves, why should China return now? They can stay guarding the Original Battlefield, waiting for the next reckoning."

Director Takahashi nodded in agreement and spoke:

"I've checked—China isn't the only one missing. Some gods have returned, but haven't appeared yet."

Upon hearing this, a senior official first looked at the gods now visible in the Beimeizhou sky, then frowned slightly:

"All gods who've appeared have reasons for reckoning—most tied to history: one nation attacked another, or a god once struck a certain country. The gods who haven't appeared? They have no reckoning reason—their nations were peaceful, their histories free of major issues."

"But Chinese gods don't fit this category. They have reckoning reasons—forget other things, just consider WWII. At the very least, Chinese gods would reckon with our Japanese gods."

As he finished, the official shrank back, swallowing hard.

The terror of Chinese mythology was undeniable. Japanese mythology stood little chance against it—if a reckoning truly came, how many of Japan's eight million gods would die? The thought sent a chill down their spines.

At this, everyone froze.

"Wait?!" Director Takahashi suddenly shouted, eyes wide: "Our Japanese gods haven't appeared either!"

"Where are our Japanese gods?"

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Earlier, Professor Zhongtian and Professor Beishan had been identifying gods by watching the live feed of the Beimeizhou sky—pointing out gods they recognized, one by one. They weren't thinking, "Which mythologies exist?" and then searching the screen.

They saw one they knew, named it—no effort to consider others, no time to wonder if any Japanese gods were missing. Crucially, everyone present was Japanese—there was no need to mention Japanese gods.

Then, when Chinese gods didn't appear, their focus shifted entirely to them.

Had the official not mentioned Japanese gods, they might not have realized it for a long time.

……