"Krishna, you've lost."
A young man in a white robe, holding a Bible, spoke to a youth wearing a bamboo hat and fishing by the river.
Hearing this, Krishna didn't respond and kept staring at his fishing hook without blinking until the float sank.
"The fish took the bait."
Krishna abruptly lifted his rod. The fish thrashed in the air, its scales shimmering under the sunlight. Finally, it fell into the fishing basket.
Only then did Krishna turn to look at the young man beside him, speaking with a calm expression.
"Lost? So be it. What's there to worry about?"
"As per our agreement, the position of Ouroboros' Leader must be taken over by Christianity."
The young man holding the Bible stared at Krishna coldly.
Christianity was Ouroboros' largest donor, yet its influence had always been suppressed within Ouroboros.
He was deeply dissatisfied with Krishna's indifference now. Krishna's mistake led to Kalki's exposure and significant damage to many of Ouroboros' subordinate forces.
Coupled with the targeting by the Heavenly Army, Ouroboros' influence had diminished by at least fifty percent in this wave.
Yet Krishna was merely a Leader. He didn't inject funds into Ouroboros. The money used belonged to Christianity. Krishna was squandering Christianity's money.
No matter how wealthy Christianity was, it couldn't withstand Krishna's wasteful spending.
The lost power would take who-knows-how-many years to recover.
But most likely, it couldn't be recovered, as the snake had been exposed under the sunlight.
"Oh? Young man, don't focus on temporary losses. Your vision must look far ahead."
Krishna squinted, gazing at some unknown place. The only certainty was that his gaze wasn't on the young man beside him.
"Young man?"
The youth clutching the Bible snorted coldly and retorted,
"You're clearly the youngest, Orpheus."
"Heh."
Krishna laughed wordlessly. If the young man wouldn't heed his advice, so be it.
"You're still as quick as ever, Judas."
"Orpheus, I didn't come to negotiate with you but to inform you."
Judas spoke expressionlessly, his tone so cold it seemed Krishna's earlier words had struck a nerve.
(Krishna, you still dare mention that name. This revenge, I, Jesus, will remember.)
The name Judas was a pain he could never escape.
"Still a young man."
Krishna chuckled silently. He wasn't just talking about the age of becoming a Two-Digit.
If based solely on the time of becoming a Two-Digit, he was indeed a few hundred years behind Judas… no, the Holy Son.
But if counting the time spent striving in Little Garden, he far surpassed Judas.
He fought from the Dawn Era to now to become the strongest. The hardships he endured were far greater than Judas'.
Foresight and sufficient patience were essential qualities for a chess player.
As he spoke, Krishna slightly closed his eyes, relaxing his expression, and began divining Little Garden's future once more.
Divining the future with a Two-Digit Spirit Status, he could still glean some clues.
When Krishna opened his eyes again, the smile in them grew uncontrollable.
He saw, in a not-too-distant future, Canaria breaking through to Three-Digit, with the furious faces of countless gods and Buddhas behind her.
What delighted Krishna most was seeing the Holy Son enraged in Eden.
"Little Garden will finally have another Three-Digit Poet?"
"The Poet is the strongest Fourth Type." this wasn't a joke but a fact.
The seventeen strongest individuals in Little Garden currently consisted of Gods and Buddhas, Pure Dragons, Star Spirits, and Poets.
Among those seventeen, Poets accounted for two. Naturally, they were Little Garden's strongest Fourth Type.
Krishna's feelings toward Canaria were complex. After all, Canaria was his disciple and played a crucial role in his path to Two-Digit.
In other words, without Canaria, he'd likely still be wandering in Three-Digit.
The source of merit that made him Two-Digit was the Renaissance triggered by Canaria's spread of the Black Death virus.
By leveraging his identity as Canaria's teacher, he alone reaped the merits of the entire Renaissance, deceiving the gods that the Renaissance's merits had been woven into distorted history.
After all, it was the first and only historical change at the time. No one knew how Human History would react to such a change.
Would the new merits be granted to Little Garden by Human History, or would they be used to fill Human History's gaps?
And Canaria became the scapegoat. It should be noted that nearly all Pantheons at the time were awaiting merits after surpassing Dystopia.
But because Canaria eliminated Dystopia, she used a cheating method to surpass it.
Merits? What merits? It was good enough that the Winds of Decadence didn't demand revenge.
The gods could only accept it and vent their grudges on Canaria.
Yet, thanks to his protection, Canaria remained safe until now.
Krishna hoped Canaria would follow the same path as him and become his colleague.
But Canaria didn't strive, lost in her dream of the Great Floor Master Alliance, unable to break free. So, Krishna had to intervene, shattering her dream of the Great Alliance.
And give Canaria an honorable end. This was the last thing he could do for her as her teacher.
But now, Krishna was surprised. Canaria was impressive; she even fooled him.
Initially, he thought Aslan appeared out of nowhere, but now he somewhat believed it was truly Canaria's plan.
It couldn't possibly be Shiroyasha's calculation, as his last prophecy suggested.
If Shiroyasha were that capable, Little Garden would've been her playground long ago. Fourteen Sun Authorities, plus the Origin Star's Star Spirit, gave her too great an advantage on the chessboard.
With eyes full of admiration, Krishna waved his hand, helping "Canaria" cover many details she hadn't even noticed.
"Canaria is still too young. Let me, her teacher, help her." Krishna said with a smile.
If, a few minutes ago, upon discovering this was all Canaria's plan, he only wanted to crush her.
After all, he was Ouroboros' Leader, and Canaria was clearly opposing Ouroboros. With opposing positions, reconciliation was impossible.
But now…
Sorry, the position of Ouroboros' Leader has been taken by the Holy Son of Christianity. Krishna suddenly had no more grudges against Canaria.
It was a perfect chance to teach Judas a lesson, a small lesson from a senior.
It wasn't about revenge at all. How could he, Krishna, be so petty?
"Though it's a bit late, I still want to warn you, Judas. Be careful lest your eyes get pecked." Krishna said with a hint of amusement.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
When the Holy Son returned to Eden, seeing a voice message that appeared in Eden at some point, Judas gritted his teeth and said,
"Krishna…"
"After I devour Kalki's Spirit Status and advance further in Two-Digit, I'll definitely pay you back."
Due to their Spirit Status, both Krishna and he became Two-Digit as Poets, and both leveraged Dystopia.
Their power wasn't strong.
In fact, they were at the bottom of Little Garden's seventeen Two-Digits.
Even Halloween Queen could easily take on both of them at once.
This was why they joined the Sun King Group.
It was solely to advance further.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Arcadia.
Aslan flipped through the Unofficial History, watching Canaria's unofficial history in the book gradually become reality.
He couldn't help but smile slightly.
"As expected, pinning all the blame on Canaria was the right choice."
It completely dispelled his suspicions and made Fiction Canaria far more real.
Just now, Fiction·Canaria nearly transformed from virtual to real.
Though he didn't know who helped, the Fiction Canaria, originally only at Five-Digit strength, was directly promoted to a Four-Digit Fictional Historian.
Then Aslan closed the Unofficial History and put the book away.
But before Aslan could rest long, Leticia approached, holding a stack of visiting cards.
"Master, it's time to get serious."
"This… what is it?" Aslan asked with a trembling voice. He seemed to sense his miserable fate ahead.
"Visiting cards from various Pantheons and Communities." Leticia said calmly. The shadow under her feet had somehow crept up to Aslan's ankle.
"I almost forgot, Master. These are just from the Pantheons. There are still those from former allies awaiting your response."
Leticia spoke words that made Aslan break into a cold sweat, all with a mouth at 37 degrees Celsius.
"Leticia, can't you handle it?" Aslan could already imagine the pressure the upcoming celebration would bring to Arcadia.
He really just wanted to contact old allies!
But why did it turn out like this?
"Sorry, Master, you're Arcadia's Leader now." Leticia tilted her head, looking at him very gently.
But that gaze made Aslan want to flee even more.
"Oh, right, Master, Arcadia absolutely can't accommodate so many guests, even with Perseus' help, it's not enough."
"And security is a big issue too."
"Also, the banquet for the Great Gods—different gods have different taboos and preferences…"
"And…"
"And…"
…
"Alright, enough, stop talking, Leticia, I understand." Aslan hurriedly silenced Leticia's mouth.