It wasn't until Moira, as the official representative, and Atlanna signed a new Land-Ocean Convention that this matter finally drew to a preliminary close.
Both sides mutually recognized each other's status, agreed to equal trade, with the trading location being this island.
Humanity claimed the island Thea created was Atlantis's reparations. The Atlanteans said surface dwellers had paid compensation and freely gifted large quantities of materials.
Everyone got what they wanted—dignity and substance. Only then did they happily withdraw their troops.
Carrying enormous public support, Moira returned to make her final campaign push. Thea, bearing Poseidon's promise, returned to Olympus.
The first thing she saw was Ares, previously on death's door. The old war god had been fading fast, but the human-Atlantean conflict had given him a reprieve. Now he was sparring with Diana, sword in hand.
"How did it go?" Diana deftly parried Ares' thrust, sheathed her twin swords, and asked Thea.
"Your uncle is quite reasonable!"
Her words made both Diana and Ares visibly relax. With Poseidon's support, their odds improved significantly.
"Where are the others?" Thea asked.
"They're on the other side watching Heracles and Apollo fight."
Oh? Thea's interest piqued. Don't let Apollo getting dominated by them fool you—that was because the Kryptonians were cheating. Your average fighter really couldn't beat the Sun God.
Never one to miss excitement, she immediately pulled Diana along to watch the battle.
Upon arrival, she found it truly "heated." Olympus had temperature-regulating barriers, yet they'd been beaten until the temperature rose by over ten degrees. The Sun God was clearly giving it his all.
Thea waved at Supergirl across the way before turning to watch the combatants.
Apollo's attacks remained grand and imposing. Scorching flames danced at his command, boiling magma conjured from nowhere. With a wave of his hand, ten thousand rays of light could flash forth. The visual spectacle alone radiated authority.
His opponent, Heracles, still wore his beast-skin outfit, fully leveraging his strength advantage. Ignoring various burns, he single-mindedly engaged in close combat with his giant axe.
Watching this familiar scene, Thea found it rather amusing. If you swapped Apollo for herself and Heracles for the First Born, this battle was identical to Thea's fight against the First Born that day.
Apollo and Thea's combat styles had commonalities—neither excelled at raw power, relying instead on adding energy to their attacks.
The First Born and Heracles were remarkably similar, both depending on their bodies. The difference was the First Born's greater killing intent as an avenger, while Heracles embodied more of an honorable warrior.
Whether soft overcomes hard or hard overcomes soft ultimately depended on both sides' grasp of opportunities.
"Thea! Diana!" Little Supergirl seized the break to approach the two women, her expression joyful as a young deer. Adventure, fighting—these were impulses embedded deep in her genes. Faora's genes at birth had been adjusted for the role of adjutant, while Kara's genetic direction was warrior.
Combat was her nature. Compared to Superman constantly making her study, work, and act like an ordinary person, she much preferred fighting.
Thea ruffled her hair. This girl's energy had surged dramatically again—no doubt absorbed from Apollo. Truly worthy of the cheat race.
The human-shaped sun was hard-countered by the Kryptonians. That was why his temper was so foul.
Seeing Supergirl chatting intimately with Thea, Apollo delivered two consecutive strikes to drive back Heracles, then turned toward Thea.
"I heard you fought the First Born to a draw. Without that red-caped guy, would you dare spar with me?"
Suddenly, everyone's eyes turned to Thea.
Damn it, I'm the Goddess of Wealth, not the Goddess of War! Why does everyone want to fight me?!
Still, good opponents were hard to find. Especially at her current level, Thea also wanted to personally experience how strong the Apollo who'd claimed the throne in the original timeline truly was.
"He's very powerful. Be careful," Heracles warned as Apollo found another opponent. He didn't know Thea had ascended to godhood, still judging by his previous impression.
Walking forward slowly, she gave her whip a light flick. Silver fire danced around her, streaming with brilliant light. Thea's visual effects were no weaker than Apollo's.
Apollo snorted coldly and also drew his weapon. Thea raised an eyebrow—this guy also used a bow and arrows.
The golden bow and dazzling arrows made Thea slightly envious. Unfortunately, due to divine power compatibility issues, the Moon Goddess's Silver Moon Longbow no longer matched her. Otherwise, comparing archery skills would have been interesting.
His gaze, sharp as lightning, fixed on her. Not wanting to be a target, Thea attacked first.
She casually whipped up silver fire to fill the sky. Light and fire attributes were useless—his resistance would be sky-high. Water attribute was suitable but lacked offensive power. Dark attribute had poor optics and low compatibility with silver fire. Thea could only infuse wind attribute into the attributeless silver fire.
The silver-white flames turned sky-blue, dancing through the air to interfere with Apollo's vision while she hid within, using the dazzling light effects to close the distance.
"Under sunlight, none can hide." Apollo spoke like he was singing, with a hint of aria. Unfortunately, Thea had no time to mock him, because his arrow had already left the string, aimed precisely at her true form.
"See-through invisibility?" Thea remained calm under pressure. Her legs stayed still while her body shifted laterally ten meters.
Also familiar with archery, she knew archers didn't have three-hundred-sixty-degree shooting coverage. Every archer had a visual blind spot. This angle was small and changed as the archer moved position—a fleeting opportunity.
She used dodging the arrow as an opportunity to shift laterally, searching for his weakness. Apollo, combat-experienced, immediately understood her intention. He rapidly increased distance and nocked a second arrow in preparation.
Thea's repeated aggressive advances were all seen through. Apollo's archery differed from hers—his style was grand and imposing, containing an unstoppable rhythm enhanced by the Sun God's divine power.
Thea felt quite helpless. Her own divine position provided limited combat power—far more auxiliary than offensive. Her current ability to fight evenly with several deities relied more on her excellent foundation from before.
Never mind others—once Diana ascended to godhood, with her equally explosive foundation, she could immediately tie Miss Queen to a bed and dominate her.
How can I develop combat abilities from Trade and Wealth? This question occupied her constant research.
However, seeing Apollo deploy divine power, she also began using her confusion trait. The already dazzling battlefield now gained a hint of bewitchment.
Money could reach the gods—deities weren't immune to monetary power either. Apollo's true-sight eyes suffered severe interference. He had to squint, searching for her figure.