Chapter 1049: The Gods Behind the Empire

Strax was crossing Asgard’s main courtyard when two familiar presences appeared in his perception. He stopped walking and raised his face, finding two enormous draconic silhouettes approaching through the sky above the city walls.

He recognized both of them immediately.

Ouroboros and Tiamat.

His wives were finally coming back.

Strax placed his hands on his waist while watching the two dragonesses lose altitude. A smile appeared on his face, although he was far from forgetting how long they had been away.

"OUROBOROS! TIAMAT! WHY DID YOU TAKE SO LONG TO COME BACK?!" Strax shouted while the two flew over the courtyard, making several soldiers raise their heads.

Ouroboros answered with an excited roar, while Tiamat accelerated her flight upon recognizing her husband’s voice. The two began descending, and Strax shook his head when he noticed their hurry.

He had sent his wives to another continent a few weeks earlier. At the time, he had imagined the trip would be relatively short, especially considering the speed of the two women.

Apparently, he had underestimated the number of problems they could encounter along the way.

A few weeks earlier, Strax had been sitting in one of the rooms of Asgard’s main residence, accompanied by Ouroboros and Tiamat. His two wives were resting beside him after spending most of the morning training when he mentioned that he needed to ask them for a favor.

"I want the two of you to return to the continent you came from and speak with my father." Strax asked while absentmindedly stroking Ouroboros’s hair as she leaned against his shoulder.

The dragoness immediately raised her face.

"Your father? Did something happen, darling?" Ouroboros asked while straightening slightly, interested in the reason behind that unexpected request.

"Not exactly. I want to know how things are going with the gods, especially Zeus." Strax explained while wrapping an arm around her waist and looking toward Tiamat.

His other wife was sitting on the opposite side, her legs resting on the couch. Upon hearing Zeus’s name, she stopped playing with her husband’s fingers.

"Do you think that old man is planning something?" Tiamat asked while moving closer and resting her chin on Strax’s free shoulder.

"I’m sure he’s planning something. I just don’t know exactly what." Strax replied while looking from one wife to the other.

Ouroboros became thoughtful.

"And you believe your father might know?" Ouroboros asked while intertwining her fingers with his.

"He’s much closer to that region than we are. If Zeus is moving troops or directly interfering with the Human Empire, he’s probably already heard something." Strax explained while stroking the back of her hand.

Tiamat let out a small sigh.

"So we’re going to be away from you for a few days?" Tiamat asked while making a displeased expression and squeezing her husband’s arm.

"A few days, maybe a week. Depends on what you find." Strax replied while placing a kiss on her forehead.

Tiamat did not look satisfied.

"An entire week without my husband? You’re becoming very cruel to me." Tiamat complained while wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her face against his chest.

Ouroboros laughed softly.

"She’s exaggerating, but I don’t like the idea very much either." Ouroboros admitted while moving even closer and caressing Strax’s face.

"You know I’m not sending anyone away, right?" Strax asked while looking at the two women clinging to him.

"We know, love. We just want you to miss us." Ouroboros replied while giving him a long kiss before pulling away with a satisfied smile.

Tiamat immediately claimed her turn.

"And don’t give too much attention to the other wives while we’re gone." Tiamat added while holding his face and kissing him as well.

Strax started laughing.

"That’s a little difficult considering how many women live with me." Strax replied while receiving an indignant look from Tiamat.

"You know perfectly well what I meant!" Tiamat complained while giving him a light slap on the shoulder.

Ouroboros merely smiled.

"We’ll do what you asked, darling. But when we return, you’re going to set aside some time exclusively for the two of us." Ouroboros declared while gently adjusting the collar of his clothes.

Strax nodded.

"Deal. Just be careful and don’t get into a confrontation with the gods. I want information, not a war." Strax asked while holding both of their hands.

Tiamat made a slight grimace.

"You say that as if I’m going to go looking for someone to hit." Tiamat replied while crossing her arms.

Strax looked directly at her.

Ouroboros did too.

The dragoness fell silent.

"All right, maybe I’ve done that a few times." Tiamat admitted while looking away, drawing a laugh from the other two.

Shortly afterward, his wives left.

Strax expected to see them again within a few days.

Back in the present, the two dragonesses finally landed in the courtyard.

Their enormous wings created powerful gusts of wind, forcing several soldiers to shield their faces. As soon as they touched the ground, Ouroboros and Tiamat began assuming their human forms.

Strax opened his arms, expecting them to approach normally.

That was a mistake.

"MY LOVE!" Tiamat shouted while running toward him and throwing herself into his arms, wrapping herself around his neck with enough force that Strax had to brace his feet.

Ouroboros came right behind her, hugging her husband from the other side and covering his face with kisses.

"Finally! You have no idea how much we missed you, darling!" Ouroboros declared while holding Strax’s face between her hands and giving him another kiss.

Strax burst out laughing.

"Calm down, you two! I missed you too, but I still need to breathe!" Strax complained while trying to accommodate both wives without being knocked over.

Tiamat completely ignored the request.

"I don’t care! It was weeks without you! Without sleeping while hugging my husband, without getting my kisses and without anyone pampering me!" Tiamat complained while hiding her face against his neck and hugging him even tighter.

Ouroboros stroked Strax’s hair.

"She spent a good part of the trip complaining that she wanted to return to your arms." Ouroboros said while smiling affectionately at her husband.

Tiamat raised her face.

"As if you didn’t do the same thing!" Tiamat shot back while pointing at the other dragoness.

Ouroboros laughed.

"I never said I didn’t, darling." Ouroboros replied while kissing Strax again, this time on the cheek.

He wrapped his arms around both of their waists.

"Did you really miss me that much?" Strax asked while observing his wives’ faces, clearly pleased to finally have them back.

"More than you can imagine." Ouroboros replied while resting her forehead against his.

Tiamat smiled mischievously.

"And you’re going to make up for every day we spent apart with a lot of sex!" Tiamat announced while caressing her husband’s chest.

Ouroboros immediately agreed.

"A lot, love. I hope you rested well while we were away." Ouroboros added while giving him a provocative smile.

Strax closed his eyes for a moment.

"Can you two calm down? We’re in public!" Strax asked while casting a meaningful look around them.

His wives finally seemed to realize they were not alone.

Ouroboros delicately turned her head.

Tiamat looked over her shoulder.

Several soldiers were scattered around the courtyard.

One of them was examining a sword that apparently had nothing wrong with it. Another was far too focused on a small crack in the wall. Two guards near the entrance pretended to be talking, although both remained strangely silent.

Farther away, one soldier watched the sky with an extremely serious expression.

Ouroboros brought one hand to her mouth to hide her laughter.

Tiamat simply shrugged.

"Oh, love, they know very well what happens in this city." Tiamat replied while caressing Strax’s face, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.

"That doesn’t mean we need to announce our private life to the entire guard." Strax replied while shaking his head.

Tiamat looked at the soldiers again.

"Don’t you have work to do?! Get back to your posts!" Tiamat ordered while placing her hands on her waist.

The reaction was immediate.

The soldiers began dispersing, some trying to hide smiles while resuming their patrols. The man examining the wall practically fled, and the two guards near the entrance disappeared down the corridor.

Ouroboros let out an amused laugh.

"You scared the poor men, Tiamat." Ouroboros commented while snuggling back against Strax.

"They’ll survive." Tiamat replied while holding her husband’s arm again.

Strax sighed.

"My wives just got back and they’re already causing trouble." Strax commented while looking at the two women.

"Trouble? Us?" Ouroboros asked while bringing one hand to her chest and pretending to be offended.

Tiamat smiled.

"You love us precisely because of that." Tiamat replied while giving him another kiss on the cheek.

Strax could not disagree.

Ouroboros, however, seemed to remember something important.

"Ah, darling, we need to talk to him before we go home." Ouroboros commented while looking at Tiamat.

The other dragoness made a slight grimace.

"Now?" Tiamat asked while remaining clung to her husband.

"Now. Because if we start having sex first, I’ll end up forgetting half the information we got." Ouroboros explained while absentmindedly caressing Strax’s arm.

He raised an eyebrow.

"So you really found something?" Strax asked while his expression became more attentive.

Ouroboros nodded.

"We did, love. And unfortunately, the news isn’t very pleasant." Ouroboros replied while finally moving far enough away to look directly at him.

Tiamat also set aside some of her playfulness.

"Your father was quite worried when we spoke with him." Tiamat added while crossing her arms.

Strax became serious.

"Go ahead." Strax asked while observing the two women.

Ouroboros took a deep breath.

"Zeus really is controlling the Human Empire." Ouroboros revealed while holding one of her husband’s hands.

Strax did not seem particularly surprised.

"So my suspicions were right." Strax commented while beginning to consider the implications of that confirmation.

"They were. He’s still using the king’s body and ruling through him. To the population, nothing seems to have changed, but the important decisions are being made directly by Zeus." Ouroboros explained while her expression showed clear disapproval.

Tiamat approached again.

"And the situation gets worse, darling. He isn’t alone." Tiamat added while looking at Strax.

"Athena and Ares?" Strax asked while already imagining the answer.

Ouroboros nodded.

"Athena took Krissia’s former position." Ouroboros revealed while observing his reaction.

Strax frowned.

"She took Krissia’s place?" Strax repeated while crossing his arms.

"Yes. And they’re spreading a rather unpleasant story about her." Ouroboros replied while lightly pressing her lips together.

Tiamat let out an irritated sigh.

"They’re calling Krissia a traitor. According to the official version, she abandoned the Human Empire, betrayed her duties and fled to join you." Tiamat explained while shaking her head, clearly indignant.

Strax remained silent for a few seconds.

Then let out a humorless laugh.

"So they decided to turn her departure into treason." Strax commented while running a hand through his hair.

"Exactly, love. Athena was presented as the new general responsible for restoring the honor of that position." Ouroboros continued while observing her husband’s expression.

"And Ares?" Strax asked while beginning to get irritated by the number of gods involved.

"He became a general too." Tiamat replied while raising two fingers.

Strax looked at her.

"Two generals?" Strax asked while frowning even more.

"Exactly. Athena and Ares are now the two main generals of the Human Empire. Both are disguised, naturally. To the humans, they’re simply extremely powerful warriors who earned the king’s trust." Tiamat explained while resting one hand on her waist.

Ouroboros nodded.

"In other words, Zeus is on the throne using the king’s body, while Athena and Ares command the military forces. Three gods directly controlling the Human Empire." Ouroboros concluded while affectionately squeezing Strax’s hand.

He stared at his two wives.

That was much worse than he had expected.

Before, Zeus had influence over the Empire.

Now, apparently, the three gods had taken positions that allowed them to control practically every political and military decision.

"And my father? What did he say about it?" Strax asked while leaning against a nearby column.

Ouroboros approached and placed one hand on his chest.

"He confirmed that the gods’ movements are increasing. He still doesn’t know exactly what Zeus intends to do, but he recommended that you not underestimate the situation." Ouroboros explained while looking into her husband’s eyes.

Tiamat nodded.

"He also said we shouldn’t provoke any confrontation while we were there. So we were good girls and came back without hitting anyone." Tiamat added while smiling proudly.

Strax looked at her.

"That’s genuinely impressive." Strax replied while stroking his wife’s head.

Tiamat closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the affection.

"I deserve a reward." Tiamat declared while hugging his waist.

Ouroboros laughed.

"You’ve already asked for your reward about five times since we landed." Ouroboros commented while adjusting a strand of her own hair.

"And I’ll keep asking." Tiamat replied while shrugging.

Strax let out an amused sigh, but soon returned to thinking about the information he had just received.

Zeus.

Athena.

Ares.

Three gods he would have to face sooner or later.