Phoebe wanted to resurrect her mother and make those hypocritical gods, who were all talk and no action, pay for their pretentiousness.
Thus, Phoebe drastically altered her plan, becoming even more aggressive. She didn't hesitate to abandon her carefully chosen apostles, personally transferring power to John, helping him grow stronger.
In secret, Phoebe continued to gather information about her mother, attempting to bring her back to life. Phoebe succeeded, but not completely. Over the years, she managed to recover most of Seraphina's soul and power, but the most crucial fragment of Seraphina's soul remained on Mount Olympus, guarded by Zeus to prevent Seraphina from ever returning.
Moreover, Zeus had never fully trusted Phoebe, making it impossible for her to approach Mount Olympus. Thus, she placed her hopes in John, covertly forming alliances. She reached out to the gods of fire and forge, the goddess of the hunt, the god of the underworld, and the god of death. Phoebe spared no effort in building her strength, and her influence grew steadily.
Now, the final battle was imminent. John possessed the seven Authorities of the apostles. If he could refine and merge them into one, he would naturally acquire a godly status and wield the power to rival the gods. Although Qing and the others did not have complete Authorities and couldn't awaken godhood, their combat power far surpassed ordinary Demigod tier beings.
Moreover, their top-tier forces included powerful gods like Hades and the goddess of the hunt. While their numbers were significantly lower than those led by Zeus, their quality was not inferior. Hades alone, it was said, could take down the entirety of Mount Olympus save for Zeus and Ares. His power was that formidable. With Hades present, there was someone to counter Zeus.
As for the gods who still wavered and chose neutrality, as long as they did not interfere, victory was not impossible.
Phoebe then took John to the underworld to refine the combined Authorities, enabling him to obtain the true power of a god. John was submerged in the river of the underworld, enduring excruciating pain for three months as the Authorities within him clashed and fused under Phoebe's control.
During this period, Qing and the others did not remain idle. They knew they could not simply stand by in this final battle. Even if they could not defeat the gods, they could at least confront the remaining Divine Emissaries, sharing the burden with John.
In these three months, Qing first broke through to Demigod tier. He went to the snow mountains alone, nearly exterminating all the monsters there to increase his strength, successfully surpassing 40,000 battle power.
Helena adapted to the Authority of the hunting goddess, and with the Godslayer Bow, she was on the verge of reaching Demigod tier.
Lily and Exiled Immortal made rapid progress, both easily breaking through 40,000 battle power after mastering their existing skills.
Of course, there were also some gods who, after learning of Hades's plan, chose to defect. This included the Three Fates, the Furies, and other deities, which made Zeus extremely angry but helpless.
For Zeus, this was a blatant betrayal. But in the end, he didn't have the extra energy to punish these traitors. All he could do was seize every bit of strength he could and wait for the war to come.
And all of this officially began when John finally gathered all the Authority in his body and ascended to godhood.
After ascending to godhood, John clearly noticed the changes in his body. An almost invulnerable physique, an extraordinarily resilient soul, and endless methods.
The moment John ascended to godhood, Zeus on the mountain of the gods immediately noticed it. He tried to dispatch gods to assassinate John, but unfortunately, John's power far exceeded his expectations.
Even a seasoned god like Hermes fell at John's hands without any resistance. From that moment, Zeus realized he could no longer stop John.
In the millennia-long history of the doomed Olympus, there finally emerged someone who broke the mold, transforming from a cocoon into a butterfly, and ascended to godhood! This officially marked the beginning of the divine war.
However, when Hades revealed his full power, John was still shocked. Over thirty gods imprisoned in the underworld defected at the same time, joining Hades's camp.
Moreover, the news of Seraphina's resurrection spread, giving hope to those gods who had suffered discrimination and unfair treatment over the years due to past incidents. They flocked to Seraphina.
At this point, the two factions were fully established. Hades gathered nearly sixty gods, while Zeus's faction had only half of Hades's number.
But sometimes, quantity doesn't matter; quality is crucial.
After another month, John fully adapted to his divine power, demonstrating impressive combat abilities. Even when facing Hades, he could hold his own in a fight, although he would ultimately be defeated. Nevertheless, this proved John's formidable strength.
"Then, let us launch our final attack on the mountain of the gods!"