Indra's speech represented the will of a significant portion of the gods.
They knew the End Emptiness was invincible, and they knew Su Mo's combat power was unrivaled.
Choosing the lesser of two evils, back before Su Mo had made his move, before the End Emptiness had appeared, they still entertained thoughts of opposing him, unable to accept either the decline of the divine host's status or the potential destruction of Little Garden.
But now, with the End Emptiness having truly arrived and Little Garden facing annihilation, they finally realized they had no choice.
Either be destroyed or fight for a sliver of hope.
A mere lowering of their status suddenly didn't seem so difficult to accept in the face of the End Emptiness.
Thus, most of the gods had come around to the idea of compromise.
They had no other choice. Whether it was the End Emptiness or Su Mo, they couldn't afford to provoke either one.
When fighting was never an option, Indra's so-called "pro-peace faction" was, in reality, a pro-surrender faction. He had only phrased it that way to save face for the gods.
Whatever Su Mo was planning, they hoped he would take them along, so they at least wouldn't be caught in a pincer attack from both sides.
Aside from the "pro-peace faction," there was at most a "fugitive faction."
But the Twin Goddesses, who held the twelve sun authority and the only key to escape, were now acting strangely, seemingly observing something. The World-Honored One had also not spoken, which made it difficult for them to even voice a request to flee.
After all, just as the gods had once considered abandoning the history of humanity, if the Twin Goddesses decided to abandon the divine host and leave on their own, or simply offer all the sun authority to Su Mo in exchange for their own safety, there was nothing the other gods could do.
Under these circumstances, even the billions of gods in the divine host were exceptionally weak before Su Mo.
However, as is usually the case, every organization has its share of unconventional members.
For instance, the god Canary was looking at right now.
Hearing Indra's overly fawning words, this deity frowned deeply and clenched his fists, as if he had something to say.
Gods are often poor at, or rather, have no need for, concealing their emotions. His attitude was obvious—he did not agree with Indra's statement.
There were many gods like him. The War God who had initially rebuked Canary for her rudeness and even wanted to attack her, only to be sealed by a slap from Indra, was among them. They had spontaneously formed their own little circle.
This was no coincidence.
Just as the gods who thought like Indra—those without excessive pride, who found the End Emptiness more unacceptable than Su Mo—would subconsciously band together.
Those with intense self-esteem, who held the divine majesty of the gods in high regard, would also subconsciously group together.
"Who is it that disagrees?!"
Hearing Canary's words, Indra immediately turned his head, his brow furrowed as he shot a cold glare in their direction.
"It is I... we!"
After a moment's hesitation, the War God and his companions exchanged glances, drawing courage from one another. They stepped forward swaggeringly and pointed an accusing finger.
"Indra, and to think you are the head of the Devas, one of the Twelve Heavenly Guardians! To be so spineless before another! You have brought shame upon the entire divine host!"
Seeing the other god speak so righteously even under his intimidating presence, Indra's eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.
Was this fellow's intelligence so low that he failed to grasp the situation? Or was he truly a person of noble character, who would rather die than submit to another?
Given the single-minded nature of gods, both possibilities existed.
So, after a moment's hesitation, Indra asked probingly.
"I remember, you seem to be a god from the southern Korean pantheon. What, do you have some brilliant idea for dealing with the End Emptiness?"
"I do not!"
The War God shook his head with righteous confidence.
Indra's heart skipped a beat. To be so arrogant without a solution, could it be that he truly intended to die a martyr?
If so, this would be tricky. Even the World-Honored One would find it difficult to stop a god determined to die. Although Indra didn't agree with this course of action, he had to admit that the other was defending the dignity of the gods with his life.
Realizing this, Indra took a deep breath, his expression becoming much more solemn.
"Is that so... It seems you are absolutely unwilling to submit to Lord Su Mo. While I don't approve of your choice, if you wish to resist the End Emptiness in your own way—"
"Who said we're unwilling to submit to Lord Su Mo!"
Indra had just been about to say that he would witness the other's death with the utmost respect.
But before he could finish his sentence, he was flatly contradicted.
Not only that, but upon hearing Indra's words, the War God before him looked even more agitated than before. He shot a quick glance at Canary, terrified of being misunderstood.
"We have never said we are absolutely unwilling to submit to His Excellency Su Mo!"
He emphasized it again.
"Then why did you look so reluctant just now?"
"If you're willing to submit, shouldn't you agree with what I said?"
"No! We don't agree with your view either!"
These gods shook their heads again.
"?"
Indra, utterly confused, asked bluntly.
"What is it you people want?"
"Uh, well..."
The gods, who had been so righteous and aggressive just a moment ago, now averted their eyes and suddenly began to stammer, at a loss for words.
After some awkward fidgeting, they slowly stated their point of view.
"No matter what, we are still gods. The history of myth is a treasure we built. How can it be as cheap as toilet paper..."
"We aren't unwilling to submit to His Excellency Su Mo, but there's a proper way to submit. If we act as fawningly as you have this time, won't we become people who can be summoned and dismissed at will in the future?"
"Exactly! We aren't unwilling to accept His Excellency Su Mo's rule, but shouldn't His Excellency Su Mo at least show us the proper respect?"
"That's right! We can accept the lowering of the history of myth's status and are willing to serve under His Excellency Su Mo, so shouldn't we get some compensation?"
"Ahem! Forget compensation, after all, His Excellency Su Mo is indeed peerless... But the necessary respect must be given."
"Well said! Even the World-Honored One has to address us as colleagues. Although His Excellency Su Mo is stronger than the World-Honored One, he shouldn't just send a mere human girl to deal with us, right?"
Amidst the clamor, although each god had a different attitude and there was internal disagreement.
But both Indra and Canary could see their true demand from their expressions.
"I see..."
Indra clapped his hands and sighed, feeling like a complete idiot for the bit of respect he'd felt for them earlier.
"You're not unwilling to submit. You just think the price is too low and want to haggle."
In three words: that'll cost extra.
"Ahem! Nonsense, it's too much for you to speculate about your colleagues like that... but you're not entirely wrong."
The War God flicked his sleeve, feigning displeasure, but he didn't completely refute Indra's words.
After confirming that the other party understood his meaning, he looked up at Canary.
"So, can His Excellency Su Mo personally agree to our demands?"
Peeking at Canary's slightly smiling, inscrutable eyes, he lost some of his nerve and added.
"We know that maintaining the former status of the gods is an extravagant hope, and we don't expect to be valued by Lord Su Mo. But at the very least, if we are to choose to submit, Lord Su Mo should at least guarantee that he can defeat the End Emptiness, right?"
"Without this most basic guarantee, why should we submit?"