Bast, glared fiercely at the Lion God for a while before finally waving a paw.
"Forget it. I'm not eating lion meat anymore."
"Just looking at that dumb face tells me it probably doesn't taste very good."
Among the three Beast Gods, the Lion God had always had the loudest roar, but in reality, he was the weakest.
He had never really caused Bast much trouble. Whenever the three Beast Gods had joined forces against her, the Lion God had mostly stood off to the side roaring a few times and playing a supporting role.
It was just a lackey.
The only reason Bast had wanted to eat him was because his roar sounded far more majestic than hers. Of course, she would never admit she was just a little jealous.
"I haven't needed food for ages, so I'll spare your miserable life today, you foolish lion."
The Panther Goddess spoke lazily. She could tell Carol genuinely liked the Lion God, and since that was the case, she decided to do Carol a favor and let the lion live.
His life could be spared, but his divine kingdom, however, was another matter entirely.
Originally, Bast and the three Beast Gods had shared Wakanda's faith. Divine authority over Wakanda had been divided among the four of them. Bast possessed more than seventy percent of that authority by herself, and the remaining three shared what was left.
Although she held the largest share, her authority had never been complete. That was why she had remained trapped inside her divine kingdom for thousands of years.
Now, two of the three Beast Gods were dead, so as long as she absorbed the Lion God's divine kingdom as well, her authority would finally become complete. Then, she would be free to go wherever she pleased.
As for the Lion God, losing his divine kingdom would drastically weaken him. But he wouldn't die, and that would be a perfect outcome for everyone.
After thousands of years as enemies, none of them had ever trusted one another. Now, however, Bast had achieved complete victory, and as the winner, there was no longer any real need to kill the Lion God.
Without his divine kingdom, his strength would continue to decline. Meanwhile, Bast would only grow stronger and Lion God that had never been able to defeat her in the first place would eventually become no threat whatsoever.
Besides, ordinary felines possessed no intelligence, wandering through life on instinct alone, and strictly speaking, the Lion God was one of her own kind.
That's settled, I'll spare this idiot's life. He won't be able to cause any trouble anyway.
I'll leave him for Carol to torment. Who knows? That might be even worse than death. Haha, I'm such a genius.
Bast silently congratulated herself.
At this point, she no longer referred to herself as "I" in the lofty divine sense when dealing with Daniel and Carol. Her dignity was already gone, and she had decided there was no point pretending anymore.
The Lion God cautiously poked his enormous head out from behind Carol, and for the first time, he spoke.
"Really?"
His voice carried both disbelief, and unmistakable delight. Of course, considering the size of his head, hiding behind Carol was completely pointless.
He only felt like he was hiding. His body measured over twenty meters long, and his head alone was three or four meters in length.
Carol was barely over six feet tall, so there was no way she could actually conceal him. The Lion God knew that perfectly well. He also understood that after losing his divine kingdom, he would probably spend the rest of his life serving as Carol's mount.
But honestly, he didn't mind. Who wouldn't choose living over dying?
Besides, this woman was absurdly powerful, so she'd definitely keep him safe. Without the burden of his divine kingdom, now he could finally travel wherever he wanted.
Maybe, he could even find a pride of lionesses on the grasslands, after all, he was male. At this point, the Lion God had completely forgotten any dignity he once possessed as a god.
"If you keep talking, I'll kill you." Bast snapped irritably, this stupid lion actually had the nerve to doubt her.
The Lion God immediately withdrew his head behind Carol again. He decided that staying quiet was probably the smartest option.
"Foolish lion, don't resist in a moment."
"I'm going to merge your divine kingdom into mine."
Bast announced and behind Carol, the Lion God nodded frantically like a chicken pecking at grain.
Bast began the process, she first absorbed the Gorilla God's and Crocodile God's divine kingdoms.
With both gods already dead, that part was relatively simple, besides, if she didn't take them now, those divine kingdoms would eventually dissipate on their own.
When she finally began absorbing the Lion God's divine kingdom, she suddenly blurted out.
"Pervert!"
The previous two divine kingdoms had been exactly what she expected. The Crocodile God's was filled with nothing but thoughts of eating, and the Gorilla God's contained nothing but fighting.
But the Lion God's, it was completely different.
It was entirely filled.... with lionesses.
When Bast absorbed a divine kingdom, she also inherited the memories of everything that had happened within it.
What she saw was scene after scene of the Lion God busily making baby lions. Every single memory was crystal clear and uncensored.
Bast looked thoroughly disgusted for quite some time. She shot a look of utter contempt towards the Lion God.
"No wonder this idiot is the weakest."
"So that's why he's worn himself out."
After completely absorbing the Lion God's divine kingdom, Bast slowly floated into the air. Her fur became even glossier, and the sleek muscles that had once covered her body gradually disappeared beneath a softer layer.
Her entire body grew noticeably, not because her muscles had grown, it was because she had gotten fatter.
Bast had overeaten, and now she didn't resemble a panther at all. She looked much more like an oversized house cat.
A big, chubby cat.
About an hour later, Bast floated back down. She proudly raised her head and roared.
"Meow!"
"I'm finally free!"
She couldn't have been happier. At last, she would no longer be imprisoned inside her divine kingdom. Now she could finally go out and enjoy the world.
The Lion God, on the other hand, looked utterly exhausted. He resembled someone who had just had a kidney removed. He appeared weak, listless, and was barely able to stay awake. His body had never been in great shape to begin with, and now, it was probably even worse.
The Panther Goddess shrank back down until she was once again about the size of a house cat. At this point, she could easily pass for an ordinary cat.
"Foolish lion, you shrink too."
Bast ordered energetically. The Lion God obediently nodded and shrank to the size of a normal lion.
"Smaller." Bast glared at him.
"Do you expect me to look up at you?" She waved her newly plump little paws threateningly.
The Lion God forced himself to shrink again, he kept shrinking, until he was even smaller than Bast.
Carol picked the tiny Lion God up. He looked pitifully aggrieved as he licked her hand before turning mournful eyes towards Bast.
That panther is bullying me, that was clearly the message he wanted to convey.
Bast understood immediately, as she bared her teeth and let out a low, threatening growl.
"You stupid lion. You think having someone to protect you means I can't beat you anymore? If that's what you believe, then you're just dreaming."
"How many days have you known those siblings? You only met them today. Do you seriously think you're closer to them than I am? I was helping them long before you even knew they existed."
Bast thought indignantly. She was ready to jump over and give the Lion God a good swat. The nerve of that idiot, trying to drive a wedge between them!
She sprang toward the Lion God in Carol's arms, intending to smack him with one paw. Instead, Carol casually swatted Bast away with a single slap.
"Didn't you see how weak the little lion already is, and you're still trying to attack him?"
In Carol's mind, her mission was already complete. The Lion God was now one of her own. As for Bast, she was simply an acquaintance.
"This is my mount." Carol looked at Bast seriously. "And you are not allowed to attack him anymore."
Hearing those words, the Lion God contentedly closed his eyes in Carol's embrace. He was simply too weak, and he needed a good, long sleep.
"How can you do this?!"
"Meow!"
Bast suddenly had the sinking feeling, that from now on, she might never get another chance to beat that stupid lion again.