chsdbacks Page 57
Page 57
How did things turn out this way?
Gazing at the surging sea, surrounded by azure waves, the waves crashing against the rocks on the shore.
On the cliff by the sea, Bai Zhi stood there blankly, staring at the sea. Then she looked down at the compass needle pointing to the sea, glancing left and right but not seeing Hermes, who had promised to accompany her.
"I'm not wearing glasses, I don't have a Lucemon costume, and I can't fly."
Bai Zhi said with a toothache that the destination had changed from saving Io to killing the three Medusa sisters and seizing the magic eyes of petrification and death.
The two are vastly different, not to mention...
"The Invisible Island is an isolated island in the sea. Without a ship, even with just a compass, it's impossible to sail out to sea. Goddess Athena really knows how to 'test' people. She won't stop until she has squeezed out all of their potential."
Let's go back to one day ago—
With the latter's divine power, Bai Zhi and Hermes quickly arrived at the location of the hundred-eyed giant Argo.
The scene that appeared before them was completely unexpected.
There was no white heifer that was not tethered, nor a giant ten meters tall with a blue face, fangs, bulging muscles, and vertical pupils all over its body.
Before them lay a bustling arena, filled with soldiers in various armors, as well as many powerful savages with thick waists and clad in animal skins, and heroes wielding wondrous weapons, their stories sung by bards.
"Lord Hermes, is your method of delivery, as a messenger, perhaps to travel around the entire country of Greece?"
If you run through the entire map, you'll eventually find someone.
Bai Zhi practically said, "My lord, you have a problem with your sense of direction."
"Are you doubting my sense of direction? There's no place in the entire Greek region that I haven't been."
Hermes felt deeply insulted and pointed his finger forcefully at the compass, saying:
"The compass works by using my divine power to determine your location based on your inner desires, thereby fixing the pointer to guide your direction. The map it uses is supported by my database. You still doubt me?!"
Bai Zhi did not refute, but silently watched the huge arena.
Facts speak louder than words. We both saw it with our own eyes, and any explanation you give is sophistry.
"Let's go, I don't believe it, let's see which guy dares to frame me." Hermes' eyebrows twitched, and he pulled Bai Zhi into the arena.
As the two walked, anyone blocking their path would subconsciously make way for them, but they were completely unaware of it and continued with their own activities, such as chatting, joking, or exchanging insults with enemy soldiers.
'The power of lies influenced their consciousness? No, it's more like they erased my existence and Lord Hermes's from their perception, denying us even the right to remember us; seeing through it is just wishful thinking.'
Inside the arena, the stands were mostly occupied by soldiers from various countries, while the top seats were reserved for kings and nobles, who wore crowns and magnificent robes and were served by beautiful maids.
At this moment, soldiers, kings, and nobles alike abandoned their usual demeanor and appearance.
They shouted and roared, drooling and gesticulating wildly, like beasts breaking free from their ideals and revealing their bloodthirsty instincts.
They admired the warriors battling wild beasts inside the arena.
The gruesome wounds from claws and fangs tearing flesh apart, the crimson blood from swords slashing across the beast's fur.
It was like a frenzied blood sacrifice, offering their faith and glory to the gods through bravery and victory.
"@YT＃*＆^@"
Hermes froze the moment he stepped into the arena, his expression shifting from bewilderment and confusion to sudden realization, shock, disbelief, and a shrinking gaze. He even uttered a string of Greek profanities, his vocabulary truly astonishing Bai Zhi.
I should apologize to Hermes; he certainly didn't go astray.
Bai Zhi stared at the two positions at the very top of the arena: the hundred-eyed giant Argo, exuding a bloodthirsty aura, and the trembling white heifer Io, locked in a cage.
Without waiting for Hermes' reply, Bai Zhi could determine who the mastermind behind this incident was—no, who the legitimate player was.
In the very center of the arena stands a colossal statue of a goddess.
Beneath her long, pale purple hair, what was most captivating was not her heroic and decisive appearance, but her amber eyes, brimming with a bold spirit, which drew attention even more than her beauty.
The statue holds a scepter of the goddess of victory and a circular shield in each hand. It is a stone sculpture, yet it seems to radiate the divine power of a lord of all armies, forever victorious.
"Damn, I should have known. Hephaestus's little tricks couldn't escape Zeus's notice, and naturally they couldn't escape Athena's notice either. If she didn't take the opportunity to cause some trouble, she wouldn't be herself."
Hermes hurled a string of Greek curses, then looked at Bai Zhi with eyes full of pity.
"Did the goddess Athena get involved?"
Bai Zhi affirmed, but Hermes nodded and shook his head, giving even worse information.
“I’m sorry, Jason, I’m afraid I can’t help you. However, I can give you a hint: this trial is probably not just Athena’s doing. The gods all have their own plans for the fourth generation of the main god’s seed. They are all thinking three steps ahead. With everyone’s plans mixed together, even the gods involved may not be able to tell where the way out is and where the way out is.”
The fourth generation of main gods... I doubt any god would believe me if I said I had absolutely no such thought.
The thought of facing the enraged Zeus made Bai Zhi wonder who the culprit was.
Then an image popped into my head of a white-haired, voluptuous goddess who attacked the frail prince at night.
Artemis!!!
Well, since things have come to this, let's first complete Hermes' request and obtain his divine blessing in return.
The pure white ring on her index finger lit up, and the maid Irori's blizzard instantly descended upon the arena.
Not to boast, but his current strength is already beyond what ordinary people can contend with using an army.
He didn't intend to kill these guys; he could solve the problem by using a group control technique.
In an instant, the arena transformed into pure white ice crystals. The shouting soldiers and nobles from various countries seemed like insects sealed inside the ice crystals, their movements and thoughts vanishing into nothingness.
"Alright, next up is Argo, the hundred-eyed giant."
The Sun (I) Lingyi's wife passed away at noon. The inherent barrier of the nine-year cycle: nothing is indestructible.
The inherent barrier of forging - the immortal body.
tear-
Amidst the deafening explosion that ripped through the air.
A figure in red and orange burst forth from the entrance.
Its speed was so great that it left the afterimages behind it far behind.
As her thoughts raced, Bai Zhi approached the cage of the white heifer, Io, her clenched fist poised to strike.
"That was too reckless."
At the entrance to the arena, Hermes sighed. Even if he wanted to rescue Io, the prerequisite was that the hundred-eyed giant Argo should close all his eyes.
Suddenly, Bai Zhi froze. The omnipresent gaze felt like needles piercing through his every action and thought.
The next moment, everything went black before his eyes, and he completely lost consciousness...
The Book of the Greek Gods and Their Sons: Chapter 119 Death
Death can happen in an instant.
There was no hesitation, no wasted time, and no so-called "returning the favor."
Once you close your eyes, you lose all consciousness, and there is no turning back in life.
Fortunately, Angelica dahurica's body is immortal.
"What... happened to me?"
When she opened her eyes again, she heard a cacophony of roars and sounds of fighting. Bai Zhi was embedded in the thick wall of the arena, her eyes slightly dazed.
"You just died once." Leaning against the wall, with his hands supporting the back of his head, Hermes lay half-reclined on the floor tiles and explained leisurely, "The Argonaut, the hundred-eyed giant, has a gaze that contains the rule of death. An enemy seen by it will die with just one glance."
Hermes shifted his gaze to Bai Zhi's face and solemnly warned:
"You are lucky. Hephaestus's divine blessing is an immortal body, which can just offset Argo's Death Eye. You have escaped this time, but what about next time? Next time, if you rely on your immortal body and act recklessly, and you encounter an enemy with a Death Perception, you will meet Lord Hades in advance. He is a man of principle and will not easily let the dead return to the earth."
If the fourth seed of the main god, whom he had his eye on and decided to push forward, were to die in some mysterious and unclear place, he would lose all face.
"...I'm sorry, Lord Hermes, I acted impulsively."
With a twist of her arms, Bai Zhi pulled herself off the wall, her joints snapping as she twisted. Having just returned from the brink of death, her body was still a little sluggish and not yet fully adapted.
"Use music to hypnotize Argo, and in his deep sleep close all his eyes, then take the opportunity to abduct Princess Io. The seven-stringed lyre taught by Lord Apollo can come in handy."
Bai Zhi suggested the methods used by Hermes in Greek mythology.
Hermes stole the lyre from Apollo, played music on it to put the Argos to sleep, and secretly took Io away.
"What you proposed coincides with my original plan. In the past, the success rate would have been very high, but now..."
Hermes pointed to the arena covered in blood-red ice, where even after the blizzard, the surviving warriors still offered their battles and victories to the goddess of victory.
“Apollo never wanted to play beside Ares, for a simple reason: the bloodthirsty Khorne War had no room for calm and peaceful melodies.”
Argo, the hundred-eyed giant, originated as a giant god from the planet. When alien machine gods descended to Earth, his status was reduced to that of a monster. After being killed, his remains were reborn by Echidna, the mother of monsters, and wreaked havoc on the land. However, he was subdued by the gods and became a pawn under Hera's command.
Even though her current status is merely that of Hera, the guardian who keeps Zeus from straying, her strength is still far beyond what Bai Zhi, a newcomer to the Greek mythological lineage, can match.
"Are there any other options?" Bai Zhi did not suggest killing all the soldiers or dismantling the arena.
Do not underestimate the statue of Athena standing in the center of the Colosseum.
This was both his fear of resorting to underhanded tactics and the guiding light for these waves of dying soldiers from various countries and wandering heroes to come and fight to the death in the arena.
Not all native Greeks harbored thoughts of rebellion against the gods.
What determines a person's actions? Is it their background? Their status? Or their past? The behavioral shackles that have been binding them all along?
neither.
It is the influence of everything in his life on him that is constantly changing, including his own beliefs and thoughts.
And just how much he believed in this conviction.
In ancient Greece, the gods were everything to the people, and faith was deeply ingrained in the blood and genes of every human being, and passed down through cultural traditions.
They never even had the thought of rebelling against the gods, so how could they be as unorthodox as Bai Zhi?
But it is precisely because of this unconventional behavior that Bai Zhi is considered by the gods to be qualified to become the fourth generation of main gods.
“Of course there are ways, and many ways, but the problem is…” Hermes sighed, sat up straight, and said, “My methods are almost entirely based on divine power. For me, it’s just a matter of putting in extra effort, but for you, it’s a completely different kind of delusion.”
Hermes certainly had many methods.
The hundred-eyed giant Argo is deceived into believing that he does not exist;
He traded a few gold-rimmed coins with the hundred-eyed giant Argo.
They burst forth with 'divine speed' and kidnapped Io;
'Theft' stole Io...
There are many, many more methods, but none of them are suitable for Angelica dahurica. After all, Hermes is the messenger of the gods.
He was too far removed from humanity; if it weren't for Bai Zhi as his faith, he would probably still be busy communicating with the gods.
I don't have time to come here and argue with Bai Zhi.
Hermes was actually quite busy.
"Alright, I'll find a way to break through myself. Argo's Death Eye can't kill me. If I keep at it, I'll eventually find an opportunity."
Having prepared for a protracted battle, Bai Zhi was planning to find some cover to conceal herself and see if she could become immune to the Death Eye's attacks by being out of sight.
"Victory is the only and pure honor; repeated defeats are not the mark of a hero."
A confident and spirited female voice rang out from beside me.
Bai Zhi suppressed the divine blessing of using the immortal body, muttering in his mind, 'Why do the gods like to come close without warning?' He was afraid that one day he would lose control of his mind and hit a god, causing this day every year to become his death anniversary.
Adorned with a laurel wreath, a long white robe, and holding a shield and scepter, she was a magnificent and unparalleled beauty.
"Lady Athena." Bai Zhi gently touched her chest with her right hand, bowed her head, and showed the utmost respect.
“A fine young man need not concern himself with these roundabout ways and formalities. You are my acknowledged child (believer). Your show of weakness only tarnishes the face of the gods.”
Athena laughed heartily, patting Bai Zhi's shoulder with her delicate hand. Feeling the touch from her palm, she nodded silently. The immortal body forged and blessed by Hephaestus had laid a solid foundation for this child (the believer). All that remained was to polish it well before it could become a rare gem.
"I apologize, I couldn't help myself upon seeing Lady Athena." Bai Zhi seized the opportunity and quickly asked, "What brilliant idea does Lady Athena have? Do you perhaps want me to defeat these... warriors, win the title of Gladiator King, and then challenge the Hundred-Eyed Giant Argo to the death?"
"No, being the King of Gladiators is not an honor for you, but an inevitable achievement."
Athena didn't even glance at the mortals who had offered their faith (and lives) for her.
Her most beloved children (believers) are always those who are capable of growing into heroes.
"To defeat Argo's Death Eye, you must obtain an equal eye."