Chapter 575: Defeat Again

  "Ares, you have to understand that mortals are ignorant, and their eyes cannot see too far; they are also blindly obedient and will only listen to and believe what they are willing to believe."

  "Those humans who wander the earth like ants never care about the truth, just as they have never been able to distinguish what the truth is." "

  That's why they can't understand how powerful the cursed artifact is, let alone how perfect the human's fit with the Styx is."

  "Looking up at the sky from the bottom of a well, you can only see a corner of the sky; and in the understanding of mortals, a divine artifact should not be able to make up for the gap between them and the main gods."

  "After all, except for the cursed sword, any high-level artifact is not enough to allow a non-god to hurt a main god on Mount Olympus, so those mortals take it for granted that what they see is true."

  "They think you lost, the God of War lost to humans in a duel, and your faith and my faith have disappeared because of this... So Ares, no matter what, you must solve this trouble as soon as possible."

  "If you can't solve it within half a year... then don't come to see me again!"

  ...

  Pah--

  throwing the last wine glass in his hand to the ground, watching the exquisite vessel that a mortal craftsman might not be able to make in a year break into pieces, a sense of satisfaction from destruction surged into Ares' heart.

  But this brief pleasure was only a moment, and the half-drunk God of War thought about Aphrodite's previous ruthless rebuke, and only boredom remained in his heart.

  A human who was probably dead without a burial place, the person was gone, how could he solve it.

  No matter what, the living can't beat the dead... And that centaur, he dared to refuse his order.

  If it weren't for the fear of the goddess of the magic net who was wandering outside the court of God, how could Ares tolerate him until today.

  "For the last time, I'll give him one last chance."

  "If he dares to refuse me again... then let the dead speak for me!"

  Under the influence of alcohol, the last bit of patience of the God of War was also exhausted.

  The solution he had come up with was actually very simple. Since he couldn't beat a dead person, he would turn the dead person into a living person, and take the initiative to select an opponent that he could definitely beat.

  You know, since Achilles was Chiron's student, he was naturally the one who knew the mortal best.

  And the real cause of Achilles' death was that he was knocked down to the human world by the Lord of Darkness, and even his corpse flowed into Tartarus along the water of the Styx... Strictly speaking, no one could be sure that he was dead, and there was no legend of the Lord of Darkness taking action.

  Therefore, whether he was dead or not was actually entirely up to him.

  In this way, as long as he could find another powerful hero, and then find a way to temporarily change the opponent's appearance, and finally have Chiron personally "identify" him, and finally beat the opponent to death in public, then everything could be saved, and the previous failures could also be explained.

  Anyway, it was not uncommon for gods to be deceived by humans due to carelessness or other reasons. Adding this person to the story would at most be a joke.

  Everything seemed perfect, at least Ares thought so. Mortals couldn't see the truth, so he would give them the truth.

  Having made up his mind, the God of War came to Olympia immediately... However, what he didn't expect was that the Centaur actually rejected him.

  Without the cooperation of the other party, Ares' plan would be difficult to succeed. Even if it succeeded, as long as Chiron stood up in the future to identify that person as not Achilles, his actions would become a bigger joke again.

  So the days passed one by one, the Centaur never gave in, and the patience of the God of War became increasingly poor.

  Until today, under the influence of alcohol, he didn't want to endure it anymore.

  It would be better to kill Chiron, let someone control his corpse and "Achilles" to provoke him together, and then be killed by him together. If the goddess of the magic net wants revenge, let her do it!

  In the temple, Ares swallowed the last sip of wine, strode out, and drove away the waiters around him.

  "Okay, all of you, get out of here!"

  "Chiron, you ungrateful fellow... Since you insist on seeking death, I'll just grant you your wish!"

  A trace of cruelty flashed in his eyes. Without the grace of the goddess of beauty, Ares's nature derived from his priesthood was gradually no longer suppressed.

  Duels, mutinies, bloodshed, brutality, unjust wars... The authority composed of these fields was beating slightly in the divine wrapping, and he had long wanted to find an opportunity to vent.

  Achilles was just an unrepeatable accident. Now even a small centaur dared to treat him as nothing because of Hecate's existence?

  "This, can never be allowed..."

  "--Hmm?"

  The originally jumping priesthood moved slightly, Ares was slightly startled, and then overjoyed.

  Turning to look outside the city, in the perception of the god of war, it seemed that something was approaching him in that direction.

  The vigorous blood and tenacious spirit were even enough to trigger the induction of the war priesthood. There was no doubt that he must be a powerful hero who was destined to look down on the army.

  This feeling... Even Perseus did not give Ares such a strong induction.

  If it were normal, seeing such a rare person, the God of War would most likely choose to send down an oracle, even at the cost of granting eternal life, to let that human belong to the embrace of his church and spread his name in the world.

  But now...

  "... There is no way, I can only say that you are unlucky."

  "I was still having a headache before, what kind of human should I find to play the role of Achilles. After all, he has fought with other mortals, and others know how powerful he is."

  "I didn't expect that even fate is on my side today..."

  "Hahahahahahaha..."

  Laughing loudly, Ares flew up and planned to go and come back quickly, and capture that human before the people in this city noticed.

  As for whether he could beat him - just kidding, without the power of the Styx and the assistance of the artifact, Achilles could not beat him.

  Moreover, although this is not Olympus, Olympia is close enough to the sacred mountain.

  Although he does not have the power of a god, Ares thinks that he is more than one point stronger than the top demigod in the world.

  Not to mention that he is just a substitute, even if the other party is really Achilles himself, without the sword, he can only rely on his indestructible body to flee in panic, not to mention a human who jumped out of nowhere.

  One move, at most three moves.

  In a snap, he could take him down.

  ······

  "Hercules, be careful."

  "It seems that a god has come from that city, and it seems that he has bad intentions." He

  seemed to be alone, but he actually brought Ander with him.

  As soon as he got off the shuttle, the hero rushed to the direction of Olympia.

  He didn't intend to cause trouble here, he just wanted to make a quick decision and save the people.

  But what he didn't expect was that when he was halfway through the journey, the puppet in his pocket suddenly reminded him.

  "God?"

  "Who is it? How can you be sure that he has bad intentions?" He

  spoke in a deep voice. With Ander's reminder, Hercules became alert at the first time.

  But he didn't choose to believe everything directly, even though Ander was now his friend.

  Everyone has his own position, and this is the case between evil gods and good gods.

  Although many gods in Olympus disappointed him a little, there is no shortage of kind and benevolent gods like Hestia.

  Staying in the pocket of the hero, Ander didn't take it as an offense.     He just smiled and called out the other person's name.

  "Hehe... If I'm not mistaken, that's Ares."

  "Believe me, Hercules, you should have heard of his priesthood and stories... No matter how you look at it, this half-goddess of yours has never been an easy person to talk to."

  No more explanation is needed, because at this moment, the ancient bronze chariot is already galloping in the sky.

  Four horses named Aeton (burning), Kernabos (riot), Phlogios (flame), and Phobos (terror) are galloping and neighing in front of the chariot, with no intention of slowing down at all.

  Sitting in the middle of the chariot, Ares held a spear in his hand and threw it at the hero with a big laugh.

  There was no communication. The god of war hoped to capture this sudden human hero alive as soon as possible, so he aimed at the enemy's thigh and threw it with all his strength.

  He believed that no human could take this blow head-on in the world. Being in the scope of Olympia, this is no longer a power that belongs entirely to the human world...

  Then, under the gaze of Ares, the hero stretched out his hand and grasped the spear shaft that was galloping.

  Swish -

  a tiny blood mark was worn on the palm of his hand. Although the speed of the powerful spear slowed down suddenly, it still hit Hercules.

  Carrying the impact of the galloping divine horse, the bronze spear tip finally collided with the tough fur, and then could not move forward any further.

  With his eyes narrowed slightly, looking at the shocked god of war, the great hero nodded slowly.

  He had to admit that Ander was right.

  "Ander, you are right, he does have bad intentions towards me."

  "God of War Ares... is he here for Perseus?"

  He didn't know if it was true, and Hercules didn't need to know.

  To a god who attacked you for the first time, he only needed to respond in kind.

  He turned the spear around and threw it back, then strode forward to meet the galloping Pegasus.

  If he couldn't bring out the centaur in a low-key manner, then changing the method would not be unacceptable.

  …

  "..."

  "...Boom..."

  "...Whew..."

  "...Boom…" "...Rumble..."

  "...

  Olympia, the whole city was shrouded in the shadow of the central colossus.

  Perhaps it was because of the arrival of Ares. Although the reputation of this god of war in the world was not as high as that of other gods, this devout city that regarded the gods as everything was still happy.

  But today's Olympia seemed a little different from the past, because although Ares's departure had not been noticed for the time being, in the distance of the city, waves of increasingly clear movements affected the tranquility of the city.

  Some devout believers frowned and condemned the existence that disturbed the gods in their hearts.

  Some people looked worried, wondering whether the god of war who came would punish them for this.

  But in any case, this noisy movement attracted a lot of attention in the city.

  Even the imprisoned centaurs vaguely felt the shaking of the earth, but they didn't know what was happening outside.

  As time went by, the turmoil of the earth got closer and closer, and the houses in the city could be seen shaking obviously.

  Only in the center of the city, the tall statues of the God King and the Queen of Heaven were motionless. It was as if some force had fixed them in place, unaffected by any external force.

  "What happened?"

  "What happened? Are the gods angry?"

  "Could it be that the Lord of the Sea, the Earth-shaking God Poseidon, has come to Olympia?"

  "Don't be afraid, His Majesty the God of War is still here. Olympia is the city favored by the gods!"

  "..."

  In the city, discussions arose, but the tremors of the earth only became stronger.

  Continuous prayers were passed on, and the most recent and most numerous recipients were the God of War who was here.

  Logically, Ares should have stood up to quell this chaos, rather than letting the people's suspicions continue to ferment... But at this moment, he could do nothing.

  The bronze chariot under him had long gone to an unknown place, and the bridles of the four Pegasus horses were held together in the hands of the human whose name he had not yet asked.

  The divine horses galloped, and they were terrified to get away from this terrible existence. However, the great hero only used his left hand to pull down the four horses, and the four horses could not move.

  Striding forward, Hercules stared at Ares.

  This was another main god he had seen, but this one still disappointed him.

  Is this a god? It seems that there is nothing great about him.

  If there is no innate power and authority, what will these gods have left?

  "The Goddess of the Magic Net created witchcraft... The Goddess of Wisdom brought a lot of knowledge to the world."

  "Every creation in the human home cannot escape the figure of the Goddess of the Hearth... The Queen of Heaven determined the marriage of mankind, and she and the Goddess of Black respectively perfected the rules of childbirth and reproduction."

  "God of War Ares, what about you, tell me, what have you done?"

  "Besides what you are born with, do you have anything that belongs to you alone?"

  Hercules asked seriously without mocking.

  "You... human!"

  "How dare you laugh at me - what I am born with is what you can never have!"

  Zhe -

  Ares drew his sword out of the sheath, his face was ugly.

  Damn it, where did this monster come from?

  When did so many things that defy common sense appear among humans? And the most important thing is...

  "Why did they all come to me?"

  Unable to understand, Ares thought about it and came to only one conclusion.

  He is the God of War, and perhaps this is the fate that the God of War must face.

  Suffering a sudden attack, and most likely it has nothing to do with the encounter in the starry sky.

  After all, from the reaction of the God of War to Hercules' strength, it is clear that he should not have known who he met.

  For a moment, if he had not taken action yet, the great hero even thought that he had rescued the Centaur Chiron, so he was chased by Ares all

  the way now. But the reality is that he has not even entered the city gate... But this is not important.

  Facing the bronze dagger wrapped in the bronze airflow, Hercules went forward.

  Pulling the Pegasus backwards, the invulnerable lion skin wrapped around his fist, the great hero grabbed the chopped long sword.

  The veins on the three arms suddenly popped up. In this land near Olympus, the God of War and him used the bronze sword forged by Hephaestus as the medium to conduct the most primitive contest.

  There is no fancy energy surge, and the power of the flesh is undoubtedly demonstrated here.

  But what made Ares' eyes widen and his face grim was that the bronze dagger that he held with both hands and pressed down with all his strength only froze in the air for a moment, and then was lifted up by a big hand at a speed visible to the naked eye, and moved in the opposite direction unwaveringly.

  A moment of astonishment surged into his heart, and shame and anger filled Ares' chest the next moment.

  The violent killing intent and anger burned in his heart, and even turned into an invisible flame that enveloped him.

  An endless supply of power was born out of thin air. Under the harmony of the priesthood and spirit, the power of the God of War, which had already reached its limit, climbed again.

  If this was on Mount Olympus, I'm afraid that the destructiveness of his divine power at this moment would have temporarily risen by one level out of thin air.

  Looking up at the enemy in front of him, Ares' eyes were bloodshot as he howled to the sky.

  "Ah - enough, enough!!"

  "Mortal! Do you really think you can beat me?!!!"

  "Impossible! You can never beat me!"

  "I am the undefeated God of War, Ares!!!"

  Boom -!

  The sky was cleared and the earth was rumbling.

  It was just a physical confrontation, but at this moment, it showed the power to shake the mountains and rivers.

  At this moment, there was no blessing from the laws of the gods, and no divine weapon that could be used by mortals to their full potential. Even the invulnerable fur of the giant lion could only block the sharp edge of the bronze dagger.

  Facing such an opponent, Ares could no longer find any reason to comfort his failure. And in such a desperate situation, his divine duty was finally doubly stimulated.

  The stronger the will to fight, the stronger the power... Is this the upper limit of the "God of War"? Ares didn't know.

  He only knew that his physical strength at this moment had increased by more than double. Even if Zeus was standing here at this moment, he dared to step forward and wrestle with the other party.

  The burning anger promoted the flow of blood, and the cracked earth around him proved his strength at this moment.

  With great confidence, at this moment, Ares pressed down with both hands with all his strength.

  Achilles or someone else.

  No matter who it is, no one can resist his power at this moment!

  "Die!"

  Step! He

  took a step forward and the ground collapsed.

  Under Ares's stern shout, the dagger, which was already on the verge of its limit, finally stopped moving upwards and pressed towards the hero again.

  With ecstasy on his face, in the eyes of the god of war, Hercules' figure seemed to overlap with his past enemies.

  Athena, Achilles... Yes, that's it!

  Your previous victories have never proved anything. As long as God can give me a chance for a fair duel, how can you be my opponent?

  "Awesome."

  Looking directly into Ares' eyes, looking at that fierce face with taut blood vessels, Hercules sincerely admired at this moment.

  "Over the years, I have met many opponents."

  "They have different abilities, and each of them is difficult for me to deal with."

  "But among so many of them, you are the first one who can reach this level with physical strength alone."

  "Even the other main god I have met is far less than one-tenth of you in this aspect."

  I am not exaggerating. Although all the divine power and authority are taken into account, the normal Ares is at most at the level of two Zephyros. Even if the fighting spirit is bursting, the gap between the two sides will not be ten times.

  But Hercules' judgment is not wrong, because divine power and physical body are not absolutely equal.

  Among the gods, the ancient first generation Titan gods generally have extraordinary divine bodies, while the new gods are relatively weak, and there are many whose divine bodies are not as strong as the powerful demigods.

  Only gods like Ares who match the divine duties can be on par with the Titans in terms of the strength of their divine bodies. Even compared with them, the god of the west wind and the mortal demigods are not at the same level as him in this regard.

  Therefore, all along the way, Hercules saw either strange mechanisms or strange sizes. No one could achieve this with just the body.

  Even when he first debuted, the great demon with an extraordinary body was strangled by him. Until today, this famous god of war finally made him feel a little bit of fighting spirit. Wrestling

  with the gods?... The left hand holding the bridle finally moved. The great hero shook his wrist and knocked the four pegasus to the ground.

  Facing Ares's eyes that changed from ecstasy to confusion, and then to astonishment and disbelief, Hercules held the middle of the dagger with his left hand and sat on his hips.

  Although he could not respect the other party's character, as an opponent, the great hero recognized the strength of the god of war.

  "Come on - no need to hold back."

  "Now I'm also using all my strength... Your Highness Ares, please let me see your true power as the God of War!"

  His eyes were bright. It was rare to meet such an opponent. He exerted force with his legs, and the force was transmitted from the earth to his waist and abdomen, and finally exploded in his forearms and wrists.

  Except for the giant god who holds up the sky with [strength] as his authority, and the giant with a hundred arms who has infinite strength when stepping on the earth, there is no such powerful and pure power in the world.

  Even at this moment, Hercules felt as if he had touched something again, but it was still like watching the moon in the water and flowers in the fog.

  When he reacted, everything was gone in a flash, as if it had never happened.

  Only as the one facing this supreme power, Ares' eyes were full of bloodshot, and he felt powerless and horrified.

  What a joke, he just realized that what he had dealt with before was just a hand of this human?

  But the hero thought that he didn't use his full strength because he didn't want to take advantage of him... Now he was going to experience his 'real strength'?

  The fighting spirit that had just been ignited began to tremble immediately. Looking at Hercules in front of him, the God of War wanted to say something, but the hero didn't want to listen at all.

  Strength can defeat skill, which was fully demonstrated at this moment.

  Although Ares tried to mobilize the holy power in his body to resist in a hurry, Olympia, although close to the sacred mountain, still belongs to the human world.

  With a loud bang, the earth cracked a crack that was more than ten miles long.

  The bronze stream of light flew backwards and fell towards Olympia.

  It was just a little surprising that the stream of light suddenly paused when it was about to approach the city, and then changed direction.

  Not only did it not slow down, but it accelerated and continued to fly towards the sky.

  And the direction he flew to was vaguely the direction where Mount Olympus stood.     "Hmm?"

  "What... is going on?"

  The blood was boiling, and the long-lost full-strength attack made the great hero feel refreshed.

  He just let out a long breath, looking at the little bit of divine blood on the ground and the fading divine light, and Hercules was a little confused for a moment.

  The divine blood was understandable. In the wrestling just now, the bronze dagger finally couldn't withstand their strength and broke into several pieces.

  One of the sections just happened to pierce Ares' body, leaving a wound where he tied his belt, but the change of the divine light... he didn't know the reason. (Note 1)

  "How else could it be."

  "The duties of the God of War are closely related to confidence and fighting spirit. A God of War who loses confidence and fighting spirit is like a Poseidon who loses the ocean. He will be affected in all aspects."

  "Your attack just now probably broke his mentality, so that he didn't even dare to look back and ran away... Haha, in fact, one or two wins and losses are not enough to cause this. Ares probably reacted like this because he had lost a lot of games, and you were just an inducement."

  "It's just that he still has some reason and knows that he can't embarrass himself in front of mortals. So even in a hurry, he remembers to stay away from Olympia."

  With a soft laugh, the puppet crawled out of the hero's pocket.

  To be honest, the power that Hercules exploded just now shocked him.

  Without considering those special effects, in terms of pure physical strength, the hero may really be the best in the world.

  "That's good. Now, you should be able to take the Centaur Chiron away in a 'low-key' manner."

  "After all, Ares will never publicize this matter in a big way, and because of your fight, this city has become a mess."

  "...That's good."

  The great hero nodded slightly and agreed with this. But thinking about what happened just now, he still felt a little upset.

  "...As you said, I was wrong just now. This level of power is already the full strength of the God of War...but he hasn't said why he came to trouble me."

  "Huh...I really can't understand it."

  Heracles shook his head slightly and stopped thinking about it.

  Next, he just needs to find the person.

  ·······

  Bang——

  ...

  Swish——

  ...

  Tap——

  ...

  The journey was smooth. Without Ares, Olympia was like a no-man's land in front of the great hero.

  If it were in the past, the God King might have left a thought on his huge statue. Even if he didn't do anything, he might have chosen to stop the Centaur from leaving.

  But the God King had been staying at home for a while recently, so this last trouble was eliminated.

  Going deep into the city, Hercules found Chiron who was under house arrest in an underground palace.

  Unlike what he imagined, the Centaur did not seem to be hurt here, but looked relaxed and at ease.

  Without asking more questions in the palace, Chiron immediately agreed to leave with the hero after explaining his purpose and the commission of Silvermoon City.

  The chaotic city did not notice their traces, and in less than half a day, the two left Olympia.

  "... Olympia is a city loyal to faith, and even the degree of fanaticism is far greater than that of Silvermoon City."

  "After all, not everyone in Silvermoon City is a devout believer, but here, only the devout believers are qualified to survive."

  Expressing gratitude to Hercules for saving him, the tall Centaur explained to him why he was not hurt.

  Until Ares arrived, the people of this city finally did not dare to do anything to him, and the God of War who arrived did not have time to do anything.

  Chiron was a little emotional about this, but he was a little worried.

  Although he seemed safe now, he didn't think so. Because a long time ago, he had predicted his future.

  In the river of fate, he vaguely saw a sharp arrow carrying poison shot into a blurry horse body.

  On that arrow, he felt the breath of death. There is no doubt that if he was the one who was shot, he would die.

  And if he was not the one who was shot...how could he see this scene?

  "No matter what, I thank you for your help, brave hero." The Centaur

  was prepared to die long before coming here, so although he was still worried, he didn't care too much.

  He just looked at the great hero in front of him and decided to do his part for his journey.

  Silvermoon City gave him the Star Shuttle as a reward, but that didn't mean Chiron didn't have to do anything.

  From Hercules, he learned that the other party was going to the ruins of Mount Odysseus.

  He still knew a little about this place.

  "...The ancient sacred mountain broke apart in the last era, so that now there is only a ruin."

  "Everything belonging to the Titans is buried there...In addition to the remains of the gods, there is also a terrible demon."

  "I know, the Sphinx with a lion's body and a human face."

  The hero nodded, and he already knew a lot about it.

  However, the centaur's next words surprised him.

  "...So...you're saying that it didn't stay there voluntarily, but was suppressed there by a divine artifact?"

  "That can't be said, it can be considered voluntary."

  "Or rather, it reached an agreement with the owner of the artifact."

  "They made a bet, and the bet was the Sphinx's freedom and the artifact that matched its power."

  "I think you should know this..." The Centaur said solemnly: "That is the [Golden Balance], the manifestation of fair order in the world."

  "And it is precisely because of its existence that the Sphinx has never set foot in the human kingdom."

  ······

  "[Golden Scales]..."

  Listening quietly to the story of this famous scholar, Hercules was not unfamiliar with this name.

  Like the [Evil-Slaying Sword], which is known as the "Sword of Judgment", the [Golden Scales] is the artifact of the ancient Titan god, the goddess of law and justice Themis.

  On earth, it is also called the "Scales of Justice" and the "Scales of Judgment".

  Whether it is a high king or a beggar begging on the roadside, almost everyone has heard of this artifact that is regarded as a belief by judges in the world.

  In legends, it is the most fair judge in the world. Whether it is material treasures and land, or loyalty, good and evil of the heart, or rights and status that only exist in concepts, there is nothing in the world that it cannot judge and distinguish.

  There are even rumors about this ancient god entering and leaving the afterlife.

  So for a while, many nobles were terrified by this, and even deepened their faith in the gods. After all, no one dared to be sure of the fate of their souls after death.

  Entering the realm of Hades, or forgetting the past and starting a new life under the baptism of the River of Oblivion, or even being placed on both sides of this scale, using faith to measure the blessings after death.

  The unknown brings awe, and awe brings faith... But then again, what is the connection between this famous artifact and the son of Typhon?

  "...This is exactly what I want to tell you, Hercules."

  "I think you should know that many of the supernatural powers of the son of Typhon have some connection with the gods."

  "For example, the connection between the lion skin on your body and Her Highness Hestia's [Guardian], and the relationship between the nine-headed serpent Hydra and the goddess of life."

  "The same is true for the Sphinx, and it is related to Her Highness Themis, the goddess of law."

  Holding a branch casually, the centaur painted a primitive mural on the stone wall.

  The battle between the gods and Typhon, the blood of the goddess of justice, the sphinx born from the unique blood and the legacy of the king of all monsters...

  The great hero looked at these murals, as if history had come to the present.

  In front of him, Chiron continued to tell this little-known story.

  "It is different from other great demons, perhaps because the authority of the Goddess of Law contains a deeper order, or perhaps because of the deviation caused by her justice."

  "In short, unlike other great demons, the Sphinx is not bloodthirsty."

  "It just wanders the earth all day long, seeking wisdom and knowledge among humans, and taking pleasure in defeating the wise among mortals."

  "This hobby is very strange, but it is not dangerous. So in the beginning, almost no one noticed it, and only some rural anecdotes circulated among the countries... However, demons are demons after all. When its traces are discovered, its hostility to humans is innate and cannot be changed."

  "No one knows whether humans attacked it first or it attacked humans first. In short, from that day on, when the first conceited and wise human hero fell in front of the Sphinx, a war broke out."

  "Countless mortals went to fight the demon for fame and power, and then slept forever beside the demon. Gradually, the gods also knew of its existence."

  "The gods sent down their incarnations to try to kill this powerful demon. But they were shocked to find that although the Sphinx did not have an immortal body, it also had a special domain that was almost impossible to crack."

  "No matter who it is, if they cannot answer her three questions, they are no different from mortals in this domain."

  "So several gods returned in defeat. They were unwilling to risk being imprisoned in the domain and go through the danger. Only the goddess of justice stood up."

  "Unlike other gods, with the nature of her authority, she can be exempted from the influence of the demon domain as long as she can answer one question correctly. But the goddess did not participate in this game in the end. She just stopped the fight and made a bet with the Sphinx."

  "Why?"

  "She didn't do it... because Her Majesty Themis was not sure to answer even one question correctly?"

  Hercules asked with a slight change of expression.

  However, the next moment, Chiron gave him a very unexpected reason.

  "No, the goddess didn't do it because she found that the [Evil-Slaying Sword] had no reaction to the Sphinx."

  "She thought it was innocent, so there was no reason to kill it. But she didn't want it to continue to cause unrest in the world, even if it was actually caused by the church's propaganda and the arrogance of mortals."

  "After thinking it over, the goddess finally decided to solve the problem in another way. She used her own artifact to bet with the demon. If no one could solve the Sphinx's puzzle within the specified time, then the artifact would belong to it from then on, and the goddess would no longer interfere with its behavior." "

  And if someone solved its puzzle, then it would serve the goddess from then on. Just like the three-headed dog guarding the gate of the underworld, it would become the executor of law and justice."

  The story ended here, and the mural on the stone wall also came to an end.

  The blindfolded god with a long sword hanging from his waist held the scales in his hand, and the sphinx's arm was placed on one side of the scales.

  Obviously, they finally reached an agreement. The demon was tired of fighting with these humans, so it accepted the conditions of the goddess of law and came to the old site of Mount Odilus, far away from other countries.

  After a moment of hesitation, he looked at the continuous murals on the stone wall. Although he had never seen her before, the great hero had already developed a liking for the goddess of justice.

  In his eyes, forcing victims to pay for the greater good was just false justice.

  But asking people to give in voluntarily and then personally making up for the price they paid for it was more in line with the justice in Hercules' heart.

  This was the difference between depriving others of food to help the weak and spending money to buy other people's food to help the famine.

  Unlike Ares, who made almost no contribution to the war, in the eyes of the great hero, the goddess of justice was personally spreading law and justice in the world.

  It's a pity that such a god did not become the main god of Olympus... With a slight sigh, Hercules thanked:

  "Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Lord Chiron."

  "No problem, this is just to repay your help."

  "And this is just a story. What I'm going to say next is what can really help you."

  Smiling, the Centaur solemnly warned:

  "The competition with the Sphinx does not rely on force, but wisdom... On this point, I don't know if you can beat those in the past."

  "But if you fail twice in a row, don't answer the third question.

  "Only the challenger who answers at least one question correctly can leave the realm. If they get it wrong three times, they will be killed by the rules… so if it comes to that, remember to pray to the goddess of justice."

  "After all, the goddess's artifact is there. Maybe, just maybe… it can allow you to escape."

  ·······

  Swish—

  just when Olympia was in chaos, Hercules took the opportunity to rescue the Centaur.     Above the sky near the sacred mountain, a bronze light streaked across the sky.

  The light flickered, alternating between light and dark, as if reflecting the mood of its owner at the moment.

  In the stream of light, the god of war Ares was covering the wound on his waist and flying quickly towards Olympus.

  When he came here, he drove a chariot and Pegasus, but when he returned, he was left alone. He

  didn't even have time to take his mount and weapons with him. This was undoubtedly a humiliating defeat.

  But this time, Ares didn't say anything harsh, but his face was a little miserable.

  Unlike before, this time, he no longer had any excuses to make for himself.

  Failure is failure. He was defeated by a mortal in the part he was most proud of.

  Among the gods of Mount Olympus, there was more than one who was more powerful than him, but even his father's perfect daughter Athena could not defeat him as the god of war in the body of a god.

  Whenever he encountered setbacks, he did not use this to comfort himself. But now, Hercules' fist has completely taught him what reality is.

  Winning is winning, losing is losing, there is no excuse.

  At this moment, the God of War in this world seemed to overlap with him in the original trajectory at a certain time point.

  Facing the pain brought by mortals, as a God of War, he did not learn from his shame and never got angry. In the end, when this unprecedented thing happened, he chose another path, something that almost no male god had done.

  That is to return to the sacred mountain... and then complain to Zeus!

  Yes, complain.

  Although it shouldn't happen to a god of war to sue his parents if he loses a fight.

  Unfortunately, both the mythological epics of the original fate recorded by later generations and Ares in this world made this choice.

  The so-called mountains and rivers can be changed easily, but nature cannot be changed, which is probably the case.

  Even though fate has changed, the God of War still made the same choice.

  ...

  Bang -

  not long after, the sacred mountain was already in sight.

  The figure fell from the air, feeling the divine power that was reactivated in his body, Ares covered the wound on his waist, but he was slow to recover it.

  Going forward, avoiding the nymphs and gods on the road, Ares came straight to the door of the Golden Palace.

  Soon, Zeus will announce here the new Lord of the Ocean to replace Poseidon and respond to his disappearance.

  Ares didn't know where Zeus was now, but in the Golden Palace, the King of Gods would keep an incarnation of divine power most of the time.

  Bang——

  "Father God!"

  Pushing the door open vigorously, Ares' eyes swept across the Golden Palace.

  As expected, he found Zeus on the golden throne of the Palace of Gods.

  Sensing the other party's powerful but not insurmountable aura, this was probably an incarnation of the King of Gods.

  I just don't know why, this incarnation seems to be a little wrong at the moment. His state at the moment seems to be a little tense, not relaxed at all in the past.

  I don't know why, but Ares didn't think much about it.

  What else in the world today can make Zeus, who has ascended to the greatness, nervous? It can't be that he is fighting with another great power outside the human world.

  So he took a step forward and shouted again.

  His voice was unusually bleak, and he did not forget to let go of his right hand that was covering the wound to show the place where his blood was flowing.

  "Father, look!" (Note 1-Beginning)

  "This is the injury I suffered in the human world, the pain brought to me by the shameless descendants of a god left in the human world! Witnessing these brutal acts, don't you feel angry?"

  "In order to help mortals, the gods are always fighting endlessly... and as the main god of war, I have tasted the greatest pain."

  "So I came here to argue with you - there is an evil god under your rule, a cursed criminal, who only thinks about committing crimes and leaving such descendants in the human world!"

  "My great father, all other gods, every god on Mount Olympus respects you.

  "We are all willing to obey your orders, but there are people who are unwilling to obey your orders and let their descendants respect the gods!"

  "Only he, this human who was instigated to attack me - this ignorant human hero rolled up in rage, dared to rush towards the immortal gods! "

  "Before, he committed murder among his kind; now, he is rushing towards me, Ares, the ruler of war!"

  "Fortunately, I am good at running, so I was able to escape from his hands. Otherwise, I would have to endure the pain and lie in the pile of stiff corpses for a long time, or suffer from the attack of bronze spears and spend the rest of my life in vain! " (Note 1-end)

  He shouted loudly, without even the dignity of a god. Ares scolded Hercules, and even the source of his bloodline was not spared.

  Such a powerful body... I'm afraid he is the son of a Titan, and finally gained the power comparable to that of a giant under some kind of mutation.

  With malicious intent in mind, Ares wished that Zeus would take action immediately, bring the mortal and his sinful father to the mountain of gods, and sentence him to the same crime as Prometheus.

  You wait... The king of gods will definitely deal with you... Immersed in his imagination, Ares did not notice the gradually condensed aura around the incarnation of Zeus on the throne.

  He just showed his wounds while continuing to scold the source of all this.

  ······

  Note 1

  The following is less than 200 words.

  This paragraph of accusation was modified from a translation of a myth, so it is normal if you find the style of writing a little strange, because it is intentional, and the modification is more in line with the context. Originally, it was actually scolding a human hero who injured him and Athena who secretly helped him, but here it was changed to Hercules and his father who he didn't know. Some vulgar words were also changed, so it looks more or less like that.

  As for why I used a translation here instead of writing it completely by myself, it was mainly due to the previous debate about Achilles, in order to show that I didn't intend to black him, but because Ares is just like this, this time I just took out his original dialogue directly. If you think he is stupid - yes, yes, I think so too.

 Mount Olympus, Golden Palace.

  On the tall throne at the top of the Palace, the incarnation of the God King seemed to be dozing with his eyes closed.

  After all, Zeus' mental state has not been ideal since the incarnation successfully transmitted the message back.

  The two realms are far apart, and the distorted time sequence is unpredictable.

  So that no matter whether it is day or night, the God King seems a little depressed.

  Such days have lasted for a while, and even the things in the outside world are a little difficult to lock in... Fortunately, Zeus is Zeus after all, and this hardship is not difficult for him.

  Gradually, he began to look for inspiration from the previous flash of perception. After several attempts, he finally came up with a way to stabilize his mental state.

  Externally, he used the authority of the God King to perceive the operation of the world and understand the laws of natural operation; internally, he used his own will to understand the immortal divine power left by Typhon.

  Let the complicated information between the heaven and earth and the remaining will of the King of All Monsters fight against other influences, and finally find a "balance" point from them. This is Zeus's plan.

  The fact that he still had time to invest his thoughts into his incarnation was enough to prove that this method was indeed feasible.

  In this way, his spirit finally relaxed a little, and after the incarnation in the abyss completely repaired the [Thunder Pool], he immediately opened the Sacrifice Gate, allowing the main body and the clone to complete several material exchanges between Asgard and Tartarus, which made the God King feel that his efforts were more valuable.

  From now on, the enemies from Hell don't have to care, as they have their own Demon Mother and the Demon Prince on the road to promotion to contain them.

  However, when the Sacrifice Gate was opened, Zeus felt the God King's power that was somewhat repulsive to it, and finally took away only the special artifact, but did not take away the remaining foreign Thunder God Origin after repairing the [Thunder Pool].

  It was not that he was not interested in those origins, but after repeatedly confirming from the perspective of great divine power, the God King regretfully discovered that even if he integrated this foreign origin into his priesthood through the authority of the God King, he could not make the priesthood of [Thunder] complete a qualitative change and then possess the power of great divine power.

  If the [Thunder Pool] had not been repaired, perhaps he would still have a chance... Of course, the greater possibility is that he still had no chance.

  After all, it is not that easy for [Thunder] to condense its own "symbol".

  Like [Sky], [Sun], [Ocean and Water], these are all existences that occupy a large proportion in the cycle of the world.

  As long as the source of the world rises and their own authority gradually unifies, it is almost a matter of course for them to condense symbols.

  But correspondingly, [Thunder] is not so easy.

  Unless Zeus can one day collect the [Weather] of the ancient Titan God, and even the [Spring], [Summer], [Autumn] and [Winter] of the spiritual world, it is possible to complete the condensation of the symbol... Or from another perspective, when he truly becomes the actual master of the world, and then in the name of the Supreme God King, he turns [Thunder] into a weapon to punish all those who violate the "royal power" in the world, and into a "heavenly punishment" to judge all gods, humans and beasts, then he can also complete another sublimation of the "symbol".

  In addition, even if he could have enough thunder origin, he could only continue to accumulate in the field of quantity, but could not complete the qualitative transformation.

  After all, if you want to build a symbol, you must occupy a very important position in the overall cyclical order of the world.

  It can be innate, such as [Sky] [Earth] [Night] [Life], which can spontaneously condense with enough source power.

  It can also be acquired, like [Reincarnation] [Royal Power], which originally did not exist in the world and were given an important position by people.

  So since [Thunder] does not have enough status innately, and Zeus does not have the ability and opportunity to give it a critical position in the future, it naturally cannot take shape.

  So in this case, he naturally chose an arrangement that is more beneficial to him. The

  artifact can try to recast it, so that it can match the [Thunder Arrow] to further enhance its own power, but the Thunder God Origin is not necessary.

  Zeus is also very interested in Tartarus.

  "Besides that, there is also the memory that the incarnation said he did not synchronize with me, and can only get after I take him back..."

  Sitting high on the throne, looking at Ares who rushed in, Zeus wondered what he was going crazy about, while silently thinking about the incarnation's statement.

  Can't synchronize, can only take the other party back and browse it in person... It seems that he must have discovered something extraordinary.

  And from the description of the incarnation, this news is by no means a simple secret, but contains terrible danger.

  But the abyss still cannot do without him now. As the king of gods, it is impossible for him to throw his incarnation into the abyss through the sacrificial gate.

  Fortunately, it doesn't take too long, and the things in the world won't take long... Everything is done, and next, it's up to him to start the real action.

  His eyes gradually became sharp, and the breath around him became heavy. Zeus had carefully considered the experience of the incarnation.

  Was the snake demon who leaked his incarnation's identity from the spirit world, or someone else? It doesn't matter anymore.

  Because no matter who it is, Silver Moon City and the starry sky behind it and even the spirit world are his last enemies in the world.

  If they are wiped out, the four seas and the starry sky will naturally return to unity. And the first thing he needs to do is to determine the movements of the master of the spirit world.

  "Only the unknown is the most difficult enemy to figure out."

  "So next, I have to give these main gods some confidence."

  The shadow covered the face of the incarnation, and the God King silently looked at Ares who was performing like a clown under the high platform.

  At this moment, the other party was pointing at the wound on his body and accusing the God King of the cruelty of the enemy.

  Sighing in his heart, as the Queen of Heaven, Hera is good in every way.

  But she has accomplished nothing in giving birth to children.

  Whether it is Hephaestus or Ares, these are guys who cannot be counted on. If they had half the wisdom of Athena, he would not be so helpless.

  Feeling disappointed, maybe a little.

  But looking at the God of War who didn't realize that he was accusing the God King, Zeus felt that he was used to it.

  Without expectations, there will be no disappointment, and that is the case with Ares.

  In this case, let him... be the first spear destined to break.

  "...Ares."

  He spoke lightly, without joy or sadness.

  In the Golden Palace, seeing that he finally got a response, the God of War quickly looked up.

  However, from this angle, Zeus' figure seemed to be blocked by the shadow. He could only see the other's eyes, but could not see the expression of the King of Gods.

  "...Father God!"

  "You finally responded to me, look, I..."

  "Enough!"

  "Ares... did you know that because of your dereliction of duty, the prisoners of the gods have escaped from your custody?"

  The cold voice interrupted the accusation of the God of War, and above the Golden Palace, an illusory picture slowly emerged.

  An empty cell appeared in front of Ares, his eyes widened, and he recognized its origin at a glance.

  "This is... a centaur, how dare he escape privately?"

  The words came out without thinking, but Ares reacted the next moment.

  No, this was not his own escape, but he was rescued by someone.

  The human demigod who suddenly appeared near Olympia must be an accomplice. Although it was obviously me who attacked him first, this must be the other party's fault...     "——Pa!"

  "——Father God!"

  The wine glass fell from the sky and shattered on Ares' head.

  Looking up, he only saw Zeus' cold eyes.

  The original anger disappeared in an instant. The God of War didn't know why the King of Gods had such a reaction.

  However, what followed was Zeus's judgment without any emotion.

  "Ares... my child."

  "You are the only son of Hera and I, and the one who disappoints me the most."

  "From the day you were born, you got the best things in the world - the priesthood of war, the most beautiful wife, and the status I gave you."

  "I..."

  Boom——!

  The overwhelming momentum suppressed Ares' voice in an instant.

  Looking at his son in front of him, Zeus' thoughts became clearer and clearer.

  "You have everything. You have everything first."

  "At that time, your sister Athena, who should have been born long ago, had not yet come into the world. You were free to roam the earth. But Ares, after all these years, tell me, have you accomplished anything?"

  "No, nothing."

  "But it doesn't matter. Since you can't do it yourself, as your father and your monarch, I will tell you that I can not only grant you status... but also punish you."

  Clang -

  the broken sword surrounded by flames fell from the sky and stuck on the ground of the Golden Palace.

  The depraved and chaotic aura emerged from it, which frightened the God of War.

  This was once a divine weapon, a divine weapon made by nature, but it is now broken.

  Some powerful force broke it into two pieces, destroying its integrity.

  Even so, Ares could vaguely judge that the original owner of this sword was definitely not inferior to himself.

  But such a strong man, I am afraid that his fate is worrying now.

  "Take it, Ares, and recover what you have lost - not a prisoner, but the reason why this prisoner exists."

  "This time, it is my last chance to give you... and this time, you are not going on my orders, but for the sake of your qualification to stand here and go shoulder to shoulder with the gods!"

  "Ares, I hope you remember."

  "If you still bring me the same result this time... then in the name of the God King, I will personally throw you into the abyss."

  Bang!

  Without giving him a chance to speak, he waved his hand and knocked the God of War out of the Golden Palace with the broken sword.

  Sitting on the throne, the seemingly angry God King had no emotion at all.

  The broken sword came from the mother of demons, and its origin was also very clear.

  Because she heard that Zeus even spent the essence of his divine duties to repair the [Thunder Pool] in order to see her, Moya couldn't help but feel that she also needed to do something for him.

  It's just that she never cared about any treasures in the past, because there was nothing in the abyss that could move her.

  Fortunately, in the deepest part of the abyss, Moya found the broken beheading chain sword of the original ancestor of the Flame Demon when he attacked Hell. Although it was broken, it was still a powerful weapon.

  The God King originally intended to let Hephaestus recast it, but the other party was temporarily unable to shake the artifact of the abyss.

  So he simply gave it to Ares, letting him be the first god to personally go down and take the initiative to target mortals.

  This was not his order, but Ares's spontaneous behavior to wash away the shame. So if he succeeded - this was impossible, because Zeus did not believe that he could break through Silver Moon City and Athens alone.

  Then when the failed God of War tried his best to test the movements of some enemies, his mission would be over.

  Next, the great God King will personally come forward to throw this useless guy into the abyss, and let him hone his ridiculous ability under the arrangement of the incarnation and allies.

  But in return, his opponent must also pay an equal price.

  The God King threw his own son into the abyss, which was sincere, but the whole incident started when Achilles caused chaos in the God Court, so Silver Moon City must accept the judgment of the God Court.

  As for the result of the trial...if they accept it, Zeus is even willing to forgive them all after sentencing them, because accepting the trial of the King of Gods itself means obedience.

  Without bloodshed, he can obtain the fruits of his victory and control the influence of the spirit world in the material world.

  On the contrary, if they choose not to accept it...then he has done his best.

  The waiting goddess of night and his ally Erebus, who does not know the real purpose, will witness his respect for the original god. Only when he is helpless, he is willing to fight.

  The gods in heaven and on earth will witness his character and the justice that he dares to judge even as the son of the main god.

  For the royal power, the support of the people is power, and the right and wrong of justice are weapons.

  So Zeus is not angry at this moment, and Ares...this is what you deserve.

  "Let the abyss teach you well...the local conditions and customs there will let you understand how to be a god of war."

  "And you...the spirit world..."

  "It's been almost ten thousand years..."

  "And what you gave me at that time...I should also return it."

  The first time I met the Lord of the Spirit World, I saw the "corpse" of the sun god.

  The second time he was about to meet him, the inducement was also the sword made of the remains of the sun.

  Sometimes when he thought about it, Zeus also thought it was very clever.

  Get up from where you fell.

  This is how the king of gods should be.

  ······

  The center of the earth, the ruins of Mount Odilus.

  Since the Second Age, there has been no trace of human beings here.

  The pillar of heaven collapsed here, bringing with it a mountain range that stretches for more than tens of thousands of miles.

  It extends along the place where the mountain collapsed, cutting off the connection between the east and the west of the earth, and blocking the passage of the north-south water veins.

  After leaving Olympia, the group continued to travel westward.

  At the extreme speed of the Star Shuttle, the distance of one-fifth of the continent did not take them too long.

  On a hot afternoon, the foundation of the ancient pillar of heaven was already in sight.

  The breath of vicissitudes and desolation came to Ander's face, making him feel a little depressed.

  Obviously, even after nearly ten thousand years, some immortal rules still remain here.

  "Is this Mount Odysseus? It's a little different from what I imagined."

  "Rather than saying that this is a collapsed sacred mountain, it's better to say that it is a high wall with no end in sight."

  Looking far away, you can also feel the invisible pressure.

  In Hercules' eyes, there is no sacred mountain in the distance, only a "high wall" whose height, distance, and length are unknown.

  According to records, this is the fallen mountain of the sacred mountain. Just looking from a human perspective, it is impossible to understand and see its "mountain" shape.

  "It doesn't matter what you call it, a mountain or a wall, it has already fallen."

  "As the only mountain in the world that still belongs to the earth rather than the ancient mountain god Urya, the fall of Mount Odile may be inevitable."

  "The only thing that makes me a little regretful is that all the traces at the foot of this mountain were destroyed with the collapse of the sacred mountain... There used to be a human tribe here, and that tribe was the golden civilization you longed for."

  "The golden age... I don't know if they were really as just and perfect as the records say."

  The great hero sighed and had some doubts.

  Dionysus remained silent about this, while Prometheus just smiled.

  "Of course."

  "It's just that... what they have is not justice and perfection, but perfect justice."

  Perfect justice... Nothing in this world is perfect.

  If there is, it probably only exists in books or in the dreams of living beings.

  ...

  Although Chaos did not say this, similar proverbs are not uncommon.

  After seeing the "high wall" shrouded in clouds, Hercules walked forward for a long time.

  Perhaps because the great divine power had once fought without reservation here, the speed of the star shuttle was no longer so fast near the broken pillar.

  It was not until the evening of this day that Hercules finally felt the mysterious order that was different from other places.

  This is a small valley, although the "mountain" here is more like a natural barrier formed by the rubble that fell when the pillar collapsed.

  At the entrance of the valley, a huge balance that seemed to be carved out of stone was placed here, blocking the only way in and out of the valley.

  "Huh? What is this for?"

  Dionysus raised his eyebrows slightly and asked curiously.

  On this stone balance, he vaguely felt a unique rule power, but it was definitely not a divine artifact.

  Its existence seemed to be screening the number of people who could enter... Looking at the stone statue that Chiron had mentioned before, the great hero explained:

  "This is the 'Equivalent Scale', a strange object created by the power of the artifact [Golden Scale] and another artifact of unknown origin."

  "As for its function, it is just as its name suggests, a tool for equivalent exchange."

  "Put what you have on one end of the scale and offer it to the goddess, and the goddess will crystallize the equivalent divine power and give it to you."

  "So... is this the 'ticket' collected by Her Majesty Themis?" Dionysus continued to ask.

  "No, it's not a ticket."

  "On the contrary, it is the last life-saving talisman for those who come here to verify and challenge the demons."

  Gently shaking it, the great hero took a step forward.

  He walked straight over the scale, and he had no intention of exchanging here. As for whether Dionysus wanted to exchange or not, that was his own decision.

  "For thousands of years, countless people have come here to challenge the Sphinx. Some of them came for status, some for fame, and some for power... but none of them succeeded."

  "And the fate of the losers is to be digested by the Sphinx's domain and become dead souls that fall under its order."

  "Take your life as a bet, this is the cruelest challenge. But losing your life in a fair contest is something that the goddess of justice will not stop."

  "But perhaps out of her own fairness, Her Highness Themis still gave the challenger a chance to live, that is, to dedicate 'himself' to the goddess before entering the valley, in exchange for an equal amount of divine power under the fairness of the scales."

  "When everything of the challenger belongs to the goddess, then even if he fails, he cannot lose his life a second time... In order to make up for the loss of the Sphinx, the divine power containing order will also become a more delicious food for the demons."

  "As for those challengers who escaped death, they will use the rest of their lives to implement the goddess's teachings and fulfill their missions on earth... So Dionysus, you can decide for yourself whether to leave something here."

  "This... is really a generous god."

  He sighed. He didn't expect that someone would use divine power to exchange for mortals. Although the two sides are indeed equivalent in a certain sense, Dionysus is sure that this equivalence is definitely not the same in terms of matter and energy.

  However, shaking his head, Dionysus finally rejected the proposal.

  As an immortal in the true sense, he didn't need to sell himself to other gods.

  "I'd better forget it. With you in front, I am at least confident that I can answer one question correctly."

  "As for devoting myself to the cause of the paladins, that's not necessary."

  "Although I admire their spirit, if you want me to do it myself, it would be easier than killing me." He

  followed with big strides, passed the scale stone carving, and subconsciously, Dionysus looked back at this unique wonder.

  Equivalent exchange... It's true that the power of the [Golden Balance] is used to measure equivalence, but what is this exchange carried out by?

  Maybe nothing, if it can only be exchanged for divine power.

  But if it can perform other substitutions... then Dionysus is really curious, if he mortgages some of his own divine qualities, can he get something interesting out of it.

  ...

  "Huh..."

  "Huh..."

  "Huh..."

  "..."

  He walked all the way inside, secretly on guard.     While walking through the valley, Hercules had guessed more than once what the Sphinx looked like.

  A majestic body, a tyrannical aura, powerful strength, and a rationality that was maintained under the constraints of the goddess of law... all of these are possible.

  After all, in his past experience, almost every great demon that inherited the blood of Typhon was like this.

  Although their strengths were different, their cruelty was the same.

  It was not just him. The great hero believed that Dionysus must have thought so in his heart... However, all this ended when he really saw this legendary wise demon.

  Looking at the great demon lying on the ground in front of him, the corners of his eyes twitched slightly, and Hercules felt that all his fantasies collapsed at this moment.

  "This..."

  Not knowing what to say, on a flat ground near a water source in the valley, a huge snoring sound was deafening.

  On the demon's huge body like a hill, the great hero could not see a trace of muscle.

  Compared with the lion in the wilderness, the huge lion body in front of him was not only a change in size ratio, but more of a circle of very obvious fat.

  What made him feel the most strange was that, until he came close, the Sphinx seemed to finally sense something and reluctantly opened its eyes.

  "Huh..."

  "Huh..."

  "Huh... um...?"

  "... Is there someone here again? You really disturbed my sweet dream... Come, let me see... Um! Boy, what are you looking at?"

  With a look of laziness in his eyes, the Sphinx's tall head slightly bent down, looking at the tiny human in front of him with some dissatisfaction.

  Three gods and one human, interesting.

  These gods didn't seem to come to cause trouble for it, otherwise, with their level of divine power, the projection of the [Evil-Slaying Sword] left by Themis would have reacted long ago.

  So they all came with this human... What a rude guy.

  "Hmph, what are you looking at? Haven't you seen a demon as majestic as me? You really have no experience at all... Forget it, just tell me, what are you doing here? Or to be more straightforward, old rules or new here?"

  "...I am really sorry, this demon sir."

  "But what are the 'old rules'? What about new here?"

  Hercules apologized for his rude look as he looked at the demon in front of him with a very different style.

  However, the words of the sphinx caught his attention. 'Old rules'... What? It turns out that it has some kind of deal with other humans.

  In front of him, the Sphinx didn't care what this human was thinking.

  It just lay back on the ground and said boredly:

  "New here... Well, I'll take the trouble to explain it to you."

  "You are also a human being, so you should understand your own kind better... You saw the stone scale outside, right? Do you think it's a life-threatening situation here? It was true five hundred years ago, but since a 'smart' human hero came here, it's no longer dangerous."

  The Sphinx spoke slowly and briefly described what happened here.

  Listening to the explanation of the Sphinx, Hercules couldn't help but feel that his understanding of the world was still too shallow.

  Thousands of years ago, the first humans besieged the Sphinx simply because it was a demon.

  But as heroes who tried to become famous and gain the favor of the gods died at its hands, hatred began to be born. Even though the goddess of justice ended this meaningless dispute, hatred still continued.

  From that day on, humans came to this valley from afar almost every day. They gambled their lives to fight against the demon for various reasons, but in the end they only got death.

  Gradually, a generation died. Those who held hatred also got what they wanted, and fell in front of the Sphinx.

  But as time passed, when later generations learned about this past from history, they found it difficult to find any reason to kill it.

  The gods were no longer interested in this demon restricted by the goddess of justice, and those who held hatred were killed and injured. Only the reputation of the Sphinx became bigger and bigger.

  Gradually, the only people who came to find the Sphinx were those heroes who pursued reputation and interests and wanted to become famous overnight - but they still couldn't defeat it.

  Until that day, a man named Oedipus and his friends appeared in front of it.

  As if it was destined, although with the deviation of fate, this human hero who killed the Sphinx in the original trajectory killed his king and father before he met it, resulting in the tragedy of killing his father and marrying his mother, but he still easily answered the two questions of the Sphinx. The

  Sphinx felt fear for the first time, and it couldn't help but put down its pride and tried to understand the weakness of this human.

  So it lied that it could give him a reward before answering the third question, after all, no one had ever been able to answer its two puzzles in the past.

  It allowed Oedipus to ask it two questions in return, and he would try his best to give the answers.

  Oedipus agreed, and the king who had been abandoned since childhood told his story, wanting to know who his father was, and why his kingdom could not be protected no matter how much he offered sacrifices to the gods, but instead suffered from natural disasters... The Sphinx answered him.

  The atrocities of killing one's father and marrying one's mother are unacceptable to all gods and men. As long as he is alive, Thebes will never have peace.

  "In despair, Oedipus committed suicide... Haha, this is human."

  "Ending one's life because of some mistakes that were not made by oneself is something that demons cannot understand - but he died, but his friends did not."

  "He witnessed our confrontation with his own eyes. He knew that I could be defeated, but he also knew that Oedipus could defeat me, but he could not."

  "So he decided to make a deal with me, a deal that would benefit both of us."

  "He brought me tribute, and I could deliberately let him answer two questions correctly after he got one wrong."

  "In this way, he gained fame, a fame that almost surpassed the Sphinx... and I no longer need to worry about the next Oedipus appearing."

  "Because he is the first, but he will never be the last... From then on, facing the visible benefits, even humans themselves are no longer willing to see Themis's bet win."

  The Sphinx looked lazy and relaxed, with a faint mocking smile on the corner of his mouth.

  Slightly raising his head, it seemed to be looking at the [Golden Balance] suspended above this valley.

  This artifact can restrain demons, but it cannot restrain human greed.

  "Look, this is humankind."

  "Hypocritical and cunning, mean and ruthless."

  "So young hero... what are you going to do?"

  "Answer my three questions and try to end my existence... or do the same as your predecessors. Carrying all the honor, return to this sinful world."