Chapter 346: Don’t You Still Have Your Lives?(2.2k words)

In a certain courtyard inside the Thessalian Royal Palace.

A stream of mercury-like liquid flowed out of the dense night toward the steps lit by a dim yellow lamp, slowly gathering into a tall, beautiful red-haired girl.

Her complexion possessed an unusually translucent quality.

Before taking more than a few steps, she reached out to lean against a carved pillar in front of the door while gasping heavily for air, using the opportunity to absorb floating etheric factors from the air as her pale skin slowly regained a human-like blush and rosiness.

"You actually failed, Aphrodite."

Accompanied by a deep voice, a tall and muscular youth with tan brown skin walked out from the shadows of the corner, looking at his disheveled fellow Mechanical God as he couldn’t help but frown slightly.

"The intelligence was wrong! That guy is absurdly strong and definitely not some ordinary demigod hero!"

Mechanical God Aphrodite raised her head and snorted coldly, her golden eyes betraying a lingering trace of fear as she recalled the harrowing scene from earlier.

"If I hadn’t reacted quickly enough,

I might not have even made it back tonight."

"Strong? Stop searching for excuses for your own failure and incompetence."

Mechanical God Ares stood in the shadows with crossed arms, looking at his companion with a gaze laced with undisguised contempt.

As members of the Bronze Race who specialized in combat, they had always valued martial prowess above all else.

So they looked down somewhat on incompetent figures like Aphrodite who leaned toward reconnaissance and infiltration.

Hearing his unhidden disdain, the latter felt a surge of anger in her heart as her fair face turned cold.

"What are you so arrogant about? If you’re so capable, go try it yourself!"

"Hmph, try it I will! Where is that guy?"

"In a courtyard in the northern part of the city. I marked the vicinity with divine fluid, so do you actually dare to go?"

Aphrodite raised her delicate eyebrows and provoked him without ceremony, a malicious smile glinting in her beautiful eyes.

According to her judgment, the person in that courtyard possessed God-level power that placed them among the top tiers of combat strength even within the ranks of the Gods.

It was very likely that they were an avatar of an Olympian main God.

To compete with a foe of that caliber, one would need to be at least among the top four of the Twelve Mechanical Gods, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, or Athena—to even qualify.

Even if a brute like Ares went over, he would most likely gain no advantage whatsoever, making it a perfect opportunity to let him suffer a bit and see how arrogant he could be in the future!

If this fellow ended up getting scrapped because of a blunder, it would be even better, since his core would become hers then.

"I’m going!"

Mechanical God Ares nodded without hesitation, as the mercury-like liquid extending behind his back transformed into a pair of magnificent golden wings, making him eager to begin the hunt.

Because they had falsely assumed the divine names of the Twelve Main Gods, the Mechanical Gods inevitably absorbed traits such as personality from those deities during the process of stealing divine power.

However, as metallic life forms, they had no concept of paired reproduction and were not deeply influenced by emotional factors, causing them to focus far more on power and the struggle for divine authority.

Killing enemies, killing companions, self-evolving, and self-perfecting were the main undertones of their existence.

"Ares, get back here!"

However, just as Mechanical God Ares spread his wings to take off, Prince Triton rushed out the door in a fit of rage, pulling violently on the Mechanical God with an arm flashing with light patterns.

Instantly, the red divine light enveloping Ares was suppressed by a halo of water-blue light, causing him to crash straight down.

Seeing this unfold, Aphrodite immediately wore a gloating expression on her face.

Yet before she could voice a few sarcastic remarks, Triton turned his cloud-covered face toward her, asking in a icy voice. "And you! I told you to probe their background, but did I ever tell you to engage in battle with them?"

"..."

"Useless trash that fails at everything!"

Hearing this ruthless scolding, a flash of anger crossed Aphrodite’s face as she felt tempted to snap back, but seeing Triton’s raised arm, she could only lower her head sullenly.

To reach a cooperation with the Atlanteans and secure an opportunity for the Bronze Race to make a comeback, Father God had already transferred their control rights to Poseidon and his son.

The Bronze Race had been away from this land for far too long, possessing neither roots nor faith in the current era, so even though they were reluctant, they had no choice but to obey this merman prince’s orders.

"Get your asses inside!"

Triton ordered with a cold snort, as the warmth and humility he had strived to maintain on his handsome face vanished entirely, replaced by a sinister, twisted expression.

Although he had long heard that the Bronze Race was wild and untamed, he had never expected that even after falling to such a state, they still failed to distinguish what was urgent and kept causing trouble for him day in and day out.

Under the threat of his control, the two Mechanical Gods held back their pride and sharpness, returning obediently to the room.

At that moment, a water-blue light pattern flashed across the table’s surface, projecting the tired and somber face of Poseidon.

Clearly, Triton had been reporting his work to his father just moments prior.

"So Admetus didn’t agree to our terms?"

Sitting upon his throne, the Sea King did not even glance at the two Mechanical God subordinates who had entered the room, massaging his aching temples as he continued the previous topic with his son.

"What about Alcestis? What does your niece, the queen, have to say?"

"She isn’t willing to mediate for us, nor is she willing to put her husband in a difficult position for the sake of her father Pelias."

Triton shook his head helplessly.

Hearing this, Poseidon was thoroughly dissatisfied with his granddaughter’s attitude.

"As expected, another ungrateful wolf that can’t be raised properly!"

"Father God, what should we do next?"

With the matter caught in a stalemate, Triton asked his father for guidance.

During their previous clash with the War God Mountain faction, they had lost the city of Troezen.

Now that very few cities remained that worshipped Poseidon, the Sea God Temple was desperate to open a new bridgehead to enhance the influence of ocean-based deities on land.

If they suffered failure after failure, it would deal a heavy blow to the ocean Gods’ already sagging morale.

"No rush. The Gigantes aren’t that easy to deal with, as even Zeus harbors some dread toward those giants. Since Admetus is so confident, let him suffer a bit first, and when the time is right, he will come begging us."

Poseidon pressed his hand downward in mid-air, assuming an attitude of having everything under control.

However, Prince Triton voiced his own concerns in the room. "What if Thessaly’s guardian deity—His Majesty the God King—intervenes?"

"That is why you need to distinguish clearly who is an enemy and who is a friend..." Poseidon spoke in a low tone,

his voice carrying a deep meaning.

Triton’s eyes flickered with a thoughtful glint.

This was likely why his father had sent him to test the newcomers, as they could take necessary measures at a critical moment if those individuals turned out to be Zeus’s spokespersons.

If they were not, perhaps they could adopt a cooperative attitude to collectively dig away at His Majesty the God King’s foundation.

However, a perfectly fine pre-battle intelligence gathering session had been turned into a martial provocation by Aphrodite’s blunder.

It seemed that if they wanted to find another opportunity to make contact with the other party, they would probably have to wait for a while to let the situation cool down...

Sweeping a glance back at the two Mechanical Gods behind him, Triton let out a frustrated sigh before bowing his head to make a solemn promise to Poseidon’s projection. "Father God, I understand your intent, and I will handle these matters with caution."

Poseidon nodded in satisfaction, as his figure vanished from the magical formation diagram alongside a distortion of light patterns.

~~

The next day.

Having rested for the night and recharged their spirits, everyone returned to the royal palace to continue discussing with King Admetus of Thessaly on how to deal with the raids by the Gigantes.

Compared to yesterday’s hasty meeting, Admetus had made far more grand and formal preparations this time.

Caenis led Lorne and Medea into the bustling hall.

After entering, the number one beauty of Thessaly bumped fists and tapped shoulders along the way with native Thessalian heroes and allies who had rushed in from surrounding city-states to assist, familiarizing herself with them while introducing Lorne and Medea along the way.

The heroes in the hall secretly observed these two newly joined members, feeling a sense of solemn respect upon hearing that they were teacher and student from the Athens Academy.

A few god-blooded heroes who had studied at the academy even stepped forward on their own initiative to converse with Lorne’s group as alumni, smiling as they extended goodwill.

Arriving right after, the Gemini brothers from Sparta also adopted a respectful posture, demonstrating their recognition and praise of Lorne.

As the crowd took all of this in, their attitudes grew increasingly warm and friendly.

Lorne maintained a gentle smile on his face as he politely responded to each person, secretly observing which lovely young folks were suitable to be dragged into War God Mountain to serve as expendable materials to catalyze the growth of the Saint Cloths.

’Don’t you all still have your lives? Make a contribution for the love and peace of the world, you expendables.’

At this moment, Admetus was hosting a banquet in the hall to entertain these heroes gathered to resolve Thessaly’s crisis.

According to the Greek tradition of respecting strength above all, heroes seated further outward possessed weaker strength, yet the lowest among them were still god-blooded descendants who had awakened divine blood, making them more than capable of handling ordinary monster beasts and giants.

Unfortunately, after Caenis gave her round of introductions, Lorne’s picky eyes left him largely unsatisfied despite getting a general grasp of the dozens of Greek heroes present.

Most of those in the middle and outer layers were obscure, mediocre individuals who were hardly qualified to serve even as materials for the Saint Cloths.

Fortunately, after squeezing into the core area of the hall, Lorne spotted a rather eye-catching target.

In the center of the venue, a muscular man standing two and a half meters tall with black hair and golden eyes sat alone.

Beneath every inch of his tan brown skin lay coiled, rock-like muscles, with dark red divine patterns lurking like sleeping dragons.

His entire body appeared cast from iron, reflecting a cold, subdued sheen beneath the few beams of sunlight streaming through the skylight.

Viewed from afar, he resembled a crouching beast, a towering peak, an impregnable fortress, or a surging, deep ocean, as boiling etheric magic rushed and flowed around him, even releasing a scorched scent into the air.

At this moment, a three-meter boundary line had formed around his figure into a vacuum zone, surrounded by god-blooded heroes lying on the ground while clutching their arms and groaning.

Holding a wine jar in his left hand, the giant sat cross-legged on the ground while drinking heartily, as his right hand rested on a blue-gray stone pillar to arm-wrestle with a god-blooded hero who had stepped forward.

That burly hero was using every ounce of his strength to try and force the giant’s arm down, yet even though his arm grew numb, sweat poured from his forehead, and he eventually resorted to using both hands, he could not budge that single arm by even a hair’s breadth.

Gradually, steam rose from his body as fine beads of sweat seeped out layer by layer, forming streams that trickled down the contours of his skin.

After a few seconds of deadlock, the giant raised the wine jar, took a massive gulp, and let out a hearty laugh."My turn!"

The opposing hero felt a surge of dread in his heart, as his face flushed red instantly with bloodshot eyes, rising all the way from a half-squat to a full standing position out of sheer unwillingness to admit defeat.

The dozens of god-blooded heroes in the venue who loved a good show waved their drinking vessels and pounded the tables, letting out a unified roar.

"Heracles!"

"Heracles!"

"Heracles!"

"Bang—!"

Accompanied by an explosive roar akin to a collapsing mountain, the blue-gray stone pillar, which had unknowingly become covered in cracks, shattered into fine dust.

Amidst the dust, two arms positioned one above the other signaled that the victory had been decided.

Standing in the crowd, Lorne looked at the strongman winning the cheers of the entire hall, as the corners of his lips curved into a pleased arc.

’So it’s you, kid.’

(End of Chapter)

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