Chapter 600: The Triple Sacrifice of Achelous He
spoke quietly, stimulating Erwin's spirit with words, just like what he had done to the God of Stars not long ago.
This was certainly not because the old man still had a sense of justice, but because it was indeed very effective.
"Fortunately, they trusted me at the time and didn't take too many precautions, otherwise it would be really difficult to deal with... Oh, by the way, didn't you notice?"
"As a person who has been born for less than a thousand years (see 3-349), Erwin, have you ever thought about how you witnessed the Typhon Calamity and how you participated in my experiment from the beginning?"
"This is unreasonable, but you just remember it. Of course it's because you have never participated... The ones who really participated were your senior brothers."
"The only pity is that the souls of the three legendary wizards before and after only proved that memory tampering and soul fusion do have indelible consequences... This forced me at the time to completely give up the idea of transferring myself to another soul body."
"I had to think of it as a chain. When I 'sewed' your soul and your senior brother together, you were trapped at that step forever by this chain, and you would never be able to turn over until you die."
"Students who know they can't make progress are the best assistants... Even if it weren't for the stupidity of that centaur and the omissions you made, maybe you could really stay with me forever."
"But there is no way. After all, no matter how hard the bad guys rack their brains, they can't beat the stupid people's sudden inspiration..."
"Until now, I don't know what's going on in his mind."
The expression on his face was a little complicated. When he said this, the old man was a little speechless.
He was not pretending, but he really couldn't understand.
He, Chiron, was obviously a believer of the goddess of the magic network, but among his apprentices, most of them were descendants of the Olympian gods and eventually became so-called heroes.
Fortunately, even so, the church was still willing to give him enough respect and trust, after all, he was a student of Hecate.
So when Chiron trained Achilles again, the old man did his best to teach him like every time before. "
With him in the front, the church will not pay too much attention to what the wizards are doing, because this is something the centaurs should be optimistic about.
However, out of guilt for using forbidden technology, the centaurs often only ask them to ban the technology given by the wizards if it is not as "dark" as imagined, but in fact they are not willing to pay attention to their research at all.
"Haha... It's really ridiculous kindness. "
"Because you don't want to see the death of life, so you choose to stay away from the butcher and the kitchen while eating the barbecue?"
"But I don't care about this. After all, I lived a good life like this - until that day, when his students were captured by the gods, he actually went directly to Olympus with the artifacts of the spiritual world to help."
Taking a deep breath, until today, the old man can only blame this matter on Chiron being a good teacher and a good student, but not a good apprentice and a good leader.
And from that day on, the old man knew that the church would probably not be so indulgent to this centaur, and at the same time, his good days would be over.
But at that time, he obviously did not realize the seriousness of the matter, because the war on earth was imminent, and as long as it was delayed for a few years, no one would have time to take care of him... So after thinking it over again and again, the old man simply came up with a trick of "repairing the plank road in the open and crossing Chencang in secret."
"...But what I didn't expect was that all this was interrupted by you again. "
He turned his gaze back to the students, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
"Do you know how much I wanted to pull out your soul and torture it for a thousand years when I found out that you put a human with the mark of a god into the underground palace and even used him as a sacrifice?"
"You don't know, just like you don't know that although this is Silver Moon City, a city named by the Goddess of the Demon Net herself, the church has always relied on more than just the Mystery Lock, so even if I don't tell them, they will know that the God of Wind has been here. "
"That's why I chose to conceal it in the beginning... It was to make them focus more on this god of Olympus."
"I didn't contact him, I let Medea communicate with him, not because of her talent, but because she is a descendant of a god, and the other party is a living god!"
"Anyone who sees this scene will inevitably have associations... In addition, she secretly embezzled "public funds" and stole the authority of the clock tower - how much does this look like a traitor's preparation before defecting, and how much does it look like a pagan colluding with a false god? " (See 3-370)
"But what was the result?"
"Nothing happened, because of you, everything returned to the starting point. "
Maybe he was very angry at that time, but now the old man can only sigh.
That god did attract the attention of the church... But before he could guide the clue to Medea, it finally returned to him.
Perhaps this is fate, this is the protection given to believers by the 'Lord' who has never appeared in the dark.
The old man didn't know, he could only guess.
God... He didn't lose to the church, but he was just one step behind fate.
After all, compared to him, an old man who had seen the great prophet No and witnessed the establishment of the Gate of Enoch with his own eyes, those latecomers were still too young.
Humans are not gods, and wizards are not warriors. The years have left him not only knowledge, but also wisdom, experience and precipitation.
If there hadn't been this accident, he wouldn't have to be so anxious, so urgent, or even racing against death, but could have calmly faced the changes that had been prepared long ago.
But with this accident, he could only choose today's path.
"Hu——"
"Just do it, nothing is smooth sailing..."
The old man whispered to himself, looking at his students, without sadness or joy.
Now, it's time to start the last step.
"Come... look at me, Erwin."
"From this moment on, you will forget everything about today, and instead remember your true identity - your senior brother, my student, the legendary wizard Giordano who first followed me to study the God of Stars."
"Unlike Erwin, you are ambitious and gifted."
"Audacious, yet meticulous."
"Thousands of years ago, during the Calamity of Typhon, you were the first to discover the God of Stars, and then dragged your teacher into the water, and even murdered your junior brother who wanted to inform on him in a later experiment." "
In the end, you felt that no one could be trusted, not even your own teacher. So you used unknown witchcraft to control me and Erwin, and then hid behind the scenes, using your unparalleled mental witchcraft to control the overall situation."
"You were successful. No one noticed anything wrong... Until today, you felt a little uneasy, so you decided to give up your layout in Silvermoon City and exchange it for something more valuable - Hebe, the goddess of youth."
"So after dealing with all the back-up plans here, you will choose to go underground with your spoils... the vast underground world sandwiched between the earth and the underworld!"
"This is not without reason, because a long time ago, you discovered those special races who call themselves "dark elves." Although you don't plan to join them, you can live in seclusion among them, using the power of the elves and the dark and changeable environment underground to stop your pursuers!"
"Even the underground world is different from the passages between the human world and the underworld. This is a semi-independent world similar to the underworld, covered by the earth... So even if the King of Gods wants to enter in person, he will have to face the interception of Gaia's body."
"This is your plan. It is a little risky, but accurate and perfect. Do you remember it?"
The voice echoed, accompanied by the old man's narration. With Erwin's turbulent spirit, the mental patterns that had been laid long ago began to influence his thoughts.
Everything about the old man was mostly erased, after all, destruction is always easier than construction.
Until everything was finally completed, the old man slowly stood up. Looking at his former apprentice, he knew there were still loopholes, but this was the best result in a hurry.
This other former student of his did have contact with the dark elves, although it was also instigated by him, but all of this can be traced.
In addition to this layer of cover-up, the old man asked himself that the biggest reliance for being able to escape from the world was that he chose to "not be greedy".
Yes, not greedy, because he had no intention of taking away the goddess of youth and the golden cup that he had captured with great effort.
Considering that in most cases, the operator of an event must be the biggest beneficiary, so since the biggest gain has nothing to do with him, he will naturally not be the first suspect.
Although it is a pity to give up his gains, the old man's thinking is always clear. He knows what he wants and what is the core of his pursuit.
Before today, the core of his pursuit was "life" because he was about to die.
But after today, he is no longer so short of life, and becoming a god is his core pursuit.
A goddess of youth and a divine weapon, they are certainly helpful for becoming a god, but after studying Astraeus for thousands of years, the old man also knows that this is not necessary for wizards.
There is definitely more than one way to become a god, and studying gods and artifacts cannot guarantee success. On the contrary, once Hebe and the artifact are with him, he will be surrounded by enemies in the world.
When the risk is far greater than the benefit, giving up is the real wisdom.
Let them stay here and become the spoils of Giordano, the greatest blasphemer in the history of Silver Moon City, who blasphemed the stars.
As for me... "As for me... I am naturally just a dead man."
"This is my last lesson for you, Erwin. Although you can no longer hear it, as a wizard, never trust or rely on anything."
"Whether it is a person, an object, a powerful artifact, or the so-called unchangeable 'truth'."
"From today on, there will be no chief wizard of the White Tower in the world, only a reclusive spellcaster, the founder of a certain academic school in the world, an astronomer, philosopher, mathematician, a wise man who tries to use knowledge to analyze rules, the great wizard Akelaos."
"And until the end of this era, he will never step onto the stage of the world again."
The old man... no, Akelaos, who had long lost his old body, looked at his old body pierced by the [Demon Sword of Destruction], and then looked at his students in various senses.
He then handed over the third-level ceremony under the ancient city to the other party, and then tore open a space door at the core of the ceremony.
Once the final ceremony begins, all traces of him left here will be distorted and covered.
No one can see his traces. Even a God-King like the God-King is the same, this is a proven conclusion.
And finally looking at this intact ruin, Akelaus sighed.
It's over... everything is over.
"The White Tower is about to be destroyed... I witnessed its establishment with my own eyes, and I will leave with the knowledge of the old White Tower, and then I will witness its collapse with my own eyes."
"Do you know, wizards of the Third Age? Over the past thousand years, we seem to have been making continuous progress on the path of witchcraft, but in fact, we have been restricted since a long time ago."
"Silvermoon City, the kingdom of God, the source of faith."
"The original witchcraft originated here. It gave shelter to the weak like us... But wizards, when we become powerful, it in turn becomes a cage that imprisons us."
"Soul, life, years, destiny... These things they regard as sacred are precisely the reflection of the truth sown in the world."
"So from the day I realized all this, I already knew-Silvermoon City is not fertile ground for wizards, and any place that is watched by those high and mighty is not."
"Power can only bring stability; only change can bring development."
"Today's human world does not belong to me, and the starry sky and the underworld do not belong to me even more. Any place where the gods can display their power at will does not belong to me."
"There is only the underground, the place between the earth and the underworld. The world sees it as a wilderness, but I see it as honey."
Crossing the portal, at this moment, Archelaos has sensed the traces of space that are being pursued, but this has nothing to do with him.
"Come, let history witness all this."
"Right and wrong have never been determined by one generation, and morality and ethics are just the slightest ripples under the tide of the times."
"Ten thousand years later, perhaps people in later generations will spit on me and regard me as a ruthless butcher; or perhaps someone will sing my achievements and great deeds, and decorate me with glory and splendor."
"But it doesn't matter anymore."
"Because the famous heroes, the generals who are famous in history, and even the kings who rule the gods... they are all like this."
"Turning through a thousand volumes of history books, they only tell one truth."
"In this world, only the winner... can be king."
...
On Mount Olympus, the bedroom of the Queen of Heaven.
The war on earth is in full swing, and soon, Ares will fight the church that believes in the ancient gods on the battlefield.
Although she was not happy with her incompetent son, Hera still patiently focused her attention on such a major event.
Fortunately, apart from her son, her daughter was very considerate... She worked tirelessly to set up the bath every year so that she could wash away the fatigue of the year.
The Queen of Heaven was very happy about this. She would be even happier if Hebe's divine power and priesthood were not so weak. It's a
pity that the priesthood cannot be changed, and only divine power can be improved by faith.
For this reason, Hera personally issued an order and rarely used the divine power of the Queen of Heaven, ordering that with Nafplio as the core, several weak city-states around should regard Hebe as a faith worship, and appreciate her contribution to her mother goddess.
After all, as one of the rulers of the God's Court, she did not lack that little faith, but her daughter needed more... But for some reason, sitting on the high golden throne, whenever Hera thought of the existence of the goddess of youth, she suddenly felt a little uneasy.
Bang... bang!
Her heart beat faster for no reason, and she took a deep breath. The Queen of Heaven didn't know where this omen came from.
In the interval of speculation in her heart, she planned to use her believers in the mortal world to convey the oracle to see what Hebe was doing and whether she was in any danger.
Just concentrating on sensing, when Hera tried to use the devout priests as anchors and use the magic net to send down the oracle, she suddenly found that she could not find her clergy for a while.
No, they are still there, but for some reason they ran to the nearby city-states... With a frown, the power surged, and the Queen of Heaven directly sent down the oracle.
She asked these priests to explain to her, but the response of the believers soon left her speechless.
In order to give the faith of several cities to Hebe, Hera did not set up too many priests there, and did not want other gods to have too much presence.
But in recent times, traces of demons and evil things have coincidentally appeared around the other cities that believe in the goddess of youth.
The Church of Youth, which is not good at fighting, has no choice but to ask the priests of the Queen of Heaven to help clear them out.
After a while, the few remaining priests left one after another, and only a few people were left to guard the temple in Nafplio.
But without any further induction, Hera knew that they had already died.
This was what had just happened, but no god would pay attention to the human world for the death of a few priests or thousands of believers.
Such things are too common... Just getting up from her seat, Hera's intuition told her that something must have gone wrong in Nafplio.
Just as she was about to go and check, another voice suddenly came from the door.
"Your Majesty... The nymphs who were on duty in your West Sea Garden are back today, and they-"
"Let them wait first!"
He shouted coldly, and the uneasiness in her heart became stronger. Standing in front of the golden throne, Hera grasped the air.
At this moment, the authority given to her by the God King began to be used by her.
Everything seemed to gather in her palm, and the sky, the earth and the sea surrounded her.
The divine power of the Queen of Gods spanned the space, helping her to look at the small city from a distance... But just one glance, Hera was struck by lightning.
"Ah - how could it be him!"
Boom -
with a cry of surprise, the divine power unconsciously dispersed, and the vibrating temple shook slightly.
A line of blood and tears flowed from the corners of her eyes. If she had gone there in person, Hera might not have any problems.
But she mobilized the authority of the Queen of Heaven, and while she saw more things, she did not have enough strength to bear them.
Faintly, a voice she had heard not long ago rang in her ears, as if ignoring the protection of the power of the temple, and even really descended into this palace -
"Praise you, praise you!"
"The common lord of billions of demons."
"The source of the fall of the heavens." "
The mother tree of flesh and blood that devours all the worlds!"
"Your most loyal believers are here to sacrifice to you, offering the bones and blood of gods, as well as the bones of millions of people."
Those who often perform human sacrifices know that if you want to hold a grand sacrifice, you need to follow skills and rules.
What kind of object should be offered what kind of sacrifice, what kind of ritual matches what kind of god, what kind of existence is willing to accept the sacrifice...
Fortunately, unlike Chaos in the first two eras, there are many great divine powers that have taken action in the world throughout the Third Era, and there are more than one who are willing to accept the sacrifice, which somewhat increases the choices that the sacrificer can make.
However, even so, Giordano is also very clear that no matter how wide his choices are, no matter who you are, what you want to do, what your purpose is, and who your enemy is, as long as you dare to sacrifice, I dare to send down my power to respond, and there is only one person whose power and status are enough to fight against or even win against any great one.
The Scarlet King, the Great Mother of Flesh and Blood, the Mother Tree of Flesh and Blood that devours all souls... Only He can do this.
This is the general consensus of the priests after the rampage of evil creatures after the Typhon disaster, when the figure of this foreign god gradually fell into the vision of gods and mortals.
Of course, although more people know about the existence of the Mother Tree, the world's understanding of Him has not changed much.
Some people regard Him as a Tartarus-like existence, some people think that He has his own wisdom and reason, and some people simply regard Him as a clone of an ancient god in disguise, rather than a completely independent individual.
Different people have different opinions. After all, no one has ever seen the true body of the Mother Tree that is blocked by the law, and Giordano is the same.
Fortunately, now he does not care about the identity of this evil master, because apart from these different opinions, there is one thing that is recognized by everyone.
That is, although the power of the flesh and blood mother tree is terrible, it is for oneself.
If you use it to target your enemies, it is very and quite useful...
...
Boom-
boom-
boom-
...
In the east of the earth, around the city of Nafplio.
Just as the Queen of Heaven on Mount Olympus felt something, the third ritual was lit up from the ruins of the city, and the places that were truly affected were not just this one city.
Almost at the same time, several city-states that also believed in Hebe under the Queen of Heaven's order began to light up with red light one after another.
Fanatics, fallen believers, beings that had been tainted by the breath of evil... They were almost affected by Nafplio's ritual at the same time and turned into pollution sources one after another.
Until this moment, the priests who went to eliminate the evil creatures suddenly realized that what they were facing were just some baits.
Under the sacrifice of the bones and blood of the goddess of youth, these believer city-states that were very close were directly affected by the devastation.
Although different from Nafplio, out of caution, there were no sacrificial rituals pre-set by wizards under the city of these nearby city-states. But when the power of the mother tree came to the world, his existence itself was the biggest threat.
So the centaurs in the local palace finally locked the coordinates opposite the space gate, and when he stepped through the portal, he saw this scene.
On the nameless hill, an old and broken corpse turned into ashes in the flames.
In the once bustling city-state, a headless "corpse of a god" twisted and deformed in the center of a huge ritual.
Millions of scattered bones began to combine with each other under the traction of some kind of force, turning into one corrupt evil creature after another.
And on the clouds far away in the sky, the red light on the earth reflected the colors, like a series of gorgeous fireworks.
"What-what happened here?"
He was dumbfounded, unable to hide the shock in his heart.
Looking at all this, Chiron even thought he had left the world.
The terrible filthy breath came to his face, and the empty eye sockets of the skull stared at him, as if questioning his heart.
What happened? What on earth did those wizards do here? He
subconsciously took a step back, but a palm firmly held his retreating steps.
The expression on his face was almost unsustainable, and the young archbishop followed closely and walked out of the pale silver light gate.
The blood and fire reflected in his eyes, as if telling him about the destruction and disaster here.
This is not Silvermoon City, and the people here are not believers of the Lord... but they just lost their way, and should not be sacrificed to the evil.
Taking a deep breath, the young man felt a little regretful.
In the past, whether it was him or other clergymen in the church, they always had enough respect for the student of the goddess of the magic net, even if he taught one student after another who had never believed in the Lord.
But until the war on Mount Olympus broke out, they suddenly realized that perhaps they had always overestimated this famous "sage".
Yes... Chiron may be knowledgeable, but in the past thousands of years, he has never personally made any incredible achievements.
He did teach many powerful students, but what they learned was not even the witchcraft of the goddess of the magic net.
He was like Prometheus before he was locked in the sea eye and punished. Although the world gave him enough fame, what was hidden underneath was the essence that was not worthy of the name.
Perhaps the goddess of the magic network also saw this point, so for thousands of years, she rarely came to see her apprentice.
"Chiron... you really taught me an unforgettable lesson."
Taking a deep breath, the archbishop stepped forward and raised the scepter in his hand.
"Never give a person privileges because of his identity... unless it is promised to him by the Lord himself."
The holy power surged, and the scepter pointed forward.
Before using real means, he must first test the strength of these evil things.
Only by destroying them here can he continue to track down the wizard who committed a great sin. After all
, according to the records of the church scriptures, the existence of evil demons is rejected by all things, and only at the moment of successful sacrifice can his power be invested in the world.
Even if the image of the past is cut off by the power of the evil demon, he can still investigate the identity of the person who personally performed the ceremony.
"Death--"
[Ten Rings Divine Art·Law·Death]!
The ancient and unpredictable voice came out of the archbishop's mouth in a way that ordinary people could not understand.
In an instant, in the city of Nafplio, countless bones that were transforming and aggregating suddenly froze, and then turned into dust in the wind.
It was as if an invisible force had fundamentally wiped out the meaning of their existence. Even the vigorous vitality of the evil creatures could not save their existence. Only the headless corpse in the center of the city remained unchanged. Seeing this scene, the young man with silver-gray hair finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it was not the worst result. Although the sacrificial ceremony was successful, this level of sacrifice was obviously not enough to attract too powerful power.
Except for the one in the city, there was no other evil creature above the higher level... In this case, even if the prayer to the angel before coming here was not answered, he could handle it alone.
As for Chiron? The archbishop obviously did not count him as a combat force.
After all, don't think he was easy. In fact, the evil creatures in the city in front of him were enough to directly destroy several kingdoms on the continent without the gods' reckless actions.
This is not just strength, but more because of their powerful immortality, which is not the area where the centaurs, whose martial arts are better than magic, are good at.
Just like at this moment, it seems that Chiron finally remembered that he was still a combat force. He quickly took out a longbow from his back.
He bent the bow and put the arrow on it. The arrows turned into a rain of arrows in the air and fell to the ground to penetrate hundreds of bones gathered together.
But when the arrows faded, the aura of those evil creatures only weakened a little, and there was no more reaction.
"It's useless... Facing the evil demons of the cholera world, only the power of the Lord can deal with it. The martial arts of the mortal world are meaningless to them."
"Even the power of wizards and those pseudo-god clergy can only sigh at their existence..."
He spoke coldly, and then raised the scepter again.
Several circles of light lit up under the archbishop, and the holy power that was much stronger than before gathered on his body.
As he said, the power of the evil creatures was too difficult to deal with. The immortal power extending from the source was permanently engraved in the depths of their roots.
The most powerful among the evil creatures, the power that directly came from the mother tree itself, was an existence that even the great divine power could not erase.
Even the so-called ancient evil creatures that were separated by a layer were enough to make all the true gods sigh at them.
And if the number of these existences was still too small, then the ordinary evil creatures really made the world feel real fear.
High-level evil creatures comparable to demigods cannot be harmed by forces that do not contain the rules of authority. Even if ordinary gods want to wipe them out, it will take dozens or hundreds of years. However, such existences are not uncommon on the continent...
Even the evil creatures in Nafplio City rarely reach this level, and they still do not take Chiron's attack seriously.
This is the evil creature. The existence of the same level can never really hurt them, and even the stronger ones of a higher level can only use a long time to wash them away.
If there is any power in this world that can cause fatal damage to them at the same level, it is only the authority that is closely related to its source, that is, the power of [Life] and [Death].
It is precisely because of this that Erebus, who had been polluted, tried to use the power of [Life] to wipe it out, but the [Life Bottle] was no longer complete after all, so he failed in the end.
However, this is the realm of great divine power, and in the realm of mortals, the two sides can still barely fight...
The thought flashed through his mind, and the young-looking archbishop focused all his energy on his divine arts.
Although [Law·Death] can indeed completely kill these evil creatures, there are too many of them, and there is a headless corpse of a god in the center of the city being nurtured by the power of the evil demon.
Fortunately, he is a clergyman of the church, and they are never afraid of numbers————
[Eleventh Ring Divine Art·Group Summoning of Divine Servant from Other Worlds]!
Buzz——
In an instant, a full 120 beams of light suddenly rose around the city of Nafplio.
The holy power like the sea poured out from the archbishop, but in just a moment, this flow turned into a trickle.
As a summoning divine art, as long as the clergy themselves have a high enough status in the church's belief system and their faith is pious enough, the creatures from other worlds they can summon will far exceed the limit of the divine art level, and even a considerable part of the consumption can be paid by the summoned.
"Almost... Thank you all for coming to help."
He spoke loudly, and as the light pillars gradually gathered, the archbishop could clearly see that hundreds of tall lives with wings on their backs and full of positive energy appeared in front of him.
One hundred and eight [Golden Celestials], they come from the depths of the spirit world, they are the legendary golden human spirits, the positive energy life that lives in [Seven Hills Heaven]... but they cannot release the divine arts of the [Death] field, so the young man only hopes that they will be responsible for consuming and gathering those evil things.
As for the remaining twelve... they are [Demigod Spirits·Seraphim God Servant] whose faith in life was recognized by the angels, and they were promoted by them personally after death!
Regardless of the authority of the archbishop, the strength of each of them is not weaker than him at all, and they can easily defeat the powerful evil demons.
"It doesn't matter, destroy the evil demons and spread the Lord's faith, this is what we should do."
A tall god servant with a blazing body spoke briefly.
"Your Excellency the Archbishop, please give the order."
"These evil lives... I can't tolerate them for a moment."
"Okay, then I'll leave it to you, Excellencies."
The young man spoke in a deep voice, and his eyes swept over the centaurs on the side.
Compared to him, these people from the church made him feel less worried.
The scepter in his hand was raised for the third time. Behind the celestial beings that were flying across the sky and rushing towards Nafplio, the archbishop began to prepare the third divine spell.
They alone could not fight against the powerful evil creatures born from the corpse of the god, so he could only do it himself with great difficulty.
"It seems that I haven't done it myself for a long time in all these years. I don't know if I am rusty."
The young man said to himself and shook his head secretly.
There is no way, this is how the clergy are.
Wizards only need to study hard and study witchcraft day and night, but they have to consider a lot more.
For example, how many helpers should be called in a fight, how many fields of power the gods they believe in can borrow at any time, and what kind of artifact projection should be summoned when facing different enemies. These are all difficult problems.
The holy power surged, and the mysterious array pattern rose under his feet.
At this moment, the archbishop felt something in his heart and looked towards the horizon.
"Is that... the power of the false god king?"
"No, it's not him, it's his queen, she's spying on the truth here."
I ignored it, it's more important to clean up the mess now.
As for Hera's existence, let's talk about it later.
In the center of Nafplio, hundreds of holy light pillars descended before and after.
Chiron's rain of arrows had just fallen, but it did not cause any substantial damage.
However, as the Archbishop cast his divine arts, the headless god corpse seemed to have sensed the threat and finally made some movements.
The fingers moved slightly, and then the entire palm, the entire arm, and even the entire body.
In order to ensure that the sacrificial ceremony could at least attract the attention of the Supreme Being, the soul stitcher, the 'mastermind' Giordano, did not hesitate to cut off the head of his captive the moment he 'remembered' his true identity.
Among them, the main body where Hebe's consciousness was located was taken away by him. Anyway, the body of the god can be regenerated. At most, the new body of the god will not be as good as the previous one in many aspects.
As for the remaining part, he simply sacrificed it to the great mother of flesh and blood.
Now that the sacrifice has ended, the mother tree has indeed given enough response.
If the power of the goddess of youth was not too weak, and the sacrificial ceremony was not grand and perfect enough, she could have directly brought down enough power to create a new ancient evil on the spot with this incomplete corpse, which would have frightened all the gods.
Fortunately, this was enough... Slow movements, stiff shifts.
The headless corpse rose from the ruins, as if looking at the human holding the scepter with non-existent eyes.
In the dark, a feeling of being stared at surged into the archbishop's heart, and a foreboding of death was born out of thin air.
Perhaps Hebe's priesthood of [Youth] was indeed close to "life", and her current state was in line with the secular sense of death, and the power of the mother tree directly gave it another kind of life.
[Ancient Evil·Skull Sacrifice]!
"Hehe——"
The invisible domain opened up instantly, and the sense of impending death that struck the soul attached to the hearts of every being present.
This is a kind of instant death supernatural ability close to the effect of [Law·Death], which can kill any being below a certain invisible "killing line" instantly.
However, the people present at the moment were either demigods or spirits from other worlds overflowing with positive energy.
So when faced with the "greeting gift" of the ancient evil creature, they just shook their spirits and withstood the silent howl that could kill millions of mortals.
Boom-
boom-
boom-
almost at the same time, the three Seraphim servants noticed the movement here.
They pointed their hands at the same time, and three "small suns" appeared out of thin air, exploding in the city with strong light and heat.
This is [Nine Rings Divine Art·Yangyan Explosion], which has a very high killing effect on beings containing negative energy.
But when the light faded, the ancient evil creature was unharmed, as if it was just three large fireworks.
"Your Excellencies, don't waste time on it. I will trap it."
The archbishop shouted loudly on the nameless mountain.
The scepter pointed down, and the third divine art that had been prepared for a long time was released immediately.
Faintly, the azure divine light penetrated the void, and an endless chill rose from the surroundings.
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky, and the spring water condensed into ice springs.
The invisible cold current seemed to turn into shackles, wrapping around the ancient evil.
[Eleventh Ring Divine Art·Holy Oath·Crown of Winter]!
The holy power surged, and the shadow of the artifact symbolizing [Winter] fell from the depths of the spiritual world to the human world.
Freezing everything, the meaning of the end of the cycle spread from it.
In a flash, the shadow of the ice crown appeared above the empty neck of the ancient evil, as if to "wear" itself on the non-existent head, and imprison its consciousness and existence there forever.
But when it really began to fall, a strong resistance surged in the dark.
The ancient evil and the shadow of the artifact, the power of the near-god collided here.
For a while, the skull martyr was successfully dragged here.
After a slight sigh of relief, at this moment, the archbishop finally had time to look into the distance.
There, in another city-state far away from Nafplio, it seemed that some clergy were fleeing to where he was.
Just looking at the aura emanating from the holy power, it seems that they are the followers of Queen Hera.
Pagans... After a moment of silence, the archbishop pointed his scepter forward, ready to bring those people over.
Pagans can also be educated. If they really don't listen, it doesn't matter if they are killed.
But if they are eroded by evil things, even their souls will be polluted, and it is very difficult to eliminate.
As for whether the Queen of Olympus would have any opinion on his teaching her believers to return to the right track, this is not in his consideration at all.
There is no other reason. When the God of War Ares personally led the army to attack Silver Moon City, Olympus's meaning was already quite clear.
War is inevitable, and there is no need to avoid it. No matter what, the archbishop will not allow the pagan army to set foot on the land of Silver Moon City.
So when those clergymen hurriedly crossed the space gate that led to nowhere, they were greeted by a seemingly young face.
"Come, look here, yes, it's me."
The archbishop took out a scripture while holding the scepter on the ground and maintaining the shadow of the artifact.
"You chose to flee in the face of evil, and you didn't fight to the last moment in the face of the collapse of the temple... It seems that your faith is not very devout."
"But it doesn't matter, this may just be that you haven't found the true home of your soul... And I will help you find it."
...
Mount Olympus, the temple of the Queen of Heaven.
Gritting her teeth slightly, Hera dug out the eyes that seemed to have given birth to her hazy consciousness, and calmly urged the power of God to derive them again.
Although the newly born eyes still vaguely made her feel a little uncomfortable,
the Queen of Heaven could not take care of this little thing for the time being.
She mobilized the power of the Queen of Heaven again and looked at the small town for the second time. Hera did not find a way to resist the erosion in such a short time, but she knew that the previous situation would not happen again.
The power of the mother tree is indeed strong, but it is the power of Him, not the evil things He created.
The reason why Hera suffered such a heavy blow from a distance is only because she saw the gaze of the mother tree at the moment when the sacrifice was completed.
It's just that the outer gods sealed away from the world can't always pay attention to that place, unless they have a strong enough anchor there, but there is no such thing in Nafplio at present.
So there was no obstacle, and Hera successfully saw the image near the city this time.
Subconsciously looking for Hebe's figure, but the Queen of Heaven did not find her daughter's familiar face.
She only saw the city-states screaming and fearful, the clergy and nobles who were fighting or fleeing, and the archbishop holding the scepter and with strong holy power.
Feeling a little angry, Hera didn't expect that one of her priests would be so timid... But there was nothing she could do about it.
After all, unless they were in close contact, the gods could not accurately measure how devout a believer was, which was verified in the Bronze Age.
To this day, Olympus can only use various methods to ensure that its priests are indeed believers. Apart from this, only legendary priests can guarantee strong faith.
There is no other reason, but if the faith is not devout enough, there will be a gap between the priests and their own holy power when they are promoted to legends, and then directly tear their souls apart.
Unless the gods take the initiative to curb this backlash, death will be their only fate. "Huh... can't blame all these mortals."
"Their power is still too weak, and they can't defeat these immortal evil creatures at all."
Hera exhaled lightly, not too angry.
Because she knew very well that among the gods, only the clergy of the goddess of life Moanda could erase the vitality of the sealed evil creatures, or remove the pollution that ordinary evil creatures carry.
In addition, even the believers of the King of Gods can only put them in the temple for sacrifice, praying that Zeus would send down the indestructible lightning to purify those filthy demons, so it is not incomprehensible that they choose to flee.
Of course, understanding is understanding, which does not mean that she will forgive them for this.
It's fine for others to run away, but as your own clergy, if you can't even protect the temple, then what's the use of you?
"Hmm?"
The changes near the city of Nafplio did not escape the eyes and ears of the Queen of Heaven. When hundreds of beams of light descended, the presence of the archbishop immediately attracted Hera's attention.
Is that a clergyman from the spiritual world?
He can actually summon so many powerful spirits in one breath.
Hera was slightly shocked by this, and looked sideways for a moment.
Those demigod spirits were really extraordinary, especially on the earth.
It was just a pity that looking at those seraph servants, the Queen of Heaven knew that although she had the power and divinity to create demigod spirits in theory, in reality, she had no such technology at all.
Such a special spirit cannot be created by giving the soul enough power and divinity. It is already a kind of creation and creation in the soul realm.
In the whole Olympus, the only similar thing is probably the heroic spirit of [Hall of Valor].
However, [Hall of Valor] needs to suppress the starry sky, and it is impossible to use it at all... Looking away, Hera began to look for Hebe's traces again. There was no trace
in the spring water... There was no trace
in the nearby city-states... There was no
trace in the surrounding mountains and rivers... It seemed that there was no trace either.
Hera frowned slightly, not knowing where the goddess of youth had gone.
But just as she was looking carefully, an inexplicable chill suddenly surged into her heart.
Looking carefully, Hera immediately noticed the ice crown.
"The projection of the artifact... The family background of the original god is really unfathomable."
A trace of envy flashed in her eyes. As the queen of Olympus, she didn't have any artifacts worth mentioning, and she couldn't even compare to Hebe's golden cup.
Seeing the ice crown fall on the familiar headless corpse, Hera couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
"It is indeed enough to suppress the evil creatures close to the gods with the shadow of the artifact... But why does this ancient evil creature look so familiar?"
A thought flashed through her mind, and the queen couldn't help but observe carefully.
Although the headless corpse has been partially changed in appearance by the power of the mother tree, its general shape remains unchanged.
At this moment, an ominous premonition surged into her heart, and invisible pressure descended inside and outside the palace.
Outside the palace, seven sea fairies and nymphs gathered together. They looked at the depressing atmosphere of the temple in the distance without knowing why, and couldn't understand what was going on.
"Your Majesty...what happened?"
"I don't know..."
"Maybe you encountered some difficult problem...wait, what happened?"
Boom -
before the voice fell, suddenly, a loud bang overturned Hera's temple in an instant.
Golden light rose from the sacred mountain and rushed straight towards the golden palace on the top of the mountain.
Pushing open the door of the golden palace, Hera strode in.
Looking at the God King who was dozing on the throne, she could no longer hold back the anger in her heart.
"Zeus - you are still here...what are you waiting for?!"
The God King was not omniscient, and Hera certainly knew this.
But she also knew that Zeus could not be unaware of her mobilizing the power of the Queen of Heaven.
What she saw, the God King must have seen, and he saw it earlier than her and more than her.
However, until now, Zeus was still sitting here honestly, and did not save Hebe who was in danger!
"...You are the king of the gods."
Taking a deep breath, looking at the figure on the throne, Hera finally reminded coldly.
"...I know, but Hebe is no longer there."
"I will rescue her, but not now."
Zeus promised in a deep voice, opening his slightly tired eyes.
But hearing his words, Hera only felt more angry.
"Not now...but I only want now."
"Since you don't want to go, then I'll do it myself."
Bang -
turned and left, Hera felt that she was a little too emotional today, but since Hebe's whereabouts were unknown, it was reasonable for her to react like this.
Zeus didn't know what he was thinking, she could only rely on her own strength... With a flash of divine light, Hera returned to the damaged temple.
"Someone, fix it."
"Before I come back, I want to see it restored to its original state."
"And who was it that wanted to see me just now, now, immediately appear in front of me."
Trying to regain calm thinking, Hera felt that her state was a little not so good.
What happened to Hebe has already happened. Since she can't eliminate the problem in the next moment, she should come up with a solution that is as perfect as possible.
But before that, she plans to deal with the previous things first.
The guards on her West Sea Garden... They should be here to deliver the golden apple.
Hera suddenly remembered that she should have held a banquet after Hebe's tribute, but now that her daughter was gone, was there any need for her to hold a banquet?
"Let them come first."
She had no time to take care of Ares's affairs, so she let Zeus play out his schemes.
As for herself, no matter what, she would put the golden apples away first.
There was no need for a banquet, but when she rescued Hebe, she could use these golden apples to nourish her body.
"Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty."
...
In front of the temple that collapsed due to the impact of the Queen's power, seven sea nymphs and nymphs stood in a row.
At Hera's summons, the maids guarding the orchard greeted one by one and expressed their respect to the noble gods.
However, at this moment, the Queen was obviously not in the mood to talk to them.
She just waved her hand and then directly ordered:
"Okay, you are here to deliver the golden apples."
"In the past, I sent people to get them. I didn't expect that you would actually deliver them this year... In this case, you will each return the harvest to the warehouse. I allow you to stay on the sacred mountain for a few more days."
"If there is nothing else, you can withdraw."
Before she finished speaking, Hera turned around and prepared to leave.
She didn't think that these nymphs guarding the orchard had any major events to report. After all, they were more like craftsmen who took care of flowers and plants than guards.
Sea nymphs and nymphs are best at doing this. They can drive away the wind and rain on the sea and let the plants thrive.
However, just after turning around and taking a few steps, Hera was stopped by a voice behind her.
"Your Majesty... I, we are not here to hand over the golden apples."
"... Then why are you here?"
Hera frowned and turned around and asked calmly.
"I... We are here to ask for help."
After hesitating for a moment, she said loudly.
The leading sea nymph gritted her teeth slightly and lied with a stiff upper lip.
"The golden apples are gone. They were either destroyed or stolen. Even the demon Ladon who guarded the orchard died at the hands of the enemy."
"Your Majesty, that abominable murderer is extremely cruel and doesn't take you and the gods seriously at all."
"We clearly stated our identities, but he still dared to attack us. Your Majesty--"
Boom-- Hera
could no longer endure it, and the invisible momentum was released from her body.
She had just kicked Zeus so hard that she was angry. She didn't expect that she would encounter such a thing again just after returning.
The terrifying gaze swept across the seven sea fairies one by one, and the Queen's pressure became stronger and stronger... But at a certain moment, she forced herself to hold her breath and tried to think about the problem calmly again.
"You said that my garden was robbed by a villain?"
"Yes." The sea fairy quoted out of context: "He claimed that the golden apples belonged to him, and it was natural and reasonable for him to pick the apples."
"We naturally didn't want to believe him, so we told him in a nice voice: Your Majesty the Queen of Heaven is the most just and kind god in the world. If you insist on snatching the golden apples, then wait for Your Majesty to decide personally after hearing the news."
"We believe that if he really has a reasonable reason to obtain the golden apples, then Your Majesty will definitely give a fair judgment. Even if he has no reason, perhaps the great Majesty may be kind enough to do him a favor."
"But what we didn't expect was that he was so arrogant and rude, and ordered us to 'get out of the way' in a domineering manner."
"But we are servants selected by Your Majesty the Queen of Heaven to guard the garden. How could we be scared by a thug!"
"So we resisted stubbornly... but we were finally defeated by him."
After recounting the whole story from beginning to end, the sea fairy asked herself if she had lied.
Anyway, that human seemed to have mentioned something like "trial" and "reward", as if the golden apple was supposed to be his.
And their subsequent responses were just a little bit of embellishment, the process is always the same...
Just standing in front of the sea nymphs and nymphs, Hera was furious.
She never expected that there would be such a crazy——
"Huh?"
Suddenly realizing something, Hera couldn't help but ask:
"You said he defeated Ladon?"
"Yes."
The sea nymph nodded respectfully.
Although she didn't know whether the queen of heaven had been paying attention to the movements on the sea recently, these were facts that could not be concealed.
"Then how did you survive?"
Hera continued to ask.
"We... Maybe he was too arrogant and thought that only a big demon like Ladon was worthy of being killed by him."
With inspiration, the sea nymph thought of an excuse.
"Is that so..."
Her brows frowned again, and this reason made Hera feel very perfunctory.
But thinking about it carefully, she couldn't deny this possibility.
After all, there has always been such a existence among the gods, and the power and wisdom of the gods have never been equal.
"Do you know this murderer? Which god is he?"
"We don't recognize him."
The sea nymphs shook their heads and repeated their speculation.
"He disguised himself as a human, but how could a human defeat the hundred-headed dragon Ladon?"
"Only His Majesty the God King can defeat that powerful demon. He must be an ancient god who has hidden his identity."
"Your Majesty, he may have come for you on purpose. You must not take it lightly."
"His Majesty the God King has more than one lover. Maybe a goddess asked them..."
Boom -
Hera exploded her power for the third time in just one night.
But this time she did it not for anything else, but because of the stupidity and usurpation of these sea nymphs.
What a joke. It's fine if it's anything else, but Zeus's lover wants to take his place and ascend to the throne of the Queen of Heaven?
Let's not talk about others. Let's see if Zeus himself is willing to agree!
Moreover, even if this is true... who are you to discuss this with me here!
"Enough!"
He shouted coldly. Under the pressure of the Queen of Heaven, the seven nymphs and sea fairies had already been pressed to the ground and were struggling to breathe.
After a while, it seemed that her anger had subsided. Hera looked at them coldly, but in the end she did not kill them directly.
"I know you are afraid that I will blame you... but this is not the reason for you to find such a ridiculous excuse."
"I will investigate who the attacker is, so you don't need to speculate here."
"Now, tell me, is there anything else you haven't told me about the one who robbed my garden?"
"Your Majesty, there is!"
The sea nymph spoke with difficulty, shouting: "He said his name is Hercules--"
Eh?
As if she suddenly discovered something, an idea flashed through the sea nymph's mind.
The glory of Hera... What a strange name...
Bang bang bang bang bang bang--
seven muffled sounds, and a trick was saved at the last moment. Seven sea nymphs and nymphs flew out and lost consciousness instantly.
With an ugly face, Hera felt that she had been fooled.
Hercules, it turned out to be him, the son of Zeus and that mortal, he seemed to be carrying out some so-called "trial"?
"Keep them in custody and deal with them when I come back!"
He said coldly. Although Hera thought that these sea nymphs and nymphs were a bit stupid, there was one thing that they should not dare to lie to her, that is, the golden apples should be gone.
Hercules, how dare you take my garden in one breath?
Anger rose in her heart, but at this moment, the Queen of Heaven also noticed a key problem.
Was the hundred-headed dragon Ladon killed by the other party? She really didn't pay attention to this matter.
After all, she was not the god of the sea, and she rarely mobilized the power of the Queen of Heaven.
"If that's the case..."
The thought rose from her heart, and Hera stood up and flew out of Mount Olympus.
The ownership of some golden apples was just a small matter, and the whereabouts of Hebe was what she was most concerned about now.
If this human has become so good at fighting after so many years, then she might as well let him do something.
"I don't know where Zephyrus has gone. It's better to leave this matter to him..."
Thinking silently, Hera flew away.
And where she left, after a long time, accompanied by a painful groan, several sea nymphs woke up from their coma.
"...What...what happened?"
A trace of confusion flashed in her eyes, and then the sea nymphs looked as if they remembered something.
Hercules...Could it be that the illegitimate son of the Queen of Heaven? No wonder he said that the golden apple was the reward he should have received!
But in this way, the sea nymphs felt desperate in an instant.
Oh my God...She didn't even recognize the heir of the Queen of Heaven, and she even complained to Hera herself. What should she do...
A trace of fear flashed across her face, but the next moment, the fear was replaced by determination.
"I can't accept my fate like this!"
Gently clenching her fists, the sea nymphs knew that the reason why Hera didn't kill them immediately after discovering this secret was perhaps just because she didn't want to get angry about it and attract other people's attention.
But as long as the other party came to his senses, she would have a thousand and ten thousand reasons to execute her.
So the question is, looking at Olympus, who else can save her life?
"Your Majesty, I'm going to complain to him!"
"Yes, only your majesty can save me!"
As if she had grabbed the last straw, the sea nymph was very excited.
As long as she continued to accuse Hercules of his evil deeds to the God King, Zeus might be able to accidentally discover Hercules' true identity like her!
Not knowing whether this method is feasible, the sea nymph can only treat it as feasible... Closing her eyes again, she continued to pretend to be unconscious.
Now she seems to be locked up. Although no one thinks she can escape from Olympus, the guards in the cell are extremely simple, but she can't leave rashly.
She has to find a day when she can definitely see His Majesty the God King to complain, and before Hera comes back.
Praying silently, the sea nymph hopes that this day will come soon.
But at the same time, she is also a little annoyed.
I just wanted to eat a few golden apples, is that wrong? How did it become like this without me noticing?
However, the incident had already happened, and the sea nymph had to tell herself that if something else happened because of it, it was definitely not her problem, and she didn't have to be responsible for it.
Well... the culprit was that human.
Hercules, right? When His Majesty the King of Gods finds out your true identity, he will definitely take action himself and make you die without a burial place.
·······
On the earth, the Queen of Heaven left the sacred mountain, and the battle between the evil creature and the archbishop continued.
However, facing the rare demigod priests in the world, no matter how powerful the ancient evil creature was, it was destined to be unable to defeat the power of the twelve seraphs and the projection of the artifact.
The victory and defeat had already been clear, and the archbishop's prayers in advance were never answered by the angels.
Instead, on the front battlefield about to face Ares, a special oracle descended and fell on the other two people who spread the glory of the Lord in the world.
Respectfully receiving the oracle, the two archbishops discussed for a moment.
They soon reached a consensus on what happened in Nafplio.
The only difference was that this time, a certain archbishop who had always been radical and fanatical actually gave up his opinion and accepted the idea of another person.
Because the other person told him that in this matter, her statement would only make most mortals who did not know the truth misunderstand the glory of the Lord... But his statement was different.
"Language is an art."
The old man said so, and the old woman finally chose to accept it.
But when the decision was made, they still did the same thing, that is, to convey the incident to the goddess of the magic network.
Allowing wizards to master the mystery lock has proved to be a wrong decision, and even they gradually realized that perhaps for wizards above the legendary level, it is indeed difficult for them and the church to coexist peacefully.
Because they will want to live forever, want to become powerful, and want to ascend to the throne of God... But the church does not want to.
Immortality is not something that humans can obtain. If wizards want to obtain it, they will almost inevitably touch taboos.
Kill one batch, and there will be another batch... Expel one batch, and there will be a new batch.
A decision was brewing in the old woman's mind, but no matter what she wanted to do, she couldn't get around the existence of Hecate, the goddess of the magic network.
So on earth, when the war between the young-looking archbishop and the evil creatures came to an end, Hecate received three messages from different sources on an unknown deserted star in the starry sky.
This was the mark she left behind, and the transmission channel was the ubiquitous magic network.
One of them came from Chiron, one from the young man with him, and the last one came from the front battlefield to meet Ares.
Just looking at the message, Hecate didn't read any of it.
She just moved her fingers and wiped them out of the starry space.
Next to the girl in the red dress, the silver car stopped on one side.
Noticing the three consecutive messages, Selene couldn't help but feel curious when she saw Hecate wiping them out.
"... Hecate, is it the centaur?"
"It's him, but not just him."
"But it doesn't matter... I can probably guess why."
Waving her hand, the girl in the red dress shook her head nonchalantly.
However, as the god who was most familiar with her, the Moon Goddess could see at a glance that she was not sincere.
"Hekate... no matter what it is, you can tell me."
Pursing her lips, Selene spoke softly;
"Maybe I can't defeat your enemies, but many things in this world are not solved by force."
"Maybe if you think about the problem from a different perspective, I can give you a new idea?"
"..."
"Well - yes, you are right."
After a moment of silence, Hecate tapped her chin.
She looked at the Moon Goddess beside her, and then pulled her over.
"Since you want to hear it, then I'll tell you."
"[Artificial Magic Net]... You should have heard me say this term, right?"
[Artificial Magic Net], Selene had certainly heard of it, and was deeply impressed.
She still remembered that one night a long time ago, Hecate excitedly told her that a mortal wizard was actually trying to analyze the essence of the magic net, and even imitated a new magic net.
But the Moon Goddess at that time was undoubtedly very strange, not only because of the delusion of that mortal, but also because of her friend's reaction.
The former is easy to understand, after all, the magic net is such a great and vast masterpiece.
Just a mortal who doesn't even have divinity wants to deconstruct the magic net, which is simply a fantasy.
What's more, with the realm of that human at that time, he couldn't even touch the complete structure of the twelve-layer magic net, let alone create a new magic net.
As for the latter, let alone, the authority of the true god is the face and power of the god itself.
Now there is a mortal who dares to covet your divine power. It would be fine if you didn't kill him, but why are you still so happy?
Selene couldn't figure it out, so she didn't intend to hide her doubts.
When faced with the Moon Goddess's question, Hecate's answer at that time was very intriguing.
"I remember you told me that you are the goddess of the magic net, the pioneer and builder of the magic net, and you will also be its perfecter and achiever."
"It will be perfected in your hands and eventually take root in every corner of the world... but that's all."
"You are its beginning, but not its whole. You knew this from the first day it was born."
"So you are not angry about the birth of the [artificial magic net]... you are even more happy."
"You hope that someone will study it, perfect it, achieve it, and eventually be achieved by it."
"So when the centaurs who discovered the existence of the [artificial magic net] came to you in a panic and asked you what you thought about it, you finally told him - you never thought that studying the magic net was a blasphemy to you."
"On the contrary, this is the wizards using their wisdom to express their respect to the pioneers on the road of witchcraft."
On the nameless star, next to the silver frame.
Selene finally tried to play the role of a "listener", "thinker" and "problem solver", but was beaten back to her original form by the girl in the red dress within three seconds.
Fortunately, the moon goddess was already used to this. She just tried to twist her neck under Hecate's punishment so that she could see the other party's eyes.
"So what is the relationship between these transmissions and the [Artificial Magic Net]? Did its research fail?"
"That's right."
Nodding and waving her calves indifferently, Hecate agreed with Selene's statement.
"It did fail, just like when I taught little Chiron."
"Hmm... maybe I'm not good at being a guide."
"It feels like every start that looks good has not been able to bear fruit in my hands."
"Zeus may be good at this, but he is no longer the golden-haired boy I met at the beginning. I don't want to pay any attention to him now."
"Maybe there are others who are good at these things, but I don't know them."
"So let's do it this way. Try a few more times and you will succeed."
"Well, but then again," Hecate lowered her head slightly and looked at the moon goddess: "Since they are all unreliable, Selene, do you want to try?"
"Try what?"
The goddess in the moon-white gauze skirt was a little confused and didn't understand.
"Huh?" With her eyes slightly widened, Hecate said in surprise: "Didn't I say that before?"
"You didn't say that?"
Selene puffed up her cheeks slightly and was a little angry.
"Is that so?"
Hecate was a little embarrassed when she heard it, and waved her hand.
"So you didn't know, but it's not important... It's not too late for me to tell you now." She
sorted out her words, facing the accusing eyes of the Moon Goddess, and described her thoughts lightly.
"In fact, the matter is very simple. The main thing is to ask you to help me and be the goddess of the magic network..."
"Puff——"
"Ahem... Wait, what did you say just now?"
Selene's eyes widened, and her voice even broke a little.
And Hecate seemed to just shake her head nonchalantly, as if the other party was making a fuss.
"Yes, you heard it right, just be the goddess of the magic network for me."
"How about it, do you feel excited? This is the [Magic Network], it is much more powerful than your [Moon]."
"... Hecate, are you crazy?"
"How can a god voluntarily give up his priesthood, and how could I possibly steal your priesthood!"
Unbelievable, at this moment the Moon Goddess felt like she was in a dream.
However, in front of her, looking at Selene's reaction, Hecate just thought about it.
Then a water-blue shadow gathered behind her and evolved into another her.
In an instant, some invisible influence seemed to spread out.
Unlike the girl in the red dress who was jumping around, when the figure in the blue dress appeared on this nameless celestial body, even the entire starry sky seemed to become quiet and peaceful.
With her hands folded on her right waist, Hecate in the blue dress took a step forward.
Although they both had similar faces, her appearance made everyone feel as gentle as water.
"I'm not crazy... Selene, this is the path that belongs to me."
"In fact, the real goddess of the magic network is me, and I am the one who was born because of the magic network."
"And the one who wants to give up this authority is also me, never someone else."
The girl spoke softly and squatted down.
In front of her, looking at the faint smile on the corner of Hecate's mouth in the blue dress, Selene only felt that she saw the vast and boundless magic network itself.
"I am its creator, but I do not own it."
"The Demonic Net is the authority of 'Hekate', but it is not hers either."
"Thousands of years ago, she ended her earthly life on the East China Sea. When the Demonic Net was born, I appeared."
"As for now... when the Third Age comes to an end, the Demonic Net will be completed in my hands."
"From that day on, the next 'I' will be here."
"…"
"So that's how it is… But Hecate, I still don't understand." Selene nodded slightly, and after a moment of silence, a trace of confusion flashed in her eyes.
She tried to understand what Hecate in the blue dress said, but the mystery of the three-phase incarnation was beyond her knowledge.
Seeing this, the blue-dressed girl just smiled lightly, while the red-dressed girl poked her in dissatisfaction.
"It's really troublesome... OK - then I'll explain it to you."
Hecate curled her lips and could understand.
The three-phase incarnation is a unique gift, but just like the same witchcraft inheritance, it often turns into different results in the hands of different people, the existence of the three-phase power itself is also different, and even their own choices may lead them to a completely different path.
It was more or less a coincidence that she could take such a path.
...
Different from the three-phase incarnation of the Lord of Eternal Night in the legend - of course, strictly speaking, Hecate didn't know what the other party's incarnation was like.
It's just that in the various ancient legends in the world, Nyx's three phases and she herself have always been separated, as if they were each independent individuals, but she was not like that.
In the original trajectory, Hecate had three heads and three bodies, and also manifested in old, middle-aged and young ages.
But no matter how she was divided, her three phases were mutually complementary and integrated.
They could not be divided or separated.
Rather than being three different individuals, it was better to say that they represented three different images of the same existence.
Regarding this point, Hecate in this world has carried it forward.
Her first incarnation, the image of the girl in a red skirt, represented her natural identity, everything she was born with, and everything she had walking in the world.
And on the day when the era changed, when she successfully wove the magic net and ascended to the throne of God, it meant that she was completely complete from birth to becoming a god.
The incarnation of the red skirt was complete from then on, and the goddess of the magic net who descended from the sea was born.
They are all Hecate, but not the complete Hecate.
Therefore, from this day on, the old journey ended, and a new mission called "perfect magic net" was born.
As the second three-phase incarnation of Hecate, she was born with the magic net in a blue skirt.
So if she wants to perfect herself, she must make the magic net reach perfection.
Of course, absolute perfection does not exist. It is enough for her to achieve relative perfection.
Although this is difficult, at least at the end of this era, Hecate is sure to do this at a certain moment.
But at the same time, another problem arises.
Because when the relative perfection of the magic network is achieved, Hecate's second incarnation must be pulled out of the magic network at the same time as its own perfection.
Otherwise, when the moment of relative perfection is over, her second incarnation will return to an incomplete state.
Only by selecting the next goddess of the magic network in time and letting her abdicate smoothly as the "opener of the magic network", "shaper of the magic network" and "perfecter of the magic network", will the subsequent incompleteness have nothing to do with her, and it will be entirely the business of the second god of the magic network.
As for this, Hecate naturally knew it as early as the day when the magic network was opened.
So she accepted an apprentice who is somewhat similar to her - Changsheng, a descendant of gods, and a centaur who is suspected to be abandoned.
She hopes that the other party can be like her, all the way to the peak of near-god, and then take over the position of the god of the magic network from her when the next era turns.
But this idea didn't last long. As time went by, Hecate gradually realized that although Chiron was diligent and studious, he didn't have the ability at all.
"He is very smart and talented, especially in astrology... So I thought he was just addicted to prophecy and potions, not that he lacked talent."
"But later, the naked reality proved me wrong."
"His talent in witchcraft is not better than other gods, or even more precisely, his talent in this area is very average."
"On the contrary, he seems to be born sensitive to mortal martial arts and archery. But when I realized this, it was a little too late."
Shaking her head slightly, Hecate didn't know how to comment on this matter.
When she realized that Chiron's talent was not in witchcraft, she once told him seriously that according to his talent, he might never be able to meet her requirements.
As the goddess of the magic network, she was naturally very disappointed.
But as the teacher of her first apprentice, Hecate hoped that the other party would be able to realize his advantages in time and no longer need to focus on the path of a spellcaster because of her.
He could study martial arts and archery to strengthen his body, even though Hecate could not teach him in these areas.
Although the Centaur accepted the reality on the surface, he did not give up in his heart.
He still tried to learn advanced witchcraft, even in the field after the legend, his mediocre talent made him take every step with difficulty.
On the contrary, martial arts and archery, which were his hobbies, allowed him to exert the normal strength of a demigod.
"There is no way. I can't change his mind. I have to stop talking about witchcraft with him and let him live his life as he wants."
"Although I don't like most of the heroes of the gods he taught, since this is what he wants to do, I didn't stop him."
"I just started trying to find a new successor... until the appearance of the [Artificial Magic Net]."
With a trace of reminiscence on her face, Hecate continued.
"Selene, you know what?"
"This is a genius invention, and from the perspective of a legendary wizard who has not even set foot on the Demon Web, it is even more genius."
"This kind of exploration of the essence of the Demon Web is the real possibility of inheriting the throne of the God of the Demon Web. I even thought at the time that if he could keep going like this, I would grant him immortality at the end of the era, and then open up a kingdom of God, and entrust him with the power to control the Demon Web."
"I wanted to tell him about this in person and tell him that he was chosen as the successor to the God of the Demon Web."
"But I hesitated, because I thought that perhaps such a genius could give me more surprises."
"If he can rely on his own abilities to ascend to the Demigod, or even become a god, then he may be able to better control the Demon Web and take over my legacy more smoothly, so I chose to let him go."
"Someone once told me that the most brilliant ideas and civilizations will only be born in the freest environment. So I didn't pay too much attention to him, but delegated the power to control the puzzle locks to those wizards."
"After all, the source of the puzzle locks is the magic network. Studying the puzzle locks will help them understand the magic network itself... But Selene, even I didn't expect that the mortal wizard would actually take such a path."
"He gave up the [Artificial Magic Net] and chose to study the gods themselves."
Hecate spoke softly. As a god, Hecate rarely paid attention to what the wizards in the world were doing.
After all, she only needed to open the Book of All Laws, and the knowledge that did not involve the realm of gods would automatically appear on it.
It was just a coincidence that the other party's taboo research involved a god from the beginning... So the girl in the blue skirt slowly stood up, and she could only shake her head.
"He finally found the way to immortality, but I don't plan to let him be the God of the Magic Net anymore."
"He is not suitable for this position. If he becomes the God of the Magic Net, he will only continue to step into the abyss of taboos."
"So I figured it out. Although my intuition tells me that I need a mortal to inherit the position of the God of the Magic Net, this does not mean that it cannot be held by a god first."
"Selene, maybe you are indeed not suitable for this position."
"But I think there will be gods who are suitable."