Giant Geryon and the herd of red-brown cattle he possesses.
In truth, this was originally one of the twelve impossible labors that the future great hero Heracles was meant to complete.
And now, under the guidance of Queen of the Sea Amphitrite, this "Heracles" named Jason had arrived on this small island.
And he was about to lay claim to this herd of cattle.
"That herd is not truly something owned by Geryon."
The moment the pegasus landed on the small island and Amphitrite and Jason dismounted from the pegasus, Amphitrite suddenly said to Jason: "That herd originally belonged to one of my sisters, Callirhoe.
A few days ago, I specifically went to visit her. She said that if you could truly seize it back, she would be more than happy to bestow that herd upon you as a gift."
Hearing Amphitrite's words, Jason was momentarily stunned, and he immediately expressed his gratitude to Amphitrite.
Although in this Greek world, many things were simply taken by force once seized.
Whether handsome men or beautiful women, or even rare treasures.
As long as you could seize them, they became your own possessions, and it was even a source of pride to boast about.
Many heroes did exactly this, and the Greek gods were accustomed to it.
But when it came to Jason, it had to be an exception.
Because the Greek gods who knew Jason clearly did not want such a trivial matter to taint Jason's pure heart!
And just then, a beautiful woman with golden hair and blue eyes appeared, the very sister Callirhoe that Amphitrite had mentioned.
She slowly emerged from the waters not far from the shore.
"Sister Amphitrite, is this the child you mentioned?"
The beautiful woman with blue eyes blinked curiously, sizing up Jason before her.
And then, very quickly, she nodded in extreme satisfaction and said with a smile: "Indeed, he is a very lovely child."
It is worth noting here that Callirhoe and Amphitrite's sisterly relationship stems from this.
They are both children of the Titan Oceanus.
At the same time, Metis, the original goddess of wisdom and mother of Athena, was also a child of Oceanus, and one of his most favored ones.
It was because of Metis that Titan Oceanus ultimately defected to Zeus's side during the last war of the gods. And it was also because of Metis that he eventually stormed off in fury, vowing never to return to Mount Olympus in his lifetime.
And when speaking of Titan Oceanus, there is one particularly amusing point.
Zeus and Poseidon are both notoriously prolific figures among the Greeks, but compared to Oceanus.
In terms of producing offspring, they were utterly outmatched!
Because Titan Oceanus and his wife together bore a full three thousand sons and three thousand daughters!
"Callirhoe, why have you come?"
Amphitrite looked puzzled at this golden-haired, blue-eyed ocean nymph.
"Because of curiosity, sister. You suddenly left, and it was all because of a child, so I sneaked over... But now that I see him, I can certainly understand."
As Callirhoe spoke, she walked toward Jason.
But just as she reached out to touch Jason, Amphitrite pulled Jason back behind her.
"Sister Amphitrite, don't be so stingy..."
"It's not that I'm being stingy. Sister, you cannot touch this child, because you do not have the qualification."
After Amphitrite said this softly, dissatisfaction naturally appeared on Callirhoe's face. However, she did not dare to defy the Queen of the Sea before her.
"Then I won't touch him. I came here mainly to say one thing... This child can have that herd, but you cannot help, sister."
As Callirhoe spoke, seeing Amphitrite furrow her brows, she quickly continued: "At least when the child goes to seize the herd, you cannot help, Sister Amphitrite!"
"Oh, you mean that." Amphitrite's brows relaxed, and she smiled at Callirhoe as she said: "Of course. Geryon seized the herd from you through his own strength, so this child must indeed reclaim the herd through his own efforts."
With that, Amphitrite turned her head to look at Jason and said to him: "Jason, listen carefully. That herd of red-brown cattle is currently on the highest mountain of this small island, guarded by the centaur Eurytion and the two-headed dog Orthrus.
Geryon is not there; he will only return at sunset.
Therefore, you must drive that herd of red-brown cattle into the sea before sunset. At that time, I will whisk the herd away and block Geryon's pursuit."
Jason nodded, indicating that he understood.
Then, with his eyes turning thoughtfully, Jason suddenly looked at the two women cautiously and asked: "Then, Goddess Amphitrite, Goddess Callirhoe, may I ask one thing?... Who is that giant Geryon the child of?"
"Geryon..." Amphitrite looked toward Callirhoe.
Callirhoe thought for a moment and said: "I don't know either. He seems to be... the child of a sea god."
Seeing this, Jason immediately asked again: "Then, does that mean I can use any method, as long as I can bring the herd back?"
"Yes." Amphitrite nodded.
"Oh..." Jason looked at the two women's reactions, nodded, and indicated that he understood.
And the pegasus, watching such a Jason, blinked its eyes.
Thus, Amphitrite and Callirhoe took the pegasus away, and Jason headed alone toward the peak of the highest mountain on the small island.
"Sister Amphitrite, even if he can reclaim the divine cattle from the centaur Eurytion and the two-headed dog Orthrus, can he really escape Geryon's pursuit?"
Callirhoe looked puzzled at Amphitrite, then at the pegasus beside her, and said: "I originally thought you would leave the pegasus with him, but you..."
"Don't worry." Amphitrite said with a smile: "At the most critical moment, I will intervene."
With that, Amphitrite paused slightly, then muttered in an extremely soft voice: "The main reason is, if I don't do this and leave a good impression on this child, how could he possibly keep thinking of me and prepare offerings for me?"
The pegasus watched the muttering Amphitrite. Although it did not know what Goddess Amphitrite intended to do, it knew that Amphitrite's expectations were likely to fall short.
Because the pegasus knew Jason all too well.
And one of Jason's survival principles.
If he does not strike, he does not strike at all. But once he decides to strike, he must resolve it with the utmost speed. When dealing with enemies, he must show no mercy whatsoever, and it is best to reduce them to ashes!
However, that applies only to confirmed enemies.
In this Greece full of dangers everywhere, if one can avoid making enemies for oneself, one must absolutely refrain from creating them.
Thus, even knowing that the two goddesses, Amphitrite and Callirhoe, were watching from afar, Jason still did something entirely beyond their expectations.
Holding Athena's guide in his hand as he advanced toward his goal, Jason.
By noon, he spotted the herd grazing on the high mountain, along with the centaur Eurytion and the two-headed dog Orthrus guarding the herd.
He did not rush to pull out the caduceus to cast an invisibility spell on himself and sneak behind them for a surprise attack. Instead, he took out the lyre that Amphitrite had lent him.
He played a beautiful melody on it. That beautiful music even caused the grazing herd to lift their heads and look toward Jason.
Naturally, the centaur Eurytion and the two-headed dog Orthrus immediately noticed Jason, this uninvited guest.
"Who are you!"
The centaur came before Jason, eyeing him warily.
But perhaps due to the excessively beautiful sound of Jason's lyre, combined with Jason's high attractiveness, he did not draw the bow and arrows from his body.
Even the two-headed dog did not bare its teeth at Jason.
"You strong centaur warrior, and fierce two-headed dog brother, I am a singer who has come here in accordance with the oracle of the great gods."
Jason did not stop his playing, and while continuing to play, he smiled at the two and said: "I am willing to offer you music that can soothe your minds, and at the same time... I hope you will grant me a small request."
"What request?" The centaur looked at Jason in confusion.
"I want to meet Geryon."
After Jason stated his intention, the centaur was surprised, but after a moment of hesitation, he turned and went to fetch Geryon.
And Jason's actions, naturally, were witnessed by the two goddesses.
As they marveled at how Jason's actions completely exceeded their initial expectations, they were also very curious about what Jason intended to do.
Soon after, Jason continued playing the beautiful melody, and as time passed, before the sun set, the centaur brought Geryon back.
He was a towering giant; Jason before him was not even as tall as his foot.
In the mythological tales, Heracles relied on arrows coated with the blood of the nine-headed serpent Hydra to successfully slay this giant.
"Insignificant human, what do you want with me?"
The giant lowered his head, looking at Jason before him.
Hearing the melody he played, he asked calmly and peacefully.
"Noble Giant Geryon, I am a man who has come here under divine guidance. You may call me... Heracles."
Jason smiled as he gave his "name." Upon hearing the name Heracles, Geryon was momentarily stunned.
"Queen Hera... Human, what do you want with me?"
Geryon was silent for a time, then asked.
"Noble Giant Geryon, I hope you can trade the herd before you to me." Jason directly stated his purpose and said: "Because I need to sacrifice them to the great divinity, Lord Apollo, the god of light."
"You want my herd?"
Geryon was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then burst into loud laughter.
His laughter boomed like thunder in Jason's ears. After the tall giant Geryon finished laughing, he said to Jason: "Human, this is utterly absurd!
But in consideration of how pleasing your lyre music is, and since you are a child of Hera, I can forgive your insolence.
As for the trade... What could a mere human like you possibly offer me?"
With those words, under Geryon's gaze, Jason pulled a large red gem from his bosom.
It was precisely the gem obtained that day from the temple of Hephaestus.
"If you are willing to trade with me, I can offer treasures enough to fill an entire palace hall!"
Holding the gem, Jason showed it to the momentarily stunned Geryon.
Not only that, but then Jason pulled out bottle after bottle of magical potions from his bosom. In fact, some of these magical potions were quite interesting.
For example, flight potions made from pegasus feathers, transformation potions, and even potent explosive potions, among others...
Jason brought out all the potions he had made over these years and demonstrated them on the spot, showing their effects to Geryon.
After a moment of hesitation, Jason even took out the caduceus and used the invisibility spell right before Geryon.
And he indicated that if Geryon wished, he could impart this magic to him!
"...Human, you do possess quite a few strange and peculiar things, but if it's only this much, it is still not enough."
Geryon was silent for a time, then shook his head at Jason.
Just as Jason felt regret over this, Geryon added: "Unless you are willing to trade that lyre in your hand, along with this caduceus, to me."
Hearing this, Jason was stunned, then shook his head at Geryon and said: "Noble Giant Geryon, I cannot trade these two items with you.
Because this lyre is something temporarily lent to me by Goddess Amphitrite, and this caduceus belongs to my teacher. I have not yet graduated, so it does not belong to me."
"Is that so..."
Geryon spoke calmly, looking at the insignificant human before him.
And then... he suddenly swung his hand down toward Jason!
It must be said that the things Jason displayed, while not comparable to that herd of red-brown divine cattle, were enough to stir Geryon's interest.
And since his interest was stirred, then... simply seize them!
"This child..." Amphitrite watched from afar and could not help but sigh, saying: "He is far too kind-hearted."
With that, she prepared to intervene.
Thus, she completely failed to notice the peculiar gaze of the pegasus beside her at that moment.
And so, just as the centaur Eurytion and the two-headed dog Orthrus watched Jason with regret, thinking this fine singer was about to die just like that.
Facing the descending giant hand, Jason showed neither surprise nor anger, appearing exceptionally calm, as if... he had long anticipated it!
And in fact, Jason had indeed prepared for this.
At this moment, it was sunset dusk.
Clang—
Jason lightly tapped the caduceus on the ground. With a soft sound, the magic engraved on the caduceus activated under Jason's urging. A dim magical array appeared on the ground out of thin air and rapidly extended.
In a burst of dazzling light, the magical array enveloped Jason and Geryon together, while the others, including the herd, were separated out by the magical power.
Then, within the magical array, in a world of blooming white himemikos, a door of nothingness manifested.
And from that door of nothingness, a large dog comparable in size to Geryon ran out.
It bit down on the right hand that Geryon had swung toward Jason.
And that was the watchdog of the underworld, Cerberus!