Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 324 The Youth's Bizarre Adventure

"Oh, so this is the sun?"

Looking up at the bright sky he had never seen before, and the sun radiating light and heat, the young man exclaimed in amazement.

Having just left the world of snake people, the young man found everything strange and wonderful. He was fascinated by everything from the grass on the ground to the trees around him, but what surprised him most was the sun.

The underworld also has a sun, but it is a dim and pale sun with weak light and no warmth.

Although he had heard that there was a big sun on Earth, the young man was still very surprised.

In this sparse thicket, the young man looked around, occasionally squatting down to curiously stare at the moving insects, or poking at the nameless wildflowers with his fingers, while letting out a cheerful laugh.

The young man, just entering the world, seemed quite relaxed.

He dreamt of the bustling world he had read about in books and heard from the dead, and he was filled with longing and yearning for it.

Along the way, he also encountered ferocious beasts that wanted to devour him. For those wild boars and leopards, the young man simply grabbed them and carried them in his hands as if they were taming kittens.

Not content with just holding it in his hand, the young man curiously observed the ferocious beasts struggling in terror but unable to break free. He laughed heartily and then casually released them.

When he got hungry, he clumsily tried to start a fire to eat the meat. After some fiddling, although he was covered in soot, he managed to start a fire and roast the torn meat on tree branches.

After a hearty meal, he fell into a deep sleep, and after waking up, he wandered around aimlessly.

If it were an ordinary person, they might have been trapped in this forest for a long time, but the gods favored their child and guided him in the right direction.

One night, just after the young man had finished eating, a noble and beautiful goddess suddenly appeared before him.

The goddess was bathed in light, clad in armor and wielding weapons, exuding an awe-inspiring presence. The young man recognized this beautiful goddess at a glance.

"Ah, the wise goddess Athena."

The dusty, disheveled young man hurriedly brushed the cigarette ash off his clothes and hands, stood up, and bowed to the goddess.

The renowned goddess smiled and nodded to the young man.

“Alcides, your father has not forgotten you; he has entrusted me with guiding your way. Now, go and find your true mother.”

"My real mother?"

The young man asked, puzzled.

When he was very young, he gradually realized his true identity: he was the son of Zeus, the god of the gods, but he did not know who his birth mother was.

“Alcmene, you should know one thing: Alcides is your childhood name, and your real name is Heracles. Your mother is Alcmene, the Queen of Thebes. Many years ago, Zeus, the god of the sky, had a relationship with her, and that's how you were born.”

"Keep walking westward, and you will find your mother."

After she finished speaking, the light faded, and the goddess disappeared.

The young man suddenly realized what was happening, and the next day at dawn, he set off westward. When he reached a bridge, he suddenly saw a man struggling and crying for help below.

Without hesitation, the young man jumped into the water and rescued the man.

After being rescued, the man kissed the young man's cheek to express his gratitude for saving his life.

"Stranger, thank you for saving my life. The old folks often say: many people who seem like friends are not actually your friends; and many who are friends don't seem like friends. You saved my life, so you are my best friend. Please tell me your name."

"Hercules."

The young man remembered the name the goddess had told him, so he straightened his chest and gave her the name.

"Oh, Hercules?"

A look of surprise appeared on the man's face.

“Your name is so similar to my son’s, and you are about the same age as my son, so you are like my nephew or niece. My name is Amphitryon. You saved my life, how can I ever repay you?”

“Come to my house, and I will be grateful for your kindness. I will treat you to the best food and wine, let you stay in my house, and let the servants serve you as they serve me.”

At the man's earnest invitation, the youth, or as the youth himself claimed, Hercules went with him.

Before long, Hercules was invited to a magnificent palace.

The servants watched in astonishment as their master walked side by side with a scruffy, bearded vagrant who looked like a beggar.

The man bowed and took his leave, wanting to change his wet clothes first, and also asked the servants to help his guest change into a new set of clothes.

After Hercules had washed and dressed in loose, beautiful clothes, the servants whispered among themselves.

"Who is that beautiful and strong man? Is he that down-on-his-luck vagrant? I can't believe it. Before, he looked like one of those babble-talking Kalia barbarians, but now he looks like a noble god."

The servants, amazed by the guest's appearance and bearing, became even more respectful. Hercules, however, paid no heed; his magnanimous and carefree nature meant he paid no attention to such idle gossip.

When the palace's owner changed his clothes, the man wearing the golden crown was also surprised by the appearance of his new friend.

“My dear friend, please forgive my rudeness. Are you a god? Even if you are not a god, you must be a hero from afar, a prince from a foreign land.”

The young man laughed heartily and replied.

“Amphitryon, you never told me that you were actually a king.”

Amphitryon smiled and happily called out his wife and son, and held a banquet to warmly welcome this guest from afar.

At the banquet, Hercules was overwhelmed and greatly surprised by the variety of exotic dishes.

Although she was highly revered in the city of Nano, the serpent goddess was not a goddess of pleasure. She lived a simple life, as did her adopted son, and neither received any particularly luxurious treatment. In contrast, the indulgences of human kings were something Hercules had never witnessed before.

At the banquet, accompanied by singing and dancing, the two chatted more and more happily, and then Amphitryon asked Heracles about the purpose of his visit.

"Hercules, why have you come here?"

Hercules did not hide anything; he spoke frankly.

“I was abducted after I was born and have been living in a foreign land for many years. A few days ago, the goddess Athena suddenly appeared and told me that my mother was in the west and that I should keep going west to find my mother.”

"Do you know who your mother is?"

Amphitryon asked curiously.

“My mother is Alcmene, the queen of Thebes.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire banquet fell silent. The servants, the queen, and even King Amphitryon all showed expressions of surprise.

The queen, the beautiful woman whose smile occasionally tinged with sorrow, stared at Hercules in astonishment, covering her mouth with one hand, seemingly both surprised and excited.

The king looked extremely surprised and stunned.

He opened his mouth, then asked softly.

"Hercules, do you know where you are?"

Hercules shook his head.

The king's face showed a complicated expression, and then he sighed.

"This is Thebes, and I am the King of Thebes, and my wife is Queen Alcmene."

“Eighteen years ago, my wife became pregnant and gave birth to two children. One was my child, who is Iphicles before you; the other was the child of a god, who was snatched away by a giant eagle at birth…”

Then came the reunion of mother and son, who embraced and wept bitterly.

As for Amphitryon, despite his complicated feelings, he was an upright and hospitable man. Grateful for Hercules's life-saving grace, he was willing to treat Hercules as his own child and let him stay there from then on.

From the air, Athena watched all that was happening below, nodded, and then went back to report to Zeus.

Although this great hero, who had just entered the world, was still in his naivety, Athena could clearly see that Zeus cared about him very much, and that his attention and affection for him far surpassed that of all mortal offspring.

But Athena was focused on everything beneath her, unaware that she herself was being watched by a pair of eyes.

"Tch, a bunch of cowardly cowards."

The owner of those eyes looked at the goddess receding into the distance above and sneered.

On Hercules' shoulder, in a place unnoticed by anyone, lay a small snake.

The little snake was lazily coiled on his shoulder, but neither humans nor gods could see it.

Although he spoke as if he didn't care about Hercules at all, the serpent was always prone to making things up and changing them as needed.

In fact, even the giant serpent could clearly realize that this little lump of flesh was not simple. So when it threw the young man into the human world, it had already quietly placed a thought on his shoulder.

This thought possessed no special ability; it was merely observation, watching the young man's every move.

"I'd like to see what you're capable of."

By candlelight, the young man was talking to his mother, his face full of excitement and joy, while his mother smiled and nodded from time to time.

The small snake, invisible to everyone, lay on the young man's shoulder, coldly observing everything.

(End of this chapter)