Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 327 Riddle
The young man who killed the lion happened to travel to the kingdom at the foot of the mountain, a kingdom called Thebes.

The young man came to this kingdom not for any other reason than because he had heard a story that intrigued him: the king had recently disappeared, and in desperation, his brother Creon, as regent, announced that a new king would be chosen.

According to the interim regent, he entrusted the kingdom and the queen to the hero who defeated the Sphinx.

The Sphinx is a winged monster with the head of a man and the body of a lion. She has the head of a maiden, but is a cunning and ferocious monster, born from the blood of the Father of All Demons, and delights in toying with the lives of mortals.

She wandered the outskirts of Thebes, and the people were terrified of her.

The young man had no interest in becoming king; he was only interested in defeating powerful monsters. So he donned a lion's skin, wanting to see the Sphinx before returning home.

Then he arrived in Thebes, only to find people celebrating a ceremony. The city was brightly lit and decorated, and people were reveling, dancing, playing musical instruments, and having a great time.

The young man grabbed a passerby by the shoulder and asked, "Such a grand ceremony, is this a celebration of the birth of Zeus, the god of the sky? Or is it a sacrifice to Apollo, the god of light?"

"No, stranger, we are celebrating the arrival of a wise and powerful new king."

The passerby quickly answered.

The young man heard some surprising news from passersby.

After the old king disappeared, a traveler encountered the Sphinx. The terrifying monster teased the traveler, asking him a riddle:
"What animal has four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?"

The traveler replied:
"What you're describing is a human being. At birth, a human crawls on the ground, so it has four legs; as it grows up, a human walks on the ground, so it has two legs; as it grows old, a human walks with a cane, so it has three legs."

Enraged that her riddle had been solved, the Sphinx flapped her wings, creating a fierce wind, intending to kill the traveler. The traveler, however, fought the Sphinx with his sword and ultimately slew the monster.

Thus, the young man who solved the Sphinx's riddle and killed her became the new king of the kingdom.

The young man was very interested in the new king, who was called Oedipus, so he went to the palace to meet him.

The king respected this outsider and personally received him along with the queen.

At the banquet, the young man met the king and queen. He was a young and handsome man with a faint smile on his face, extremely confident, as if everything was under his control.

His queen was the wife of the former king, a beautiful and gentle woman. The two were married because of a promise, but they were a perfect match.

The king's intelligence and the queen's virtue left a deep impression on the young man, and the guests were all delighted.

At the banquet, the young man curiously inquired about the story of the Sphinx.

The king laughed heartily, clearly extremely proud of this. He described in detail his encounter with the Sphinx to the young man, and then very seriously told the young man...

"That monster was extremely clever. Others said she only uttered one riddle, but they didn't know that she uttered many riddles, each one extremely difficult."

In the king's account, he encountered the monster during his travels. The proud and cunning monster posed many riddles to him, each of which proved extremely difficult for Oedipus.

But in the end, Oedipus's cleverness prevailed, and he solved the riddles one by one. Finally, the monster was speechless and, in its anger and embarrassment, fought him. The danger of that battle was beyond ordinary imagination.

Oedipus spoke lightly, but the horror within was still palpable.

Finally, the young man asked the king a question.

"You're already a great hero in other people's eyes, so what can you do to guide me?"

The young man asked very seriously.

On the thorny path of heroism, Oedipus was undoubtedly his predecessor, and the young man was quite curious about what his guidance would be.

The king, observing his expression, realized the young man's seriousness.

The faint smile on his face faded, and after thinking for a moment, he spoke to the young man.

"In my view, force is essential for every hero, but wisdom is even more important. It is the guiding light that leads us forward and prevents us from being misled."

"Fate is unpredictable. The gods enjoy toying with the fate of mortals, setting up numerous difficulties for them. No matter how powerful we are, there is an end to our strength. Only wisdom can protect us against this unpredictable fate."

After the banquet, the young man was persuaded to stay and rest in his room, while the king watched him leave with a solemn expression.

Beside her, the Queen asked in confusion.

"Darling, do you value this young man highly?"

The king nodded.

"Yes, my love, you are not a warrior, so you don't know what kind of power this man possesses. In his presence, I even felt as if I were seeing the Sphinx again; when he approached me, my muscles tensed involuntarily because I sensed a strong sense of danger."

“I don’t know who he is, but this young man in the lion’s skin must be one of the most formidable warriors on earth. That’s why I want to give him a heads-up.”

Oedipus, the wise traveler in this story sighed.

"The eyes of the gods are still fixed on the earth. I can understand what terrible fate those powerful but bored gods will bring upon humanity for their own amusement... Our force is meaningless in the face of such fates; we can only deal with them with wisdom."

"His power is already great, but power alone is not enough."

The king's face showed worry and unease.

This new king has a secret that no one knows.

He was born in the Corinth region, the son of the local king. But one day, due to some events, he unexpectedly received a prophecy from Apollo, the god of light.

"You will kill your father, marry your mother, and bear cursed offspring."

The prophecy he received from the priest filled him with fear.

He loved his parents deeply and could not imagine that he would one day commit such a heinous crime.

But Apollo was the god of light and prophecy, and his prophecies never failed. Oedipus's wisdom made him aware of the horrors of the future. So he left his homeland, crossed lands, just to never see his parents again and escape this abhorrent fate.

During his journey, the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother kept him awake at night, until he arrived in Thebes and was somewhat at ease.

We're far enough away now; the prophecy should be avoided.

That's what he was thinking, but in the process of defeating the Sphinx, the constant riddles and challenges honed his superhuman intuition.

Isn't prophecy just another kind of riddle?

He has solved the world's most difficult riddle, and also the riddle from the gods. He should be at peace now, but why... why does he always feel uneasy?

Beside him, the beautiful and gentle woman stared at him blankly; this young and handsome man was always like that.

In front of others, he is intelligent and composed, and full of confidence in everything he does. But when no one knows him, he reveals a melancholy and sad side.

When I first met him, I only thought he was very handsome and likable. But after getting to know him better, I realized his charm and cuteness.

She couldn't help but hug her lover.

"Darling, don't worry, I will always be by your side."

Hearing the words in his ear and feeling the warmth behind him, the king's expression gradually calmed down.

Yes, there's no need to worry so much. I've already defeated the monster of riddles, defeated the prophecy, and I've already won.

Looking up at the sky, he seemed to see giant hands manipulating the chess pieces on the ground.

He thought to himself silently.

"Come on, bring it on, I won't lose."

But at the same time, the little snake that was perched on Hercules' shoulder opened its eyes. Its gaze pierced through the wall as it looked at the young king and let out a silent laugh.

In his vision, he saw a cloud-like monster, a creature with the head of a beautiful young woman but the body and wings of a lion.

The monster, filled with hatred and resentment, surrounded the young king. Her face was twisted with hatred and maniacal laughter, making her beautiful features look grotesque.

"you lose!"

"you lose!"

"Hahaha, I am the King of Riddles, I am the Master of Riddles! You fool, you've been deceived! You've lost! You've lost!"

"I didn't lose! I didn't lose! You're the one who lost..."

The vengeful spirit let out a wild, ecstatic laugh, mocking its nemesis's foolishness.

For some reason, the unseen vengeful spirit is reluctant to go to the underworld; she will not be satisfied until she sees her nemesis face the despair of the truth.

……

"Sphinx, you have already lost."

Holding a broken sword, the handsome young man was covered in wounds, but he still proudly and confidently raised his head, looking at the monster in front of him, whose blood was flowing everywhere.

Arrogance and self-confidence are the privileges of victors; one must not appear pathetic when declaring victory.

Before him lay the enormous monster, weak and exhausted. Her wings had been severed, and her chest was ripped open. She was too weak to stand up.

"I...I didn't lose..."

The head, resembling that of a beautiful young girl, spoke with difficulty.

"I didn't lose, I couldn't possibly lose... How could I possibly lose... It shouldn't be like this... You should be the one who lost..."

Despair was etched on her beautiful face. Tears streamed down her face as she stubbornly refused to admit her defeat.

But even she herself seemed to feel that she had already lost.

A crushing defeat.

The other party solved all the riddles, and even in his anger and embarrassment, he couldn't beat them. No matter how you looked at it, he had lost.

However, there must be some flaw somewhere, something I haven't noticed...

Where exactly is it...?

Where exactly is it...?

Even as she stopped breathing, she stubbornly kept her eyes wide open, trying to find any possible flaws in the young man.

……

"You lost, you lost miserably."

"That's what the young man said."

"You lost. You lost miserably."

The way of the monster.

(End of this chapter)