Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 330 Can Theseus outrun the tortoise?

The gradually maturing hero walked into the bustling crowd and spoke loudly.

"Does anyone want the wild boar I'm carrying?"

After several shouts, the enormous wild boar quickly attracted the attention of the merchants. These well-dressed merchants scrutinized the boar on the hero's shoulder, its sharp, long tusks and ferocious, massive head. Astonished by its size, the merchants inquired about its appearance.

"Where did you hunt this wild boar?"

"It's in a secluded valley not far away."

The hero spoke casually, and his answer caused the merchants to gasp in surprise.

It's a man-eating boar from the Valley of Lampeia!

They talked loudly about the ferocious, man-eating boar, its tough hide and sharp teeth, and the many young warriors who had tried to hunt it but had been killed by it.

"Young hero, please tell us your name."

The merchant bowed respectfully, and the hero spoke.

“I am Hercules of Thebes.”

The hero's name once again drew gasps from those around him. He was now far more famous than the boar, the great hero who had been known throughout Greece for hunting down the lion of Nemea and the Hydra.

Legend has it that this great hero was the bravest in Greece and possessed immense strength. He strangled the invulnerable Nemean Lion with his bare hands and severed all the heads of the immortal Hydra with his sword.

Wherever he went, many monsters were hunted down by this great hero.

The surrounding young warriors and renowned heroes whispered among themselves. Some looked at this famous Greek hero with apprehension, while others were eager to try, their eyes filled with a desire for challenge.

However, some people get excited just by hearing the name Hercules...

"Huh? It's Hercules?!"

Suddenly, a voice came from not far away. Then, the owner of the voice, wearing leather armor, still pushed aside everyone in front of him and leaped to the hero.

"Pfft..."

He leaped from the height to stand in front of Hercules, raising a cloud of dust. The hero frowned and took a step back.

Emerging from the dust was a handsome young man with slightly curly black hair and bright eyes.

He looked curiously at the tall hero in front of him, then his face lit up with joy. He stepped forward, grabbed Hercules' hand tightly, shook it vigorously, and said urgently.

"Are you Hercules? My name is Theseus, Theseus from Athens. Great hero, I am your greatest admirer! I have heard all your stories, especially the one where you strangled the lion with your bare hands. I've heard the bards tell it forty-two times, and I never get tired of it. It's amazing! Oh, right, this is the Nemean lion's skin. It's so beautiful! I've heard of its fame for a long time, but I never thought I'd actually see it in person. I've heard it's impervious to swords and spears, fire and water, and that nothing can penetrate it. Is that true...?"

The young man, who called himself Theseus, became incredibly excited upon seeing Heracles, talking incessantly with boundless enthusiasm in his eyes.

Hercules frowned. He had seen many admirers like this before. As his achievements increased, he had many admirers wherever he went, but those as enthusiastic as this young man were truly rare.

"You are... Theseus, right?"

Hercules pondered for a moment, then spoke.

"Yes! My name is Theseus!"

Upon hearing his idol mention his name, the young man named Theseus's eyes lit up with excitement.

"However, although Theseus is my name, I have adopted Hercules as my alias. My goal is to become a second Hercules, and I wish to achieve feats like yours!"

The young man named Theseus puffed out his chest and spoke proudly.

Upon hearing the young man's wish, the hero was slightly surprised and carefully examined him. The hero's experience and instincts as a warrior allowed him to sense the young man's unusual behavior.

The young man, who appeared as handsome and beautiful as a young girl, had strong and well-proportioned muscles hidden beneath his leather armor. His fingers, wrists, and feet all bore the marks of years of training.

Hercules' keen intuition told him that the young man before him was no ordinary person.

"It's not easy to be like me."

The hero said casually.

The young man was unconvinced; his face flushed red as he muttered something.

“I… I’ve defeated many bandits since I left home… Oh, and the Minotaur of Crete, that powerful tyrant, I killed with my own hands!”

When the Minotaur was mentioned, Theseus, who had previously lacked confidence, suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable self-assurance and boasted to his idol.

"Minotaur?"

The hero asked in surprise.

He knew the name; it was said to belong to the king of Crete.

This king had a tragic birth.

His father acquired a beautiful white bull, which Poseidon, the god of the sea, coveted. Poseidon then demanded that the previous king of Crete sacrifice it to him. The king of Crete, unwilling to part with the beautiful white bull, secretly substituted it with another bull.

In his fury, Poseidon cursed the king's wife, causing her to develop a fetish for animals.

The king had to carve a cow out of wood and have his wife crawl inside. The white bull was attracted to the wooden cow, mated with it, and the queen became pregnant and gave birth to this pitiful half-man, half-bull monster.

Because of his tragic birth, this half-man, half-bull king of Crete had a cannibalistic appetite and thus forced the nearby inhabitants to offer him young boys and girls as tribute.

Many heroes and warriors wanted to kill this half-man, half-bull monster tyrant. But the cunning king built a vast labyrinth that only he could freely enter and exit, while everyone else would be trapped inside and unable to escape. Many heroes thus perished in this endless labyrinth.

Hercules knew of this monster and planned to eliminate the tyrannical monster in a while, but unexpectedly, the young man in front of him beat him to it?

How did you solve the maze?

Hercules couldn't help but ask. The labyrinth built by the half-man, half-bull tyrant was filled with illusions and many terrible dangers, making it difficult for even the most powerful hero to escape. Even Hercules himself found it difficult to deal with, and he was very curious about how the young man before him had solved it.

But when faced with this question, the young man hesitated for a moment, scratched his head, and then blushed shyly.

"Actually...it's not entirely my doing. Because...it's Minotaur's daughter who liked me, and she taught me how to get out."

The young man hesitated before finally telling the truth.

It turns out that the Minotaur had a beautiful daughter, a charming princess who was captivated by the handsome Theseus. Princess Ariadne gave him a ball of gold thread, instructing him to tie one end to the exit, and then carry the thread deep into the labyrinth herself, thus finally solving the Minotaur's labyrinth.

Theseus!

Just then, a crisp voice rang out.

The young man and Hercules looked over and saw a beautiful young woman standing in the crowd not far away, looking at Theseus with a huff.

"You ran off again. Didn't you say you'd wait for me here?"

Theseus then realized what was happening, punched the air, and cried out.

“Oh right, no wonder I seemed to have forgotten something… Ah, I’m so sorry, Ariadne, I’ve forgotten again…”

The young man kept apologizing to the girl who walked in.

At this moment, the girl also noticed the tall hero in front of Theseus and asked in confusion.

"This is……"

"This is Hercules, the greatest hero of all Greece that I've been telling you about!"

Seeing the girl's confusion, Theseus quickly explained, his tone full of pride.

The girl then realized that she had obviously heard of Hercules, but unlike Theseus, she was not so enthusiastic. Instead, she bowed gracefully.

"Hello, great hero from Thebes, I am Ariadne of Crete."

“I am Huai… Huai Dela…”

Behind the girl, a timid voice suddenly rang out.

Hearing the sound, the hero looked over and saw that behind the girl's skirt, there was a little girl of about five or six years old hiding.

The shy little girl tugged at the hem of the young woman's skirt, only daring to steal peeks at the tall, imposing hero. Then, as if startled by the hero's height, she gasped and buried herself back into the young woman's skirt, refusing to show her face.

"This is my sister."

Ariadne explained.

"Hercules of Thebes".

The hero nodded, briefly stated his name, and that was it—they were now acquainted.

Just then, the sound of a piano suddenly rang out again.

“Zheng…”

Amidst the crisp, high-pitched sound of the strings, a cheerful singing voice also rang out.

"The gathering of heroes was like a thunderclap, as if the gods were unleashing their power, making people tremble with fear, but how could this thunder and lightning compare to the beauty of delicate flowers..."

“O extraordinary flowers, so beautiful and dazzling, why have you come to this perilous place?”

As they listened to the singing, they saw a musician sitting casually on a wooden railing not far away. The musician, who looked elegant and composed, was looking at them with a half-smile.

Ariadne frowned, took a step back without making a sound, and moved closer to Theseus beside her.

“I am Theseus’s fiancée, of course I am by his side. And who are you, stranger, lyre player?”

Upon hearing that the beautiful woman before him was someone else's fiancée, the musician was briefly taken aback before smiling and replying.

"Please forgive my intrusion, but I noticed that you all have extraordinary bearing and don't seem like ordinary people, so I came to strike up a conversation."

"Of course! Brother Theseus is very powerful!"

The little girl hiding behind the girl peeked out and said in a childish voice, but then she saw the pianist looking at her and whimpered again, hiding timidly behind her older sister.

Upon hearing the name Theseus, the lyre player seemed thoughtful, then smiled.

"So it's Theseus, who defeated the tyrant of Crete? I've heard he's a rare young hero, and seeing him today, I can confirm it's true."

Theseus was overjoyed to hear someone praising and flattering him, especially in front of his idol, and his face was full of praise.

But the next moment, the musician pondered.

"But...sigh..."

As he spoke, the musician shook his head and deliberately sighed.

It was a very simple plan, but the hot-blooded Theseus couldn't stand it and kept asking questions.

"But what?"

"I think Mr. Theseus, though strong, can't outrun even the slowest tortoise."

A sly smile appeared on the pianist's face.

(End of this chapter)