Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 333 The Ship of Theseus

[It turned into pneumonia, but the medication has helped a bit, so there shouldn't be any problems now.]

"Bang bang bang bang..."

One is the strongest hero in ancient Greek mythology, the other a legendary swordsman from an infinite world; both are exceptionally powerful individuals. A wooden stick and a divine sword clashed, yet the result was as if they were forging iron.

The enormous, deep rumble was completely unbelievable; it was more like a brawl between giants than a battle between two humans.

The newcomers watching were dumbfounded. Even those who didn't understand combat could sense the power in that fierce and sharp attack.

But while laymen watch the spectacle, experts see the details. Ah Jiu's gaze was solemn, his superior dynamic vision allowing him to see the details of the battle between the two sides.

The swordsman's attacks are fierce. He originally learned from the world of martial arts and chivalry, but he also fought many battles in a medieval fantasy world, and even hunted dragons in the world of Monster Hunter. Therefore, the fusion of Chinese and Western styles has formed his own unique and powerful greatsword style.

Clad in heavy armor, wielding a greatsword, possessing the strength to split mountains and shatter rocks, and battling dragons, the legendary dragon-slaying warriors are all swordsmen.

But the swordsman, who was usually incredibly strong, was now being suppressed.

While the two sides appeared evenly matched, Hercules on the other side was actually in complete control. He even managed to knock the swordsman back with a single blow and then nodded at him with interest, indicating his approval.

"The situation is not good."

With these thoughts in mind, the outcome of the battle between the two had already been decided.

As if tired of it all, the great hero struck the swordsman with a powerful blow, sending him flying. The swordsman crashed to the ground, his elven sword falling to the floor.

He struggled to get up, while the great hero of Thebes confidently looked down at the defeated man before him and said...

"You are a very good warrior, but unfortunately, you have met Hercules today. Stand up, stranger, you have every reason to be proud of what you have accomplished today."

They are strong and confident, and deeply proud of it.

This is the impression Hercules left on Ajiu.

Ah Jiu helped his companion up, and then said modestly.

"Great hero of Thebes, your strength has truly amazed us. You have earned our respect. We hope that we can become companions on the journey ahead."

Now is not the time to turn against him directly, so Ajiu gave the great hero a small compliment. Flattery never fails, and even a great hero is quite receptive to praise.

But at the same time, a voice rang out.

"Orpheus! I've finally figured out that problem!"

Then, the handsome and dashing young man excitedly walked into the cabin, glanced at the group of people strangely, and then excitedly spoke to the musician sitting in the cabin.

"Your question that day was a complete trap! The reason I couldn't catch the tortoise was because I could only catch it when I caught it, and before that, I certainly couldn't catch it."

The prince of Athens spoke confidently to the musician.

After that day, he didn't give up thinking about it, but kept pondering that strange tortoise-chasing problem until he finally figured it out.

No matter how the time is divided, as long as the premise is that one must catch the tortoise before catching it, then one definitely cannot catch the tortoise. Orpheus deliberately lured himself into a trap.

The musician was not surprised that the boy had figured out the riddle. The multi-talented musician strummed his strings with a strange smile on his face.

That was the mischievous smile of someone who discovered they could play pranks on others.

"Is that so? Perhaps that is indeed the answer. However, Theseus, I have just thought of a strange question that is troubling me, so I would like to ask you about it, is that alright?"

The pianist sighed dramatically, then asked as if troubled.

The young prince was taken aback. He realized that Orpheus on the other side was probably up to no good again, but he couldn't resist using provocation and said defiantly.

"What do you want to ask? Just say it, I'm not afraid!"

The pianist's smile grew even brighter.

Its brilliance made the young prince's heart pound.

"Theseus, I heard that you sailed alone to Crete in your own ship in order to kill the Minotaur King there, is that right?"

"The musician asked."

The Minotaur, the half-man, half-bull king, ruled Crete. The prince of Athens, wanting to kill this cannibalistic tyrant, had to sail to the island.

Theseus, head held high and chest puffed out, said proudly.

"Of course, and only I, like Hercules, could do such a thing."

The musician smiled mysteriously.

"Yes, I've heard it was a truly magnificent ship—sturdy, fast, and blessed by Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who helped the hero find his love. But Atesius, even the finest ship will eventually rot, won't it?"

The boy was stunned for a moment. Even a ship blessed by the gods would decay if it was destined to decay. Only the gods could be immortal.

"Yes."

"After the ship rots, we need to repair it, right?"

"correct."

Theseus, still confused, nodded blankly.

The musician plucked the strings, producing a crisp sound, and then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"So I thought, if every time it rots, we just use planks to repair the ship, day after day, year after year, after all the planks have been repaired and replaced, is this still your ship?"

"Of course... um... this..."

Theseus thought for a moment and felt as if he had suddenly been dumbfounded.

Yes, all the planks have been replaced, so is this still the same ship as before?

After hesitating, he answered.

"I think it should still be that ship, right?" The musician's smile deepened.

"Now let's imagine that we reassemble those rotten pieces of wood into a dilapidated old ship. So, between the new ship and the old ship, which one is your ship?"

Theseus was completely dumbfounded.

Yes or no?

You can't possibly own two ships at the same time, can you?

He lowered his head, scratching his hair, and began to mutter to himself, "New ship... old ship..."

"The Ship of Theseus Paradox..."

One of the newcomers said excitedly.

After several days of intensive study and with the help of the elders, the newlyweds learned a little Greek and thus were able to understand the conversation between the two.

"This is Theseus?"

"The Ship of Theseus, the famous philosophical paradox, I never imagined its owner would be right in front of me..."

"Is this Theseus very powerful?"

"Absolutely amazing..."

The newlyweds whispered among themselves, and then the swordsman knocked them on the head one by one.

When Ajiu saw Heracles and then Theseus, he knew that this was not the right time to confront him. He exchanged a few polite words with them and then left the cabin.

Theseus only asked the question after the others had left.

"Who are these people?"

"Among the strangers who participated in the adventure, that guy called the swordsman is quite skilled."

Hercules replied.

There were so many people visiting Heracles that Theseus didn't pay much attention and simply ignored them.

And on the other side...

"You mean, Hercules has only accomplished two great feats so far?"

After exchanging the information they had gathered with their companions, Ajiu began to ponder upon hearing the news that Baiwu had discovered.

According to the white mist, Hercules is currently under thirty years old, and of the twelve Great Works, he has only completed the killing of the lion and the hydra.

However, many mythological details don't match up. For example, in the legend, Hercules was raised by Amphitryon, but according to what I've heard, the Hercules here claims to have been raised by the serpent goddess of the underworld.

"That serpent goddess? Have you heard of her?"

Ajiu cautiously avoided mentioning the goddess's name. In the mythological world, mentioning a deity's name could very well draw their attention. Although he didn't know if this was the case in this world, he didn't want to take the risk.

Several people shook their heads, and even after Ah Jiu tried asking a few newcomers, no one could give a satisfactory answer.

The myth, which differed from the legend, made Ajiu feel somewhat irritated.

He thought for a moment, then asked again.

"Is there anything else worth noting?"

"Yes, the most important one is the world-devouring god, Typhon, the hundred-headed giant."

White Mist answered quickly.

In this world, many myths are roughly similar to those that most people are familiar with, but there is one very important difference...

That's this inexplicable Typhon.

According to legend, Typhon should be dead by now.

However, the intelligence gathered by the group unanimously claimed that Typhon was promised by the King of the Gods to be the god who would devour the world, and that one day he would devour the gods of the world. But Zeus tricked him into the abyss, where he could never escape. Even the serpent goddess was Typhon's daughter.

This place, which clearly contradicted the legend, caught the attention of the white mist.

"Is it yet another modified world?"

"Greedy Wolf complained."

Based on various legends and stories, many worlds will be generated in the infinite world. However, many of these worlds are often modified versions, meaning they differ subtly from the original legends and stories in some aspects.

For example, there's the Three Kingdoms mecha world where Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Lü Bu are actually giant robots, and the Three Kingdoms rulers are battling in Gundam mecha. Then there's the fantasy world of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, where everyone is a mix of gods and supernatural tales, and Lin Daiyu, as a female immortal, beats up the demon lord, Prince Bei Jing. And then there are countless other heavily modified worlds where gods, ghosts, and aliens roam freely.

Having heard about it many times in the world of the main gods and experienced it myself, Tanlang dares not be careless about the modified world.

"It's hard to say, maybe it will..."

Ah Jiu pondered, seemingly having made some plans in her mind, but she didn't say them aloud.

As a team leader, you don't have to tell your teammates everything.

"Okay, let's rest."

Before resting, Ajiu gazed at the ship in the distance, the adventure ship that countless heroes longed to embark on. Perhaps there would be many opportunities to seize on the journey ahead.

We will survive this punishment mission.

Ah Jiu thought to herself silently.

In a corner of the field of vision, that invisible mission marker always remained.

The supreme deity—or rather, the words themselves—watched the group wander aimlessly through this world, like indifferent spectators.

(End of this chapter)