Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 339 Golden Deer
"You idiot, you've lost miserably!"

The howling vengeful spirit lingered around Oedipus; though her cries could not be heard, they disturbed the hero's mind and left him in a daze.

He gripped a golden sword tightly in his hand, and blood flowed at his feet, where the bodies of his children lay.

And his wife? No, it should be said that she was his mother, the woman who was both his wife and mother, and who had borne him several children, lying lifelessly before him. Her beautiful, azure eyes were empty with death, as if in despair, or perhaps questioning.

Oedipus, why?
How ridiculous and despicable.

His parents were actually his adoptive parents, and the old man he accidentally killed was the former King of Thebes, his biological father, and the queen he married was his biological mother.

The prophecy he had tried so hard to escape back then has now come true in such an absurd way.

After his frenzy subsided, he stared blankly at the corpses of his loved ones at his feet, as if all the boundless power within him had been drained away. Exhausted, he collapsed to the ground, leaning on his golden sword. This hero who had saved Thebes was now unable to even stand.

A moment later, he suddenly burst into laughter.

"It's over, it's all over, it's all over..."

His laughter was filled with utter despair; as he laughed, it suddenly turned into a sobbing, choked sound.

Amidst the piercing cries of agony, this renowned hero clutched his head, repeatedly banging it against the bricks on the ground until his forehead bled.

Beside him, the vengeful spirit known as the Sphinx finally found its satisfaction. Listening to its nemesis's lament, the spirit dissipated in satisfied pleasure and returned to the underworld, leaving behind only this pitiful hero.

Months later, even Hercules, who was far away, heard about this. When he heard the cause and effect of this astonishing story, he couldn't help but feel sad and grieved for it.

In his memory, he still saw that valiant and confident hero and king, whose tone was firm, confident, and wise. And the woman beside him was just as beautiful; the two of them standing together seemed like a match made in heaven.

However, who could have imagined that behind that marriage, which was blessed and praised by the world, lay such a horrifying and terrifying dark truth?
Even the hero who understood the riddle of the Sphinx could not understand the riddle that fate was playing tricks on him.

It is said that Oedipus went mad after learning the truth. He killed his wife and mother, as well as the children he had with his mother. Only two orphaned girls survived from their father's clutches.

He blinded himself, falling from a king above all others, a brave and intelligent hero, to a blind man. People were horrified by his crime and despised him.

After that, Oedipus disappeared from public view, and no one knew his whereabouts again.

Upon hearing this news, the great hero remained silent for a long time. After a long while, he set up an altar for his friend and prayed to Zeus, the god of the sky, and Typhon, the god of the devil, hoping that his two fathers would protect this poor man.

However, passersby who saw this laughed.

"How can a sacrifice to the gods be complete without the finest prey?"

The great hero wasn't angry; instead, he asked curiously.

"So what kind of prey can be considered good in this world?"

"Of course, the best is the prey of the goddess of hunting."

The passerby answered matter-of-factly and hurried away. But he didn't realize that his casual remark had given the great hero pause for thought.

Indeed, in this world, is there any prey that the goddess of the hunt, Artemis, does not possess? Doesn't all the prey in the world belong to Artemis? If so, the most precious prey should naturally be sought from this goddess.

So he picked up his bow and arrows and headed toward Mount Cerunea, the sacred site of the goddess of the hunt.

In folklore, Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, loved to hunt in the mountains and forests. She was the best hunter among all men and gods; her arrows were incredibly sharp, and her eyes were beautiful and piercing. This cold and proud goddess remained chaste, simply because she arrogantly believed that no one was worthy of her.

Mount Cerynea was the hunting grounds that Artemis frequently visited.

Meanwhile, high atop the sacred mountain, the goddess Artemis was battling her brother.

"Apollo, don't let me knock you down."

The beautiful young woman, holding a golden bow and arrow and wearing hunting boots, looked extremely excited. She held the golden bow and shot it at Apollo. The golden arrowhead flew out like a light, but was hit by Apollo's arrow, which was also shot out, and shattered in mid-air.

This happened several times in a row, so the beautiful goddess casually threw away her bow and arrows, picked up her spear, mounted her chariot, and charged at Apollo.

The battle between the two gods was fierce and brutal, ruthlessly ravaging everything around them, but this was actually just the goddess welcoming her brother back.

Apollo and Artemis, this famous brother and sister pair, were renowned for their strength; even among the gods, few warriors could rival them. At the same time, they were also famous for their beauty; Apollo's handsomeness and Artemis's beauty were renowned among the gods.

However, the siblings also have their differences.

Apollo is both cold and gentle; his coldness towards enemies and his gentleness towards friends are perfectly harmonious, like a brilliant light.

But Artemis is different; she embodies more of the cold-bloodedness and cruelty of a hunter.

When this hunting queen was three years old, she asked her father god for eternal chastity. The reason was simple: she felt that forming a family, getting married, and having children would be troublesome and would hinder her hunting.

She was obsessed with taking the lives of her prey, and enjoyed hunting down powerful creatures.

Unlike those dignified and beautiful goddesses, this hunting queen never thought of wearing those pretty dresses. Instead, she wore her hunting attire and tirelessly chased her prey. Often, you could still see the bloodstains of her prey on her body that she hadn't had time to wipe off.

In this respect, even Athena, who vowed from birth never to take off her armor, was inferior to her. Even Athena would not mind adorning herself with flowers and silk, but this hunting queen never thought about anything related to beauty.

Among the gods, they whispered among themselves, "That freak."

But no matter what the gods say, this cruel queen will not care.

However, this cruel queen happened to have a male god who was infatuated with her.

It was her brother Apollo.

"My sister, will you come with me to hunt in the human world?"

During the fight, Apollo revealed a charming smile and whispered something.

His lips curved into a smile, quiet and elegant, possessing a poet's melancholy and a prince's nobility; every word and action could captivate countless people, regardless of gender.

But Apollo, the most handsome god among all gods, only loved his sister.

Is it really that hard to understand?
Equally powerful, equally beautiful, in the heart of this equally proud and arrogant deity, only his own sister was worthy of him.

He invited his sister to go hunting and play with him, but the hunting queen suddenly laughed in response to the invitation from this god-like man.

"I think I'll pass. I'm going on a trip with Haggerty and the others."

Haggardi was a nymph and also a handmaiden of Artemis. Using her position as a handmaiden, the Queen of the Hunt deftly declined the handsome god's invitation.

She could vaguely sense her brother's thoughts, but she had no interest in such things.

She found love and marriage utterly boring; she preferred the pleasure of traveling with her maids in golden deer carriages and hunting in the mountains.

This goddess's personality was so unconventional that some gods often suspected she actually preferred women to men. But that wasn't the case; she simply loved killing and hunting more than anything else.

After rejecting Apollo, the goddess of the hunt happily prepared to begin a new hunt in her chariot. But soon, as if realizing something, she looked towards a part of the mortal world.

Soon, anger appeared on her beautiful face.

"How dare you, a mere mortal, hunt my things?"

In her rage, the goddess drove her chariot from the clouds to some place on earth.

On the earth, the great hero traveled through mountains and rivers, overcoming many hardships and dangers, until he arrived at a lush mountain range.

The place is full of all kinds of ferocious beasts and birds, but none of them can satisfy the great hero. These beasts and birds are ultimately just ordinary wild animals and are not enough to become the ideal sacrifice in the great hero's heart.

He searched in the mountains for many days, and the parched hero came to a lake to draw water.

The cool lake water was very sweet. He scooped up a bowl of water with both hands and drank it all in one gulp, but suddenly caught a glimpse of a golden figure in the distance.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered a stunningly beautiful creature on the other side of the lake. It resembled a deer, its body entirely crimson, but it possessed golden antlers that emitted a gentle light, giving it an incredibly mystical appearance.

"Isn't this the sacrifice I wanted?"

The great hero spoke happily and was about to nock an arrow to shoot, but the golden deer keenly sensed the great hero not far away, nimbly jumped away, and then turned into a streak of light and escaped.

When the prey escapes, the great hero must give chase. The golden deer flees northwards, and the great hero pursues it relentlessly.

Spring leads to summer, summer to autumn, autumn passes and winter arrives, and finally the ice melts and the snow melts, and spring comes again.

A year has passed, yet the great hero continues his pursuit of the golden deer. He has chased the golden deer to the far north, a place rarely visited by humans, where the sun rises only once a year.

After a year of pursuit by the great hero, the golden-horned deer finally grew tired. After being shot in the hind leg by the great hero's arrow, it resigned itself to its fate and stopped in place.

The great hero successfully captured the golden-horned deer and, in high spirits, prepared to return and offer it as a sacrifice.

However, on the way back, a point of light suddenly appeared in the sky. Soon the point of light expanded and grew larger, eventually revealing the shape of a chariot.

Chariots speeding across the sky?

The great hero was surprised and realized what was happening, but it was too late to react, and he could only barely dodge.

"boom!!!"

The chariot, radiating heat and sharpness, crashed into the ground, and the god who drove it carved a deep trench in the earth with his spear.

"call!"

Amidst the raging storm, a deity descended upon the world, but she brought not blessings, but divine wrath.

"You lowly mortal, how dare you hunt my mount!"

The chariot raced across the land, the goddess who drove it holding a spear, her beautiful eyebrows raised, looking down proudly at the mortals before her.

(End of this chapter)