I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 745 The Encounters of the Veterans

Mars, Colchis.

Besides the group of people who are being rapidly 'assimilated' by Spartacus, there are other people in America who are also active on this planet.

On a crimson expanse of land, dozens of figures are fighting against a pale white army. No, "fighting" is not quite the right word; "restraining" is more accurate.

"Shet!"

Amidst standard American profanity, the King of Chicago rap tumbled awkwardly.

The next moment, a pale white longsword slammed down heavily on the spot where he had just been!
boom----!
The immense power concentrated on the longsword

The sword actually slashed a hundred-meter-long gash into the crimson earth, causing the old black man's lips to twitch.

Buzz! !

With a clap of his hands, shockwaves spread out in layers like ripples.

Alexander, the rap king/tycoon/veteran, couldn't help but complain after the sound waves sent the skeleton wielding the longsword flying.

"Is this still a skeleton soldier?!"

Master-level skeleton soldiers! And more importantly:
With a quick glance, he dodged and retreated again, as another bone sword cleaved towards Alexander.

In their hometown, the peak-level masters, second only to legendary figures, were densely packed here—they were now facing a group of C+ level/strong tiger level/peak master level skeleton soldiers!
"These aren't ordinary skeletons,"

While firing his 'spirit cannon' repeatedly, a seasoned veteran covered in machinery still had the leisure to chat with Alexander.

"But King Colchis's 'Dragon Tooth Soldiers'!"

Indeed, these veterans haven't been idle either; they've been hired by the 'magicians' to deal with King Colkis's 'Dragon Tooth Soldiers'.

These ferocious skeleton soldiers are not only incredibly strong and agile, but their bones also have a jade-like quality, making them terrifyingly tough. These seasoned veterans, who can tear steel and iron apart like ordinary people, can only leave a few marks when attacked, leaving everyone struggling to survive.

"Is it not ready yet?!"

To contend with these Dragon Fang Soldiers whose physical strength is comparable to that of the 'Sacred Tree',
Many Level 5 veterans were completely focused and giving it their all, and some couldn't help but shout out.

"alright,"

A calm reply rang out.

The 'Dragon Fang Soldier,' who was originally running like the wind and whose long sword could slash a hundred meters with a casual stroke, suddenly stopped.

As if a pause button had been pressed, all the 'Dragon Tooth Soldiers' abruptly stopped, remaining in their running, sword-wielding, and stabbing postures—the next second, these 'Dragon Tooth Soldiers' transformed into streaks of light and flew off in a certain direction.

That was the 'magician' standing in the center of the mysterious magic circle!
As the pale white light flew into his body one by one, the aura of the man codenamed 'Mage' continued to rise.

The middle-aged man suddenly opened his eyes only after all five hundred Dragon Fang soldiers had turned into light and entered his body.

A fierce and overwhelming aura, like a solid wall of bronze and iron, suddenly rose up!
The pale white bones pierced his body, but did not harm him.

Instead, in the blink of an eye, it formed a ferocious, magnificent, and mysterious white bone armor: thick ribs transformed into breastplates, finger bones formed a crown, and each bone seemed to be refined from the spine of a dragon beast, with the barbs on the edges revealing a jade-colored light, making the 'magician' appear exceptionally noble.

It resembled a skeletal emperor.

"legend!"

"Grade B, and it is..."

"What's this, a job change to necromancer?"

The other seasoned veterans, panting heavily, all turned to look, their faces filled with undisguised envy.

This guy has actually reached the 'Legendary' level!

I should have strengthened my magical abilities too.
As expected, the 'magician' has many tricks up his sleeve.

Of course, the most common failures were also those involving reckless and self-destructive behavior.

"very good,"

Opening his eyes, the 'mage' covered in bone armor nodded in satisfaction.

"Just as I predicted, after absorbing the Dragon Tooth Soldier of 'King Colkis', I easily stepped into the legendary level."

"Tsk, be careful not to end up like 'King Colchis'."

Some seasoned veterans grumbled sourly, to which the 'magician' simply smiled wryly:
"I have dedicated my life to the greatest cause in the world: the study of magic!"

"As the saying goes, 'A wise person does not fall in love.' As long as you don't let love cloud your judgment, how can you easily fall into despair?"

After discovering that Mars was full of Greek mythology, the man codenamed 'The Wizard' set his sights on the 'ownerless' treasures in those myths: after poring over a large number of books in Athens, he set his sights on 'King Colchis's Dragon Tooth Soldiers' and hired other experienced individuals at a high price, finally getting what he wanted.

The sour mutter from the veteran just now was about the origin of the 'Dragon Tooth Soldier'.

Around three thousand years ago, it was the time when ancient Greece produced many heroes.

In the era when demigods like Hercules and Achilles were active, there was a hero whose fame exceeded his strength: Jason.

He is Poseidon's great-grandson.

The grandson of Creteus and the son of Aeson, king of Thessaly.

Unfortunately, although his father, Aeson, was a good man, he lacked sufficient martial prowess; thus, his brother, Pelias, the captain of the kingdom's guard, seized the throne from his brother.

When Jason grew up, he went to ask his uncle for the throne. The uncle, who did not want to go to war with the young and strong Jason, devised a plan: he said that the King of Colchis of Colchis possessed the world-famous Golden Fleece, and if Jason brought back the Golden Fleece, he would voluntarily abdicate.

This method of 'testing' and betting was very popular in ancient Greek mythology.

For example, Hercules completed the 'Twelve Trials,' which included stealing a woman's waistband and cleaning the cattle pen, making him a model of ancient Greek heroism.

Jason gladly went: the Olympian gods, never ones to miss a good spectacle, even gifted him a ship: the Argo.

Other ancient Greek heroes, upon hearing the news, also joined the journey.

Among them were Heracles, Achilles' father, and the King of Thessaly, grandson of Zeus. In short, it was a ship full of demigods!

A group of demigods, having burned, killed, looted, and performed acts of chivalry, arrived in the city-state of Colchis and met King Colchis.

King Colchis laughed heartily after hearing this and then posed a test:

This king, who had the blood of the sun god, would plow the land every day with two fire-breathing bronze oxen; he would sow dragon teeth, which would give birth to five hundred dragon tooth soldiers, and then the king would slaughter them all: this was the daily 'training' of King Colchis to demonstrate his military might.

The test was simple: ride two bronze fire oxen to plow the land, plant dragon tooth soldiers, and then defeat them.

Jason was not weak, but to do all of these things at the same time was clearly beyond his capabilities.

King Colchis originally intended to make the other party back down, but he did not expect:

His own daughter, Medea, was instantly captivated by—

Jason's love of men.

"So-called love at first sight is nothing more than lust at first sight."

After ascending to legendary status, the 'magician', in high spirits, recounted this 'mythical history' to everyone, while also making a pointed remark:
Socrates once said: "The essence of love is illusory expectation."

Most myths are like this: when faced with various trials, heroes do not rise to the challenge.

Instead, they chose to 'seduce' their opponent's daughter: just like the lord of the island nation, who abducted Susanoo's daughter and also stole his three sacred treasures.

The difference is that although Ōkuninushi was a bit of a scoundrel, at least he was genuinely sentimental; not only did he marry Susanoo's daughter as his principal wife, but he also wanted to make Yagami-hime, the goddess who caused the conflict between him and his eighty-eight brothers, his wife as well. However, this goddess was afraid of Susanoo's daughter and took the initiative to leave.

Jason, on the other hand, was a classic scoundrel. Medea, the daughter of King Colchis, fell in love with him and not only secretly told him how to deal with the Dragon Tooth soldiers, but also provided him with ointment to protect him from the sunfire of the Bronze Bull.

Just as his father was about to back out, Jason secretly led him to steal the 'Golden Fleece'; then—

"The enraged King Colchis sent his prince 'Abusirtus' in pursuit."

The shocking part is that, for the sake of her lover, Medea personally killed her brother who was pursuing her!
In order to delay the pursuers, he even dismembered his brother's body and threw it into the sea, leaving the grief-stricken King Colchis busy collecting the remains.

After successfully returning to his country with his lover, he faced a king who had changed his mind; once again, Medea used a trick to lure Jason's uncle into a giant cauldron, where he was dismembered and boiled to death!

It can be said that the woman named Medea used every means possible for Jason's sake; however, it was precisely because of these means that she aroused the dissatisfaction of other heroes, resulting in no one supporting them and thus being unable to inherit the kingdom.

Even if they weren't kings, these 'great heroes' would certainly live a good life; they would have their own estates and two lovely sons. Yet, the human heart is never satisfied.

Ten years later, the king of a neighboring country took a liking to Jason and offered his daughter and kingdom as a dowry.

Jason immediately abandoned his wife and children and gladly went there.

However, Medea was able to kill her own brother for him; how could she easily let go of the betrayal of her lover?

The resolute woman poisoned the princess of a neighboring country, killing her. The neighboring king, in his grief, held his daughter's body and refused to let go, and also died from the poison.

The unfaithful Jason's dream of gaining both beauty and power was shattered; he stormed home in anger, only to find:
The bodies of his two sons!

Medea was ruthless not only to others, but also to herself.

The couple, one drawing his sword and the other summoning a poisonous dragon, cursed each other with every vile word in the world. They fought a fierce battle, neither gaining the upper hand, and ultimately became strangers.

Medea thus earned the title of 'the betrayer witch'.

In fact, as long as you don't actively betray her—

She is the most loyal person in the world.

"look,"

"This is what happens when you fall in love."

The man codenamed 'The Magician' offered a dismissive summary:

"Besides, isn't the entire Greek mythology a history of 'that person's' sowing of the seed?"

Zeus!

The entirety of Greek mythology exists.
Even if they were all tied up, they might not be able to arm wrestle with this guy.

Apart from the prophecy that 'the king of gods will die at the hands of his youngest son';

So Zeus simply kept having children; as long as he could ensure that a 'younger son' was born at any time, he would be invincible.

This led to Hera, the "Queen of Pop," going out for a walk.

They could all encounter three Zeus lovers: one of them was not even human.

It's a kind of ironic joke that a supposedly 'guardian angel of marriage' can't even protect his own marriage.

"All right,"

The black rapper shrugged.

"It seems we need to be careful not to get caught up in this."

ah? ? ? ?

The others turned to look at them, hesitant to speak.

Who doesn't know that you 'rappers' are notoriously loose-fitting!
Besides, you're a black guy whose father isn't even known, and you're worried about love? Are you kidding me?

But this is no joke, for example:
"By the way, where's Fiona?"

A question posed by a veteran:

With Fiona's strength, she would be an important fighting force even against bloodless 'skeletons'.
"Her,"

The middle-aged man, codenamed 'The Magician,' who had just been promoted to Legendary, rubbed his temples.

"It's hopeless."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Sister Fiona, here's a flower wreath for you."

Outside Athens, on a grassy field swaying in the breeze, a shepherd boy holds up a wreath he has woven, his smile as radiant as the sun.

"Thanks,"

Fiona lowered her head and let the other person place the flower wreath on her head.

"Aglaus, is this really a good idea?"

The red-haired woman's smile held a hint of guilt.

Fiona was wearing a magnificent dark gold Greek-style armor.

This armor is clearly masculine: ferocious, imposing, and with a pair of huge bat wings; but when worn by Fiona, it not only takes on more dark gold, but the lines also become much softer.

The originally menacing demon horn helmet on its head has been transformed into a wreath of flowers: full of Greek-style grace.

With the power of this armor, Fiona also stepped into the Legendary rank, also known as Demon rank.

But this valuable discovery made her increasingly uneasy;

Although her instinctive unease did not arise from this:

"If I take this Saint Cloth with me, you..."

The red-haired girl couldn't continue her story halfway through; as Fiona's 'brother' and the guarantor for the Saint Cloth selection, Agleius would surely be severely punished by the city-state of Athens!

Judging from the style of Greek mythology in these Martian city-states, this punishment must have been extremely terrifying.

It's not as simple as death: Greek mythology has many ways to make life worse than death.

For example, Sisyphus, who is forever pushing the boulder and whose punishments are endless!

“Sister Fiona, I already told you, just call me Alai.”

After saying that, the shepherd boy smiled and asked in return:

"Sister, are you leaving me?"

"No, it won't!"

Subconsciously pulling the boy into his arms, the usually shrewd and decisive veteran of the 'Nightmare Space' gritted his teeth.

"Alai, let's get married!"

However, these words made the shepherd boy in her arms frown.

Cupid's curse
It was triggered.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Regardless of gender, lovers should not forget to love themselves; as long as you are neither arrogant nor humble in love, there will be no tragedy.

(End of this chapter)