Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

Dongjiang laughed heartily, reciting the poem many years ahead of schedule.

The thought that in the future, in the eyes of some people in certain worlds, she would become the prototype for someone's interpretation of this line in X Three Kingdoms gave Tsurugi a strong sense of quirky pleasure.

But he was not lying; he was not afraid of death, nor was he afraid of destruction.

"Why should I be afraid? I should thank them. The three sisters of fate have spent a great deal of effort and energy to weave a magnificent finale for me. Why should I be afraid?"

Tsuruga waved her hands and smiled happily.

“Every story must come to an end; everything will pass away, but the story will live on. And compared to Origrotes, who perished prematurely, the story of the Son of the Sun will be even grander!”

"So I look forward to seeing what kind of tapestry the three Fates will weave for me, and I rejoice in my story!"

Perhaps this is the mindset of heroes like Achilles: compared to a stable and happy life, they chose arduous and perilous adventures and legends. Because they knew they would eventually perish, but their stories would live on forever!

Circe looked at the young man, shook her head and sighed. She ultimately couldn't understand the psychology of these heroes.

"So what are you planning to do next? Wait here for the moment your 'great curtain' arrives?"

"No, I will continue to write my story on the sea." Tsugumi stood up, facing the glittering stars, and laughed heartily with open arms.

"Let me joyfully celebrate the last chapter of my life!"

The latest update to the Book Club Forum is: "Traveling Through Heavens, Can You Be Smarter Than Me?"

1017

737. Child of Hope, Kingslayer

The torrential rain, accompanied by the roar of the sky, fell from the heavens like a celestial river overflowing its banks.

In the dark depths of the sea, the furious roars of the Earth-Shaking One could be heard from time to time, accompanied by the frantic churning of the ocean.

Without a doubt, Poseidon is not in a good mood today.

This negative mood, when it affects ordinary people, becomes an unstoppable disaster.

"Poseidon, I pray to you, I offer you everything..."

"Please calm your anger, Earthshaker, ruler of the seven seas!"

On a ship, the Athenians, embarking on a long voyage, clung tightly to the gunwale in fear, their other hand gripping the statue of Poseidon as they prayed with trembling hands.

The boat beneath them was tossed about by the raging sea, like a toy in a child's hand.

They were filled with such fear and pleading, but they knew that if Poseidon did not quell his sudden rage, they would inevitably have to report to the underworld.

"Mommy, I'm scared..."

A girl nestled in a woman's arms, pleading softly, while the mother could only hold her child tightly, closing her eyes and begging for divine mercy.

Her child is still young, with limitless potential! He shouldn't go to the underworld. Hades, Poseidon, please don't take my child away!

However, this prayer was destined to go unanswered.

Amidst a colossal wave and the screams of those on board, they were about to plunge into the endless sea, just moments before Thanatos, the god of death, was about to claim them—

A force suddenly stabilized them. The girl opened one eye, then pointed to the sky outside the window and exclaimed in surprise.

"Mom, look! It's the sun, and it's clouds!"

The woman opened her eyes, and everyone else opened theirs, to their astonishment finding themselves freed from the raging waves. Not only that, they had risen into the sky, above the clouds!

What's going on? Did their prayers really work? Are the gods helping them?

"Look, it's him!!!"

Someone pointed excitedly to the bottom of the ship, and everyone looked over to see a figure single-handedly lifting the ship and carrying them out of the storm!

Is that a bird? Is it an eagle? No, it's a child of hope!

The hero, clad in a red cloak, led them out of the eye of the storm and safely returned them to the port of Athens. Once they landed safely, they all reached out to touch the great Child of Hope.

He is a different kind of hero. He doesn't do great things, but instead comes here to save these insignificant mortals.

"I have to go now. Have a nice day."

The Son of Hope rose slowly with a smile, nodded slightly to the mortals he had saved, and then vanished into the sky with a whoosh.

People only remember the fluttering red cape and the unassuming face, yet the smile as radiant as the rising sun.

However, when the King of Athens arrived, he strictly forbade them to talk about the Son of Hope again.

For a king like him, this Son of the Sun was not the embodiment of salvation and goodness.

He was the regicide, the fear of all rulers.

......

The stars in the sky are so beautiful, but are the mortals on earth truly happy enough?

Seriously speaking, they were quite fortunate, at least far more so than the ancient people of the same period in history.

Of course, all of this is on the premise that the gods' game will not affect unfortunate mortals, and that the king of this country is not some treacherous subject who, on a whim, starts courting death and provoking the gods.

The former possibility is almost inevitable, as the Olympian gods are known for their humanity. Therefore, they often unhesitatingly extend punishments to all mortals because of their own little games or other grievances.

Of course, this situation is actually not the majority—in the well-known Greek myths, it is almost always the latter result that leads to the former, thus affecting countless unfortunate passersby.

Greek mythology, to say the least, is certainly full of reckless and troublesome characters!

Throughout the entire mythology, there are at least a dozen characters like Sisyphus and Tantalus who directly provoked the king of the gods, and there are also quite a few who challenged the gods with various ingenious little schemes.

As for the heroes, there are many exceptional ones. For example, the famous Theseus is known for his slaying of the Minotaur, but the most ruthless thing he actually did was try to kidnap Persephone from the Underworld...

The reason? There was no reason. It was simply that Theseus and Piriteus got drunk and started boasting about who had more courage, and then they went to the Underworld to do something big.

In fact, this kind of reckless gene may really be engraved in the bones of humans in this world—although Zeus was wary of humans as the 'next generation' of the Olympian gods, Prometheus's act of stealing fire from the gods was originally his own foolish act.

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In fact, this kind of reckless gene may really be engraved in the bones of humans in this world—although Zeus was wary of humans as the 'next generation' of the Olympian gods, Prometheus's act of stealing fire from the gods was originally his own foolish act.

Zeus initially allowed fire to be passed on to humankind, but just as humankind developed and began to worship the gods, Prometheus insisted on showing off his intelligence.

The gods gathered in Mecone to determine the standards for human sacrifices. Prometheus, representing humanity, slaughtered an ox and divided it into two portions, asking Zeus to choose first. He hid the best meat under the ox's hide and wrapped the bones in tallow to make them look both beautiful and large. Zeus chose the more appealing portion, but when he opened it, it was all bones.

So they were fooled, and from then on, humans kept the meat for their own use, only offering the fat and bones to the gods.

If this were a world without a God, it would be a story of a wise man rebelling against tyranny, but in this world, God truly exists.

Thus, the result of Prometheus's reckless actions was that Zeus, in a fit of rage, took back fire from humanity. Whether or not this was a pretext, Prometheus was indeed deliberately courting death.

Dongjiang doesn't judge right or wrong, but this gene for courting death probably originated from here.

For Tsurugi, who had traveled through the world of Greek mythology and spent two and a half years traveling from one end of the world to the other, it was truly a time of mixed emotions.

My first thought is that it's no wonder that polytheistic beliefs like those of the Olympian gods were replaced by monotheistic beliefs like the Laoye; the latter is truly no match for the former in terms of harming humanity.

My second thought is—there are just so many people who are recklessly stubborn and court death.

For humans who do not recklessly submit to the gods, life is not difficult, because as long as the gods protect them, they can truly enjoy favorable weather and bountiful harvests year after year.

Take Athens, the most prosperous city-state in Greece, as an example.

As a city-state under the protection of Athena, its prosperity and flourishing civilization were evident to the naked eye. Although Poseidon and other gods had competed with Athena for the right to protect Athens more than once, none of them had persecuted or attacked Athens.

Because the Athenians not only worshipped Athena, but also worshipped Poseidon with great fervor, the wars of the gods were a matter for the gods. Since mortals did not get involved in their battles, even the unpredictable Poseidon would not deliberately persecute any faithful believers.

From Cecrops onward, none of the Athenian kings possessed the great wisdom to offend the gods. Even Theseus, the later king, only became king of Athens after maturing and ceasing his pursuit of heroism.

However, while Athens is a symbol of prosperity and culture, it was not the most powerful state in Greece.

Was the strongest state in Greece not Athens, but Sparta? No, it wasn't either.

During this period of heroic mythology, extending until the end of the Trojan War, there was undoubtedly only one most powerful nation in Greece during this era of mythological heroes—

Mycenae

He founded the kingdom of the great hero Perseus, his grandson was Heracles, and the later king was named Agamemnon.

They were a prosperous nation that inherited and developed the Minoan civilization. They possessed a civilization no less prosperous than Athens, and most importantly, they produced a great number of heroes.

As the homeland of the great hero Hercules, Mycenae alone was enough to intimidate countless neighboring countries.

Hercules, in particular, is now a slave of the current king, Eurystheus.

Fearing Hercules' terrifying power and dreading being swept away by him like the pitiful Trojans, Mycenae acted with impunity towards the surrounding nations during the Twelve Trials.

It was precisely because of this borrowed power that Mycenae accumulated enormous strength, to the point that when Agamemnon took over, he made himself the leader of the Greek coalition.

Well, Tsurugi isn't really interested in these complicated historical facts.

He came to Mycenae after rescuing a ship full of people along the way, but only to fulfill a promise he had made to Hercules.

“Friend, I will free you from the humiliation of being enslaved by villains.”

After the earth-shattering battle, Tsugumi raised a glass to Hercules, smiling as she made a promise.

But Heracles did not want his friend to get involved in such matters, even though he hated Eurystheus and loathed the Olympian gods who were forcing him to accept these tasks.

"May the gods protect the king, my friend, they protect the king."

Hercules put down his wine cup and sighed helplessly.

Mortals say that the gods love heroes, but who knows that the stories of heroes are accompanied by pain and sacrifice? What the gods truly cherish are the kings of the mortal realm.

1017>>>>

In all stories, while kings always play the role of stepping stones and unlucky ones for heroes, very few, if any, kings actually die at the hands of heroes.

Because the king is both proof of mortal power and a projection of Olympian rule. The gods dislike the fall of a king to a demigod, perhaps because it reminds them of their own overthrow of the Titans.

This is why even after Hercules completed the twelve trials, he did not kill Eurystheus, and even when he later sought revenge against his enemy, he only punished Laomedon, the Trojan king who had humiliated and deceived him.

His later death was also because he finally became a regicide—after he killed Eugeas, the king of Elis, and Hippocone, the king of Sparta, in his rage for revenge, he met his fate of being murdered.

The gods dislike regicide!

"So what? As long as they don't openly protect us!" Tsugumi raised her glass and laughed heartily.

“I will find an excuse, or create one if there isn’t one, to wage war against them in the name of humiliation, challenge, or revenge.”

"I will kill them openly and honestly, one after another! Not only for you, but also because it makes me happy and free!"

He laughed as he spoke, and then swore an oath to kill the king.

So, for the next two and a half years, he traveled all over Greece, and countless kings died at his hands.