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

"Savage son of the Titans!"

As Tsurugi walked the streets of Kolkis, he heard not cheers and blessings from both sides of the street, but rather insults and abuse.

The Colchis were filled with fear, disgust, and rejection, as if the person walking before them was not the Son of the Sun who had brought them countless glory and help, but a cruel monster.

—Emmmm, so am I being bullied?

Tsuruga pinched his chin, revealing a thoughtful expression. Then he casually pulled over a person from the crowd who was cursing him. But to his surprise, the person was quite bold and dared to curse him in front of Tsuruga.

"King slayer, blasphemer, it is because of you that the gods have unleashed divine punishment upon Colchis!!!"

"Our children are struggling in their cradles, our cattle and sheep are dying from disease, and it's all your fault!"

Even though the man was being held in Tsurugi's grasp, he continued to point at his face and curse relentlessly.

He seems to be a man who has inherited the will of a hegemon!

But in just a few words, it was clear that Tsuruga had grasped the crux of the problem.

It seems the stingy gods on Mount Olympus are up to their despicable tricks again.

Did he take advantage of his return to poison Colchis and then order the oracle to announce that everything was due to his blasphemous actions?

Well... actually, from a blasphemous perspective, they're right. Tsugumi is a huge blasphemer!

But is Tsurugi really angry? Not really. After all, he had long since given up hope on the character of these Greek gods, so it's only reasonable that he would do something like this.

Perhaps it was the lack of response from the river that emboldened these Greek scoundrels who had inherited the will of the hegemon. They went out into the street, pointed their fingers at the river, and began to hurl insults at it.

Faced with this tide of insults and curses coming from all directions, did Tsurugi feel anger or disappointment?

No, he even found himself amused, looking at these unruly Greeks with admiration in his eyes.

—Faced with a Titan's son who can tear sea monsters apart with his bare hands, the most rational thing to do should be to retreat, but that's the thinking of a loser!

How could a man who inherited the will of a hegemon do such a bullying and cowardly thing?

To wield a knife against the weak and to bully the strong even more fiercely—that's true tyranny!

"The gods spread the plague upon you, didn't they?" Despite his admiration, Tsurugi looked at the Colkis people and asked with a smile.

"The ones who kill your children, poison your cattle and sheep, and persecute you are the gods, aren't they?"

"Then why do you dare not point fingers at the gods, but speak ill of me, your protector and future crown prince?"

"How can that be the same?!" A middle-aged woman in the crowd shouted shrilly, hands on her hips.

"If it weren't for you, why would the gods punish us? It's all your fault. Without you, Colchis wouldn't be in this state!"

1020>>>>

Tsurugi looked at her, a strange smile on his face, and slowly said...

“No, you curse me only because I once helped you, and you dare not speak ill of the gods because the gods have truly harmed you.”

"So here's the question." Tsurugi looked at the Korkis people and smiled brightly.

Why do you think I won't hurt you?

As he said this, his eyes gleamed with a scarlet light, and then, with a chillingly brilliant smile, he pierced the head of the person in his hand!

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

1021

741. The King Who Was Dying Soon

“I love some of you, and I hate some of you. But most of the time, I’m like a good neighbor to you.”

Dongjiang released the charred corpse from his hands, looked at the terrified Korkis people, and said casually.

“I never intended to rule you; that would be too much trouble, so I will not spread my hatred and disgust.”

He tossed the corpse aside, looked at the silent, unruly commoners, and smiled slightly.

"As for the plague issue you mentioned, no matter what you say or plead, the final decision is always mine. Whether to stay or leave is my own decision."

He wouldn't blame these people; faced with the gods' unreasonable natural disasters, there was far too little that mortals could do.

But he would never stoop to listen to their nonsense. Dongjiang didn't have that kind of high moral character. From beginning to end, he never said that he would be a hero!

He pointed to himself, reiterating his will once again.

"I am who I am, and no one can order me to do what I don't want to do!" He pointed his other hand towards Mount Olympus, laughing loudly.

"Even the gods, do you think you can make me submit with a plague? No way!"

His eyes seemed to pierce through the burning sacred fire of the gods, looking at them, especially at Hera's eyes.

bump!!!

Far away on Mount Olympus, Hera slammed her fist on the table, her face ashen, and roared...

"Outrageous!!! I will send this mortal to Tartarus for eternal torment!!!"

"Really? I think he's quite... brave."

Aphrodite, who had somehow joined in the fun, smiled languidly, but her gaze towards Tsugumi seemed thoughtful.

"Haha, but then there's no other way. Hera, sisters, shall we step in ourselves?"

Poseidon chuckled. Suddenly, he no longer hated Tsurugi; he even felt a little fondness for him. Like the sea itself, the sea god's moods were unpredictable, his likes and dislikes so capricious.

“…Continue.” Hera took a deep breath and said with a cold face.

This is a game she started, so she can't do anything too rule-breaking. Since things have come to this, she'll just have to take it one step at a time.

Having made his declaration, Tsugumi ignored the fearful or hateful gazes, saying that he didn't care about such superfluous things.

He could like what he wanted, hate what he wanted, love what he wanted, and kill what he wanted; he chose to live a life of complete freedom.

He had originally planned to go directly to the temple of Colchis to ask the priest what it meant, but on the way he was invited to the palace of Aeetes.

It didn't matter which way we went, since it was on the way anyway, so we went to Dongjiang.

Five minutes later, strolling through the court of Colkis, walking alongside Dongjiang was a middle-aged man who looked very old, even hunched over.

This seemingly frail mortal was Aeetes, the son of Helios, the sun god, and Perse, the ocean nymph, and the brother of Circe.

A figure who, theoretically speaking, was born from the union of two second-generation Titans, should have been a third-generation Titan.

But what lies here is more than just an immortal body; what lies here is clearly just a frail mortal.

“Karl,” Aeetes said softly, looking at his 'brother' before him.

“I knew from the beginning that you weren’t my brother.”

"Even though your embrace of the sun is so powerful and sacred—no, it is precisely because of this that I am certain that you are not my brother."

Aeetes, having said this, raised his hand, looked at his wrinkled hands in the sunlight, and said self-deprecatingly.

“My father’s love was poured into my brother Phaethon, who died young, and after his death, he left us neither love nor any power.”

“We are nothing but products of his desires. He knew we would not inherit his blood and power, and he was unwilling to share the power he had left. He made us no different from ordinary people.”

As a union of gods, they should have been gods! At the very least, demigods, but instead, they were mortals.

The only son of Helios, the sun god, who inherited his power and bloodline was Phaethon, who overestimated his abilities and drove the sun chariot, lost control and crashed, and was eventually struck dead by Zeus's lightning.

From then on, Helios's descendants no longer possessed divine power or immortality, and all became mortals.

Tsurugi listened quietly to the man who had raised her, without uttering a word.

"So, Karl, when you came into my life, I raised you with a dark heart."

Aeetes took his hands in hers, gazing at the handsome face shrouded in shadow, and said softly.

“I believe you will become a weapon to overthrow my father, so I raised you and told everyone that you are the son of the sun, my brother, my successor.”

1021 >>

“One day, I will control you just as Eurystheus enslaved Heracles.”

At this point, he gave a self-deprecating laugh, coughed a few times, and waved his hand weakly.

"But then I realized it was impossible, Karl. You are a free spirit. Even Hermes couldn't match your willfulness. How could I possibly control you?"

"So, my later expulsion of you from Colchis was actually a strategic move. I wanted my son to inherit my throne, and I feared your power. (Latest chapter available! Book lovers, return quickly! http://)"

"So—why did you suddenly confess all this?"

Tsurugi remained unmoved by Aeetes's words, as he already knew them; he simply tilted his head, somewhat puzzled.

"My days are numbered," Aeetes said calmly.

"Not long ago, my physical condition suddenly deteriorated. I don't know if it was a curse or what, but anyway, I heard Thanatos knocking on the door."

His face turned pale, and he grasped Dongjiang's hand, whispering...

“I am nearing my end, Karl. But I do not know where I will go. Having fallen into Erebus, will I go to Elysium? Or the Mourning Fields? Or perhaps the worst, fall into Tartarus?”

"Minos will judge my thoughts, Rhadamanthus will judge my words, and Aeacus will judge my actions. So in the end, I don't know where I will go."

Seeing Aeetes trembling with fear of death, Tsurugi sighed softly and patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

"Take it easy, maybe you'll end up on Paradise Island."

“It’s impossible, Karl,” Aeetes laughed self-deprecatingly.

“I am not a hero, nor am I a noble soul, so Zeus will not send me there. My father will not care about me either; even though I have prayed countless times, he will not even come to look at me.”

What do you want me to do?

“Karl, I hope you will succeed me and become the King of Colchis,” Aeetes said earnestly, panting.

"I need you to help me protect Medea, protect Absyltus, and protect this country."

"And—I hope you can help me guard the Golden Fleece and protect it, so that I may be able to enter the Pure Land of Bliss after I die."

The Golden Fleece originated from the golden ram given by Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to Nephele, the cloud goddess. Phrixus, son of the King of Boeotia, could no longer endure the abuse from his stepmother, so with the help of his mother, Nephele, he rode the golden ram and fled with his sister Hele.

During his escape, his sister fell into the sea, while he arrived in Colchis and was warmly received by Aeetes. He offered the golden ram as a sacrifice to Zeus and gave the wool to Aeetes. The king then enshrined it in the sacred grove of Ares, the god of war, and had it guarded by a dragon.

The prophecy told Aeetes that he would live as long as the Golden Fleece existed, and he would die as long as the Golden Fleece existed. Therefore, he valued the Golden Fleece so much, especially because losing it would be tantamount to breaking faith with both Ares and Zeus.

If that were the case, he probably wouldn't receive a good judgment from the three judges of the underworld. But on the contrary, if he kept the Golden Fleece, he would have fulfilled his promise to the gods.

But—sadly, Aeetes had just learned that behind those who came to steal the Golden Fleece was Hera, the Queen of the Gods.