The old man you see with your phone is highly suspicious.

[Prophecy Function: Once per week, it can clearly predict a specific piece of information about the future of your world. Cost: You will lose the trust of all beings in that world for 7 days.]

Sure enough, it was a function gained from analyzing that prophetic witch.

He had no intention of using this ability right now; he simply pulled down his hood and muttered to himself, "Wish me luck."

It should have been very quiet outside the temple.

All of Troy knew that he was in poor health, and the area was quiet every morning; even the most uncouth porters and laborers would lower their voices when passing by the temple.

This was the Trojans' respect and affection for him.

Today, only noise remains outside the door.

And, the sound of pigs squealing?

The first thing Xue Dinglu saw when he stepped out of the temple was Greek heroes holding weapons and looking furious, as well as a group of dozens of pigs dressed in clothes and armor at the entrance.

A question mark appeared above Xue's head, and at that moment, the elfin-like girl standing among the pigs spoke.

"Are you the benevolent hero Xerath? My name is Circe, the messenger of Zeus, the father of the gods. I have come to give you trials and guide you to Olympus," the girl's voice rang out.

But at this moment, the Greek heroes were even more envious, completely disregarding the witch's intimidation, and wishing they could kill her as soon as possible.

Xue Lude looked at the girl. She looked like a young girl, but Xue Lude knew that she was an ancient witch who had lived for an unknown amount of time...

At the same time, she was also the most famous... madwoman in ancient Greece?

In particular, she has now come as Zeus's messenger.

Has Zeus discovered their plan?

No, if Zeus had truly discovered it, then it wouldn't have been the witch Circe who came, but rather divine punishment with thunderbolts and the sea monster Scylla.

"This is the first trial I'm giving you. How will you treat these heroes who have turned into pigs?" She tilted her head slightly, looking at Xue Luding and the heroes with apparent arrogance.

Looking at the Greek hero's angry expression, the pig in armor, and combining this with the original text of this madwoman, Xue's Law instantly guessed most of the story.

In the original story, Circe deceived the heroes who passed by her island, poisoning them and turning them into pigs.

And now, she's still using the same method.

Most importantly, today is the day the Skyhawk sets sail, but now, things have changed.

Facing the most famous witch in mythology, Xue Dinglu spoke, his voice slightly hoarse: "Messenger of the Heavenly Father, do we only need to complete this trial to set sail?"

“That is right. The gods will set trials for you, just like the heroes of the Argo. You will also undergo twelve trials before you can finally reach Olympus. This is the first trial.” She said, completely unconcerned about the angry looks from the Greek heroes.

Because she had Hermes behind her, and Hermes had Zeus behind him, and her father was the sun god and her mother was the sea goddess, such a powerful backing gave her confidence and arrogance.

In Circe's mind, she felt that the hero before her should either abandon his companions who had been turned into pigs or take them with him on his journey.

If they choose the latter, she will allow the trial to pass; this is the reference answer. If they choose to abandon their companions, it only proves that the benevolent hero is nothing more than that, and Circe will not hesitate to destroy the newly built Skybreaker, bringing this journey to an abrupt end.

Of course, there is a third option: capture her and threaten her to turn these heroes back.

In the past, she might have been genuinely worried.

But now, she has Zeus and Hermes's protection behind her, and countless eyes among the gods are watching this place, as if watching a live broadcast, anticipating the start of this epic journey.

Therefore, she was not flustered at all; on the contrary, she thought it would look better if they really made the choice this way.

Among the Greek heroes, Odysseus approached Hector and asked, "Hector, are you confident you can capture the witch before she realizes what's happening?"

Hector, whose expression had been somber, replied, "Perhaps I can give it a try."

“Then we can capture her and force her to hand over the antidote. This trial should then be considered complete,” Odysseus said.

The person later known online as "the immoral shrew" immediately came up with this idea to break the deadlock.

Hector's eyes sharpened instantly, and he aimed his spear at Circe's body.

Seeing the hostile looks from the Greek heroes in the distance, she smiled and turned back, saying, "Heroes of Greece, I was blessed by Hera, the Queen of the Gods, when I set out. She made me fearless of any threat. I was also blessed by Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty, so that any hero who harms me will be punished. Therefore, I hope you will not consider directly threatening me to complete the trial."

Chapter 52 The Sky Thunder Sets Sail

Looking at this arrogant witch and listening to her words, even Hector, the great hero of Troy, with his beast-like pupils glaring, could only retract his spear.

In this god-filled Greece, if someone uses gods as a claim, it's 100% true.

Hector's spear creaked as he gripped it. Had he been more decisive and thrown the spear from the start, this wouldn't have happened. But now, even he could feel the gazes of the gods watching them, as if they were enjoying a good show.

Their target is the one in heaven! If they bare their fangs here and alert the one in heaven, they will not be able to atone for their sins even if they die a hundred times.

Looking at the witch, no matter how beautiful and charming she was, the hero gripped his spear tightly.

Are the heroes who have been turned into pigs also being taken along? Is this the first trial given by the gods?

Odysseus seemed to have found the answer. He immediately and quietly used Hector's broad shoulders to block his view, preparing to slip into the temple to tell Xue's theory his guess.

Even if these heroes are temporarily turned into pigs, they can stay with them for now and there must be a way to turn them back, or they can simply ask the goddess Athena for help.

But just after Odysseus was out of sight, Xue Dinglu reached out and touched the nearest pig.

The next moment, the armored pig transformed back into the King of Sparta. He was furious and drew his sword, ready to strike the grinning shapeshifting witch.

Being turned into a pig in front of the Trojans was a great humiliation for him. Even later epics preserved his history of being turned into a pig. Didn't the King of Sparta have any dignity?

“Menelaus!” Hector stopped him immediately.

The Spartan king could only angrily sheath his sword. He knew that this was not the time to clash with the messengers of the gods, and that he had only meant to scare them.

As Xue's Law progressed step by step, all the heroes who had turned into pigs returned to normal. They were all furious, but none of them made a move. Instead, they glared fiercely at Circe.

But Circe paid no heed to the angry heroes, her eyes only fixed on Xue Lude, hidden under the hood. She asked curiously, "Compassionate hero, you can absorb all suffering into yourself, but why can you ignore my potion?"

"Does this mean I have completed this trial?" Xue Dinglu did not follow the words of the messenger of Zeus, but asked directly.

"Fine, but you must take off your hood. I want to see what kind of boy can amaze even the gods." Her feather pointed at Xue Luding, and a gust of wind blew off Xue Luding's hood.

At that moment, everyone watching in Troy was once again stunned.

The unique appearance and characteristics of ancient Greece, a face that was countless times more handsome than the legendary Apollo, how could there be such a person in all of Greece?

Circe's gaze froze for a moment. Not only her, but even heroes like Odysseus and Ajax the Great were dumbfounded when they saw Xue's true appearance.

Even these male Greek heroes couldn't help but think to themselves, "Brother, brother, you smell so good!"

Not to mention Circe, who was facing Xue's Law at this moment, she was stunned for a moment, and even the gods in the sky paled in comparison to her appearance.

It seemed to be the most perfect face in the world, as if it possessed a beauty unparalleled in ancient Greece. Even Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty whom she had personally seen, paled in comparison in terms of beauty alone.

Why would such pure beauty appear in a mere mortal?

What pained her even more was that she could see more clearly than anyone else that beneath the bandages, her body was covered in purple, as if bearing the suffering and pain of this world.

She then noticed that Xue Dinglu's movements were always very inconvenient, as if his whole body was paralyzed, and every step he took seemed to take all his strength.

That is precisely why the appearance of such a sickly and beautiful young man is even more captivating.

She regretted it, regretted why she had given so many heroes the magic potion, which seemed to make things even worse for the child who was already in a precarious situation.

She held the feather in her hand, at a loss for what to do.

Xue Dinglu simply pulled his hood up and said, "Tian Ting, we can set off now. Everyone, follow."

"Roar!" The heroes snapped out of their daze and roared a deafening battle cry.

Only Circe, the shapeshifting witch, was at a loss. She didn't know what expression she should show at this moment—anger? Or self-blame?

Because Xue's law ignored her from beginning to end.

The heroes, about to embark on their journey, paid no heed to this messenger of the gods; they spared her life for the sake of their plan's smooth execution.

The King of Troy brought out a nautical chart of the Aegean Sea, and the royal princes and princesses also came to see him off.

During this time, some princesses fell in love with the heroes who came here, and they were also in the procession to see these heroes off.

The older heroes began to tease the younger heroes and princesses, and all of Troy cheered for the heroes to set sail, marking the beginning of this great epic.

After all, this is ancient Greece, a land that reveres heroes and beauty.

Holding a nautical chart of the Aegean Sea in his hand, he stood on the deck of the Sky Thunder, looking out at the distant sea and the flocks of albatrosses.

At this moment, even Xue Dinglu felt a surge of pride welling up from the bottom of his heart.

The heroes behind him have all left their names in the epics of later generations, but at this moment, he is the captain of the Sky Thunder, and he will lead these heroes to Mount Olympus to establish an unparalleled great cause.

He stretched out his hand, pointed to the Aegean Sea, and then to Olympus, saying, "This sea has buried countless heroes and great men over the centuries, but how many of them have been celebrated in epic tales?"

"But we will be recorded, and our names will be forever etched in this Aegean Sea."

"Roar!" The heroes' shouts resounded through the sky. To be remembered in history was the greatest pursuit of these heroes in their lives, and also the ultimate goal for most people who came to this place.

"Our deeds will be recorded, our names will be sung throughout the ages." Xue Dinglu stood at the bow of the ship, waved his hand, and said, "Tian Ting, set sail!"

"Buzz!"

The sails were hoisted and the anchor was lifted.

In July 1208 BC, the large ship named Tian Ting set sail with 31 heroes and dozens of sailors.

At this moment, the entire Sky Thunder radiated a light like the sun, and the people of Troy Port all came down to worship.

"It is a blessing from the god Apollo! The god has blessed the Sky Thunder!" a priest shouted from the crowd.

Troy was a city-state that worshipped Apollo, which is why they were so excited.

"May you all build an unparalleled legacy," the priestess said, offering her blessing.

May you all achieve unparalleled greatness!

And the Skybreaker, sailing with the wind towards the Aegean Sea, disappeared into the horizon before the eyes of everyone in Troy, amidst the anticipation of countless princesses and kings.

However, among the crowd, only Cassandra, known as the "Witch of Prophecy," was hiding in a corner, crying while clutching her doll, completely out of place in this bustling Troy.

Because only she saw that future, saw Xue's Law, and saw the future of the entire Tianting.

"The Skybreaker, with its 32 heroes, has all sunk to the bottom of the Aegean Sea..."

"No one is returning home..."

The future she saw was incredibly bleak.

And finally, there's Xue Lude, standing amidst the wreckage of the Sky Thunder, delivering a desperate, all-or-nothing blow to Zeus.

"May you all return to your homeland in peace..." Cassandra, the prophetic witch, could only offer her final blessing as she looked in the direction the Skybreaker had departed.