Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

At the same time, Samael quietly placed one hand on the back of the Hercules, and his eyes, which had been closed, suddenly opened, revealing mysterious and obscure golden characters.

Immediately, Hercules' body stretched into an exaggerated arc, and surging divine power poured into it, turning the entire bronze bow golden. An obscure power from the darkness passed through his body, merging with the arrow and attaching itself to it.

Destiny - Collapse!

In the instant that Samael pondered, Hercules had a sudden inspiration. He immediately drew his bow and released the blue-gold arrow, which, like a roaring, angry dragon, arrived before the instigator with lightning speed.

Click!

With a crisp sound, the divine power barrier surrounding the instigator immediately crumbled into fragmented, transparent spots of light.

puff!

The next moment, the bronze arrow pierced straight into the elegant woman's left breast. The excruciating pain of tearing flesh and corroding toxins caused her to groan in agony and fall backward off her horse.

She was about to use her divine power to avoid the charging iron hooves when, unbeknownst to her, spiderweb-like golden cracks had spread from her wounds to her entire body.

boom!

As the warhorses trampled and pounded her, the graceful woman's body, like a crystal shattered on the ground, instantly exploded, turning into countless specks of crystalline dust that drifted away in all directions amidst the ensuing ethereal storm.

Startled, the Amazons were thrown into disarray. When they finally regrouped, they were shocked to find that their target had already fled far away and disappeared from their sight.

By the way, aren't we at the port? What are we doing here?

Before they knew it, the women came to their senses, feeling as if their minds were blank and a certain memory had become blurred.

Save the Queen! Two despicable outsiders have kidnapped the Queen!

It wasn't until several tens of minutes later that they managed to piece together their thoughts. When they recalled the frenzied attacks during the chase, ignoring the collateral damage, the women turned pale with fear.

The eight leaders who had come together were also bewildered by their loss of control.

At this moment, looking around, they realized that the group had already penetrated deep into the heart of Greece.

Once daybreak, such a large force, if discovered by the various city-states, would likely be interpreted by the Greeks as a signal to war, prompting them to launch a pursuit and interception.

After a discussion, the eight leaders decided that four of them would lead the main force to retreat first, while Penthesilea and the remaining three sisters would continue the pursuit, looking for an opportunity to rescue their queen.

However, after the lessons learned in the canyon and this time, they had to admit that defeating those two guys head-on was unlikely.

For the sake of the Queen, they had no choice but to outsmart her and sneak up on her.

But since things have come to this point, we can only proceed with the more prudent approach.

The eight leaders looked at each other and nodded, then separated and went off to receive their orders.

As night faded and a sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon, hundreds of miles away in the wilderness, amidst a patch of bushes with a water source, the three dismounted their warhorses, untied them, and let their mounts drink and rest on their own.

After a night of commotion, all three of them were exhausted, and each sat down under a tree.

Samael and Hercules, who had come together, looked at each other and burst into hearty laughter.

This is what blasphemy feels like! Interesting, very interesting!

Hippolyta, looking completely bewildered, stood there dumbfounded, not quite understanding what was going on.

Hercules raised his hand and patted his employer's shoulder lightly, somewhat helplessly: "I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this."

Samael replied casually, "What are you talking about implicating me? Those crazy women aren't targeting you specifically."

What if they're really only targeting me?

After a moment, Hercules seemed to think of something, and a gloomy look returned to his face. He said with a wry smile, "I think we should go our separate ways from now on. Forget about protecting you to Athens, it seems that it's even less safe for you to follow me."

Samael raised his hand and pressed down on Hercules' raised shoulder, rolling his eyes and snorting softly.

"If you leave, how embarrassing will it be for me to go back to Athens? Don't worry, that guy has suffered a bit and won't have time to cause us trouble anytime soon."

"Did you guess it?"

"Who else in this world could be so hostile towards you besides her? Don't forget that I worship the goddess of wisdom."

The ancient serpent spoke with certainty and pride, but its gaze toward Hercules held a hint of pity as it uttered a name that, for this mighty god, was synonymous with pain and torment.

Queen Hera!

This white-armed goddess is the protector of marriage, childbirth, and women, but her strong desire for control, along with the curse cast by the legendary goddess of love, Aphrodite, led her to spend her entire life trying to stop her husband's infidelity and to murder Zeus's lovers and children.

Of all Zeus's illegitimate children, the most tragic was undoubtedly the great hero Hercules.

Hercules' father was Zeus, and his mother was Alcmene, the granddaughter of Perseus and wife of Amphitryon, king of Thebes.

Before Alcmene gave birth, Zeus decided that the first child born that day, Perseus's offspring, would rule Mycenae.

Hera, the queen of the gods, was jealous that Alcmene had become her husband's mistress. In addition, Zeus had prophesied to the gods that his son would have a bright future and achieve great things. Therefore, she also hated Heracles very much. As the goddess of childbirth, Hera abused her power to delay Alcmene's delivery.

Meanwhile, Hera caused the premature birth of Eurystheus, another grandson of Perseus. As a result, Heracles, who was born a moment later, missed out on the throne and was forced to serve his cousin Eurystheus, the king.

But Hera's persecution of this Hercules went far beyond that.

Chapter 165 Hera's Prisoner (2/3)

When Princess Alcmene gave birth to Heracles, she realized that the child was not safe in the palace because of the breaking of the oath of Zeus' protection.

So the mother put her child in a cradle, covered him with some straw, and then abandoned Hercules in the field, hoping he would be adopted.

Coincidentally, Athena and Hera were traveling together and happened to come to this field. The goddess of wisdom saw that the child was beautiful and felt pity for him. She also saw a mysterious possibility in him and persuaded Hera to breastfeed the child.

Therefore, Heracles was fortunate enough to inherit the blood of Zeus and be breastfed by the goddess Hera.

But because the Hercules bit too hard, Hera angrily threw the child to the ground.

Athena then took the child with compassion, brought him back to the city, and eventually handed him over to his birth mother, Queen Alcmene, to raise.

But soon Hera, the Queen of Gods, learned the baby's true identity and was filled with remorse. She then cruelly sent two venomous snakes to kill the child.

However, Heracles, who had received the blood of the god-king and been nursed by the goddess of the heavens, was born with extraordinary divine strength and killed two poisonous snakes in the cradle with his bare hands.

After this persecution, Hera's actions were noticed by Zeus, who then dared not be too blatant.

However, as time went by, her jealousy and hatred not only did not diminish, but intensified, though her methods became more covert.

After reaching adulthood, Eurystheus, Heracles' cousin who was born earlier than him, inherited the throne. At the behest of this queen, the king constantly drove his cousin to carry out one almost impossible task after another, subjecting him to endless torment.

This is the origin of the "Twelve Trials".

Seeing Heracles overcome those obstacles time and time again to win honor and respect, Hera viciously drove him mad, causing him to mistakenly kill his own son and relatives, and to remain trapped in constant torment.

As fate would have it, in the end, Hercules was poisoned by his second wife through various schemes.

Overwhelmed by pain, the mighty god decided to self-immolate, submitting to Zeus's judgment and being forced to reconcile with Hera.

It can be said that throughout his life, he struggled against fate and Hera's persecution.

This time, it was clearly the jealous white-armed goddess who instigated the Amazons to cause them trouble.

However, fortunes change, and after Hercules was tricked so many times, the diva also tasted the pain inflicted by him.

Just before, Hera was careless, and with Samael's insidious tricks, she was shot through the chest by Hercules, destroying her spirit body. It is estimated that she will be unable to cause trouble for a while.

The wisdom of Athena?

Thanks…

Hercules paused for a moment, then looked at Samael with a warmer gaze, feeling more confident about the trip to Athens.

He is alive today thanks to the mercy of the goddess of wisdom, and his skills are the result of the teachings of his teacher Chiron at the Academy of Athens.

Perhaps, Athena's wisdom can truly help him break free from this curse of fate.

“There’s no need for thanks among family. You may not know this, but my other mother, Princess Etra, and your mother, Princess Alcmene, are both granddaughters of His Majesty Pelops. We are cousins. I grew up listening to your stories.”

Samael, in an attempt to seduce Hercules, feigned sincerity while trying to get close to him.

Upon hearing this, Hercules forced a warm smile onto his sullen face, patted his "cousin" on the shoulder, showing even more intimacy, and then pondered honestly.

"Theseus, you will be better than me, and your future will be more glorious than mine."

Samael laughed it off, completely unconcerned, and instead became serious, asking questions earnestly.

"By the way, since your homeland of Argos and your royal cousin cannot tolerate you, why not try to go to Sparta?"

The Spartans have your blood in their veins; they revere you as a father and an idol. Before they parted, the twins Castor and Pollux earnestly invited you to live in Sparta.

After a long period of adjustment, Hercules couldn't help but open up to his "cousin" and sigh bitterly.

“I am an unlucky person who always brings all kinds of disasters to my relatives and friends. Staying in Sparta and exposing the softness in my heart will only give that queen one more weakness to torment me.”

Immediately, this great hero, whose fate was full of twists and turns, looked up at the bright sky with a forced smile, his face clouded over.

"Moreover, it is an indisputable fact that I killed my wife and children, and I will eventually have to atone for my actions."

Not only his wife and children, but also his relatives and friends who trusted him, sympathized with him, and followed him, all met with misfortune.

During the trial to defeat the Boar of Erymanthos, his centaur friend Phloth shared wine with him, which sparked a melee with other centaurs, and he ultimately died from an arrow he fired...

During the trial to conquer the ogre horses, Apectros, the companion responsible for guarding these beasts, was bitten to death by the ferocious monsters…

During the trial of capturing the Cretan bull, his nephew nearly died again…

Perhaps he was born to be lonely, born to be immersed in suffering.

Once he finds a safe haven, the storms of fate and the gods will inevitably destroy that beautiful place, leaving him even more remorseful and tormented.

Samael could naturally see that this Hercules was not merely submitting to his cousin, the king, but rather seeking to torment himself.

What Hercules wanted to do was simply to use the Twelve Trials to persuade fate and the gods to stop persecuting him.

As an outsider, he may not be able to empathize, but there are some things Samael still wants to say.

The ancient snake patted its "cousin" on the broad shoulder, its tone solemn and respectful.

"Hercules, the misfortune of your wife and children is not your fault, and you have no need to bear any burden for these things."

Whether it's destiny or the gods, they only revere the strong, and instead intensify their attacks on the more humble beings.

Blindly giving in won't make Hera give up. Give her a taste of hardship, and this queen of the gods will become more obedient.

Hercules felt a little relieved of his distress, and nodded slightly to express his gratitude for the comfort, his eyes thoughtful.

Perhaps because he had tricked Hera, or perhaps because of their heart-to-heart talk, Samael clearly noticed that the pent-up frustration on this demigod bodyguard had dissipated considerably.

Satisfied, the ancient serpent stood up, dusted off the dirt and grass, and pulled Hippolyta onto its horse.

"We've rested enough, let's go."

"it is good!"

Hercules echoed her sentiment, leaping up as well.

Samael glanced up at the distant city skyline, gently teased the owl on his shoulder, and smiled at Hercules beside him.

“Arcadia is almost here. You should change your name. I don’t want to be overshadowed by you, the great hero.”

Hercules nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Alcides... just call me Alcides..."

As the black ogre horse galloped away, Samael looked at Hercules's somewhat straight back and a joyful smile appeared on his face.

Hercules also has another meaning, namely "Hera's prisoner".

"Alcides" is the nickname of this Hercules who stood at the origin.

In a sense, he is experiencing a new beginning.

Chapter 166 Can't Carry Him, Can't Carry Him (3/3)

Meanwhile, in Olympus, in the heavenly court.

"Zeus, look at the mess that bastard has made!"

With a furious roar, a surging etheric storm burst through the outer barrier and the gate. Hera, her face contorted with rage, strode up the steps, tore open one side of her robe, and revealed part of her bosom to her god-king husband.

The left peak, which should have been flawless and white, was now marred by a faint, dark gold-black crack.

Furthermore, with the movement of her body, waves of sharp pain seeped into Hera's heart and lungs.

"Hercules?"

Zeus frowned slightly as he looked at his disheveled and undignified wife.

"That's right! I'm going to kill that bastard, execute him, immediately!"