In front of the Great Temple,
Lorne watched the Goddess of Wisdom surrounded by the Athenian crowds like stars orbiting the moon, letting out a chuckle with a shake of his head.
It had to be said that even Gods could not escape vanity, and Athena thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being the center of everyone's attention.
After muttering to himself in secret, he raised his eyes and looked past the Acropolis toward the black typhoons stretching between heaven and earth over the Oceanus Sea, his brow gradually knitting tight.
Are Typhon and Kronos preparing to make their move?
Hopefully, it is still in time...
Amid his silent murmur, the shepherd on the plaza strode forward, his figure melting into a brilliant radiance.
~~
Sparta.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Standing proudly atop the city walls, Apollo drew his golden bow, the muscles in his arms bulging as he loosed several arrows packed with divine power in succession, finally shattering the advancing wall of the tsunami entirely.
The seawater propelled into mid-air crashed down like a torrential downpour, carrying hideous sea beasts along as they tumbled onto the coastline, surrounding villages, and even the streets within the city-state.
The moment these bloodthirsty brutes recovered from their dizziness, they opened their gaping maws, thrashing and lunging indiscriminately to bite and tear.
In the blink of an eye, several nearby houses along with unfortunate citizens who strayed too close suffered calamity.
Instantly, the groaning snaps of roof beams, the dull thuds of tearing flesh, and the dying screams of mortals being crushed to bone and meat paste echoed one after another.
Looking across the horizon, smoke and dust rose throughout the coastal district, with vast pools of blood staining the parched earth.
In the alleys and streets, humans the size of ants fled their rickety houses in droves, trying to evade the rampaging sea beasts that had made landfall.
An atmosphere of panic and chaos spread uncontrollably through the crowd.
Clang! Clang-clang!
Right at this moment, the rhythmic, metallic clatter of weapons striking shields echoed from the main avenue, instilling a steady strength into the terrified hearts of the residents.
Peering through the gaps between the alleys, the Spartans were astonished to see their two princes, who had been urgently recalled yesterday, brandishing swords and shields as they led several squads of Spartan soldiers, fanning out in orderly lines to systematically purge the sea beasts that had fallen into the city.
"First squad, loose javelins!"
"Second squad, raise shields, draw swords, and clear the battlefield!"
"Third squad, carve a path and rescue the people!"
"Priests! Where are the temple priests? Repair the defensive spells on the outer walls immediately—we cannot allow these beasts to breach the city en masse!"
"..."
Under the command of Princes Castor and Pollux, the Spartan soldiers formed tight phalanxes, operating like rotating engines of slaughter to butcher and dismember the sea beasts along their path one by one.
Dressed in a golden battle suit, Princess Helen led the temple priests and officiants, providing long-range spell suppression and magical artillery support.
Soon, the slimy bodily fluids of the marine creatures and the foul stench of blood spread under the relentless sweep of the Spartan phalanxes.
Having weathered their initial panic, the Spartans gradually soothed their anxieties, their innate martial valor awakened once more.
Able-bodied men returned to their homes one after another, pulling shields and javelins from their walls, gearing up with bows, arrows, and longswords, and spontaneously grouping up in small bands to hunt down the stragglers roaming the streets and alleys.
Once the monsters inside the city were cleared out, the men surged through the main gates in high spirits, marching toward affected villages and towns to actively continue the hunt.
This was a city of fierce warriors where able-bodied youths made up seventy to eighty percent of the population. Once stabilized with reliable leaders at the helm, it swiftly transformed into a formidable engine of war.
~~
Arcadia.
"Thou art the Silver of Rapid Fire!"
Artemis drew her bowstring taut and chanted solemnly as a silver-white arrow shot through the magical formation diagram coalescing mid-air.
One divided into two, two into four, multiplying into millions in an instant to form a dense rain of light, pinning thousands of monster beasts bursting from the deep mountains dead on the spot.
Immediately after, the city gates swung wide.
The newly crowned Queen Atalanta drove the golden-horned deer chariot bestowed by her patron deity, leading the charge alongside twenty battle nymphs who had grown up with her, accompanied by the city's god-blooded royal guard.
The beast horde, already softened by the hail of arrows, was easily pierced through, scattered, and wiped out.
"Priests and officiants, prepare the spirit-descent rituals immediately to summon the woodland deities and water nymphs of the mountains!
I want the types, numbers, and movements of all monster beasts in the Arcadian range! The moment a fully formed beast nest appears, mark its location for me at once!"
Aboard the city wall, Artemis loosed her bowstring and barked her orders decisively, sending the priestesses of the Moon Temple scrambling into preparation without delay.
Meanwhile, the Hermes alchemists, Dionysian cultists, and Eleusinian cultists inside the city climbed the walls with practiced ease, taking up duties of defense, magical fire support, and medical treatment.
Having survived the previous beast calamity, all of this was second nature to them.
Thebes.
As the sacred site where Dionysus had manifested his divine presence twice, the God of Wine had long become the city's primary object of worship.
Facing the surging waves rolling in from the coastline, an overturned golden chalice materialized across the horizon.
Crimson wine transformed into golden divine fluid that showered the ground, erecting a radiant barrier of light that held the raging tides at bay.
Immediately after, amid the rich aroma of wine, the Nine Muses and the
Three Graces glided in gracefully, composing razor-sharp words and playing high-pitched battle hymns to strike down the sea beasts tumbling out of the storming waves and howling winds.
At the same time, starlight descended from above as Phaedra, the fourth daughter of King Minos, arrived from War God Mountain at the head of dozens of Maenads and a host of Dionysian cultists, ascending the walls to assist the Thebans in holding the defensive line.
Corinth.
Hermes, the God of Commerce and Deception, stood atop the battlements, raising his Caduceus to melt mountain stone and construct barriers that turned back the massive waves crashing in from the sea, drawing cheers from the Corinthians below.
Hearing the wave-like praise, a satisfied smile spread across Hermes's face.
Their king, Sisyphus, had deceived Thanatos and stood as the most cunning and rebellious mortal alive.
Their customs were famed for craftiness and eloquence, earning them the scorn of surrounding city-states;
Their commerce was prosperous and developed, and they excelled at trade and communication;
Aside from Arcadia, this was the city-state most suited for him to develop into a sacred land.
After such a long period of diligent cultivation, his faith had finally taken root here.
Surrounded and revered by the Corinthians, Hermes alchemists climbed the city walls one after another, methodically constructing spell formations to sweep away the sea beasts hurled ashore.
Seriphos Island.
Along the coast, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, and her lover
Adonis piled up sea foam and spurred plant growth, barely holding back the overwhelming torrents churning across the sea.
Though the defense proved grueling, for two deities, an assault of this scale remained within manageable bounds.
Meanwhile, kingdoms and city-states such as Eleusis, Calydon, Thrace, and the Aeolian Islands began marshaling their forces to confront the catastrophe, spurred by the summons of their respective patron Gods and god-blooded heroes.
Yet not every city-state's prayers were met with an answer.
At the same time, in Thessaly.
Caenis raised the buckler on her left arm, smashing a saw-toothed flying fish until its brain matter splattered.
With her right hand, she hurled her spear forward, pinning a sea serpent dozens of meters long with a piercing whistle.
Pulling away the kelp draped over her head with a look of disgust, she stepped forward.
Having finished off the last sea beast before him, the King of Thessaly reined in his bronze chariot and pulled to a halt.
Acting as co-driver, Telamon leaped from the chariot, pulling the spear embedded in the sea serpent's core and tossing it back into Caenis's embrace.
"The battle isn't over yet, so don't toss your weapon around."
"Tch, I don't need you to lecture me. How are things on the sea?"
Caenis caught the spear casually, gazing out at the mist-shrouded waters as she asked impatiently.
Looking toward the Oceanus Sea where the waves were gradually calming, Telamon spoke with a hint of relief.
"Not bad. Fortunately, we kept the sea beasts and floodwaters from entering the city, or Thessaly would be in serious trouble."
"And do we have His Majesty the Sea King to thank for that?"
Caenis snorted crossly, her gaze sweeping past Triton; the merman prince who had stepped in to calm the waves and clear the sea beasts atop Thessaly's walls, along with the Mechanical God Ares standing guard beside him as she glanced at the other two empty spots, frowning and sneering. "The one who should step up stays hidden, forcing us to beg outsiders for help. Why don't we just convert the temple to worship Poseidon instead?"
"Do not be insolent toward Father God!"
King Admetus's eyelids twitched at her words, hastily rebuking her in a low voice.
However, the hot-tempered Caenis paid no heed to her own blasphemy, continuing her mockery without restraint. "You treat him as a Father God, but he certainly doesn't treat us as his people!"
"Father God must have a deeper purpose for doing this..."
"Deeper purpose, my foot! He clearly doesn't give a damn whether we live or die!"
Caenis cut off her king's attempt to salvage Zeus's dignity, pointing toward the vacant spots atop the wall as she scolded bluntly:
"See that? The man even called his own son back, and you still expect him to show his face?"
"The matter is already resolved, isn't it? Don't dwell on it so much..."
Beside them, Telamon tried to smooth things over, attempting to ease the tension.
Caenis rolled her eyes at Telamon, snorting with irritation. "We blocked this tsunami, but who knows if there will be a next one.
We can't keep looking to Poseidon's family for handouts every single time, can we?"
Just as the god-blooded hero was venting her grievances, a dull roar echoed across the Oceanus Sea.
Beneath expanding thunderclouds, a fresh typhoon gathered dozens of rolling, layered waves, surging toward the entire Peloponnese peninsula.
"..."
Telamon and King Admetus looked at Caenis with bitter resentment in their eyes.
This jinx of a mouth—the good never came true, but the bad hit every single time.
"Your Majesty, have no fear—I will assist you!"
Triton stepped forward atop the city wall, raising his divine conch shell and blowing into it with all his divine power.
When it came to dealing with tsunamis, the Sea God Temple was in its element.
As long as he helped Thessaly weather this crisis, establishing the worship of Sea God Poseidon in Thessaly would become a certainty.
For Zeus to abandon such a strategic stronghold was sheer wastefulness.
While mocking his God King uncle's lack of vision in his heart, Triton envisioned the praise his father Poseidon would heap upon him after claiming this territory, blowing into the conch shell with even greater fervor.
However, the deep blue oceanic divine nature unleashed by the merman prince was instantly torn to shreds the moment it met the reddish-black typhoon.
Amid bursts of thunderous squalls, a colossal behemoth crowned with over a hundred dragon heads and coated in pitch-black scales unveiled a hideous, terrifying silhouette within the storm clouds and howling winds.
Suffering divine backlash, a sweet metallic taste rose in Triton's throat as his pupils shook violently.
—Typhon!
Sensing that terrifying aura, the main Gods and heroes of every city-state paled in unison.
The Father of Monsters was about to make landfall!
(End of Chapter)