The Villain of Ancient Greece

”Boom!”

Just as the catastrophic waves stirred by [The Whirlpool] Charybdis were about to pour down with frenzied fury, a deep, resonant sound emanated from the depths of the military formation—clear and powerful.

Golden streams of light spread out, splitting into countless threads that flowed into the bodies of every Minosian, soothing their trembling limbs and dispelling the fear in their spirits.

Simultaneously, the earth before the fortress resonated in response.

A golden curtain of light surged upward in an instant, forming an indestructible barrier that forcefully halted the onslaught of the oceanic waves.

”Roar!”

Blocked outside, [The Whirlpool] Charybdis let out a furious roar.

Raising an arm formed from millions of tons of seawater, it pounded relentlessly against the golden barrier, determined to shatter this shell and devour the tiny creatures within.

”Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”

With each monstrous strike, the golden curtain trembled under increasingly violent impacts, cracks spreading uncontrollably like spiderwebs.

The violent tremors even caused several bricks on the fortress to crumble.

A small stone, sent flying by the impact, grazed the old man’s cheek, leaving a thin cut on his temple from which golden-red blood trickled.

”Boom!”

Even as his vision blurred from the blood, the elderly man paid it no mind.

Once again, he struck the ground with his golden scepter.

His hunched body moved in rhythm with the earth’s tremors as he took another step forward toward the edge of the fortress, his voice rising in a bold declaration:

”I—am the descendant of Zeus!”

”Roar!”

[The Whirlpool] Charybdis struck back in fury.

The golden barrier cracked further, its fractures spreading like a web.

The violent tremors caused even more bricks on the fortress to shatter.

Yet, the old man remained undeterred.

”Boom!”

Once more, the golden scepter struck the ground.

Gis hunched body straightened slightly as he took yet another step forward, his voice ringing out with even greater authority:

”I—am the son of the divine consort Europa!”

Instantly, the golden barrier, on the verge of collapse, rapidly mended itself, growing even more solid.

As the old man stepped forward, the curtain of light pushed back against the crashing waves, advancing relentlessly.

”Splash—!”

The seawater churned violently.

[The Whirlpool] Charybdis, now in the form of a colossal humanoid, was forced to retreat.

Its massive legs, standing upon the waves, stumbled backward.

Against this seemingly insignificant figure, who was as small as an ant—the monstrous entity could only yield.

The sight was as absurd as an insect brandishing a blade of grass to drive away a tyrannosaurus rex.

The defenders on the fortress watched, stunned, their hearts surging with awe.

Unforgivable! Unforgivable!

Overwhelmed by humiliation,

[The Whirlpool] Charybdis, who already lacking in reason,succumbed entirely to its rampaging bloodlust.

Its killing intent and destructive fury coalesced into a devastating fist and a deafening roar.

”DIE!”

”I—am the King of Crete!”

At the forefront of the fortress, the King of Minos stood tall, his beard and hair bristling with power.

Raising his golden scepter high, he swung it forward, his thunderous voice eclipsing even the roar of the sea.

”—By my command, BEGONE from my domain, YOU BEAST!”

”BOOOOOOM—!”

At the same moment, several thick bolts of golden lightning, summoned by the scepter, descended from the night sky like divine spears, piercing straight through the body of

The Whirlpool Charybdis.

”CRASH—!”

In an instant, the hundred-meter-tall aqueous form outside the walls disintegrated under the golden thunder, dissolving into a shower of scattered droplets.

”Ugh~~”

The severely wounded monster could no longer maintain its humanoid form, leaving behind only a shattered face that let out a mournful wail before vanishing beneath the churning waves, disappearing into the depths of the sea.

Did we win? We won!

The soldiers, overwhelmed with relief at their narrow escape, erupted into fervent cheers, their eyes blazing with admiration as they turned toward their king.

They raised their weapons and beat their shields, filling the air with thunderous roars.

”Boom! Boom!”

”Minos!”

”Boom! Boom!”

”Minos!”

As they gazed upon the aged yet unyielding figure standing before the fortress like an unshakable wall, and the soldiers around him cheering in exhilaration, the faces of the princes who had commanded the battle darkened with bitterness.

No matter how hard they tried, no matter how exceptional they were, they paled in comparison to their father—like fireflies attempting to outshine the moon, pitiful and utterly insignificant.

And yet, even a man like this, a peak they could scarcely hope to reach, was nothing more than a slightly stronger ant in the eyes of the gods.

The wild swings of emotion left the princes with a crushing sense of defeat, their expressions slackening into despair.

The old king noticed, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh, a faint sorrow settling in his heart.

His sons—some of them were decent, but none were truly outstanding.

They lacked not only the potential to ascend to godhood but also the courage to defy the gods.

After his death, the prosperity he had built with his own hands would likely crumble under their rule.

All his struggles, all his efforts—would be for nothing.

”Look! Something’s coming up!”

”In the water!”

Just as father and sons were lost in their thoughts, the panicked shouts of soldiers snapped them back to reality.

Following the voices, they saw slender, sinuous figures writhing in the swamp-like shallows before the fortress, their bodies shimmering with iridescent hues.

Their scales bore crimson red, golden yellow, azure, and sapphire spots.

Stripes like a zebra, speckles like a leopard, eyes like a peacock, all traced with deep red veins.

Their bodies gleamed with a silvery moonlight sheen, their patterns shifting as they breathed, sometimes dissolving, sometimes glowing brighter, sometimes weaving their radiance with darker hues, their forms like living rainbows...

Lorne, recognizing the familiar visual assault and the sinuous silhouettes beneath the water, lowered his gaze and murmured under his breath.

—Lamia, the Serpent of Greed!

Though the King of Minos had dealt a heavy blow to the reckless [The Whirlpool] Charybdis, his aging body had failed to deliver a fatal strike.

The sea monster had escaped back into the ocean, regaining the protection of the sea’s divine authority.

And now, having learned her lesson, [The Whirlpool] Charybdis wisely refrained from recklessly resurfacing.

Instead, she summoned the tides to flood the coastline, creating optimal conditions for the sea beasts gathered near Crete to launch their assault.

Lorne watched as the Lamias slithered out of the water, hissing, their serpentine bodies coiling up the walls in a grotesque ascent toward the fortress battlements.

His gaze then shifted to the skies, where flocks of shrieking, bird-like Siren harpies darted about, their cries piercing the night.

A strong enemy was one thing—but a thinking enemy was far worse.

It seemed the divine-blooded beasts of the Oceanus were learning to coordinate.

This battle… was about to get much harder.

”Priests and clerics, maintain the barrier! Suppress the aerial units!”

”All defenders, form ranks! Engage the enemy!”

The crown prince, acting as field commander, gritted his teeth as he drew his bronze sword, his voice hoarse with fury as he bellowed orders at the swarming divine beasts below and above.

But this time, the soldiers had grown accustomed to facing these horrors.

They stood firm, gripping their swords and raising their spears and shields, ready to strike back.

Because their king was here.

And their home—was right behind them!

”Thrust!”

”Withdraw!”

”Thrust!”

”Withdraw!”

”Swords and shields forward! Archers, 45-degree volley!”

Under the crown prince’s hoarse, repeated commands, the soldiers’ memories of their once-tedious combat drills surged to the forefront of their minds.

From awkwardness to familiarity, from familiarity to seamless execution, the Minos soldiers followed orders, rallying their ranks to encircle and divide the sea monsters scaling the defenses.

Their weapons thrust forward with mechanical precision.

The splattering of flesh and the shrieks of beasts no longer shook their resolve.

For every warrior who fell, another stepped forward to fill the gap.

Standing firm upon the fortress, shielding their King of Minos, they became an orderly, unshakable whole—a meticulously calibrated killing machine.

It wasn’t just the sea beasts learning to cooperate, the Minosians’ combat will and techniques were also being honed to razor sharpness in this crucible of blood and fire.

Watching the soldiers hold their ground with unflinching discipline, Lorne finally allowed himself to relax.

Adaptation and learning—these were humanity’s greatest strengths.

But as the assault stalled, momentum waning, the last remnants of night began to fade.

The divine-blooded beasts’ commander, watching from the rear, could no longer remain idle.

The six-headed, twelve-legged Scylla stirred, her massive bulk grinding forward like an apocalyptic tank, crushing the shallows as she advanced toward the coastal fortress, a structure barely half her height.

(End of Chapter)