Chapter 158: The Battle Between Perverts
"Well, your father Hermes is also a god who is well versed in music theory. Let me see how much you have learned as his son."
Apollo nodded and smiled in agreement. Although his attitude was calm, between the lines there was a sense of an elder examining the younger.
Obviously, in the eyes of this god of art, the little lamb in front of him was just looking for a reason to learn from him and was not qualified to compete with him on an equal footing.
Naturally, there is no such thing as so-called "challenges" and "victories".
Therefore, he did not mention anything about what would happen after the victory.
Although this move was exactly what Pan wanted, Apollo's inherent arrogance still made the shepherd god secretly hate him.
Just wait, you will regret it!
Pan snorted secretly, while maintaining a humble appearance, and took out his most proud musical instrument from his arms.
It was a panpipe made of reeds called "Hyrenx".
Like the harp in Apollo's hand and the laurel wreath on his head, they are all taken from plants that are the incarnation of a nymph. Therefore, once the music is played, it will exude a natural divine power that will make the audience intoxicated.
It seems that he and the God of Light have the same hobbies in terms of the choice of musical instruments and certain sexual interests.
Pan glanced at the group of beautiful Muses behind Apollo, rolled his pale yellow sheep eyes, and suggested with a silly smile.
"Lord Apollo, since this is a competition, then according to the standards of the Olympic Games, shouldn't we ask a judge to arbitrate?"
In response, Apollo still nodded confidently, gently struck the strings of the harp, and golden ripples spread into the mountains and forests.
Soon, accompanied by the rustling of branches and vines, the camp was surrounded by ancient trees.
On the thickest old tree in the center, an old face with many wrinkles appeared. It waved its branches towards everyone, saluted slightly, and showed a kind smile.
"Lord Apollo, I understand what you mean. If you don't mind, today I and the elves in the forest will be the audience to judge who is better between you and Pan."
Temolos, the god of the mountains and forests, is a very ancient god in the Arcadia Mountains.
Over the long years, he and his followers witnessed a lot of history and often attended as judges to resolve some disputes.
Seeing that the referee he had invited had arrived, Apollo smiled and nodded, waved his hand to gather soil and rocks, creating a wide venue and spectator seats for the competition in front of the camp, and then bent back gracefully.
"Everyone, please."
The Muses and Nymphs, who were also invited as audience members, were immediately excited. They held hands, sat down in groups of three or five, and waited for the game to begin.
Apollo's reputation as the "God of Arts" had long been widely spread in Olympus, and the music he played personally amazed many of the gods who listened to him.
But as time went by and theocracy became more consolidated, the God of Light rarely performed in public.
Now that they can see Apollo personally take action on this trip, the nymphs and muses are naturally full of expectations.
As the crowd hurried past the camp, Pan, who was left alone, opened his mouth, finally smiled awkwardly, then quickly bent over and followed him onto the stage.
Looking at the little lamb that no one cared about and its face that was trying hard to force a smile, Lorne shook his head secretly.
He now began to feel Apollo's arrogance that was deep in his bones.
Although it was a competition, the God of Light never took the challenger Pan seriously from beginning to end. He did not ask Pan's opinion on the venue, referee, or method, and acted entirely on his own dictatorship.
For the opponent, being ignored is the greatest humiliation.
But at this moment, it was obvious that no one among the gods around cared about Pan's emotions. They were all wholeheartedly waiting for Apollo's wonderful performance.
"Now that the players are in place, let's get started."
Sitting in the referee's seat, Temolos, the god of the forests, raised his staff and knocked the ground to give the start signal. At the same time, he lifted the branches beside his ears, ready to concentrate on listening to the performance of the two gods.
"I'll go first!"
Feeling somewhat resentful that Apollo had taken the lead, Pan rushed forward, summoned his divine power, and blew his panpipe on the stage, trying to make a splash with his musical talent, which he was so proud of.
Divine power surged and the air trembled.
The mournful and desolate sound of the pan flute came out from the narrow hole, and the listener's heart felt like it was bleeding. When the blood in the heart was exhausted, the person would die of heart failure. However, this music was so beautiful that it seemed to make people die in emotion.
The reason why the music is so sad and desolate is because of his unrequited love for the nymph Xenix.
In order to reject his pursuit, the beautiful god would rather turn into a reed and refuse to meet him.
In order to commemorate his beloved, the heartbroken god Pan not only created the panpipe musical instrument using the reed that she transformed into, but also wrote a carefully crafted poem for her.
The goddess walking on the green grass
Your face is as light as water
There is green grass here
It is the hotbed that nature has laid for you and me
I'm madly in love with you
Forget the honor and disgrace of the world
I just want to hold you in my arms
But fate shattered my beautiful dream
Reeds swaying in the autumn wind
You are my undeserved sorrow...
Through the low hum of the pan flute, silent confession poured into the ears of the audience. They seemed to be following the music, witnessing the sad love of the shepherd in the sunny afternoon.
This country song, which he is most proud of, has unparalleled expressive power.
As the last note died down, the field fell into complete silence.
Sadness and pity grew uncontrollably in their hearts, and the looks that the nymphs and Muses gave Pan were less rejecting and more filled with empathy and sympathy, with some even shedding tears for the poor shepherd.
I have to say that Pan's attainments in music are truly admirable, to the point where music is the expression of his heart.
but……
Loen glanced at the nymphs and muses on the field who were immersed in a sad atmosphere, narrowed his eyes slightly, and sneered secretly.
Trying to use power to influence the minds of the audience and take advantage of the opportunity to win, isn't that a bit too much of a disrespect for the main god present?
“Dang~!”
At this moment, a joyful harp sound echoed in the venue. The audience, who were originally immersed in a sad atmosphere, were shocked and their eyes became clear again.
In a trance, the audience gradually came back to their senses. The more they thought about the story in the music, the more they felt something was wrong.
The other party has already expressed a clear rejection, but he is still forcing her to love him, even forcing her to the point of giving up herself. What kind of love is this?
It's clearly an animal desire that cannot be fulfilled!
After a moment, the goddesses who originally had sympathy and pity for the god Pan could not help but glare at this pervert with a goat's head and a human body, with contempt evident in their words.
Pan, who had thought he would win cheers from the whole audience by playing a little trick, immediately blushed amidst the boos and contempt. His brown sheep eyes secretly glanced at Apollo on the side, feeling angry and annoyed.
The God of Light on the stage seemed to be nonchalantly tuning the strings of the harp in his arms, plucked a few clear and pleasant notes again, and walked to the front with a smile.
"Have you finished your performance? Then it's my turn."
Without waiting for Pan's reply, Temolos turned towards Apollo, and all the trees turned with him.
He wore a laurel wreath of Parnassus on his head and a long Tyrian red-purple robe that dragged on the ground. He held a harp in his left hand and plucked the strings with his right hand. He was radiant and a truly handsome man.
Especially when standing next to the god Pan, the contrast between beauty and ugliness is even stronger.
Suddenly, the hearts of the nymphs and muses on the field began to beat wildly, and their eyes were all focused on the handsome god. No one paid attention to the little lamb in the corner anymore.
Apollo, who was in the spotlight, still maintained his elegant demeanor, plucking and twisting the strings with his five white jade fingers.
The elegant and beautiful lyric music flows between the vibrating strings, as if a male god with a body as beautiful as a gem comes dancing in the shade of the woods under the sun, has a beautiful encounter in the woods, and starts to pursue him wholeheartedly.
I am the first poet, the descendant of light
Like a hound sniffing out the trail of a hare,
You run, frozen into a spinning skater,
A music box decorated with vines and crooked branches.
The veins in your feet spread into the soil,
A patterned skin covers your chest and hair
The branches are flying, the leaves are overflowing,
A torso that gradually turns to wood swallows your arms and legs;
Your mortal soul floats in the glory of the laurel tree.
The immortal God caresses every inch of your wood grain,
Feel the frightened pulse of your warm main branch,
Kissing each branch as if it were a human wrist;
A pair of laurel-like hands then merged into the laurel wreath...
But in the end, this loving confession was ruthlessly rejected. The proud nymph abandoned a sincere and passionate heart, cruelly letting it cool down and die.
As the piano music gradually turned mournful, the nymphs and muses cried bitterly, sympathizing with the plight of the lover and disgusted by the ruthlessness and indifference of the pursued.
And Loen, who was sitting in the corner, had a frown on his face.
Just as Pan had come up with a beautified version of "The Afternoon of a Faun", Apollo came up with a beautiful love poem "Apollo and Daphne".
If you don’t know, you would think these two are so affectionate and so aggrieved.
However, the real situation was that these two perverts forced the girls to agree to their love confession, causing the two unfortunate nymphs to become autistic.
In the end, they had to compose music to express their love and denounce the indifference of the two nymphs.
Such a hypocritical scene almost made Loen sick.
Finally, this torturous song came to an end.
The branches of the trees on the field swayed happily, and the nymphs and muses cheered in unison, as if true fans were voting for their idols.
Seeing that he was at a disadvantage, the cunning Pan started playing his panpipe again as soon as Apollo finished his performance, playing several of his most proud country songs.
The light and humorous tone brings pure joy, making the audience feel happy and smile on their faces.
But then Apollo struck his lyre, washing away the lingering sound of the country tune with a magnificent hymn.
The praise of the gods and the description of the Titan War are so fascinating that one feels as if one is there and one's blood boils.
Finally, after three rounds of repetition, Temolos immediately stood up and declared Apollo, who played the lyre, the winner of the game.
All the audience accepted the judgment and gave praise and wreaths to the brilliant Apollo on the field.
The god Pan, who was ignored by everyone, became a complete foil, with his sheep face turning red and white.
Finally, he could no longer endure the mocking cheers around him, and he forced a stiff smile, stepped forward to say goodbye to the gods, and begged someone who had set up warning traps around him to get him out safely.
In response, Loen smiled and nodded in agreement, and took Pan, who had lost all his money, away from this sad place.
But as the two men walked out of the camp, Pan, who had been smiling, suddenly turned his head and stared at the guide with his brown sheep eyes, looking viciously at him.
"Didn't you say there was a way for me to marry Muse? Why did I lose? Damn liar!"
(End of this chapter)
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