Chapter 209: Once the money is in place, I will stand with you
There are five rivers connecting the underworld, namely the Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegeson, Styx and Leth.
According to the normal order, the dead need to pass through the Acheron River, the Cocytus River, the Phlegeson River, the Styx River and the Let River in turn before they can finally reach the Garden of Truth.
During this process, the dead cried in the Acheron River because they could not accept their own death, lamented in the Cocytus River because of their memories of the past, then purified their souls in the Phlegeson Fire River, and crossed the Styx River on Charon's boat.
Finally, the dead souls reached the Let River and drank the water, forgetting their present lives and entering the [Garden of Truth].
There, three judges, Rhadamanthys, Minos, and Aeacus, will decide where the soul should go:
The good and morally upright will be allowed to enter the land of bliss, the Paradise of Elysium;
Those who do evil in this world must be sent to Tartarus, a hell that is specially used to imprison and punish evildoers, and receive severe punishment.
Most of the souls who were neither evil nor good were left on this plain full of daffodils, and their future would either be wandering aimlessly or welcoming the new life that would come later.
In order to facilitate management of the entire underworld, the three areas are separated by the Phlegesang Fire River.
Charon's ferry is one of the few means of transportation that can cross different regions.
What’s more important is that this guy only cares about money.
——As long as the money is in place, we will send you there no matter whether you are a human or a ghost.
At this moment, Loen truly felt the superb professional ethics of this Styx Ferryman.
With the addition of the living, his ship became swaying due to the weight of the law of life. The dead souls lost in the Styx smelled the scent of the living, and they raised waves and swept towards Lorne and Thetis on the boat, trying to taste the freshness of life or seize their beautiful bodies.
Charon, standing at the bow, calmly thrust the long pole in his hand into the River Styx and stirred it. The power vibrated in the burning water of the River Styx, forming ripples that crushed the distorted undead souls one by one, allowing the swaying ferry to move forward steadily.
Judging from his skillful movements, this guy is obviously not doing something like this for the first time.
Soon, under the guidance of this professional guide, everyone followed the Phlegesang Fire River and successfully reached the border of Tartarus.
"We've reached a fork in the road. Say it again what you promised me."
With a muffled sound, Charon stopped the pole, turned his head, and looked at Sisyphus at the stern with an expressionless face.
Professional fraudsters are complaining about this.
The fork ahead is part of the Styx River, the so-called "River of Oath Keeper".
The oath made in the name of the Styx is extremely sacred. Any human who violates this oath will often be swallowed up by the water of the Styx after death, and then suffer eternal divine punishment in the icy River Styx.
Most of the undead souls they saw floating in pain in the River Styx along the way came from here.
Moreover, with the successive inauguration of the three judges, the authority of the underworld has become increasingly consolidated.
Even if the gods break the oath sworn in the name of the River Styx, they will suffer backlash.
However, compared to these weak humans, the constraints on the gods are much lighter, and the price is often just a year of coma.
At this time, seeing Sisyphus silent, Charon's face couldn't help but darken.
"You want to regret it?"
"Don't worry, my friend is willing to do anything as long as we can escape the underworld!"
Loen made a solemn guarantee, and at the same time, he looked at Thetis, and they moved forward from the left and right in tacit understanding, holding Sisyphus firmly.
The professional swindler, who was caught like a sandwich, saw that he could not escape and could only make a sad face and repeat the promise he made on the shore to the Styx River flowing under the boat.
Thirty gold Zeus coins blessed by faith and two great sacrifices. To be honest, although the price was high, it was not enough to bankrupt him.
But compared to the loss of property, what really made Sisyphus unacceptable was the psychological gap.
Back then, he was a ruthless character who kidnapped the god of death and deceived the god of the underworld. Even Hades could not obtain the promised great sacrifice from him and could only leave him in Tartarus, feeling helpless and furious.
How come the boat managed to sail through strong winds and waves, but finally capsized in this small ditch?
As the last oath was absorbed by the Styx, Charon was satisfied and inserted his long pole into the water, leading the ferry into a tributary of the Styx.
It seemed that because they had escaped from the dangerous environment of Tartarus, the surrounding scenery gradually became lively. The daffodils, pomegranates, myrrh and other plants on the plains not only did not wither due to the infection of death, but grew abnormally lushly.
On both sides of the river, there is a kind of upright, angular plant with coarse hairs, pinnate leaves and serrated edges, which are connected together and have gorgeous purple or pink flowers in full bloom.
Even more amazing is a kind of golden and black flowers. When the air flows, the flowers dance gracefully, as if there are faint starlight twinkling among them, which is so beautiful.
When Thetis looked closely, she was shocked to find that they were not flowers, but huge golden-black butterflies about ten centimeters long. They were perched on the plants and flapping their wings slightly on both sides, creating the illusion of flowers.
As if they felt being watched, the golden and black butterflies among the flowers fluttered up and flew towards the goddess on the boat like shooting stars in the night sky.
So beautiful...
Women's natural pursuit of beauty made Thetis' eyes a little blurred. She subconsciously reached out to touch the cute elves that fell towards her, adding some bright colors to this gloomy journey to the underworld.
“Don’t touch!”
However, just as Thetis's fingers were about to touch the beautiful butterfly, a thunderous roar sounded in her ears, and her ivory wrist was suddenly pulled back.
Then, with five slender fingers on one side, as fast as lightning, they drew several Hermes characters in the air, and then shot forward and collided with several golden and black butterflies that were flapping their wings.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
The beautiful butterfly struggling in mid-air suddenly exploded, and the scattered phosphorus powder sparkled like stardust, bringing a sense of fragile and elegant beauty, like the bizarre colors in a dream.
As the phosphorus powder drifts in the wind, the rich floral scent fills the air, and the pleasant aroma also brings a certain spiritual relaxation and pleasure.
Before he knew it, Sisyphus at the stern was already lying on the deck and snoring with a satisfied and relaxed smile on his face.
But he was on the run, how could he sleep?
At this moment, Thetis no longer had the appreciation and satisfaction she had before. Instead, she stood behind Lorne with a look of fear on her face, looking vigilantly at the golden and black butterflies dancing in the flowers on both sides of the river bank.
This is the underworld, how could there be ordinary creatures?
Knowing that there are dangers everywhere, I can't be so careless.
Therefore, that thing still has the ability to bewitch people!
"It's the Dark Butterfly!"
Loen gave the answer in a low and cold voice. His purple eyes looked at the plants on both sides of the river, and the potion knowledge in his mind automatically compared with them.
Poppy and Valerian...
The ancient Greeks praised valerian as the "magic herb" and "sleep god herb", and opium poppy has similar effects.
Like the Hades butterflies, they are symbols of a certain god in the underworld.
Loen glanced at the golden and black butterflies swarming on the river banks on both sides, and kicked Sisyphus without any hesitation.
"Wake up, your old enemy is catching up with you!"
As the boiling divine power mixed with the purifying power of [Fire] crashed into his body, Sisyphus leaped up from the deck screaming like a monkey with its butt burned.
When Sisyphus saw thousands of dark butterflies flying from both sides of the river towards the broken boat they were on, his face changed drastically.
"Hypnos!"
"Damn it, have you offended the god of sleep?"
At the same time, Charon also realized that this smuggling was different from the previous ones, and he seemed to be involved in some big trouble, so he immediately turned hostile.
"No, I won't take this boat trip!"
He just wanted to make some money, but the other side wanted his life.
"I'll raise the money, triple it! He pays!"
Under Lorne's "kind" gaze, Sisyphus, whose shoulders were "affectionately" held, could only nod in anger.
However, Charon shook his head firmly, with a hint of fear in his eyes.
"Even ten times is not enough, they will kill me!"
"Twenty times and a statue!"
"hiss--"
Charon took a breath, his throat dry and squirming, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a word.
“It’s not about the money…”
"Thirty times, if it's more, that's fine!"
Hearing the inhumane price increase, Sisyphus was almost moved to tears.
Because, it is the other party who is bidding the price, but he is the one who pays the bill.
If the previous boat ticket was just a small loss, this wave will really make you lose everything.
However, before the victim could raise any objections, the Styx Ferryman, upon hearing the final price offered by his employer, completely threw aside his fear of his peers and the rules of the underworld, and nodded excitedly and impatiently.
"make a deal!"
Then, Charon looked eagerly at the generous financier on the boat, rubbing his hands and asking, with a hint of human flattery on his old face whose expression had never changed.
"Where do you want to go? Tell me!"
"The Pastoral of Truth."
"good!"
Charon agreed decisively, then picked up a long pole and swung it vigorously in the water of the Styx, carrying the three stowaways at lightning speed through the river banks covered with valerian and poppies on both sides.
"Humph, you are stubborn!"
However, the next moment, accompanied by a cold rebuke, countless golden and black butterflies converged on the river, and a figure with golden hair and golden eyes gathered to form an outline, slowly raising his arm.
In an instant, the dancing golden-black butterfly transformed into a hundred-meter-long giant sword with a cold glow.
——Dreams come to life and fantasies become reality.
Using power to turn thoughts and ideas into concrete things is the way the God of Sleep fights.
Hypnos lowered his arm with a hundred-meter-long giant sword wrapped in an icy edge, slashing across the ferry that was moving quickly on the water.
(End of this chapter)
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