Chapter 286 Lord, Please Have Mercy (3.3k, 7.5k total)
Crete.
As an outpost where the land extends to the ocean, this place has witnessed the glory of the Minoan civilization and ushered in prosperity, but it has also experienced a tragic defeat in the war with the Kingdom of Atlantis and was submerged by huge waves.
As time went by, the traces of the war were gradually erased, and the island regained its vitality after a hundred years of changes.
However, at this moment, the distant Oceanus Sea, the old enemy, has lost its former silence and tranquility.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and fierce streaks of lightning meandered downwards, like sharp spears piercing into the sea, constantly stirring up the water.
The blood-red setting sun cast a scarlet afterglow on the sea, as if the ocean was bleeding. Tens of thousands of fish, sea beasts and the gods' blood clans died on the spot under the ravages of the lightning, without even having time to scream.
As the sea water surged, the strange red tide created huge waves, which rolled up the corpses with hideous deaths, almost covering the entire sea surface.
escape!
Along with the living instinct for survival, this single thought was engraved in my mind.
Countless fish, sea beasts, and the blood relatives of the gods in the Sea of Oceanus fled madly with the huge waves, trying to rush to the nearby deserted islands and land and stay away from the extremely dangerous ocean at this time.
However, when groups of marine creatures rushed to the nearest island of Crete, they were shocked to find that this land, which was hostile to the ocean, had also changed beyond recognition.
The rushing river had long dried up, the riverbed collapsed, revealing a dark hole, and the fertile land on the plain was melting away inch by inch under the blowing of the red and black ether storm.
Dust storms raged, all the greenery and vitality disappeared, raging torrents rushed out from the cracks in the earth, mountains collapsed one by one, and panicked animals and monsters rushed into the ruins of the old city of Knossos and gathered around the towering great temple.
A moment later, the entire island of Crete had become a vast ocean, and the only remaining great temple was like an isolated island floating on the deep sea. The few animals and monsters that had managed to escape into this only shelter trembled in fear as they watched the sudden doomsday disaster.
Puff puff puff!
But soon, the four corners of the temple platform were flattened by a new ether storm, and the hundreds of animals and monsters crowded on the periphery instantly burst into blood mist and were crushed into meat paste. The owl statues that were about to spread their wings and fly turned into dust.
The scene before them also made the animals and monsters despair. They madly crowded into the great temple, trying to get protection from the unknown.
But this great temple had long since fallen into decay, and the Great Mother Goddess had long since departed.
The spark of faith no longer exists, the gods no longer watch over this land, and the miracle that the beasts desire will naturally not happen.
As the scarlet ether storm swept through, the bricks and stones of the temple were disintegrated inch by inch, and the exposed beasts instantly melted into the terrifying halo.
The futile struggle only gave them a few more minutes to survive.
Meanwhile, Athens.
The old and weak who retreated to the valley and the corner of the city wall had despair in their eyes, and in their despair there was prayer.
Above their heads, the sky was bright and thin, with twinkling stars covering the brilliance of the sun. They could clearly see meteorites falling from the sea of stars, burning violently and smashing into various parts of Greece, bringing strong explosions and tremors...
In front of them, the Acropolis of Athens was covered with traces of tragedy and had already been riddled with holes, with one-third of the walls and areas collapsed.
The scene outside the city was even more horrific.
The wilderness is devastated;
Buildings, thick smoke billowing;
Brick walls, torn and collapsed...
The scarlet ether storm swept past, and the sporadic resistance soon disappeared with a creaking sound, becoming a toy in the hands of the giant and was torn to pieces.
Looking through the thick smoke and flames, the earth is like a fragile cardboard, with cracks stretching for miles and crisscrossing each other, and the inside is bottomless...
Etna and other volcanoes erupted violently, with floating volcanic ash scattered into the sky and dark red magma flowing wantonly, melting all life along the way...
The coastal cities of Thessaly, Sparta, Mycenae, etc., have been flooded by the torrent and turned into vast oceans. Crazy sea monsters have rushed to the coast, triggering a series of turmoil...
In the mountainous and densely forested areas of Thebes, Arcadia, and Calydon, groups of monsters ran out of their habitats and rushed towards human cities, venting their fear and panic through destruction and killing...
Looking at the doomsday scene in front of them and the constantly intersecting and colliding might in the sky, the weak humans could only hide behind the fortress, trembling in fear, or rush into the temple, praying that this natural disaster, which was like the wrath of God, would end as soon as possible.
Gods, please calm your anger and have mercy on this.
However, the strange phenomena in the sky became more and more intense, and the miracle never happened.
What was attracted by this prayer was actually an even deeper despair.
"Life is the end, a pilgrimage of accumulated pain. The eyes are old, the hands and feet are fragile, and existence will inevitably go to nothingness. It was born to be destroyed. How sad, how ridiculous..."
In the city of Thebes, among the lambs huddled behind the high walls, a touch of lazy banter with a slightly nasal tone echoed among the crowd.
The sadness of being a weak person, the pain of separation from relatives and friends, the powerlessness of birth, aging, sickness and death... all these misfortunes and resentments grow in people's hearts.
In this atmosphere of despair and tragedy, the goddess with red hair and a pair of black wings fluttering behind her seemed to be walking in a field of poppies, lifting her skirt from the crowd and moving forward gracefully. She seemed to be enjoying the smell of strife, chaos, and blood in the air between breaths.
This was once the holy place of Harmonia, the goddess of harmony. Now harmony no longer exists, only panic prevails.
"Pray for mercy! Speak out your fear!"
The figure who had the appearance of a goddess but carried out the words and deeds of a devil, stepped barefoot on the head of a statue in the temple with a blasphemous attitude, overlooking the clumps of grass in the city, and said,
"It's time to drown in this endless sea of suffering!"
In an instant, the blasphemer's alluring lips raised up an evil arc, and his malicious eyes looked down disdainfully. Countless wisps of blood-red mist floated up from corpses, ruins, and living people.
Suddenly, a cold and evil feeling of oppression spread out, like a surging red and black blood mist of raging magma, gathering and dispersing, hanging in the sky.
From the embryo-shaped blood clot in the center, sinister and cruel eyes squeezed out, looking at the shivering lambs in the city. Deformed arms stretched out from the blood mist, waving everywhere. The malice, turmoil and anxiety that penetrated into the soul almost suffocated people.
"Come, welcome you...the only salvation!"
The goddess of discord Eris murmured teasingly, with a wicked smile on her pretty face. She raised her slender white fingertips high in the air, and the overwhelming scarlet blood mist was about to pour down like boiling magma!
Tired of playing with those ugly monsters in the primordial ocean, she wants to plan an interesting dispute in this city-state where she has failed to provoke trouble several times, in the holy land of her old rival, the goddess of harmony, Harmonia.
Faced with the malice from the gods, the weak and helpless lambs trembled with despair in their eyes.
“Buzz!”
At this moment, a majestic and obscure sound came from the statue under Eris' feet. The golden holy flame burned fiercely like a furnace fire, burning the blood mist of disputes, bringing the evil goddess heart-wrenching pain, penetrating the flesh and blood, and hitting the soul.
“Ouch!”
Eris screamed, and when she sensed that familiar aura, she was immediately filled with grief and anger.
"You again!"
In response to her, there was a shadow of an arm in the sky holding a golden cup and pouring it out.
The scarlet, sweet wine poured down, and the blood mist gathered in the city of Thebes dissipated.
Immediately, emerald green grape vines grew wildly on the ground; bunches of purple-red grapes burst open, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of wine.
It makes people intoxicated and peaceful.
But on the contrary, for Eris, the wine in the golden cup was like poison, like every drop of sulfuric acid spilled on her body, causing a heart-wrenching burning sensation.
Soon, the goddess of dispute, whose body was covered with bruises, fled in the pouring wine, saying something cruel and angrily.
"Just wait, this isn't over yet!"
An, are you safe?
The Thebans who survived the catastrophe looked at the statue in the temple in confusion and found that the figure was quite strange, surrounded by the heads of various animals: goats, giant whales, bulls, wild boars, white horses, eagles...
He has horns on his head, his hands are wrapped in vines, and his feet are shaped like a goat's hind legs.
In a trance, they remembered the name of this god.
——The Lord of Joy, the God of Wine Dionysus.
He had been blamed and expelled from this land, but he still responded to prayers with mercy, bestowed blessings on the living, and saved the weak lambs from harm.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
Almost at the same time, clusters of flames like furnace fires ignited in front of the altars dedicated to the statues of Dionysus in various city-states. The golden halo turned into an indestructible barrier, blocking the monsters from the mountains, the huge waves from the sea, and the storm from the sky, allowing the frightened lambs to breathe.
But the catastrophe in the sky continued, the wrath of the gods had not ceased, and a strong sense of uneasiness still weighed on their hearts.
Praying became the only thing they could do.
Lord who holds the reins of joy, please once again have mercy on this troubled world and grant us a land of peace and joy.
The helpless lambs knelt together and prayed together.
The voice of one person is the voice of thousands of people.
The ancient words of consecration echoed among the crowd.
"The King we serve,
May your name be sanctified.
May your kingdom come,
May your will be done on earth,
As if walking in heaven.
Our daily bread,
Give it to us today.
Our joyous wine,
Feast us today;
And do not bring the world into temptation,
Save them from evil.
May splendor, joy, and feasting be with you;
God’s wisdom, God’s power, and God’s love are with you;
The kingdom, power, and glory all belong to you.
—From eternity past, till now, and forever and ever!"
The weak ones who yearn for redemption, illuminated by the fire on the altar, use their bodies as fuel, gather the flames into light, and gather together to the top of the Ares Mountain, illuminating the dark night.
On the square, the Lord of Joy, holding a golden cup, bathed in the golden torrent of faith and listened to countless prayers in his ears.
His divine career and status are established by people's faith.
At this moment, it is finally time to pay back the debt.
Loen smiled and drank the remaining wine in the golden holy grail.
Steps paved with starlight spread out beneath his feet, leading straight to the turbulent holy Mount Olympus.
At the call of the Lambs and under the gaze of the gods of Mount Ares, the Lord who brings joy and peace to the world stood up and resolutely rushed to the final battlefield.
——People in the world use their bodies as fuel to gather flames into light and light the fire for me;
——Then, I will build a new paradise here!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
