Chapter 4 "Love and Devotion" Family (4k)
Olympus means "the place of light". In the Greek world of the gods, this holy mountain is the residence of the gods. The Olympian gods who control the world's power, the subordinate demigods of various systems, and a large number of nymphs and Titans all live here.
However, the holy mountain that was once sunny, prosperous and bustling was now shrouded in a sky full of cold and gloomy lightning, revealing a depression that penetrated deep into the bone marrow.
The nymphs in the mountain streams and swamps and the gods and monsters in the deep valleys and dense forests felt the fear from their souls, and they all crawled in dark corners and caves, trembling.
“Boom——!”
Several purple-red thunderbolts exploded in the lead-gray clouds, bursting out with dazzling light in an instant, and then illuminating the empty temple, reflecting twelve towering figures.
"So, what is the big deal that made you light the holy fire and urgently summon me?"
The King of Olympus, who sat on the central throne, opened his purple eyes, a gloomy look flashed across his face, and he looked dimly at the gods standing on both sides of the hall.
Under the majestic scrutiny of Zeus, the muscular young man wearing bronze armor, an eagle helmet, and surrounded by blood, could not wait to step forward and report loudly.
"Father God, while you were enjoying yourself in the lower world, the remnants of Mount Othrys came to cause trouble!"
The high-pitched voice resounded throughout the entire temple and was clearly heard by every main god. Zeus noticed the subtle gazes around him and could not help but twitching his eyes slightly. He wished he could strangle this legitimate son to death.
Ares, the god of war, the son of Ares and Hera, the queen of heaven, is famous throughout Olympus for his violent temper and reckless behavior.
Otherwise, why would you bring up such irrelevant things in public?
While Zeus was secretly gritting his teeth, he glanced at his legal wife on the right - Queen Hera.
Hera, the goddess of marriage and fertility, sat on a golden throne. Her beautiful curly hair flowed out from under her crown. She had a dignified and serene look on her face. Her slender arms, as white as lilies, were draped on both sides. Her drooping eyelids blocked a few rays of light in her eyes. Her expression was still as calm as water, as if she heard nothing.
Seeing that his wife beside him was normal, Zeus calmed himself down, refocused his gaze on his legitimate son Ares with a gloomy face, and spoke in a cold voice.
"How many Titans are there on Mount Othrys? Can't we just send away the troublemakers? Do I have to deal with such a small matter myself?"
Mount Otelys has a similar meaning to Mount Olympus, and was once the common residence of the twelve Titans.
But Mount Oetrys had long lost its former glory since a thousand years ago when he joined forces with a large group of brothers, sisters and uncles to overthrow the rule of his old father Kronos and threw him and his followers into the hell of Tartarus.
Faced with the powerful rise of the Olympian gods, even if there are still some Titans on Mount Otyre who are unwilling to submit, they are just small fish and shrimps and can hardly cause any waves.
Just for this so-called provocation, you want me, the King of Gods, to do it myself. Are you, the God of War who is responsible for guarding Olympus, just a decoration?
Zeus looked at his legitimate son, who possessed the power of war, mutiny, battlefield, blood, destruction, etc., and his eyes became increasingly unfriendly.
Noticing his father's gaze, Ares couldn't help but straighten his chest, a hint of pride showing on his handsome face.
"We have already dealt with those Titans that were entangled in front of the door. There is no need to trouble Father God."
When Zeus heard this, his expression eased a little and the unhappiness in his heart was reduced a little.
This useless son finally did something useful.
But now that the matter has been resolved, why summon me again?
The God King, who still had doubts in his heart, frowned and signaled Ares to get to the point.
The god of war Ares coughed, stopped boasting and got down to business.
"The leader of the rebellious Titans is called 'Atlas'. Although we have captured him, we have a big disagreement on how to deal with him. I'm afraid it will be up to you to decide."
Atlas?
Zeus thought for a moment and spent a lot of effort to find the identity of this "chief culprit" from the complicated and messy genealogy of the Age of Gods in his mind.
——Among the twelve Titans, the son of Iapatos, the Titan of Soul and Wisdom, and the "Titan that Holds the Sky" famous for his bravery.
In addition, he has two more famous brothers.
——【The prophet】Prometheus, and 【The latecomer】Epimetheus.
One of them was imprisoned in the Caucasus Mountains and tortured day and night for stealing the sacred fire; the other died in the world-destroying flood along with the group of old humans for blasphemy.
Is it revenge for his father? Or is it resistance for his brother? Or is it just plain disobedience?
A sneer appeared at the corner of Zeus' tightly pursed lips, and the look in his eyes became even darker.
"What a restless family."
"Father God, that's right! All these stubborn rebels should be put to death! Kill one to warn the rest! Only in this way can those mixed-blood bastards out there know the majesty of our Olympus!"
When Ares heard his father's unhappy tone, he immediately put forward his own opinions with great joy, and a strong smell of blood and cruelty permeated his words and actions.
The main gods in the hall all frowned and looked unfriendly.
Even Zeus himself couldn't help but twitch his face a few times, and a hint of ashen color appeared on his face. He looked at Ares who was dancing with his eyes dimly.
Even the legitimate sons of the Titan of Soul and Wisdom Iapatos, their cousins of the same generation, are bastards, so what are they? The same kind?
What about Olympus? Bastard's Nest?
Sure enough, there was a reason why this idiot was despised by all the gods in Olympus.
"Father, the prosperity of Olympus is inevitable. There is no need to add to the bloodshed because of the provocation of these reckless men. It is better to follow the custom and throw Atlas into Tartarus to show your tolerance."
On the field, Apollo, the god of light and prophecy, stood up with a smile and expressed a different opinion.
This is a male god with a dignified and majestic appearance, handsome and sunny face. There is a poetic temperament in his every move. Under the crown woven of myrtle and water lily branches, his fragrant and slightly floating long hair hangs on his shoulders, elegant and unrestrained, making people can't help but like him. No wonder he is admired by the Muses.
"To be lenient to the enemy is to be cruel to ourselves! This kind of painless punishment will only make those mixed-blood bastards outside think that we Olympus are weak and can be bullied!"
Ares, feeling insulted, snorted angrily, and kept calling "half-blood bastard", causing all the gods in the hall to frown.
Among the twelve main gods, the one who reacted most violently was the messenger god Hermes, who was always tactful and kind to others.
His mother was named Maia, the daughter of the Titan Atlas.
Although in the complex Greek family tree, blood connection does not mean close relationship.
But Ares' words were undoubtedly equivalent to directly pointing at his nose and scolding him.
More than once...
Hermes raised his hand and slightly lowered the felt hat on his head, then spoke with a half-smile.
"I heard that when two armies face off on a battlefield, only the final winner is qualified to punish the loser. Am I mistaken? Or has the world changed?"
Suddenly, Ares, who was dancing, froze all over and his face turned red. Then, the blue veins under his skin twisted and squirmed like thick earthworms, and his expression was both humiliated and manic.
"Hermes, shut up!"
Seeing his legitimate son so angry, Zeus on the throne narrowed his eyes.
Only then did he realize that the bronze armor on Ares was as new as ever, without a single scratch, and it obviously did not look like he had just been through a fierce battle.
But even so, the shiny new armor couldn't hide the bruise on one side of his cheek.
Combined with Hermes' words about yin and yang, it seems that in the duel with Atlas, his legitimate son is obviously the less honorable party.
After all, the mighty Titan, the best among the three generations, is not someone that a young man like Ares can easily control.
An unexpected start, expected result.
Zeus glanced at the furious Hermes's son on the field, wishing he could strangle him to death with his own hands. He shook his head secretly, a hint of disappointment flashed across his eyes.
As a god of war, not only did he lose to his opponent, he didn't even have the courage to admit it. What a waste.
However, Ares was completely unaware of his father's disdain and was only concerned with arguing with his two brothers.
Seeing that Ares was getting angry and even drew his dagger, ready to attack him directly, Hermes, who was not very good at fighting, subconsciously stepped back to avoid the focus.
But Apollo held golden arrows in one hand and a silver bow in the other, and was not afraid of the wrath of his brother, the god of war.
Her sister, Artemis, the goddess of the moon and hunting, intentionally or unintentionally placed her slender fingers on the quiver.
They were the offspring of the protective goddess Leto. When their mother Leto became pregnant, the queen of heaven Hera was very jealous and ordered that the earth be forbidden to provide her with a place to give birth.
Leto wandered around and had nowhere to settle down. Finally, her sister Asteria, the daughter of a shooting star, turned into an island and took her in. This allowed the brother and sister to be born safely.
Therefore, Ares, Hera's half-brother and biological son, has always been at loggerheads with the siblings.
"That's enough! Get back here! I'm not dead yet!"
There was a loud thunder in the sky, and the dull roar was filled with incomparable oppressive force. The gods, who were forming cliques and cursing each other, saw Zeus's livid face and were frightened at the moment, and sat back in their original seats obediently.
But as the gods on the field shut up obediently, the atmosphere fell into silence. Zeus, as the judge, still had a headache facing these two choices.
A thousand years had passed since the war between the gods of Mount Olympus and Mount Otelys, and those old things had been thrown into Tartarus by him early on.
However, due to the Titans' unruly nature, those who escaped the net would always show up every now and then to provoke, making Olympus uneasy.
Zeus was fed up with these ungrateful relatives.
But direct execution was too severe a punishment, and he wondered how the parties who had just been appeased would feel; throwing him into Tartarus was too light a punishment, and he felt somewhat unhappy.
Just as Zeus was frowning and in a dilemma facing the two options, a calm and pleasant voice echoed in the temple.
"Father God, why not send him to the Far West?"
The gods looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the one who made the proposal was a heroic goddess with silver hair, a shawl, a helmet on her head, and a white upper skirt covered with bronze snake armor.
Zeus thought for a moment and his eyes lit up.
"Athena, what you mean is..."
"Since Atlas calls himself the Titan that holds up the sky, let him hold up a corner of the sky, expand and consolidate the divine power of the sky in the chaos of the far west, and serve Olympus for life."
Athena put one hand on her chest and replied with a smile.
Hearing this, Zeus looked at his daughter approvingly and nodded with satisfaction.
As the god king who rules over the sky, the expansion of the sky's domain represents the increase of his domain and authority.
The gods on the field also suddenly realized and were moved.
As the Olympian gods are of the same blood, as the territory of the sky expands, they will also share some of the benefits to a greater or lesser extent.
Zeus glanced across the hall, taking in the expressions of the gods, and then made the final decision.
"In that case, then do as you say, Athena."
Naturally, the gods had no objection to this approach which had only benefits and no harm.
Hearing that his grandfather would not be used as an example, Hermes secretly breathed a sigh of relief and joked with a smile.
"I thought your heroic performance in defeating the enemy on the battlefield was already praised by everyone, but I didn't expect that your martial arts skills pale in comparison to your wisdom. So is it too late to ask the Muses to write new lyrics and compose new music now?"
Looking at Hermes' winking expression, the gods couldn't help but smile.
Even the gloominess on Zeus' face faded a lot. He looked at his son who was livening up the atmosphere on the field and scolded him with a smile.
"Hermes, stop talking nonsense here. You are the fastest. Why don't you get out and escort Atlas to serve his sentence?"
Hermes, who was being ordered around, looked aggrieved on the surface, but he couldn't help but feel secretly happy in his heart.
After all, he is his own grandfather. If he is escorted personally, he will suffer less and he can also give an explanation to his mother Maia.
After watching Hermes happily leave the temple, Zeus's gaze fell on the goddess of wisdom Athena again, and he became more and more satisfied the more he looked.
In terms of bravery, she was able to defeat Atlas and restore the face of Olympus; in terms of wisdom, she was able to balance disputes and propose the best solutions. She is simply a perfect daughter.
only……
Zeus on the throne seemed to be thinking of something, a gloomy look appeared in the depths of his eyes, and then he waved his hand lightly.
"Okay, now that the matter has been resolved, everyone leave."
The gods received the order and dispersed, leaving the scene one after another.
After a moment, the sacred fire representing gathering swayed and danced. In the empty and dark temple, the only remaining Zeus sat alone on the throne, stroking the cold chair back, his eyes flickering faintly in the darkness.
Really, is it just a coincidence?
A sudden feeling of uneasiness made Zeus frown on the throne. He walked out of the temple and disappeared into the thick night.
Thanks to Mr. Salieri, Angelica, E'enohha, Fingertip Naicha, The Ferryman on the Santu River, Chen Xiwu, Ximengyuan and other readers for their rewards, monthly tickets and recommendations, and thank you for your investment in the new book.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
