Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 351: The Perishable Hero

After the hero defeated the god of war, he came to Lake Stymphalus, where powerful man-eating birds swarmed in droves, and the entire lake was filled with corpses and blood, which was extremely terrifying.

He tried to catch up with those strange birds, but every time the hero got close, the strange birds would fly up and shoot their iron-hard feathers like sharp arrows, forcing the hero to dodge in embarrassment.

Strange birds circled in the sky, mocking the great heroes and the mortals on the earth.

Even a great hero who could defeat the God of War could not help but worry. At this time, Athena appeared.

"Alcides, it looks like you're in trouble."

A beautiful goddess in military armor appeared out of nowhere behind the hero and smiled.

The surprised hero turned around and saw Athena's face showing surprise, then he bowed.

"Athena, I salute you."

Athena had helped him several times since he was born and even over the years. The great hero was proud and conceited, but he would never be ungrateful to those who had helped him.

"You and Ares had a fight. You dug out one of his eyes and left him in a state of disgrace. Ares is very angry now."

Athena said seriously.

The news of the war between men and gods spread quickly throughout Mount Olympus. Some gods were surprised at the fighting ability of the great hero, while others gloated over Ares' miserable condition.

As for Athena? She didn't have any feelings for Ares.

Although Ares is her elder brother in terms of birth order, the relationship between the two is more like that of siblings and enemies (one-sided). Athena looks at her brother like a naughty child.

"So what? He still wants to take revenge on me?"

The hero curled his lips.

Athena replied.

"Ares is proud and would not do that, but he has a strong desire to win, and he will seek revenge on you sooner or later."

"There is nothing more to discuss between me and the God of War. Even if he wants to retaliate against me, I will accept it. At the moment, I am only thinking about how to kill those strange birds."

As he said this, the hero turned around and looked at the lake full of corpses with a frown.

Athena smiled.

"It really fits your personality, but Alcides, I'm here to help you this time."

As she spoke, two gongs and drums appeared in Athena's hands, and then she said to the great hero.

"If these two gongs and drums are struck once, the sound will be as loud as thunder, enough to scare these strange birds away."

The great hero accepted the pair of gongs and drums with great joy.

As the goddess said, with just a slight collision, the sound was like thunder. The strange birds in the sky fell like rain amidst the wailing sounds, and then the great hero killed them all effortlessly.

After killing all the strange birds, the hero wanted to thank the goddess, but the goddess had already disappeared. Feeling regretful, the hero carried many strange birds on his back and embarked on a journey home.

And in a place that mortals cannot see, the serpent goddess is accompanied by the goddess of wisdom, watching the great hero going away.

"Athena, are you very fond of Alcides?"

The serpent goddess named Mona asked.

Athena, dressed in military uniform, smiled and said meaningfully.

"Don't you think he has a very special quality? Um... the quality that your father fears the most."

"Athena."

Mona frowned and emphasized her tone.

Long ago, this serpent goddess was granted immortality by her father and became an immortal corpse, but in return, she was deprived of her emotions.

Therefore, she always spoke calmly, but her tone would fluctuate only on very few things.

Athena smiled, then looked in the direction where the hero was going away and nodded.

"But you are right, I like this child very much."

"Can a goddess who doesn't know love also fall in love?"

Mona inquired.

Athena shook her head in denial.

"It's not love, but... respect. I've been with these heroes, and I've been friends with them. I can feel that there's something very special about them, a quality that even the gods don't have, and probably won't have."

"what do you mean?"

Athena smiled and reached out her hand, holding a scattered petal between her slender fingers.

The mighty goddess in military uniform lowered her head and looked at the petals at her fingertips, revealing a gentle and quiet beauty at this moment.

"Mona, these heroes are not as powerful as the gods. Unlike the gods, the gods are immortal, everlasting and youthful. But for these mortals, there are many things in this world that can hurt them." "They can get hurt, grow old, and die. They can die from a cup of poisoned wine, from illness and weakness, from the tusks of wild boars, from the claws of lions, from drowning in rivers, from falling off city walls, etc...."

Looking at the beautiful but ephemeral petal in her hand, the goddess' fingers dropped, and the petal floated down and fell into the mud.

"But because of this, these short-lived mortals actively try to grasp everything, wanting to make the greatest achievements in their limited lives and create their own legends."

"Mona, this kind of willpower is not possessed by the gods. Perhaps... this is exactly the quality that your father fears."

Athena expressed her own feelings.

Among all the gods, Athena is closest to mortal heroes and often helps them in times of crisis. Therefore, she is honored by mortals as the "Friend of Heroes".

During this long contact, Athena realized something that the other gods would not understand, the reason why those heroes were called heroes.

Those heroes have different personalities, some are good and some are evil, but they are all trying to do things that ordinary people cannot do. They drive away wild beasts, defeat dragons, climb to unreachable peaks, conquer vast territories, and create stories that are passed down by the world...

A mortal with a lifespan of less than a hundred years eventually accomplished many things that the immortal gods failed to do, so people respect them as heroes.

"Immortal gods and mortal heroes?"

Mona just commented on this.

"maybe."

Athena said casually.

Then she looked into the distance and suddenly said something.

"But maybe soon, we will have an immortal hero? Who knows?"

Then, the goddess in military uniform disappeared from the spot, and Mona thought for a moment and then disappeared as well.

The path to becoming a hero is not that easy.

……

Far away on the sacred mountain, Ares's painful wails broke the Queen's heart.

"Ares, my child, who is causing you this pain?"

The one-eyed god of war covered his injured eye and stumbled back to the sacred mountain. His voice was painful and low, like a wounded lion.

After asking questions, the Queen Mother quickly came to see her child accompanied by many maids.

In the face of the Queen's concern, Ares angrily pushed his mother away and shouted.

"That mortal, that damned bastard! I'm going to kill him! I must kill him...ah, my eyes."

The eye socket of the missing eye was filled with golden blood. The god of war, in unbearable pain, banged his head against the ground, shaking the mountain. The huge noise startled the gods and they all asked what happened. They thought that the giants from the underworld had attacked the mountain.

If it was an ordinary wound, it would not be worth mentioning to the gods, because they would not be injured, and even if they were injured, it was just an illusion of incarnation, and the real body of the gods would not change, otherwise Hephaestus, the god of fire, would not have to drag his lame leg all the time.

But it is not the same when the body of the god is damaged. The god of war's eye has been gouged out, and that means it has been really gouged out. Unless he can find his eye again in the wilderness, he will always have to live with one eye.

"That mortal? That Alcides?"

The surprised diva immediately realized what was happening and asked quickly.

Ares covered his aching eyes and gasped.

"Yes, my mother, your Hercules, your glory."

Hercules is the glory of Hera.

At that time, Hera did not recognize the true identity of the child in the wilderness. Out of mercy, she gave him the glorious name of Hera. The name promised by the gods has its own special magic, and this name is destined for this child to achieve great achievements in the future.

But the world is so outrageous, the child turned out to be Zeus's illegitimate child, and Hera personally gave the child born by her husband's affair the name of glory...

Over the years, Hera has never forgotten this great humiliation.

She drove the great hero mad and killed his wife and children, and then made him atone for his mistakes by having him do hard labor under the command of a mortal king, which only slightly eased his unhappiness.

But now, this illegitimate child has become the enemy of his most beloved child and even dug out his eyes?
"My poor child, I will not let you be humiliated like this. I will help you get revenge."

Holding her child's head and kissing his hair, Queen Hera comforted him softly. Ares, who was angry because of the injury, finally calmed down in front of his mother.

As for Ares' missing eye, Queen Hera simply covered his eye socket with her palm, and soon, Ares felt no more pain.

When the Queen withdrew her hand, Ares was surprised to find that his eyes had grown back.

The Queen of Heaven rarely displays her divine power, but that doesn't mean she is weak, it's just that there is no need.

"Mother, I want to kill that mortal."

Ares gritted his teeth.

Queen Hera looked at Ares and nodded slowly.

"it is good."