Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1791 1763. Minotaur Guide
"The Minotaur."

Lan murmured about the figures carved on the large statue.

The famous Minotaur in Greek mythology.

The cattle on the island of Crete seem to be very famous, not only the half-man, half-bull Minotaur, but also the Cretan bull that appears in the legend of Hercules, and so on.

If we follow the normal world line, that is, Lan En’s hometown world.

The origin and development of this worship of cattle can be traced at the social level.

Because Crete is one of the few large islands in the Aegean Sea with a fragmented and scattered terrain, it can carry out agricultural industries that small islands are unable to afford.

In the Mediterranean trade, grain from Egypt has always been an important source of food for the Greek world, and there is even an area on the island of Crete called Little Egypt.

In order to develop the farming industry, oxen as animal power are inevitable. They have a higher status and are more important in Crete than in many other Greek city-states.

From this developed a cult of the power of bulls, and this cult and awe was distorted into legends of monsters.

But in this world with the first civilization, the Isu civilization, which looks ancient but is actually science fiction, Lan En is a little unsure.

- Was it the natural trend of social production and development that led to the Crete's worship of the power of cattle, or... was it true that some unusual "cows" appeared here long ago, and then the power worship was based on this?

Without investigation, it is impossible to be sure. But Lan En has prepared himself mentally for this.

Even if the special artifact Pythagoras mentioned really involved the Minotaur in mythology, he would not be surprised.

The witcher has just arrived in Crete and is unfamiliar with the place.

If you want to get more extensive information, these days you can only blend in with the crowd.

So after seeing the more than 20-meter-high Minotaur statue, Lan En did not stop and entered the seaside port like a lone traveler.

Like most Greek ports, fishing boats were unloading their catches after sailing, and locals and foreigners were coming and going in the port, bargaining.

Lan En passed by a drying pole where a large octopus that had been cut into pieces was hanging. Its tentacles and head were limp, and even its instinctive curling and twisting had stopped.

The smell of the sea gradually became stronger.

Lan En's attire caused him to be noticed by only a few fishermen drying their catch at the outskirts of the port. But after entering the port, he blended smoothly into the crowd.

In the harbor of Pefka, stalls were set up everywhere, with wooden sticks and a piece of linen cloth as shade. In the stalls were many wicker baskets or pottery pots.

This kind of scene can be seen everywhere in Greek city-states. The only difference is that the patterns surrounding the pottery jars and pots here are not the common farmers, wise men or warriors, but mostly minotaurs and cows.

The crowd was noisy and the beach was much cooler than the island, but even in the shade and sea breeze, the stall owners under the linen sheds were still sweating profusely under their sun-tanned skin under their Greek skirts.

Because they are shouting their products hard, everyone wants their voice to be louder than all the others in order to attract attention and traffic.

In addition, the number of soldiers, mercenaries...anyone who makes a living by using force, in this seaport seems to be higher than that of ordinary seaports.

This makes the witcher's size seem like a natural fit and not surprising.

Lann walked through the crowd and used a few drachmas to buy a few oysters and clams, which he pried open and ate fresh, just like everyone else in the harbor.

It was as if he was the one living in this kind of environment.

And a lot of information was collected in the [Ear of Lehman].

"Look at this! I said this big statue was worth erecting! How many warriors have been attracted to the Minotaur!"

"Warriors? Well, of course he who dares to challenge the Minotaur is a warrior, but only he who comes to spend money here is a good warrior."

"Come on, the more you come, the more we earn."

The vendors shouted at each other in a loud voice, but when they got tired and took a break, they were not at loggerheads with each other. Instead, they would exchange a few polite words to pass the time.

But Lan En could sense something was amiss.

After all, using gimmicks to attract investment has always been a path for business development. Few people would be unhappy about attracting outsiders to consume locally.

Not to mention the harbor vendors who can make money in the most direct way.

They should be the most supportive group of people.

However, after Lan En listened carefully to the tone of these people with his [Lyman's Ear], he felt that although these people said "earning a lot", their tone was not happy or motivated.

On the contrary, it seems like he is using a joking tone to make sarcastic comments about something that has nothing to do with him.

Lan walked past a palm tree amid the smell of the sea and the sweat of the crowd under the scorching sun. In the shadow cast by the palm tree, a burst of energetic shouts spread far away.

"Minotaur Tour! Take the Minotaur Tour here! Warriors, if you want to defeat your enemy, you must first understand your enemy! Come here and learn the Minotaur's most annoying tricks, and kill the beast!"

The witcher turned around and saw a little boy of about eleven or twelve years old, wearing simple linen clothes and shouting around.

He was dark and thin, and if it weren't for the shaved head, Lan En thought he looked a bit like the first time he met Fubai.

"Order your tour now!" the boy continued to promote immersively, "lest your head be moved and the Minotaur taunt you beside your corpse! This tour will make the Minotaur feel that it is worth the money!"

Lan En sucked the meat out of the last clam shell in his hand, threw the shell away, and crossed his arms to see if he could get some information from this soliciting brat.

After all, people often say: When you are out and about and meet children, women, or elderly people who can take care of themselves, don't look down on them.

In the conventional sense, those disadvantaged groups who can make it to the top are basically capable under the survivor bias.

Besides, this little brat looks like a local bully.

But Lan En was looking at others, and they were actually also looking for clients.

"Hey! That warrior!" The child pointed at Lan in the crowd of onlookers, "Welcome to Pefka! This is the birthplace of the Minotaur! Here we also have our world-famous Minotaur skirts!"

Lan En looked around and pointed at himself questioningly, receiving an affirmative nod from the other party.

"My name is Arsenios, warrior! If you want to know how to defeat the Minotaur and become the greatest hero in the Greek world, this tour is for you!"

"Really?" Lan En looked around at the crowd and showed interest. "You are very confident? But even if you are a local, how old are you? Do you dare to claim to know the Minotaur?"

Lan's well-timed provocation worked.

"Me? I'm a genuine Pephkan!" The dark-skinned kid with thick eyebrows and big eyes waved his hands. "We Pephkans are born knowing the Minotaur!"

"Then it's okay for me to follow you and listen." Lan En pointed to several short skirts hanging on the trunk of the palm tree behind him, "But aren't you afraid that someone will take away your 'World-Famous Minotaur Skirt'?"

"Who would take this?" The boy who received the business hurried towards the customer, "These are all Minotaur's!"

As expected of a small businessman who has carved out a niche for himself in the Harbor Market, he does things very efficiently.

After agreeing on the business, he immediately took Lan En to start the tour.

"Do you see that statue?" Arsenios led Lan along the way, pointing to the twenty-meter-tall minotaur statue. "That's what the Minotaur looks like! It's a terrifying enemy, isn't it?"

“So don’t forget the exclusive insider information on our tour!”

The little boy lowered his voice, as if he was about to tell a secret.

"The Minotaur doesn't like being poked! Especially by sharp objects. Everyone says that's his only weakness!"

But this storyteller's trick of keeping people in suspense had no effect on Lan En.

"But I'm thinking," the demon hunter complained expressionlessly as he followed the child, "no creature with flesh and blood seems to like being stabbed by a knife, right? Are you sure this is his unique weakness?"

"Uh..." The little boy was stuck, but he acted as if nothing had happened, "Yes! He is particularly afraid of this! Yeah!"

Following Arsenios's lead, the two of them walked out of the harbor market and onto a loess road.

In front of him was a stone sculpture of the upper body of a Minotaur lying on the ground on the side of the road. The little boy ran over as if he had seen a savior who could change the subject.

"Look! This is a complete replica of the Minotaur!"

There were stonemasons and workers hammering and pounding around the statue, and it was obvious that it was either being repaired or had not been completed yet.

"Complete copy?" Lan En turned around and looked at the statue with only the upper body left.

The words were not finished, but the meaning of the question was clear.

"Its lower body is on the hill." Arsenios was a little smart, and he immediately tried to justify his previous statement. "Something went wrong when the workers were moving it, causing it to roll down first, and the bull's horns tore the two unfortunate guys in half!"

The demon hunter couldn't help but gasp, not because of the story, but because the little devil in front of him not only filled the loopholes in his own story, but also added to the horror of the Minotaur.

Speaking as a tour guide, I would say this guy is truly a talent.

Lan nodded. "It sounds like the minotaur statue is deadly."

(End of this chapter)