Type-Moon, there are too many myths that defy the heavens!

You are so rude to Artemis and Athena, but I am the one who is in trouble!

The most important thing is that Ash didn't dare to scold Persephone like he scolded Hades before, because he was absolutely sure that even if he really scolded Persephone, she would definitely act like a good girl and apologize honestly, and then cause additional damage to the two goddesses with outstanding effects!

Ash quickly returned to the topic and asked the two goddesses, "Sister Artemis and Sister Athena, where should I begin my journey to becoming a hero?"

"Why don't you ask me, Ash?" Persephone grew anxious when she saw her beloved lover trying to please her sisters. "I'm also keeping an eye on the human world and can show you the way!"

Ash ignored Persephone and instead waited silently for the goddesses' response.

Seeing that Persephone was visibly anxious, the two goddesses' anger suddenly subsided and they smiled again.

"Don't you want to be a hero who protects heroes?" Athena said with a smile, "Go to Thebes. There are heroes there who you need to save."

"Thebes..." Ash thought for a moment and asked, "Excuse me, Sister Athena, are you talking about Thebes?"

In Greek mythology, although Thebes is not as famous as Athens, Sparta and Troy, it is also a city-state with a very advantageous geographical location and a particularly developed spiritual culture.

"That's right." Athena smiled and continued, "You might as well guess who you are going to save."

Faced with Athena's question, Ash immediately began to think.

In this era, Hercules has just completed the trial of killing the Nemean Lion, Jason's story has not yet begun, and Type-Moon Theseus seems to be a few years younger than Hercules... The tragedy that will happen in Thebes during this period is... Oh my god!

Ash deduced the answer to Athena's riddle, but was hesitant to reveal it.

Because the hero's life was so tragic, so tragic that it ranked among the most tragic in the world, even in the Greek mythology famous for its tragedy, it ranked among the top three, and could even compete for the first place.

"Lady Athena, the hero you're talking about is..." Ash hesitated for a long time before confirming, "Oedipus, who was cursed by his father's victim to kill his father and marry his mother because of his father's heinous crime?"

"Yes, you are right."

"To prevent the prophecy from coming true and avoid the accusation of filicide, his evil father abandoned him in the valley as a child, leaving him to die naturally," Athena explained. "However, he was adopted by the childless King and Queen of Corinth, who raised him to be a wise, brave, and well-behaved child."

"Now, Oedipus, who was unaware of his true origins, has grown up and has learned the prophecy he bears."

"He was kind-hearted and chose to exile himself to the neighboring country of Thebes in order to prevent the prophecy from coming true."

"The prophecy Oedipus bears is witnessed by the Father God and the Queen of Heaven." At this, Athena revealed a solemn expression. "What do you think? Are you willing to overcome all difficulties and change this tragedy?"

I think, a task of this difficulty is not something I can take on as a fresh debutant, right?

Although Ash complained in his heart, he did not really back down.

"I'm going to Thebes," Archimedes said solemnly, "The sins committed by Oedipus' father shouldn't be borne by a child abandoned since birth."

"Very good, very courageous!" Athena said with great satisfaction. "As a reward, I allow you to call on me for help whenever you encounter a problem you can't solve in the future."

Artemis followed with a smile on her face, "And me, I want to help Ash too!"

"Since Artemis wants to help, let's send Ash to Thebes." Seeing that Artemis was also ready to help, Athena immediately made arrangements. "There, he can complete the task as quickly as possible."

"Okay, okay." Artemis picked up Ash without saying anything, "Let's go now!"

"Sister Artemis, what are you doing?" Faced with Artemis's sudden childish behavior, Ash said a little embarrassedly, "I'm not a child anymore, there's no need to hug me like that!"

"What did you say?" Artemis said with a smile as she took Ash into the sky. "The wind was so loud, I couldn't hear it!"

In this way, Artemis turned into a gust of wind and carried him across the Aegean Sea to the city of Thebes.

As soon as Ash landed, he found himself on a cliff, and the only passage on the cliff was occupied by a monster with a sphinx's body and a human face, about five meters tall.

Oh, isn’t this the Sphinx, one of the most famous monsters in Greek mythology, famous for its puzzles?

I still remember that mystery about human beings!

Ash couldn't help but feel excited when he saw this monster that was famous in mythology but had never been seen before.

However, after seeing Ash clearly, the Sphinx showed a different expression.

The expression was so vivid and the eyes were so vivid, as if he was an unlucky private who had received an abstract order from his superior and had to go to the minefield to clear mines, and just happened to step on a mine.

Its hesitant expression seemed to be saying: Goo, kill me!

That's right, the monster, known for its wisdom, had already detected the strong divine aura on Ash as soon as they met, and accurately analyzed the origin of this divine aura.

This beautiful goddess exudes the aura of gods including...Aphrodite, Persephone, Hades, Demeter, Artemis and Athena!

Maya, wasn't the mission I received from Hera to bring disaster to the small country of Thebes? How come I encountered such a terrifying hero?

When Sphinx thought of Ash's profound background, tears of blood flowed in his heart.

"Beautiful hero," the sphinx turned over, revealing its soft belly in surrender. "If you still have mercy, please give me a quick death!"

"I promise I won't resist. Please don't torture me!"

Oh shit, why is this Sphinx stressed?

Am I that scary?

Faced with the Sphinx's flag-raising speed that was comparable to that of the Parisians, Ash couldn't hold back.

Chapter 26: Ding, you have accepted the main task assigned by the Queen

No, buddy, why do you look at me like a ghost?

Faced with Sphinx's bad behavior, Ash really couldn't hold it anymore.

You know, Oedipus' tragedy and the Sphinx's evil deeds all originated from Oedipus's beastly father Laius.

When his father, Laius, lost his inheritance to Thebes, Pelops, the hero who founded the Olympian Games, gave him shelter and made him a tutor to his son, Chrysippus. However, the beast, far from being grateful for Pelops's kindness, instead forgot his loyalty and became obsessed with the beautiful young man, Chrysippus. He defiled his benefactor's child and even attempted to lure him back to Thebes to commit further crimes, ultimately leading to his death.

Its series of crimes violated the "rules of hospitality" set by Zeus (hosts and guests should get along in a friendly manner) and the marriage law guarded by Hera. It can be said to be the beast among beasts, and even if it dies a thousand times, it will be difficult to atone for its sins.

It was because of this serious crime that Pelops, who was suffering from the pain of losing his son, cursed it to die at the hands of its son, and this curse was approved by Zeus and Hera.

It was precisely because the city of Thebes accepted this beast and made it king that Hera was furious and sent the Sphinx to punish the city of Thebes.

Therefore, no matter what, this Sphinx is a monster endorsed by Hera or even Zeus, and is a monster with a legal license.

In other words, even if Ash could defeat the Sphinx, he could not kill this monster backed by Zeus and Hera for no reason.

That's why Ash felt uncomfortable with Sphinx's tanking behavior.

Aren’t you Typhon’s child? Show some of your father’s domineering spirit as he fought against Greece alone and attack me!

Not to mention jumping on me or biting me, at least you can yell at me and scare me.

Give me a reason to deal with you!

Unfortunately, the Sphinx could not hear Ash's thoughts, nor would it act according to his ideas, which forced him to find another way to deal with the Sphinx in a different way.

"Sphinx." Ash looked at the sphinx begging for mercy with a speechless face. "I am not here to kill you, but to save you and the people of Thebes."

"I know you are carrying out the gods' orders and cannot stop harming Thebes. I won't blame you for this, but I cannot tolerate your continued evil deeds."

"So... let's make a pact."

Ash looked at the Sphinx and said seriously, "You ask me a question. If I can't answer it, I will leave. But if I can answer it..."

The Sphinx asked hopefully, "Are you going to give me a quick death?"

No, buddy, have you been given a death-seeking cheat? Do you want to die so much?

Ash complained in his mind about the Sphinx's death-seeking behavior, and then said, "If my answer is correct, I want you to leave Thebes and never do evil again."

"Ah this..."

Seeing that this super monster with the aura of six gods was actually willing to reason with him, Sphinx immediately revealed a very human and conflicted expression.

If I don't agree to the hero's conditions, I will most likely be punished by the six gods, but if I agree to his conditions, then I won't be able to report to Her Majesty Hera...

The Sphinx was suddenly filled with sadness when he thought that no matter what choice he made, he would offend the gods.

No, I have to find a way to save myself!

The Sphinx, famous for its wisdom, thought for a long time and finally came up with a solution.

The Sphinx stood up as if nothing had happened and said with a serious face, "Hero, I know that you have a heart as beautiful as your appearance, and I also know that you have good intentions. If your wisdom surpasses mine, I will abide by the agreement and give up doing evil."

"But you should also know that even without me, the city of Thebes, which has committed crimes without realizing it, is still a popular hunting ground for monsters like us."

"Therefore, I implore you to be prepared for the consequences of your actions," the Sphinx said. "If you are prepared, then accept my test!"

Good man, you took the initiative to set the tone for the disaster in Thebes, and put the blame for the evil on the monster. This is not only failing to live up to Hera's orders, but also taking the blame for Hera!

Ash looked at the Sphinx's behavior and couldn't help but call him an expert: no matter how nice the Sphinx's words were, it "actually" agreed to the rules set by Ash without Hera's consent, and it could be said that it was taking the blame for both sides at the same time.

It would be a shame to kill such a capable monster!

however.

Ash would soon be troubled by the Sphinx's remarkable wisdom.

"This is the promise I made, so I should be aware of it," Ash said. "Sphinx, please bring out your puzzle."

The Sphinx sat upright and said solemnly: "Then please listen to the question——"

"There is a thing that was not born from the earth or the sea, and it does not grow like mortal bodies. It is the largest when it is first planted and born, but it becomes smaller in its middle age and then becomes larger than anything else in its old age."

"Excuse me, what is this thing?"

?

? ?

???

Ash was dumbfounded by Sphinx's sudden change of topic.

I am testing the Bull Demon, where are my human questions?

You can't even answer a human question like "four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening", and you still have the nerve to call yourself a Sphinx?

It's no wonder that Ash was confused. You know, in addition to its shape of a lion's body and a human face, the Sphinx is most famous for the puzzle that symbolizes human thinking about itself.

This Sphinx can't answer human questions, just like there is no Jerusalem in the West, no Tifa and 3B in the 2D area, and no thunder and fire swords in the shooting animation. This is purely against the underlying logic!

The most important thing is that the difficulty of the puzzles posed by the Sphinx is not as high as that of human puzzles, but at least it is not far behind.

Faced with a puzzle of this level, Ash really couldn't think of the answer in a short time.

In this regard, Ash's super wisdom gave his own suggestion - let's rely on super power to solve the problem!

Of course, Ash didn't listen to the super intelligence's instructions.

If you really have to use super powers to solve the problem, it would be extremely embarrassing!

Therefore, Ash could only rack his brains and think for a long time.

Faced with Ash's long deliberation, Sphinx was sweating profusely.

The reason why it didn't ask a human question was because this question was too difficult, so difficult that no one in the entire city of Thebes could answer it. This forced it to lower the difficulty and ask this question that was easier for the hero in front of it to answer.

But looking at the current situation, Sphinx suddenly realized that the question he asked... didn't seem to be very good?

No, no, right?

My future boss, can you not answer this question of mine?

Or... is it that... my question has confused the boss?

The question I asked...will the boss solve it by force, right?

"Uh...isn't this question too common?" The thought of this prompted Sphinx, driven by a strong desire to survive, to whisper, "...how about I try something a little more 'difficult'?"

Faced with the Sphinx's voice transmission, Ash could no longer hold back.

Not a buddy?

Aren't you saying that I can't answer it by suddenly changing the topic?

He? Damn, you look down on me too much!

Just wait for me, I won’t ask for any help from outsiders for this question today, I’ll do it myself!

Under the stimulation of the Sphinx, Ash gathered his strength, regained the mentality of a test-taker before the time travel, and began to solve the problem seriously.

Since the stem of the Sphinx question is similar to that of the human question, the idea behind this question should also be the same as that of the human question, with certain metaphors added to the description.

Since a metaphor is added, do the "birth", "middle age" and "old age" in this question correspond exactly to the "morning", "noon" and "evening" in the human question?

If that's the case... then what would become bigger in the morning, smaller at noon, and bigger than anything else in the evening...

Thinking of this, Ash lowered his head and found the answer in the Sphinx's surprised expression.

"The answer is shadow."