I really didn't want to burn it.

Chapter 64: They're all thousand-year-old foxes, what kind of ghost story are you trying to pull on me with?

Ying Zheng gave Li Ang a disdainful look: "You're too dirty. As the Grand Preceptor of Qin, you should pay more attention to your appearance!"

“No, no, no, Ying Zheng,” Li Ang said excitedly, “aren’t these secrets hidden behind historical records incredibly intriguing? Just like yours…”

Snapped.

Ying Zheng slammed the wine cup in his hand heavily onto the table.

He clearly used a lot of force, pressing a dent into the tabletop.

"Li Ang, what are you trying to say?"

"I just wanted to ask if this mercury-bodied person can eat?"

"When I and Zhang Liang designed it, we made sure to retain this feature."

Ying Zheng put his hands in his sleeves, adopting the demeanor of a detached and aloof sage who didn't care about anything else.

"Cough cough."

Hades coughed lightly a few times to draw the two men's attention back.

"Ah, right."

Li Ang immediately realized what was going on. He patted Hades on the shoulder and said with a grin, "So, old Hades, what happened next?"

Hades's eyes twitched twice. He wasn't the kind of person who was good with words, otherwise he would have definitely given Li Ang a three-part rant.

"What happened later? That despicable Zeus had the villain Hermes spread rumors about me in both the divine and human realms, directly confirming the fact that I had forcibly married Persephone."

Although Hades always performed his duties diligently, he was ultimately the spokesperson for death.

In the simple mindset of ancient people, death represented nothing but bad things.

Therefore, Hades' title as the god of the underworld did not have a good reputation on Mount Olympus or among humankind.

Even though he never leaves the underworld, even though he is fair and just, even though he never makes a mistake, his reputation is still much worse than that of the Greek seahorse Poseidon.

In Li Ang's eyes, Hades was already a very good god.

Consider this: Hades' ability to completely bring the three sons sent by Zeus under his control and make them his own people is a testament to his personal charisma.

Leon strongly suspected that one of the main reasons Zeus gave Persephone instead of his other daughters was that Persephone was too willful and capricious, and Hades thought he wouldn't like her, and that Persephone would definitely not like Hades either.

"This is probably what they call bullying honest people."

Li Ang commented on Hades's ordeal.

Even Li Ang didn't have a good solution in this situation.

Unless Hades flips the table and declares he's quitting, he has no choice but to accept Zeus's arrangement.

Hades actually had another option: to leave Greece and become a god in another realm, escaping the wrath of Zeus, the "bird emperor."

However, this path is also not easy. Not to mention whether other divine realms will accept Hades, a powerful god of the underworld, who knows if Zeus will use Hades' rebellion as an excuse to seal him away.

Adding to the responsibility of Hades, Hades had no choice at all.

"After we got married, I never touched her."

Hades muttered his dissatisfaction, no longer trying to explain anything to Li Ang, but simply venting his frustration.

"Who would want a woman like that! She's always pouting like she's the most important person in the world, petty, vengeful, and always picking and choosing!"

"How could I possibly fall for a woman like that?! Gentle, considerate, and kind-hearted Ryuk is my true love."

Li Ang raised an eyebrow. That woman named Liu Ke must be Hades's beloved.

"It seems we have similar tastes; I also like gentle and considerate women."

Li Ang nodded and began to talk to Hades.

Since Hades was also unhappy with Zeus, he was someone who could be won over.

For Li Ang, who was about to launch a coup, there was never too much friendly force.

As a result, Li Ang seemed to have forgotten the fact that the Qin army and the underworld army had fought side by side a few minutes earlier, and attempted to become one with Hades, the god of the underworld.

"That's right! Gentle and considerate girls are the best!"

Hades readily agreed with Li Ang's praise, nodding vigorously and toasting with him.

"Of course, congratulations to the good girl!"

Li Ang raised his glass again and clinked it with Hades's.

"That's right, salute to the good girl!"

Hades let out a burp and said in an even louder voice, "Homage to the mother of such a fine girl, our great mother-in-law Tethys!"

"Respect to my great mother-in-law..."

Li Ang stopped drinking halfway through his drink.

"Tessis... Mother-in-law?!"

“Ah.” Hades nodded. “My Ryuk and your Chloris are both daughters of Tethys.”

Well, so this Hades is actually my brother-in-law. No wonder he was so enthusiastic from the start.

Li Ang rolled his eyes, realizing he had been deluding himself.

But... my future mother-in-law, just how many amazing sons-in-law do you have?

No wonder Tethys had assured her that she would be the first to know if Poseidon entered the Underworld.

She has a daughter who became Hades's underground lover, and the old man is quite surprised.

"So...you already know our plan?"

Li Ang sipped his wine and asked in a low voice.

A glint of light flashed in Hades's previously drunken eyes.

"I do know, but Zeus has always been on high alert against me, so I dare not do anything."

"Brother-in-law, you don't need to do anything. You just need to stay in the war immediately."

Li Ang couldn't figure out whether Liu Ke was his sister-in-law's older sister or younger sister, so he simply called her by the older one.

"Just like that?" Hades asked rhetorically.

"Of course... but it would be even better if you could lend me some of the armor of the Underworld army."

Li Ang rubbed his hands together, making a gesture that suggested he was in a difficult position but had no choice but to speak.

"Okay, just go ask Aiacos for it."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Li Ang nodded repeatedly, put down his wine cup, and beckoned Ying Zheng to go out.

"Let's go, Lao Zheng. Everything's settled."

Ying Zheng nodded slightly, put down his wine cup (which he hadn't drunk much of), and followed Li Ang out of the side hall.

Once Li Ang closed the door, Hades immediately changed his drunken state. He sat up straight and wiped the wine stains off his beard.

Recalling Li Ang's appearance just now, he laughed and cursed.

"This little fox."

At the same time, Li Ang, who was following behind Aiacos, also cursed Ying Zheng: "That old fox is too slippery."

"Yes."

Ying Zheng nodded in agreement.

Although Hades agreed to let Leon borrow the armor of the Underworld army, he refused to discuss sending troops, clearly not wanting to personally intervene in the war and give Zeus an excuse to attack him.

Despite the fact that Li Ang has gathered a group of people, Zeus's side still appears to be stronger on the surface.

Hades, who only wanted to protect himself, naturally wouldn't wholeheartedly help Leon and the others, even though he hated Zeus to death.

In fact, this guy had already planned out his escape route.

Didn't the Qin army fight a battle with the Underworld army?

Those armors were seized from the Underworld; they have nothing to do with me, Hades.

"How much of what I think was actually part of his plan?"

Ying Zheng asked in a low voice.

"It's hard to say. I suspect that Persephone's targeting of Enkidu was all his doing."

Under normal circumstances, an excuse for infidelity would certainly not have been enough for Hades to lay a hand on Persephone.

As the saying goes, you have to consider the owner before you beat a dog.

As long as Zeus remains the supreme king of the gods, Persephone will be Hades' queen of the underworld.

But things are different now. Regardless of whether Li Ang and his team succeed, it's impossible for Zeus's side to avoid some bloodshed.

Under such circumstances, Zeus could neither possibly nor dare to attack Hades.

After all, Hades is no match for Zeus when fighting on Hades' home turf.

Especially when Hades had the perfect excuse: "Brother Zeus, look! My queen's palace has been destroyed by the rebels, my wife has been beaten, and many of my men have been killed by them. It's not that I disobey the imperial decree to suppress the rebellion, but that I myself am already severely weakened!"

Whether Zeus would believe such a ridiculous excuse is irrelevant; what matters is that Mount Olympus needed such an excuse at that time.

If Li Ang and his team win, then it will be even simpler.

To stabilize the situation, Hades, the god of the underworld, became even more steadfast.

"I reckon that old fox Hades is probably thrilled. He might even be planning to go to the new Mount Olympus and become a chief god."

Li Ang complained to Ying Zheng.

But in reality, Li Ang's gaze was fixed on Aiacos, who was walking ahead.

Hades's cunning behavior certainly displeased Li Ang, but Li Ang really needed Hades's help.

The war that was about to begin required Ying Zheng and his Qin army to go into battle, but they certainly couldn't just go to the battlefield like this.

It's important to know that Ritsuka and the other Chaldeans are also on the battlefield, so Li Ang can't reveal that he hasn't actually fallen out with the Qin Dynasty.

Therefore, having the Qin army disguise themselves as Hades's underworld army is the best solution.

As long as the terracotta warriors are dressed in armor and their black hair isn't showing, it's truly impossible to tell them apart from the chaotic battlefield—whether they are human or terracotta, foreigners or Chinese.

On the other hand, Li Ang also needs Hades to step in after the war to stabilize the situation on Mount Olympus.

The main god of Mount Olympus was the price Li Ang offered.

He believed that the Aiacos in front of him would understand.

Sure enough, when they were saying goodbye, Aiacos made a point of adding a sentence.

"I will pass on your kindness, Lord Li Ang, to my Lord Hades."

"That's good. I hope we can work together smoothly."

Li Ang responded with a smile.

"By the way, Lord Li Ang."

As if he had thought of something, Aiacos took out a long, narrow object wrapped in black cloth and handed it to Li Ang.

"Lord Hades told me that Zeus hired a new god of forging from another land to create weapons for the gods. This is the new weapon that god from another land gave to Lord Hades."

"I understand. Thank you for reminding me."

Li Ang accepted the long strip of black cloth and expressed his gratitude to Aiacos.

"Li Ang, do you think you've already been exposed, or is that god-king named Zeus simply inherently suspicious?"

As Ying Zheng watched Aiacos's departing figure, he asked Li Ang a question.

"It doesn't really make a difference. All I need to know is that the [Disarm] move doesn't work. And..."

"and?"