Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Most of them looked exhausted, their muscles ached, and every step was extremely difficult. They also had to carry their injured companions, making their progress slow.

As the sun was about to set, the handsome young man, who carried a spear in one hand and a bronze shield in the other, changed his expression slightly. He immediately called to his compatriots who were lagging behind and urged them to quicken their pace.

"Hurry! We must reach the altar before sunset to offer sacrifices to the gods!"

Otherwise, Olympus's wrath will descend, and we will be punished again.

Humans gritted their teeth and supported each other as they moved forward.

But as the speed increased, those humans who were originally lightly injured and had to walk alone so as not to slow down the group began to pant and turn pale.

One of the men, whose left arm had been torn off at the root, slipped and fell. His simply bandaged wound immediately burst open, and the bright red blood quickly spread, staining the gauze wrapped around the wound.

The man struggled several times, but to no avail; waves of dizziness washed over him.

He knew this was a sign of impending fainting due to excessive blood loss, and in a fit of rage, he swung his right fist and slammed it against a nearby tree, his expression filled with despair and resentment.

"Gods! Gods! They are nothing but a swarm of blood-sucking mosquitoes. We serve them devoutly, yet they are insatiable and relentlessly demand sacrifices, completely indifferent to our lives!"

"boom!"

A fierce wind swept by, and a spear grazed the complainer's ear before striking the tree trunk, blasting off a layer of bark and revealing the stark white core filled with flying wood chips.

"Do you want to die, you idiot? Shut up!"

The flaxen-haired youth holding a shield glared fiercely at the amputee and gritted his teeth as he berated him.

"Deucalion, did I say something wrong?"

The wounded man, his vision blurred, leaned against a tree trunk, retorting indignantly.

"Olympus treats us like livestock! They demand sacrifices from us all day long!"

In order to gather enough offerings, we hunted yesterday and lost 5 and injured 12. Today we hunted and lost 7. There are still 15 brothers left, and they may not be able to get out of bed for several days!

Besides, if all the food is given to the gods, what will we eat?

Even if we can hold on, what about the women?

They are not nutritious enough and have no breast milk, so who will feed the babies?

Do you know that some children are already dying?

In the resource-rich Age of Gods Greece, grains and fruits were everywhere, and wild animals and birds roamed freely.

Even without food or water, most of them can still survive for many years as long as they ingest ether from the air.

Despite these favorable living conditions, over the years, the size of the human population has not only failed to expand, but has instead tended to decrease, to the point where people are almost exhausted and starving to death.

This sounds absolutely ridiculous and laughable.

Deucalion, son of the prophet Prometheus and leader of the people of Crete, saw the doubt and resentment in the eyes of his people and remained silent, his lips pressed tightly together.

"Stop talking, let's get back to camp, we'll find a way..."

"Hot water, food, and comfortable beds—the women have prepared all of these and are waiting for us!"

Immediately, the hybrid Titan dropped his shield and spear, bent down to lift the wounded man, and without a word, led the human toward the camp.

Fortunately, with leaders setting an example and providing encouragement, the tribespeople suppressed their complaints and supported each other as they made their way to the camp.

Finally, after half an hour, we barely made it to the camp before sunset.

Before they could even catch their breath, the group, exhausted, gathered at the altar.

Following the divine revelation, Deucalion offered the sacrifices one by one before the altar, only to discover that the prey the men had risked their lives to obtain was barely enough for the sacrifice.

Similarly, the women didn't have much of the fruit, fungi, and edible plants left.

Once the elaborate rituals are over, the ether attached to these offerings, along with the faith they offered, will be absorbed by the gods.

I'm afraid I'll be hungry again tonight.

The young leader looked at his pale-faced people in the camp, his brow furrowed, unable to speak of the guilt he felt for not being able to keep his promise on the road.

"Look! A new oracle has arrived!"

At this moment, the people who had sat down on the spot because of their exhaustion and hunger, waiting for food to be distributed, saw golden Titan characters floating in the brazier of burning spices, and couldn't help but stretch their necks and crowd closer to watch.

"First, capture that ferocious, fire-breathing bull on Crete alive and offer it as a sacrifice to Zeus, the king of the gods?"

"Secondly, to build temples for each of the gods as a sign of respect?"

Deucalion first saw the oracle appearing in the flames, his face turned ashen, and he almost couldn't help but give the middle finger to Mount Olympus in the distance, uttering a word he had learned from a certain teacher.

"Dry!"

At this moment, the humans sitting around the altar learned the contents of the divine oracle one after another, and they began to discuss it noisily, their resentment gradually ignited.

After several years of alternating hunger and lack of food, even with the blessing of the Earth Mother Goddess, they were on the verge of collapse.

Even so, those damned gods still bleed them dry, forcing them to build temples and capture even more powerful monsters.

They want to capture them alive? How many lives will have to be lost before there's any result?

If this continues, humanity will perish before the Age of Gods even declines!

"Contact my father and teacher!"

Deucalion took a deep breath in resignation and turned to his wife Pyrrha to give her instructions.

Meanwhile, on the Peloponnese peninsula, in a nascent city, wide roads and rows of houses lined the streets.

A group of humans, both men and women, surrounded the smiling, silver-haired, bright-eyed girl, some listening attentively to her teachings, others raising their hands to ask questions, their eyes filled with awe and worship.

She hailed from Crete, the birthplace of humankind; her thoughts were as deep as the ocean, and her vision as lofty as the sky.

Whether it's survival skills like textiles, gardening, pottery, and animal husbandry, or the arts of life like painting, sculpture, and music, she can provide exquisite guidance.

She was knowledgeable in almost every field, from small hunting formations to large-scale matters such as navigation, agriculture, medicine, and order.

Not far away, in a building whose exterior was unremarkable but whose interior was expanded by spatial magic, Medusa served chilled grape wine and invited Samael, Tina, and Prometheus to taste it together.

The ancient snake couldn't wait to take a small sip; the refreshing and invigorating taste made him drink it all in one go.

"I never knew you were such a skilled brewer."

Prometheus and Tina, who also tasted the fine wine, were full of praise.

Medusa nodded subtly, without much to boast about.

After all, the only things he can really excel at are cooking and brewing.

The "Cretan girl" outside, however, was a learned and versatile genius. Even Medusa, who had always been competing with her, couldn't help but feel frustrated by her terrifying talent.

Just as everyone was enjoying themselves, a purple-yellow magic circle lit up on the table, and the figure of Deucalion appeared before the Prophet and the Creator.

After listening to the account of the human leader of Crete, the atmosphere in the room became unusually oppressive.

"How about I go take a look and capture that bull on Crete while I'm at it?"

Athena, having finished her lesson, walked in from outside the door, smiling as she offered her advice.

Chapter 100: Open Scheme vs. Open Scheme (1/3)

"it's useless…"

Inside the room, Prometheus raised his hand and touched the magic circles that were activated one after another on the table. He sensed messages from human groups from different corners of the earth and gently shook his head.

"Even if you personally capture the Cretan bull today and build a palace for the gods, Olympus will still issue an even more demanding oracle tomorrow."

Day after day, year after year, humanity cannot grow and prosper; sooner or later, it will be worn down by excessive sacrifices.

Samael and Medusa exchanged a glance, their expressions somber.

Zeus, now possessing the wisdom of Metis, was indeed a formidable opponent.

Having just created humankind on Crete and held a great sacrifice, they devised a scheme to lure and divide Olympus, thereby accelerating the decline of the divine age.

On the other hand, Zeus took advantage of the gods' greed for the power of faith, gradually applying extreme pressure to force humanity to continuously undertake excessive service.

Compared to the lives and deaths of humans, the gods are more concerned with harvesting the power of faith to strengthen themselves.

This was also an open strategy, one that the gods could not refuse.

Moreover, in order to ensure that humanity survived the most difficult early stages of its existence, they had already dispatched the Typhon offspring led by the sage Chiron and the nymphs under the command of the goddess Themis, to various parts of the earth years ago to teach humans skills and help them establish order.

However, faced with the gradual, insidious pressure from Olympus, even the race secretly protected by Typhon's offspring and nymphs was on the verge of collapse due to the heavy sacrifices, suffering from irregular hunger and sustenance.

Now that he has found himself in such a passive situation, Samael has to admit that he underestimated the Greek gods, and even more so the wisdom of Zeus, the king of the gods.

"Do we really want to wait until humanity is dragged down and becomes extinct?"

Athena glanced back at the industrious creatures who were busy weaving, drying pottery, and building houses, her cherry lips pressed tightly together as she murmured.

Compared to the gods who relied on their power, this goddess of wisdom preferred humankind who knew how to learn humbly and respected knowledge.

"Tonight, I will preside over the grand sacrifice throughout the entire territory and pray to the gods!"

Prometheus pondered for a moment, then seemed to have come up with a solution and laughed heartily.

It's finally here.

Samael frowned, raised his hand and pressed it against the prophet's shoulder, his serpentine eyes fixed on his friend.

"Son of Iapetus, do you know the consequences of doing this?"

For years, Prometheus was in the light, while they were in the dark. They assisted each other, traveling together across the earth, dedicated to guiding humankind and helping it to prosper.

Through several gatherings and partings, coupled with exchanges on guiding human development, many of their ideas coincided, leading to a strong friendship between the two who appreciated each other.

He really didn't want to watch Prometheus jump into that fire pit.

“From the moment I guided the creation of humankind, I foresaw and accepted my own destiny.”

The prophet smiled slightly, seemingly unconcerned, then patted Samael on the shoulder with a distant gaze.

"Alright, my friend, tell the children scattered across the land to get ready."

Seeing that his friend had made up his mind, and knowing his character, Samael said no more, silently got up and left to make the arrangements.

At night, countless campfires are lit in the gathering places of humans.

Prometheus, who was in charge of representing all mankind and presiding over the great sacrifice, personally slaughtered a strong bull and divided the offering into two portions.

One pile, covered with dried cowhide and covered with bloody, dirty tripe, looked extremely shriveled and impoverished, but inside were plump pieces of beef and offal;

Another pile, covered in snow-white grease and scraps of meat, looked bright and was larger in size. However, Samael and the others who had piled these things up knew very well that they were full of useless cow bones.

With everything ready, Prometheus took a deep breath, stepped forward to activate the magic circle, connecting it to Mount Olympus, and threw the parchment scroll inscribed with the prayer into the fire to burn.

Boom!

After learning the contents of the prayer, Zeus and the other gods, after a period of contemplation and discussion, gave their approval with a thunderbolt that illuminated the night sky.

Prometheus, meanwhile, stretched out his arms and pointed to the two offerings he had prepared, then solemnly pondered.

"Great King of the Gods, in the presence of the ancient goddess of oaths, Styx, please choose the form of offerings for the gods from now on, according to your preference."

After a moment, seemingly after scrutiny and consideration, a golden beam of light descended from the clouds and enveloped one of the offerings.

"Rumble..."

In an instant, rolling thunder rumbled and surged through the clouds like a raging dragon, its powerful pressure causing the humans participating in the sacrifice to tremble and almost prostrate themselves on the ground.

"Your Majesty, humanity has given everything to serve the gods. Do you still intend to deny your choice, break your oath, and shift the blame onto these innocent believers?"

As he completed the sacrifice, Prometheus straightened his body, and the obscure and profound power of the Titans rippled and undulated, protecting the humans who could not withstand the divine might of the thunder god, and asked questions with neither arrogance nor servility.

"Humph!"

A somber groan echoed through the night sky, but eventually the thunder that had been looming over humanity gradually subsided and disappeared.

"Alright, the gods have accepted your sacrifices, and this will be the custom from now on."

"Now, Olympus must be in the midst of a feast, so let us begin."

Prometheus smiled and turned around, pointing to the succulent beef hidden under the cowhide behind him, indicating that the humans should begin to share the remaining offering.

The leaders then brought out the remaining fruits, vegetables, game, and grains, lifting the restrictions and allowing the tribesmen to enjoy themselves to the fullest that night.

The scattered human groups, upon seeing this outcome, couldn't help but embrace each other excitedly, cheer with relief, and swarm forward.

Father, you actually deceived the gods! We have a way to survive!

On Crete, Deucalion looked on in disbelief at his people, who were sitting around the campfire in the camp, enjoying their meal. His eyes were filled with joy and satisfaction.