Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"Can't she make her own butter cake?"

"Everyone's skills are slightly different, and only I can make nostalgic flavors."

"Are you deliberately trying to provoke me?"

"How could I dare? You are my adoptive mother. It is always the adoptive mother who gives gifts to her adopted son. I am still young and not old enough to fawn over her."

Samael's lazy tone, coupled with his mocking manner, made Athena furious. She wished she could drag him out of the snakeskin, grab his arm, and bite him a hundred times over!

So what if I took advantage of you a little? You're so stingy!

Before the goddess of wisdom could react, the ancient serpent, who had regained his adoptive father's authority and was secretly pleased with himself, immediately changed the subject.

"Getting back to the main point, what do you mean by 'half the success'?"

“When Orion was brought here, his body had already collapsed, and Medusa’s earth powers were powerless to stop it. I tried everything I could, but I could only lock up a part of his intellect and soul and seal it in the vessel chosen by Artemis.”

When Athena spoke of her achievements, her voice rose several octaves, revealing a hint of pride and self-aggrandizement.

In reality, Prometheus was merely humanity's mentor, while the two true core creators of the Greek people were Athena and Medusa.

The Earth Mother Medusa gave humankind flesh and blood and physical form, while the Goddess of Wisdom Athena gave humankind intellect and soul.

Therefore, Artemis's desperate attempt to find a cure actually turned out to be the right one.

"Let's talk about half of the failure..."

Samael paused for a moment, his tone becoming more serious.

Athena frowned, her eyes flashing.

"The sealing is not perfect. His intellect has been dissipating all along, and his soul has been stripped away by some unknown rule, which has become increasingly serious recently."

Samael narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone resolute.

"Let me guess...is it related to Paradise Island?"

Chapter 178 Dream Collaboration

“Yes, over the years, Orion has experienced several soul separations and his consciousness has fallen into a state of chaos. He has mentioned this place name several times in a daze. We suspect that ‘Paradise Island’ is the place that is pulling his soul.”

Athena nodded slightly, her brow furrowing slightly. Samael's eyes flickered as he continued the conversation.

"So, my purpose in participating in this expedition is to help Artemis find Paradise Island and complete Orion's soul?"

“That’s right, exchanging the complete Orion for Atalanta is a worthwhile deal for you, isn’t it?”

The goddess of wisdom smiled mischievously, her face mocking, and then gestured with her lips toward Themis and Medusa, who were sharing desserts and fruits, as if stirring up trouble.

Samael remained unmoved, his eyes holding a profound meaning.

"That's it?"

"what?"

"From childhood to adulthood, I don't remember you being so kind. Tell me, what benefits would finding Paradise Island bring to Mount Ares?"

"Tch, boring..."

Athena pursed her lips, her smile vanishing instantly, replaced by a look of utter disinterest.

"See? I told you you couldn't fool him."

“A bet's a bet. Next month, you'll teach ten tutoring sessions at the Academy of Athens.”

Themis and Medusa across from each other smiled at each other, picked up their teacups and clinked them together, taking small sips of the flower tea that the nymphs had sun-dried.

The goddess of wisdom, whose temperament had long been thoroughly understood by the entire family, was helplessly defeated and reluctantly explained the whole story.

"Alright, let's be frank, we suspect that Paradise Island is the legendary resting place of the Greek heroes."

Moreover, it's not just Orion. Logically, with humans and gods coexisting, and the Olympians constantly mating with humans, various divine descendants should have been born, leading to a powerful and prosperous human race. However, to this day, heroes and even warriors with heroic potential among humanity seem cursed, experiencing various accidents. Some are souls, some are even entire individuals, many disappearing after achieving greatness. The specific reasons remain unclear even at Mount Ares. These are forces we should have been able to gather and rely on…”

At this point, Athena's expression turned gloomy, and a hint of resentment filled her pretty face.

Samael pondered, "You suspect that these human heroes have all been lured to Paradise Island?"

Medusa's expression turned solemn, and she stepped forward to ponder.

"It's not a doubt, it's a certainty!"

During the episode of Orion's illness, when his consciousness was being stripped away, he vaguely mentioned that he first saw a white blur before his eyes, then his body became lighter and lighter, and after his consciousness went through periods of annihilation and reunion, he seemed to have entered a world of birdsong and fragrant flowers, where there were many familiar faces.

Orion even saw his close friend Perseus and his sons among them!

Upon hearing this, Samael frowned deeply. As far as he knew, Orion and Perseus were both early Greek heroes. He had helped this son of Zeus cross the Sea of ​​Oceanus to slay the Kraken. The two had a close relationship and there was absolutely no way he could mistake him.

But shouldn't Perseus, after achieving his feats, have ascended to the heavens and become the constellation "Perseus"? Why is he on the so-called "Paradise Island"?

unless…

"Are you saying that someone is manipulating the heroes' fates behind the scenes, controlling everything? And the most suspicious person is..."

The ancient serpent pondered for a moment, its voice low and somber.

"Zeus!"

Themis pondered silently, her eyes, veiled in black, revealing endless depth and darkness.

"I'm afraid that wise god-king never gave up manipulating mankind; he just changed his methods. According to the revelation of fate, Olympus will experience a dramatic change in the future, which will be our best opportunity. But before that, Mount Ares must figure out Zeus's trump card."

Samael understood immediately and couldn't help but marvel.

"So you want me to use this expedition to find this card. Even if we can't use it for our own purposes, we must destroy it so that Zeus has nothing to rely on! Good idea!"

As for the upheavals that Olympus was about to undergo, he, with his foresight, was naturally well aware of them.

Zeus's reign was not without its challenges; it likely involved three wars and one civil war.

The three wars were the war between the ancient and new gods, the war of Typhon, and the war of the giants, which is poorly documented.

Legend has it that during the last catastrophe, the rule of the Greek gods was in jeopardy, and even the great hero Hercules was called upon to personally participate in the defense of Olympus. After the war subsided, he was awarded the highest honorary title of "Olympian" by the gods, which meant that he was recognized as a member of Mount Olympus and praised for his sacrifices for the gods.

One internal strife refers to the later period of Zeus's reign, when Poseidon, the god of the sea, secretly allied with Hera, the queen of the gods, and Athena, the goddess of wisdom, to suppress and imprison the god-king while he was off guard. However, this rebellion eventually ended without a trace for some reason.

In fact, this civil unrest was the opportunity that Samael had been waiting for.

Judging from Themis's perception of destiny, it won't be easy to overthrow Zeus; he may be holding a trump card that the gods are hesitant to use against.

Perhaps Paradise Island is one of them!

Moreover, the existence of Paradise Island severely impacts the efficiency of recruiting members at Ares Mountain.

Suddenly, Samael seemed to have thought of something, his mind cleared, and he spoke softly.

"Poseidon or Hera have come looking for you? Are you preparing to make your move?"

The three exchanged glances, their surprise evident in their expressions. The unspoken admiration and respect they conveyed greatly satisfied Samael's vanity.

After a moment of silence, Athena gathered her thoughts, feeling somewhat helpless.

“Poseidon is ambitious, and Hera is a jealous woman on the verge of losing her mind. I don’t trust her. I didn’t want to rush things, but Zeus seems to have his eye on Mount Ares. If we wait any longer, things might change.”

Samael frowned slightly and muttered to himself.

"Could it be that Mount Ares and the Academy of Athens have recruited a large number of heroes, making Zeus feel threatened?"

After revealing the truth, Athena remained quite calm.

"Perhaps, anyway, we'll have to face Olympus sooner or later."

His thoughts settled, the ancient snake hesitated for a moment, and tentatively asked a question.

"Um, you guys said 'Paradise Island,' is it possible that it's in the Amazon?"

"How could that be! We practically turned Greece upside down to find this card! If we hadn't been so busy searching on land that we were already on the verge of excavation, there would have been no need to turn our attention to the sea and send you on this risk."

Athena's honesty shattered Samael's illusions, leaving the ancient serpent with a sense of regret.

Tsk, looks like it's not some dream collaboration.

Unfortunately, Hippolyta ran too fast; she should have asked if they had anyone named "Diana" there.

Just as the four were having a secret conversation through divine will, the carriage reached a rugged area. A stumble awakened Samael, and his head fell into Atalanta's arms, nearly knocking the huntress down.

Tower Cat Shoots.jpg

Chapter 179: Stealing the Throne (1/3)

"Sorry, sorry, time is tight, we were in a bit of a rush."

The sunny man holding a harp lifted the curtain and unconsciously plucked a note as he spoke, clearly conveying a tone full of apology.

Atalanta looked at the head buried in her arms, her pretty face flushed, and she pushed the person away with a slightly embarrassed expression. Although the force was rough when it was released, as it was about to end, the hunter's hand involuntarily turned into a skillful force, changing the push into a support, while turning her hot and flushed cheeks to one side.

To break the awkward atmosphere, Samael coughed a few times, his eyes falling on a scroll that had fallen from Atalanta's lap. He picked it up casually and asked a question.

"Hey boss, what are you looking at so intently?"

Atalanta took a deep breath, feeling the heat on her face subside slightly, glanced at the driver's seat outside the carriage, and answered calmly.

"It's nothing, just a fundamentalist manuscript I borrowed from Orpheus."

Orpheus, the one who drives the chariot outside, like Asclepius, the god of medicine, came from Mount Ares and was responsible for delivering divine messages.

Moreover, this genius singer's father was Apollo, the god of light, animal husbandry, and music, and his mother was Calliopa, the muse who ruled over the arts. He and the god of medicine were half-brothers.

Furthermore, Orphism is said to have been created and spread by this outstanding bard.

Upon hearing this, Samael was somewhat surprised.

"Orthodox fundamentalist texts? Why are you looking at this?"

Basically, the fundamentalist content of some religions is synonymous with conservatism, outdatedness, and prejudice, making it rather dull and uninteresting to use for relaxation and entertainment during a journey.

"I just feel that as your companion, I don't know you very well, and I want to take this opportunity to learn more about you."

Atalanta glanced at Samael indifferently, seemingly nonchalant, but the clenched fingers in front of her knees suggested she was putting on a brave face.

Clearly, through her past experiences, a certain female hunter is trying to understand and accept a new presence in her life.

The ancient serpent was taken aback. A strange sense of elation welled up within it, but it also felt inexplicably guilty.

After all, he wasn't a proper Orphic, and if he were to be exposed, Atalanta might become furious and beat him up.

"Ahem, it's not a bad thing to know more about these things. After all, the Orphic doctrine of respecting nature and the concept of the hunting goddess are quite similar."

Samael coughed lightly to appease the question, then opened the manuscript and skimmed through it to avoid any slip-ups when asked about the fundamentalist content.

However, after quickly flipping through the pages, the ancient snake's expression changed drastically, becoming increasingly strange, presenting a bizarre appearance that seemed to have its worldview shattered, a mixture of crying and laughing.

"Yes, boss, we should take a good look at this. You go ahead with your work, I won't bother you any longer."

After a few breaths, Samael, having read the entire text, solemnly returned it to Atalanta's arms, and then obediently shrank into a corner beside the carriage.

Only when she saw someone close their eyes to rest, as if taking a nap during the journey, did Atalanta relax her tense body with a sigh of relief. She quietly opened the book on her lap and began to read, her face showing more patience and seriousness as she studied.

In reality, as soon as Samael closed his eyes, he hurriedly connected with Mount Ares, his expression constantly changing.

"What exactly is Orphism?"

"what?"

The ancient serpent took a deep breath and, in as calm a tone as possible, began to recount the contents of the fundamentalist manuscript.

"In the beginning, the world was in a chaotic state: the sun had not yet risen, the moon had not yet been born, the sea, land, and sky were intertwined and mixed together; the ocean had not yet stirred, the land was not yet solid, and the sky was without light. But in this chaos, the sea, land, and sky clashed with each other, and cold, heat, softness, hardness, dryness, wetness, lightness, and heaviness fought each other. When the struggle reached a certain point, change occurred, and these primordial substances began to differentiate: the earth and sky were divided in two by a horizon; the land and the sea were distinguished from each other; the pure and ethereal qi and the turbid qi began to separate."

"The chaotic state of the world changed, and a preliminary order was formed, allowing them to live in harmony: the light parts rose to the azure sky, finding their resting place in the highest places; the heavy parts gathered together to become the dark earth; between the earth and the sky was the omnipresent air; the swirling waters created waves that surrounded the land; and at the very bottom of the earth was the darkest place, called Tartarus."

"Just as heaven and earth separated to form the ocean and land, the first ancient goddess emerged from the chaos, creating the world. In the primordial chaos before the formation of heaven and earth, she could find no foothold. So she waved her hand, separating the sky and the sea. She stood on the undulating waves and danced gracefully, flying forward with a strong south wind. When she reached the skies above the Aegean Sea, the goddess longed to control her direction. In a rapid spin, she grabbed the passing north wind, and with a few squeezes, the north wind transformed into Ophelia, a great serpent winding like a river, in her divinely powerful hands."

"At this time, the great serpent Ophion was cold and stiff all over, so the goddess Eurynome danced rapidly. The serpent twisted and turned in her hands, gaining heat. Its body became warm and began to metabolize slowly, growing as fast as it was exposed to the wind, and its skin gradually turned a burning black."

"The great serpent coiled its body around the goddess and united with her. The pregnant goddess transformed into a nimble white dove, nesting on the waves. After forty-nine days, she laid a radiant cosmic egg. The goddess commanded the serpent to circle the egg seven times, and then the cosmic egg burst open with a deafening roar. The two halves of the cosmic egg tumbled on the waves for a while, and then all things were born: the sun, moon, stars, earth, mountains, rivers, and plants appeared in the world. Afterward, the goddess created a pair of giants, a man and a woman."

"The man's name is Uranus, and the woman's is Gaia..."

In Samael's low, gentle voice, another imaginative version of the creation myth unfolds like a scroll.

"You're talking about this..."

Athena seemed to remember something, blinked, nodded with a smile, and seemed quite proud in her words.

"I write!"