Chapter 133
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Selection
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You might not believe me if I said this, but I actually don't care much for massacres.
I'd put on a solo slaughter show a few times to make a point or for efficiency's sake.
But I'm no psycho killer—what's the fun in watching people crumple and fly off like ragdolls at a flick?
Unless it's a full-throttle clash, blood and sweat flying everywhere, a real thrill of a deathmatch.
Massacres are just tedious, gruesome chores—a step up from paperwork only because you get to move around.
And now, facing the two enemy commanders in the middle of this plain, I felt a spark of anticipation.
This selection process wouldn't be another annoying massacre duty. That kind of hope.
"Long time no see, Atalanta."
"Dianes."
Delphesias's report that Atalanta had joined the fray brought me immense joy.
I hadn't raised her as some pampered kitten cuddling in my arms.
She was a warrior. Nursed on bear's milk, acknowledged as the grandaughter of the huntress goddess herself—a born, unbreakable fighter.
Fools fawned over her beauty, but I dragged out the beast snarling inside her and made it roar for all to hear.
A beautiful, mighty female warrior born in the mythic age, armed with a martial art that had dominated the entire martial world: the Peerless Demon Fist.
She wasn't some tragic damsel biting her skirts and weeping over men's squabbles.
When heaven choked her throat, she'd tear it out with her teeth. When earth rose to block her path, she'd shatter it and charge ahead—a proud warrior through and through.
So of course, when they dragged her into this war like some prize trophy, she was furious and jumped in herself.
And from the aura I faintly sensed, she'd made huge strides in the month I was away. I just nodded proudly.
"This is gonna be fun."
"Heh, you bet it is."
Her tense face softened at my words, blooming into a radiant smile.
Freed completely from her heart demon now, unlike before, that smile aglow with ambition lit up the world like flowers in full bloom.
-Crunch!
But then came that grating sound from beside the flower field.
It was Theseus, the other star of this war, grinding his teeth as he glared at me and Atalanta.
"...Tch."
"What? What's that?"
What a shame.
Truly a pity.
I clicked my tongue in regret at Theseus, whose face had gone pitch-black, the polar opposite of Atalanta's.
Gone was the wisdom-hero of myth, Theseus, peer of Heracles.
Now just a beast devoured by rage and jealousy, dripping with venom.
A genius talent I'd once eyed for recruitment, with wisdom to rival the world's best and bones sturdy enough to claim the top spot. To see him fall so low...
And he'd even shed a layer, growing stronger by fueling himself with that vicious heart demon. My regret deepened.
Call it meddling from an old-timer, a senior's nosiness.
Or a martial artist's sorrow at seeing brilliant potential rot away.
I couldn't help but speak up.
"Hey, Theseus."
"...! Ahem. Speak."
Good grief...
If he were just boiling with venomous fury, fine. But at my words, his whole body twitched like a beast peeking its head out...
"People don't trip on mountaintops."
What topples and breaks a man is the pebble underfoot.
I knew why he'd challenged me over Atalanta, why he'd fallen so hard.
So I ended up meddling anyway.
"...What?"
"Time's wasting. Can't keep the gods waiting."
I had nothing more to say.
The faithful need no single word of guidance; the faithless need a thousand priests in vain.
What he realized—or didn't—in this war was his alone.
At my gesture, centaurs watching from afar rushed over with goblets of wine.
"Alright, let's begin."
"Fine by me. I've been waiting too long."
"...Very well."
We raised our goblets high and swore as one to the gods.
-King of all creation, great Zeus. And to the Twelve Gods of Olympus who oversee all fates, we swear:
May the strong prevail, the cowardly fall.
And may all here fight honorably, worthy of the gods' blessings!
Theseus with his uneasy scowl, Atalanta brimming with excitement.
And me, thrilled by the whole scene.
Our goblets clashed in midair, and we downed the blood-red wine at once.
-Clang!
The shattered goblets on the ground screamed their warning: no turning back, we'd crossed the river. The war began.
-Waaaaah!
-Yaaaaah!
"Guess it had to come to this."
No sooner had the battle horns blared than both armies surged toward me with killing intent.
Theseus led his orderly ranks, shields to the fore.
Atalanta headed her loosely arrayed warriors, divided by role but charging freely.
An obvious development.
They'd seen my power against Heracles, so even if they wanted brotherly harmony, victory demanded they take me out first.
"Not a bad call, honestly."
If this were a war for me, too.
With Theseus's eyes blazing fury and Atalanta's flashing caution at my casual stance, hands behind my back like I was on a stroll, I moved.
One step.
Just one step forward.
Heavenly Demon Supremacy Step, Second Stride.
"Divine Demon Earth Subduing."
The god-demon's tread forced the earth to its knees; the vast plain screamed as a landslide erupted.
-Rumble rumble rumble!
I'd tempered the power—I'm at peak mastery, but didn't want anyone dying in earthquake fissures.
Still, the towering cascade's majesty was overwhelming.
"Well... what now?"
I watched the armies' reactions through my senses and waited.
This wasn't war for me.
This was selection.
Among these mythic heirs of divine blood, how many would follow in my footsteps, inherit my teachings, surpass limits—form the backbone of the new Heavenly Demon Divine Cult in Greece?
My spreading senses reported back before a second passed.
"Oh ho...? Look at these guys."
"Everyone—defensive formation!"
"Testudo! Testudo formation!!"
Theseus up front and Jason in the rear bellowed orders; Theseus's army instantly became a wall of shields.
Testudo.
The famed "turtle" formation: shields forming walls on all sides to weather arrow storms.
But these "shell" and "bones" were one-in-a-thousand divine-blood warriors.
Their shields and armor? Masterworks forged by the giant Cyclops smiths. Even catapults wouldn't faze them.
But Theseus didn't stop there. With each shout, a strange aura spread from him, infusing every soldier under his command.
"So that's his new realization."
Like Artemis's buffs before.
Not a tangible ki manifestation like Heracles, but he'd learned to infuse his roars with will, spurring his troops like a lion's mane.
The soldiers obeyed unshakably, as if chained by collars, their strength and focus surging fiercely.
"Raaaaah!!"
"Power's overflowing! Come on!!"
If only I could awaken that talented fool a bit more, he'd be a huge asset.
"The more I see, the more I want him."
Jason stood out just as much.
"Hey, you bastards! Shields up! What's with those limp-dick arms like your old man's flaccid cock?!"
"Damn it! Hold 'em! Hold steady!"
"You, I'm getting you after this, you deputy shithead!"
"Yeah, score a scratch on that monster and I'll make it worth your while! Now shields up!!"
If Theseus was a mythic hero, Jason was a straight-up schemer from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
His bawdy banter from the rear loosened up troops wavering under Theseus's orders, syncing them perfectly.
And he led from the front with his own shield—a model commander.
"Good, Jason. You're cleared for now."
Atalanta was already in; Theseus, jury's out.
If I needed commanders or generals for my army, Jason fit the bill.
A bit soft among the golden generation, but solid talent in my eyes—time to chain him with golden links and make him spin under me.
The rewards would be sweet, of course.
"Let's see, Atalanta's side...? Oh ho."
Opposite Theseus's proper army, Atalanta's crew was more like a mercenary band or warrior squad—hilariously chaotic.
"Stick to my back! Defensive charms, barriers, whatever—layer it all!"
Unlike Theseus's shield wall, Atalanta's group arrowed forward like a single spearhead.
At the tip: Atalanta herself, naturally.
As expected.
Her fists glowed with red energy matching her eyes, as she raised her Demon Fist Art to new heights.
Not visible ki, just sensed pressure—but like true Demon Fist, she'd solidified her external power into inner strength.
"Kyahaha! Atalanta! We all know we're crazy bitches, right?!"
"She's always been nuts! Forgot when she punched your face?!"
"Kiyaaahoo! This is awesome! Charge! Charge! Chaaarge!!"
"ΠΡΟΣΤΑΣΙΑ shield, Shield of Athena.... Hey, you idiots! Shut up!"
"Wall of Zephyr's Wind.... Think chanting magic while running is easy?!"
"Protection shield, Shield of Athena..."
"Wall of Zephyr's wind..."
Five warrior-women and mages clung to her heels, fists wrapped in ki auras.
Daughters of Ares and Aphrodite, once Atalanta's constant rivals.
Screaming wildly yet steadfastly guarding her back, prepping to pierce the landslide—they evoked end-times biker gangs.
"Ho... Atalanta's got stories to tell later."
How'd she tame those snarling lot into her command? And train them to follow her in this mess?
When picking subordinates or Four Heavenly Kings' aides, why not capable and cute?
-Boom rumble boom!!
"We held!!"
"Break through!!"
The two armies, with their polar responses, clashed with my first trial.
Theseus's buffs and Jason's commands turned his force into an iron boulder—but massive earth crashed atop them.
Atalanta's crew, like Artemis's arrows, charged relentlessly into the black mud and rock torrent.
"Oh...!"
And before the landslide even settled.
An army charged me headlong.
"Haaap!!"
-Kwaaang!
A battle cry drowning even the earth's scream.
Like a red meteor, Atalanta punched into the landslide without hesitation.
"That's it!"
I couldn't hold back my cheer.
Did Peerless Demon Fist feel this when I punched through my own ki-wave tsunami?
Pride and joy swelling in my chest, I whooped—and Atalanta, hearing it, swung fiercer.
"Behold! Demon Fist! Behold, I say! I've forged a demon who fully inherits your legacy!"
My most revered, beloved master: Peerless Demon Fist.
His heretical, awe-inspiring teachings eluded even that era's martial prodigies.
But here, in the cradle of all civilization and myth, on primordial soil—his successor was born.
-Thud thud thud!
"Urraaaah!!"
Each red fist shattered and split the raging mudflow.
Like Moses parting the Red Sea, Atalanta cleaved the earthen tsunami with her bare hands and advanced.
Aiming solely for me. To defeat only me!
"How can a demon not laugh at this?!"
-Kuhahaha!!
Come on, hurry.
Pierce the gods' fury, shatter the demon's pressure—reach me.
The most beautiful, greatest demon I've wrought! My life's masterpiece!
-Boom!
"Hup!"
"I-I'm out!!"
"Long live Atalanta!!"
"Yeah!! Magic forever! Mom forever! Love you, Master Karyklo!"
"Barrier rocks! Big sis rocks!"
"Love you sis!!"
Laughing uproariously in my overflowing glee, Atalanta burst through the muck unscathed—not a single straggler—standing before me.
"....."
"....."
Me, grinning with lingering mirth.
Atalanta, mud-caked and exhausted, but fighting spirit unbroken.
Words were needless now.
"Pour it all out, full throttle!!"
"Yeah! That's how it should be!"
Atalanta charging as she shattered the earth; me meeting her head-on.
The war's opening skirmish belonged to Atalanta's forces.