Chapter 217
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: Giants VS Heroes
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-Crash!
Another hero tumbled out of the sky, falling like a freshly picked apple.
"Cough! M-my wings..."
"Y-yeah, at least you're not whining about losing despite getting your ass handed to you."
Zetes and Kalias, the Storm Twins under Dianes' command.
Excluding Captain Jason and Vice-Captain Idas, they were among the few heroes capable of serving as attackers in this war against the Aloadae, being his twin brothers.
Not quite as swift or tough as the top brass, but their wings allowed them to ride the winds and dart through the air freely, effortlessly toying with these oversized rookie giants.
Seizing those openings, Jason and Idas methodically observed the two giants, searching for ways to exploit them.
Just as the oracle received by Poseidon's sons had foretold, no spear or arrow could draw their blood.
As Zetes grumbled while removing the wing guards and arrows embedded in his shield, Kalias nodded with a similar complaint.
"Still, honestly, isn't dealing with those giants better than the alternative, brother?"
"Yeah, honestly, can't argue with that, brother."
Originally, under Jason's command, they'd been herding the giants with wolf-pack tactics to keep them from ravaging Tegea's streets. But thanks to the reinforcements that joined yesterday, the battle dynamics had shifted dramatically.
Their current mission, at King Iasos's behest, was to intercept and harass the Thespian forces advancing westward.
[Annoying! Annoying! Annoying! Just smash 'em already!]
[With your baby punches that can't even dent my fuzz? Kahahaha!]
-Boom!!
And to contain the shockwaves from those distant roars, preventing them from spreading to nearby villages.
"They're having a blast. Like fish in water. That royal wild boar."
"It's fine. Better than us getting caught in the crossfire."
Watching rocks and trees fly about like toys beyond the Taygetus mountain range, the twins sighed.
Probably not just them—the other Pegasoi were likely buzzing around everywhere, keeping an eye on the spectacle.
[Take this!]
[Huh?]
-Bang!!
No sooner had the hoarse roar echoed than something massive shot up from beyond the mountain.
[Waaaah!]
It soared skyward as if it might reach Olympus itself, then gradually slowed, tracing a gentle arc as it plummeted toward them.
"W-what do we do, brother? Catch it?"
"S-snap out of it, brother! Catching that'll do more than just bend your wings!"
At Kalias's warning, Zetes came to his senses and flapped away desperately from the falling object.
"Arrrgh!"
The closer the massive, golden-glowing bulk—like Zeus's thunderbolt—the fiercer the roar grew.
-Thud!
Dust erupted like a meteor strike, smashing precisely where the twins had been.
"Pfft! Whew, that was kinda thrilling, huh? Kahahat!"
"...That thing won't die."
"...Hades will take the soul anyway."
A crater large enough to become a lake if filled with water.
And in its center stood Heracles, upright on both feet. The twins were dumbfounded.
"Hey! You flying pests! Everyone's busy running around—what're you doing there?!"
"Do we look like we're playing?!"
"We were the busiest until you flew in?!"
"Heng? Busy?"
Heracles smirked at their retort, then casually nudged a boulder at his feet and kicked it toward the forest like a ball.
-Bang!
"Argh! Evacuate! Evacuate!"
"Heracles! Heracles has appeared!"
Like tossing a stone into a streamside bush, the boulder splintered trees and gouged the earth, unleashing screams from the surroundings.
"Hey!! What if you kill them all?!"
"Hey!! We follow their retreat to find their camp!"
Zetes and Kalias shrieked as the soldiers scattered like startled ants.
Heracles had exposed the Thespian detachment they'd been pretending to let slip away while tracking from the skies.
"Uh... sorry."
"All brawn and no brains!"
"Watch the situation before swinging, damn it!"
Thespiae's soldiers, from the rising military power, were mostly mercenaries famed for hit-and-run tactics in mountains and forests.
Even the Pegasoi, unscathed against the Aloadae recently, had been plagued by supply disruptions from these Thespian detachments.
But now, with solid reinforcements arrived, they no longer needed to waste forces on the Aloadae.
Under Jason's lead, the Pegasoi launched merciless retaliation against the Thespians bold enough to strike heroes' backs.
[Don't run! Heracles! I'll kill you and become the great hero!]
[Shut up! I'm the great hero!]
[You handle that girl!]
[Girl?! She's gonna be my squire. I'm sparing her on purp—argh!]
[Who's sparing who, you blockheads?!]
Two booming voices echoed from beyond the mountain.
Despite the thunderous volume, it was childish bickering at its worst.
"To think we went all out against those brats..."
"Poseidon should've hired a stricter nanny. I swear by Boreas."
As the twins gawked at the juvenile squabble interspersed with roars, Heracles stretched and coiled his legs.
"Take care of the rear! I'm busy now!"
"Yeah, go! Just don't cause trouble!"
-Boom!
Heracles, cloaked in radiant lightning like when he'd landed nearby, leaped past the twins.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
-Dash dash dash!
In perfect sprinting form, he vaulted mountains and streams in a flash.
Covering in seconds what would take a mortal half a day, before him lay a wasteland once fertile fields, and atop it, the twin giants.
"You're here, Heracles! You could've saved your life by running!"
"Kahahaha! Otus, ever seen a lion flee a monkey?"
Heracles charged the laughing giant Otus, who bellowed without stopping.
Even Otus momentarily lost sight of the strike—Heracles's fist slammed into his gut.
-Bang!
"Guh!"
A bolt of lightning.
Like Zeus's thunderbolts on insolent sinners, the strike sent Otus flying.
-Rumble!
"Kyaa! Heracles!"
Otus's massive body carved a huge scar into the earth as it crashed.
Amid it, a shrill scream rang out as a red comet dodged Otus.
"Huh? Atalanta?"
"You! Wanna meet Hades for real?! What if you fling that bulk where people are?!"
Even yelling at Heracles, Atalanta moved ceaselessly.
-Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Eek! Eek! Come here! How's a puny girl making me chase her?!"
Ephialtes of the Aloadae stomped relentlessly at Atalanta, as if to shatter the ground.
But his face and body were covered in wounds and bruises, and Atalanta's momentum showed no sign of waning.
"Want me to land one on that girl for you?"
With a kiai, Atalanta kicked off the earth, aura trailing beautifully as she rocketed toward Ephialtes like a meteor.
His huge hand swiped to grab her mid-air, but she used it as a springboard, launching straight at his face.
-Smack!
"Kragh!!"
Another critical hit on Ephialtes—Atalanta kicked off his face and soared.
Her now-trademark red comet tail beautifully streaked the sky. Heracles couldn't help but admire.
"Flashy, sure. Useless, though."
"Hmph! I know!"
Grumbling, Atalanta landed beside Heracles, wiping sweat from her chin and catching her breath.
"How's yours?"
"Same. We land hits, but that's it. Can't touch vitals or deal lethal damage."
"Yeah, like something's blocking it."
Gazing at the sprawled twins, Heracles and Atalanta shared intel.
As Jason had quickly relayed upon their arrival, ordinary attacks—no matter how powerful or precise—failed against the twin giants, as if blocked by something.
Heracles and Atalanta fared no better.
Aura-imbued strikes at least connected, so they'd focused fire, but even blows that would fell gods in one hit saw the pair bounce back like weeds.
"This is dangerous..."
"Dangerous? You mean fun, right?"
Atalanta had knocked Ephialtes out five times already, but each time drained her aura and stamina massively.
She'd recovered mid-fight with Asclepius's elixirs, but limits loomed.
Heracles still grinned, rolling his shoulders, but even he couldn't take both at once.
'Any way around this...?'
As Atalanta pondered, gulping an elixir from her belt...
-Plop!
"...Rain?"
Dark clouds gathered beyond the clear sky.
Black as an ink curtain, pitch-black thunderheads.