Chapter 167 Face-to-Face with the Minotaur (4.2k)
On the hillside, the King of Thessaly, Admetos, looked at the terrifying figures that were emerging from the dungeon, his face turning pale.
Gigantes!
They were the bloodline of the Titans, also called "Earthborn."
Legend has it that when the second Divine King, Kronos, castrated Uranus, the Father of Heaven, on the command of Mother Earth Gaea, Uranus's divine blood sprayed from his wounds below, which was absorbed by Gaea, and thus she bore a large number of Titan Giants, the forebears of the Gigantes.
Latter, the Titanomachy broke out, Mount Olympus and Mount Othrys engaged in bloody slaughter throughout Thessaly, achieving final victory.
But those Titan bloodlines who did not submit to the rule of Divine King Zeus merged into the Gigantes, continuing their resistance against Olympus.
However, in the face of the increasingly dominant demigods of Olympus, the Gigantes clan frequently battled and lost, suffering continuous defeats.
The most recent charge could be traced back to the upheaval caused by Atlas, the Titan Giant, over a decade ago.
Even though the Gigantes, under the leadership of Atlas, stormed Mount Olympus with fierce momentum and challenged the gods, they ultimately fell at the hands of Goddess of Wisdom Athena, leading to their leader, Atlas, being reduced to a prisoner holding up a corner of the heavens.
Since that significant blow, the severely weakened Gigantes gradually disappeared from sight.
Yet, just over a decade had passed, and these remnants of bygone times could not contain their restlessness, burrowing out of their underground burrows.
And, the landing site they chose was none other than the very Thessaly over which he ruled.
The King of Thessaly, surrounded by deep shadows, looked up at the entourage of towering Giants with difficulty, swallowing a mouthful of saliva, internally regretting not heeding the temple Priest's warning.
——Recently, bizarre sounds have been constantly emerging from underneath Thessaly, and a sense of unease is evident among the insects, fish, birds, and beasts in the mountains.
The Priests, sensing the anomalous events, had urged him to perform a grand sacrifice to the great god Zeus, to gain divine revelations from the gods.
However, he was then deeply in love with his newlywed wife and did not take this matter to heart.
As a result, one misstep planted the seed of disaster.
Realizing the urgency of the situation, the King of Thessaly immediately drew his bronze sword and yelled at his guards.
"Hurry back and report, have the city seal the gates, be on full alert!"
With the approach of those towering figures, Admetos tore off his loose robe and took up a round shield from a guard, shouting boldly as he thrust himself forward.
"Form a phalanx, face the enemy!"
Clearly, he was attempting to put together a makeshift defensive line centered around himself.
In the world of the gods, humans are far too insignificant and fragile.
Even the Divine Blood Guard, descended from the family of City Builders, were but slightly stronger ants against these Gigantes.
At this moment, the only thing that might pose an obstacle to them was he himself, a Demigod and City Builder.
Whether from the duty of a king or the consciousness of a strong man.
He needed to step up at this moment, to buy enough time for the people of Thessaly to react.
And en route to the preparation, Admetos did not forget to push the handsome shepherd behind him, signaling his guards to usher him onto a warhorse.
Although as monarch of the land, his days were not particularly affluent, given that it was a region ravaged by the Titan war, a wild and rugged land.
But ever since he followed the oracle of great Zeus and the prophecies of the temple Priests, taking in two slaves from a foreign land, everything in Thessaly had started to improve.
Not only did fishing and herding flourish under the laborious work of the two foreign slaves.
But even he personally had good fortune due to his kindness toward the shepherd behind him, leading to marriage with a beautiful wife.
——The King of Iolcus, Peli As, agreed to give his daughter in marriage only to someone who could ride in a chariot drawn by lions and bears, and the shepherd behind him, using his unique talent for controlling animals, satisfied the marriage requirement, allowing him to marry the princess from the neighboring land.
Now, he and his wife lived in harmonious happiness.
To express his gratitude to the shepherd, Admetos not only reduced his hardships but also frequently visited the place where the shepherd herded, taking the role of an audience to listen to his music.
After many such visits, Admetos, although vaguely aware of the shepherd's extraordinary origins, wisely did not probe further. The other was quite content with this way of getting along, and the two thus formed deep friendship.
Whether because of friendship or gratitude, he wanted the shepherd to survive.
However, the shepherd stubbornly stood his ground, refusing to mount the horse, squandering his earnest effort.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Admetos raised his shield, gritting his teeth to block a gray-brown arm, then swung his sword to sever two fingers as thick as tree trunks, unable to help but turn his head and shout angrily.
"You fool, if you don't go now, it will be too late!"
"No need..."
As the shepherd was being pushed by the two Divine Blood guards, he murmured, raising his head towards the front, a look of conflicting emotions and a sense of humiliation surfacing in his eyes.
"We don't need to run anymore."
"Boom, boom, boom, boom!"
At the same time, the ground shook, ether in the air furiously converged and surged. A majestic golden figure of a Bull, moving at breathtaking speed, charged down the mountain path, ramming and trampling over the Titan Giants in its way, planting itself like a mountain in front of the Apollo and the field in Thessaly where the King stood.