The Villain of Ancient Greece

In front of the abandoned temple, dozens of people were busily moving their scavenged loot onto ships on the square.

The burly bald man overseeing the work kept glancing toward the dense forest along the distant coastline, the furrow between his brows growing deeper and deeper.

Because the demigod descendant of Hermes had been gone for a long time, his unease led him to send two more men to investigate the situation.

However, there was still no sign of movement from the other side.

Under the dusk, the coastal forest seemed like a beast lurking in the darkness, chewing and devouring life, sending chills down one’s spine.

Just as the bald man stood in hesitation, a sudden thunderclap exploded from the silence.

”BOOM!”

Several fierce columns of blazing light shot up from the depths of the forest.

In an instant, a violent shockwave formed, sweeping in all directions.

Wherever it passed, grass and trees were crushed, rocks were reduced to powder, and a massive mushroom cloud visibly expanded with terrifying speed.

Even from across more than half the island, the deafening explosion and the trembling ground caused many on the square to stumble.

Bang! Bang!

With the muffled sound of heavy bodies crashing to the ground, two figures, flung out like ragged sacks by the shockwave, clumsily got back on their feet.

One of them had a face smeared with blood and an expression full of panic.

The other was none other than the previously missing Xuster.

At this moment, the demigod descendant of Hermes had a grotesquely twisted right arm and a stab wound in the abdomen.

Blood with a hint of golden red flowed out from several tragic wounds.

There was almost no blood and vitality on his pale face.

”You bastard, don’t even think about running!”

At the same time, a roar brimming with murderous intent came from behind.

Accompanied by the sound of raging

waves, several dark blue tridents howled through the air.

”Get down!”

In an instant, the blood-covered attendant shuddered with a jolt, shouting with all his might as he tackled the half-dead Xuster to the ground, rolling forward with him.

”Pfft pfft pfft pfft!

Before anyone ahead could react, the deep blue tridents that came tearing through the air narrowly skimmed over the heads of the two and crashed into the plaza, splattering blood and unleashing waves of agonized screams.

Just as chaos erupted across the scene, the follower with blood streaked across his face, yanked the barely-alive Xuster off the ground and, seizing the moment before the next wave of attacks, sprinted straight into their own ranks.

That nimble reaction drew admiration—truly worthy of being a follower of Hermes, the god of speed.

”What the hell are you standing around for?! Waiting to die? Help out! Take these looters down!”

As the urgent cry echoed in their ears, the suddenly ambushed crowd on the plaza snapped out of their daze like waking from a dream.

Seeing how Xuster, who had gone to investigate, returned in such a miserable state, paired with the anguished cries of comrades and the thick stench of blood in the air, they instinctively surged with magical energy and drew their weapons.

At that moment, several sea-blue figures chasing through the air above seemed momentarily intimidated by the rising battle aura from the square.

They froze mid-air, lips twitching as if they were about to chant.

”Don’t let them cast spells!”

A timely warning rang out from the crowd, and the figure who had rallied the others hurled a dagger forward, signaling the charge.

”They’re outnumbered—hit ’em together!”

Following the lead of the man, the on-edge crowd, their nerves stretched taut from the ambush, sprang into action.

Spears, hand crossbows, and short axes were drawn and launched in a flurry.

The attackers, unwilling to take the assault lying down, instinctively counterattacked.

In the blink of an eye, the two forces clashed head-on in the middle of the square.

The battle only grew more and more fierce with each clash of steel and every fresh splash of blood.

Yet, no one noticed that the heroic figure who first rallied morale, and the barely-alive Hermes bloodline, had already vanished amid the chaos.

Nor did anyone realize that the large patches of crimson on the plaza were gradually fading, as the blood spilled beneath their feet silently seeped into the ground under the cover of darkness.

.

.

At this moment, in the southeast of the Invisible Island...

A short, wiry figure staggered to the shore, clutching a bleeding wound in his abdomen. He fumbled through the sand and grabbed a rope tied to a reef, pulling with all his might.

After a moment, a small pinewood boat slowly emerged from the shadows near the reef.

Phew! Everything’s still here.

Under the night sky, Xuster glanced at the deep waterline on the boat’s hull and let out a long, relieved breath, collapsing onto the sand in exhaustion.

But with the release of tension from his body and mind, waves of sharp pain came flooding in like a tide.

He couldn’t help but hiss in pain, face twisting, cursing a certain culprit silently in his heart.

That bastard went way too hard!

If he hadn’t pretended to be dead during the chaos and bluffed his way out, he might’ve already been silenced for good.

This Hermes-line demigod, having narrowly escaped death, couldn’t help but shiver at the memory of that harrowing scene, feeling all the more thankful for his quick thinking.

Sure, he’d teamed up with outsiders to fool his own people, but that was survival instinct and he was forced by the situation.

After all, his life was in the other side’s hands; what choice did he have?

And if he hadn’t agreed, those two already-overcooked local flunkies in the forest were perfect examples of what would’ve happened.

Of course, even if this set of rhetoric is thrown out, betrayal is something most crews will never tolerate.

Especially when both sides lost so many people because of the scheme—no matter which side wins in the end, once the dust settles and people start figuring out what really happened, finding out the crux and problems, he seriously doubted there’d be a happy ending for him.

So rather than sit here waiting to die, why not make one last score, then run far, far away as soon as possible? Worst case, he’d just change his name.

Looking at the boat’s deep waterline again, a pleased smile couldn’t help but tugg at Xuster’s lips, pride lighting up his face.

This was the escape boat he had secretly prepared for himself, just in case that bald bastard tried to kill the donkey after grinding the mill.

Inside, there was also a private stash—only the best stuff.

For someone working in the gray zone, hated by men and dogs alike, always surrounded by bloodthirsty thugs living on the edge, if you don’t prepare yourself a way out, how the hell are you supposed to survive?

Xuster turned his head and glanced mockingly at the temple plaza on the island, where the sounds of battle still echoed before he swayed, struggling to his feet and clambering aboard his little boat.

However, due to the massive blood loss and his weakened state, he staggered and nearly toppled headfirst back into the sea from the bow.

Luckily, a hand reached out from the darkness and yanked him back onto the boat as a weighty, almost fatherly voice sounded by his ear:

”I told you to be careful.”

”Tha—”

The reflexive reply froze on his lips and Xuster, who had been trying to steady himself, stiffly turned his neck toward the source of the voice, toward the nightmare who had appeared before him like a ghost in the night, smiling cheerfully.

His nose tingled, and finally, his voice came out trembling, almost tearful.

”Y-you… why are you here?”

”Isn’t it obvious? I was worried about you,”

Lorne replied with a gentle smile, his tone filled with concern.

”You’re half-dead already and still managed to run this far. What if you ran into danger?”

”Danger? Who on this damn island is more dangerous than you?! ’

Xuster couldn’t help cursing in his heart, a surge of dread and frustration rising up as an irrational urge to jump overboard hit him. But the oars had already parted the water, sending the boat drifting steadily toward deeper sea, away from the island.

As the bones in his right arm that had not yet been reset and the wound on his stomach that almost cut him alive came with a tearing pain, he slumped against the edge of the boat, his nose stinging even more.

Escape master? Tactical genius? It was all an illusion!

Thinking back to how he’d crawled out of that blood-soaked plaza, dragging his near-dead body inch by inch to the shore, smugly believing he’d pulled a fast one, only to realize now that he’d been dancing under Lorne’s watch the entire time, Xuster’s spine chilled with dread and bitter humiliation.

He had faked death to escape, and the other side had clearly known all along. They’d just let him squirm for fun.

Still, even though he longed to carve the other party into tiny pieces and toss him into the sea to feed the fish, Xuster somehow managed to stretch a professional, fake smile across his face and flatter him with practiced ease.

”You’re right! This is the boat I prepared for you to leave the island. There’s a special gift on board too—the finest loot this island has to offer!”

The demigod opened his mouth and immediately unleashed the smooth tongue inherited from his ancestor Hermes, forcibly beautifying his behavior of deserting the battlefield and embezzling treasures into thoughtful considerations for Lorne.

Then he paused, glanced warily back at the plaza, where the sounds of fighting seemed to be fading and spoke carefully.

”Let’s take off while we still can, yeah?”

Even though he’d just pulled off a perfect con, manipulating both sides with a mix of flawless acting and well-timed information gaps, once the situation calmed and people started thinking critically, it was all going to unravel fast.

Besides, the disappearance of the two key instigators, him and Lorne, was an irreparable hole in the story.

By the time everyone pieced it together, they wouldn’t just have one side chasing them, it’d be both.

Lorne just smiled, unhurriedly working the oars as he gazed at the island slowly shrinking in the distance, the corners of his lips curling upward.

”I forgot to mention—before I caught up to you, I did a little something else.”

”…What?”

Xuster blinked in confusion and asked instinctively,

”What do you mean—?”

Snap!

Lorne let go of the oars, raised his right hand, and snapped his fingers crisply.

”BOOM!”

In that instant, a deafening explosion erupted from the far side of the island. Deep blue waterlight shot into the sky, shards of shattered wood rained down like hail, and a ruined warship, spewing thick black smoke, slowly sank beneath the waves.

At the same moment, on the temple plaza, the bald, burly man who had just begun to hesitate looked over and saw the scene, his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

”The ship! They destroyed our ship! And everything we gathered!”

For a moment, a murderous aura exploded across the plaza.

The clashing sounds of armor being drawn and weapons being unsheathed echoed one after another.

There true identity weren’t that of mere looters. They were the regular army of Serifos.

And now, with the Blood of the Gorgon unrecovered, no treasures to offset the cost of the expedition, and the only vessel back destroyed… their fate was sealed.

If we’re not making it out of here alive—then neither are they!

Fury boiled over.

The surviving soldiers around him roared in unison, ripping off their cloaks to reveal regulation armor underneath.

”Fight! Take them down with us!”

Meanwhile, the few bewildered guards from Atlantis, already disoriented from the chaos of battle, stood stunned and expressionless, before they moved purely by instinct as they faced the oncoming wave of furious, desperate human soldiers charging in for a last, blood-soaked stand.

(End of Chapter)