The Villain of Ancient Greece

Crete Island, before the coastal fortress.

Amidst the sudden upheaval, King Minos, who had become the focal point of the battlefield, ripped off the tattered robe that hindered his movement, revealing a torso sculpted like forged steel—his muscles coiled and powerful.

With one hand, he raised the golden scepter that symbolized the divine authority of Crete and pointed it toward the dark, storm-laden sea where the beast tide was gathering. He laughed boldly.

”Talos! My sword, my shield! Since you have awakened, then aid me in sweeping away these invaders!”

”—At your command, my king!”

A stern, cold voice responded from behind the coastal fortress, echoing across the land like rolling thunder.

On the horizon, the towering hundred-meter bronze giant loomed over the invading beast tide at sea.

Slowly, it spread its arms as thousands of luminous patterns began to light up in sequence across its bronze-clad exterior, resonating in layers.

BZZZZZZZ—!

Twelve glowing rings, of varying sizes, formed on its arms, legs, neck, back, and chest—assembling like cannon turrets.

Each ring adjusted automatically, focusing toward the sea where the beasts converged.

”—Particle convergence, divine might loading!”

The mechanical voice rang out once more as the twelve luminous rings reversed rotation, pulling energy inward.

Instantly, spiritual particles from the earth’s leylines and ether from the air surged like a tidal wave toward the bronze giant, an overwhelming current of magic converging on the behemoth.

In just a few moments, the network of patterns beneath its bronze skin, like veins in a human body—filled with highly compressed magical fluid.

The flowing ”Golden Blood of the Gods” surged toward the chest cavity that served as the heart of the bronze giant.

Under the synchronization and amplification of the twelve glowing rings, it was compressed into a single radiant beam of pure destruction.

—Spiritual Liquid Cannon, Extermination Mode Engaged!

In an instant, a multicolored beam dozens of meters wide tore through the thinning night, streaking across the vast sea and carving a bottomless trench.

It wasn’t until ten seconds later, when the divine torrent had finally faded, that the deep thousand-meter chasm was filled once more by the crashing waves.

Crash!

The deafening roar of the sea returned, but the once-crowded and chaotic waters had fallen into a hushed, eerie silence.

The massive swarm of writhing sea beasts at the center had vanished.

The once-dark ocean was now stained red—a sea of blood.

”Hiss~~!”

In that sudden stillness, every living being that witnessed the scene gasped in sheer terror.

A single strike, just one—and over ten thousand sea beasts had been annihilated at the shores of Crete.

Such destructive power was terrifying!

Only a god could possibly achieve something like that!

And truthfully, they weren’t wrong.

The one who had wrought such devastation... was a true demi-god.

Lorne turned back to gaze beyond the coastal fortress, where the towering figure stood resolute on the horizon.

The image in his mind immediately connected with what he saw.

The bronze giant Talos—an ancient remnant of the Bronze Age, unscathed by catastrophe, and still living.

His race predated the demi-gods and god-blooded heroes who now built and ruled human city-states.

Far more ancient.

Legend has it that the giants of the Bronze Age were forged from stone and bronze by Hephaestus, god of fire and forge, under Zeus’s command.

Much like the creation of Pandora, they were molded with divine hands.

As for their purpose?

To repopulate the earth after the Great Flood wiped out humanity, to pacify the fury of the Earth Mother, Gaia.

These bronze giants had bodies of bronze and the forms of men.

Like humans, they had veins—veins that ran from their neck to their knees or ankles.

These veins were their source of power, filled with divine liquid.

But lacking wisdom and driven purely by their combat prowess, the bronze giants sank into endless bloodshed and destruction.

Eventually, they became a threat to all life.

The Earth Mother, Gaia, grew more and more enraged.

Thus, Zeus ended the experiment of recreating humanity and instead, ordered the god-smith Hephaestus to destroy the uncontrollable bronze race.

During that great catastrophe, the bronze giant Talos was an exception because his body had fused with the bloodline of the Meliae nymphs, granting him considerable rationality.

He became the sole survivor of the disaster.

Later, thanks to the blessings of the Earth Mother Gaia, the new humans represented by Deucalion and Pyrrha repopulated the earth.

Talos, left alone, was taken to the sacred mountain to serve the gods of Olympus.

Then, Zeus, obsessed with sowing his seed, transformed into a white bull and abducted Europa to Crete, making her the earthly consort of the gods, to propagate his divine royal bloodline.

Considering his mortal lover was too fragile, Zeus gave Europa three gifts:

Namely, the bronze giant Talos, a golden hunting dog, and a quiver of infallible golden arrows.

After many twists, the divine consort Europa passed these three gifts to her and Zeus’s son Minos, so he could defend his realm.

From then on, the bronze giant Talos became a subordinate of King Minos, guarding Crete.

At first, he achieved great military successes.

As Minos’s civilization grew stronger, Talos gradually had less to do and faded from public view.

Following King Minos’s orders, he went into underground slumber to avoid harming innocents.

Unexpectedly, a century later,

Because of a devastating beast tide from the sea, Talos, who was once a guardian and war machine, was awakened again by King Minos, returning to daylight on Crete to unleash his terrifying godlike destructive power.

”Monster! Monster!”

At this moment, the Siren sisters, having narrowly escaped, cast their gaze over the floating chunks of flesh on the sea and the blood-red tide, looking fearfully toward the bronze giant Talos standing behind Crete’s coastal defense line.

”Aaaaaa!!!”

Soon, their fear turned to rage.

Stirred by the bloody scene, the Siren sisters sang together, unleashing a wild and vicious energy.

The chaotic sea beasts, as if injected with adrenaline, entered a frenzy and surged toward Crete, trying to close the distance and destroy the terrifying war machine.

Meanwhile, the swirling sea waves formed a massive whirlpool, swallowing and absorbing countless floating chunks of flesh.

Crash!

The completed feeding of the Great Whirlpool Charybdis allowed her to reconstruct a massive water illusion form.

Her body was covered with bloody seawater mixed with entrails and debris, radiating a maddened bloodlust.

”Die!”

With garbled words, the Great Whirlpool Charybdis raised her right hand, gathering the polluted red tide into a bloodstained trident, then fiercely threw it toward the heavily besieged coastal fortress on Crete.

Facing the ferocious attack, Talos’s eyes flashed red and he quickly stepped over the coastal fortress, crossing his bronze arms to block the assault.

Clang!

With the sharp clash of metal, the trident formed by the sea water was firmly blocked by the bronze giant.

Though a massive construct of bronze and stone, thanks to the peerless craftsmanship of Hephaestus and the bloodline of the Meliae nymphs, Talos’s speed was incredible.

In theory, he could easily patrol around Crete three times a day, and the island’s coastline exceeds 1,000 kilometers.

”Roar!”

Failing the first strike, the Great Whirlpool Charybdis, riding the waves, let out an angry roar.

Her terrifying face made of countless severed limbs looked even more grotesque.

Bang!

Facing the hideous sea monster, the emotionless bronze giant raised his fist and punched directly into the floating face made of numerous sea beast corpses.

Crash!

With Charybdis staggering back, the next wave of fierce tides collapsed and could no longer effectively assault the coastal line.

The dark night passed, and dawn broke.

After a night of fierce battle, the Minos people finally held on until daybreak.

Looking at the bronze giant who had driven back the Great Whirlpool Charybdis with a single punch, and the resolute King Minos standing before the fortress, the surviving soldiers grabbed their weapons and struck their shields wildly, erupting into thunderous cheers.

”Μνωα (Minos)!”

”Μνωα (Minos)!”

”Μνωα (Minos)!”

Listening to the passionate cheers behind him, rolling like waves, the old man felt as if he had returned to his youth, when he held sword and shield and charged into battle against foreign invaders.

With the hot blood surging in his chest awakening the fighting spirit stored in his aged body, King Minos tossed his golden scepter to his daughter, snatched the bronze spear from his eldest son’s hand, pointed toward the battlefield, and shouted loudly:

”The beast tide has broken! Set sail! Advance!”

Crash!

At the same time, in the sheltered harbor on the far side of Crete,

Rows of white sails gathered and rose, fluttering vigorously in the sea breeze.

Then dozens of massive oared warships sailed out from Crete’s flanks like furious dragons entering the sea, stirring up roaring waves as they surged toward the sea beasts concentrated in the front battle.

Soldiers standing on the near-shore fortress looked intently and saw burly figures clad in bronze armor, wielding sword and shield, with javelins on their backs and longbows at their hips, lined up neatly on deck, radiating a sharp, lethal aura.

When everyone recognized the double-axe and bull emblem on the flags, their cheers grew even louder.

”Divine Blood Guard! The Divine Blood Guard!”

The blood of the gods flows among mortals, and the purer it is, the more outstanding the warriors it produces.

Therefore, each city-state’s elite force is often the guard composed of warriors bearing divine blood.

Even if their exact generations of mixed blood are unclear, each of these warriors can take on ten ordinary soldiers.

Whenever they appear on the battlefield, it usually signifies a turning point in the war.

Now, with the beast tide shattered and dawn breaking,

This Divine Blood Guard, having rested and trained all night, burst forth like a sharp dagger thrust into the enemy’s heart.

At this moment, watching the invincible fleet he built himself display its fangs on the sea, swiftly dividing and encircling the chaotic beast tide and executing an orderly slaughter, King Minos’s heart swelled with pride.

”Good! Let these beasts see who rules the nearshore!”

And watching the large double-masted warships weaving like swimming dragons, rapidly slicing through the battlefield, and the hundreds of Divine Blood Guard on deck piercing through the beast tide like rows of sharp spears, Lorne couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

Although all the plans were discussed and formulated together with King Minos, and he had already learned from Minos about the key decisive elements—the bronze giant Talos and the Divine Blood Guard appearing as the ultimate trump cards—

Still, seeing is believing.

Not only was Talos’s combat power astonishing, but the performance of the Divine Blood Guard under King Minos also far exceeded his expectations.

To fight at sea against the beast hordes, repeatedly breaching the formations of these native sea monsters with coordinated attacks was on par with the Atlantean Guard he had encountered before—truly incredible.

But after thinking it over, Lorne felt somewhat relieved.

In real history, the Minoan civilization fully leveraged Crete’s advantageous geographic position to develop shipbuilding and establish a powerful fleet, which was one of the earliest navies in the world.

With this invincible fleet, the Minoans dominated the Aegean Sea, intimidated Athens, and made Crete a crucial link connecting the advanced civilizations of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Ultimately, the Minoan kingdom maintained trade relations with Egypt, Syria, Babylon, and Asia Minor, becoming a maritime hegemon.

At the height of Minoan power, during King Minos’s reign, the island nations of the Aegean Sea all submitted to him, and Athens was forced to pay tribute.

Perhaps due to the many defeats they suffered, the city-states around the Mediterranean secretly spun dark rumors about the Minoans.

The legend of the Minotaur, the bull-headed monster, probably originated during this period.

”Want to rebel?! This isn’t Atlantis!”

The old man sneered coldly, grabbed his bronze spear, slung a war bow and the pouch of golden arrows he inherited from his mother Europa, then leapt from the fortress, charging straight toward the Siren sisters at the center of the battlefield, who were trying to regain control of the beast tide.

Finally, he was at the last move of the game.

”General, then!”

Meanwhile, Lorne, holding his breath atop the city wall, watched the anticipated situation unfold with relief.

He drew his bronze sword, surged his divine power, and followed closely behind King Minos, aiming straight for the Siren sisters, the command center of the beast tide.

But for some reason, the closer he got to the battlefield, the faster his heart pounded.

It was as if some unsettling factor still lingered...

Lorn’s heart skipped a beat.

He raised his hand and whispered to King Minos ahead of him:

”Borrow your bow!”

”Borrow?”

King Minos paused briefly, then looked at the war bow and golden arrows at Lorn’s waist, laughed heartily, and without hesitation threw them backward.

”Haha, borrow? I’m giving them to you!”

Lorn caught the bow and the pouch of golden arrows, his eyes flickering as he glanced at King Minos, who was already rushing eagerly toward the battlefield.

He wanted to say something but ultimately kept silent.

On the sea, the figure trailing behind quietly slowed down, gradually increasing the distance from the one ahead.