Chapter 132

The wooden sticks soaking in the spring water swayed, and Medea's voice, under the influence of the illusion, became hesitant and indistinct.

Hebe's overly certain tone made Medea doubt herself.

"Could it be that I'm remembering it wrong?" Medea thought. "Yes, that 'God of Ultimate Freedom' swallowed up all of Greece, with only a few survivors... In this process, how many classics were lost, and how many memories were distorted beyond recognition?"

"I remember the sage once told me that if I realized my memories were no longer reliable, then I should stop trusting myself."

"I remember that musician once told me that if I start to doubt myself, it means that I will also lose myself."

"But I also remember that the king of Mycenae once told me that if I were to meet the Scion of Pure Water, I must believe everything she said... Memory and self are not to be trusted, but I have no reason not to believe the words of those who have the power to judge history."

"Because what she says is history!"

The history that Hebe witnessed is the truth!

At that moment, Medea no longer hesitated.

"Yes, I must have remembered it wrong. Hercules should be Heracles."

The moment the words fell, a memory of the Twelve Labors of Heracles slowly surfaced in the depths of Medea's consciousness.

Joan of Arc suddenly felt that her surroundings were somewhat familiar.

She called over the soldiers who were training, "Does this island have any special stories?"

"There are stories to tell."

The soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment. "It is said that this was said by the first king of Mycenae, the Pirate King."

"Tell me about it," Joan of Arc said with great interest.

The soldiers then organized their thoughts and began to recount this extremely ancient legend.

"This story takes place long before the founding of Atlantis, and tells of a great hero who completed the impossible twelve trials."

"The first of the twelve trials was to kill the Nemean Lion, which dwelled in the woods. This lion was incredibly fierce, and its hide was impervious to weapons. But the great hero seized its throat and strangled it to death. After that, the great hero used the lion's claws to skin it and made a suit of armor."

"The second trial was to shoot the Hydra snake. This snake is much more troublesome than a lion; if you cut off its head, it will grow back two. The great hero shot the snake's head and then burned the wound with fire to prevent it from growing back. After that, the great hero soaked his arrows in the snake's venom, and these arrows were invincible."

"The third trial was to capture a doe that was good at running away. The great hero chased it for a year before finally catching up with it in the far north."

"The fourth trial was to capture the demonic boar that destroyed crops and harmed passersby. In this trial, the great hero lost many of his friends, but after making such a sacrifice, he finally captured the demonic boar alive and brought it back."

"The fifth trial was to clean the kingdom's cowsheds. This may not seem like a noble act, but the great hero dug ditches and used water to clean the cowsheds spotless. For there is no nobility or baseness in labor."

"The sixth trial was to drive away the strange birds of Pharos. In this trial, the great hero received the help of the Great God Attinan, who used a gong to scare away the man-eating birds. The people spontaneously offered their condolences, but the great hero did not accept a single penny."

"The seventh trial was to subdue a bull that had gone mad. This bull originally belonged to a king who broke his promise, and the great hero forced him to keep his promise to the people before releasing the bull back into the wilderness."

"The eighth trial is to tame the tyrannical herds of horses. These horses also belong to a cruel Lord who is capricious and loves to throw innocent civilians and slaves into the herds to be trampled to death."

The great hero was enraged at the sight. He seized the tyrant and threw him into the herd of horses, wanting him to experience the same fate. Strangely enough, after trampling the king to death, the horses became docile.

"The ninth trial was to transform the warlike Amazon Kingdom. The great hero taught the Amazons, who only knew how to wage war, how to farm, how to trade, how to make handicrafts... All the Amazons were grateful for the great hero's teachings."

"The tenth trial was to defeat the giants who came across the sea. After the great hero killed them, he returned in triumph on a bull."

"The eleventh trial was to retrieve the Golden Apple guarded by the son of Typhon. The great hero, in place of Atlasto, lifted the Azure Sky with one hand and snatched the Golden Apple from the son of Typhon."

Then, three more goddesses came and asked the great hero to judge who should own the Golden Apple. They each offered a promise of 'power,' 'love,' and 'wisdom,' demanding that the great hero give the Golden Apple to them.

The great hero replied, "I see that the Golden Apple has always been enjoyed only by the gods, never by ordinary people. I need neither your power nor your favor, and as for wisdom... my wisdom only tells me to do what ought to be done!"

The great hero ate the Golden Apple clean and threw the core into the earth. The core grew into a lush apple orchard, and from then on, everyone in the world had cheap and delicious apples to eat.

"The twelfth trial was to fight Cerberus, the three-headed dog of the underworld. When the great hero visited the underworld, he heard that Cerberus was hungry, so he fed it with the honey cakes he had with him."

From then on, dogs became man's best friend.

The soldiers, their throats dry but their spirits high, said, "The great hero's Heracles. This is how he completed the twelve trials. He later became Hercules, and the island is named after him!"

Joan of Arc smiled slightly.

Whether true or not, the deeds of great heroes are always inspiring.

Beside the Spring, Hebe once again saw wisps of smoke drifting like a curtain, and words slowly emerged.

[The Third Great Ritual: Opposing Blades]

The compass needle points to the edge of the yin-yang symbol, time is blown by the wind. The deliberately obscured past finds its Closed Loop at the very top of the historical cycle; between "Zhen" and "Ge," the hero is subduing the inhuman beast... The upright and leap positions will change at any moment.

204 Repent Now (Two-in-One)

Issu is a great city, and it has been since the bountiful Golden Age.

Its expansion gradually reached a state of perfect stillness as the Philosopher King's Istina was continuously perfected.

In those days, Ys possessed a fleet that traversed the high seas, the most magnificent of which was the flagship of the Philosopher King. As Remus brought all the land and sea within his sight into his grasp, he returned to the capital in triumph and converted his flagship into the Pavieon Palace, which stood at the heart of Ys.

In the years that followed, the ship took root and grew, becoming known to the world as the Golden Tree. Its interior was a space different from the present world, where the Philosopher King meditated on the path to a bright future.

The Philosopher King's decrees were delivered to everyone through the seven golden bees.

Instead, after the Philosopher King fell silent, the Tuners he appointed began to undertake large-scale construction projects, expanding outwards from the Ys City. To this day, the area of Ys City has nearly doubled compared to four hundred years ago.

News of Elizabeth's death had reached the Ys City. The philosophers remained silent. Some of them felt a pang of sorrow, but that was only because they had lost a direct and convenient source of spiritual dew. As for the death of the Grand Harmonizer himself, they felt nothing.

After all, putting everything else aside, they themselves often debated and often befriended death.

Elizabeth's death was a sword of Damocles hanging over everyone's heads, while Nero's death, which came before that, was something only a few people knew about... In comparison, the latter was far more serious.

Of course, Mozart remained calm after learning that his two colleagues had died in the North.

"What else can we do but remain calm?" Mozart said to the servant who brought the message. "If I were to fly into a rage now, what could I change? Could I bring the two Grand Harmonizer back to life? Could I bring the now de facto independent North back under my control?"

Before the servant could answer, Mozart shook his head. "No."

"We all know that spilled water cannot be gathered up again. There are ways to recover spilled water, but we can't do anything by acting on impulse."

Nero was more of a nobleman than a musician; Elizabeth was more of a philosopher than a musician.

Mozart was a musician.

The servant did not respond at all, like a clay or wooden sculpture that neither heard, saw, nor spoke.

Everyone knows that Mozart's vision was far more radical, lofty, and grand than that of his two other colleagues.

If Nero upheld Atlantis supremacy, Elizabeth harbored a fear of death.

Mozart's idea was that music could achieve the immortality of the human soul, and he fervently believed that fate was controllable.

That is why he followed Remus so steadfastly, even going so far as to incorporate his own "achievements" into a Grand Symphony.

That is why the attendants remained silent and waited.

Because he knew that his master always issued those commands, which were as powerful as thunderbolts, in a calm manner.

The sound of the piano gradually faded into silence.

Mozart got up and went to the table.

The Golden Fleet weighed anchor.

The Golem Legion was reorganized.

All musicians were forced to accompany the army, also heading north.

As for the philosophers, Mozart did not issue any coercive orders to them, but he promised them the right to freely spread their philosophical schools.

Thus, this Grand Harmonizer, known as "Criminal Lawyer," mobilized the entire nation's power and pressed towards the northern border.

Mozart appeared remarkably relaxed when issuing these orders, which could have resulted in the deaths of tens or even millions of people.

Hebe walked out of the dense forest with the wooden stick in her hand.

After her discussion with Medea, she realized that this spring was no longer ordinary, and that a new, nascent consciousness was being born within it.

Perhaps in ten or twenty years, this unpolluted water source will give birth to a new Pure Water Spirit.

Medea was living inside this stick at that time.

Like a tenant, Medea offered her "achievements" as rent.

However, considering Medea's condition, it might be her limit after two or three uses.

Medea's achievements had two sides.

Firstly, there is the "All Talismans Respond, Breaking Vows" which severs contracts and connections; The Other, there is the "All Flaws Respond, Repairing" which heals wounds and cures pain. But unfortunately, in the long period of imprisonment and torment, the latter has been completely worn away.

Outside the dense forest, Hebe met Joan of Arc.

The latter looked very happy.

Joan of Arc was naturally pleased, because Hebe had clearly taken her words to heart.

Hebe stared intently at Joan of Arc: "Why did you undo your hair?"

Ever since she met Joan of Arc, the latter always wore her hair in a thick braid.

All I can say is that they are very simple and honest.

Joan of Arc's face flushed slightly. "How is it? Am I dressed up... well, not bad, right?"

Hebe's eye twitched slightly, and she commented in a calm tone, "Pretty good, quite different from your usual style."

"Do you like it?" Joan of Arc asked.

"I don't dislike it." Hebe put her hands behind her back and stood on tiptoe slightly. "It's quite novel... but isn't it inconvenient? After all, you are now the leader of an army of thousands."

"It doesn't matter!" The Maid of Orléans waved her hands repeatedly. "There are also many women in the Northern Army... In short, they are all under my command now, and there are clear boundaries between them, so there won't be any trouble."

It is clear that Joan of Arc understood Hebe's meaning.

At all times, the discipline and atmosphere within the military are of paramount importance; the slightest carelessness can lead to serious consequences.

If modern armies are like this, what about classical armies?

However, the Northern Army did not have this problem, because they were essentially inspired and led by Joan of Arc of Arc's banner.

It's easy for people to create troops out of thin air by simply opening the console and relaying commands without interruption; this kind of problem is simply not worth mentioning.

Just as Hebe was about to say something more, the Maid of Orléans grasped her hand.

Deep green eyes met blue-violet eyes.

"Ishtar, I—" The Maid of Orléans bit her lip. At this moment, she was no longer the Joan of Arc of Arc in full armor, but had become Jeanne again.

Jeanne took a deep breath. "I like you."

She gazed intently at Hebe's exquisite face, her breathing audible at close range.

Something seemed to be on fire, and the temperature suddenly rose a bit.

Hebe reached out and scratched her face. "You like me... uh, what do you like about me?"

"All."

Jeanne answered loudly.

"..."

Hebe did not answer, but a healthy blush gradually appeared on her face, whether from Jeanne's body temperature or from the emotional effect of the answer, it was hard to tell.

Her toes were pressed tightly together on the ground.

Hebe wasn't very good at dealing with people who were nice to her; of course, she wasn't good at dealing with those who were blunt either.

Unfortunately, Joan of Arc possessed both of these characteristics.

Hebe closed her eyes. "Could you let me go first?"

"I want to hear Ishtar's answer," Jeanne replied, seemingly ignoring the question.

Hebe was both embarrassed and annoyed, thinking that she hadn't answered the question directly, so how could this person not understand what she was thinking?

She opened her eyes and saw... well, she saw nothing.

What has blinded me? Hebe was deeply saddened.

But she still shamelessly enjoyed the feeling.