My Turf, I Protect It
In the Sea of Okeanos, a giant cedarwood ship, gleaming in the sunlight, cuts through the waves, casting a huge shadow on the surface, and sails toward a round island.
"According to the order of the draw, who has been chosen for this island exploration mission?"
Jason drew his sword and shouted for a halt, while directing the crew to lower the anchor and secure the Argo, and then asked the others questions.
"Caenis, Castor, and I will lead the team. The last four are newbies who have never been to an island before. Remember to keep up and pay attention to your surroundings."
After Prince of Calydon Meleager of Calydon had finished preparing his gear, he rallied his teammates, and together they launched a small boat, carrying shields, spears, and other weapons, and jumped in one by one.
However, when it was Caenis's turn, she was persuaded and pleaded to be replaced by Pollux, the younger sister of the Twin Swordsmen.
These inseparable twins, once they met, immediately stuck together, a true model of orthopedics.
As Jason watched his teammates climb onto the shallows and enter the strange jungle that resembled a coral reef, his brow furrowed slightly.
"What's wrong, Captain? Is something the problem?"
Samael stepped forward, patted Jason on the shoulder, and casually asked a question.
"This place isn't on any nautical charts, and the plants here look rather unsavory. I have a feeling something bad might be going to happen."
Jason opened the parchment scroll, observing and gesturing as he expressed his underlying unease.
"Don't say that..."
Samael's expression turned serious, and he earnestly offered his advice.
"That's true, maybe I'm overthinking it."
"No, what I mean is, as long as you have this feeling, it's not 'may' something bad happen, it's 'definitely' something bad will happen!"
Jason, upon hearing this, was at a loss for words, unsure whether to take it as a compliment or a mockery. After a moment's thought, he sought the opinion of Athena's beloved adopted son.
"Then signal them to retreat?"
"We're already on the island, so let's just forget about it and have the archers prepare cover."
Samael thought for a moment and offered a compromise, which reassured Jason, who nodded in agreement.
"That's true. We're about to break through the Stormy Sea Region, where the environment is even harsher. Who knows how long it will take? It's better to replenish our fresh water supply beforehand, just in case."
Besides, we've conquered more than one deserted island like this. If we don't let these energetic guys take risks, Chuan and the others will definitely cause trouble. Anyway, they all have divine blood, and we have so many backup; they won't die.
As he spoke, Jason's face radiated confidence.
Having sailed from the port of Iolcus, the Argonaut Expedition had been adrift on the Sea of Okeanos for three months.
During this time, they encountered various crises, but they always managed to turn danger into safety thanks to their increasingly tacit cooperation.
On Lemnos, they helped the old King quell the rebellion, stopped the mad women cursed by Cupid, who were covered in foul odor and had nearly killed all the men on the island, restored them to normal, and left behind the seeds of life for them.
On the island of the Duliana, they helped defend against an attack by a group of six-armed giants and were treated with courtesy and hospitality by the King.
In the kingdom of Pebrykaia, the twin female swordswoman Pollux showed off her skills as a Pankrasin, hammering to death the tyrannical King who had forced him into boxing matches and killed all the losers (Pollux was a famous Greek boxer, a beautiful boxer).
In Salmidasos, they helped the gods reveal a prophecy of destiny, and King Phineus, cursed by the gods and attacked by a flock of bird-like creatures, shot all the noisy creatures to death...
Other creatures, such as sea monster tides, swarms of two-legged pterosaurs, two-headed giant snakes, and scheming water Nymph, were either expelled or taken to the Argonauts' cabins as spoils of war for the heroes to show off their achievements.
It was nothing short of a miracle that none of the more than 50 Argo Heroes perished during their three-month sea adventure.
Jason, feeling triumphant, once again thanked God for his good fortune.
However, what the captain didn't know was that the god who protected them was right beside him.
During the most dangerous incidents, without Samael's secret assistance, the Argo would have suffered some casualties, and might even have been killed in the chaos of battle due to misunderstanding and the King of fate, thus getting themselves into a lot of trouble.
Samael glanced at the sacrificial inscriptions on the deck beneath his feet, a cold smile playing on his lips.
High altar?
Sorry, I've got you covered here. You might get to see some things, but not much to eat!
During this journey, witnessing the misfortunes that humanity suffered in the face of the gods, the ancient serpent increasingly felt that Olympus had no reason to exist.
"The island! The island is moving!"
Suddenly, Atalanta, who had jumped onto the mast among the archers who were already in position, had her pupils contract sharply and immediately shouted a warning.
At the same time, a string of bubbles rose from the nearby sea, and turbid waves mixed with mud and sand surged and spread from the deserted island to all sides.
The island was rapidly rising and growing taller, covered with large coral reefs and marine algae clinging to its surface, clearly something brought from the deep sea.
"Look down! Something's coming up!"
Standing on one side of the ship, Heracles looked down at the inexplicably dark waters and immediately alerted his companions.
Waves rolled in, and columns of water hundreds of meters high gushed out of the sea, bringing moist air and a slightly salty smell.
Whoosh!
A black tail fin, tens of meters long, leaps out of the deep sea and then slaps the surface, splashing up huge waves.
"I never imagined that a Leviathan Giant Whale was hidden here."
Oryx, shaped like a puppet, broke free from Artemis's embrace and jumped onto his lover's shoulder. Upon seeing this, he murmured to himself.
Noticing his teammates around him looking slightly bewildered, the Son of the Sea God from the Golden Age casually offered an explanation.
"Leviathan Giant Whale are quite ancient beings, said to have been born during the time of the old sea god Pontus. They are enormous in size but have limited mobility. Between their feeding and breathing activities, they often remain motionless for several years, during which time the parasites on them form living reefs that float on the sea surface."
Then, the Oryx paused, a smug look appearing on his face.
"That's nothing. The giant whale that Perseus and I encountered at sea could lift an island larger than the Peloponnese Peninsula."
The first giant whale Lord to be born was even capable of supporting the entire continent!
The crowd marveled, their awe for the Sea of Okeanos growing even stronger.
"I said, they should be fine, right?"
Samael pointed to the exploration team members who had received the signal, jumped onto the boat, and were paddling desperately away from the area shrouded in the shadow of the Leviathan Whale, and asked with a frown.
"It's alright, it's alright. Leviathan Whale are generally quite docile. At most, it's just waking up and turning over to breathe... that's all..."
"Splash!"
As the Oryx, a colossal creature with a head and neck covered in grayish-white calcified bone armor and a body hundreds of meters long leaped out of the deep sea. Its eyes were sinister and red, and it opened its mouth to bite the small boat that the explorers had escaped on.
"Arrow of Plague - Rot!"
"Dark Sky Eclipse!"
"Nine Lives!"
Just as the threat of death loomed over the members of the exploration team, Artemis, Atalanta, and Heracles, the three long-range snipers aboard the Argo, displayed their prowess. Flashing arcs of light pierced the sky, scattering the pervasive water vapor, and bombarded the hostile Leviathan Whale one after another.