King of the Underworld, I'm Here to Snatch People 3/4
Finally, the Argo veered off course and crashed to the ground with a deafening roar. Its sturdy wooden hull slid forward, crushing cobblestones along the road, collapsing houses in its path, and carving a hundred-meter-long gully of rubble, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation.
The Argo, which had been meticulously prepared before its departure, was now in ruins, revealing its pitiful keel.
Fortunately, the ship's structure was still intact. Amidst violent coughing, the Argo Heroes, covered in dust and dirt, emerged from the dust cloud in a disheveled state.
We won the bet! Haha, Guotong is a great ship!
Supported by the Twin Swordsmen, Jason emerged from the wreckage of the Argo. Suppressing his excitement, he grabbed his shield, slung his javelin over his shoulder, and brandished his bronze sword, issuing urgent commands for the next phase.
"Quick! Plan Two! Before they can react, hurry and get through here. My chosen landing point is only five or six hundred meters from the central Sea God Temple!"
The journey to the Great Altar was a lone expedition, with overwhelming odds, and was destined to be fraught with danger.
Therefore, if directly landing at the gliding point fails, their backup plan is to follow Triton's previous guidance, activate the Sea God Temple teleportation spell, and enter the Interstellar City Mountain Range.
However, if they were to directly penetrate the vital points of those monsters, they would likely have to face multiple enemies, leaving them with no room for maneuver.
With things having come to this point, the Argo Heroes dared not hesitate for a moment. They decisively took their weapons, gathered around Jason, and rushed toward the newly renovated Poseidon Sea God Temple in Atlantis.
In fact, this temple was renovated by them when they were stranded in Atlantis, as a way to atone for the sins of that unfortunate Sea King. So no one knows this place better than them.
With familiarity with the route, the group traveled smoothly and arrived at the square in front of the Sea God Temple in just a dozen breaths.
The sight of two familiar figures leaning against the Sea God Pillar brought the crew an unexpected delight.
It's Atalanta and Circe! They're alive and well, and they've arrived at the Sea God Temple ahead of us, ready to reunite! That's wonderful!
"Sister Ata, Aunt, how are you?"
Seeing this, Medea was excited and stepped forward. Overjoyed, the Argo Heroes quickened their pace as well.
Just as everyone stepped into the square where the seven sea god pillars were scattered, two figures turned stiffly to the side, their pale faces filled with urgency. They moved their lips and teeth, straining to utter broken, indistinct, trembling sounds.
"Don't... come any closer... quickly... go away!"
Everyone's expression changed drastically, and they instinctively pulled away and retreated hastily.
Suddenly, it was too late. A strong tremor came from the ground, and a chasm stretching for dozens of miles split open in the wide square. A creature with a shape like a pale blue eyeball, small pink wings on both sides, and a sharp, drooping tail, like a mechanical creation with a straight root, emerged from the mud beneath the city.
Wherever it passed, walls collapsed and houses crumbled, and dense, lush green plants spread and grew wildly, quickly encroaching on most of this steel city. Even the stone slabs under everyone's feet sprouted layers of lush greenery.
The True Body Machine God — Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture!
The Argo Heroes' hearts clenched as they gazed at the monster that stood between the Sea God Temple and the thick, coiled vines surrounding the seven pillars of Poseidon.
At this moment, with the angle shifting, everyone was shocked to see green vines emerging from the cracks in the rocks, tightly binding their legs. The pale roots had already pierced into the flesh and blood of their backs, and a neurotoxin-like fluid was continuously injected into their bodies, causing paralysis and numbness.
Clearly, this thing possesses at least rudimentary intelligence; it knows how to throw out bait, set traps, and wait for them to fall into its net.
Not only that, as the light patterns around the Saturnian mecha pulsed and spread, Atlantis soldiers clad in black armor, their flesh and blood gone, leaving only skeletons, their eyes glowing with cruel red light, surged in from all directions to begin their hunt.
"Don't stop! Charge forward!"
Seeing that they were surrounded by enemies and had no way to retreat, Jason roared and decisively ordered the Argo Heroes to charge towards the Sea God Temple from the front.
This is the only chance to enter the Interstellar City Mountain Range!
With fierce looks in their eyes, the crowd charged forward, throwing spears and arrows raining down on the hovering Machine God Demeter as they charged.
"Continental-level shattering mechanism, activate. Divine core connection, divine core activation. How insignificant, how tragic, are all living things. Tragedy is death, death is the end. I grant you eternal rest!"
With a flick of her wrist, Demeter's vines swayed and twisted before her, easily deflecting the attacks of the crowd, and in a gentle, compassionate tone, she chanted Divine Utterance Command that carried a chilling undertone.
In an instant, the command was given, and the God of Agriculture descended gracefully, lightly touching the ground. A pale green light spread out, and within its reach, plants grew wildly.
Wisps of gray mist quietly spread among the green grass, roots penetrated the soil and turned to sand, leaving no trace of fresh grass. The nearby hard stone slabs were broken down into particles, eventually turning into dust and drifting away with the wind.
Not good!
Having teased God of Death, Sisyphus, whose perception of the Death Authority was most acute, looked down at the patch of lush green grass that had sprouted from the ground. His pupils contracted sharply, and he grabbed two of the closest figures in horror, leaping into the air.
In an instant, the gray mist that had swept over them passed by the Argo Heroes, and their flesh and blood quickly dried up, crumbling like cotton wool. They became like dried corpses, their bodies drained of moisture, and before they could even utter a sound of agony, they fell straight to the ground like wheat being harvested in a field.
At the scene, only the captured Atalanta and Circe, along with him and the two lucky ones, managed to escape unscathed.
The power of life has both the ability to generate lush greenery and the ability to awaken the dead!
The seemingly insignificant patch of grass beneath their feet was the medium through which Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture, stole human life!
Sisyphus now finally understands how those Atlantis defenders, who have turned into skeletons, came to be.
It is likely that Demeter, whose program was rewritten, is the culprit who guarded the Atlantis of Mu Continent and destroyed the surface cities!
It's over! It's all over!
Having narrowly escaped death due to his vigilance, Sisyphus watched as the mummified corpses were gradually engulfed by green grass, his blood nearly freezing.
Just as the fraudster, who had repeatedly escaped God of Death's judgment, was in a miserable state, a clear medical bell rang from the left. The man he had hastily rescued calmly waved his snake staff, the tip of which was surrounded by a black snake that hissed and flicked its tongue like a living creature, sprinkling down droplets of spiritual liquid like rain or light.
"Creation begins from nothingness, death is rebirth. Through the principle of the circle, through the molting of the snake, through the healing of medicine, the shackles of fate are broken—True Medicine, Without the Lament of the Underworld!"
In solemn contemplation, the Argo Heroes, stripped of their life force and withered into mummies, were nourished by the purplish-red elixir. Their flesh and blood gradually became plump again, while the surrounding vegetation withered instantly. Vigorous life force flowed back into their bodies, not only healing their injuries but also restoring them to their peak condition.
What's wrong with us?
The Argo Heroes, rising from the ashes, felt as if they had just taken a nap, and their spirits were fully restored.
As everyone looked up at Demeter, who was suspended in mid-air, terrifying memories surfaced in their minds, causing their pupils to contract sharply and their faces to turn pale.
They just died once!
Asclepius, through some means, managed to snatch their lives back.
Could it be that this guy has been talking about the Elixir of Immortality for so long, and has already made it?