What it meant to be a king

The Argo set out again. With Jason's sailing skills, they reached the kingdom of the Bithynians. Bai Mo knew this part of the story and was not worried at all. In the original plot, Amycus, king of the Bithynians, was a musclehead. Yes, the fellow was an excellent boxer, but he was utterly hopeless as a king.

The fellow loved boxing, and he used his position as king to demand that people box with others. He also had divine blood. According to the original plot, he would box with Polydeuces and get beaten to death. His subjects would then take up arms against the Argonauts to avenge him and get crushed.

Bai Mo lay leisurely in his hammock, completely unconcerned. As for those subjects seeking revenge? What a joke. Heracles alone could steamroll them. What was there to worry about? Heracles's combat prowess was fully on par with an army.

Just as Bai Mo settled down to sleep without a care, someone called him up.

"Polydeuces? What are you doing here?" Bai Mo could not help feeling puzzled.

"Bai Ermo, some fool with a death wish wants to challenge our strongest boxer."

"So?"

"What are you talking about? I lost to you before. How could I shamelessly claim that honor for myself? Hurry up and punch that stupid king in the face!"

"Huh?"

Some time later.

"Huh?" Bai Mo still had not caught up. Wait, what does this have to do with me? Polydeuces, if you want the honor, go take it! It's not like I'm stopping you. You want me to fight this guy?

Tsk, should I put on a show and trade blows with him for a while, or just knock him flat?

While Bai Mo was thinking, cheers rose from the other side. At the sight of a man with solid muscles all over, wearing an animal-hide cloak and an extremely conspicuous belt, the black lines on Bai Mo's forehead multiplied.

"Oh, so you're the strongest hero?"

"The strongest hero is Heracles. Want me to get him instead?"

"Oh, no, no. I meant the strongest boxer."

"That's Heracles too. Want to switch?"

Amycus froze, then glanced at Heracles nearby and swallowed. He wanted to box, not die. He knew perfectly well where he stood. If he faced Heracles...

He would die.

"I'm challenging the strongest boxer. If you're afraid to face me, then you naturally don't count as a boxer. You're nothing but a coward! Get out of here! It seems everyone aboard the Argo except Heracles is a coward."

Amycus shouted, but the heroes of the Argo were not about to indulge this idiot. They immediately prepared to give him a one-way ticket to the Underworld.

"Enough. We're not bandits. Leave it to Bai Ermo." Jason stopped the impending bloodshed in time, while Bai Mo clenched his fists.

"Haha, what's wrong, coward? Have you decided to prove yourself?"

Amycus sneered, and Bai Mo answered only with his fist.

Watching the fist shoot toward him like an arrow, Amycus felt alarm bells ringing in his mind. Yet the fierce punch stirred his competitive spirit. There was no other reason: he had just mocked Bai Mo as a coward. If he dodged or blocked, wouldn't that mean he was afraid of a coward's fist?

Amycus punched back, but that was a mistake.

Mastering strength had always been extremely difficult. The simplest expression of it was concentrating force. Some people could concentrate their force to the thickness of a wooden post, while others could compress it to that of a steel pipe.

In such cases, the latter inflicted far more damage than the former. Some could even concentrate force like an arrow, which already qualified them as first-rate experts.

And Bai Mo?

He could concentrate his force like a bullet! And that was not even his limit. No one had yet made him fight with all his strength. With the foundation the Great Blade Martial God had spent three years building for him, perhaps only Heracles among the people of this world could currently compare in this regard.

Bang! Their fists collided. Amycus's punch felt as though it had struck water, every drop cushioning and dispersing its force. And Bai Mo's fist? Red shot out like an arrow, and Amycus's middle finger burst like an overripe grape.

The entire crowd fell silent, then deafening cheers erupted from the Argonauts!

Heracles could not help marveling. He had thought he already stood at the pinnacle of humanity, yet this brother of his was in no way inferior to him. Meanwhile, Atalanta smiled in an unnoticed corner.

It was not over. Bai Mo's other fist came as fast as lightning. Amycus now realized that the man before him was the strongest opponent he had ever faced, but he had no time to adopt a defensive stance. Bai Mo's blow left his entire left arm numb.

As the blow spent its force, Amycus could not afford to worry about anything else and immediately prepared to lunge at him. Bai Mo's build was unlike those other heroes, whose muscles resembled boulders. Bai Mo leaned more toward a handsome figure, which made Amycus want to use bodily strength to restrict the space in which Bai Mo could throw punches.

Bang! Bai Mo's elbow struck Amycus squarely in the back, sending the lofty king straight to the ground.

The cheers from the Argo grew louder, while the Bithynians fell silent. But someone let out a roar; someone in the Bithynian crowd shouted, and then their entire side grew impassioned. For a moment, their voices actually drowned out those from the Argo.

Lying on the ground, Amycus heard his subjects supporting him, heard the sound he loved most: their cries of encouragement. For a moment, he felt an unknown strength surge up, and he stood again.

Bai Mo watched him coldly, making no move to attack. He knew this was merely the last gasp of a spent force. Perhaps his divine blood was taking effect, unleashing that power at his limit.

Once, while Bai Mo was training under the Great Blade Martial God, the Great Blade Martial God had told him, "The you of tomorrow must be stronger than the you of today. If time passes and you haven't improved, then you're regressing."

"Aah!" Amycus roared and charged again under the gazes and cheers of his subjects, his supporters.

Bang! One punch knocked the charging Amycus down and cut off the Bithynians' cheers.

Bai Mo gazed impassively at the man before him. A warrior who relied on divine blood and had always fought ordinary people-how could he win against someone stronger than him, someone his bloodline could not overcome?

Because he had always fought people weaker than himself. Because he was king, his opponents did not even dare fight with the intent to kill him. Because the people he fought aimed not to defeat him, but to keep their king happy.

How could fighting like that make anyone stronger? How could it compare to Bai Mo's three years of training under the Great Blade Martial God, challenging himself day after day?

Desperate situations called for wisdom, not hot blood. Hot blood in desperate situations would only dim the light of wisdom, robbing those already trapped of their final chance.

Amycus fell. He wanted to rise, but his limbs and his body told him that this was his limit.

"Ah! He's beaten the king to death! Avenge the king!"

Atalanta immediately raised her bow and nocked an arrow, her gaze swiftly finding the man trying to incite the crowd. In the original work, the Bithynians had fought the Argonauts immediately after their king was beaten to death, but now not one of them dared step forward.

Because Heracles had stood up.

A man's reputation was like a tree's shadow. They dared challenge these heroes because the world had countless heroes. Some grew old and died; others rose and created new glories.

But Greece had only one Heracles. He was the pinnacle of the word "hero." If he were ever stripped of that title, it would only mean the title was no longer worthy of him.

Bai Mo watched the crowd with interest. With a single glance, he and Atalanta had exchanged their information. Then he nodded to her.

Bai Mo hauled Amycus up and looked at him coldly.

"If you're going to kill me, then do it! Stop wasting words!" Amycus told Bai Mo, his speech already slurred. Bai Mo threw him straight to the ground, seized his hair, and made him look at the Bithynians.

"What a tough man. But you'll gain nothing. Do you think you'll die with glory?"

"Why wouldn't I? I'll die gloriously in battle as a warrior."

"If you want to die in obscurity, suit yourself. Once you're dead, those people of yours will fight us to the death, won't they? Such spirit, all dying for an idiot who knows nothing but boxing."

Bai Mo's words rang out like a thunderclap. A light seemed to kindle in Amycus's clouded eyes.

Bai Mo hauled him up again and said, "If you want to be a boxer, throw away your crown. If you want to be a king, throw away your boxing gloves. Look at yourself. Have you done either one well? You idiot, inside that body you're so proud of lives a willful child!"

Bai Mo dropped Amycus. He had said everything he needed to say, and he left without looking back.

The Bithynians immediately came forward and surrounded their king. Amycus looked at them, and one man pretending to be anxious sensed something was wrong. Amycus seemed to have changed. His gaze had grown deep.

Those aboard the Argo could not recognize that man's voice, but Amycus could. He remembered every subject's voice. He knew whom that voice belonged to, and now that man felt a chill in Amycus's gaze.

How could that be? How could this stupid, muscle-brained king have thought that far? He's just in a bad mood because he lost. Right, how could he possibly suspect me?

The courtier kept reassuring himself. That night, Amycus ordered his execution.

Often, a person's growth required only a day, an hour, or even a single instant. As long as they recognized certain things and made certain choices, they had already taken the most important step.

That night, Jason sat aboard the ship with something of a headache. He had always loved the chair in the captain's cabin, which he had spent a fortune on. But when he ran into trouble, he liked sitting at the stern, as though the cool sea breeze could bring him inspiration.

Every Argonauts knew this.

"Run into some trouble?"

Bai Mo approached and asked, while Jason rubbed the front of his hair into a cowlick.

Bai Mo immediately stopped him. "Don't do that to your hair. You might develop a split personality."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Jason could not understand what Bai Mo meant, but he still held nothing back from his old friend.

"Sigh. Honestly, you might as well have beaten that fellow to death today. Now those Bithynians won't sell us supplies at all. If this keeps up, I'm afraid we'll still have to rob them."

"I seem to remember someone saying we weren't bandits?"

Jason hurriedly gestured for silence. "Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know. Tonight looks nice and dark and windy. Perfect weather for murder and arson."

A palm promptly smacked Jason on the head. Bai Mo looked over. It was Telamon, a hero who pursued glory.

"Ow! Telamon, I don't have a choice! We're nearly out of supplies. If they won't sell to us, we can only rob them."

Just as Bai Mo thought Telamon would make some righteous declaration, Telamon snorted. "If we're going to rob them, we should do it openly! Even if we die in battle, we'll die with glory. You're making us sound like thieves."

Bandits aren't much better than thieves!

"Enough. If nothing else works, we'll take Heracles for a stroll later. Would they still refuse to trade?"

Heracles looked at the group speechlessly, while Atalanta, who was keeping watch, spotted figures in the distance. They were Bithynians.

"Someone's coming! Stay alert! Bai Ermo, they might be after you. Come over here."

Atalanta's voice put everyone on alert, and they picked up their weapons. Bai Mo and Heracles, however, noticed that the Bithynians were carrying plenty of boxes and sacks. They did not look as though they had come to fight.

"A misunderstanding, friends, it's all a misunderstanding. We heard you needed supplies for your voyage. Since I lost to your warrior, I've brought supplies to celebrate and thank him for showing mercy. Let's forget our unhappiness with a cheerful evening feast."

Amycus emerged from the crowd and boarded the Argo with a friendly smile.

That night, everyone drank to their hearts' content, and Amycus came over to Bai Mo.

"I thought you'd be standing at the front this time."

"I have your guidance to thank for that, Lord Bai Ermo. Considering our earlier unpleasantness, it would have been terribly unfair to be mistaken for someone coming to fight and shot dead by your sharpshooter."

"Heh. You certainly changed quickly."

"Yes, people have to grow. I won't be boxing anymore, either. You know, I ordered a thorough investigation today, and only then did I learn that my kingdom was already riddled with holes."

"Then you've got your work cut out for you."

There was no emotional fluctuation in Bai Mo's words. He merely watched the people below drinking their fill. Then he noticed someone's gaze meet his. It was a girl, a very beautiful one. From time to time, someone invited her onto the dance floor, but she turned them all down.

Amycus noticed Bai Mo's gaze and gave the girl a meaningful look. She immediately came over.

"Please allow me to introduce her. This is the greatest beauty in our kingdom. After hearing of your deeds, she insisted on staying by your side. I see you have no maidservant with you, so perhaps..."

Bai Mo sneered inwardly. My deeds? He had only begun making a name for himself aboard the Argo, and he was certainly not very famous. No one would know without deliberately asking around. This fellow was certainly quick to learn bad habits, though that was a good thing for this king.

Jason, who had gotten carried away with drink nearby, immediately began teasing at the sight. "Hoho! Looks like our Bai Ermo has finally won a beauty's heart!"

Bai Mo had long since guessed that Jason would do this and could not even be bothered to look at him. Just as he was about to refuse the girl before him...

An arrow flew over, sliced off the girl's hair, and shattered Jason's cup.

"Ack! Enemy attack! Someone wants this captain dead! Bai Ermo, Heracles, come protect me!"

The protection Jason received was a slap from Heracles. Then he noticed how familiar that arrow looked.

It was Atalanta's arrow.

Amycus laughed to ease the awkwardness, then left with the girl, leaving Bai Mo alone and Atalanta nearby, her gaze somewhat cold.

Tsk, that crazy woman Artemis must have slandered me. Atalanta never used to treat me like this, thought the blockhead Bai Mo.