An invitation with ill intent

The Agor moved like a fish in the ocean, propelled no longer by the wind but by the sea itself. Under Poseidon's control, there was no wind or rain along the way, nor would anything stand in its path. This was his domain, the sea god's ocean.

And Bai Mo?

He had not boarded.

Once he entered that profoundly mysterious state, he had no attention to spare for those behind him. All he knew was that he absolutely could not retreat... and that he had to crush the enemies before him!

Whoosh! Another slash. This time, Ares's blessing upon the ship was torn apart completely, and a ship was snapped clean in two. Like a little fish swimming freely through the ocean that encountered a bloodthirsty shark, its only possible end was to be ripped to pieces.

Slash after slash, Bai Mo simply swung, forgetting everything as he entered that wondrous sensation alone. He did not need to think about the future, worry about the present, or recall the past. Here and now, there was only him and his blade.

Compared with the tranquility on Bai Mo's side, things were very different for Colchis. Their mighty ships were like children's wooden rafts, breaking apart piece by piece in a raging storm.

On Mount Olympus, Athena watched the now-silent Ares with a mocking curve to her lips.

This so-called trial had become utterly meaningless. Under the present circumstances, unless the gods intervened, even a fool could see that the fleet of Colchis no longer had the slightest chance of victory.

Trying to use a trial as an excuse to deal with my pawn? Heh, once word of this battle's outcome spreads, what will those nations loyal to Ares think?

Admittedly, Ares had initially admired Bai Mo's strength and character, but on second thought, so what if this fellow was strong? He belonged to Athena!

And so this so-called trial had only two possible endings: either Bai Mo died in battle, or, after Bai Mo proved unable to win, Ares would manifest his divine power and bring him under his command.

As for fighting and winning, none of the gods had considered it. One man against an entire fleet blessed by the god of war? Did they think everyone was Heracles? And this was at sea, no less. How could a man possibly defeat a fleet?

As for the result... Bai Mo had proven himself. Unexpectedly, this battle had instead cemented his fame.

Ares sighed, and then the fighting spirit vanished from the fleet of Colchis.

Aeëtes breathed a sigh of relief. "Thankfully, it's all over."

Once Bai Mo could no longer sense their fighting spirit, he stopped attacking as well. Then he felt another emotion, another kind of gaze.

Fear.

Yes, fear. When living creatures discovered that no matter how hard they tried, whether they gathered in groups or used tools, they could not defeat the enemy before them even after exhausting every means at their disposal, when their only remaining choice was to flee in panic, fear would take over their hearts.

How could Bai Mo still look human to them now?

No human could possibly be this strong.

Bai Mo looked at their eyes. When some of those who had fallen into the sea and were clinging to driftwood met his gaze, they even drew a breath and ducked underwater, not daring to meet his eyes. What a foolish thing to do, but... what else could they do?

Bai Mo looked behind him. The Agor had left at some point. Did Medea make her move? What a capable woman. My most pressing concern now is finding somewhere to get some proper rest.

Bai Mo left, and everyone from Colchis breathed a sigh of relief. They no longer had any thought of continuing to pursue the Agor. All they wanted was to leave as quickly as possible.

Aeëtes also knew that all hope was lost. The Golden Fleece was gone from him from this day onward. He watched Bai Mo leave with respect for a warrior, while his heart held nothing but resentment. He knew that the goddess of love had cursed his daughter, who had led the people of the Agor to steal the Gold Fleece. His respect for the gods had now vanished entirely.

But he no longer wanted to think about any of that. He then ordered the survivors to regroup and prepare to leave.

"What did you say? No one died?"

Aeëtes looked at his subordinate's report in disbelief.

"That's right. We were blessed at the time and could think of nothing but fighting. Thinking back carefully, that hero seemed to attack mainly our ships. If he'd attacked the soldiers aboard first... heavens, I can hardly imagine it."

Aeëtes looked in the direction Bai Mo had left, his gaze complicated, incomparably so.

Bai Mo was gritting his teeth as he swam swiftly underwater like a fish. He felt his body growing colder and colder, and he knew it was because he kept losing blood.

"You softhearted fool. You brought all of this on yourself, idiot."

Bai Mo cursed himself inwardly. If he had targeted those archers first, how could he have been injured so badly? He did not have the ability to use Cellular Regeneration now. If things went badly, he really might kick the bucket.

Yet even so, he felt no regret. Even as he cursed himself, he would still make the same choice if he had to do it again, because in his heart, human lives were ultimately not something he could take at will.

This was a truth he had understood deeply since childhood.

"Hm, there seems to be an island to the northeast?"

Electric Current Push emitted batlike ultrasound, allowing Bai Mo to quickly detect the island's presence as though using radar. However, there seemed to be no harbor or anything of the sort on the island.

"Tch, this place isn't far from Colchis's territory, yet it has no harbor. There might be some danger lurking on the island, which is why they haven't built one. I'm in bad shape, and I certainly can't afford another fight. I still have enough strength left to keep swimming underwater. I'll pass on this island."

Bai Mo abandoned that island and continued onward. After an unknown amount of time, the ultrasound returned more information. There was another small island nearby, with a small boat floating by it.

"At least there are people here. I'll go there."

Bai Mo swiftly approached it.

On the island, a beautiful woman was taking a puppy out for a walk on a leash. She had an eagle's wings and an elf's pointed ears. Her clothes were very thin and revealing, and the staff she held proclaimed her identity.

Circe, the goddess of True Magic, had been feeling restless lately. Though she was called the goddess of True Magic, she was actually only a relatively powerful demigoddess, still considerably lacking compared with a god.

Circe stroked the little puppy at her feet. This puppy was one of the few pets she had actually raised. Circe had quite a few pets, but many of them were people she had transformed with curses, most of them into piglets.

"Ah, that nightmare I had a few days ago really is giving me a headache. That sense of impending danger... it might be an omen from fate." Circe rubbed her head and sighed. In Greek mythology, perhaps only Hecate, the goddess of night, did not fear fate.

"Well, getting out for a walk really is the thing to do. Feeling the sea breeze seems to blow away all the frustration in my heart."

For some reason, she felt her mood improve considerably. Perhaps today's sea breeze was particularly gentle.

"Ah, people really should get out and walk more often." As Circe thought this, the puppy on her leash suddenly began barking.

"Wah, what's going on? Didn't I feed you before we came out? What are you doing?"

The puppy suddenly lunged toward the shore uncontrollably, but the next moment, he abruptly flattened himself against the ground and let out pitiful whimpers. It was the sound a weak animal made when encountering a creature far stronger than itself.

Usually, it served to show submission, but more than that, the beast's instincts were telling it that the creature before it was extremely dangerous.

Circe saw a man walk ashore. She could not make out his face. Blood flowed from his body, and though his build was nothing like those heroes as strong as bears, he exuded a quality forged through countless trials.

Even more frightening was the blade blank on his back. Its sheer weightiness made her feel breathless at a glance.

"Whew, that was close. I made it."

After coming ashore, Bai Mo simply lay down on the beach. To him, this was a bed he could hardly have been more familiar with. He closed his eyes but did not fall asleep. Of course he had noticed someone nearby, but right now he truly needed time to recover his strength, so he simply lay down where he was.

On the one hand, this would buy him time to catch his breath and recover enough strength for the most basic movements. On the other, it was also a way of showing weakness. If the person before him harbored ill intentions, when she thought he was a helpless castaway at her mercy and wanted to act...

Bai Mo would use the strength he had accumulated to wrench off her arms.

Bai Mo recovered while remaining alert, but Circe was not thinking nearly so much.

She approached the strange man before her and leaned in for a look.

This fellow is surprisingly pretty, Circe thought. Yes, pretty. Ordinarily, Bai Mo appeared stern and unsmiling, but now that he was injured, especially since he had barely cut his hair since coming to Greece, he instead had a soft kind of beauty just after emerging from the sea.

Besides, while Bai Mo's looks would still have counted as masculine in the modern world, here in the Greece of the age of gods, where rugged giants were everywhere, his features and build were on the softer side.

And he was the sort whose looks grew on people, someone who seemed unremarkable at first glance but became more charming the longer one looked.

"Hey, you don't look too good. Do you need help?"

Circe leaned closer and asked. Seeing that she bore no hostility, and since she had already addressed him, Bai Mo could hardly keep playing dead.

"There's no need for that. I'm just resting here for a while. I'll leave in a day at most."

He still did not open his eyes. This stretch of beach really was comfortable.

"How can that do? From the look of you, you're badly injured! Come on, come on, my house is quite big. You can just rest and sleep there. It's fine."

What's with this woman? Is she that certain I'm a good person? Inviting me over so enthusiastically?

At last, Bai Mo was willing to open his eyes, and at a glance, he saw the same elven ears as Medea's.

This woman... couldn't be Medea's aunt, could she?