A storm was brewing

At night, in Jason's residence, Jason stared at the scroll in his hands, seething. This was the intelligence Medea had made that servant bring over through her control. Jason's father had long since died, and Pelias had gathered a great many forces to stop him from ascending the throne.

"That damned bastard! And I actually believed him like a fool!"

Jason angrily hurled the intelligence to the floor, fury filling his heart. He swept out his hand. "Medea! My love, help me! I'm going to make that old dog pay!"

Medea smiled. This was what she liked to see. In truth, anyone could see through something like this at a glance. Only the inexperienced Jason of today still failed to understand Pelias's intentions.

"But, my love, the people won't accept you taking the throne this way."

"I don't care about any of that! Medea, if you love me, do this for me! You can do it, can't you?"

Medea had never seen Jason need her so much. She felt utterly fulfilled.

"Of course, my love."

Medea had many methods, including one that could make Pelias die at his own children's hands. Yet she unconsciously looked at her ring finger, where Bai Mo's Thread of Fate was wound.

Medea found nothing strange about it, dismissing it as an idle gesture before turning back to her plotting and preparations.

At night, a man flew out of the clouds. He could already make out his destination: Thessaly. He had thought he would never return, yet Medea's taking the Thread of Fate had forced him to come back.

Bai Mo looked at the sky. Countless clouds gathered, and a storm was brewing. It was the power of nature, and perhaps also a statement from the gods. The people at sea turned back for shore. How insignificant humans were beneath this storm.

On a boat, an old man hauled hard on his fishing net. A gale swept over him, and the little boat pitched endlessly. The old man fell, and the net cut into his aged hands. He watched his blood, already somewhat dark, drip onto the boat. Still, he clenched his teeth and gripped the net tightly. This was what he and his child needed to survive the coming month.

But human strength had its limits. The old man felt his strength gradually fading. He closed his eyes, seemingly ready to accept his fate.

The next moment, he felt the pull of the net lessen considerably, becoming almost weightless. Then a man appeared on his boat, though he had no idea when he had arrived. With one hand, the man hauled up the net and tossed its catch straight into the back of the boat.

The old man stared at the person before him in disbelief and dropped onto his backside.

"Who... who are you?"

"Me? Just someone hoping to catch a ride. Would you mind taking me along, sir?"

Thessaly's situation could now be described as a tangled mess. Bai Mo did not want to return so conspicuously, so he planned to take this old man's fishing boat back.

Bai Mo folded away his wings and spoke to the old man from where he stood aboard the boat. The old man immediately lowered his head and meekly agreed, then went to take the helm.

Bai Mo could not help laughing. "Sir, I'm not some villain. Why are you so frightened?"

If Bai Mo had ill intentions, the old man would have no way to resist. He truly could not understand why the old man looked so ridiculous and pitiful. Where had that bone-deep tenacity from a moment ago gone?

Hearing Bai Mo's words, the old man immediately put down his work, came over, and knelt to speak. The next instant, Bai Mo helped him up at a speed the old man could not even see.

"Sir, what are you doing?"

"Well... my lord, which god are you? Please stop fooling an old man. How could an ordinary person have strength like that?"

Bai Mo helped the old man into a chair and watched him clench his fists tightly to stop the bleeding.

Bai Mo handed him a bottle of medicine. "Stop the bleeding first, sir. A friend gave me this medicine. It works."

The old man finally relaxed a little at the sight of the medicine. Then he carefully applied it bit by bit, afraid of using too much, before handing it back to Bai Mo. Bai Mo gestured for him to keep it. Only after considerable back and forth did the old man finally accept it, looking overwhelmed by the favor.

"Sir, those clouds have been gathering for quite a while, haven't they? Why go out to sea now?"

The old man looked at the catch, scarcely daring to blink. His eyes fixed intently on it, as though the fish might leap out at any moment.

The old man said in a hoarse voice, "Young man, there's something you don't know. If I can't scrape together the money, this worthless old life of mine is nothing, but if my poor grandson gets dragged into it..."

Bai Mo frowned and asked, "Money for what? Sir, explain what happened."

Only then did the old man slowly explain everything. Sacrifices to the gods were rituals of faith held by kings to seek the gods' attention and protection. Naturally, such rituals required offerings.

But countless nations offered sacrifices, while there were only so many gods. Thus, the nations that could offer the most faith and sacrifices naturally received more divine gifts. Something like the Golden Fleece, which any god would covet, could naturally only remain in the hands of a powerful nation.

Where, then, did the other offerings come from?

The hero Jason's wedding to Medea was approaching, and it would also serve as a sacrifice to Hera, queen of the gods. The Golden Fleece would indeed be offered, but how could the other offerings be treated carelessly?

And so Pelias collected some "fees," as usual.

"Outrageous!"

Bai Mo clenched his fists. For the first time, anger rose in his heart. He had personally visited the treasury in Pelias's palace. What treasures did it lack? Those things were more than enough for the sacrifice. Why squeeze an old fisherman raising a child?

The old man immediately raised a hand to stop Bai Mo from continuing. "Young man, you must never harbor disrespect toward the gods. My poor child was disrespectful during a sacrifice and was taken away as a slave, worked to death. You're strong and handsome. As long as you respect the gods, you'll have a good future."

Bai Mo asked in return, "Then what about people without strength, with ordinary looks?"

The old man did not want to say more. The boat had already reached shore. Seeing that he would no longer speak, Bai Mo disembarked. What lay before him then gave him his answer.

All this time, Bai Mo had never explored the whole of Thessaly. He had never visited this place. Boats crowded its tiny harbor. The streets had no paving, only mud. Thatched huts seemed determined to cover every available patch of ground. Filthy children played in the mud, women wore dirty clothes, and men were tanned black by the sun.

Bai Mo walked into the area, and everyone on the road avoided him. They knew he was someone important whom they could not afford to offend. Someone dressed like that was certainly not from here.

Bai Mo walked quietly along the street, momentarily unsure where to go. A woman approached, holding a baby. Her eyes were vacant, and the baby made pained murmurs.

Bai Mo stepped forward and gently stroked the baby's head. He had a fever, a severe one. The woman looked at Bai Mo without speaking or walking any farther. She knew very well that this person might be their only hope, but she had no right to grasp it. What could she do if Bai Mo left now? He had no reason to help her.

Electric Current Push.

Without hesitation, Bai Mo immediately activated electric current push. This was a healing technique he had used back with the Great Blade Martial God. He knew it by heart, but this was his first time using it on someone else.

It failed.

Electric current push could not yet heal others, much less a fragile child. In fact, since coming here, Bai Mo had mostly relied on medicine and his own recovery. That earlier healing method using electric current push had worked because he had been in that sea, in that training room formed by the system. To keep injuries from slowing his training, the Great Blade Martial God had made it possible in that world to absorb the life of plants for rapid healing even with nothing but electric current push.

But now Bai Mo desperately needed that power. He had no medicine on him, and even if he did, he could not casually prescribe it to a child.

Fortunately, there were still ordinary people's methods of treatment.

Money should be able to solve this problem.

Bai Mo handed the woman a gold coin. Light seemed to return to her eyes. Then, heedless of the mud, she knelt and tried to kiss Bai Mo's shoes, startling him into stepping back.

"Enough. You don't need to thank me. Hurry and find a doctor for your child."

The woman kept bowing in thanks, then hurried away through the mud.

Bai Mo watched her receding figure, then turned and continued walking. He did not know how long had passed before the sound of his footsteps on stone slabs returned.

Bai Mo had left that area, but he still did not recognize where he was. Only after asking a random passerby for directions to Athena's temple did he learn that he had been going the wrong way.

"Friend, you got lost in that slum, didn't you? Look what you've done to those lovely shoes."

The person he had asked seemed to want to recommend shoes as well, but Bai Mo had no time for that sort of thing. It was already night, and he did not want to waste time. Under cover of darkness, Bai Mo leaped onto a rooftop and raced toward Athena's temple.

From above, he could see the area clearly. There were many people here, more than in any other district of Thessaly, yet it was Thessaly's smallest district.

In the darkness, two people held torches. Sounds of scolding reached Bai Mo's ears. He glanced over, then shot toward them like an arrow.

In a corner of the slum, two soldiers held torches. One was tossing a gold coin.

"Heh, good people really do get rewarded. We take on the filthiest work, and look-an unexpected bonus!"

The other agreed, "You're right, boss. Look at that poor woman. She must've stolen it somewhere. Heh, we've struck it rich this time."

They truly were delighted. This gold coin was worth a whole year's pay, so much so that they completely failed to notice someone silently arriving behind them.

"Are you Pelias's men?"

"Who's there!"

The guards shouted and drew their weapons. The next instant, one man's hand bones were crushed with a twist, while the other, the "boss," lay clutching his knee and howling in pain, rolling through the mud like a pig.

Bai Mo lowered the hand he had raised at some point. The "boss's" knee began to bleed. The gold coin had been driven straight into his bone, making him scream in agony. Rolling around like this would only lead to his wound becoming infected and killing him.

"If you like money so much, hold on to it. Crawl to a doctor. That gold coin will cover your treatment. You, tell me-where's the woman you robbed?"

"What do you mean, robbed? We were enforcing the law impartially!"

The next instant, his spear was crushed, and wood splinters showered into his eyes. He howled in pain. Then Bai Mo seized him by the throat, leaving him unable to move.

"I'll ask one last time. Where is she? If you don't answer, I'll give you a painful death."

The soldier was terrified. Bai Mo then carried him along as he gave directions, the speed nearly making him cry. Soon, they arrived. The woman had not entered the house, which was barely larger than a hollow in a tree. She merely sat at the doorway, her eyes vacant.

Bai Mo tossed the soldier aside like rubbish and immediately stepped forward. The woman seemed not to see him.

Bai Mo saw the child in her arms. The pain on his face had vanished. He seemed asleep, sleeping very, very deeply.

Rain began to fall...

In Thessaly's palace, Pelias sat at his desk, thinking. The desk was covered with precious curios and treasures. Jason's move had caught him off guard. Although he could stall for now, this could not go on forever.

"Damn Bai Ermo and Heracles, and those people on the Agor. Ugh, those useless fools in Colski couldn't even beat a single ship's crew. I have to find a way to drive a wedge between Jason and Medea first. Ugh, what a headache."

Then he picked up the red wine beside him. Precious gems adorned the goblet.

He took a small sip, and the rich wine smoothed his furrowed brow. The next moment, the door opened.

"Who dares disturb me?"

Opening the door without knocking showed tremendous disrespect toward him as king, especially when he was already in a foul mood. Yet the next instant, he ducked in fright.

Someone had come flying straight inside.

Pelias stared at the person who slammed heavily into the wall. It was a soldier. What was happening?

"Your Majesty, save me..."

The soldier murmured weakly. Pelias gathered his courage and looked toward the doorway. His pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints. The man there wore a grim expression and had a handsome face, with an enormous blade blank strapped to his back.

Bai Ermo? Why has he come here? Wait, he's alive, so doesn't that mean...

The man before him had single-handedly routed Colchis's fleet and emerged unscathed. Now, besides Heracles, there was another hero capable of destroying a nation alone.

It's over! I've been stalling Jason all this time, and now he's back to settle accounts with me!

"Hero-no, my lord, Lord Bai Ermo, it truly isn't that I'm unwilling to give Jason the throne. Colchis really has been putting pressure on me..."

Before he even finished, Pelias wanted to slap himself. If the man before him could rout Colchis's fleet once, could he not do it a second time? Did he really think the war god's blessing was something anyone could have just by wanting it?

His time on the throne was over. Pelias wanted to cry but had no tears.

"Pelias."

"Yes? What are your orders, my lord?"

Bai Mo picked up Pelias's goblet. How beautiful it was, inlaid with precious gems. This alone would have been enough for an offering, and Pelias's treasury held countless things like it.

"My lord, well... I've always felt that our nation shouldn't be inherited by someone who relies on a traitor from another country. Lord Bai Ermo, as a member of Goddess Athena's familia, you should be the one ruling Thessaly."

Even now, the old fox was still scheming. In other people's eyes, Bai Mo had a trial to complete and could not become king before finishing it. If Bai Mo accepted, Pelias could serve as regent for a few more years, leaving plenty of room to maneuver. And after those years, even if he was no longer king, he would still be rich.

As for what came afterward, there was no need to think too much. In any case, if Bai Mo claimed second place for his contribution to obtaining the Golden Fleece, no one would dare claim first. That way, his foolish nephew could only swallow this bitter outcome.

Unfortunately, Bai Mo had not come over anything of the sort.

"Pelias."

"Yes... what are your orders, my lord?"

"Do you think I dare kill you?"

Boom! Thunder rang out across Thessaly. Pelias was now like an old dog. The king of a nation knelt on the floor, trembling. Had he not kept himself reasonably fit over the years, he might have wet himself.

"My lord... I..."

It's over. Completely over. It seems this Bai Ermo values loyalty. I'm dead for sure.

"I-I'm Jason's uncle! Without my spoken decree, he can't become king! Bai Ermo, you can't kill me!"

Bai Mo looked at this old dog and dropped the goblet. It struck the floor with a clang.

"Go ask that soldier. Then you'll know why I came to see you."

Ah, wonderful! Bai Ermo hasn't killed me. We can still talk. There's still a chance!

Pelias was ecstatic, but the next instant, he noticed that the soldier had stopped breathing.

Huh?

The next instant, his vision went black. He was dead.

Bai Mo said flatly, "Don't forget to ask him properly in the Underworld."

Then he walked out of the palace. The rain kept falling, drenching him. He said nothing more. When the soldiers saw him, none dared stop him. The man before them stood above all others beneath the gods. No one dared bar his way. The soldiers moved aside, none daring to act, even though the man before them had just killed their king.

Bai Mo held out his hand, and raindrops fell onto it.

"Is this what killing feels like? Why don't I feel the slightest satisfaction? Or were those comics lying after all?"

Bai Mo looked at the rainy sky. This was the first time he had felt weak. He had thought that defeating a fleet and a venomous dragon meant he was already strong. Yet in the end, he still felt that this enemy was far, far too difficult to defeat.

He had killed one Pelias, but how many kings across Greece offered sacrifices to the gods? How many of them were Peliases?

The rain kept falling. Bai Mo left the palace. Cold. So cold.

He walked alone through the crowd. Countless people avoided him. He was like a solitary traveler, his figure revealing loneliness.

Someone bumped into Bai Mo and pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"Jason?"

"It's me, brother. You really have given me a tremendous gift... It's all right, brother. I promise you nothing will happen."

Bai Mo knocked Jason's hand away. If Jason acted too close to him now, it would only harm his succession to the throne. Jason froze, watching Bai Mo walk toward Athena's temple.

"Treat these people well. Every one of your future... subjects, my friend."

Then he left. Jason did not know what had happened to his friend. He sighed deeply.

Only now did Bai Mo truly feel that loneliness-the loneliness of being separated by a world and an era.