The Greece Antagonist

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Accompanied by the thunderous cheers of the Atlanteans, the assault of the storm and raging waves intensified.

At this moment, on the island of Crete, now a vast ocean, a bronze giant hand emerged from underwater, exerting the last of its strength to lift King Minos to the front of the Great Temple at the mountain's peak.

Only there, shielded by the light of wisdom, had it become the final sanctuary in this catastrophe.

Immediately after, the bronze giant Talos, as if having fulfilled his mission, ceased resistance and was dragged to the ocean's depths by the swarming sea beasts.

In the biting storm and surging waves, the gaunt old man, leaning on his gold scepter, climbed step by step to the Great Temple atop the peak, to complete his final pilgrimage to the Great Mother Goddess and ultimately stood firm before the door, like a towering pine, guarding the sacred flame that symbolized the continuation of Minosian civilization.

Underwater, the Divine Blood Guards, who could have surfaced, simply cast a distant glance at their king and unhesitatingly charged toward the swarming sea beasts and monstrous creatures.

They were fulfilling their promise, for this land, for their monarch, to fight until their last breath, to shed their last drop of blood, to communicate the echo of civilization with their lives.

——In a word: We tried our best, we did not succeed, but this does not mean that the seeds we've sown will follow the same path as ours.

——We hope you will step over where we fell and go further.

——May our civilization be boundless and eternal!

Meanwhile, the initiator of it all beneath Santorini Island, who had plotted everything, watched this shocking scene, slowly raised his right hand, and placed it over his chest with a slight nod.

——So, a salute to all who went to their deaths!

Without hesitation, Luo En raised his other hand and poured the oceanic divinity within him into the large Magic Circle Diagram at the base of the Santorini Volcano, fully activating it.

Completing such a precise and massive spell was not his merit alone; it was mainly thanks to the help of Athena, who bears the name of the Goddess of Magic.

So, let us jointly escort you on your final journey!

"Boom!"

In an instant, Santorini Volcano began another violent eruption, a powerful quake propelling hundred-meter-high waves southward in layers, brutally crashing against the faint glow surrounding the Great Temple at the peak.

"Crack!"

The fragile protection was torn apart in a flash, the roaring waters engulfed the aged figure, flooded into the majestic temple, and extinguished the holy flame burning on the altar.

At this very moment, the last group of Minosians sent away awoke inside the warship's cabin, sensing something, and walked out onto the deck.

Witnessing the last thread of light of wisdom above Crete fading away, they bowed their heads and wept in sorrow.

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But many people silently picked up their weapons and took up their posts as soldiers or sailors, escorting the Minos warships beneath their feet.

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Meanwhile, within the Occhanos Inland Sea, the battle raged fiercely.

As the Goddess who presides over war and victory, Athena, at full firepower, showed what unstoppable truly means.

Facing Poseidon, who had lost half of his paternal authority, she dominated the confrontation, and within a quarter of an hour, she had pushed her uncle to the brink of peril, forcing him to urgently summon a large host of sea deities for assistance.

Yet even so, in the face of the overwhelming onslaught of foes and her absolute disadvantage in numbers, Athena showed no fear.

The Spear of Victory, wielded as fast as a shooting star, swept, pierced, and smashed relentlessly, growing stronger with each strike. The sea gods that rallied to help fell injured or maimed upon contact. Limbs and flesh flew in all directions, and the spray of divine gold blood soaked a large swath of the sea, drawing frenzied Sea Beasts, which converged greedily, devouring the scattered divinity.

The Aegis Shield, impregnable in defense, withstood countless spells, divine words, and curses that disintegrated upon impact with the shield. Every sharp weapon lost its former glory in front of it, and the rebounding blades even inadvertently caused harm to friendly forces and their owners.

At that moment, Poseidon, staggering back a few steps, clutched his trembling Trident as he gazed at the impenetrable golden defenses with a gaze full of intense envy and resentment.

The Aegis Shield, the supreme defensive mystery of Olympus.

Legend has it that it was made from the fleece of Amalthea, the she-goat, also known as the Goat Skin Shield. Even though it was crafted from goat hide, it possessed the ability to repel all evil and calamity, and not even Zeus's thunderbolts could harm it.

The irony is that Amalthea was actually the wet nurse who fed Zeus with her milk.

Back in the day, to protect the newborn Zeus from being killed by Titan King Cronus, his mother Rhea hid him in a cave and assigned Amalthea to look after the infant Zeus, intermingling their divinity in the nurturing process.

Later, Zeus made his "repayment"—he had the Cyclopes strip Amalthea of her fleece and horn, turning them into the indestructible Goat Skin Shield and the Horn of Plenty, which brings an abundance of resources.

If memory serves, Amalthea's death was due to her skin and fleece's ability to negate the force of thunderbolts.

—It was one of Zeus's rare weaknesses, and naturally, he wanted to keep such an unstable element within his own grasp.

—Even if it meant acting against his own wet nurse.

The reason such an important artifact ended up in Athena's hands is that Zeus, to please the primordial Goddess of Wisdom, Metis, split the original Aegis in two. He gave one half to his first queen, showing absolute trust.

After all, in this treacherous world of the divine, what form of trust can be stronger than entrusting one's own vulnerability to the one who shares your bed?

As expected, the primordial Goddess of Wisdom also fell, entirely letting down her guard against Zeus, winning over the Goddess of Victory Nike with her wisdom, and wholeheartedly helping her husband win the Titanomachy, establishing the glory of Olympus.

But this lovely love story ultimately led to an even more ironic ending.

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——Just like Amalthea, the nanny goat whose skin was flayed and horn was taken by Zeus, Metis, the unparalleled in wisdom, also became but a stepping stone for her own husband.

However, that primordial Goddess of Wisdom had a trick up her sleeve. For instance,

——She engraved curses into the Aegis Shield, ensuring that the rights of possession to both the shield and Nike, the Goddess of Victory, would remain with her own bloodline.

Thus, as soon as Athena was born from the head of Zeus, she was already in full armor, ready for battle.

And in order to curb her own assertive maritime authority, His Majesty the King of Gods tossed his robust-born daughter onto Crete Island, firmly halting the Atlantean expansion.

——Despicable and detestable!

Watching the ever-bolder Goddess of Wisdom in the fray, Poseidon cursed in his heart with indignation.

Initially, he hadn't intended to come to blows with his great-niece, choosing instead to divulge all about that primordial Goddess of Wisdom and to propose marriage to Athena, aiming to mimic the alliance between Metis and Zeus and to unite with his great-niece to overthrow the ruthless King of Gods.

Yet, his sincere proposal was mercilessly rejected by his great-niece, and he even suffered considerable humiliation.

Furious, he could only begin with the faith of the Minosians in an attempt to deceive King Minos's sacrifice and drive Athena out of Crete.

But unexpectedly, he met another unyielding old fellow, hell-bent on opposing him and refusing to let go of that detestable girl's feet!

Why will none of them follow my will?

Why should Zeus have it all his way and ascend to the throne of the gods?

Is it just because he received our mother's favor, was delivered from Mount Othrys, and grew up first?

Even though we were born earlier, we are the elder brother and sister; why should he monopolize everything? Explore more stories at empire

It's unfair! Unfair!

The more Poseidon thought about it, the more his anger grew, nearly losing his reason to unparalleled fury, with bloodshot eyes spitefully glaring at his mighty great-niece in the arena.

I refuse to believe I can beat Zeus but can't beat you!

The next moment, in a rage, the Sea King swung his Trident and rejoined the battlefield, slamming his weapon down with massive force onto the Aegis Shield in Athena's hands.

In an instant, gold and blue divine powers collided, and the surging ether tide instantly ejected a hundred or so marine deities in the vicinity.

Yet, even after a fierce melee, the mighty-born Goddess of Wisdom before him showed not a trace of fatigue, inch by inch lifting the Aegis Shield that fended off the Trident.

Even as Poseidon furiously pulsed divine power and authority, he could not suppress his formidable great-niece.

But just when the Sea King was about to be humiliated once again, Athena, as if struck by a thunderbolt, had her Aegis Shield flickering with light.

Suddenly, the Trident swathed in furious waves overpowered the Divine Shield and heavily smashed down upon the Goddess of Wisdom.

"Puh!"

Athena immediately spewed a mouthful of golden blood, her body falling like a broken kite into the distant deep sea.

A moment later, the Goddess of Wisdom surged up from the water, clutching her chest with a pale face, and promptly turned with a furious glare towards Poseidon, voicing a mournful accusation akin to the blood-crying cuckoo.

"Despicable!"

"?"

At that moment, a baffled Poseidon, who couldn't understand why he suddenly gained the upper hand, first froze and then, realizing the rapid decline of divinity within Athena, seemed to grasp something and immediately turned to gaze towards the direction of Crete.

At that very instant, the sky shrouded by dark clouds and storm was devoid of any light.

Hiss~!

Poseidon gasped in shock, his complexion transforming drastically.

Any formally established temple is bound by a certain connection to its Chief God. If it were destroyed, the Chief God, who receives faith and offerings, would equally be affected.

The closer the relationship between the temple and the Chief God, the more severe the impact.

If the foundation, the Great Temple, is demolished, the violent backlash could significantly weaken the venerated Chief God in a short time.

This was precisely why Athena was suddenly overwhelmed by Poseidon just now!

But, he had never intended to use such tactics to destroy the entire island of Crete and to form such a deep enmity with his powerful great-niece.

Who did this? Who exactly did this?

Enraged, Poseidon clenched his teeth with a grinding sound.

However, before he could understand the situation, Athena across from him was already glaring with fury, brandishing the Spear of Victory and the Aegis Shield, charged recklessly towards His Majesty the Sea King.

"Poseidon, I shall have your life for this!"

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