Chapter 100: The Athos Mountain Expedition - (3)

Chrysaor of the Golden Sword.

A giant snake-like monster that controls a floating golden sword in the air.

Born along with Pegasus after Medusa's head was cut off by Perseus...

Unlike Pegasus, it had strong monstrous attributes, and when Medusa went looking for it, it had long since disappeared somewhere.

Orthrus.

A giant dog monster with two heads and a snake head for a tail.

The firstborn among Typhon and Echidna's children, and a sibling to Cerberus in the Underworld and Chimera who was killed by Bellerophon.

While these two monsters with demigod status were the most noticeable, the other monsters following them were no pushovers either.

Including Harpies with women's heads and giant raptor bodies, moving trees, man-eating deer, giant lizards, and more...

"The ones that were supposed to be hiding in the mountains are coming! Quickly intercept the ones in the sky first..."

"Don't retreat! This is a war against monsters watched by the gods!"

"It will take quite some time for the messenger who went to request support from Macedonia to return! Hold out until then!"

"I dedicate my struggle to Ares, the God of War!!!"

Growl! Roar! Hiss-

The heroes quickly prepare for battle and respond to the parade of monsters coming up in lines.

Soon, javelins and arrows are flying everywhere, and monsters rush in trying to devour humans.

As the two groups clash, filled with murderous intent towards each other, human screams and beast howls mix everywhere.

The sound of spears and swords clashing with monster claws creates a harmony, opening the stage of struggle.

Even in this chaos, there were quite a few heroes who stood out.

Orion, the hero leading the expedition, was one of them.

Whoosh- Thud.

His arrow pierced through another monster's neck. The son of the sea god, renowned as Greece's best hunter, aimed precisely at monsters even in the midst of the melee.

Once again, Orion's muscular arm aimed at a monster and drew the bowstring... the next target was Typhon's child busily devouring humans with its two heads.

Thud. Growl?!

Orion's arrow, boasting perfect accuracy, pierced the beast monster's leg.

As if just noticing him, Orthrus threw away the human it was holding in its mouth and charged towards Orion.

"This beast...!"

"Orion! It's coming your way! Be careful!"

Nearby heroes tried to stop the monster, but they only left scratches on its tough hide, unable to stop it.

Though not as tough as the hide of the Nemean Lion, also a child of Typhon and its sibling, it was thick enough that most heroes' attacks couldn't even scratch it.

Growl-

"Its hide is too thick! Even though it's not the Nemean Lion..."

"Tch! Orion, it seems..."

"I know, everyone get out of the way! I'll kill this beast!"

It was because of Orion's arrow, shot by the son of the sea god boasting powerful strength, that it could pierce the leg.

Quickly realizing this, the son of the sea god threw away his bow and pulled out the large club and shield he was carrying on his back.

On the battlefield where heroes and monsters were mixed...

On one side, Chrysaor of the Golden Sword was fiercely driving back heroes with its venomous fangs and flying sword...

In this place where human screams erupted as they desperately swung their weapons while being torn apart by ferocious man-eating deer.

Orion crossed the center of the battlefield, firmly gripping his club while looking into the eyes of the monster charging at him.

Growl!!!

"A child of Typhon is just the right prey for my great deed!"

Orthrus leaping up baring its teeth and Orion swinging his club at it collided.

***

In the divine palace of Olympus, Apollo was looking down with his arms crossed.

It was his father, Zeus, who received the offerings from the heroes trying to enter Mount Athos, but...

"Apollo, you watch over them and help them moderately."

"I understand, Father. But what do you mean by 'moderately'?"

"Exactly what I said. Gaia, who is checking the heroes' accumulation of great deeds, won't let the expedition reach Mount Athos unscathed."

"Then...?"

"You may intervene 'to an appropriate extent' according to your judgment."

It was because Zeus had ordered him to watch over the expedition and help appropriately.

It was Zeus's measure, worried that Heracles might not become a great hero due to some unfortunate event or be killed by Hera, even though he had been born.

The more heroes they cultivate, the higher the probability of producing a great hero that the gods can bring to the war against the Gigantes.

Relying solely on the newborn Heracles... as the King of Gods, there's a need to consider the worst-case scenario.

As Apollo was recalling his conversation with Zeus while looking down below the clouds, someone quietly sat beside him.

It was his younger sister, Artemis, the goddess of the moon.

"Sister. What brings you here?"

"Brother. Shouldn't we help now that the heroes are being pushed back like this?"

"But shouldn't they pass through this level of ordeal to become great heroes? We can't just rely on that newborn baby Heracles that Father is so fond of."

"But..."

The beautiful goddess looked down at the mortal world with a worried expression.

Apollo sighed as he noticed the love, worry, sadness, and anxiety in her eyes.

His younger sister, Artemis, was a virgin goddess who had sworn chastity.

But... at some point, Apollo had noticed her becoming close to a human.

"Couldn't we at least save that hero bravely facing Orthrus over there?"

"...I'm not sure."

The only human male that Artemis, a virgin goddess, was close to besides her family.

Well, strictly speaking, he would be a demigod. Since that giant hunter's father is Poseidon.

It might have been inevitable for Artemis, also the goddess of hunting and archery, to become close to Greece's best hunter.

But how dare a mere human try to covet a virgin goddess who has sworn by the River Styx? How dare he not know his place while I, Apollo, am watching with both eyes open...

"...I don't really like it."

"Huh? What did you say, Brother?"

"Nothing. If that's your opinion, I'll send a raven to help the humans a little."

Being the son of Uncle Poseidon who adores his children terribly, Apollo couldn't directly smite him with divine punishment.

But... what if it was an 'unfortunate accident' that occurred while fighting monsters?

***

The area near the Kingdom of Macedonia had long since become a bloody battlefield.

The battle between heroes gathered from all over Greece and mythical monsters was gradually tilting in favor of the monsters.

Many monsters attacked the humans first, but they too were heroes confident in their abilities.

Those who had received all sorts of training in the Underworld through Thebes and those who had honed their skills by hunting monsters in the mortal world were not easy opponents.

However...

"Damn it! Can't someone do something about that flying sword... Gah!"

"Huff... Are there no more descendants of the wind god?"

Hiss-

While it had scales hard enough to deflect heroes' weapons, sharp venomous fangs, and a huge body that was a threat in itself...

The problem was Chrysaor, controlling a golden sword that flew freely through the sky.

"Ugh... Gah!"

With another scream, a hero who introduced himself as the son of Notus, the god of the south wind, had his stomach pierced by the golden sword.

While Orion was dealing with Orthrus, who would stop this terrible monster?

If it weren't for the Thebes graduates who seemed strangely accustomed to dealing with giant snakes distracting it, they might have all died here...

Chrysaor, still looking fine despite the continued battle, and the expedition members whose morale was gradually breaking.

Something flew over their heads.

Caw- Caw-

"What... is this sound."

"This shadow from the sky... a Harpy?!"

The humans who glanced up at the sky, hearing the mysterious bird cry even in the midst of battle with monsters, were relieved.

The unique cry, the large black body, the sacred aura that resonated through everyone's bodies.

"It's the raven, the divine beast raised by Apollo!"

"The raven that was burned for the sin of bringing news of the Thessalian princess, Coronis?"

"The Sun God is watching over this place! O radiant Phoebus Apollo!"

Apollo was once in a relationship with Coronis, the princess of Thessaly.

He gave his white raven to Coronis as a messenger to bring her news.

However, Coronis had an affair with a human named Ischys, and the raven immediately informed Apollo of this fact.

The enraged Apollo shot and killed Coronis with his bow, but immediately regretted it and glared at the raven...

The white raven that met the gaze filled with the power of the sun had all its feathers burned pitch black.

Thus, Apollo's divine beast that had become a black raven appeared here.

The Sun God's divine beast briefly flew across the sky of the battlefield, then immediately rushed at Chrysaor.

The raven that looked like a mere dot in the sky grew larger and larger as it descended to the ground...

Eventually, the divine beast that had grown as large as several people combined scratched Chrysaor's back with its talons as it passed by.

Hiss!

The snake monster writhed in pain, spraying blood from its back.

Seeing this, the heroes regained their fighting spirit and charged at Chrysaor again.

The flying golden sword was also keeping the raven in the sky in check... and the expedition leader Orion was handling Orthrus well.

If these two with demigod status are removed from the battlefield, the odds are in our favor!

The remaining monsters are small fry compared to the Sphinx or Python trained in the Underworld, or the great heroes.

"We can do it, we can win! We've made it through the Thebes training school! Compared to that, these monsters are..."

"O God Ares! Lend strength to my sword!"

"Let's quickly kill them all and help Orion...!"

If no other variables appear, the expedition would end in victory for the heroes.