Chapter 99
An oracle was delivered at Athena's temples throughout Greece.
The content of the oracle was to recruit an expedition to clear out the monsters gathered at Mount Athos, along with Orion, the son of Poseidon.
The gathering place for the expedition was the Kingdom of Macedonia, near Mount Athos.
"They say all the monsters we need to exterminate have gathered there?"
"It must be certain since Athena's oracle said so. Many monsters at Mount Athos..."
"Somehow, when I went to kill monsters, they weren't even visible."
With this, numerous people who couldn't find the monsters they were supposed to exterminate flocked to Macedonia from all over Greece.
Hoping that if it's an expedition created by a divine oracle, they too could surely achieve remarkable feats and become great heroes.
"If Poseidon's son is the expedition leader, we might receive blessings from the sea."
"I hear Orion is recruiting expedition members in Athens! Are you going to try too?"
"I heard graduates from Thebes' hero training school are accepted without question, which feels a bit off..."
"Hmph. Isn't he discriminating in favor of those from the same training school as him?"
Since Orion's fame as a giant hunter was widely spread throughout Greece, most heroes acknowledged him as the expedition leader.
His arrows, which swept numerous hunting competitions held in Greece, were widely known to hit the mark every time.
However, many were dissatisfied with the decision to unconditionally accept graduates from Thebes' hero training school.
This dissatisfaction finally erupted when Orion selected a man of small stature for the same reason of being from the same background.
"Hey, Orion! Why am I rejected while that skinny guy is accepted!"
A Spartan warrior with a bald head and black tattoos spoke to the blue-haired giant Orion with a face full of discontent.
However, Orion responded nonchalantly.
"Well, it's because Perieres over there is stronger than you, isn't it?"
"What?! You might be different, but that guy who doesn't even look properly trained?"
At those words, the man called Perieres stepped forward and retorted in a smooth voice.
More precisely, he choked as if something blocked him as he tried to continue speaking...
"Well. You say I haven't been properly trained. Have you ever fought a monster yourself? Sphin... mph!"
"...? What's this nonsense. Just tell us who you are and where you're from."
"Well. Having graduated from the hero training school, I was thinking of going to Messene to play king... I came here while pondering that."
At those words, the people around who came to join the expedition burst into laughter.
However, for some reason, none of the Thebes training school graduates laughed at him.
"Hahaha! Playing king? This is quite an interesting fellow."
"It seems he should be playing the fool in a comedy troupe? Is it right to accept such a guy, Orion?"
"Orion, it seems your method of selecting expedition members is flawed."
Faced with the complaints of the many people gathered in Athens, Orion made eye contact with Perieres with a slightly troubled expression.
When Perieres met Orion's eyes, he shrugged and shouted loudly.
"Then how about we settle this cleanly with pankration? If I lose, I'll recommend you."
"Ha! Pankration? Fine. Don't blame me when you face Thanatos!"
***
Thus, an untimely fighting competition, pankration, broke out at the recruitment site for expedition members.
Spectators formed a circle around the two men competing and took their seats.
Orion, holding a stick, acted as the referee, and the heroes warmed up.
"Now, as agreed by both contestants, we'll proceed with Kato-style pankration, so keep that in mind as you watch!"
Kato-style pankration is a form where the match continues even if a contestant falls to the ground.
As soon as the referee Orion's words fell, the two who had stripped naked for the match rushed at each other.
The Spartan warrior took the initiative, swinging his right fist with a shout, his bulging muscles adding power.
However, his punch missed Perieres and swept past him.
Then came Perieres' counterattack.
Being a demigod born from Aeolus, the god of winds, he could also manipulate part of the wind.
The demigod's fist, wrapped in wind, rained down like a storm, pummeling the solar plexus, jaw, and head.
"Ugh... Gah!"
Eventually, the Spartan warrior staggered backward, his whole body battered by the relentless barrage of punches.
But perhaps because he too was a warrior, he fiercely raised his foot and kicked towards his opponent.
However, despite the fierce momentum, the attack missed again...
Perieres dodged the warrior's attack with ease, provoking him with a very annoying expression.
"Tsk tsk. How can you charge in so crudely? At this rate, I couldn't trust you to watch my back even if you joined the expedition."
"Shut up! You! Hyaah!"
The warrior, enraged from being hit by numerous punches, charged, but with the feeling of something catching his foot, the world turned upside down.
Perieres lifted and threw the warrior who was staggering from having his leg caught.
Thud-
Falling head-first to the ground, he could have died from a concussion, but fortunately, he seemed not to have died, as his chest rose and fell slightly.
The warrior, foaming at the mouth, was taken to a doctor by people, and Orion declared the winner.
"As you all saw, the winner is Perieres! If anyone else thinks my judgment is wrong, step forward. I'll face you myself."
"Huh. To think that giant was taken down in an instant."
"He knocked him out without taking a single hit. How is his movement so..."
"What kind of training did he receive in Thebes?"
"Was that Spartan's ankle just offered to Zeus?"
"It doesn't seem so since it didn't break."
Although the warrior who was just carried away also had impressive muscles,
people quietly backed away at the sight of the giant hunter who looked twice as large...
As those who objected to Orion's judgment disappeared, about several hundred people were selected as expedition members.
While some of them were heroes from Thebes, there were quite a few who weren't.
***
Before departing for Mount Athos,
they moved to a mountain quite far from the Macedonian kingdom and prepared a special ritual to receive the gods' protection for this expedition.
Dozens of game animals hunted by the heroes, such as deer, leopards, and birds, were piled on a wooden altar, and below it, heroes in full armor lined up.
And Orion, the leader of the expedition, personally held a torch, approached the altar to light it, and spoke loudly.
"O Olympian gods watching from above the clouds! Protect these brave warriors who seek to hunt monsters!"
Boom!
As if the gods were responding to that cry, suddenly a blue lightning bolt fell from the clear sky and struck the altar.
When the brief but intense lightning stopped, all the beasts placed on the altar had vanished.
"Li... Lightning?! Is Zeus watching over this place?"
"Not just Athena who gave the oracle... but the Olympian gods are also paying attention to this expedition!"
"I'm glad I came to Athens, surely with this expedition...!"
The heroes who thought this was a response sent by the gods cheered.
This was clearly an opportunity for fame. There was no hero whose heart didn't race at the thought of gods watching over their journey.
Orion once again raised his voice and shouted loudly.
"We shall hunt all beasts and monsters existing on land and offer them to the Olympian gods!"
A statement so arrogant it bordered on madness from the demigod.
However, Orion, as Greece's greatest hunter, could perhaps say such a thing.
Until a voice resonating from the earth was heard.
Hunt all beasts and monsters existing on land? Child of Poseidon. Can you take responsibility for that statement?
The heroes were bewildered by the sudden soft voice. What is this voice?
This pressure. Surely it's a god. A god... but aren't the Olympian gods blessing this journey?
"Wh... Who are you?!"
Orion questioned the unidentified goddess... and the heroes hurriedly drew their weapons.
After a moment of silence, that majestic yet soft voice reached their ears.
...I am Gaia, the goddess of the earth. You shall pay the price for daring to insult the earth.
Gaia, the goddess of the earth? According to mythology, a being equivalent to Zeus's grandmother...
A Protogenoi?! What is this...
While they were lost in all sorts of imaginations, they could no longer continue their thoughts.
Because the earth suddenly started to split open from a short distance away.
Rumble... Crack.
As if an earthquake had occurred, a huge crack in the earth gradually spread.
The vibrations shaking the surroundings continued for a while, and the heroes couldn't hide their bewilderment at this sudden situation.
But it was too early to be bewildered.
From the widely split crack... numerous monsters that should have been at Mount Athos crawled up onto the ground.
Growl... Bark! Hiss-
"The... golden-sword Chrysaor! How can this be... Why is the monster born from Medusa's severed head here...!"
"Good heavens... A two-headed dog with a snake's tail... That's Orthrus! To think even Typhon's offspring would be here!"
"Request support from the city immediately, we need more reinforcements!"
"Damn it all! Zeus...!"