Myth: The Spiritual Dominator

The human world, near a river in the south of the continent.

The closer you get to the south, the denser the water network becomes, and even river and lake gods are often seen.

Hercules had no idea what was happening on Mount Olympus. With the help of Ander, it didn't take him too long to reach this dividing place.

To the north of here is the country shrouded in the faith of the Olympian gods.

To the south are undeveloped wilderness and rivers, and the target of his trip is hidden there.

As for the east, there is a city famous for sin.

It's not Silvermoon City. In fact, few people under the rule of Olympus have ever seen the wizards of Silvermoon City, but this 'City of Sin' is different.

It is the city farthest away within the sphere of influence of Silvermoon City and the closest city to Olympus.

If Silvermoon City is far away in the horizon, then this place is the enemy right in front of us.

In fact, in the past years, there has never been a lack of brutal fighting under this city.

"Condenia City, you should have heard of this place."

There was a pocket on the chest of the clothes, and the puppet showed its head in front of Hercules.

He spoke idly while looking around.

Faintly, Ander could still see some shadows of the Bronze Age here.

Obviously, the survivors have inherited the old culture very well.

Whether it is architecture or art, we can see the traces left by our ancestors.

"Condenia... I did hear a little about it."

Looking at the big city in the distance, Hercules couldn't help but be amazed.

Although it is just a border city, its prosperity is no less than that of the royal city of Thebai.

"I heard that this is where most wizards in the world once studied. As for Silvermoon City, it is said that few spellcasters who went there to study came back."

"Even the great alchemist and wizard Hermes of Athens once studied here when he was young."

"Without Condenia, he might not have achieved what he has today." (See 3-173)

The city was located on both sides of the river, and Hercules could clearly see the scenery over there with his eyesight.

The river flows from southwest to northeast, dividing the city into two.

The northwestern part generally receives merchants from various countries on the continent, while the southeastern part is under the jurisdiction of officials sent by Silver Moon City.

This division was originally intended to reduce conflicts caused by different beliefs and systems, but ironically, when night fell, Hercules, who was standing here and watching from afar, felt that he was seeing primitiveness and backwardness.

A river separates the two sides.

On one side the lights were flickering, while on the other side it was as bright as day.

Because there was a tall tower suspended there, and at the top of the tower, a ball of light was lit that was enough to illuminate half the city.

"That is the [Artificial Sun]. A bard who believed in me once came here."

"It is said that this is a creation created by the people of Silver Moon City using the remains of the ancient sun god. It itself has a very strong curse property, but these spellcasters have somehow been exempted from it."

"But to be honest, the reason why Silvermoon City placed it here is somewhat provocative. Because it is said that each [Artificial Sun] can actually create a demigod on earth - as long as he can withstand the curse of the ancient gods."

"So has anyone succeeded?" Hercules asked.

"No, that's what I'm going to say."

The puppet's mouth opened and closed, and no one knew how it made any sound.

Looking at the bright 'sun', Ander continued his story.

"They put the [artificial sun] here to mock the believers of the Olympian gods."

"After all, they can use witchcraft to use things that no one in the continent can make use of."

Nodding silently, Hercules felt that he had learned something again.

These were things that were not included in his previous education, even though he had been taught by scholars.

But it is also true that scholars from the continental countries will not talk about these bad histories. Perhaps only an "evil god" like Ander can talk about these things without hindrance.

"Oh, by the way, as far as I know, the establishment of Condonia City actually has an interesting history."

"This involves a rather old-fashioned love story, which has been adapted into plays by many poets and sung everywhere... Haha, that's how I learned about it."

It seemed that he was in the mood for conversation, or perhaps it was because he had rarely had the opportunity to communicate with others on an equal footing over the past thousands of years.

As Hercules hurried to the city, Ander continued to preach with great interest.

"The city of Condenia, its name is actually a combination of 'Connie' and 'Deo'."

"It is said that this was built by a man named Connius during the process of Silvermoon City expanding from a simple city to a country."

"The first generation of great prophets worshipped by the people of Silvermoon City at that time has passed away. They are heading in different directions under the guidance of different ideas."

"Some of them chose to stay, while others chose to leave. Some even found buildings left over from the golden age, as well as traces of their past lives."

"This man, named Cornius, found the remains of the city and built this city on top of them."

"He was a powerful warrior, and one of the few who touched the edge of divinity before reaching the end of his life without relying on the power of the gods. He may have crossed it, or he may not have. After all, although relying on the blood of gods is a shackle after reaching a certain level, it is the greatest help before becoming a demigod. Throughout history, the number of people who have been able to take this step relying on the power of pure mortals can actually be counted on one's fingers."

"Of course, no matter how glorious he once was, he and his story have now become a wisp of dust in history."

"and then?"

Hercules was listening intently when he suddenly noticed that Ander had stopped talking and subconsciously asked another question.

He didn't feel anything about the so-called shackles, but he was still quite interested in the origin of this city.

However, the puppet only pointed to the separated half of the city in the distance, where two bronze statues stood.

"As you can see."

"The young man named Cornius built this city to fulfill the promise he made in the past, but he also died because of it."

"In his last battle before his death, he defeated his enemies - the followers of you, the Olympian gods. At that time, he touched the edge of divinity, but his life also came to an end."

"Deio, who learned of this, rushed here, but when she arrived at the river, Cornius had already died on the battlefield on the other side."

"She later stayed in this city and became a priestess here. As for what kind of grudges and hatreds happened during the process..."

The puppet smiled and spread his hands.

“There are many versions of poems, and there is more than one play.”

"But I don't know which one is true. Maybe neither of them is true."

"But anyway, the city was named after them and has been passed down to this day." (See 3-145/147)

"...I see. Building a city for a promise...it's an interesting story indeed."

Compared with the city itself and Cornius' heroic deeds, Hercules actually did not feel the meaning of his existence. After all, he had never experienced the so-called love.

Even the separation of life and death, when he learned that people can be resurrected from the dead, he no longer cared so much.

He just sighed and walked towards the city gate. At least from this story, the feud between Silver Moon City and the Olympus states has a long history.

The city of Condenia had no guards or inspections. Perhaps because of his confidence or because of some secret means, Hercules entered the city easily.

On the one hand, he came here because he wanted to get a closer look at the situation in Silvermoon City. After all, it was more like a mysterious restricted area for the countries on the continent.

On the other hand, they are looking for traces of the nine-headed Hydra.

Unlike the Nomisa giant lion controlled by Ander, the nine-headed siren is not a dead thing and will not stubbornly stay in one place.

······

"call--"

"Sir, have you ever heard of the Hydra?"

After finding a place to settle down, Hercules began to inquire for news.

What happens to Silvermoon City is a matter for later, he still has a way to find out, and killing Hydra is the top priority right now.

In fact, Ender could do this kind of thing. As one of the origins of the bard profession in today's world, he had learned a lot of information over the past thousand years.

But this was a trial of Hercules after all, and while Ander didn't mind helping, he would rather let him act on his own in such a small matter.

Hercules had no objection to this. After all, he didn't think it was difficult to get information.

However, after most of the day, he had to admit that he had underestimated the difficulty of the matter.

"I am Hercules from Thebes, and I am here to kill demons. If you have any relevant information, please tell me. I am willing to pay you for it."

"But if you tell me some lies, I'm not someone you can mess with!"

At the end of his speech, I don’t know if his face turned a little red or black.

In Hercules' breast pocket, Ender moved at the right moment.

The young hero was not lacking in wisdom, but he was still accidentally deceived.

If Ander hadn't pointed out that the so-called 'Siren Address' he got was most likely fake, he would have foolishly gone there.

"Hydra, the nine-headed sea monster?"

The names are slightly different, but it’s obvious that they’re due to accent differences caused by different regions.

Looking at the old man in front of him, Hercules nodded affirmatively.

"That's it. Do you know where it is?"

"Um……"

The old man in the lead hesitated for a moment and looked at the hero in front of him.

The god of the west wind did not lie, he had spread the story of Hercules killing the giant lion.

But it takes time for news to spread. What happened in the north could not possibly spread to the south of the continent in such a short time.

So naturally no one knew Hercules' name, and the old man just shook his head.

"I know where Hydra is, but I can't tell you."

"Young man, there were many people like you who hoped to achieve great things and become famous overnight, but their results were not very good."

"They either died, or managed to escape, but were contaminated by the poisonous blood of the nine-headed sea monster, and suffered from pain and torture for the rest of their lives."

"You should go back to where you came from. This is not what you should do."

"Old man, just because others can't do it doesn't mean I can't do it."

"I am the son of a god, and I came here to kill the demons under the guidance of the gods."

Hercules finally met an old man who seemed to know something, so he naturally didn't want to give up.

He immediately told his origins. After all, there were very few people in this world who dared to joke with gods.

Hearing this, the old man was obviously stunned.

He looked the young hero over again and then sighed.

"Young man, I don't know if you really have this ability."

"But if you want to go, then I'll go with you."

"To be honest, the reason I know about Hydra is because I have a grudge against it."

"My three children were abducted by it and their whereabouts are still unknown. People in my village also died because of it. I was the only one who survived because I was out at the time."

"Since you really want to fight it, let me lead the way. If we succeed, I can consider it as revenge."

"If you can't succeed, let me die with them."

The old man's words stopped Hercules from refusing. If there was such hatred, then it would be reasonable for him to choose to go with him.

Although he might not be able to take care of the old man during the battle, the other party had already expressed his determination to die, so how could he refuse?

"Okay, old man, I can take you with me... Speaking of which, I don't know what to call you?"

"My name is Meng Yi."

The old man said this with gritted teeth, looking full of hatred.

"My brothers Meng Er and Meng San both died at the hands of the Siren, and my favorite grandson Amon is also missing."

"As long as I can kill Hydra, there is nothing I won't give, not even my life!"

"Um……"

"Meng...yi...?"

I feel like the name is a bit sloppy, but considering that not everyone understands the culture, it doesn’t seem strange.

In later generations, Eastern countries still used the ranking order of Zhong, Shu, Ji, etc. as folk names, and similar situations were even more common in Chaos.

It's just recording names with numbers, which is normal... Thinking of this, Hercules nodded.

"Well, in that case, then, Master Mengyi, let's take a day off first, and then I'll trouble you to lead the way for me."

"As long as you can lead me to the location of the demon, I will kill it and avenge your family."