《Asterion Without Stars》 001: Starry 001: Starry A single finger is the symbol of life, existence and propagation, a blessing first bestowed upon the tiny beings who populated the oceans before history. Two fingers symbolize mutualism, sharing and growth, a blessing for those who first understood that cooperation makes them stronger in the face of adversity. Three fingers symbolize instinct, emotions and the ability to determine one¡¯s own existence, bestowed upon the strongest and most resilient beasts who decided to leave the sea in search of new horizons. Four fingers represent intelligence, the understanding of reality, the power to create language, art and civilizations, bestowed upon races who longed for more than the mere taste of meat and capable of controlling their own destiny. Five fingers; only five species can exist with this blessing, they represent the power, strength and divinity to change existence itself, the ability to wield the fraction of a god''s power, the blessing that separates us heleny from the beasts, what gave us the right to claim this world and what forces us to compete against nature itself, the favor of the gods, five fingers for five great races. Autor without a name ¨C Five hundred twenty-four years after Helena Asterion woke up from his deep sleep with his long hair and unkempt beard covering his entire face. He wasn''t sleeping in his bed, he had fallen into a pile of notes, letters and maps of a labyrinth. However, he continued sleeping as if nothing had happened until the sun hit his pale face and grey eyes. -Damn, today is going to be a very long day. The young man of almost four cubits(1) tall got up tired and lethargic, put on his white tunic, some sandals and took a sheet of paper from almost the bottom of the pile of papyrus where he was sleeping, it had a shiny seal of a ram that seemed to emit a faint light of its own. Asterion left his house, the sun was barely rising in the east and there were not many people around, he walked a few blocks until he entered a tavern that occupied at least a third of a street near the sea. In the tavern there was only one employee with some kantharos(2) and some drunks who were still scattered in the corners, the largest of all was still drinking and seemed to bother the employee with his presence, who avoided looking at him. -Good morning Asterion, you''re getting here earlier and earlier. Asterion just raised his hand and walked to the bar; not only did he separate customers from drinks, but also from a huge map that covered almost the entire wall with a giant labyrinth, full of detailed notes in several parts, but incomplete in others. As he rested his thin arms on the counter, the employee who was cleaning took a pen and a papyrus. -I see you''re alone today. What exploration do you plan for your team today, Polemarch? Asterion took the scroll with the shiny seal of the ram out of his sleeve, the employee''s face that seemed calm became considerably more serious. -I will inform them to prepare their supplies immediately. The employee left quickly, leaving the tavern and disappearing from everyone''s sight. Asterion sat down to wait at the counter, placing the parchment on the table and relaxing while trying not to fall asleep again. Meanwhile, the drunken giant lying in the other corner couldn''t stop looking at the shiny papyrus with the ram. He approached little by little until he saw the seal and couldn''t believe what his eyes were seeing. -I-Is this the seal of the Archon of Light? Asterion just watched the giant as he took the papyrus and hid it under his sleeve to try in vain not to push his luck with the behemoth. -How can a little piece of shit like you have something like that, do you even know how much that''s worth? The drunk put his big fists on the table and looked the boy firmly in the eyes, the latter was not interested in an interrogation or an argument so he simply grabbed the kantharos that the employee was cleaning and poured wine for both of them. -Here, when I get back from this exploration I''ll have something to give to everyone at the bar. Asterion tried to avoid a conflict by trying to be nice, but deep down he knew he had already made a mistake, this scroll contained a very high grade seal and anyone could take it from his hands and take it somewhere else, either to complete the task themselves and steal the reward or simply steal the supplies that are given to carry it out, anyway failed missions happen every day and it''s not like the leaders care much about who completed the task as long as it''s done, although, only maniacs or stupid people would steal something so important that it was signed by an Archon and risk a fight against another heleny, one like the one in front of his eyes; the drunk accepted the drink anyway. -Haha, thanks for the drink, little one. The giant sat down next to Asterion; he was carrying a huge club almost the same size as him; about four cubits high, he left his weapon on the opposite side and began to drink from the jug. -It''s delicious, look, I don''t deny that you know about wine, but I can''t help but wonder how a weakling like you could get a mission from the archon himself? Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The drunk brought the brown ring on his ring finger closer to Asterion. -It doesn''t even shine in the slightest. A man with such a small soul in charge of a top-level exploration, are you sure you can do it or do you just want to steal a few things? Asterion took a drink and then exclaimed. -I''m just the polemarch, I don''t need to have a great blessing to do my job. -Aah, so you just carry the load like a donkey and your companions do all the rest, right? You know we don''t like cowards here. Asterion drank the whole cup, he needed to kill time until the employee arrived. -I''ll go get more wine. The giant gave Asterion''s shoulder a strong squeeze so that he couldn''t get up. -Look boy, I''ll make it easy for you, give me the scroll and get out of here, I''ll take care of this mission. His grip became more intense, seeking to intimidate the man, but Asterion didn''t lower his gaze, even in the face of pain. -Well, maybe I''ll have to break something, so we won''t have more useless burdens like you in the labyrinth-. As soon as he mentioned the word "useless" Asterion made his decision, he grabbed the jar with force from his hand and smashed it into the giant''s face, destroying the jar and filling his nose, lips and left eye with splinters. Asterion freed himself from the grip and ran to the center of the tavern looking for someone there, but there were no employees, only drunks lying around the place so he tried to escape, however, the giant''s ring lit up brightly and a circle of rocks formed around his finger that seemed to be born from the ring itself as if it were a small Saturn, at that moment a stone wall covered the door and window of the place, locking them all in the tavern. The brown ring lost its shine and therefore the ability to create another favor like the previous one for a time, the giant grabbed his club and ran lunging at Asterion, the latter dodged the club to the left, turned over a table and placed himself behind it, the giant raised his hand and from the tip of his five fingers small stones sprouted that formed an increasingly larger and dense rock, which he grabbed and threw with destructive force, the rock destroyed the table forcing Asterion to leave his improvised hiding place throwing a wooden chair at the huge heleny which he broke with a punch, at that moment the polemarch ran up to the giant carrying a leg detached from the table, with which he hit the drunk''s crotch, however the latter before falling from the pain managed to swing his weapon and hit Asterion with the club, throwing him against the wall created by the subject, both writhed in pain on the ground for a while before returning to combat. -A ring of that quality should recover in one cycle of a clepsydra(3), it should be halfway there already. Asterion thought, he had to escape or end the fight as quickly as possible, his left arm was broken along with some ribs, so he opted for the second option, he raised his right arm and shouted. -HEY, FATASS, HOW MUCH MORE ARE YOU GOING TO WRINKLE LIKE A MUDDY PIG?! The offended giant ran towards the young man and with all his strength swung the two-handed club towards his head, but Asterion managed to dodge by running under the weapon and crashing his body into the giant''s left leg, making him lose balance, hitting the wall with the club and his body, knocking down his own creation, the giant was left lying down and stunned, but Asterion was not very composed either, he was trying to catch his breath after receiving a knee in almost the entire area of ????his torso, again both slowly got up from the dust and rubble, they looked at each other for a few moments thinking about their next move and the giant''s ring shone again, generating its own stone rings again. -Shit. It was the only thing Asterion could mutter, at that moment the giant buried his fingers in the ground and with a herculean strength he lifted a huge stone of almost his same size, the ground however had only small marks and erosions, as if the guy had immediately replaced the stones from the ground while he dug up this rock from nowhere, he threw it at Asterion during the same movement with which he dug it up and without losing any momentum, as if it weighed the same or even less than the rock from his previous throw, Asterion could only cover himself with his arm and jump back, the stone destroyed against his body and threw him violently down the street. He could no longer continue fighting and was barely conscious, the giant was in pain and confused, but he was victorious. -HAHAHA Why didn''t you use your blessing you piece of shit, do you think you''re so good you damn conceited bastard? Asterion thought about all the beatings he suffered and how they always end up the same, all living beings who are born with five fingers on their hands receive a blessing, an ability to transform matter based on the brightness and size of their soul, rich and poor, fools and enlightened, men and women, each and every one of the heleny are able to use their blessings from birth, all except poor Asterion, a true defect of nature, a false heleny, a beast more than a man, an omen of bad luck and other insults that he has received in his short existence, so Asterion already knew it, he already knew that he could never have won that fight and time before he would have given up in the frustration of his weakness, but now he is fine, because the moment the cold of the stones on his back began to be overcome by the heat he felt approaching his body, he knew that the fight was already over. The giant approached slowly and as he extended his arm over Asterion''s body a black greatsword made of pure obsidian cut his hand, the ring the giant had almost instantly turned the severed piece of flesh into a rough, eroded rock, barely maintaining its original hand shape, the drunk screamed in pain and when he raised his severed wrist with his other hand to see the damage he already had the black blade pointing at his neck. -Does he live or die? The tall and athletic woman asked, holding a two-handed sword with red scales that adorned her entire body like natural armor. She looked with her yellow eyes and vertical pupils at Asterion, who simply raised his hand and hid his thumb with his other fingers, with which the warrior immediately removed the weapon from the giant''s neck, hid his wings and hit him on the chin, leaving him unconscious. Her sword glowed red hot and cauterized the cut on the already downed man. -Thank you, Laconia. The polemarch softly mentioned on the ground. The woman slowly lifted him off the floor and carried him, resting him on her shoulder, into the tavern. A warm light emanated from her that faintly, like the movement of the sun on the horizon, healed Asterion''s wounds. -How come you are so unlucky? -Well, the gods didn''t bless me with anything but a lot of sleep and several dreams it seems. -And yet you are still here... The next time you receive a mission from the fool of light I will stay with you. -Don''t worry about nonsense. As she said those words, the reptilian tail and wing of Laconia hugged Asterion with deep affection, she sat the polemarch down and took the papyrus from her sleeve. -Is the rest coming? -Just the new one, I doubt the other two will show up. -That''s enough. They both take a sip of wine and watch the destruction, the drunks sleeping on the ground didn''t move a millimeter, miraculously none of them were hurt and they snore as if nothing had happened, Laconia lets out a small laugh. -Even the drunks are more blessed than you. Laconia mentions the last thing with a slightly sarcastic tone and Asterion finally smiles a little. -Hehe, just give me time, you''ll see what a poor and weak man with some sense is capable of. Polemarch: The brain of the phalanxes and usually the leader of these groups, in charge of managing the resources and choosing routes in the labyrinth, in combat they give orders and organize strategies, they specialize their blessings in supporting their allies or hindering the enemy, they are usually blessed by Aura or Antrifide. Cubit(1): Unit of measurement, one elbow equals 0.463 meters. Kantharo(2): Clay vessel. Clepsydra(3): Water clock, one clepsydra cycle equals one minute. 002: Confidence 002: Confidence Asterion''s wounds were almost healed as they were sitting in the tavern while Laconia stood beside him as if she were his bodyguard. -You don''t have to stand all the time you know. -You tell me that every time you sit down, it''s not my fault you''re lazy. -I''m saving energy for the mission. -Yes, walking and talking tire you out quite a bit it seems. -I deserve it after the welcome I just received. After waiting, the employee of the place finally returns, he observes the destruction attentively, but he doesn''t seem very surprised, he raises his right hand and on his finger there is a ring exactly like the giant''s that shines brightly while making small debris orbit, the man rebuilds the entire stone wall leaving it exactly the same as in its original state. -You will have to pay for the broken kantharo, sir. He informed Asterion, he stood up and proceeded to climb some stairs behind the bar with Laconia, he looked into the serpentine eyes of the warrior and with a mocking smile whispered to her. -He didn''t realize that I stole a few drinks of wine. Laconia responded by lightly hitting Asterion''s arm, making him stagger. The employee left them in a room with only a few chairs and a center table with the map of the labyrinth in which a white space between two routes was crossed out with an X. In the room sat a tall, strong young man, equipped with a thracian helmet with a visor adorned with a feather that hid his face, greaves and arm guards, the latter made of a clean and polished bronze similar to those of the hoplites who guard the city. He carried a sica sword and a sling as weapons. The young man observed Laconia with great interest. He took off his helmet, revealing a thin, fine face with curly, golden hair that reached the nape of his neck, as well as large, orange eyes like honey. The soldier quickly rose from his seat to greet her cordially as he knelt down. -Good morning, Miss Laconia, I am Niko, the new thracian of your squadron sent by the archon of light himself, my blessing comes from the favor of Zeus and I specialize in short combats, thank you very much for this opportunity, I promise not to disappoint you, my captain. Asterion smiled slightly looking at the woman. -Another fan of yours "Miss Laconia". He mentioned that letting out a tiny laugh that he made sure Laconia heard, she made a grimace of tiredness from having to explain the situation who knows how many times. -Greetings, soldier, I appreciate your words and enthusiasm, but I am not the captain of this mission, that is the task of the polemarch Asterion at my side. Niko looked up and like a shower of skepticism he completely doubted those words when he saw both subjects next to each other, Laconia is one of the strongest warriors in the polis(1), a genius of armed combat and with a soul almost three times larger than that of an average heleny thanks to the hydra blood running through her body that gives her, this mythical appearance, four cubits tall and a body full of hard red scales that functioned as natural armor that complemented with armguards, greaves and a reddish bronze breastplate, even her face and neck have some scales to protect vulnerable areas, she also had a thick tail that worked not only to improve balance when swinging her black obsidian broadsword, but also as a catalyst for her blessing, along with torn black wings that despite serving nothing more than to glide a few meters, she used to hide feints or quickly get away from her enemies, in addition to large completely yellow eyes with vertical pupils that many believed allowed her to see in the dark, she is a killing machine with strength and intelligence far above average, so anyone would be surprised to see that she is in the service of a man like Asterion, a thin, weak man with a soul barely distinguishable from that of an animal, with long hair and an unkempt beard, more like a homeless vagabond than the captain of a squadron, he was not even armed or equipped with absolutely anything, he was indistinguishable from any civilian "Why does Miss Laconia follow this guy''s orders?" Niko wondered as he watched them, but he did not question the woman''s orders and as a good soldier he simply followed the orders of his superior. -Understood, greetings polemarch, nice to meet you. -Greetings Niko, I am Asterion the polemarch of this ¡°half¡± phalanx, I see that you already know about Laconia our bestiary, the archon recommended you so I expect great things from you. They both gave each other a weak handshake, Niko was still not convinced by this polemarch, but he had no choice but to trust Laconia''s decision. Asterion proceeded to explain the plan on the map of the center. -The route through the labyrinth to the island of Skiathos has been blocked by a nest of myrmekes that dug numerous tunnels in the area, the camp in the middle of the route is about to collapse so our objective is to protect the place and save the survivors while the archon located on the island goes to destroy the nest, we will also bring food to the place, in the next room are the supplies, you and Laconia will carry the sacks, that''s all for now, let''s go. -Hey wait! Are there just the three of us? We don''t even form a phalanx, don''t you have two other companions? We will fight against hundreds of those things just us and perhaps the few soldiers left from the camp. Niko exclaimed with an accurate opinion, normally the phalanxes are made up of five members who cover each other''s weaknesses within the labyrinth and who knows how long they will have to defend the place. But Laconia simply looked him in the eyes and said in a commanding voice. -Do not question the orders of the polemarch, thracian. Niko had no choice but to trust the person he respects and together with the warrior they carried the two heavy sacks, one filled with bread, cheese, hams and water, the other carried piles of closed vessels. -What are we carrying in this bag? Niko asked bewildered, thinking that the inept Asterion forgot to inform his team. -If I tell you, the plan won''t work. I''m just telling you not to even think about bringing it near the fire. Niko couldn''t believe the situation, but when he saw that Laconia took the bag of food and walked out of the room with Asterion, the man simply took the bag and left with them. They went down to the entrance of the tavern and left the place. They walked through the streets of the city, the sun beating down with all its force on the great polis of Helena, founded and named in honor of the first human being to be born with five fingers, the hands of a god. The queen with her strength destroyed the abusive centaurs who massacred and enslaved humans for almost five hundred years, raising men and women who would never again call themselves humans, but heleny, in honor of the greatest heroine in their history. The city was built on a huge plateau facing the sea and was surrounded by several watchtowers of stone and marble that rose up to one hundred and fifty-one cubits high. The polis was filled with temples that rose above the adobe houses, with wide streets full of markets. In the center is the acropolis where the archons and the descendants of Helena live, as well as the Parthenon, the largest temple of all, where the statues of the five Heleny gods are.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The three-member phalanx walked to the foot of the acropolis plateau where there was a huge stone entrance, adorned with statues of the great explorers of the labyrinth. -How did we build this without blessings? I can''t imagine the amount of effort that was needed for this. Niko was talking to Asterion as they descended the huge stairs into the labyrinth. -Well, I suppose living beings go to any lengths to survive, although I can''t imagine living underground like the myrmekes. Along the way, several groups went together at the beginning, but slowly they took different routes, some were looking for abandoned minerals, others were on the lookout for myrmeke tunnels to destroy them and most were looking for the way to another island. The labyrinth is a huge underground network of huge stone paths under the sea that connects each island in the territory. According to historians, it has existed for more than three thousand years and the humans lived mostly in wide spaces of these tunnels before being blessed by the gods. The walls are full of drawings that portray the life of all the species in the world. It is still unknown how it was built. Finally, the group was completely alone, illuminated only by small spheres of fire created by Laconia. Asterion always remained lost observing the carvings on the walls, while Niko approached Laconia to speak in silence. -Bestiary Laconia, I heard that you did not lose a single fight in the gymnastike(2), that in your first mission you decimated several minotaurs as if you were born on the battlefield, for this reason I wanted to ask you, why do you follow the orders of that man who does not even have a blessing? He was abandoned by the gods, he is a burden. Laconia continued walking without even turning her face towards Niko, inside she felt some anger for these comments, but she perfectly understood the doubts of the rest towards Asterion. -I do not deny my combat skills, nor my strategic ability, but that man is something special. -What could be more special than an intelligent and talented warrior who shares blood with some of the strongest beings in the world? Niko mentioned this while pointing at Asterion and together with Laconia they watched as he walked behind both of them looking at the walls sleepily and yawning without any concern. -Niko, if there''s one thing I''ve learned from that man, it''s not to underestimate the weak. I served several polemarch at your age and none of them had a desire to win as great as Asterion''s. -What good are those desires without the ability to realize them? -The ability to realize something is only strength, Niko. Asterion''s desire is worth more than strength. -I don''t understand. -You''ll see, you also made a mistake in something, I did lose a fight. Niko tilted his head wondering how, since he had never even heard of anyone equaling Laconia in the past other than the elites of the polis of Helena, however he did not have much time to think when hundreds of footsteps at high speed echoed through the labyrinth. -Stop, myrmekes, I think about thirty. Laconia said as she took her greatsword, the route was wide enough for five wagons to pass without problems, so Asterion walked to a wall next to the group so as not to have to cover their backs, Niko was nervous about the noise of so many legs on the dark stone, it was not his first mission and he did not doubt Laconia''s abilities, but he knew about the nefarious Asterion, a heleny without any blessing, he was the equivalent of a child on the battlefield and it is much more comforting to fight with three companions than with just one while protecting cargo and a "burden". -Calm down Niko, stay here protecting things, Laconia, can you handle them all? -Are you really asking me that? -I''m never totally sure. Niko swallowed his nervousness with anger at the words he heard. -Are you going to let her fight thirty of those things alone, do you even know what they are? They are living armors, with blessings you can kill several, but if you are outnumbered unless you prepare a huge divine favor in team or a trap you can''t win alone, we have to fight together. -Save your strength Niko, this is only the first battle and I need your blessings, these things are monsters, but for now trust in our bestiary, we will have to work hard later. Niko thinks for a moment, but goes into battle anyway. -I know you are a wretch without any blessings Asterion, if you want to be protected go back where you came from. Niko abandoned the supplies with Asterion while his sword slowly filled with lightning, he walked next to Laconia, she hit him with all her strength in the stomach, knocking him out and throwing him back with Asterion who stopped his blow against the wall. -I warned you to obey your polemarch boy, don''t look down on me. Laconia''s greatsword heated up until it seemed like it was going to melt with just one more degree and the red ring on her right hand filled with embers that orbited the entire hand of the half-hydra woman until a horde of myrmekes appeared, creatures with humanoid torsos and ant legs, their crimson exoskeleton was tremendously resistant, with four-fingered claws full of red and blue blood indicating that they massacred animals and other colonies of myrmekes alike, they were only equipped with shields and spears made from the bones of their peers and their snouts with pincers communicated with sounds similar to the tip of a feather against wood, the moment their insectile eyes collided with Laconia''s fierce gaze, everyone tried to form a concave around her, however, the moment they accumulated upon arriving, the warrior''s ring lit up to its zenith. - ¦²¦É¦Ä¦Ç¦Ñ¦Ï¦Ô¦Ñ¦Ã¦Å?¦Ï - As if it were a miniature sun, the ring formed an intense sphere of fire that, with a horizontal cut of her sword, transformed into a crown of fire that charred the first row of myrmekes without much effort. The burst of fire continued its course, but the other ants ran along the ceiling and walls to avoid the wave. Even so, it was an impressive spectacle. Very few warriors are capable of eliminating ten myrmekes with a single favor. -I EXPECTED A BIGGER FAVOR, HEPHESTUS! As she said those words, flames came out from his wings and three myrmekes launched an attack from above and both sides. Laconia jumped to intercept the ants that launched itself from the ceiling, cutting it along with his spear. The two remaining myrmekes collided with each other and the bestiary launched a fireball at them, making them suffer a slow death from the flames. -Seventeen. While she is still in the air four myrmekes try to intercept her in her fall, but she propels herself with her wings backwards, while she falls on the abdomen of an ant that sought to attack Niko and Asterion, stabbing him mercilessly, the four myrmekes launched a barrage of stabs with their spears, but when Laconia defended herself with her greatsword she destroyed her primitive weapons and severed the torso of an ant, taking advantage of this momentum she mounted its corpse, cutting off the head of another myrmeke, the remaining two pounced trying to crush her with their shields, Laconia cut through one killing him instantly, but the other managed to hit her knocking her face down, three warriors immediately jumped to finish her off, but the warrior jumped towards one of them who managed to pierce the hand of the half-breed, she deflected the weapon from her face and with her pierced hand she destroyed the spear and while grabbing the head of the ant she summoned a flame from her palm, annihilating the creature. -Twelve. This time six myrmekes, three on the ground and three falling from the ceiling, sought to ambush Laconia, but the ring shone brightly again and the warrior just waited for them to get close enough. - ¦²¦Õ¦Ô¦Ñ? - Upon saying those words, an explosion of fire arose, it went from Laconia''s feet to the twenty-cubit-high ceiling of the labyrinth. Five of the myrmekes were charred, but one managed to stab the woman in her stomach through her armor and in an area without scales before perishing in the flames. Laconia felt intense pain, but she simply removed the spear, cauterized her own wound with it and then threw it at the head of an ant that was heading towards Asterion, destroying it completely. -Five. The five remaining myrmekes decided to throw their spears from all directions and then charged towards Laconia, who covered herself from three spears with her wings and one with her sword, however the remaining one hit in the union between her shoulder and her chest; another area without scales, leaving her without a left arm for the rest of the fight. Laconia launched a strong fire slash that did not have the power to penetrate the shields so she used it to destroy the legs of a myrmeke knocking him down, then she ran towards another ant and with a stab she destroyed the shield along with its user, she quickly removed the sword from the corpse and threw it towards the head of another warrior, killing him instantly, then from her mouth a flame came out that burned another ant, finally the last one hit with all its strength against the hybrid, who withstood the impact with her only functional arm and pushing herself with her tail she jumped and tore the neck of the last myrmeke in combat using her sharp teeth. -Zero. However, the legless myrmeke crawled quickly for the rest of the fight, Laconia had no strength left and when she was about to be cut down from behind, the ant received a stab in her neck by the sica sword belonging to Niko that Asterion borrowed while he was out of the fight, burying the sword in the insect''s mouth. -Are you okay my queen? You forgot one. Asterion spoke to her with a sarcastic tone while he took the spear from her shoulder and brought her food. -Better than ever and I could take care of the last one. Laconia said it with a satisfied smile on her face, Asterion took her to Niko still knocked out and they prepared to eat some of their provisions while the warrior healed his wounds. -Thanks Laconia, me and Niko will take care of the rest. -Damn, it''s about time. You''re not going to tell me the plan today either, right? Laconia spoke to him while hitting Asterion on the shoulder. -Maybe. ¡­ Bestiary/a: The strong arm of the phalanxes and the fiercest and most destructive warriors of these groups, they specialize in fighting multiple enemies with weapons and favors with the greatest possible range, they are usually blessed by Hephaestus or Hercules. Polis(1): City. Gymnastike(2): Physical education for strength, endurance and preparation for war. 003: Perimeter 003: Perimeter Asterion was carrying the still knocked out Niko while Laconia was carrying both bags of supplies as they slowly walked through the labyrinth. -Shouldn''t we hurry? The camp could be under attack right now. -Relax, if the myrmekes attacked us it can only mean that either the camp has already fallen and there is nothing to do, or that they are preparing another attack and are watching the routes so that reinforcements do not arrive, whatever the situation is at this rate we will arrive in just five cycles of a clepsydra, our priority right now is that you recover, fighting against thirty myrmekes should not be easy. -It was only thirty is nothing. "Only thirty" thought Asterion as if it were not a full battalion. -You should also count the dead man on my back. The soft laughter of both echoed lightly through the labyrinth and slowly the "dead man" began to stir until he finally woke up and climbed down as quickly as he could from Asterion''s back. -Where are we? -We''re still in the labyrinth boy, we''re almost there. -And what happened to the ants? -There must be thirty of them in the Styx right now. Niko froze upon hearing that, although the blessings of the gods allowed the Heleny to conquer part of the surface, the subsoil of the labyrinth that was previously occupied by humans has become the domain of the myrmekes, and for a single common soldier it would be impossible to survive such a swarm, Asterion simply put his hand on his shoulder while smiling. -You''ll get used to it. ... They were almost there in the camp, the half phalanx noticed it by the number of dead myrmekes on the road and the smell of putrefaction, the bodies had been there for a whole day, Niko stopped when he found the corpse of a hoplite. -Why didn''t help arrive sooner? -The ants prioritized killing the messengers, reaching the camp takes half the day and there are only two exits, it should have been easy to cover them with their numbers, the archon from the island gave the order yesterday thanks to his blessing from Apollo, without him who knows when we would have found out. -You mentioned that he comes to clean the nest himself, we were taught that these have at least five hundred ants, he will need at least fifty men. -No, he comes alone from Skiathos. Niko stopped walking abruptly. -WHAT?! Laconia just continued on her way and Asterion stopped while laughing and then proceeded to explain the situation. -It seems that you have never seen the strength of an archon, it is quite a spectacle, also think about it, we have just been attacked by thirty myrmekes, to destroy a camp of this size they must have attacked at least three hundred and they managed to send a messenger to Skiathos, so they were eradicated, we will probably face a hundred and the archon the remaining seventy. -You say it as if it were nothing, but you are right, if Miss Laconia could with thirty the archon should be able to handle those numbers. The flames of Laconia that illuminated the labyrinth moved forward and in front of them was a huge shattered door, the half phalanx entered and glimpsed a huge room full of adobe structures full of blood, a huge cauldron hanging from the ceiling was completely out, the main path of the camp was a pile of corpses and in the temple in the center a couple of lights generated by some torches were seen, the survivors of the massacre, Niko immediately ran to help them, the moment he separated a few meters from his companions a myrmeke jumped from one of the buildings. -NIKO! Laconia ran as fast as she could, but the distance was too much, the myrmeke launched a stab aiming at Niko''s head, however, with extraordinary reflexes, he lowered his head enough and unsheathed like lightning, cutting the ant''s face in a flash, giving him enough time for him to be crushed by Laconia, they quickly entered the temple together and caught their breath, the bestiary was the first to reprimand Niko. -Be more careful, kid, we almost lost you on our first day. Asterion gave them both a hug while he was still looking for air to breathe after running to the temple. -You... Good... Reflexes... Uff, uff. Niko was still a little nervous but the concern of his team calmed him down and gave him confidence to feel a little more comfortable. -It''s nothing, the archon recommended me for my speed, the least I can do is dodge the attacks and give you guys a chance. Eh, well, to miss Laconia. As soon as they calmed down, two hoplites came out from behind some columns inside the temple. -Have the reinforcements arrived? -Yes... Fuah... Now yes, ahem I am Asterion, the polemarch sent by the archon Jason of the Golden Fleece, we are here to rescue you, bring food and defend for the rest of the day while the archon destroys the nest of the myrmekes. The hoplites looked at the three somewhat bewildered. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. -Is it just you? Laconia firmly raises her black sword that was still held after killing the myrmeke, evaporated the blood from it and placed it on her back. -We are enough. How many soldiers are left? A small silence was generated in the temple. -I understand that you are Miss Laconia, we heard several stories of your exploits, but this is beyond your abilities. Asterion between Niko and Laconia hugged both of them from behind and leaned on them. -We understand your concern, but the city of Helena is at war against multiple Mycenaean tribes, there is barely any personnel, we are not even a full phalanx, we are missing two members. The soldiers looked at each other and losing all hope they simply resigned themselves. -They sent you to die with us. Only the three of us are left. Niko broke away from the hug and began to doubt the situation he got himself into. -We have to go now, let''s go. Laconia grabbed his shoulder. -The polemarch decides. Niko and the hoplites looked without any faith at Asterion who was yawning while looking at the columns of the temple, he thought for half a clepsydra cycle with his hand covering his mouth until he finally began to speak. -How many favors do you have left, Laconia and Niko? -I used two favors against the ants, and I still haven''t received the last blessing from Hephaestus so I still have two left. -I only received the first two blessings from Zeus, I also have two favors. -What about you, hoplites? -We only have one favor from Amphitrite left and nothing more. Asterion thought calmly while opening the bag with food. -It is not convenient for us to fight in an open place, most likely we will fight against more than a hundred myrmekes and we do not know when the archon will destroy the nest through the eastern exit, Laconia annihilated several ants on the western road to the polis of Helena, the insects must already know this so I am sure they are coming from that direction, it is best to stay in the temple. Everyone turned their eyes to Laconia seeking her approval and she spoke loudly. -Understood polemarch. The warrior walked towards the temple and the group followed her without much encouragement, Asterion stayed behind without being able to take his eyes off the columns, until he decided to continue forward. The temple previously had five columns at the entrance, of which now only three remained standing, five columns in the back with only one destroyed and five columns on the sides with two broken on both sides and five interior columns; one central and four forming a square, several columns had some rock walls created by blessings of the hoplites to try to restore their shape, but apparently they did not last long thanks to the brute force of the myrmekes, Asterion returned to discuss his plan with the soldiers who were answering Niko questions. -Why didn''t the myrmekes destroy the columns? If they can destroy their walls, they should be able to do the same with these. -The temple is not made of rock, it is made of marble, thanks to our prayers to Hercules, our blessing slowly restores its form with stone without requiring the use of our favors. -When will they come again? -We don''t know. -How many hoplites defended the place? -Fifty. Niko stopped for a moment to think about his situation. -And if they still fell, what is left for us? Asterion took all the air he could to raise his voice, addressing the hoplites to prepare the defenses, although even with everything he still sounded normal; he didn''t have much strength in his lungs. -Tell me that God blesses you. The hoplites let out a single laugh among themselves, mocking Asterion lack of command, but they answered anyway. -Two blessed by Hercules and one by Amphitrite. -Those blessed by Hercules I need you to make a hole in the roof of the temple just above us at least twenty cubits wide. The wounded and tired hoplites ignored the order and simply continued sitting polishing their shields and checking the tips of their spears. -Why don''t you ask your phalanx instead? Lord "polemarch." It is natural to trust prejudices, Asterion knew they would doubt him, practically everyone in Helena knew there was a cursed polemarch, without any blessing, but he hoped that the fame of Laconia would help them trust him enough to follow this order. The young polemarch opened the other sack, full of sealed kantharos, counted how many he had and then called Niko with his arm. -Niko, go outside for a moment and tell me when the myrmekes arrive, be very careful. Niko just grabbed his head in worry but followed Asterion''s orders, once he was out of the temple, the polemarch approached Laconia. -Could you destroy part of the roof above us? -My blessing doesn''t have that much destructive force; I would have to use a favor. Asterion simply bowed his head and gave a small smile, Laconia just sighed and pointed her sword at the ceiling. - ¦«?¦Ã¦Ö¦Ç - The fire from Laconia''s ring was transferred to the tip of her greatsword, then it formed a triangle of flames that grew until it shot up to the ceiling forming a bright lance of fire, the bewildered hoplites stood up and pointed their weapons at Asterion. -WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! -Putting together the defense plan, if you want you can help, if not I will ask Laconia to use her last favor and we will have to fight with even less resources. -We''ll have, you say? Damned parasite. A hoplite tried to stab the polemarch shoulder but Laconia stepped in, covering the attack with the scales on her upper arm. -Why are you defending this fool? -The polemarch already gave you orders, follow them. With no other option and afraid that Asterion would carry out his threat, the three hoplites lowered their weapons and marched with the polemarch. -I need you to make holes in the pillars to place these vessels inside. -That will weaken the pillars, the temple may fall on us. -Relax, I have a plan for that. -What do the kantharos have? -If I tell you, it won''t work. The hoplites looked at each other confused, followed the instructions and with the blessing of Hercules, slowly dug into the marble until they placed the vessels inside and then hid them with a stone barrier. -Do it on all the pillars except the one in the center where Laconia created a hole in the roof. The hoplites fulfilled their mission until they were left without any pots, still without any idea of ??what the plan could be. -If you don''t tell us what these things do, we could ruin your "wonderful" plan. -Well, let''s say it''s our trap card. -Will you create a wall? We already tried that; it gives us some time but eventually the strength of the ants is superior. -You guessed it, but don''t worry, the wall that will be created will also serve as a trap for the myrmekes. When they finished preparing the pillars, Niko returned to the group. -Dozens and dozens are coming, get ready. Immediately the two hoplites blessed by Hercules formed walls on the pillars and Laconia formed fire barriers at the entrance, finally they formed a V formation, Laconia as the spearhead, the sides covered by Hercules'' hoplites and Amphitrite''s hoplite together with Niko and Asterion in the center, using the central pillar to cover their backs, completing their defensive perimeter. -Laconia, Niko, use your favors now, I think there are more than a hundred of them. - ¦²¦Õ¦Ô¦Ñ¦Ç¦Ë?¦Ó¦Ç¦Ò¦Ç ¨C Laconia''s body filled with flames that quickly formed a fire armor covering her entire body, spreading to the edge of the sword improving its range. -Niko use your sling, concentrate on supporting from a distance. - ¦°¦Á¦Ó?¦Ñ¦Á? - As Niko spun his sling in the air an electric sphere was forming and growing in it, until it reached the size of a head. -I can only throw fifteen of these, then we won''t have any range. -Okay, you concentrate on taking down those who climb the pillars, Laconia will protect you in the front. -What will you do? -Stay behind you and trust in your strength. Niko had no time to get angry, he had to be fully prepared for combat and although Asterion words irritated him, the imposing soul of the hoplites and Laconia calmed his rage. The hoplite shield blessed by Amphitrite was surrounded by a veil of water that began to spin until it turned its defense into a watersaw. -You take care of those who aim at our defense line, I will cover you, do not use your last favor until we are in an emergency. Suddenly the footsteps entered the temple and from all directions dozens of myrmekes ran straight towards the center of the place, all with a thirst for blood and hungry for the flesh of Heleny. Asterion simply sat leaning on the column and focused his sight on the front. -I guess is time to start counting. Hoplite: Soldiers trained in combat with bronze spears and shields, they defend the polis and camps in large numbers, the Heleny infantry. 004: Defense 004: Defense -Good job Niko, you already have a record of sixteen victories and only four defeats, you must be the best thracian in the entire academy, you are a diamond in the rough, a very talented child. Niko''s thoughts were flooded with words of congratulations from his friends and trainers, young Heleny begin training for war at the age of twelve and Niko at sixteen his only suffered four defeats, everyone called him a genius, but for him in this situation it was difficult to believe those words with all his heart. What good would so many words of encouragement be if he was about to die down here against the force of numbers? Five soldiers, no matter how trained and prepared they are, cannot compare to hundreds, however two things kept his mind away from Phobos(1) and Deimos(2) in the middle of combat, the hoplite confidence to spend his favor in defending him while he covered the front line, and the anger at hearing how Asterion sat behind everyone as if he really was tired. - NORTHWEST AT THE PILLAR! The hoplite blessed by Amphitrite shouted towards Niko, who watched as a myrmeke shot his spear straight towards his head, the spear traveled close to the speed of sound but the hoplite covered the thracian with his shield, pulverizing the spear with the favor invoked on his shield, spinning the water like a watersaw and preventing it from penetrating his defense, Niko immediately launched the electric sphere that he kept spinning in his sling, piercing the chest of the ant, at that moment the sphere headed as if it had its own consciousness towards other ants, destroying the body of two of them until the third stopped the sphere with its shield, meanwhile he kept his sling spinning slowly forming a second sphere. -Cover me while I prepare another. The plan of these two was simple but effective, attack the ants that climbed the pillars looking for attacks from blind angles towards the first line. Meanwhile, in the sides, the two hoplites blessed by Hercules maintained their positions efficiently, always covering the first blow of an ant with their shield covered with some stones and counterattacking instantly with their spears in the chest, head or neck of the ant, if two or more attacked, they pushed the insect with their immense strength using their shield, often leaving them upside down by the impact. Laconia, on the other hand, used her wings to hide the vision of the myrmekes on her sides and in one blow she killed the one in front of her, then she took a step back, stopped the retreat with her tail and repeated her strategy, when an insect managed to get close enough, the fire armor favor, forged by Hephaestus shot a fire arrow towards any attacker, giving the warrior enough time to counterattack. Meanwhile Asterion was sitting with his back on the pillar and contrary to what everyone but Laconia thought, he was very attentive to the combat, specifically counting in a low voice each casualty that the group got. -Two, three... Five. The polemarch in the middle of the siege remained calm but serious, while he constantly hit the ground with the tips of his nails, perhaps to help him think and not get distracted, "When a hundred fall..." he thought to himself in the middle of all the chaos. Despite being surrounded, their textbook plan was working. Laconia force at the tip of the spear formation was unstoppable and as long as she didn''t have to worry about her back, no enemy could get close enough to land a blow more serious than just tearing her already injured wings. The hoplites'' experience and professionalism kept the swarm at bay. Although Laconia annihilated the front and they could only defeat an insect from time to time, the important thing was that their wall remained firm. Meanwhile, in the center, they avoided any shots from any angle that would take the front line by surprise. The Heleny strength was superior. Only five Hellenes managed to finish off thirty myrmekes in just half plus a quarter of a clepsydra cycle. However, it is always in the most favorable moments of a battle that confidence turns into a slow and silent killer, represented through the temple in sounds coming from the highest point. Asterion, concentrating on counting the casualties on the front, felt a tiny rock fall. on his shoulder and looking up he witnessed how a dozen myrmekes released their claws from the ceiling, launching a suicidal attack on the soldiers. -NIKO, UP! Asterion shouted with all his strength, it was the first time Niko heard him truly raise his voice and when he looked up, he reacted as quickly as he could and fired the sphere from his sling, it struck down four of the insects but the rest continued to rush at high speed. - ¦´¦É?? - As he spoke those words, Zeus'' favor manifested from the ring, filling Niko''s body with fierce lightning. Upon receiving such force, the thracian jumped like a flash and using his sica sword, he cut the necks of the six remaining ants in succession, as if for an instant the man embodied lightning itself. The transformation lasted barely three blinks and as Niko fell victoriously to the ground, confident of saving his companions, dozens of spears flew in his direction. The vast majority missed the path and with his sword he managed to deflect two of them, but a third pierced his stomach, making him writhe in pain as he fell.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. -Fall, fall, quickly, QUICKLY! The hoplite defending him received his fall, quickly tore out the spear, causing the thracian to scream in pain and put his hand on his stomach, the water flowing from his hand mixed with the blood and slowly began to heal his wound while with the other hand he protected himself from more spears with his shield. More and more myrmekes attacked the team in suicidal charges, the warriors could handle these attacks but when Niko fell, they were quickly overwhelmed by spears falling from their heads, difficult to see and dodge, Laconia managed to avoid lethal blows by covering herself with her wings, but the hoplites did not have that advantage, the first spear pierced the soldier thigh covering the right side, who jumped with his other leg back to avoid certain death, then as he got up he returned the shot with his own spear and took one of the myrmekes'' fallen weapons, at that moment, the hoplite healing Niko finished his work and began to imitate his companion taking the spears that had been shot at them that were not yet broken and began to return them, the thracian still badly wounded helped the hoplite as best he could. -Seventy, seventy-three. Asterion kept his count but the perimeter became smaller and smaller until each soldier was shoulder to shoulder and the moment a spear pierced the arm of the hoplite defending the left Laconia understood that the formation would break at any moment, so she decided to rush forward, concentrating the attention of half of the myrmekes while the team defended itself in a formation of four. -Eighty-three, eighty-four. A spear pierced Asterion''s shoulder, he pulled it away and despite the pain he kept the count while he had his eyes fixed on Laconia who, upon entering the maelstrom of death, had six broken spears piercing her back, she would fall from fatigue at any moment. -Ninety-six. The strength of all was fading, just one more mistake and it would be the end and when another spear hit the last immaculate hoplite in his torso, Asterion stood up. -LACONIA REGROUP! Laconia burned the blood off her face and leapt back over the myrmekes to Asterion. -Pray to Hephaestus to restore the pillars. Laconia put her hands on the central pillar and closed her eyes, the rest of the team had no idea what this would be for, the marble regenerates thanks to the prayers of the gods yes, but the hoplites did it by asking Hercules, restoring the fractures of the temple with stone, asking Hephaestus for that favor would only fill the broken places of the temple with fire and while perhaps a myrmeke on a broken column would roast, it would have no other meaning, but Laconia trust in Asterion made her stand firm and with just one request to her god, every broken wall, every column, every hole and crack was filled with a fire that emulated the original shape of the structure, Laconia''s favor was enormous and the soldiers watched in wonder as for just an instant a true temple of fire emerged in the jaws of the labyrinth, it was only an instant because the holes inside the pillars containing the vessels were also filled with fire and with a thunderous roar the bases of all the columns of the temple exploded, with the only exception to this being the central one. The explosion killed a few panicked myrmekes, and the temple quickly collapsed under its own weight. The insects tried to run away in terror, but it was too late. The structure, having lost all its support, collapsed almost immediately. The marble rocks crushed all the remaining myrmekes, and only in the place where the group was, not a single rock felled thanks to the hole made over them by Laconia. The team simply killed the four surrounding myrmekes and contemplated the destruction for a few moments in silence until a hoplite regained his voice. -What... what happened? -The vessels contained liquid fire. Have you never seen it? Before we were Heleny, we used them to mine. It is quite complex to prepare it, and now it is much easier to use the blessings, so it is no longer used very often. The hoplites looked at each other''s faces completely amazed at the destruction caused. -How did they explode so quickly? I understand that Miss Laconia asked for a prayer to Hephaestus, but the temple was ¡°repaired¡± in an instant. -Laconia is very dear to his god, I assumed she would answer the prayer faster than any normal Heleny and even if it didn''t turn out that way, I just needed the center of the pillars to be filled. -Why didn''t you do this before? -The myrmekes that hadn''t yet entered the temple would massacre us in the open field, I needed their numbers to decrease until they all fit under the trap. A deep silence filled the labyrinth. -Did you plan this from the beginning? -No, I was thinking of using it to make a trap on the ground of the routes to explode them when the myrmekes came, or to destroy the entrances to buy more time, or in the best-case scenario directly use them against the nest, but since we didn''t have much time, I opted for this. Everyone was with their mouths open, there were still at least seventy myrmekes left, all now buried under the temple, while everyone healed their wounds Laconia let out a light laugh seeing everyone''s reaction. -Hey Asterion, tell them why you didn''t tell anyone about your plan. Asterion blushed and looked at the woman with annoyance, she did it just to annoy him and relax after the battle, the polemarch placed his hand on the back of her neck and gave them his shy answer. -Whenever I tell my plans they fail, I prefer to keep them a secret... It gives me good luck. Niko, who thought he had some great reason behind hiding his plans when faced with the unexpected superstition of the polemarch, could not help but laugh at the whole situation with Laconia, the hoplites meanwhile finished healing, took their equipment and marched on their way to Helena in silence. -What do we do now captain? The words Asterion had hoped to hear from Laconia came from Niko, who was brushing the dust off his body with a smile. -Well, I think we still have time to witness the archon''s spectacle. The half phalanx marched towards Skiathos, walking over the pile of rubble, towards the depths of the labyrinth. Thracian: Fast and multi-tooled, ¡°the legs of the phalanxes¡±. They focus on defeating specific targets during combat, always equipped with a short weapon and a ranged weapon, they are usually blessed by Zeus or Aura. Phobos(1): Son of Ares, god of fear. Deimos(2): Son of Ares, god of terror. 005: Fleece 005: Fleece The three-fingered phalanx walked through the darkness of the labyrinth, illuminated by tiny flames summoned by Laconia that floated around the group, they advanced calmly and silently until Asterion''s stomach rumbled through the walls. -Sorry, I forgot to steal food from the sack. Niko shared half of the bread that he did remember to take. -You are quite absent-minded for a strategist. Are all polemarch like that? -I don''t know, I only know myself. What about you Laconia? -You know that I have only worked with you. Niko looked at her strangely. -When did you two meet? Miss Laconia''s exploits are repeated throughout Helena but if you say that you have only worked with Asterion, shouldn''t your reputation be better? -Aah, I wish it were that simple Niko, Laconia steals all my achievements, everyone thinks that I take advantage of her. Asterion said this, hitting Laconia''s shoulder with all his might, but the bestiary did not move a finger. -Your only achievements are sleeping the whole mission and saying ¡°Laconia, take care of it.¡± I met Asterion the last year of the academy, he was just as pathetic back then. -Laconia had already gone on multiple expeditions supervised by teachers by then, I even think you met the five archons in person, quite a star. Niko was surprised, but very happy to be able to work alongside such a legend, the unbeatable bestiary and the future of Helena. -And what were you doing, Asterion? -Surely sleeping under the shade of an olive tree while the rest trained as always. At that time I was just a bad omen but I still didn''t have the fame I have now. -Infamy, you say. Laconia replied, pinching his cheek. -What did you do? Niko asked, confused that Laconia followed Asterion, even despite everything he had been through he could not imagine a situation in which the polemarch would earn so much respect from someone like her. -I''ll tell you when we''re in Skiathos, for now I''ll just tell you that Miss Laconia not only had an audience with the five archons, they wanted her to join their phalanxes and she rejected all five. Niko couldn''t believe Asterion''s words, any soldier would give anything to serve under the wing of any archon, they would only offer such a position because they want to train a disciple; power, fame and riches for a lifetime assured someone like that. -You''re not going to tell me that she rejected all that to be with you, right? -It sounds even romantic when you say it like that, you''re going to make her blush. Laconia spat a small flame on both of them and then continued on her way. -HAHAHA, let''s not say any more Niko or we''ll end up like the myrmekes, she''s just keeping a promise we made at that time, she''s too faithful to her word, she should lie more often. -What promise did they make? Laconia began to walk faster. -It''s a secret. Niko thought he heard that with a tone of shame but the fast walk turned into a light jog and he didn''t have enough time to think about the warrior''s reaction, instead he kept his mind busy thinking about what promise would be capable of catching someone like Laconia. -We arrived. Asterion said as everyone watched a huge crack that could be seen in the corridors of the labyrinth. It looked as if a wall had been dug and a natural route had been built. The walls were made of an unknown stone, completely reddish and seemed to slowly crack. Along the way there were numerous corpses of myrmekes cut with surgical precision. -The archon has already passed through; I think we have already missed the show.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Niko watched the cuts on the ants closely. -Incredible, they are such fine cuts, it seems like they were made of papyrus. The three-fingered phalanx headed towards the nest and the stench of death became more and more unbearable, the walls of the cavern became increasingly red and in the distance a single flash of light was seen that went out in a single blink, the group approached while the tunnel became increasingly larger until it formed a large room, they witnessed a man with extremely fine and marked features with long, completely blond hair that combined with a golden wool coat that seemed to be attached to the man''s armor; a golden fleece of unmatched beauty, he looked completely immaculate and the only thing stained with blood on all his equipment was the tip of his hispaniensis(1), completely out of place with the cloud of corpses that surrounded him, the man turned and upon observing the group he recognized the faces of the three. -Asterion, Laconia, Niko, I''m glad you''re okay. His voice was extremely sweet and intoned, like a soft whistle, as he approached the group the faint light radiating from the man''s body spread a warm sensation, similar to that of a sincere hug. -I''m very sorry that only you three could go, the mycenaeans have been causing a lot of trouble lately, in fact I would like to ask you a favor. Asterion closed his eyes and, disgusted by what was coming, he wasted no time in complaining and getting upset. -I assumed that you wouldn''t call me just to exterminate a nest and rescue three men, you seem very noble and all but you are more cunning than I would like, you need us in Skiathos, right? The archon couldn''t help but laugh. -You always know how to read me young Asterion, Skiathos is safe again and now I''m heading to reinforce Helena''s defenses, I need you to clean up the mycenaeans that must still be roaming around the island since as you know I''m good at fighting not tracking, I''m sure it will be an easy task for you. While this exchange was happening, Niko was amazed to be able to witness the archon of light, Jason of the Argonauts, a true hero of legend casually chatting with his group, the young thracian smiled while he was unable to take his eyes off the fleece and noticed something strange, Jason did not carry a blessed ring with him. Did the archon fight without using favors? That was impossible. They all decided to return to the paths of the labyrinth and at the moment Niko was about to ask about the lack of a ring, numerous sounds similar to bones hitting stones reverberated through the tunnels of the room, quickly appearing dozens of furious myrmekes that pounced without any doubt against the group. - ¦³¦Æ¦É¦Ó¦Æ?¦Ê¦É - Jason words lit up the fleece and from it emerged countless bright cicadas that flew around the archon as he began a soft rhythmic whistle, the whistle seemed to control the cicadas that headed straight for the myrmekes flying in completely straight lines and; as if they were tiny suns, immediately incinerated the place where they passed, in just a few moments silence returned and the archon''s favor disappeared from sight. Niko suspected it but he had yet to see it for himself, a common heleny asks for favors from the gods using a ring as a messenger, but they say that the warriors most loved by the heavens evolve their ring into a divine weapon, which seems to come from the very home of the superior beings, less than ten heleny from around the world must have something like that and of the five archons, only Jason possessed this blessing. -I am addressing to the beautiful Helena warriors, you know what to do, I trust you. When a heleny is born he is blessed by one of the five gods who favor our race, but by experiencing an odyssey it is possible to "change" the rank of your blessing and in other cases, receive the favor of a completely different god, transforming the soul of the blessed one into a demigod, this is why Jason is the only one of all the heleny to be blessed by Apollo. The paths of the captain of the Argonauts and the half phalanx separated, although Niko was still excited by the encounter. -I''m not gonna lie to you, when Miss Laconia mentioned that you were the polemarch I thought this would be my end, but man, it was worth fighting all those myrmekes if it''s for this. Did you see how he eliminated all of those with that favor, how do you even defend yourself against something like that? It''s incredible. Asterion and Laconia did not seem to share the same spirit while they marched, at first the thracian thought it was only because they had already seen his strength and perhaps had numerous encounters, but the silence strangely remained until he could not help but ask. -Is something wrong? -It''s nothing Niko. Laconia answered, Asterion seemed to doubt whether to speak or not until they glimpsed some rays of light in the background that predicted the exit from the labyrinth. -For now don''t worry boy, just keep some skepticism against the archons, I don''t deny that their strength is something admirable, but... No, nothing, let''s continue. The group came to the surface and were greeted by the last rays of sunlight of the day, they entered a small temple adorned with symbols of the goddess Amphitrite, queen of calm and serene seas, the place was empty and was located on a small plateau in front of a beach, to the left at last was Skiathos, it was barely defended by a simple wooden palisade but thanks to the help of the archon it had managed to be successfully defended from a mycenaean siege, the phalanx headed to the polis along the beach while the sun slowly set on the horizon. The half phalanx entered the city along the coast until they found a humble kapeleia(2) in which they decided to spend the night, Asterion took out several tetradachmas(3) for the owner. -A room. The owner looked at Niko and Laconia, accepted the coins and took them to a room with a large bed of hay and quickly walked away. -Hey Asterion, is it necessary to sleep all in the same bed? I was taking more respect for you but it seems that you are just a degenerate. Soft laughter came from the polemarch. -The bed is for you, you earned it, I will sleep on the floor and I have tried to make Laconia sleep in beds but-. -But since the imbecile of our leader likes to sleep like a dog to save expenses, I am forced to share his suffering. -I already told you that I do it out of habit, I cannot sleep in those things at height. -Go to bed and go to sleep quickly, I still haven''t forgiven you for the time you made me sleep in that stable. -I told you I would pay for a room for you, stop insisting on sharing my suffering, I''m doing this cause is more comfort. Laconia dropped her black greatsword on Asterion who was unable to bear the weight and fell to the ground. -Okay, I understand, good night, Niko, Laconia. Laconia withdrew the greatsword and closed her eyes leaning against the wall while hugging her weapon, Niko contemplating the absurdity of the situation simply prepared to leave with Morpheus and as he fell into his sleep he felt the hay becoming warmer and warmer, he immediately understood that this was the work of miss Laconia and a smile covered his face just before falling asleep. ¡­ In the middle of the night, white bull horns reflected the moonlight against the sea, a huge six-elbow-high mycenaean rested on the shores of the beach while contemplating the sea, his body full of scars and muscles relaxed as he received the gentle ocean breeze until another of his companions approached slowly, trying not to disturb the tranquility of the minotaur. -My lord, the archon has already left the island. ¡°That was quick¡± He thought as he rubbed his chin with his giant hand that occasionally gently touched a huge ring that pierced his nose. -Shall we begin the siege, my lord? -No, it is still too early. His voice was hoarse and deep, but he maintained a strange calm. -But our allies at the front will attack soon, we have to take the city. The mycenaean put his hand on the messenger''s head. -We will take the city; not with savagery, but with patience. -My lord, I trust in your strength but we are running out of time, the soldiers want revenge. -Don''t worry warrior, I swear on the honor of my name that the Heleny will pay for their crimes. -It''s okay my lord, Theseus. ¡­ Hispaniensis(1): Straight double-edged sword. Kapeleia(2): Tavern hidden like a house. Tetradacmas(3): Silver coins. 006: Calm 006: Calm Asterion opened his eyes slowly as the sun rays warmed his face, he yawned softly as he watched that he was the first to wake up, his companions were considerably more tired than him during the trip and they snoring¡¯s would not let the man rest either, so Asterion went down to the reception and took "permanently borrowed" a single sheet of papyrus from the shelf, on it the polemarch drew a ram; the symbol of the archon of light, covered it with wool that he also "borrowed" from Jason fleece, the moment the wool touched the symbol it fused with the paper and the ram lit up slightly. -A message? Laconia said as she went down to meet with her leader. -Something like that, I have no way to send anything, but if the Archon writes something on a paper with this symbol it will also be written on this paper. Laconia sat next to Asterion leaving her greatsword aside. -What are your plans today? -Nothing really. The archon sent us here to cover the place, but you know how he is. Surely there are only a few stragglers left. Niko ran down the stairs when he heard that. -Aren''t we going to do anything? But the mycenaeans are very dangerous and this city doesn''t seem to have very good defenses. -Believe me Niko, you don''t want to fight the mycenaeans, they are nothing like the myrmekes, if we were as a complete phalanx maybe I would, but it is very dangerous with just the three of us, let them go in peace. Niko was upset by the situation but now that he knew Asterion a little better he decided to trust the polemarch. -I will stay watching the walls with the guards anyway, if you look for me I will be in the western palisade. The young thracian left through the door like lightning and silence returned to the place, Laconia took a big sip of water and went back to talking to Asterion. -You needed to get rid of him right, what occurred to you? Asterion couldn''t help but smile at Laconia correct intuition. -The mycenaeans are not like the myrmekes, I don''t feel like returning to Helena with a corpse, but I still don''t know what they''re up to. Asterion held his mouth and nose with his hand as he thought about how strange the situation was. -Mycenaeans attack Skiathos, a small city on the shore of an island that doesn''t have many resources and they are massacred by the archon, I think that they are attacking Helena, I don''t know exactly because the papyrus still doesn''t have anything written, it seems almost like a suicidal attack that only served to distract Jason for a day, but they were repelled too quickly, even to face an archon they shouldn''t have been defeated that quickly, there''s something strange here. -Well, they don''t seem to be a race that stands out for its intelligence, whenever we have fought against them, they don''t have very complex tactics. -I doubt that, the heleny underestimate the mycenaeans too much and you already know how that ended in the western territories, although perhaps it is just a suicidal charge, but I don''t know... Let''s go to the river and follow the current, if there are stragglers or they returned through another entrance to the labyrinth or they must replenish themselves in some other way. Laconia and Asterion marched towards the beach and from there they headed towards the only river on the island which was the only source of drinking water in the place, during the journey as soon as they entered the forest, they saw several trees burned by the attacks of the archon and some other corpses, however the polemarch knew that there was something that didn''t fit, but he still didn''t understand what. The duo reached a large bend in the river that looked like a lake and from there they walked to the other end. Asterion seemed frustrated at not understanding the reason for the mycenaeans, he muttered constantly and seemed lost on the horizon, so Laconia looked for a way to distract him so that he would calm down. -How are rivers formed on these islands? I understand that they form in the mountains but there are no mountains on this island. -Well, it is true that rivers are born from the melted ice of mountains, but they are also formed by rain. On an island there are no mountains with ice; but if it rains a lot, another reason may be the presence of a-. Laconia immediately jumped against Asterion dodging the direct impact of a huge stone hammer wielded by a minotaur who waited hidden on a large tree. -River stories for later, behind me. The mycenaean, the size of two adult men and packed with muscles, only wore a simple bronze breastplate over his tunic, let out a loud bellow and lunged at Laconia using his horns, the warrior could not dodge the attack or she would leave the polemarch defenseless, so she faced the warrior in a contest of strength grabbing him by the horns, both stopped suddenly and the minotaur seeing that they were both tied raised his head in a quick movement and tried to crush the beast with his hooves, Laconia jumped back dodging the attack, grabbed her greatsword and wrapped it in fire launched a downward cut against the Mycenaean. - ¦³¦Ñ¦É¦Ì?¦Ò¦Ê¦Ï¦Í ¨C As he said these words, the ring piercing the mycenaean nose lit up and from there the whole skin of the minotaur turned to pure bronze. The cut that would have otherwise severed the whole body was stopped by the beast''s arm, leaving the longsword caught in the bone. Laconia, who did not let go of her sword, got stuck and the mycenaean grabbed her by the head, pulled it off his arm and threw her with all his strength to the other side of the river, destroying several trees on impact. Asterion, hiding behind a tree, listened to the footsteps of the minotaur approaching his improvised hiding place, holding his breath until he couldn¡¯t keep it longer and the moment he exhaled, the mycenaean ran up to crush him. - ¦Ë?¦Ã¦Ö¦Ç - Laconia favor transformed into a fiery flame spear that hit the distracted minotaur directly, who fell to the ground dead from the impact, losing his bronze form. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. -Are you okay? Laconia asked Asterion as she gave him a hand to lift him up. -Well, there we have a straggler. -I was distracted, sorry. -Don''t worry, although you had to ask for a favor. Asterion calmly held his head as he walked towards the mycenaean to examine him. -He transformed his skin into bronze so he must be blessed by Athena, his ear... The minotaur ear was pierced, the polemarch removed the armor that protected him and on his chest laid the symbol of a two-headed horse marked in fire. -I think you already imagined it, right Laconia? The beastiary eyes narrowed and she looked away from the corpse. -How was he armed? -He must have asked for a favor to form his armor, the hammer must have been created by a companion. Asterion closed the mycenaean eyes with his hands. -Let''s look for his companion, he must not be far away. They marched and marched along the river while the sun was at its zenith, thoughts flooded both their heads. -You didn''t know about this, did you? Asterion almost said no, but he turned his words back and preferred to tell the truth. -I had a thought... It seems we still have a lot of work. Laconia, now attentive to her surroundings, heard the movement of some bushes and ran until she found its origin. Hand in hand with a minotaur child who was wielding a bronze dagger, the bestiary took the weapon from him and brought him to Asterion. The child uttered dozens of words while crying, Laconia could not understand what he was saying. -Asterion... -Calm down, he''s insulting us, let him tire himself out... [Hi kid, my minoan isn''t very good but you should understand me]. The child stopped crying, surprised that a heleny knew his language. -[I''m going to kill you, I''m going to kill you, damn pigskin, everything is always his fault]. Crying again, he fell on his knees and inconsolably grabbed his nose and his little horns. -[If you tell me what happened, I swear in the name of my mother that we will set you free]. -[Liar, you''re going to kill me or you''ll send me back to them, pigskins are all liars]. Asterion hugged the child and shared some tears. -[I''m so sorry, we''ll take you to an entrance to the labyrinth]. The child cried even harder, until he had completely let off steam, they all drank from the river and ate some fish that Laconia hunted while they rested. -[Are you feeding me to eat me?] -[We are not from here, I''m sorry about what happened to you, let us help you]. Laconia, who did not understand what they were talking about, tried to communicate as best she could and gave the biggest fish to the bull, she tried to pet its head but quickly cowered. -[We rebelled and escaped, we managed to get past all the guards but shiny pigskin killed most of them]. Asterion clenched his fists tightly but kept a reassuring voice. -[So now you don''t have enough strength to cross the labyrinth, that means your group must be at an entrance, right?]. -[Ah, I knew you''re going to kill us]. The bull tried to run but Laconia stopped her path while Asterion laughed lightly. -[If it were so, I wouldn''t have said it out loud and in your language]. The boy sat back down. -[Which door are you at?] -[¡­ North]. -Laconia, let''s go to the north gate, [let''s go with your group]. Asterion walked hand in hand with the bull along with Laconia through the forest, avoiding any corpses they might find. ¡­ The group was near the north entrance and Laconia looked nervous. -Asterion, we are surrounded. -I imagined it, stay calm and don''t take out your weapon. Laconia grabbed the bull to carry him in her arms, the boy seemed confused but he didn''t worry too much, especially since he was tired of walking, when they reached the gate they saw several armed mycenaeans looking in the direction the group was going. -Polemarch. -Calm down, I have a plan. Asterion took a breath and prepared for what was coming. The mycenaeans saw the group, surrounded them and quickly threatened them, one of them was unarmed and smaller in comparison to his brethren. -Let go of the boy and surrender! Said the unarmed mycenaean. -We will release him when you let us talk to your leader. Asterion whispered to the small bull in his arms. -[Calm down, we will threaten you but we only want to talk]. The bull accepted with a movement of his head. The three of them advanced through the improvised camp, everyone was calm until Asterion looked in amazement at a back that was similar to him and like an arrow in his head, he received dozens of memories that he did not expect to find again. -No... it can''t be. -What''s wrong Asterion? -I know that mycenaean, it''s good and bad news. The powerful minotaur with a head taller than all the others had several bracelets on his horns and was the only one with a bronze ring on his nose, he only wore a tunic but was armed with a gigantic double-edged axe that seemed as heavy as a mountain. The mycenaean looked at Asterion in amazement. -[Are you the same young man as that time?] -[I''m impressed that you remember me, it''s been five years, you certainly have a good memory, General Theseus]. Laconia face went blank and her eyes widened as wide as she heard the name "Theseus." She had been with Asterion for four years and not once had she mentioned meeting Theseus the founder, the great general who had won countless battles against the heleny in the west, taking away numerous lands from them and making them mycenaean territory. -[What is someone like you doing here?] -[A slave escaped from this island and revealed everything to us, we just arrived, a strategist like you would know what I''m planning next.] -[¡­ It''s been five years since we last talked. Would you mind?] -[No problem.] -[In exchange, let my soldier go free, she has nothing to do with it.] -[Go ahead.] With a whistle, all the mycenaeans walked away and left the group free, the bull rejoined with his people, bidding the duo farewell. -Laconia, I made a terrible mistake, I order you to return to Skiathos. -What are you saying? -I''ll be fine, don''t worry seriously, but you must let them know so they can evacuate the city, please. Laconia looked into Asterion determined eyes and for a moment thought about taking him to safety by force, until the polemarch walked out of her reach and entered the labyrinth with the minotaur. Theseus and Asterion sat on a step of the labyrinth, watching the darkness. -[You will invade the city, right?] -[I don''t like questions with obvious answers]. -[I know, I know... Do you know that my duty is to protect it?] -[You don''t seem like a man of much "duty", last time I would even say that you did the opposite]. Asterion lowered his head. -[I sent my partner to evacuate the polis, then they will surely strengthen the defenses]. -[You''re giving me trouble again, even speaking in my language, you''re a very annoying heleny, you know?] -[There''s no way to avoid your siege, right?] -[Kid¡­] -[Ah, sorry, it''s hard to think about this situation]. Giving a huge sigh the polemarch made his decision. -[I will defend the polis, I''m sorry about the slaves]. -[¡­ I know, it''s clear that you are not part of those bastards. Last time we did not have the time to introduce ourselves and although you already know my name I would like to know yours, my name is Theseus, it''s a pleasure]. -[¡­ My name is Asterion, thank you for sparing my life that time]. -[Thanks to you Asterion, thank you for not being like the rest of the heleny, next time, I promise to learn your language, well, if we have a next time, we''ll see each other on the battlefield]. Asterion walked alone through the forest until he reached the river and from there, he went to Skiathos, trying to remember every detail of his first meeting with Theseus, every detail of the first time Asterion commanded a phalanx and walked towards the storms of war. 007: Rain 007: Rain The polemarch walked back to the polis, the night was drawing closer and closer along with huge grey clouds preceding a drizzle, the sun would set in a few hours and time was running out, but Asterion did not hurry his pace, he just slowly walked like always, thinking about what to do while remembering in detail his first meeting with Theseus. The rain began to fall and Asterion stopped to contemplate for a moment the drops falling on the river, the clarity and tranquility that it had before, now interrupted by turbulent waters and the noise of the thunderous current, a cursed thought passed through the polemarch mind, that of abandoning the polis and his companions to survive, he held the back of his neck tightly while looking at his feet and the mud that was covering them, he knows that this is the wrong decision that only a cowardly traitor would make, but returning to the city is just suicide, for a cause that is not even noble, defending a city full of slavers that the young man detested with all his soul. -What is the point of all this? They were the only words that his brain could formulate, Asterion has worked hard like few others to reach his position with the hope of making a change, but now everything would vanish because of a bad decision. Resuming the course to Skiathos as slowly as he could, as if that would give him more time to stay alive, Asterion, still looking at the ground, observed a small moth that, unable to fly because of the rain, had crashed into the ground. The polemarch placed it in his palm and let it rest on a trunk while the insect dried its wings. He put his hand one last time on the back of its neck and looked at the sky while clenching his teeth and eyelids. -At least, at least I must save them. ¡­ Asterion finally returned to the palisade and several hoplites were armed, carrying things from one side to the other and shouting orders to each other, the preparations for battle were far from being ready. At the base of one of the watchtowers the polemarch saw a familiar face. -NIKO! After the shout the thracian quickly met with his leader, he had a face of extreme concern. -You¡­ you''re alive, you, they told me that you met Theseus, I-I thought that¡­ -Inform me of the situation here and take me to the commander, they will attack in a few hours. There was a small silence while Niko processed the situation and finally after composing himself, his usual voice returned. -They try to reinforce the palisade as they can, there are not many blessed by Hercules in this area so they prioritize the watchtowers, anyway they expect the wall to fall so we will dig a ditch to delay the mycenaeans, meanwhile the citizens escape through the labyrinth. The duo arrived at a large house where outside several guards were sharpening their weapons and polishing their rings, upon entering they saw a huge inn where Laconia, other strategists and the commander; a middle-aged man quite strong and armed like the hoplites plus a cape, discussed plans to defend the polis, none turned to see who came to see them. -The minotaurs will arrive in three hours. The five strategists watched the duo enter and Laconia immediately stood up to greet them. -Polemarch, I''m glad you''re okay. The commander didn''t seem happy. -The man who survived an encounter with Theseus the founder has arrived, how strange considering his lack of blessing, Asterion the starless. What relevant information do you bring us? Asterion understood the commander''s irony and doubts, surely he must imagine that the polemarch is a traitor or simply a useless man saved by luck. -Theseus brought a small combat force, approximately fifty mycenaeans, they come in retaliation for the minotaur slaves kept and exterminated in the city. The commander smiled and calmed down much more. -Only fifty, can we trust this report? Laconia stood and turned to look at the commander. -The polemarch is a renowned strategist, he has faithfully served heleny and the archons, his information is very relevant to us for this fight. The commander seemed displeased by the comment but had no way to refute it, so he simply accepted the situation. -Well, if there are only fifty mycenaeans, our only problem should be to repel Theseus. This polis has one hundred and fifty trained hoplites and we fight on our territory, this will hardly be a challenge.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. -Don''t underestimate him commander, Theseus'' troops are few because they are elite soldiers and their tactics are usually extremely aggressive, I recommend requesting reinforcements and carrying out a war of attrition, counterattacking will not result in a good result. The commander put both hands on the table and stood up from his seat. -Don''t give me orders, boy, watch your words, I don''t share your plan, our forces are three times larger and a battle of attrition will only generate unnecessary deaths and expenses. Asterion looked down and clasped his hands behind his waist. -I then ask to serve as captain in battle and request ten hoplites in addition to my fellow phalanx members to defend the polis. -Denied. Asterion, Niko and Laconia were surprised by the commander words. -Although I understand your strategic ability polemarch, your achievements are only in skirmishes and explorations of the labyrinth, in this situation I cannot allow my troops to be misguided, besides a captain needs at least to be able to defend himself, you will not participate in combat. Laconia took her weapon. -If my polemarch does not participate in the battle I have no obligation to fight in this war either. The commander raised his voice. -LERNA BASTARD! I remind you that you are not exactly a citizen of Helena, the archons spared your life in exchange for serving us, you are not a heleny like us, you are just a slave that was "lent" to a useless polemarch incapable of fighting. The bestiary filled the sword with flames and at that moment, before the warrior attacked the arrogant man, Asterion placed himself in the middle. -Calm down bestiary, you know the consequences. Laconia lowered her weapon and walked out of the building while Asterion was done of trying to negotiate with the commander. -I understand your instructions commander, I will immediately leave the polis. -I do not allow it either, as a polemarch you must stay here with your phalanx, it is your duty. -¡­ I understand commander. Asterion walked out of the place with his head down. Niko, who was only observing, kept his anger with the injustice used by the commander until he could not stand it any longer. -I am not a hoplite, I trained to be a thracian, warrior and explorer of the labyrinth, I serve the archons, I do not have to serve you. The commander did not even look at the young man. -Go ahead. Niko left, fed up with the commander and with his hands on his waist he could not get the anger out of his body, he was totally prepared to fight for the city, but now he felt disgusted and confused, he has to fight to save the soldiers who are not guilty of anything, but in doing so he will also fight for the arrogant commander. Niko looked around for Laconia or Asterion and was greeted by the latter, who grabbed the thracian by the arm and led him towards the end of the wall towards the beach. -What- What do we do? You and Laconia must learn that it is better to just accept the words of these shitty leaders so it is much easier to take advantage of them. -Learn, take advantage, did you hear what I told him? -Yes, I appreciate your words, now let''s concentrate on saving Laconia and as many soldiers as possible. -But how? If we escape through the labyrinth we will be considered deserters, we better win the battle. -There is no way to win the battle. Do you think Theseus underestimates the city? He brought just the right amount he needs to crush us and maintain the siege in Helena, by tomorrow Skiathos will be mycenaean territory. -Then how are we going to get out of this without being killed or branded as traitors? -If I tell you the plan it will not work so I am sorry. -At least give me a clue. -It involves fishing. -Huh?! Thracian and polemarch ran until they reached the edge of the wall, both climbed to the watchtower and Asterion looked deeply into the sea, as if he were searching for something. -What are you doing? -This place has to have a ship. -How will that help us? -There''s one there, perfect. Asterion thought carefully, looking at the floor. Niko only had more and more questions in his head, but seeing that the polemarch wouldn''t answer any of them, he decided to try to be of help. -Do you want me to look for Miss Laconia? -Please, but don''t talk to her, just inform me of her situation, mainly what part of the wall she will defend. I will stay in the house behind this watchtower. Come here as soon as the mycenaeans appear. -Understood. Niko left and Asterion muttered with his mouth covered with his hand, he was still afraid of dying in this confrontation, but also he was excited, excited to feel his mind working looking for a solution, a way to reverse the situation in his favor, the polemarch knows for sure that the city is lost, but right now saving his phalanx is the priority, a hoplite climbed the watchtower meeting the thoughtful man. -Hello, nice to meet you. Will you watch with me? -Yes, nice to meet you. My name is¡­ Tesarion, I am a polemarch sent here by the archon of light to help. Tesarion Asterion took out the papyrus with the seal of the ram. -The commander appointed me captain to defend this side along with ten more hoplites. They both shook hands. -Well, what are your orders, captain? Asterion, with a huge smile and full of false confidence, informed him of his false plans. -For now, help me get another nine men. Then I need us to bring that fishing boat to arm it. -Arm it? -Trust your captain, we will set a trap that the mycenaeans will never see coming. -Yes, captain, I will inform the commander. The hoplite was ready to leave but was stopped by the polemarch. -Calm down, not yet, wait here with me, Theseus is a very intelligent minotaur, the more heleny know about the plan the more likely it is that he will find out and fail due to any carelessness, stay calm, for now let''s just wait an hour, then gather the soldiers and prepare the ship. -Oh, okay. They both leaned on the frame of the watchtower observing the forest and the sky. -It''s a shame that we have to fight on a rainy day captain, the stars are covered by clouds and the eyes of the gods will not be able to see our battle, it is a bad omen for us the blessed ones, don''t you think? Asterion thought for a short while about his answer. -I don''t know much about omens¡­ But don''t worry soldier, they told me that when I was born it also rained like now and even so, despite being born outside the eyes of the gods, I was blessed with favors just as magnificent as everyone else. -What god blessed you captain? I am a faithful servant of the goddess Amphitrite. -It¡¯s¡­ A secret, you will see it in battle. The trees in the distance moved from one side to the other and the rain slowly transformed into a storm, which would hit the polis in the middle of the confrontation, perhaps for good, perhaps for bad. 008: Storm 008: Storm The trees shook violently from the strong winds caused by the storm, hoplites moved from side to side, carrying arrows, spears, and swords, several of them afraid of meeting the mycenaeans, until on the other side of the wall the lookouts gave the signal. -COMMANDER! The commander left the room, climbed the palisade; now reinforced with stone in some sectors and in the distance he saw the minotaurs, Asterion heard the lookout''s call and together with Niko went out to witness the arrival of the enemy. -Asterion, how much faith do you have in your plan? -Just a little. The proud commander, armed with an imposing trident almost double his size was the first to speak. -Withdraw your forces from here Theseus, your pathetic forces will be annihilated without even damaging a single house in our city! Theseus could not yet speak the language of the heleny well, so a translator at his side informed him of the commander words. Without any fear, the mycenaean advanced slowly and the first arrow was shot, piercing the minotaur shoulder. -The next arrow will not be a warning, you wretched boar! The palisade was full of archers and fifty hoplites came out of it, forming a wall of bronze and flesh against the mycenaeans, Theseus watched calmly and his double-edged axe launched a timid fireball towards the commander that vanished with the rain, Niko almost laughed at how weak the flame was. -They taught us that the mycenaeans are not good at shooting their blessings, but I didn''t imagine that much. Asterion on the other hand was completely serious. -No, they are not, so take care of yourself and always keep your distance from them, do not confront them in a hand to hand... Anyway, that was not an attack, it was the signal. The minotaurs ran against the palisade and were received by the maelstrom of wind, rain and arrows, Theseus gave the first order. -[SHIELDS!] The rings that adorned the noses of the first ten minotaurs in front shone and from their arms huge stone shields protected their companions from the arrows, a few projectiles of the heleny were blessed by Aura the goddess of breezes so, like missiles, they changed their course and hit some mycenaeans in their shoulders and backs, but no casualties were sustained. -Commander, they are approaching the ditch. The commander raised his hand with his five fingers open, he slowly lowered them until they formed a fist. -NOW! The row of stone shields fell into a small ditch that barely covered them up to their waists, but that small obstacle delayed the forces for a few moments, the heleny revealed their first card, the rings of dozens of hoplites shone in synchrony and from these a flashing lightning pulverized the shields and hit several of the minotaurs, killing a few, now without defense the archers resumed the attack, but Theseus was not affected, he walked slowly behind the group. -[ARMORS!] Once again the rings transformed the skin of several mycenaeans into bronze and together with the leather shields they carried on their backs the blessed minotaurs protected the rearguard. When all the bulls crossed the ditch the hoplites ran to fight, Theseus for his part stopped walking and the commander could not help but insult him. -Is that all? Go back to the corral where you belong Theseus. The battle at the wall was moments away from taking place and without the bronze minotaurs, the rear would fall to nothing by the archers, the victory was won but Theseus'' first card was about to be revealed, the bracers that covered the minotaur''s horns were divine artifacts just like Jason''s fleece, so they shone brightly when requesting a favor from their god, who would kindly answer the plea of ??his most fervent servant. - ¦¥¦Ë¦Å¦Ô¦È¦Å¦Ñ?¦Á - The warrior jumped into the sky and in a cloud of fire and steam he fell on the other side of the palisade, generating a terrible explosion of extremely red and pink fire, the impact eliminated some poor warriors who had the bad luck of being in the landing zone, on the other side of the wall the fight began and the archers in confusion were divided into some waiting for orders, others shooting at the army and others at Theseus. -Commander, what do we do? -Shoot at the army, the rest take care of that animal. Asterion was surprised by the ten hoplites under his ¡°command¡±. -Captain, the ship is armed and in position, it should survive the storm. -¡­ Good, now focus on delaying Theseus, do not confront him directly, if he attacks you, retreat, just distract him and stay alive, he has already spent one favor, when he has spent the five, run to the ship. -At your service. The hoplites marched into battle and Asterion was left alone with Niko. -Laconia is the next card, he will now go out to fight the polemarch, but what is Theseus planning? He can''t delay almost a hundred men. -No Niko, you misunderstood, he is not looking to delay our forces, the fifty minotaurs on the other side of the palisade have that task, it is Theseus who is going to annihilate this side. -Is he that strong? I understand why you sent them to delay him, but then Laconia will have no chance. -Come on, that is our objective now, to create an opportunity for our companion to escape.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. -Will we escape on that ship? you know it is impossible to cross the fog, right? -Relax, let''s follow the plan. -Yes, let''s follow the plan that I have no idea what it is about. The battle outside the palisade was going on normally, the mycenaeans held out with dozens of arrows in their bodies while overcoming the hoplites shields with pure brute force, the minotaurs fought with blessings of bronze and stone protecting their bodies and companions, they held their position against the rain, wind and lightning invoked by the heleny through favors, despite that, the battle seemed to be in favor of the heleny, until the storm intensified and the wind interrupted the path of the arrows, even for those blessed by the goddess Aura. On the other side of the wall Theseus was unstoppable, blessings of water, wind and thunder fell on the minotaur, one after another but were absorbed by the flames that covered his body, Niko witnessing the destruction wondered how this was possible. -Their flames look different from those of Laconia, much more reddish, I thought Hephaestus did not bless the mycenaeans. -He does not. Asterion answered while climbing very clumsily until he reached the roof of the house where Niko was. -Next time¡­ Help me up¡­ Theseus is blessed by Prometheus, he does not bless heleny, his fire is very different from Hephaestus'', it can burn favors. -What does that mean? -Fire cannot burn lightning, wind or water, but Prometheus'' can, it is an almost perfect shield against favors. -It seems that they do not know. Why did you not inform the commander of this? -Theseus overconfidence can be a slow and insidious killer. Once the shower of favors was over, the minotaur was unharmed and with an imposing stomp, he propelled himself towards the wall, annihilating every hoplite that dared to cross his path. A single blow of his axe was enough to destroy shields, bronze and flesh. His bestial strength added to the momentum of his run prevented any retreat until the commander had no other option but to jump into combat. - ¦¡¦Î?¦Á - The commander''s ring absorbed large amounts of water from the earth and rain, forming what looked like the head of a hydra that would then shoot towards the minotaur, like a colossal water snake. -[You don''t even know what a real hydra looks like, pigskin.] - ¦¡¦Ë¦Ô¦Ò?¦Ä¦Á - The minotaur back exploded in fire propelling him in a straight line, facing the hydra, burning it and as he charged with his axe ready to split the commander in two, Laconia jumped in front, covering the blow with her greatsword, the impact made the warrior fly to the palisade, destroying much of it, but saving the life of the commander, who without wasting time impaled Theseus in the chest with his trident. -They did it Asterion, they stabbed Theseus heart. -Their attack is not over yet. At that moment the minotaur chest expelled fire in all directions, completely burning the palisade and throwing back the commander and all the hoplites around him, destroying what was left of the palisade. The fire was not extinguished by the wind or the rain and burned everything in its path, except the heleny who strangely did not have a single burn. -What was that? -Prometheus flames are a shield, not a spear, they cannot burn another blessed person, for this very reason Theseus releases them with force so that the shockwave causes some damage and his flames seem more dangerous than they really are. -And how is he still alive with that trident in his heart? -I don''t know. -Don''t you know?! -I''ve only seen him fight twice counting now, something similar happened before, I don''t know how without using any favors he can survive that, but he already used up two favors, come on, we have to take away the third. With the wall fallen and the commander disarmed, the exalted minotaurs reinforced their attack and the disoriented heleny forces defended themselves poorly, without the arrows the mycenaeans advanced at a steady pace and only about fifteen minotaurs had fallen, while half of the Hellenes remained defending the city. Theseus pulled the trident from his chest and a line of blood ran down his torso for a few moments, but it stopped as if nothing had happened after a while. -There is no blessing capable of regenerating a wound like that, it is immune to our blessings and heals impossible wounds. What do we do? Laconia rose from the rubble and jumped upwards and, using her wings, prepared a downward slash against Theseus. - ¦²¦Õ¦Ô¦Ñ? - Upon hitting the minotaur, the ground and the ring of Laconia lit up and a pillar of fire was born from it, Theseus protected himself from the blow with his axe and did not seem to have any burns, the favor did not work and the bestiary quickly retreated surprised by the resistance of the mycenaean. - ¦°¦Á¦Ó?¦Ñ¦Á? - A ball of lightning hit the unsuspecting minotaur in an area unprotected by his fire, causing a terrible burn on his ribs and finally extinguishing the flames that covered his body. -I told you, it''s the fire that protects him. Laconia, keep him busy! Niko, hide and attack him from blind spots when he tries to attack our bestiary. -Understood, polemarch. - ¦²¦Õ¦Ô¦Ñ¦Ç¦Ë?¦Ó¦Ç¦Ò¦Ç - The armor of flames covered Laconia, steaming as the raindrops fell on it, Theseus kept his eyes on the bestiary and his ears on the thracian, he raised his arm to the sky and the bracers of his horns shone once more. - ¦ª¦Ë¦Ç¦Ñ¦Ï¦Í¦Ï¦Ì?¦Á - A huge, round shield of fire formed on his arm, with the design of an old man devoured by an eagle, Asterion had a serious face but inside he was nervous, Theseus glanced at the polemarch for just a blink and the minotaur mind instantly understood the situation. -[Eliminate the head]. Theseus; ignoring Niko and Laconia, ran straight towards Asterion. The beastiary trying to cut off the bull head was stopped by the shield, but from its flaming armor small arrows were born that surrounded the fiery defense and hit the minotaur, but the fire from its body arose again and with an explosion of flames born from the shield, Laconia flew away once again, but now she stopped the retreat with her wings. As more lightning bolts flew towards Theseus, he intercepted them with his shield, which seemed to shine more with each lightning bolt that hit. -Why are is he running towards Asterion? Niko shouted towards Laconia. -He knows that by doing that he won''t give us time to attack him with is guard down, forcing us to stop him. Asterion ran towards the beach, the minotaur destroyed everything in his path, boxes, carriages and even the walls of some houses, Niko and Laconia could barely keep up with him, much less stop his advance, the unstoppable mycenaean fought against both of them without losing a single step. - ¦²¦É¦Ä¦Ç¦Ñ¦Ï¦Ô¦Ñ¦Ã¦Å?¦Ï - - ¦´¦É?? - Incarnations of fire and lightning would hit Theseus who stopped his path while blocking the thracian in a flash with his shield, repelling him with force and crashing the young man against a house, but from this Laconia hid and taking advantage of the difference in height, with a low posture he cut from the torso to the shoulder of the minotaur and the armor of fire forged a spear of fire that hit directly in the face of the mycenaean, but the movement of his arm did not stop and as if it were a hammer, a downward blow hit against the sword of Laconia, she avoided the cut but the strength of the bull was unmatched, he crushed the beastiary against the ground breaking several of her bones and despite the terrible wound in his body, the minotaur quickly continued on his way, the situation seemed lost but the armed commander once again emerged from a blind spot, with his ring illuminated to the maximum. - ?¦Ð¦Ð¦Ï¦Ê?¦Ì¦Ð¦Ç - Immediately dozens of spheres of water formed around Theseus and at the same time that the commander attacked the minotaur the spheres shot out with the power to destroy even stone, the minotaur fire was not fast enough to absorb the attack and he was impaled on his left shoulder by the trident and received the impact of all the water bullets. -Damn cow, I knew you were not indestructible. Covered in blood and bruises, Theseus dropped the axe and grabbed the commander''s head, lifting him up and slamming him into the ground, between screams of pain the head of the heleny was crushed by the minotaur''s hand. -[Damned pig]. Laconia and Niko were barely standing and both went to the side of their polemarch who was on the deck of the ship and raised their weapons against Theseus, they were covered in blood, the bestiary could not lift its left arm and the thracian could barely stand against the wind, but they still did not give up, the minotaur on his side focused his gaze on Asterion. -[I still have two cards left Asterion, this does not look good for your side, again]. -[Well, all my life I have fought without cards Theseus]. At that moment Asterion took out a short sword and his companions crouched, a ballista with a large harpoon was hidden by a torn cloth on the ship and the polemarch cut the rope holding the projectile, it hit the minotaur arm, a metal chain was tied to the harpoon and the phalanx held it, pulling the warrior towards the sea while he fought against it. -[Do you think you have more strength than me?] -[No, that''s why I have a plan]. With his sword Asterion cut a second rope, freeing the black sails of the ship that with the force of the storm overcame the strength of the minotaur who slowly dragged himself towards the sea, the combined force of the phalanx plus the storm overcame the strength of the bull and falling into the sea would be a sure death sentence, but the latter sketched a slight smile. -[It was a good try Asterion, but you''re still underestimating me]. - ¦³¦É¦Ó?¦Í - Theseus pink-red fire shone throughout his body and the strength of the minotaur equaled the power of the storm, fear flooded Laconia and Niko when Theseus managed to slowly pull the ship towards him, the thracian with his last strength fell to his knees. -It''s... it''s a monster. The wind and rain kept going and going, Asterion thought and thought, looking for a solution, a drop of hope that would not appear and seeing that Theseus got another tug, the polemarch made his last decision. -I''m very sorry. The polemarch released the harpoon chain, freeing the ship which ventured directly towards the merciless storm and the forbidden fog. 009: Fobos 009: Fobos The ship was completely destroyed, the wood splintered, the mast fallen and the huge sail full of holes. Although the storm was behind and the boat still floated as it moved slowly from side to side through the waves, it now wandered aimlessly and its crew lay on their backs without making the slightest noise as they watched how little by little the fog filled the emptiness of the ocean. Silence reigned, like a timid reminder of the failure they felt inhabited their bodies; Niko was the first to get up. -So, master strategist Asterion, what is the plan? Niko said sarcastically as he leaned on the starboard railing while watching the calm sea. -Come on, lead us. Asterion was still lying down. -There is no plan Niko¡­ There is no plan. The young thracian, still wounded from the battle, seemed to regain energy from anger, only to unleash it on Asterion, grabbing him by the neck. -There is no plan, then what, we are just going to sit here and die? Asterion just closed his eyes. -Maybe. The polemarch face received a punch. -What the hell did you enlist for if you''re so weak? Look how you ended up, piece of trash, how can you be so useless. When the thracian was preparing the second blow, Laconia stopped him with her left arm, the right one was still broken and didn''t seem to improve, Hephaestus'' favor was too faint in the fog. -And you, why do you continue and defend this sick man, do you like him because of how pathetic he is? Damn you all, all of you damn miserable people. You, a cripple without blessing, worth less than a dog, and you, a glorified slave, bastard daughter of a hydra, pieces of failures now I understand, both are a duo of abandoned ones. Niko handed his sword to Asterion -Come on, kill me, so maybe you can go to the underworld having killed at least one blessed one, come on great polemarch. Asterion did not take the weapon, he just looked at the boy''s face. -Come on, come on, please. He was crying. -Why, why did the archon send me to die, why? Asterion sat with his back against the ship, looking at the sky as if searching for some glimmer of light through all the fog. -I''m sorry Niko... I''m sorry. Silence reigned again; the sound of the waves was like a lullaby announcing the death of the half phalanx. -I''m sorry Laconia, Asterion. I''m scared, I don''t want to die. Asterion was still sitting, looking at the broken sails of the mast. Laconia approached Niko. -We didn''t have time to get to know each other before, boy. Why did you enlist? Niko wiped his tears with his forearm. -When I received my first favor at my fourteens, all my teachers were amazed, they treated me like a genius and taught me privately, there I trained and trained until my bones could not take it anymore, then at fifteen I went alongside Helena''s hoplites to my first real combat, there I was blessed with my second favor and the archon requested an audience. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Laconia listened with a slight smile on her face, which faded when she heard the last sentence. -Continue. -The archon of light recognized my talent and said that someone like me could not remain a simple hoplite, he asked me to explore the labyrinth in search of new exits and I trained to be a thracian, a year later I am here, all for nothing. A sad calm flooded both of them until Laconia decided to continue. -Well, at least you had more options than me, when the red wine archon found me abandoned in the woods at ten years old he couldn''t believe it "A hydra offspring?" It was surely a stroke of luck for him you know, they captured me and trained me to be a warrior since then. -But how did he find you at that age? I thought they found you as a newborn. -I lived next to a great wolf mother who fed me with her offspring, I don''t know where or when she found me, all I can remember is that she took care of me. -That''s¡­ -Weird? -That¡¯s pretty cool, Miss Laconia. They both laughed a little, dispersing their sorrow, even if only for a moment. -Still, Miss Laconia, why do you work with Asterion? If you had no choice and were trained by the archons, shouldn''t you work directly for them? -That''s a story for another day, Niko. -Huh? -Look at Asterion. The polemarch had stood up and was trying to lift the mast without positive results due to his lack of strength. -Didn''t he say there was no plan? Laconia smiled. -Since I''ve known him, he''s never been without a plan in his head. If he says there''s no plan, just rest and he''ll come up with something. My arm still hasn''t recovered, do me a favor and help him. Niko went immediately, grabbing the rope next to the polemarch and slowly lifting the mast. -I''m sorry Niko, the plan failed and now we''re in this mess, but don''t think we''ve given up, unlike you and Laconia I''m not a genius you know, I have to think things through. The mast was back in its place. -Help me take down the sail and don''t look down for any reason. -I''m not afraid of heights. -It''s not because of that, listen. Strange sounds came from below the ship, as if hundreds of fingers were scratching and destroying the wood at the cost of their nails. -What is that? -I don''t know, but they''re dragging us further and further into the fog, so now I know how to get back. They both took down the sail and carried it to the deck, it was pierced in several places. Asterion tore up the outermost fabric of the sail and placed the remains in the holes. -Are you planning to repair the sail? But there''s no wind. Asterion was unraveling parts of his woolen tunic to make thread, and with a small, misshapen knife that looked like it had been made by a complete novice, he was making tiny holes in the sail and the patches to thread the wool through in a crude and clumsy way. -Help me sew the sail. Niko and Asterion sewed the sail as fast as they could, pressured by the sounds of nails breaking against wood that grew louder and louder. -Asterion¡­ -Yes? -Why did you enlist? -Because I''m a weak piece of trash. -¡­ I''m sorry about that, I did it because recommendation of my family and Laconia had no choice but you, why? You''re a soldier incapable of defending yourself and now I don''t say that as an insult. -¡­ I swore it to my best friend. -Did you swear to him that you would be a polemarch? -No. The ship was moving faster and faster towards the depths of the sea and it was getting darker and darker. The sail was ready. -Niko, hold the right end, I''ll take the left. -Asterion, there isn''t even a breeze. -We''ll generate one, Laconia, generate as much heat as you can in your palm. The intense heat almost burned the faces of the men who could barely open their eyes. -I see, the air rises with the heat and if we point the sail at forty-five degrees. The ship stopped its retreat and slowly began to advance, the sail was only half of what it was before but it still achieved its objective, Asterion tied the ends to the ground and Laconia just lay on the floor with her palm up. -Even so we are going very slowly, who knows how long it will take us to return to land. -That''s what I have my latest trick for, let''s cut the mast so it falls backwards and get rid of it. -Less weight and the fall will give us some momentum, let¡¯s go. Asterion tried to lift Laconia sword but could barely lift it over his knees until it collapsed, Niko with his own sword was cutting down the mast until it fell against the stern of the ship and then "both" pushed it into the sea; Niko did most of the work, gaining a few more knots, neither of them observed what was under the curtain of water. ¡­ The fog was slowly dissipating as the day went by, Laconia slept while her palm still warming the air and Asterion had her arm raised against the sail careful not to burn himself, Niko just watched the night sky that could finally be seen through the fog. -Do you think the minotaurs are still there? -I doubt it, this attack was only to destroy the city, probably in revenge for the slaves. -¡­ What did you swear to him? -What? - What did you swear to your friend that led you to risk your life like that and become a polemarch. -It''s nothing so incredible, I just swore to him that no matter what happened, we would always be friends. -That''s all, what does that have to do with anything? -It all has to do with it, my friend wasn''t very loved by his "family" so I decided that I would change things, so that our friendship could continue, no matter what they thought. -And for that you had to become a polemarch? -For that I have to climb a little higher than a polemarch. -You don''t mean? -Archon Niko opened his eyes so wide that it seemed like they were going to pop out of their sockets. -You''re crazy, you know? -Maybe -None of the other archons would accept it. -I know. -Neither the army, nor the phalanxes. -Yes. -Not even the citizens, it''s impossible Asterion and now I''m not saying it out of anger, a heleny without any blessing can''t take that position. -Why? -Because it represents the pinnacle of strength and wisdom of our nation, and you only want to get there on a whim with that friend, you''re only going to get yourself killed, if not the myrmekes or the minotaurs will be the same archons just for suggesting such heresy. -Niko, I was born a defect, by definition I shouldn''t exist, I shouldn''t even dream of greatness, but I still want it, you''re right I do it on a whim, simply for the desire to laugh and make fun of all those who looked us badly, both me and my friend, I want to show all these arrogant young men and silly old men, that my life was worth it. Niko lowered his head, he had never met someone with such an ambitious dream before, no one dreams of being an archon because their exploits are always the stuff of legends, of history books and that a man as small as Asterion had advanced so much, Niko always thought that the polemarch had reached that title crawling from the fame of Laconia, but for the first time, the young man felt a drop of respect and admiration fall into his mind. -He must be a very good friend, for you to be willing to go so far for him. -Yes¡­ He is the strongest person I have ever met in my life. The beach could be seen in the distance. -Now that I remember, we never formally introduced ourselves, my name is Niko from Hitas, it''s a pleasure. -I''m Asterion from Helena, a pleasure Niko. -What is your friend''s name? -When we return to Helena, I will introduce him to you, let''s save his name for that meeting. -You really like surprises. -Maybe. ¡­ The ship stopped against the sand on the beach, on its deck its three crew members slept peacefully, the sail covered them from the cold and without a moon in the sky, the darkness sheltered them and brought to the world the tranquility of rest and the soft embrace of Morpheus. 010: Return 010: Return The sun warmed the phalanx while Laconia loud snores made the ship rumble, Niko slowly woke up while rubbing his eyes, most of his wounds were healed by Laconia''s blessing who still continued to use it in his dreams. Asterion was not on the deck and the young thracian searched everywhere until he found him resting on the sand. -Good morning captain, what''s the plan for today? -Hey, good morning Niko. Just bathe and eat, I''m hungrier than the red wine archon in December. Both entered the destroyed city, almost all the copper, livestock and weapons had been looted from the place, the houses destroyed and the closer they got to the palisade the more terrible the smell was, there was something extremely strange about the situation -Where are the corpses? Asterion wondered while collecting food from the houses, there was not a single corpse of either the heleny or the minotaurs in the streets. -Maybe the minotaurs ate them? -No, they don''t do that, only four-fingered beasts enjoy heleny flesh, it couldn''t have been that. The palisade was charred, and a row of burnt grass showed Theseus way back to the labyrinth. -Whatever they did with the bodies is not important now, let''s go back to the ship. -Aye captain. Niko and Asterion returned to the wrecked ship, Laconia was still sleeping and they both had breakfast on the deck in the meantime. -Today is a new month, so the labyrinth must have already changed. When Laconia wakes up Niko we will make a decision. -You sound more serious than usual, but we will just do our job. -Explore the labyrinth and look for new exits, the problem is that the path to Helena was destroyed. -What are you saying? -The minotaurs buried the route next to the temple, so our only way back is where they entered and now that we are in another month I have no idea where we will end up. -Where was that tunnel connected to last month? -It was connected to the foothills of the mountains north of Helena, near the Hyperborean territory, so we''ll probably end up somewhere nearby. -Hyperboreans, as if the minotaurs weren''t enough. -I''m not worried about them, they never come down from their mountains, the problem is their creations. -Automatons. -If the minotaurs came in through there they must have cleared the territory before, but more always appear and the return trip is not a short journey, it''s at least three days, not counting the trip through the labyrinth which we have no idea how convoluted it will be. -Maps are no longer useful, the mycenaeans planned this quite well, they attacked a day before the labyrinth changed and now not only do we have no way to follow them, but we are abandoned. -Yes... Hehe, Theseus is certainly incredible. Laconia had woken up a while ago and immediately began eating everything they had collected. -Good morning, Miss Laconia. -Good morning, lizard Laconia. Laconia tried to say good morning but the food in her mouth turned her words into meaningless babbling, Niko smiled back and then continued his conversation. -Asterion. -Mhm? You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. -Do you think we can beat Theseus? The polemarch tilted his head towards the sky. -I don''t know. Niko laughed. -I was expecting you to say something like that, anyone other than an archon would surely say no. The thracian stood up. -Whatever you decide I will follow you, we are in this together now, captain. The bestiary stared at Asterion. -You already know my answer. The polemarch smiled happily as he placed his hand on the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed by the situation. -It''s not that complicated, let''s find a large papyrus, a pen and some ink to map the labyrinth and then return to Helena, we have to tell them what happened here. Laconia noticed a slight glow inside Asterion''s clothes. -The seal. Asterion took out the papyrus blessed by the fleece and words of light were written on it. -¡°Map the classical route to Skiathos and bring the polemarch Asterion and his phalanx back to Helena,¡± the archon is looking us already, the refugees surely reported what happened here, but they have no idea that the place was destroyed and that the entrance collapsed. -Even if it wasn''t like that, it will take days to find this specific entrance again. Asterion stood up and got off the ship. -Well, we could wait here for them to rescue us, but I don''t want Theseus to go undefeated, let''s go after the minotaurs. Niko and Laconia nodded in unison and the phalanx headed to the city well to clean up and prepare for the journey. Everyone''s wounds had finally healed and they were ready to enter the labyrinth. Laconia and Niko''s equipment hasn''t changed much. The bestiary carried two javelins on its back to have more options against enemies at a distance. The thracian carried at least twenty incendiary bombs, not as common as stones for his wave, but much more effective against the myrmekes. Asterion this time decided to arm himself and his companions with leather armor and helmet, a spear and a shield. -So, this time you''re going to fight with us, captain? -It''s just to defend me in case of an emergency. It''ll take at least a day to find a way out and any mistake could be fatal. -You look pretty good. -Stop bothering me. They both shared a few laughs before going down the stairs into the darkness. The two soldiers carried heavy backpacks full of water and food, while Asterion carried a large blank papyrus, a small bag of ink and a pen on his belt. The labyrinth was completely changed, the walls that were once black concrete, clearly built by intelligent hands, had now been replaced by stone and earth, like a common cavern, the ceiling was filled with stalactites full of salt and minerals everywhere, it was hard to believe if they hadn''t seen it before. Niko looked in all directions, slightly nostalgic. -This is what it looked like the first time I entered the labyrinth a year ago. How was it for you? Asterion touched the back of his neck. -Everything was frozen, I was freezing to death and all I wanted was to go home, it was definitely the time I wanted most to give up on this job. Laconia walked ahead lighting the way. -Black concrete and full of ants, just like last month. The phalanx reached a crossroads of two roads and the polemarch quickly mapped the route, meanwhile a strange sound came from the road on the right. -Asterion, go left quickly. -Yes, let''s go. Niko was confused and while his companions walked quickly to the left he stayed a few moments to listen more carefully, identifying the sound with something he did not expect to hear in the labyrinth, a soft bleat. He returned to his companions. -Is it a sheep? Hearing that, Asterion and Laconia decided to run. -Yes, closer than I expected, what bad luck, we will stop at the next crossing. -I assume it is bad news. It is not a common sheep, right? -Oh, it is a completely normal sheep, what worries us is the owner of the sheep. Niko understood what they were facing. -I did not know that they also lived in the labyrinth. -Only the strongest, greater reasons to escape. The phalanx continued exploring and drawing the routes, when they heard the bleating they escaped in another direction, but the darkness of the labyrinth became stronger and stronger, a long "room" in which inside there was a myrmeke queen strongly protected by myrmidon ants, taller than normal myrmekes, they had four arms with which they fought using two large spears and had wings that allowed them to fly for a few moments, Asterion grabbed is chin while he watched the nest. -If there is a nest of this size here, it means that the exit must not be far away, but going over this army is suicide. Niko was further back, keeping watch while the polemarch and the bestiary thought about what to do. -Asterion, it''s better to take another path, finding the exit in less than a day is tempting, but we can''t fight so many. -Well, we think the same, so there''s nothing to do, let''s look for another path. When they both turned around, they saw Niko running as fast as his feet could carry him while taking a breath to shout. -PROBLEMS! -What''s going on? Asterion and Laconia said in unison. -There''s no way back, we have to go fast, we have to move forward. -We can''t go forward, there''s... Asterion saw several myrmekes running in his direction behind Niko, Laconia prepared to defend herself, but the ants passed the group by. -No... The bestiary grabbed her companions and ran with the ants towards the nest, slowly descending with her wings. Myrmekes came out from all directions trying to surround the group, but they all stopped at the same time as the air filled with lots of bleating, hundreds of sheep slowly descended through the nest, coming down like goats one by one, the ants instead of hunting them let them pass and everyone prepared to defend their home, the myrmidons took flight and the eight-cubit tall queen raised her gigantic abdomen, releasing dozens and dozens of newborn myrmekes, which were born ready for battle, the phalanx quickly ran to the wall opposite the entrance and the polemarch gave his orders. - Aim for the eye. A monstrous four-fingered hand covered the floor of the cave and the gigantic beast showed its face. When it saw the floor cleared of sheep, it descended into the nest with two other companions. They were covered in primitive animal skin clothing and necklaces of teeth. They carried clubs that could easily be an unearthed tree. A huge woolen cloth on their back carried a huge stone and their only eye had a black pupil with a blue iris. The common four-cubit-tall myrmekes looked totally diminished against the monster''s seventeen cubits. Their skin seemed made of stone and their gigantic muscles were only contrasted by their enormous stomachs. Cyclops¡¯s, all sons of Poseidon, are said to have once had five fingers on their hands, but were taken away by their own father for some reason. Whatever it was, the sea no longer blesses them, but they still retain a force that makes the very foundations of the earth tremble. A wild roar from the tallest cyclops¡¯s scared the sheep out of the nest and the moment the phalanx tried to follow them a stone the size of a house flew towards them, blocking the exit and killing some ants that were trying to return to the nest to defend themselves. The three sides prepared their weapons and even without being able to understand each other''s languages, the polemarch, the queen and the tallest cyclops all gave the same instruction. -LET''S GO! 011: Advance 011: Advance Laconia slowly climbed the marble stairs, the structure was colossal and its pillars seemed to be built by giants, these were painted with the rarest and most expensive colors known, beautiful purple and light blue tones. The Parthenon, the legendary temple where archons meet, debate and pray, only those chosen to directly serve an archon are called here, whether as advisors, servants or warriors, Laconia had already been here twice, first when she was carried by the red wine archon, her companions were fascinated with their find, the bastard daughter of a lernians, now known as hydras, creatures believed to have possessed five fingers in the dark ages and now only a few prevail on the continent of Hellas, all with four fingers, yet their bodies possessed unique abilities, a strength and resistance that made them seem like living minerals with hard and sometimes sharp scales, but the most incredible thing of all is that they could not die of old age, for this reason it was difficult for them to leave offspring, even more so considering that lernians were neither male nor female, they had no sex and to create an egg they had to build it, killing and mutilating parts of other beings to create a new life, life that sometimes rebelled against the genetics of their ancestors, generating a hybrid, as was the case of Laconia. -Nothing has changed in five years. The young woman remembered her first encounter with the five archons, beings of divine force, demigods inhabiting the earth, the semi-hydra trembled with fear in the presence of these beings, at that time she did not understand a word from their mouths, but her intuition was always good and she understood that it was nothing good, the blond man with long hair and a golden fleece was the first to speak, he seemed to laugh at the tall, fat man, full of scars all over his body who was next to Laconia, he had a strong smell of grapes, he was the one who found her and apparently he was no longer interested in continuing taking care of her, so the other four debated. -I have to escape. The girl thought, she had already seen how her companions were hunted to be skinned and the fear of ending up the same way filled her head, but the strength and presence of the man who found her prevented her from following her instinct. -If I make a mistake, I will die. It was there in front of the five demigods that she manifested her first blessing, without a catalyst ring, a rain of fire shot out in all directions, burning even its bearer who, ignoring the pain, tried to run as fast as she could, but in an impossible feat the man as her side full of the smell of grapes took a sip from a supposedly empty horn and spat out a purple mist that instantly put the girl to sleep. She never forgot that fear, nor that technique. ¡­ -Captain, captain, what do we do? Asterion brain needed to think fast, the myrmekes and the cyclops would not make a truce with the heleny even if the world ended, but right now the biggest threat to them was not them. -Niko, the myrmekes will destroy the stone that blocks the exit, protect them. -Understood. Multiple worker ants chewed the stone, slowly gnawing at it, one of the cyclops noticed this and ran straight to them, several myrmekes tried to penetrate its hard stone, but they were just stings for the giant. -Laconia keep the cyclops and the queen at bay, if one of the two kills the other, it''s our end. The remaining cyclops slaughtered ants everywhere with their clubs and quickly approached the queen until the myrmidons entered into combat, with their wings they flew around the cyclops looking to stab their necks or torsos, but being huge did not prevent them from being fast, quick blows threw the warriors away, some suffering considerable injuries. -And what will you do? Normally Laconia wouldn''t ask her leader anything, but she couldn''t help but wonder how the polemarch would survive in all the chaos. -I have a plan, quickly get to your positions. Laconia rushed to defend the ant queen, delaying both of them would be difficult even for a group of hoplites, but the bastard lernian also had a plan, the red archon who found her never had much importance in her life beyond their first encounter, but since childhood she recognized his strength and one always learns something from their superiors, be it for good or for bad. Gritting her teeth as she took in all the air she could, the bestiary blew out a huge cloud of smoke from her mouth that covered the entire stage where the queen, myrmidons and cyclops were. Laconia couldn''t see either and normally it wouldn''t be much use to blind yourself and the enemy in a fight, but as long as the order was only to prevent both beasts from killing each other before time, this was the right decision. - ¦²¦Õ¦Ô¦Ñ¦Ç¦Ë?¦Ó¦Ç¦Ò¦Ç - Dozens of blinded myrmekes charged at the bestiary, but she kept them at bay with her fire armor and as long as she didn''t have to defend hoplites or Asterion she could run and glide from one side to the other avoiding stabs from blind angles. The cyclops randomly hit and crushed the ground and the queen buzzed the ears of her myrmidons to make them come back to her. -As long as the myrmidons are alive, the queen is safe. On Niko side, several ants tried to climb the cyclops to reach the eye, some even launched themselves from the ceiling of the cavern, but the monster''s reflexes were impeccable, a single sweep of its hand cleaned its body and those that launched themselves from the ceiling ended up in the giant mouth. Niko prepared his slingshot with an explosive vase that would impact inside the cyclops'' mouth, it was noticeable that the explosion hurt him, but it was not even close to being enough, the small eye was his only weak point and it did not seem easy to hit him with common methods.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. - ¦°¦Á¦Ó?¦Ñ¦Á? - Zeus electric spheres covered the thracian sling and immediately caught the attention of the giant who received the sphere in his face, Niko smiled thinking that he managed to make him retreat until the electricity disappeared and the only thing the young man saw was how the robust eyelid protected the eye as if it were a bronze shield. The cyclops barely stopped for a few moments and continued advancing, time was running out and the ants grinding the stone would be crushed with a single blow, Niko threw spheres one after another, but the beast continued advancing step by step, the myrmekes that climbed his body had no chance, their weapons were unable to penetrate the skin and their mouths barely did any damage, the desperate thracian looked for the polemarch with his eyes across the battlefield, he saw him walk straight towards the cyclops, he stopped for a few moments to look at the young man, pointed his finger upwards and continued his march. -Come on Niko, you can do it. Niko himself didn''t know if those words came from him or from his partner ahead, but he knew what he had to do, he quickly accelerated, reaching the polemarch in the blink of an eye and jumping straight towards the cyclops, he sought to climb him along with the ants to reach the eye with his sword, Asterion on his side would give him that opportunity, he took all the air he could and then. -?I am the stone in your way damn cyclops! Asterion was smaller than the myrmekes so the cyclops never found out about his presence and he knew another weak point of these creatures, he took his spear with both hands and impaled the flesh between the cyclops big toe and nail, like a huge splinter the spear went halfway into the giant, who immediately kicked forward, Asterion got as close to the finger as he could so as not to be hit but pushed by it, although he could do nothing but wish for luck to survive the impact of being thrown by a cyclops. The impact was extremely hard, the shield on his back was completely broken and if it weren''t for the leather helmet perhaps his skull would be like that too, Asterion writhed on the ground in pain and lack of air, he couldn''t breathe and clumsily tried to take off his armor as quickly as possible. Niko didn''t look back, he just silently thanked his captain for the opportunity, the cyclops'' kick was followed by multiple myrmekes imitating Asterion and burying their spears into the flesh between their nails causing the giant to fall to his knees with force in an attempt to keep all the ants off his body, but Niko skill was immaculate, he ran like a marathoner along the cyclops back until he reached his closed eye, but with sword in hand it would be a different story. Those blessed by Zeus fervently study the muscles of their enemies to activate or deactivate them with their electric shocks. -Orbicularis oculi muscle. The thracian buried his electrified sword just above the eye and the giant''s eyelid instantly opened and the last thing he was able to see was Niko jumping in front of him spinning his sling, filled with the blessing of his god, who once in the past, also blessed his race. -Goodbye. The electric sphere hit directly in the eye, the humors inside the eye evaporated instantly and only a bloody cloud remained in the socket, the body of the monster collapsed in instant death just a few steps from the thracian, who recovered his sword and hurried back to his leader. -CAPTAIN! Myrmekes surrounded Asterion who could barely breathe, his mouth only tasted of iron from his blood as he leaned his back against the wall, he was desperate until he looked up and quickly smiled with happiness when he saw his thracian who cut the throats of the ants and placing himself in front of his polemarch, he prepared in his sling the explosive vessels that he still had left to keep the myrmekes at bay. -Good job Niko. -Thanks for the help captain. -Now we just have to wait for the rock to be destroyed. Only a small group of ants stayed to attack the men, the rest quickly ran to defend the queen. The ant queen was in trouble, the two cyclops were constantly sweeping away her offspring and her myrmidons were not able to do considerable damage, but she was still considerably still, she was not participating in the fight and Laconia was worried about this, the smoke screen had already dissipated and Laconia was doing her best to delay the cyclops with fireballs to the face and protecting the myrmidons. One of the giants raised his club and was about to crush the queen, Laconia had no way to avoid the attack, but the queen did, who from her mouth shot a shower of corrosive saliva on the Cyclops''s face, he managed to close his eye, but the liquid still burned his body, while she brought her hand to her face the queen counterattacked and stabbed the cyclops stomach with her hand, his companion tried to help him, but Laconia and the Myrmidons would not let him open his eye and continued to lacerate him all over his body, the bestiary had enough to deliver a lethal blow, but a harmless spark passed in front of her, it had been thrown by Niko who could barely protect Asterion against the myrmekes, Laconia rushed to defend her companions. Upon arriving she quickly eliminated the problems, lifted Asterion onto her shoulder and ran towards the exit. -The myrmekes have already cleared the exit, let''s go. Hundreds of ants entered through the stone path, Laconia and Niko jumped on them, the bestiary fire armor protected them from any attack. -Don''t you have any more smoke screens left? -It takes me even longer to generate one than to recover my blessings. More and more myrmekes appeared, but with the distance they simply ignored the phalanx and all ran to the nest, as soon as the ants stopped appearing light infiltrated into the labyrinth, the exit was in front of them. Upon leaving they found themselves on the slopes of a mountain in a leafy forest, the cyclops''s sheep were grazing peacefully and the phalanx was finally able to rest, Asterion touched Laconia wings so that she would put him down, only getting her to let him go making him fall like a sack to the ground. -Damn it, why am I the only one injured? You did a terrible job, slaves. Both companions lightly hit their leader''s forehead and said the same word. -Fool. Seeing him smile, everyone calmed down and decided to enjoy the mild climate and the feeling of the grass on their backs. -And now what captain? -I''m tired of thinking. What do you want to do? Laconia sat next to Asterion; a tiny drop of saliva fell on the polemarch. -Sheep¡­ -HAHA, well, Miss Laconia, I don''t think the cyclops¡¯s would notice a missing a sheep. -Well, that''s a good plan, maybe you should be the polemarch. -Don''t say that captain, I enjoy seeing you lying in battle. Laconia kept looking at the sheep and remembered the first time she saw Asterion, sixteen is the last year of academy for young people, that was the second time she met the five archons in the Parthenon, they had trained her to be a soldier and the archons still had not decided who of them she would serve, behind them were their polemarches, warriors specialized in military strategy, strength and intelligence were their principles and all chosen by the archons as the top of these, but one of them stood out for only one of these, the youngest of the crowd with short brown hair and gray eyes. The archon dioskouroi(1) was the first to raise his voice. -My phalanxes are the first to fight against the forces of the minotaurs, my ranks need the strength of Lerna among their ranks. The swift-footed archon followed him. -Maybe you are the first to defend, but you are not the first to attack, my phalanxes are the ones who take the minotaurs'' territories, the stronger soldiers my polemarches have, the faster we will take care of those beasts. The youngest of the archons took the floor. -If it weren''t for my phalanxes the mycenaeans would have already annihilated us, we are the ones who protect our caravans and resources. Are you going to go to war without weapons or food? First, we must accumulate more strength. Jason continued consulting his polemarches on what to do, the last to speak was Asterion. -Tell me young polemarch, can you think of how to calm these animals? -Mmmh, if they''re not going to stop competing even if the world ends, why don''t we just give them that? -What do you suggest? -Don''t play with me, Archon, you know what I mean. Our phalanxes compete in the coliseum to obtain a bestiary with the potential of an archon. All the archons accepted excitedly. Laconia realized that it was the boy who gave the idea because he was the only one who had his hand on her face, apparently this was not what he was referring to, the young woman could not help but laugh silently when she saw his reaction and also felt slightly better, battle is all she knew so she was glad that at least if someone was going to use her as a tool, that person would be someone strong. Dioskouroi(1): Children of Zeus. 012: Border 012: Border Asterion, who was usually the first to wake up, slowly opened his eyes and was pleased to notice that the roles had been reversed. His companions were clumsily trying to find their way on a poorly drawn map by Laconia. The polemarch watched in silence with a huge, smug smile as he thought how happy he felt to be of use to his friends. -We are roughly twenty-seven miles(1) from Helena, right on the edge of the border with the hyperboreans. Laconia and Niko looked at each other nervously, the thracian more so considering his lack of experience. -Shouldn''t we get out of here quickly? It''s impossible for us to defeat even one of them. Asterion put a hand to his head to scratch it, unconcerned about his team''s nervousness. -They never go far from their capital, it''s impossible for us to meet one, however their servants are another story. -Automatons. -Have you fought any, Miss Laconia? -Twice, neither was worth it. -What do you mean? -They are not enemies that you can kill with one blow, your only recourse is to wear them down and they are built to endure. -Besides, that was before I worked with you so I am like your Niko, I only know them in theory, as long as we keep a low profile we should be fine, they are not that fast either. We will march after breakfast. -Sheep? -Sheep. ¡­ The phalanx marched calmly to the south, the trees near the hyperborean territory were abnormally large, even a cyclops could hide between their trunks, so Laconia seemed worried about an ambush. -Why is this forest so huge? I don''t remember that near the capital are this size. Asterion kept looking up trying to calculate the size of the trunks. -I''m not sure either, as far as I remember the hyperboreans do not receive blessings from any god of nature and if this were the territory of some satyr we would be already dead. Niko went ahead and signaled them to stop and be silent. -Miss, get the captain up on a branch. Niko climbed up to the most hidden branch he could find and Laconia carrying Asterion followed him, the branch was as thick as a road so it was easy for them to hide, as soon as silence returned they heard multiple steps in the grass, the bestiary and the thracian had their weapons in hand while they watched the visitors, Asterion sighed lightly, thinking about the difficult opponent he expected to find, but his eyes opened wide when he saw that they were a large group of cynocephali(2), humanoid beings with animal heads and humanoid hairy bodies, the name only means ¡°dog head¡±, but their appearances vary to all kinds of animals, the minotaurs believe that the heleny come from the pig-headed cynocephali and the heleny believe that the cow heads are now the minotaurs, but both deny the relationship, since they only have four fingers. Most of the group had sheep and deer heads, their ears were clearly pierced. -More freed slaves? Laconia lowered her broadsword and touched Niko shoulder so that he could rest as well. -What do we do, polemarch? Asterion watched them worriedly and with his hand covering his mouth he slowly closed his eyes. -Let''s let them pass... They are not our problem. Laconia looked at Asterion and lowered her head next to him, Niko seemed confused. -Are you sure? We would earn a lot of tetradrachm¡¯s(3) just by capturing one. -Our job is to return Niko, not to take lost dogs to their owners, let''s go.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. The group of cynocephali despite wearing simple clothes and just a few weapons seemed prepared for the trip, they were a group of at least fifty and began to set up a simple settlement. -They are going to stay here Asterion, let''s go back. Laconia grabbed both of them and climbed to the top of the tree to glide towards the south, Asterion who was looking towards the ground received a flash of light reflected in what seemed to be metal. -Stop, there is an automaton walking towards where we are. Niko looked down. -No, it is going towards the cynocephali, let''s pass it gliding, the animals will serve as a distraction. Laconia looked at Asterion, he was silently looking down, she knew what he was thinking, but the polemarch needed a push to follow his convictions. -Your instructions, Polemarch. -¡­ Let''s go back. The young thracian could not remain silent. -What, for what?! We can sail above it perfectly. -Soldier, trust your polemarch and follow his orders, we''re going back. Laconia turned and they landed on a tree near the cynocephali camp, the silver metal footsteps of the automaton became louder and louder. -Why are we doing this, captain? Asterion seemed quieter than usual, as if words were not coming to him, he was tense and if they didn''t know him, his group would think he was scared to death of the enemy, but that was not what was flooding the Polemarch mind. -If I tell you, it won''t work Niko, but for now I will ask you please to trust me and follow the plan. Niko grabbed his head and prepared his sling. - Fine, but you''ll have to explain everything to me when this is over. - Deal. Finally the footsteps reached the ears of the settlement and several cynocephali fled in terror, many seemed extremely young and only about fifteen had weapons, among them the one who seemed to be the leader was a doe head with dark brown fur, she had a long bow along with some curious animal skin gloves with four fingers. The automatons are constructs of the hyperboreans, giant robots of gold and silver that possess a strength similar to that of the cyclops without any of their weaknesses, for some strange reason they are not made in the likeness of their creators but in that of their opponents, automatons in the form of minotaurs and gigantic humans up to eight cubits high, in this case that was the design of the latter, armed with a gladius in his four-fingered hand, he seemed to be created as a mockery for his rivals. -RUN! The doe voice was too soft for the difficult role she was in, her companions trembled with fear and did not seem to have the slightest chance of survival, Asterion raised his hand in preparation to attack the automaton before it massacred the group, but a wooden arrow hit the construct head and to the surprise of the phalanx managed to destroy part of the eye, although for a being without flesh or bones it was barely a nuisance. Asterion gave the order. -Let''s go. The automaton was under the tree and the arrow made it stop for a moment, at which point Laconia sword was inserted into the machine eye and in a lever movement pulverized part of the face, where an incendiary bomb would be thrown by the thracian, Laconia returned to the branch and took Asterion to solid ground. -Run, we''ll distract him. Asterion spoke to the cynocephali who followed all his orders to save their lives except the doe who pointed her bow at the polemarch. -Are you here to sell us? Niko pointed his sword at the doe neck, Asterion continued speaking. -We came to take care of the automaton, go with your people. The archer lowered her bow and hurried back to her companions. -Well, now this will be quite annoying. The automaton had one less eye, but it didn''t need to see, its body when seen in detail was full of small holes, probably caused by the cynocephali from before, but the machine had no blood to wear out, not even removing its head would stop its advance, the only way to defeat it would be to destroy it completely. -Niko, do you think that with your blessing you can cut the tendons of its heel? -Well, it''s difficult considering he has no tendons, surely cutting him would only make him stumble a little, even if I cut his foot completely he would crawl towards us. -Okay, I just need you to stay still for a few moments, Laconia. The polemarch formed the number three with his fingers when he saw that Laconia caught his attention. -But that won''t do anything. Now he pointed to the tree next to the machine and both of his companions had already put together Asterion plan in their heads and said at the same time. -I understand. The automaton ran up to the phalanx and Niko took his sword with both hands. - ¦´¦É?? - Transformed into the very lightning of his god, the thracian ran to the right of the automaton and launching himself in a straight line severed both joints between the leg and the ankle, inside the foot was full of gears and screws, anyway the machine still fell on its weight, while the thracian did his part the bestiary had already cast her blessing. - ¦²¦É¦Ä¦Ç¦Ñ¦Ï¦Ô¦Ñ¦Ã¦Å?¦Ï - The fire wave could not cut through the metal of the automaton, so instead Laconia cut through the base of the immense tree next to the machine, the tree collapsed like a mountain on the construct that was pulverized upon receiving the impact. -Haha, pretty good for my first time against these things. How did you defeat them before, Laconia? -We cut off all their limbs. -I figured as much. Niko returned to the group. -Good job doing nothing, captain. Before both men clashed their fists in celebration, more metallic sounds appeared, but now they came from the north. Asterion immediately ran towards the noises. -Quickly, they won''t be able to beat another. Laconia carried him on her shoulder and Niko ran alongside them. -I don''t know what we gain by saving them, but I''m surprised how much you care about them. Asterion remained silent. He, more than anyone else, understood the lack of empathy his species had with others. Debating would have no meaning or value. For now, he just needed to concentrate on helping those he believes do not deserve to suffer. At least that was how he was taught. In the distance, the figure of the other automaton could be seen, this one modeled as a minotaur, running to attack the cynocephali, the phalanx was too far away to stop its advance or to give a blessing, several would die, the machine was about to massacre them until words were heard from all sides that no Hellenist had ever heard before. - ¦ª¦Ô¦Ð¦Á¦Ñ?¦Ò¦Ò¦É - An arrow hit the chest of the automaton and from it, multiple roots entangled its limbs and it could be heard as they destroyed it from within until when it stopped moving, hundreds of cypress leaves sprouted from the trunks. The arrow had been launched by the doe and when the phalanx realized it, they all watched in horror as its glove fell apart from the force of the shot and they could see its hand in detail. -Five fingers¡­ When the cynocephalus realized this, her face filled with fear and, realizing that she had no other option, she pointed her bow at the phalanx. ¡­ Mile(1): Roman mile equivalent to 1481 meters. Cynocephalus(2): Dog''s head. Tetradrachm(3): Silver coin. 013: Debt 013: Debt All heleny receive basic education until the age of twelve and everyone knows who the five races blessed by the gods are: Minotaurs, Heleny, Hyperboreans, Satyrs and Nymphs. These races are ordered according to the control and size of their soul, the minotaurs at the bottom can barely extend it beyond their bodies and the nymphs have spirits so massive and with so much control that they can create entire landscapes. But this order is not eternal, if a race loses favor the one that is one step below can rise, it is one of the reasons why minotaurs and heleny have been at war for more than a hundred years. The other way in which this order can change, is with a sixth race, which predicts the fall of one of the others, because when one race begins to receive favor, another will lose it, until it disappears. ¡­ Niko had launched an attack without waiting for the polemarch orders, even using his blessing "¦°¦Á¦Ó?¦Ñ¦Á?" without Asterion noticing. The doe was firing one arrow after another, when she was discovered, she didn''t even bother, she used the quiver on her back, her projectiles were formed from between her fingers, the arrows not only had a wooden body, the tip looked like a disfigured claw and a short feather at the base, the cynocephalus formed complete arrows. -Asterion, what do we do? The polemarch was frozen, in front of him was what could be the destruction of the heleny, the first cynocephalus in history with five fingers, killing her would prevent the cynocephali from rising to power for gods know how much time. Niko''s agility was immaculate, not a single arrow reached him and several cynocephali rushed to attack him. -BACK! The doe orders were heard, the heleny had his sword ready to cut them down on the way, but seeing them retreat make him launch his first electric sphere, but before it hit, from the doe shoulder a huge horn emerged that reduced the damage. -What is this? Neither Niko nor any heleny had ever seen such a favor before. -ASTER! Asterion came to his senses. -STOP NIKO! Laconia rushed as fast as he could to stop the confrontation, the doe horn retracted into his body until it disappeared, but more spheres were on her way, seeing that she could not withstand so much damage she ran to intercept the thracian. Niko thought he had victory assured and his first cut made its way from the grass to the cynocephalus head, but she transformed the skin of her left arm into hard scales, the sword buried itself, but did not cut the arm, meanwhile her right hand turned into a huge bear paw, straight towards the man''s face who turned his head avoiding a mortal wound, but a deep cut covering his entire cheekbone to the bone had formed, in addition to losing his sword that was still buried in the blessed one arm. -Bastard. Niko ring lit up to fill his hand with lightning and the small doe ear pendant shone while a horn grew from his right forearm, before both of them gave the fatal blow Laconia stood in the way, stopping both of their arms before the end. -What are you doing? If we don''t kill her, more like her will be born. -Let me go, demon! Asterion approached as fast as he could, the other cynocephali tried clumsily to surround Laconia, it was clear that they had never fought before, fear reigned in all of them. -Niko, come here. Laconia let him go, the thracian slowly got up with his hand on his cut cheekbone until he was next to Asterion. -Listen to me cynocephali, I know that we are your enemies, but right now we are in hostile territory for both of us, help me and we will help you. The doe couldn''t help but laugh at the heleny. -You heartless assassins, I''d rather die than receive your help. Metallic sounds could be heard in the distance, another automaton, fighting them wore them out more and more, Niko no longer had any favors and most likely the cynocephalus didn''t either because she didn''t use one against the thracian.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. -Maybe you''d rather die, but what about your people? The group of cynocephali was scared, trying to see where the noises were coming from, many were just children. -Go back to the south. -Of course, because that way instead of dying for those things, we''ll be slaves again. -I swear to you-. -Enough of your empty promises, let us die on our own in peace. -¡­ Laconia, Niko, take care of the automatons, I''ll take the cynocephalus to the south. Both warriors opened their eyes as wide as they could to look at the polemarch in surprise, Niko even grabbing his arm. -And who will defend you? Captain, they will kill you as soon as you separate from us. -This time I agree with Niko, even if you help them their hatred for the heleny is much greater. Asterion withdrew the sword buried in the doe arm. -Heal her Laconia, she will be my guard. -What the hell are you saying pigskin? -You can see the size of my soul, right? I am the weakest of this squad, we will travel south while my soldiers take care of the automatons, once we are safe, let''s talk. Laconia and Niko were perplexed, the bestiary more than anything, he always exposes himself to danger, but never in this way, whatever the plan is in his head, it is something gigantic to have to take this risk. -Why would you do this for us? -Because right now, you and I need allies more than ever. Time was running out and the footsteps of two automatons could be heard echoing through the forest, Laconia fire healed Niko and the Doe wounds as quickly as possible, resulting in scars. -If you betray me, heleny, I swear I will kill you, in this life or the next, and unlike you, I keep my promises. Asterion could not hide his smile and walked to his phalanx. -The longer you delay, the greater the risk of me being killed, don''t delay. Laconia just turned around, ready to fight, Niko took his sword and sighed. -No matter how hard you try, I don''t know what''s on your mind, captain, but I hope it''s worth it. The warriors turned their backs on the group of animals and they left, collecting the few belongings they had, only Asterion looked back as they disappeared into the forest. ¡­ The group had managed to escape, the giant trees that blocked almost all the light from the sky were now left behind, now it was just a normal forest, everyone was tired and hungry from the trip and the materials to set up tents and make a settlement were lost in the north, Asterion was lying on the ground, his body could no longer move from running so much and he was breathing heavily through his mouth, the doe pointed her bow at him as soon as they were far from danger. - Are you¡­ going to betray me? - Only if I don''t like your words. Why did you help us? - I... told you... I need... allies. - Lie, the heleny don''t look for allies, only power and slaves. Last chance, tell me the truth or die. Asterion caught his breath and took his time to think about his answer, with his hands clasped and resting on his chest he looked at the cynocephalus above him with total tranquility. - You were slaves of the dioskouroi, right? The cynocephalus bow tightened more and more. - I''m sure that thousands of your companions are still there in the capital. - Where are you going with this? Asterion closed his eyes, as if he wanted to recover a very distant memory, something that the passage of time constantly erodes, but even so the polemarch with all his strength refuses to forget, a memory that right now for him, was more important than his life. -I have a plan to free each and every slave in Helena. -Liar. Asterion stood up quickly, the doe arrow pierced the polemarch arm and almost buried itself in his chest, but the man pounced on her, immobilizing her for a few moments, all the cynocephali ran to help their leader. -Why would you free the slaves, what do you gain from that? A thick tail formed on the lumbar of the cynocephali that lifted her along with the weight of the man who was now back on the ground, the doe pushed him with her forearm against the ground and a claw was on its way to ending the life of the polemarch. -Power. The claw stopped. -What are you saying? -What you said, the heleny only seek power, I plan to free the slaves to weaken one of the archons. The woman went blank. -Why? -I have a plan¡­ to kill the dioskouroi¡­ and take his place, I plan to become an archon. The doe lowered her head and laughed, the cynocephali stopped their attack and everyone stared at their leader laughter, confused but calm. -Yes, you heleny are all the same, now I understand, but if you plan to use us as your army you are very wrong. -No, I just need less slaves, that benefits both of us, don''t you think? Asterion tried to clumsily pull out the arrow, but each movement only caused more damage to the flesh, the cynocephali removed it for him. -This¡­ is fine. All the animal heads were excited, shouting that they should not trust the pig and that they should eliminate it and get out of here, but the decision had already been made. -We will work together to free our brothers, but this is not an alliance. -What do you prefer then? -Consider it a debt, for saving us in the north, I and only I will help you, do not involve my people in this. -As you wish. ¡­ Laconia and Niko returned as quickly as possible to the south, both were scared that the polemarch had been betrayed, no species would form an alliance with a heleny. When they left the giant forest and saw the cynocephali surrounding someone, they thought the worst, both rushed to the center to see who they were surrounding and what they found was something unique in the world, a heleny was being treated and healed by a five-fingered cynocephali, Laconia could not help but laugh lightly at the absurdity of the situation. Niko held his head tightly in total confusion, all his life he was taught that if he found himself in this situation, he should kill the target, a sixth race with five fingers only means the death of another race, but it was then that he understood what his polemarch was thinking. -¡°The death of another race¡±, I don''t think that''s necessarily us. 014: Alliance 014: Alliance The cynocephali and the phalanx settled near the river, night was already upon them, campfires driving away the darkness as the children slept in their tents and the adults prepared their tools for tomorrow. Outside the largest tent in the settlement Niko and Laconia watched the entrance, their leader was there and even though they were hungry to find out how Asterion won over the cynocephali, they both obeyed his order to keep watch until they finish negotiating. -Miss, does the captain know any cynocephalus? -Not that I know of. -You know much less than I would expect since you have been working with him for four years. -He doesn''t talk much about the past, he is always more concerned with thinking of his next trick. -¡°Not much about the past¡± then he has told you something. -I know that Jason promoted him to polemarch at your age. -Huh?! I thought he became polemarch thanks to you. -Everyone thinks so. Some envy arose in the man when thought that Jason had decided to meet Asterion in person at his age, but not the young thracian. -Now that I think about it, you mentioned that you had only worked with him, but if you have known each other for four years, how is that possible? -¡­ The terms of my servitude were¡­ Complicated before Asterion. -The captain told me that he would tell me about how he earned his respect and how they decided to work together in Skiathos, but the polis no longer exists and it doesn''t seem that the time will come. Would it be too much to ask? A faint smile appeared on Laconia''s face. -Well, I''ll tell you what happened. ¡­ Inside the tent, Asterion was sitting in front of the five-fingered doe, the fact that she ate meat intrigued the polemarch, the latter also had a plate of food served, but he didn''t seem interested. -Aren''t you going to eat anything Heleny? -I want to eat with my soldiers. -As you wish. Seeing that the man would continue to watch her eat, she decided to put the plate aside and start the meeting. -Who are you? The abruptness of the question disconcerted the polemarch a little. -My name is Asterion, I am a polemarch of the archon of light; in charge of exploring, mapping and cleaning the labyrinth. -You are quite far from the labyrinth right now. -Well, there were some complications. Could you tell me your name? The cynocephalus took her chin in an obvious pose to concentrate. -Artemis. -Won''t your goddess punish you for using her name in vain to deceive others? -I don''t care, she already blessed me, I''ll do whatever I want with her name. Asterion grabbed the back of his head, trying to show a strange feeling of disappointment at seeing that the woman didn''t even try a little to hide her name. -Please use another name, we heleny won''t be blessed by the goddess of hunting, but we do know of her existence. The cynocephalus looked down to quickly think of another name, this time she didn''t seem to concentrate much. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. -Lita... -Is that your real name or another alias? The doe smiled instantly upon hearing those words. -I won''t tell you. Asterion felt like he was dealing with a child. -Well, "Lita," where did you come from? If you were a slave in Helena, it''s impossible for you to have hidden those five fingers for your entire life. -Wasn''t our talk going to be about killing the archon and freeing the slaves? Lita mentioned in an aggressive tone, almost like a threat. -I understand, tell me what you want to know and in exchange tell me what I want to know. -Do you really think you are in a position to negotiate? Tell me your plan, we execute it and then you leave. The doe had her bow in her hands. -Yes, I do believe that, if you kill me now you will have to fight against a demon outside and even if you manage to win, right now you and your people are against the sword and the wall, automatons to the north and heleny to the south. The cynocephalus lowered her bow. -Even worse, if the heleny or the hyperboreans discover your hands, what do you think will happen? Whoever finds you will discover the truth and will exterminate your entire people, right now you are the key to the salvation or destruction of all your people. Lita tensed her bow. -And what are you, that assures me that as soon as you accomplish your objective we will not be the next victim? -¡­ I''m just another door, whether it''s a good one or a bad one you''ll have to decide now. The woman closed her eyes tightly, her decision had already been made, but still inside she was afraid, afraid of losing the little she had left. -I... I was never a slave. -What, are there still free tribes? -It''s not like that, I can only tell you that although all the cynocephali of Helena are locked up, not all of them are slaves. The gears in the polemarch head turned until they found a terrible answer. -Don''t tell me that... in the maximum sewer. -We tell ourselves that we either live under their feet or under their shit. -... I''m sorry. -Feel sorry for me again and I''ll look for another alternative, "door." -I understand. -Your plan. How do we kill a demigod? -If I tell you the plan it won''t work. Lita''s right arm transformed into a bear''s paw and grabbed Asterion. -I''m not interested in your superstitions. Seeing and feeling the blessing of the cynocephalus up close, he realized that the arm was strangely hard, whatever the material that blessing was made of, it was not flesh as he suspected before seeing her fight against Niko. -I''ll tell you something ¡®Terion, I really need a reason to trust you right now. She didn''t say it as a threat, the doe just seemed to realize the danger that losing meant, she wasn''t afraid of dying alone if it was to save her companions, but now realizing what her death implied, for the first time in many years she feared for her life. Asterion knew that look, that face of helplessness with life, that feeling of doing in despair, that you feel that no matter what you do, the gods conspire against you, he decided to break his only rule. -I will tell you the plan, but it has to stay between you and me. ¡­ A simple campfire warmed the thracian and the bestiary while they waited outside the tent, they had food at hand, but they decided to wait for their leader to finish his meeting. -When I was your age Niko I was called by the archons to the Parthenon, there they discussed who would serve as bestiary. -That the five archons would fight for your sword¡­ -In reality there were four, the red wine archon gave his vote, according to him, because he thought it would be more fun. -Haha! He always like to sweeten the story. Both smiled under the night. -The discussion was going nowhere and the archon of light decided to make it a competition, the phalanxes would face each other in the coliseum to obtain me as a prize. -Wait, are you telling me that Asterion won the tournament, how? No, even if it were like that they met four years ago, not eight. -Nobody won the first year, nor the second, nor the third, nor the fourth. -But how? -I told you we started working four years ago, but I met Asterion shortly after I was summoned by the archons and he approached me with a plan. -Sounds like something similar of what he''s doing right now. What was the plan? ¡­ Inside the tent a drawing made by furrows in the ground poorly portrayed the capital of Helena, the polemarch seemed proud of his drawing despite the disappointed face of the doe in front of him. -The plan is to sabotage the archon. -Do you even know how? A mocking smile covered the face of the heleny. -I would say that it is my specialty. Recently, minotaurs attacked and destroyed Skiathos, they seem to be focused on destroying every city that is not Helena. -I suppose I understand them, I do not see it possible to besiege that city. -Skiathos was full of minotaur slaves, now that it fell, they will most likely transfer hundreds of slaves from other cities back to Helena. -Shall we attack the caravans? -No, let them return, once they finish the transfer we will gather as many slaves as we can outside the polis. Lita meditated, thinking about how many she could free with the help of the heleny. -The sewer exits are very dangerous, although if you plan to escape through there we could easily free a hundred, it''s a good number. -I have the exit covered, and yes, if everything goes well we can easily get a hundred thousand out, although I would like to double that number. The doe stood up in surprise. -A hundred thousand?! You lie. -Maybe. -If you were an archon I would trust your word, but you don''t have the power for something like that. -If I were an archon... Maybe I''m not, but I have one up my sleeve. -What are you saying? -Jason, the archon of light plans to assassinate the Dioskouroi, that''s the only reason he accepted me as polemarch, in an alliance, like the one we are about to form right now. ¡­ -Asterion and I formed an alliance, he sabotaged the arena again and again, delaying the fights, but what really saved me was that he convinced the archons that the final challenge for me to serve as bestiary in one of their phalanxes, was to defeat me. -Against entire phalanxes? -No, I know my limits, only the strongest of the phalanxes would face me. -For four years you defeated them¡­ -The archons seemed quite amused by the result, I became a living training dummy and many times they sent me with rookie groups to the labyrinth. -What happened the fifth year? -Asterion won, that was the first time in his entire life that he had won a fight, I will never forget his words of victory. Niko''s slightly open mouth could barely get out his next word. -What did he say? -¡°It feels, nice.¡± 015: Promises 015: Promises Five hundred and twenty-one years after Helena Helena is full of temples to the five gods who bless the heleny, most not only serve as houses of prayer, but also as teaching points, teachers and scholars share their discoveries with the population, if you are lucky sometimes you can even find an archon playing petteia(1) with his polemarches, the latter are always masked with the animal symbol of their archon and play as a team against their leader as a single unit. The ram-masked polemarches talked among themselves to decide the next move except for one, Asterion did not enjoy the debate very much. Hours passed and the polemarches did not achieve a single victory, Jason crushed every strategy they planned together time and time again, although they all took it with humor and humility, after all the dream of every polemarch of the archon of light is to beat him in a game of petteia. Night fell over the temple and what was once a group was now just two heleny thinking and fighting to defeat the archon, meanwhile the beggars arrived at the house of their gods to take shelter from the cold, Asterion still did not participate in the game. Another undefeated day for Jason, the strategy in games will not be the same as on the battlefield, but it seemed that the archon was an unbeatable master in both scenarios, when the last polemarch left for his home Asterion sat in front of the demigod. -Young Asterion, I''ve been waiting all day for this game. -... Come on. Asterion always played defensive games with a serious face, he was well known in the circle of players by the nickname "The shield of Helena", he took care of each piece with his life, Jason on the other hand was an expert in setting traps, it seemed that he read his opponents mind, "The smiling assassin" they call him for his habit of laughing before a good move. -Once again. Jason said these words while looking at the polemarch, both were at a stalemate, looking for a counterattack would be risky for both, the archon seemed nervous, he stopped smiling and grabbed his head while Asterion just silently observed the board. -Always defensive, I would like to see you on the offensive once. The archon of light tried to attack, but more and more pieces fell before Asterion wall, the game seemed won by the polemarch. -Always taking care of your pieces, you always seem unperturbed. Asterion finished moving his piece and immediately realized his mistake. -You can''t win if you don''t sacrifice some pieces. The game turned around, with just one fall into a trap the archon offensive escalated until it completely dismantled the polemarch defense. -Victory. Asterion board suffered defeat, more than a hundred games between the two and not a single victory for the polemarch, he could only grab his neck in frustration. -Aah, thanks for playing with me Asterion, I always enjoy our games. What do you want in return? Asterion raised his gaze, seeing this the archon fleece lit up slightly, creating a kind of sphere where the sound could not escape. -¡­ You recruited me eight years ago to overthrow that man, you promised me that you would give me a chance. -And you have done very well, I still can''t believe that you got that bestiary, you did half of my work. -Maybe you can''t perceive it anymore, but time passes quickly for us, archon. -That''s true... I''m sorry, I thought the cynocephali would rebel in four years, but it seems I underestimated their fear of us. Sooner or later an intelligent leader will emerge from their ranks, I''ll keep sending you to places where I suspect one will appear. -Then we still depend on luck¡­ -Come on, cheer up, I''ve already gathered almost fifty thousand slaves under my name, protected and ready to be free. -They''re all cynocephali.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. -¡­ You know I can''t help the minotaurs. -Why? -You know why. -¡­ -The time will come, Asterion, patience is your greatest strength when playing. -If only everything were a game, I''m useless at everything else. -Polemarch, I don''t regret my decision, you''re the most appropriate for this job. -Kill an archon, betray Helena? -Win this war. -Releasing minotaurs and winning the war against them sounds like a fantasy. -These minotaurs were abandoned by their own brothers, none of them are minoans, some of them will seek retaliation against us no doubt, but we just have to redirect their hatred against their brothers, after all they betrayed them first. -I know, I know. The memory of Theseus came to Asterion''s mind, minotaurs are tribal and follow strong leaders, the weak are sold or abandoned, but Theseus is not like his colleagues, he accepts everyone in his tribe, for this he is loved and feared, defending the weak requires twice as much strength as fighting for oneself alone, but this was information that he preferred to omit from the archon, in order to free the minotaurs. -We cannot win the favor of the minotaurs, only divert their attention; But of the cynocephali, gain the trust of their leader and help them kill the dioskouroi, just this once, I need you on the offensive. Present The doe that would have previously drawn her bow to aim at the polemarch face instantly for even thinking of such an obvious lie, this time decided to trust the man. -Why would the archon of light kill his fellow? -The seal of slavery is eternal unless removed for your race, but for the mycenaeans it only lasts five years, having minotaur slaves has been a time bomb for disaster time and time again, just a few days ago we lost a city because mycenaean slaves broke free and a group of minotaurs retaliated against the city, it will continue to happen. -Stopping having slaves is not a solution? -The dioskouroi hates minotaurs the most, enslaving and torturing them is their first priority, and the heleny have another problem, a minotaur reaches physical maturity enough to fight at ten years old, a heleny at sixteen, the mycenaeans outnumber us, we need more infantry. -Slave soldiers. But then they still need slavery. -Not if we turn the minotaurs against themselves, the mycenaean slaves are from tribes abandoned for being considered weak, the archon seeks to pit them against their own kind. -They would still have the infantry they seek and no more time bombs in each city. Why don''t the dioskouroi opt for this plan? -His hatred blinds him and the rest of the archons support him, a headache for me and Jason. -But an opportunity for us. Lita stood up, grabbed Asterion''s hand and shook it up and down vigorously. -We have a deal. Asterion couldn''t help but smile. -I only have one last question. Who else knows about this plan? -¡­ You, me, the bestiary with the sword that follows me Laconia and Jason. -The boy I fight against, right? -No¡­ I''ll tell him that we will travel with you to Helena to buy and free the rest of your companions using my contact with Jason, nothing more. -Don''t you think it''s cruel? By getting involved with you, he may end up being branded a traitor. -¡­ Maybe he needs to sacrifice some pieces to win. -You piece of shit, you heleny treat everyone like pieces in a game, but I have no other choice, invite your group to rest, tomorrow we will leave. Asterion stood up, but before turning around the cynocephalus grabbed his tunic. -One last thing, if you betray me heleny, I promise you that in this life or the next, I will kill you and your loved ones in the most painful way you can imagine. Lita face conveyed more fear than fury. -I understand. The polemarch left the tent to receive his phalanx, who as soon as they saw their leader stood up to greet him. -Captain! -You took long enough. -Come in, I''m starving. The group ate in silence inside Lita tent, who informed them of her plans. -The heleny and I have made a deal, to free the rest of my people in exchange for information. Asterion, who was sitting in the middle of his companions, raised a slight smile. -The four of us will travel to Helena to negotiate the agreement. The phalanx was surprised and at the same time accustomed, they fully trusted Asterion. -That''s incredible news, captain, an alliance with the cynocephali, I would never have imagined it. The doe tried to hide her face of displeasure as best she could. -It will be just a deal and nothing more, then we will leave your lands. Laconia watched Asterion with a slight tone of disappointment, she knew perfectly well what the plan was now that her polemarch had allied himself with a cynocephali and although she perfectly understood why she could not reveal the plan to Niko, lying to your companions never feels right. -Then I should apologize for attacking you before, I''m very sorry. Niko lowered his head while showing his wrists, a common gesture to reflect a sincere apology. The thracian thought that the polemarch objective was that seeing that some of the cynocephali would be born with five fingers, the best thing would be to immediately forge an alliance with them against the minotaurs, an understandable thought lacking empathy and knowledge of the treatment that the heleny have inflicted on the cynocephali, an idea born more out of innocence and ignorance than out of evil. -Even if you don''t ally with us, I promise that we will help you and I hope that we leave yesterday''s hatred behind. An air of sadness invaded the atmosphere and like a cloud of memories, Lita mind was filled with all the horrible moments suffered because of the heleny, the cold, the hunger, the sorrow, the fear, the rage, the pain and the loss, a set of emotions encapsulated in a young being, with a load dozens of times more than he can bear, Asterion noticed and was afraid that the cynocephalus would react violently, but she only continued eating, perhaps wanting to drown these feelings. -Yes... That single word prompted the polemarch to make a bad strategic decision, a mistake that could easily cost him the game, but that he could not avoid if he wanted to do the right thing, at least for himself. -Niko. -Captain... -I have something to tell you about our true plan. Petteia(1): Game similar to chess or checkers. 016: Betrayals 016: Betrayals The thracians are the most agile warriors of the phalanxes, before they used daggers to fight against minotaurs and beasts of the labyrinth, but it was very difficult for them to cause deep wounds, they changed to short swords and although now the stabs caused lethal damage, the blades were easily repelled by shields or armor, it was there that the sica sword was born, a blade bent inwards that when connecting with the opponent flesh tore the victim as if it were a lion paw with a hilt, now all thracians are trained in this sword, as are criminals, after all it is easy to land fatal blows with this weapon, a weapon that is now around Asterion neck. -Niko, calm down. Lita bow and Laconia greatsword were aimed at the thracian head. -I''m calm, Asterion, but what you''re telling me is... It''s a betrayal of everything we''ve been taught, it''s hard to believe... -I understand, but it''s the truth, even if you kill me right here, Jason will continue with the plan, the dioskuroi will die. -I know... I know... -What do you want? The young man mind was filled with memories of his mother, resting under one of the few olive trees that still surround the acropolis. They are a symbol of peace and coexistence, and that is precisely why they have been slowly dying. There should be less than a hundred left, and in five years, less than fifty. His mother loves olive trees. -I want to win the war, Asterion. -Then I ask you to trust me and the archon. Memories. In a short time, he had already suffered several things with this phalanx. Niko trusts Asterion, but trust does not assure him that everything will turn out well. Killing an archon is the greatest sacrilege in Helena. -Fight with me. -What? -Fight me, show me how willing you are to fulfill this mission, you are asking me to fight against one of the five strongest men in all of Helena, Jason help may assure us victory, but not our lives... I don''t want to die, captain. Lita looked at the ground and slowly lowered her bow, Laconia sword remained unmovable, despite their different reactions, Niko words resonated in both of them. -Show me that you have the strength to beat someone hundreds of times stronger than you. -Okay. ¡­ The huge moon shone along with the firmament, each bright star in the sky was an eye, a hole in the savannah of the universe through which the gods watched over their creations, favors and blessings were sent through these eyes to those born with five fingers, Asterion did not receive any blessing, a man without stars over his head, destined to be abandoned by his teachers, his friends, his family and his gods. -Miss deer, could you create swords similar to mine with your blessing? Lita generated 2 thracian swords made of bone from her hand, meanwhile Laconia tried to convince Asterion. -You can''t beat him, find a way to stop this or order me to stop it please, Aster-. -There is no way to stop this, there is nothing else to do. -I can''t let you die, please find another solution. The polemarch just gave the beastiary a hug with all his strength. -I''m not going to die, my friend! Wish me luck. -¡­ Good luck, Asterion. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Niko handed the bone sword to Asterion. -I won''t use my blessing, just us and our weapons. You''ll win if you get me to surrender, knock me out, or kill me. Same for me. Tell me when you''re ready. Asterion looked closely at the sword. He didn''t know what to feel at the moment. Sadness for having to fight his friend? Hate because despite everything, his friend still doesn''t trust him? Or peace, because whatever happens, whether he lives or dies, the polemarch will end up winning, whether it''s an ally or an eternal rest. -I''m ready. Niko raised his right arm with the sword pointing at his friend and with his left fist placed at the end of his bicep. -Asterion, you told me that you promised your friend that you would continue being friends no matter what happens. I want to make the same oath. If you manage to defeat me, I will follow you to the ends of the earth. -¡­ You already told me that, kid. -Did I? -Yes¡­ No matter what happens, you will still be my friend Niko. -Likewise¡­ The first cut was from Niko, from a low stance he launched a horizontal slash straight towards the neck of the polemarch who covered himself with his sword, however due to the curvature of the sword the tip of the sword managed to slightly cut Asterion''s ear. -What happened to being friends? The polemarch between the clash of swords tried to connect a kick to the crotch of the thracian, but he simply stepped back. -Is that all your plan polemarch? -Yes. Another kick from Asterion, this time kicking all the dirt he could against Niko face, the crude trick was avoided by simply crouching, the swords of both clashed once again. -Why are you still fighting? I know it''s for your friend, but go that far? Give up Asterion, you''re fighting the impossible. -I know. Until now Niko was only using his right arm, but now a hook to the polemarch stomach followed by a headbutt put his leader on his back on the ground. -If you know then why? The thracian once again prepared to cut the polemarch neck, but the latter from the ground threw dirt into his opponent eyes once again, dodging the dirty attack once more, seeing this Asterion launched himself once more with his sword against Niko, the latter covering himself again with his own blade, the continuous clashes of both swords weakened them constantly, as soon as his sword broke Asterion would be lost, he had to end this fight quickly, another attempt to attack his friend crotch failed as he moved back, at which point the polemarch launched his sword against the thracian face, who simply blocked the shot with his sword, Asterion was unarmed. -You haven''t trained your hoplomachy(1) at all. Do you expect to depend on the strength of others all your life? -Yes... Upon hearing this Niko took both swords, a blade in each hand, preparing to deliver the final blow. -You are a brilliant polemarch, I''m sure your strategies would have taken us very far... But you''re asking me to betray our homeland and I don''t have the strength to face something like that... I see you don''t either. A miserable battle, a trained warrior facing a coward, the end of a sad life, taken at the hands of a friend, that thought filled the mind of the man born under no star, an everyday story that always ends up forgotten, after all, the failure of losers is never worth remembering¡­ -The strong always fall into the same traps, when facing someone much weaker, Niko. The thracian no longer listened, he stretched his arms out to the sides and prepared to cut off the polemarch head using both swords, finally he ran towards his friend who, in a suicidal move also ran towards his opponent. -Goodbye friend. An X-shaped cut using both thracian swords aimed at his friend''s neck was stopped by the bones in the polemarch arms, the bone sica swords had already splintered from so many impacts against each other, their poor edge broke against the polemarch arms who, taking advantage of his and the running thracian momentum, counterattacked with a hard headbutt that completely broke his friend nose, even fracturing his own skull due to the impact. Asterion arms were halfway severed, in addition to having multiple splinters buried in his flesh and due to the fracture in his head he was staggering from side to side, Niko on the other hand was knocked out with his face covered in blood, despite the polemarch wounds being much more serious, it was clear who had been the winner. -Ah¡­ How good¡­ It feels to win. If it had been just the two of them, Asterion would have undoubtedly died from the fracture in his head or bled out from the cuts on his arms, but Laconia immediately ran to heal his companions, Lita on her side sat next to the polemarch, to say a few words to him. -You are certainly worth what your words are worth, heleny, thank you. There was only half the night left and both warriors took their companions to the tent, only the tranquility of the night continued. ¡­ The tender sunlight filtered lightly through the tent, the heat of it was slowly awakening the young thracian, his memories were clouded, he only remembered Asterion last words and¡­ -Did I lose? -Indeed. The cynocephalus was sitting eating next to him, the others were still sleeping. -I was quite surprised, I had lost all hope, I was planning to kill you and ally myself with the half-hydra that travels with you. -¡­ It probably would have worked. -Anyway, I''m glad I didn''t need to do that, let''s start over, my name is Hippolyta, nice to meet you. -Wasn''t it Lita? -AH! The scream didn''t cause even the slightest reaction among the sleepers. -Please forget it. -Sure. They both ate together while waiting for everyone to wake up. -Your leader is a very strange guy. -Yes¡­ -If I were him, I would punish your betrayal with death. -I guess that would be reasonable. -Whatever happens, heleny, we are in this together, at least until my people are freed. -I will do my best. Asterion slowly opened his eyes, Laconia was sleeping next to him, her wounds were almost healed, Niko noticed her awakening. -I''m sorry, captain... From now on, I will follow you, to the ends of the earth. -It''s about time, don''t you think? You''re not doing too bad for a sixteen-year-old. -I''m already seventeen, captain. -Eh, but in the labyrinth, you told me before-? -Today is my birthday. -Ah... HAHAHA! Happy birthday, my friend. Hoplomaquia(1): Combat with weapons. 017: Convenience 017: Convenience Asterion compulsively scratched the thin scars on his arms, almost any wound that is not immediately mortal can be healed by Laconia blessing, but deep cuts always leave scars, the cuts caused by Niko will remain as memories of their brief confrontation. -I''ve never seen someone blessed by Hephaestus heal someone. Lita talked to Asterion while they were on their way to Helena. -I''ve only seen Laconia and one of the archons do something like that, normally the phalanxes always look for someone blessed by Amphitrite to heal wounds. -So, are we going to enter through the main door as if nothing happened? -That''s right, we''ll simply say that you are our slave. The polemarch pointed to the new gloves where the cynocephalus hid her fifth finger. -Just make sure they don''t break again. -Even so, I don''t have my ear pierced. -Can''t you pierce it with your blessing and then retrieve it? -¡­ You are a very annoying guy. Creating a claw in her hand, the cynocephalus pierced her left ear, a mark placed to recognize purchased slaves. -I have a question Lita, I see that with your blessing you can generate bones, hair and flesh, but what you used to destroy the automaton was none of this. -Is it relevant that you know my secrets for the mission? -Of course. -Mmh. From Lita''s hand emerged what seemed to be a tiny tree, full of leaves. -Can you also generate plants? -It''s a trick, I can only generate cypress wood, along with its leaves. -Eh, but the bones and claws you generate? -I just have to play a little with the texture and color, even if you break them, the old and dry wood is not so different from abandoned bones. -And the hair? -Thousands of small roots with a strong brown color, even if you touch it, it is difficult to notice the difference. -Then your ear¡­ -I can''t heal wounds, Artemis certainly gave me a rather useless favor, don''t you think? Lita, a free cynocephalus decided as if it were no big deal to place a permanent mark of slavery on herself in order to ensure the success of the mission. ¡­ The forest had been left behind, the eyes of the four travelers were filled with green fields that received with full plenitude the flavor of the sun and the caresses of the wind, in front of that image was Helena, an enormous city facing the sea, surrounded by gigantic walls almost twice as big as a cyclops, these walls were completely made of marble and also multiple towers and watchtowers were directed outwards and over the wall, on these there were ballistae loaded with bronze tips that allowed them to absorb some favor making them even more destructive, from outside only the wall and the acropolis could be seen, where the Parthenon was located. Asterion moved forward to embrace his companions. -They''ve been through a lot in just one week, today I''m giving you the day off, tomorrow let''s meet at the guild at dawn. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Niko saw the scars left by his attack. -What will you do, captain? -I''m going to meet with Jason, tomorrow we''ll put the plan into motion. Laconia took Asterion arm off her shoulder. -¡­ Be careful. They were about to reach the entrance, but Lita stopped her steps, it had only been a few days since she and her companions had escaped from the polis, a mixture of fear and disgust prevented her from continuing, the polemarch returned to help her. -Are you okay? -Yes¡­ They''re just bad memories, come on. At the entrance there were only a few hoplites, they all welcomed Laconia and opened the doors for the phalanx to enter the city, Lita was worried about her appearance, but the guards only looked at her ear to confirm that she was a slave from one someone in the group. Asterion entered the bar where they first met a week ago while the rest of the phalanx waited outside, the place was packed with various other groups, missions in and out of the labyrinth were filling up again as another month began and it was the perfect time to gain favor with some archon, the manager recognized the polemarch. -Asterion! You''re alive, I can''t believe it, the labyrinth is blocked. How did they get back? -We came back by another route. What do you mean by blocked? I understand that the mycenaeans blocked a path to Skiathos, but it should be free again by now. -Minotaurs attacked the city through the labyrinths, they found our routes from last month, we repelled them easily but¡­ -But? -It''s better if the archon explains it to you, you already know where to find him. Laconia entered the bar and stood next to Asterion. -Is something wrong? -No! There are no problems. I have here the rewards for your expedition to Skiathos, some hoplites informed us that the temple halfway there was razed a day before returning for the labyrinth change, then civilians returned to Helena. Three bags with enough tetradrachms to live a full year without working. -You already know where the archon of the polemarch of light is, I need you to inform him what happened in Skiathos. -Understood. Asterion took the bags and left the place, outside Niko and Lita were waiting for him, who were looking at the ocean in tranquility until they were interrupted by the polemarch. -Niko, thank you for your services. The polemarch handed him one of the bags. -See you in two days. -Huh?! This is too much for just one mission. What was that? -Silent ones eat twice, my friend. They both shook hands and then the young thracian left with a huge smile on his face. -Laconia, could you investigate what happened in the labyrinth? That the minotaurs attacked there is very strange, it is practically suicide. -You said that before, in Skiathos. -Then it can''t be a coincidence, something weird is going on here. Laconia took her bag, gave the polemarch one last look and left for the base of the acropolis; the place where they entered the labyrinth a week ago. -Heleny, can we go now? I''m tired of this place. -Come on. The heleny and the cynocephalus walked away from the guild, Asterion was looking for a specific temple, Jason should be in one of these playing petteia. What was said was done, the archon was quickly destroying player after player while talking to other phalanxes. -Archon. Asterion said it while kneeling before his presence, he grabbed Lita''s arm so she could follow his example. -Asterion! I knew you were fine; you never cease to amaze me how-. -Dioscuroi. -¡­ Gentlemen, it was a pleasure to play with you, unfortunately I have to ask you to leave the temple, there are military matters that I must discuss with my polemarch. The dozens of heleny who were resting and talking in the temple left without disturbing, the archon words were orders and they had no problem going to another nearby temple. As soon as everyone left, a curtain of light covered all the entrances to the building and Jason murmured very lightly. -Archon? Lita looked very nervous, she hid her hands out of pure instinct, but her expression changed when she saw the archon reaction. -HAHAHAHA What did I tell you Asterion? We just had to be a little patient, it was only eight years of waiting, but we finally have all the pieces. So, did you tell him the plan? Asterion scratched his eyebrows, he was slightly angry but also relieved. -Gather as many cynocephali as we can, make them flee through the labyrinth and when the dioscuroi and his phalanxes chase them, kill him in there. -She has to kill him, remember, losing all his phalanxes could be a hard blow. -But it''s not that easy, you know the level of reflexes of that archon. Both strategists continued talking, leaving Lita aside, who hit the polemarch arm hard. -Are you going to explain something to me, perhaps? -Ah, sorry this is-. -Jason, nice to meet you, you don''t know how long we''ve been waiting for someone like you. -Huh? The archon approached to observe her, but the woman hid behind the polemarch. -Young lady, you are the key to finally put an end to this war between the heleny and the mycenaeans, me and Asterion will tell you what to do and in exchange, we will free all your people. -Those are very big words for a guy like you. The hairs on Lita entire body were bristling, but the fear she felt against the archon was not enough to overshadow her rage against the heleny. -How do I know they won''t betray me? A claw pointed at the polemarch neck. -How can I trust you? Jason sword was placed on the neck of the cynocephalus, he could have cut off the doe head in less than a blink. -Because it suits both of us. Fear dominated Lita mind, but she could no longer back down. -Why? -... Let''s go to the Parthenon, we have a lot to talk about. The curtain of light fell apart, immediately Lita retracted her claws and without even realizing it Jason had already put away his sword, the triad walked slowly towards the acropolis, the cynocephalus despite having just threatened Asterion could not let go of his tunic, fear clouded her mind more and more, she could not think of anything other than that she made a bad decision. -Asterion... -You''re going to be fine; we''ve been planning for eight years now-. -Please, don''t betray me. -¡­ Alright. 018: Game 018: Game Lita constantly looked at the steps as she climbed behind Asterion and Jason, it''s not that she had vertigo or fear of heights, it''s just that she constantly heard footsteps and chains at her sides despite there being no one, all cynocephali know "once you receive the mark of the archon, you will never be truly free", up there was the creator of the seal of the two-headed horse, not only a cruel symbol used as a reminder of the slave position, but it was a mystical symbol, whoever had the symbol marked on their flesh would die instantly if the archon so desired or if they were impacted by any heleny favor, a fleeting and painless death and capable of being activated from anywhere in the world with a simple snap of the archon fingers, of course, such an ultimatum is rarely necessary, even if slaves run away they are rarely exterminated in this way, after all they are necessary labor for the cities and it is better to "teach" them that escaping is not an option, but still the fear of having a seal of assured death that can be detonated simply by any whim of a pigskin, makes anyone unable to sleep, this infamous seal was created up there, in the most sacred place of the heleny, the Parthenon. The gigantic temple seemed to have replaced heaven, its columns were even thicker than the walls that defended the city, it was built with two objectives besides being a house of worship for the archons, it was thought so that when the heleny gods came down to earth, they could have a place to rest and if Helena ever returned to the city that was born from her name, she could be proud of what the polis became. -Here we are. Lita stopped at the door, she was afraid to ask, but at this point she felt a little more confident. -What are we doing here? -Ah, I just wanted to play a game of petteia with Asterion while we discussed the plan. Asterion held his shoulder tightly, he was tired and annoyed, he didn''t feel like playing, but he didn''t have any other options either. -Does it have to be in the Parthenon? -Yes. At the back of the temple there was a small staircase that went into the interior of the plateau, there was a war council, a large room specifically made for secret conversations, only reserved for the archons for exclusively warlike reasons, but despite being the oldest citizen of Helena, Jason cared little about that rule. Once they went down the stairs the entrance was completely closed with marble and illuminated by dozens of torches on the walls, the archon and the polemarch sat down to play. -You''re very quiet Asterion. Are you nervous? -¡­ The truth is that yes, we waited quite a while for this and it seems that all the pieces are ready¡­ The plan is going perfectly and that means that soon something is going to fail. -Always so cautious, kid, my job is to cover any possible error. The board was set. -Has the polemarch told you the plan yet? -Gather as many of my companions as possible and have me lead an escape through the labyrinth, so that the number of escapees is so large that the archon has no choice but to chase them and then deal the final blow. -Well Asterion, I thought you didn''t like to tell your plans. Maybe since it''s something of ours you don''t care so much? -Shut up! You know very well how much this plan matters to me. They began to play, Asterion moved his first piece. -We couldn''t execute this plan without you Lita, no matter how big the number, slaves are not warriors, they wouldn''t survive in the labyrinth, we needed someone of yours strong enough, although we didn''t expect it to be a blessed. Asterion, as always, began to build his defense on the board, now it was Jason turn. -I will mobilize all the slaves who are in other cities towards Helena with the excuse that the minotaurs are destroying them through rebellions, there are already more slaves than heleny in the polis, imagine how many there will be once I call them all. Once the bait is gathered you will only have to escort them through the labyrinth, you will have your freedom and we will get rid of that guy. Lita looked at the board while the archon and the polemarch moved pieces over and over again. -I understand that ''Terion wants the position of archon, but why do you help him, what do you expect to gain from all this? Jason stopped playing for a moment, he seemed to need to think carefully about his answer. -So you didn''t tell him everything Asterion. -... I didn''t see it necessary. Doubts formed in the doe mind, she thought that the polemarch had deceived her with malicious motives, but if that were the case the archon would not have made that comment. -The first reason is honestly because, the cynocephali slaves give us more problems than solutions, keeping them healthy and in habitable places is very costly in terms of time, mainly because they are of little use to us in war, your species is so weak that they are not even useful as fodder for the minotaurs, they only help us as labor, but think about what I said before "there are already more slaves than heleny in the polis", we do not need so many of you. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Lita was obviously angry at the comments against her species, she would have exploded against the archon if it weren''t for the fact that the fear of man''s strength had her chained to the chair. -My first solution was to kill two thirds of its population, but that''s where the second reason comes in, if I did that our polemarch here told me that he would betray our country and that he would swear to kill me, I want Asterion to continue working for Helena, if I killed all those slaves I would lose my dear playmate. The doe was quite surprised to hear that statement, that a heleny would mention those words was already a reason for high treason. -Why? Asterion only focused on the game, he was losing and he didn''t want to talk about the past either. -My friend Asterion was very close to the slaves of the academy, several cynocephali and a minotaur who had a finger cut off, I suppose that if I were also born without any blessing I would become friends with similar beings. -Don''t you have any blessing? It was the first time Lita heard that the polemarch did not have a blessing and as flashes in her brain, she understood that when he faced her in the forest it was not that he had not used his favors out of pride, he literally could not use any. Asterion still did not pay attention to anything other than the board. -You... Why do you force him to go to war? -I did not force him to do anything, when he was sixteen he showed all of Helena what he was capable of, although very few attributed it to his skill, everyone believes that Theseus left the city by our pure brute force, but I know that was not the case, this child in front of me, managed to defend the city against a minotaur with the same strength as an archon. How could I not want him on my side? Asterion lost, once again the archon offense was superior. -Ahhhh, good game. The archon and the polemarch shook hands. -Just in time, too. Stay here, I have to go up and talk to my colleagues. Lita immediately got up from her chair. -What are you saying?! -They''re upstairs, make sure you hide your hands well. Jason stood up and slowly climbed the stairs, the marble wall that enclosed them opened and as soon as the archon came out it closed again. -He likes to surprise people, he''s much more sadistic than he seems. The doe leaned against the wall. -I hate to say it but, he seems trustworthy. -... Don''t do it. -Huh? -I recommend that you don''t trust any of the archons too much, they''re nothing like Theseus. -The hero of the minotaurs, are the archons stronger? -No, no, Theseus is just as strong as any of them, what makes them different is... Their honesty. The table top lit up brightly, the ram seal was on the back of the object, the light was constantly changing colors until it formed a kind of screen where the archon point of view seemed to be seen by an illusion of light. -What''s going on? -We see thanks to the light that reflect in our eyes; the archon is modifying it so that the light on the board is a copy of what he sees. -How much control do you have to have to do something like that without using a favor? -¡­ Well, he had two hundred years to practice his tricks, never stop being afraid of the man who captained the Argonauts. Jason walked to the center of the Parthenon, his steps echoed against the marble and he stopped in the center of the temple, being observed by the five statues of the heleny gods, although the god who blessed him was not here inside. After a while several soldiers began to enter, all were unarmed, only the archons are allowed to enter the temple armed, but this group did not need weapons, the polemarches of the five archons met in the name of their masters to decide where they would put their efforts, Jason welcomed them with open arms. - Welcome, Polemarches! It seems that once again I am the only one to start the council. - Nah, I am here today too. The image of light projected in the hidden room could not transmit sound, but the figure that Lita and Asterion were seeing was one known to all the slaves of the heleny, the archon dioskuroi, with short amber hair and brown eyes, his fine-featured face seemed to contrast slightly with his toned body, he wore a tunic held only by one of his shoulders, thus showing his body full of the perfect amount of muscles to be strong without being a mastodon, the nails of his hands emitted a small flash, throwing small sparks from time to time and in his right hand he carried the head of a mycenaean, he was unarmed because the archon chosen by Zeus carries the blood of Pollux, one of the legendary warriors who was part of the Argonauts and who was famous for hand-to-hand combat, however Silaus was better known for his ability to dominate the cynocephali; and even more incredible, the minotaurs. -I heard that they attacked us while I wasn''t here. Do you think they underestimated you because of your age, old man? I took care of these stragglers, they were gathering near the city, these beasts are never tire of dying. Under the temple Lita could only wait, in the meantime she had formed her bow using her blessing once again, she seemed to feel safer with her weapon in her hands, of course for any heleny it was a sacrilege to bring a weapon into the Parthenon without being an archon, but Asterion cared little about traditions, however he seemed to have a somewhat sad look, he did not take his eyes off the bull head that could be seen on the screen of light. -¡®Terion, if you tell me that I should not trust the archons, I will, but then tell me the real reason why Jason wants to kill his partner, the reasons he told me before sound¡­ Logical, but something is missing, if it were only for those reasons, a negotiation could be reached without the need for this whole plot, there is one last piece missing. -¡­ I can''t tell you, I''m sorry. Lita seemed disappointed of the heleny, for a moment she thought she could really trust him, Asterion noticed that reaction and couldn''t help but help his companion a little. -A few days ago a heleny city was massacred because slaves escaped and revealed the location of the island, no slave would escape considering that by the mark of the two-headed horse, they would die upon receiving any favor, no matter their power, so how and why did they escape? -Huh? -That''s all I can tell you. In the temple room the debate had begun, the polemarches of the five archons were talking in order to reach a consensus to respond to the attack of the mycenaeans. -We have to recover Skiathos immediately, send the phalanxes to recover that route! -The ¡°youngest archon¡± polemarches seem to be just as inexperienced, the attacks are not going to stop, a counterattack must be organized. -First we have to- The head of the mycenaean that was in Silaus hand was thrown into the center of the debate. -First we have to ask ourselves, why did Skiathos fall? I heard that you sent the starless one to the place, old man of light. Jason picked up the minotaur head. -Yes, and he recently informed me of everything that happened, a breakout of minotaur slaves occurred and they sent a message to their companions, resulting in the revelation of the island location and the subsequent attack. -And your phalanx was not able to repel the attack so they fled the scene? -The attacker was Theseus¡­ A silence filled the temple. -Skiathos had more slaves than heleny inhabiting the city, however when my polemarch arrived at the polis there was not a single one in the place. Why? -You know why, old man, as soon as they escaped my phalanxes took care of the rest, but with the attack on Helena they had to leave the island. -Then the archon in charge of defending our cities let hundreds of slaves escape, massacred the rest and then abandoned the city leaving it free to any attack. The air was filled with sparks. -And the post that was on the way to the island was destroyed by damned ants! But I don''t hear you blaming the boy, he''s been in the post for two years now, don''t keep forgiving his mistakes, I don''t hear you accepting the blame either, although my phalanxes left it was your phalanx that stayed alone to let Skiathos burn. -Get rid of your slaves Silao, maybe you can control the cynocephali, but the minotaurs are just time bombs. -We need the slaves, you''ve seen how effective it is to pit the minotaurs against their brothers and the cynocephali are the perfect pets, in the last attack we avoided the death of dozens of heleny thanks to the sacrifice of the animals, perhaps they are not useful to the light-footed to attack, but as a defense they are good decoys, we just need to shorten the leash more. -We will not get anywhere like this, polemarches, return with your archons to do your usual work and remember to take care of your backs. 019: Slaves 019: Slaves Five hundred and ten years after Helena The summer heat was perfect for resting on the grass of the academy, young Asterion was always sleeping under an old willow tree in the school yard, skipping all gymnastike and mousike classes; physical and mental training, both dedicated to mastering combat with weapons and with favors. Not that any of the teachers were bothered by it, practically all of Helena already knew about the child born without any blessing, so resting without disturbing anyone was the boy''s first priority. A repetitive sound interrupted the boy sleep, as if someone was eating hard bread that left hundreds of crumbs, Asterion slowly got up to look for the source of the noise, behind the huge willow a minotaur slave was eating some poorly baked cookies, they were probably thrown away because of his malformed shape and he picked them up, he had the mark of the two-headed horse on his forehead and both of his pinkies were missing. -Mmh! The bull with his mouth full of cookies was scared when he saw how the other child watched him eat, if they discovered a slave eating the heleny cookies they would punish him and when Asterion saw him there was no option but to try to convince the boy not to give him away. Asterion on his side only observed the small mountain of cookies. -¡­ The bull gave him one of the amorphous cookies, offering his resources, Asterion did not even hesitate to take one. Laziness and gluttony would be the perfect descriptions for the child during this time, he ate one cookie after another with the little bull until they were both full and lay down on the grass. -Come on, come on! Asterion immediately stood up upon hearing that sound and grabbed the bull by the arm. -Run! Small embers and sparks were thrown at Asterion and the bull, the strong abuse the weak, time, race or age do not matter, the boy ran with all his strength through the academy, but one of the projectiles hit his heel, he fell hard against the ground and could not get up quickly, seeing this the bull grabbed him and ran while carrying the boy, the bull was barely five years old, but he was already faster than the two heleny who were chasing them, he entered the library; the enormous room had ten huge bookshelves next to dozens of tables spread between each wall of scrolls, the group hid in the corner furthest from the entrance, hidden by a bookshelf to their right and tables in front. -Hee hee hee. Asterion tried to laugh without making noise; It wasn''t like there was anything to worry about, the place was empty at this hour, his companion was a bundle of nerves, he tried to shut the other boy mouth but without touching him, since any harm or struggle could lead to punishment. The pursuers entered the place and searched everywhere, they had not yet received any favors, but the basic control of their blessings was enough to be far stronger than a heleny without a star to bless him and a cut-off minotaur. -Your hands¡­ Asterion saw the bull hands, with his pinkies cut off, both of them were at the same level, both were scared, they were hiding behind tables and shelves, but as soon as they were found their only destiny would be to suffer a shower of embers and sparks. -Hey, do you trust me? The minotaur looked at him confused. -I have a plan. Asterion smiled as he thought about his strategy, but he was also shaking, both were afraid of being beaten and mistreated again for no reason, but if their options were to receive the beating quietly or try to do something, fighting was a better option. The pursuers were slowly searching under each table and behind each shelf, ironically it was their caution that gave Asterion more time to prepare to face them for the first time. -HERE IT IS! The minotaur was on one side of one of the giant bookshelves, one bully was running towards him while his companion who found him formed a fireball in his hand, the bull was terrified, he already had the mark of the two-headed horse and if one of the blessings of the heleny hit the mark, no matter how weak or powerful, he would die. When the running boy entered the range of the bookshelf and the other was moving to launch his attack, a single word was heard. -NOW! Asterion was on behind the bookshelf and had positioned himself on the opposite side of the bull, both of them pushed the piece of enormous furniture with all their strength, although it was the minotaur who did most of the work, the hundreds of scrolls quickly fell on top of the bullies and both immediately extinguished their blessings, but a few papers caught the fire and while they extinguished the flames, the wooden wall was falling on them, both of them crouched down and put their arms over their faces to receive the impact, but a miscalculation saved them from being crushed, the bookshelf collided with the one in front of it and like dominoes the other bookshelf hit the wall and the first of these was trapped against the other. -RUN! Asterion, seeing the failure of his plan, ran against the others to fight hand to hand against them while shouting to his partner to escape, he knew that only one badly thrown blessing was enough to kill his new friend. The pursuers punched and kicked Asterion over and over again, the boy didn''t have even half the strength the bullies had and when one of them was preparing a lightning bolt in his hand the minotaur charged at both of them, one with his head and the other with his arm, the impact threw them several feet away from Asterion, the young strategist was badly injured, but could still get up. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. -Your forehead. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter¡± That was the look in the minotaur face. The thrown children slowly got up, the next assault would soon come, sweat and fear filled the mind and body of the minotaur until he received a light blow on the forehead from Asterion. -I hope this works. They were both on a huge pile of scrolls and the child had stuck a thick paper on his forehead with saliva as a kind of shield, the nervousness and fear of the minotaur had vanished with that silly gesture, first because theoretically it should work, it should resist even a spark or an ember, but what calmed the mind of the bull the most, was the silly thought that it was the first time he was happy to have the saliva of a heleny on his forehead. The bullies pointed with their hands, they were in pain, but furious and would stop charging their attacks, if only one hit the minotaur forehead they would win and the kid without blessing was no threat, seeing how the hands of both lit up red and yellow, Asterion had to think as fast as he could. -Lift them up! Asterion had scrolls almost reaching his knees, he began to throw as many into the air as he could, the bull followed immediately, there were hundreds of papers in the air as they retreated and dozens of sparks and embers were launched at them like tiny arrows, most were intercepted by the walls of paper, but those that hit hurt like wasp stings. -Lower your head. The minotaur head was hiding behind Asterion body and when they reached the end of the bookshelf they hid once again, this time in the bookshelf that had prevented the one they had pushed from falling, the pursuers quickly ran to their left, the other bookshelf had also fallen and all its scrolls were scattered on the floor, but at the end of the sea of ??scrolls their prey could not be seen, the boy with sparks in his hands ran through the tunnel, hoping to find his prey at the end of the library, but when he was halfway down the road from the scrolls Asterion emerged, he had hidden himself among the papers and from there he just waited for one of them to run to find them, "They will not burn the scrolls for fear of being punished, I just have to ambush them" was what he thought while he covered himself with the scrolls, when he got up he immediately grabbed both of his opponent''s wrists to move his hands away and gave him a strong headbutt, trying to imitate the attack of his new friend. -NO! The boy with embers in his hands immediately ran to help his friend, his fist was engulfed in fire and Asterion couldn''t take a single more hit, but he wasn''t expecting any more. -NOW! The bookshelf above them that covered their entire vision was destroyed, the minotaur broke the wood right above the children and fell with all his weight on the boy in the embers, the boy lost his air from the impact and fell against the scrolls, extinguishing their flames immediately, they had been defeated. -We... We did it, hahahaha! -Hu... Huhuhu. Asterion and the minotaur laughed with the little energy they had left and finally relaxed their bodies, even though the boy under the minotaur was still conscious. - ¦²¦Õ¦Ô¦Ñ? - Hephaestus first favor, like a cruel joke from the god had just been granted to the boy under the minotaur, this miracle was a tower of fire born from the ground where the blessed one was, he no longer cared about the punishment for burning the scrolls, he only wanted to win, the bull could only look at Asterion, with a sad look in his eyes, if only he had more time he would have managed to cry for the foresight of his own death. Before the end the minotaur looking at Asterion, pointed at himself and said his first and last words. -Bran. Five hundred and twenty-four years after Helena (Present) Asterion was walking down the stairs of the Parthenon plateau while remembering his first friend, Lita was behind him and gave him small hits to make him speed up his pace. -Are we going down until tomorrow? -It wouldn''t be a bad idea. -I don''t even know where we''re going now, the other guy stayed up there. -We''re going to the entrance to look for Laconia, then we''ll rest, tomorrow I''ll meet you with the slaves who are going to escape and we''ll execute the plan. -Tomorrow? But you told Niko to rest for two days. -As much as he trusted me, we''ll fight against an archon, I don''t want to risk his life. Both reached the base of the plateau, the entrance still had a few bodies of heleny and minotaurs that the hoplites were removing, apparently the attack of the mycenaeans was of a force similar to the one that attacked Skiathos, but they did not even manage to reach the civilians, the ones who actually ended up massacred were the cynocephali that were forced to fight, the dioscuroi always occupy them as the first line of defense, today was no exception. -Asterion! Laconia approached the group while Lita covered her nose while looking at the ground, no normal person likes to see corpses, much less if it is of their species. -The attack force was fifty minotaurs, just like in Skiathos, however they were not accompanied by any Minoan hero like Theseus, this time I am sure, they were sent to die, for some reason the mycenaeans are sending some of their troops to their death, surely one of their tribes rebelled against their queen. -I understand. Asterion and Laconia noticed that many slaves around; in charge of cleaning the bodies and blood, many were looking at Lita, a deep color of despair was noticeable in their eyes, they thought that she had been captured, until they saw Asterion face. -Let''s help them, we are going to the usual place. A few hoplites watched that the slaves did their work, they had some carts where they loaded the bodies to take them to the graves, slaves and enemies did not deserve to be buried with dignity, Laconia quickly filled two carts and carried both with her hands, Asterion directed the course and with a gesture called all the slaves working at the entrance, Lita looked up to watch confused as the group followed the carts, the mass graves were outside Helena to the south, but for some reason the doe knew they were going somewhere else. -Where are we going? -There is one last thing I have to show you today. ¡­ The caravan left through the east gate, to their left the sun was on its way to setting in the sea and at the end of the plain were several ditches used to defend the city, traps that were easy to build and useful for burning bodies, the bottom was full of ashes. -Is this what you had to show me? -Miss, trust him. A cynocephalus slave with the symbol on his cheek and his canine face, took Lita shoulder, it seems that they thought she was a new and personal slave of the polemarch. There was a path to go down, it seemed quite used and Laconia carried the carts over the ashes, below there was a hidden tunnel. -What is all this? -It''s not a big deal, it''s just a cemetery that we built. -You? -Me and a few slaves, a catacomb for minotaurs and cynocephali to rest in. The catacomb was ridiculously large, whenever they built this, it must have been years of work. -Why? Laconia left the wagons in the middle and the cynocephali began digging the graves, not only for their brothers but also for the fallen minotaurs. -This plan, it''s been a project of several years. You know? You don''t know how hard I''ve worked and how happy I am to finally finish this story. ¡­ A sharp strike from the bull against the boy under his feet managed to knock him out, but the flames covered him completely, Asterion fell on his knees against the scrolls which were slowly burning, he lost his first friend just minutes after meeting him, that''s what he thought until he saw surprised how the minotaur grabbed his face and arms, he ran through his body totally confused that he was still alive, whether it was because of something in the scroll or by pure luck, it didn''t matter for the moment, Asterion ran to hug his friend, both immediately burst into tears. -You''re alive, Bran, you''re alive! The bull stood up and helped Asterion up. -You... -Me? -Name. A smile from ear to ear, probably the biggest he had ever created in his life, filled the face of the future polemarch, his first "victory." He only needed luck, something the boy had lacked all his life, and his first friend, something he needed all his life. 020: Plan 020: Plan Five hundred and eleven years after Helena The heat filtered through the entire library, Asterion had been working there for quite some time and was used to the high temperatures, on the other hand his partner was almost at the limit, the brown fur on his body accumulated more and more heat, luckily the place was empty at this time, so it was the perfect time to cool off, while Bran fanned himself with empty papyri Asterion brought a huge vessel full of water. -Here brother. Both of them soaked themselves completely while drinking all the water they could, once satisfied they both continued with their experiments. -¦Ë ¦Á ¦Ô ¦È ¦Ð. Asterion had written these letters on a small piece of paper, then set it on fire, the paper burned quickly. -Not this one either, write it down Bran. The minotaur clumsily wrote down the combination in a kind of handmade notebook. - ¦Ë ¦Á ¦Ô ¦È ¦Ñ. The scroll that had saved Bran life had not burned, instead all the words that were written on it had disappeared. Everyone knows that certain combinations in language are capable of modifying the effects of blessings, that''s what the catalyst rings do, inside they carry a combination of letters; a word capable of enhancing the strength of blessings and favors, these letters are also found on the shields of hoplites, but he had never heard of a combination so powerful as to resist a favor with a simple piece of paper. -This one neither, write it down. They had both been trying to find the combination for months, however their experiment had a crucial flaw, neither of them was able to use a blessing so they couldn''t know if that combination only works with blessings or the elements, however they cared little, they both enjoyed spending time together and Asterion was totally determined to find a way to remove the seal of the two-headed horse from the forehead of his only friend, he believed that one of these combinations of letters would be capable of something like that. ¡­ The hours and the sun had already spent most of their time, very few children went to the library, almost all preferred to train their bodies or their blessings, Asterion was not such a fan of the place either, but since the destruction it caused last year, he had no choice but to work for free to repair the damage. -Nothing again, sorry Bran, another day wasted. Bran looked into his friend eyes and gave a terrifying smile. He was not good with words or gestures, but Asterion still understood him perfectly. -Thank you, I''m also happy to spend time with you. The scroll that Asterion had in his hands was one describing one of the few words with power discovered, the so-called kat¨¢desmos(1), letters that when written or carved they reacted with blessings. The word on the scroll was ¦Á?¦Ã??, which causes shields to be able to absorb a certain force and amount of blessings regardless of the element. The word is written on all heleny shields and the scroll specified how much the word was able to resist before being erased from the shield due to overload. In theory, its effect should be the same as the scroll that saved Bran''s life, but that word only works when written on bronze shields. -¦¡?¦Ã??, Aegis¡­ There has to be a way. Time was up, they both finished their work and returned to their homes, for Asterion this home was any nearby temple, he had been abandoned by his parents at the age of five, it didn''t affect him that much, he wasn''t the first or the last orphan roaming the temples of Helena, he wasn''t even the youngest, the war against the minotaurs had separated thousands of families, it was also a much better home than what the slaves had. -Come on Bran, I''ll walk you to the entrance. The heleny and the minotaur walked to the walls of Helena, the youngest slaves lived on the foot of the gigantic walls and the oldest lived in crowded barns outside the walls, so in case of any attack they would be the first to receive the enemy. Bran and Asterion stopped at a huge wooden house where a bunch of cynocephali and minotaurs came in to rest, Asterion hugged his friend and they said goodbye, at first Bran was very afraid to hug his friend back, but by this point he always returned the gesture. ¡­ Birds woke Asterion, they rummaged through his long hair like crows looking for some gem, the morning welcomed him with all its splendor and the first thing he did was wash his face in one of the wells and then he went to look for his friend. The place where Bran slept was surrounded by dozens of hoplites, the door of the place was open and an old man could be seen with a pen and paper writing while several slaves stood in front of him and then left, Asterion approached one of the hoplites. -What are they doing? This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. -¡­ They will send everyone seven years old or older to Ithaca. Ithaca, the westernmost island of the heleny, there is only war in the west and the minotaurs are winning, they will send them as slave soldiers, they send them to die. -But they have their little fingers cut off, without blessings. What contribution can they make? -Don''t worry about those things kid, get out of here. Asterion tried to get around the guards, but they constantly cut him off, he tried to look for Bran, but he couldn''t see him anywhere, when he left the place to look for a house to climb to see if he could see his friend from above, a small stone fell on his sandal. -Who? Bran had thrown the stone at him, he was in a small alley, although he didn''t seem to be trying to hide, they had probably already searched him and he simply didn''t want to see the scene, but he couldn''t leave either knowing that his friend would go looking for him as always, the duo headed towards the academy. -Bran... The minotaur was extremely tense, he was squeezing his wrist tightly, Asterion gave him a small punch on the arm. -I''m not going to let you go friend, I promise. Present The cynocephali buried their companions in silence while a small group of them surrounded Asterion and Lita, they seemed curious about their relationship, the polemarch was known among Helena slaves for protecting them, technically the city slaves answer to any heleny and they can literally do whatever they want with them, however the nobles have priority when it comes to giving orders, the only ones above their authority are the phalanxes for being elite soldiers and the archons, this is why Jason has constantly fought against Silaus and his phalanxes to prevent cynocephali from being sent to lost battles, Asterion, of course, is part of the fight. -Polemarch Asterion, who is she? I''m sorry to ask, it''s just that, she seems different. -Lita, go ahead. The doe took off her gloves, revealing her five fingers to the old dog who couldn''t believe what his tired eyes were seeing. Quickly all the cynocephali of the place approached until only Laconia continued the work of burying the fallen. "Our life, our hope, our salvation." Such words echoed throughout the mausoleum, many cried with emotion. -Tomorrow at dusk the archon will gather all the phalanxes in Helena and the archon dioscuroi in the Parthenon, that is where your leader will take them through the labyrinth, in the center of the city, the route is already mapped and I want all those who are here, in the depths of the earth, burying their relatives and friends, to be free from this massacre, return to the polis and spread the word, you have one day to make your decision. After finishing the little speech Asterion took Lita shoulder and she, with her blessing, created dozens and dozens of pieces of dry wood in the shape of fangs, the cynocephali immediately took as many as they could. -Give them to all those who plan to escape tomorrow, go. The group left the catacombs back to the city, this group had to notify all the cynocephali of Helena. -They will barely have a day to notify everyone ''Terion, why did you give them so little time? -The longer we take preparing the plan with the slaves, the easier it will be for them to discover it, it is already getting dark and all of them will tell their relatives about the plan, then tomorrow everyone will talk about this at work and even if the hoplites find out, they will not be able to take action until they confirm their suspicions, by then it will be too late. Laconia finished burying the last of the dead and returned to the group. -What''s next polemarch? -Let''s go back to Helena, tomorrow we will have to prepare the second distraction. -Second, gathering everyone in their temple is not enough? -That will distract the higher-ups, but hoplites will continue to patrol the walls and the door of the labyrinth, for that Jason and I have another strategy. The group returned to the city, but something strange was happening at the gate, the cynocephali that had left were all grouped together trying to enter, but something was blocking their way. -Something is wrong. Suddenly they all separated to let a man through, Silaus was leaving the gate and had his gaze fixed on Asterion, both walked until they were face to face, although the archon stature was a head taller than the polemarch. -"No stars," I hadn''t seen you for a while. Asterion didn''t seem to even try to answer him, he looked at him in silence and looked for a way to get around him to get back into Helena. -Burying them in the trenches again? I''ll never understand it. -I know. A spark shot out of one of the archon''s fingers, it had completely burned a small piece of grass. -That slave behind you, isn''t just one enough for you? Laconia also had fire in her hands upon hearing those words. -My phalanxes informed me that they had never seen a cynocephalus with a deer face with her characteristics. Where did you get her? -She escaped from Skiathos with us. -And where is my mark? -I don''t know, ask the vassal who carved it, if he is still alive? Out of nowhere a lightning bolt struck Lita, the loud sound followed by screams of pain quickly surprised the phalanx, Asterion immediately turned to help his companion while Laconia wielded her broadsword. -I just wanted to make sure, tomorrow the polemarch war council will meet, don''t forget to attend, I will make an announcement that will finally make us recover the west. The mark of the two-headed horse had been embedded in Lita chest, the pain of the burned flesh made her writhe awkwardly in the grass, Asterion tried to calm her down clumsily so that her gloves wouldn''t fall off by accident, meanwhile the slaves surrounded the group, but they could do nothing but watch in silence. -Aren''t you tired of making my companions Silao suffer, or don''t you have anything better to do? -Well, since the incident with Theseus I don''t deny that I enjoy doing this with you, I need to vent my anger on you from time to time, it''s a shame they don''t let me release it directly against you. -I''ve told you a hundred times already, I don''t- Another lightning bolt struck, this time against Laconia who despite being prepared and on guard was not able to react in time, the lightning hit her in the abdomen and although it hurt like hell, she didn''t back down even a millimeter. -You didn''t save anyone "starless", Theseus escaped because of you and we''re still cleaning up your mess, just because the idiot of light thinks you''re good for something doesn''t mean anything to the rest. Asterion helped Lita get up and they walked back to the city in silence, the cynocephalus was furious and about to explode, but responsibility held back her emotions, Laconia followed behind them along with the rest of the cynocephalus. -Coward. Silaus went to watch the west gate, several scouts were seen in the distance, the mycenaeans would attack soon, before Asterion left he only managed to mutter one word. -Bran. ¡­ -Write it down Bran, it''s no use either. Both of them kept experimenting over and over again, hundreds of papers burned one after another, no matter how many letters and words Asterion wrote, they didn''t seem to be making any progress. -I''m sorry friend, I don''t think we''ll get anywhere, let''s find another way. Asterion filled a paper with the kat¨¢desmos used in shields; ¦Á?¦Ã??, he wrote the words as small as possible so that as many as he could fit on a single sheet, when he set it on fire it burned anyway. -Another way. This time he filled the sheet with his saliva and tried again with another sheet, this time with just one word, it burned anyway. -Again. Asterion was desperate, in a year they would take his only friend away and it was very unlikely that he would even return to the city, if he survives in the territory. This time he put a sheet of paper with the word on it on his body and burned it. Bran tried to stop him, but the boy immediately put his arm against the candle, burning himself and the paper. -Damn it... Again. Seeing his desperate friend, the little bull tried to do the same, he had no faith in the experiment, but at least he wanted to share the pain with his first friend. Bran didn''t know how to write, but copying the symbols was enough for him, then he stuck it on his arm and brought it closer to the candle without Asterion noticing, he was too focused on reading scrolls about how kat¨¢desmos work to notice, the flame wasn''t burning the minotaur, it took almost a cycle of a clepsydra to burn him along with the paper, he tried again, but this time he pulled his arm away before to observe the symbol. -BRAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING! Asterion got up to help his friend, he moved the candle away from his arm and checked his burn, but there was nothing, more than that the paper was intact and the symbol that was written on it was almost gone. -How, but it only works on shields, what was that? Bran smiled once more, showing each of his teeth to his friend as his shy laugh reverberated through the library. -You are¡­ You are a very stupid genius, Bran. A heleny and a minotaur being friends, only the gods know how many times something like this has happened, throughout history. Kat¨¢desmos(1): Blessing tablets. 021: Execution 021: Execution Five hundred and twelve years after Helena -Let''s do one more test, just to be sure, trust me. Bran nodded his head, his horns had finally started to really grow at seven years old, he constantly scratched the base of them. -Let''s review to make sure all the conditions are met. They had both studied for a whole year the functioning of the kat¨¢desmos, first understanding the already known rules "these words only have an effect on certain elements and with a very specific form: ¦¡?¦Ã??, a word capable of resisting elements until it is consumed due to its exposure, can only be applied to bronze shields, no matter the size of the letter or the position within the shield, although once the word is consumed, it cannot be applied again to the same shield until a day has passed." This was all the information that the heleny had of that kat¨¢desmo, but they lacked information, although everything that is written is correct, two of those rules do not apply in all cases, Bran is a minotaur born with five fingers and he can no longer control his blessing because of the fact that his little fingers were cut off, but he still is blessed by Athena, his body is still blessed by bronze and just by having the word written on his body or by some element that is stuck to his skin, the minotaur is able to receive the effects of this kat¨¢desmo, apparently for the gods he is also a shield. -I''m sorry if something goes wrong, let''s go. Asterion threw a blessed stone; stolen from some of his classes, straight at his friend''s face, the stone hit his forehead squarely and although the skin of the minotaurs is more resistant than that of the heleny, it should still hurt quite a bit to receive a stone like that on your forehead, at least Bran still remembers the pain of being stoned, however this time he felt absolutely nothing, as if the stone had never hit him. -Are you okay? Bran raised his arms, clearly, he didn''t feel anything, on his chest he had a paper with the kat¨¢desmo written on it, only one letter was very slightly faded, the effect worked perfectly. -Perfect, although you also have to wait a day to apply the effect again. They had already tried to fill his body with papers with the word, but only one of them works and then they have to wait a day for it to work again, anyway this was a totally revolutionary discovery, if the mycenaeans discovered that they would become living shields, as if they were not already strong enough. -How lucky that it was Athena and not another of your gods who blessed you, remember to keep it a secret. Bran began to write dozens of papers with the word, only he could make the kat¨¢desmo work, because the other rule unknown to the heleny was that only a blessed person can make them work, a living being without any blessing like Asterion, no matter how much he follows any of the other rules will not be able to make the word work simply by writing it himself. -Let''s execute the plan. Asterion lifted a vase of water that the librarian had given him. This was water created by her thanks to her goddess Amphitrite. It had been created recently, so the effects of the blessing still remained. They confirmed this by dipping a piece of paper into the jar. The papyrus did not get wet until the word written on it vanished. -Good. Asterion took a deep breath and looked Bran in the eyes. -Do you trust me? Bran nodded, the blessed ones that the slave minotaurs fear the most are not those who control lightning, stone or fire, but those who handle the wind thanks to Aura and water thanks to Amphitrite, this because they are elements with which they can easily die accidentally, it is enough for a single drop of blessed water or a blessed breeze caused by pure chance to hit the seal of the two-headed horse and the slave would fall dead, the blessed water that was in Asterion hands was a deadly weapon, but in theory if the kat¨¢desmos can directly affect a minotaur blessed by the bronze of Athena, could it absorb the seal? -I''m sure it will work, my friend, just close your eyes. The minotaur was full of papers with the kat¨¢desmo written all over them, both already knew that the effect only works once a day, but still, just in case, they prepared dozens. -I love you, my friend. Asterion threw him the full jug of water and the seal lit up instantly to fulfill its objective, the seal fired an electric spear into the body of the marked one, for this reason they were placed on the head or chest of the slaves, to pierce some vital organ, the electric spear was fired, Asterion had his hand on his friend shoulder, if the electricity passed through his body the boy would feel it and would know immediately that his friend had died, but that impulse never came, Bran slowly opened his eyes and his friend brought another wider bowl??, this time of natural water so that the minotaur could see his reflection, the seal of the two-headed horse had disappeared.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. -You are, you are free Bran. Both friends hugged each other in tears, the seal of assured death, the macabre invention of the slaver archon, had been defeated. -Take this to your friends and¡­ The seal slowly reappeared, the curse placed by the archon emerged once more, Asterion was devastated, Bran on the other hand had no idea what was happening and tried to cheer up his friend. I¡­ I''m sorry Bran, let''s try one more time. Present -Wake up. Asterion house was completely neglected as usual, there were papers everywhere with maps of the labyrinth, missions for the polemarches and orders from the military, Laconia was already awake, she was simply sitting against the wall waiting, the polemarch as always slept among the tower of papers, slowly opening his eyes. -What''s happening? -Lita is not there. -She probably went to gather the people under the city. -The ones you said were in the drains? -Yes, it will be a massive escape, Helena will finally be left without slaves. Aren''t you happy? -There is still you and me. -Yes¡­ What would you like to do once we finish this? -Do you really think we''ll have an after? -¡­ Whether we succeed or not, we''ll be finished, maybe even the entire city will fall. -Didn''t you tell me that¡¯s what they deserved when we met? -Yes¡­ We''ll have to apologize to Niko. Sorry for dragging you into this stupid revenge, Laconia. -Don''t apologize, it''s been a pleasure to be at your service, polemarch. In one of the corners of Asterion room there was a small trapdoor that when opened was filled to the brim with papers, the polemarch dug until he found a tiny bronze shield at the bottom, it was barely the size of a plate, it almost looked like a child''s toy. -A small gift, I forged it and this kat¨¢desmo was made by an old friend. The shield seemed to be made by a complete amateur, it was deformed like a badly made cookie, the word was carved quickly. Laconia accepted the gift anyway. -Hehe. The half-hydra thought it was nice, a last gesture before the end, which his companion managed to reflect moments before the end. -Let''s go. ... Night came faster than usual, hoplites watched the walls, several scouts had been seen roaming Helena, everyone thought they would attack soon, Asterion and Jason knew it one hundred percent because they were the ones who instigated this attack, it was only enough to free a single minotaur slave in Helena and give him information about a weak point in the city that he would later share with his companions, obviously it was a lie, but the slaves have few options if they are threatened by the mark of the two-headed horse. Asterion and Laconia walked towards the Parthenon along with all the phalanxes and the polemarches that were right now in Helena. -So many years waiting for this day. Asterion had a terrible smile from ear to ear, he wore his ram mask and a black wool tunic with white decorations, over this he wore a simple bronze breastplate, as well as a short sword, Laconia wore a Corinthian helmet along with a full hoplite uniform, modified to be able to open her wings. Upon reaching the top they found dozens of polemarches, escorted by their most trusted bestiaries or caestus, the Parthenon was full of the highest caliber warriors in all of Helena and two of the legendary archons made their appearance, both stood in the middle of the temple while everyone surrounded the heroes. -Welcome, phalanxes, I thank each and every one of you gathered here, your efforts to map the labyrinth, retake our cities and fight the minotaurs have not been in vain, you are our hope. Jason little speech seemed to excite everyone except Asterion, Laconia and Silaus, the latter who was waiting sitting on the ground, impatient for his turn to speak. -We have gathered here to discuss the future of the war against the mycenaeans, just a week ago their greatest hero, the minoan Theseus besieged the city of Skiathos and destroyed all their forces, a few days later he began to attack our caravans one after another in an attempt to isolate us, the archon Silaus repelled his forces for the moment, but we need a decisive blow. Silaus stood up. -Since these cows conquered Ithaca, we have only lost territory after territory, this war of attrition is finally affecting us, we can no longer keep ourselves locked up, the other archons are at their limit and it is time for all of us to go on the offensive, starting tomorrow only the archon of light will stay to defend our beloved Helena, I the dioskuroi will join the other archons to the west to eliminate our enemies. Will you go with me, my phalanxes? At the same time that the hundreds of warriors shouted in encouragement and desire to go to fight, two hoplites came running and shouting at the top of their voices. -THEY ARE ATTACKING US! -THEY ARE ESCAPING! The phalanxes, their polemarches and the archon quickly looked at the soldiers, Jason as always calm gave them all orders immediately. -Phalanxes move to the walls immediately, inform of the situation, soldier, who is escaping? The vast majority of the phalanxes quickly moved to the walls, no minotaurs were seen from the Parthenon so it was a night attack without a siege, they were probably looking to weaken the doors for a larger attack, anyway Jason and Silaus attention was focused on the other information. -The cynocephali are entering the labyrinth, two warriors covered from head to toe eliminated the few guards at the entrance with a strange bow and a thracian sword, right now thousands of slaves are escaping, they took advantage of the attack. -Two warriors? Asterion was worried while Jason ordered his companion. -I will stay to defend Helena, Silaus go- -You don''t have to tell me, Ipsilon. A group of four warriors that formed an incomplete phalanx approached Silaus. -Yes, archon! -Come with me to the labyrinth, let''s go. Silaus and his higher-level warriors immediately ran to the labyrinth, as soon as they disappeared Asterion looked at Jason. -That other warrior, I told you to keep him out of this. -He already knows our plan Asterion, I gave him a goal, we are going to fulfill ours. -... Let''s go. The walls were filled with lights, hundreds of blessings colliding with each other that illuminated in the middle of the night, a thousand minotaurs fought on the edge of the walls against the heleny, all were marked, they were former freed slaves, all gathered by Jason, only to die for his plan, Asterion watched the lights in silence as they slowly descended from the Parthenon. -I''m sorry. -Laconia put her hand on the polemarch shoulder. -Don''t hesitate, if you falter you will fail them all. -I know. Asterion touched the discreet scar on his left middle finger again and again, an old wound that went from his first phalanx and past the knuckle, the polemarch only made that gesture when he was truly nervous, luckily he still had plenty of time to recover. At the beginning of the stairs to the acropolis was the entrance to the labyrinth, there were several knocked out heleny, Asterion smiled when he saw that Lita had not killed them, the ambush was just a few minutes away from being executed, Jason was the first to run. -He was already tired of waiting. Asterion had his gaze fixed on the archon back. -Yes, nine years waiting, all for this moment. Caestus: The hands of the phalanxes, in charge of both attacking and defending, they fight with battle gloves or large bronze shields, their mission in the labyrinths is to keep their companions alive and distract or eliminate the most powerful enemies, they are usually blessed by Zeus or Hercules. 022: Defect 022: Defect Five hundred and thirteen years after Helena -I can''t delay it any longer Asterion, they''ll take the minotaur in a week, but don''t worry, we''ll get another one. Asterion had managed to delay his companion call to the west for a year, he had done it by explaining to the director that he needed a minotaur to experiment with the katadesmos and that Bran was perfect to fulfill that role, but time had already run out, they would take his companion if he didn''t do something. -But, but there has to be another way. The boy knew what that other way was, he had not yet revealed to anyone his discovery with the word ¡°a?¦Ã??¡± because until now the minotaurs had not discovered that power, but if they did it could result in a catastrophe, the heleny have been using katadesmos for less than fifteen years and it had given them a crucial advantage in these times, the fact that minotaurs can use this weapon even better than the heleny is a recipe for disaster, but Asterion did not want to reveal that information because it would be a sure death sentence for his companion. -You heard me kid, I understand that you want him for being an abandoned like you, but we are at war and the west needs more soldiers, be thankful that you are not one of them, starless. The director tried to get the boy out of his office, in just two years almost all the young men who trained and studied at the academy would become soldiers; most of them hoplites, some blacksmiths or engineers, but all armed, in Helena everyone is trained for war. Still, the slaves are property of the city and they are the ones who harvest the land outside the wall, who clean the drains, sewers and who bury the corpses because of that there are only two positions who are allowed to order them over any other civilian or soldier: The highest authority the archons and their servants the phalanxes. -Give me a year. -That''s enough Asterion, even if I wanted to, I can''t do that order anymore, the phalanxes asked for more troops for the west. -I''ll take the polemarch test, if I become part of a phalanx I could make that decision, right? -Asterion what you say is impossible, I know you''re desperate but you don''t have to throw away your life like that. -The polemarches test only requires mapping a path to an exit from the labyrinth, I can do it and what do you lose? If I die you will all be better off, you will no longer have to be afraid that you will lose your blessing. -If it were that simple all my students would be polemarches, get out of here. To no one surprise, Asterion was thrown out of the place. The boy went all over the city, looking for some member of a phalanx who would give the order for his friend to stay in Helena. He walked through the huge city without rest, It wasn''t until dusk was visible on the horizon that he decided to ask the last person who crossed his mind for help. Asterion walked through the main market. It was just beginning to get dark, but the place was still relatively full of vendors and customers. Of all places, the boy slowly approached an old blacksmith shop where a tall, burly man, with his black hair full of ash that was camouflaged among his gray hair, the blacksmith was lightly hammering a knife from his forge, he didn''t even notice the boy in front of him. -Father, I need your help. The man didn''t even look at the boy, he kept hammering. -Get out of here Asterion. I''m not your father anymore. -I promise this will be the first and last time, you are a caestus, please. The blacksmith threw the hammer at him, the blow hit the boy in the knee and the pain threw him to the ground, he writhed on the floor while his father went to pick up his tool. -Get out of my life, defect of nature. Asterion grabbed his father leg. -In exchange¡­ Tell them not to take the minotaur from the library to war¡­ I swear I will never appear in your life again. The man kicked his son down the street, but he still did not let go of his leg. -One-year Asterion, I will extend his life for one year, then if you appear in front of my store again, this time I will point the hammer at your head. Did you hear me? -Understood. Asterion crawled as far as he could, he did not have the strength to reach any temple, he lay down in the mud with a smile, but he was also scared, he could not extend his friend life forever, he had to prepare to do the impossible, the labyrinth is the cradle of hundreds of beasts and the only route to hundreds of places, next year he would have to face the abyss and he could not do it alone, nor accompanied by a minotaur with four fingers. -Hehe, I can''t think of anything, not a single plan.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The stars barely illuminated the child covered in blood and mud, in the night of mediocrity he cried alone in silence, overwhelmed by the burden that had been placed on his scrawny shoulders, he slept as he had never slept before. Present -Commander! Look at this. Hundreds of minotaurs were dead on the wall, they didn''t even manage to destroy the doors, they were slaughtered with extreme ease which disturbed the phalanxes quite a bit, the polemarches were sure that this was a trap, but they couldn''t see what the target was. -This minotaur came out of nowhere; it has a different seal than the dioskuroi. -What are you saying? The minotaur had a circular seal on its chest, but this one was totally different from Silaus, it was a one-horned goat. -Can different seals be made? -I don''t know soldier, I''ve never seen anything like this, the seal of slavery is only possible thanks to the fifth favor of the dioskuroi, it shouldn''t be able to be replicated. -What''s going on here? -ATTACK! A new horde of minotaurs was approaching the wall and the soldiers had no time to study the seal, nor were they going to get anywhere, only Asterion and Jason knew the meaning of that terrible symbol. ¡­ Asterion, Laconia and Jason walked through the cavern that a month ago was a complex structure full of petroglyphs and paintings on the walls, now it was just a hole in the ground, the group found corpses of myrmekes and cynocephali along the way, not all of them had managed to survive. -You said that your other phalanxes would clean the labyrinth, Jason. -And that''s what they did, never before had so many ants appeared in the labyrinth, something is making them emerge to the surface. -¡­ Let''s continue. The group arrived at the old checkpoint that was destroyed by the myrmekes on the way to Skiathos, Silaus was in the ruins of the temple destroyed by Asterion looking for clues, he had lost track of them. -Jason, what are you doing here? -The minotaurs were repelled very easily, I decided to come and give you a hand. -It''s not necessary, especially if you bring your pet. He said this while looking at the polemarch. -They disappeared, I don''t understand how, there are traces that they crossed three different routes, but it''s impossible to know which one they actually went through, it''s as if they had vanished, you know, like when you use your blessing. Silao main phalanx stood up with their weapons in hand. -There''s something strange here Jason, answer me, what are you doing here? -You always follow your intuition, partner, you already know the answer. -How did you find out? -Traitors don''t deserve explanations. - ¦°¦Á¦Ó?¦Ñ¦Á? - - ¦³¦Æ¦É¦Ó¦Æ?¦Ê¦É - Fifty electric spheres the size of a head were born from Silaus ring, these seemed to have a consciousness of their own and launched themselves directly at Jason who from his fleece sent dozens of cicadas shooting at the spheres. The lights and rays illuminated the room in a brutal spectacle. Both archons seemed to be equal in strength with their blessings. -ASTERION! A flaming arrow was heading towards Asterion, Laconia managed to deflect the arrow with his sword, the polemarch of Silaus had fired the arrow and his four companions were on their way to continue the attack although they were slowed down by Jason, his cicadas of light destroyed everything they crossed so they walked carefully to Jason phalanx. -NOW! A rain of arrows fell on Silaus and his men, from the ruins of the temple came hundreds of cynocephali who decided to stay to take revenge with their own hands, however the enemy bestiary, a corpulent man like a bear, full of scars and with a brown beard raised his enormous hammer almost the same size and hit the ground with all his strength, his ring surrounded by small stones lit up and a rock ceiling was born from his hammer, protecting his entire squad, he had not even needed to use a favor to protect himself from that attack, but Asterion knew perfectly well the capabilities of Helena strongest soldiers and his goal was not to eliminate them with that attack. -SAGITTARIUS! Lita was freed from the blessing of invisibility granted by Jason, the cynocephalus had in her hands a totally disproportionate bow, almost twice the size of the archer and tensing it would have been impossible if it were not for her blessing, a cypress arrow that looked more like a harpoon designed to hunt whales was launched at Silao, the archon reacted at the last second and the arrow only managed to make a small cut on his leg, but it did not matter, because the favor placed in the arrow was the real present. - ¦¢?¦Ë¦Ï? - The arrow exploded in a shower of bone-like splinters that pierced much of the archon body, dozens of spears buried themselves in his flesh, but none were able to cause him any substantial damage. -IF THAT''S WHAT YOU WANT JASON, GO FOR IT! Every heleny born with five fingers receives a blessing from a god and in childhood they receive their first favor, a power that borders on the strength of a divinity, from there each favor must be earned by pleasing their god, to be a hoplite you must first earn your second favor, phalanxes are usually composed of warriors with their third favor and only more experienced warriors obtain the fourth favor, the fifth favor is only reserved for beings with heroic strength, capable of changing history and contrary to the other favors, the fifth is completely unique, there is no other blessed with a fifth favor equal to another, this is why they are capable of performing impossible feats. - ¦µ¦Å¦Ô¦Ã¦Á¦Ë?¦Ï? - Jason remembered the first and last time he had seen that macabre favor designed specifically by Silaus, from his ring hundreds of sparks ran through every corner of the labyrinth and hit the seal of the two-headed horse, however his seal did not activate instant death, instead the electricity in the bodies of all those marked went to their nerves and what was thought impossible was realized. The cynocephali that attacked Silaus phalanx lost control of their bodies, their nerves controlled by the dioskuroi directed them to attack those who had freed them, pointing their bows at Asterion and Jason. -In a few minutes, every marked one not only in the labyrinth, but also in Helena will enter these ruins to kill you Jason, I had planned to do this a long time ago, thank you for planning this for me. The favor consumed the mark, since they would die after a day because their bodies would not withstand the continuous passage of that electricity, so Silao needed to accumulate as much as he could to generate his personal suicide army against each and every one of the archons. The cynocephali tensed their bows against their will, including Lita who aimed directly at Jason polemarch, but Asterion laughed lightly. -What do you think is so funny starless? The question was asked by the polemarch of Silao, a woman with red hair and a cloudy eye. -Your powerful seal, the fifth favor granted by your god has a defect Silao! The illusion of light was broken revealing Niko who stopped the electricity passing through Lita body, he carried a small bronze shield with which he covered the cynocephali chest to prevent her from being affected by Jason attack. - ¦ª¦Á¦È¦Ñ?¦Ð¦Ó¦Ç? - A beam of light emerged from the fleece towards all those marked, Jason fifth favor was also able to break the rules of favors as it was able to copy any favor it had seen up close. Quickly the nearby cynocephali were marked once again, this time with the symbol of a one-horned ram and regained control of their bodies, however the power of the copied favor was always only half as powerful as the original. -Fifty percent of those marked are now free, although I focused on securing everyone here, so Silao, how much time do we have now? Silao hit one of the spheres of his first favor against Jason with his bare hands, the sphere of electricity was cut in half by the demigod''s saber. The beam of light that marked the cynocephali was stopped by Niko small shield and his katadesmos vanished, meanwhile Asterion and Laconia joined them. -Captain, I am at your service. -We have to defeat him now ''Terion, my companions must be holding back those who were not marked by Jason so they will not be able to leave the labyrinth. -Polemarch, give us your orders. Silaus phalanx stood in the middle, it was composed of a polemarch with a bow blessed by Hephaestus, a bestiary with a colossal hammer blessed by Hercules, a caestus with a charging shield blessed by Zeus, a thracian with twin short swords blessed by Aura and a sagittarius with a large cyclops killer bow blessed by Amphitrite. A complete phalanx of five against an incomplete one without a member and with a polemarch without a blessing, Asterion still had his mocking smile. -I have a plan. ¡­ Through the corridors of the labyrinth, a tumult of cynocephali tied their loved ones so they wouldn''t walk back to the destroyed temple and in front of them some strong footsteps were heard, they were too few to be myrmekes and not strong enough to be cyclops, even so they resonated through the cavern like a terrible omen, however the cynocephali relaxed when they saw in the distance two white horns with a copper bracelet on each one. Sagittarius: The weapon of the phalanxes, in battles their task is the simplest and the most difficult of the group, to eliminate their enemies, they fight with colossal bows and light swords, they are usually blessed by Hephaestus and Amphitrite. 023: Enemies 023: Enemies Five hundred and fourteen years after Helena To become a polemarch you must map a route from one entrance to the labyrinth to another, the labyrinth resets every month, changing its structure, its fauna and its order, nobody knows how and why, the only thing that is known about it is that it is possible to get trapped in the tunnels, since corpses of explorers who waited for the beginning of a new month inside the place have been found and their corpses were found months later with several of their belongings, they survived a while in there. -Compass, paper and ink, I don''t have enough for anything else. Asterion would enter the labyrinth alone, a novice polemarch can survive in the place avoiding all dangers with his blessing and fight alone in the worst case, but the young man did not have that privilege, entering was sure suicide because he would need unimaginable amounts of luck and that was the least, he had in his life. -For you, my friend. The boy entered the labyrinth with a sack with provisions to last a day, a torch of Hephaestus that would not be extinguished by anything other than another blessing and his cartography materials, he walked close to the wall as he descended some worn stone steps, this entrance was far from Helena to the south and was the most used by rookies like him, but few survived, only twenty percent of the soldiers who try to pass this test succeed, most of them flee defeated and the rest die within the jaws of the earth. -North, any route to the north. The entrance to the labyrinth was to the south and the further away from Helena the more likely it was to encounter dangerous beasts so Asterion was taking a chance on finding a route that would hopefully take him close to the polis. An hour had passed inside the earth, his chances of survival were considerably reduced as time went by, but luckily there were no signs of any living being and before he realized it he had found a way out. -Huh, so easy? It took him a while to realize that he had walked in circles, the twisted routes of that deep place had deceived him, his poor drawings were so poorly done that not even when he was writing down each step he took he realized that he made a mistake. -Again. He entered the dungeon again, this time more confident as he had not encountered any other beasts and as he walked this time he thought of a way to avoid walking on paths he had already crossed, he couldn''t waste ink or paper on signs and he didn''t have many things on him either, except his own clothes, he had a long wool coat that some vagabonds from the temple had given to the boy so he wouldn''t be so cold, Asterion slowly unraveled the coat and with the fine thread he left a trace of wool that covered all the sides where he walked, he continued with this method until after five hours he finally heard sounds of another living being. -Minoan? The language of the minotaurs that Asterion knew thanks to Bran was several steps ahead, from what they said the boy understood that they were fighting and as he stealthily approached the noises he saw with his own eyes the carnage, dozens of dead minotaurs facing a nest of ants, the warriors looked young and inexperienced like Asterion, it seemed that they were given a task greater than their capabilities and now they suffered the consequences of their superiors, the future polemarch silently observed the battle and when he was about to look away one of the minotaurs died at the hands of the myrmekes, the man could not help but follow his nature. -[HERE!] He shouted with all his might to the three warriors left from a group of fifteen while waving his torch from left to right like a beacon, the first thing the minotaurs thought was that more heleny were coming to kill both groups, but the man kept shouting for them to come towards him with a horrible accent, the minotaurs ran. -[FOLLOW ME!] The bulls threw their weapons at the ants and ran with all their might, Asterion ahead of them guided them with his torch along the wool path he had built, the minotaurs followed him without even having time to process why a heleny was speaking to them in their language and why was he helping them? After running through several corridors, Asterion legs gave way. He was in fairly poor physical condition and threw himself to the ground to rest. One of the minotaurs immediately put his sword to his neck. -[Why are you helping us?] Another of the minotaurs grabbed his arm and made him withdraw his sword. -[More importantly, do you know a way out?] Asterion was thinking about whether to lie and use this group to find another way out or go back along the path already taken while he observed the thread inside the labyrinth... In his mind he asked his friend for forgiveness, but he no longer felt like continuing to take advantage of the minotaurs strength. -[Find another way out, follow thread and you reach entrance.] Two of the minotaurs immediately followed the route, but the one who asked the question stayed with him. -[Why are you helping us?] -[¡­ Save friend.] -[So you too. I know another way out, follow me.] Asterion and the young minotaur walked for several hours, the other bulls did not even say goodbye to their companion, both explorers walked through the darkness, from time to time a solitary ant appeared, but the minotaur had enormous strength, he waved his enormous sword as if it were a club, destroying the exoskeletons like they were branches.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! -[We arrived.] The exit led to the wide valleys to the east, the area was deforested by the passage of war and the land was a wasteland with very little vegetation, this route had recently been born by the labyrinth. -[What happened?] -[We minotaurs do not like stupid questions, heleny. War.] -[Sorry¡­ Thank you.] -[Thank you for saving us in there, I would never have expected it from one of your race. Do you know how to get back?] -[Yes¡­ I am Asterion.] -[Nice to meet you Asterion, unfortunately I was exiled from Mycenae so I no longer have a name to give you.] Minotaurs who lose their battles are exiled, stripped of all belongings, castrated to prevent their offspring and stripped of their name so they are not remembered. -[Friend, minotaur, he gave himself name.] -[Is your friend a minotaur?] -[Yes.] -[Haha I can''t believe it, I just met the only heleny to be friends with a minotaur. It must have been a big deal Asterion, an exiled minotaur only gives himself a name again when he wants to be remembered, that rarely happens.] Asterion smiled. -[What are doing?] -[I''m looking for the Minoan, a legendary warrior who accepts warriors from all tribes, even exiles. His power is such that even the Mycenaeans have had no choice but to accept exiles again thanks to him. I want to return home.] -[You need name.] -[¡­ Yes, I know. See you later Asterion, I wish you a safe journey home.] -[Next time, tell me name.] Asterion walked back to Helena, it took him two days to get back and at no time he noticed that he was being followed, but not for a malicious reason, the nameless minotaur watched the young man to make sure he returned safely, as a gesture of gratitude towards the new friend he had made, the now future polemarch was happy to have finally gained the power to save his friend. Present The colossal arrows of the sagittarius of both phalanxes deviated when they collided against each other, both archers had the same objective, the enemy polemarch. -Lita, how many arrows did you give your people? -Ten to each one. -They will run out in more or less three cycles. Laconia presses her bestiary and caestus, Lita stops the arrows of the sagittarius and Niko follows me. Laconia immediately launched herself against the polemarch to attract the attention of the rest, the arrows were intercepted one after another by the cynocephalus and the enemy knew that Laconia was the strongest of their phalanx so they could not face her one on one and the red-haired polemarch sent the thracian to take care of the cynocephalus archers without blessing, effectively only the bestiary and caestus received the impact of the semi-hydra sword. -The legendary Laconia, it is an honor. The caestus had barely resisted the blow and as she said those words the bestiary already had its hammer raised to crush her; it was a simple jump back that was necessary to avoid the blow. The caestus was a woman with a little less height than Laconia, her body was a diamond, extremely hard and full of muscles and while the tall man behind him was a mass of brute force she was of a toned body. -It is a shame that we have to fight. The ramming shield had a point as if it were a stinger at the upper and lower end, the caestus launched a lightning bolt from this weapon against Laconia, but this time she was able to react, protecting herself with her greatsword. -Consider this a revenge for all those battles lost in the coliseum. -¡­ Whatever you say. Asterion and Niko ran alongside the cynocephali archers, all of them shooting at the enemy thracian who deflected every arrow with the blessing of wind granted by Aura, cutting down a few soldiers until he came across Niko electrified sword. -You''re going to die here, boy. Niko didn''t answer, he was just a novice in fighting other heleny and he was totally focused on avoiding being cut by the thracian twin swords. The hooded warrior kicked the boy stomach who crashed into Asterion and while he was preparing the coup de grace, the cynocephali approached with wooden spears to impale him, but they were easily dodged. -Niko, concentrate, you and I are the winning piece. -Captain... While they fought, the red-haired polemarch ran towards Lita, eliminating the enemy sagittarius and polemarch was the easiest way to collapse a phalanx and Asterion was not a priority for either of them. The blessings of Jason and Silaus seemed to never end and the archon of light seemed worried, out of the corner of his eye he watched as the polemarch slowly approached the Lita. -Is this really your most powerful phalanx, Jason? -No, but I don''t need them to beat you. Silaus jumped into hand-to-hand combat against the hero, but Jason only avoided him. -Coward! The battle was raging on all sides and the first piece of the puzzle to be solved was placed by the starless polemarch. -You don''t have to win Niko, just buy me time, as much as you can. -Understood. - ¦µ?¦Ñ¦Å¦Ì¦Á - A wind arc formed on the back of the enemy thracian, Niko recognized the favor immediately and the slash he was originally going to block was dodged, from the cut a crescent of wind was born which destroyed the stones behind Niko, blocking attacks was no longer an option, the enemy thracian was too superior, the young man dodged each cut but a single mistake would be the last, behind him hidden behind a marble pillar Asterion watched the battle between the archons while counting. -Ten, nine. Wind cuted away parts of the Thracian flesh and the cynocephali collected thrown arrows to continue shooting futilely. -Eight, seven. Laconia threw blow after blow, but before causing any significant damage one of the opponents protected the other with a counterattack, they were tied in strength. -Six, five. The arrows of both sagittarians continued to collide one after another, as if both read each other''s minds, they were the same level. -Four, three. Jason and Silaus fought fiercely in the ruins of the temple, blows infused with lightning sought to connect against the archon of light who defended himself with his rapier. -Two, one. Niko received a deep cut on his left arm and when he thought that this would be his end, cynocephali launched a suicidal charge, out of ten only one managed to cause a small cut on the Thracian cheek. While the polemarch reached Lita and when she was about to shoot her with her bow a tower of light emerged in the darkness of the labyrinth. - ¦ª¦Á¦È¦Ñ?¦Ð¦Ó¦Ç? - The beam of light that reflected Silaus favor emerged once more, but this time the rays of light that placed the mark of the slaves only shot against Silaus phalanx, their bodies received the beam of light directly on their skin and the five were thrown several meters by the impact. -What did you do? Silao asked with a face he had never done before to the archon. -The fifth favor is the only one capable of breaking the rules Silao, I thought you already knew that. The fifth given to Jason by Apollo "Mirror" was capable of copying any favor at half its strength, but the archon never said how many times he could do it. -Now it only has a quarter of its original strength, but I already told you that I don''t need anything else. The redhead polemarch upon seeing the symbol on her body immediately retreated. - ¦²¦Õ¦Ô¦Ñ? - The pillar of fire of Hephaestus was used to protect themselves from Lita arrow which was going straight to the heart of the polemarch. -REGROUP! -NIKO, HIT HIM! Asterion words echoed in Niko who launched a lightning bolt at his downed enemy, however his attack was easily blocked and the thracian full of blood and wind returned to his group. -Laconia! The bestiary retreated to return and once again both phalanxes were facing each other. -What happened polemarch? The question was asked by both sides. -It is our defeat. -It is our victory. The redhead polemarch raised his weapon in a defensive position, even against an experienced team, the mark of slavery would make this an impossible battle, Jason had won using his enemy weapon, Asterion did not look as happy as his team imagined he would be. -I''m sorry to have to cheat polemarch. -Bastard. It only remained for Jason to defeat Silaus. -Your miserable revolution ends here Silaus. What made you think you would achieve anything with this stupid insurrection? The labyrinth began to rumble as more and more electricity grew inside Silao. -I know who you really are Jason and your little pet knows it too. From the route to Helena hundreds of slave minotaurs arrived at the temple with the symbol of the two-headed horse burned on their bodies, they were puppets under Silaus control. -Let''s keep fighting Jason, this isn''t over yet. - ¦´¦É?? - The archon body turned into a lightning bolt that hit Jason with all its strength, making him hit the walls of the labyrinth, finally causing him damage. Meanwhile Asterion phalanx prepared to fight once more while watching Silao phalanx take up their weapons once more. -Don''t waste your life polemarch, please surrender. -¡­ We know what Jason is hiding, starless and if our archon is not going to surrender neither will we. -So be it. The phalanxes prepared to fight for the last time. ¡­ Among the group that was traveling to the temple from Skiathos, several of them lost control because of the mark, they had to be sacrificed to avoid a massacre, they had no time to mourn their deaths and they continued walking. -[Master Theseus, what happened to them?] -[I don''t know, I''ve never seen anything like that before, but I expected this coward strategies from the heleny.] They continued walking through the darkness, getting closer and closer to the end of their destination. 024: Friends 024: Friends As if they were two personified stars, the archons fought to the death in the ruins of the temple, the light and lightning shattered the stone and filled the marble with blessings while the phalanxes of both warriors prepared to resume their assault. The cuts that Niko received weakened his strength enormously, Laconia tried to heal his wounds as quickly as possible, but in just a few moments they would return to the siege and the young thracian brought his face close to Asterion ear. -I don''t think I can beat any of them, I''m sorry captain. When he was about to drop his sword out of exhaustion, Asterion grabbed his sword by the edge to stop his fall. -You and I are the key to winning Niko; I already told you that. While the polemarch said those words Laconia and Lita returned to combat, this time Laconia would face the bestiary, caestus and enemy polemarch at the same time. -I will give you your chance polemarch, do it quickly. Lita huge arrows crossed their heads and hit the arrow of the enemy sagittarius. -Stop crying kid go be useful to us. Niko didn''t understand where Asterion trust in him came from, the semi-hydra bestiary was far more competent than anyone who wasn''t an archon and Lita unique blessing could be used as a trap much more effectively compared to his blessing. -We are weak captain, what can we do? Hearing the word "weak" Asterion''s eyes seemed to light up, as if the gears in his head had finally finished their function and now only the execution remained. -It is because we are the weakest that we can win this fight. GET UP! - ¦²¦Õ¦Ô¦Ñ¦Ç¦Ë?¦Ó¦Ç¦Ò¦Ç - - ¦²¦Õ¦Ô¦Ñ¦Ç¦Ë?¦Ó¦Ç¦Ò¦Ç - Laconia fire armor shone brightly to counterattack the enemy formation as did that of redhead polemarch, both covered in intense flames as their swords collided a small explosion arose from the impact as each of the fire arrows that formed from the bestiary blessing tried to hit the seal of the one-horned ram on the warrior chest, but the polemarch was only the distraction and as long as her own favor continued to defend the seal she would not perish, her companions defended her instantly and Laconia received a powerful hammer blow from the side, she would have flown to the end of the labyrinth if it were not because before the blow she stuck her sword against the stone weapon. - ¦¤?¦Í¦Á¦Ì¦Ç - The head of the stone hammer exploded with tremendous force, Laconia tried to use her wings to defend herself when she heard her enemy asking for the favor but they were completely useless, the stones tore and destroyed every skin and bone on them, the unimaginable pain prevented the warrior from dodging or blocking the next blow. - ¦´¦É?? - The caestus turned into lightning hit the bestiary with all its strength, however it only managed to move it a few feet, the strength of the bestiary had stopped the electric bullet. -You don''t even compare to the minotaurs. As she said those words, Laconia kicked her enemy stomach with all her might, throwing her back to her group. Despite her attitude, the bestiary was destroyed. She had withstood the direct attack of two favors and didn''t know if she would survive the next one. Even so, she never stopped doubting Asterion, who explained his plan to his thracian as quickly and vaguely as he could. -All I need is for you to block a single attack from his thracian and then throw a lightning bolt at me. -Huh? There was no time for questions anymore, the thracian enemy armed with his swords and wind was approaching to cut them down in the blink of an eye.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. -I trust you Niko. The young man saw how his polemarch ran towards Laconia, he was not a priority for the enemy thracian so he was completely ignored, Niko on the other hand was a mess, he barely had time for a breath and to think about how to resist his enemy attack and while everything seemed to slow down, he only thought of using the strategy that he had already seen work, the victory of the weak. - ¦´¦É?? - Niko blessed by Zeus turned into his lightning and launched a suicidal charge against his opponent, he only needed to survive one attack, the hooded thracian with his swords in hand launched an X-shaped slash against the boy, he was in no condition to dodge another attack and blocking it with his sword would only avoid the cut of the swords, but the wind would destroy his body so he bet on his only asset, with the speed of lightning Niko was faster than his enemy arm movement, the sword in his left hand he managed to prevent the thracian right sword from completing its course by hitting it at the base of the edge, but the left sword continued its course so the young man tried to grab his opponent wrist, however due to the inertia gained the attack was inevitable so Niko used every bone and flesh of his forearm to delay his death for at least one breath, that was all the time he needed. -SMOKE! The bestiary upon hearing that word from her polemarch immediately released a giant cloud of smoke over herself, she knew nothing of Asterion plan and blinding herself could be her downfall, but the heleny without stars had asked her for a favor and she fulfilled it towards her blessed one, the smoke covered her, the three opponents and Asterion, at the same time Niko before being cut in half landed a powerful headbutt against the enemy thracian, his hood fell back and the ram symbol on his forehead lit up and immediately a ray of light pierced the man head, both thracians fell against the stones, Niko was about to fall unconscious, the headbutt almost broke his skull and his right arm was vertically cut in two, if it weren''t for the seal being activated immediately perhaps his entire body would be like that, he put his left hand in front of him and desperately searched for Asterion in the smoke without success. -Useless kid. Lita shrank her bow and ran to help Niko, the enemy sagittarius arrows went straight towards her and using her arms transformed into bear claws she protected herself from two arrows that would have destroyed her, once she was on the thracian she enlarged her weapon again. -What are you looking for? -Cap-tain. The doe lightly buried her bow against the stones and from it several strings made of roots were buried in the ground, Lita tensed the immense bow with both hands while it was held against the floor and launched an arrow with all her strength, the projectile went at such speed that it dissipated much of the smoke, but it did not hit anything other than the wall, an arrow from the enemy sagittarius was blocked by the cynocephalus paw, but this time she could not dodge the damage, much of her forearm was torn off and Amphitrite blessing caused the arrow to absorb a lot of blood from her body. -You better make this work ''Terion. Niko with his eyes half open smiled. -It will. A small spark was shot from Niko fingers towards his polemarch, as soon as the smoke dispersed Asterion jumped armed with a sharp piece of white stone against the red-haired polemarch, the fire armor counterattacked automatically burning Asterion body with small igneous arrows, but he had already jumped against the warrior, unless she roasted his body to ashes the polemarch would fall on her, seeing that in the distance the fingers of his young thracian were illuminated she understood in a moment the situation, the electricity would run through his entire body and when he fell on the polemarch the seal would be activated immediately, understanding this she immediately took out her rapier and pointed it at her enemy head, with its length it would be easy to deflect his fall and he would kill his opponent in a moment, the plan had been disarmed. -Your stupidity never knew had limits, starless. The red-haired polemarch sword cut from the first phalanx of Asterion middle finger, running through his knuckle, his hand and his forearm. The sword bent and walked towards his eye as the polemarch tried poorly to move his face away from the tip of the blade. -I know. Asterion received a small spark on his back and Zeus blessing ran through his entire body to the tip of the fingers of his left hand where he carried the white stone that the enemy polemarch detected too late. -Marble. The sharp stone in Asterion hand extended just an inch, but it was enough to pierce the redhead polemarch eye, her rapier also did the same and both strategists received a small cut on their pupils, but it was only she who hesitated for just a moment, the sword that would have pierced the polemarch brain was deviated when she lost her eye, the extension was only a tiny ray that could have been generated simply by friction, but it was the result of a blessing which hit the red-haired polemarch on her forehead in the symbol of Jason. -Bastard-. The ray of light pierced the head of the redhead polemarch of Silaus and Asterion fell to the ground, his body was covered in burns and his eye was full of blood, but he was still breathing, Laconia ran to stand in front of him so that he would not receive more damage. -Polemarch! -We won. Seeing how their thracian and polemarch were defeated by the weaker members of the enemy, the phalanx decided to lower their weapons, the mark of slavery was too much of an obstacle even for them, the caestus approached Laconia with teary eyes. -We surrender, allow us to recover the bodies of our companions The bestiary looked back at her polemarch who gave her a nod of approval. -Go ahead. Laconia quickly approached Asterion to heal his wounds, but he pointed his eye at Niko. -If I delay, I will not be able to heal your arm. -It is not that it will serve much purpose either. The bestiary brought her hand to his wounded eye and quickly a heat invaded the socket, the blood burned and the pain stopped. -But this still serves us polemarch. After saying this she ran to the unconscious thracian on the stones while Lita put the two broken halves of his arm together. -I have to admit that you are quite brave, kid. Laconia barely reached them and began to heal Niko''s broken arm, wounds that take too long to heal using blessings cannot be cured, meanwhile Lita watched Laconia face. -It seems that you didn''t even try. -We still have the biggest one left. -Do you think we would have won if it weren''t for this damn mark? -No... -... Hell, having to resort to this atrocity, your polemarch is certainly a bastard. Asterion slowly approached the group with a slight smile, he was proud that his plan worked, defeating a phalanx is a difficult task even with the advantage of an archon on your side, when he was just a few steps away a minotaur armed with a club came out from behind him about to give him a mortal blow. -ASTERION! The polemarch looked back and realized that the cynocephali who were helping them had been massacred by the minotaurs controlled by Silaus, the polemarch was too distracted in the fight that he forgot his valuable allies, overwhelmed by strength and numbers each and every one of them perished. -''TERION! Lita tried to transform her bow as quickly as possible, but tensing it would take too long, Laconia was healing Niko and put her sword aside, by the time she was armed it would be too late. Asterion saw everything as if time had slowed down, the empty and expressionless face of the minotaur seemed to have a tremendous hidden rage that would never be revived because he would die in a while because of Silaus, the polemarch did not even try to raise his left arm to protect himself, not because it was destroyed by the blade of his previous enemy but because part of himself was already tired of continuing to fight against his own weakness. Niko regained some of his consciousness and his half-open eyes were watching his leader. -¡­ Captain¡­ The minotaur''s face made him remember the last time he had been happy without being afraid of the future, the last time he had felt hope in this world. -Bran¡­ Five hundred and sixteen years after Helena 025: Heleny 025: Heleny The last words that the school gives to their students in Helena are engraved in the memory of each of them: "Fools and weaklings have no right to decide how and where they will die, you are strong so learn and fight." Asterion did not receive his title of polemarch despite having passed the test, they did not recognize him as worthy of receiving such an honor and all of Helena thought he had cheated, that someone had done the work for him and he only took advantage of the lack of surveillance of the system, even so upon hearing this news the archon of light granted him a wish simply out of curiosity, he was the only one with enough creativity to imagine a miraculous scenario where a heleny without any blessing managed to enter and leave the labyrinth, Asterion wish was simple that his only friend did not go to war, it was fulfilled without any objection because they thought of it as a simple whim of the archon; They were right. Bran and Asterion left the old school library and during their fifteens they tried to found a smithy for the minotaur slaves in Helena, good quality horseshoes so they would not suffer so much pain in their damaged hooves, both practiced the art of metal creating all kinds of tools, swords, spears, pots, ladles and shields. Asterion forged his first shield of poor quality, small, weak and deformed and yet Bran decided to engrave the kat¨¢desmo of protection on it and keep it as a souvenir, both worked from sunrise to sunset on their project learning and fighting like few others, soon some slaves said that Bran was the only free minotaur in all of Helena and far from seeing it as an attack they saw it as a small drop of hope. The young men spent the months working as best friends, Asterion minoan improved until it was almost native and Bran strength grew along with his size, the bull always walked looking down to not to push his friend when passing, he remained quiet with the rest of slaves and heleny, he only talked with his friend most of the time about trivialities, occasionally about the future and only once Bran told Asterion that perhaps one day he would receive his blessing, normally the boy got angry whenever that subject was mentioned, but for the first time he felt optimistic and everyone who passed by that street saw the man born under no star smiling while hammering with his thin arms pieces of burnt metal. Over time both children took their first step towards adulthood, both blacksmiths at sixteen years old quietly forged tolls and weapons while being cover of ash, Bran had mastered this art to perfection while Asterion, seeing himself outskilled like always decided to dedicate himself to accounts and sales, it was barely a week after the young heleny birthday when it happened. -Bran?! -[Here.] Both of them came out of their rooms, Bran was armed with an axe and a huge noise of falling stones was heard near their home. -The¡­ The wall. That day of march was the only time in the entire history of Helena that one of its walls collapsed under the attack of minotaurs and from the wall hundreds and hundreds of warriors entered over the rubble and fought against the marked slaves and hoplites, the houses around began to catch fire and some of them had a strange, slightly pink fire, Asterion grabbed a large shield, a helmet and a kerchief that he gave to his companion. -[Take care of your head.] Asterion said those words while pointing at his forehead, a single blessing on the symbol and it would be the end of Bran, however each of the objects delivered by his friend had the kat¨¢desmo ¡°Aegis¡±, each one was a safeguard against this situation. -Let''s go. The plan was simple, the entrance to the labyrinth at the base of the acropolis was the furthest point of the walls so they only had to run there and wait for the attack to be repelled by the phalanxes and the archons, both ran to the center where the elderly and children protected themselves from the attack, with their blessings they formed small shields to cover themselves and the labyrinth was completely sealed with stone, all heleny over ten years old were armed, like Bran. -IT''S A MONSTER! A child pointed at Bran with a frightened finger while clinging to his father, Asterion immediately stepped in between. -He''s a slave, he''s on our side. Although slavery had been part of the culture of the heleny for centuries, the mark of the archon had only been created a little over twenty years ago, the number of slaves in the capital grew and grew every year thanks to it and the population was with its prejudices at the highest, they feared a rebellion and any seeds of this had to be reduced. -I know you child, you are the starless one, without the blessing of our gods. From the ring of the old unarmed father a small stone dagger slowly formed. -Tell your slave to drop his weapons. Bran heavy axe probably couldn''t be wielded by any of those present, but that wasn''t the reason why Asterion didn''t move out of the way. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. -We all know you are a starless traitor you weren''t born a heleny, you''re just another slave. The minotaur eyes became bloodshot, an uncontrollable rage stalked him as he saw how his friend was treated, although Asterion was already used to that treatment, his companion could barely bear the feeling to cut the old man in two. More and more civilians threatened the duo with their blessings, their five-fingered hands filled with lightning, fire, water, wind and stones, fear flooded the mind of the only truly unarmed man in the entire group, but before he could make any decision the gigantic stone wall that sealed the entrance to the labyrinth was completely destroyed, splinters flew in all directions, several ended up buried in the flesh of the civilians who never expected to receive such an attack. -[ASTERION.] The minotaur''s shield protected Asterion from all harm and he quickly stood in front of him ready for any confrontation. From the labyrinth walked a thin minotaur that was quite small for his race, he had black fur and wore no armor, only a black and gold tunic, a bull skull that he used as a helmet and a scythe of the same size with a blue edge, he looked as if he had been born directly from the underworld and behind him dozens of minotaurs advanced through the rubble, none of them wore armor, helmet or shields, they all had red tattoos on their bodies and their weapons seemed worn, some even seemed to be bent from receiving so many blows. -[KILL THEM ALL!] Only Bran and Asterion understood the order of the thin minotaur and clearly there seemed to be no exceptions in this, the horde of bulls charged against the civilians without any mercy, the elderly and children were trampled without hesitation while panic swept through the city. How did they destroy so much stone like that? How did they discover this entrance? How did they destroy the Helena west wall? All these questions appeared at the same time in the future polemarch mind, but there was no time for solutions, Bran grabbed his friend and fled the bloody scene. -[Library.] Bran ran towards the library of the academy where they worked for years, it had a hidden passage under a bookshelf where they could take shelter, however one of the tattooed minotaurs crossed his path. Bran ran towards the academy library where they worked for years, it had a hidden passage under a bookshelf where they could take shelter, however one of the tattooed minotaurs crossed his path. -[I-I am a mycenaean.] It was a desperate attempt by Bran to save both of their lives because he knew that every citizen of Mycenae stops being a citizen once they become a slave, defeat is not allowed and with one of his fingers cut off on each hand he was no longer able to use blessings, he was no longer useful to them. -RAISE YOUR ARM BRAN! The tattooed mycenaean was armed with a bloody mace full of spikes everywhere, this was received by Bran shield in which the weapon was buried, the minotaur quickly kicked his enemy in the chest breaking some of his ribs, however his enemy quickly got up and the catalyst ring on his nose lit up with a crimson color. -He is blessed by Rhea, he will not die so easily. As Asterion climbed down from his friend arm he quickly looked back, the troop of minotaurs was busy destroying the town and their leader was simply walking towards the stairs leading to the Parthenon, they had some time. -A clepsydra cycle is all I need friend, come on. Asterion ran to the nearest house jumping over the window, the mycenaean followed him but was stopped by Bran, the warrior weapon was behind the minotaur with four fingers and so the latter charged with his axe with a vertical slash that would have cut his enemy in half if it weren''t for the terrible pain in his back that made him deflect the cut, the spiked mace that was on the ground was shot towards the mycenaean, a thread of blood connected the blessed and the weapon thanks to Rhea. -[Dirty slave.] A blow that went to Bran chin was stopped by the shield and with it he pushed his rival away once again, he removed the bloody mace stuck in his back and this time he wielded it as his weapon. -[Go ahead, bring it to you.] The force of the thread of blood was no match against the strength of the minotaur and the axe was out of reach of his enemy, on paper victory was assured, but a blessed one is never truly unarmed. - ¦±¦Ï? - The mycenaean eyes turned completely red and he jumped against Bran with such force that both the ground where his enemy was standing and his own shield were destroyed by the enemy force, the impact was such that his weapon flew out against his will and seeing him up close he saw how the veins all over his body seemed to be about to burst and when he was about to be hit with all of his enemy strength a tiny blade was stuck in his neck. -ASTERION! The blade in his left hand was completely embedded and when the mycenaean tried to look at his other opponent a fork was stuck in his eye. -BRAN HIT HIM! The minotaur left arm was shattered and with splinters of the broken shield all over his forearm, but the right one was still in perfect condition, he hit his enemy right on the blade burying it even deeper, however he was received by a blow to the chest that would have broken his entire spine if it weren''t for Asterion grabbing the minotaur other eye with his fingers in a desperate attempt to remove it. -HIT HIM IN THE EYE! This time the mycenaean pushed Asterion against the house, breaking several wooden planks along the way, and Bran finally realized what his friend plan had been and this time the blow was against the fork stuck in the eye, which was inserted until it reached the enemy brain. With a wound that was impossible to heal, he began to writhe against the stones, at which point Bran recovered his axe and cut off the head of the minotaur. -Ast¡­ Asterion. Bran limped as he entered the destroyed house and saw his friend with his head covered in blood, however he was still breathing and his eyes were half open. -Bran¡­ Let''s go. The minotaur helped his friend up and they both walked out of the house, their bodies were on their last legs and they could barely open their eyes properly, as they left they saw how all the civilians who had gathered at the base had been annihilated, the mycenaeans were now walking in their direction. -[Asterion¡­ Run.] Bran raised his axe, but his companion did not flee, instead he removed the blade stuck in his enemy''s neck and prepared himself alongside his friend. -[Let''s go.] The thin minotaur with the scythe looked Asterion straight in the eyes, for a moment they both seemed to stop their thoughts and before they both gave their order two bolts of lightning descended upon the army. -The archons. Both descended in a trail of white and yellow light upon their enemies, Jason and Silaus were covered in minotaur blood, both seemed to have finished defending the north and south of the city where the walls had not yet fallen, now they were heading from the center to the west exterminating every minotaur in the way. The archon of light immediately set his sights on the leader of the enemy troop and the dioskuroi focused his gaze on the two warriors who had killed a Mycenaean. -Ha! You were right Jason, even the starless heleny can stand up to these beasts, you did well to give him that slave. The hope that both had lost was immediately recovered, both warriors radiated a warm light that made him think that everything would be fine, but what really reassured Asterion were Silaus words, never before had a heleny recognized an achievement of the frustrated polemarch and a smile appeared on the young man face. -Thank you. The archon gaze rose to see in the distance a sea of ??flames advancing through the houses, the strange fire had a different color than normal and among it a single minotaur advanced, he was slightly taller than his peers, had simple copper armor and strange rings surrounding his horns, his double-edged axe dragged against the stone creating small sparks along the way. That was the first time that the legendary minotaur Theseus met the starless heleny Asterion. 026: Minotaur 026: Minotaur Theseus had his gaze fixed on his enemy; the creator of the terrible mark of the two-headed horse. Silaus fought unarmed because the force of his blessing ran through every nerve of his body and it was said that he had the same strength as a minotaur concentrated in the size of a heleny, it was a nightmare to fight against him because he was ¡°unreachable by a blade¡±. -You don''t get tired of dying, do you? The body of the dioskuroi was covered in blood and his hands still had some of the fur of his victims, however Theseus did not take a step back and ran straight to face the archon. -[RUN.] Bran and Asterion witnessed firsthand the clash between the two, an explosion of fire spread in all directions pushing away the rubble and impacting against the duo, Asterion quickly ran to check the helmet of his companion who for some reason still retained the katadesmo, even more strange was that neither of them had a single burn. Each cut of Theseus expelled that fearsome flame that extinguished the lightning that came out of Silaus body, however he was unable to hit him, the archon agility was superior and the minotaur did not seem to find a single opening. - ¦°¦Á¦Ó?¦Ñ¦Á?- From Silaus ring fifty electric spheres were born and each and every one of them hit the minotaur flesh, the confident archon turned his back on the enemy he thought defeated but the moment he felt an extreme thirst for blood he turned around again to avoid being split in half by his enemy''s axe, he was completely unharmed. -How? -[Thank you for your fire, Prometheus.] Only Bran and Asterion understood that timid sentence, however it was hard to believe what they were seeing, the minoan warrior was intact, the strange pink fire burned the entire landscape including the archon blessing. -My archon! A dozen hoplites and phalanxes arrived at the scene, from a distance they witnessed the remains of the massacre caused by the red-tattooed minotaurs and an indescribable fury invaded their hearts, none of the archons seemed to even notice what was under their feet. -CHARGE! Jason and the other masked minotaur had disappeared, only their men remained who were eating the flesh of their victims, most of the phalanxes and hoplites charged against Theseus while Asterion noticed a strange grimace of disgust on his face, clearly he was not going against his enemies as his gaze was lost for a moment on the stage. Was the disgust coming from the carnage of his allies? There was no time to ponder any option. - ¦ª¦Ë¦Ç¦Ñ¦Ï¦Í¦Ï¦Ì?¦Á - Theseus favor manifested itself in a circular shield of fire that seemed to have the symbol of a headless man being devoured by an eagle, each of the soldiers who stayed with Silaus launched a blessing against the minotaur but all these projectiles were absorbed by the shield which became increasingly brighter. -GET AWAY! The shield loaded with blessings exploded with such force that the very foundations of the houses were thrown outwards, the fire did not burn but the power of its explosion was such that those who tried to stay in their position ended up with their arms and legs broken, in the end the only ones left in the small crater created by Theseus were only him and Silaus who buried his arms in the ground to avoid being thrown outwards. -[Smart pig.] The explosion was so powerful that it pulverized the bones of most of his closer opponents and practically none of the phalanxes or hoplites could get up. Asterion and Bran, despite being quite far from the minotaur, were completely knocked down. Luckily, the explosion only sent them against the pile of rubble where they were before and this same pile protected them from receiving more damage. There was barely anything left of the house where they were and Bran was trying to get up little by little. -[Bran rest, we can''t do anything.] Theseus ear turned when he heard that, that voice had a unique accent and was clearly not native, he saw with his eyes a heleny helping to lift a minotaur with a helmet and a broken arm. -Asterion, we have to get out of here. Theseus watched as both spoke to each other in each other''s languages ??and were desperately trying to get out of the place but before he could form an idea he was greeted by his enemy. - ¦´¦É?? - Silaus hit the minotaur stomach with his entire body, he was so fast that Prometheus fire was not able to react in time and the blow plus the electricity hit him with all their force, Theseus was dragged several feet before his stomach was completely pierced by the archon. Silaus stopped his favor and fell to his knees, the shield explosion had seriously hurt him and he needed a second wind to continue fighting. -Ah¡­ You were quite strong for a minotaur. -[Stupid pig.] Silaus watched in horror as the mortal wound he had caused on his enemy was reduced in size more and more by the fire, it was as if it was rebuilding him. -What is that fire, is it perhaps the king of these beasts? The fire continued to "burn" him until his wound was completely healed and Theseus walked slowly towards Silaus who was trying to get up to continue fighting. -[The minotaur seems like he is going to win. What do you think, Bran?] This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Asterion and Bran were sitting against the rubble waiting for the battle to end. -I doubt it, maybe it doesn''t seem like it to you but the minotaur is quite tired. -[He looks like an important Mycenaean. Don''t you know who he is?] -No... Theseus axe was unable to withstand the force of his attacks and received many blows against the ground thanks to Silaus agility it finally broke against the stones, not that the minotaur was worried much either, a rain of kicks and punches began between both sides and the archon was taken to the limits of his reflexes until finally Theseus gave a precise hit which knocked his opponent to the ground, even so Silaus was able to escape the next attack and decided not to continue risking his neck more when he doesn''t know how it''s possible that the minotaur healed from such an attack, with his outstretched hand he launched a lightning bolt that hit Theseus, however he didn''t even activate his flames because the lightning was so weak that he didn''t feel any pain, but that wasn''t the archon''s objective. - ¦µ¦Å¦Ô¦Ã¦Á¦Ë?¦Ï? - Silaus ring shone brightly and hundreds of electric bullets were fired from it, flying towards the entire city. One of these projectiles hit Bran in the forehead and Theseus in the chest. However, the helmet that the first one wore protected him from the favor, although it was now unusable, and the second one was not affected at all, his blessing protected him whether he wanted it or not. -BRAN! Asterion limped over to his friend who was checking that his head was still in place, everything was fine. -What was that? -[I don''t know but your helmet lost the katadesmo, only the paper remains.] Theseus slowly approached the archon whose body was this time covered in his own blood, but his cruel smile did not leave his face. -Good luck, cow. The footsteps that could be heard throughout the city finally reached the base of the acropolis and dozens of slave minotaurs with their fingers cut off rushed in a stampede against Theseus, unarmed and tired he pushed his former companions exploding his own fire against the ground, but the minotaurs seemed to advance without caring about the damage they suffered and those who fell were crushed while the rest continued forward. -What is this Silaus? Jason had come down from the temple, his clothes and sword were covered in completely black brambles as if they were shadows instead of objects. -What happened to the other one with the mask? -Answer me. -... It is the true force of my fifth favor, I control every muscle in the bodies of the marked, they will die but they will take one of the sons of Minos to the grave. I told you that one day they would be useful. Theseus body was beaten over and over again, trampled by the slaves hooves and even impaled by their horns, he was completely overwhelmed and although with his strength he tore off the head of every puppet that came near him, there was always another to replace it. -How many are you controlling? -Everyone. Jason, Bran and Asterion eyes watched with fear and amazement the power of a suicidal army over their enemy and the gears of the archon of light mind began to work for the future, this power was more dangerous than he had imagined, slavery has been part of the heleny since the beginning of the war against the minotaurs mostly using force and terror, but this favor was something even more terrible, Silaus had only been applying this mark to his enemies for fifteen years and its effectiveness seemed useful but not that circumstantial, until now. The archon plans were hidden in his light and would not come out until several years later, because that is how the vassal of Apollo works. -Will you tell me now what happened to the other one? -He escaped through the labyrinth once he got what he wanted. -... The hand, right? -Yes¡­ At that moment more footsteps arrived, this time from the labyrinth which at this point was a pool of blood, guts and bones. More minotaurs tattooed in red came from the entrance, their eyes were all red and they seemed crazed. -I''ll take care of it Silao, you concentrate on what you''re doing. They both turned around and while Silao was distracted Jason accidentally noticed Bran and Asterion looking closely at the minotaur, his cut pinkies indicated that he was a slave but he wasn''t being controlled. -Silao, you''re controlling everyone right? -I already told you yes and since we marked every slave for fifteen years it should be more than enough to finish him off. -I see. The archon sword shone with a dim white light moving against his enemies with cuts so fast, clean and precise that it seemed like his sword didn¡¯t even stained with blood, the minotaurs charged against Jason but were torn apart before they knew it, Asterion even remembers that some cuts made the sword seem to "whistle", the beautiful light of the archon blinded and burned his enemies with each blink and a strange sensation ran through the starless, as if he were watching them. Bran looked away and sadly watched as his companions were torn apart one after another by Theseus who seemed to be immortal, no matter how much damage they did to him he did not seem to die with anything, but observing him in detail the young minotaur realized that both seemed to share the same pain, as both minotaurs cried silently seeing so many of their own die in this way, normally the minotaurs of Mycenae; The mycenaeans had no compassion for slaves because they were not considered citizens, but seeing how this man seemed to feel compassion for his ¡°enemy¡± filled him with soft warm hope. Jason finished off the minotaurs in a clepsydra cycle and walked quickly towards Bran and Asterion while Silaus focused his gaze on Theseus, the starless did his best to stand up and greet the archon, but the archon raised his sword against the duo. -A-Archon? -Show your mark slave. When Bran began to remove the handkerchief that covered his forehead which had a kind of paper sewn inside Asterion stopped him with his hand while staring at the archon, he was sweating profusely and shaking like a newborn calf. -He is my slave. My archon don''t you remember? You gave him to me. The light on the archon sword was shining again. Asterion already knew what the problem was. -The-the archon lightning failed, that''s why he''s not going into battle. -You say he made a mistake? Asterion stretched out his arms to protect his friend. -Please don''t hurt him. -How did he avoid the favor? Asterion still didn''t move but when bran saw Jason''s sword getting closer to his friend''s neck he decided to take off his handkerchief. -Bronze or paper. The archon, seeing the symbol on the minotaur forehead, lowered his sword. -DON''T TELL HIM BROTHER! Jason sword immediately cut off part of Asterion feet, making him fall immediately while he placed his sword on his neck. -Continue. -The katadesmo that heleny use on their shields is weaker if it is written by them. Minotaurs and especially if they are blessed by Athena they can apply it to any material made of bronze or paper. -Only on bronze and paper? -That''s right. Jason looked closely at the paper sewn into the handkerchief with the words ¡°¦¡?¦Ã??¡±. -Who else knows about this? -Only me and Asterion¡­ My companion whom you are threatening my lord. -I see, thank you. The young minotaur fell to his knees as he looked at the archon''s face, Asterion bowed in desperation to protect his friend. -No one else knows my archon, forgive us for keeping it from him, he is my companion and friend so please let him live. Jason looked closely at the paper sewn into the handkerchief with the words ¡°¦¡?¦Ã??¡±. -Who else knows about this? Asterion clung to the archon''s leg on the ground. -Please don''t kill my brother¡­ We will be useful to you. Bran had already made his decision through tears. -Just me and Asterion¡­ My companion whom you are threatening my lord. -I see, thank you. The young minotaur fell to his knees as he looked at the archon face, Asterion bowed in desperation to protect his friend. -?No one else knows my archon, forgive us for hiding it from you, he is my companion and friend so please let him live! Jason removed the sword from the starless neck and helped him up. -If the minotaurs discover this secret it could be the end of us, you did well to hide it boy, I forgive you. Tears of relief fell from Asterion''s face. -Thank you my archon. Let''s get out of here Bran. Asterion turned around and saw his friend fallen face, his kneeling body next to his bowed head was not moving in the slightest and the symbol on his forehead had disappeared. -Bran? The minotaur open, tear-filled eyes were empty and his body looked like a statue in the middle of the ruins. Asterion let go of the archon support, fell against the stones once more and crawled towards his friend while saying his name over and over again. -We have plans to make Bran¡­ Let''s get out of here. The minotaur light was already gone with the archon. 027: Fingers 027: Fingers Present Jason immaculate face finally felt the weariness and fatigue from fighting his opponent, he had a few bruises and his sword seemed to be slightly chipped, however it didn''t compare to the damage his opponent received, his body was full of small but deep cuts, his hands were bruised from hitting them so often against the hard stone of the labyrinth and one of his eyelids was bleeding covering one of his eyes, yet he still seemed to be full of energy. -What''s wrong Jason? You look tired, looks like age has finally caught you up. -You barely have any pieces left and still you try to provoke me Silaus, it''s a shame that i have to kill you. -For Helena¡¯s sake, right? She would spit in your face if she saw what you have become Archon. Did the Argonauts really die of old age or did you kill them like you are going to kill me? For the first time Jason seemed to show another emotion, a deep rage came over him and the legendary fleece glowed once more. -You have no idea what I have done for Helena Silaus and I would do it all over again. But before he asked the favor of his god, the archon of light watched out of the corner of his eye as Asterion was about to be decapitated by the club of a minotaur controlled by Silaus, the death of his companion was assured until a huge figure fell on the beast. Asterion with his eyes open watched as finally his plans had come to an end, until he was saved once again, as if it were a play of the gods again the life of the polemarch was saved by a minotaur, the huge body of Theseus cut the slave in half with his axe before the enemy destroyed the heleny. After falling, dozens of minotaurs charged against the controlled slaves, this time they did not plan to immobilize them and charged with all their strength. -I did not expect to meet you again so soon, Asterion. Theseus conversed quietly with the polemarch was completely absorbed in his thoughts, he and Jason were so focused on their plan to kill Silaus that they completely forgot that the minotaurs had recently besieged Helena looking for something, just like when Asterion lost his friend. -[Why did you save me?] -[I don''t want to see you dead heleny, you told me there was no choice but to face us because it was your duty wasn''t it, what is your duty now?] -[... Assassinate an archon.] -[Then there''s no reason to fight again thanks to the gods. Don''t you think?] Asterion phalanx watched in frightened silence as their polemarch conversed with Theseus while the minotaurs passed by them, they did not seem to be at enmity which seemed strange to everyone, especially to Lita who was trying to grab her bow in vain as her arm was too injured still. -[What are you looking for Theseus?] -[Silly questions Asterion, you should already know that]. -[Yes... You''re right.] Theseus elite troop was slowly advancing against the Silaus horde mercilessly slaughtering their former companions. -[Without any archon to defend Helena because of us your companion has a clear path to the Parthenon, you''re welcome for doing your job of distraction]. -[Anyway now I can take more than just another part of that thing. What do you say I pay you with my own hand?] -[Do you want to help me?] The hand of the imposing minotaur was placed in front of the polemarch. -[Whom do you want dead, Asterion?] -... Laconia was slowly approaching the group with her sword ready to fight the minotaur once more, behind her Niko and Lita were walking slowly to face whatever was coming. -Asterion What''s going on here? The polemarch walked towards Laconia as Theseus headed off to face the archons. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. -I''m always being saved by minotaurs, time and time again, maybe this is my true blessing... Laconia heal our sagitarius arm, I need you to prepare a special arrow. Lita, let''s go for our revenge. -Captain, what about me? Niko could barely stand on his own but his gaze was completely focused. -I don''t want you to die Niko, I need you to rest my friend. -But you''re going to fight, aren''t you? -Yes... -I''m not going to let you die captain, come on. -All right, follow my instructions. On the other side of the labyrinth Jason and Silaus were walking towards Theseus, they completely stopped their fight when they saw how the army of the Minoan was walking towards Helena. -Weren''t you the smartest man in Helena? You''re falling behind, old man. Jason did not expect Theseus to attack so soon, a combination of bad luck and lack of vision resulted in the city that he was so focused on protecting now suffering extreme danger. -Look on the bright side, now we have a golden opportunity to eliminate the bastard that besieged Helena so long ago. Electricity covered Silaus entire body and his cuts began to slowly close, a unique and nameless blessing granted only to those most beloved by their god. -I will wipe out his army, this time I leave you the bull. Light invaded Jason sword edge. -As you wish. As if it were a living catapult the dioskuroi launched himself against the minotaurs of Theseus and immediately smashed the head of one with a colossal force, the army that was fighting orderly against the slaves was now involved in a panic when facing such a beast, dozens of them covered themselves in bronze or stones but there was no way to stop the force of the blows of the archon. Theseus and Jason stood face to face. -[I have been waiting for this day for a long time, Archon.] -[How many descendants of King Minos do you think I have already killed Theseus?] The axe and fire of the minotaur struck angrily in the direction of the archon but with a divine grace and agility Jason dodged the blow and at the same time a thrust impacted against the armor of Theseus aiming for the liver. -[How many more minotaurs do we have to enslave and kill before you surrender?] Theseus furious hit the ground with his leg generating waves of pink fire that expanded in all directions hoping that his attack could not be dodged, but the archon moved far enough away until the impact dispersed and then accelerated against his enemy once again striking with a lunge at the same point as before, this time breaking the armor and shattering the minotaur organ. -[It has been more than a hundred years at war descendant of Minos. How much more can you resist?] Theseus healed his wound and lit the fire inside his body. -[As many times as it takes, pig.] There were so many corpses of minotaurs and cinocephali on the ground that they almost covered all the remains of the ruins, Theseus mycenaeans fell one after another before the strength of the archon, with just one blow the heads of the bulls flew off their bodies and electricity evaporated the blood from their bodies, but they were trained warriors and for a moment they managed to corner Silaus, but a cornered beast was even more dangerous. - ¦­?¦Õ¦Ï? - As soon as Silaus ring glowed to its fullest his body was surrounded by electric clouds that continued to expand until they covered almost all the warriors, from inside the archon conjured hundreds and hundreds of lightning bolts in all directions, The minotaurs threw their weapons against the blessed one in desperate attempts to assassinate their target but none connected a single blow, when the cloud dissipated there were barely twenty minotaurs left and only five had their eyes on the archon, the rest continued fighting against the controlled slaves, Silaus strength was monstrous. -LACONIA! A new cloud appeared this time of dust and ash covering the archon and immediately an arrow scattered the air in the direction of Silaus, however dodging it was easy for the warrior and he immediately looked for the archer, Asterion bestiary had in his hands a bow which she immediately released to wield her greatsword. -I had planned to assassinate them later, but your time is up Asterion. The archon shot himself at Laconia aiming at her head but when he jumped a sea of flames covered them both, the bestiary was kneeling with one of her hands on the marble of the ruins which tried to recover its original form using the fire of the blessed, but the crude trap did not stop Silaus and even though Laconia reached to protect her head with her sword the blow was such that the warrior flew until she crashed against a wall. -One less. Silao carried in his hand an electric sphere with which he would finish off the bestiary but he had to use that hand to avoid a stone that was on its way to his face losing the lightning, Niko supported by Asterion spun his slingshot in the air throwing debris towards the archon. -HAHAHAHA! What happened Asterion? I didn''t think you had such a death wish. The stones were considerably slower than the arrows and dodging them for the archon were as easy as breathing, confident he decided to walk to the two men, on the way the few minotaurs that were not fighting the puppets threw themselves against Silaus without getting anything, he dodged every blow and cut as he eliminated each minotaur with one strike, he was covered from head to toe in blood and visors, his red teeth showed a horrifying smile as he decapitated the last mycenaean that faced him and with the severed head in his hand he began to electrocute it until he burst its eyes and evaporated all its blood, the skull was finally destroyed while stones flew desperately hoping to connect maybe for a miracle. -It''s a pity Asterion, I always thought you were as smart as the old man despite considering you a miserable wretch who only became important because of him, I admired your resilience a little. It''s time to say goodbye, defect. This time Asterion took Niko sling and threw the last stone straight towards Silaus face as he raised his arm to throw himself against the remains of the phalanx, meanwhile he raised his other hand to grab the stone, but before it reached its target Niko pointed his ring against the stone shooting a tiny lightning bolt, the piece of marble lit up as it was blessed by Niko lightning which blinded the archon for just a few moments, enough time because when Asterion launched this stone Lita arrow was already in the air and this time the projectile was of normal size so it was undetectable and with superior speed, so much that the archon reflexes were almost surpassed, he managed to stop his body enough so that the arrow did not impact against his torso, but still hit against his arm and the arrow had several tips like a harpoon to prevent it from being removed easily plus a string of which Lita began to pull immediately to break the balance of his enemy. -You wretch, you were never a heleny, without any blessing you are only a disgrace to us and our gods! Silaus kept walking as if he didn''t have a single wound towards Asterion, Lita couldn''t hold him back and although the arrow kept tearing the archon arm he just kept moving forward, Laconia with his body full of debris buried in his scales and blood all over his mouth launched a horizontal slash against the archon who stopped it with both hands, his strength impressed even Laconia and that small distraction was enough so that with a blow in the stomach the bestiary and her weapon fell to the ground. -Enough with the games. Lita also ran to face the archon with her hands turned into claws but only with his raised hand Silaus unleashed a rain of lightning that prevented the cinerephalus from advancing. -Your last words polemarch, it¡¯s over. Niko tried to raise his sword but he fell against the stones under the weight of his wounds and Asterion found himself face to face with his enemy. -You forgot the most important piece, archon. Through the farthest edge of his eye the archon saw death approaching, Jason sword was going for him at a speed impossible to dodge and as he saw his end approaching Silaus narrowed his eyes while looking at his old companion, but the edge of his sword did not cut his head, the figure of his old friend pierced him realizing that it was an illusion of Apollo light and yet two cuts received the archon body in that small distraction, he moved his body away by reflex which saved his life but when he tried to throw a lightning bolt against Asterion to eliminate him absolutely nothing came out of his hands, at the same time he realized that the thracian who was lying on the ground was now up with his sword covered with a little blood just like Asterion who was now carrying a dagger. -Rich and poor, fools and enlightened, men and women, each and every one of the heleny are able to use their blessings from birth Silaus, it is a pity that you are can no longer. The little finger of his left hand and the thumb of his right hand were now on the ground and Lita together with Laconia crushed them immediately leaving only stains on the ruins, the ring of Silaus lost all its shine until it disappeared transforming into a lightning, the archon felt that disappearance like an electric current, a sensation that he had never felt in the entirety of his life. 028: Light The kneeling body of the archon trembled with fear, anger and amazement in front of Asterion, behind the polemarch an eye of light observed the situation in the distance. -Jason... Damn you! An arrow immediately buried itself in Silaus leg, who reacted just slightly to the pain. -Don''t kill him yet Lita, we need him. Another arrow shot out of her bow, this time hitting the defeated man shoulder. -Laconia. The thumb under the bestiary foot was crushed and roasted but could still be grafted back on. -I will give you this toe and then you will undo your fifth favor, that in exchange for a quick death. The archon received a third arrow in his hand as he lowered his head, the tips of the arrows made wood grow inside his flesh and even his bones slowly began to fill with painful splinters, yet the warrior did not give a single cry of pain, he only greeted them with a horrible laugh. -How did you do it? -Hmm? -Was this also Jason plan? A fourth arrow impacted against the femur, the archon veins seemed about to burst; although he could hide his sounds, his body was clearly in terrible agony. -The plan has long deviated since its original path Silao I only decided to adapt, when one of your minotaurs almost killed me Jason decided to watch over me with his light. -That bastard, watching our fight even while facing Theseus. -At that moment I just waited for your overconfidence to burst out, something I see you are used to doing. Release the favor Silao. The horde of controlled minotaurs kept coming towards the labyrinth even with the favor of the severed archon while his laugh kept echoing off the walls of the place. -I never thought of a way to free them Asterion, they are already dead, but you already know that, don''t you? Why are you doing this? Just kill me. -... No. A fifth arrow buried in the chest of the archon, but his heart did not stop and at that moment he realized the true purpose of the arrows. -WAIT! - ¦ª¦Ô¦Ð¦Á¦Ñ?¦Ò¦Ò¦Ò¦É - Lita hoops glowed while from the tips of her arrows slowly grew a hard and thin wood that buried itself in the bones of the archon as he could no longer contain his cry of pain, the suffering continued without being killed until finally when his screams ceased he was aware of his situation. -Get up. Hearing Lita words his body immediately rose up in a completely unnatural way, the wood inside his body twisted bones, muscles and tendons simulating the movement of an animal, he had become a puppet of logs and flesh. After a few moments all the minotaurs controlled by Silao fell to the ground, once the blessing finished its effect their brains and nerves were melted by the archon discharges, without any minotaur capable of creating protective katadesmos to evade the favor the only solution was to be controlled by Jason fifth favor, however this can only imitate favors with half of its strength which means that half of the cynocephali perished. Lita slowly approached the archon with tears in her eyes. -You will receive an arrow for each being you have enslaved, year after year until you have paid for each of their lives, heleny. Asterion put his hand on the cynocephalus back. -Your people are already free Lita, go with them. His bow now pointed at the polemarch as Laconia stepped in between. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. -Was this really the only way? The cynocephali were already few before they were enslaved, they got used to being displaced from their lands by the minotaurs and then imprisoned and used by the heleny, because of them their population had been halved in exchange for a new freedom that doesn¡¯t promise them a favorable future if they did not receive blessings like Lita. -I''m so sorry Lita. Niko rose with his last effort and knelt in front of the archer. -I''m... sorry. Lita slowly lowered her bow and her gaze. -You and only you guys... are forgiven. -Ha...ha...ha...ha. The defeated archon was still laughing despite being covered in his own blood. -You cut off a claw... Now how are you going to cut off the head... Asterion? Laconia and Asterion turned to look at Silao. -I know very well what your plan is... You and I want the same thing and look... Look how it will end up. A sharp blow to the archon jaw almost destroyed it completely as Laconia prevented her enemy from speaking any further. -Let''s go Asterion, before time runs out. Niko and Lita were taken aback, Laconia who was by far their most focused and composed member was now enraged and a look full of determination filled her eyes. Asterion crouched down to stand face to face with Niko. -Thank you my friend, take care of yourself, we won''t see each other again. -Huh? Another blow in the jaw this time from Asterion towards Niko left the latter knocked out, Lita raised her bow once again by reflex but didn''t shoot any arrow when she saw that the polemarch laid with the utmost gentleness his thracian on the ground. -What are you doing? The minotaurs who were previously fighting the slaves seeing how their opponents all fell to the ground walked around the side of the phalanx straight to help their leader, they didn''t even give a single glance to the dead as their work was not yet finished nor was Asterion and Laconia. -I don''t know if we have time to discuss this, but you don''t need to get involved. Asterion and Laconia walked alongside the minotaurs, all of them had the same look in their eyes. All of Theseus warriors attacked Jason who had yet to receive a single blow from the minotaur, the only wounds on his body had been caused by Silao but Theseus did not seem to back down no matter how many cuts and thrusts he received, it was a battle of attrition and his soldiers did not come close to fighting fair, against an enemy of this caliber there were no luxuries like honor or justice and even though minotaurs are quite clumsy when it comes to throwing their blessings they accumulated large chunks of stone or bronze in their palms slowly forming javelins that they threw with all their might against the archon of light. -Aren''t you going to help him? Lita followed her companions who stopped just behind the wall of barely fifteen minotaurs, the phalanx had no intention of attacking them. -You only used ¡°forge¡± right? -Yes, I still have three favors left. -I''d tell you to attack as soon as he lets his guard down, but we both know he''ll never do anything like that, I¡¯ll give us chance. -Asterion... Be careful. -If I have it I''m sure it won''t work. The polemarch walked under the rain of javelins as Laconia ring glowed slightly. Lita watched the battle confused. Why didn''t the minotaurs attack the heleny? -Why do the mycenaeans seem to be allied with Asterion? Laconia slowly raised her sword pointing it at Jason. -Asterion seems to be liked by Theseus, I don''t know why. -Are you going to betray the archon? The archon right now had in his control a large amount of cynocephali in his control by copying the fifth favor of Silao, if he died the rest of the cynocephali that were enslaved would die as well. Lita pointed her bow at Laconia. -You don''t know what you''re doing, little doe. Despite being aimed the bestiary eyes did not stray from their target. -Convince me, big lizard. Embers came out of Laconia mouth as she spoke. -I''m not good with words like the polemarch so I''ll tell it to you straight, Jason was never on our side and we were never on his. Lita thought she understood the situation. -Same objectives, right? -No, we don''t even have the same objective. The cynocephalus face clouded with doubts. -Then why? -Fun. I don''t know if your people will be saved or not if we kill him, but it will be better than the fate they suffer right now. -What? -Open your eyes. Hundreds of Jason light controlled cynocephali were walking towards Helena, if all the marked by Silao were controlled by his favor now half of them were stolen by Jason favor and now these were marching silently over the pile of bodies. -What is he doing? -Choose which side you want to be on, doe. Asterion was slowly approaching through the ruins of the temple towards the center of the fight, both warriors were throwing slash after slash at each other like a bloody dance, the archon of light dodged every javelin, every slash, kick or blow as if he was seeing the future, his unsurpassed skill only stopped when he heard the voice of his companion. -JASON! The archon turned his gaze for just a moment as he cut off Theseus right hand. -Asterion? Lita ring lit up to its fullest and a small sphere of fire on the tip of her sword pulsed steadily. -I''m also sorry doe, but it''s too late for regrets now. - ¦Ë?¦Ã¦Ö¦Ç - A huge fire spear was heading towards Asterion who had his gaze fixed on Jason, the latter seeing how the favor would murder the polemarch had no choice but to save him while fighting Theseus. - ¦¡¦Ñ¦Ì¦Ï¦Í?¦Á - From the light of the fleece that covered the back of the archon of light came an exact copy of him completely white, contrary to the illusions of light that before generated the ruler this copy cut Theseus again and again, his sword burned the flesh of the minotaur avoiding the pink fire with an impossible precision and while this favor fought against the bull Jason with his sword cut in two the favor of Laconia as if it were a piece of paper, the fire covered every possible view and there were more and more embers coming out of Laconia mouth. -Go to the Hades. A second flare from inside the bestiary mouth was heading towards Asterion and the archon blade moved at such a speed that it redirected each flame away from both of them as he walked forward and when the last flame finally disappeared a terrible pain was felt in his neck, when the archon put his hand on his throat an unexpected obstacle was in the way, a small blade buried from his nape to his throat filled his whole mouth with blood as he turned his gaze. -I forgive you Jason. Asterion bloodied hands removed the dagger from the archon neck to direct it towards his heart, the blade struck full impact shattering the organ as they both stared into each other eyes. Each favor has a divine name that is given to the blessed to sing it to their god in order to receive their strength, the five fingers are the link between the blessed and their god while the voice is their prayer, having five fingers allows you to control the blessing but without voice you cannot sing a favor, Asterion dagger had completely destroyed the archon throat and the face of the polemarch had a sad and sweet smile full of rage, regret and satisfaction. -Farewell archon. When the polemarch tried to withdraw the dagger from Jason chest he grabbed his arm with such force that it destroyed his radius and ulna like tree branches and forced him even closer. Javelins of stone and bronze were flying towards the archon, Laconia was running with all her strength to join the combat and Lita bow stopped drawing as she watched without making a decision. When Asterion looked Jason in his eyes again he smiled back and the polemarch left ear heard the archon voice even though the archon was not moving his lips. -You finally took the offensive, Asterion. The polemarch had seen hundreds of times how Jason sword was so fast that when it cut the air it seemed to whistle, but for the first time in his life he had seen how the sword was ¡°speaking¡± to him, cutting the air and generating sound waves exactly like the archon voice. -Let''s keep playing. Jason fleece shone as if it was the brighter star in the middle of the darkest night. - ¦¤¦Å¦Ë¦Õ¦Ï? -