Mythology: Spiritual Ruler

"Hiss——"

"Ugh..."

The bronze carriage galloped in the sky, and the four divine horses kept galloping.

Holding the goddess of beauty with a broken arm, Ares couldn't help but feel anxious.

People are different in the world, and gods are also different.

This is especially true for new gods born in the world after the birth of those ancient gods who symbolize part of the world. Aphrodite is a typical example.

I don't know if it is because of the influence of the priesthood, the incarnation of love and beauty should not have a strong physique, or perhaps it is caused by other factors. In short, the body of the goddess of beauty does seem to be much more fragile than other gods.

It is not surprising to have an arm cut off by a sword, but it is not a serious injury for most gods. Even if it were Ares himself, it might arouse the reaction of his priesthood, making him more courageous in the blood.

But when the same thing happened to Aphrodite, she fainted and fell to the ground, and she didn't wake up until now.

Ares didn't know why, but as a warrior, his keen intuition told him that it was because the goddess of beauty was missing something, and it was related to him...

Unfortunately, Ares, who had not read the "script", could not know that he had the opportunity to have a son who was suspected to be related to the original gods. He would control the love and desire of the world, and even Apollo was tortured to death.

It may be related, it may not be related, but for Ares who didn't know about this, he would never associate Aphrodite's problem with this.

Compared with these, he was nervously watching the goddess of beauty who had awakened.

"Um... What am I-"

"!"

Waking up from a short coma, Aphrodite subconsciously wanted to cover her forehead.

But the next moment, she instantly realized something.

She was missing an arm, and someone had cut off one of her hands!

She, the most beautiful woman in the world, had one of her hands cut off by a mortal! ! !

"... Ah ah ah ah ah---!"

The sharp voice cut through the sky, piercing Ares' eardrums.

But thinking that the other party had ended up in this situation just to help him, the God of War couldn't help but blame himself.

"Damn humans!"

"Why can't they just listen to me, provide me with faith from morning to night every day, and then die honestly?!"

After blaming himself for a moment, Ares soon realized that as the God of War, how could he be wrong?

Gods may be wrong in conflicts between gods.

But in conflicts between gods and humans, it must not be his fault.

So Ares quickly found the culprit, that is, the entire human race.

The human species is indeed born rebellious, only knowing how to enjoy the grace of the gods but not knowing how to give back, but always unsatisfied.

And some rebellious remarks among humans... The whole world belongs to the gods, and you are still discussing the relationship between gods and humans?

It's a joke that livestock are also qualified to discuss status with their owners.

"Ares! You did a good job!"

A loud rebuke instantly brought the God of War's thoughts back to the present.

Aphrodite, who had suddenly changed her expression, seemed to have accepted the reality. She was looking at this incompetent guy with anger.

Aren't you the god of war? But your reaction is not as fast as that of a mortal. Why don't you just die!

"Aphrodite, I don't want to do that either, but I rely more on my fighting instinct to guide myself in battle."

"I trust you wholeheartedly, so how could I be alert because of your approach? It's just that mortal..."

"Enough!"

Aphrodite interrupted Ares's defense and said with gritted teeth: "I think you are incompetent!"

"I'll treat Theseus as an exception; now there's an inexplicable guy, and you still can't beat him."

"It's useless to count on you. It seems that I have to do it myself, otherwise you won't be able to do anything in another ten thousand years!"

"No, Aphrodite."

Hurry to explain, Ares argued: "You know, this is far from my true strength."

"In a one-on-one fight with others in the world, I don't have an advantage over other gods who are good at fighting. The [War] priesthood has some blessing on personal force, but it's not as big as imagined, but I There is an army!"

"Mortals are mortals, they can never understand the greatness of divine power. That lowly ant, he still wants to usurp the title of God of War - haha, if the priesthood of [War] only makes me better at fighting, how can it become one of the top priesthoods in the world? "

"My church trained guards for me, each of them has been baptized by my divine blood and can perform low-level divine arts... They will become an extension of my authority on the battlefield, and even when a large-scale war breaks out, I can gain powerful power from the vast battlefield. "

"Afu, this is where my real power lies - if it weren't for this, with the temper of the Mother Goddess, she wouldn't have let me be the main force against Athena after scolding me -"

"Shut up!"

"Ares, so you still feel proud?"

A little bit angry and laughed, Aphrodite really couldn't understand Ares's brain circuit.

What the hell are you talking about, you are still very proud?

Hera knows that you are a waste, but she still has to make you do things, just because you, a waste, still have value in recycling, right... If you have any brains, I'm afraid you won't say such words.

For a moment, Aphrodite didn't know what to say.

Hera had been afraid of Athena for a long time. She didn't believe that the daughter of her rival would not react during the attack on Athens.

Although Ares was just a card she prepared, it was far from being played at this time, especially for such a ridiculous reason - because Ares couldn't beat a mortal who came out of nowhere, so he could only use this to save his face that had long been lost!

Shaking his head, the wound on his shoulder gradually healed as he got closer and closer to the sacred mountain.

However, after listening to Ares's "wise" remarks, Aphrodite was still ready to do something herself.

It was no use relying on him. Fortunately, not all the people on the sacred mountain were useless. At least many of them were still capable.

Among these people, the first person Aphrodite thought of was a short and lame guy.

In terms of appearance, in the eyes of the Chaos gods, who are obsessed with appearance, Hephaestus is undoubtedly the most disabled among the disabled, so that no gods have ever been willing to get close to him.

But in terms of craftsmanship, even the Cyclops is far inferior to him.

Forging is a human behavior, and it can also become a kind of humanistic priesthood.

But the creation of artifacts is not just based on the so-called [casting] priesthood, it is more of a special gift.

The world itself has this ability, and many artifacts that are natural or associated are born because of this.

Some gods also have this ability at some special time points, such as Gaia's sickle.

There is also a last kind of existence, they are born with similar special gifts, such as the former Cyclops, and the current Hephaestus.

They all have the ability to cast artifacts, and Hephaestus is particularly powerful.

He can always make something with special functions, and Aphrodite has also used this ability.

A legend says that the gift given by Aphrodite to her daughter for marriage, which eventually led to the source of hundreds of years of tragedy in Thebes, is actually such a thing.

It is actually a divine artifact forged by Hephaestus - of course, it is not a real divine artifact with authority, but it is definitely not an ordinary creation.

Such a product was named "sub-divine artifact" by Hephaestus.

Sub-divine artifacts may not be weaker than divine artifacts, but they certainly do not have the power of authority, and universal power has its limits.

But compared to the rare real divine artifacts, this kind of thing is already a rare treasure.

"Let's go, Ares, go find Hephaestus and let him help us think of a solution - don't look at me, think carefully with your pig brain, instead of just thinking about problems with your muscles!"

"Oh, I forgot, you can't even compare with others in muscles now."

Continuing to sneer, Ares's face kept changing.

However, the God of War finally said nothing, but turned the frame to a palace at the foot of the sacred mountain.

The craftsman god Hephaestus rarely stayed in the sacred mountain. He preferred to stay on the island of Lemnos where he grew up.

But recently, for the sake of human affairs, he still stayed in the sacred mountain for a while.

"There are indeed many useless things made by Hephaestus, but there are also many strange uses."

"I hope I can find a divine weapon that can help me solve the problem this time..."

Sighing, Aphrodite felt that she was really unlucky.

If time was not urgent, she really didn't want to drag her broken arm to see this blacksmith who was missing a leg.

...

That night, Mount Olympus stood under the vast and endless starry sky.

A naked lava river flowed out from a peak extending from the main body of the sacred mountain.

The river seemed to be born in the air, allowing the lava to flow from the belly of the mountain into the air and return, forming eighteen circles in the air.

This is the embodiment of Hephaestus's authority and also the help he helped to forge divine weapons.

After all, compared to his great name as the God of Craftsmen, his real job is actually the god who controls volcanoes and lava.

As if entering an uninhabited place, the bronze chariot drove through the "river" formed by the lava rivers.

An obsidian door opened automatically to welcome the distinguished guests from afar.

Compared with the magnificent temples of other gods, this temple made entirely of obsidian seems a bit dark.

Coupled with the workshops and buildings that kept making noises inside, even if Hephaestus filled his palace with gold and silver decorations, he was still incompatible with the gods of Olympus, just like himself.

Walking into it, Ares unexpectedly saw girls of various appearances. But when the power flowed in his eyes, he instantly saw through the secret behind them.

Even the nymphs were rarely willing to follow the god of craftsmanship. Of course, these could not all be naturally born elves.

In fact, they were all some exquisitely crafted puppets.

They hammered and hammered on the workbenches, and exquisite ornaments, utensils, furniture, and weapons were made from them.

Today, 99% of the creations on the sacred mountain actually come from here.

"It is said that the God of Craftsmanship has no kingdom of God. He chose to give his believers a chance for a new life - those who are incomplete, old, and ugly can find the body they like under Hephaestus and live another life in another way."

"Now it seems that the rumors are not false."

Ares was a little surprised because he had never been here before, but he just took a look.

It's just a weird skill. No matter how good you are at it, is he still a person who forges iron and forges utensils for the gods?

"Okay, shut up."

Speaking coldly, Aphrodite took two quick steps and walked all the way in.

She has been here before, more than once.

Soon, deep in the temple, he and Ares saw the presence of Hephaestus.

"……Um……"

"So, you met a mortal with immortality?"

Even though he was in his own palace, Hephaestus' true body was still not exposed on the ground because he didn't know if he had foreseen the coming person.

The tall golden throne made him levitate, just above Ares's height.

"Yes, as you can see, he gave me a sword."

She did not hide her injuries, and even Aphrodite knew that although she, as the God of Beauty, was not 'beautiful' all the time, in the eyes of Hephaestus, perhaps she was the 'most beautiful' at this moment.

"Hmm...I understand."

Sure enough, Aphrodite saw the flash of surprise in the eyes of the God of Craftsman, and it seemed that her problem was solved.

After just thinking for a moment, Hephaestus raised his hand slightly and asked an attendant puppet to fetch a large golden net from the warehouse.

The big net shines brightly and looks extremely luxurious.

But for some reason, Ares felt a sense of disgust the moment he saw it.

"What's this?"

"As you can see, it's a net."

Speaking calmly, Hephaestus said: "It's just that even if you fall into this net, you won't be able to get out for a while - I mean, even if you are on the sacred mountain, it will still be the same."

"Oh, how could I fall into the net?"

I was shocked, but Ares showed disdain.

He thought he had found the reason why he disliked the big net, because it could threaten him. It was such an ingenious craftsmanship... However, what Ares didn't know was that his fate with this golden net didn't stop there.

In the original mythological trajectory, Ares was not Aphrodite's husband, on the contrary, Hephaestus was.

However, even so, the two still got together.

So in order to catch the adulterer, the Craftsman God made this big net, catching the naked God of Beauty and the God of War, and then called all the gods on Mount Olympus to watch - as for what kind of mentality he has here, then Most people may not be able to understand it.

"With this, any incorruptible body will be useless."

"Because you don't need to kill him, you just need to trap him."

"The indestructible body is not an invincible force. It is not as difficult to deal with as you think. As long as you use your brain a little, there are actually many ways to solve it."

Still staring at Aphrodite, Hephaestus introduced his artifact.

However, just when Ares was about to step forward to take it, he withdrew his hand.

"What do you mean?"

Ares asked.

Facing the question from the God of War, Hephaestus looked strange.

"You don't plan to take my things for nothing, do you? I do have to do something to deal with Athens. That's the Queen's order, but it doesn't mean that I have to clean up the mess you left."

"you--"

"Shut up."

Interrupting Ares again, Aphrodite smiled, and the entire temple suddenly bloomed with flowers.

"So, Hephaestus, what do you want?"

"I want you-"

He spoke calmly, and then Hephaestus continued to add under Ares's expression.

"I want you to be my 'model'."

"Um?"

"I mean, I'm going to make a doll just like you."

With a trace of obsession flashing in his eyes, Hephaestus said slowly: "The world only knows that perfection is art, but they don't know that imperfection is also a kind of beauty. And the right imperfection is the beauty of beauty."

"Before, I just had this idea, but I didn't know how to express it, until I saw you today, the noble God of Beauty."

"You are truly beautiful now."

Subconsciously he straightened up, the short craftsman's eyes sparkled.

"I will make you a life-size doll, with only slight modifications based on the current one - of course, I promise you that unless the sacred mountain collapses and the divine court is no longer there, I will never let it spread to the outside world."

"It will be the ultimate art... As for her name, I plan to name her [Aphrodite with Broken Arm]."