Legend Management Bureau Chapter 140

[ … words ]

Following the naming of the city, the banquet drew to a close.

However, Poseidon, still smarting from his recent humiliation, kept his eyes locked firmly on Athena, his gaze burning with unbridled rage.

“Brother, what exactly are you trying to do?” Zeus inquired. “Was I not clear just now?”

Poseidon shot Zeus a sideways glance. “Marrying this woman is entirely out of the question. She might possess a beautiful face, but she completely lacks any feminine charm. Sooner or later, I will kill her.”

“That simply will not do,” Zeus chuckled, shaking his head. “She is my most beloved daughter. If you were to do that, you would put me in a very difficult position.”

Athena fixed Poseidon with a glacial stare. “If you wish to cross blades, I will not cower before you. Slaying the God of the Sea would be the crowning glory of my life.”

“Very well!” Poseidon roared as he suddenly surged to his feet. His massive frame erupted with a furious aura, and the trident in his hand shimmered with a terrifying blue light as he leveled it at Athena. “Then let us see who shall claim this glory!”

The surrounding deities sensed the explosive tension in the air and instinctively fell silent. The lively banquet hall felt as though it were about to transform into a brutal gladiatorial arena.

Noticing the escalating situation, Ramura immediately darted away from Du Yu’s side and placed herself between the two gods, her body radiating a brilliant golden light.

“Oh!” Zeus exclaimed, quickly rising to his feet. “You have angered Ramura! Cease this at once!”

Ramura glanced at Zeus, her expression remarkably composed, and stated,

“I have brought guests from afar, and I refuse to let them witness such senseless bickering.”

“Oh? Guests from afar, you say… You are quite right, Ramura,” Zeus mused. Turning to his brother, he asked, “Allow me to confirm this one last time, brother. Are you absolutely certain you will not marry Athena?”

“As I have already said, brother, this woman’s only fate is to die beneath my trident.”

“Very well!” Zeus nodded approvingly. “Since you do not want her, brother, I shall take Athena as my own wife.”

The assembled deities froze in shock. Even Du Yu and Asuka were taken aback. Was it really that abrupt?

“Since we are hosting guests from a distant land, it is only proper that we shield them from strife and instead offer them joy. I shall arrange another grand banquet at the earliest opportunity—a celebration of my wedding to Athena! That way, brother, you will no longer have any grounds to kill her.”

Hera, the Queen of the Gods seated beside Zeus, immediately furrowed her brows, a distinct flash of resentment dancing in her eyes.

“Brother, this woman does not possess a single ounce of femininity. Why on earth would you wish to marry her?” Poseidon scoffed.

“It is quite simple, really,” Zeus smirked. “I am bored. My lovers and wives are all mature women. I have grown tired of them, and I find myself eager to sample the delights of a virgin goddess.”

Unable to stomach another word, Du Yu pushed his chair back and stood up to leave. Catching sight of this, Ramura hurriedly called out to Zeus, “Then it is settled! We shall hold the banquet as soon as possible!”

With that, she spun on her heel and sprinted after Du Yu.

“God of Huaxia!” Ramura called out, finally managing to grab Du Yu’s sleeve just as he reached the banquet hall doors. “Why are you leaving again?”

Du Yu’s expression was grim. After a moment of thought, he replied, “Lady, if my ears aren’t deceiving me, Zeus originally had no intention of marrying Athena. He only made this spur-of-the-moment decision to take her as his wife because you brought me up in front of him, didn’t he?”

Ramura paused to ponder his accusation. She had to admit, he was absolutely right.

“In other words…” Du Yu glared at Ramura with clear exasperation. “There would have been absolutely no issues with this myth if you hadn’t deliberately gone out of your way to create them for me.”

“I…” Ramura protested, looking as though she had been deeply wronged. “You heard what Zeus said yourself! Even if you hadn’t shown up, he has coveted Athena’s beauty for ages. It would have happened eventually…”

“But it wouldn’t have happened right now,” Du Yu snapped. “Are you pulling all these stunts just to test my capabilities?”

Ramura remained stubbornly silent, hanging her head without saying a word.

“Fine then. Since that’s how it is, allow me to show you how I usually do things.”

Without another word, Du Yu bypassed the main structure and strode purposefully toward the backyard. Asuka hurried closely behind him.

“God of Huaxia, where are you going?” Ramura called out in confusion.

“I am going to wait for that male favorite to come out so I can save him,” Du Yu declared. “Ever since this little exchange program of yours began, I’ve completely lost sight of my original principle: do good deeds without asking for anything in return. I have compromised time and time again, and I’ve gained absolutely nothing from it.”

“You cannot!” Ramura cried, desperately grabbing at Du Yu’s wrist, only to be shaken off repeatedly. “You must not take Ganymede away! He is far too important to the lore.”

“I cannot change your pantheon of gods because they revel in their current depravity. The only person I can save is that favorite, who still seems to have a shred of sanity remaining. As for your precious myths and your future, I couldn’t care less.”

Ramura frowned deeply. As if suddenly recalling something crucial, she stopped dead in her tracks, making no further move to pursue him.

Fuming with indignation, Du Yu marched toward the sprawling backyard. Beside him, Shiranui Asuka whispered cautiously, “Senior Du Yu… Senior Ramura doesn’t seem to be following us.”

Throwing a quick glance over his shoulder, Du Yu confirmed that Ramura was indeed nowhere to be seen. He shrugged it off. It didn’t matter; his sole focus was rescuing the tragic favorite.

He lingered in the courtyard for quite some time, but the area remained deserted. Du Yu distinctly remembered Ganymede claiming he would slip away to this exact spot once the banquet concluded. Since the crowd inside hadn’t completely dispersed yet, he had no choice but to wait in silence.

“Senior Du Yu…” Asuka began hesitantly. “What exactly do you plan to do after you rescue him?”

“I have no idea. But I have a nagging suspicion that as long as I remain wrapped up in this myth, Ramura will keep throwing obstacles in my path. That being the case, I might as well take the boy and depart immediately. I will get some peace and quiet, and save her the trouble of plotting against me.”

The two of them continued to bide their time. Only when the echoing laughter from the banquet hall finally faded into silence did a shadowy figure creep stealthily into the yard. It was none other than Ganymede.

“Ah!” The boy gasped softly the moment he spotted Du Yu, tears rapidly welling up in his eyes. “God from a foreign land, you actually came! I… I…”

“Say no more,” Du Yu interrupted gently. “I genuinely despise how the gods in this realm conduct themselves. If you truly wish to escape, I will help you flee.”

Ganymede dropped heavily to his knees, hitting the ground with a soft thud. “Thank you so much… Every waking moment here is a fate worse than death… Not even my own family cares whether I live or die. The ones who abducted me are gods! I didn’t think anyone in this world possessed the power to defy them…”

“I cannot openly defy them either. After all, I am merely an outsider here.”

As he spoke, Du Yu extended his hand and traced a large circle in the empty air. With a hum of energy, a glowing portal tore open, revealing the dark expanse of the Underworld on the other side.

“The only thing I can do for you right now is whisk you away from this place. I will take you to a completely different realm, and from there, we can slowly figure out what to do next.”

“Yes! Anything!” Ganymede wept, clearly uncaring of where the portal led so long as it took him far away from Mount Olympus.

Yet, despite his desperate eagerness, Ganymede remained firmly rooted to the spot, completely motionless.

Du Yu frowned in confusion. “What is wrong? Step through the portal and you will be free.”

“I… I cannot move…” Ganymede choked out, his face contorting in sudden agony.

Du Yu squinted, peering closely at the youth. To his shock, several faint golden threads were wrapped tightly around Ganymede’s body, binding him firmly like unbreakable ropes.

‘Could someone else be here?’

Du Yu whipped his head around just in time to see two figures stepping out from the shadows of the hall. One was Ramura, and the other was none other than the Queen of the Gods, Hera.

Hera surveyed the scene before her with an expression of sheer disgust. “Just as Ramura warned. You pathetic, lowly wretch. To think you would actually attempt to seduce a foreign god right under our noses.”

“Seduce a foreign god?” Du Yu repeated, utterly dumbfounded. He didn’t know much about this Hera character, but her foul mouth was seriously grating on his nerves. “Do I look like I swing that way?”

“Tell me, Ganymede. Do you enjoy pouring wine so much?” Blatantly ignoring Du Yu, Hera raised her hand, summoning a torrent of eerie, twisting magical energy. “I shall punish you right now in Zeus’s stead.”

The moment the words left her mouth, a sinister sphere of magic hurtled toward the boy. Sensing the immense danger, Du Yu cursed under his breath and immediately threw himself in front of Ganymede to block the incoming attack.

Shiranui Asuka shrieked in horror. Moving with lightning speed, she tackled Du Yu out of the way just in the nick of time. With nothing left to obstruct its path, the magical sphere slammed directly into Ganymede’s chest.

“Asuka! Why did you—”

“Senior Du Yu, you wouldn’t have been able to block that spell!”

The two of them whipped their heads back around, only to witness Ganymede’s face warping into a grotesque mask of pure agony. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Du Yu, brimming with sorrow and resentment as he wheezed, “Take… me… away… Please, take me…”

But before he could finish his desperate plea, a blinding golden light erupted from his body. Beneath the brilliant glare, his physical form began to rapidly shrink.

As everyone watched in stunned silence, Ganymede’s body melted and twisted until he was transformed into an exquisite, transparent wine jug. Sloshing gently inside the cursed vessel was a pool of pale blue liquid.

“Hahahahaha!” Hera threw her head back and cackled with manic glee. “Since you love pouring wine so much, you can serve wine for the rest of eternity!”

Du Yu stared at the tragic wine jug with wide, unblinking eyes. His hands trembled uncontrollably at his sides. If Ganymede had never crossed paths with him, the young man would still be alive and whole right now.

“Yingning,” Du Yu called out softly.

“What is it?”

“Help me butcher the woman standing over there. Do this for me, and I swear I will grant you any favor you desire in the future.”

“Oh?” Yingning’s voice carried a hint of amusement. “Are you truly offering me such an irresistible proposition?”

“I am. I have absolutely reached my limit,” Du Yu growled through clenched teeth. “I refuse to play along with this farce any longer. I am going to make Ramura realize that dragging me into this damned myth to witness these vile tragedies will be the single greatest regret of her immortal life.”

“That woman’s aura suggests she possesses strength equivalent to a Great Luo Golden Immortal. I cannot guarantee a swift victory, but I shall do my utmost,” Yingning replied smoothly.

“That’s fine. I will help you,” Du Yu stated coldly. Reaching into his inventory, he drew a gleaming rapier. Beside him, Yingning’s ethereal form slowly materialized into reality.

“Oh?” Ramura and Hera both frowned, momentarily confused by the sudden appearance of the fox demon and the drawn blade.

“God of Huaxia, what do you think you are doing?!” Ramura demanded.

“I am going to teach you a bloody lesson, you heartless witch,” Du Yu spat fiercely. “And I’ll start by carving it into your precious Queen of the Gods!”

Hera’s face darkened into a furious scowl. She glared at Du Yu and hissed, “Out of respect for your status as a foreign guest, I initially had no intention of making things difficult for you. But it seems you are eager to court death by challenging me!”

With a disdainful flick of her wrist, Hera launched another deadly orb of magic directly at Du Yu’s face. Du Yu’s expression didn’t so much as twitch. Without missing a beat, he traced another circle in the air, manifesting a glowing portal right in front of him. The exit to this portal opened precisely behind Hera’s back.

The terrifying spell instantly plunged into the spatial rift in front of Du Yu, only to shoot out from the void behind Hera, hurtling directly toward her unprotected spine.