Chapter 83: Chapter 76: Everyone go first, I'll cover the rear!
Crete Island, before the coastal fortress.
The sudden change made King Minos the focus of the battlefield; with one hand he tore off the cumbersome, tattered robe from his body, revealing his upper body's muscles, as solid as forged steel, with the other hand he lifted the golden scepter that symbolized the divine right of the Cretan crown, pointing towards the dark sea swarming with the Sea Beasts, and he laughed heartily.
"Talos, my sword, my shield! Now that you've awakened, assist me in sweeping away the foreign enemies!"
"—As you command, my king!"
The stern response came from behind the coastal fortress, rumbling through the surroundings like rolling thunder.
On the horizon, the towering bronze giant, as colossal as a mountain, overlooked the invading tide of Sea Beasts, slowly spreading his arms. On his bronzed shell, thousands of light patterns sparkled to life one after another and resonated with each other.
Humming sounds filled the air!
Twelve unevenly sized rings of light formed one after another on the bronze giant's arms, legs, neck, back, and chest, then, like the muzzles of cannon turrets, they automatically tuned and focused towards the sea where the Sea Beasts converged.
"—Aether Constriction, divine power loaded!"
The mechanical voice echoed again as the twelve rings of light on the bronze giant inverted, drawing in a powerful surge.
Instantly, the aether from the earth veins and the aether in the air condensed into a tangible Magic Tide, like rivers rushing into the sea, frantically converging towards the colossal bronze figure.
In just a blink of an eye, the lines beneath the bronze skin, like human blood vessels, were filled with Essence Fluid, a concentrated mix of magic power.
The surging 'blood of the gods' flowed towards the heart chamber of the bronze giant's chest and, under the coordinated tuning and focusing of the twelve light rings, eventually transformed into an extremely bright stream of light that burst forth.
—Essence Fluid Cannon, annihilation mode activated!
In an instant, a dazzling strip of light several tens of meters in diameter tore through the thin night, spanning the vast sea, plowing a fathomless trench.
After about ten seconds, the divine flood subsided, and the deep, kilometer-long fissure in the sea was only then filled by the returning tumultuous waters.
"Splash!"
In the surging waves, the previously crowded and noisy sea surface suddenly became silent and subdued; the writhing groups of Sea Beasts in the center were no more; the formerly dark waters now stained with a crimson tide.
"Hiss~~!"
In the midst of the dead quiet, every creature shocked by the scene before them couldn't help but gasp in cold air.
Just one strike had wiped out the tens of thousands of Sea Beasts gathered along the coast of Crete Island, such might was simply terrifying! Stay updated with m-v l|e'm,p y r
Surely, only the deities could accomplish this feat with such ease!
Of course, they weren't wrong, in theory.
The one responsible for this feat was indeed a 'Quasi-God.'
Luo En turned to look beyond the coastal fortress, at the towering figure standing against the horizon, and recalled its origin in his mind.
The bronze giant Talos, belonging to the Bronze Age, had survived calamities and lived to this day.
His race predated the many Demigods and heroes with divine blood who had established and ruled over human city-states.
Legend has it that these beings from the Bronze Age were created by the Craftsman God Hephaestus at the command of Zeus, in a fashion similar to how Pandora was created, forging them from bronze and stone.
They were created to fill the void left by the original humans after their extinction in the Great Flood, to appease the wrath of Mother Earth Gaia.
Therefore, these bronze giants possessed a bronze outer shell and human form, complete with veins that ran from the neck to the knees or ankles, and it was this vein that powered the bronze giants, with the essence of the gods flowing within.
However, due to the lack of wisdom's infusion and their proficiency in battle, the bronze giants indulged in destruction and slaughter, becoming an increasingly significant threat to terrestrial life, making Mother Earth Gaia even more dissatisfied.
Thus, Zeus ended this attempt at re-creation and ordered the Craftsman God Hephaestus to destroy the increasingly uncontrollable Bronze race.
In that catastrophe, Talos, who had Melia Fairies' blood within him and possessed uncommon rationality, was an individual exception and became the sole survivor of the great disaster.
Later, thanks to the grace of Mother Earth Gaia, Deucalion and Pyrrha, representing the new humanity, multiplied and flourished on the earth once more.
The solitary Talos was then taken to the sacred mountain to serve the deities of Olympus.
Subsequently, Zeus, who loved sowing his seed, transformed into a white bull and abducted Europa to Crete Island, where she, as a divine consort on earth, would propagate his Divine King lineage.
Considering his mortal lover Europa was too fragile, Zeus gave her three gifts.
They were; the bronze giant Talos, the Golden Hound, and a jug of unerring golden arrows.
After some changes, the divine consort Europa then bestowed the three upon her son with Zeus, Minos, to help him defend his territory.
Since then, the bronze giant Talos had become a subordinate of King Minos, continuously patrolling Crete Island on his behalf, initially achieving glorious military exploits.
As the Minoan civilization grew stronger, Talos gradually found no further use in combat and faded from people's sights. Following King Minos's orders, he went into hibernation underground, to avoid harming the innocent.
Unexpectedly, after a hundred years,
due to this catastrophic Sea Beast invasion from the sea, Talos, once a guardian and weapon of war, was once again awakened by King Minos. He resurfaced on Crete Island, showcasing the terrifying destructive force he once had as a creation of the gods.