Chapter 201: The Mystery of the Scabbard (Second Update)

The battle on-site had already ended.

The scene before Diana felt incredibly strange.

Menelaus should have been filled with hatred toward Atreus, but his demeanor didn't match that of a man facing his wife's kidnapper. Instead, it seemed like he was passing on something to Atreus, almost as if it were a legacy.

This didn't align with Diana's sense of justice.

At that moment, her aunt approached, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Diana, you weren't born in the era of myths, so you don't understand the rules of that time. Back then, there were no rules, especially since even Zeus, the king of the gods, was a reckless tyrant. Naturally, the other gods wouldn’t care about justice or fairness either. All reasoning was at the tip of a sword. The victor claimed everything, and the defeated had no hope except to beg for mercy."

“…”

"Also, ending Menelaus' life so decisively was, in fact, giving a true hero the final respect he deserved."

Penthesilea pointed to the Greek guards who had fled in fear. Abruptly, a cold light rose from their resplendent golden armor.

In the next instant, it transformed into dozens, even hundreds, of tangible blades, tearing the guards into pieces.

This… was the power of Ares, the God of War!

“Trash!”

Though Ares himself hadn’t descended, the trio could still hear the echo of that word in their minds from the power lurking in the guards’ armor.

Whether it was Atreus or the two fierce women, they all felt the indifference from the high and mighty war god.

The God of War had no need for soldiers who couldn’t fight!

That was his divine nature!

With mortal lives and blood, he proclaimed his arrogance.

If Menelaus hadn't mustered the courage to thrust his final sword earlier, his fate wouldn't have been much better than those runaway guards.

“It’s over.” Atreus casually opened a portal and left the scene with the three women.

Was killing Menelaus a mistake or the right choice?

Atreus didn’t know.

Ever since he crossed over, all his dreams, ambitions, and success were triggered by the Godslayer system, which Wonder Woman helped him activate. So, everything had to revolve around her destiny.

They arrived at a countryside villa in Belgium, occupied by Germany. It originally belonged to a barely reputable Junker noble, but since the family was in Berlin for the war, only a German butler and a few servants were left behind. Using his black mask, Atreus naturally took over this quiet villa.

After Menelaus' death, Helen was clearly in low spirits.

In truth, Athena had long since lifted her restrictions, and if Atreus wanted to, Helen wouldn’t have refused.

However, neither she nor Atreus was in the mood.

On the villa’s terrace, Diana seemed a little melancholy. “Atreus, what are we going to do next? Now that I’m here, I’ve realized Germany is a vast country. Finding Ares hidden here is like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

Yes, compared to the small Paradise Island, Germany was indeed massive.

Finding a true god who had concealed his aura would be no easy task.

If they followed the original plot of Wonder Woman, Atreus had two names in mind: General Ludendorff of Germany and Sir Patrick of Britain.

The problem was that the plot in this parallel world had already deviated beyond recognition.

At the very least, there was no Greek Empire in the original storyline.

It didn’t matter though—Atreus had a plan.

Not based on his memories of ‘history,’ but on Ares’ nature.

“We don’t have to do anything. Let’s just wait for the invitation.”

“An invitation? From whom?”

“Ares!”

The entire room was shocked by these words.

“Wait, are you saying Ares will come to us?” Penthesilea was startled.

“Of course, what else? This is a world war, the God of War's domain. Every sound of war, every person’s whisper, even their deepest thoughts, can be transmitted to him. It’s not a matter of whether he can hear it, but whether he wants to. That’s Ares!”

As if in response to Atreus's words, the doorbell of the villa rang.

Not long after, the hypnotized butler brought over an invitation.

“Sir, General Ludendorff invites you to a banquet.” In the butler’s mind, Atreus was the master he served, and he saw nothing unusual about this.

Only the two Amazon warriors felt a sense of discord.

“Have we really been discovered?” Diana gritted her teeth.

“Maybe. We’ll find out when we get there,” Atreus answered nonchalantly.

A trap?

Or maybe not?

Either way, they wouldn’t know Ares' whereabouts without attending the banquet.

Though he was a God of War, Ares acted more like a God of Conspiracy, lurking in the shadows and manipulating the upper echelons of various countries to fuel this unprecedented world war.

As for the banquet, Atreus kept things simple—a German military uniform was enough.

Given his tall, muscular build, he looked great in uniform, though his face was a bit too menacing.

The women, however, were in for a challenge.

According to the dress code for the banquet, it was either low-cut or backless gowns.

By the time they were ready the next evening, Atreus was speechless.

The aunt-niece duo's outfit left him dumbfounded.

Since the villa had limited clothing, the only two fitting gowns were both backless, and they both opted to place their swords on their backs as accessories.

The ornate sword hilts rested between their shoulder blades like some sort of novel decoration.

Atreus couldn’t suppress his curiosity and went to tease Penthesilea’s sword.

“What are you doing?” The queen swatted Atreus's hand away.

“I was just wondering, doesn’t your sword cut into your butt?”

The Amazon warriors used wide-bladed Greek swords, about four fingers wide. Even with a scabbard, how much strength would it take to keep the sword in place?

The queen was both embarrassed and angry. “You know this, and yet you haven’t thought of a solution?”

Atreus looked again and laughed.

They were literally just holding it in place!

After some playful banter and a bit of scolding, Atreus, a part-time ‘space mage,’ finally created a temporary spatial scabbard for the two of them. The sword blades were tucked into a small space rift, allowing them to draw the swords by pulling on the hilt.

Finally, they were ready.

European banquets always seemed to follow the same patterns.

Atreus wasn’t familiar with the etiquette of a hundred years ago, but upon entering the hall, he realized it was all the same.

Holding a champagne flute and casually swirling its contents, Atreus stood between the two Amazonian beauties. With his good looks and their stunning appearances, they quickly became the center of attention.

However, he introduced himself to everyone he met with, "I am Reinhardt."

Ahem!

This little farce continued until General Ludendorff’s arrival, at which point the real drama began.

Almost the moment Atreus encountered the seemingly elderly white-haired general, a system notification popped up.

[Attention, Host! You are under the pressure of Ares’ divine power. You must undergo a mandatory Willpower Check…]

(End of Chapter)