Chapter 193: A Feud Spanning Two Thousand Years

"As everyone knows," the process of World War I mainly involved battles between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers.

The German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, and Kingdom of Bulgaria belonged to the Central Powers, while the British Empire, French Third Republic, Russian Empire, Kingdom of Italy, and the United States were part of the Allies.

The Central Powers were relatively more concentrated, while the Allies had greater numbers.

In the end, the Allies won, and Germany, as the leading nation of the Central Powers, became the defeated country, which paved the way for the rise of an Austrian art school dropout during World War II.

But now, this map is completely different, with the biggest change being in Greece.

Originally, Greece was a member of the Allies in World War I, but now it has jumped to the Central Powers, and its territory is shockingly large.

This Greek Empire is a massively enhanced version of Ancient Greece, with its territory encompassing present-day Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, and Egypt in North Africa. Its empire has turned half of the Mediterranean into an inland sea.

The most outrageous part is the names of the Greek Empire’s rulers. The emperor's name happens to be Menelaus, the Duke of Bulgaria is Agamemnon, the Duke of Italy is Odysseus, the Duke of Egypt is Great Ajax, and the Duke of Libya next door is Little Ajax...

If one were to blatantly lie and call this a coincidence, what would you say when Helen, upon seeing the portrait of the Greek emperor, trembled uncontrollably and collapsed on the spot?

Atreus exchanged a glance with Penthesilea, utterly calm: "Well, well, looks like we’ve got a bunch of old friends."

The Amazon queen clenched her fist: "Perfect, this time we’ll kill them all."

Before coming here, Atreus had gone over the plot of Wonder Woman in his memory again and again. Now it seems that history itself can be thrown into the Aegean Sea.

The so-called plot has clearly deviated in a massive way.

Don't forget, Ares supported the Trojans in the Trojan War. Now, the kings and heroes of Greece, originally supported by Athena, have become the heads of the Greek Empire and joined the Central Powers in World War I.

Even someone as experienced as Atreus couldn’t help but mimic a famous meme, giving Menelaus and the others a thumbs-up and uttering the keyword—

"Epic!"

Atreus turned to Hippolyta: "Let me confirm, Ares is the only true god on the opposing side, right?"

Hippolyta nodded: "That's right! Ares initiated a rebellion against the Olympian gods and turned against all the deities. In that war of the gods, he was undoubtedly the victor. Most of the Olympians were wounded to varying degrees, and Zeus was forced to move Mount Olympus. Faced with Ares’ wrath, many Greeks, without the protection of the gods, chose to submit to him."

"…"

So that's why Menelaus and the others have lived for over two thousand years!

Diana chimed in: "Don’t worry too much about those traitors. Even today, as long as we fight against Ares, we can pray to the gods and get some response. Our task is to find Ares, who’s hiding among the Central Powers, and defeat him before he gathers enough strength to break through the shield of Themyscira."

A typical divide-and-conquer tactic.

The main force holds the line while the elite sneaks into the enemy's territory to attack from behind.

"But how do we find him?" Penthesilea asked with a wry smile.

Atreus stroked his chin: "I have a rough idea. But first, I need to borrow 'Holy Olive.'"

Hippolyta was surprised: "Holy Olive? That’s Athena’s sacred relic. Do you want to contact her?"

"Yes."

queen frowned: "That might be tricky. Since the war, Athena has rarely shown herself to mortals. Most of her followers have gone underground, engaging in secret societies. I know she’s okay through other gods, but she’s one of the hardest deities to contact."

Atreus was resolute: "That’s why I need the Holy Olive. If I seek her out in the ruins of the Temple of Athena in Greece, I don’t believe she won’t respond."

"We’re going to Greece, which is now the Central Powers’ stronghold." Hippolyta hesitated instinctively at first, but then reconsidered. After all, they were sending an elite team into enemy territory to kill a god—where else could be safer? She smiled bitterly and agreed: "Fine, but this won’t count as part of my reward."

Diana looked at Atreus: "How do we get to Greece?"

Hippolyta replied: "Forget about teleportation. The entire Aegean is Ares’ territory, and if there’s any spatial disturbance outside Themyscira, I fear he’ll sense it."

Atreus mused: "Then we’ll just take their warship."

"Seizing a ship? Sounds exciting," Penthesilea was a little thrilled.

"No, no, not like that. We’ll board it peacefully." A cold glint flashed in Atreus’s eyes: "No one understands hitching a ride better than I do."

The cruiser Georgios Averof was one of the main warships of the Greek Empire, displacing over ten thousand tons and considered a giant at sea.

It had been stationed at sea for a long time, and a warship needed constant supplies.

Food, fresh water, and ammunition were all indispensable.

A small cargo ship with a displacement of just one thousand tons had just finished resupplying this behemoth and joined a convoy of twelve other supply ships, protected by two escort frigates, making their slow way to Greece’s Port of Piraeus at a snail’s pace of 8 knots.

This port, the largest in all of Greece, was just 9 kilometers from Athens.

As the crew worked and chatted, they had no idea that the VIP suite, which was supposed to be empty, had occupants.

"We’re already aboard?" Diana asked in disbelief.

"What else?" Atreus deftly flipped an ebony black mask in his hand.

By now, Atreus hardly needed the Black Mask anymore. For powerful individuals, this item wasn’t just useless—it obstructed vision and dulled perception.

But for ordinary people without extraordinary abilities, the Black Mask was highly effective for mental manipulation.

In the eyes of the captain and the ship’s thirty-odd crew members, Atreus was a high-ranking official from the Central Powers on a secret mission. Their job was just to serve the four of them, no questions asked.

Such operations were rare but not unheard of.

As far as the captain and first mate were concerned, they had already verified Atreus’s credentials.

Meanwhile, Atreus noticed that Helen’s expression wasn’t good.

"Still afraid of Menelaus?"

After a moment of hesitation, Helen nodded.

Atreus smiled: "That’s right, this time, we’re going to settle this feud that has spanned two thousand years once and for all."

(End of this chapter)