Thanatos
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Yang Chen definitely didn’t think it would be that god.
As far as he knew, there existed many other gods outside the Twelve Olympians. However, following history’s long development, almost every other god had been slaughtered except the Twelve Olympians. A portion of them who had managed to survive, due to overly long lives, decided to take their own lives like the former Pluto. Furthermore, they had chosen to let go of their consciousness instead of proceeding to rebirth.
“I believe Your Majesty is familiar with the former Pluto’s assistants, the God of Death Thanatos and the God of Sleep Hypnos, who are siblings given birth by the Goddess of the Night Nyx. I don’t believe that you have met them before. While their divine weapons couldn’t rival the Helmet of Invisibility owned by the first-generation Hades, they were and are still no ordinary items,” said Sauron solemnly.
Yang Chen pondered for a while. “Sword of Thanatos, eh? I heard that once the sword touches any part of a human body, including a single hair, the soul of the body could be instantly sucked away. According to the current mythological story, Thanatos would cut off a dying person’s hair with the sword to take their souls. As far as I know, Thanatos has disappeared for almost a millennium already just like most other gods. Why would the sword be here?”
Sauron explained, “I don’t know, this has happened too abruptly. The sword now belongs to the French External Security. However, France didn’t disclose their source. They just said that they’d need to find an appropriate place for the sword through the secret meeting. France doesn’t have a special organization that is powerful enough to ensure the safety of the sword. In the battle realm of international special organizations, they won’t have a say at all. So if it wasn’t for the Sword of Thanatos, there wouldn’t be so many elites from different organizations gathered here in Paris.”
“So that’s why… I was wondering how they had managed to invite elites from all over the world just based on their measly reputation. Even if Apollo and the Realm of Gods posed a threat to the whole world, and wait to first get the President of France killed, it wouldn’t be France’s turn to solve the issue,” Yang Chen said with a smile. “Before I came to Paris, the representative of Yellow Flame Iron Brigade mentioned about the secret meeting before, but didn’t talk about the Sword of Thanatos. I’m guessing that they were worried that I was going to steal the item from them. They’re surprisingly thoughtful, aren’t they?”
“It’s very possible. Your Majesty now lives in China after all. Any of your actions could greatly increase the pressure to Yellow Flame Iron Brigade,” said Sauron.
Yang Chen thought for a while before replying, “I’m actually not interested in the sword. But… if the sword is real, I feel the need to see it in person even if I don’t plan to bring it back with me.”
“Why? Your Majesty is totally capable enough to retrieve that sword,” Sauron answered, confused. “That is the divine weapon of the God of Death after all. Giving it to you, the current Pluto, is most appropriate. Although I’m not sure of its authenticity, since so many organizations have been gathered here already, I can assume that it’s not completely baseless. If Your Majesty wants to avoid troubles, this one will send Sea Eagles to quickly take care of the situation.”
“You will never understand. Divine weapons actually aren’t that much of a use to me anymore.” Yang Chen waved his hand to convey his lack of interest. He had almost utterly comprehended god’s space methods after all. The only aspect which Yang Chen felt had rooms of improvements was the mysterious world of Rebirth, the ninth level of Endless Resolve Restoration Scripture, he had yet to understand after stepping foot in the Xiantian stage.
Furthermore, the mysterious person who had abruptly torn spacetime and snatched the divine power of the Holy Grail surfaced in Yang Chen’s mind.
If this sword is real… will the fellow appear again? thought Yang Chen.
Although Yang Chen wasn’t as persistent as Ares to retrieve the God’s Stone, he felt a little insulted when it was taken by someone who managed to remain unknown.
“Sauron, where will the secret meeting be held tomorrow night?” Yang Chen asked in a dull manner and stared at the ships far away.
“At Le Havre, the cruise ship Louis XVI at the harbor. It’ll be open for boarding at nine o’clock before heading towards an empty island which holds the secret training base of the French military,” Sauron explained.
“Le Havre? Isn’t that right beside the English Channel? I believe we need at least two hours to reach there from here,” Yang Chen said as he frowned.
Sauron nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. But it’s actually understandable. They had gathered special people from all over the world. It’s inevitable that they would fight to compete for a certain item like the Sword of Thanatos. If it was held in Paris or a certain major city instead, it’d be hard them and the rest of us to conceal their arguments.”
Yang Chen shrugged his shoulders. “Probably. Alright, I’ll head there tomorrow night. You’re invited to the event as well, aren’t you?”
Sauron answered, “Yes, but if Your Majesty Pluto hopes to attend the event instead, I’ll be more than willing to give up my seat.”
“There’s no need for that. Just watch out at a meeting like this. I’ll just look for you after wandering around for a bit. Do what you’re supposed to. Don’t focus on me just because I’m there, and don’t mention about me to anyone from other organizations.”
Sauron seemed to be rather helpless toward Yang Chen’s behavior. Sighing, he said, “Your Majesty Pluto, you’ve indeed changed a lot in the past two years of staying in China.”
Yang Chen giggled. “Yeah, just let it be. Living a peaceful live like this isn’t too bad. I just have to deal with the occasional troubles. Although it isn’t as excited as my life back then, I’ve long gotten bored of that life. Sauron, I’m guessing that somehow you can relate?”
A smile was finally shown on Sauron’s scarred face when he nodded his head.
Yang Chen shook his head. “Sauron, your smile is as ugly as ever. Tsk, tsk…”
… …
At the same time, in the north of Paris, an enormous silver-bodied, fifty-meter-tall cruise ship called Louis XVI was silently parked by the harbor in Le Havre. It was at least as long as two and a half football fields long.
Outside the entrance, there were long stairs attached to the shore with a red carpet, with fresh flowers on both sides. The locals didn’t know that the ship was welcoming a special group of people unknown to the public, instead of ordinary tourists.
Depney dressed in casual wear had finished patrolling the cruise ship together with Fodessa and a few members of the Seventh Bureau, so they were walking down the stairs.
Depney turned around to look at the luxury ship. “Has the Sword of Thanatos been sent to the base at the island yet?”
“Yeah, it is under the watch of our anti-spy department. After it’s sent to the base via a destroyer, it’ll be guarded with an even tighter security force,” answered Fodessa.
Depney nodded. “Alright, we can’t afford any losses. As long as the Sword of Thanatos is in our hands, we’ll definitely end up being benefited by the meeting this time.”
Fodessa frowned while he displayed a complicated expression. Reluctantly, he asked, “Director, when did we even get our hands on that sword anyway? Why is it that I have not caught wind of this news?”
“Humph,” Depney snorted with contempt. “Who do you think you are? Do you believe that you deserve to know everything in the Seventh Bureau just because you’re the deputy director? Fodessa, fulfill your duty nicely. I’ll be inside the temporary base at Le Havre to take care of the behind-the-scenes work during the meeting tomorrow night. You shall monitor the situation of the island and be the host tomorrow. There can’t be any mistakes!’
Fodessa was stunned. “Director, aren’t you going to the island?”
“Nonsense! If I were to host the meeting on the island, why are you needed as the deputy director?! I’ll be taking a step back in the bureau in the next following years. It isn’t every year that you get to experience being the host of such an event. What is it? Are you going to dismiss the opportunity?” asked Depney coldly.
Fodessa hurriedly shook his head. “This one understands now. Thank you Director for the encouragement!”
Depney finally looked less displeased. He then left with a few of his subordinates.
After Depney and the others left, the fatty Bolton who had been following closely behind Fodessa walked over furiously. “Deputy Director, it’s obvious that Director is backing off because of fear. He’s afraid of the organization members from the entire world. You’ll definitely be in danger should any conflict arise during the course of the meeting. Even the significant responsibility of watching the Sword of Thanatos is passed to you. This is absurd! How could he treat you this way?!”
Fodessa stared at Bolton in dissatisfaction. “Shut up, you shouldn’t comment about Director behind his back.”
Bolton nodded as he had no choice but suppress his anger.
Fodessa turned around and gazed upon the azure ocean. “Actually, although Director said that we’ll have a say in the meeting for having the Sword of Thanatos I’ve always felt that we shouldn’t have been asked to organize this meeting. Although the treasure is with us, it doesn’t mean we have the ability to keep it safe. Passing it to England or America which have similarly both been attacked by Apollo before might be the better of the two options.”
“Is it because England has the Sword in the Stone while America has Blue Storm?” Bolton asked after raising his head. Bitterly, he said, “Compared to them, we are indeed too weak.”
Fodessa shut his eyes and said, “Regardless if this decision is right or wrong, the meeting will still be held tomorrow night. We have no choice but try our best to serve the guests appropriately. Although the elites from each country are strong, due to the common shared fear among them, they wouldn’t dare to behave recklessly. We just have to take advantage of that at this point. I believe that we will gain to a certain degree in the end. Let’s just hope that the Sword of Thanatos can really bring us sufficient benefits through this discussion to deal with the Realm of Gods.”
Fodessa sounded indifferent while he stared at the horizon with his grey-blue eyes, as if he had fallen into some sort of contemplation.