With the camp thrown into chaos, Samael, the unscrupulous teacher, had no way to avoid stepping in. And when dealing with problem students, his usual policy was naturally to grab the troublemaker, beat them up to show fairness, and strictly forbid any further private revenge before more problems arose.
So the Ancient Serpent personally took action, giving Doggie and the Colchis Fierce Dragon, those two noisy troublemaking demons, a beating that was neither too light nor too heavy. But before he could tighten his expression and display the terrifying authority of the "Black Demon," Hydra and Ladon's joy at their reunion overshadowed all those trivial matters. They came forward, hissing affectionately at the mentor they had not seen in a thousand years, like children who had finally found their guardian.
They were even more affectionate than they were when seeing the Mother of Serpents.
There was no helping it. Echidna's usual strategy was to let them grow up wild, and because of flaws in her Divinity, she would fall into hibernation at the drop of a hat. Typhon's offspring had spent more time with their mentors during childhood than with their own biological mother.
And although Samael sometimes did not act human at all, he truly had nothing to be criticized for when it came to Typhon's offspring. He had perfectly filled the empty place of "father."
Their feelings had barely faded even after a thousand years. The Ancient Serpent could not help feeling comforted. After chatting warmly with the four divine beasts for a while, he asked why and how they had come to the surface.
Sure enough, Ladon, the Colchis Fierce Dragon, and the nine-headed Hydra had all sensed the divine will of Tiamat, the Mother of Origins, and the Three Goddesses. Through the Arima Cavern, they had come onto the earth to support Samael.
However, because the seal maintained by the Inner Sea of the Planet had not completely faded, the reinforcements sent out of the Arima Cavern through the newly opened passage were not the full strength of the Pure Land of Bliss.
Even so, this batch of reinforcements that had arrived at Thermopylae had filled the last remaining weakness of the Pan-Hellenic Alliance army.
On one hand, the thousands of Battle Nymphs gave Greece's newly added high-tier units the advantage in suppressing low-altitude airspace.
The aerial formation made up of the fire spirits, the Ifrits, would be crushed from every angle.
On the other hand, Ladon and Hydra, with their multiple heads and dragon-serpent traits, had undoubtedly inherited a rather pure share of the hundred-headed great dragon Typhon's divine blood.
Cerberus and the Colchis Fierce Dragon were respectively the watchdog of the Underworld, blessed by the divine authority of the Underworld, and the guardian beast of Ares' sacred grove, which even the Argonauts had not dared to face head-on when seizing the Golden Fleece.
Thus, in terms of strength, these four were definitely powerful divine beasts among Typhon's offspring, second only to the three Gorgon sisters.
With these Titan divine beasts joining them, the Persian army's deep-sea serpent Leviathan, the Behemoth war beast, and the calamitous giant eagle Scylla no longer held any advantage.
Clearly, an arrangement so perfectly suited to the battlefield, with such precise countermeasures, was almost certainly the work of his good daughter, Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War.
Looking at it now, the gods of the Areopagus who had entered the Inner Sea of the Planet had definitely sensed the situation at Thermopylae. They were merely unable to free themselves for the time being due to some special reason, and could only support Samael in this way.
As long as they're fine, I can be even more at ease when I make my move.
As the advantage on their side continued to grow heavier on the scales of war, Samael became even more certain and relaxed about the outcome of the Battle of Thermopylae.
"Harpy!"
"3… 4… 5… 6… 6… 6… and then…"
After briefly calming himself, Samael ordered the four of them to behave themselves. Then he called to the silly bird beside him, who was rummaging through her little pouch to count the fruit she had left, preparing to continue inspecting the Thermopylae defensive line.
However, Harpy, whose counting had been interrupted, looked at the olive fruits that had become all mixed together again in her pouch, and her expression turned melancholy.
She had almost finished counting them, but after that one distraction, she had forgotten again…
It was said that birds could only count up to five at most. Harpy had clearly evolved a step further, since she could at least count to six.
Samael patted this student on the shoulder to comfort her. Then he glanced at the pouch, and his breath caught. His subtle smile instantly froze.
So there are seven fruits in the pouch…
"Eat fewer olives. Later, eat more walnuts…"
"Walnuts?"
"Mm. They're good for the brain."
The Ancient Serpent fell silent for a moment before offering that sincere advice. Harpy looked blank, then nodded as if she half understood. Seeing that Teacher Samael had already walked off, she quickly stuffed the little pouch into her arms and followed him in confusion.
For some reason, she vaguely felt that Teacher Samael seemed to be giving off an emotion called "melancholy" today.
Along the way, Thermopylae's impregnable defenses and constantly growing military strength finally diluted the frustration Samael had suffered in the field of education.
I'm not the problem. The students are definitely the problem!
After hypnotizing himself like that for a while, the Ancient Serpent looked up at the Amazon camp blocking the path to the rear mountain. He raised a hand and greeted the tall, powerful female warriors, then walked into the military camp and came to a luxurious tent embroidered with rose patterns in gold thread.
The Amazons who ran through the forests near the Black Sea clearly did not have such refined artistic taste. Add in the Amazon warriors constantly entering and leaving to carry out orders, and there was no need to think about it. This was the office of His Majesty the Roman Emperor.
Originally, Samael had been somewhat worried about whether Nero, that little disaster, could calm down, hold this pass properly, and handle military affairs as she should.
But when he saw the certain fox secretary inside the tent, looking perfectly at home as she paced before the desk with a teaching whip in hand, coldly lashing Nero's wriggling little butt whenever His Majesty the Roman Emperor showed even the slightest slackness or oversight, he immediately relaxed.
And when Samael lifted the curtain and stepped into the tent, Nero, who had been pressed down in front of the desk and forced to work, instantly burst with wild joy in her eyes.
The Regent Prince! It's my Regent Prince!
The Regent Prince is here. I'm saved! The Regent Prince is here. My days of suffering are over!
Nero looked at the approaching figure and his slowly growing smile, feeling as if countless rays of light were blooming behind him, as if the gates of the divine kingdom had opened at his back.
The little girl shot to her feet and spread her arms, ready to welcome her savior.
"Well done!"
However, that figure walked straight past the suffering emperor and gave a thumbs-up to the beastly overseer beside her.
"Since it was your request before you fell asleep, I naturally had to do my utmost."
Tamamo-no-Mae blinked and smiled knowingly. At the same time, she gave Nero, whose face was full of betrayal, a thoroughly malicious glance.
That should only refer to the "hold Thermopylae" part, right? I definitely didn't ask you to persecute His Majesty the Emperor of Rome.
Samael grumbled inwardly. But for the sake of Tamamo-no-Mae helping him maintain order on the Roman side, he could only pinch his nose and take the blame. He glanced at the pitiful Nero, and while he was at it, offered a suggestion.
…Step it up!
Then the two of them nodded in tacit understanding. Right in front of a certain Roman Emperor, their hands clasped together, forming an anti-Nero alliance.
The tyrant, unable to resist under their oppression, let out a sorrowful wail. She thought back to the good old days when someone had handled her work for her while she slacked off, then looked at the current hell of forced labor and a 007-style work schedule. In an instant, she directed all blame toward the culprit who had seduced a certain someone into corruption.
My Teacher, my Regent Prince, where is your loyalty to the empire? Where is your devotion to me? You've changed!
That's right. You must have been bewitched by this woman!
One day, I will rise up! I will rebel! I will awaken the Regent Prince's noble soul once more!
The young Roman tyrant's eyes filled with longing as she fantasized about a beautiful future. After defeating this wretched fox, she would roam the world as a performer while someone else in the palace took over all the labor for her.