1460 BC, Crete, port of Chrytes.

It's the month of Treoni (July) of the Mino people, and it's the busy trading season, and this ancient port is packed with ships coming and going from the Mediterranean.

During this month, merchants and sailors usually set sail after midnight to move away from the island and on to their next destination.

And before noon, people usually welcome the ships that are fully loaded.

Terasia, the goddess of the sky, has lifted the bright sun above the sea and bathed the world with a warm light.

But today was different, the cold and wet sea fog that should have been prone to winter blocked the goddess's view, and it covered the entire beach, and under the encouragement of the south wind, it looked like an unspeakable monster trying to climb to land.

Caprias, a merchant from Arachia (Cyprus), was muttering prayers from the stone belvedere in the harbor for the safe return of his ship and cargo.

Trade between the Aegean and Mediterranean seas was always strong, but piracy was just as rampant, and it was fortunate that Crete was escorted by armed ships, which he also hired two ships to escort them, and pirates were usually no match for well-armed and experienced Cretan warriors.

Only recently, he has new concerns.

If all went well, his ship should have been able to return in a few days, but just over ten days ago, someone had witnessed a sea monster near the coast, and although he had not heard of a ship being attacked, it also frightened the traveling and merchant ships who came and went.

Just last year, because of a storm, he lost three merchant ships and two escort ships in succession, and this year he devoted almost all of his net worth to this season's trade, so these days, he will come to the port early every day and wait anxiously for the results.

Just as he was pondering whether to sacrifice his treasured ruby to the temple for more protection, a low, long, deep sound came from the depths of the sea mist, like some monster roaring in the deep sea.

Caprias was excited, a little nervously asked, "What sound?" ”

One of the Menoan slaves next to him replied, "Master, that's the sound of a conch horn." ”

As a merchant traveling to and from many islands, Caprias has occasionally heard the sound of conchs, but this one seems to be a little different.

Just as he was trying to find the source of the sound, suddenly, a tall golden bow slammed out of the mist, it seemed to be the spearhead that tore through the body of the monster, forcing the fog away, splitting the waves, and breaking into people's field of vision.

Caprias couldn't help but hold his breath, this was a typical Menoan style warship, it was eighty cubits long, at this time the sails on it had been lowered, and a total of thirty oarsmen on the left and right were making a uniform shout, each stroke, the strong and powerful muscles were tensed, and the body was also very rhythmically swaying back and forth, driving the warship into the harbor.

Caprias saw that these oarsmen had unusually strong arms and distinct muscles, and were not the usual thinness of slaves, and he was afraid that as long as he put on his armor and picked up a spear, he would be a qualified warrior.

And also......

His gaze couldn't help but be drawn to the tall figure standing on the bow of the ship.

It was a young man, with black hair like seaweed, and a white shawl tied to a shiny brass buckle, and at this moment the sea breeze stirred up, revealing a majestic body like a sculpture of a god.

The young man held a bronze spear in his hand, the spearhead of the willow leaf was sharp, and he stood so steady that even the bumpy waves could not shake him for half a minute.

If the oarsmen were mere mortals, then the young man was like a god coming out of the depths of the ocean in the sunlight that pierced through the sea fog.

Caprias couldn't help but say, "Oh my God, is this a descendant of 'Ezesara'?" ”

The Myoan slave beside him said in an aria-like tone: "Yes, master, it is Opios, according to legend, he is the son of Ezesara, the mother goddess of life, and he is the guardian hero of the temple of Knossos!" ”

"He's Opios?"

Caprias had yearning and amazement on his face. In the past two years, even in Arakia, he had heard the hero's name, and although he was suspicious of the identity of the son of the other god, the instinct of the merchant had already prompted him to think about how to befriend the other party.

Just as he and the people in the harbor were looking at the returning ship, suddenly, a huge exclamation burst out from the crowd, and the sharp-eyed people could already see that just behind the warship, there was a huge gray-white monster dragging it.

Even if it was just the part that floated on the water, from the head that could stand three or four people, and the miserable white bulging eyes, you could imagine what a terrifying sea monster it was when it was alive, and just seeing it triggered deep fear in people's hearts.

"Oh my God, what's that? Is it a sea monster? ”

"It must be, Ofios must have gone to sea to hunt this monster!"

"Another miracle! May Mother God bless! ”

Amid the discussion, the ship sailed into the harbor, and the people poured into the docks.

After the golden longship docked, Opios jumped down from the warship, and behind him, seven heavily armed warriors jumped down one after another, those golden bronze helmets, reflecting the sparkling light in the sun.

Standing firmly on the ground, the warriors held their heads high, their swords at their waists in one hand and their spears in the other, as if they had just won a great victory.

And so it was, and when the monster was dragged to the beach, the crowd finally recognized it in its entirety, which immediately provoked even greater exclamations, and from the soft collapse of the head, and the eight brachiopods adorned with suckers, people also recognized its origin:

"Octopus, it's Octopus!"

The octopus was lying on the beach, almost as tall as a house, and its tentacles were exaggeratedly long, twenty cubits from end to end. (about 10 meters)

Merchants and sailors from the Eastern Mediterranean looked at Ofios and his party with awe, and it was hard to imagine what kind of strength it would take to capture such a monster.

The priestesses of the palace of Knossos have long preached that Opios is the son of Ezesara, the mother goddess of life, and this legend may be true!

A merchant from Mycenae circled around the Octopus, and he swore that this was the "Bacyrius" of the Octopus, and that it must have lived as a cannibal and liked to attack the cargo of passing ships, and that one of its ships had sunk not long ago, and that it must have been the Octopus who did evil.

Then he said how much wealth there was in that ship, with perfume and olive oil from Crete; There is copper from Arakia; ivory, lazurite from Kumat (Egypt); And the tin from the land of Hatti (the Anatolian Peninsula), the silver and lead from Attica, which were so abundant that they filled the entire cabin, and its voids were so small that not even a mouse could get into them.

If these were to be transported to Mycenae, the kings of all lands would surely open their doors and entertain themselves with innumerable wines and beauties.

One of the bards teased that it was a pity, for the venerable merchant was not on the ship, and if that were the case, he would have been able to stay with his treasure, and perhaps he would have slit open the octopus's belly to-day, and he would have come out to say hello to the men when he had just woken up.

What a vicious joke!

The Mycenaean merchant cursed and jumped to his feet, but only drew laughter. These Mycenaeans were usually high-spirited, noisy in their speech, vulgar in their manners, and resorted to force at every turn, at least no one liked them in Crete.

Then another alien merchant came out of the crowd, he looked at the monster in amazement, then looked at Opios, and said in an arrogant tone: "I did not expect to see such a monster in Kaiftiu (Crete), and I am willing to buy it for a hundred gardets of gold!" ”

Opios glanced at the alien merchant, who was undoubtedly a Kumat (Egyptian).

Although he was dressed like a Minoan, in the Mediterranean world, where most of the Mediterranean people today use the decimal system, only merchants from Egypt use the decimal system.

He calculated in his heart that one hundred gardets would be put in the future life, that is, almost a kilogram of gold, if it was exchanged for the currency he was familiar with, that is, more than 200,000 Huaxia coins.

The price wasn't outrageous, gold was hard currency wherever it was placed, but he wouldn't sell the octopus because it would be of more use to him.

Ignoring the Egyptian merchant's shouting, he turned back to the captain of the guard who was following behind him and said, "Pistis, you lead someone to drag this octopus back to the warehouse."

The captain of the guard, who was in his thirties, tapped the bronze armor on his chest, and came to the harbor with two warriors, and soon found more than twenty port slaves and some tools, and neatly carried the octopus on four staggered wooden shelves, and fastened it to it with ropes.

These slaves were small and thin, with only a simple wrap around their crotch, but their legs and feet were surprisingly strong, and after finding their rhythm, they followed in the footsteps of Opios and his party.

Then a group of children came running and jumped and screamed around the octopus, and took sand and stones and threw them at it, while others pointed and pointed, and the slaves who were thrown were silently endured, while more people who heard the news gathered to see the sea monster in appearance.

While the crowd was in a commotion, a roar rang out: "Ofios! ”

The sound was so loud that it was like a boulder tumbling down from a high mountain into a deep ravine, and almost drowned out all the noise in the harbor, and the people involuntarily stopped shouting, turned to look at the source of the sound, and saw a lean, heavily armed warrior on a high staircase in the harbor.

The warrior wore a helmet made of boar teeth on his head, brown leather armor inlaid with round bronze guards to protect his chest, abdomen and back, and leather shin armor on his legs.

He held a Mycenaean amphora shield that covered most of his body, a spear in his right hand, and a bronze sword at his waist. This set of equipment has the style of earlier Mycenaean period, and it is somewhat outdated compared to today.

He was noted wearing an agate seal on his wrist, indicating that he was a warrior who had lived through famous events, fought in great wars, or defeated powerful opponents.

And such a person is often called - "hero"!

The crowd in the harbor consciously made way for the hero, and there was excitement and excitement on people's faces as they realized what was going to happen next.

The warrior jumped down from the high steps, calmly walked to a stop not far from Opheos, took his spear, pointed it at the latter, and said loudly in a loud voice: "Ophios, I have heard that you are the most powerful hero of the Menoians, and that you are called a 'demigod', and I, Opitaurion from the White Mountains, son of 'Sagamemento', am going to challenge you today!" ”

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