If it was Diomedes, that arrogant attitude made all the sense in the world.
This man was afraid of absolutely nothing.
Others might tremble at the divine authority of the moon goddess Artemis, but Diomedes, if he had enough strength, would probably take a swing at the moon goddess herself.
No, he would absolutely take a swing at her.
This was a genuinely dangerous man.
In a certain sense, Night actually admired the extraordinary feats he had accomplished in the original myths.
Relying purely on Athena's blessing, he dared to punch the god of war Ares in the face and showed Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, absolutely no gentleness whatsoever, trying to kill her on the spot.
He nearly cut down Rome's true ancestor along with his mother.
Do the math, and this was basically a man who nearly erased Rome from existence.
Out of positional reasons,
Night and Diomedes were absolutely on opposite sides.
Diomedes stood faithfully in Athena's camp and was one of the rare heroes who could not be won over at all.
His unpredictability alone made him a massive problem.
Unshakeable convictions, combat power through the roof, and when he went into overdrive, a fruit knife in his hands would be enough to kill a god.
With a single divine blessing, he had beaten his way through multiple gods, including the formidable war god Ares.
Was this not basically a child going berserk among adults?
And yet he consistently produced terrifying results in battle.
As an enemy, this kind of person was genuinely frightening and needed to be eliminated.
In the future Ares, Apollo, and the goddess of love would all be openly backing Troy.
Even just to protect the main forces on his side, a fierce killing intent toward Diomedes rose in Night's chest.
More than that, he was the dragon of Rome.
He still carried the blessing of Rome's land spirit.
'So you're the one who nearly wiped out Rome?'
As someone chosen by Rome's will and given an enormous amount of its favor, how could he live with himself if he did not take care of this man who almost erased Rome?
On every front, he and Diomedes were thoroughly incompatible.
That said, Night did not let any of that killing intent show on his face.
The chaos was fine for now, but he still had undercover work to do afterward.
As long as he kept things within the frame of defending the honor of his goddess and did not cross any lines that could not be walked back, there was still room to smooth things over later.
With that in mind, his face, as beautiful as a narcissus in bloom, took on an expression colder than midwinter.
He said in a voice that sounded as though he were furious, low and sharp, "Griffith Lista."
Hearing the words, Odysseus and Diomedes both went still.
What?
"In the name of my grandfather Kratos, I swear, I will break through every wall that stands between me and my goddess.
Arrogant king of Argos, you will pay for your mistake."
Odysseus started to panic.
The situation was about to spiral into something far worse.
"Wait, hero Griffith! Stop, please.
You came here to support Greece, did you not?
Why are you raising your hand against our soldiers?
I am certain there has been some misunderstanding."
...
Diomedes, who had been preparing to fight back, also paused at the words.
Night looked toward the direction Odysseus's voice came from.
'Who was this now?'
A life force and presence far beyond ordinary humans, already marking the arrival of yet another hero.
Even so, he remained unhurried.
Night even felt the advantage was still on his side.
It was almost dark.
When the moonlight appeared, he would be invincible.
That much he was certain of.
Though it had to be said, the invincibility buff had a way of coming back to bite people who relied on it too much.
But anything that failed to kill him would only make him stronger in the end.
Odysseus began calling out loudly, urging Night to come down and talk things through properly.
However, the latter said there was nothing to talk about.
In this kind of moment, just go in hard and stop thinking.
The fact that he and the deer were left standing outside for ages was real.
All that time, not only did Agamemnon himself not come out, not even a single proper hero had appeared to receive him.
This was not just an insult to him personally.
It was an insult to Telephus, son of the great hero Heracles, his good brother, who had written the letter of introduction.
And it was treating the golden-antlered deer, known to all of Greece as the goddess's own mount, as though it were invisible.
"You have insulted my faith.
There is nothing left to discuss.
Only blood can prove this dignity has been defended."
When Odysseus argued that the wait was not intentional and was simply a matter of camp procedure, that Agamemnon was occupied and could not attend to the matter right away,
Agamemnon, who was in the middle of an afternoon gathering with women, still had no idea any of this was happening.
Night could not see that scene, but he knew perfectly well that Odysseus was talking complete nonsense.
Words that not even a three-year-old would believe,
Using them to deceive someone was an insult to their intelligence.
Odysseus probably knew it sounded too fake but said it anyway with complete shamelessness because Agamemnon's end could not be explained away, and all he could do was try to keep the two sides from escalating further.
Killing Griffith was not difficult.
But after killing him, how would they face the moon goddess's fury?
That was exactly why Odysseus swallowed his pride and kept trying to calm Night down, hoping to put out the fire and smooth things over.
What he did not expect was that the latter would give him no face at all.
"The Greek army's camp? A sanctuary for the cowardly cannot stop a true warrior. Since we are not welcome here, let us simply tear the whole Greek camp apart."
The deer surged forward again at Night's signal, but a figure moved even faster to intervene.
Diomedes lunged with his spear, aiming not at the deer but at Night on its back.
If the deer kept its momentum and charged forward, the spear would go straight through Night's chest.
So, you've got no intention of taking prisoners whatsoever.
That ruthless stance actually made Night smile slightly.
The next moment, in a way neither Diomedes nor Odysseus could have predicted, he suddenly reached forward and grabbed the spear by the tip with his bare hand.
...!!
What?
Odysseus: He actually dared to do that? Grabbing Diomedes's weapon barehanded, and by the sharp end?!
Lunatic.
Not just Odysseus, Diomedes himself had not seen it coming from a mile away.
But recovering quickly, his face twisted into something between fury and contempt.
The disrespect shown toward his weapon was deeply offensive.
Insolent stranger!
This level of arrogance was something even Achilles probably would not have dared attempt against his spear.
Even though Diomedes had never tested whether his spear could wound the near-invincible Achilles, he had never once doubted his own strength.
A true warrior's dignity, pride, and spirit demanded absolute confidence.
I am the strongest.
That belief was non-negotiable.
When an enemy showed this kind of provocation, the answer was to make them pay dearly for it.
Tooth for tooth. Blood for overstepping.
Boom!!
Diomedes's veins bulged on his forearms, pouring everything into the thrust.
Under the reinforcement of his life force, his arm seemed to thicken by a full measure as he drove the spear forward toward Night.
And yet,
Thud!!
Two powerful hands closed around the side of the spear shaft and gripped it tight.
In the eyes of everyone watching, struck with disbelief and shock, it was as though he had seized hold of fate itself.
...!
What?
.
.
.
(End of the Chapter)