How-not to be an Olympian God!

After concluding the fight in an overwhelming victory, Alex immediately went back to Balkh.

Then, he announced his victory to Nephis, who repeatedly kowtowed and thanked him.

"Lord Alex, I shall commence construction of a million, no, two million temples in your honor when I reach Balkh with my troops."

Alex averted his eyes and didn't reply as it didn't seem he could dissuade her.

Hermes grabbed him and led them to a more discreet location.

"Assuming you were successful, that means you didn't meet 'her', Alexei-boy?" Hermes asked him with a sharp expression.

Alex shook his head and answered, "I met a servant god of hers."

"However, I am pretty sure Aphrodite is up to something very large."

Hermes nodded his head and placed his hand on Alex's shoulder. He clenched the latter's shoulders and he declared, "I will keep on the lookout."

Tension filled the air and Alex felt stiff.

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Alex frowned and nodded.

"Lords, do you wish to guide us on your campaign?" Nephis suddenly entered the room.

Her words relieved the tense atmosphere, and Hermes chuckled and replied, "We'll be fine, we have a banquet to catch up to."

Nephis nodded and bowed, and then she left.

"We should move, we should be able to reach our next stop before dusk," Hermes stated.

"And where's that?" Alex inquired like a child who had unbound curiosity towards the world.

"Patliputra, we're invited to a banquet by the emperor there. I don't think you know him, his name is Ashoka."

'Ashoka?' Alex contemplated.

'Isn't that...that arrogant prince's father?' Alex recalled the mortal he fought back in Olep, and how he almost shamefully lost.

Surprisingly, a sense of nostalgia enveloped him.

'I was so weak by then...and I didn't know anything about this place...' Like a flash of light, almost an entire year had passed since he consumed Ambrosia and set out to deliver the blessing in Abdera.

"What are you thinking about~~?" Hermes awoke him from his trance.

Alex rubbed his head and waved his hand, "Nothing, let's just move."

Following that, the two bid their goodbyes to Nephis, who now looked like she was 10 years younger than they first met her.

"I wholeheartedly thank you for everything." Nephis bowed to the two of them.

Alex blushed and realized that it felt nice to know that his actions could now have a large impact on the world, and a positive one at that.

"Well, we've got to go." Hermes enlarged the chariot to fit the two of them and sat upon one of the seats.

Alex followed along and the chariot hovered into the air and blasted in the eastern direction.

Nephis was waving at them, and Alex reciprocated.

"We're leaving Hellenia...." Hermes announced out of the blue.

"Really?"

"Yes, the only influence Olympus had beyond this place is through passing merchants and diplomats."

"Do we have any pantheons to worry about?"

Hermes fell into deep thought and then put a finger up into the air.

He replied, "Hindustan(1) is protected by Buddha, and even though all pantheons are authorized within his realm, wars between the pantheons are forbidden and will attract the extremely unlikely ire of Buddha."

"Is....Buddha strong?" Out of pure curiosity, Alex inquired.

Hermes nodded fervently and responded, "Buddha is probably on the level of Nyx and Gaia, and perhaps even stronger, only Chaos is theoretically stronger."

When Hermes pronounced 'Chaos', he started fidgeting around.

'Chaos? Nyx mentions them a lot...I wonder who they are...'

After this informative discussion between the two, they silently rode into the horizon.

The scenery below soon turned from a semi-arid land to a fertile and lush landscape.

Alex perceived many farmers painstakingly working the land beneath them and plantations covered his field of vision.

They crossed many villages and cities and he couldn't help but notice how happy the population was and how prosperous the land seemed.

On the trade routes, enormous carriages confidently passed through.

In the cities, the streets were active and full of lively people and sprawling businesses.

"You know, the Emperor ruling this land has a very glorious title that was not granted by himself but by his people, do you want to know what it is?" Hermes suddenly asked him.

Alex nodded.

"The Emperor So Great He Became A God."

Hermes used the local term 'deva' to refer to the emperor.

'That's an extremely glorious title.'

"Is he really a god, though?" Alex queried.

Hermes nodded with wide eyes.

"Yes, do you know how rare it is for a mortal to attain godhood? Even in Qin, where mortals can cultivate godhood, the instances of it actually happening are few to none!"

'Like I'd know....I'm one of those mortals...' Alex chuckled in response.

"We've reached it, Ptaliputra!" Hermes abruptly proclaimed.

Alex looked around and was stunned at the sights.

Buildings spread and stretched as far as the eyes could see.

Many enormous statues of religious figures towered above the cityscape.

Mansions, manors, and villas were commonplace.

Yet, a single structure dominated it all.

An extremely wide and tall palace with intricate stone statuettes in all angles, and a garden as big as an entire city that surrounded it.

There were many enormous buildings within the garden itself, and the domain practically begged them to be awed.

It rivaled even the size of Zeus' palace.

The two landed with the chariot in front of one of the many entrances to the realm, and although the people stared at them for a second, they seemed numb to supernatural occurrences.

"Hermes, this entire city makes Olympus look bad." Alex lamented.

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Hermes glared at him and replied, "You haven't even been to Athens or the largest cities, you country bumpkin."

A guard came up to them and bowed slightly with his two hands cupped, "Greetings, are you two 'Hermes' and 'Alex'?"

The guard's Koine Greek pronunciation was perfect, and it seemed like he was very educated.

Hermes took the lead and nodded.

"You have come at a serendipitous time, as Lord's banquet is about to begin. May I lead you?"