Chapter 175: Laughing Stalk
The news about what happened on Floor 21 spread throughout the tower fast as the Olympian forces immediately became the laughing stock of the universe.
For centuries the Olympians had not faced any humiliating defeats, however, Liam's attack on floor21 was nothing short of humiliating for Olympus.
Since Liam was a mortal and not a lesser god, for him to kill close to 450,000 soldiers, including 150,000 elite soldiers. 3 tier5 generals and over 500,000 local beasts and residents came as a massive blow to the Olympians.
Even Though the source of Liam's power was the seed of death which was a high grade treasure. The perception of his attack was not linked to the seed but rather to the fact that the young floor master Perseus fucked around and bothered the mad principal too much without understanding the consequences that his action might bring.
When new climbers ascended to challenge floor 21, they saw the grim destroyed state of the floor master's palace and talked tales about how Perseus was within inches of losing his life and his reign as a floor master against a single man.
Such stories were not good for the image of the Olympian clan who liked to project themselves as invincible, as for the first time in decades, the True Gods of Olympus had to get indirectly involved in mortal affairs.
Mobilizing their soul mancers to have a detailed chat with their lesser gods and monarchs in the tower, Zeus and Poseidon conveyed their anger regarding this incident, pushing the lesser gods to remedy this situation as fast as possible.
For True Gods their perception of invincibility was paramount for them as the amount of people that prayed for them depended solely on the perception of their strength.
Many of these believers did not actually pray to the True Gods because they liked them, but because they feared them and this fear went down dramatically everytime the perception of invincibility was broken.
Perseus's fuck up on floor21 immediately saw the Olympian gods recieving significantly less amount of prayers from that region as the floor21 inhabitants that had witnessed the incompetency of their lord and had suffered the loss of a loved one in Liam's assault no longer felt like praying to the Olympian Gods for protection, as the Gods Of Olympus had failed them in their hour of need.
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( Perseus's POV )
While Liam could not see whether Perseus lived or died after his final attack, the current Perseus, although alive, felt worse than being dead as he had hit rock bottom in life following this incident.
His entire body was covered in ugly dark black spots and he had a constant high fever that refused to break as he was afflicted with the curse of death that was going to take at least a month of constant healing efforts to neutralize.
The strong fever made his body feel extremely weak, as even as a tier5 warrior he was forced to be bedridden, making him unable to show face in public after such a humiliating loss, further degrading his public image as the residents of floor21 took him for a coward.
*Cough*
*Cough*
Coughing a mouthful of blood, Perseus felt truly pitiful on his bed as every cough, every slight movement of his body, made him wish he were dead, as the pain was simply unbearable.
"Fucking Liam that crackhead…. Fucking Sophia that bitch. If only she replied to my letters I wouldn't have had to send so many scouts to that cursed university" Perseus cursed as he pinned the blame of all his misery on Sophia.
*Knock*
*Knock*
Suddenly, as he was in the middle of his fever induced delusion filled ranting lesson, there was a knock on his room's door as the servant announced the entry of the big lord, Perseus's father, Escanor.
"Lord Escanor is here to see you, young lord" the servant announced, as immediately Perseus tried to put on a brave face and sit up, however, the moment he tried to move his body, waves of excruciating pain engulfed him as he was forced to lay back down and bite his tongue.
"Perseus my son, what have they done to you?" Escanor said in a kind and concerned voice as he looked at Perseus's body covered in black spots.
"It's nothing much father, just the curse of a dying man. I'll get over it in a month" Perseus replied, putting on a brave face as he tried not to show any weakness to his father.
"I'm sorry father…. Because of me, the family must be facing so much humiliation" Perseus apologized sincerely as he acknowledged the fact that he had fucked up big time.
"It's okay my son, it's not your fault…" Escanor said, sounding awfully calm as his words only made Perseus feel even more guilty.
He had expected his father to be extremely angry at him, and even berate him, however, he did not expect him to be so calm.
"It isn't your fault that you are incompetent, it's my fault to have thought that since you are my flesh and blood you must be competent" Escanor continued, as his aura suddenly changed from that of a loving father to that of an unforgiving god as he gazed at Perseus with evident anger and hostility in his eyes.
"Don't you forget Perseus that you becoming a floor master isn't because of your own strength.
You were CHOSEN for this post, chosen because you are my flesh and blood….
Chosen because I recommended you to this spot and not because you were Competent enough to win it in a floor raid with your own two hands" Escanor said, as he reminded Perseus that he was a product of nepotism and that he did not need to feel guilty about letting his father down, as he had never made him proud in the first place.
"In the end, it's not your mistake… it's mine…. And I shall claim full responsibility for it" Escanor said as he stood up and slowly began walking towards Perseus with a murderous glint in his eyes.