Greece brings evildoers

Accompanied by the dim light of the morning light, a large group of handsome men and beautiful women, led by Pan God, arrived at the settlement of the Acadians.

Because this place was originally a refuge for mountain people with rugged terrain and inconvenient transportation, it has not experienced too much impact from foreign cultures. The architecture and local life have maintained their original style.

Looking around, they were either grazing cattle and sheep in the valley, growing food on the gentle slopes, or carrying bows and arrows on their backs to collect and hunt. They hummed country tunes without melody, which made Apollo frown. head.

Fortunately, before walking too far, a middle-aged man with slightly curly hair and jewels came up to him at the gate of the city with a smile on his face.

"Midas, the king of Phrygia and my good friend, recently traveled here. I heard that you have come to Arcadia. I admire you in my heart, so I want to provide money to entertain you."

God Pan stepped forward and hugged the middle-aged man, and introduced him enthusiastically to the gods present.

Everyone did not doubt that he was there, and under Midas' warm invitation, they all came to the open-air banquet venue he had prepared.

As a city adjacent to Arcadia, this place naturally relies on the mountains to eat. Therefore, a large amount of game and mountain delicacies purchased from the mountain residents were prepared for the banquet.

Carefully cooked by the accompanying Phrygian palace chefs, it had a unique flavor, which greatly satisfied the gods who received the hospitality. They even looked at the Phrygian king with a hint of friendliness.

In the middle of the feast, the foreign king stood up from his seat and toasted to Apollo and Pan, while shaking his head and sighing.

"I heard that yesterday, the two of them had a competition in the mountains and forests of Arcadia. The beautiful music almost made all the nymphs and elves excited. They couldn't see that kind of music. What a shame.”

Hearing Midas' compliment, Apollo, as the winner, showed a reserved and proud smile.

But then, Midas changed the subject and expressed his intention with a smile.

"Actually, I specially invited you today because I hope that the two of you can have another discussion, so that us mortals can also have the honor to appreciate the music from the gods."

As soon as he said this, Apollo turned to look at Pan beside him, with a half-smile on his face.

He was not a fool, and he naturally understood the implication of Midas' words and his true intention.

Obviously, Pan Shen was not convinced by yesterday's gambling battle, so this little lamb specially invited his friend to host a banquet today, and borrowed his words to hope for another contest.

At this moment, having seen through Xiao Jiujiu's heart, Pan couldn't help but smile awkwardly under Apollo's gaze, and quickly pretended to scold Midas.

"What's the comparison? Whoever wins and who loses are still the same?"

"Of course it's different. I always think that the tune of the panpipe is the most perfect music in the world! I can't imagine that it can beat the sound of your piano."

Midas shook his head repeatedly, and every word in his words was full of compliments to Pan.

As soon as these words came out, Apollo, who was naturally arrogant, could not sit back and ignore it, and immediately stood up to respond.

"Since the King of Phrygia sincerely invites me, Pan and I will each present a song here for you to judge."

"Okay! Thank you for meeting this small request!"

Midas got his wish and laughed heartily. Then he clapped his hands to summon his attendants, took out a handful of gold and silver coins, and gave his orders in a deep voice.

"Let the nearby villagers come over, enjoy the feast together, listen to the performance of the two gods, and then let them vote for which side's music is more beautiful!"

Apollo frowned slightly when he heard this, but he did not refuse the arrangement.

Regardless of whether the judges are the mountain god and his nymphs, or the mortals in front of him, he is confident that his music can conquer all listeners.

When the surrounding villagers received Midas' invitation and heard that there would be performances at the venue, food to eat, and money to take, they immediately swarmed in, filling the surrounding area with water, and looked inside curiously.

The audience is already in place and the game has officially begun.

Under Midas' announcement, Pan took the lead in playing the pan flute in his hand. The sound of the flute was cheerful and exciting, like the collision of rocks, the roar of the cliff, and the roar of the dense forest.

As the God of Shepherd, Pan was very familiar with these sounds in the deep mountains and forests, and his playing was lifelike and heart-stirring.

The mountain people who have also lived in the Arcadia area for a long time were also extremely excited. They clapped their hands and applauded, sang in response, and sang in duet with them using their own tuneless country folk music, seamlessly integrating into the carnival.

Even the foreign monarch Midas at the table cheered and shouted with joy. Accompanied by Pan, he clapped his hands, stamped his feet, and danced wildly with the people around him.

The wildly twisting limbs on the field and the chorus that could not be called music made Apollo frown.

For this self-proclaimed god of art, all the ugliness in front of him is simply a visual and auditory torture.

Finally, after Pan Shen played the caesura and ended his performance.

Apollo was no longer polite, decisively picked up the lyre, cast his piercing eyes into the distance, and plucked the strings. The sound of the piano is soft and melodious, like gurgling spring water, like the cry of swallows and orioles, like the rising breeze, like the first sunset of the moonlight. The sweet sound of the piano brings people to a realm of infinite beauty and tranquility.

When the song ended, the audience was completely silent, as if they were shocked by this beautiful melody.

However, upon closer inspection, the eyes of the villagers looking at each other were filled with confusion and astonishment.

Soon, a burst of murmurs and boos broke out from the crowd.

"That's it?"

"What kind of thing can you play?"

"It's not as good as me..."

Hearing the ignorant comments and frivolous judgments of the villagers, Apollo, who was waiting on the stage to receive cheers and adoration, suddenly turned dark and his heart became angry.

However, before he could get angry, Midas, who saw something bad going on, quickly stepped onto the stage and announced it in public.

"The competition is over. Whose music do you think is better? Now you have the right to vote."

As he spoke, he ordered people to carry two pottery urns representing Pan and Apollo to the stage, and then distributed a stone engraved with special symbols to the audience outside the venue.

As the gate opened, the villagers who were not too embarrassed to watch the excitement immediately swarmed forward and threw the stones in their hands at the jar representing the god Pan according to their own preferences.

On Apollo's side, there were only a few dozen people.

Among them, nymphs and muses still accounted for the majority of the people.

Finally, as the voting ended, Midas looked at the obviously different numbers of stones in the two pots and announced the results without counting them.

"In this game, Pan wins!"

Seeing that their favorite performer easily won the championship, the villagers cheered noisily, throwing branches and garlands in their hands towards Pan on the stage, while dismissing Apollo on the side.

They couldn't appreciate the pretentious playing of this noble prince at all, and they didn't understand what elegant art was.

For them, Pan Shen's country ditties express intense emotions, are simple and easy to understand, and can even be sung along with their usual tunes. This is the real art!

Looking at the sparse place where he was, and the villagers beside him who kept cheering and praising Pan, although Apollo tried his best to maintain his grace, his face gradually became gloomy, his steel teeth creaked, and he was filled with anger.

What kind of art do these mud-legged people know? It’s just making random comments!

But even though Apollo was dissatisfied, facing the indisputable voting results, he could only pinch his nose and accept the outcome of this game.

"You have good musical attainments."

The God of Light on the field tried his best to squeeze out a stiff smile, and gave a pretentious compliment. After saying that, he was ready to leave the stage and leave this miserable place that made him feel humiliated as soon as possible.

However, God Pan on the side came up to him with a naive smile and rubbed his hands in embarrassment.

"Master Apollo, since I won, then last night's bet..."

"Tell me what you want."

At this moment, Apollo, who had no intention of talking to the goat-headed snake and mistook it for a snake, snorted and asked without thinking.

Since you have accepted God Pan's gifts and hospitality, it is also appropriate to return a favor to him.

Now, he just wants to stay away from this deformed child who makes him feel humiliated, as far away as possible.

After hearing Apollo's public promise, Pan immediately became elated. He raised his hand and pointed at a hot muse wearing a laurel wreath and a dancing skirt, and spoke excitedly.

"I want to marry this muse under your command, please betroth her to me!"

Terpsichore, the goddess in charge of dance and chorus among the nine muses, is the most outstanding in size and figure. She exudes hot charm all the time and has many suitors.

However, upon hearing Pan's courtship, both Apollo and the Muse could not help but change their expressions.

"Presumptuous!" The God of Light on the field was furious, and his sharp gaze was like a knife shooting at God Pan's body, showing undisguised disgust.

When God Pan heard this, he straightened his face and felt aggrieved for himself: "Master Apollo, you can't say that. Yesterday you personally promised that as long as I can win, you will allow me to choose a gift."

Hearing this, Apollo's handsome face suddenly turned red, and he almost died of anger.

No wonder this beast would be so courteous for nothing. It turned out that he had made up his mind from the beginning.

As everything was connected together and a clear thread formed in his mind, Apollo's eyes towards Pan were filled with murderous gloom and anger after being fooled.

Under the powerful divine power, Pan Shen could not help but feel guilty and retreated in fear.

But then, the beauty of the muse made him regain his courage, move his heart, and encourage the audience next to him.

"I gave you everything you deserved when you won the game. Why should you default on your debt when you lose? Everyone is watching! Can't you win but not lose?"

"That's right!"

The mountain people who didn't know what was going on started to boo and jeered at Apollo on the field.

The arrogant God of Light turned purple with anger and shouted angrily.

"I'll compete with you again!"

"No, no, that's enough, as long as I win."

Pan shook his head repeatedly and walked straight towards the chosen muse.

Although he won one game, there was a certain element of trickery this time.

The villagers who serve as judges are accustomed to the sound of his pan flute, so naturally they are not interested in so-called elegant music.

But if Apollo had taken precautions and re-selected a group of judges, he might not be able to defeat the god of art in an upright manner.

Instead of doing this, it is better to take that beautiful muse home as soon as possible and enjoy the feeling of nephrite in your arms.

"nine!"

The sudden groaning caused Pan Shen to stop subconsciously and look back blankly.

"If you can win another game, I will reward you with nine muses!"

The God of Art on the stage announced coldly, and as soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

The nine Muses who were crowded behind Artemis looked at their main god in disbelief, trying to see if he was joking from his face.

However, they were disappointed.

Apollo was serious.

"As long as you compete again in my way, if you can still beat me, they will all be yours!"

The God of Light on the stage reiterated the conditions gloomily, and finally looked coldly at the villagers who were mocking him.

"The judges are still them!"

At this time, the hearts of the Muses gradually became cold, and their eyes looking at the main god were full of disappointment and distance.

Because Apollo stubbornly chose to rematch, not because he was worried about their sisters, but because he could not accept his own failure!

Lorne, who was in the crowd, caught a glimpse of the subtle changes in the expressions of the Muses, and his lips curled up in joy.

This God of Light was even more stingy than he expected, and he could not stand any setbacks.

Even if he failed a little, he would win it back at all costs.

He had originally only intended to provoke the relationship between Pan and Apollo, but he did not expect to have an unexpected gain now.

The Muses, who were used as bargaining chips, realized the arrogance and coldness in Apollo's bones, and gradually became alienated from their main god.

Then, little lamb, you have to work harder.

Loen shook the wine glass, looking at Pan with a playful look, as if looking at a dead person.

By the way, in return for receiving the hospitality, he also "reciprocated" and shared his newly brewed wine at the banquet.

And if God wants to destroy him, he must first make him crazy.

"Apollo!"

At the same time, even Artemis, as a sister, couldn't stand it anymore, and couldn't help but stand up and scold to stop this absurd behavior.

However, the God of Light on the stage was unmoved, staring straight at Pan opposite and the audience who were booing and mocking.

"Whether you want to compete or not, you only have one chance."

"Gululu~"

Pan swallowed hard, his eyes were already occupied by the beauty of the Muses, and finally he couldn't suppress the restlessness in his heart and nodded hard.

"Compete!"