Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 537: Truly a Madman

As Apollo shot the fire arrow, not only did Abbess Yunmiao and the others close their eyes, but even Sargeras and Lilith, who had stayed behind, couldn't bear to watch.

In their eyes, this was an utterly hopeless and tragic outcome.

For a moment, the island was silent except for the cold wind blowing past their ears.

They couldn't understand why Yang Chen would so rashly kill the four from the Vatican, nor could they comprehend how Yang Chen could remain indifferent as the seemingly fake Apollo shot a fire arrow that no mortal could withstand at Lin Ruoxi.

But they all couldn't bear to watch such a beautiful body turn to ashes before their eyes.

After a dozen seconds, everyone reluctantly opened their eyes, puzzled by the absence of any sound from the monitor.

When they looked carefully, they were immediately stunned.

They saw a semi-transparent, gold-red protective shield around Lin Ruoxi on the deck. The flowing fiery brilliance on the shield was magnificent.

The formidable red fire arrow was blocked outside the shield. From the arrowhead, it was being devoured bit by bit, sparks flying, until it was completely extinguished!

"What is that thing?"

Everyone was filled with a massive question—why did a shield that could devour such a terrifying attack suddenly appear?

But no matter what, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. When they looked at Yang Chen's faintly smiling face again, they realized that Yang Chen must have anticipated something, which was why he remained so calm.

Apollo on the deck couldn't believe his eyes, taking a step back and shaking his head, muttering, "Impossible, this is impossible, what is this thing?!"

Things that had been under control suddenly changed, greatly angering Apollo. He raised his golden longbow again, drawing out another fire arrow.

"I don't believe it can't be pierced!"

Another, even more, intense fire arrow was shot, but just like before, the fire arrow dissipated upon touching the golden-red flowing shield, utterly useless!

"You can't pierce it. Although you are very strong and the weapon in your hand is comparable to a divine artifact, you are not a god," Yang Chen finally spoke, smiling.

Apollo turned sharply, trembling with rage, "What's going on?! Tell me, what is this thing?!"

Due to extreme anger, Apollo's voice sounded different from before. This roaring voice shocked Frode on the island!

"Director?!"

Frode exclaimed, standing up abruptly and loudly questioning, "You are the director?! You are not Apollo! You are Director Depney?!"

"Apollo's" eyes showed a bit of panic, but more anger and violence.

Yang Chen laughed even more joyously, scratching his ear, "Ah, so it's Director Depney. I wondered why you were pretending to be Apollo. Now, no matter how loud you shout, it's useless. Your plan has been exposed."

This scene left Abbess Yunmiao, Solon, Sargeras, and the others stunned. They naturally knew who "Depney" was, the Director of France's Seventh Bureau of Security. They had thought that Vice Director Frode was hosting this conference due to a division of labor, never imagining that the real Director was "Apollo"!

Realizing that there was no point in pretending anymore, Depney, on the warship, took off the Roman helmet emblazoned with the sun totem and tossed it aside. His face was rugged and sinister, with slightly curly hair hanging down, and his hawk-like eyes no longer held their usual flattery and arrogance, only deep resentment and tyranny.

This side of Depney made Frode, who had worked with him for years, almost unrecognizable.

"It really is you, Director. No wonder you suddenly asked me to host such an important conference. I see why now," Frode's heart sank as he realized that Depney had deceived him from the beginning. It felt as if his world was collapsing, all his strength drained, unable to complete his question.

Depney's mouth twitched as he sneered, "Fool, I should never have promoted you. Talking about military honor—you're just a bastard, and you dare talk to me about honor!"

Frode's eyes were bloodshot, but he remained silent.

Depney, not bothering with his subordinate, asked in a cold voice, "Hades, I admit I underestimated you. I didn't expect you to expose me so quickly. However, this won't affect the final outcome. I still have the nuclear detonation device in my hand. Even if I can't kill your woman right away, I can blow up the entire island. So, you still have no chance of winning."

Yang Chen patted his chest, showing a frightened expression, and sighed, "Director Depney, you truly are cunning. How could I forget you have the nuclear detonation device? But I was foolish; I had long suspected that the so-called 'Apollo' was actually an important figure within the French government, but I never guessed it would involve controlling nuclear weapons."

Depney sneered, "Oh? You actually had such a suspicion? I'm interested to hear why you thought that. Anyway, there's no rush to detonate the nuclear bomb; consider it your last words before dying."

As he spoke, Depney raised the longbow in his hand and said, "While you explain your reasoning, I'll shoot some arrows as a gift to you. Although I don't know how you managed to protect your woman from my harm, I think if you die, she doesn't have to. To be honest, it would be a pity to kill such a woman."

Grinning sinisterly, Depney drew the bowstring again and shot three arrows in quick succession!

Yang Chen, unhurried, said, "Actually, I started suspecting back when we were kidnapped to Romilly. In a city so close to Paris, no matter how hidden that warehouse was, it was impossible for the French Security Bureau not to find it after so many wealthy and noble people went missing. The most likely scenario, I thought, was that they didn't want to find it."

As he spoke, three fiery arrows fell swiftly from the sky, targeting Solon and his group!

Without even looking, Yang Chen stretched out his hand, and a surge of innate true energy like a tidal wave directly obliterated the terrifying arrows in mid-air!

On the monitor, Depney's face turned pale. He hadn't expected his weapons to pose any significant threat to Yang Chen, so he aimed at others, but he didn't expect them to be completely ineffective!

Yang Chen continued, unfazed, "Moreover, the choice of the first target by the so-called 'God's Domain' and the timing of this operation were very suspicious. If it were truly such a powerful organization, why not target a more influential country like the US or the UK? Threatening the US President would be much more effective, wouldn't it? If it were truly the main god, would they fear the Blue Storm? And everyone knows that the French Security Bureau isn't particularly strong. Targeting an easy victim like France doesn't match the grand ambition of dominating the world.

"So I speculated that the reason for choosing France was that this fake Apollo could only operate in France. And the timing was perfect because, during the past six months, the French President was the rotating chair of the EU. Choosing France during such a period provided ample justification and wouldn't raise suspicions that Apollo was actually within France.

"Another crucial point was that Paris Fashion Week is a time when the most famous nobles and wealthy people gather. If trouble started then, governments wouldn't dare to openly stop their country's nobles and wealthy people from coming to France. Besides putting pressure on governments, it also allows for significant funds from kidnapping and ransom to be used for purchasing weapons."

As Yang Chen spoke, Depney's face fluctuated, his forehead veins bulging, clearly having hit the mark on many points.

Abbess Yunmiao and the others gradually understood, realizing why the God's Domain had been rampant in France and why the Security Bureau had been powerless against them—it was "theft by the guard"!

Yang Chen sighed, "When I saw the weapons those men in black were using, top-tech light machine guns from Germany's HK company, and their gear was all special forces level, I was almost certain that the God's Domain was an organization connected to the government. Otherwise, these ragtag terrorists wouldn't have so much money, and legitimate arms manufacturers wouldn't easily sell them such equipment.

"Your plan has some flaws, but for most people, it's very meticulous. The problem is, you overestimated your strength and even more so, you overestimated your ally, the Vatican's power."

"Does it matter?!" Depney screamed hoarsely. "Even if you've guessed everything now, so what?! All of this will sink with the island, forever into the sea! Once I've killed you all and blown these idiots from various countries into pieces, the world will descend into chaos, and every country will suspect each other! After I kill the French president and a few EU leaders, the EU will bow to me. Even those Excalibur people can't defeat me with my divine weapon! I will become the ruler of the EU, ignite the flames of war across the world, and become its master! No one can stop me!"

Looking at the deranged Depney, everyone on the island couldn't help but grit their teeth.

"He's truly a madman. Does he really think such a plan can succeed?" Lilith said angrily. As a proud vampire, being toyed with by a human was hard for her to accept.

"No, this plan of his, rather than wanting to rule the world, seems more like he wants to plunge the world into war, as if... he's avenging humanity," Sargeras said softly.

Depney laughed maniacally for a while before stopping to catch his breath. "I don't feel like wasting more words with you lot who are about to die. Since I can't kill Hades' woman for now, I'll start with the others. Frode, my dear deputy, I'll send your wife and son to hell to wait for you first!"

"No! Director, don't kill them!" Frode roared, climbing up to the monitor and shouting frantically.

Depney ignored him, turning around and drawing his bow again, aiming at the unconscious Harry and his mother, and conjuring two fire arrows. Just as he was about to release the arrows, Stern, who had been unconscious and motionless, suddenly scratched his head and slowly got up.

Seeing Stern suddenly awaken, not only were the black-clad men around him surprised, but even Depney frowned. According to their knowledge, the anesthetic on these hostages shouldn't wear off so quickly!

After standing up, Stern stretched lazily and glanced at Depney with his golden bow and fiery arrows, shaking his head as if in disbelief. Then he turned to the monitor and shouted at Yang Chen, "Hades, are you done yet? Don't you know it's cold on the deck? Why so much chatter? Persephone isn't like us non-humans; if she catches a cold, who's she going to cry to? No wonder she doesn't let you in her bed. You talk like a woman, not straightforward at all. Just tell this pig he's failed and be done with it. We're still in a hurry to get back to Paris for a midnight snack. Do you know the good places close if we're late?"

Yang Chen, seeing Stern get up, wasn't surprised and rolled his eyes. "It seems like you talk more."

Depney, seeing Stern and Yang Chen chatting, completely disregarding him, was furious. "Bastard, who do you think you are? Courting death!"

With that, Depney shifted his aim and shot two fire arrows at Stern!

At such close range, the two fire arrows, capable of shattering steel plates, were unavoidable!

"Idiot," Stern muttered without moving.

A golden-red protective shield appeared in front of Stern, swallowing the two fire arrows.

"Don't you get it? It's not that guy on the island blocking your arrows; it's me, your granddaddy," Stern said, looking at Depney with a gaze full of resignation.

Hearing this, Depney took two steps back, realizing something was wrong. He whispered, "You... you're not Stern! Who are you?!"

Stern burst into laughter, almost choking, pointing at Depney and shaking his head.

"With a brain like yours, you want to start a world war? You'd die of stupidity before the war even starts. Using my name, waving my flag, you should've been ready to be exposed."

Hearing Stern's words, Depney's mind went blank, his eyes wide, voice trembling, "You... you are... you are..."

"Finally figured it out," Stern said, smoothing his brilliant blonde hair with a grin. "That's right, I am Apollo."