CHAPTER 402: CHAPTER 396 FROST’S SORROW AND FANGTIAN HALBERD

Hercules doesn’t dare to eat this, but I do. That means I’m stronger than Hercules!

The list of strange ways to claim victory keeps growing.

Now that I think about it, maybe a hint of pig dung on top isn’t such a big deal after all.

Oulistros picked up another piece of intestine and said, "Hercules, you really don’t want to try it? Honestly, it tastes pretty good!"

With that, he shoved it right into his mouth and started eating with gusto.

Nezha shook his head and said, "This intestine probably doesn’t retain the most original flavor. Have your servants handle it differently next time, then try it again."

Oulistros was speechless. The most original flavor of pig intestines? Isn’t that just the taste of pig dung? Who on earth would eat that? What kind of genius came up with this idea?

But speaking of dung, it reminded him of Hera’s next assigned task. After spending some time together, he had grown completely in awe of Hercules’ demeanor.

At this point, if Hercules wanted his throne, he might willingly give it up. The task set by Hera to humiliate such a powerful hero was something he truly didn’t want to carry out.

Nezha saw through Oulistros’ thoughts. There was no need for telepathy; as a mortal, no thought could evade Nezha’s discerning eyes.

"Don’t feel troubled. You know I’m not the type to let myself get short-changed."

Recalling the earlier trials, Oulistros acknowledged the truth in Hercules’ words. Strength was just the basic requirement to be a hero; turning the impossible into possible was what it truly meant to be one. In his eyes, Hercules was a genuine hero.

"Your next task is to clean out Ougeas’ cattle barn."

"All right. Do you want to eat..."

"Stop, stop, stop! I don’t eat cow dung!"

Seeing Hercules’ look of disgust, Oulistros quickly realized his misunderstanding.

"Ahem, those divine bulls of King Ougeas are incredibly precious. How could I possibly let you bring them back to eat?"

"One gemstone?"

Oulistros replied decisively, "Impossible!"

"Ten gemstones?"

Oulistros hesitated slightly. "Um... not likely, right?"

"One hundred gemstones?"

Oulistros responded firmly, "I want beef."

"Wait a second, you."

This is the power of money!

...

Early the next morning, Nezha set off for the Ougeas Kingdom. With Nezha’s speed, it wasn’t far. However, as soon as he approached the Royal City, an overpowering stench of aged cow dung hit him as if to choke the life out of him. He quickly sealed off his sense of smell; this country was a complete disaster.

It was practically a paradise for dung beetles, a distant utopia for their kind.

Nezha couldn’t wait to leave this hellhole as soon as possible. He went straight to the Royal City, which—being quite a large kingdom—still seemed reasonably prosperous.

Nezha marched straight to the Royal Palace, where he met the aging King and declared he was willing to clean up the cow dung. The King was delighted and even promised that if Nezha could clean out the barn in one day, he would give him half of the cattle.

This unexpected offer was too good to refuse, and both parties quickly reached an agreement.

After leaving the Royal Palace, Nezha exited the city, flicked his sleeve, and summoned a towering Gold Mountain. Standing atop it, he declared, "Hear me, people! I am Hercules, a man who values cleanliness. Your country reeks to high heaven, but now, I offer you a deal: if you clean out the cattle barn within a single day, see this Gold Mountain beneath my feet? It’s yours."

Though he spoke simply, his voice carried clearly into the ears of every individual in the city. Many were skeptical, but as soon as they stepped outside, they saw a mountain of gold and jewels towering dozens of meters high.

At first, the people’s reaction to the Gold Mountain wasn’t excitement to get to work—they were consumed by their most primal greed.

"Everyone, get him! He’s just one person. Kill him, and we won’t even need to work for the mountain!"

With that, they began to charge. But before they could take more than a few steps, a rushing sound pierced the air.

Boom!

The unknown attacker was smashed into minced meat by a single remote punch from Nezha. The force of the punch buried the remains into the ground, completing the burial on the spot.

The crowd, whose greed had clouded their judgment moments ago, suddenly snapped out of it. Getting paid for work was only natural! They weren’t the kind of unreasonable, greedy people, were they?

A huge mob scuttled back home to grab any tools they could find and rushed to the cattle pens to begin cleaning. Some were so worried about missing the deadline that they called on friends and relatives to help.

Even elderly folks in their sixties and seventies hobbled up, tapping the ground with their canes as they contributed their share of labor.

The King of Ougeas came out to gaze at the glimmering Gold Mountain, an expression of insatiable greed gleaming in his eyes. While he orchestrated his army to oversee the cleaning efforts, he was also secretly scheming something else.

Sitting atop the Gold Mountain, Nezha watched as the Ougeas people cleaned the entire cattle barn. As dawn broke, the people, now reeking of filth but roaring with cheers, celebrated their completion of the task. The Gold Mountain would belong to them!

Just as the crowd surged forward to split the spoils, the King’s army surrounded the Gold Mountain tightly with their sharp spears, blocking anyone from approaching.

"Your Majesty, this is the result of our labor! What are you doing?"

"Yeah! Are you really going to take the fruits of your citizens’ hard work?"

The King sneered and said, "You ignorant peasants! Without my supervision, do you think you could have completed cleaning the barn on time? Besides, you are all my subjects, and therefore, your wealth is also mine!"

A few hot-headed individuals, unable to contain their rage upon hearing this, stepped forward to argue further. But with a wave of the King’s hand, a few soldiers promptly stabbed the troublemakers to death.

At the sight of this, the previously chaotic crowd became silent, the people subdued under the weight of fear.