The Queen's Request

Chapter 47 The Queen's Request

Hera

Shen You seemed to suddenly understand.

Until just now, he had thought this was some kind of story involving the bloodline and feuds of the gods, or some grand conspiracy by a super villain trying to obtain Zeus's bloodline. But it wasn't.

It turns out it was just the wife chasing after mistresses all over the world.

From this perspective, Hera must be having a bit of a headache. Zeus's problem isn't new; for years, he's been like a pile driver wherever he goes. The green hats Hera has accumulated over the years could probably burst through the atmosphere. If an alien friend were to pass by, they'd be quite astonished, thinking they'd wandered into Oa, because that towering stack would look exactly like the Green Lantern Corps' main battery.

Actually, if we're going to settle scores, Zeus, who fabricated his identity to deceive and swindle young girls, is the one in the wrong. However, Hera has the time to search the world for mistresses but never addresses the root of the problem. Perhaps she figured she was no match for Zeus, and that even if she confronted him, she would most likely end up being bullied, so she simply didn't want to humiliate herself.

Of course, this is just a guess.

When Shen You suggested that perhaps Zeus could step in to resolve the issue—after all, it sounded like a domestic matter for Olympus—Queen Hippolyta rejected the idea.

"No one can find Zeus," she said, pausing for a moment, "at least not now."

Shen You noticed the subtlety in her choice of words: "What do you mean?"

"The King of the Gods has not appeared for a long time, and no one has heard news of him for a long time. Even the gods do not know where he has gone."

Hippolyta shook her head, seemingly unwilling to continue the conversation.

"We have indeed received God's will. Rest assured, Zola will be safe on Paradise Island. And thank you very much for your help along the way."

But as you should also know, Paradise Island has very strict rules regarding men setting foot there. Even as Queen, I cannot arbitrarily change these rules, so…”

"It's alright, I wasn't planning on staying long anyway." Shen You interrupted decisively, then said, "To be honest, I came here partly because of Zola's matter, and partly because a friend of mine recommended me."

He told me that Paradise Island contained some nitrogen. He said he was an old friend of yours, someone who had fought alongside you many years ago; he wondered if you remembered his name.

Shazam the Wizard?

Queen Hippolyta's expression changed almost imperceptibly.

"Of course." She nodded. "The guardian of magic in this world, the wizard who guards the Rock of Eternity, is hard to forget. I remember."

Queen Hippolyta stopped in her tracks. The Amazon warriors around her also stopped, casting questioning glances at her, waiting for her to speak.

She frowned and pondered for a while, as if she were making a difficult decision.

But soon she looked up and made a gesture.

"Take Miss Zora to a safe place," Hippolyta said calmly, turning to Shen You. "Come with me."

The two separated from the main group. Shen You followed behind the queen, winding his way through the dense, overgrown Amazon rainforest.

They arrived at a rather steep cliff. The Queen refused Shen You's invitation to fly her up, stubbornly climbing it with her bare hands. However, she was quite agile, and quickly reached the top of the cliff. Shen You activated his propulsion system and followed, flying up as well.

A protruding rock appeared ahead. Queen Hippolyta stepped forward and placed her hand on the rock. The entire mountain peak immediately emitted a deep rumble, a pale blue glow flashed across the surface of the boulder, and the heavy stone door slid open with a loud crash.

Hippolyta led the way inside, and torches on either side of the cave lit up one by one. The orange light flickered and swayed in the cave, illuminating a bright path.

Various weapons were displayed around the cave.

Swords, spears, halberds, shields, bows and arrows, and other weapons whose names are unknown.

Although they were all cold weapons, Shen You's super senses allowed him to detect a certain dangerous aura from many of them.

The Amazons were indeed primitive in their fighting style, but Shen You knew that many of their weapons were quite sophisticated. A very small number of weapons might contain N metal, while most others were made of a magical alloy known as "Amazon metal."

This metal is not only exceptionally hard, but also possesses a remarkable property: it has excellent compatibility with magic. Its material classification is similar to Uru alloy, the alloy used to forge Thor's hammer in the Marvel universe. Besides its superior inherent properties, its greatest characteristic is its ease of enchanting; in the lore, it is referred to as "the metal reserved for gods."

Its most outstanding artifact is Wonder Woman's pair of silver bracelets. In both the movies and the original comics, they have demonstrated extraordinary defensive capabilities, being impervious to blades and bullets, even able to withstand the heat vision of Kryptonians, and also possessing the ability to amplify and unleash Diana's divine power, or a similar energy-absorbing and reflective anti-armor function to vibranium.

"Your wizard friend is right, there is indeed still N metal on Paradise Island, but very little is left."

As Hippolyta spoke, she had already walked to the deepest part of the armory. She reached out and pressed a hidden door, which quickly sprang open.

"But we still have plenty of Amazonian metal. That's also a very good material if you're interested."

Ni metal is referred to as the ninth metal in the DC system, while Amazon metal is the eighth metal. This material not only possesses equally superior properties, but also exhibits additional effects when the eighth and ninth metals collide with each other.

"And then there's this."

She revealed a rope.

Shen You was genuinely surprised this time.

The Lasso of Truth? Isn't that one of Wonder Woman's iconic three magical artifacts?

No, it's not the Lasso of Truth. Although it looks somewhat similar and can also sense some kind of magical fluctuation, it's not exactly the same.

"My daughter has a similar rope, which represents truth and reality. This one, though not as good as hers, is no ordinary thing either," said Queen Hippolyta. "This is the 'Lasso of Lies,' which corresponds to truth and represents lies."

Shen You understood.

He remembered this item; in the comics, Batman had bought one from the magical black market as a tool to fight Wonder Woman. It had the ability to weave illusions, immersing the bound person in a dream world.

This is a precious gift.

Shen You hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at her: "My intuition tells me that you're showing me these things not because of your relationship with the wizard, or because I helped Zola, right?"

"You are very clever," Queen Hippolyta nodded. "I do need help. It's about my daughter."

Her expression darkened as she spoke.

"Her name was Diana. Long ago, on a moonless night, I shaped the clay of the Amazon into the form of a baby and prayed to the gods to grant me a child."

The gods heard and answered my prayers, and granted this child life. And so she came into being, my Diana, the most perfect Amazon warrior, protected by the gods, born with divine power, a being of supreme spirituality created by heaven and earth.

Hippolyta paused, then added, "At least that's what the legend has always been. That's what she thought, and that's what I've always told the sisters on the island."

"But that was a lie," Shen You said.

"Yes, it's a lie," Hippolyta readily admitted. "I told this lie because I didn't want her to know that I just wanted to protect her."

Shen You deliberately made his tone sound somewhat surprised, even though he already knew the true origin story of Wonder Woman.

"Your daughter, is she her father...?"

"Yes, her father is Zeus, the king of the gods."

Hippolyta sighed softly.

"I thought the truth could be kept hidden forever, and she would never have to know. But I should have known that no truth can be hidden forever."

There are indications that the diva may already know about this. And if she does know, she will definitely be very angry.

But Diana is no longer with me. She went to your human world a long time ago, and I don't know where she is. But what if the Queen of Heaven finds her, and she doesn't know her own origins?

Shen You understood: "You want me to help her."

Metal N is the best metal in the world in terms of its anti-magic properties. Hippolyta was willing to give it to him not only as a reward for the mission, but also as leverage against Hera.

But after thinking for a moment, Shen You added, "But this is only the first time we've met."

"I have no other choice. I cannot appeal to the gods; no god would be willing to offend Hera for my sake," the Queen sighed. "Perhaps I am to blame, but Diana knows nothing; she is innocent."

I see that you possess extraordinary power, perhaps even greater than I could have imagined. And you mentioned the wizard Shazam—few people in this era know his name anymore, so I'm willing to believe you're telling the truth. As far as I know, that wizard is fiercely opposed to evil; if you truly are on good terms with him, then I believe you are also a person of pure heart and who keeps your promises.

There's nothing more I can do now. I don't ask for more, I only hope that if you happen to see Diana, or find her in danger, you can lend her a hand.

".Can."

"Thank you." Queen Hippolyta turned and began to walk outside. "There are still a few ships on the island. You can take one when you leave."

"Thanks, but I don't think I need a boat." Shen You smiled.

"You don't understand." Hippolyta shook her head. "Rheasto is circling the nearby seas. It is Hera's henchman, and it is ordered by Hera to patrol the area."

Rheasto is not like the weak sea monster you killed on the shore; it is a true deep-sea beast with the power to control the ocean.

It may not stop anyone from landing on Paradise Island, but it will not let anyone leave Paradise Island.

But our ship is enchanted with interference magic; it might not be able to detect you leaving by ship.

Shen You pondered for a moment, then asked, "The sea monster you're talking about... it wouldn't happen to have a shell like stone, a body that glows red, shoots tentacles, and can even generate electricity, would it?"

Queen Hippolyta: "?"

"That's what I'm saying," Shen You said. "If you're talking about that sea monster, then... well, it might already be dead."

"On our way to Paradise Island, we did encounter a monster that matched your description. It rushed out of the sea trying to swallow us, and I was forced to act in self-defense, so I blew it up."

Queen Hippolyta's eyes widened slightly.

Just casually...blew it up?

Listen to this yourself, is this even human language?

The Queen remained silent, lost in thought.

But at that moment she suddenly realized that she might have just made a wise decision for Paradise Island.

(End of this chapter)