Chapter 15: Amulet of Uroboros, Fire of Ares (Patreon)

"Haha! Are you threatening us? Do you even know who our boss is? Our Godfather is Capone Bege, son-in-law to the Yonko Big Mom! He's a member of the Worst Generation! The Worst Generation! Hahaha!" The red-haired pirate threw his head back and laughed.

His subordinates, a mob of thugs dressed in black suits and clutching rifles, erupted into laughter alongside him.

They had returned to Sabaody Archipelago to gather supplies and recruit newbies. They never expected to run into two idiot rookie bounty hunters. Recruiting ordinary sailors in Sabaody to hunt pirates in the New World? It was an absolute joke.

No ordinary sailor would ever take on such a suicidal job. These men had families, wives, and children. They usually worked on merchant vessels or transport fleets protected by major pirate crews or powerful syndicates. Following a bounty hunter meant constantly clashing with ruthless outlaws who lived on the edge of a blade. Pirates would not show mercy just because someone was a sailor rather than a hunter. They would slaughter everyone on board.

Furthermore, these two fools wanted to head into the New World, the most dangerous sea of all. It would be a miracle if anyone agreed to work for them.

As for the pirates who had applied for the job earlier? They merely planned to kill the two bounty hunters the moment they set sail and hijack the ship. Pirates were never out to do good deeds.

Not long ago, a subordinate reported that these two idiots were trying to hire a crew. It was a perfect opportunity. They could snatch the medium-sized galleon and present it to their boss. The ship was heavily armed and clearly a former pirate vessel. It boasted ten cannons on each side, gunpowder barrels and two light machine guns at the stern, and two massive artillery pieces at the bow. Bege would be thrilled to add it to his fleet. As for whether the bounty hunters would resist? They were pirates. They would just kill them and take the ship.

"I might accidentally hurt you. Take this," Kratos muttered. He pulled out a blue, crystalline amulet and tossed it to Axis.

"What... what is this?" Axis stammered.

The moment his fingers brushed the artifact, the system chimed in his mind.

[High-tier divine energy detected.]

"It is the Amulet of Uroboros," Kratos explained. "With it, you can manipulate time in a specific area. It only works on inanimate objects like structures, not living creatures. However, activating it will briefly freeze ordinary mortals in place. Wear it and stay alive."

He had looted the treasure from a prophet ten years ago during his war against the Furies. The trinket was useful for traversing obstacles, but it offered little combat value to the Spartan. He decided to just give it to the boy. Axis was painfully weak. With this artifact, his chances of survival would greatly increase.

"Thanks, Kratos."

'Good heavens, this is a time-manipulation artifact!' Axis screamed internally. 'Even if it only works on buildings and not living things, isn't this absurdly overpowered?'

Furthermore, it could freeze ordinary people in place for a short duration. He was basically invincible against regular thugs.

As for letting the system absorb its divine power? 'Are you kidding me?' he thought. He was definitely keeping such an incredible item for himself. He could always squeeze Athena for more divine energy later. In fact, a brilliant new plan was forming in his mind. Once he returned to the Greek world, he would see if he could scam the other gods too.

Axis gripped the Amulet of Uroboros and activated its temporal power. Instantly, a dome of blue light washed over a hundred-square-meter radius. Everyone except for Axis and Kratos froze perfectly still. Even the arrogant rooster-haired pirate stood paralyzed, his mocking laughter frozen on his face.

"Get as far away as you can. I will end this instantly," Kratos ordered. "As for your captive, that red-haired man appears to be their leader. I will sever his limbs and leave him breathing. Will that suffice?"

Captives? That concept did not exist in the mind of a Spartan. Their usual doctrine was to slaughter everyone and leave no survivors. That was the Spartan way of war. Wiping out these enemies was effortless, but forcing Kratos to hold back and take a prisoner was pure agony for him.

"If you chop off all his limbs, he won't live long enough for me to question him," Axis sighed. "Just spare one of his grunts and kill that red-haired bastard."

They only needed a little information. There was no point in keeping the boss alive. Interrogating a terrified lackey would be far easier anyway.

"Understood. Stand aside and make good use of the amulet's power. As long as you hold it, nothing in this world can harm you," Kratos stated.

There were no gods in this universe. Consequently, there were no divine artifacts to counter the Amulet of Uroboros. Its power was absolute here.

Axis nodded and sprinted out of the blast zone. The amulet's power was truly formidable. He could feel its ability to reverse the temporal state of structures. As for freezing people, the effect wouldn't last long, perhaps only a minute. But that single minute was more than enough time for him to escape to a safe distance, and more than enough time for Kratos to annihilate the enemy.

Once he was safely away, Axis felt the amulet's power wane. The blue light dissipated, and the pirates immediately regained their mobility.

"Fire of Ares." Kratos raised the Blades of Chaos without hesitation. Roaring, fiery energy erupted, enveloping his entire body.

"Raaargh!" Kratos roared, slamming the blazing blades violently into the ground.

A shockwave of searing hellfire exploded outward from the Spartan. The flames did not just burn the enemies; they triggered a series of massive, violent explosions. The entire mob of pirate grunts was instantly blasted into the air.

Kratos slammed his blades into the earth three consecutive times, unleashing three devastating waves of explosive fire. The pirates, including the rooster-haired boss, were instantly incinerated into charred husks.

Well, almost all of them. A single lackey standing at the edge of the blast radius managed to survive, though he suffered severe burns across his body. Of course, his survival was entirely due to Kratos's mercy. Otherwise, he would have been reduced to a pile of ash just like the rest of his crew.