In a village atop the mountains, about 15 km away from Marwan's village,
one of the villages that used to suffer from the local gang, and in the central tavern of the village where its fighters gathered, there was only one topic on everyone's tongue.
A bulky muscular man spoke to another equally muscular man among a group of well-built men. This group had a distinct appearance from the rest of the fighters.
(First Man): "It seems the rumors are true."
(Second Man): "And how would you know?"
(First Man): "I met the Jankz brothers from the Village of Sadeem. I saw with my own eyes how they transported a huge load of metals from destroyed robot remains, and lots of scraps like electric wires and used lightbulbs. I asked a friend about all this stuff and he told me the gang's base is empty—they fled after their battle with the Union battalion."
The second man grumbled and denied it, saying:
_ "That can't be true. I'm sure they defeated the Union army. Why would they leave?"
(First Man): "It's obvious, don't be foolish! The Union will send stronger forces soon, and there's no way they'd accept such a humiliating loss against a local gang. They simply left before the Union could bury them in their own base."
Then a third man, who had been silent all this time, spoke:
_ "When I heard about the men from the Village of Khold and how they fought alongside the Union and freed the prisoners, my blood burned with passion and regret that I wasn't one of them."
(First Man): "You're right. I heard they killed the gang's deputy leader. He's a level-four gene fighter—how the hell did they manage that!?"
(Third Man): "I'm not sure about the details, but I heard a man named Zeus was the one who killed him. Also, that man doesn't even belong to this region—he's just a stranger."
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The rumors and stories were spreading through the rest of the villages as well, and gradually, almost involuntarily, the Village of Khold was considered the strongest village in the region after the gang's escape.
And in the heart of the Village of Khold, Marwan was considered the number one man—villagers turned to him to solve their problems and voice their complaints.
...
Marwan gathered with the village men this afternoon to discuss the future of the village after the changes in the region.
In the outer area near the path leading out of the village and toward the Sea of Sand, Marwan stood on a temporary platform. All around him were gathered the men and residents of the village—children and women included.
(Zeus, whispering): "Don't get nervous, come on—they're waiting for you."
Zeus placed his hand on Marwan's shoulder and gently pushed him forward.
Marwan took a deep breath and approached the loudspeaker.
(Marwan): "It's hot today, isn't it?"
""Focus, my friend, forget the weather,"" Zeus thought awkwardly, seeing his friend stumble.
(Marwan): "So I won't make this speech long. First, I want to ask everyone to remember these days. Every year, we'll visit our martyrs—and we'll celebrate too. This is how victories are made—we buy them with our blood… I want to make this village much stronger than it is now. We'll start by training our kids and our youth, and we'll work with one heart to improve our quality of life and build a better future for ourselves... Finally, I want to say that I accept your wish to appoint me as the village chief, and I promise I'll live up to your expectations."
Cheers and excited whistles echoed in a celebratory atmosphere, and Zeus thought as he watched the scene, ""They really love him. Well, he deserves it. He's not a bad man at all.""
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A few hours passed, and as the sun began to set,
decorative ribbons filled the roads, and the streets came alive as if it were the time of annual festivities.
Wherever Zeus looked, he saw street vendors and children playing everywhere.
In the center of the village, where the largest tent had been set up and fighters had gathered, many cars were constantly arriving from outside the village.
Marwan had already sent invitations to the leaders of nearby villages to celebrate together and hold some discussions.
Inside the large tent, Marwan sat at the center surrounded by leaders and advisors. Currently, there were two village chiefs present with their entourages.
As for Zeus, he stood outside—he didn't really feel like sitting inside the tent in such a lively, beautiful atmosphere.
The chief of the village of Sahba was a massive muscular fighter in his mid-forties at most. His village's homes were built atop desert mountain peaks, located about 15 km from Marwan's Village of Khold.
The chief of the Village of Sadeem was a very old man, accompanied by two of his grandchildren who were always with him.
There was a dark-skinned young man with long, slicked-back hair like a lion's mane, and there was a woman dressed in strange clothes that covered every part of her—face, hands, feet, and any curves of her body.
This young woman was either short or young in age—Zeus couldn't really tell. He kept watching her out of boredom due to her unusual behavior.
The girl approached a street vendor and began buying sweets for all the children around her.
Zeus watched this scene and gradually noticed how quickly the children gathered like ants, slapping his forehead:
""Anyone seeing this would think we never feed you! Kids... seriously a problem... forget it, not my business.""
(Dark-skinned young man): "Seems you don't need those eyes of yours?"
(Zeus, surprised): "Are you talking to me!?"
_ "Yeah. Tell me, can I pluck your eyes out? I have this strong urge to eat them without a single grain of salt."
""What's wrong with this lunatic!?""
Suddenly, a man from the village appeared and spoke urgently:
_ "Mr. Khalid, please don't hold it against him—he's a stranger to the region and doesn't know our customs or traditions."
(Khalid): "And how is that my problem? A stranger to the region? That reminds me—are you, by any chance, the one called Zeus?"
""Finally, some respect once he knows who I really am,"" Zeus thought, before answering coolly:
_ "Yes, that's me."
Khalid smiled wickedly and spoke gleefully:
_ "So you can take a few hits before dying? That's much better."
""You bastard!!"" Zeus thought, and the villager stepped in immediately to pull him away. At the same moment, the girl approached, having seen Khalid causing trouble with a stranger.
(Girl): "What's going on? How can you start a fight in your guest's home!?"
The girl spoke in a very low voice that Zeus could barely hear, thanks to his enhanced senses as a level-three gene fighter.
Since she was speaking with some logic—unlike the other guy—Zeus decided to tolerate the madman and walk away.
(Villager from Khold): "Mr. Zeus, there are some important things you need to understand—whether in our village or neighboring ones. First, women are a red line."
_ "What do you mean by that?"
_ "I'll explain. Do you know that if you simply went now and touched that girl's hand for a brief second and left—do you know what would happen?"
Zeus answered after a short pause:
_ "That bastard would come fight me?"
_ "No, that's not what would happen. That man and all the men of his village would come looking to kill you."
_ "Wait! What? It's not like I stole their most precious jewel—why would they go that crazy!?"
_ "You said it yourself—women here are treated as extremely valuable. Just your constant staring at one can cause intense anger from men close to her, especially first and second-degree relatives like brothers and cousins. In fact, for me, just seeing a strange man giving one of our women a wrong look is enough for me to disfigure his face."
(Zeus, sarcastic): "Why just beat him? Kill him, why not?"
The man shook his head and gave Zeus a look that made him feel ignorant and like a fool who'd wasted much of his life living differently than these tribes.
(Villager): "Since you'll be staying with us for a while, you'll understand what I mean sooner or later. Another thing—we treat our parents and grandparents with the highest level of respect, and someone might even attack you if you speak ill of their father."
(Zeus, irritated): "Hold on, what do you think of us?! If you spoke badly of my father, I'd leave you without a single unbroken bone."
The man showed an enthusiastic reaction and spoke cheerfully:
_ "Finally, man! You do get it a little. I thought you didn't care about your parents either when I saw how you treat your women."
(Zeus): "I don't understand—how do we mistreat our women?"
_ "Brother, focus a little. Do you think if your sister or mother walks down the street with her curves showing, men won't keep staring at her with lust?"
(Zeus): "No one in my family wears revealing clothes. We have strict traditions about noble attire—and none of it shows off any curves."
(Villager): "See? Then we're in agreement. When you want to honor a woman and treat her as something valuable, you won't accept her exposing herself to strange men everywhere. You'd want to see her protected and out of their sight, right?"
Zeus went silent, lost in deep thought as he saw the logic in the man's words. At the same time, he remembered Beatrix and felt some comfort in his heart recalling that she always wore modest clothing that revealed nothing.
At the same time, his irritation with Khalid faded, and gradually, something began to grow in Zeus's heart—some form of respect for him.