The Greece Antagonist

The next night at Hestia's residence.

The Goddess of the Hearth looked at her subordinate deity on the bed, who was almost wrapped up like a mummy, her face a mix of helplessness and sympathy.

"Why did you bother her if you said you were fine? Forcing her to finish the meal was one thing, but dragging her into the lake in the middle of the night..."

"I didn't want to..."

Luo En felt deeply wronged upon hearing this and looked at his chief deity with a mournful expression.

"You let her into the kitchen, she asked for the bet, you added the magic potion, and I kindly covered for you guys, taking on everything alone."

Upon hearing this nearly tearful accusation, Hestia guiltily averted her gaze and muttered softly.

"It was just a little herb that causes itching and boosts blood circulation..."

"Which is why she beat me up like this!"

Luo En waved his arms, which were wrapped tightly, his face full of grief and indignation.

Not long ago, there had been an incident with small pink bottles, and now the drinks at the banquet seemed to have similar effects. Both Luo En and Athena instinctively thought there were remnants of a "Love Potion" inside.

Thus, he chose to jump into the lake with Athena to suppress the restless heat inside their bodies and to look for calming magic potions in the small black house of the Medicine God at the foot of the mountain.

However, when Hestia and Circe arrived, they realized it had just been a small prank.

New grudges paired with old resentment, a completely drenched Athena lost control, grinding her teeth, she chased Luo En halfway up the mountain, furiously beating him before she finally left him be.

Afterward, it was still Hestia and Circe who pulled him out of the deep pit and cared for him at home.

"The potion was my doing, but if she was upset, she should have come to me; why did she beat you up like this?"

Finally, unable to withstand her conscience and her subordinate deity's stare, Hestia put on a righteous indignation act, intending to defend her subordinate deity.

However, as soon as she said this, Luo En's face darkened even more, and he spoke somberly.

"She said you're the chief deity. If the chief deity made a mistake, it must be the subordinate deity's fault for not advising and guiding properly. Moreover, how could a niece scold her aunt? So, after much deliberation, of course, it's me who gets beaten..."

"..."

Listening to this mournful answer, Hestia suddenly lost her fire, her gaze on her subordinate deity filled with intense guilt and shame.

Seeing the atmosphere was ripe, Luo En made his most crucial plea and accusation.

"So, you understand now, right? Last time wasn't my fault, I was just a victim who wasn't really trying to take advantage of anyone with that magic potion."

"Yes, absolutely! It was all those two little devils' fault!"

Hestia nodded vigorously, believing this without a doubt. Her guilty gaze swept over her upright and reliable subordinate deity, who had shielded and taken the blame for her, filling her with even more compassion.

"You've suffered..."

"Forget it, Athena wasn't wrong either. After all, I am your subordinate deity. Some things I indeed should endure on your behalf."

Luo En waved his hand, appearing helpless yet willing.

Hestia felt a warmth at first, but then became increasingly angry, promptly slammed the table, and stood up.

"No, we can't just let this go!"

The instigator, his eyes shimmering deeply in the gloom, brimmed with faint anticipation and pleasure.

Yes indeed, you've got to stiffen up and take revenge for me!

"So, you want to..."

"She bullied my subordinate deity, so I will bully her subordinate deity!"

At this moment, Hestia placed her hands on her hips, straightened up, and made her declaration.

"Was it those two little devils who framed you, right? Wait, I'm going to sort them out and take revenge for you!"

Saying this, the Goddess of the Hearth skillfully summoned a black glowing whip and stormed out with a fierce aura.

A few steps later, the figure of the chief deity, along with the glowing whip in her hand, swiftly vanished into the thick night.

Hestia, you've gone naughty...

Luo En watched his chief deity, who had taken the chance to run away, and shook his head. He then sat up from the bed, skillfully unwrapped the bandages cocooned around his whole body, and comfortably stretched his slightly numb limbs.

At this moment, other than a few red patches, there were no signs of injury on his body.

After all, with the "Crown" providing the powers of "Life" and "Healing," he had long possessed amazing self-healing abilities.

And Athena couldn't have actually intended to kill him; the injuries on his body, although looking severe, were nowhere near bone-crushing.

Just a slight channeling of the "Crown's" powers, and he was already mostly healed.

The reason he had lain in bed for most of the day, presenting a pitiful sight, was of course to gain Hestia's sympathy and stir her guilt, ensuring a smooth resolve for himself.

Of course, the effect was clear.

Hestia had already completely seen him as a victim in last time's incident and no longer pursued the issue of him deceiving so many goddesses into coming to the mountain. He didn't have to worry much about being held accountable in the future.

Well, having cleared things with both Athena and Hestia, there shouldn't be much trouble left at War God Mountain, and he could peacefully proceed with his next plan.

Just as Luo En was sorting out his thoughts and preparing to leave, the door was quietly pushed open.

One figure after another entered under the cover of night, quickly filling up nearly the entire space of the bedroom.

"Are you all right? That's wonderful!"

The crisp and cheerful voice, like that of a oriole singing, belonged to Euterpe, the Muse of lyric poetry and solo song, who approached the bed excitedly with a basket of fruit in hand.
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Behind her, the other eight Muses also gathered around, each holding various gifts of consolation.

"Shh, you all saw nothing. I don't want Athena to find out and have me beaten up again."

Seeing so many people entering the room, Luo En quickly made a silencing gesture and whispered a warning.

As they drew closer, the Muses scrutinized Luo En, who was dressed only in shorts, their gazes heating up as they fell on his well-proportioned and aesthetically pleasing muscular contours.

Having not seen him for a while, this god seemed even more charming than before.

Keeping a secret was possible, but...

The nine goddesses licked their moist cherry lips, like a pack of wolves eyeing a piece of meat, their eyes gradually flashing with an eager impulse.

Seeing the sultry looks across from him, Luo En immediately understood that he was not getting away any time soon.

~~

"Boom!"

Days later, accompanied by a violent roar, a figure streaked across the sky like a meteor and crashed heavily into the wilderness outside the City of Athens.

Amidst the swirling dust, Luo En staggered out of the deep pit, looking gloomily towards War God Mountain.

Well, he had been thrown out of War God Mountain.

The reason was, he had led astray the customs there.

Because during the days he was "bedridden and recuperating," the nine Muses almost nightly took advantage of the darkness to "visit" him.

Sometimes in groups of three, sometimes in pairs, sometimes seven, or all at once, each night they played out a scenario of a night-shift infirmary.

Because it was too outrageous and frequent, their clandestine actions even got Medusa to catch them in the act.

Thus, the Gorgon quite readily struck a deal with the nine Muses, acquiring half-ownership of someone.

Later on, hearing about this, Euryale and Stheno, enamored by the rumor, joined in as well.

In their view, this was a joyful act of bullying by many against one, and they wanted in on the action.

Also, such pleasures seemingly offered quite the delightful relief, turning both young gorgons positively gleeful.

But with so many congregating for silvery parties, the goddesses up on War God Mountain were not blind, and sooner or later, it was bound to come out.

Therefore, a few days later, Luo En, deemed the root of all evil, was grimly thrown off War God Mountain by several utterly fed-up goddesses.

After all, some of them were frustrated recluses, some vowed virginal deities and their lesser deities, and a few were naive children. They could no longer stand hearing those moans and groans all day long.

But this wasn't my fault. They started it.

And besides, even though I repeatedly said no, they still kept coming in groups to pester me.

After a bout of frustrated grumbling, Luo En dusted off the dirt and grass on his body, and retrieved a purplish snake scale from his bosom, beginning to plan his next steps.

In the night, he might have engaged in mischief, but during the day, he hadn't neglected serious matters either.

On one hand, the Court of Judgment under Goddess of Justice Themis and the Library under Goddess of Memory Mnemosyne required his consultative advice; frequent discussions between the three were inevitable to push forward with their plans, and in light of his commitment to serious tasks, Themis and Mnemosyne had turned a blind eye to his scandalous affairs and the chaos on War God Mountain.

On the other hand, Luo En had also forged good relations with Mother of Serpents, Echidna; the snake scale was a token from her. With a foundation of life-saving grace, and following the precedent set by the Gorgon Sisters enhancing their situation, Echidna hoped he could alter the dire straits and future crises facing Typhon's offspring, and prevent the unfortunate demise of her children one by one.

In response to this, Luo En readily promised, cheerfully accepting the commission.

At present, he roughly had three things to do:

One was to use the token from Mother of Serpents Echidna to secretly rally Typhon's scattered offspring, gradually strengthening his own forces while securing the Golden Apple guarded by the hundred-headed dragon Ladon;

Another was to head to the Netherworld, to keep his appointment with Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, and see if he could resolve the problem of the Wheel of Hecate on him;

The last was to continue exploiting the Twelve Olympians, complete the twelve divine incarnations, unlock the first seal of the twelve-sided die, and find out what "gift" Hecate had mentioned.

After thinking it over, Luo En decided to eliminate the third option first.

The logic was simple. Hecate hid too much and was not trustworthy.

Whether it was Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, Goddess of Justice Themis, or Ocean Goddess Tethys, they were all implicitly warning him to be wary of that Goddess of the Nether Moon.

The so-called "gift" sealed within the twelve-sided die may not be something beneficial.

Therefore, without fully preparing or eliminating the Wheel of Hecate from himself, it would be best to hold off on gathering the remaining divine powers of the three chief gods.

Besides, the remaining targets were Hera, Zeus, and Hephaestus, God of Fire.

The God of Fire was manageable, but the other two were not so easily fooled; taking it slow might not be such a bad idea.

Consequently, Luo En made a decision, opting for the second option first, then the first.

That is, to first make a trip to the Netherworld, and then upon his return, try to connect with Typhon's scattered offspring.

This way, he could conveniently escort the Typhon's offspring he had rallied on his return trip to War God Mountain.

Resolved, Luo En placed the purplish snake scale into the Magic Circle Diagram and, drawing out the dull Horn of Plenty from his pocket, gazed thoughtfully in the direction of Arima Cave, murmuring to himself meaningfully,

"Well then, foster mother, I am coming to fulfill our appointment."