The Greece Antagonist

"So, you were commissioned by the king of Celifos Island to explore this abandoned sea temple with a fleet?"

A quarter of an hour later, Luo En raised his hand to stroke his chin, glancing at the middle-aged man in a felt hat who sat in front of him, sniffling and shedding tears as he spilled his background and identity like beans from a bamboo tube. Luo En's eyes narrowed slightly.

Celifos Island? That name seems vaguely familiar. It feels like I've heard it somewhere...

"Little brother, I've said all there is to say, I'm just a guide."

Seeing that the person across from him showed no intention of letting him go, Skester pled with a long face and, to alleviate the other's concerns, swore earnestly to the heavens with a solemn face.

"Don't worry, I know the rules. I didn't see anything, and I know nothing!"

Luo En, coming back to his senses upon seeing this, couldn't help but find it a bit amusing.

"Oh, quite the expert, huh, old pal? It seems you've run into this sort of thing more than a few times, right?"

Skester coughed dryly a few times to hide his embarrassment, squeezing out a somewhat sycophantic smile while leaning slightly forward in unison.

"Ahem, it's all just to scrape by, isn't it? No need to stake my life."

"So..."

Luo En drawled, his tone playful yet mocking as he looked towards the middle-aged man's hand, which had at some point moved to his back waist.

"...how many have believed that spiel of yours and are still alive?"

He's been found out!

In an instant, Skester's pupils constricted, and he suddenly burst into action, pulling a dagger from behind his waist as fast as lightning. The blade, with its whistling wind noise, streaked towards Luo En's throat.

The previously timid middle-aged man in the felt hat became decisively vicious and cold in his actions and gaze at that moment, like a cheetah revealing its fierce fangs.

As expected, how could the demigod descendant of Hermes be an innocent and pure little white rabbit? After all, the Divine Envoy they worshipped was renowned throughout Greece for being a notorious swindler and thief.

A cold smile sketched across Luo En's lips with no hint of surprise.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of snapping echoed through the dense forest, as Skester's right hand, holding the dagger, twisted grotesquely like a pretzel. Shards of white bone jutted through the skin, exposed to the air.

"Ah—!"

Agonizing pain struck, and the blood descendant of Hermes nearly blacked out and collapsed to the ground.

"If you move again, not even Zeus can save you..."

A ghostly voice rose near Skester's ear. He shivered and quickly bit his tongue to force himself awake, firmly halting his forward-leaning body and standing his ground to avoid accidentally triggering the Burst Rune beneath his feet.

"Pretty quick reflexes, befitting a descendant of Hermes, the God of Speed."

Accompanied by a tone that was both mocking and playful, Luo En stepped closer, his hand lightly resting on the other's right shoulder while the other hand smoothly took control of the bronze dagger that had slipped from the middle-aged man's grasp.

"I was just trying to crack a joke with you. With such little tricks, how could I ever measure up to you?"

Skester, enduring the pain of his fractured bone, twisted his face into a tight knot and forced out a strained chuckle, his face insincerely flattering, though he cursed non-stop inwardly.

What kind of monster was he dealing with today? Not only was he crafty, but his reflexes were even faster than his own as a blood descendant of Hermes!

"If that's your last word, I'll take it as a compliment," Luo En said, his eyes slightly smiling, as he deftly twirled the bronze dagger—its blade shimmering with a blueish tint, seemingly coated with poison—between his slender fingers.

As mentioned before, there are indeed disparities among demigods.

The blood of deities often becomes diluted over the generations of their offspring.

Though he was somewhat reluctant to admit it, he was after all one of Zeus's first generation of offspring, and those he had faced in the Sea of Okeanos were mainly high-purity hybrid monsters and Titans.

Demigods like the one before him, related to Hermes and whose abilities through countless mortal generations had almost entirely focused on agility, were nowhere near clever enough to trick him.

As the blue blade inched closer to his neck, Skester's face went pale, shivering, and he hastily began to plead his case.

"It was a misunderstanding just now! If you let me go, I can show you the way. Honestly, the people from Celifos have found quite a few treasures on this island!"

Seeing that Luo En was utterly unmoved by the potential fortune, the Hermes blood descendant, his forehead drenched in cold sweat, steeled his heart, biting down hard, and played his ace.

"How about this, I'll tell you a secret: The king of Celifos Island sent us here not just to explore the temple, it's simpler than that. What he really wants is the legendary 'Divine Blood,' a 'Spiritual Medicine' that can transform mortals and greatly prolong their lives!

—Even for demigods who consume it, their strength will leap dramatically!"

In a moment of realization, Luo En was taken aback, and a series of fragmented information intertwined in his mind.

The 'Divine Blood' that could transform mortals... The 'Spiritual Medicine' that could prolong life...

And... Celifos Island...

All at once, a spark ignited in his mind, and Luo En's pupils dilated as a name slipped from his lips.

"Gorgon!"

"You know about it?!"

Skester, too, was visibly shocked, his expression astonished.

Luo En did not respond, his brow furrowed, thoughts racing in his head.

He finally remembered why "Celifos Island" sounded so familiar—it was the second homeland of the constellation hero Perseus.

—That is, the famous Ancient Greek demigod hero who would later set foot on Formless Island, slay Medusa, the Gorgon with snake hair, defeat Keto, the mother of sea monsters, and rescue Andromeda, the princess of Ethiopia.

By blood, he could be considered Luo En's half-brother, sharing the same father.

Legend has it that the king of Argos, Acrisius, was warned by an oracle that he would be killed by a son born to his daughter, Danaë, so he imprisoned her in a bronze tower.

Down on earth, Zeus transformed himself into a shower of golden rain to meet with Danaë, and thus Perseus was born.

When the king of Argos learned of his daughter's pregnancy and the birth of her child, he was terrified and cast Perseus and his mother, Danaë, into the sea inside a chest. However, with the protection of Zeus, mother and son safely navigated the tempestuous waters.

In the end, the chest that housed them washed up on the island of Seriphos, where the ruling brothers, Dictys and Polydectes, took in the mother and son and raised Perseus.

Before long, Polydectes, the elder of the two brothers, coveted Danaë's beauty and sought to expel the growing, godlike and hence threatening Perseus.

So, on the day that Perseus was to present him with a gift, the ruler of the island of Seriphos expressed his desire, with ill intent, to acquire the head of Medusa from among the Gorgon Sisters.

Thus, Perseus was forced to embark on a journey, which is where the later story begins.

However, reflecting carefully, the records in mythology seem to diverge significantly from what Luo En currently saw before him.

—The ruler of Seriphos was definitely not acting on a whim, nor was it to solely vex his foster son, Perseus, that he commanded him to go to Formless Island to hunt the Gorgon Medusa and retrieve her head; rather, he had long coveted something from the Gorgon Sisters.

More precisely, what he desired was likely the "Blood of Gorgon" flowing through the sisters!

In Greek mythology, the "Gorgons" refer to the collective name of the three snake-haired sisters: the eldest sister, the "Lady of Strength," Stheno; the second sister, the "Lady of Flight," Euryale; and the youngest, the "Lady of Domination," Medusa.

According to legend, the blood from the right side of the Gorgon Sisters has the miraculous effect of reviving the dead and prolonging the lives of mortals, while the blood from the left is a swiftly fatal poison.

Perseus set foot on Formless Island and, with the help of fate, slew Medusa, the only sister who was not immortal, and took her head but presented it directly to the Goddess of Wisdom and War, Athena.

Athena then fixed Medusa's head in the center of her goatskin divine shield, making it her emblem.

Later, Asclepius, the son of Apollo and the Medicine God, obtained from Athena a small vial of restorative blood and created the Ambrosia that granted immortality to humans, ultimately violating divine taboo and being struck down by the thunderbolts of the Divine King Zeus.

Thereby, the potent effects of the "Blood of Gorgon" are evident, feared even by the Immortal deities, let alone mortals bound by life and death's afflictions.

Previously, in a brief glimpse across the void, Luo En saw in the deserted temple square a collection of human-shaped sculptures, likely those bold hunters who coveted the miraculous effects of the "Blood of Gorgon."

These presumptuous hunters misjudged their strength, ended up as prey themselves, and all turned into stone sculptures on this island, awaiting the erosion of time.

Luo En's gaze swept over the middle-aged man in the felt hat, his eyes filled with contemplation.

It turns out that the king of Seriphos, Perseus' foster father and Demigod hero, had begun to harass the Gorgon Sisters long ago.

Nevertheless, his repeated attempts ultimately failed, and he turned this difficult task over to his foster son, Perseus.

And, judging from the process and outcome of the battle, Perseus must have achieved Demigod status at the very least, in order to have the strength to flee alive from the Sea of Okeanos, pursued by the divine-class snake-haired Gorgon sisters Stheno and Euryale, after slaying Medusa, who was also a Demigod.

At least for now, it seems that Perseus had not yet grown to that stage.

Unexpectedly, among the twelve mortal women decreed by Zeus, Luo En, the fifth in line and son of Semele, had advanced to Demigod status earlier than Perseus, the son of Danaë, who was the fourth in line.

It seemed that the pace of his growth was indeed extraordinary, but for the sake of his own life, he would be cautious and keep a low profile upon entering the city.

"So you knew about it too, that's even better!"

At this moment, the Hermes descendant who had recovered his wits first, repressed his astonishment and showed an expression of joy.

Luo En smiled, steadying the blade that spun at his fingertips, but did not withdraw it.

"The value of this piece of information is not enough to buy your life."

"No, no!"

Skester shook his head repeatedly, his eyes darting around like a thief, and after ensuring no one else was around, he whispered mysteriously and quietly.

"What I mean is—I can help you get the 'Blood of Gorgon'."

At this point, hearing this unexpected good news, Luo En's smile grew even brighter.

What was Hermes known for again?

—The god of deceit, lies, trade, and theft.

If that guy had the ability, the ruler of Celifos Island who posted the bounty would have long had his wish fulfilled, and there would be no need for the future demigod hero, Perseus, to be involved, would there?

Still dishonest at a time like this, might as well...

Just as Luo En was about to flick the tip of his dagger upward, a huge wave sound came from the distant shore.

The familiar smell of the sea that followed made his eyelids twitch involuntarily.

"Boss Skester, you there? The goods are almost ready. The boss sent me to ask if you've run into any trouble? When can we depart?"

Meanwhile, outside the dense forest, several trembling calls came through, and two followers of Hermes, both wearing felt hats and cloaks, were carefully making their way inside.

Luo En's eyelids twitched again, and he couldn't help but inwardly curse.

With wolves ahead and tigers behind, and the Gorgon Sisters lurking somewhere on the island, what bad luck!

But, if you think about it from another perspective.

Perhaps, within crisis, an opportunity was fermenting, and chaos could be the ladder!

Luo En's gaze swept over both sides, his face revealing a bright and mysterious smile. He warmly extended his hand to pat the shoulder of the Hermes descendant and leaned in close to the man's ear to whisper.

"Ever thought about pulling off a big heist? Like, the two of us taking all of the goods for ourselves?"

"Hiss!"

Skester took a sharp intake of breath at such a crazy thought and then looked down at the poisoned dagger approaching closer to his neck. Nodding his head like a pecking chicken, he smoothly made his choice.