"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.
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.