```
Someone's here!
As dizziness caused by a concussion washed over him, Orion's vision darkened, and he subconsciously covered his sore, bleeding nose, stumbling in his steps.
Before he could react, a figure with silvery-white long hair, clad in the light armor of the Imperial Guard, burst out from behind the throne's curtains, grabbed his neck, and slammed him heavily onto the stone slabs of the great hall.
Looking down at the thrashing Son of the God of the Sea below, a certain dishonorable man who launched a shameless surprise attack, grinned.
"Guess, since your grandfather foresaw your intentions, why he would invite you to the palace alone?"
In the meantime, a petite purple figure emerged from the other side of the curtain, while gently pulling up Princess Ariadne's hand to comfort her, she disdainfully glanced toward the Son of the God of the Sea.
"I thought he was more formidable..."
And then, three princes who should have been dealing with the aftermath at the coastal fortress, came from the back door, removed their owl feather cloaks that hid their presence, and glared grimly at their great-nephew on the ground.
At that moment, seeing the unfriendly gazes of his relatives, the Son of the God of the Sea, his face now a purplish hue from restraint, managed to pry a gap from the hand throttling his throat and hoarsely growled.
"Kill me, and Keto will immediately come to level Crete Island! The Father God will not spare you either!"
At these words, the princes thought of the nightmarish ribbon of light and the catastrophic scene of the earth shattering, and their faces changed instantly, looking up hesitantly at King Minos on the throne.
"Father, Father..."
Under the call of his three sons and their emphatic gazes, the elderly man watching coldly from the throne, finally sighed, pondering slowly.
"Please, stop for a moment..."
Luo En, hearing this, raised his eyebrows slightly, but didn't speak, and nonchalantly released Orion's neck, retreating to the side.
Seeing the Son of the God of the Sea getting up from the ground unharmed, the three princes couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Princess Ariadne, standing by the side, bit her cherry lips with a somewhat pale face.
King Minos on the throne observed the reactions of his children, and his eyes revealed deep disappointment.
"Grandfather, I had your best interests in mind, as well as those of Crete Island, with no intention of offense!"
Having managed to extricate himself and realizing the precariousness of his current situation, Orion immediately put on that candid expression and earnestly cautioned.
"After all this time, do you not yet understand? In the world of the gods, failing to revere the Deities will lead to no good end!"
The elderly man lifted his head and gazed solemnly at his grandson, his eyes showing undisguised disgust.
"For your mother's sake, get out before I change my mind..."
"Grandfather! Keto will be back within seven days at the latest! The Minosians may win by chance once, but cannot keep winning! Don't you ever consider the future of Crete Island?"
Seeing the elderly man on the throne still impenetrable, Orion suddenly became more anxious, with a hint of threat mingling in his tone.
Finally, King Minos, unable to bear it any longer, darkened visibly and burst into an explosive roar.
"Get out!"
In an instant, a golden stream of light burst forth from the frail body, striking Orion in the chest like a heavy punch.
Amidst a muffled boom, the figure shot out like a cannonball, breaking through the outer wall and smashing several stone columns in the plaza, before crashing down in front of the palace gates.
A good quarter of an hour later, Orion, coughing up blood, clumsily climbed out of the deep pit and, still unresigned, yelled toward the palace.
```
"Grandfather, there are only seven days left, please consider my suggestion seriously. I am also..."
"BOOM!"
The muffled thunder induced by the ether factor exploded within the palace. Orion, seeing this, immediately changed his expression, ducked his head, and turned to dash towards the outskirts of Knossos City, cursing inwardly.
Damn it, this thing is almost out of breath, how can it still be so vigorous?
Just wait, by the Father God above, I will eventually become the master of Crete Island!
At this moment, inside the great hall, the standing gold figure gradually retracted his overflowing divinity and sat back down on the throne.
That originally aged body became even more hunched and decayed, as if there was a sense of imminent demise.
"Father..."
"The fact that you didn't touch her makes it suspicious!"
"..."
Thinking of the moral standards of the gods, Luo En opened his mouth, but for a moment, he found himself speechless.
To avoid dwelling on this awkward subject, he decided to grow serious, speaking in a deep voice,
"King Minos is in trouble!"
Hearing the bad news, Hestia, who had been somewhat teasing, immediately became serious, locking the door at once to listen to the account of the one involved.
"Bang!"
Half an hour later, Hestia slammed her fist down hard on the table, her face indignant.
"Poseidon has gone too far! And that Orion, he's no good either! Next time I see them, I'm definitely going to beat them up!"
"Whether you beat them up or not is another matter. Let's get through this one first," Luo En said, pinching his sore temple, leaning back in the chair, and closing his eyes with a weary sigh.
"Judging by King Minos's condition, he probably won't last much longer; otherwise, he wouldn't have let Orion off so easily."
"If need be, I'll step in and stew that sea monster!" the frank and direct Hestia declared in a resigned manner as if willing to smash the pot since it was already cracked.
"It's no use..."
Luo En, who had already given up on expecting Hestia's strategic insight, clarified the stakes and reasons bluntly,
"The crux of the matter is no longer this beast wave. Even if you defeat Keto, then Poseidon will have even more reason to intervene.
Once King Minos dies, whichever of the princes who inherits the throne may not have the determination to keep resisting Poseidon and will eventually submit.
Moreover, I don't believe that they, with their God of the Sea-backed cousin Orion, could overcome him.
In that case, a change of power on Crete Island and a shift in worship is almost foreseeable."
There was no one to carry on the legacy; a single tree could not support an entire forest.
That was the real headache of King Minos.
Then, Luo En looked at the clearly unwilling Hestia and spoke again,
"The gods of the Celestial Realm are known for their tempers. The fact that they have not intervened yet makes me think that His Majesty the King of Gods must have restrained them, right? If you don't want to complicate things, I advise you best forget about taking action."
"That's right; you guessed it again!"
Hestia, feeling seen through, turned up her nose in annoyance, then looked at Luo En again with a hint of suspicion,
"Tell me, when did you figure out who I am?"
"The first day..."
"How could you? I hid it so well!"
"So, why did you use the short form of Hestia as your name without even changing it?"
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"..."
In his somewhat disparaging gaze, Hestia was at a loss for words once more, feeling the frustrating sense of being outsmarted.
However, seemingly resigned to her fate,
the Goddess of the Hearth didn't dwell on it for a moment longer and simply entrusted all her strategic thinking to the external brain in front of her.
"So what now? Athena still hasn't returned; we can't just watch her hard-earned home be taken away, can we?"
"If you want to help, then come to the palace with me tomorrow. Hopefully, you have a way to keep King Minos going for a few more days."
"I can cook, but saving someone..."
"That's why we can only try and see..."
The external brain and the intermittently absent-minded Goddess of the Hearth locked eyes, propped their chins in their hands, and simultaneously let out a sigh in unison.
"Sigh..."
"Sigh..."