The Greece Antagonist

Chapter 472: Chapter 20 This is a Necessary Sacrifice_2

“Gentlemen, the time has come, let’s set out!”@@novelbin@@

In the crowd, a handsome young man clad in bronze armor was being escorted up to the high platform to deliver the call to action.

The heroes, eager to establish their feats, responded en masse, gathering around the young man like stars around the moon, lining up and starting to ready themselves to depart.

Seeing Luo En and his companions a bit confused, Castor, the elder of the twins, pointed to the youth who had subtly become the leader of the group and took the initiative to introduce him.

“He is the Commander of this operation, personally appointed by King Iasus. It is said that he is a descendant of Hermes, having awakened the ‘Divine Speed’ from his bloodline, and his name is… what was it…”

“Hippomenes.”

Polux, his younger brother, spoke up in a deep voice, timely providing the rest of the information.

On hearing this, Luo En’s eyelids twitched, and he frowned slightly.

Was it him? The mysterious hero from the legend who, in pursuit of Atalanta, offered a sacrifice to Love God Aphrodite and ultimately used three Golden Apples to cheat and win a footrace against Atalanta?

The reason he was dubbed “mysterious” was that the various versions of the story provided little description of him. It was known that he won the race by cheating and managed to win the beautiful lady’s heart, but his identity and background seemed to be shrouded in mystery.

As if he heard the conversation among the group, the youth known as “Hippomenes” turned his head and smiled, exuding goodwill.

Upon seeing the two beautiful women in the group, Hippomenes’s eyes couldn’t help but light up with amazement and passion.

Perhaps due to the keen instinct of a feline animal, Atalanta subconsciously avoided his gaze, moving behind her mentor and frowning as she murmured quietly.

“The way he looks at me… it’s strange. I don’t like it.”

“Me neither…”

Medea, who was holding a bronze wand, likewise muttered softly.

Luo En nodded and suggested to the twin brothers beside him.

“There isn’t a compulsory rule for everyone to act together during this expedition, right? How about we team up?”

“Sure!”

The twins nodded in agreement, gladly accepting the invitation to team up from the trio.

Out in the world, they naturally preferred to entrust their backs to these companions who had faced life-and-death crises together, rather than mix with a group of strangers.

And with the twin brothers taking the lead, Luo En and his two companions didn’t have to worry about the official stance of Arcadia.

After all, as the esteemed Princes of Sparta and specifically requested reinforcements humbly summoned by the King of Arcadia, they certainly didn’t need to give face to Hippomenes, the temporary Commander.

As expected, when he saw the few people distancing themselves from the group and mingling with the priests of the Temple of the Moon Goddess, Hippomenes merely frowned, but ultimately he didn’t voice any objections, tacitly allowing their independent action.

Soon, the fully assembled expedition team set out to deal with the Beast Disaster, marching impressively out of the city towards the mountains of Arcadia, stretching out to several hundred people in the distance.

In reality, those participating in this expedition included not only dozens of demigods from various city-states, but also priests of the Temple of the Moon Goddess, alchemists of the Hermes Trismegistus Sector, healers from the Cult of Erebus, and saints of the Dionysian Sect…

To accomplish their mission in one fell swoop and completely eliminate the Beast Disaster, the elite forces within Arcadia had indeed mobilized en masse.

Of course, in order to solicit the efforts of spellcasters from different sects, the King of Arcadia had to make substantial sacrifices.

Relaxing restrictions and permitting the three sects to preach within Arcadia’s borders was a basic condition.

The chaotic preaching scenes that Luo En initially witnessed on the streets resulted from this.

In addition, the King of Arcadia almost emptied his storehouse, offering a great deal of precious herbs, demon crystals, and rare metals as remuneration for the personnel of the three major sects to use.

With these incentives as a cornerstone, the three competing sects were willing to collaborate and jointly deal with Arcadia’s beast disaster.

Indeed, the principle that a king does not skimp on his soldiers holds true in any era.

Luo En’s teasing gaze swept over the followers of the three sects, and unintentionally among the Dionysian Sect, he spotted a somewhat familiar figure.

—— It was a hearty middle-aged man with an exceptionally bulky right arm, emitting a faint mist of vapor around him.

His name was “Polymnus,” once the son of a fisherman on Crete Island, and one of the first believers to join and worship the God of Wine, Dionysus.

That arm on his body had once belonged to Orion, the Son of God of the Sea.

Even though the divine blood within had already merged with Polymnus, granting him a demigod-like prolonged life, time inevitably carved deep marks into his face, shaping the once-young man into the visage of middle age.

However, the passage of time also brought another gift.

Through the tempering of time and accumulation, Polymnus had stepped into the realm of demigod-status and, because of his steadfast faith and accomplishments in preaching, had become a renowned saint within the Dionysian Sect. Currently, he was responsible for the preaching activities in the Arcadia region.

Seeing an old friend appear before him now with this present guise, as an immortal deity, Luo En couldn’t help but feel poignant.

Sensing the gaze upon him, Polymnus turned his head and grinned broadly, tossing a wine flask over.

“Little brother, feeling thirsty? Here, try some of the new wine I’ve brewed!”

“Thanks.”

Luo En expressed his thanks, gladly accepting the kind gesture, pulled the wooden stopper, and took a sip of the authentic Crete Island-flavored fine wine. He looked up towards the mist-enshrouded vast mountains, eyes slightly narrowed.

The Arcadian mountains, we have arrived.

Soon, the group reached the watchtower that marked the boundary between safe and dangerous areas, ready to complete the procedures for entering the mountains.

However, a thick scent of blood emanated from the camp, and the once magically reinforced watchtower and fences lay in ruins, claw and bite marks of magic beasts scattered all about. The garrison of hundreds supposed to be there had utterly vanished.

Judging by the dryness of the blood and the traces left around, the attack must have happened last night, and their chances of survival were likely slim.

Luo En bent down and picked up a bronze epaulette with the emblem of a silver moon from the blood-soaked earth, involuntarily recalling the middle-aged officer who waved them off, brushed the dust and dirt off it, and placed it in his pocket.

Atalanta, following the crushed and trampled vegetation around them, looked towards a small path in the forest to the left-front and spoke gravely.

“Judging by the predation habits of magic beasts, they couldn’t have carried so many bodies too far; their lair must be nearby!”

“Let’s pursue them, kill those beasts, and avenge the innocent victims!”

Hippomenes roared with his arms lifted, and it seemed as though the heroes were also roused by the grim scene, shouting with inflamed passion. They picked up their weapons, donned their armor, and followed this leader into the mountains to subdue the rampaging monstrosities.

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