The Greece Antagonist

The sixth night.

In a quiet inn within the City of Paphos, Cyprus Island.

Artemis, with her silver hair and blue eyes, leaned by the window, her single hand propping up her cheek, and from time to time, she glanced outside through the partly concealed crack of the window lattice, almost with a longing look.

As the crescent moon of the night sky climbed bit by bit to mid-heaven, the impatience in her eyes gradually intensified.

Usually, at this time, he should have already returned. Why hasn't he arrived yet this late?

The Goddess of the Hunt grew somewhat restless, standing up from the chair and pacing back and forth inside the room, frowning more deeply with each step.

Finally, after pacing dozens of rounds, the impatient Artemis could no longer endure and turned her head towards the tightly shut door.

Just as she reached out to grasp the doorknob, the door creaked open, and a figure blending with the night slipped through the gap and into the room, narrowly avoiding a full embrace with Artemis, who was prepared to dash outside.

However, as the flickering lamplight revealed the familiar face, the impatience and gloom on the Goddess of the Hunt's face were swept away in an instant, her heart finally settling down to rest.

"You're back?"

Artemis rushed forward, both her actions and tone revealing an obvious joy.

Luo En nodded, then immediately closed the door, carefully checked the closures of the doors and windows, and set up several defensive and concealment spells before he finally spoke in a low voice to explain.

"I got too close this time and was targeted by a few nymphs. Luckily, I reacted quickly and used the method you taught me to cover up my scent and divine presence. It was not until I had thrown them all off and taken a detour that I managed to come back."

As he spoke, he handed over his coat.

The Huntress naturally received it, thoroughly inspected it to confirm that there were no residual tracking scents and detection marks on this newly changed coat, before hanging it on the coat rack.

Having smoothly completed these steps, Artemis then pulled Luo En over to the lamp-lit table, scrutinizing him carefully.

"What about you? Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, running away is my specialty."

Luo En smiled confidently, then opened up his Magic Circle Diagram and pulled out a lotus leaf-wrapped package, placing it on the table and tearing it open to release steaming heat.

"Haven't eaten yet, right? I saw a meat shop on the way, they make decent lamb chops. I brought some for you."

With that, he pushed the opened lotus leaf package towards Artemis.

The Goddess of the Hunt glanced at the steaming lamb chops and then at the face under the lamp, which bore a faint smile, pursed her lips, and silently took a seat by the window to start enjoying her dinner.

The rich juice and the robust flavor of meat burst into her mouth, bringing a strong sensation of satisfaction.

This meal seemed even more delicious than anything she had eaten before.

"Eat slowly. If you like this flavor, I can bring more next time."

Watching the Goddess of the Hunt eating heartily, without much elegance, Luo En was somewhat amused.

"There's no need; I was just simply hungry after waiting for you all day."

Artemis shot back at Luo En across the table, swallowing the last piece of meat, then her expression turned serious.

"Alright, let's talk business."

Luo En nodded, pulled up a chair, and sat down beside her. He then took out several pieces of parchment and papyrus, covered in characters, from his Magic Circle Diagram and spread them out on the table. Lowering his voice, he began to relay to Artemis what he had discovered while tracking the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, in the last three days.

First off, he had to admit, his great-grandmother was truly the Goddess of Sex and Love, rolling in the sheets with so many deities and demigods day after day, still fervent and insatiable.

Even after draining so many lovers, she still had the energy to entice new pretty boys.

Such fierce combat power and stamina left Luo En, who had been tailing her, dumbfounded and full of admiration.

And after three days of investigation, Luo En found that her newly hooked pretty boy was none other than the Prince of Cyprus Island—Adonis.

Speaking of this prince, his birth was just as extraordinary.

It was said that Theias, the King of Cyprus, had an exceptionally beautiful daughter named Myrrha who remained unwed.

Because she had fallen in love with her father, who was a handsome man.

As she grew older, Myrrha increasingly struggled to suppress the raging fire of desire within her.

Finally, one night, inspired by the God of Love, she disguised herself as a maid, extinguished the lights, and secretly met with her father.

But the truth is hard to conceal, and after several secret trysts, the pregnant Myrrha's figure grew fuller, and she was discovered by her father.

When the King of Cyprus learned that his lover was his own daughter, the shame and anger made him want to kill his indecent child.

Terrified, Myrrha ran away to save the child in her womb and her own life, and in a desperate moment, she sought help from the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, and was subsequently turned into a myrrh tree.

Her child was nurtured and grew within the tree and was born as the bark split open.

This child, born with the taint of sin, was Prince Adonis.

Seemingly inheriting his parents' excellent genes, Adonis was exceedingly handsome from birth, and as he reached adulthood, he grew to a height of nine feet, with features as delicate and beautiful as flowers, making everything else in the world pale in comparison.

Even this beauty drew the attention of Aphrodite of Olympus, the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

In her desire to get close to and captivate this beautiful boy, Aphrodite learned of his passion for hunting and quietly left Mount Olympus to come to the forests of Cyprus Island, disguising herself as a huntress, keeping the young man company all day, and roaming with him through mountains and valleys.

To such an extent she adored Adonis that the Goddess of Love herself followed the hunting dogs, exuberantly cheering, and chasing harmless animals, all to win the heart of the prince.

Ultimately, her efforts paid off, and Aphrodite, with her beauty and charisma, wholly captured the affection of this handsome young man from Cyprus Island, and they spent a wonderful time together in the forests.

Afterward, the Goddess of Love didn't treat Adonis as she did her other lovers—used and then discarded—instead, she took time out now and then to come to Cyprus Island to have secret rendezvous with her lover.

Even going so far as to secure for him the authority of the Spring Plant God, ensuring that this demigod ascended to become a deity, forever young.

All this effort clearly showed how much the Goddess of Love cared for and liked her lover.

"Tsk tsk, to give away divine powers just like that, she must truly be smitten. No wonder every time she leaves home, she deliberately lingers on Cyprus Island for a while—it turns out it's to sneak in a tryst here."

At this moment, Artemis, who had been quietly listening, suddenly understood, and her blue eyes shimmered with a hint of mockery as she shook her head and sighed.

"Who would have thought this promiscuous woman could also have her moments of true feeling? And yet Ares and Hephaestus, fighting over her, have become two incompetent barking dogs, completely disgraceful."

Luo En understood Artemis's schadenfreude.

After all, she had never gotten on well with Hera's family and relished seeing them embarrassed.

However, the Goddess of the Hunt soon realized something and looked puzzled across the room.

"That said, even if we know these little secrets, what use are they for what we have to do next?"

Luo En smiled faintly, his gaze deep as he looked out the window toward Cyprus Island.

"Of course they're useful, don't you think the prince is a perfect entry point?"