The Greece Antagonist

On the banks of the River Styx, the ground pulsated with light patterns, and a dark vortex appeared, spewing out four figures in succession.

"Cough cough..."

Accompanied by a bout of coughing, the unconscious Thetis slowly woke, glanced around, and immediately turned her gaze to Luo En beside her, a flash of astonishment in her eyes.

"The Horn of Plenty?"

Luo En, hearing Thetis's murmur, let his eyes sweep from the golden bough in his hand to the ground below.

There lay a horn, its color reminiscent of gold and inscribed with runes, quietly resting on the ground, its potent life force surging out and dispelling the nearby deathly energies.

Thetis couldn't help but press on, looking at what seemed to be the genuine Horn of Plenty,

"Did she give it to you?"

"Seems like it."

Luo En nodded subconsciously, then noticing Thetis's increasingly strange expression and gaze, realized she had probably misunderstood and quickly explained.

"It's not what you're thinking. She seemed to have mistaken me for a relative of hers and hoped that I would spend more time with her."

As he spoke, Luo En recounted to the Ocean Goddess everything that had transpired between him and Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, after Thetis had lost consciousness.

Their several life-and-death experiences had made him fully trust his companion.

Moreover, within the Queen's garden, Thetis had offered to stay behind as a hostage herself, to ensure his safe departure.

By both emotion and reason, he should not hide anything from Thetis.

After listening to Luo En's account, Thetis also frowned solemnly, earnestly advising.

"I think Persephone's worries are valid; you better stay away from that woman."

"If I could, of course, I would not want to be involved with her, but isn't there no choice?"

Luo En pointed to the Wheel of Hecate on his chest and gave a wry smile.

He was now certain that Mingyue, the deity behind the scenes, definitely had other schemes in mind; even if he managed to overturn Olympus using his inherited "possibility," he might not be the final winner.

It was more probable that, after capturing the cicada, he would become bait for the oriole.

For now, however, he was unable to break free from Hecate's control and lacked the power to shake Olympus's foundations, so he had to negotiate with the tiger for its skin, to harness one force against another.

Nevertheless, this journey to the Netherworld had yielded him some sizeable unexpected gains.

—The Netherworld was not a united front; Hecate's control over it was not as strong as imagined;

—Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, also harbored complaints against her "foster mother" due to the pain of losing her son;

—Furthermore...

Luo En looked down at the Horn of Plenty in his hand, which emanated a rich life force, his eyes aglow with excitement.

With this Divine Artifact of the Agriculture God, he could not only move freely in the Netherworld, full of the force of death, to visit his newly acknowledged mother, the Queen of the Underworld, but it seemed that even finding his seventh incarnation was within reach!

A single phrase had earned such a great reward; it seemed he needed to visit the Netherworld more often in the future.

Of course, using false flattery to achieve his goals would only repel the Queen of the Underworld; sincerity was the ultimate trump card.

And she, it seemed, was worthy of the title "mother."

Luo En thought of Persephone's protection and assistance, turned his head to look at the garden shrouded in dense clouds in the distance, and whispered to himself.

Don't worry, I'll come back!

As the Horn of Plenty pulsed with life, Sisyphus on the ground shook his drowsy head awake, looking around in confusion.

"Did we escape? Where is this?"

"The ferry port of the River Styx, ready to go home."

Luo En replied gravely, casually reaching into his chest and throwing the golden bough given by Persephone into the River Styx.

Instantly, golden ripples emerged in the river, and an old ferry boat, accompanied by the sound of splashing water, came sailing through the grey mist.

"Charon!"

Seeing the weathered, bark-like old face at the helm and the deep grooves crisscrossing it, Sisyphus stomped his feet in anger.

"Well, look at you, you old geezer, you just sold us out and now you even dare to show up!"

"How would I know you had such strong connections?"

Charon, scooping up a golden bough from the river, wore an equally pitiable expression.

"If you had such a backer, why didn't you say so earlier! Because of you, Hypnos chased after me and gave me a beating..."

"What backer?"

Sisyphus was taken aback and asked subconsciously.

Luo En had no desire to reveal the relationship between himself and Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, so he coughed to interrupt Sisyphus's questioning.

"Cut the crap, pay up!"

Faced with his assertive companion, Sisyphus, who was none the wiser, could only pinch his nose and fish out a bag of Zeus's Gold from his chest, tossing it into the boat.

The Ferryman of the Underworld River, smelling the strong faith contained in each gold coin, immediately grinned from ear to ear, eagerly gesturing for them to board the boat.

This was the good stuff, consecrated and blessed day and night in large temples, enough for him to savor for a while.

Greeks fear death, and even sleep, associated with death, is considered an ill omen.

Therefore, deities related to death and suffering rarely enjoyed worship.

Yet, offerings vibrant with life and pure faith like these were irresistible to those deities of the Netherworld, especially so for Charon, who lacked a fixed divine office.

This journey not only promised to win favor with the Queen of the Underworld but also allowed the snagging of such high-grade goods to indulge in, a stroke of sheer luck!

The wily old Ferryman of the Underworld River immediately understood Luo En's intention and tactfully ceased any conversation about the Queen of the Underworld, focusing solely on rowing the boat forward.

The ferry proceeded smoothly along the river.

Soon, the group of four arrived at a certain boundary of the Netherworld.

Luo En, following the map's indications, gestured for Charon to approach the shore, then led the other three off the boat.

To keep this secret passage from being exposed, he unapologetically issued an eviction order to the Ferryman of the Underworld River.

"Alright, we're done here, head back."

Charon was not irritated; he smoothed out the wrinkles in his bark-like old face, revealing an almost obsequious smile.

"Alright then, take care. Whenever you need me, just stand at the ferry point and call my name—I'll be there at your beck and call!"

Seeing Charon's sudden display of subservience, Sisyphus's eyes spun and he moved closer.

"Does that mean we're even with our accounts?"

"Even, my ass! Thirty times over! Bastard, I even put my boat on the line. I must get paid extra when I get back! If not, next time I see you, watch out, or I'll tie you to a pole and use you as a buoy!"

However, the gaunt old man's face twisted instantly, he spat at Sisyphus and threatened through gritted teeth with intense flames blazing in his eyes, and an ominous divine aura surging around him.

Sisyphus, struggling for breath, hastily nodded like a pecking chicken until he watched Charon row far away. Only then did he dare curse at the fog-filled river channel, stomping his feet.

"You old scoundrel, what a piece of work! Asking for more money, more money, my foot! You'll end up dead in your greed one day!"

"Are we going or not?"

"Going, going! Hey bro, wait for me, how could I let you do the heavy lifting like scouting ahead, let me do it!"

Hearing the impatient voice behind him, Sisyphus hurriedly put on an obsequious expression, much like Charon's, and scurried after Luo En, fearful of being left behind by him and Thetis.

Although he was unsure of what was going on, one thing was certain—these two were the 'big leagues,' and sticking close to them would surely mean escape from the Netherworld.

After a quick exploration using the map, the four soon arrived at the entrance of that dungeon.

"Woof?"

At the same time, from the depth of the mist-shrouded dungeon, three massive dog heads appeared, their eyes filled with wisdom as they looked curiously at the four intruders at their doorstep.