Chapter 361: Hera's Great Crisis!

Several days later, a large shipment of precious materials from the Sea God’s Temple finally arrived in the city, and the reconstruction of the Thessalian defenses began in full swing.

Because of the tacit agreement they had reached beforehand, Triton, acting as the supplier, spared no effort in fulfilling the demands of Lorne, the chief engineer in charge of the project.

As promised, he also brought three hundred freshly manufactured sets of [Scale Armor], along with the corresponding designs, to further strengthen the combat power of the Thessalian defenders.

With the merman prince willingly bleeding himself dry and cutting into the Sea God’s Temple’s own flesh to pay the price, the Thessalian defenses were reconstructed and reinforced at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At a glance, the golden-brown walls of orichalcum alone were enough to make one hesitate before approaching.

Countless overlapping thaumaturgical formations covered the walls, their dense patterns enough to send chills down one’s spine.

The Divine-Blood Imperial Guards, equipped with Scale Armor, patrolled the battlements day and night, while bunkers of various sizes, fitted with spirit-liquid cannons, lay concealed throughout the surrounding defenses.

The entire Thessalian defensive line resembled a combination of an armadillo and a porcupine.

Its defenses were layered and comprehensive, leaving virtually no opening to exploit.

Every approach was covered by deadly spikes, while countless hidden dangers lurked beneath the surface.

During construction, the restless Thessalians even organized a mock siege to test the actual defensive capabilities of the new fortifications.

Lorne, as the chief engineer, took charge of the defense, while King Admetus led a group of friendly Divine-Blood heroes; including Telamon, Caenis, Heracles, the Spartan Dioscuri, and several others, to attack.

The result was astonishing.

After only two days, the attacking side had suffered devastating casualties.

More than half of the Divine-Blood heroes had been “killed,” while the newly constructed Thessalian defenses had lost fewer than a hundred ordinary soldiers and mages.

The only other casualties were the defenders of the bunkers.

Yes.

Even with Heracles, Telamon, and the other human-shaped tanks leading the charge, the Divine-Blood heroes possessed an overwhelming advantage in individual combat power.

And yet they had lost more than half their forces without even reaching the gates of the Thessalian defenses.

King Admetus was left utterly astonished.

His confidence in resisting an invasion by the Gigantes increased tremendously.

After all, throughout the Greek city-states, human cities were as fragile as sandcastles before the might of gods and heroes.

Take Troy, for example—the supposedly impregnable city built with divine assistance.

Heracles, Telamon, and other typical Greek hardcases had long since turned expeditions to Troy to fight, plunder its treasures, and carry off its women into a classic routine.

Whenever they prepared properly, they could practically guarantee a profitable return.

Telamon’s current wife, Hesione, was one such example.

She was the Trojan princess he had taken from the Trojans.

And the newly enthroned king of Troy, Priam; the very man who would one day become the father of Hector and Paris during the Trojan War, hadn’t inherited the throne because of any outstanding ability.

He had simply been fortunate enough to survive after personally witnessing his father and brother being cut down.

With the others dead, the throne naturally fell to him.

The difference between ordinary humans, heroes, and gods was simply too vast.

Before divine might, supposedly impregnable walls and supposedly unbreakable fortresses were often little more than psychological comfort.

But this fortress before them was different.

It had genuinely reached the point where heroes could be broken against its walls and even gods would have to stop before them.

Looking at the gradually completed Thessalian defenses, King Admetus was delighted.

The fortress gave him such an overwhelming sense of security that he almost wanted to sleep beside its walls every night.

As the construction became increasingly complicated, however, Lorne gradually found himself stretched too thin.

He therefore made a symbolic request for assistance from Athens.

The Academy responded by sending a group of specialists to help one of its instructors with the construction of Thessaly’s defenses.

Among them were several students specializing in civil engineering and architecture, along with a few craftsmen skilled in forging.

There was also a Maenad accompanying them, responsible for security.

At least, that was what she appeared to be.

On the surface, she was Aura, the Goddess of the Breeze.

In reality, however, she was a counterfeit created by the Mecha-God Aphrodite using a spirit-particle infiltration technique.

Lorne glanced at the Mecha-God Aphrodite, who had completely lost her former arrogance and now obediently followed him around like a well-trained subordinate, smiling playfully.

“Have you come to your senses?”

“Mm…”

“If you’re only doing this reluctantly,

I can send you back to the Sea God’s Temple.”

“No! There’s no need. I’m doing this willingly!”

Aphrodite glanced nervously at Triton and the Mecha-God Ares in the distance, who were supervising the delivery of materials and hurriedly made her position clear.

‘Send me back?’

‘Wouldn’t that be the same as sending me to my own execution?’

Things had already reached this point.

Whether she chose it willingly or was forced into it, she could only cling tightly to the lifeline before her and continue down this path.

Seeing that he had successfully tamed this wild horse, Lorne nodded in satisfaction, a warm smile spreading across his face.

“Then from now on, stay by Medea’s side. Follow her orders and protect her safety. Unless absolutely necessary, you don’t need to fight.”

Although this woman was a Mecha-God of the Bronze Tribe and her strength was quite respectable, she was more than capable of dealing with ordinary gods and heroes.

But as far as Lorne was concerned, aside from keeping his bed warm, there wasn’t much use for her.

Medea, on the other hand, was severely specialized.

Her mastery of witchcraft was exceptional, but she desperately needed a powerful frontline tank capable of absorbing damage for her.

And with the Rune of Ten Thousand Laws in her possession, Medea also possessed authority over Aphrodite.

In other words, it was perfect to have this Mecha-God of the Bronze Tribe serve as Medea’s summoned beast.

Besides, judging from their two previous encounters, the actual combat ability of the Mecha-Gods was difficult to estimate.

But one thing was certain—

They were ridiculously hard to kill.

“As you command.”

Aphrodite raised a hand to her chest and respectfully bowed to her new employer.

“Mm. Work hard and I won’t treat you unfairly.”

Lorne smiled and patted Aphrodite on the shoulder.

Then he added meaningfully,

“While you’re at it, learn from your senior. And whatever you do, don’t follow in her footsteps…”

Aphrodite’s heart immediately tightened.

She understood the hidden meaning behind her new employer’s words.

The “senior” he was referring to was none other than Aura, the Goddess of the Breeze, whose identity she was currently borrowing.

According to the stories, Aura had once been a minor goddess serving Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt.

Because of her arrogance, she had once compared her own beauty with that of her patron goddess and even insulted Dionysus, a close companion of Artemis.

As punishment, she had been cursed and driven mad.

Eventually, she became one of the Maenads, the ecstatic female followers of Dionysus, spending the rest of her life serving the god in atonement.

Thinking of the miserable fate that had befallen that senior, Aphrodite, whose own personality suffered from similar flaws, couldn’t help swallowing nervously.

She immediately lowered her head even further.

“I-I understand…”

After casually giving his new employee a reminder, Lorne placed both hands on the battlements and looked toward Triton and Ares, who had come to deliver the materials, eyes flickering thoughtfully.

Back then, the mysterious girl used Aphrodite’s identity to infiltrate the royal city and assassinate him.

Aside from attempting to devour his divinity and Divine Blood, she probably intended to use the assassination to plunge Thessaly into chaos, frame the Sea God’s Temple, divide the various factions, and undermine the alliance of the gods.

Lorne turned the scheme against them.

On one hand, he used Aphrodite’s crimes as leverage against the Sea God’s Temple, extracting quite a few benefits.

On the other, he shifted the blame back onto the Old Gods and the mysterious girl, while using the Sea God’s Temple’s own forces to launch a large-scale search for the culprit’s whereabouts.

In doing so, he even encouraged the two sides to turn against one another.

But so far, neither Lorne nor the Sea God’s Temple managed to uncover the woman’s whereabouts, or even the most basic information about her.

That uncontrollable unknown variable made him feel vaguely uneasy.

Where did she come from?

Whose orders was she following?

What connection did she have with those Old Gods?

And what exactly were they plotting behind the scenes?

Lorne knocked lightly against his forehead, deep in thought.

Then, just as he was completely unable to make sense of the situation, a streak of azure light tore across the sky.

Like a falling meteor, it crashed outside the royal city of Thessaly.

“Boom!”

A thunderous explosion shook the earth.

Billowing smoke spread across the area.

From the center of the crater, a young woman wearing a broken floral crown and a tattered, disheveled white gauze dress struggled to rise.

She raised a bronze emblem depicting a Gorgon in her hand and cried out anxiously.

“Where is the envoy from Athens?! Hurry! Save my mother!”

Lorne’s heart sank at the words.

A vague sense of foreboding immediately rose within him.

Without hesitation, he stepped into the void.

In the blink of an eye, he crossed the distance from the city walls to the girl’s side.

The moment they came into contact, he activated the authority of the [Labyrinth], sealing off the surrounding space, looking at the girl solemnly.

“I assume I’m the person you’re looking for. Who is your mother?”

“Hera! Queen Hera!”

The girl noticed the strange resonance between the Gorgon emblem in her hand and the man before her.

It was as though she had suddenly found a lifeline.

She hurriedly grabbed Lorne’s arm.

“The Gigantes of the Gigantes tribe and the monsters born from Typhon have invaded the Sacred Garden!

They possess divine artifacts capable of slaying gods!”

Her voice trembled with urgency.

“My mother was caught off guard and seriously wounded. She’s in grave danger! Please, you have to save her!”

Lorne’s expression shifted unpredictably and he narrowed his eyes at the frightened young woman.

“What is your name?”

“Hebe, Goddess of Youth!”

The girl answered without hesitation.

Then, realizing what Lorne might be worried about, she immediately explained. “My mother and I were simply touring the Sacred Garden that day when the invading Gigantes and Typhon’s spawn suddenly appeared.”

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

“Mother was injured protecting me. She told me to take this token and escape to seek your help because she said you’re the only person she trusts.”

She clenched her fingers around Lorne’s arm.

“She stayed behind to hold off the pursuers so that I could escape…”

After hearing the entire story and confirming the girl’s identity,

Lorne’s doubts finally disappeared.

His expression immediately became grave.

Hera is really in trouble.

“There’s more!”

Hebe suddenly remembered something and hurriedly continued.

“They’ve not only occupied the Sacred Garden and seized the Golden Apple Tree…”

Her expression turned pale.

“They also freed the rebellious gods Atlas and Prometheus!”

Lorne’s expression became even more solemn.

The Golden Apples, with their gift of immortality…

And two high-ranking Old Gods who once led their kind?

This wasn’t merely a crisis for Hera anymore.

The entire Greek world was about to be thrown into chaos.

Lorne immediately understood the severity of the situation.

Without the slightest hesitation, he released the seal of the Labyrinth and shouted toward the city walls.

“Admetus!”

His voice thundered across Thessaly.

“Immediately conduct the Great Sacrifice and report to the gods!”

“The Gigantes and Typhon’s spawn have occupied the Sacred Garden and freed the rebellious gods Atlas and Prometheus!”

“Have them summon the heroes and spirits of all Greece to Thessaly and prepare for divine descent!”

The sudden news struck everyone like a thunderbolt.

Whether they were Divine-Blood heroes from the various city-states or King Admetus himself, their minds went blank for a moment as their expressions changed drastically.

Yet before anyone could even ask for further details, the figure outside the city spread his golden wings.

He grabbed the young messenger and transformed into a streak of golden light, disappearing into the distant sky.

The fierce wind he left behind carried an icy chill.

As everyone stood there staring after him, they couldn’t help feeling as though they were witnessing the brewing of an unprecedented storm somewhere beyond the mountains.

(End of the Chapter)