Several hours later, four gods gathered together in a secluded valley outside Knossos City.
Immediately after, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the host, donned her bronze skirt armor.
With the Aegis divine shield in one hand and the Spear of Victory in the other, she struck them together, producing a crisp ringing sound.
The three Gorgon sisters, who possessed serpentine divinity, pulled on the reins linked to three Pegasi and drove a bronze war chariot, galloping swiftly out from the sacrificial grounds within the city.
The huntress goddess Artemis placed her thumb and index finger, linked in a ring, by her lips and blew a sharp, urgent whistle.
A breeze swept through the mountain forest.
Three drooping-eared dogs, two mixed-color dogs, and one spotted dog, along with seven incredibly fast Spartan hounds, arrived first.
Immediately after, two long-horned does with golden bits pulled a golden chariot as they charged toward their mistress.
Following them, twenty nymphs dressed in hunting attire, bows and javelins slung across their backs, each valiant and dashing, nearly two meters tall, strode on long legs and quickly assembled in the valley.
The god of light, Apollo, gracefully raised his hand, lifted the seven-stringed lyre that appeared in his arms, and gently plucked the strings.
Nine Muses with flowing sashes gathered in response, accompanying Apollo at his sides with laughter and song.
They were the nine daughters born of Zeus, king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, the Titan goddess of memory, maidens with hair bound in golden ribbons.
They were collectively known as the nine ancient goddesses of art in Greek mythology, presiding over art and science, representing myths expressed through traditional music and dance, as well as poetry passed down through the ages.
Apollo, the god of light and prophecy, was their patron deity.
Looking at the three main gods fully armed and ready for a hunt, along with their respective subordinate gods, Lorne and Hestia couldn't help exchanging glances.
With this lineup, what kind of prey on the island would even be enough for them to hunt?
"We're going to the Cretan Mountains?"
Hestia swallowed, sounding a bit uncertain.
Even if every living creature in the entire Cretan mountain range...young and old alike, were to charge out together, they probably wouldn't last a single round against such a luxurious lineup.
Athena gently shook her head, a meaningful smile appearing on her face.
"No. To hunt the biggest and best prey, of course we're going to the Oceanus Sea!"
In an instant, Lorne understood everything, and a floating look immediately appeared on his face.
Sure enough, based on his understanding of this goddess of wisdom, she could hide three or four traps in a single sentence.
For her to invite Apollo to visit despite knowing that Hestia disliked him....how could such a thing be this simple?
Only when there was no such thing as a harmless feast would Athena be this enthusiastic!
And at present, the only things that could truly be considered a threat to Crete were naturally certain beings from the sea.
What a coincidence, Artemis had just been ambushed from afar and was itching for somewhere to vent her anger.
With a shared objective, the two sides naturally hit it off immediately, and Apollo, who also had designs on Hestia, was included as well.
In other words, they weren't going out as a party to farm mobs, they were going as a group to farm Poseidon!
Now this was going to be interesting!
Realizing the true purpose of the trip, Lorne immediately put on an expression of deep indignation and accused the three main gods.
"Not long ago, the monsters of the Oceanus Sea ran rampant and brazenly launched a beast tide, destroying thousands of ships, submerging countless fertile fields, and causing hundreds of thousands of Minos people to die beneath their claws.
Among them, the most powerful and hateful are Scylla, the six-headed, twelve-tentacled sea monster lurking in the Strait of Messina; the great whirlpool Charybdis; and the three Siren sisters!"
"Very well, they'll be the targets!"
Artemis, who had already developed a bit of tacit understanding with Lorne, immediately picked up the thread and chose the first hunting target.
"Everyone, I'll go ahead first! The first kill is mine, you can fight over second place!"
As she spoke, the huntress goddess grabbed Lorne without giving him a chance to object, pulled him onto the chariot, and stuffed the reins into his hands.
"Quick, lead the way for me!"
Before Lorne could even speak, Artemis cracked the whip against the backsides of the long-horned deer.
At once, the two deer let out low cries, lowered their heads, and pulled the chariot forward, charging straight into the vast sea, leaving everyone else far behind.
The twenty nymphs who served as her subordinate gods followed closely after, running across the surging waves as if on solid ground.
They were nymphs, but also kin of the sea, naturally close to water.
"Ah, that's too sneaky, Artemis!"
Seeing her own subordinate god being abducted right in front of her, Hestia immediately glared in anger.
At this moment, Athena smiled and extended her hand, offering an olive branch.
"Aunt, want some help?"
"We chase them! We absolutely can't let Artemis get ahead!"
Hestia nodded angrily at once, though it was unclear whether she was talking about this hunt, or something else entirely.
"Of course!"
The goddess of wisdom readily agreed and immediately reached out to pull the goddess of the hearth onto her war chariot.
As for the three Gorgon sisters responsible for driving the chariot, some were burning with righteous indignation, while others were excited at the thought of stirring up chaos.
One after another, they snapped the reins and issued commands to the winged horses they personally raised, usually white in color and born with wings.
"Pegasus, good children, go, go, go!"
At once, the three snow-white Pegasi snorted loudly, shook their pristine wings, and galloped swiftly across the sea's surface.
In the blink of an eye, of the three hunting parties that had originally advanced side by side, only Apollo was left standing alone at the starting point.
Watching Artemis and Hestia disappear into the distance, this handsome man, who was usually the center of attention, had an expression that flickered between light and dark.
"Move!"
At last, Apollo forced out a stiff word through clenched teeth.
Sensing the obvious displeasure in their patron god's mood, the nine Muses dared not say much.
They immediately hummed an impassioned melody, rousing the chariot-pulling warhorses' spirits and urging them to accelerate after the teams ahead.
Above the sea, the three hunting parties tore through the surging waves, racing forward at full speed.
Beneath the deep waters, one sea beast after another, startled awake, roared as they rose toward the surface.
However, the moment they emerged, they were met with utterly merciless slaughter.
Silver arrows split into countless streaks, falling like dense rain;
Golden arrows descended like meteors, crashing down from the sky;
Lance-like beams of light moved as fast as lightning, cleaving waves and seas alike.
Massive sea beasts, towering like mountains, some stretching dozens of meters in length, each with a different shape, were truly unlucky.
They died on the spot without even seeing their enemies clearly.
Blood flowed beneath them like rivers, the heavy stench of gore spreading in all directions.
Violent aether nearly condensed into substance itself, accusing the intruders of their bloodshed and brutality.
But immediately afterward, the nymphs spread out in arcs, skimming over the sea surface and retrieving the magic cores as spoils of war;
The seawater churned like swarms of serpents and pythons, devouring flesh, pushing aside heavy floating debris, and clearing the route ahead;
The nine Muses, some singing loudly, others humming softly, offered rites for the fallen souls, purifying the miasma and deathly aura breeding across the sea's surface, preventing the spread of plague…
Under this all-encompassing assault of slaughter, cleanup, and aftermath handling, the once noisy and chaotic coastal waters fell silent in an instant.
And as the three hunting parties swept forward without resistance, they soon arrived at the Strait of Messina, where sea monsters made their lairs, knocking on the doors of several of Poseidon's demigod retainers and delivering a heartwarming, friendly greeting.
"Boom!"
Apollo, who had yet to properly show his hand, raised one hand slightly as a golden ring of light plunged into the sea and detonated with a thunderous explosion, blazing divine might surging outward in all directions.
In an instant, the deep-sea kin who sensed danger scattered like startled birds and beasts, fleeing in panic.
Amid the chaotic beast tide, the four chief gods easily spotted Scylla the sea monster, the great whirlpool Charybdis, and the three Siren sisters mixed among them, and immediately began their respective first hunts.
Artemis, with Lorne by her side, headed straight for the easiest target, Scylla.
She wanted to win this first battle as quickly as possible, then enjoy the post-battle celebration.
After all, the best reward was already in her hands!
(End of chapter)