"Laius, what did you say?"
Seeing Laius kneeling on the ground, trembling in fear and not daring to lift his head,
Aishelia spoke with furious anger. She was truly enraged now.
This Laius was utterly useless. He even messed up something as simple as retrieving a Gift?
"Such a simple task, and you failed. Is there a tumor growing in your head?"
"Go get the whip. The harshest one!"
Aishelia waved her hand at the guards standing beside her.
"Yes, ma'am!"
The guards immediately showed expressions of "this is exactly how it should be", then turned to fetch the punishment tools from the back hall.
After all, the ordinary soldiers of Perseus had long been restraining themselves toward this inconsistent Demi-God descendant.
Shortly after, a guard brought forth a long black whip embedded with spikes on its surface and presented it before Aishelia.
Aishelia took the whip with a blank expression, slowly walked in front of Laius, and spoke emotionlessly.
"Tell me, what is the real reason you spent all the community's assets?"
"Leader, Lady Aishelia, Aunt, I really don't know!"
Laius, kneeling with his forehead touching the ground, said while trembling. He truly had no idea what had happened.
Though he admitted he was a bit cruel and somewhat perverted, he truly wouldn't dare misuse community property. He still strictly followed his aunt's rules.
Even when he went to brothels and red-light districts, he used his personal funds.
He could still distinguish what was important and what wasn't.
"But you're the only one authorized to open the treasury."
"And this treasury was forged by Hephaestus—how could anyone steal from inside it?"
*CRACK!*
The whip sliced through the air, then struck Laius's body, leaving a long lash mark and several small puncture wounds.
From these wounds, red blood slowly began to trickle.
Aishelia then showed an angry expression and demanded,
"I'll ask one more time—when exactly did the treasure disappear from the treasury!"
Furious, extremely furious. There was anger from betrayal, and anger from frustration.
If you did it, just admit it.
So much wealth. The value of ordinary treasures alone was nearly hundreds of millions of Thousand Eyes gold coins. It just vanished like that?
Wealth of this magnitude—even if *she* had spent it, it wouldn't have been exhausted so quickly.
And inside the treasury were also many rare Gifts.
If Laius had truly spent it under her supervision, she wouldn't have said anything.
Being able to spend so much money without being noticed was itself a skill.
But the fact that it disappeared made her even angrier.
*CRACK!*
Struck by a whip capable of piercing defenses, Laius couldn't help but inhale sharply.
"I don't know, I really don't know!"
Laius said, enduring the intense pain in his body. He truly didn't know.
It was still there when he opened the treasury door, but in the blink of an eye, it vanished.
His neck still hurt now.
"It must have been taken by someone else. The wound on my neck is proof."
Seemingly remembering something, Laius spoke with renewed energy.
Perhaps by telling the truth, he could clear his name.
However, Aishelia clearly didn't believe Laius's words. After scoffing, she swung the whip again.
"You mean, despite having the Demon Star Algol around your neck, Hades' helmet on your head, Hermes' sandals on your feet, Athena's shield and Cronus' scythe in your hands, and Phorcys' sack beside you—you were attacked and knocked out?"
"That might be the biggest joke I've ever heard in my life."
As the only descendant and male of this generation, Laius had been greatly pampered.
Not to mention the Demon Star Algol—even his ancestor Perseus had given him all his weapon Gifts.
He also possessed various protective Gifts.
If, under such circumstances, the treasure of Perseus's headquarters could still be stolen,
It could only mean that Laius was utterly useless.
These Gifts, even if given to an ordinary Five-Digit, could fight against an ordinary Four-Digit.
"It was truly taken by a Demon Lord."
Laius insisted stubbornly. He felt deeply wronged. Throughout all of Little Garden, how many people were more wronged than him right now?
But Laius's stubbornness only made Aishelia whip him harder and more brutally.
She felt she was only a thousand and six hundred years old. By Demi-God standards, she was still a teenage girl.
But right now, she felt Laius had angered her so much she'd reached menopause!
*CRACK!*
One heavy lash fell, and blow after blow continued until Laius was nearly dead.
Only then did Aishelia feel slightly relieved.
"Take him away. Get a doctor to treat him."
Aishelia waved her hand at the guards beside her. She truly didn't want to see this person before her eyes again.
Though she knew this might not be Laius's fault, someone had to bear responsibility.
Throughout Perseus, only Laius had the authority to open the treasury. Even Aishelia didn't have that right.
But Laius's greatest stupidity was—when he went to the treasury to retrieve the treasure, he didn't wear Hades' helmet?
That was a Gift capable of hiding him completely—even a Three-Digit couldn't detect his trace.
If only Laius had been slightly more cautious, he wouldn't have been attacked, and Perseus's treasure wouldn't have been robbed.
Aishelia sighed, waving her hand to dismiss the soldiers and servants in the hall.
She sat on the main throne, pondering what to do next.
"My head hurts."
Had she really spent all of Perseus's assets for this?
Just for Leticia and her Divinity?
If she truly wanted a Divinity, wouldn't praying to Athena yield better results?
She had heard that Shiroyasha's newly acquired god's follower—a disciple trained by Baron La Croix in the outer world, Aslan—had saved a world and obtained a genetic editing technology Authority.
Meanwhile, on the Greek side, the Medical God Asclepius planned to perfect the medical domain,
Becoming the first Medical God in Little Garden to reach Three-Digit by relying on modern medical systems.
The final piece they needed now was the genetic editing technology Authority.
Her idea was simple: buy Leticia and her Divinity to trade with Aslan.
Ultimately, help Asclepius break through to become a Three-Digit Medical God.
This would surely bring her unimaginable benefits and also gain Asclepius's favor and support for Athena.
The support of a Three-Digit Medical God was extremely valuable.
All Aishelia had to sacrifice was Perseus's insignificant property.
But now, she truly had to think of another way.
At least, she had to cover the shortfall for the Divinity's price.
Now she was only confident she could afford to buy Leticia.