anwhile, in the dense forests of the distant mountains of Thessaly.
Two figures stood behind the lush bushes, watching the large troops depart down the hillside, and then subsequently erged from the thick shade.
"It seems I have won," Asclepius said calmly, his eyes flickering with a complex emotion that was hard to ascertain as either disappointnt or satisfaction.
"Hey, if it wasn't for you constantly signaling, making reveal the truth that you are still alive, he might be on his way to clash with your grandfather by fire by now. Isn't the result clear enough?" Luo En rolled his eyes and retorted with a light snort, "I should be the one who won this round!"
"The result was him going to a banquet, not seeking revenge," Asclepius reiterated emotionlessly, stubbornly denying the paternal love Apollo had shown before.
Indeed, he very much wanted to obtain the "Golden Apple" and advance the research concerning the "elixir of immortality."
But he did not wish to let go of his grievances and face or accept that person.
"A banquet? Perhaps," Luo En laughed, reminding him aningfully, "What we see isn't necessarily the truth. Don't be so quick to conclude; the outco of our competition remains unknown..."
Asclepius slightly furrowed his brow, his gaze towards the Royal City of Thessaly beca more worried, clearly understanding the implied aning.
"Enough about that," Luo En stretched out languidly and proposed with a smile, "Since neither of us can convince the other, why not postpone the bet and observe the changes to decide the winner later?"
"That sounds good..." Asclepius nodded, choosing not to dwell further on this issue. He turned to Luo En and changed the subject, "So, where do we go next?"
"Let's make a trip to Arcadia first; I have so personal matters to discuss with Lady Artemis," Luo En paused, then pulled out the Holy Grail and glanced at Asclepius, "For safety, you better co inside."
"Maintain spiritualization again?" Asclepius frowned slightly, sowhat unwillingly.
"No way around it, it's too crowded out here. If soone recognizes you, I can't possibly silence them all, right? And maintaining your embodied form is also draining for . If we encounter any troubleso figures on the road, it might end up costing both our lives..." Luo En spoke earnestly, sincerely explaining the pros and cons to his companion.
Asclepius looked exasperated and dryly remarked, "Both our lives usually describes a pregnant woman and her baby."
"Haha, close enough," Luo En laughed off, then lifted the Holy Grail again, signaling to Asclepius.
In the end, Asclepius had no choice but to consider the "greater good" ntioned by soone. He relinquished his embodied form, turned into a stream of light, and dove into the Holy Grail to begin hibernation, reducing the impact and exhaustion on Luo En.
Seeing his great-nephew so understanding and considerate, Luo En's eyes showed approval, and then he swiftly threw the Holy Grail into the Magic Circle Diagram, providing Asclepius a completely tranquil resting space.
—The less a child knows about the affairs of adults, the better.
~~
Several days later, at the borders of Arcadia.
The mountain range rolled up and down; vibrant, lush trees brimd with life. Luo En, returning from Thessaly, walked through this holy land blessed and protected by the Goddess of the Hunt. He stepped on the thick fallen leaves scattered on the forest floor, advancing leisurely deeper into the woods.
However, he hadn't gotten far when he stopped, amusedly looking ahead at a slightly bulging pile of dead leaves.
He casually snapped off a tree branch, pushed aside the leaves covering it, revealing a tallic device composed of two serrated bronze rings.
A bear trap? Well, isn't that placed a bit too obviously?
Luo En raised an eyebrow, then bypassed the trap and continued walking a distance forward.
Soon enough, he found three more bear traps, two pits, three nets, and five magical spells engraved on trees and the ground around him.
Too crude, far too crude...
Luo En critically scanned these blatantly obvious traps, shaking his head in disapproval.
If you want to be a qualified hunter, this isn't nearly enough.
Luo En narrowed his eyes, and with a flick of the branch in his hand, he precisely hit the chanism of the bear trap.
"Click!"
As the trap was triggered, a crisp tallic sound echoed outwards, spreading deep into the forest.
At the sa ti, in front of a clear stream, a huntress who was sitting on a rock and sharpening arrowheads, felt her cat-like ears twitch slightly. She abruptly stood up, her green eyes flickering with excitent.
Caught sothing!
Shortly after, the huntress stuffed the freshly sharpened and assembled bronze arrows into her quiver, picked up the bronze bow beside her, and dashed towards the area where she had set the traps as a swift erald blur.
Her agile figure moved through the rugged mountain terrain as if on flat ground, resembling a swift and fierce lioness elegantly patrolling her hunting ground.
The nearby magical pigs, goats, and wild buffalo sensed her presence and shivered in their nests.
Fortunately, the huntress didn't linger, and within monts, she arrived at the trap-setting area.
Wait, no sound? Sothing's not right!
The eerily quiet forest ahead imdiately raised the alert huntress's suspicion. She instantly stopped at the edge of the trap area, cautiously waiting for the right mont.
At this mont, Luo En, hidden in the tree shadows, nodded subtly.
Well, even though the trap-setting was rough, her vigilance wasn't bad, barely passable.
After making a brief evaluation, a subtle smile appeared on Luo En's face.
Then, the second test begins!
"Snap~"
A crisp crack from the snapping of branches echoed through the dense forest, alerting the lurking huntress. She quickly drew her bow and shot an arrow towards the direction of the sound.
The darting arrow whistling through the air was accompanied by a muffled groan.
"Shasha~~"
The rustling of branches and leaves in the forest seed to fade into the distance.
Thinking of running? In the Arcadia Forest, not many can outpace !
Seeing this, the huntress scoffed and, without a second thought, dashed out from the shadows to pursue her wounded prey.
The green figure swiftly closed the distance with excellent speed and soon caught up to the target.
Yet, as she looked around, there was no one in sight.
The huntress carefully surveyed her surroundings, her gaze scanning over subtle scuff marks on the branches along the path, then she looked down at the stones on the dry leaves at her feet and suddenly realized, her mind shocked in an instant.
It's a trap!
However, the huntress did not resign to her fate. Instead, she quickly deduced the general location of the hiding assailant by analyzing the stones and branches.
—Behind, southeast, 300-400 ters region!
Under the control of wild instinct, the huntress instinctively twisted around, grabbing two bronze arrows inscribed with runes from her quiver and quickly shot them into the sky.
"Buzz buzz!"
The inscriptions on the tips of the two arrows glowed as they ascended, instantly forming a magic circle diagram in the shape of a full moon above.
As the two arrows pierced through the fully-ford magic circle diagram with a piercing howl, the surrounding air's Aether Factor was imdiately drawn together, forming a visible magic tide.
Streams of silver-white light arrows erged from the magic circle diagram, then fell like torrential rain, covering the southeast area 300-400 ters away.
This was Rapid Shot of Silver!
A unique skill taught to her by her ntor and the Goddess Artemis, best suited for locating hiders.
The dense barrage of light arrows sliced through branches, perated tree trunks, and stirred up clouds of dust.
While the huntress Atalanta remained cautiously vigilant, a deep voice ca from ahead.
"Too slow, your enemy is capable of moving..."
Before the voice faded, a sudden change in air pressure struck directly at the back of Atalanta's head.
"Pop!"
Following a dull, explosive sound, Atalanta, clutching her buzzing head, beat an embarrassed retreat.
The figure, shrouded in mist, looked ahead, mocking derisively.
"Is this all a follower of the Moon Goddess can do? If I had been holding a sword, you would have already been dead."
"Your ambush doesn't count!"
Atalanta contested indignantly. Annoyed, she drew her bow to battle again without hesitation.
The arrow, swift as a shooting star, shot forward, emitting a sharp tearing sound.
Luo En, with his face concealed, raised his hand and drew a dry branch from the ground into his palm, then casually executed chops and slashes, effortlessly deflecting the fierce incoming arrows.
So strong!
Seeing how easily he intercepted her flurry of arrows, Atalanta felt a chill in her heart. She imdiately grabbed three arrows from her quiver and scattered them forward with a special technique.
Chain Arrows? rely with this little trick you hope to defeat ? That's far from enough!
Luo En sneered, his branch weaving through the air as he consecutively split the three lined-up arrows, just about to advance forward when the cold silver light flickering at the arrow tails slightly constricted his pupils.
Is there more?
Not three in a row, but three with one?
The three arrows aligned in a line, only a twang of the bowstring heard as the visuals hid from each other.
The first drops, the next strikes, each arrow stronger than the last, with the second and third also cloaked with illusionary magic to conceal the truly lethal fourth arrow.
There was no overwhelming divine power on the arrow, rely experience and skill honed from wrist strength.
It seems Artemis trained you well, little Taow.
As his thoughts raced, the fourth arrow neared and Luo En, unable to swipe it away with the branch, swiftly raised his free left hand and firmly caught the deadly projectile aid at his face.
The sharp point was re inches from his forehead, but a miss is as good as a mile.
Just as Luo En was about to toss aside the arrow, thinking of achieving an easy victory and ready to drop his disguise and scold a few words, he noticed the Burst Rune twinkling on the arrow shaft, and the smile on his face instantly froze.
"Boom!"
The surrounding Aether erupted instantly, creating dazzling sparks and dense smoke billowing everywhere, the severe shockwave causing the nearby branches to crack continuously.
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