Thessaly Royal City.
The crisis brought by the giants was temporarily averted, the collapsed city walls were secretly rebuilt using secret techniques, and the defensive charms that were successively repaired were activated one by one.
Witnessing the light of the thunderbolts, a symbol of Zeus's divine patronage, envelop the entire city beneath the chanting of the priests, the heroes and soldiers responsible for patrols and surveillance couldn't help but sigh with relief, their taut nerves slightly relaxed.
The city, having endured the baptism of war, regained its forr peace, and the streets and alleys were imrsed in a joyful celebration.
Hercules, Hippolyta, Luo En, the Spartan Twins, and a host of other heroes were invited by King Adtos to partake in the grand banquet at the Royal Palace.
At the lively banquet, aside from the requisite delicacies and fine wines, many strikingly beautiful noble maidens also cast longing glances at the leaders among them.
A few days later, the Divine Blood Heroes, having shed their burdens, yawned and returned to their dwellings, preparing to rest and recuperate.
Luo En was no exception, after buying so pastries and snacks on the street, he slipped back into the courtyard he was staying in, took out a golden wide-mouth cup filled with crimson wine, and sat at a stone table to drink by himself.
As the crimson liquid flowed into his body, lines of light that resembled cracks on his skin slowly healed, much like parched, cracked earth being watered by rain.
Watching the light markings on his body gradually fade, Luo En shook his head, not entirely satisfied.
Having used only three incarnations had already pushed him to his limits, necessitating maintenance and repair with divine wine from the Holy Grail regularly, his body was indeed sowhat fragile.
Fortunately, after suffering a wave of severe damage, neither the giants nor the Magic Beasts dared to erge again.
Otherwise, his fragile body might sooner or later have to be dragged back to War God Mountain for repairs.
Luo En raised the Holy Grail, drained the automatically replenishing divine wine in one gulp, and murmured to himself.
He couldn't always be the lone fighter, blood-spattered and worn. If he wanted to ensure his strength was employed to its best use, it seed necessary to augnt the abilities of the few comrades around him, to enable them to stand on their own.
"Eeek~~"
As Luo En was lost in thought, a burly figure pushed the half-open gate of the courtyard and entered.
"Hercules? What brings you here?"
Seeing the muscular man entering, Luo En couldn't hide his surprise.
Hercules set down the wine and snacks he had brought and laughed heartily, "I ca to visit you, and also to formally express my thanks."
Luo En put the Holy Grail aside, removed the seal from the jar of wine, and took a sniff, his face teasing, "Huh, this year's Ambrosial Honey Wine from Thessaly, and the most expensive new release? You must've spared no expense."
"As long as you like it," Hercules replied with a smile, his rugged face brimming with sincerity, "Compared to the favor of rescuing from the Underground Temple, this is nothing."
He stood up proactively and poured wine into Luo En's cup from the jar.
Watching the lion-like giant man act with such deference before him, as ta as a kitten hiding its claws, Luo En finished the drink in his cup and a playful smile crossed his face.
"Even if I hadn't intervened, with your skills, you probably could have escaped. And coming to see after so many days, it must be for more than just what happened in the Underground Temple, right?"
"There's also this..."
The blush on Hercules' face revealed his embarrassnt at having his thoughts read, and as he lay his large hand on the stone table, it opened to reveal a dusa crest engraved with his na.
Luo En raised his eyebrows slightly, understanding imdiately.
It seed this rough yet thoughtful hero had discovered sothing.
"Thank you for the hint, and for bestowing such a precious treasure upon ," Hercules began, pushing the dusa emblem across the table towards Luo En.
"But I'm sorry, I can't accept that..."
The hand that Luo En held his cup with paused for a mont, and he looked at Hercules with an intrigued expression.
He understood exactly what "that" was referred to by the other man.
—The Sacred Robe of Leo from Athens, and the invitation to join War God Mountain.
Due to the intervention and agreent with The Three Fates, the battle among the gods on Mount Olympus was hardly a secret.
As the son of Zeus, whom the Divine King highly valued, and given Perseus's teachings from a young age, he had long seen himself as his father Zeus's sharpest spear and sword.
In a way, all the gods who participated in that rebellion were enemies of his father Zeus.
While a new war of the gods had not yet erupted, there was no need for the factions of the gods to fight to the death over it.
But the straightforward Hercules was still reluctant to easily cross that line, to betray his own father.
"You're misunderstanding," Luo En swirled his wine cup and began with a smile, "I gave you that Sacred Robe hoping you would save more lives and avert more disasters, nothing more."
"But still..."
"For the sake of so-called stances, to cast aside divine tools that could help you save more lives, don't you think you're being overly selfish and shallow?"
"..."
Hercules could find no words in response and could only offer a wry smile in explanation.
"But I am the son of Zeus..."
"But you are also Hercules! The hero the people look up to, the warrior who speaks for the powerless! Countless disasters await your intervention, countless injustices await your resolution!" Luo En's voice was stern, addressing this brother who aspired to be a filial son.
"The asure of your identity should not be your parents, but your actions! Think carefully about what you should do, not what you shouldn't."
"..."
Under the resounding reprimand, Hercules fell silent. After a lengthy pause, he clenched his teeth, grabbed the dusa emblem on the table, and spoke earnestly to Luo En.
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