The dust of battle had settled, and the bronze chariot carried three people out of the dense forest, moving further and further away.
The dead leaves on the ground and the wild grass all around whispered softly with the wind, and streams of red-black mud surged out of the glowing cracks, enveloping the disarrayed centaur corpses within the forest.
In the blink of an eye, the bloodstains, chunks of bodies, and weapons on the ground had vanished, replaced by an intricately woven red-black mud cocoon.
A crisp cracking sound emanated from within outward, and a fair arm tore through the red-black membranous cocoon enveloping it; a svelte figure emerged, her dark purple hair cascading down her back like a waterfall, and her amber eyes—the perfect blend of innocence and seductiveness—as if embodying both sanctity and corruption, her aura contradictory yet unified.
"Another deity? It sure is lively here."
With a laugh as melodious as silver bells, the seductive girl stretched lazily, looking towards the direction where the bronze chariot had disappeared. Her rolling pink tongue lightly licked her moist lips, her beautiful eyes flickering mysteriously.
"It looks like it's time to raise the difficulty of the game..."
"Snap!" Accompanied by a crisp snapping of fingers, the seductive girl's shadow seemed to transform into a puddle of red-black mud, spreading outwards. Centaurs armed with spears, shields, and massive axes, their bodies black as ink and eyes a brutal crimson, emerged from the mud, their bodies covered in red-black patterns.
The racing bronze chariot traveled over a rugged mountain road, inevitably causing Luo En and Cainis to jostle up and down. Cainis moaned softly, holding her throbbing head as she barely managed to sit up, opening her eyes to look at the man and woman in front of her.
"Was it you who saved me?"
"Yes." Luo En nodded, casually taking a magic potion from the Magic Circle Diagram and handing it to Cainis, who was forcefully rubbing her head, "You seem a bit off, take this tranquilizer to ease your mind."
"Tranquilizer? That stuff's for women!" Cainis disdainfully swatted away the tranquilizing magic potion, pointing at the flask hanging at Luo En's waist, unable to suppress her thirst, "Got any booze? Give me a swig!"
Luo En unhooked the flask and handed it over, taking the opportunity to kindly remind her, "Your injuries aren't healed, try not to drink too much."
But before he could finish, Cainis eagerly snatched the flask, pulled out the wooden stopper, and first took a deep breath from the opening, then her eyes lit up.
"Top-grade Ambrosial Honey Wine, nice stuff."
The female warrior tilted her head back and guzzled gratifyingly, then, fully satisfied, she put down the flask, issuing a truly delighted cheer.
Luo En looked at the now-empty flask in his hands, his expression slightly darkened.
"Of course, one swig!"
Cainis responded matter-of-factly, hooking one arm around her savior's shoulder and heartily patting her chest with the other hand, vowing cheerfully.
"Hey, no need to be so stingy, once we get into the city, I'll treat you to whatever you want to eat or drink!"
Seeing the two vivaciously shaking sun-kissed round breasts, Luo En understood she was quite an open-hearted woman. Taking advantage of the journey, he subtlety probed about the recent situations in Thessaly.
Indeed, as Luo En expected, Cainis candidly shared everything she knew.
Recently, Thessaly had been restless, suffering frequent raids from the Giant Spirit Clan, with livestock and people vanishing all too often.
By the time the City Defense Force and Patrol Team found those missing, they often discovered nothing but bones, with some suspect tools used to worship the Old Gods left at the scenes.
Hearing the news, the residents of Thessaly were in great distress, affecting production, daily life, and even the sacrifices made to the gods.
For this reason, King Admetos summoned the Divine Blood Heroes in the realm, hoping to deliberate strategies together and root out those vermin from their burrows.
Cainis was among the first group of Divine Blood Heroes to join the expedition. Although her appearance was quite outstanding in Thessaly, even having the reputation of the most beautiful woman in Thessaly, pursued by many men, her fiery personality and temper made this female warrior prefer to be alone.
Indeed, hearing about the kidnapping incidents in nearby villages, she rushed over alone, hoping to catch the Giant Spirit Clan's tail but instead found a group of centaurs taking advantage of the chaos.
Luo En scrutinized Cainis, his expression skeptical.
"So, you took them on by yourself and almost got killed by them?"
In the "Iliad" it was mentioned she was of the lineage of Ares, God of War, and in "Metamorphoses" it was even said she was the daughter of The Atlas Titan, Atlas. The combination of these two strains of divine blood not only shaped her fiery personality but also endowed her with an almost invulnerable body and considerable fighting prowess.
Being able to show off as one of Thessaly's notable Divine Blood Heroes, how did she almost get overturned by a few dozen centaurs?
Cainis complained indignantly, then began to defend herself.
"We had an agreement for me to take on the whole lot of them alone, but they cast spells on me behind my back, making it impossible for me to stand, truly lacking martial integrity!"
Luo En frowned slightly upon hearing this.
Centaurs are skilled in mounted archery and hit-and-run strategies, but they have little understanding of magic and curses; their community is almost devoid of mages.
And as a demigod, one typically possesses a certain degree of resistance to magic. Let alone the barely magic-savvy centaur clan, even a professional enchantress like Medea would find it challenging to break Cainis's magic resistance so easily.