The next day, Olympus.
Early in the morning Artemis, dressed in hunting attire, excitedly arrived at Hestia's temple and came to knock on the door.
When Lorne heard the sound and walked out of the house, besides seeing the Huntress Goddess beaming with smiles, there was also that annoying little brother-in-law who was trying hard to maintain a stiff smile.
Noticing that this God of Light's expression seemed not very bright, Lorne decisively moved closer to Artemis's side to avoid giving Apollo any chance to make a move against him.
Unfortunately Athena was busy finalizing the casting details of the 88 pieces of sacred armor and experimenting with the actual combat effects of several finished products, so she could not free herself for the time being.
Otherwise he could have pulled her along to Arcadia to share the pressure and keep an eye on that not-so-well-behaved God of Light at all times.
But this was fine too.
He could not stay under the protection of that Goddess of Wisdom forever.
Getting some early training would help him better integrate into the big family of Olympus.
Moreover that woman Athena was too smart.
Trying to pull off any small tricks under her watchful eyes required extreme caution and was far too troublesome.
Compared to that Goddess of Wisdom whose mind was full of honeycomb-like holes, whether it was most of the Greek gods he had encountered or the ordinary people in the city-states, they were all adorably simple (easy to fool).
After making up his mind Lorne packed his things, readily accepted the invitation and went out, openly joining the team of Artemis, the host.
As for her lover's arrival the Huntress Goddess naturally welcomed it with open arms.
She directly handed over the task of driving the chariot to this subordinate god, and the two of them shared one vehicle.
The nineteen disfavored Nymphs had no choice but to walk on their two long legs and follow behind the chariot on foot.
Apollo looked at this opposite-sex being who had actively seduced his own sister and a feeling of rage burned in his eyes.
He immediately drove his golden chariot and urgently caught up to prevent them from doing anything outrageous along the way.
For a moment the nine accompanying Muse goddesses were all left behind and could only miserably follow the nineteen Huntress Nymphs, using their divine power to hurry along the road.
Fortunately the Olympus mountain where the gods resided and the Arcadia region that served as Artemis's sanctuary were both located on the Peloponnese Peninsula, and the distance between them was not far.
Therefore this group of delicate goddesses did not suffer much from long-distance travel.
They only spent a short few hours on the journey before arriving at their destination.
As the chariot came to a steady stop among the mountains and forests, Artemis reached out to help Lorne down from the vehicle.
She did not rush to start her favorite hunting activity.
Instead, as the host, she accompanied this lover who had come from afar and strolled lightly through the secluded valleys and along the riverside.
While doing so she introduced him to the environment and history of Arcadia and recalled the memories she had left on this land.
The original meaning of "Arcadia" (arkadia) comes from ark, which means to avoid or escape.
Originally this was a wild and barbaric land.
Legend says that in that era of the world people oppressed and exploited each other, and there were also natural disasters from the gods and the rampage of magical beasts.
So many people fled here with their families and began to multiply and live.
Gradually city-states were established here, and the land was transformed into a holy place suitable for herdsmen, hunters, and mountain dwellers.
The Goddess of Hunting Artemis, who could bless their livestock to thrive and ensure their hunts returned full, became the mainstream guardian deity of this region.
In addition this place was also the birthplace of the divine messenger Hermes, and the worship of Hermes's son, the pastoral god Pan—also spread in Arcadia.
Whether it was the latter two who corrupted the local customs or because this place was originally a gathering spot for mountain folk, thieves, hunters, and vagrants, the local folkways were quite fierce.
If they were disappointed in hunting, the hunters of Arcadia would even dare to whip the statues of the gods.
Therefore this "Arcadia" full of vigorous life and competition among all things also became a synonym for uncivilized, and was looked down upon by other Greeks.
The several thieving brothers Lorne had encountered before on the Invisible Island were all heroes produced from this paradise.
By the way, in the future Arcadia would also have another translation, which is [Utopia]...
Combining memories of the future, Lorne who was conducting cross-temporal on-site archaeology looked at the vast mountains and forests in front of him and at the magical beasts in the secluded valleys that occasionally popped out to bare their teeth at him and a trace of playful smile could not help but appear on his face.
After a brief moment of tender affection, Artemis, seeing that the accompanying Nymphs and Muses had arrived one after another, could only helplessly adjust her mindset and begin the formal hunt.
It had to be said that as the sanctuary of this Huntress Goddess, Arcadia was extremely rich in wild animals and plants.
Even magical beasts with divine bloodlines were everywhere.
But these might still pose a threat to ordinary people.
In front of two main gods and a large group of subordinate gods, they could only flee in panic.
For a time the entire Arcadia mountain range was in chaos with chickens flying and dogs jumping.
Large groups of wild beasts and magical beasts fled with their families, and the birds startled in the forest did not return to their nests for a long time.
By the time dusk fell, the group of bullies who had broken into the mountains in the eyes of these magical beasts finally quieted down and began to set up camp, light fires, and cook.
The forest that had been noisy all day finally returned to a bit of calm.
As night gradually deepened, the warm campfire was filled with rich meat fragrance.
Lorne handed out the roasted beast meat and mushroom soup to the accompanying Nymphs and Muses one by one.
His superb cooking skills made the goddesses eat with lingering fragrance on their lips and tongues as they praised endlessly, unconsciously let go of their reserve, opened their stomachs wide, and ate heartily.
Because he had underestimated the appetite of this group of goddesses, although the beast meat hunted during the day was enough, the spices and seasonings Lorne had prepared were completely used up.
Under the expectant gazes of the Nymphs and Muses, he could only helplessly stand up, take his own golden hunting hound, and prepare to look for some wild substitutes for seasoning.
After walking a short distance along the river, Lorne gained a little harvest and was just about to turn back to feed that group of goddesses who were crying out hungrily.
"Woof~!"
Unexpectedly the golden hunting hound that had stuck its head into the bushes ahead looking for mushrooms suddenly let out a sorrowful and indignant low whimper, then hurriedly pulled its head back and came bounding and jumping all the way toward its master.
Something there?
A trace of surprise flashed across Lorne's brow as he stood up walked to the bushes reached out and parted the spreading branches around them.
Only to be stunned, when he saw an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes lying quietly on the dead leaves as a pair of bright tawny eyes curiously sized him up without the slightest fear.
And from that little snow-white hand protruding from the swaddling clothes there was clutched a tuft of pale yellow dog fur.
Lorne lowered his head and glanced at the aggrieved whimpering dog at his feet as well as the obvious patch of missing fur on its neck.
As the unscrupulous master he could not help but almost burst out laughing.
He never expected that his powerful golden hunting hound which had once eaten Poseidon's seal meatballs would actually be bullied by a little girl who had not even left swaddling clothes.
"Little girl I didn't expect you to be quite fierce."
While speaking Lorne bent down gently picked up the swaddling clothes from the ground and at the same time stretched out a finger to tease the infant's tender cheek with a light mocking laugh.
Whether it was because she was annoyed by the teasing or truly hungry the fierce yet milky little female infant suddenly bit down hard on the finger that was misbehaving on her face and tore at it with force.
However since she had not yet grown milk teeth Lorne's finger which was wrapped in the baby's small mouth not only did not feel pain but instead transmitted a tingling numbing sucking sensation.
This completely non-threatening counterattack made him want to laugh even more.
He immediately raised his head looked around confirmed no one was there and then his gaze fell on the swaddling clothes in his arms, and a trace of pity could not help but flash through his eyes.
It looked like this was most likely an abandoned infant thrown into the forest by parents who did not want to raise her.
But judging from the fabric and patterns of the swaddling clothes this child's background did not seem to be from a poor family.
It should not be because they could not afford to raise her that she was abandoned right?
Just when Lorne felt puzzled several faint sounds of surging airflow came from the distance.
He suddenly narrowed his eyes stepped hard on the ground and behind him an invisible light wheel turned.
The golden [Bull] phantom instantly enveloped his entire body.
"Dang dang dang dang!"
Accompanied by a series of crisp clashes of metal several bronze arrows shot from the darkness were bent upon impact and then bounced away.
"Who? Come out!"
Realizing the arrivals were ill-intentioned Lorne held the infant in his arms coldly shouted and stomped his foot fiercely toward the ground.
Instantly the [Bull] phantom raised its head and let out a low roar.
Its four hooves trampled the ground and the majestic divine power wrapped in the trembling of the earth spread forward.
Trees along the way collapsed with loud booms and chaotic hoofbeats came from the darkness.
Under the silver glow sprinkled by the full moon through the spreading smoke and dust Lorne clearly saw hundreds of monsters with the lower half of a horse and four hooves upper half human body clad in bronze armor holding bows arrows spears and axes gathering around him glaring menacingly.
Centaurs?
The name of these creatures immediately surfaced in Lorne's mind and his expression sank at once.
Centaurs also known as half-human horses were mixed divine descendants that had existed since the era of the Titan King Cronus.
They lived in the forested mountain regions between Mount Pindus in central-eastern Greece and the Aegean Sea called Thessaly and Arcadia.
They were addicted to violence lust battle and plunder often raiding human settlements to abduct beautiful members of the opposite sex back to their lairs for mating.
Therefore in the age of Greek gods they were an infamous tribe.
What made Lorne particularly unhappy was that because of their debauchery and lust poets described centaurs as followers of the wine god Dionysus...
And the goat-men and Pan god famous for their sexual desire were also said to be his followers...
Truly the god sits at home yet the pot comes falling from the sky.
What the hell do I have to do with these freaks?
Don't dump the blame for lust and drunkenness on me okay?
Just as Lorne was inwardly complaining a dry awkward common tongue came from the darkness.
"Male... do not... kill! Ahead... village... women... many... grab back!"
A particularly large centaur wearing a golden helmet who seemed to be the leader spoke in a muffled commanding voice.
As native inhabitants they had long detected the commotion caused by these outsiders.
So many beautiful members of the opposite sex had voluntarily delivered themselves right to the door and even blatantly set up camp on the spot.
If they did not take advantage of the night to properly "entertain" these lovely foreigners it would truly be letting down Arcadia's simple and honest folk customs.
(End of chapter)