Inside the courtyard.
The figure condensed from moonlight finished listening to Hippolyta's report. Playing with the Gorgon emblem in her hand, she nodded with keen interest.
"So that's how it is..."
"Lady Artemis, what are your instructions?"
Hippolyta asked respectfully, directing an inquiring gaze toward the main God she worshipped.
"I will begin testing the feasibility of that proposal to solve the low birth rate, but since it was a suggestion from him, there shouldn't be any issues."
Artemis replied with a light chuckle, continuing right after:
"As for passing the throne to Penthesilea, let's drop the matter.
She happens to be extremely unwilling to take up that duty, constantly complaining to me during her prayers and shouting about bringing you back."
Having inherited the God of War's bloodline in an overly pure manner, Penthesilea was a standout type who only cared about the thrill of battle.
She was usually more than willing to fight someone, but managing administrative affairs was truly asking too much of her.
Hearing her patron God's report, Hippolyta could not help but show an embarrassed expression over her elder sister's reckless personality, making a bashful guarantee:
"Don't worry. Once I return tomorrow morning, I will certainly keep the sisters in line."
"No rush on returning." Artemis shook her head, her silver eyes sweeping across the three closed bedroom doors in the courtyard, a subtle flicker in her gaze. "Did you say earlier that he is currently living with three women?"
"Yes. One is Princess Medea of Colchis, another is Princess Helen of Sparta, and the last is Caenis, the number one beauty of Thessaly," Hippolyta answered truthfully, not forgetting to add, "I heard they once went through life-and-death crises together, so they get along very well."
Get along well? Well enough to sleep in the same bed?
Hearing this, Artemis grew quietly vigilant in her heart.
He hasn't been away from home for that long, yet he managed to hook up with three in a row?
Standing in the courtyard, the Goddess of the Hunt felt a sense of potential crisis.
Looking down at the believer before her, she spoke in an apparently casual tone. "Hippolyta, what do you think of this man?"
"Very strong!"
Hippolyta answered without a second thought, a trace of reverence for the strong naturally rising in her eyes.
"..."
The phantom of the Goddess beneath the moonlight wavered slightly before clearing her throat to speak.
"I meant in other aspects."
"He is a rival worthy of respect, as well as a great sage."
Hippolyta continued her answer, offering an objective and serious evaluation.
The corner of Artemis's eye twitched slightly as she patiently guided her further:
"Then do you have any thoughts about him? Or anything you particularly want to do?"
"Yes!"
Prompted by this reminder, Hippolyta nodded instinctively.
Under Artemis's expectant gaze, the Amazon Queen clenched her fists, her eyes brimming with heat and anticipation.
"I want to have a fair and square fight with him again! Last time I lost too quickly to even know where the gap between us lay.
If I try a few more times, even if the chances of winning are slim, it will be of immense benefit in refining my strength!"
Hearing this, Artemis inside the magic formation felt her face darken like the bottom of a pot.
Why are these little girls' heads filled only with the thrill of combat?
Can't they have some normal romantic feelings between men and women?
They've truly been corrupted by that idiot Ares.
Seeing that subtle guidance was getting nowhere, the Goddess of the Hunt went straight to the point:
"Since he possesses both strength and wisdom, and can even propose strategies beneficial to the Amazon race, have you ever considered capturing him back to the tribe?
Counting your age, you are almost at the point where you can breed.
Even if you cannot bring him back to Themyscira, mating with him to carry on this powerful and wise bloodline would be a worthy harvest from this journey."
Hippolyta's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
That's right!
Wouldn't bringing that man back to the tribe solve all problems?
'Not only could I spar in combat techniques with him every day, but regarding the plan to increase the Amazon birth rate, who could be more specialized in implementing it than the person who proposed it?'
As expected of Lady Goddess, her consideration of problems is truly thorough!
However, just as Hippolyta was ready to put her impulse into action, she turned toward the door of a certain bedroom, her face showing some embarrassment.
"But I cannot defeat him in a fight..."
Hearing this, the Goddess of the Hunt inside the magic formation smiled and spoke:
"Don't worry, I will help you."
"Help me?"
"Yes. Open your mind, and I will possess your body through spirit descent to grant your wish!"
"But you are a virgin Goddess. Wouldn't doing this tarnish your sacred purity?"
"I am the main God of the Amazon race. As long as it allows the Amazons to stride toward prosperity, what does such a small sacrifice matter?"
Hearing her patron God's righteous declaration, Hippolyta felt deeply touched in her heart.
'Sure enough, abandoning the War God Ares to worship the Moon Goddess Artemis was the most correct decision I have made since inheriting the throne!'
At this point, Artemis pointed toward the full moon hanging high in the sky, tossing out a timely reminder:
"Alright, the hour is late. There's no telling how long the Gigantes calamity in Thessaly will last, and to ensure stable conception, once or twice might not be enough. If you have made up your mind, you need to give me your answer quickly."
"No need to consider further! This body is willing to serve as the vessel—please descend upon this place!"
Hippolyta answered without hesitation, taking the initiative to open her mind while chanting the prayer to summon the divine spirit.
"Then, as you wish..."
The Goddess inside the magic formation curled her lips into a pleased arc, her phantom figure condensing into a beam of mercury-like moonlight that poured into Hippolyta's body.
Moments later, the Amazon Queen standing quietly in the courtyard opened her eyes.
A mercury-like hue flickered within her pupils as the aura within her body grew vast and profound.
Squeak—
The closed bedroom door was gently pushed open, and a tall figure stepped inside.
A bewildered voice immediately carried from the room:
"Hippolyta? Didn't I tell you to go back?"
"Hey, hey, what are you pouncing on me for?"
"Don't tear my clothes!"
"Wait, why do you have so much strength? And Authorities?"
"Hold on, Arte... mmph..."
In the blink of an eye, violent shaking and crashing sounds came from the room.
Bright moonlight, like living mercury, covered the outside of the bedroom, sealing all the noise and sin within the dense darkness of the night.
~~
The next morning.
With a dark face, Lorne sat up in bed and pushed away Hippolyta, who was wrapped around him like an octopus.
As they separated, sharp stings came from various parts of his body.
Looking down at the bite marks and scratches covering his chest, arms, and shoulders, the victim's face darkened by several shades.
Careless.
'Artemis actually secretly possessed Hippolyta's body for a night attack last night, and by the time I noticed the clues, it was already too late.'
Moreover, since it wasn't her own body, that crazy woman truly went all out without restraint.
If Hippolyta hadn't experienced intimacy for the first time and shut down under the high-intensity impact, a new version of seven days and seven nights might have developed.
Having a main God like that is truly a misfortune for her believers.
Lorne let out a sigh, bending his fingers to trace several lines of Hermes script to heal the damage on himself and Hippolyta.
Soon enough, the Amazon Queen whose brain had short-circuited slowly woke up, instinctively touching her slightly swollen lower abdomen.
"Is it always this much in one go?
It feels a bit stuffed..."
Hearing Hippolyta's calm tone,
Lorne froze for a moment, his face growing darker.
"You want to do it more times?"
"Yes. Lady Goddess said that to ensure successful conception, it's best to try every night."
Hippolyta nodded in response, turning her gaze seriously toward the victim beside her.
"We will continue tonight."
"....."
After a moment of silence, the veins on Lorne's forehead throbbed violently.
"Were you two colluding all along?"
"This was my intention.
Lady Goddess was merely helping me achieve my request."
Hippolyta actively took the blame, placing a hand on the victim's shoulder to comfort him earnestly:
"Don't worry. Once the matter in Thessaly is over, I will take you back to Themyscira. Then, under the witness of Lady Goddess, I will make you a member of the Amazon race."
Hearing that solemn guarantee,
Lorne felt as if he were looking at a bizarre scene where a scumbag, after forcibly taking a decent woman's purity, tried to pacify her with sweet talk about giving her a proper status.
Though thinking of it that way isn't entirely wrong either.
The Amazon tribe is a matriarchal society where the positions of men and women are reversed.
'In a sense, I really was the innocent one who got ruined.
Artemis, look at what you've done!
You want to capture me to Themyscira to keep you company? In your dreams! Just wait until I catch you later, and see if I don't spank you until your rear blossoms!'
While grinding his teeth in secret at the mastermind behind this,
Lorne put on his clothes and got up to leave the room.
If Hippolyta wasn't the victim, then she was very dangerous right now.
After an entire night of chaos, he didn't want to get dragged into an overtime round early in the morning and make the whole thing public knowledge.
Just as he stepped out of the door, a bizarre whistling sound came straight at him.
His gaze focused as his divine nature stirred, layers of light patterns rising beneath his feet to form a golden barrier.
"Bang!"
At the same time, a golden streak of light fell from outside the gate, piercing through the air to plunge entirely into the courtyard as a spear.
The divine power that erupted caused the surrounding ground to churn and shatter like waves.
Flying rubble smashed against the light barrier one after another, forming rings of golden ripples that were both beautiful and dangerous.
"Sisters, this is the despicable outsider who took Hippolyta hostage!
Charge, take our Queen back!"
Amid the rising dust, a short-haired white-haired woman with fair, powerful arms and a fiery expression kicked down the gate, leading dozens of Amazon warriors into the courtyard with aggressive momentum.
"Penthesilea? Why are you here?"
Hearing the commotion, Hippolyta rushed out from the room, looking in astonishment at her sister who had suddenly shown up with their kin.
Seeing this scene unfold, Lorne immediately felt a bad premonition in his heart.
Sure enough.
In the courtyard, Penthesilea saw her younger sister wrapped in a bedsheet, with bruises scattered across her shoulder blades and neck, causing her eyes to nearly split with rage.
"Bastard, what did you do to my sister?!"
Seeing this situation, the other Amazon warriors felt fury ignite in their hearts, drawing their weapons in unison as murderous intent overflowed from their eyes.
Lorne felt like crying without tears.
'Don't falsely accuse an innocent person, alright? It wasn't me doing something to her—it was her doing something to me!'
'I'm the victim here!'
As if hearing his inner thoughts, Hippolyta stepped forward and cleared her throat to explain:
"I took the initiative. I wanted to use his seed to give birth to an even more outstanding bloodline for the Amazons.
Furthermore, I intend to invite him to join the Amazon tribe so we can jointly solve the problem of our declining birth rate, and Lady Goddess has agreed as well."
The Queen took the initiative?
Inviting a man to join the Amazon tribe?
The Goddess agreed too?
Listening to Hippolyta's explanation, the already limited brain capacity of the female warriors was overwhelmed by question marks popping up one after another.
This... this isn't right, is it?
"It's fake! That guy must have bewitched the Queen!"
"That's right, how could Lady Goddess agree to something so absurd!"
"It wasn't enough for these men to control all the Greek city-states—now they want to reach their hands into the Amazons and ride on top of all of us women? Too arrogant!"
Hearing the sisters' chattering discussion, Penthesilea, the leader, reached a sudden realization, glaring at the culprit while grinding her teeth:
"Fine, so you're a root of disaster! Sisters, charge, kill this kid!"
Without another word, the flail in Penthesilea's hand roared straight toward Lorne's face.
Following her lead, more than a dozen Amazon warriors with bloodshot eyes and extreme anger charged into the courtyard like a tidal wave.
They launched an assault toward the culprit on the field, hurling spears and drawing bows without holding back in the slightest.
Gazing at the flying arrows and spears piercing through the air, as well as the fierce Amazon warriors surrounding him, Lorne, who had inexplicably been forced to take the blame, instantly grew furious.
Without hesitation, he pulled out the thorniest bramble from the flowerbed and leaped straight into the enemy formation.
The divine power and weapons that the Amazon warriors took pride in were easily repelled by the layer of light patterns enveloping his body.
Taking advantage of the opening, Lorne unleashed a flurry of fierce lashes at the charging Amazon warriors, specifically targeting their rears, where the flesh was abundant and sensitive.
Soon, wails and screams echoed among the Amazon warriors on the field.
Dropping their weapons, they clutched their bleeding rears while hopping and leaping around, looking both comical and absurd.
Bastard!
Leading the group, Penthesilea watched her sisters collapse in agony one after another and saw the culprit moving through them as if entering an unpopulated realm.
A strong sense of humiliation surged in her heart, driving her to harden her resolve and roar with an explosive pitch:
"Blood of Ares, burn—Roar of the War God!"
Instantly, clouds of blood mist seeped from her pores, forming blazing crimson flames across the surface of her body.
As the air distorted slightly, the spreading scent of blood felt as though it were dragging everyone into a brutal battlefield, with the roars of warriors and the clashing of weapons ringing clearly in their ears.
A pitch-black flail was hurled like a shooting star, accompanied by sharp whines from the air along its path.
Crack—
A crisp vibration sounded as the divine power barrier on Lorne's outer perimeter failed to withstand the raw brute force, cracking open under the flail's direct impact.
Yet, that was all it managed.
Lorne raised his eyes toward Penthesilea, whose eyes, nose, and mouth were bleeding before the light screen.
Seeing her body clearly overwhelmed yet madly squeezing out the potential to push forward, he shook his head in secret.
'Putting your life on the line like this... just what kind of hatred is this, auntie...'
Buzz!
Under a sudden hum, the cracked divine barrier turned into shimmering specks of light dust and vanished.
It worked!
Penthesilea looked delighted.
Enduring the recoil force with raw vigor, she raised her flail and pounced toward the shameless beast who had violated her sister.
Watching her rapidly approaching figure, Lorne curled the corners of his lips into a warm, bright smile.
Then, he raised his knife-hand and brought it down heavily.
"Bang!"
A dull, thunderous roar echoed atop her head.
Penthesilea felt the world spin before her eyes went dark, collapsing straight onto the ground. A massive, bright red bump rapidly swelled on her head, with wisps of steaming heat rising from it.
If he remembered correctly, this was exactly how Artemis used to beat him back then.
Looking at the Amazon warriors on the ground clutching their rears and wailing, as well as Penthesilea lying obediently on the ground like a dead pig, Lorne felt completely refreshed in mind and body, letting out a heartfelt sigh:
Combat—feels great!
(End of Chapter)
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