Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Circe, standing by the bed, stiffened, his expression turning wary.

"I slept very comfortably..."

"That's good, that's good..."

"My head just hurts a little, and I feel a bit dizzy..."

"Uh, you're a restless sleeper, you probably have a stiff neck, that's normal, normal..."

"Oh, it's morning outside? I feel a little hungry."

Katniss scratched the back of her head, looked confused, and rubbed her stomach, muttering to herself.

"Yes, yes, let's go out shopping and grab something to eat, put it on Jason's tab!"

Circe nodded hurriedly, her little face full of fake smiles, and urged her roommate to get up.

hiss!

However, as soon as she moved, Katniss felt a dull ache in her bones and muscles for some reason, causing her to sit on the edge of the bed and gasp, muttering to herself.

"I feel like something's not right. Did I forget to order something?"

"No way, it's just my imagination. Let's hurry up and head out, or that shop will be sold out of pastries."

"Oh, okay, that's good."

With Circe's half-pushing and half-shoving, Katniss put on her travel clothes, walked out of the room blankly, stared at the next room, and remained stunned for a long time.

Time ticked by, and beads of cold sweat rolled down the Great Witch's forehead. Her hands involuntarily reached under the bed.

The moment Katniss turned her head to look at him with a lingering gaze, Circe's heart nearly pounded, and he almost dropped something.

Fortunately, my roommate frowned slightly and made an impatient sound.

"Have I been waiting for you for ages? Aren't you leaving yet?"

Circe was stunned for a moment, then loosened his grip and nodded with a big smile.

"Let's go, let's go! I'm starving!"

After the Great Witch turned away from the bedside and locked the door, the angular Moon Staff and a medicine pouch with a half-open edge, from which several suspicious black pills rolled out, were revealed from the shadows under the bed.

When the two figures, one large and one small, walked out of the courtyard, the air at the corner of the corridor rippled slightly. Samael emerged from the ripples, his expression strange and his gaze deep.

This... memory erasure?

It seems I really scared Circe on Ayu Island; he's already developed such a severe psychological trauma.

Thinking of this, Samael awkwardly raised his hand to touch the bridge of his nose, his eyes darting around guiltily.

It seems that this is indeed a bit excessive.

Well, I'll be more careful next time, and I'll also give you some compensation later, is that alright?

The ancient snake muttered to itself, comforting its conscience, before quietly slipping out of the courtyard.

Although Jason thoughtfully arranged for him and Atalanta to stay in a secluded courtyard with only two guest rooms, next door were their familiar teammates Circe and Caenis.

But after seven days of unrestrained commotion, which resulted in such a commotion, the two noise-causing individuals were too ashamed to continue hanging out together and tacitly decided to separate for a while.

Iorkos, the capital city, and its port of call.

Samael stood on the edge of the neatly stacked stones, facing the salty sea breeze, looking down at the surging sea. He stood there for most of the day before thoughtfully withdrawing his gaze. After chatting with a few locals for a while, he found a quiet corner to sit down and looked around at the sailboats of all sizes returning to port or setting sail.

These things are passable for near-shore fishing, but in the environment of the Oceanus Sea, voyaging on the open ocean would be suicidal.

Moreover, even the few large ships that venture into the deep sea to bring back more catch often return with their keels damaged due to encounters with sea monsters, storms, and other factors. In fact, more than 40% of these ships are destroyed.

No wonder this new king, who was unwilling to relinquish power, dared to throw the difficult task of obtaining the Golden Fleece to his nephew Jason as a test.

Putting aside future problems, finding suitable ships at the outset is already a hurdle that transcends the navigation and shipbuilding technology of ordinary people in this era.

Unless a miracle occurs, even if Jason manages to assemble his crew, he won't be able to set sail.

But a miracle is about to happen...

Samael smiled slightly, bit his index finger, and casually flicked a drop of blood into the surging waves.

A faint reddish hue spread, clouds filled the sky, and a golden magic circle, hundreds of meters in diameter, converged and rotated, casting a dazzling beam of light down onto the sea.

"Buzz!"

A strange, rhythmic tremor spread out, and a colossal vessel, over a hundred meters long, with magic arrays carved into its hull, inlaid with magic crystals, and equipped with as many as fifty oars on each side, sailed out of the light curtain and docked at the shore, dragged by several snow-white owls.

Behind the half-open light curtain, the majestic and solemn outline of Mount Ares could be vaguely seen.

Boom!

Suddenly, a silver-white bolt of lightning struck the large ship from the sky. Instantly, obscure divine patterns appeared on the ship's deck, and its entire body shimmered with light, as if it had been cast in metal, making it indestructible.

hum!

Immediately afterwards, a large flock of cuckoos gathered in mid-air, forming an archway leading directly to a sacred forest. A giant covered with horrifying eyeballs carried an old tree with facial features, and amidst the painful screams of that face, he shaved off several planks to serve as the bow of the ship and the mast of the hull.

Several local priests present examined the documents and immediately concluded with excitement that this was the sacred tree of Dodona, which could predict the future and bring good fortune while avoiding misfortune.

In an instant, the seahorse chariot representing Poseidon and the blood-red light representing Ares descended, each bestowing their blessings upon the ship.

The once rare miracle, like a cabbage, bestowed upon this ship layers of blessings.

Upon seeing this, the port residents excitedly and reverently gathered around, praying and kneeling in worship, marveling at this divine creation.

Even the King of Iorkos, alarmed, rushed to the port, pale-faced, with a large number of priests, to burn incense and prepare offerings to the gods.

At this moment, Samael had already avoided the crowds and retreated to a secluded corner, where he sat under a tree connected to Mount Ares, humming irritably.

"Didn't I just ask you to salvage my boat from the sea and resell it? Why are you making such a big fuss?"

Athena in the temple blinked, her face full of innocence.

"This is not my fault. Zeus came because he had his eye on the 50 heroes gathered by the Golden Fleece expedition."

Hera did this on a whim, testing Jason on the road, and then, finding him agreeable, bestowed a favor upon him.

Poseidon is the god of the sea; shouldn't we consult him before setting sail?

As for Ares, he himself certainly had no interest in showing up, but behind the scenes, he was either instigated by Aphrodite or ordered by Zeus.

"It was all an accident anyway, and with so many deities seeing you off, you've really made a name for yourself."

Immediately, the goddess of wisdom smiled with narrowed eyes, her expression mocking.

"Besides, when you're going on a long trip to meet the parents, you can't show favoritism, can you?"

"You've been spying on me all day long on Mount Ares, haven't you? You've got nothing better to do, haven't you?"

When Samael heard Athena's veiled reference, and recalled his recent "seven days and seven nights" of conquest, his face darkened, and his sense of shame surged.

In an instant, the ancient snake's eyes flashed, a sinister sneer appeared, and it flicked its nails as it asked in a low, eerie voice.

"By the way, did you receive the golden apple I sent you?"

“Crack!”

Athena, who had just been all smiles, suddenly froze, her teeth grinding together as she forced out an angry word through gritted teeth.

"How dare you say that!"

The extra chapter about Ti Ma is finished. If you want to read it, you can get it from the group.

In the last unconventional side story poll, Mom won and promised to finish it by the end of the month. I took some time today to complete it and keep my promise.

If you want to watch it, join the group and read the announcement. You can also find the group files to download it yourself. By the way, it would be best to send a screenshot of your subscription to avoid being attacked by righteous people.

Subscription group: Pigeon Urges Updates Purple House: 637854114.

I'll do the second vote when I have time, since my main job is writing books, not driving.

Chapter 188 There's no worst, only worse (1/2)

Athena was furious when she heard about the golden apple that had been airlifted over.

The inscription above, "Dedicated to the most beautiful goddess," was maliciously made, turning her into a target of public criticism and leaving her exhausted and overwhelmed in her efforts to protect it.

So quickly their friendship turned into a fake one?

Samael smiled sarcastically and asked curiously about what had happened.

"Come on, let me hear how Medusa will make her move? She'll definitely get involved in this."

Athena twitched her lips, looking sullen.

"The messenger sent to you betrayed you for a few bites of food, and now it's always clinging to that woman..."

So Medusa claimed the golden apple was a gift to her, and kept blocking her door every day because it wasn't signed.

Immediately, the goddess of wisdom became quite annoyed, angrily clenched her fist, and her silver teeth clenched.

"You think my cooking isn't good enough? And you still dare to run away in the middle of the night? If that little brat dares to come back, I'll pluck all its feathers off and then throw it into a pot to stew!"

Good heavens, a roundabout way to achieve our goal, a major detour tactic.

Samael thought of the snow-white owl whose tastes he had spoiled, and couldn't help but rub his chin and wink mischievously.

He vaguely remembered that Athena's cooking skills were comparable to alchemical stew; expecting her to improve the diet of her pets was a mistake—she'd be lucky if she didn't poison all the owls.

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

It's no surprise that the little devil threw himself into the arms of a high-quality meal ticket.

Samael glanced at the grand sacrificial ceremony on the harbor, searching for familiar heroic figures and keeping an eye on how things were unfolding, while continuing the conversation to pass the time.

"By the way, if Medusa wants to do this, you can go to Themis for judgment. I've talked to her about property law."

"I appealed..."

"and then?"

"The process of gathering information, presenting evidence, and conducting trials takes time..."

"so…"

"Hand over the evidence first, and the judge will keep it for you, understand?"

"Ahem, so this wave..."

"Nonsense, of course I withdrew the lawsuit. They colluded to steal this golden apple from me and play with it for a few days. Don't even think about expecting Themis to make a fair arbitration. The law is impartial, but that doesn't mean law enforcers are without personal interests."

Athena crossed her arms over her chest, clearly having a clear understanding of the nature of her two "good sisters".

In an instant, the goddess of wisdom narrowed her eyes, her expression becoming wary.

"Hey, throwing this thing over here to distract us, you haven't been up to something shady lately, have you?"

"How dare you slander me out of thin air? Do you think I'm that kind of snake?"

Samael immediately retorted, but his eyes involuntarily darted away.

I must say, the seven days and seven nights of deep conversation with Atalanta were truly intoxicating; I still don't want to get up now.

Before Athena could continue to press for answers, the serpent's expression turned serious, and it began to recount the origin of the golden apple.

Aphrodite's power as the goddess of love? And the enhancement of Samael's divine will?

The goddess of wisdom summoned a golden apple from the magic circle, tossed it in her palm, examined it, pondered for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly, as if she were asking a question or answering one.

"Dad, you didn't just throw this thing at us to make fun of us, did you?"

"Just kidding, it's just a joke during the experimental phase. The real purpose is to guard against Aphrodite."

"Cupid? Is that really necessary? Be more specific."

"Although I've never met her in person, we've indirectly crossed paths a few times. This woman is no simpleton..."

Samael's eyes gleamed with a deep light, and his tone became more meaningful as he casually recounted some of the hidden secrets beneath the surface of Greek heroic history.

Helen, the Spartan princess; Hippolyta, the Amazonian queen; Atalanta, the Arcadian princess…

The fates of these three women with whom he had further contact were all incredibly troublesome.

Helen sparked the Trojan War, and Hippolyta led to the conflict between Athens and the Amazons.

Even if Atalanta were to be forced to marry Hippomenes as prophesied, their son would also participate in another great Greek epic – the Seven Heroes' Expedition to Thebes.