"So... that... are you Luo Ying, or Aphrodite?"
Ye Feng frowned, sizing up the maiden in the flowing skirt not far ahead.
"Damn bitch, betraying the main god for a mere human!"
Before the maiden in the flowing skirt could answer, Apollo, who had been listless with his head down, suddenly let out a fierce roar.
"Magnificence!"
Apollo roared, and the water blades in his head, heart, and other parts instantly vanished. The next second, he flickered and was instantly a thousand meters away from Ye Feng and the others.
"Damn bitch, lowly human, you just wait for me!"
Before his voice even faded, Apollo tore through space and disappeared.
"Ye Feng, the ability Apollo just used was the power of Mammon, the King of Greed among the Seven Deadly Sins, 'Magnificence'."
"This power can minimize... even nullify... enemy attacks to a great extent..."
As if sensing Ye Feng's confusion, Leng Yue quickly explained, "I wasn't sure before, but now it seems... Apollo's other half is likely Mammon, the King of Greed among the Seven Deadly Sins!"
"Is that so!"
Ye Feng looked at the spot where Apollo had vanished, a slight frown on his brow, and then shifted his gaze to the maiden in the flowing skirt.
"You are the wielder of Godslayer, Ye Feng, aren't you..."
The maiden in the flowing skirt sighed softly, her expression utterly weary as she slumped to the ground. "I am Luo Ying... and Aphrodite among the Twelve Main Gods..."
"This..."
Seeing the maiden in the flowing skirt slumped on the ground, her eyes vacant and even carrying a hint of death, Ye Feng was at a loss for words.
Logically, she was one of the Twelve Main Gods, they should be enemies... but just now, she had clearly been trying to kill Apollo...
When Apollo used the power of "Magnificence," the maiden in the flowing skirt had looked utterly surprised, clearly unaware of this beforehand...
"So... about that... was the great cataclysm on Earth related to you?" Ye Feng frowned and asked tentatively.
"No!"
Aphrodite shook her head. "I am indeed one of the so-called Twelve Main Gods... but a very, very long time ago... I broke away from that madman Zeus... I wandered the universe for a long time, and finally came to this beautiful place called Earth..."
"I never expected that in the end... those guys of Zeus would also come here..."
"I warned humanity about the danger of the so-called Main Gods... I even willingly scattered my consciousness... After all these years, those beasts haven't changed their nature..."
"Perhaps this is what humans call 'mountains and rivers are easy to change, but a person's nature is hard to alter'..."
Saying this, Aphrodite sighed deeply and smiled at Ye Feng, "Thousands of years have passed... give me release!"
As she finished speaking, she closed her eyes.
Ye Feng's frown deepened. He observed Aphrodite for a while and then blurted out, "Are you the one with the sanitary pad exchange treasure chest system?"
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Xiao Xiao, Ling Xi, and the other two women looked surprised. Aphrodite also opened her eyes, her gaze filled with confusion. "I... I do have such a system..."
"You... are you Zhang San?"
After a pause, Aphrodite added. Although it was a question, her tone was quite certain, because this was a huge secret in her heart, which she had only told "Zhang San" in the survivor channel.
"Mm!"
Ye Feng nodded, not hiding it.
"Ying from the survivor channel, it really is you..."
Although he had guessed it before, Ye Feng was still somewhat surprised to receive his direct confirmation.
"How is Alice?"
At this moment, Ye Feng spoke again.
"Alice... is already dead..."
Saying this, Luo Ying's face was filled with sadness. "I am alone once again..."
"Con...condolences... Luo Ying... We have things to do, we'll be going now!"
Ye Feng scratched his head, said something to the maiden in the flowing skirt, and then turned to leave, followed closely by Xiao Xiao and the others.
Watching Ye Feng's receding figure, Luo Ying's eyes were filled with bewilderment...
...
While Ye Feng and his group were rushing towards the City of Arcane, in a town, in a blacksmith's shop, a burly man with a vest, perfect muscle definition, and a large beard was hammering a piece of iron with a hammer.
"Buzz!"
Suddenly, the space beside the vest-wearing blacksmith split open. His expression changed, and he looked up to see a figure in a hooded cloak, crackling with lightning, his face obscured, emerging from the spatial rift.
"Long time no see, Demeter!"
The figure in the hooded cloak spoke in a low, hoarse male voice.
If Ling Xi, Leng Yue, and Qiao Ying were present, they would be utterly astonished, because Demeter, one of the Twelve Main Gods, was actually a blacksmith in a forge...
"I don't want to see you!"
Demeter looked coldly at the man in the hooded cloak.
"Don't be so distant..."
The lightning on the hooded cloak figure's body flickered slightly, and the surrounding space could no longer bear it, showing cracks. "Do what you do best... Re-forge all the divine artifacts with the 'Star Hammer'..."
"Otherwise..."
Before Demeter could respond, the man in the hooded cloak spoke again, his voice sharp. "Otherwise, this child... death will be a luxury for him!"
As his voice fell, the space behind the hooded cloak figure split open again, revealing a boy of about eight or nine years old, whose brows bore a strong resemblance to Demeter...
"You..."
Seeing this, Demeter's face changed drastically.
...
Perhaps it was getting closer to the mother insect, but the homesickness worm was wriggling for longer periods each day, and its resting time after meals had shortened.
One midday,
"Ah! Ah!~"
"Help!"
"What is this monster?"
"Ah!~ Ah!"
"Run, all attacks are useless against that monster!"
"Ah!"
...
Ye Feng and the others had just finished their meal, fed the homesickness worm, and were resting in the shade when suddenly, piercing screams and calls for help came from afar.
"Sizzle~ Whoosh!~"
As Ye Feng was wondering, suddenly, several humanoid black shadows drifted past overhead.
Although these humanoid shadows had human-like faces, they lacked human eyes and noses... and had several mouths on their faces. They were the Dark Shadow Puppets.
...