The Greece Antagonist

Looking at Pan, who was seething with rage after his loss, Luo En admonished with a mix of annoyance and amusement.

"Hey, hey, hey, you can't just talk nonsense, it was clearly you who wanted to make a bet, what's that got to do with me?"

"I don't care, it's all because of your idea that I ended up betting with Apollo, and now I've lost everything, you owe me!"

However, this half-goat, half-deity was unreasonably pinning the blame on the man before him, his hazel goat eyes gleaming with cunning as he threatened ominously.

"Otherwise, I'll spill the beans and say it was all under your instigation!"

In the face of Pan's despicably opportunist turnaround, Luo En wasn't annoyed in the slightest.

Being a prototype for a demon, how could he possibly play by the rules?

"Making amends isn't out of the question..."

Luo En slowly took out two goat horns from the Magic Circle Diagram, fiddling with them in his hands, a smile that was not quite a smile gracing his face.

"But really, are you just trying to recoup those insignificant losses, or do you actually want to best Apollo in earnest and take a beautiful Muse as your wife?"

"You have a way?"

The moment he sensed the implication in Luo En's words, Pan couldn't contain his glee, but having just suffered a defeat, he couldn't help but be somewhat skeptical of the man before him, the brains of the operation.

"You're not fooling me?"

With a slight smile, Luo En casually placed the two goat horns into Pan's arms, said nothing further, and turned to walk away toward the camp.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Immediately, Pan rushed forward in a panic, pulling Luo En back, with a face full of obsequiousness.

"You were saying, you were saying!"

Luo En remained silent, continuing to smile at the shameless goat-headed creature before him.

As if awakening from a dream, Pan immediately understood, hurriedly cramming the goat horns back into Luo En's embrace, all the while awkwardly beaming an apologetic smile.

"Misunderstanding, it was all a misunderstanding, I was just joking with you!"

"Such a big joke, I can't afford to play."

Luo En looked at the shameless goat head in front of him and coldly sneered.

"If you tell Apollo about this, and the God of Light gets angry, wouldn't that be a huge injustice to me?"

"How could that be! You are my benefactor! How could I ever betray a friend!"

Pan assured, earnestly, with the look of a faithful and straightforward friend.

Luo En just quietly observed the goat head without responding.

After a brief moment, Pan, realizing he had jumped the gun, hurriedly spoke up to remedy the situation.

"How about this, I promise I won't disclose anything about your guidance, and if you don't believe me, I'm prepared to swear an oath to the River Styx right here!"

With that, the cunning goat head, driven by his lust for success, promptly raised his right hand and swore to the River Styx.

But Luo En remained unmoved, still toying with the two goat horns in his hands with an enigmatic smile.

Pan immediately forced a smile and removed a pouch from his waist, handing it over to the man before him.

Luo En slightly opened the pouch and peered inside, shocked to find a lush green meadow and hundreds of miniature warhorses, cattle, and sheep leisurely grazing within.

"This is just the down payment!"

Pan said, drawing closer, striving to produce a bright and sincere smile despite the evident pain.

"Once I follow your advice and take a Muse as my wife, I promise to offer you ten times, no, a hundred times the livestock in tribute to you!"

Hearing the goat head's vehement promise, Luo En's displeasure gradually eased, and he grumbled with discontent.

"This was none of my business to begin with, you insisted on asking for my advice, and then tried to use it to blackmail me, that's a bit much."

"Yes, yes, yes, all my fault! I will stick to the oath, whether I succeed or fail, I won't blame you."

Pan assured repeatedly, then turned his eager gaze toward the boisterous camp, unable to wait a moment longer before inquiring.

"So, are you finally going to tell me how to win?"

"It's simple, compete again," Luo En said.

"?"

Hearing that nonchalant reply, Pan's face darkened, feeling he was being mocked. He was about to erupt on the spot.

"Don't rush, let me finish," Luo En interjected.

Pan suppressed some of his anger, albeit with a hint of resentment and suspicion, and looked toward the mastermind in front of him.

"Strictly speaking, your musical talent is not inferior to Apollo's," Luo En said.

At these words, Pan's expression visibly relaxed, and he looked at Luo En with a trace of satisfaction.

But as he thought of the fine horses he had given away and the herds extorted by this man, he couldn't help but feel like he was bleeding inside, and his gaze at Luo En turned increasingly unfriendly.

"See, you're rushing again," Luo En said with an eye roll and a disdainful snort.

"Fool, don't you understand? The reason you were utterly defeated wasn't that you lost in musical skill!" he said.

Then, he looked toward the bewildered goat, hooked his shoulder over, and whispered into his ear.

After hearing Luo En's explanation, Pan's anger instantly disappeared, his hazel goat eyes twinkling with excitement.

So that's how it is! Why didn't I think of that? Pan thought.

Seeing that the goat-headed deity had finally caught on, Luo En concluded his advice with a light snort.

"Do as I told you, and you'll definitely win tomorrow," he assured.

"Mhm, mhm!" Pan nodded repeatedly, his excited face clearly showing, as if he could already see the laurel of victory and the beautiful Muse beckoning to him.

"You go about your business; I'm off to prepare!" Pan said.

And with that, the goat-headed deity bid farewell to the adviser with a servile expression and hurriedly set off toward his temple.

Watching the figure disappear into the woods, Luo En's smile faded, and a chilling coldness flickered in his eyes.

Threaten me? Fool! he thought.

If you so desire to win against Apollo, then I'll let you win.

But in some gambles, losing merely costs you your chips.

Whereas winning can mean losing much more!

After enunciating the departure of the goat-headed deity, Luo En returned to camp to spend time with Artemis, wandering around the Arcadian Mountains.

Incidentally, as discussed the previous night, it was time to teach the Centaur tribe a lesson for their insolence.

The untamed natives soon realized they had provoked a fearsome group the night before.

Seeing the young girls tortured beyond recognition in the Centaur lair, the Nymphs couldn't contain their fury and ruthlessly exterminated the four-legged beasts.

In just half a day, more than a dozen Centaur tribes were overturned by the irate Goddess of the Hunt, and thousands of Centaurs fell under the Nymphs' arrows, becoming fertilizers buried in the ground.

Staring at the dark red soil, Luo En assessed that the Arcadian Mountains wouldn't suffer from Centaur troubles for decades to come.

Of course, that was assuming that "The Horseman" would be dealt with as well.

On one of the concealed paths in the Centaur encampment, Luo En stepped over and erased some unique split hoof prints, gazing meaningfully toward the maze that resembled a forest.

Well then, wait for tomorrow, he thought.

The next morning, Pan brought a large number of herds and came to the camp early, extending an invitation to everyone.

He wanted to lead these distinguished guests on a tour of the nearby Arcadian city-state, where he had specially prepared a feast.

On the way, they could experience the local customs and allow mortals to witness the grandeur of deities.

Faced with Pan's flattery and eager hospitality, Apollo gladly accepted, setting off with the Muses at his side.

And as the entourage marched imposingly out of the dense forest toward the citadel, the sunlight reflected off Pan's hazel eyes, which shimmered with excitement.

This time, victory is assured~!