Enemy at Olympus! 3/3

At the foot of the Interstellar City Mountain Range, an abandoned workshop.

The Argo Heroes, having escaped, collapsed, exhausted, beside the intricate network of pipes and in corners piled with the wreckage of damaged machinery. With their eyes closed, they regulated their breathing and tried to restore the aether.

Circe, Medea, and the Healer wandered around, bandaging wounds for those with minor and serious injuries, administering medicine, or performing healing Magecraft.

Slap! Slap!

"You can still move. Come over and let's go over the tasks ahead."

A radiant Samael clapped his hands, summoning several leaders among the Argo Heroes to discuss the next steps.

Although he destroyed two True Body Machine God and swept through thousands of autonomous weapons of various models, he mostly relied on strategy rather than reckless attacks. Therefore, his losses were not significant, and he remained vigorous and energetic.

After settling the wounded, the Argo Heroes mustered their spirits and gathered around a table.

Samael, the initiator, sketched out the outlines and some buildings marked with Greek letters on the dust in just a few strokes.

In a short while, the entire Interstellar City Mountain Range came into view.

"Look, the abandoned workshop, this is where we are. It connects to the entire Interstellar City Mountain Range above and to the Sea God Temple in the center of the Atlantis continent below..."

To leave here safely, we'll wait until nightfall, then quietly sneak into the harbor, board the Argo, and once we successfully sail beyond the borders of the Ten Great Kingdom Islands, we'll be swimming in the open sea.

Samael tapped his fingers on the table and spoke eloquently, appearing confident and composed.

"Dude, you're amazing! You know how to avoid the external defenses of the Machine God Corridor; you know how to navigate the Altar Street and avoid the blind spots of those autonomous weapons; you even know this safe zone in the abandoned workshop perfectly... Could it be that you have Athena's blood flowing through your veins?"

Jason scratched his head, half surprised and half bewildered, and muttered a complaint.

The Argo Heroes around him nodded in agreement, their gazes strange.

Samael's face darkened, and he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"What a load of bull! That's because there's a mole among our people on the other side!"

"..."

This unexpected answer left the Argo Heroes somewhat puzzled.

"Still not going to cooperate? Without that mole leading the way, let alone entering the heavily guarded Interstellar City Mountain Range, climbing the Great Altar, and finally successfully rescuing Rhode, our ship at sea would have been sunk long ago."

The ancient snake narrowed its eyes slightly and hummed with amusement.

"You mean... Triton?!"

Everyone looked stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.

The Son of the Sea God, who has been constantly threatening to kill them and temporarily holds most of the real power in Atlantis, is actually an inside man who has been letting them off the hook all along. This is simply outrageous!

"Who else could it be but him?"

Samael looked up at the sky, a teasing smile on his face, sharing a tacit understanding with a certain acting master.

Looking down and around, the ancient snake saw that the crowd still seemed somewhat incredulous, so it sighed helplessly and patiently pointed out the details.

"Based on the anomalies in the Stormy Sea Region, the bronze matrix that suddenly appeared in the spatial arc, and the Area Annihilation Weapon are chasing us in the sea, it's obvious to anyone with a brain that the Atlantis' attitude towards us and outsiders is—better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free!"

Do you really think Triton is so hospitable that he'd warmly invite us to visit Atlantis?

Wake up! If he didn't use that excuse, that fleet would have blasted our ships to smithereens!

The group recalled the menacing gazes of the Atlantis guards and Olympus elites who had been watching them all along, and a sense of realization dawned on them.

"But wasn't he just trying to trick us into going to Atlantis so he could poison us?"

Circe raised her little hand, fully demonstrating the excellent student quality of asking questions when she didn't understand.

As soon as it opened its mouth, the silly bird, noticing the strange gazes directed at it from all around, began to regret its actions.

"In reality, given the vast disparity in naval strength, why would he need to go to such lengths? He could have simply taken prisoners, threatened those he needed to, and just pushed through."

Without this pretext of poisoning and capturing us alive, how could he have led us into the Interstellar City Mountain Range in a perfectly legitimate manner?

Otherwise, the outer light barrier alone, the defensive forces of the ten kingdom islands, and the Sea God Temple on the continent of Atlantis would be enough to give us a run for our money!

Samael, who had taught all sorts of unlucky and strange students, was quite patient and explained things carefully.

Circe grasped the key point, her face flushed, and she nodded hurriedly.

After a pause, Samael looked around and spoke in a deep voice.

"Actually, along the way, it seems that Triton was introducing the scenery to me, but the layout of the Kingdom of Ten Islands, the escape route of Atlantis, and even the safe hiding place in the Interstellar City Mountain Range were all included in it. If you don't believe me, go back and think about my conversation with him a few more times."

Everyone reviewed the fragments of information they had heard earlier, mentally replaying and comparing them, repeatedly pondering them, and finally realized that everything was indeed as described.

Triton, this cunning mole, revealed all of his own secrets right under the noses of the imperial guards.

He even mentioned the safety of the abandoned workshop.

"Then, Lord Theseus, was his abduction by us during the chaos pre-arranged with you?"

Clutching her staff, little Medea asked in a clear voice, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"There's no time to discuss this; everything depends on each person's interpretation."

Samael shook his head slightly and responded frankly.

The mermaid prince wasn't some naive sweetheart who placed all his hopes on outsiders. The banquet in the hall, rife with ulterior motives, was a test of vigilance and a trial to mark the next steps in their actions.

He surmised that if the Argonauts failed to notice anything amiss and were all knocked out by the poisoned wine, then Triton would probably use their freedom as leverage to force them to go to the Great Altar and retrieve Rhode.

In this way, Triton became the one who held the power of action.

Instead, they saw through the trick and turned the tables, so Triton was taken hostage and became an accomplice of the Argonauts.

No, how could the initial stages of rescuing Rhode have gone so smoothly?

However, neither side, caught up in the intense drama, anticipated that the Sea God Temple, responsible for guarding Atlantis, would, in his eagerness to gain merit, intervene as a third party and resort to the devastating weapon of the True Body Machine God.

In conclusion, instead of rescuing Rhode by taking Triton hostage and escaping on Argo amidst the "farewell" of Olympus soldiers, they nearly capsized the ship and were forced to hide here, waiting for an opportunity to escape.

Furthermore, the fact that the pursuers didn't catch up immediately after they jumped off the Great Altar is very likely because they were delayed by that Oni King.

Tsk, if that old acquaintance from the Sea God Temple knew who was the key to the failure of the operation, I wonder if he would roar in grief and indignation, "Enemy Olympus!"

"I have another question: why is Prince Triton helping us?"

At this moment, Atalanta was puzzled and frowned as she asked.

"Hey, I'm talking to your brother, aren't you going to explain things?"

Samael stared at the little head that was nestled in Atalanta's arms and rubbing against her, filled with resentment and rolling his eyes.

"Huh? My brother? Yes, he's so mean! He's always like that, he won't let me go out, and he won't play with me!"

The little mermaid raised her face, glared angrily at the blue-eyed girl, and scolded her without any politeness.

That's right, this little mermaid is also the biological offspring of the Sea King and the Sea Queen, and the younger sister of Prince Triton.

I knew it, it's another Greek family drama.

Samael sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation, muttering to himself before turning his gaze dark and brooding.

However, what would be worth sacrificing his daughter for Poseidon is probably not so simple.