"Alright."
After a moment of silence, Freya responded with a slightly weary tone.
"Goddess..."
Ottar seemed to want to comfort her.
Freya, however, raised her hand to stop him.
Freya followed Ryou to a secluded area.
"Is there something you want to discuss with me alone?"
Freya asked faintly.
If it had been a few days ago, being alone with the holder of the brilliant soul she admired, Freya would have tried her best to tease him, making him submit to her.
But with her alter ego kidnapped, everything felt dull and uninteresting to her.
Ryou grabbed her shoulders, looking into her eyes with a pure gaze, and promised word by word, "I will bring Syr back unscathed, I promise."
Without waiting for her response, he released her shoulders, turned around, and walked out with firm steps.
To repay kindness and seek vengeance has always been one of his life creeds.
Whether intentional or not, Freya had broken into the arena during his darkest hour, allowing him to escape. Afterward, she also helped him directly or indirectly.
Ryou never mentioned this gratitude to anyone, but he kept it in his heart.
Now that Freya's familia was at its most critical moment, even though Syr had nothing to do with him, he would still extend a helping hand.
The Loki and Freya familias were indeed the twin kings of Orario, although this title seemed somewhat undeserved now.
But at least their efficiency and foundation were second to none. Soon, an elite team of fifty members was assembled.
The lowest level among them was LV4, and more than 10 members were LV6.
Many of them had participated in the previous operation and were seriously injured.
However, with the two familias' lavish investments, various potent healing potions were poured into them, healing most of their severe injuries.
As for the side effects of using such potions, like shortened lifespans, they couldn't worry about that now.
Ryou didn't waste words, mounted his warhorse, and led the joint forces of the two familias. They followed the scouts sent by Freya's familia, rushing towards the Shreme Old Castle Ruins.
The sight of fifty or sixty riders galloping out of the city, leaving a trail of dust, was rare and spectacular in Orario.
Many passersby stopped curiously to watch. When some sharp-eyed people spotted familiar faces in the team, they couldn't help but exclaim.
"Look, that's the Sword Princess from the Loki familia!"
"That's the ultimate weapon of the Freya familia!"
"Captain Finn!?"
"What happened in the past few days? This is already the second joint operation of the Loki and Freya familias!"
Curiosity is an instinct of any intelligent race.
For the ordinary citizens of Orario, most members of this team were famous enough to cause a sensation in the entire city.
Now, seeing them forming a team and rushing out of the city, people's minds were filled with various speculations.
Among the crowd at the city gate, there was a figure wearing a hooded cloak.
When she saw the joint forces galloping away, a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of her lips, hidden under the hood's shadow.
...
Fifty kilometers away from Orario, the ruins of an abandoned town appeared on the horizon.
The ruins of an instinct, a typical ancient town relic.
The most notable feature of such ancient ruins is that they are far more solid and grand than people imagine.
The towering twenty-meter-high city walls, with walkways wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side, seemed not to be defending against smaller human-sized enemies, but against larger, more terrifying predators.
In the dark ages before the gods descended to the lower world, people had to deal with numerous fearsome monsters. They had no choice but to build tall, sturdy walls to guard against these colossal beasts.
If it weren't for human intelligence combined with the leadership of powerful ancient heroes, humanity would have long been wiped out by monsters.
Even so, humans at that time could only build lofty, solid walls to barely protect their lives from the claws and fangs of monsters.
They were like livestock kept by monsters.
The ruins of Shreme Old Castle Ruins are a product of such a dark era.
However, the originally desolate ruins were now bustling with activity.
A large number of soldiers in uniform gathered within the ruins, patrolling back and forth.
Many scantily clad slaves were either transporting stones or repairing defensive structures.
Overseers with whips in hand watched them coldly. If any slaves slowed down even a bit, they were immediately whipped, leaving their skin torn and bleeding.
On the watchtower built into the city wall, which was nearly the highest point of the entire ruins, two slender figures could be vaguely seen.
One of them was Scorpio, dressed in revealing leather armor that exposed much of her skin to the air.
She twirled a dagger in her hand with a bored expression and glanced at her companion.
"Hey~ if we're here, why do we need these weaklings getting in the way?"
The figure beside Scorpio was an elven girl in lightweight leather armor, carrying a massive golden bow almost as tall as she was.
"Using a large number of soldiers as a barrier not only provides all-around warning but also wears down the enemy's strength."
The figure always had a sunny smile on her face, but her words were cold and ruthless.
"Tch~ what a hassle. What if the enemy sends a mage to attack the town with large-scale magic?"
Scorpio pouted.
"That's why I'm here," the elven girl gently slid her fingers across the golden bowstring.
"Yes, yes~ the great Sagittarius whose bow can shoot the sun."
Scorpio teased absentmindedly.
Facing her companion's tease, Sagittarius smiled slightly, but a confident glint flashed deep in her eyes.
In terms of combat prowess, she wasn't the strongest among the Zodiacs, but when it came to range and accuracy, if she claimed to be second, no one in the familia would dare claim first.
With her archery skills, she could easily kill a mage from a distance beyond the mage's maximum casting range.
Moreover, with her LV7 strength, apart from the two LV8 monsters Pisces and Virgo in the familia, no mage could withstand her sniping and complete a large-scale magic spell capable of destroying a town.
Before that could happen, her arrows would have already pierced the enemy's throat.
If the enemy sent mages to attack the town with large-scale magic, it would be a suicidal mission.
This was something the familia's number one archer, Sagittarius, firmly believed.
But sometimes, fate loves to deliver a harsh slap to the confident.
"Huh? What's going on? Why does it feel like the sky is getting brighter?"
Scorpio murmured curiously.
Hearing this, Sagittarius instinctively glanced at the sky and her expression changed dramatically.
"Run!"
Sagittarius grabbed the bewildered Scorpio and leaped off the watchtower.
They landed and quickly hid in the shadows of the city wall, under the puzzled gazes of numerous soldiers.
Just after they took cover, divine punishment descended from the sky!
Countless arrows of light rained down, covering most of the ruins.
Faced with this miraculous scene, many soldiers stood in place, dumbfounded.
Only a few quick-witted soldiers reacted swiftly, either dropping to the ground or seeking cover. However, these actions only bought them a few more seconds of life.
The arrows of light fell from the sky, piercing through bodies and creating clouds of blood mist.
The soldiers and slaves standing in place were immediately turned into sieves by the rain of light arrows.
The prone soldiers followed suit, and many hiding behind cover were also struck down, as the sharp arrows of light pierced through the obstacles and killed them on the spot.
Rivers of blood flowed from the mangled bodies, making the entire ruins look as if it were carpeted in crimson.
The range and density of the light arrows were terrifying, as if a million archers surrounded the ruins, constantly firing.
In less than a minute, over seven to eight thousand soldiers of the Rakia Kingdom's army were dead or wounded. This was already more than half of the total number of soldiers deployed by the Rakia Kingdom.
The expensive, sturdy armor and so-called elite troops became a joke.
The enemy had yet to show themselves, and more than half of the soldiers were already dead or injured.
The screams and splattering of blood vividly illustrated the concept of equality under the light arrows.
Two minutes later, the rain of arrows gradually stopped, and the Rakia Kingdom's army had completely lost its fighting capability.
Pain and the fear of an invincible enemy utterly broke the so-called elite troops trained personally by the war god Ares.
Even if faced with ten times the number of enemies, this army would have the courage to fight, but against divine punishment, no soldier dared to resist.
The one responsible for this glorious result was Atalanta's Noble Phantasm, Phoebus Catastrophe: Complaint Message on the Arrow.
Using the Tauropolos, a bow bestowed by the guardian goddess Artemis, she shot arrows that prayed for the protection of the sun god Apollo and the moon goddess Artemis.
The god responded to this plea, granting Atalanta protection in the form of a disaster for the enemy. Arrows of light rained down from the sky, launching a wide-ranging attack on all.
Of course, the prayer for the protection of the sun god Apollo and the moon goddess Artemis was more of an ancient ceremonial symbol rather than requiring actual help from the twin gods.
Turning back time by ten minutes:
A group of more than fifty people dismounted from their horses ten kilometers away from the ruins, then stealthily approached within five kilometers on foot.
With the keen eyesight of adventurers, it was easy to see that the ruins were as heavily guarded as a fortress.
"Finn, do you need me to use large-scale magic?"
Riveria asked.
Finn habitually stroked his chin, about to agree, when Ryou interjected.
"I advise against it. If you don't want an arrow through your head, you'd better stay put."
Hearing Ryou's blunt words, Riveria frowned slightly. If it were the ill-tempered Bete, he would have jumped up on the spot. But the calm Riveria chose to listen to his explanation without reacting.
"If I were the commander, I would arrange for a sharpshooter, just waiting for the enemy's mage to get close, and then shoot her head off."
The reason Ryou kindly reminded the Loki Familia was because of Ais.
Such a considerate and capable kouhai, he naturally didn't want to see her sad.
Ryou's reasoning was sound and convincing, but out of habit, Riveria still looked to Finn, clearly seeking his opinion.
Finn pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"He makes sense. We can't take that risk."
Finn then gave Ryou a friendly smile. As the leader of the group, Finn was skilled in dealing with people.
However, some individuals did not understand how to accept kindness.
"If that's not going to work, then why don't you tell us what we should do!"
The silver-haired werewolf Bete angrily jumped out, stretching his neck and glaring provocatively at Ryou.
After Ryou had taken Ais away, members of the Loki Familia, though furious, managed to maintain basic restraint. There were, however, two exceptions: Loki, the yuri-obsessed goddess, and Bete, the werewolf who admired Ais.
Bete saw him as a rival in love and constantly targeted him.
Faced with such an ungrateful individual, Ryou didn't hold back. He loudly addressed Finn.
"Hey, Finn! Keep your dog under control!"
"What did you just say!?"
Bete's eyes immediately turned bloodshot, and his fists clenched with a cracking sound, clearly ready to fight.
Unexpectedly, someone else stepped in.
With her golden hair shining, Ais, dressed in light armor resembling blooming rose petals, silently positioned herself in front of Ryou.
"Bete, stand down."
Her tone was as calm and emotionless as always.
But for Bete, who admired her, her words were like a fatal arrow piercing through him.
"Ais... what did you say... you must be mistaken."
Bete's face displayed a look of disbelief and shock.
"This guy is just an outsider! We are your comrades, aren't we!"
In the end, Bete almost shouted. If not for the five-kilometer distance to the ruins, his shouting would have alerted the people inside.
"Not anymore."
Her calm words were like the coldest wind, extinguishing Bete's last glimmer of hope.
"Fine, stay with your new comrade then! You don't need an outsider like me for this mission anyway!"
With that, Bete turned and walked away.
"Bete!"
Finn quickly called out to stop him, but this time, Bete, who usually followed Finn's orders, did not look back.
The other members of the Loki Familia stood by silently, their faces showing complex emotions as they gazed at the now somewhat unfamiliar former comrade.
Of course, most of them directed angry looks at Ryou.
To them, Ais, who was a bit naive and adorable, must have been bewitched by him! Unintentionally, Ryou took the blame on Ais's behalf.
After the members of the Loki Familia had walked away, Ryou smiled wryly at Ais.
"You didn't have to do that..."
Ryou understood why Ais did it; she was drawing a clear line between her old comrades and herself in front of him.
"They need to accept reality eventually."
"What reality?"
Ryou asked instinctively.