Chapter 96 This is a fatal question

Mountains of Crete.

The reins were tightened, and the two galloping long-horned deer stopped.

Bird feathers fell, and a group of flying owls turned into human forms.

"Go ahead—"

"——How do you compare?"

The two goddesses, one holding a spear and the other drawing a bow, looked at each other from a distance, smiling and asking alternately, their gazes that almost struck lightning and sparks in the air focused on the center.

At this moment, a new referee who was caught in the middle couldn't help sweating on his forehead, as if he was in a small boat swaying back and forth between two huge waves.

Seeing their familiar posture, he now understood that these two virgin goddesses who seemed to be friendly on the surface were probably unwilling to submit to each other behind the scenes and had often competed openly and covertly.

Seeing that the tension between the two goddesses was getting stronger and stronger, they were walking towards him step by step.

Fearing that he would become an innocent victim if a fight broke out, Loen had no choice but to bite the bullet, raise his right hand, and was forced to assume the duties of a judge, asking questions cautiously.

"How about this, since we're hunting, let's see who catches more prey?"

"Okay." Athena nodded calmly.

"No problem!" Artemis said confidently.

After getting the approval of the goddesses, Loen gradually gained courage, coughed lightly, and pondered solemnly.

"However, during the hunting period, the types and quantities of prey often vary, making it difficult to make an accurate comparison. Therefore, the final result will be based on the weight of the prey obtained by each party. Whoever obtains the largest total weight of prey will win!"

The two goddesses who were "looking at each other affectionately" in the open space were slightly stunned when they heard the additional conditions, and they all looked at the referee who read out further rules.

Compared to weight?

interesting……

Artemis raised an eyebrow, a look of unexpected amusement on her face.

Athena on the side seemed to be thinking about something, and glanced playfully at the Spear of Victory in her hand.

Seeing that the two goddesses did not raise any objections to the newly added rules of the competition, Loen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

All the way from the city of Knossos to the mountains of Crete, he was thinking about how to break the deadlock in the face of this not-so-good development.

After repeated consideration, the newly appointed goddess referee came to the final conclusion.

——Fair, fair, and damn fair!

First of all, this is not a fatal subjective question like the one in the Golden Apple incident, which asked "Who is the most beautiful of the three goddesses?"

The results of hunting competitions are obviously objective. If you succeed, you succeed; if you fail, you fail. The winner is almost clear at a glance.

As long as he is fair and neither party can find fault with him, and if the two goddesses have some moral integrity, he will basically be able to pass the test smoothly.

But before that, I need to formulate relatively fair rules of the game.

After confirming the overall plan again, Loen took a deep breath and solemnly announced the details.

During hunting, there are several things to note:

First, in terms of geography, the highest point of Mount Crete is used as the boundary, one side is to the south and the other side is to the north. Prey obtained beyond the range will be invalidated, and the ownership of the hunting ground will be determined by drawing lots.

Secondly, in terms of time, the competition will officially end at sunset and both sides will stop all hunting activities. I will be responsible for counting the weight of all prey and declaring the final winner.

Third, this competition is mainly for competition, and the use of divine power is prohibited. All prey obtained by divine power will not be counted in the review..."

As the rules were read out one by one, the two goddesses listened and nodded slightly.

Although it is a bit cumbersome, it undoubtedly makes the game more fair and there are almost no loopholes.

If the competition is conducted according to the rules, the final result will be the same whether it is reviewed by the referee himself, a farmer, or Zeus himself.

But when everything was ready, Loen still felt unsafe, so he added a caveat.

"The above are the general rules. Do you have any objections before the game?"

"No."

"fair enough."

Artemis and Athena nodded in succession and unanimously approved this set of competition procedures.

But when he saw the two goddesses holding the tasseled spears and golden bows and arrows that were shining with cold light, when the time came, Loen couldn't help but blink and made cautious suggestions.

"I think that for the sake of fairness, the people who make the rules and those who are responsible for judging should be divided into two. Here, I recommend King Minos, who has always been known for his fairness and strict law enforcement..."

Although it is somewhat unfair to push the old man out to bear the brunt of the crisis and share the pressure with him.

But, he had made contributions to Crete and shed blood for the Minoans!

Even if it's just a favor, the old man should come and help out.

However, just as Loen was trying to make up for his unscrupulous behavior of selling out his teammates, the two goddesses shook their heads in unison.

"No--"

"——It's you."

Seeing that he couldn't shirk this task, Loen could only accept his fate and took out two prepared wooden sticks and let the two goddesses draw them randomly.

As a result, Athena went south and Artemis went north.

The two goddesses, one holding a spear and the other drawing a bow, stand at their respective starting points, ready to go.

Sensing the vague tension between the two sides, Loen swallowed and gave a low reminder.

"You two, friendship comes first, competition comes second..."

However, this earned him the two goddesses' gloomy gazes.

Knowing that the arrow was on the string and that what happened next was no longer under his control, Loen had no choice but to honestly perform the duties of a judge and toss a piece of Zeus' gold in his hand slightly upwards.

“Ding-dong~!”

As the crisp sound of gold coins falling to the ground was heard, the two goddesses rushed towards their respective hunting grounds like arrows.

Looking at the two figures disappearing into the distance, galloping through the dense forests, streams and valleys, killing prey big and small cleanly and neatly, Loen shook his head, sat at the starting point of Mount Crete, patted the head of the golden retriever beside him, and muttered to himself with emotion.

"Alas, woman..."

As the judge waited quietly, time passed and the competition between the two goddesses became more and more intense.

One of them is a fighting genius, and the other is the master of the mountains and forests. Even without using divine power, they can easily kill their way through the entire Crete Mountains with their strong physical fitness.

With the arrival of the two evil stars, the wild beasts and monsters in the Crete Mountains were in bad luck and were wiped out one by one.

The bigger the person, the more they will focus their attention.

After all, the competition results are not based on piecework, but on weight.

So, Sister Ya, you must understand my painstaking efforts...

At this time, Loen, who was watching from far away on the top of the mountain, looked at Athena who was killing people in great numbers and muttered silently in his heart.

Although he needed to play the role of a fair and impartial judge, he could still tell which of the two sisters he needed to hold more tightly.

Therefore, even if he could not openly take sides, he had to show his position a little in order to have an explanation in the future.

In fact, choosing the competition rules based on weight rather than piecework was a convenience he provided to Athena.

If the number of prey is compared, Artemis, who is good at shooting, obviously has the advantage.

But if you want to suppress the divine power, it depends on whose prey is heavier. The gun with greater lethality against large prey is obviously superior.

The saying "three arrows are not as good as one sword, three swords are not as good as one gun" is a similar principle.

These artificially created favorable conditions are the greatest help that Loen can give to Athena in a fair and just manner.

In order to be able to eat the offerings from the temple in the future, he has made serious efforts.

Now, he just hoped that the goddess of wisdom could understand his painstaking efforts and not blame him no matter he won or lost.

Time flies and the sun sets.

As the competition is coming to an end, the competition between the two goddesses has entered a white-hot stage. In order to win, they even started to use some tricks allowed by the rules.

For example, Artemis, through her hunting god talent, called on the hound troops to cooperate and conduct large-scale outflanking;

Athena used her original aura to command the birds in the mountains to frequently send messages, expanding her vision of the entire map...

The judge in charge of the review, while sighing at the groundbreaking attempts of the two goddesses, complained about Olympus's unhealthy family tradition of not following the rules.

And when the last ray of sunlight fell below the horizon, the hunting competition between the goddesses finally came to an end.

Lorne, who was responsible for the final decision, ended a day of slacking off, stood up with a serious look on his face, and began to count and weigh the prey of both parties.

As the God of War, Athena prefers to challenge more difficult monsters, so most of the prey she harvests are large. Although the number is small, the total weight reaches more than 10,000 kilograms.

But as a hunting goddess, Artemis was obviously more professional. Not only did she choose large and medium-sized prey that were easy to hunt, but most of the species she chose lived in groups. Among them, hundreds of demon pigs whose nests had been destroyed were lying on the ground in a row. The scene of more than a dozen generations of grandparents and grandchildren gathered together was a spectacular sight.

Loen wondered if all the demon pigs in the Crete Mountains had been killed by this hunting goddess.

After several weighings and calculations, the total weight of prey harvested by Artemis in one day reached more than 20,000 kilograms.

The final result is self-evident.

Almost at the moment she knew the answer, Athena's expression became visibly gloomy.

Loen, who was responsible for announcing the verdict, swallowed and felt a huge pressure.

Should I be more obviously biased?

He was a little hesitant.

Taking into account possible accidents, Loen also kept it in mind. For example, the winning criterion mentioned in the rules is "the weight of prey harvested by each party."

This is a common tactic used by so-called unscrupulous merchants.

——All rules are subject to the sole interpretation of the organizer.

If Artemis and his thirteen hounds were each counted as a participating unit, then the total weight of 20,000 kilograms would be divided into fourteen parts.

In this way, Athena, who seemed to be fighting alone, could immediately turn the tables.

But doing so would make the bias too deliberate and obvious.

Moreover, strictly speaking, Athena also mobilized birds to help her in the hunting process. If you really think about it, she was not clean.

Even if his butt was crooked to the sky and he could please Athena, Artemis would definitely bear a grudge against him.

In short, the risks and benefits are seriously disproportionate.

Do you want to take the risk?

Just as Loen was hesitating, he caught a glimpse of Athena's hand loosely grasping the Spear of Victory. Her eyes flashed and she made a solemn announcement.

"Goddess Artemis wins this competition!"

As the result of the competition was settled, Artemis' face was filled with a satisfied smile, and her eyes looked towards a certain "fair and just" judge, her gaze revealing a hint of approval and appreciation.

On the contrary, Athena's expression was not so good.

However, under the watchful eyes of the public, the goddess of wisdom still maintained basic decency, and with a stern face gave the winner enough chances to win.

"You win, and you can use any hunting ground in Crete at will for three months."

Then, Athena turned her head to look at the judge beside her and snorted coldly.

"During this period, you will accompany her on her travels and hunts!"

After saying this, the goddess of wisdom who had forced herself to take the lead glared at someone coldly, and walked towards the back of the valley without looking back, obviously intending not to interfere in the matter between the two people anymore.

"Please gather up the prey. I'll go take a look..."

Seeing that the situation was not good, Loen first gave Artemis an apologetic smile, and then hurriedly chased in the direction of Athena.

As the winner, the hunting goddess generously expressed her understanding and stayed comfortably to clean up the mess left over from the hunt.

A quarter of an hour later, after chasing all the way, Loen finally found the goddess of wisdom who seemed to be sulking by the pond at the back of the valley.

Hearing the noise behind her, Athena, who looked unhappy, turned around and snorted coldly.

"What are you chasing for? Shouldn't you be staying with Artemis?"

"I just accepted your order and was responsible for accompanying her. I didn't sell myself to her."

Lorne rolled his eyes and retorted in the same unpleasant tone.

"Of course, if you really want to do this, I have nothing to say."

"You were the one who decided the outcome, yet you're still trying to make excuses!"

Hearing these remarks, Athena couldn't help but laugh in anger, and her eyes became even more displeased.

"That's not right..." However, Luo En spoke faintly, with a meaningful smile on his face, "This is obviously the result you want."

(End of this chapter)