Since they knew this was a habitual fraudster, Lorne and Thetis naturally would not easily believe that he was being so kindhearted.
The reason they had deliberately exposed themselves to Sisyphus after the god of sleep, Hypnos, left was not simply to exchange pleasantries or watch a show.
On one hand, they truly needed a guide to lead them out of Tartarus.
Finding someone in this desolate wasteland who was relatively familiar with the Underworld and who would not expose them had a probability lower than winning the lottery.
Not taking the chance to pull him into their group would be an insult to Sisyphus's enthusiastic performance.
On the other hand, someone had to take the blame for disrupting the order of the Underworld.
Sisyphus was very suitable for that role.
Moreover, judging by the amount of hatred he had accumulated, if they encountered Underworld pursuers they could not deal with along the way, they only needed to shout, "Sisyphus is here!" and throw this guy out first.
It would certainly be more effective than any type of meat shield.
One of them played the villain while the other played the good cop.
After successfully trapping Sisyphus in their scheme, they slightly lowered their guard and took the initiative to show some goodwill.
One of them stabilized the boulder while the other worked on breaking the chains on his body.
Lorne tugged at the chains made of orichalcum before his gaze swept across the somewhat familiar runes engraved on them, and his heart finally settled.
Fortunately, Sisyphus was only a demigod.
There was no need to use a top-tier divine artifact as a restraining tool.
Otherwise, even if he wanted to pull this guy into their group, he would only be able to say there was nothing he could do.
After confirming that destroying the thing would not be too difficult, Lorne completely relaxed.
While analyzing the spell patterns on the chains, he asked with interest.
"By the way, why mock the gods? With your intelligence, you should know the consequences of such disrespect."
"How can that be called disrespect? I am the most devout person there is!"
Hearing this, Sisyphus protested angrily with a wronged expression.
"Look, I merely used the deception and cunning that the gods granted to humanity. The more successful I am, the more it proves how excellent their creation is.
The more excellent I am, the greater the achievements of the gods become, and the more noble their existence is!
So, you see, I was simply expressing my highest respect for those great creators of Olympus in a special way.
Not only did they fail to appreciate it, but they even threw me into hell for punishment. They are truly too narrow-minded!"
Lorne froze for a moment when he heard this and could not help but look at the talkative fraudster a few more times.
He seemed to have said something similar when he met Athena...
Then Lorne patted the dark boulder in front of Sisyphus.
The look in his eyes carried a meaningful tone.
"Being tortured day after day by this meaningless labor, do you regret it?"
Sisyphus's argument suddenly stopped, but the handsome face still bloomed with a cheerful smile.
"Is it really meaningless? I actually feel fulfilled and proud. As long as I am here, there will always be something to do.
And in my eyes, what I am pushing is not just a simple boulder, but a monument to humanity breaking its shackles and mocking the gods.
This is the greatest achievement of my life!"
Hearing his words, Lorne looked at Sisyphus for a long time before suddenly bursting into hearty laughter.
"Interesting, interesting. Then your monument will be taken by me!"
In an instant, the outline of the Spear of Nation Creation appeared in Lorne's hand.
Its faintly glowing blade swept forward, and with a sharp crack, the shackles on the prisoner's feet snapped apart.
At the same time, the dark boulder shattered and collapsed.
Hundreds of glowing patterns floated and flickered, turning into a red and black beam of light that shot straight into the sky.
"Buzz!"
Ripples spread outward along with the humming of ether.
The gray, black death aura around them churned like boiling water.
The sounds of bones grinding, undead wailing, and hunting dogs growling rose one after another.
"They are coming after us. Run!"
Seeing the situation, the newly freed Sisyphus immediately shouted.
Then he turned into a gust of wind, leaving Lorne and Thetis behind as he ran forward at full speed.
As everyone knew, when escaping for your life, you did not need to be the fastest. You only needed to be faster than your teammates.
And he was not only the King of Corinth, but also the son of the god of storms and wind, Aeolus.
Another name for their family was the Riders of the Wind.
Therefore, Sisyphus had complete confidence in his speed.
Unless...
"Whoosh!"
Just as Sisyphus was feeling pleased with himself, a fierce gust of wind swept past him, instantly freezing the smile on his face.
Looking at the partner ahead who was carrying a burden yet still far ahead of him, Sisyphus cursed in his heart.
That bitch, the Goddess of Luck, really made me run into someone from the lineage of Hermes with divine speed...
"What are you standing there for? Lead the way!"
Lorne glanced back at the temporary guide whose expression kept changing, deliberately slowed down slightly, maintaining only a few steps of distance ahead, before kindly reminding him.
"If you do not run now, those things you mentioned seem like they are about to arrive..."
Hearing this, Sisyphus shuddered, forced an expression on his face that looked even worse than crying, then pushed the divine power of the wind god in his body to the limit and continued the desperate escape.
At the same time, the death mist surged across the wilderness.
One after another, the Underworld patrol spirits formed and let out sharp screams.
Waving their translucent claws, they surrounded the escaped prisoner and the two intruders.
The land of the Underworld beneath their feet trembled and hummed.
Pale skeletons crawled out from the dark soil. Death aura formed black armor around them, and white bones turned into blades and spears, forming ranks and advancing toward the center, attempting to eliminate the intruders.
"Its origin is light, its power is flame. Judgment with the sword, punishment with fire!"
A solemn chant echoed across the gray wilderness of death.
The golden wheel appearing behind Lorne rotated, and its pointer moved to the sixth slot.
"I command you. Restore the light!"
As he rushed forward, Lorne invoked the authority of flame and chanted the sacred words, then curled his fingers and grasped forward as thousands of cracks of light appeared across the gray wilderness, and blazing white flames burst out from them.
In an instant, the Underworld patrol spirits and skeleton guards along the path, together with the surrounding death aura, were completely vaporized, dissolving into wisps of smoke and drifting away with the wind.
"Hiss!"
Seeing this scene, Sisyphus gasped in shock and stared at the temporary partner in front of him.
With a single attack, he wiped out dozens of Underworld patrol spirits and skeleton guards.
What exactly was this guy?
Fortunately, he had not done anything excessive earlier.
Otherwise, his small body would probably have been torn apart by that man.
Just as Sisyphus was secretly celebrating, a deep voice sounded beside his ear.
"Where is the exit?"
"Up ahead. The ferry crossing.
The Underworld is surrounded by five rivers of the dead, and the roads are too heavily guarded to pass through. But we can travel through the waterways to reach wherever we want to go!"
Sisyphus quickly answered. Intimidated by the attack just now, he no longer dared to hide anything or bargain.
"Good..."
Lorne nodded with satisfaction.
Then, using the lingering power of flame, he traced forward with his fingers.
Buzz!
In an instant, Hermes script, Titan runes, linear letters, and many other mysterious symbols that would drive magicians mad with excitement gathered from the remaining flames, then turned into a waterfall of light that spread in every direction, covering the ground and illuminating the sky like ordinary cabbages scattered everywhere.
Immediately, a pure white path of light connected straight to the ferry crossing of the River of the Dead.
The Underworld patrol spirits and skeleton guards that regenerated from the death aura and climbed out of the earth were all kept outside the path.
Sisyphus looked at the gray-black Underworld soil exposed before him and at the countless patrol spirits and skeleton guards outside the white path of light, his evaluation of the collaborator ahead rising several more levels.
He even knows magic?
Although he had no idea what background this guy had, one thing was certain.
He absolutely could not be provoked.
"It is right there. Follow me!"
In order to show his value, Sisyphus quickly pointed toward the ferry crossing of the River of the Dead and went ahead to lead the way.
Lorne picked up Thetis and followed decisively.
Almost there!
Seeing the outline of the ferry crossing by the River of the Dead becoming clearer, Sisyphus grew extremely excited and was about to turn around to celebrate.
Unexpectedly, the temporary partner behind him suddenly kicked him, sending him flying more than ten meters away and almost into the churning River of the Dead.
"You..."
Furious and shocked, Sisyphus was just about to condemn his ruthless teammate.
Bang!
A massive black shadow with three heads, a bronze collar around its neck, and a body as strong as a bull burst out of the death mist, shattering the path of light and lunging to bite the spot where he had been standing moments ago.
"Woof!"
After missing its attack, the monster growled and raised its three heads.
Crystal clear saliva slid from its pale white fangs, and its six dark red eyes stared straight at the escaped prisoner near the riverbank.
That two-legged creature over there smelled delicious.
At the same time, after seeing the true appearance of the monster before him, Sisyphus felt his scalp go numb and cursed in his heart.
Damn it. The three-headed hound of hell, Cerberus!
That stupid guard dog actually chased us here!
(End of chapter)