Zongman: The wrong person on the ground, double Shenwei at the beginning

Ais, returning from her workout, walked briskly along the simple-looking sky corridor overlooking the central courtyard, a hint of confusion and doubt in her eyes.

"We need to tell Loki about this..."

Loki's personal room is located on the top floor of the central tower, which is surrounded by other towers.

Ais climbed the entire spiral staircase of the tower, arrived at the room, and gently knocked on the door.

No one responded.

Ais pounded on the door again.

A series of chaotic clanging and banging sounds suddenly came from the room.

Then, Loki's slightly slurred, clearly sleepy voice rang out.

"Hiccup... Who is it, disturbing my peaceful sleep so early in the morning? That's so unethical!"

Ais thought for a moment, then, without waiting any longer, pushed open the heavy wooden door and went inside.

The room was crammed with all sorts of odds and ends, as messy as a junkyard.

Most of the wines were stored in small cellars in the corners of the rooms.

Bottles of all colors and shapes were carelessly tossed around every corner of the room, along with many half-empty bottles of wine.

On the table were what appeared to be a rather expensive quill pen, and white crystals with a faint iridescent hue.

Old shoes and hats hung on the wall, along with mountains of heavy books and sharp daggers; even the large bed was almost buried under clutter.

Even if there are one or two rare items mixed in, it doesn't seem surprising.

Loki, who was trying to hide a bottle of wine, was startled. When he saw that it was Ais who came in, he breathed a long sigh of relief and drunkenly climbed back onto the bench.

"Oh, it's Ais."

Loki pulled out another bottle of wine and took a big, satisfying gulp.

"A bottle of wine every morning, and the gods will be happy without a care in the world~"

Her face was flushed, and she waved to Ais.

"Come on, Ais, you should try some too. This is a rare, limited-edition Somo sake!"

"I'm a little drunk, hehe, let's..."

Clang——!

Ais silently drew the longsword from its sheath halfway, the crisp metallic scraping sound echoing in the room.

"Ah, I'm sober now, I'm fine." Loki sat up straight instantly, looking serious.

The strong smell of alcohol made Ais wrinkle her nose uncomfortably.

"Loki, something big has happened in Orario, concerning the goddess Hestia whom we met yesterday."

Loki nonchalantly took another small sip of his drink and mumbled something indistinctly.

"Huh? That little dwarf? Could it be that she couldn't find a place to stay and was kicked out of the guild while wandering the streets?"

"No, she has already established her own familia..."

"Huh, so fast? But it's okay, no one's going to want a newborn little clan anyway..."

"Rhodes, accompanied by three girls, announced that he had switched allegiance to the Hestia Familia."

"puff--!!!"

Loki unleashed a mouthful of priceless divine wine, spraying it out like a high-pressure water jet.

Fortunately, Ais had anticipated this and dodged in time with a quick movement.

Loki, heartbroken, looked at the divine wine spilled on the walls and floor, and instantly knelt down, weeping bitterly.

"Ugh! This bite is worth a fortune! This is an unparalleled delicacy, one of the most rare in the world!"

Loki even tried to stick out his tongue to lick the wine stains clean.

Ais couldn't bear to watch any longer and pulled her longsword out a few inches more.

Loki froze, instantly becoming obedient.

She stood up, scratched her long, crimson hair in frustration, and finally dropped her joking attitude, frowning.

"So, that little dwarf stole Astraea's boyfriend? How did she manage to do something even we wouldn't dare to do?"

Ais remembered the news she had "accidentally" overheard.

"No, it seems that Rhodes voluntarily applied for the conversion, and the goddess Astraea also supported his decision."

"Oh, right, I also saw that the Gubernian Familia has accepted a commission and is building the Hestia Familia's base, right next to the Garden of Stars."

Loki walked to the window, his crimson eyes gazing in the direction of the Court of Stars, and stroked his chin as he quickly made his judgment.

"As for that shorty having some extraordinary personal charm, we don't believe in such nonsense. The most likely explanation is... that kid Rhodes wants to do something that's inconvenient to do in the name of the 'Justice' Familia."

"That kid...is he trying to stir up some big news this time...?"

Ais didn't quite understand these intricacies, but she continued to recount her observations in a calm tone.

"On my way back, I also saw that the Hestia Familia had already started recruiting new members."

"Although many people have doubts about the new goddess, many more adventurers are signing up because of Rhodes' reputation."

Loki paused for a moment, then suddenly realized what he was doing, clapped his hands, and showed a shocked expression on his face.

"That little dwarf! He's actually serious with us?!"

She bit her nails and paced anxiously around the room like an ant on a hot plate.

"Damn it, although we have a lot of confidence in Finn and the others! But that guy Rhodes just doesn't understand anything... Do we really have to serve that little dwarf tea and water?"

"No! No! This absolutely cannot be allowed to happen!"

Loki burst out of the door with a bang and shouted at the top of his lungs into the empty corridor.

"Fin—!"

"Immediately issue a recruitment notice! Our Loki Familia also needs to recruit new members!!!"

She clenched her fist with great force, her face burning with fighting spirit.

"Rhodes is one thing! But I refuse to believe that we can't outcompete a newly formed familia like yours in the field of recruiting complete newcomers!"

Seeing that Loki had already run off to find Finn and the others in a huff, Ais tilted her head, blinked, and walked down the spire again.

As I was leaving, I ran into Alicia, who had just returned.

"Huh? Ais, didn't you already finish your workout at this time? Why are you going out again?"

Ais responded with her pure, clear golden eyes.

"I... am going to have a friendly match with my friend."

Alicia was puzzled.

Ais... and friends outside the Familia?

Just as I was about to ask another question, Ais's figure had already turned into a gentle breeze and disappeared at the end of the street.

"..."

Ais walked briskly down the street, and eventually, she started running.

As she passed the familiar French fritter stand, she remained expressionless, and with immense willpower, tried to run straight to it.

A moment later, however, she ran back with a conflicted expression and bought several servings of steaming hot potato balls.

"...Yes, this is etiquette taught by Riveria. When visiting someone's home, you should bring a gift."

Having convinced herself of this, Ais stuffed a potato ball into her mouth, squinted her eyes happily, and then continued to head towards the Garden of Stars at full speed.

"Oh, you're here so quickly?"

The one who opened the door for Ais was a sleepy-eyed Noin.

"Here you are, a gift." Ais handed over a bag of potato balls in a serious manner.

Noin blinked, looked at the potato balls Ais handed her, and smiled as she took them.

"Thank you, I was just hungry."

Ais's expression remained indifferent, but upon closer inspection, a barely perceptible smile could be seen at the corner of her mouth.

"I have completed Rhodes's request, and now I'm here to spar with them."

That's right. Given Ais's personality, she would never seriously and deliberately tell Loki about their chance encounter.

The incident began when Rhodes accompanied Liu and Che Huiyi to practice swordsmanship on the city wall early this morning, where they unexpectedly encountered Ais, who was also training alone there.

Chapter 108 The girls who join the new familia, and Apollo's attempt to steal them away (Please subscribe and vote!)

At that makeshift training ground.

Ais was instantly captivated by the two men's fluid and incredibly swift swordsmanship, a style that was both similar to and completely different from her own.

Her heart, yearning to become stronger, began to beat wildly and uncontrollably. She couldn't help but show herself and ask to join the sparring session, wanting to become even stronger!

So Rhodes used the condition of "passing on a message to Loki" in exchange for the right for Ais to come and spar with them at any time in the future.

Ais didn't understand, but in order to become stronger, she agreed without thinking.

Rhodes's idea was actually quite simple.

Even with his fame, the foundation of the Hestia Familia was still too shallow, and it was impossible to attract truly reliable talent in a short period of time.

Moreover, since the people he attracts are all girls, and they will inevitably be bound to him through a contract in the end.

This reduces the number of options available.

Rhodes originally planned to advertise at the guild, but after meeting Ais, he immediately thought of a simpler and more efficient method.

—Marketing by extortion.

If Loki's sense of urgency and competitiveness are aroused, and she starts recruiting new members at the same time, the drama of the two major clans vying for people will surely ignite the passion of the entire Orario.

Meanwhile, the Hestia Familia, the object of their competition, will instantly become famous throughout the entire labyrinth city.

Rhodes wasn't worried about Finn and his men seeing through his plan, since it was a risk-free business anyway.

Besides, given that the two goddesses made that bet yesterday, and considering his influence, Rhode really didn't believe Loki could sit still.

He naturally informed the girls in the clan about his plan.

At this moment, while inwardly cursing Rhodes, "He even uses such a cute little girl, what a devil," Norin led the way for Ais.

In the training field, Che Huiyi sat to the side resting.

Upon hearing footsteps, Ryu, fully prepared, suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze sharp as lightning, and met Ais's eyes.

"Fiora".

Ais slowly drew the longsword from her waist; the sword of despair gleamed coldly in the morning light.

"blast."

Ryu gripped the wooden sword with both hands, assuming a fighting stance.

“This is our first official battle, isn’t it? Rhodes said our fighting styles are quite similar.”

"Although it might seem like bullying, I will give it my all. I want to see who is stronger between us."

Like a mirror image, Ais bent slightly, her sword blade pointing directly at Liu.

"Then, let's fight."

The sky-blue eyes met the golden eyes for a moment.

The next second, the floor tiles at their feet shattered simultaneously.

Two incredibly swift figures collided violently, accompanied by a whistling sound that tore through the air!