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

Because this child is a treasure that even the gods cannot possess alone...

"Astraea asked me to forge weapons for you, and after meeting you, I also felt a long-lost urge to forge them myself, so... do you have any requests?"

Hephaestus chuckled softly, a hint of anticipation flashing in her slightly narrowed eyes.

Weapons can reflect a person's inner qualities, so what kind of person is this child?

Chapter 51 You really dare to ask for this! (Seeking flowers and votes)

Upon hearing this, Rod was eager to try, but outwardly he pretended to be hesitant.

"Is it really okay to say whatever I want?"

Hephaestus waved her hand generously, exuding a confident and awe-inspiring aura.

"Rest assured, this is the promise of the God of Blacksmiths to you. There is no weapon in this world that I cannot forge! Make any request!"

"Stop dawdling like that, act like a man and just say what you want!"

It's not like we're forging some kind of divine artifact, why are we being so cautious?

Hephaestus chuckled inwardly, thinking that Rhodes still didn't understand the true value of the God of Blacksmiths.

Rhodes lowered his head, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and coughed lightly.

Since you've put it that way, don't blame me for being impolite!

"I hope my weapons are strong enough and sharp enough."

Hephaestus remained calm.

"A weapon with indestructible properties, huh? Not bad..."

"It also has good magical conductivity, ideally able to withstand multiple magical charges without breaking."

Her words were interrupted, and Hephaestus heard the subsequent request, which she found somewhat difficult but still acceptable.

"Um, if there are materials from deeper dungeons, that would be easy too..."

However, Rhodes had not yet finished stating his request.

"Ideally, it should be able to transform into different forms, because I plan to learn various weapon techniques in the future."

He became more and more excited as he spoke, spreading his hands out to the sides like an accordion, gesturing with his hands.

"And also, I want it to grow along with me, spontaneously evolving by absorbing the properties of different materials, and ideally, it should even have some kind of sentience... um...!"

Rhodes awkwardly covered his forehead, while Hephaestus angrily withdrew her right hand and glared at Rhodes, her single eye seemingly saying, "Listen to the nonsense you're spouting, stop joking."

Rod muttered something to himself.

"Didn't you tell me to say that?"

Hephaestus sat back in her chair, covered her forehead, and sighed wearily.

"I told you to specify your weapon requirements, not your divine artifact requirements!"

No, even ordinary divine artifacts don't have such outrageous requirements.

Does this mean that special people also have personalities that differ from ordinary people...?

Rhodes looked at Hephaestus, who had a worried expression, and a smile crept onto his lips.

"Ordinary weapons cannot keep up with my growth rate, and you would not want to ruin your reputation by making the weapons you forged for me fall behind quickly."

There's no way to refute that.

Hephaestus maintained her frosty demeanor on the surface, but inwardly she admired Rhodes' confidence.

Rhodes raised an eyebrow.

So, is it possible?

"The pinnacle of craftsmen in this world, the ultimate ideal of blacksmiths, the goddess Hephaestus?"

"..."

Hephaestus took a deep breath, slammed her hand on the table, and spoke calmly and domineeringly.

"Who do you think you're talking to, you brat?"

She stared sharply at Rhodes, retaliating against his provocation.

"Even without considering my personal labor costs, the materials alone would cost at least several billion fali to fully meet your requirements. Do you have that much money?"

"Or... do you really intend to make the impoverished goddess Astraea work to help you pay off your debts?"

A look of surprise flashed in Rhodes' eyes, and he was deeply moved.

Goddess Astraea....

She must have said this to Hephaestus before, which is why the latter deliberately used these words to remind herself.

I never expected that the goddess who always quietly watched over her would decide to do this.

Now the goddess's kindness is becoming increasingly difficult to repay...

Rhodes pondered for a moment, then, under Hephaestus's surprised gaze, turned to look at the empty space in the room and murmured.

"Divine power!"

After a spatial distortion, several jars of fine wine appeared out of thin air, almost filling the entire corner!

"!!!"

Hephaestus jumped up and rubbed her left eye in disbelief.

"Space magic?!"

Hephaestus's eyes gleamed with undisguised excitement. She even went around the table and excitedly grabbed Rhodes's hand, looking at him with great curiosity.

"Hey, hey, hey, Astrea is too cunning! She didn't tell me you had awakened this ability!"

I feel like the goddess of justice has been unfairly blamed.

After all, even the goddess Astraea didn't know at the time...

Rhodes smiled and squeezed Hephaestus's hand.

"Shouldn't you be concerned about what these things are?"

Hephaestus then realized that her behavior was somewhat inappropriate and hurriedly withdrew her left hand.

She hurriedly turned around, her right hand covering the spot where her left hand had just been clasped, where there seemed to be a trace of warmth left, and her heart was pounding wildly.

"...How could I not recognize such a strong smell of alcohol!"

Hephaestus quickly raised her voice to hide her inner turmoil, and even turned around and glared at Rhodes with feigned authority.

"You wouldn't be so delusional as to think you can use it as payment, would you?"

The contrast between the blacksmith god's demeanor and his daughterly manner made Rhodes inwardly cry out that he couldn't stand it.

She may look like a sophisticated and mature woman, but she also has an innocent and carefree side.

Although he wanted to continue teasing the other person and see how embarrassed they were, Rod regretfully chose to get to the point, considering that he would eventually need their help.

"This is the only remaining portion of Soma in the world."

"Although I despise Soma's attitude toward humans, I have to admit that his wine is a rare treasure in the mortal realm."

"And now, the price of Somo, which is no longer available, will be sky-high in the eyes of connoisseurs."

Hephaestus covered her hands, wanting to refute but having to admit that Rhodes was right.

If we take into account the fact that the Divine Wine is truly a limited edition item, it might be even more valuable than the rare drops from dungeon bosses deep within the dungeon.

She couldn't help but admire Rhodes's intellect.

Regarding the Soma Familia alone, their initial goal was simply to rescue Lily.

However, in terms of results, many additional goals were achieved.

His ability to single-handedly wipe out an entire clan and even send back a deity instilled fear in others, indirectly providing a layer of protection for his companions.

He deepened his friendship with the Loki Familia, even getting Finn to promise to protect the Astrea Familia.

Soma returned to the heavens, leaving an empty space for Hestia to descend to the mortal realm.

Finally, they even went so far as to plunder some of the Soma clan's most precious treasures...

Hephaestus would believe that he had already planned how to maximize the profits from these divine wines.

But she still had one question.

The red-haired goddess flaunted the wine she had stolen in Orario, and that's how she learned that it was specially left by Rhodes for Loki's Familia, or more precisely, for Loki himself.

Hephaestus stared unblinkingly at Rhodes with her single eye.

"I'm curious, since you clearly knew the precious value of these divine wines, why did you set aside half for Loki? You were the one who killed the Soma Familia from beginning to end; you could have refused to give them to him."

Chapter 52 Hephaestus's Jealousy, Vulcan's Blade (Seeking flowers and votes)

Rhodes was about to speak and make up an excuse when Hephaestus interrupted him, staring intently at him.

"Don't tell me you just want to deepen your alliance with the Loki Familia. Given your personal relationship and the Loki Familia's attitude towards justice, there's no need for such a move."

"Don't even think about lying before the gods!"

Rod could only shake his head helplessly, chuckle softly, and gaze out the window towards the direction of the Eighth District painting.

"Humans cannot desire things they have never seen, and the same is true for gods whose abilities have been sealed."

"If Loki hadn't tasted the finest wines, he would have thought that the wines made by mortals weren't so bad after all."

"But I deliberately left her half of the Soma Divine Wine..."

Hephaestus sighed as she uttered the second half of her sentence.

"When she drinks less and less, and becomes more and more reluctant and eager, she will definitely try to pay an exorbitant price if she suddenly finds out that you still have the last remaining bottle of Soma Divine Wine in the world!"

"Furthermore, since your two families are closely related, both privately and publicly, even if Loki has other ideas or thinks the Divine Wine is too expensive, he can only purchase it through legitimate means."

Sales skills are not just about selling items to people who desperately need them; they can also be about creating a demand out of thin air, and then creating anxiety and a gap in demand to sell something that was originally uninteresting for an exorbitant price.

Hephaestus realized with a start that Rhodes was indeed completely different from the other children.

If he were a businessman, he might easily bankrupt many people.

In fact, there are only a handful of users in the entire Oralley who are willing to pay high prices for Somo Divine Wine.

Having secured Loki in advance, there's no need to worry about him ending up in our hands later.

Moreover, given Loki's love of alcohol, even if he knew it was a trap, he would have no choice but to grit his teeth and willingly jump in while cursing.

"Didn't you ever consider that although Loki's personality is unconventional, he might not necessarily squander the entire clan's development funds for his own selfish desires?"

Rod shrugged indifferently.

"Then let's just give away the divine wine for free in exchange for their favor. Anyway, it's something I stole, so I won't lose out either way."

Hephaestus was speechless and finally completely convinced.

Thinking of her exhausting regimental commander, she sighed.

"I'll accept these divine wines, and I'll consider the price carefully later... But I still hope you can provide more rare drop items."

"I think that huge pile of eye-catching props that Ryu and the others brought yesterday was also your doing."

Rhodes smiled slightly and did not deny it, while Hephaestus suddenly felt a little jealous of Astrea.

Damn it, why did you have to run into this child first?

"In addition, I would like to reach an agreement with you."

"kindness?"

"As far as I know, the main task of the Astrea Familia is to patrol the city and uphold justice. After a few dungeon explorations, once the funds are sufficient, they may not continue to dive down."