Ying Ping gently pressed Hestia's busy little hands, interrupting her excited chatter.
"Wait, Hestia, I have an idea."
Hestia looked up in confusion: "What idea?"
"Still the same thing, I don't want to expose our true levels so quickly."
A cunning smile played on Ying Ping's lips, "Think about it, if other Familias don't know our true strength…"
Hestia's eyes gradually lit up, but she was still a little confused: "But… why do we need to do that?"
Ying Ping picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, and said: "Because we can challenge other powerful Familias to a [War Game]…"
"War Game?!"
Hestia exclaimed.
"Exactly."
Ying Ping's voice was low and seductive: "For example, challenging the Loki Familia… If we directly challenge them and bet all our possessions…"
Hestia's breathing suddenly quickened, her small face flushed with excitement: "You—you mean…"
"As long as we win, we can take all the wealth, territory, and even Familia members that the Loki Familia has painstakingly accumulated… and then turn Loki into your subordinate god, making her serve you tea and water every day…"
Ying Ping chuckled and added: "Don't you want to get revenge on that flat-chested, squinty-eyed redhead who keeps calling you a shorty?"
Hestia's expression instantly became incredibly vivid.
She first widened her eyes, then her lips uncontrollably curved upwards, and finally, she let out a series of 'hehehe' wicked laughs.
"Ying Ping-kun… you're so naughty! But I like it!"
She excitedly slapped the table, "That flat-chested, squinty-eyed woman constantly mocks me as a shorty, this time I'll make her kneel and call me 'Hestia-sama'!"
Kokkoro listened, dumbfounded.
Her elf ears twitched, and her ruby-like eyes widened: "Eh? Does the Adventurers' Guild allow conflicts between Familias?"
"Of course, as long as both parties agree, this is one of the gods' favorite segments to savor."
Win Ping smiled indifferently.
The three sat around the dining table, eating and discussing, and the atmosphere became more and more lively.
"We can pretend to be a weak familia first…"
Win Ping picked up a piece of steak, and while eating, he analyzed, "Next time at the Gods' Banquet, Hestia, you deliberately provoke Loki…"
"Then, when she's most furious or triumphant, initiate a War Game!"
Hestia excitedly chimed in, gesticulating wildly, "Exactly! The bet will be… she has to be my subordinate god for a hundred years!"
"A hundred years is too short, at least ten thousand years."
Win Ping suggested with a mischievous smile, "And Loki has to comb your hair, serve you tea and water, and massage your shoulders every day…"
"And she's not allowed to call me a midget anymore!"
Hestia pouted and added, "She has to call me the esteemed Lady Hestia!"
She suddenly thought of something and asked worriedly, "But… the Loki Familia has three LV6s, plus so many high-level adventurers. Can you two really win?"
Win Ping smiled confidently, "Don't forget, Kokkoro and I are both LV10. We are existences standing at the pinnacle of Orario."
"Even if they all come at us together…"
He made a throat-slitting gesture, "With my current stats alone, I can crush them."
Kokkoro also nodded seriously, "Master is right. Even I am confident in dealing with them alone."
Win Ping put down his chopsticks, a glint flashing in his eyes, "Besides, by the time your Gods' Banquet begins, Kokkoro and I will have already become even stronger."
"In short, Hestia, you don't need to have any qualms. Just provoke Loki to your heart's content and wait for her to take the bait."
"Mhm hm hm~ That's wonderful~"
Hestia let out a impish laugh, "It's good that you're confident enough. I can't wait to see the shocked expression on that red-haired squinty-eyed goddess's face!"
The three exchanged smiles and lightly clinked their juice glasses.
"To the rise of the Hestia Familia!"
"Cheers!"
In the basement of this dilapidated church, a grand conspiracy with immense ambitions was thus born… The next morning.
The morning sun streamed through the church's stained-glass windows, and Win Ping had already completed his daily 'Preparation of the Strong' training.
He stretched his muscles and once again evenly distributed the newly acquired 10 attribute points into strength and agility.
"Master, breakfast is ready."
Kokkoro came over, carrying steaming fried eggs and bread.
Win Ping took the plate and finished breakfast in a few bites: "Kokkoro, today we're going to break through the eleventh and twelfth floors, and then use that mysterious key."
Kokkoro nodded obediently: "Yes, Master."
The two packed up and quickly arrived at the dungeon entrance beneath Babel Tower.
"Let's go, let's have a big day today. I actually want to level up a few more times."
Win Ping drew out 'Hestia's Sword', its blade glowing with a faint blue light in the morning sun.
With astonishing momentum and speed, he and Kokkoro charged straight through, familiar with the path, and entered the eleventh floor.
Both were LV10, and the occasional monsters they encountered didn't even require Win Ping to act.
Kokkoro just waved her staff-spear, and all those monsters were struck down. Her physical abilities were now incredibly powerful.
The mist on the eleventh floor was much lighter than on the tenth, but the air was filled with a fishy stench.
The ground was covered with hard rocks, with occasional glowing mushrooms.
[Eleventh Floor Quest Triggered]
[Defeat Heavy Armadillo (0 / 200)]
[Defeat Silverback Ape (0 / 200)]
[Defeat Young Great Dragon (0 / 200)]
[Upon completion of all, a special boss will appear: Red-eyed Dragon]
[Reward: Follower Summon Card x1]
"Follower Summon Card?!"
Win Ping's eyes lit up, "Excellent! Now I'll have another powerful helper!"
He activated Eagle Eye and eagerly rushed forward, soon encountering the first monster.
It was an armadillo the size of a calf, its back covered in a thick shell.
[Encountered Heavy Armadillo, Level LV2+]
[Abilities: Super Defense, Rolling Attack]
"Rumble!"
The armadillo suddenly curled into a ball and rolled towards Win Ping at high speed!
Win Ping met it head-on, his longsword glowing with lightning: "Chidori Blade!"
"Bang!"
The lightning sword energy struck the armadillo's shell, instantly piercing through it, and the Heavy Armadillo instantly turned into dust.
"There's no challenge at all, after all, I've become a pure stat monster now, enough to dominate everything on this floor."
Win Ping raised an eyebrow, then saw more armadillos rolling towards him and Kokkoro.
"Charged Strike!"
The blade glowed red and slashed down heavily.
"Crack!"
The shells of three armadillos shattered in response, turning into dust before they could even scream.
[Defeated Heavy Armadillo (4 / 200)]
The subsequent battle was simply unstoppable.
Win Ping moved as if through an empty land, monsters falling wherever he went.
Among them, the silverback apes on this floor didn't look like LV3 monsters at all, but rather like bosses.
They were massive, at least two stories tall!
However, such a large body size meant they wouldn't be very agile.
What's more, Win Ping's strength and agility far surpassed that of the silverback apes.
"Die!"
Win Ping didn't even bother using skills. With a single horizontal slash, he beheaded a circle of silverback apes in front of him!
"Pfft!!"
Several massive headless bodies fell.
Due to their enormous size, the process of turning into dust was even slower than with ordinary monsters.
The young great dragons were even less of a threat. Win Ping easily parried their fiery breath with his sword.
Once their flames were rendered useless, they were, at best, slightly larger lizards, completely unable to withstand Win Ping and Kokkoro's attacks.
[Defeated Silverback Ape (47 / 200)]
[Defeated Young Great Dragon (83 / 200)]
[Defeated Heavy Armadillo (156 / 200)]
"Master, watch out on the right!"
Kokkoro suddenly shouted.
Another three silverback apes leaped from the rock wall, their sharp claws aimed directly at Win Ping's throat!
Win Ping sneered: "Blade Storm!"
Without even turning his head, the swirling sword energy around him shredded the silverback apes into pieces!
[Defeated Silverback Ape (50 / 200)]
The battle lasted for two hours. When the last young great dragon fell, the ground suddenly shook violently!
"Rumble—"
The rock wall collapsed, and a red giant dragon, ten meters long, burst through!
Its entire body was covered in crimson scales, its eyes like burning coals, and it exhaled scorching breath.
"Is it here?"
Win Ping narrowed his eyes, feeling his blood boiling!
[Encountered Red-eyed Dragon, Special Lord, Level LV8+]
[Abilities: Dragon Breath, Flight, Scale Defense]
"Roar—!!!"
The Red-eyed Dragon's roar shook the entire dungeon, and scorching dragon breath spewed from its mouth, sweeping towards them like lava!