991. The Stone Statue God Tries to Snatch Shirou / 992. The Great Saint, the Hardcore Grinder vs. Shirou ...

Snap!

The other earthenware pot fell to the ground.

Seeing the homeowner's twitching lips and increasingly dark face, Shirou reluctantly stepped forward and asked the two goddesses, "Haa... Ishtar, Ereshkigal, what's wrong with you this time?"

The two, who were wrestling, heard Shirou's voice and quickly separated, jumping up and down.

"Shirou, listen to me! I met a god named Ganesha, but that guy locked himself inside a stone statue and won't come out. Indian gods are just too funny."

"Uh... then why did you all rush here in such a panic?" Shirou asked, pointing to the wall.

"No, we just wanted to go to the Hindu god's market to buy some spices, but those guys were trying to scam us! So I taught them a lesson. Then their god came knocking on our door."

"No, Shirou, I tried to stop her. But this woman, like a natural disaster, messed things up," Ereshkigal explained.

Bell covered his mouth, staring blankly at the situation.

"Mocking the Goddess? Are they gods too? No, with such beauty, there's absolutely no mistake. But why? Not only the Crafting God, but the other goddesses get along so well. No wonder he's the eldest brother!"

Because the gods forbid the use of excessive power among humans, violating this rule would result in expulsion from the city. Therefore, Ishtar did not use her Divine Power, only resorting to physical combat. This was fine against one or two low-level humans, but she was helpless against a group attacking her. So she fled all the way here.

"Ha! In the end, why should the Goddess pay humans for their purchases? My money must be my money!" Ishtar said matter-of-factly, hands on her hips.

"Those are the retinue of other gods, they have nothing to do with you. If they were your retinue, that would be a different story. You are indeed in the wrong in this matter," Ereshkigal advised.

"Then you can try recruiting your own familiars. The mistress of the underworld is dark and terrifying, which is why no one wants to be your familiar," Ishtar said sarcastically.

"No, it's not! Because... because my first Familia has already been decided to be Shirou..." Ereshkigal noticed Shirou's gaze, realized she had let something slip, and blushed furiously. So embarrassed, she ran out through the opening she'd made. "Aaaaaah!!!!"

But she forgot that the pursuers outside had caught up.

"Ugh! You sullen brat! Acting cute again! Come back here right now!!" Ishtar, seeing someone with the same face as her acting cute like that, immediately chased after them in a fit of rage.

Chapter 991 Stealing Shirou's Stone Statue

Ah! Drink! Ah! Drink!

A powerful shout rang out from the market outside the blacksmith's shop.

People shopping nearby dispersed to both sides.

Through the broken wall, a straight path could be seen, where a group of burly, brown-skinned men, shirtless, were carrying a white statue of a human with an elephant's head and a broken tusk. Behind them followed dozens of heavily armed, menacing-looking adventurers. Also following were the victims of Ishtar's damaged shops during the fight.

Ishtar and Ereshkigal, who had just run out, saw the crowd and retreated back into the shop.

Led by the white elephant statue being carried, the followers of the Hindu pantheon surrounded the blacksmith's shop. Although they remained silent, their attitude was very clear: if they did not receive an explanation today, they would face terrible retaliation from the Hindu pantheon.

"Um..." Ishtar turned around awkwardly and looked at the boy in the room.

"... Shirou." Ereshkigal also looked over pitifully.

"Sigh." Shirou had no choice but to clean up their mess.

The blacksmith shop owner patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Hephaestus." Shirou was moved to see the Greek Fire God of fire. At least the gods of this world had not completely abandoned him. He was indeed a fellow traveler who had explored the mysteries of forging together.

"Remember to pay for the repairs on my house too," Hephaestus said to Shirou earnestly.

It was like the last embers of a dying Mars being doused with a bucket of cold water.

"B-Big brother... it's not much, but I have some Magic Stone here." Bell couldn't bear to watch any longer and pulled out a small, deflated cloth bag from his belt. This bag contained the fruits of his labor all day. However, because he was too weak, these low-grade Magic Stone were only enough for his meals for the day. But this was all the wealth Bell possessed.

"We can take these to the guild and exchange them for some money." The blonde Sword Princess Ais, standing to the side, also took out the Magic Stone she had obtained that day.

"No... thank you, but I don't need it." Shirou looked at the two kind people and said with a smile, but before he could finish speaking...

A solemn shout came from outside.

"Hey! How long are you going to dawdle? Hurry up and come out and kneel down to apologize! You two Goddess of Poverty, do you still want to hide behind such an excellent man?"

"Eh?!?!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

The white elephant statue, lifted up by a group of strong men, actually spoke.

The sound even had an amplified echo effect, like the Buddha in the Journey to the West filmed in China before the 21st century. However, although the sound from the stone statue here was long, the sense of majesty it conveyed was rather vague.

"Ugh, that guy who's usually too lazy to even move has actually come up here," Ishtar said anxiously, biting her thumb.

"It's all your fault for smashing up her shopping street," Ereshkigal said irritably.

The white elephant-headed god statue, with one tusk broken, sits on a lotus cushion common in Hinduism, radiating divine light. Within the statue lies another world; she is undoubtedly a deity descended to the human realm.

Shirou sensed that the other party was also affected by the rampaging power of the white god, which caused the world to mix. In Hindu mythology, the white elephant god Ganesha, who held a high position, became what he is now. Therefore, the other party's recruitment of him was likely due to some kind of connection with him.

However, Shirou really couldn't become her familiar, since his body wasn't bound to a god, and he also had two goddesses he had merged with after being possessed by Rin to take care of.

"Those two goddesses are all settled. Shirou, I acknowledge that you are an excellent man with the potential to become a hero. Join my familia, and we can forget about everything that happened before. What do you want? Just say the word! I have no shortage of manpower! Nor do I lack money! Compared to those useless goddesses," as the goddess of wealth, she was obviously much richer than Ishtar, Ereshkigal, making them grit their teeth in mockery, but there was nothing they could do.

"Waaaaah!! That shut-in! He actually dared to do that!" Ishtar trembled all over, gritting her teeth as she lunged forward.

"Calm down! Calm down! And I think this is that god's problem, it doesn't have much to do with being a shut-in," Ereshkigal said, hugging Ishtar.

"Hmph, I'm nothing like that lonely little girl in the underworld who's about to cry. I'm thoroughly enjoying my life right now," the stone statue said with a mocking laugh.

"Ugh! I'm so angry! Hey! Ishtar, don't you also have a family and manage a street of businesses? Say it!" Feeling slighted, Ereshkigal grabbed her sister's collar and shouted.

As the goddess of death, Ereshkigal isn't the type of person humans would readily approach. Having only recently descended to the mortal realm, it's understandable that she's not yet well-known. Furthermore, her introverted and naive personality means she dislikes large groups of people, so she hasn't developed any businesses. In fact, she's currently being supported by Shirou.

But Ishtar is different. As an ancient goddess, she possesses multiple attributes, including goddess of beauty, goddess of Venus, goddess of war, and goddess of fertility.

"Haaah!! How could I possibly get involved in such an embarrassing business! I let them handle it themselves a long time ago. As long as they pay their rent, land rent, taxes, and membership fees on time, I haven't bothered with it!" Ishtar retorted, blushing.

In this world, Ishtar is more of a goddess of beauty and fertility. Her retinue consists mostly of women, including orcs and Amazon —essentially a group that hunts men. In fact, during the Mesopotamian civilization, one of the duties of the Saintess in the temple dedicated to Ishtar was to have sexual relations with the believers. This was essentially a primitive brothel, Merlin's favorite place to visit.

'So they did take the money after all... and they've squandered it all and can't come up with anything, right?' Shirou refrained from making a sarcastic remark.

"Well? Have you thought it over? You're quite something, join the Familia of Ganesha!" Ganesha ignored the two cowardly goddesses and shouted passionately in her megaphone-like voice.

He looked solemnly at Ganesha, the elephant god of India, and said, "Ganesha! Thank you for your kindness, but there is no way to join your side, so please rescind your order. I will compensate for any losses caused by my goddess."

The elephant-headed god's statue trembled, as if struck by something. "Ugh! I was rejected! He actually rejected me? It's like being in a reverse harem visual novel, trying so hard to win over a character you like, only to end up in a bad ending because you pressed the wrong option. That's not good! It's really bad!"

Chapter 992 The Holy Hero Liver Emperor vs. Shirou

"You bastard! You have no shame! How dare you refuse our goddess!"

"That's right! You clueless fool, don't you know what an honor this is!"

"Some goddesses are the ultimate masterpieces! What's so great about skinny girls? Why don't you understand?"

Seeing their god being provoked to tears, the adventurers stood up excitedly, shouting and cursing.

"Goddess? Is that a goddess?" Bell asked in surprise from behind.

"Huh?" Although Sword Princess Ais had a poker face, her pupils widened by three percent, indicating that she was equally shocked.

Hephaestus, the Greek Fire God, seemed to be lost in thought when she spoke up, "Ah, now that you mention it, I think I've heard she was a goddess, but everyone seems to have forgotten. After all, Ganesha of the Hindu pantheon is a strange fellow who spends all his time in his portable home and hasn't shown his face for thousands of years. Like the hearth god who just loafs around in other people's houses, eating and drinking without making any progress, well, at least she's been working on developing her retinue."

"Huh? Could that stone statue be her home?" Bell asked in surprise.

"Ah, yeah, what an unbelievable shut-in! He created a little world inside the statue and then stays there all day, never coming out," Ishtar said, clearly annoyed.

"What's most incomprehensible is that she has a group of capable subordinates who accomplish her tasks, and her clan is thriving."

Reluctantly, Shirou removed his cloak, revealing a close-fitting black combat vest. His strong, long arms were capable of wielding the hammer used to forge the demonic sword, as well as excellent weapons. If they couldn't reach an agreement, then they would have to resort to this last resort.

In this world, although the gods are restricted from using their power recklessly, they are ultimately a group of capricious and unruly beings, and it is simply impossible for them to live in peace with each other.

Therefore, whenever a major conflict arises between a deity or its retinue and another deity or its retinue, the conflict is resolved through a contest between the retinues themselves.

In severe cases, a siege Game War simulating the Trojan War can be held to seize everything belonging to the enemy's kin, and even exile the gods from the labyrinth city.

I really hope things can calm down this time. In fact, this isn't the first time Shirou has been forced to participate in a contest because he's been caught up in the goddess's troubles. Fortunately, even the gods have their pride, and to be fair, they will only send out warriors one level higher than Shirou to fight.

Shirou is assumed to be of the lowest rank, so generally speaking, Ganesha's Familia will only send out adventurers of rank two.

Ganesha, being a stone statue, remained motionless, but the goddess inside murmured softly, "Of all times, Karna isn't here. Oh well! My kin, is there any brave warrior willing to defeat him for me?"

Okay, if it were her, she would immediately send out her trump card, the one that guarantees victory, to decide the outcome in one fell swoop.

However, the hero Karna, who is currently receiving the charity, is leading a group of excellent high-level players to conquer territories within the Labyrinth City, reaping funds and glory for his clan. Meanwhile, those following the Statue God are actually just a bunch of low-level guys.

"Yes! Yes! I'll do it!" The strong men in the clan raised their hands high and jumped up, each trying to jump higher than the others.

At this moment, a bald man wearing a monk's robe pushed through the jumping crowd on both sides, squeezed out, clasped his hands together, and bowed to the head god.

"Please invite me, Lord Ganesh! I once went seven days and seven nights without closing my eyes to level up, earning me the nickname 'Saint Bald Liver Emperor'."

Ganesha was also taken aback, not expecting that he had such a talented person under his command.

"Seven days and seven nights, wow, that's incredible. Back in Golden Week, I tried to beat the game without sleeping, and three days was my limit. I lost consciousness on the third night, and when I woke up again it was the fifth day of Golden Week. The game was stuck at the ending screen, but I had no memory of what happened in those two days. But... seven days, that's terrifying. So that must be you."

"Yes! Yes! You can rest assured that this mission will be handled by my bald Indian!" A bald man stepped forward with a sinister grin.

"Shirou! Get him! Smash him flat!" Ishtar shouted, not wanting to miss out on trouble.

"Although the duel is a bit dangerous, I believe in Shirou, you'll definitely be fine, so defeat him! Take my share too!" Ereshkigal shouted, cheering for Shirou on.

As the saying goes, wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue; the same is true wherever there are gods.

The best sword needs the best scabbard to match it, just as the duels of outstanding warriors are held on appropriate arenas.

Just then, a meteor fell from the sky. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be four golden, scale-shaped staffs. Golden rays of light were projected between the scales, forming a square enclosure that surrounded Shirou and the retinue of Zangetsu, who were engaged in the duel.

"First, never act impulsively!"

"Secondly, we must never let any wrongdoing go unpunished!"

"Thirdly, the absolute justice and fairness of the judges—the goddess of justice and fairness, Astraea, has come to pay homage!"

A golden-haired god, wielding a scale in one hand and a star-shaped sword in the other, descended from the sky! He looked just like the statue of the goddess of justice standing in the fountain in the Römerberg square in Frankfurt, Germany.

"Aaaaah!!! It's here after all! That goddess with the nose of a hyena!!!" Ishtar was blocked outside, heard the voice and said with a look of disgust. Of course, her resistance to the other party was definitely not because she hated justice, she just hated that the other party was richer than her.

Aren't lawyers who claim to uphold fairness and justice mostly rich people?

"While I don't want to deny that goddess, sometimes she really can be quite troublesome," Ereshkigal said somewhat subtly from the side.

Astraea stepped onto one of the railings and announced to both sides, "This duel is mine to judge. In the name of the Goddess of Libra, I guarantee that your victory or defeat will be entirely fair. However, after the match, the victor must offer me tribute equivalent to one-fifth of the spoils. The authority of the gods is beyond question!"

"Isn't this a forced sale? No wonder that heartless woman is so rich!" Ishtar grumbled from outside.

"No, if you say that, people will suspect you of running away with the money midway through the competition," Ereshkigal said honestly.

Chapter 993 Shirou's True Sword Battle

"Alright! If we win, the other side will become a servant of this great god Ganesha. If I lose, the losses Ishtar and Ereshkigal caused to our merchant guild will be wiped clean, and I will also pay the victorious warrior a sum of treasure as compensation." Ganesha is the son of Shiva, and his broken tusk was thrown into the sky to become the moon. At the same time, she is also a god of fortune and wealth, so naturally she is not short of money.

"So, are you willing to accept this condition?" the goddess asked.

"I accept." Shirou nodded.

"Then the conditions are hereby established and cannot be changed!" The goddess solemnly declared, raising the golden scales high. Then, she turned to the red-haired man, adopting a more submissive and gentle demeanor, and softly said:

"Of course, if it were you, even if I lost, I would still use money to buy you back, Shirou ~!"

"Haha, hello Astraea, but I don't think I'll lose, so no ransom needed." Shirou greeted the goddess with a dry laugh.

"Hey, there's no need to be so polite," the blonde drill-head goddess said with a kind smile.

"Tsk--" Ishtar and Ereshkigal clicked their tongues in unison.

"Hey! Hey! What's your relationship with those two? You're not going to be biased, are you?" Ganesha shouted.

"Huh? How could I do something so despicable! I'll give you a back throw first!" Astraea glared at the girl and said.

"No, it doesn't mean... well, it's fine as long as it's not there." Ganesha was somewhat frightened.

"Since there are no objections, then the competition shall officially begin!!!" Astraea raised the scales high with one hand and swung the sword down with the other.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!!!" The people around cheered enthusiastically.

People from other places also came after hearing the excitement. For the people living in a city where adventure legends abound, the duels between passionate adventurers in the streets are their favorite thing.

"Hmph! Then I, the Liver Emperor, will defeat you and lead you onto the right path," the bald, brown-skinned man with an Indian flair said with a sneer.

Since Shirou doesn't have Unlimited Blade Works, he wears a belt and leather straps around his waist, from which hang various weapons, including longswords, daggers, and Hidden Weapon. His bow, which he excels at in close combat, has also been removed and placed in a corner along with his cloak.

"Aren't you using any weapons?" Shirou asked, looking at his unarmed opponent.

"I don't need it." The Liver Emperor stopped two steps away from Shirou and suddenly threw a punch.

Originally, there was a two-step gap, and this punch should have had no chance of hitting Shirou. However, the Liver Emperor's fist seemed to suddenly grow longer, like a venomous snake suddenly leaping up and biting Shirou's face.

Fortunately, Shirou sensed something was wrong and turned his head slightly to the side, but a bloody scratch still appeared on his cheek.

"My body is my weapon!" the Liver Emperor said confidently with a smile.