As she spoke, she proudly raised her head. "When the time comes, you'll be shouting, 'Ohhh! Ishtar really is the Goddess of Victory! How infuriating!' while killing yourself, and leave Uruk for me to protect!"
"As if that would ever happen, idiot! And my Uruk is clearly in Lianjie right now! What kind of outdated almanac are you using?! And after I even agreed to open up your Eanna—your bedroom—to you! You don't even look remotely remorseful!"
Gilgamesh roared back.
"How could I be?! I'm the one who should be furious! Eanna was mine to begin with, so what gives you the right to seal it off whenever you feel like it?!" Ishtar shouted just as loudly.
This kindergarten-level argument made everyone break out in awkward sweat.
"Please, both of you, stop here!" Siduri had no choice but to intervene. "My king, please explain the next mission."
"Hmph! Since Siduri says so, I shall refrain from pursuing the matter." Gilgamesh snorted before getting down to business.
Sorry, everyone, there may only be one update today as well. Something serious happened at home these past two days, and I only just got back. But it's fine—I'll make up for everything once it's resolved. I currently owe two chapters.
Please support and bookmark the story! Your support is what motivates me to keep updating! 1
Amber's Shock
"The strategy for dealing with the Three Goddess Alliance is about to be fully revealed before me, but there is still one final pillar that remains unclear."
Gilgamesh said, "Therefore, you have two tasks next."
He raised two fingers. "First, discover the true identity of the Jungle Goddess currently occupying Eridu. That can be determined now. Second, retrieve Marduk's Axe from Eridu."
"Marduk's Axe?" Ritsuka looked toward Mash.
"Marduk was the powerful deity who, according to legend, became king of the gods after defeating Tiamat God. The weapon he used to defeat Tiamat God was Marduk's Axe." As an encyclopedia, Mash naturally knew this story, but she was also puzzled. "But why are we bringing back that axe...?"
Everyone knew that Amber—or rather, the Crimson Kite Immortal—was like an unstoppable blade. None of the enemies they had encountered so far had been able to withstand even a single exchange with her.
Besides, although that goddess called herself Tiamat, she was not the true Tiamat after all. It was hard to say how useful Marduk's Axe could be.
Gilgamesh naturally understood that as well. However, the future seen by his Clairvoyance emphasized the importance of Marduk's Axe. Though the future was still shrouded in thick fog, he was certain that every force Uruk could make use of needed to be gathered into their hands.
Since Gilgamesh had said so, no one had any further objections.
Gilgamesh then looked at Ishtar. "So, who is the Jungle Goddess?"
"Well... telling you this much won't hurt. Think of it as consolation for the bleeding your wallet has suffered."
Ishtar no longer intended to make things difficult for them. "It's the Feathered Serpent God. Like me, she is a Venus Goddess, and she is also the great bird of the sun, the wind of South America—Quetzalcoatl."
The moment those words came out, everyone except Amber and Ritsuka began sweating profusely.
Merlin's expression turned grave. "The Mayan Conqueror King? The Toltec sun god?"
Roman could hardly believe it. "Isn't she at the level of a chief god?! She's already far beyond Gorgon—a great god on the same level as the true Tiamat God!"
Only then did Ritsuka belatedly realize just how formidable Quetzalcoatl was. He then looked toward Amber, whose expression had never changed. "If it's you, Immortal..."
Unlike the others, Amber had no idea how powerful the chief gods they spoke of were. All she knew was that Gorgon had indeed been rather weak. After all, she had used only her Sword Heart without any Sword Intent and still beaten Gorgon into a shutdown. If she had truly used the full power of this body, killing Gorgon on the spot might not have been impossible.
And if she used the full power of this body, she could even have said to Gorgon, who had luckily survived, "Then how will you deal with the second me?"
For the body of the Crimson Kite Immortal at her peak, using the Sword God at maximum output was no different from throwing a punch or kick. She did not use the True Qi within her body, but the True Qi outside it. She could use it however she wanted, without worrying about exhaustion.
Therefore, she could not say who would win between herself and Quetzalcoatl.
Seeing Amber fall silent, Ritsuka lowered his head in silence as well. After a moment, he said, "Perhaps we can talk to her..."
"That would probably be difficult too." Ishtar did not sound optimistic. "South America is different from other places. They weren't natives born from this planet. They arrived here with an asteroid. By your standards, they would be aliens."
"This..." What was wrong with that?
Ritsuka was puzzled.
"Because they're aliens, they can continue existing even after the Common Era. And perhaps because they're aliens, their way of thinking is very different from ours." Seeing everyone listening intently, Ishtar had no choice but to explain. "What we consider good may be evil to them, and vice versa. So if you want to win her over, you first need to understand how her mind works."
"How her mind works..." Everyone frowned in thought.
"What if we use Clairvoyance..." Anna looked at Merlin.
"Unfortunately, it won't work." Merlin smiled, then looked at Ishtar beside him. "There are many such stories in mythology, aren't there? Tales of mortals peeking at the bodies of goddesses. No matter which legend it is, the peeper's fate never turns out well."
Ishtar smiled as though it were only natural. "Of course. If you pry into a goddess's privacy, then you must bear her wrath. Isn't that obvious?"
So even with Clairvoyance, they could not casually spy on a goddess. That applied equally to Merlin and Gilgamesh.
The atmosphere turned cold once more.
Boom!
A massive tremor came from the distance. The first impact was followed by a second and third in rapid succession.
"What is going on?" Gilgamesh frowned.
"My king! This is bad! A woman calling herself Quetzalcoatl smashed through the southern gate's walls with her bare hands and invaded Uruk! She's heading straight for the Divine Tower!" A soldier rushed in from outside, panting as he reported the situation.
"Quetzalcoatl?! Isn't that..." Mash gasped.
"Stop that rampaging goddess at once! Drive her back into the jungle!" Gilgamesh ordered decisively.
"Yes!" Ritsuka accepted the order, then ran out of the temple with Mash and Anna.
Amber naturally would not stand by and watch the goddess wreak havoc, so she followed them.
When they reached the southern gate, they saw human bodies strewn across the ground, along with a blonde goddess dressed in vivid colors.
"Oh? Are there children who want to join?" The blonde goddess noticed the four of them and raised a brow with a smile. "Although today's slots are already full, if you have the courage to fight me, I suppose I could let you cut in line."
"Mash! Anna!" Ritsuka did not dare let his guard down. He activated the reinforcement magecraft he was not particularly skilled at and directly poured it into Anna's body.
It was not that he did not trust Mash's strength. Rather, it was precisely because he trusted that Mash's defense could not be breached that he decisively strengthened the attacker between the two of them.
"Stop your rampage, goddess of South America!" Feeling her strength suddenly surge, Anna did not waste words. She rushed straight at Quetzalcoatl and swung her scythe down hard.
Yet Quetzalcoatl lightly blocked Anna's attack with one hand. "Haha, you don't seem like the power type. Is it really okay for you to come charging in so openly?"
Anna answered by controlling the chains as they wound around Quetzalcoatl's feet.
"Hehe, you should hide your thoughts better next time!" Quetzalcoatl had naturally noticed. Smiling, she leaped behind Anna and tried to throw her backward, only for Mash, who had followed closely behind, to block the movement with her shield.
Anna, who had been caught, also broke free from Quetzalcoatl's grasp and retreated to the side.
"So strong..." Anna could not help gritting her teeth.
Unlike Ishtar, the goddess before them displayed all her strength in close combat. They had not been without close-range exchanges with Ishtar before. Although they had been unable to do anything to her either, the pressure they felt from the two goddesses was completely different.
Right now, Anna only felt that the goddess before her had no openings at all. She did not know how to attack.
"Mm, that movement looked much better." Quetzalcoatl showed no sense of danger at all and even smiled as she commented on Anna.
Mash could not help demanding, "You look so kind when you smile, and I can't feel any killing intent or malice from you at all...! Why did you kill so many people?"
"Because those people aren't dead."
Before Quetzalcoatl could answer, Amber spoke.
"Immortal..." Mash froze for a moment upon hearing that. Only then did she calmly examine the situation. That was right. Although a group of humans lay on the ground, and there was an unbelievable amount of blood, a closer look revealed that their bodies were still rising and falling with breath.
"Oh my?"
Quetzalcoatl did not look embarrassed at being exposed. Instead, she smiled at Amber as she walked toward her. "Will you be Big Sister's opponent next?"
"What is your purpose?" Amber did not answer. Instead, she asked, "If you wanted to destroy Uruk, these people would already be dead."
For the first time since coming to this world, she felt that she was facing a powerful enemy. This goddess was unlike any opponent she had encountered before. She was someone who could make Amber take things seriously.
"Hmm... if I had to say, it's for survival." Just as Amber could sense Quetzalcoatl's power, Quetzalcoatl could naturally sense that Amber would not be easy to deal with. Yet that did not make her wary or apprehensive. Instead, it made her even happier, and she explained in a pleasant mood, "I love humans and want to coexist with them, because humans are the value of our survival."
"If that's the case, why attack Uruk?" Amber asked with a frown.
This time, however, Quetzalcoatl did not answer immediately. She paused, then could not help turning her head aside. Finally, she raised a hand to block Amber's line of sight.
Everyone was confused by that sequence of actions.
"I wanted to say this earlier." Quetzalcoatl finally spoke. "I should have come to Uruk sooner. I never expected to find so many people here who were exactly my type."
"?" Everyone was even more confused.
However, Quetzalcoatl's behavior seemed to confirm what Ishtar had said earlier. They truly could not understand how this goddess's mind worked.
No, come to think of it, even Ishtar, a goddess native to this planet, had been difficult for them to understand at first.
"It's nothing!" With a faint blush on her cheeks, Quetzalcoatl hurriedly composed her expression and emotions before explaining again. "The survival value I mentioned isn't some optional thing based on interest. It's a direction I must follow in order to survive."
"This is my Divinity. If I don't toy with humans, I can't survive. So, to ensure that humans can continue being toyed with by me, humanity must continue." Quetzalcoatl said, "That's why I'll take these children back and train them until they can survive through hardship."
Her words made Amber think of Ereshkigal.
"I see..." With Ereshkigal as a precedent, it was not difficult for Amber to understand Quetzalcoatl. She also remarked, "You are protecting humanity through your own actions."
"That's right."
Quetzalcoatl smiled.
Although the current situation differed from what she had expected, having a human who could understand her appear before her did not feel bad at all.
"Even so, I cannot let you take them away," Amber continued.
"Of course. After all, you and I stand on different sides." Unlike Ereshkigal, Quetzalcoatl was not surprised by Amber's words. "The Demon Beast Frontline fights for humanity's world, and you oppose goddesses interfering with humanity. Naturally, you have reason to oppose me."
After saying that, she assumed a fighting stance. "But I have my own position too."
Amber did not waste any more words. Even if they understood and appreciated one another, their different positions made a clash inevitable.
Their figures collided at high speed. Although Amber held no weapon, she could use the body's sword soul to effortlessly form any kind of sword technique. Every fist and palm held profound mystery. Even Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent God, whose combat experience was rich and who had already returned to simplicity, could not help having her eyes light up.
Unlike the strength she had used against Anna and Mash just now, every move Quetzalcoatl used against Amber, who left such a powerful impression on her, carried enough force to easily smash apart mountains.
Although both of them had perfect control over their strength and did their best to contain the overflow of power, the surrounding paving stones and buildings still cracked and collapsed visibly.
We can't fight here for long! Amber realized.
Black flames instantly ignited around her fists and feet. Rather than being alarmed, Quetzalcoatl was delighted, and golden flames ignited around her as well.
The heatwave made it difficult for the others to remain where they stood, and Amber directly leaped beyond the city walls.
Quetzalcoatl, absorbed in the fight, naturally followed her.
The battle between the two made Amber knit her brows tightly. It was not just Amber—even Fu Hua, who had been watching the battle all along, found it incredibly strange.
Fu Hua had seen countless things. She knew Garuda's recovery ability better than anyone. Amber and Quetzalcoatl had exchanged more than a hundred moves, with victories and losses on both sides. Yet when Amber was struck, even though she recovered quickly, the damage was real. Why did Amber's attacks seem to have no effect at all when they landed on her opponent?
She had only seen such defensive power in Kevin. Even Kosma could not achieve such defense.
Amber noticed it as well.
This defensive power was simply shocking. For the first time, she felt a sense of panic. As the battle continued, her injuries increased. Though she could recover immediately, her opponent showed no signs of being worn down, forcing Amber to pull away first.
"The divine is the ultimate of change, speaking through the myriad wonders of creation; it cannot be questioned through form." Flying into the air, Amber unhesitatingly used Sword God.
Unlike last time, she had been pushed into a corner and was now fully drawing upon all the Crimson Kite Immortal's power. Garuda's true form unfolded behind her, and a crimson greatsword reaching from heaven to earth, wrapped in flames capable of burning everything to ash, instantly arrived before Quetzalcoatl.
Tai Xu Sword Qi, Divine Aggregate!
Things really have been a bit busy these past few days, but it's basically over. I just need to go out again tomorrow, then updates will return to normal. After that, I'll find a chance to make up the two chapters I owe.
But there's still another problem: this arc has at most one week left, yet I haven't thought of anything at all for the next arc! 4
Anyway, please vote! Please bookmark! Please support!
The Feathered Serpent God's Affection
Flames that dyed the sky red burned outside the city. Even from a considerable distance away, the scorching residual heat felt like it could burn them. Looking at the skin on their arms that was about to be scorched, Ritsuka and the others had no choice but to abandon the thought of going forward to help.
Unlike the Sword God Amber had used before, this Sword God was not merely a pure attack on consciousness. It carried physical destruction comparable to its assault on consciousness. The once-flat ground now contained a massive crater more than a hundred meters wide, along with a crack whose end could not be seen, perhaps stretching for thousands of meters.
Yet what Amber could not believe was that even after taking such an attack, the South American Chief God was merely somewhat disheveled. Her expression remained as spirited as ever.
"Even I cannot completely withstand such a powerful attack."
Quetzalcoatl looked excited. "And an attack like this does not consume much of your strength, does it?"
As a peak god king of the Age of Gods herself, Quetzalcoatl could naturally feel that the surrounding mana had been drained by more than half in an instant. Although the endless flow of mana immediately replenished it, she had caught that momentary change.
That was indeed true.
Divine Aggregate was not much of a drain on Amber. It only required a certain amount of concentration.
It was not something she could use as a normal attack, but firing off dozens at once, resting for a few seconds, then firing dozens more was still easy. Garuda's recovery ability restored not only her body, but also kept her energy abundant.
"If even this move can be taken without a scratch, continuing to use it would only cause more destruction." Amber felt somewhat dejected. For the first time, she felt powerless, but her expression remained calm as though she still had another card to play.
She did indeed have another trump card.
Leaving aside the recognition that had reached 5600 thanks to Ereshkigal's generous contribution, which was worth taking a gamble on, she still had Feathered Dust in hand—a true killer weapon.
Before you continue