Multiverse: Ragnarok's Beginning - The Hero King's Path

It was also because she hadn't made a sound that the Hero King's gaze finally shifted away.

And once that gaze shifted, Goll couldn't help but relax her tense body, her legs giving out as she collapsed to the ground.

Cl-close one. She'd almost wet herself.

She looked at her own Sister Brunhilde, still standing there calmly, unmoved.

As for why his attack had seemed to cut through air, unable to affect the two sisters—it was because they weren't in the same time and space as him.

Perhaps it could be described like this: it was like watching a holographic movie, and a character inside suddenly attacked you, but it was meaningless, unable to harm reality.

Of course, it was also because this was already a filmed movie playing out, so you couldn't alter the content inside either.

Thus, they naturally couldn't change the established history that had already occurred. They were essentially watching a movie of Gilgamesh's life right now.

If they could change history, the gods of the Babylonian Pantheon would have immediately traveled through time and space to save their slain chief god.

But history couldn't be altered at will—that was a rule set by the gods themselves.

In truth, even if history could be changed, the chief god who had already died couldn't be saved.

That chief god had been utterly killed, his soul shattered to pieces.

That was already a fixed causal outcome. Resurrection, reincarnation, time travel—none of those methods worked. He had become nothing but cosmic dust.

So, how exactly had this Hero King managed to kill Lord Anu, the chief god of the Babylonian Pantheon?

Could Elder Sister have misheard?

"Let's go, Goll."

"Huh? Go... where?"

Goll asked quietly, shrinking behind her sister.

"To the time when the Bull of Heaven was killed."

The Goddess Ishtar, captivated by Gilgamesh's charm, had proposed to him, only to be rejected.

Enraged and humiliated, this goddess had begged her Father God Anu to send down the Bull of Heaven, which brought drought, to take revenge for her. Yet Gilgamesh had still killed it.

So how had he killed it?

The Bull of Heaven wasn't something humans could kill. No, to be precise, humans of this era couldn't kill it.

If it were modern human technology and weapons, killing the Bull of Heaven should be possible.

Well then, let her, Brunhilde, take a good look at this king's power.

As for whether she believed this king had truly killed a chief god—in truth, after entering this Akasha's Chamber and using the system, Brunhilde found the possibility much higher.

Normally, she would never have been able to access this system or casually investigate any pantheon's related human history.

It was precisely because of the proposal for the clash between gods and humans—Ragnarok—that she had been granted permission to view all historical records.

So, when she entered this segment of the Hero King's history, she found it locked. Other pantheons wanting to view it needed permission from the Babylonian Pantheon.

But now she had been directly granted permission to observe all pantheon-related human history, so she no longer needed reauthorization from the Babylonian Pantheon.

The Hero King's historical records were deliberately locked? That clearly meant there was some secret.

Chapter 006: Goddess Ishtar Event Triggered

Uruk was unusually lively today.

The entire city's residents were in an uproar, cheering as if holding the greatest festival in history.

The sound of horns rang out, and the residents consciously cleared the main road.

They looked toward the city gates. The army was returning in triumph.

From initial distrust and unease, to fear, and finally to outright worship.

That man was their king—Gilgamesh.

After becoming king, he had enacted many measures that allowed Uruk to develop rapidly, especially in agriculture, instantly making it the most powerful agricultural nation among all surrounding countries.

Through trade and commerce, the nation's overall strength grew even greater.

Of course, military reforms had also led to the development of many astonishing weapons.

Then, the king of the most powerful nation—King Agag of Kish—sent envoys demanding that Uruk's King Gilgamesh send men to dig wells and repair canals for Kish, without offering anything in return.

The arrogant King Agag of Kish also threatened that if they refused, it would mean war.

So war it was!

At first, almost all surrounding nations believed Uruk couldn't possibly win this war.

But who could have imagined that the vast, powerful Kish Empire would be besieged by Uruk's army in the blink of an eye?

Who could have imagined that Uruk's soldiers were even better equipped than Kish's? Even Kish's strongest personal guard—a hundred men with full, elite gear—was only on par with Uruk's basic soldier equipment.

Especially Uruk's specially formed archer corps. Their arrows were exceptionally sharp, and their range terrifying. Without metal shields for defense, there was no stopping them.

And of course, there were the so-called siege engines.

It was precisely these massive siege engines that allowed Uruk's soldiers to easily scale the walls, enabling the swift fall of King Agag of Kish's city.

So now the army is returning in triumph, and the mighty Kingdom of Kish has submitted to Uruk.

Of the over four thousand soldiers who set out, only about five hundred were casualties, while the army of Kish suffered more than two thousand dead or wounded.

"Th-that man, could it be—"

"It is, it's King Agag of Kish!"

"No mistake, that's King Agag of Kish!"

On a prison cart, a man with disheveled hair and a thoroughly bedraggled appearance was held captive.

Though he looked haggard and beaten, one could still tell he possessed an aura unlike ordinary men.

Then, on a war chariot that seemed far from ordinary, a man sat high above, looking down on everyone.

He rested his chin on his hand, gazing down upon the crowd.

That arrogance was like that of a god.

That man was their king—Gilgamesh.

One by one, cheers erupted, hailing the king who had led Uruk to become the dominant power.

Then, the captive King Agag of Kish was finally sent to Uruk's execution platform, where his life ended.

And on the throne at the temple's ziggurat.

Where the throne had once sat, there had been the statue of the temple's priestess—the Goddess Ishtar. Now, that statue was nowhere to be found.

If this had been a few years ago, it would likely have thrown the entire city of Uruk into panic.

But in recent years, under the king's leadership and through his propaganda, the people had lost much of their reverence and worship for the gods.

Instead, they had gradually come to believe that their king was a god, using wisdom like that of a god to make the nation abundantly prosperous.

Just as the king ascended the throne atop the ziggurat and was about to speak, a soldier rushed up in haste.

"Lagash, Ur, and Nippur's armies are spotted marching toward Uruk!"

This report instantly drew cruel smiles from everyone in the hall.

"Heh, isn't this good?"

"Coming right to our doorstep!"

"Saves us the trouble of finding an excuse!"

Uruk's expansion naturally craved devouring the neighboring city-states, and now there was no need for any pretext to attack.

Of course, that these nations would march on Uruk was also expected—Uruk had stolen most of their trade.

"Your Majesty, I request to handle Lagash!"

"Then I'll take Ur!"

"Nippur is mine!"

"Hold on, if you three take them all, what are the rest of us supposed to do?"

"No, Lagash should be mine—I've done the most reconnaissance on Lagash."

For a moment, the hall erupted into a chaotic argument.

"Enough!"

From the throne, the king's voice came, somewhat lazy, and instantly silenced the entire hall.

"You handle Lagash. You, take Ur. You, Nippur. That's settled—don't disappoint me too much."

No one objected to the king's orders; all accepted them.

Because the king's command was absolute.

And then, just as everyone expected, the armies of Lagash, Ur, and Nippur were crushed by the king's forces.

In the blink of an eye, these three nations were dominated by Uruk.

"90%"

'Current progress: 90%'

In his field of vision, the card had only one corner left petrified.

Yet this 90% progress had already been reached before Gilgamesh (Bai Yue) took Lagash, Ur, and Nippur—it hadn't budged since.

So, what was still missing?

Enkidu? He hadn't found that person at all.

The Bull of Heaven incident?

That involved the so-called goddess—Ishtar, the very deity Uruk had once worshipped.

So, did gods really exist? He wasn't sure, but he had felt something watching him several times, likely the so-called gods.

Of course, he could also confirm that this world was not the world of Type-Moon.

Suddenly, a woman appeared before him without any warning.

A woman dressed quite seductively, a woman looking down at him with a gaze from on high.

That look in her eyes, as if appraising a new pet—truly an irritating gaze, one that made him want to gouge those eyes out.

This woman couldn't possibly be the Goddess Ishtar, could she?

If it came to a conflict with her, he wasn't without means to deal with her, but the opportunity would come only once.

That opportunity was the reward granted when progress reached 50%!

This King prefers custom-ordered chariots, not shared ones...

The woman who appeared was indeed the Goddess Ishtar, the Goddess of Nature and Harvest.

She was also the goddess governing love, fertility, and war.

Having taken notice of the lower realm from the heavens, she could no longer resist being drawn to the King of Uruk, Gilgamesh.

Now standing before this Human King, seeing him up close, she found herself even more enamored.

Golden hair and crimson eyes, so handsome—he was in no way inferior to the male gods.

Especially the aura of dominance and arrogance he exuded; it was the strongest she had ever witnessed in any human.

This dominance and arrogance, as if even the presence of gods would pale before it, was simply magnificent.

Look, even now the gaze cast her way showed not a trace of panic, as he sat there calmly.

Then, Ishtar slightly twisted her alluring form, projecting the aura befitting a goddess, and parted her sensual lips.

"I am the Goddess of Nature and Harvest~ Ishtar~"

"And then?"

The King of Uruk, seated on his throne, still propping his chin, let out a somewhat listless voice.