What's Wrong with Forcing a Good Man into Prostitution? 4/5
Mount Epiph.
The torrential rain poured down like a waterfall, and the turbid torrents continuously washed away the soil and rocks from the mountain slopes, revealing the rugged skeleton.
As Ishtar, aboard the Sky Ark Ma'anna, gazed at the dark clouds and waters that stretched to meet the sky beyond the protective spell, a slight frown forming between her brows.
Never mind, let's go to the temple on the mountaintop first!
With the help of that foundation, one's own power and perception can be amplified to the extreme.
If you're willing to spend some time and invest a lot of gems, you can probably roughly search half of the Mount Epiph without having to spend any.
Ishtar made up his mind, and drove Ma'anna toward the mountaintop.
A moment later, a mournful cry broke through the barrier of the heavy rain and echoed through the vast mountains.
"Who! Which bastard has ruined my temple!"
On the cleared ground of the main peak, Ishtar gazed at the two maneki-neko (beckoning cat) sculptures with four cracks at the entrance of the temple, her heart bleeding with pain.
The goddess angrily jumped off the Sky Ark Ma'anna, and looked around. She was instantly drawn to a tooth-grinding scraping sound.
Not far away, behind several stone pillars of the main hall covered with scratches and gaps, seven or eight yellow-black demonic boars, each about two meters tall, with bristles as stiff as steel brushes, were gnawing and rooting around.
Under the ravages of these beasts, the outer layer of the divine patterns was completely disfigured, and the gold powder applied to the surface was washed away by the heavy rain and fell into the muddy stream.
"Ma'anna!"
Ishtar's eyes widened in fury as she grabbed several gems from her hand and flung them out at Jiao Zha.
Instantly, the Heavenly Boat's bow was fully drawn, and dozens of Aether Tide ripped through the sky, precisely piercing the skulls of these demonic pigs, causing them to scream in agony as crimson fluids burst forth, killing them instantly.
The goddess angrily stepped forward, kicked aside the corpses of the demonic boars, and nervously entered the main hall.
In the blink of an eye, her heart plummeted to the bottom, shattering into eight pieces.
The interior was covered with animal footprints, and the inner and outer walls were damaged in many places. The gems and coins she had painstakingly collected were scattered everywhere.
The gold bricks that covered the floor and the crystal ornaments that decorated the top were all smashed to pieces by some enormous force.
Most of the various Magecraft rituals used to decorate and purify the temple collapsed and went out.
Even more tragically, the three pillars at the back were completely broken off, one-third of the main hall collapsed, and the drafty walls with large holes could not even keep out the rain.
The stagnant sewage inside was ankle-deep, and the sour smell of rotting plants and fermentation permeated the air.
The temple, though seemingly existing in name only, is now defunct.
This is too much! I can't live like this anymore! All my belongings are in there!
Ishtar gazed at the temple, now reduced to just two walls. Her cherry lips trembled, a lump rose in her throat, and tears welled in her eyes; she was on the verge of sobbing.
Then, the goddess wiped away her tears, glanced at the hoofprints, impact marks, and hair remnants left around her, turned back and glared fiercely at the seven or eight demonic boars lying dead outside, and immediately gritted her teeth.
"Damn bastard! I'll slaughter all the demonic boars on Mount Epiph today!"
For the deities who summon spirits, the destruction of their own temple is an utter disgrace.
If her place of refuge weren't in Uruk, and this temple hadn't been merely a place for plundering money after being blasted out, her divinity would have been reduced by at least one-third!
Such a devastating loss deserves the culprit to be torn to Ishtar!
She was born lacking the Golden Rule, loved gemstones, but was destined to never own one.
Ishtar had finally managed to endure all the scorn and plunder a sum of money, but before she could even enjoy it, it was ruined by this group of beasts who appeared out of nowhere.
All the demonic boars in the mountains must die! Even if Father God Anu comes, he can't save them, I'm telling you!
The enraged goddess was about to summon the Sky Ark Ma'anna to wipe out the demonic boars of the entire Mount Epiph when she suddenly sensed a dense Death Qi surrounding her.
"Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Amidst sharp howls, hundreds of grotesque ghosts converged from all directions, swarming towards the dilapidated hall.
Garula Spirit?
No! They're emanating a red and black aura—they're vicious, fallen spirits! How come so many have appeared in the Great Heaven?! This is the sacred Mount Epiph!
Ishtar's expression changed slightly. She immediately bent her finger forward, making a pistol gesture, and remotely controlled the Sky Ark Ma'anna, firing a series of shotgun shells to blast away and disperse the approaching ghosts.
After several physical encounters, the goddess's expression became even more solemn, and her gaze became hesitant and uncertain.
These corrupted evil spirits withstood two rounds of bombing before they were finally driven away.
The intensity of their Magic Resistance power is simply incredible, almost comparable to that of humans in the Golden Age.
Moreover, logically speaking, with the confinement of seven layers of doors, plus the number of Spear Cage woven by Ereshkigal, so many troublesome things shouldn't have come out of the Underworld.
Is something wrong with the entire Mount Epiph? Or is the Underworld in chaos?
Ishtar's face was grave. Without bothering to salvage the situation by picking up the scraps, she immediately summoned the Sky Ark Ma'anna, which was suspended in mid-air, and flew out of the hall.
As a handful of gems were scattered, the remaining corrupted spirits were pierced and shattered by the light arrows.
At that moment, under the aftershocks of the shockwave, the already crumbling temple, covered with spiderweb-like cracks, collapsed with a deafening roar.
Ishtar, who had initially wanted to try to salvage the situation, looked at the smoke and dust and the appalling ruins, her face turning ashen.
She sniffed, her nose stinging, and seemed to faintly hear the sound of her heart bleeding.
We lost a lot of money this time...
No way, we have to earn it back from Uruk no matter what!
Only if that guy Samae comes to power and takes over the Treasury of Babylon can I break even.
Never mind, when I get back, he'll have to pay the price whether he wants to or not!
Even if I force him to become a prisoner, he still has to pay back his debts. If he dares not agree, I'll bite him to death!
Ishtar bared her fangs menacingly, then, suppressing the excruciating pain in her heart, turned her head away and flew towards the vast mountains.
At that time, Eridu.
Quetzalcoatl, who had been traveling at a great speed, jumped off his pterosaur and landed on the open ground in front of the Mayan Pyramid.
In the continuous heavy rain, not only was the ground muddy and slippery, but the filthy puddles were almost up to our calves.
Moreover, this was all within the tropical rainforest that she and the Jaguar Man had created, which had the function of storing and regulating water.
The rain here seems to be even heavier.
Quetzalcoatl frowned and looked around after climbing the Mayan Pyramid.
In Ur to the north, and nearby Eridu, there were obvious puddles of rainwater, and the city was shimmering with light.
Even on the streets, many houses have been washed away.
Even worse, there are problems with vegetation and food.
The Feathered Serpent God descended from the Mayan Pyramid and uprooted a withered mango tree. He discovered that the roots, submerged in water, were rotting and stinking, and the greenish-yellow fruits on the tree had fallen off.
Rainforests have always been synonymous with abundant resources, capable of supporting many people.
Therefore, Ur and Eridu, who were hidden there, could survive for quite some time even without wheat by gathering nearby fruits and other grains.
It now appears that if this rain continues, the entire rainforest could suffer a devastating blow.