Worthy of You, Ishtar!
Fifteen minutes later, Kusa.
The city, cursed by death, still retains its original appearance, as if it were merely frozen in time, possessing a Calamity Jane and beautiful charm.
However, as the ground trembled violently, mudflows mixed with rubble, trees, animal carcasses, and debris advanced layer by layer from afar, creating giant waves as high as hundreds of meters.
The Sumer city-states that blocked the path were like building blocks covered by the palm of a giant.
"Heaven has its desolate seas, earth has its prisons, and I, the one who bears the wrath of the underworld— Spirit Peak Embrace, I, the one who bears the wrath of the underworld!"
Just then, a mysterious sound emanated from underground, and the soil layer of the plain between Mount Epiph and Mount Kussani suddenly tore open.
A bottomless chasm runs between the mountain torrents and the Kusa River, forming an insurmountable natural barrier.
At that time, the soil layer rose up on the side close to Kusa, and the majestic mountain peaks rose up from the abyss, transforming into a barrier behind the chasm.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Thunder roared in the sky, and turbid currents surged on the ground like ten thousand galloping horses.
But in the end, the massive three waves crashed into the mountain peaks on one side of the chasm, shattering them into pieces, and then the raging torrent plunged headlong into the abyss leading to the underworld.
"It's blocked!"
Under the torrential rain, Maana Ishtar, piloting the Sky Ark Ma'anna, glanced at the still intact city of Kusa behind her and excitedly pumped her fist.
But then, seemingly realizing that she still harbored old grudges with that good sister, the goddess of Uruk crossed her arms and muttered something with a slightly haughty cough.
"Cough cough, not bad, just a tiny bit worse than me..."
Then, it's the goddess's turn to appear next!
In an instant, Ishtar's expression turned solemn as she gazed longingly at the devastated landscape along the Mount Epiph.
At this moment, the rain is pouring down and the wind is howling!
The 10th hurricane, carrying waves and mud, swept in, almost tearing the land apart.
Dark, ominous clouds blotted out the sky, swallowing the last glimmer of starlight, pressing in with overwhelming force.
Countless lightning snakes darted and slithered, constantly winding and exploding towards the ground, causing the earth to tremble and churn.
Sure enough, Samael was right! There was something inside!
Ishtar enters combat mode, her eyes narrowing slightly. She raises her fingers to form a pistol shape, while the Celestial Bow Ma'anna, suspended behind her, is drawn to its fullest extent, its massive beam of light poised to be unleashed.
Hmph! Let me see what's causing this trouble!
"Ma'anna, fire with all your might!"
With a crisp, explosive roar, it frantically devoured the surrounding Aether Particles and light arrows. The tip of the arrow was as dazzling as the morning star. At the moment when its power was concentrated to the extreme, it suddenly shot off.
"Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!"
The swirling, intertwined pillars of wind before the dark clouds were instantly torn apart, the front four pillars cleaved open, and a beam of light pierced through the endless darkness, its terrifying power forming a chasm that stretched across the sky, echoing the masterpiece on the ground.
Hum, you can do it, the goddess can still do it!
Ishtar flew forward with an air of pride, her determined gaze fixed on the dark clouds that had been parted by the arrow of light.
This attack could even blast through Mount Epiph; anything inside would be either dead or severely injured, unless...
A deafening roar erupted from within the dark clouds, and streaks of lightning illuminated and filled large swathes of the sky, dispelling the darkness.
Ishtar's eyelids twitched, and her throat went dry.
Unless... it's at the level of a supreme god!
In an instant, as if to confirm her conjecture, a hoof that seemed to be cast in gold, every inch of it shimmering with metallic luster, emerged from the dark clouds and stomped down with lightning speed.
"Ma'anna!"
Ishtar hurriedly summoned her Heavenly Bow and dodged in a pinch, narrowly avoiding the falling giant hoof.
"Boom!"
Even so, the hoof that stepped on the ground was like a conductive copper pillar, instantly scattering countless arcs of lightning.
"Awoo!"
Caught off guard, Ishtar was struck by lightning, blown away like a cannonball, his hair standing on end, his whole body emitting black smoke as he crashed into the sacred peak blocking the chasm.
"Cough cough..."
Fortunately, it was just the aftershock, and a gentle force supporting it came from behind the Spirit Peak.
The injured Uruk goddess immediately used the mountain behind her as a cushion to dissipate her remaining strength, and then angrily crawled out of the human-shaped pit in the belly of the straight mountain, riding the Sky Ark Ma'anna forward at high speed.
"Gugalanna, you've gone mad!"
Indeed, this enormous creature, brought by a torrent of water and shrouded in clouds and mist, was none other than the long-lost Bull of Heaven.
"Buzz!"
However, the top-tier divine beast, towering over a hundred meters tall and revealing only a sliver of its outline, ruthlessly stomped down with its hoof once more.
The remnants of the hurricane, carrying turbulent waves, swept across the sky.
"You bastard! I only insulted you a few times! You dare to hit me!"
Ishtar, wielding Ma'anna with fierce determination, dodged and weaved, his blood boiling and his anger blazing.
"Watch me skin you alive to make clothes, and chop off your ox hooves to make soup!"
Enraged, the Great Goddess of Uruk unleashed the full power of her Celestial Bow Ma'anna, sending dozens of beams of light arcing towards the bull's head shrouded in dark clouds.
However, after a series of clanging sounds, not a single hair on the huge bull's head, which exuded power and a resilient beauty, was lost.
It's even harder than before! Are you kidding me?!
Ishtar's face froze, and he was speechless with anger.
Immediately, the dark clouds trembled violently, Gugalanna slowly moved, revealing half of its outline.
Atop its head were a pair of azure bull horns, which shone ever brighter, attracting lightning from thousands of meters away, which condensed into hundreds of those terrifying, dark blue lightning balls.
"Moo..."
Amidst the desolate and violent roars of beasts, balls of lightning streaked across the sky, trailing chaotic arcs of light.
Facing these things directly, Ishtar felt a chill run down her spine, and she felt as if every strand of her hair was standing on end.
The goddess disregarded her own safety and immediately dodged and weaved, leaping and bounding, while simultaneously using her magic to intercept the pursuing lightning balls, barely managing to eliminate these troubles.
"Be good... be good..."
"I promise I won't yell at you anymore..."
Ishtar swallowed hard, looking at the pair of red lanterns that resembled eyeballs in the dark clouds, and felt a little frightened. He chuckled dryly and made a promise.
She used to use the Bull of Heaven to wreak havoc on others, but this time, when she faced it herself, she realized that this thing, which resembled a mobile fortress, was really troublesome!
"Moo!"
The Bull of Heaven reared its head and roared, pawing the ground and stomping its hooves down hard.
Suddenly, a rumble came from the earth, and spiderweb-like cracks spread all the way.
"Boom!"
In the blink of an eye, the towering peak that had stood across the chasm collapsed with a deafening roar.
At that time, the mountain torrents were blocked by the abyss, and the pressure began to squeeze from both sides towards the middle, and the cracks were slowly closing.
Worse still, the turbid current, which had just calmed down, surged again, with rows of giant waves rising up one after another beneath the hooves of the Bull of Heaven.
Changing the terrain, controlling water flow, harnessing wind and thunder...
Oh no! If this continues, not only will Kusa be doomed, but Uruk will be gone too!
This thing is more accurately described as a mobile war fortress. I never thought that having so many functions could be so annoying.
"Stop looking! Gugalanna has been [dominated], hurry up and smash it into the Underworld!"
A soft hum from Ereshkigal echoed in his mind, followed by a loud shout as a reminder.
"I know!"
Ishtar looked into those scarlet eyes, her voice trembling with tears.
"But that's my cow, my property, I can't bear to part with it!"