What Have You All Been Protecting?! 4/4

"Your cow?"

"Your Niu Jin Gui is precious!"

"Your cow almost tore my kusa apart, should I ask you for compensation?"

"And if this drags on any longer, you won't even be able to keep Uruk!"

"What a greedy person!" Ereshkigal was furious, wishing she could smash Ishtar's head open.

"I released Gugalanna a long time ago! This cow has nothing to do with me!"

Ishtar retaliated fiercely, knocking Gugalanna back several steps before turning solemn and rebuking him with righteous indignation.

"I knew you were a monster all along!"

"They actually dared to use the flash flood to try and submerge Uruk!"

"Having been hiding for so long, he must have done more than one bad thing."

As the goddess Uru casually questioned him, she blasted open the soil, causing the Bull of Heaven to stumble and its forehooves to sink into the Abyssal Layers.

Thanks to the divine beast's ability to alter the terrain, Gugalanna an instant.

Ishtar painfully scattered a handful of high-quality gems, detonating them one after another on her former private property, while continuing to distance herself from the criminals who had caused her severe economic losses.

"Speak! When Abif collapsed and the Black Tide invaded the South Gate, was it your doing?"

"Moo..."

"And my temple..."

"Wait, my temple?!"

Suddenly, all the previous doubts were connected into a complete cycle as a flash of inspiration struck Ishtar's mind.

As the conqueror of Mount Epiph, she gained ceded control over this Sacred Mountain.

Therefore, he possesses the Noble Phantasm "Mountain Tremor Starfire," which is the embodiment of the concept of Venus and the legend of "Mount Epiph Shattered."

Therefore, the temple built on the summit of Mount Epiph also serves as the foundation for stabilizing the entire mountain.

Ishtar had been wondering why the spirit of Mount Epiph, which should have been destroyed, was able to break the seal and destroy her temple, without her receiving any obvious warning.

Now she understands everything!

The cause of the disintegration of his own temple was not the demonic boar possessed by the spirit of Mount Epiph!

It was the Bull of Heaven — Gugalanna!

If everything was purposeful, then the three impacts from Mount Epiph would all make sense.

Destroying her temple means that Mount Epiph will no longer be stable and will no longer be able to serve as a pillar to suppress the underworld.

Therefore, Apsu, who is trapped in the abyss, will break free of his restraints and awaken sooner.

The evil spirits that emerged from the cracks and the demonized wild boars and other creatures were all omens.

They didn't even realize it themselves, and even took the blame for it!

Ishtar, remembering the shattered gems scattered on the ground, gritted her teeth in hatred, scattering her remaining treasures under Gugalanna's hooves, causing it to sink further.

The second wave of attack occurred the instant Apsu awoke from beneath the Fir Forest. Mount Epiph collapsed immediately afterward, unleashing a black tide that attacked Uruk from both sides!

The third wave of attack is undoubtedly happening now. This dead bull, carrying a torrent of water, is coming, also with the aim of destroying Uruk!

It really is you, Gugalanna! You traitor!

Driven by the lure of money, Ishtar, having grasped the essence of the matter, had bloodshot eyes and immediately ascended into the sky, opening a black vortex to store the concept of Venus into her chamber.

"The gates are open!"

"From the great sky to the great earth! Alternative name— Mount Epiph Crushed!"

A beam of light, several meters in diameter, gradually condensed and took shape. As the War Goddess raised her hand and pressed down, a surging Aether Tide crashed down on the ground where the Bull of Heaven stood.

After the air collapsed rapidly, it suddenly exploded, and a huge mushroom cloud rose into the air.

"Moo!"

With bloodshot eyes, Gugalanna sank into endless darkness amidst his wailing.

"You dare touch my temple! You dare smash my collection!"

Looking down at the culprit as he gradually fell into the underworld, Ishtar sneered maliciously, feeling refreshed after venting his anger.

"Once we're done working, you can have that cow. You can use it for soup or barbecue, whatever you like."

The goddess stretched lazily, like a cat whose fur had been stroked, appearing quite pleased.

"Furthermore, regarding the cost of protecting Kusa, out of consideration for our past relationship, I won't ask you for it..."

With an increasingly smug hum, Ishtar helped Tenma Ma'anna turn around gracefully.

Just as she was about to show some magnanimity to Ereshkigal, her gaze fell upon the Great Hollow behind her, and the colossal waves surging across the chasm toward Uruk. Her smile froze instantly.

"Uh, I think we can try to save Uruk..."

"The situation is urgent, I have to go!"

Ishtar chuckled dryly and said, "Go ahead," before leaping aboard the Sky Ark Ma'anna.

Driven by the madness of magic, Ma'anna transformed into a dazzling stream of light, carrying the culprit who overturned Kusa, and sped away from the scene of the crime.

"Ishtar!"

From the pitch-black abyss, a roar that seemed to grind its teeth echoed all around, scattering the dark clouds in the sky.

"Moo!"

Just as the Underworld Goddess relaxed her guard, a roar like muffled thunder came from the ground.

In an instant, a strange tremor spread out.

Power—the turbulent Euphrates River!

As the Bull of Heaven intervened, the waters of the Euphrates River immediately overflowed and surged, merging with the raging mountain torrents, sweeping towards Uruk with overwhelming force.

Oh no!

Ereshkigal's expression changed drastically. Her gaze shifted between Gugalanna in the abyss and Uruk beyond the Euphrates River, her mind in turmoil.

A moment later, the Underworld Goddess gritted her teeth in hatred and turned her head away.

Meanwhile, at the south gate of Uruk, a group of guards, seeing wave after wave of enormous waves crashing down on the Reed Plains, were terrified and hastily activated their Magecraft signals.

"Euphrates River breached! Highest alert!"

The off-key, shrill warning echoed throughout Uruk, plunging the city into panic and chaos.

What's going on? Could it be that even the two main gods, Ereshkigal and Ishtar, couldn't stop that mountain torrent?

Samael's expression changed drastically, and he rushed to the South Gate with Anna.

Seeing that the giant wave had already swept dozens of miles away, a beam of light shot out diagonally, only managing to cleave through a few dozen meters of water before dissipating.

Oh no! I've run out of magic!

A wave of dizziness washed over her, Ishtar collapsed onto the Sky Ark Ma'anna, her face turning pale as she watched the floodwaters, which hadn't been reduced much, continue to surge forward.

Fortunately, the ground in front of Uruk rose up, and layers of mountains began to block the floodwaters.

Ereshkigal is here!

On the city wall, Samael, his heart pounding with fear, almost crushed the bricks with his fingers.

Before he could even catch his breath, the mountains and ravines, which had blocked nearly 70% of the aftershocks, were gradually shattered and filled in.

The still mighty floodwaters swept across the plains a few meters away, surging in with layers of waves that had already surpassed the height of the city walls.

At the critical moment, the loud roar of the Quetzalcoatl came from above everyone's heads.

In an instant, a howling wind swept across the sky, and a giant rock engraved with the calendar of stars crashed down, half of it embedding itself in the soil in front of the South Gate amidst a sharp explosion.

The giant wave that was about to crash onto the city wall, along with the red light spreading and washing over the surface of the round stones, fell to the ground like a spineless corpse and slowly retreated into the river.

The Sun Calendar Stone! Feathered Serpent God Goddess!

Looking at Uruk, which he had almost lost to, Samael felt a pang of sadness and tears welled up in his eyes.