Although Ishtar had not personally experienced the Babylon City Siege, she had pieced together the general situation from scattered bits of information.
Swept along by the tide of demonic beasts, the refugees who had mindlessly surged toward Uruk's North Wall defensive line had met a dreadful end.
War was never merciful, much less a game that could be restarted at will.
Even upon seeing countless refugees gathered beneath the city walls, Uruk's generals responsible for guarding the line could only abandon them cruelly.
After all, tearing open the North Wall and letting those refugees in would be easy, but sealing the gap again and stabilizing the battle line in a short time would be harder than climbing to heaven.
And the tide of demonic beasts that had been snapping at their heels was watching hungrily from close at hand.
They resembled a pride of lions driving prey into an encirclement to sow chaos.
Clearly, those monsters were sharpening their fangs and claws as they waited for the chance to attack.
If anything went wrong here, the defensive line humanity had painstakingly built would likely be finished!
The previously overrun Northern High Ground had fallen because of similar negligence and softheartedness.
The people outside the city were certainly pitiful, but what of Uruk behind them?
If they did not want their homeland to become another desolate ruin like Babylon, they had to harden their hearts.
Thus, after that battle, fewer than one in a hundred refugees who fled to the North Wall of the Absolute Demonic Beast Front survived.
Including those dragged away by demonic beasts, those who died of illness, exhaustion, or mutual slaughter along the way, the true casualty count was likely even more horrifying.
The fact that their group had not headed toward the Babylonian defensive line had instead been a stroke of luck.
Yet even so, the longer escape route and greater uncertainty along the way had inflicted terrible losses upon the several dozen people who had taken that unconventional path.
According to the man's account, after entering the Mount Epiph range, they had encountered demonic beasts again and scattered.
At present, he was the only survivor of his team.
"Human, there is no need to grieve, nor is there any need for regret. You have already done very well!"
Ishtar's expression turned solemn. She gently patted Samael's shoulder in comfort, her gaze growing softer.
Besides harvest, love, and marriage, she also held dominion over war.
Therefore, Ishtar held a strong fondness for soldiers who fought bravely and possessed battlefield wisdom.
"By the way, since you escaped with such difficulty, why did you not run toward a city settlement?"
"If you cannot find your bearings, then in recognition of your efforts, I can give you a ride on the Sky Ark Ma'anna."
Yet the moment she finished saying that out of kindness, Ishtar wanted to slap herself.
The gems! If he left, what would happen to the gems? Why did I have to say that?!
Just as the goddess was regretting it, Samael, who had picked up most of the gems, solemnly looked at Ishtar.
"Lady Ishtar, the reason I entered the Sacred Mountain was because I had heard of your fame as the War Goddess and wished to make a deal with you."
"As payment, I offer these gems that we brought out of Babylon!"
A deal?!
What deal? Whatever it is, I'll do it!
Ishtar's eyes lit up. Catching the enticing scent, she nearly threw away her dignity, pinned down this slow-talking fellow, and shouted directly at him.
"Ahem. Whatever your request is, feel free to state it. The gods are merciful."
But once the words left her mouth, her true inner thoughts had become a more dignified line meant to preserve her image, making her appear reserved and elegant.
"Merciful? Heh..."
"If Babylon's guardian god had been as enlightened as you, why would we have needed to take the gems from the temple?"
Samael snorted mockingly. Unconsciously, his right hand tightened around the bundle, his knuckles turning faintly white from the force.
Then, as if venting his emotions, the man stuffed the gems into Ishtar's arms.
These gems came from Marduk's temple? No wonder their quality was so high!
Ishtar's eyelid twitched. Amid her excitement, a hint of concern surfaced in her eyes.
That King of Kings was Babylon's guardian god. In a sense, these gems were more or less connected to him.
Even if Marduk had not answered Babylon's people's prayers, anything placed in his temple was theoretically already divine property.
However, greed and poverty gradually overcame Ishtar's wariness of Marduk.
Anyway, Babylon is gone, and your people are utterly disappointed in you. They have turned around and made offerings to me.
Even if you investigate it, it has nothing to do with me, right?
What if...
What if what?! Once it enters my pocket, it is mine! Not even Father Anu can pry it out!
Looking every bit the miser, Ishtar clutched the gem-filled bundle tightly. At the same time, she bared her fangs and viciously swore to herself.
At that moment, Samael picked up a Clay Tablet that had fallen to the ground and sank into sorrowful remembrance.
Curiously, Ishtar leaned closer and immediately saw that its contents appeared to be the war and reconnaissance records of a Babylonian general, containing much information about the demonic beast tide.
Moreover, on the back of the tablet, he had marked out the approximate area within the Fir Forest where the Temple of Blood, the source of the Beast Calamity, was located, based on the demonic beasts' marching and activity routes.
To Uruk, which was currently resisting the beast tide, this was an invaluable treasure whose importance needed no explanation.
And from the pauses between the words and the detail of the survey data, Ishtar faintly caught the heavy scent of blood.
Who knew how many people had sacrificed themselves to obtain this accurate information.
Perhaps this team that had entered Mount Epiph had separated from the main body of refugees and taken such a long detour in order to preserve this precious Clay Tablet.
Combining all the clues, the goddess now fully believed in the identity and mission of the soldier before her.
"Lady Ishtar, my entire team died beneath the claws of that pursuing Blue Dragon Bashum!"
"I am too useless to avenge my comrades. Other than you, no god will listen to humanity's prayers!"
"So please, for the sake of these gems, kill that blue dragon!"
Samael's voice was suppressed yet grief-stricken as he stared intently at Ishtar.
You want me to slay a dragon?
The goddess's breathing caught slightly, and her expression became strained.
"Could it be that even you, who governs war, are unwilling to avenge us?"
"Then forget it. I will use these gems to hire mercenaries, gather people, find a way into the Fir Forest, and kill that blue dragon!"
Noticing Ishtar's hesitation, Samael briskly moved to snatch the bag of gems from the goddess's hands.
"What are you saying? It is just a dragon! Leave it to me!"
Ishtar forced a smile, clutched the gems tightly, and patted her somewhat meager chest as she boldly took on the task.
"Mm! Thank you, Lady Goddess!"
The honest and straightforward soldier nodded seriously and let out a relieved breath, as though that bag of gems had been a responsibility and burden in his hands.
Maintaining her fake smile, Ishtar muttered to herself.
No matter what, I should get the gems first.
As for dragon slaying? I did not hear anything just now! Whoever wants to do something that troublesome can do it.
What if he finds out? So what if he finds out?
Heh, it is not as though he would dare demand a debt from a goddess.
Well, well, fat sheep who trust people this easily are far too rare.
If I do not fleece them properly and let them learn what pain feels like, would they not become even easier to deceive in the future?
Ah, I truly am too merciful.
Eager to avoid the person involved and return to count her spoils, Ishtar immediately summoned the Sky Ark Ma'anna hovering in the heavens and leapt onto her mount.
Before leaving, the goddess vaguely felt that she had forgotten something important.
What did I come here for in the first place?
But after thinking for a moment, her mind, filled with the glitter of gems, remained a muddled mess.
Forget it. It apparently was not anything important. Hiding these gems comes first!
Then the Sky Ark Ma'anna transformed into a streak of light and headed toward the temple atop the mountain, returning fully laden.
"You gave her an entire bag of gems that easily? You did not leave behind some binding contract or anything?"
"Do you know that her reputation has never been particularly good?"
"Tsk, so even you have a day when you are deceived by a god..."
The Soul Cage at his waist flickered faintly, and Shamhat's tone carried a hint of schadenfreude.
"Is that so?"
"She may be profiting now, but I definitely will not lose out later."
The ancient serpent narrowed his eyes at Ishtar's retreating figure, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
Speaking of which, how much of the ore in Gilgamesh's treasury should I skim off?
Before you continue