Mount of the God of War Retirement Home

In the vast, solemn council hall, Divine Blood Aristocrats draped in white robes and pampered by privilege sat according to the rank of their status and bloodline, filling the circular tiers of marble seats. Though dressed in splendor and luxury, every one of them looked aged, and the entire hall was steeped in a heavy air of decay.

"Everyone, my husband Leonidas is fighting the Persians to the death at Hot Spring Pass. Outside stands a formidable Persian army of three hundred thousand. Once they break through that natural stronghold, the enemy will be able to drive straight in and reach Athens. At this moment, when Greece's survival hangs in the balance, I once again implore Mount of the God of War to sound the horn of war, muster the troops at once, march north, and hold Hot Spring Pass!"

Spartan Queen Gogo faced those lofty Divine Blood Aristocrats and issued her impassioned appeal.

Yet pairs of muddled, half-dozing old eyes forced themselves awake from their stupor and looked down at the two lone women in the center of the open-air stands. Their gazes were indifferent, utterly unmoved.

"Ridiculous! Since when did Greece's fate need to be decided by some insignificant Hot Spring Pass, by you Spartans?"

The old man seated at the highest point, a Gorgon Emblem pinned to his chest, frowned in displeasure and snorted coldly as he opened his eyes.

"Besides, Mount of the God of War has never issued an order to hold Hot Spring Pass..."

Queen Gogo's breath caught, and her expression darkened.

This was precisely the crux of the current stalemate.

In fact, at the very beginning of the Third Iliad War, Mount of the God of War had already chosen the location for the decisive land battle: the rugged region of Plataea in