Work Hard for Me! Struggle for Me!

Several days later, the four-person team set off from Uruk, traversing wetlands and the vast Mesopotamian plains.

Arriving along the Euphrates River, one can see lush greenery resembling a tropical rainforest from afar.

The climate along the way is hot and humid, with vines intertwined and large mosquitoes and plants that all exhibit some or more characteristics of ancient creatures.

The crowd even spotted a man-eating flower over two meters tall, a spider nearly the height of an adult, and several Cretaceous Quetzalcoatlus, which occasionally swam overhead.

These monsters clearly regard the rainforest as their territory and hunting ground. When they swoop down with their wings, they often seize all sorts of strange insects and large and small magical beasts, take off and tear them apart to eat, which looks like a kind of primitive savagery and bloodshed.

Along the way, Ishtar, the native goddess, couldn't help but marvel at the terrifying power of the Feathered Serpent God Kukulkan.

It can extensively alter the geographical environment and its ecosystem. This power is a level above that of the Gorgon the Beast Goddess, who simply uses humans to cultivate the War Beast "Mother of Hundred Beasts".

Reflecting on Ishtar, even as the goddess of fertility and the god of war, and with the added power of the native gods, I am not confident that I could easily achieve this level.

Feathered Serpent God Kukulkan, truly deserves to be considered one of the four creator gods who perfected the Mayan World.

She is indeed very powerful, and also very dangerous!

Thinking of this, Ishtar felt a little scared and guilty, and suspiciously looked around the rainforest, always on guard against the Mayan High God, Ō, suddenly appearing.

At this moment, Samael, who was clearing the way ahead, noticed the goddess's small movement, gently patted her shoulder, and softly murmured.

"There's no need to be so hostile. Rest assured, all signs indicate that Feathered Serpent God won't really try to kill us."

The ancient snake then pointed around with a confident expression.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"The rainforest is dangerous, and even we have to be careful."

"But along the way, not only are there specially carved paths nearby, but we haven't seen any human skeletons at all. Don't you find that strange?"

"After all, this place isn't far from human settlements."

Upon hearing this, Ishtar looked ahead and immediately saw the city of Ur, which was already beginning to take shape, hidden by the dense forest.

"Could it be that the reason these pterosaurs are here to hunt magical beasts and poisonous insects is to secretly protect the safety of the humans nearby?"

Anna looked thoughtfully at the harmless Quetzalcoatl in the sky.

Samael nodded slightly, acknowledging that the little girl had come up with the answer through intuition, and habitually stroked her little head with his right hand as a reward.

Meanwhile, atop the Pyramid Temple thousands of feet away, the South American wind elder sister, sensing all of this through the wind god pterosaur, gently curled the corners of her mouth.

"Hmm, what a thoughtful little kid, he's really touched my sweet spot again."

"However, whether you consider them enemies or friends is just wishful thinking on your part."

"It's not so easy to change the mind of a god."

"So, you lovely, fragile lives..."

"Show me your best efforts! Show me your struggles!"

Amidst giggles, the Feathered Serpent God, standing atop the divine tower against the wind, grinned, revealing a nearly ferocious yet expectant smile.

But in an instant, that faint connection and sense of connection with the wind god pterosaur was swept away by a wave of ether.

Quetzalcoatl's vision went black for a moment, and his thoughts drifted back to the past.

Tsk, got caught? That's impressive!

Well, it's better to have more anticipation than to play around with it. I hope you guys won't keep me waiting too long.

Feathered Serpent God leaned against the Sun Calendar Stone behind him, gazing up into the lush rainforest.

At the same time, Merlin raised his wand, yawned, and nodded casually to Samael.

Meanwhile, the self-conscious goddess waved her hand, awkwardly maintaining her already shattered image.

"Well, that's what I think too."

Yes, yes, you're right.

The ancient serpent nodded in agreement, though his words were not entirely sincere, lest this man, who had gone to great lengths to gather these combatants, become enraged and abandon his post.

Ishtar beamed with delight at Samael's sensible trust and put his arm around her neck.

"I'm really growing to like you more and more. You're so sweet-talking, a nice person, and most importantly, you bring me good fortune!"

"How about we leave the Uruk Temple there and let you serve as my priests?"

"This guy's a nice guy? Are you blind?"

How come this wicked guy is always being praised, while I, the Big Brother, am the one being bullied?

Merlin was wide awake, his lips twitching slightly. He remembered the Contract Clay Tablet, riddled with holes, and couldn't help but pound his chest, feigning psychological trauma.

Samael secretly raised his middle finger and gave Merlin, who was winking and acting like a complete drama queen, a cold laugh.

However, before the ancient serpent could even think of a way to decline, Ishtar, who was only enthusiastic about most things for a short time, turned to look at Ur, who was a hundred meters away, and seemed quite excited.

"No, no! I've been traveling all day, and the rainforest is so hot and humid, I'm sweating all over!"

"Anyway, it's getting late, and it's a bit dangerous to travel under the cover of night."

"Let's go to Ur to rest for a bit, take a good shower, and have something to eat!"

The three of them considered that the goddess's request was reasonable, so they nodded in agreement and followed in Ishtar's footsteps.

After entering the city, the roots of plants had already broken through the city walls, and the dense forest blocked out most of the sunlight.

Although there was no blood or corpses on the streets, all the figures walking around were women and children.

Furthermore, their faces were mostly filled with sorrow and numbness.

Out of curiosity, Anna and Ishtar asked passersby for information about the situation and learned the reason for the strange occurrences in the area.

Ur was a city that was swallowed up by plants after the early expansion of dense forests.

Although the Head Shrine Maiden sent several pleas for help to Uruk, either the messengers failed to escape, or the rescue soldiers were swallowed up by the dense forest, leaving no trace of their bodies.

After several failed attempts, the people of Ur were plunged into despair and chose to submit to the goddess Quetzalcoatl in the dense forest.

Furthermore, following the command of the goddess, they would select elite male warriors each month and send them to the Sun Temple in Edessa for a sacrificial ceremony.

Since the men had all gone, they saw it as a death sentence.

Therefore, Ur's will to resist was gradually weakened, and now he has become submissive and no longer even considers leaving the city.

However, even though he submitted to the Goddess of the Forest, there was still some lingering resentment.

Samael and the others did not force them to take sides. After the war with Quetzalcoatl began, the Shrine Maiden's Office and her men obediently arranged accommodations, changes of clothes, and food for these Uruk reinforcements.

As evening fell, Anna leaned against the railing, looked at the sparse lights of the city, and heard faint sobbing. Her expression tightened.

"Even if Quetzalcoatl truly loves humans, her love has already brought harm to the Ur people!"

At that moment, Samael, who had somehow appeared behind the little girl, spoke softly, his eyes filled with deep emotion.

"There is often a sense of distance between humans and gods. There is a relationship between them, just like how we raise cats and dogs."

"Feeding and petting are forms of love, but leashing it and neutering it might also be seen as a form of love by its owner."

"Therefore, before an equal understanding and trust can be achieved, do not presume to talk about humanity with God!"

Just as the ancient serpent was pondering, a strange rhythm, like the earth's crust churning, came from beneath its feet, and the threads in its mind suddenly tightened and buzzed.

Edessa... be careful... danger...

Intermittent thoughts converged into an instruction from the Mother Goddess Tiamat.

This feeling is a mix of concern and unease...