In front of the Great Temple, Luo En watched the Goddess of Wisdom being surrounded and admired by the people of Athens, adorning her like stars around the moon, and he shook his head with a light chuckle.
It had to be said, even gods were not free from vanity, and Athena seemed to quite enjoy the sensation of being the center of attention.
After muttering to himself, he lifted his gaze, looking past the Acropolis of Athens, toward the towering black typhoons over the Sea of Okeanos, his brows gradually furrowing.
Were Typhon and Kronos preparing to make their move?
Hopefully, there was still time...
Amidst his silent murmur, the shepherd on the square took a step forward, his figure merging into a brilliant burst of light.
~~
Sparta.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Apollo stood proudly atop the city walls, drawing his golden longbow, his biceps bulging as he shot several arrows filled with divine power to completely shatter the advancing tsunami.
The water that leapt into the air, like a torrential downpour, brought with it fierce Sea Beasts that fell to the coastline, villages, and even onto the streets of the city-state.
These bloodthirsty creatures, having just recovered from their daze, opened their huge mouths and thrashed about, snapping and biting wildly.
In the blink of an eye, several nearby houses, as well as the unlucky townsfolk who had approached, fell victim to their onslaught.
Immediately, the sounds of breaking beams, flesh being torn, and the screams of humans being crunched and chewed alive, resounded without cease.
Looking out, the coastal area was engulfed in dust and smoke, as large pools of fresh blood stained the parched earth.
In the streets and alleys, the people, tiny as ants, began to flee from their crumbling homes, seeking refuge from the rampaging Sea Beasts that had come ashore.
Panic and chaos spread uncontrollably among the crowd.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
At that moment, the rhythmic clanging of weapons striking shields came from the main road, providing a steady strength to the frenzied and fearful hearts of the residents.
Through the gaps between alleyways, the people of Sparta were struck to see that their two princes, who had been urgently recalled the day before, were now leading several squads of Spartan Solders with sword and shield in hand, swiftly moving in all directions, systematically eliminating the Sea Beasts that had fallen into the city.
"First squad, throw your spears!"
"Second squad, raise your shields, draw your swords, sweep the battlefield!"
"Third squad, clear the way, rescue the people!"
"Priests! Where are the Temple’s priests? Immediately repair the defensive charm on the outer wall, we can’t let these beasts enter the city en masse!"
"..."
Under the command of Princes Castor and Polux, the Spartan soldiers, arranged in phalanx formations, acted like a rotating killing machine, dismembering and slaughtering the Sea Beasts along their path.
Princess Helen, garbed in golden armor, led the temple’s priests and priestesses in providing long-range magical suppression and support.
Soon, the slippery bodily fluids of the ocean creatures, along with their foul-smelling blood, began to spread amidst the Spartan phalanxes’ sweep.
The Spartans, after an initial panic, gradually calmed their unease and awakened their innate bravery.
One by one, the young men returned to their homes, took down their shields and spears from the walls, and prepared their bows and arrows and long swords, spontaneously forming groups to cleanse the city streets and alleys of the remaining beasts.
Eventually, when even the monsters within the city were dealt with, the spirited young men burst through the gates in high spirits, rushing to aid the afflicted villages and towns, taking the initiative to hunt.
This was a city known for its fierce, warrior-filled community, with seven or eight out of ten being of a suitable age for combat. Once they were stabilized and had a firm leader, they could rapidly transform into a formidable war machine.
~~
Arcadia.
"Thou art, the Silver of Rapid Shot!"
Artemis drew her bow to its full extent, solemnly chanting. Silver arrows streaked across the sky, forming a Magic Circle Diagram. One became two, two became four, and in a blink, thousands were formed, creating a dense light rain that instantly nailed the Magic Beasts running out from the deep mountains.
Immediately afterward, the city gates opened, and the newly inaugurated Queen Atalanta, driving the golden-horned stag chariot granted by her patron deity, led twenty battle nymphs who grew up with her, along with the Divine Blood Guard assembled from within the city, in a charge.
The Magic Beasts, already ravaged by a rain of arrows, were easily breached, divided, and annihilated.
"Priests and priestesses, immediately prepare the summoning ritual. Call upon the forest deities and the Water Nymphs of the mountains—I want to know all the species, numbers, and movements of the Magic Beasts in the Arcadian Mountains! The moment a fully formed Beast Nest is spotted, mark its location for me right away!"
Artemis on the city wall commanded with firm resolve while drawing her bow, and the priestesses of the Moon Temple tirelessly began their preparations.
Meanwhile, the Hermes Trismegistus Sect alchemists, Dionysian Sect adherents, and Cult of Erebus devotees within the city climbed the walls with familiar ease, assuming roles of defense, magical support, and logistics healing among others.
After the Beast Disaster they had experienced, all this had become routine for them.
Thebes.
As a holy land where the God of Wine had manifested twice, he had become the main object of worship for this city.
Facing the surging waves along the coastline, a golden cup poured from the sky, its scarlet wine turning into golden Divine Liquid as it rained down on the earth, erecting a radiant barrier of light that warded off the tumultuous waves.
Then, amidst the strong scent of wine, the Nine Muses and the Three Graces arrived, gracefully composing sharp inscriptions and playing a resounding battle hymn, killing the Sea Beasts that fell from the waves and fierce winds one after another.
Simultaneously, starlight descended and Fedra, the fourth daughter of King Minos, led dozens of Dionysian maenads and a host of sect followers from War God Mountain to the city wall to help the people of Thebes hold the line.
Corinth.
The God of Travel and Trickery, Hermes, stood atop the city wall, raising the Caduceus, smelting rocks to raise barriers that blocked the waves from the sea surface. This elicited a round of cheers from the Corinthians.
Hearing the praises like the waves of the sea, Hermes’s face lit up with a satisfied smile.
Their King, Sisyphus, had deceived the God of Death and was the smartest and most rebellious of humans.
Their people are known for their cunning and eloquence, despised by the surrounding city-states;
Their commerce is prosperous and developed, skilled in trade and communication;
This place, next to Arcadia, is the most suitable city-state for him to develop into a Holy Land.
And after such a long period of hard cultivation, his faith had finally taken root here.
One by one, the alchemists of Hermes took to the city walls amidst the surrounding and worship of the Corinthians, and began to construct spells in an orderly manner, clearing away the Sea Beasts that had been washed ashore.
Serifos Island.
The God of Love, Aphrodite, and her lover Adonis, created foam along the coast, giving birth to vegetation, and barely held back the raging waves that covered the sea.
Although it was a bit strenuous, for the two deities, such an attack was still within the range of their defenses.
And city-state kingdoms such as Eleusis, Calydon, Thracian, and the islands of Etna, under the call of their Chief Gods and Divine Blood Heroes, also began to mobilize their forces to respond to the disaster.
But not all city-states’ prayers received a response.
Meanwhile, in Thessaly.
Cainis, with her left hand holding up a shield, smashed a saw-toothed flying fish’s brains, and with her right-hand spear hurled forward, nailed a several dozen meters long sea serpent with a whistle. She disdainfully wiped off the seaweed from her head, stepping forward.
The King of Thessaly, driving a Bronze Chariot, stopped after dealing with the last Sea Beast in front of him.
Telamon, serving as a co-driver, jumped off the chariot, casually pulled the spear out of the sea serpent’s Demon Core, and threw it back into Cainis’s arms.
"The fight isn’t over; don’t throw your weapon away willy-nilly."
"Tch, I don’t need you to teach me that. How is the sea?"
Cainis caught the spear and, looking towards the misty sea, asked impatiently.
Telamon looked towards the Sea of Okeanos, which was gradually calming down, and began to speak with slight relief.
"No major problems, fortunately we kept these Sea Beasts and the flood out of the city, or Thessaly would be in trouble."
"Should we also thank his majesty, the Sea King?"
Cainis humphed coldly without any good grace, her gaze sweeping over Mermaid Prince Triton, who had lent a hand to calm the waves and clear the Sea Beasts on the city walls of Thessaly City, along with the Mechanical God Ares on guard by his side. She frowned sarcastically as her eyes fixated on two other empty spaces.
"Those who should have intervened did not, and we had to beg outsiders for help; maybe we should just remodel the Temple to worship Poseidon."
"You must not disrespect the Father God!"
King Admetos’s eyelid twitched at the sound, hastily chiding in a low voice.
However, the hot-tempered Cainis didn’t care about her own blasphemy and continued her mockery.
"You regard him as the Father God, but he doesn’t treat us as his people!"
"The Father God has his profound reasons for doing so..."
"Profound reasons my ass, he clearly doesn’t care if we live or die!"
Cainis rudely interrupted her own king, who was attempting to redeem Zeus’s honor, pointing at the empty spaces on the city walls, and she spared no one in her scathing criticism.
"See? Even his son he called back home, do you still expect him to show up?"
"Hasn’t the situation already been resolved? Don’t dwell on it too much..."
Telamon hastily tried to smooth things over, in an attempt to defuse the tension. Explore more at Freewebnovel
Cainis rolled her eyes at Telamon, huffing without good humor.
"We blocked the tsunami this time, but who knows if there will be a next time. We can’t always be dependent on Poseidon’s mood, can we?"
As the Divine Blood Hero was complaining, a dull roar from the Sea of Okeanos spread under the ever-expanding storm clouds. A new typhoon coiled dozens of towering waves, rolling towards the entire Peloponnesian Peninsula.
"..."
Telamon and King Admetos gave Cainis looks filled with quiet reproach as her words proved ominously prophetic.
This curse of a woman—always wrong about the good, yet accurate about the bad.
"Your Majesty, don’t worry, I am here to assist you!"
Prince Triton, upon the city walls, bravely stepped up, decisively picked up his Divine Artifact, the conch, and blew with all his Divine Power.
When it comes to tsunamis, the Sea God Temple is professional.
As long as he could help Thessaly withstand this crisis, the faith in the Sea God Poseidon would inevitably become the dominant belief in Thessaly.
Such an important stronghold, and Zeus just gave it up—what a waste.
Triton mocked his Divine King uncle’s vision in his heart while fantasizing about the rewards his father Poseidon would give him once he conquered the territory. He blew even harder on the conch.
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However, as the Mermaid Prince exerted his sea-blue Divinity against the typhoon’s red and black, it was instantly torn apart at the moment of contact.
Amidst thunderous storms, a solemn behemoth with hundreds of dragon heads, pitch-black as ink, revealed its ferocious and terrifying outline through the dark clouds and violent wind.
Triton, stricken by the backlash of his own Divinity, felt a sweet taste in his throat, and his pupils shook severely.
—Typhon!
Meanwhile, the Chief Gods and heroes of the various city-states who also sensed that dreadful presence, their expressions changed drastically.
The Demon Ancestor was about to come ashore!