However, the roaming star vanguard before them had already anticipated its opponents' next move.
Driven by its instinct to reap civilizations, the monster immediately broke into a sprint across the sea. Relying on its massive size, it slipped swiftly between Samael and the other two near the shore. In the same motion, it clasped its sword with both hands and swept out a seven-colored arc of light, slashing straight toward all three.
In that instant, Athena, Themis, and Samael had no choice but to force their Authorities into motion, taking the full brunt of the overwhelming strike head-on.
Boom!
The deliberately guided shockwave of the clash exploded like a star breaking apart. Blazing fire crashed down upon the sea in torrents. Dense ranks of humanoid combat weapons, hundreds upon hundreds of Echidna arsenal constructs, dozens of deep-sea warships, and several giant god-machines were all pulverized within the incandescent blast, reduced to drifting ash and scattered wreckage.
The sky within a hundred-mile radius was dyed in chaotic colors. Amid the blinding flames, the roaming star vanguard's body shuddered violently. It staggered backward again and again before finally falling flat into the sea.
The golden-blue stellar patterns on its body flickered and dimmed. Its core let out a mournful cry as spiderweb-like cracks spread across its frame. Shattered fragments peeled away one after another, dropping into the ocean below.
But forcing a head-on clash with that thing in such haste brought Samael and the others little advantage as well.
All three were blasted backward like cannonballs, smashing into the ground. Dust erupted at their impact points, leaving cone-shaped craters dozens of meters deep.
Damn it. It's coming!
Buried deep in her crater, Athena sensed the ether particles in the air above the sea surging at a terrifying rate. Spitting out the blood that seeped between her lips, she slammed her sheepskin divine shield into the ground. Divine power poured into it in a frenzy, fixing the might of the god-forged armament into a towering golden barrier, almost like a fortress made manifest.
Almost at the same moment, a red-black cross-shaped band of light and a blue-white veil of starlight rose in different directions. Clearly, Themis and Samael had also completed their defensive preparations.
Chi—chi—chi—chi!
Before the three divine barriers could link together and seal off the area, hundreds of giant god-machines had already finished charging their ether. From the light-forged spears in their hands, countless red-black beams of magical power erupted all at once.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The interwoven red-black pillars of light tore through the land like the malicious scribbles of a child wielding a paintbrush. Wherever the long-range firepower passed, the earth was ripped open with deep furrows. Forests, farmlands, valleys—once-lush regions—had their turf blasted skyward, reduced to utter ruin.
Even city-states that had raised towering walls and deployed magecraft barriers were not spared, pushed to the brink of collapse.
Arcadia.
The aged king, panic written across his face, knelt within the Temple of Artemis. Crates of jewels from the palace, precious magical beast pelts, and rare mineral specimens were offered up one after another to the huntress goddess who was meant to protect Arcadia, as he begged for divine shelter.
Rumble…
The city walls shook violently. The magecraft barrier flickered unstably. In the distance, the mountains of Arcadia were already scarred beyond recognition, thick smoke rolling skyward.
Great numbers of priests and ritualists worked themselves to exhaustion, scattering and burning incense. The fragrance in the air grew so strong it stung the nose.
Yet even so, the exquisite marble statue carved in the goddess's likeness remained nothing more than an unresponsive, lifeless object.
At the same time, Thebes, which revered Zeus and Hera; Delphi, devoted to Apollo, the god of light; the former city of Troezen, allied with Poseidon…
City-states facing disaster all turned to their own patron deities in desperate prayer.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the fortress-grade magecraft barriers, pushed to their limits, ran out of magical power and shattered, several exposed frontline cities saw their walls crumble and collapse. Burning bricks and stones were flung through the air as bursts of flame erupted from within.
The thunder of explosions, screams, and cries for help echoed without end. As far as the eye could see, thick smoke rose everywhere, the unmistakable sign of civilization breaking apart.
Looking out at the boiling sea, the sky above, and the dark tide of monsters surging across the wilderness, countless trembling humans fled into temples in search of refuge. They clung to the defensive spells surrounding the sanctuaries and the lingering power anchored in the statues, hoping to prolong their lives just a little longer while waiting for a miracle that might never come.
O gods, please show mercy!
Yet as massive beams of magical power tore across the sky, the lofty, ornate temples held out for only a brief moment before their light shattered like a punctured soap bubble. The structures collapsed and vanished entirely.
The priests and ritualists hiding inside tried to resist the apocalyptic onslaught with the blessings they bore. But the protective spell they formed together quickly dimmed, as if divine favor had been stripped away, and shattered in an instant, without even time for a final cry.
The gods… have abandoned us…
Within several coastal city-states now engulfed in flames, struggling survivors stared at the temples collapsing into the inferno, despair filling their eyes.
Cough…
At that moment, Samael, Athena, and Themis each coughed up a trace of blood. Even the slightest stir of their divine cores sent needle-like pain shooting through them.
They had already been badly wounded after forcibly clashing with that thing on the sea and blasting it into a dormant state. Now, suppressing their injuries to intercept nearly seventy percent of the giant god-machines' ichor cannons only worsened their condition.
The fact that these expendable units were still moving meant the situation was far from over.
Any plan to prioritize dealing with the roaming star vanguard before addressing the rest had clearly failed before it could even begin.
Damn it. Who would have thought Sefar also possessed Celestial Sound Assimilation, on top of being able to replicate combat templates?
Samael's brow twisted tightly in frustration and fury, while Athena and Themis could not help but let their expressions darken as well.
In truth, for the Orphic pantheon of gods from the War God Mountain to have fought to this extent was already no small feat.
After all, the Ancient Serpent had already blown Sefar apart once before, at the cost of enormous consumption.
And just three or four hours earlier, Athena had joined forces with Poseidon and Hera to launch a rebellion and suppress Zeus. In doing so, she had already lost more than half of her divine power.
If Themis were at full strength, then with the three of them working together, there might have been a chance to completely suppress and seal a roaming star vanguard still in its embryonic stage.
But what they were facing now was a roaming star vanguard that was in no way weaker than Sefar.
What was more, the rear-wing city-states had already drawn off most of their elite forces to reinforce the front of the Peloponnese Peninsula. Left behind, they still had to contend with the massive number of expendable troops created by the roaming star vanguard, and were likely in no position to hold out.
As for these giant god-machines, every single one of them possessed power on the level of a god. Even if Samael and the others fought with everything they had, they simply could not keep up on all fronts. It was unsustainable.
"Careful! They're coming ashore!"
At that moment, Athena's gaze swept over the giant god-machines charging in atop the waves like a mass of dark clouds, as well as the battle weapons swarming forward like a plague of locusts. Her expression sank. She struck her shield sharply and shouted a warning.
"While that thing is still in standby, take out as many of these big ones as you can!"
Samael wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes hardening. He leapt into the air, his cross spear streaking forward like a falling star. It punched straight through the abdominal core of a giant god-machine, tearing through its chest and dragging shattered metal along with it.
Athena followed close behind. With a shield strike driven by overwhelming force, she brutally flipped a giant god-machine onto the ground. The Victory Scepter she dragged forward transformed into the shape of a spear, sparks flying as it tore the fallen behemoth apart piece by piece.
"The crime of slaughter shall be punished by execution!"
Themis reversed her grip on the sword hilt and spoke coldly. As the blade turned and swept forward, the Scales of the Stars rang out, and the air twisted and split apart.
Crack!
Three nearby giant god-machines snapped at the neck almost simultaneously. Sparks burst out as their grotesque heads rolled into the dust.
The three gods standing at the pinnacle of myth tore through the battlefield, ether storms raging in their wake. Severed limbs and metal fragments rained down in great swathes.
Even so, they could not stop the entire army from reaching land. A large number of monsters still surged inland, seeking out cities, villages, and other strongholds of civilization to wreak destruction.
In an instant, city-states along the coast were attacked one after another, forced to devote all their strength to dealing with this diverted wave of monsters.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Once ashore, the giant god-machines displayed terrifying destructive power. After firing another round of magical beams, the light-formed spears in their hands were either launched in concentrated volleys or swung in wide arcs, setting off violent explosions again and again.
Athens, taking the brunt of the assault, saw its remaining nine layers of light barriers quickly reduced to just three.
In order to break apart the monster army's formation and eliminate these mobile artillery platforms as quickly as possible, Magus and priests desperately hurled spells and suppression curses outward, clearing vast areas by force.
"Athenians! The most perilous hour is upon us. The closer courage stands to you, the farther death retreats!
With your shields, defend the city-state and save your people!
With your swords, claim glory and call forth victory!"
Astride the winged horse Pegasus, Athena galloped across the battlefield, striking her spear against her shield and sending her thunderous call rolling across the land.
Within the city, the people answered in a roar. Tens of thousands of soldiers, armed with swords, shields, and throwing spears, spontaneously organized themselves and charged toward the battlefield at Athena's call.
They prayed with fervent devotion, faces alight with zeal, as they surged forward, clustering around their goddess of victory.
Athena drove the Victory Scepter into the ground. Wherever the ripples spread, one glowing halo after another lit up around the human soldiers. Her divine authority over war and victory, bolstered by their faith, surged to unprecedented heights.
This hastily assembled army, with even its weapons and shields supplied by the soldiers themselves, now shone with golden radiance around every individual.
Their stamina, strength, perception, and vitality multiplied many times over. Like heroes of the Golden Age, they moved under Athena's command as if guided by instinct, swiftly and precisely cutting through the battlefield, dividing and isolating the enemy. They forcibly checked the monsters' offensive momentum and successfully bought precious time for Samael and Themis to clear out the giant god-machines.
Samael and Themis did not hesitate. Pushing their Authorities to the limit, they destroyed nearly seventy percent of the giant god-machines in rapid succession, finally managing to claw back a sliver of the situation.
"Laaa!"
But before they could even catch their breath, another disaster rolled in.
The fight here was still locked in a stalemate when a high, drifting sacred hymn rose over the storm sea. As ripples of golden-blue light spread outward, the roaming star vanguard—already breaking apart—did the same thing it had before. Fragments floated up from the waves and drew together again, fusing back into a whole.
At the same time, the star patterns that marked its life-thread, which had dulled to the brink of going out, flared back to life one after another. From the star core in its abdomen came a steady, heartlike throb, growing stronger with each pulse.
Its revival was only a matter of time.
Just as Samael and the others were trapped between advance and retreat, forced into a grinding battle, Mount Olympus to the north erupted in sacred fire, a pillar of radiance soaring into the sky.
Rumble!
Thunder tore across the heavens. Blue-white lightning, branching like tree limbs, flashed through thick black clouds. Upon a majestic golden chariot stood the wise god-king, clad in bronze armor, a thunder scepter in one hand and a divine shield in the other, staring down with icy calm.
Behind Zeus, ranks upon ranks assembled: the Twelve Olympians, including Poseidon and Ares; ancient beings such as Mnemosyne and Leto; the Nine Muses and the Charites; and hundreds upon hundreds of nymphs and divine attendants. They stood in solemn formation, a chilling, murderous air spreading in all directions.
Zeus swept his thunder scepter forward.
The golden chariot surged through the sky like lightning itself, and the countless gods of Olympus rushed after it, killing intent boiling over.
Their heading was Athens.
As the distance closed, Samael's cross-shaped star pupils shrank to pinpoints. His heart seized, bitterness flooding his mouth as he clenched his teeth.
A wolf in front, still unresolved. A tiger behind, ready to tear into them.
It's over…
And beneath the crack and roar of thunder, silver divine seals shaped like lightning suddenly appeared on the foreheads of the onrushing Olympians.
In such a short time, Zeus had not only put down the rebellion—he had somehow taken complete control of the Olympian gods.
The wise god-king arrived above Athens and raised his thunder scepter high. Countless arcs of lightning threaded through the clouds and converged onto that god-forged armament. The pressure of it was so terrifying that the space around it warped and fractured.
I am… the thunder that rends the stars!
In the next instant, Zeus's eyes snapped open. With unstoppable force, he hurled the thunder scepter, carving the sky into shards like a shattered mirror.
At the same time, as the horn of assault sounded, the Olympian gods surged forward like a tide, crashing toward Athens' frontline.
Samael's slit pupils tightened violently as the lightning in the sky swelled in his vision.
Then came a shriek of detonation, and everything it touched broke down into basic particles.
"Aa… aa…"
The ethereal hymn collapsed into broken, rasping syllables, like a failing bellows. The towering figure standing upon the sea lowered its head, staring at the gaping hole punched through its chest. Blue-white arcs snapped and exploded across it as it swayed and toppled back into the water, its newly reformed body coming apart all over again.
At the same time, the Olympian gods dove from the sky, passing over the heads of humans and leaping the ground defenses as they swept toward the coast. There, they slammed into the giant god-machines and the mass of monsters, tearing into them at close quarters.
"Hmph. You lasted a mere three hours, and you're already in this sorry state. You blasphemous creations of the gods… you disappoint this king."
Zeus stood high upon his golden chariot, looking down at Samael and the other war-gods of the Areopagus with contempt, his sneer sharp as frost.
"Then why didn't you take the chance just now and wipe us out along with these things?"
Samael raised a hand and wiped the blood from his cheek. He glanced toward the roaming star vanguard behind him—disintegrating, fallen silent again—then looked back up, eyes flickering as he frowned.
Zeus's gaze drifted down to the ground, to the creatures called humans still struggling like ants, and his voice turned cold as he spoke.
"What do you think a Divine Spirit is?"
The Ancient Serpent froze for a beat, brow furrowing as he fell silent. Having lived with a human way of thinking for so long, he couldn't produce a clear answer right away.
"More greedy than humans. More slothful than humans. Quicker to rage than humans. More lustful than humans. More arrogant than humans."
Zeus's answer was blunt, almost shocking, his posture proud and unyielding.
"We are born powerful. Our Authorities are bestowed by heaven. We founded Greece and brought it to perfection, so we have every right to trample it, and every right to rule this world.
Humans are nothing more than inferior imitations made in the gods' image. I'm confident you have no right to replace the gods.
From beginning to end, Olympus has had only one true enemy: the threat that comes from the stars. You don't even qualify.
So if it doesn't endanger the situation, this king is willing to show a bit of mercy to the pets in the pasture.
But this is the gods' hunting ground, our territory. We're not about to let foreign hyenas run wild here."
Samael looked at the King of the Gods, and without meaning to, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
So that's it. Divinity is just humanity. The so-called gods are simply another kind of "human," only with stronger desires than the rest of them.
Maybe he'd been wrong from the start. Gods and humans didn't have to stand in absolute opposition.
The Ancient Serpent raised his cross spear, spread his wings, and soared up, drawing level with Zeus's chariot. He pressed his lips together, smiled with easy nonchalance, and shook his head as he murmured.
"Honestly… I'm starting to like you lot."
"Spare me. This king still finds you disgusting."
Zeus answered with a cold face, making no effort to hide his arrogance and disdain.
"Fine. We can settle our accounts later, when we have time. For now, we deal with what's in front of us."
Samael glanced across the battlefield, where the monsters were being steadily ground down now that the gods had joined in, and let out a light, pleased laugh.
In an ecosystem, whether it's the lions and tigers that seize most of the resources, or the cattle, sheep, and rabbits that live well enough on grass, they all end up supporting one another in their own way.
But the roaming star vanguard—those insatiable hyenas—were a malignant growth that would wreck the whole system.
As long as he and Zeus weren't fools, they could drive the hyenas out first, and only then worry about sorting out who was strong and who was weak inside the system.
Besides, judging from what he'd seen in the future, when it came to the gods, humanity would be the one left standing in the end.
At that moment, Zeus drove the golden chariot toward the nearshore waters where the roaming star vanguard had collapsed. With a curl of his finger, he summoned the thunder scepter back to his hand, his eyes flickering with thought.
"The calamity of the stars… the descent of the White Giant… Olympus will end here…
I've prepared for this for so long, guided by the revelations of the celestial voice. But now that I see them… they don't seem like much at all…"
Even as the wise god-king murmured with a frown, Sefar lifted the Sword of the God of War high. A seven-colored pillar of light slammed down on the coastline with vicious force, severing rivers and shattering mountains along its path, leaving only ruin behind.
Boom!
The coastal wall that had held for three hours finally gave way, collapsing outright. Dense ranks of giant god-machines and battle weapons surged forward like a flood.
No… Ana and the others are in danger!
Samael's heart lurched and his face went pale.
But then that distant, drifting resonance shuddered through the storm sea once more.
"Laaaaa!"
In an instant, the roaming star vanguard that had just been torn to pieces began to reassemble at a speed visible to the naked eye, its power climbing in surges.
One after another, giant god-machines rose out of the tide, stepping back onto land to continue their mission of harvesting civilization.
Damn it. Not again.
On the battlefield, the battered humans and even the gods—who had already learned how terrifying these things were—could only curse under their breath.
Whoosh!
At the same time, overlapping wheels of light, each over a hundred meters across, blossomed open. A meteor shaped like a tear, wrapped in searing flame, cut across the sky and plunged into the storm sea off to one side, throwing up waves that soared into the heavens.
A third roaming star vanguard.
Samael stared at the all-too-familiar sight, teeth grinding audibly, veins standing out on his forehead as helplessness rose in his chest.