Chapter 236: Small Cake
"Gugalanna! Gugalanna!"
Ishtar looked at the massive hooves gradually retracting into the sky. Scrambling to her feet, she summoned Maanna and prepared to chase after it.
"How can I live without you, Gugalanna!"
Even a lowly fake Enkidu dared to bully her at her doorstep. Since when did she, Ishtar, ever suffer such grievances?!
But before she could fly very high, the rattling of chains sounded from behind, and Ishtar was once again captured by Enkidu: Chains of Heaven.
"You stupid woman!" Kingu stood up disheveled from the massive crater stomped out by Gugalanna, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. "How dare you... how dare you!"
"Let me go!" Seeing Gugalanna completely disappear into the horizon, Ishtar was utterly beside herself. Turning her head, she was about to summon her Noble Phantasm to blast Kingu.
"Oh, look at how flustered you are..." Seeing this, Kingu suddenly laughed out loud. "Could it be that the famous Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna... is no longer in your hands right now?"
"That is the strongest Demonic Beast of Mesopotamia. How could someone like you lose such a thing?"
Kingu mercilessly poked at her sore spot.
And then Ishtar became even more flustered.
'It seems I hit the mark,' Kingu narrowed his eyes as he watched her face turn red with anger.
The reason he didn't make a move against Ishtar was, on one hand, to confuse Uruk, and on the other hand, due to his wariness of the strategic weapon known as the Bull of Heaven. In Kingu's estimation, if that thing Gugalanna was actually brought out, Gorgon would most likely not be able to defeat it.
Among the Three Goddesses, only Gorgon had little chance of winning. Ereshkigal had the protection of the Underworld; even if Gugalanna entered the Underworld, it wouldn't find any advantage, and she simply never came out, remaining entrenched in her home turf.
Quetzalcoatl was, at the very least, the supreme god of her Pantheon. Even if she manifested as a Heroic Spirit, her status was still there. In a real fight, her chances of winning were quite high.
Only Gorgon, although she was the goddess who had caused the most damage to Mesopotamian civilization so far, primarily relied on the Demonic Beasts she created using the Authority of Potnia Theron, which she obtained from Tiamat. Her true body's combat power simply could not compare to the other two goddesses.
In Kingu's plans, Ishtar was absolutely a major threat. Her Bull of Heaven was simply too powerful.
But looking at it now... it seemed this useless goddess hadn't managed to hold onto her strongest card!
Meanwhile, in the sky above, Ishtar was already deploying her Noble Phantasm.
[An Gal Ta Kigal She]
In Sumer mythology, the most "destructive" and "cruel" act Ishtar ever committed was devastating the sacred Mount Ebih—a peak revered even by the King of Gods—simply because she "found it an eyesore." This Noble Phantasm was the crystallization of the legend where she left the entire mountain dead and barren.
In Mesopotamian mythology, Ishtar trespassed into Mount Ebih, her divine might elevating with every step she took. Finally, she grabbed the peak of the mountain and pierced the heart of the Leyline with her spear, causing the entire Mount Ebih range to collapse completely.
Based on this legend, when using her Noble Phantasm, she would first teleport to Venus. Using her administrator Authority, she would gather the concept of Venus into her hands, load it into Maanna's magazine as a conceptual planet, and fire it, completing an act that would terrify even the gods. Also known as Jeb.
Down below, Kingu was also ready to release Enkidu: Chains of Heaven and engage in a Noble Phantasm bombardment with Ishtar.
He had the Holy Grail anyway, so he was not lacking in Magical Energy at all. Compared to that, he was more concerned about the current state of the Bull of Heaven.
If Ishtar had completely lost Gugalanna, then why did Gugalanna just save her?
If she hadn't lost it... the expression on Ishtar's face didn't seem faked. To catch up to Gugalanna, she didn't even have time to guard against his sneak attack from behind—a typical mind-losing behavior.
Meanwhile, far away in Uruk, Gilgamesh had a complicated expression on his face.
"This stupid goddess..." He rubbed his temples. "Gugalanna... what exactly is she doing?"
As the King of Uruk, he naturally sensed that familiar presence in the distance. Gugalanna had appeared.
But it was only for an instant.
So he couldn't understand what Ishtar was doing at all.
"Who knows," Xia Yu threw her hands up, issuing another command to Gugalanna.
Back at the battlefield in the north where the two were facing off, just as their Noble Phantasms were about to clash, Gugalanna's massive hooves appeared in the sky once again, stomping Kingu back into the mud with lightning speed.
"Gugalanna!!!" Seeing those familiar hooves, Ishtar completely abandoned her Noble Phantasm and rushed toward the giant hooves!
In Uruk, Xia Yu slapped her forehead when she saw this.
'Seriously sister, are you sick in the head?'
'I already gave you such a great assist. Is it that hard to blast your Noble Phantasm down?'
'Your eyes are only filled with your Gugalanna... Oh, wait, it's my Gugalanna now, isn't it?'
She sighed and directly put away the Bull of Heaven. Ishtar watched helplessly as the giant hooves turned into a phantom before her eyes, and then completely disappeared.
She knelt on Maanna, gripping the edge of the Heaven's Boat with both hands. "Gugalanna... what's wrong with you?"
"Why did you leave me? And why do you appear when I'm in danger?"
"Gugalanna... Gugalanna... how can I live without you, Gugalanna!"
Down below, seeing this, Kingu silently concealed his presence, then turned and ran.
It was confirmed. This useless goddess had really lost the Bull of Heaven, but the Bull of Heaven still seemed to care about her?
'Wait, are this master and servant having a lover's spat?'
'One ran away from home? The other is full of regret?'
'The latter is searching desperately? The former is avoiding her? But when the latter is in trouble, the former still can't help but lend a hand?'
Kingu didn't quite understand it, but he was deeply shocked.
'I'm out of here. Even though I knew Ishtar was crazy, I didn't expect even Gugalanna to be this crazy.'
'I can't interact with them too much. What if I catch their craziness?'
Meanwhile, far away in Uruk, Xia Yu watched this 'touching' scene using the Authority of the Void, her heart full of speechlessness.
'However... hehe, Ishtar... sister, your cow is really useful.'
'It's mine now!'
"Why are you smiling so happily?" Gilgamesh looked at Xia Yu suspiciously. "You look like you just did something bad."
"Oh, I'm about to destroy the world," Xia Yu said expressionlessly after hearing his words. "So I'm very happy."
"Remember to save me a VIP seat when that happens," Gilgamesh could naturally tell she was joking.
"I will," Xia Yu gave him a meaningful look, then went back to the kitchen.
On the other side of Uruk, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others, having been busy all day, dragged their exhausted bodies back into the city.
"Anna, you don't have a Master, right?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked casually as she walked, looking at the petite gray-robed loli beside her.
"A Master who forms a contract with a Servant has to bear a portion of the Magical Energy consumed by the Servant, but you always seem like your Magical Energy isn't quite sufficient..."
"So that's how it is," Anna lowered her head and said. "I stayed in the cedar forest all this time, so I didn't know about these things."
"Uh, you don't have the knowledge of being a Servant?" Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka was a bit surprised. She had just asked casually, but Anna's situation...
'Something isn't right.'
"I don't," Anna shook her head. "When I gained consciousness, I was already in the forest."
"But I am very clear about what I have to do." She hesitated for a second before continuing, "And that is to kill all those Demonic Beasts."
As long as the Goddess of Demonic Beasts was still around, the Demonic Beasts couldn't be completely wiped out, so the implication of her words was already very obvious.
"So I've been killing Demonic Beasts along the way, and then using their souls to maintain my Saint Graph."
"Then do you want to form a contract with me?" Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka got a little excited. It was time to pick up another Servant for free again!
"There's no need," Anna rejected her calmly. "Whatever happens to Humans in the end, it's none of my business."
The meaning was: you Enforcers of the Human Order, stay away from me.
Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed. 'Oh well, the abduction failed.'
But this was also a common occurrence. She wasn't anxious at all.
The three of them walked all the way back to their base just like that.
"We're back... Huh? It smells so good!" As soon as Mash entered the door, she smelled a variety of food aromas, and her eyes lit up. "Who is the head chef today?"
"It's your dear Big Sister Kiana," hearing this, Xia Yu walked out of the kitchen carrying a clay pot. She placed it on the dining table, then reached out and tapped a few of them.
"Clean! Up! Now!"
One word for each person, even Gilgamesh was cleaned up once.
"Alright, now the preparations are complete. Once Ushiwakamaru and the others get back, we can eat!"
"Then there's no need to wait." Gilgamesh quickly inspected his body using Magecraft, and didn't find any underhanded tricks. It seemed it really was just a cleaning Magecraft.
"They won't be coming back today," he said. "The Demonic Beasts in the north are rioting. I've already sent them together to investigate."
"Oh, alright then." Hearing this, Xia Yu nodded. "But we still have to wait, there's one more person who hasn't arrived yet."
"May I ask who else is coming?" Hearing this, Tomoe Gozen walked out of the kitchen, wiped her hands, and looked at Xia Yu. "Your Excellency, do you need me to prepare some..."
"No need, I've already prepared everything," Xia Yu shook her head and stopped the people from Chaldea. "Come over and take a seat, everyone."
"Did you prepare all of this, Miss Kiana?" Mash excitedly came to the dining table. "It smells absolutely amazing!"
Although the food at Chaldea wasn't bad, there was still no one whose culinary skills were this good.
"Is this the surprise?" Fujimaru Ritsuka also excitedly came to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "Thank you so much, Miss Kiana!"
"That title is so distant," hearing this, Xia Yu reached out and knocked on her head. "Call me Big Sister. I should be a little older than you."
"Okay, Big Sister Kiana!" Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately called out sweetly.
'Not a loss, not a loss at all. If calling her big sister can be exchanged for combat power like Miss Firefly's, then I'm definitely making a huge profit.'
'So many people want to call her that but don't even get the chance.'
"Mhm, Big Sister Kiana..." For some reason, Mash was a bit shy.
Meanwhile, Anna, who was at the side, had a very complicated look in her eyes upon hearing this.
'Big sister...'
She also had two good older sisters.
Her current figure was also a bit closer to her two older sisters.
The three Gorgon sisters in mythology were the snake-haired Banshees in Greek Mythology. They were the daughters of the sea god Phorcys and lived in the remote lands of the west.
The members included Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Their appearances were mostly depicted as having snake hair, scaly armor, boar tusks, iron hands, and golden wings, and possessing the ability of a petrifying gaze. Only Medusa was mortal and could be killed.
Perseus, with the assistance of Athena and Hermes, used the reflection of his shield to locate and behead Medusa. From her body, the winged horse Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor were born—both descendants of Poseidon. The blood dripping from Medusa's severed head turned into the venomous snakes of the Libyan desert. Her two immortal older sisters were not destroyed due to their undying bodies.
In the Nasuverse, the three sisters lived on the Shapeless Isle for generations. Although the two older sisters seemed to treat Medusa terribly and frequently teased her, they truly loved her.
The relationship between the three of them could be described as incredibly awkward.
Therefore, the moment she heard the word 'sister,' Anna fell into a slight daze. By the time she came to her senses, a hand was already resting naturally on top of her head.
"You're Anna, right," Xia Yu smiled, looking down and saying, "If you don't mind, you can call me Big Sister too."
"I..." Anna instinctively wanted to refute this, but Xia Yu didn't give her the chance. She pulled out a chair directly, then gently guided Anna by the shoulders to sit down. She then brought over a plate and uncovered the lid.
Revealing a golden little cake underneath.
"This was specially prepared for you all," Xia Yu pushed the little cake in front of Anna. "Do you like sweets?"
"Cake..." Anna's eyes were instantly captivated by the fragrant and soft little cake.
Meanwhile, little cakes were also placed in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash. Tomoe Gozen gently retracted her hand, "Her Excellency put a lot of effort into making these cakes."
'Just the cooking utensils created out of thin air were a huge pile...'
"Ho, your craftsmanship..." Gilgamesh took a bite, "It's decent enough."
"If you don't know how to speak, then shut up!" Xia Yu shot him a side-glance upon hearing this.
"Heh, what has This King not..." Gilgamesh wanted to say something else, but he quickly shut his mouth with a subtle expression.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash looked at him in confusion. After spending this much time together, they knew exactly how toxic Gilgamesh's mouth could be.
But the very next moment, they knew why.
"Kiana..." A pitiful voice sounded from the doorway. Everyone turned around and saw the goddess Ishtar appearing at the door, her face full of dejection.
"What should I do, I'm feeling so upset, Kiana..."
"Oh, perfect timing." Xia Yu walked over to her side, grabbed her hand, and led her to the dining table. Then, she pulled out a chair and pressed down on her shoulders to make her sit. "Look, I robbed Uruk to prepare a meticulous dinner for you."
"Stop thinking about those unhappy things. Come, have a little cake first!"
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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