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Emerging from the light was a figure of stunning beauty and slender grace. Her allure was exquisite and tempting, her eyes as distant as the sky yet sharp with severity. She wore a simple white garment with golden trim that, to Xu Zong's eyes, seemed little different from a few strips of cloth, revealing swathes of her pale skin—what one might loosely call a dress.
This woman was indeed breathtaking, almost divine in her beauty—of course, she was indeed a true deity.
Considered the embodiment of Venus, the goddess of beauty who presided over agriculture, war, fertility, and love, her name was Ishtar, and she was the most favored among the gods.
She descended from the altar, her eyes filled with a defiant amusement as she seemed to say, "So you've finally sought me out of your own volition."
Ishtar was the city deity of Uruk, as well as its guardian. In theory, Xu Zong should have been quite familiar with her, but their relationship was evidently strained.
The octogenarian woman knelt on the ground with utmost respect, not daring to lift her head.
"Ishtar, do you wish to expand your worship?"
Xu Zong ignored her sinister smile, his expression indifferent.
"What?"
The goddess Ishtar blinked in surprise, looking at him questioningly.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Literally. Do you want your temples to spread across the Mesopotamian plains, to have all the people of this land worship you?"
"Do you have a way?"
Ishtar's heart stirred, sizing up Xu Zong.
"I plan to wage war," Xu Zong stated calmly, "a war to unify all city-states of the Sumerian civilization under my command! Of course, once the entire civilization is unified, there won't be a need for so many deities, so I need to find a powerful god to collaborate with."
Ishtar understood.
Each city-state on this land had its own guardian deity, and it was impossible for Gilgamesh alone to conquer these city-states under the protection of their gods.
But if there was a god aligned with him, the outcome would be different.
"This proposal is very interesting!"
A visibly excited look crossed Ishtar's face.
If she could conquer all those city-states, she would go from being the guardian deity of Uruk to the guardian of the entire Sumerian civilization! As a result, the number of her worshippers would greatly increase, and her power would grow accordingly. If everyone worshipped her, her power might even rival that of the father of the gods.
"My lady goddess, you must not agree to this!"
The octogenarian by her side immediately changed color, pleading urgently.
"This is definitely a conspiracy. Once you agree, you will be making enemies of all the city deities—"
"Shh!"
Suddenly, a sound like tearing fabric rang out.
The old woman's voice stopped abruptly, her aged head falling in shock, her body collapsing to the ground as blood gushed from her severed neck like a fountain.
Xu Zong glanced at her face, which had died with eyes wide open.
"So annoying."
Ishtar twirled her hair, murmuring impatiently.
"As my divine messenger, you should obey my commands unconditionally. Besides, what right do those worthless gods have to contend with me?"
She didn't take the killing of her own messenger seriously, her demeanor filled with natural arrogance.
"Gilgamesh, I accept your proposal. But remember, if you dare to deceive me, I will cast you into the abyss beneath the underworld ruled by Ereshkigal, where you will never rise again!"
Ishtar flashed him a radiant smile, then turned and walked back into the altar, disappearing from the surface with the light.
"Hmph."
Xu Zong snorted noncommittally and turned to leave the temple.
Soon, the high priestess was found dead in the temple. Since it was Ishtar's doing, the priests who had once respected the high priestess quickly changed their tune, cursing her.
The guardian deity is always right, so it must have been the high priestess who did something wrong and angered the guardian deity. The people disdainfully cast her bones into the wilderness and then enthusiastically selected the next high priestess.
After Siduri reported back, Xu Zong sent a squad of soldiers to find her body and bury it in the ground.
That day, Xu Zong arrived at the military camp.
The commander of the camp, upon learning of his arrival, quickly assembled all the soldiers in the camp into a square formation in front of the camp.
"Tell me, who do you serve?"
"King Gilgamesh!"
"And who do you trust the most?"
"King Gilgamesh!"
"Good. Next, I will grant you immortality!"
Xu Zong nodded in satisfaction and then gestured with his hand.
In an instant, dozens, hundreds of golden ripples appeared in the sky behind him, and from them emerged countless weapons—swords, spears, axes, halberds, all included.
This was the ability Xu Zong acquired as a result of the legends of Gilgamesh collecting all the treasures of the world, forming a concept. As the king of old, his treasury of Uruk encompassed all the treasures of the world, including those of future generations, meaning it was a conceptual "treasury of all treasures."
Its name was Gate of Babylon, also known as "The King's Treasure."
The soldiers had not yet reacted when those countless weapons shot out like arrows, raining down on them like droplets, piercing through every soldier's body with ease!
After just a few volleys, not a single living person remained in the camp.
Fortunately, Xu Zong had already cleared the area of all bystanders; otherwise, he would have gone from a wise king to a tyrant.
Xu Zong reached out and pulled a golden cup from the golden ripples, rippling with holy golden light like the mythical Holy Grail—oh, the legend of the Holy Grail did not exist in this era.
His consciousness sank into his body, deep within his soul, where there was an invisible, conceptual palace world. The souls of the soldiers he had just killed were all stored here.
The magic of the Holy Grail surged into his body, and with a thought, the souls of those soldiers in the palace world flew out along his thoughts, materializing into physical forms under the influence of magic.
In no time, the soldiers returned to the camp, their faces filled with confusion and astonishment.
Their bodies even lay beside them.
"See? To you, death is no longer death. Even if your bodies are destroyed and torn apart, I can revive you."
Xu Zong's voice reached all the soldiers' ears, and their eyes lit up with fervor.
As soldiers, they naturally understood what this meant.
Xu Zong looked at these soldiers and sighed inwardly.
His Hall of Heroic Spirits could indeed grant immortality, but without their physical bodies, they would lose the chance to grow stronger. Their time was frozen at the moment of death; this was the nature of "Heroic Spirits."
Unless they obtained the materialization ability of the Great Holy Grail to help them incarnate, they would have the chance to grow stronger again.
Moreover, the stronger the Heroic Spirit, the more energy required to summon them.
Frankly, he really needed to acquire an ability for infinite magic power, especially the Great Holy Grail.
Combining the Hall of Heroic Spirits talent with an uncontaminated Great Holy Grail, he could have an evolving undead army.
"It's about time."
Xu Zong looked up at the sky, his eyes flickering with ambition.
"There are too many states in this civilization. From now on, one Uruk is enough!"
***
Days later, Uruk sent out its troops, first attacking the city-state of Eridu, located in the southern jungles of Uruk.
This was an order personally issued by the king, and with the support of the guardian deity Ishtar's temple, both those who worshipped the gods and those who worshipped the king had no objections. The army quickly set off, heading south into the jungle.
Eridu's guardian deity was the water god Enki, who governed the freshwater on land, plants, and construction, but not war, and had no combat-related powers. He was known among the gods as an easy target.
Eridu was located in the midst of the jungle, which was vast and dense, home to many magical beasts. This jungle served as Eridu's natural defense, so even during inter-city conflicts, no one bothered to attack Eridu.
Xu Zong's Heroic Spirit soldiers were not afraid of magical beasts. As long as they had enough magic power, they also did not feel tired or weary. The Heroic Spirit soldiers bulldozed their way through the entire jungle, forcibly carving out a path and arriving at the gates of Eridu.
The king of Eridu couldn't fathom why anyone would attack his city.
"Boom!"
With a loud bang, the gates of Eridu were violently breached, and the Heroic Spirit soldiers poured into the city.
"Lay down your weapons, surrender and you will not be killed!"
Relying on their immortality, the Heroic Spirit soldiers rampaged through the city, killing resistant warriors and sparing those who surrendered. If they died, they would respawn beside the king and then rejoin the battle.
"Hum!"
Less than an hour after the city of Eridu was breached, a vast holy light descended from the sky, and an angry figure flew out from the depths of Eridu.
"Gilgamesh, what are you trying to do!"
The figure that appeared before Xu Zong was a man with aqua blue hair, elegant in appearance but frantic with urgency, his body emanating a strong divine aura.
He glared at Xu Zong, his eyes full of dissatisfaction, as if looking at a tool that had defied his will.
Seeing the god appear, the Heroic Spirit soldiers looked at each other and stopped their actions, looking up at the sky.
"Hum!"
At the same time, as if seizing the opportunity, a dazzling pillar of light descended from the heavens.
"Enki, hand over your worship to me!"
Ishtar emerged from the light, looking triumphantly at the water god Enki.
"Ishtar, don't go too far!"
Upon seeing Ishtar, Enki's expression changed, his lofty demeanor vanished, and he looked aggrieved.