Chapter 773: 278 Demon

Chapter 773: Chapter 278 Demon

Boom—

Under the towering city walls, soldiers advanced like strands of dark threads.

But atop the walls, Eryxis’s defenses had already become loose and chaotic.

This was not only due to the obvious disparity in strength between the two sides, but also because of the demon stepping on the ground, gradually approaching the wall.

The demons were dead, but their carcasses themselves were the most terrifying weapons.

And looking across Eryxis, they lacked the heroes needed to counter them.

...

Thus, as had been said before the battle, a probing attack had directly turned into a true siege.

“Roar—!”

Boom—

Without any pattern, the first to approach the wall was a monster with a human body and eagle wings.

It was surrounded by vapor, as it seemed to originally dwell in the ocean.

Perhaps in its lifetime, this sea monster, suspected of carrying the bloodline of the Father of Monsters, could stir up waves and storms.

But now, it could only use its body as a weapon, crashing into the towering walls.

“Ah—save me!”

“No!”

“Die—monster!”

“…”

In that instant, screams and roars erupted one after another, and the divine arts of the priests no longer seemed powerless against the enemy’s formations.

Against this lifeform that was not human, dozens of divine arts imbued with sacred power instantly tore into it, as copious amounts of blood surged out like it was free.

One could imagine, had the wounded been a living creature, it probably would have recoiled.

But unfortunately, the dead know no fear.

As a disposable tool, Solomon had no intention of cherishing their use.

“…These three were alien beasts that the former king and I once killed together in the ocean; they are somewhat lacking on land.”

“Otherwise, even though they are already dead, they should still be instinctively manipulating the waves.”

Watching the distant walls, Solomon sensed blood energy surging from all directions toward the beast.

Every soldier slain contributed a fraction of their strength, regardless of which side they were on.

The monster with a human body and eagle wings led the charge, followed closely by the mermaid-like sea monster carcasses.

In the face of these giants, each hundreds of arms in size, humans indeed seemed very small.

For a moment, Solomon was inspired.

If he could create steel statues of similar magnitude, letting them rampage across the battlefield with impervious bodies.

Such a force, what nation in the world could withstand it?

“That won’t work, the technical challenges are still too great.”

Shaking his head, Solomon’s eyes first sparkled with enthusiasm, then he let go of the idea.

A steel statue like the demon… setting aside how it would move, how it would be powered.

Just the materials involved would be an astronomical figure.

Perhaps someone in the future could achieve it, but at least for now, such a ‘demon giant’ was impossible to create.

Boom—

The ground underfoot seemed to tremble slightly; Solomon looked up.

It turned out that the leading demon carcass, ignoring its increasingly numerous wounds, had directly scaled the wall.

It tumbled into the city, commencing its final rampage of destruction.

Of course, unsurprisingly, it would never return.

“It seems everything is going smoothly… Eh?”

With the demon having recklessly opened the first breach, the following soldiers naturally climbed the ladders to assault the wall.

No one thought Eryxis could hold out for long, the only real concern was whether the deities might decide to cause some trouble here.

So, watching the fierce battle atop the walls, Laine thought everything had already ended.

But to his surprise, a familiar yet strange fluctuation suddenly emerged from the center of the city.

“Hmm, everything is going smoothly.”

Laine smiled briefly, having distinguished the sensation, confirmed it as the essence of the Abyss.

It might be Hera, or perhaps Aphrodite—who knows?

But in any case, they probably didn’t quite understand.

While Abyssal beings indeed revel in destruction and killing, at the top of their list of hated enemies are always the Gods of Order.

But who can say for sure, perhaps they understood the consequences, but the Goddess of Agriculture herself was also part of their calculations.

…

“Thud—”

Step, step—

Pacing restlessly inside the Temple, Demeter was somewhat perturbed.

The cries of battle from outside the city had long since penetrated inside, and she also noticed Aphrodite’s departure.

She knew she likely wouldn’t receive any support, but she still harbored a strange hope and wishful thinking.

What if, just what if Eryxis withstood the assault… Thus, she allowed her priests to join the defense, but did not go herself.

On the other hand, even if the city was breached, since she hadn’t acted and stayed as a True God in the Temple, those Athenians probably wouldn’t dare to do anything to her, would they?

Uncertain, yet unwilling to leave.

Because Demeter knew if she wasn’t here, there would be no ‘what if’; it would be a certainty.

So like a gambler, even when faced daily with decline or failure, he would not choose to let go because of the sunk costs.

Yet he still had that bit of a bottom line, not willing to sacrifice everything.

And so, Demeter had declined Hera’s request, refusing to use her authority to affect Athens’ harvest.

Even so, her inner struggle intensified… taking a deep breath, she swung the scepter in her hand and forcefully flicked the cups on the table to the ground.

“Smack—”

The sound of shattering cups and the screams from outside complemented each other, slightly easing the frustrations of destruction.

No matter what, all she could do was wait.

Mere mortals, with the example of Sisyphus right before their eyes, did they really dare to confront the deities?

No, they did not dare.

Perhaps Theseus would have, but he had long perished because of it…

Boom—!

“—Who? Who is there?!”

Whoosh—

Suddenly turning around, Demeter’s expression changed drastically.

Just now, a formidable force had struck her temple.

The next moment, a somewhat fiery breath came from the outside, occasionally mixed with some irritating odors.

At the same time, another kind of mental impact hit her face on, just like Aphrodite’s desire that enchanted all beings.

“Crack—”

“Crack, crack—”

“Boom—”

First came a harsh sound, followed by a loud noise, the dome of the temple was torn apart.

Looking up, what appeared before Demeter was a life form she had never seen before.

A pair of bat wings flapped behind it, flames flickering in its blood-red eyes.

Its tail dragged behind, yet its hands bore the claw marks of a wild beast.

Somewhat familiar, from the extravagant appearance of the life form before her, Demeter seemed to recognize some features she had seen not long before.

It was Aphrodite’s rebellious Divine Descending bearer, Amazon Queen Hippolyta.

But now… the force emanating from the other’s body was no less powerful than during the Divine Descending.

And this force also seemed so alien to the world.

“This is—how dare you!”

At this moment, Demeter realized what was about to happen.

Instinctively, she flew up into the air, trying to get away from the location, avoiding the battlefield.

However, being the Goddess of Agriculture, speed was not her strong suit.

Then, with a slight flapping of its bat wings, the demon, with only desire and destruction in its eyes, approached her.

Flames enveloping its body started burning all around, although they could not kill a deity, they could still destroy palaces and buildings.

Even standing outside the city, one could clearly see the sky-high blaze.

“Aphrodite!”

Knowing it had absolutely something to do with the counterpart, but Demeter now truly had no way out.

Because the opposing intention was clear, did she think she could keep her temple and not participate in this war?

Impossible.

If you want to hide, Aphrodite will first destroy your shelter.

Would Demeter, infuriated by events, possibly defect to the side of Athens? Even less likely.

The conflict between the Goddess of Agriculture and the Goddess of Beauty was her loss.

Her conflict with Athens was to Athens’ disadvantage.

Would you rather plead for reconciliation with a mortal who has sworn to kill your father, or would you drop the conflict and continue to stand with Olympus?

“Boom—!”

Without a moment to think, the demon’s attack followed immediately.

Demeter found that perhaps because it had taken on other powers, the life form before her was being repelled by the world, and its thoughts were not that clear.

If enough time passed, perhaps it would be expelled from this present world.

Or maybe regain its sanity and have the possibility of communication.

But in any case, before that happened, Eryxis would likely be destroyed.

During this siege, no other power could help Demeter kill this monster.

The vast city was doomed to become a sea of fire.

“Aphrodite—you are too excessive!”

The Golden Wand of Maize flickered with a greenish glow, struggling to resist the burning flames.

At this moment, Demeter felt like she was back to a long time ago when she first arrived in Eryxis.

Back then, there was no Church of Agriculture, and she was bringing the first winter to the Mortal Realm.

And back then, just like now, she was backed into a corner.

Whichever direction she took, it was a joke.

“Boom—!”

A massive explosion, seemingly from the place where food was stored in the city, exploded in the flames.

Watching the once prosperous city turned into ruins, watching her rare traces in the Mortal Realm turn to ash.

In that instant, Demeter seemed to make a decision.

“Aphrodite, just you wait—”

Swoosh—

Leaping up, Demeter glanced at the city about to be breached far away, and she turned to leave.

There was no longer any need to stay here, but Aphrodite, do you think you have won?

“You cannot win.”

“Since you are so ruthless…”

“I will make sure you are ridiculed, both in heaven and on earth!”

Having no capability to retaliate against others, Demeter knew, and she knew Aphrodite knew too.

But what no one knew was, likewise here, in that heavy snow.

There was a promise, left by her side.