FATE: Target of Grand Master

Seeing Lan Muyan and his group joining forces with Ibuki, Ishtar became even more certain of her guess.

"You've gone too far!"

Like a fully drawn bowstring, Maana, with Ishtar's aim, fired a massive magical arrow at the oncoming Ibuki.

boom!

The magic arrow struck Ibuki squarely.

"Hmph, see? This is what happens when you make me angry!"

However, after the smoke cleared, Ibuki was completely unharmed.

That is!

Ishtar keenly noticed that Ibuki had a longsword that gleamed with a faint green light in her hand.

Lan Muyan, who was watching the battle, also recognized the sword. It was the Kusanagi sword, also known as the Ame-no-Murakumo sword, one of the three sacred treasures of Japanese mythology.

"Ishtar, is this all you've done? Did you not eat enough?"

No sooner had Ibuki finished speaking than he rushed in front of Ishtar and slashed down with his Kusanagi sword.

clang!

Ishtar reacted quickly, blocking the attack with Maana.

Whoosh whoosh!

Immediately afterwards, several golden magic lasers shot out from the front of Maanna's head. Even Ibuki could only be hit at such close range.

"it hurts!"

Although he suffered some injuries, Ibuki-doji's spirit origin was extremely strong, and the wounds caused by the golden laser healed quickly.

"Now it's my turn!"

Ibuki shifted back a little, raised her left hand high, and the dark clouds above her head instantly gathered.

"Take this!"

As Ibuki's left hand fell, a massive bolt of lightning struck Ishtar.

Even Venus, the goddess of the planets, would not be able to escape unscathed if struck by such lightning.

Ishtar immediately manipulated Maana to dodge and weave.

But Ibuki's attack methods are far more than these.

She then waved her right hand again, and a tornado appeared out of thin air, disrupting Ishtar's control over Maana.

Ishtar's aerial maneuverability was immediately disrupted, as she was able to rely on Maana's high mobility to dodge the lightning.

It's now!

Seizing the opportunity, Ibuki used her mind to control the Kusanagi sword and launched an attack from directly above on the flustered Ishtar.

With no time to adjust, Ishtar had no choice but to use Maana to block.

The blade of the Kusanagi sword blocked the attack, but it couldn't stop the force it carried. Ishtar immediately plummeted to the ground like a meteor.

boom!

After smashing a large crater in the ground, Ishtar tried to get up, but four weapons—a gun, a sword, a crossbow, and a musket—appeared in front of her.

"Um... how about we talk about helping Uruk?"

Ishtar gave a forced smile, raised her hands, and decisively chose to surrender.

"Why didn't you do this sooner?"

Lan Muyan sighed, somewhat understanding Gilgamesh's feelings.

And so, after binding Ishtar to a stone pillar like a lamb to the slaughter and handing her over to Ibuki to carry, Lan Muyan and his group began their return journey.

When Lan Muyan arrived in Uruk, everyone had already arrived.

"Xia Yan, I miss you so much."

Ibuki planted the pillar binding Ishtar into the ground and flew at high speed toward Xia Yan.

Xia Yan, who was still talking with Feng Yan who had just returned, was caught off guard when Yi Bu suddenly pulled him into her arms, and his head was deeply embedded in the valley.

Morgan quickly teleported in front of Ibuki and cast a spell with paralyzing properties, then rescued Xia Yan, who was already struggling to breathe, from Ibuki's suffocating embrace.

"Ah! Morgan, you're still so stingy, you won't even let me hug Xia Yan more."

Ibuki pouted in protest.

Morgan picked Xia Yan up and placed him in front of Ibuki, retorting, "Open your eyes and look! Xia Yan is almost suffocating from your two useless lumps of fat."

Seeing Xia Yan's face flushed slightly from holding her breath, Ibuki apologized, "I'm sorry, Xia Yan, I got a little too excited."

"It's okay."

Xia Yan took two deep breaths and waved his hand. He was very happy to see Ibuki again.

After learning the bad news that Lu Bu was seriously injured and that the "Goddess of Destruction" was Durga, Feng Yan and Lan Muyan finally brought back some good news.

With the leopard-man signing the contract and Quetzal successfully joining, and considering Ibuki's current state and Ishtar tied to the pillar, Uruk's fighting strength has been greatly replenished.

Moreover, although it was suffocating, the texture of the Ibuki brand facial cleanser was still extremely nice, so Xia Yan didn't feel like he was suffering.

"Morgan, put me down quickly."

Xia Yan, who was being carried around like a kitten by Morgan, said somewhat awkwardly.

After returning to the ground, Xia Yan immediately convened an intelligence exchange meeting, where everyone shared the information they had gathered.

Let me summarize.

Xia Yan began compiling intelligence reports.

"We have learned that the 'Goddess of Destruction' is Durga, and we are unable to communicate with or win her over. The 'Goddess of Calamity' is Ibuki-douji, and she has already sided with us."

"Uh-huh!"

When Xia Yan mentioned Ibuki-dōji, he glanced at Ibuki, and Ibuki immediately nodded enthusiastically in response.

"With the addition of 'Goddess of the Underworld' Ereshkigal, half of the 'Six Goddess Alliance' has defected to our side. Also, Feng Yan has contracted with the leopard-man, which is good news. However, Diao Yunshang's Lu Bu was seriously injured while covering the retreat and still needs time to recover. Nothing major happened on the North Wall defense line during the two days you were away; only a few monsters occasionally came by, which posed no real threat. As for that goddess over there who isn't part of the 'Six Goddess Alliance' and claims to be the guardian deity of Uruk..."

Everyone looked in Ishtar's direction.

"Can we assume you're on our side?"

Faced with Xia Yan's smile, Ishtar felt pressure from this human for some reason, even though she was the god who should have been the one with the authority.

"I understand, I'll help you. Just remember to give me the other box of gems afterwards."

Even though they were all tied to the pillars, Ishtar was still thinking about the other box of gems, which made Xia Yan realize that she was indeed genuinely willing to help them.

After signaling Cú Chulainn to untie him, Xia Yan adjourned the meeting and then went alone into the temple to report to King Gilgamesh.

"These are the results of our exploration."

Upon hearing Xia Yan's report, Gilgamesh unusually praised him directly.

"Hmm, well done. Even I, the king, cannot find any fault with it."

Although Diao Yunshang escaped and returned, Gilgamesh could no longer blame her for successfully escaping from Durga's clutches and bringing back relevant information.

Then, Gilgamesh rested his hand on the armrest of the throne and looked down at Xia Yan, saying, "Xia Yan, you came to see me alone, surely not to hog my praise? Speak plainly what you have to say."