That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

Roar~ Roar~

The artificial phantom beast sneezed and let out a deep roar. The dragon's majesty intimidated the undead, and hundreds of skeletons around it fell apart on the spot.

"It's never going to end."

Hall drew a line of runes, summoned a giant ice pillar, and aimed it at the abyss from which undead and Garula spirits were constantly pouring out.

Boom!

The explosion released a powerful burst of cold air, freezing the entire city. A layer of ice, several meters thick, covered the deep crater created by Ishtar, temporarily separating the surface from the underworld.

Roar!Roar!

The artificial phantom beast leaped high into the air, transforming into a blue meteor that swept away all the undead blocking its path into a dragon's breath storm and burned them to ashes, easily escaping the area of ​​Kusa City.

Rushing out of the city, Hall looked back at Kusa City, which was occupied by the undead, and muttered, "The undead's activity is limited to the underworld, so we shouldn't worry about them leaving the area of ​​Kusa City."

······

"She was quite capable, what a pity."

In the pitch-black night sky, Ereshkigal, sitting atop the Heavenly Bow Maana, watched as Hall broke through the encirclement aboard the artificial phantom beast. Golden cuneiform script continuously appeared before her.

"This was a conspiracy I devised to get your body. Although Hall was an accomplice, it was mostly to repay a favor to me."

"As for your gems, return them to their owners."

"As compensation, I will return a treasure to you, which is also the reward for occasionally borrowing your body."

"If you have any complaints, you can find me in the underworld, Ereshkigalliu, the goddess of the underworld."

"Finish."

The contents written in golden cuneiform script flowed into the Heavenly Bow Maana and were stored there. Ishtar will access them immediately upon waking.

Ereshkigal muttered to himself shyly, "Isn't this spoiling him too much? But if Ishtar really gets angry... He is indeed quite powerful as a human, but this is Uruk in the Age of Gods. Humans can't possibly stop Ishtar."

"It's so rare to find someone who understands me..."

"Cough cough!"

"In short, this rare living sacrifice must not be taken away by other goddesses."

Chapter 389 The Madwoman

every other day

In the Uruk city palace, Hall retrieved a large number of gems from the alternate dimension that he had taken from Ishtar.

Splash splash splash~

Multicolored gems cascaded down from another dimension like a small waterfall, piling up into a knee-high mountain of gems that rolled down to a corner of the palace, shimmering with iridescent light and attracting the attention of all the officials inside.

Every official's gaze burned with undisguised fervor; this fortune could buy a city.

"These are all gems recovered from jewel thieves—no, they should be called jewels from the goddess Ishtar," Hall explained with a smile.

!! ?

The intense atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point the moment Hall uttered those words. All the Uruk city officials averted their burning gazes, filled with dread, as if the gems were coated with deadly poison, and they feared to touch them.

One can imagine just how terrifying the goddess Ishtar's reputation was simply by observing the reactions of these Uruk officials.

Some officials quietly shifted their feet, trying their best to get as far away from Hall as possible.

"Hahahaha, well done. The former city god who protected Uruk has turned into a bandit. Hmph, it's not surprising if it's her."

Siduri coughed lightly, reminding him, "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words."

"Speaking of which, what methods did you use to retrieve these gems? Given her personality, getting a single gem from her would be no less difficult than lifting Mount Ebif."

Hall frankly admitted, "I stole it while she was asleep."

"..."

The palace was deathly silent. The officials' expressions changed drastically as they looked at each other in dismay. Stealing the goddess's beloved treasure was an offense against her dignity, an unforgivable crime.

Besides, with the gem here, the goddess will arrive at the palace soon.

"Are you serious?" King Gilgamesh asked, intrigued.

Hall shrugged: "Besides that, King Gilgamesh, can you think of any other way to reclaim the treasure from that greedy goddess?"

"..."

A pale-faced official wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and, disregarding etiquette, cried out, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I have suddenly remembered that there is an urgent matter at home. Please allow me to request a day's leave."

After saying this, he left in a hurry without waiting for King Gilgamesh's consent.

Other Uruk city officials, suddenly realizing the situation, hastily made up various lame excuses to resign.

"Your Majesty! I suddenly feel extremely unwell and am unable to work. It is very likely that I have been cursed. Please allow me to go to the priestess's office to have my body examined."

"I...I don't want my whole family and descendants to be cursed! Please allow me to take my leave!"

"retreat!"

"I'd rather go to the front lines of the North Wall than be cursed by the goddess!"

Finally, even the soldiers guarding the palace couldn't resist leaving.

Only Hor, King Gilgamesh, and the high priest Siduri remained in the vast palace.

Siduri bowed slightly, her face showing reluctance and helplessness: "Your Majesty, please allow me to take my leave. I will immediately prepare the prayer ceremony and the incantation to suppress the city god."

“Go then.” King Gilgamesh nodded in approval, then pondered as he faced Hall, “Although I entrusted you with the task of reclaiming the property of the citizens of Uruk, I did not expect it to be done in this way. Considering the potential trouble it might cause is hardly a wise move.”

“King Gilgamesh, isn’t this perfect? ​​Even if the other party is a goddess, those who break the law must be punished. Only in this way can the glory of the king be demonstrated.”

"Hahaha, quite the boast! I like it. Those who defile my courtyard are unforgivable even by the gods. I've been busy with state affairs and haven't had a chance to stretch my muscles in a long time." King Gilgamesh laughed heartily, rising from his throne. A golden vortex unfolded before him, casting down clay tablets and an axe with inscribed runes, indicating he was preparing for a great battle.

"Your Majesty, is the law such an inconvenient thing?"

"Oh?"

Hall wasn't an idiot; he wouldn't provoke a high-ranking goddess without any preparation, much less completely offend Ishtar for the sake of King Gilgamesh.

The consequences and solutions for taking away the gems that belonged to Ishtar had already been considered.

A soldier rushed into the hall and urgently reported, "Your Majesty! An unknown object has been observed approaching Uruk at high speed, and the gemstones are reacting very strongly!"

boom!

The palace's dome was blown open, and debris from the building fell along with the smoke and dust.

Along with the massive boulder descending was Ishtar, riding the Heavenly Bow Maana, her golden eyes cold and merciless.

"Goddess... Goddess! It's the goddess Ishtar!" The guards fled in panic.

When Ishtar first saw the jewels scattered on the ground and saw that her treasures were intact, she breathed a slight sigh of relief. She glanced at Hor not far away, then looked at the prepared King Gilgamesh and sneered, "The culprit who stole the goddess's jewels and the mastermind behind it are all here, saving me the trouble of searching."

King Gilgamesh scoffed, "Your jewels? Madwoman! Since when did the property of the citizens of Uruk become the property of a goddess? Even a goddess cannot force the citizens of Uruk to give up their property."

"This is not forced sacrifice, it is an equal exchange! I eliminate the monsters and help them escape danger, so naturally I have to pay a price."

"What? You, the city god of Uruk, have finally remembered your duties?" King Gilgamesh exclaimed in shock.

"Stop talking nonsense, Gilgamesh. As long as you're in Uruk, I won't come back. Now, it's time for you to pay the price for offending the goddess."

Ishtar raised her right hand, aiming at King Gilgamesh on the throne, and the Heavenly Bow Maana drew its bowstring, generating a golden arrow filled with a dangerous aura.

"Die!"

Golden arrows shot out like cannonballs.

At the same time, Hall's magic eye changed its rainbow light, and on the small hill piled with gems, a red gem exploded, releasing a red light that knocked away the beam projectile fired by Ishtar.

boom!

The stone pillar, which was as thick as several people could hug, was shattered by a stray bullet.

Ishtar turned to look at Hall, her golden eyes, now imbued with divinity, growing increasingly cold. She questioned, "What do you mean? If she hadn't pleaded with me, I would have killed you first. Is it fun to challenge my bottom line time and time again?"

Hall asked, "King Gilgamesh, what should be done with criminals who commit the crime of robbing others?"

"Confiscate all property, strip citizens of their citizenship, and enslave them; if they are already slaves, they shall be executed."

That's exactly what happened.

Ishtar's shoulders shrugged, and she shouted angrily, "I can't take it anymore! It was wrong of me to try to punish you, so let me turn everything here to ashes!"

The goddess of Venus raised her right hand, generating a magical reaction of a completely different nature than before. While its strength was not as great as the Lion King's Judgment, it was not much weaker.

The clay tablet in King Gilgamesh's hand glowed, ready to cast a spell to stop it at any moment.

Chapter 390 The Goddess's Doubt

As Ishtar prepared to fire her beam arrow, Hall drew a line of runes.

In an instant, all the gems on the ground trembled and flew into the air, forming a gem barrier.

"Varied···!"

Ishtar immediately stopped, furious, and said, "You despicable wretch! What are you doing using other people's jewels? If that arrow had been fired, I would have lost at least a third of my wealth!"

“These are all illegal items that I confiscated in accordance with the laws of Uruk. How they are used is Uruk’s business and has nothing to do with you, goddess.” Hall smiled calmly and continued, “However, considering your testimony just now, your actions constituted robbery and saved the lives of the citizens of Uruk. If the king allows, it is not impossible to return these gems to you.”

King Gilgamesh watched Hall's performance with interest and chuckled to himself, "Is that how it is?"

Ishtar's face was a mixture of emotions as she hesitated and said, "Why should I, as a goddess, listen to you mortals? Don't get carried away. Even if all my gems are destroyed, I will have plenty of time to collect them again. If Gilgamesh is not here, I am the only goddess who can protect Uruk."

Hall shook his head and sighed, "There really are, goddesses who can't keep up with the times."

Ishtar was furious: "What are you trying to say?!"

Do you believe your strength surpasses that of me and King Gilgamesh?

“Of course,” Ishtar replied without hesitation.

The facts are pretty much the same.

"Don't forget this is Uruk. The Firelink Shrine is already preparing to suppress your sorcery."

"..."