That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

Ishtar landed beside the two, flicked her long black hair, and hummed.

After the pleasant little incident, the three of them soon arrived in Ur.

Merlin and Ishtar were both surprised to see the peaceful scene in the city, which was even more lively than they had imagined, with most of the people coming and going being women.

"What's going on? Wasn't Ur occupied?"

Ishtar was also very surprised: "Is this how that goddess does things?"

Hall, being a time traveler, knew about Ur's current situation from the beginning, and casually remarked, "Have you noticed that most of Ur's citizens are women?"

Merlin nodded and said, "In that case... indeed, the proportions are far too abnormal. Considering that the goddess who rules this city is a member of the Three Goddess Alliance, the men were probably captured and used as living sacrifices."

The citizens of Ur were also surprised to see Hall and his party, and hesitated to approach them.

Who are they?

"Don't you feel ashamed wearing such strange clothes?"

"They came from outside."

"What does the Forest Goddess have to say?"

"It's best to avoid contact with them for now, in case we anger the Forest Goddess and she demands an increase in the number of human sacrifices..."

"The next human sacrifice will be the eldest son of the Ras family, won't it?"

"That's right, the goddess of the forest only wants fresh and strong men."

Hey! Don't you think your statements are likely to cause misunderstandings?

······

"The leopard warriors are all wiped out?"

Inside the temple in Ur, the leopard-man listened to his subordinate's report with great disbelief.

The leopard warrior sat down and nodded repeatedly, "Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!"

"I see. You've got some skills. My intuition was right not to mess with that scantily clad woman. What a hassle. Kukul's orders are such a hassle. Why do I have to work under her orders?"

The leopard-man slumped onto the stone bench, muttering dejectedly, "There's nothing I can do. Work is work. Now all that's left are those two human men."

"Just pick a weak one to deal with it."

"Let me, the leopard man, give trials to the human warriors who challenge the gods!"

Chapter 431 The Tiger of Ur

Ur, at the entrance to the central street.

"The atmosphere is subtle. The citizens of Ur are looking at us with wariness and rejection, and their emotions are unstable, as if they are afraid of something. But this is definitely not fear of the goddess of the forest," Merlin murmured to himself. He was a half-human, half-dream demon, and naturally had a keen sense of human nature.

Hall nodded calmly and said, "It's probably a rejection of outsiders."

The citizens of Ur fear that outsiders will enter the city, discover the truth about it, mock their cowardice and incompetence, and sacrifice the lives of others to maintain the city's stability.

Ishtar said impatiently, "In short, just ask anyone."

"There is no other way."

Merlin tried to greet several women, but they all avoided him. After several unsuccessful attempts, he thought, "Strange, my irresistible charm towards women has lost its effect."

An elderly woman stepped out from the crowd, her expression somber, and asked, "Are you human warriors here to challenge the Goddess of the Forest?"

Hall and Merlin exchanged a glance and nodded, saying, "We are investigators sent by Uruk City. Recently, we are the only ones who have entered the dense forest, and we have also accepted the invitation of the goddess of the dense forest."

The old woman pleaded in a hoarse voice, "If you want to live, you'd better leave Ur now. If you're not willing to give up, I'll take you to the Goddess of the Forest."

Merlin said solemnly, "Please lead us to the goddess of the forest."

The elderly woman didn't say much, turned around and left: "Come with me."

On the way, Merlin casually asked, "Speaking of which, it seems like you can't see any young men in Ur."

The elderly woman paused. "There are other ways to survive besides fighting. This is the choice of the entire city of Ur. Please, as outsiders, do not interfere too much."

"but···"

"I can sense that you are all excellent warriors, fearless in battle. But most of the citizens of Ur are just ordinary humans, insignificant humans. We have no way to deal with this and only want to quietly face our end."

Merlin sighed, "I understand. If this is your choice, I will not interfere, but I will report the situation in Ur to King Gilgamesh."

He disliked the environment of Ur, which was shrouded in despair and awaited destruction.

This is something Merlin, who prefers happy endings, simply cannot accept.

However, Merlin learned a valuable lesson from interfering in a girl's fate and causing her to meet a tragic end, which is why he imprisoned himself in the Inner Sea of ​​Stars.

He respects human choices.

Hall didn't react. The only outcome of reporting this to King Gilgamesh would probably be the abandonment of Ur. Even if Ur were to be recaptured one day, its citizens would likely be defined as sinners against humanity.

Hall held the same opinion, which is why the mission to bring back the citizens of Nippur was abandoned because of the small group of humans who had turned back.

Some people did not want to fight, and Quetzalcoatl tolerated the thoughts of these humans.

But now humanity has no way out; if they don't want to fight, they will die.

The citizens of Ur were not wrong, nor was King Gilgamesh's choice wrong; the only mistake was the timing.

In such an extreme environment, Ur's choice to protect itself would put all of humanity in an even more passive position.

This is not moral blackmail, but a life-or-death battle for the survival of the race.

······

Hall and his two companions arrived at the city's central square amidst the subtle glances and whispers of the city's residents.

A wide-open space, about the size of two or three basketball courts, stood in front of a temple used for worshipping gods. At this moment, many citizens of Ur had gathered around, seemingly waiting for something.

Ishtar landed on the ground and came to Hall's side, warning, "Be careful, there's the aura of a god inside that temple."

Hall nodded; the Magic Eye had already noticed.

Merlin glanced around and shook his head with a self-deprecating laugh: "It's like an execution scene. How ironic. We're all human, yet they seem to want to see us killed by the Goddess of the Forest."

In this way, their decision can be validated, justifying their compromise with the Forest Goddess, at least giving them some solace.

This is what is called a stance.

Ishtar snorted and nodded: "Isn't this normal? This is what humans are like. They are burdened with the original sin of Paradise, weak, cowardly, and incompetent. Their best fate is to depend on the gods."

Hall glanced at them out of the corner of his eye: "One of you is a half-human, half-sleep demon, and the other is a goddess possessing a human body. How come you have such a profound understanding of human nature?"

Ishtar was about to retort when she suddenly turned her head towards the direction of the temple and warned, "They're here!"

From inside the temple gates directly in front of the square, a short-haired woman dressed in a mascot costume emerged, looking excited and exuding an... irreverent aura, like a character who had stepped out of a comedy comic.

The leopard-man is a spirit that manifests by possessing Fujimura Taiga, the tiger of Fuyuki.

Her appearance caused chaos among the citizens of Uruk. Her mascot costume was no different from the strange clothes often worn by priests and priests in the Age of Gods.

The crowd dispersed and hid behind building shelters.

"It's the Goddess of the Forest!"

"Indeed, they are the human warriors the Forest Goddess spoke of."

"To attempt to challenge the gods is foolish."

"Do not look directly at the Goddess of the Forest, or you will be killed."

······

Leaving aside the citizens of Ur, people like Hall and Merlin, who were somewhat knowledgeable about modern culture, couldn't help but feel a subtle sense of amusement when they saw the leopard-man.

In short, the impression that the leopard-man was mentally unstable, coupled with the fearful discussions among the citizens, created an absurd sense of disconnect.

The leopard-man stood with his hands on his hips, laughing loudly as he announced, "Welcome to my city, human heroes who have defeated the leopard-man warriors!"

Snapped!

The wand slipped from Merlin's hand, and he asked incredulously, "You're the Goddess of the Forest, not some alien or something?"

Ishtar's lips twitched, as if she were talking to herself: "After all, they are different mythologies. It's not surprising that there are gods with such regrets."

The leopard-man nodded proudly: "That's right! I am the embodiment of the dense forest, the beautiful forest goddess, Leopard-man Meow! Making a grand entrance!"

The leopard-man's spiritual base has expanded to a scale that is undoubtedly god-like in strength.

Hall stepped forward and asked bluntly, "You kidnapped my companion last night, didn't you? Where is she now?"

The leopard-man nodded, declaring with imposing grandeur, "That was Kukul's order, and it has already been sent to Eridu. If you want to retrieve your companions, you will have to pass the test of the Forest Goddess and step over my dead body!"

Hall was speechless, clearly enjoying his dashing speech.

“Kukur, this name…” Merlin pondered, stroking his chin. He had already guessed the true identity of the Forest Goddess just by hearing the name. His eyes narrowed: “Could it be the feathered serpent god of Central and South America?”

That's the only possibility; only that one main god could suppress Ishtar on a divine level.

Ishtar said impatiently, "Enough with the nonsense, is it enough to defeat you here?"

As she spoke, Ishtar unfurled the Heavenly Bow Maana above her head, channeling immense divine power into golden light that aimed at the leopard-man.

"ah!"

The leopard-woman instantly bristled, her mascot costume's tail standing straight up. The divine suppression made her instinctively understand one thing: she might be beaten to tears by the goddess before her.

If that arrow lands, she might die.

God

A deity of a higher rank than her, and possessing an aura similar to that of Kukul.

But it seemed to be subtly different from the aura she sensed last night.

The leopard-man was not good at thinking, so he put the question aside and simply accepted the fact that Ishtar was not someone to be trifled with.

The leopard-man quickly waved his hand to stop him: "Wait! Wait a minute!"

Ishtar asked irritably, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

The leopard-man swallowed hard, nodded, and coughed: "This is a trial for human warriors, which means..."

"that is?"