Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

The once-prosperous city of Seven Hills is now shrouded in thick smoke. The terrified people are fleeing in all directions, and many nobles who have retired from military service and are recuperating in their mansions are being assassinated by the Assassins who have infiltrated the city.

The sounds of chanting, roaring, crashing, and screaming filled the air as the Lupercalia festival, a symbol of the founding of Rome, was stained red with blood.

"You beast! You have defiled my land and slaughtered my people. Pay with your death!"

On the great altar, the god Romulus, seeing such a tragic scene, was filled with rage. He raised his hand and pressed it against the sacred tree. Crimson blood flowed and gathered into the tree's veins, seeping into them and activating divine power.

All things, all phenomena, converge upon my spear! — All things are born from my spear!

In an instant, countless strands of blood energy gathered from all parts of Rome, forming city walls that divided space. At the same time, a huge golden halo spread out and enveloped the city, and several scarlet spear-like objects rose from the ground, forming a terrifying forest of spears that pierced through and exposed the hundreds of Assassins and Meteor Archers who had infiltrated the city from bottom to top.

Suddenly, the pressure on the Roman legions, who were struggling in the battle, eased, and they began to break through the blockade and converge on the Pantheon.

However, the moment Romulus made his move, Cyrus and Ramses II seized the opportunity and launched a full-scale attack.

"O Father of all flames, like the sage Yang. O Lord of radiance who bestows all wisdom, dignity, and power. Be the witness to my heart, my thoughts, and what I will accomplish. Come, God who created the stars, moon, and blazing sun, obey the command of the Word of Power, and make me a match for a hundred, a match for a thousand, invincible and victorious in every battle!"

Amidst solemn chanting, the Persian king summoned the power of Veleslana, the war god who served Mithras, the lord of light. The strange golden greatsword he tossed into the air multiplied, then multiplied again, and in an instant, it became millions of swords, their sharp edges pointing directly at Romulus on the high altar.

As the incantation was unleashed, a golden rain of swords fell, as dense as shooting stars streaking across the night sky.

"Almighty God, witness my great deeds! Bow down! My boundless glory, the sun god will descend here! — The Great Composite Temple of Radiance!"

At the same time, the Pharaoh raised his golden and blue scepter, his body radiating the light of the sun, and the great altar was filled with swirling clouds and thunderous sounds.

The mysterious triangular symbols, with their interlocking upper and lower parts and embedded eye-shaped markings, were transformed from abstract to concrete under the divine power of Ramses II, coalescing into a pyramid containing the power of rules, where they collided with each other.

"Civilization is the world, the world is Rome! Nothing in the world exists that is not of Rome, the stars of heaven bless this place, the eternal kingdom descends upon this place—my love encompasses all things! My spear reaches all things! Our arms open up everything, to the heavens!"

The immense pressure of billions of tons of divine power struck, causing the ground to crack and sink. Romulus groaned in agony from all parts of his body, unable to bear the weight. The ancestor of the gods acted decisively, raising his hand to grasp the trunk of the divine tree. With the Spear of Creation, he frantically gathered and extracted the power that had escaped from the Pantheon and spread to Rome. The condensed crimson spearhead met the colliding pyramids and the rain of light that crashed down, striking forward in mid-air.

boom!

The point of impact first collapsed rapidly, then a large area of ​​space twisted to its extreme before exploding with a deafening roar. Seven-colored lasers surged in all directions, and a raging wave of ether swept across the land like a level twelve gale, leaving walls and houses collapsing and vegetation destroyed in its wake.

Under the deafening shockwaves of divine might, the etheric light streams erected in front of Cyrus and Ramses II collapsed and dissipated, blood trickling from their mouths as they were sent flying backward.

The impressive solar ship, however, lost its magic and disintegrated into ether particles.

But on the high altar, facing the combined might of the Persian king and the pharaoh, Romulus, the ancestor of gods who had lost the support of the pantheon's power, was in an even more miserable state.

The man, covered in blood, leaned on the Spear of Founding the Nation. He knelt in a cone-shaped crater several meters deep, shrouded in wisps of smoke and cracked with radial lines. His exquisite, ancient golden armor was tattered, revealing his muscular, torn body.

Sure enough, without the support of the Crown of Cronus, fighting two opponents at once was still too much of a stretch.

The Divine Ancestor coughed up foul blood, leaned on the gun, and struggled to his feet.

Boom!

Mount Palatine trembled violently, and a full third of its area cracked and collapsed, breaking off into scattered soil and rocks that peeled away from the main structure, causing the buildings to collapse in large sections.

However, this was not the first time Rome had suffered such a calamity. It is the civilizations that have survived one crisis after another and stood firm through the ages!

To shake our country and our land, they would have to fight to the death and at least leave one of them alive.

But do they dare?

The Divine Ancestor wiped the blood from his lips, a cold smile playing on his lips. His sharp gaze, piercing through the two figures in mid-air, was like a knife or a sword.

Tsk tsk tsk!

Suddenly, a whooshing sound rang out from the billowing dust behind him. Romulus raised an eyebrow slightly, casually spun the Spear of Creation, and swept away dozens of thrown knives.

puff!

The forward-leaning spearhead tore through the sand and dust, piercing the oncoming figure, lifting him high into the air, flinging him to the side, and brutally smashing him into a bloody pulp, leaving a shocking crimson stain on the stone slab.

As the smoke cleared, figures of men, women, and children emerged from the shadows and rushed towards them.

Ever-changing, a hundred people, a hundred appearances...

Hmph! Just as expected, a rat in an eagle's nest!

Romulus, who was focused on his two formidable enemies, the Persian King and the Pharaoh, did not want to waste his energy on this group of soldiers. He used the Spear of Creation to create a spiraling crimson ethereal storm, slicing forward and sweeping away the worms that were surging in from all sides.

Puff puff puff!

As the crimson storm swept through, human bodies were torn apart and blood mist exploded. The so-called "Old Man of the Mountain" was utterly powerless in the face of the overwhelming divine might.

Cyrus and Ramses II did not give the progenitor of the gods much time to breathe, each suppressing their injuries and unleashing their divine power to bombard them.

Just as Romulus sheathed his gun to retaliate against the powerful enemy in mid-air, his heart suddenly clenched. As if sensing something, he turned around abruptly, and in the dissipating blood mist, his blood-red pupils reflected an ordinary, frail old man.

He should have been reduced to mincemeat along with those differentiated figures...

hum! ! !

The air vibrated with a chilling, bell-like sound, and the Divine Ancestor's pupils contracted sharply, his lips moving silently as he murmured something.

The old man in the mountains? I see!

In an instant, a cold light, embodying darkness and death to its extreme, tore through the blood mist, revealing unparalleled sharpness.

At the same time, outside the city.

The ancient serpent, which was responsible for intercepting Attila, seemed to sense something and suddenly turned its head back.

Click!

The emerald tree that had enveloped the city of Rome crumbled and disintegrated, and the fluorescent barrier it had created shattered inch by inch.

What Samael found even more unbelievable was that the aura that connected heaven and earth on Mount Palatino... had dissipated!

Boom!

A fierce wind swept through, thunder roared, and crimson rain fell in a steady stream, dripping onto the land of Rome, as if the heavens were weeping and the world was bleeding.

A god has fallen...

Chapter 45: Is Iron Wolf my teammate?

Their true aim was to assassinate the patriarch and dismantle the entire Roman Empire's order system!

In mid-air, Samael looked back suddenly, his eyes filled with surprise and astonishment.

The level of a god is the current limit that the Earth's surface can withstand. Every being who can rise to godhood in such a declining environment is an outstanding individual among humans.

The Pharaohs, Persian kings, Hunnic kings, and Roman god fathers reached the point of "hearing the voice of heaven above and invoking the will of the gods below," becoming one with their kingdoms, rules, and native pantheons.

Therefore, for a deity of this caliber to fall is equivalent to resisting the power of a nation, an impossible task indeed.

Moreover, even ordinary gods have many means of self-protection.

On a human-dominated earth, if things don't go well, risking angering a deity could have unimaginable consequences.

If the other side has enough patience, they can slaughter hundreds of thousands of people on their own. For the people of the country under their rule, this would undoubtedly be inviting an unpredictable and unavoidable natural disaster.

Therefore, it has almost become a consensus that gods can be severely injured but are difficult to kill, and that one should not attempt to kill them without absolute certainty.

Based on the assessment of strength, even if the God Ancestor with the nation's bonus cannot defeat Cyrus and Ramses II in a two-on-one battle, he is still invincible.

Even if he suffers a defeat, he can still escape by risking injury.

To maintain mutual restraint, the gods will only target specific objectives and will not easily massacre cities or destroy nations.

Romulus could not possibly be unaware that as long as he lived, Rome, even if severely damaged, would still be able to stand strong.

Even if we were to defend our homeland and die a tragic death in battle, we should at least hold out for a little longer...

"I'll ask you one last time. For the sake of our friendship, are you willing to give up now? If you agree, the Seventh Province will allocate a large area of ​​pasture to the Hunnic tribes, and I'll take care of your food for the rest of your life!"

Samael suppressed his chaotic thoughts, took a deep breath, and turned to look at Attila intently, awaiting her final answer.

With the arrival of the three kings, even the God Ancestor, who had the advantage of terrain, along with the Ancient Serpent himself, did not have a sure chance of victory.

Moreover, Attila, the human form of the Star Trek Vanguard, was also present.

Who knows if the alliance between himself, as the primordial serpent, and Romulus, representing the Greek gods, would indirectly trigger the resurgence of Sephalus's consciousness, leading to a new war of the titans?

The devastating catastrophe in Greece was a nightmare, leaving Samael with a deep-seated fear of Attila, a ticking time bomb.

Therefore, he lured the Hun king out of Rome not only out of personal friendship, but also to nip in the bud some worst-case scenario.

At the same time, Samael's move was also aimed at seizing the initiative in the battle.

Greece certainly needed to rely on Rome as a fortress and a powerful ally.

However, while Samael and the ancient Greek gods enjoyed a honeymoon period of cooperation in the past, they also had a lot of dirty secrets.

The ancient serpent and Romulus weren't so close that they hit it off immediately and were willing to risk their lives for each other.

According to Samael's calculations, aside from Attila, the chaos in the Seven Hills city could be categorized into three scenarios.

Alternatively, the Roman god might display his divine power, leveraging the advantage of terrain to stage a miraculous comeback and achieve a narrow victory.

Alternatively, the Persian and Egyptian kings, being more skilled, could overpower Romulus and deliver a crushing defeat.

Alternatively, both sides could fight to the death, resulting in mutual destruction.

Regardless of the possibility, it's a stalemate where a decision cannot be reached in the short term.

In this way, the core factor determining the course of the battle was not inside the city, but outside the city.

If Samael could persuade Attila to stop and withdraw from this vortex of conflict, he and Romulus could easily defeat their two adversaries who had ventured so deep into Roman territory.

Even if Romulus and Attila don't reach an agreement, at worst Romulus can fight the other side and both suffer losses. He can then take the god's father and run away to recuperate. The three kings can't just stay in Rome forever, can they?

Do they really think Greece is blind and can't steal our territory?

At best, Samael will stay behind as a bodyguard for a while, and once the Divine Ancestor recovers, they can work together to clean up the mess and stabilize the front lines.

No matter how you calculate it, you're not at a loss.

However, to everyone's surprise, Romulus was eliminated in just over ten minutes.

Including last night, he has only been in the City of Seven Hills for two days. When did the Great Rome and the Pantheon, which withstood the attacks of the Persian Empire and the Huns for hundreds of years, become so weak?

Ten minutes!

Damn it, the speed of this collapse is absolutely outrageous!

Samael's entire plan was completely disrupted. The Hun king, whose expression had softened slightly after Samael's earnest persuasion, regained his cold and stern face.

The ancient serpent, his heart filled with bitterness, deeply suspected that Ares, who had given equipment to Sefalu back then, and Romulus, who was now being given away for free, were both traitors and spies within their own camp!

For now, the only option is to gamble on Attila's attitude.

However, under the ancient serpent's earnest gaze, the Xiongnu king slowly shook his head again.

Before embarking on a new life, she was the Great Queen of the Hunnic Empire, a warrior who whipped and ravaged hostile civilizations.

"Then get out of the way!"

The moment he received the reply, Samael frowned and sprang to his feet. A surge of ethereal light propelled him as he turned and leaped forward, charging towards the smoke-filled city of Rome.

Brunhilde and Boudica are still inside. While Romulus was still alive, they observed the situation and returned to Nero's private residence to ensure their safety. But now the city of the Seven Hills is in grave danger.

Instead of wasting time here with Attila, we should make sure our family and friends are safe first.

boom!

Guns and swords clashed, creating a splash of red, black, and seven colors that rippled through the air like surging ethereal waves, scattering the clouds in all directions.

In mid-air, the figure that leaped and intercepted stood opposite the gloomy-faced Samael.

Attila's colorful wings fluttered behind her, her variegated sword of war pointed forward, her gaze sharp, her tone indifferent, like a killing machine programmed with commands.

"Once the battle begins, there's no reason for it to stop. Since you've chosen me, as your opponent, I won't easily let the enemy break through the blockade. If you want to get through, defeat me first..."

"Are you serious?!"

Samael was frantic, forcing out a chilling voice through gritted teeth, and the cross-shaped pistol in his hand ignited with a ferocious red and black flame.

"I never lie..."

Attila responded calmly, her eyes clear and unwavering, holding the Sword of the War God aloft, the star rings nested above her head lighting up one after another.

A fierce battle is about to break out.

The worst-case scenario has finally arrived.

"Ha, a promise is a promise?"

"That's right..."

Just as the momentum of both sides was rising steadily and reaching its peak, Samael, having received a response, suddenly lowered his cross spear, his divine power flowing out in all directions. His eyes were deep and unfathomable as he raised his hand forward and met Attila's gaze in a low voice.