Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Just as the atmosphere was oppressive and dull, a group of giant gray-blue wolves began to sniff and stir, their heads fixed on the piles of entrails and scraps of meat being pushed out of the kitchen by a cart.

The rich ether made these animals wag their tails excitedly, drooling as they chased after the carts carrying the wastewater.

"Eat up, eat up, you wolf cubs, this time you'll have plenty!"

The old shaman, with a new wound on his face, laughed and cursed as he grabbed a liver from the cart and threw it at the wolves, sparking a scramble. Then, losing interest, he got up and walked towards the large tent with its golden roof.

"Your Majesty, what are you thinking about? You seem so engrossed."

Then, the old shaman lifted the curtain, stepped inside, and woke up the silver-haired girl who was lost in thought in the corner.

Do you think there will be a heaven?

"There probably are..."

"why?"

"That's what the older generation says, so we just believe it."

"No evidence? What if it doesn't exist? According to the dreams in my mind, we've spent so much time and lost so many of our people trying to find that place. If..."

This outrageously casual answer caused Attila to frown deeply and mutter to herself.

Countless setbacks and countless familiar or unfamiliar faces fell before her. Although the voice in her head kept telling her to continue forging a path and carrying out the exploration plan, the more she thought about it, the more confused and wavered she became about that resonance.

"Is this important?"

The old shaman interrupted Attila's chaotic thoughts with a casual smile.

"Isn't it important? This is what we've been searching for all along..."

Attila's cherry lips were tightly pressed together, her thoughts were in disarray, and she appeared even more bewildered.

"Your Majesty, a person needs something to look forward to in life..."

Whether you lead us to a glorious return to heaven or to expand our territory, it is enough to gather our people together and simply follow in your footsteps. Whether the outcome is achieved or not is not so important.

The old shaman's deeply lined face held a profound meaning that even the Xiongnu king could not decipher. His gaze as he looked up at the sky revealed a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex feeling of deep emotion or reflection) that had been washed away by the passage of time.

“When I was young, I did good deeds like saving people and healing the sick, and I also did evil deeds like murder and arson. Even if I find heaven, the Eternal Heaven may not let me in.”

Now that I'm old, I don't have as many ambitions or extravagant desires. While I'm alive, isn't it good enough to just fight, herd sheep, eat, and sleep peacefully? In my spare time, I can have a bowl of butter tea and a roasted lamb. Mmm, the taste is indescribable.

After he died, his old bones were rolled up and thrown on the car, where they fell to some spot as the car bumped along.

Having eaten so many wolves and eagles, let them taste human flesh too. The leftovers from their corpses can fertilize the land and pastures there, fattening up our lambs next year. And that's how their lives will pass.

Besides, the Huns had a hard life before, but since you came, we have food and clothing. Even in heaven, we may not have this kind of blessing. What we wanted, we have already enjoyed.

So you don't need to take on any responsibility for us; just do whatever you want.

Then, the old man smiled and clapped his hands. The two shamans who were waiting outside the tent carried the golden-brown, chilled meat patties into the house.

"Here, this is the dragon meat you've been enjoying lately. We prepared it specially. Don't worry about anything else, eating your fill is the most important thing. Try it..."

Chapter Eighty-Six: The Rainbow of the Holy Night, The Lost Paradise

As soon as she heard that, the aroma filled the air, and Attila rubbed her stomach, suddenly realizing she was hungry.

With a gurgling sound, the Hun king tore open the credential marked with a rose on the table, poured out a crystal, skillfully crushed it, sprinkled it evenly on the roasted meat, puffed out his cheeks, and began to eat heartily.

Seeing that Attila was enjoying his meal, the old shaman picked up a cup of milk tea and sipped it happily.

After a whirlwind of food, the silver-haired girl, feeling slightly full, wiped the grease from her lips, faced the old shaman, and solemnly spoke.

"With that woman here on the western front, breaking through the blockade will require huge casualties."

Moreover, the Persians are currently suffering a defeat on the eastern front, and the Egyptians have broken their oath and attacked a Persian fleet that was attacking Greece. If the stalemate continues, the pressure from both fronts will fall back on our side.

There's no need to continue this battle. I want to lead you to heaven in glory, not to hell.

I've decided to withdraw the troops for now. In the meantime, I want to go and see what Greece has to offer!

The old shaman was taken aback by what he heard, and his eyes showed concern.

"Isn't it too risky to go to the enemy country alone? The medicine is almost gone, and the Persians still haven't sent any..."

"It's okay, someone invited me, and he even gave me medicine to use on the way."

The man said he knew my background, my past, and that if I was willing to keep the appointment, he would tell me the answer in Athens!

Attila rubbed her lower abdomen and casually replied, raising her hand to pull out a seven-colored greatsword inch by inch from the magic circle, its sharp edge pointing eerily at Greece.

We're full, let's go!

Moments later, a golden lamb doll, bathed in the divine light of the star pattern, was given the ability to come to life. Riding on rainbow radiance, it bleated all the way, carrying the Hun king lying on it, and streaked across the sky, becoming a colorful shooting star.

Persia, Vulture's Nest, Temple of the Evening Bell.

Did the Huns retreat?

In the quiet room, Samael, who came from the Celtic tribe, deciphered the corresponding content from a string of runes that appeared within the magic circle diagram, and nodded in satisfaction.

So, the third move is complete.

The ancient serpent raised his hand and lifted the tablecloth, revealing the sand table he had recently set up. He moved the chess pieces around the western line of Rome back one by one, revealing large areas of pleasing blank space.

Hippolyta's gaze fell upon the Roman territory symbolized by the eagle banner, and she suddenly felt that the previously oppressive situation had been swept away by the wind, and everything was suddenly clear.

The three armies, one in the east, one in the west, and one in the south, lured the enemy deep into their territory and first defeated Persia; they then adopted a scorched-earth policy and defeated the Huns again; later, they sowed discord between Cyrus and Ramses II, leading to Egypt and Persia fighting each other.

Now, the most powerful Persian army, numbering over 80% of its 300,000 men, has suffered a crushing defeat on the land of nothingness. Cyrus has been seriously wounded and fled, and his prestige has collapsed.

The Huns, being slightly weaker, suffered repeated setbacks in their military campaigns. Attila, facing Skadi, also failed to gain much advantage. Encouraged by Samael, she had no choice but to seek other ways to find out about her origins and mission, and went to Greece alone. Without the Hun king, the already weak Hunnic tribe was even less of a threat.

As for the powerful Egyptians, on the one hand, they had to contend with Carthage to prevent their vassal from becoming too powerful, and on the other hand, they were locked in a power struggle with Persia, making Rome a mere trifle to them.

In addition, Cyrus's previous misdeeds in the city of the seven hills had already left Ramses II with a thorn in his side. The subsequent assassination by the Assassins made him suspect that Persia was about to launch a military campaign against Egypt. Wouldn't the Pharaoh blame Cyrus, the employer of the Assassins?

By having the young Emperor Nero speak, Ramses II successfully shifted the focus of the conflict to Cyrus by presenting Egypt with a show of weakness, reasoning, enticing it with benefits, and exposing its dangers.

Now, it can be said that Rome's impending doom has been averted. Although border troubles remain and there will inevitably be several more back-and-forth battles, the overall situation is fine.

At this point, Rome's predicament had been turned around, and it was now Persia's turn to suffer.

"It seems that Cyrus has no way out, and this war will soon be over."

The Queen of the Amazons breathed a sigh of relief, her brow unfurrowing.

"Not necessarily! Cyrus still has another path to take..."

Samael's voice was solemn as he shook his head slightly, his fingers sweeping across the chaotic sea and landing on the shattered city-state.

"A full-scale attack on Greece?"

Hippolyta realized a possibility and murmured to herself.

The ancient serpent nodded, its eyes flashing, and gave a confident, cold laugh.

The strategy of first conquering Rome and then annexing Greece was Cyrus's plan, though it was a strategy devised for ambition and security.

But his real goal was to obtain the so-called source of the planet from Greece.

Now, after much maneuvering, it's true that the city of Seven Hills is temporarily out of danger of annihilation, but after the fall of the Divine Ancestor and the battles on all sides, its soldiers are exhausted, and seven or eight provinces and legions have been crippled, leaving it in a state of great devastation.

It is virtually impossible to get the Pantheon to spare troops to support Greece.

In other words, Persia's strategy of weakening the Pan-Hellenic Union, even if not entirely satisfactory, achieved its initial objective.

Now, the situation is becoming increasingly delicate, and the circumstances are gradually turning against Persia. If Cyrus realizes this, he will most likely choose to gamble everything in Greece, using his available resources to try his luck one last time.

Samael bent his fingers and pushed the three kings onto the sand table into Athens, a slight smile playing on his lips.

If that's about right, everyone should be arriving by now, right?

Then, the ancient serpent spread its fingers and palms, gazing at the four chess pieces in its hand, and slowly began to count them.

Scáthach the Godslayer, Fenrir the Giant Wolf, plus the Grand Assassin and me, four against three.

So, once you're here, don't leave. I know Greece pretty well, so let's go all in right here at this gambling table!

However, before setting off, there was one thing he needed to confirm in Mesopotamia.

As night deepened, Samael stood silently atop the cliff of the Evening Bell Temple, waiting as a fierce, icy wind swept in, sending chills down one's spine.

As a fragrant aroma wafted from behind, the ancient snake snapped back to reality and turned around, immediately seeing the purple-haired girl clumsily climbing the cliff, carrying a pottery jar in one hand and a food box in the other.

Caught red-handed, Jingmi blushed and bent down to place the food in front of Samael.

"The jar contains jalapa, which I just took off the stove. It's still warm and can be used to ward off the cold. The food box contains flatbread and mutton."

"That's a very generous meal, thank you..."

The ancient snake stretched and stepped forward, giving the expectant Jingmi a Western-style hug and cheek kiss.

"No, no need. Boss Bai Mao sent me. If it's not enough, I'll go down and get more!"

Despite possessing some obsessive traits and being hailed as a member of the "Night Raid Trio" of the future survival mechanism, Hassan is quite easily embarrassed afterward, her blushing cheeks becoming even more intense and intoxicating as she receives that warmth.

The girl, realizing what had happened, stammered like a startled rabbit, revealing the mastermind behind it all, before hurriedly fleeing with the tray in her arms.

Samael sat cross-legged on the ground, watching with great interest the little rabbit running down the mountain in a panic, and enjoying his dinner with it.

However, he hadn't eaten more than a few bites when the temperature around him suddenly dropped, and a sense of death rushing from the valley climbed up the cliff in the night.

"Your Highness, Paradise Lost, I've found it..."

The silent contemplation behind him caused the ancient serpent to suddenly turn around, its vertical pupils flashing with an eerie light.

Sheep Cavalry.jpg

Chapter 87 Hell Is Empty (1/3)

"Although time has passed, as you said, I did indeed discover an entrance to the underworld in Kusa City and the ruins of Uruk..."

In a calm and deliberate tone, Hassan Sabah, who had silently emerged from the deep darkness of the night, stood with his sword in hand, paused briefly, and then spoke slowly.

"But the entire underworld is empty, and it seems to have been abandoned for a long time."

"you sure?!"

"Carrying your divine seal, I traversed the seven gates of the underworld, passed through the nine levels of hell and the seven layers of purgatory, and finally arrived at the lost paradise. All the places I saw along the way were in ruins and deserted..."

"Where's the soul?"

"We didn't encounter any ordinary undead, not even a single flesh-and-blood heroic spirit or a Garuda spirit that guards the underworld!"

How can it be!

Samael's pupils contracted sharply, his mind reeling with disbelief.

Even though the birth of the new Persian gods had given him a vague sense that something might be wrong with the underworld he, Ereshkigal, and Ishtar had built together, their complete and silent disappearance was something Samael had never expected.

"However, I did not find any obvious signs of struggle. The disassembled gun cages were very neatly arranged, and many of the plants in Paradise Lost showed signs of being carefully transplanted..."

Fortunately, Hassan Sabah's subsequent silence somewhat alleviated Samael's anxiety and worry.

No signs of struggle... dismantling the gun cage... transplanting flowers and plants...

It doesn't seem like a sudden annihilation; it's more like a relocation with some underlying reason.

Samael's tightly focused vertical pupils dilated slightly, as if he were deep in thought.

Flowers and plants? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Did they all get transplanted there?

Could it be that Ereshkigal and the others settled in Greece after the last war of the Titans and never came back?

Upon closer examination, it seems quite possible!

The pantheon of gods, led by Athena and consisting of the Ares and the eighty-eight constellations, the ocean pantheon of gods led by the mother goddess Tiamat and consisting of the eleven magical beasts, and the underworld pantheon led by Ereshkigal, can just fill the void left by the migration of the Olympian gods.

Based on its knowledge and speculation, the ancient serpent deduced the possibility that Paradise Lost was abandoned.

If this is true, then the birth of the new Persian gods, the rise of Cyrus, and the fact that Zeus and his allies obediently withdrew from Greece after the Trojan War to explore the Chaos Sea would be explained.

"Your Highness, Your Highness? Your Highness!"

Just as Samael was lost in thought, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty, Hassan Sabah's shouts gradually rose in his ears, startling him awake.

"Uh, sir, I was lost in thought just now, sorry. Please go on, I'm listening."

The ancient snake awkwardly snapped out of its daze, offered a slight apology, and pretended to listen intently.

"Your Highness, if Persia is still not giving up, the only option left is to launch a full-scale attack on Greece. So, what are your plans for the future?"