Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"Not necessarily. The territory of Persia is still there, and my Undying Army is still there! As long as I can return to my homeland and have some time, I can still organize an army of hundreds of thousands!"

The valiant Darius I stepped forward from the dense forest, groaning in rebuttal.

This Persian king, who succeeded Cyrus, continued to expand the territory and was full of martial prowess. Most of the current territory of the empire was conquered by Darius I himself.

To commemorate himself, he had his achievements inscribed on the cliff in three languages: Elamite, Persian, and Akkadian-Babylonian dialect, which became known as the "Behistun Inscription".

The opening line reads: "I, Darius, the great king, king of kings, king of Persia, king of the provinces, son of Hestaspis, descendant of Artames!"

This clearly demonstrates the arrogance and self-confidence of this Persian king; this defeat obviously could not completely subdue him.

"Father-in-law, it's no use..."

The handsome Xerxes, leaning against the mountain rocks, walked over, bitterly shattering Darius I's illusions.

"Conquering Greece cannot rely solely on the Immortals. In the Roman war, 300,000 troops were almost entirely wiped out, and the survivors were able to return alive thanks to the grace of His Majesty in the Land of Nothingness. This time, the Greco-Persian War, launched with the full strength of the nation, has also ended in a disastrous defeat, and the leader of the army is once again that Greek king. What is even more shameful is that we are only able to survive because of his charity."

Look at the people below. Even if we return to Persia and rebuild the Immortals, how many of the remaining soldiers will be willing to take up arms and fight with you again?

Whether out of fear or gratitude, they had completely succumbed to the Greeks.

I guarantee that if you dare to mention rebellion, these soldiers, who have just finished their hot meal and are waiting to go home, will immediately tie you up and send you to the Greeks.

Even if you go back, as long as His Majesty is still alive, even if you want to attack Greece, the moment the two sides meet, the soldiers who have received favors will turn their guns on you…”

Arash nodded with a wry smile, pointing to the Meteor Archers sitting on the ground in the dense forest behind him, wolfing down their food.

“That’s right. Even if they are the elite of the army, after a series of changes, even I can’t guarantee that I can still command these people to continue fighting for you.”

It must be said that this Greek king, in dealing with prisoners of war, used a conciliatory approach to undermine the enemy's will to resist, and combined this with education and brainwashing, achieving remarkable results. This truly taught them a lesson.

"Moreover, according to Lord Mithras's reaction, the Pantheon has been destroyed, and it is questionable whether Persia can be preserved."

Xerxes recalled the astonished expression on the face of the god of light when the Tower of Babel suddenly collapsed, and the answer he blurted out unconsciously, and felt increasingly powerless.

"That shouldn't be the case! The Pantheon has a Grand Lord; how could it be breached so easily!"

Darius still harbored resentment, frowning and muttering to himself.

Arash and Xerxes pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then suddenly seemed to realize something, their faces froze, and they looked at each other in silence.

At this moment, Wenquan Pass.

"What? Cyrus isn't at the camp? He secretly returned to Persia three days ago?!"

As the medical teams from the Academy of Athens returned one after another, Anna overheard them subtly obtaining important intelligence from the wounded Persians. Her expression changed slightly, and she abruptly stood up.

Meanwhile, in the sea of ​​chaos.

"Twilight has arrived, the song of despair begins, this is the end, all things perish, returning to ashes! — The blazing sun, the sword of flame!"

Amidst the somber chanting, Samael drew a crimson light from the magic circle, and blazing flames shot into the sky. A dark red greatsword pressed down, the sea surface churned violently, and boiling ether and scorching air rapidly dispersed, creating towering waves on both sides.

"My salvation and my glory are in God; my rock of strength and my refuge are in God! God has given me a sword, an immortal flame that envelops me, a spark that ignites a prairie fire—I am justice! I am judgment!"

Michael was terrified and immediately began chanting. Then, the dark red cross sword in his hand ignited with a dazzling light, and the cross-shaped light band, like stars, met the blazing demon sword that had dyed the sky crimson.

boom!

As the two swords clashed, Michael was blasted into the sea, creating a massive whirlpool. Two streams of fiery energy flowed out, causing the seawater to boil endlessly. Marine life within dozens of miles was blasted into blood mist and rotted into dust. Even the large swaths of rising sea mist were tinged with a scarlet hue.

tsk...

Samael frowned as he watched the blood-red tendrils sprouting from the stem of the Levadin tree branch quietly spread toward his arm. He then turned and threw the demonic sword, which was trying to devour its master, into the magic circle to continue sealing it away.

Unfortunately, his cross-shaped spear was used to restrain the troublesome Pandora; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to use Levadin to deal with her.

However, the power of the Flaming Demon Sword is undeniable. After this attack, Michael is basically at his limit and cannot escape!

Especially at sea, that's his home turf!

The ancient serpent sneered, folded its wings, and descended to the sea surface. The ocean's protective power surged within its body, and the raging waves of the chaotic sea became as docile as cats and dogs around it. The rolling waves moved beneath its feet as if they were flat ground.

At the same time, Michael, whose star-shaped eyes were opening and closing, casually scanned the water, trying to hide in the water and evade detection, but he had nowhere to hide.

Whoosh!

Realizing he was being targeted, the Child of Light felt a thorn in his side and frantically flapped his wings, bursting out from underwater. With his three remaining wings, he desperately stirred the ether, accelerating his advance and trying to escape the area shrouded by the monster's divine will.

Hmph! Trying to run away?!

Samael summoned a golden bow and arrow, and with both arms he pulled it back. The bowstring and bow creaked and groaned under the strain. A black serpentine mark coiled around the ethereal arrow, its blade pointing directly at the fleeing Michael.

Finished!

With a sharp, explosive sound, the disheveled Child of Light sensed the chilling killing intent materializing behind him, as well as the divine will locking onto him, leaving him nowhere to hide. Despair filled his heart.

Wait! That's...

However, just as Michael was at his wit's end, the fog ahead surged violently, and an aerial ship with a sphinx sculpture on its prow burst out of the chaos.

Chapter 198 The Return of Divinity

By the grace of the Lord, I am saved!

The Child of Light immediately flapped his wings and, with agility rarely seen in his life, brushed past the floating ship.

Nitocris! Cleopatra VII! This is Ramses II's Dark Sun Boat!

Is Egypt going to side with Persia?

No! There are other people in the cabin, ordinary people!

Samael's cross-shaped eyes flashed as his thoughts raced. Sensing something amiss, he instinctively clenched his fingers, forcibly dispersing most of the light arrow's power and, through sheer willpower, distorting its direction.

boom!

As the light arrow rose close to the ship's side, the ether, condensed to its extreme, exploded violently in the chaotic sea fog.

Oops!

On the deck, the two female pharaohs, who had suffered an undeserved calamity, hurriedly waved their staffs, erecting a magical barrier to protect the Dark Sun Ship.

However, the etheric storm unleashed by the light arrow shattered the side hull of the sunship and the magical shield in front of them with overwhelming force.

Seeing that the red and black torrent was about to engulf them, the two female pharaohs paled and their eyes showed despair.

hum!

At the critical moment, a figure gracefully arrived, bending his fingers forward and crossing them in mid-air, tearing apart the terrifying etheric storm and saving the nearly destroyed Dark Sun Ship from destruction.

Before the Dark Sun Ship, Samael stood suspended in mid-air, catching a glimpse of pairs of eyes peering out of the cabin with fear, and felt puzzled.

Immediately, the ancient serpent frowned and glanced in the direction Michael had fled. Its vertical pupils then looked down at the two female pharaohs on the deck, who were still in shock. After a moment's hesitation, its metal wings unfurled, and it prepared to continue its pursuit of the Mithra god.

"Don't go! Monster! That monster is catching up!"

The two female pharaohs came to their senses, and Nitocris immediately spoke up to remind them, turning her head to look behind her with a hint of fear in her eyes.

"what?!"

Just as Samael was about to ask a question, the sea fog ahead surged violently, and the scattered starlight was swallowed up by the dense darkness.

In an instant, a roar like thunder, a beast's howl, a mountain collapse, and a tsunami came from the chaos. Amidst the ominous black mist, a ferocious maw covered with sharp, ring-shaped serrations, like that of a lamprey, swooped down toward Samael and the wrecked solar ship behind him.

My fortress rises from the sea and will never fall!

Samael retreated hastily, raising his hand to mobilize his divine power. His authority surged, and a hundred-foot-high giant wave rose from the sea, forming a blue barrier that stood between the monster and the sun ship.

hum!

However, the water violently trembled, and tens of thousands of tons of seawater were drawn into the hideous maw by the swirling black ethereal vortex. The water curtain only lasted for three breaths before collapsing.

"Light originates from darkness, destruction is rebirth, and God comes from demons! My might is above, and your power is below—Destiny: Suppression!"

However, the moment this colossal creature hidden in the black mist broke through the water curtain, Samael's cross-shaped eyes snapped open, radiating golden light. The Book of Destiny in his arms floated before him, flipping through the pages with a rustling sound. Accompanied by chanting divine words, the power of destiny formed an immeasurable law.

boom!

The ancient serpent twisted forward, its right hand suddenly gripping, causing the surrounding sea level to drop by a hundred meters. The sea area collapsed instantly as if subjected to billions of times the force of gravity, forming a terrifying whirlpool.

As the powerful force suppressed the darkness, the black mist that filled the sky was forcibly drawn away by the whirlpool on the sea surface, and the monster hidden beneath the chaos crashed into the deep sea, revealing its ferocious face.

Its scales are like black flint, its eyes glow red, it is full of savagery, and its long, narrow body stretches for tens of thousands of miles. The seawater that was swallowed into its belly was not even one-thousandth of its size. Its surging and boiling divine power proves its strength and terror.

Apophis, the World-Destroying Serpent!

Samael's pupils contracted sharply as he realized the true origin of this monster.

"hiss!"

Under the suppression of the divine power, Apophis craned its neck and hissed, twisting violently. Strands of black mist seeped from its open scales, and its mouthparts, like those of a lamprey, frantically sucked them in, attempting to dismantle this strange force field.

"Flame is the point, destiny is the line, thus forming an endless plane. Nothing can escape my grasp, nothing can escape my gaze. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, destiny has come to an end. Burn here, destroy here—Flame of Destiny!"

The Book of Destiny, suspended in mid-air, turned faster and faster. The divine blood within Samael surged like a tidal wave, and the remaining power of destiny pulsed instinctively. High-pitched divine words unconsciously flowed from his mouth.

In an instant, golden flames appeared in mid-air, like a net to capture its prey, gathering and sticking to Apophis's almost misty body, scorching through its scales, burning its flesh, and melting its bones.

As the monster struggled violently, its massive body was burned inch by inch by the Flame of Fate, disintegrating into pure ether.

Indeed, the Persian Book of Destiny is a redesign of the Tablets of Destiny!

Samael sensed the resonance between bloodline and divinity, and understood.

Because this thing originally belonged to the mother goddess Tiamat, and as the son of the goddess, he had consumed and fused with one-third of the Destiny Tablet, now that he had this thing in his hands, he was able to resonate with it and spontaneously wield its power.

Since that's the case, then you can try the power of the Book of Destiny in its full state!

"I am the beginning, and I am also the end. I am the serpent that encircles the world, an infinite circle. By this destiny, I worship the Source..."

With the ancient serpent, cross, star, and eye patterns intertwined, he opened his mind and, relying on the premonitions in the darkness, fully activated the power of the Book of Destiny.

"...Divinity has returned!"

Amidst the red and black halo that dyed the sky, the phantom of an ancient serpent with its head and tail intertwined coiled above Apophis, the serpent of destruction, forming the mysterious symbol "∞", which continuously alternated and cycled.

At the same time, Apophis's body, forged by the flames of fate, disintegrated inch by inch, transforming into pure ether, which flowed back into the infinite serpent above.

"belch……"

To the astonishment of the two female pharaohs, the figure suspended in mid-air pressed his chest and let out a burp, while the infamous Apophis, the world-destroying serpent, was gradually devoured inch by inch by the surrounding light and shadow until it was completely absorbed!

"Why are you here?"

Before Nitocris and Cleopatra could react, the towering deity folded its wings and descended, its gaze sharp and inquiring.

As far as he knew, Apophis came from Egypt and was a being with the same origin as the Egyptian world.

Legend has it that Ra, the leader of the nine Egyptian gods, would drive the sun boat every day to transport the sun from the east to the west in order to ensure the survival of all things. After sunset, he would transport the sun from the underworld from the west to the east.

In the boundless darkness beneath the earth, countless monsters would block the passage of the sun boat, plunging the Egyptian world into eternal darkness and ruling it. Every night, Ra would fight against these dark monsters, maintaining the cycle of life and death in Egypt.

Every time the sun rises as usual, it signifies another victory for Ra.

Among them, the sun god Ra's most powerful opponent was Apophis, the world-destroying serpent.

It was formed from the umbilical cord that gave birth to Ra, and is one with the light, ruling over the darkness. It is immortal and can only be sealed away, not destroyed.

Once this monster breaks the seal and rushes to the surface, it can easily drain the Nile River, devour the light, decompose all matter into ether, and return everything to chaos.

Therefore, its arrival foreshadowed the end of Egypt!

"My lord, all nine Ennead have perished. Apophis has drained the Nile and devoured all the land. Our kingdom has been destroyed..."

Nitocris was the first to regain her senses, gripping the eagle-headed staff tightly with both hands, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"Where's Ramses II?!"

"Escape! Lead the remaining members of your people and join the Greek army. This is His Majesty's final order to us..."

Nitocris paid no heed to the person before her who was offending the Pharaoh; her eyes, and the eyes of the people in the cabin below, were filled with emptiness and despair.

The Egyptians did not participate in the Battle of Thermopylae because their kingdom had already been completely destroyed!

"Who? Who destroyed Egypt?!"

An ominous premonition arose in Samael's heart. The man thought about it with dread, his vertical pupils suddenly contracted, and he immediately asked a question urgently.

"Cyrus the Great, the Persian Emperor!"

Nitocris responded dryly, her eyes reddening and filled with hatred.

"He deceived His Majesty, he deceived us, he deceived the world!"

Cyrus wasn't in Tambey Valley! He was in... Egypt!