Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Seeing the three auras closing in from the side, the once confident leopard man froze, cold sweat pouring down his face, and he couldn't help but mutter complaints.

"Oh no! If I get caught, Kukul will definitely twist my head off and stick it in the ground!"

Immediately, the comedian dressed as a tiger mascot stepped back and whistled.

"There's no other way! I can only rely on the little ones in the forest to protect me!"

"Appear! Great Leopard Warrior! Meow!"

With a comical feline lilt, dozens of beams of light rose behind the mascot-clad comedian, and a group of leopard-headed familiars dressed in animal skin skirts and wielding stone weapons stepped out of the magic circle and gathered near the god's leader, howling.

"Enjoy the hospitality of the forest warriors, everyone, let's get out of here!"

The leopard-man immediately abandoned a group of familiar minions without any scruples, and then, leaving behind a trail of afterimages and a series of sonic booms, he took off running.

"That ridiculous hooded girl, next time I see her, I'll kill her!"

Anna swung her scythe, killing the last leopard-man familiar, and then let it dissipate into aether particles.

The purple-haired loli looked at the empty ground, recalling the smiling faces of the Uruk soldiers who greeted her every day, and couldn't help but look at the gap in the collapsed city wall, snorting in annoyance.

"Don't worry, in the Mayan world, Kukulkan is a benevolent god who opposes human sacrifice. These people who were abducted are not dead yet; they are just being protected by her in a special way."

Seeing this, Samael opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then explained in a low voice.

Anna's expression softened slightly, and she breathed a sigh of relief as if a weight had been lifted from her heart.

Ishtar, who was tossing gems aside, looked somewhat puzzled.

"Why not just say it clearly? Why make it so complicated?"

"Explain yourself? Is it necessary?"

"Whether God protects humanity or destroys humanity, that supreme will disdains to explain itself to humanity."

Samael glanced at Ishtar, then turned his gaze to the gap leading directly out of the city.

"Let's go..."

"Where?"

"Deep in the dense forest, in Eridu, we seek the temple of the feathered serpent god!"

The ancient snake paused, its brow furrowing slightly.

"Negotiations always require someone to take the first step. Since she's unwilling to do so, we'll have to take the initiative."

Those who had already planned to travel to Eridu soon nodded in agreement.

Samael, meanwhile, quietly reached for the ghostly cage at his lower back, his gaze fixed on Ishtar's retreating figure.

But before that, it would be better to keep this easily exposed item at the embassy.

Chapter Seventy-Six: Show Me Your Effort! Show Me Your Struggle! (Third Update)

Several days later, the four-person team that set out from Uruk crossed wetlands and the vast Mesopotamian plain.

When you arrive at the Euphrates River, you can see lush greenery that resembles a tropical rainforest from afar.

The climate along the way is hot and humid, with vines overlapping and intertwining, and large insects and plants all have more or less biological characteristics from ancient times.

The crowd even spotted a man-eating plant over two meters tall, a spider nearly the height of an adult, and several Cretaceous Quetzalcoatlus, which occasionally swam overhead.

These monsters clearly regard the rainforest as their territory and hunting ground. When they swoop down with their wings, they often grab all sorts of strange insects and large and small magical beasts, take off and tear them apart to eat, which looks like a primitive savagery and bloodshed.

Along the way, Ishtar, the native goddess, couldn't help but marvel at the terrifying power of the feathered serpent god Kukulkan.

The power to significantly alter geographical environments and ecosystems far surpasses that of the "Beast Mother" system, where the Beast Goddess Gorgon simply uses humans to cultivate monsters.

Reflecting on myself, even as the goddess of fertility and the god of war, and with the added power of her homeland, I am not confident that I could easily achieve this level.

Kukulkan, the feathered serpent god, truly deserves to be considered one of the four creators who perfected the Mayan world.

She is indeed very powerful, and very dangerous!

Thinking of this, Ishtar felt a little scared and guilty, and suspiciously looked around the rainforest, always on guard against the sudden appearance of the Mayan god.

At this moment, Samael, who was leading the way, turned around and noticed the goddess's small gesture. He gently patted her shoulder and murmured softly.

"There's no need to be so hostile. Rest assured, all indications suggest that Quetzalcoatl won't really try to kill us."

The ancient snake then pointed around with a confident expression.

"Huh? What do you say?"

"The dangers of the rainforest are such that even we must be careful."

"But along the way, there are specially cleared paths nearby, and we haven't seen any human skeletons at all. Don't you find that strange?"

"After all, this place isn't far from human settlements."

Upon hearing this, Ishtar looked ahead and immediately saw the city of Ur, which was already beginning to take shape, hidden by the dense forest.

"Could it be that these pterosaurs came here to hunt magical beasts and poisonous insects in order to secretly protect the safety of the nearby humans?"

Anna looked thoughtfully at the harmless Quetzalcoatl in the sky.

Samael nodded slightly, affirming the little girl's intuitive answer, and habitually patted her head with his right hand as a reward.

Meanwhile, atop the pyramid-shaped temple thousands of miles away, the South American wind goddess, sensing all of this through the Quetzalcoatlus, smiled slightly.

"Hmm, what a thoughtful child, you've touched my heart again."

"However, whether you consider them enemies or friends is just wishful thinking on your part."

"It's not so easy to change the mind of a god."

"So, you lovely, fragile lives..."

"Show me your best efforts! Show me your struggles!"

Amidst the clapping laughter, the feathered serpent god standing atop the divine tower, braving the wind, grinned with an almost ferocious, expectant smile.

But in an instant, that faint connection with the wind god pterosaur was swept away by a wave of ether.

Kukulkan's vision went black for a moment, and his thoughts drifted back to the past.

Tsk, got caught? That's impressive!

Well, it's more fun to have more anticipation. I hope you guys won't keep me waiting too long.

Quetzalcoatl leaned against the Sunstone behind him, gazing up into the lush depths of the rainforest.

At the same time, Merlin raised his wand, yawned, and nodded casually to Samael.

The image-conscious goddess waved her hand dismissively, awkwardly trying to maintain her already shattered image.

"Well, that's what I think too."

Yes, yes, you're right.

The ancient serpent nodded in agreement, though his words were not entirely sincere, lest this hard-won fighting force become enraged and abandon the job.

Ishtar couldn't help but smile at such a sensible believer, and put his arm around Samael's neck.

"I'm really growing to like you more and more. You have a nice voice, you're a good person, and most importantly, you can bring me good fortune!"

"How about you stay at the Uruk Temple and become my priest?"

"This guy's a nice guy? Are you blind?"

How come this guy, who's full of bad intentions, is always being praised, while I, the older brother, am the one who gets bullied?

Merlin was wide awake, his lips twitching slightly. Recalling the clay tablet of the contract riddled with holes, he couldn't help but pound his chest, feigning psychological trauma.

roll!

Samael secretly raised his middle finger and gave Merlin, who was winking and acting like a complete drama queen, a cold laugh.

However, before the ancient serpent could figure out how to refuse, Ishtar, who was only enthusiastic about most things for a short time, turned to look at the city of Ur a hundred meters away, somewhat overjoyed.

"No, no! I've been traveling all day, and the rainforest is hot and humid. I'm sweating all over!"

"Anyway, it's getting late, and it's a bit dangerous to travel under the cover of night."

"Let's first rest in Ur, take a good shower, and have something to eat!"

The three considered that the goddess's request was reasonable, so they nodded in agreement and followed in Ishtar's footsteps.

After entering the city, the roots of plants had already penetrated the city walls, and the dense forest blocked out most of the sunlight.

Although there was no blood or corpses on the streets, the figures walking around were all women and children.

Moreover, their faces were mostly filled with sorrow and numbness.

Out of curiosity, Anna and Ishtar asked passersby for information about the situation and learned the reason for the strange occurrences in the area.

Ur was a city that was swallowed up by vegetation after the early expansion of dense forests.

Although the local priestess sent several pleas for help to Uruk, either the messengers failed to escape, or the rescue soldiers were swallowed up by the dense forest, leaving no trace of their bodies.

After several failed attempts, the people of Ur fell into despair and chose to submit to the goddess Kukulkan in the dense forest.

Furthermore, following the goddess's command, they would select elite male warriors each month and send them to the Temple of the Sun in Eridu for a sacrificial ceremony.

Since the men never returned, they saw it as a death sentence.

Therefore, Ur's resistance has been gradually weakened, and now they have become submissive and no longer even consider leaving the city.

However, even though he submitted to the Goddess of the Forest, there was still some lingering resentment.

After Samael and the others did not force them to take sides and go to war with Kukulkan, the people of the witch's quarters obediently arranged accommodations, changes of clothes and food for these Uruk reinforcements.

As evening fell, Anna leaned against the railing, looking at the sparse city lights and hearing faint sobs, her expression tightening.

"Even if Kukulkan truly loves humans, her love has already brought harm to the people of Ur!"

At that moment, Samael, who had somehow appeared behind the little girl, spoke softly, his eyes filled with deep emotion.

"There is often a sense of distance between humans and gods. Some of their relationships are like the relationship between us and cats and dogs."

"Feeding and petting are forms of love, but leashing it and neutering it might also be seen as a form of love by its owner."

"Therefore, do not presume to discuss humanity with God before you have achieved equal understanding and trust!"

Just as the ancient serpent was pondering, a strange rhythm, like the earth's crust churning, came from beneath its feet, and the threads in its mind suddenly tightened and buzzed.

Eridu...be careful...danger...

Fragmented thoughts coalesced into an instruction from the mother goddess Tiamat.

This feeling is a mix of concern and unease…

Chapter Seventy-Seven: But I refuse! (Fourth update)

As the slight tremors subsided, Samael pulled Anna up from the ground and frowned as he looked into the depths of the dense forest.

Has Kukulkan, the feathered serpent god, become so powerful that even the mother goddess Tiamat is wary of him?

Elidu…

Perhaps it's because Marduk's axe, which once wounded the Mother Goddess, is located there?

The ancient serpent pondered for a moment, but still couldn't figure it out, so it could only put the question aside for the time being and turn to look at Ur City.

The people here seem to have become accustomed to similar tremors; some cried, some slept, and no one paid any attention to the previous anomalies.

After a few dozen breaths, comforted by Samael, the little girl, determined to convey the grievances of the people of Ur and uphold justice, went inside to sleep with a grand ideal in her heart.

Having just comforted the child, she, draped in a bath towel with her long black hair cascading over her bare shoulders, came barefoot to Samael's side.

Watching Ishtar stretch her long hair in the breeze, Samael guessed she was there to dry her hair.

However, as a friendly ally, the ancient snake generously left an empty space.

Meanwhile, a certain "generous" person glanced at her delicate collarbone and half of her snow-white breast wrapped in a white bath towel with an appreciative attitude.

Unfortunately, the ditch isn't deep enough, bad review...

Samael glanced sideways at the figure who was tidying up a bath towel, holding the corner to prevent it from slipping, shook his head slightly, and muttered to himself.

In such an open area with no hills, a loose bath towel simply cannot be hung up.

Ultimately, we have to face reality, right, my goddess?