Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Merlin's expression changed, and while angrily complaining, he deftly switched his left hand to the Holy Sword, displaying a skillful stance of dual cultivation of magic and martial arts.

But then, these regrouped monsters unexpectedly bypassed the old liar and charged into the army of Rahm, where they engaged in a bloody battle with these strangely shaped, mysterious children.

"Leave the rest to Anna and me. You two go into the city first and protect the people!"

Samael, riding a swooping down on the wind god pterosaur, stood before the defensive line formed by the teeth of Napishtim and pondered an order to Merlin.

The old swindler instantly noticed that the eyes that met his gaze had intricate patterns, like shimmering crosses, emanating an invisible, intimidating aura.

This imposing aura resonated subtly with the fluctuations emanating from those magical beasts.

Good heavens, Warcraft Domination!

Merlin excitedly patted Samael on the shoulder, his heart finally calming down a little. He then decisively accepted the order to enter Uruk and wipe out Rahm.

The ancient snake glanced at Anna, whose small face was tense and serious as she stood guard beside it, and felt greatly relieved.

After stripping himself of the powers of the Gorgon's Beast Mother, he was able to barely control the magical beasts born from her after a short period of digestion.

But everything was too rushed. His spiritual core had limited capacity, and even if he tried his best, the time he could sustain it was quite short.

Therefore, he had to abandon his plan to raise a large army of magical beasts to fight against Rahm in the long term.

Currently, Samael is doing everything in his power to kill as many of these so-called "brothers and sisters" as possible in the fighting with Rahm.

Since your world has brought terror and trauma, then use your remaining life to wash away that sin.

The ancient serpent sensed the remaining army of magical beasts spreading out, and its controlling resonance grew weaker and weaker. It immediately opened its mouth and uttered syllables that sounded like a song.

"Aaaa..."

Born from the womb of a hundred beasts, the magical beasts wholeheartedly obeyed this supreme will, their bodies swelled, and they went berserk, fiercely charging towards these Rahm.

Although these magical beasts, which originated from corrupted powers, are quite limited in strength, they would be completely overwhelmed by Rahm in a one-on-one fight.

But they were fearless and numerous, and with a suicidal fighting style, they almost wiped out two-thirds of the mysterious children born from the black tide.

"Mother... giggle..."

"Kill them all...hehe..."

The few remaining Rahms at the forefront tilted their heads, stuck out their tongues, and looked in the direction of Samael. Amidst their confused expressions, they let out strange, sinister, and demonic laughter.

Finally, when the monsters were few in number and the people of Rahm in Uruk were wiped out, they rushed to provide support.

At this moment, strange tremors from the abyss spread rapidly, and the mysterious children, whether in the sky or on the ground, seemed to receive some kind of signal and jumped into the receding black tide.

This raging, world-destroying torrent, seemingly out of some kind of fear, left behind a scene of utter devastation and retreated back into the dark abyss where the cedar forest was located.

But correspondingly, the rain in the sky became even more intense, pouring down on this disaster-prone land, as if trying to wash away the filth and dirt left on the surface.

Finally... we made it through again...

Samael, who had been relentlessly exploiting himself like a machine, was now physically and mentally exhausted. The moment his nerves relaxed, he felt dizzy and almost fell headfirst to the ground.

Fortunately, Anna grabbed the ancient serpent and helped it onto the Quetzalcoatl.

After entrusting the follow-up matters to the garrison of the North Wall, Quetzalcoatlus, amidst Samael's murmurs, headed ahead to the embassy.

The ancient serpent, helped up the stairs, staggered into its room, bent down and crushed a hollowed-out floor tile under the bed, and pulled out the Holy Grail it had obtained from Gilgamesh from the small compartment.

The Holy Grail was an extremely important magical furnace for these departed gods; carrying it on their person was like having a giant light bulb.

The ancient serpent, always aware of its own strength, naturally dared not recklessly flaunt it.

The situation in the underworld has been very strange lately, and after much thought, Uruk is the only place that is relatively safe for the time being.

This action, though it nearly brought Uruk to its doom, also prevented the Ancient Serpent from being targeted by the Father of Origin and becoming a mere snack.

Didn't you see that Apsu was so hungry that it even ripped out the heart of Jingu, the creature that awakened it?

In a sense, this brother (sister) took a real blow for him because of the Holy Grail.

However, even after obtaining the Holy Grail, Samael, leaning against the bed, still felt somewhat hesitant.

In the Mesopotamian world, there are currently two Holy Grail Magic Cores.

One of them was swallowed by Apsu, and since it couldn't gain any advantage from Uruk, it is probably secretly digesting it while waiting for its power to be restored.

The other one is the only one left in his hand, and it has already been coveted by the god of the abyss.

According to the original history, Gilgamesh should have given the Holy Grail to Kingu, so that this divinely created weapon, which had lost its function, would regain its vitality and turn to the side of humanity.

Trading a Holy Grail for a top-tier fighter seems like a good deal.

But the question is, do I really have to make this choice?

Samael leaned against the window, turning the Holy Grail in his hand, his brow furrowed.

Just as the ancient serpent was lost in thought, the dull, pattering sound of rain falling outside the window snapped it back to reality.

Suddenly, his vertical pupils, like a cross, gazed intently at the dark clouds and thunderstorms gathering in the sky, then swept over the large patches of blood on the street and the wounded groaning everywhere. His gaze gradually became serious.

Samael then tucked the Holy Grail into his robes and turned to Anna, pondering solemnly.

"Summon all decision-makers and proceed immediately to the Royal Palace Tower!"

Chapter 128 If I don't defect soon, I'll become the boss (1/3)

The atmosphere at the Royal Palace Tower was solemn.

The four goddesses—Queen of the Feathered Serpent, the Leopard, Anna, and Ishtar—entered the priestly shepherd holding the seal of royal authority into the great hall.

The great sage Merlin, the high priest Siduri, and King Leonidas of Sparta, representing the three forces of the astrological observatory, the sacrificial site, and the army respectively, all nodded in respect.

Faced with Samael's overwhelming divine favor, the priestesses and priests naturally bowed their heads in sincere admiration.

In fact, they would rather surrender to "their own people" than face King Gilgamesh in order to change their current marginalized status.

"Wang is intercepting Rahmu in the direction of the fir forest and trying to find Apsu's weakness."

"At present, I accept the appointment and will temporarily assume the monarchy."

Samael stepped forward, holding the royal seal, but did not ascend Gilgamesh's throne. He merely stood on the steps, turned, raised his arms, and let out a heart-stirring shout.

"My friends, the time of our end has come; this is the time to bid farewell to the gods!"

Even if Uruk is destroyed, the gods cannot erase the achievements of humankind!

"The name of Sumer will live on forever! Our resolve will permeate this land!"

"At this moment, in the name of humanity, we declare war on destiny!"

It must be said that the whispers of the ancient serpent were quite provocative.

What is even more commendable is that he did more than he said, and the achievements he made earned him the admiration of everyone present.

Gazing at those cross-shaped eyes, everyone felt their blood boil and beat their chests in salute.

However, though the ancient serpent appeared calm on the surface, it was actually filled with resentment in its heart.

How did I, the divine child of Tiamat who was supposed to guide the destruction of the world, inexplicably become the king of Uruk? Could this be considered the ultimate achievement of an insider?

The few people, including Siduli, who still had doubts, nodded to themselves as they looked at the steps beneath Samael's feet and the empty throne behind him, and a sense of goodwill arose within them.

"Alright, the situation is urgent, report the battle situation immediately!"

After a brief gesture of silence, Samael led everyone to the sand table to begin a war discussion.

"Currently, there are three issues that need to be addressed."

"The investigation into Apsu's whereabouts, the consolidation of Uruk's defenses, and the worst-case scenario plan for a deteriorating situation."

"First of all, judging from the current situation, the Black Tide has only receded temporarily. Apsu is hiding in the abyss along the cedar forest line, continuing to digest the Holy Grail and waiting for his powers to be restored."

The old swindler Merlin turned his gaze toward the cedar forest, his expression somewhat grave.

Kukulkan frowned, crossed his arms, and stepped forward, his eyes flashing with deep apprehension.

"To be honest, this is not a good thing, because next time we will probably be facing the Origin God in its complete form!"

Samael nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

"The calmer things are now, the more devastating the storms will be later..."

"Therefore, we must make full preparations in advance in order to have even a slight chance of winning."

The leopard-man scratched his head, disgustedly shaking the rainwater off his hands, and muttered something under his breath.

"The storm has been raging all along, hasn't it? Felines hate water the most."

Ishtar glanced at the torrential rain outside and hummed softly.

"That proves the situation is even worse. Father God has no patience at all and is too lazy to even hide it."

"The torrential rain that fell during his digestion of the Holy Grail was to prepare him for his later ascent to the surface."

Anna squeezed through the crowd, her small face becoming serious.

“That’s right, Tiamat represents the saltwater of the ocean, while Apsu represents the freshwater of rivers, lakes, and underground abysses…”

"The continuous torrential rains will accelerate the water cycle on the Mesopotamian landmass, allowing Apsu to recover as quickly as possible."

"At the same time, this also allows Him to use water to achieve domination and regeneration of the world!"

"Moreover, the Black Tide can also go upstream, and then not only the Fang of Napishtim, but even the walls on both sides will no longer be an obstacle."

Samael first gave Anna an approving look, but as he lowered his head, a strange look appeared in his eyes.

It seems that this girl gained something from that Gorgonian divinity.

"Then, is there a way to defeat or seal Him again while Apsu is weakened?"

Siduri clearly understood the hidden meaning in Anna's words.

The longer the rain drags on, the heavier the downpour, and the slimmer humanity's hope becomes.

When the whole world is submerged, Mesopotamia will be destroyed by the flood even without Apsu's intervention.

The best approach at present is to trace the source, identify the origin god who manipulates the torrential rain, and launch a preemptive strike.

“King Gilgamesh stayed near the cedar forest to do just that.”

Samael raised his right arm, splashing cold water on Siduri's illusions.

"But in my opinion, there might not be a result over there..."

"On the one hand, Ereshkigal and I searched the area north of Kusa and Uruk in the Underworld for three days, but we couldn't sense Apsu's divine core reaction."

"On the other hand, even when Gilgamesh used his strongest Ea, he could only break apart His agglomerated liquid form, but could not cause any real damage to it."

"Therefore, I suspect that if Apsu really does have a divine core, it may not necessarily be in the cedar forest!"

Immediately, the man narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone becoming somber.

"Since Wang is in charge of the north, we can start our investigation from the south. Hopefully, we can find something before this great catastrophe comes."

With the order given, everyone could only try their luck and shift their focus in searching for Apsu's weaknesses in a new direction.

"So, before we get to the second question, I'd like to ask how much fighting force Uruk has left?"

"There are 5000 soldiers, but if you add magicians, priests, and priestesses together, you'll be lucky to have 1000."

Samael was incredulous upon hearing Leonidas's report and turned to look at Siduri.

"What about ordinary residents?"

"Approximately 15000 people..."

"How many people are currently living in the entire Mesopotamia?"

"A rough estimate would be around 50000..."

After carefully reviewing the reports from various cities on the clay tablet, the high priest looked at Samael, who was standing there dumbfounded, with some confusion.

"Is there a problem, Your Excellency Shepherd?"

"So many of them survived! Unbelievable! Unbelievable!"

"what?"

Samael, who had been muttering to himself, came to his senses and realized his slip of the tongue. He immediately became serious and his expression turned to one of relief.

"I mean, you did a fantastic job, the results were far better than I expected!"

"Now, I am even more confident in defying this so-called destiny!"