The divine barrier on the outskirts of Uruk shook violently, and nearly half of the cuneiform divine patterns maintaining the barrier went out in an instant, plunging the area into darkness.
Strange noises like fingernails scratching walls, the startled cries and screams of city-defending soldiers, and the sound of flesh being torn echoed one after another in the darkness.
"Where are the mages and priests? Maintain the barrier, quickly!"
Hundreds of protected spellcasters hurriedly chanted the divine word, pouring magic power into the barrier on the outer walls.
Suddenly, the extinguished cuneiform divine patterns lit up again, and the projections connecting them gradually became clear. With that faint light, everyone quickly saw the situation in that area.
But immediately, they couldn’t help but gasp.
Trees! Lots of trees!
So dense, tangled, and sprawling that they seemed endless!
They grew from the black soil underwater, a hundred meters tall at the highest, and even the shortest were dozens of meters tall. Their branches were grotesquely shaped, and both their roots and bark were lined with vein-like patterns, looking like living creatures.
From a distance, these things resembled a writhing swarm of black serpents, ripping through the weak points of the divine barrier, climbing up the walls, and ruthlessly slaughtering the human soldiers defending the city.
Initially, there were over a hundred well-trained Uruk soldiers guarding that area, but now only puddles of blood and chunks of decaying flesh remained.
Seemingly sensing new prey, the black branches creaked loudly and spread towards the mages and soldiers maintaining the barrier on both sides.
Paralyzed by overwhelming fear, their consciousnesses seemed to sink into the deep sea, frozen solid.
The soldiers and mages could only watch those snake-like branches climb over the wall, stabbing towards them.
At the critical moment, thousands of golden light streams whizzed down from mid-air, shattering the twisted black roots and branches like dense cannon fire.
The giant trees shrieked as they retracted their roots and branches, and the fear gripping the hearts of the city defenders gradually dissipated.
They looked back over their shoulders.
There stood a solitary figure suspended in mid-air, golden armor brilliantly gleaming, chest adorned with vivid red divine patterns. His red eyes burned like flames, and his golden short hair was like a crown forged by sunlight.
Behind him, golden ripples unfolded, connecting to the [Gate of Babylon], which held infinite treasures, weapons, and magic tools. These magical items transformed into lavish armaments, launching relentless bombardments against the black sea of trees invading Uruk.
The soldiers’ hearts steadied, and they erupted in deafening cheers, their previously sagging morale soaring high.
They seemed ensorcelled, ignoring the surging waves and sea of trees once more, charging headlong to fill empty positions, or maintaining the magic circle diagram on the spot. They laid their lives down for their king and city with every shred of their being.
Gilgamesh was quite pleased with his subordinates’ performance. With a wave of his hand, thousands of golden streaks of light shot out from the open [Gate of Babylon] behind him, singlehandedly suppressing the seemingly endless black sea of trees outside the city walls.
However, despite this aggressive attack, the sea of trees wasn’t extinguished; instead, it steadied itself and launched a counterattack.
Underwater, layers of lifeless, gloomy red-black mud flowed along the advancing roots.
The black roots climbed constantly over the barrier and walls, attempting to tear apart Uruk’s defenses completely, exposing this human sanctuary to the wrath of the gods’ impending doom, to face the judgment of fate.
Worse still, people discovered that those tree branches had divine patterns on their surface, with branches as hard as gold and iron, capable of regrowing with the power of the earth and rainwater even after being shattered repeatedly.
Even with Gilgamesh’s fully open [Gate of Babylon], spewing precious magical items as if they were free, they could only delay the sea of trees’ advance and erosion towards Uruk City.
"Damn it! It’s endless!"
Gilgamesh cursed coldly, raised his hand, and an emerald-topped scepter emerged from the [Gate of Babylon], falling into his hand.
This item was known as "Marduk’s Staff," the origin of Babylon’s worldly sovereignty, capable of granting its wielder the authority to command all things.
Of course, to a very limited extent.
Because, in the eyes of the King of Kings, humans bearing original sin have no right to complete autonomy. Even exalted kings were fated to wear invisible shackles, serving the gods.
"Bastards, come out!"
The Hero King coldly snorted, waving Marduk’s Staff, the power of dominion instantly pressing the earth below the waterways inward and upward.
In an instant, the ground where the sea of tree roots lay was forcibly extracted.
However, as the ground only partially surfaced, the concealed roots exploded forth, aligning with the branches above, volleying towards Gilgamesh in the air.
Accompanied by urgent shouts, a series of silver chains engraved with cuneiform divine patterns shot out like javelins, surrounding Gilgamesh with an impenetrable barrier and tearing through the oncoming branches and roots from above the waters.
Gilgamesh’s expression relaxed, looking behind him.
There stood a loyal beauty clad in white robes, her appearance a masterpiece intricately carved by the gods: cascading green hair fell like a waterfall, with its ends interwoven with golden divine patterns left from when clay creatures were crafted, glinting like pottery in the sunlight. Her emerald eyes reflected the wild vertical pupils of a beast, yet also held the clarity of a forest after rain. During battle, her entire body bore the red divine patterns crafted by the Goddess Aruru, while at peace she radiated the tranquility of a forest.