The Achaemenid Dynasty, also known as the First Persian Empire, was the first monarchic empire in the region of Ancient Persia to expand its territory to most parts of Central and West Asia. Through the diligent governance of three generations: Cyrus the Great, Cambyses II, and Darius I, the Persian Empire at its peak stretched eastward to the Indus River Plain and the Pamir Plateau, southward to Egypt and Libya, westward to Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula, and northward to the Caucasus Mountains and the Salt Sea, thus becoming the first powerful dynasty in human history to span three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Its state religion was precisely Zoroastrianism, the predecessor of Fire Worship, with the Persian deities as its main objects of faith...
Luo En’s mind flashed with this relevant information, feeling a piercing headache.
Everyone, upon hearing his account, felt a shudder within.
Undoubtedly, this was an incredibly powerful opponent.
Whether in terms of territory and war potential, or in the number of deities and population, it completely crushed the Four European Divine Eras they governed.
Even with the recently conquered Babylonian Divine Era, engaging in what seemed like a fair 5V5 could not bridge the gap between the two sides.
After all, among the Four European Divine Eras, Greece had experienced the collapse of Heavenly Destiny, the Nordic experienced Ragnarök, Rome had just completed unification, the Celtic had a conflict between man and God, and Babylon’s divine war had just concluded... all were in a state of greatly diminished strength.
Influenced by this, their side’s four Origin Level battle forces each had their own shortcomings:
Venus and Altria had just entered the Origin Level, with their strength yet to stabilize, and compared to the venerable Origin Gods of Egypt and West Africa’s two major Divine Eras, there was still a significant gap;
Having just reclaimed the "Essence" from Marduk, the Babylonian Divine Era had suffered substantial damage, making it naturally impossible for Tiamat to restore her original strength in a short time. Her last attempt, although successfully forcing back the Origin Gods of the Persian, Canaan, and Indian Divine Eras, also further injured her, reducing her strength.
If they fought head-on, even if Luo En could rely on two pieces of World Essence to fight two opponents at once, it would still be difficult to reverse the overall slump.
After a moment of silence, Hecate frowned and asked:
"So what do we do now?"
"Of course, we retreat!"
Luo En’s answer was immediate and without hesitation.
Even though he had severely injured Shiva and Yi Le earlier, barely recovering some advantage.
But if it came to a real fight, the chance of victory remained slim.
Even summoning reinforcements from the Four European Divine Eras would struggle to revive this lost game.
The reason is simple: Babylon’s Divine Era is caught in a pincer between the Canaan, Indian, and Persian Divine Eras, belonging to a land vulnerable on all sides with no strongholds to defend. Moreover, it has just undergone the ravages of a great flood and internal consumption in the divine war, greatly reducing its power.
Using inherently disadvantageous chips on such a damaged base to fight against the Persian Empire head-on is truly an unwise risky move.
Once they fail to secure a swift victory, by the time Egypt and the two major Divine Eras of West Africa return to aid, their side would be sure to lose.
For now, the plan must be to first lead the remaining forces of Babylon to withdraw from this death trap, return to the core territory of the European Divine Era, and plan from there, perhaps seizing the opportunity to turn the tides.
Just as Luo En was organizing his words, preparing to present his plans to everyone at War God Mountain, the magic projection before him seemed to suffer some interference and was abruptly interrupted.
At the same time, a violent tremor came from the ground.
Three massive pillars of runes composed of storms, Karmic Fire, and light rose from the ground, forming an inverted triangle formation, enveloping the entire Babylonian Divine Era.
Perceiving those three familiar Origin Divine Powers, Luo En’s face suddenly changed.
Yi Le, Shiva, and Zarvan had made their move.
They jointly activated their divine authority, sealing the entire Babylonian Divine Era!
Apparently, the other side wasn’t foolish, just standing by, waiting for him to make a move.
It’s very likely that the other side had already established contact with Egypt and West Africa’s two major Divine Eras, analyzing the real and false purposes of Babylon and the two assault targets.
Compared to the stable and difficult-to-devour base of the European Divine Era, they seemed ready to concentrate their superior forces to first annex Babylon, which was already in their grasp.
The worst-case scenario...
Luo En sighed, several thoughts flashing through his mind.
Immediately, he seemed to have made a certain decision, raising his hand to open a magic array diagram.
Red and black silt surged out from the golden vortex, gathering in the grand hall, forming a lake of pure malevolence in red and black.
In the throes of a chilling tremor, ripples surfaced across the lake, and a shifting, murky black cube slowly solidified and rose, its volume continually expanding.
In a moment, this object twisted on its own like a magic cube, with crimson and shadowy magical runes crawling all over the surface of the dark container.
But the ultimate darkness was illuminated, as a pool of red and black liquid rose from the dark interior to the peak, coalescing into a figure wrapped in a membranous cocoon of red and black clay.
Menacing red and black lines spread madly from the abdomen towards the periphery, dense malevolence diffusing, immediately dropping the room’s temperature by several degrees.
Suddenly, the black metallic cube vibrated intensely, crimson magic runes igniting. After flickering intermittently, it transformed into a red and black clay cocoon in human shape.
A pale arm tore through the enclosing layer of red and black birth sac, and an elegant, tall figure emerged. Her black and purple hair cascaded like a waterfall down her back, the ambers of her eyes simultaneously innocent and seductive, as if the fusion of sanctity and corruption, with a demeanor both contradictory and unified.