Chapter Seventy-Seven: Crimson Beacon Smoke (Part Two)

Golden light flooded the land, with two blazing suns hanging high in the sky. Waves of heat surged like a soft red curtain, enveloping the region around Torrent City for thousands of miles. Within the city, dust and smoke blanketed everything, the atmosphere tense and sinister. Five colossal creatures, wrapped in dark mist, charged toward the two divine beings. The golden-headed centipede and the black millipede advanced side by side, two giant ants held the center, and the green giant lizard brought up the rear.

With a thunderous crash, the ground shook violently as the golden-headed centipede rammed the city wall, causing it to collapse. The ten-meter-high wall was utterly powerless before their massive bodies.

In the sky, a red sun blazed fiercely. The Sun God drew his burning bow, fire bursting in the air with crackling sounds that shook the ears. As the bowstring was pulled, a three-meter-long arrow formed, wrapped in flames, like a red serpent dancing along its shaft.

With a swift release, the fiery arrow descended from the heavens. All could clearly see the fire, thick as a child’s arm, raging and spreading wildly in the air.

The green giant lizard, just having escaped Torrent City, raised its head and roared. The flaming arrow pierced its enormous body, nailing it firmly to the ground. It lifted its head, staring angrily and unwillingly at the god above.

“Despicable deity...”

It had barely uttered four words when a second giant arrow fell from the sky, bursting its head apart. A vast spray of blood mist splashed over the earth like waves.

A faint radiance spread from its body as it rapidly shrank, finally transforming into a large green drum, its surface a deep emerald, shining with brilliant light.

The remaining insect beasts paid no heed to their fallen comrade, roaring as they charged toward Athena.

From the red sun above, two more fiery arrows shot forth—one struck the ant queen, the other impaled the giant zombie ant. But these two ants were far larger than the green giant lizard, their shells far tougher. Though the arrows wounded them, it only inflamed their ferocity.

Apollo, the Sun God, drew his bow once more, string taut as a full moon. But before he could fire, a purple gleam broke through the heat waves, bursting forth. His blazing aura, like waves splitting, was torn apart by the purple force.

“A high-level insect beast, nearly at the peak of its kind—what a pity to kill you,”

The Sun God's voice echoed from the red sun, majestic yet tinged with regret.

A massive crimson shield appeared outside the red sun that enveloped him, like a great door floating in the air. The shield absorbed all the incoming purple energy, then a thunderous roar sounded. The purple-haired woman pointed her sword at the giant shield, unleashing a violent purple storm that engulfed both her and the Sun God’s red sun.

Explosions echoed continuously from the sky. Cracks appeared outside the red sun and within the purple storm, then quickly healed, as though even the vast heavens could barely withstand the force unleashed by the two.

Athena, sword and shield in hand, descended. Golden holy light blazed from her form; her feet pressed into the earth, causing the soil to hiss and white smoke to rise. The heat from her feet alone was more than the land could bear.

With a roar, the golden-headed centipede skimmed the road, smashing a mound and ramming its massive head toward Athena. The giant millipede reared up, jaws gaping to bite at her. The giant zombie ant and the ant queen blocked her path, the four insect beasts trapping Athena atop the mountain.

Faced with this unprecedented assault, Athena was as calm as a deep abyss. She sidestepped the millipede’s jaws, her shield rang out as she struck away the centipede’s head. Hissing sounds issued from her shield—its heat hundreds of times greater than flame, capable of burning even the centipede.

Dodging the millipede’s maw and repelling the centipede's charge, Athena deftly thrust her sword into the zombie ant’s head.

The zombie ant, its body harder than steel, could not withstand Athena’s blade. The sword’s tip entered, and the stench of burning flesh rose as her blade swiftly melted the flesh within its skull. The zombie ant shrieked and staggered back, while the ant queen lunged forward—only to fare no better, Athena’s sword slashing across its snarling face, breaking its form.

Divine power and martial prowess made Athena formidable even against four foes. The insect beasts, equally fierce, did not retreat despite the wounds from her sword and shield. Their massive bodies kept Athena trapped atop the mountain, their battle sending sand and stones flying, shaking the earth.

Thunderous sounds continued from outside the city. The experts within watched, moved beyond words; such combat was the greatest they'd ever witnessed—a bloody clash between the mightiest of second-generation gods and ancient races.

The battle lasted until dusk, drawing toward its close. Of the four insect beasts besieging Athena, two were slain, two wounded.

The zombie ant and the ant queen both lost their heads to Athena’s sword. The ant queen transformed into a silver-white spike, flashing with chilling radiance. The zombie ant yielded nothing; it was, after all, a mutated spawn from the queen’s abdomen.

The golden-headed centipede and the giant millipede were wounded, their bodies marked with white scars, their iron legs severed one after another.

No longer willing to fight head-on, their immense forms circled Athena briefly, then seized an opening and fled down the mountain, not looking back.

The purple storm in the sky vanished, as did Apollo’s red sun. Athena raised her head, her fierce eyes gazing at the purple-haired woman floating above—who remained unscathed.

The experts within Torrent City were stunned; they hadn’t expected this high-level insect beast to fight Apollo, the Sun God, to a standstill.

With each deeper layer of the underground nest, the guardian grew stronger. She was the fourth-layer guardian, yet her power seemed greater than the fifth-layer giant millipede and the sixth-layer golden-headed centipede.

The two exchanged a glance in midair. The purple-haired woman lingered no longer, transforming into a dazzling purple streak as she flew into the distance.

Below, in the half-destroyed forest, several figures could be seen faintly.

Athena spoke: “Follow them. Find every survivor, especially the largest one.”

The group bowed silently and slipped away after her.

Soon, the chosen ones from the Silver Warriors’ Palace arrived, their faces grim. The young man at their head stepped forward. “Goddess, the drum has vanished. Someone took advantage amidst the chaos.”

He spoke with his head lowered; as an expert of the Silver Warriors’ Palace, failing even at scavenging was a blow to his pride.

Athena merely nodded slightly. “Find it.”

She spread her fingers, and the silver spike from underground flew into her palm.