At that moment, Circe's eyes flicked sideways as she brazenly hooked an arm over Samael's shoulder, baring her cute little fangs as she issued a vicious threat.
"I refuse to suffer something as embarrassing as heartbreak! If you don't agree, watch yourself. I'll spike your food and turn you into a piglet!
Hmph, don't tell me you've never had even the slightest thought about that child. Don't think I wouldn't notice!"
"Oh? Turn me into a piglet? You've got guts."
Samael narrowed his eyes, a smile that wasn't quite a smile crossing his face. Circe instinctively shrank her neck.
But the Eagle Witch, convinced she had figured out this particular snake's temperament, stiffened her little head and snorted dismissively.
"Don't try to scare me. You said yourself you wouldn't actually eat me!"
Samael's serpentine pupils shifted as he glanced at the hand on his shoulder, his voice calm and unhurried.
"I said I wouldn't eat you. I never said I wouldn't kill."
"I'm sorry! I was wrong!"
The previously overbearing great witch snapped her hand back at lightning speed. That savage aura, blending seamlessly into the night, drained all color from Circe's face. She hunched over, instantly folding and begging for mercy.
"Then get back to work already. Do I need to personally escort you?"
The Ancient Serpent crossed his arms and sneered coldly, his expression dark and menacing, stormy power gathering between his brows.
Terrified by this mix of bluff and intimidation, Circe shrank like a frightened quail, immediately surrendering to Samael's oppressive presence. She scrambled onto a Pegasus as if fleeing for her life and bolted toward Athens.
Along the way, several gray feathers, shed under overwhelming stress, drifted down through the night.
Yeah, giving that dumb bird a nice face really wasn't an option.
Samael couldn't help but smile faintly, letting out a dry, teasing scoff.
"Why the change of heart? If you were really worried, keeping them here wouldn't have been hard."
Leaves rustled as Athena brushed the wood chips from her fingers and stepped out of the trees, asking with clear amusement.
"No need. They belong to the Argo…"
The Ancient Serpent sighed softly, shook his head, and turned to leave the camp.
"The Alien Vanguard could fully awaken at any moment. Where are you going?"
"To see Zeus. There's something I need to handle. I'm leaving the defenses here, and the overall battle situation, entirely in your hands."
What's with the mystery?
Watching the human side's strongest combatant turn into a streak of light and vanish through the air, the Goddess of Wisdom swallowed her questions, accepted the responsibility, summoned Pegasus, and headed for the city walls to oversee the defenses.
Fifteen minutes later, within the Olympus encampment, a concealed bolt of lightning accompanied by several streaks of starlight withdrew from the front lines and sped toward Athens.
At the same time, the defensive sector constructed by Olympus contracted by nearly two-thirds. The resulting gaps were filled by twenty thousand Meritorious Reserve forces mobilized by the human side.
Those known as Meritorious Warriors were, without exception, the finest among humanity, inheritors of divine blood.
The one who stepped in to replace the gods in holding this position was Samael himself, emerging from the gods' camp.
Nearly all of Greece's human elite had now been fully committed to the defensive line.
"Father, that's our last card. Throwing in these Meritorious Reserves, which were meant to preserve flexibility, will stretch the human defenses thin and expose even more weaknesses. On top of that, the Argo Expeditionary Force has already withdrawn a large number of heroes who form its core. If any part of the third defensive line fails, it'll be almost certainly fatal!"
Before the sand table, Athena placed the last remaining pieces into the new defensive zones while activating a Magecraft array, her brows knit tightly as she warned him.
"I know. But during these final three hours before dawn, no matter what, we must ensure a stable transition."
Samael stared toward the bud-shaped cocoon of light, now gradually turning transparent, and spoke with solemn resolve.
Hearing that unquestionable tone, the Goddess of Wisdom, seated at the center, could only nod helplessly.
"Very well. From this moment until the decisive battle at dawn, all defense sectors are to immediately enter the highest level of alert. No matter what happens, there will be no reinforcements."
With no room left for flexible redeployment of forces, Athena chose caution over restraint. She expended divine power without hesitation, releasing hundreds of pure white owls and distributing them to every human defensive node along the third defensive line, forming a real-time communication network.
As pre-activated Magecraft arrays resonated and trembled, the Goddess of Wisdom adjusted the sand-table deployment. Watching the dwindling number of pieces on the defensive line, a deep crease slowly formed between her brows.
Humanity, despite thousands of years of development, still could not rival the gods in raw strength.
Even within Areopagus, beings who had reached the rank of a Chief God were exceedingly rare. There were only six in total: herself, Themis, the three Gorgon goddesses, the Serpent Mother, Prometheus, and Chiron.
Adding the Underworld's allies—Hecate, the God of Death, the God of Sleep, and the three brothers who ferried souls across the River Styx—the peak combat power at the Chief God level barely reached double digits.
That was why, despite the heavy sacrifices on the human side, the third defensive line had held. The overwhelming pressure had been shared by the Twelve Olympian Gods, a large number of forbidden Old Gods, and the Underworld pantheon.
Humans as the main force, holding out for another three hours?
Could it be…
Athena's gaze ultimately settled on Mount Olympus. After connecting the dots, she could only shake her head helplessly.
No wonder. Once that trump card was withdrawn, the forbidden Old Gods could no longer be controlled. Olympus had to cut nearly half its combat strength, and all subsequent pressure could only be pushed onto this line.
But for the human side to stake everything, replacing the gods and holding the line under the Titan army's relentless, rotating assaults outside the city walls—this situation was undeniably dangerous.
Thankfully, the Alien Vanguard had not yet fully awakened. Otherwise, the consequences would have been far worse…
"Laaa!"
At the same moment, a death-knell-like chant echoed across the Storm Sea, heaven and earth responding in unison.
Athena's expression changed instantly. She dashed out of the tent and looked up, only to see bands of iridescent light spreading across the sea like the branches of a colossal tree, stretching in all directions. Countless stars cascaded downward, nearly turning night into day.
In the blink of an eye, crimson-black waves of Ether came surging in!
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! All defensive formations, fully activate! Prepare for impact!"
Grinding her teeth, the Goddess of Wisdom seized the Scepter of Victory and the divine shield, mounted her Pegasus, and soared into the sky, transmitting the alarm to every defense sector through divine speech.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
In just a few breaths, the raging Ether flood, carrying towering waves, crashed forward like massive battering rams, slamming violently into the light barriers across the third defensive line.
Hundreds of Magecraft arrays supporting the shields shattered under the terrifying magical output. The flickering light walls rippled dangerously, on the verge of collapse.
And within those waves came more than sand, stone, and debris. Dense swarms of Titan soldiers and humanoid combat weapons were mixed in as well.
They struck the defensive spells like a meteor shower, frantically draining the barriers' magical energy.
Even the shockwaves alone were several times stronger than before.
The Alien Vanguard's evolution was complete.
Athena stared at the three ferocious war gods on the sea, positioned in a triangular formation. Their star patterns had grown even denser, their oppressive aura suffocating. As they slowly raised their swords of war, her pupils shrank sharply.