Meanwhile, the mounting pressure was not limited to the Olympian gods. Casualties were also appearing on the Areopagus.
Lacking the support of faith offerings and already weaker in power, Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx, became the first main god to fall.
Prometheus, the Mother of Serpents, Hypnos, and Thanatos were wounded in succession, pushing the situation to the brink.
Samael and Zeus, who were responsible for pinning down Sefar, shattered the monster time and again. Yet as the Alien Vanguards continued to regroup, the two God Kings found themselves unable to spare even a moment.
Even so, the gods fought on without retreat.
By now, everyone understood. Whether the three Alien Vanguards were allowed to converge and guide Velber, or Sefar was permitted to keep blocking the Eye of the Tidal Sea and advance further, Greece faced only a dead end.
All they could do was gamble everything on that one-in-ten-thousand chance.
At the same time, the human coalition locked in combat with countless aberrations at sea was faring no better.
"First Fleet under bombardment from an Ichor Cannon matrix! Ships six, nine, fifteen, seventeen… nonresponsive! Wolf pack formation, activate Dingir!"
"Coastal zone cleared! Hestia Island, breach confirmed!"
"Large-scale area annihilation weapons detected lifting off! Pegasus Knights, take them down!"
"In Athena's name, call upon victory! Charge!"
After wave upon wave of brutal fighting, the Pegasus Knights had been reduced to only a few hundred. Holding battered shields and jamming blunted, broken lances under their arms, they let out hoarse roars and plunged headlong into thousands of area annihilation weapons clustered like a swarm of bees, carving out a bloody corridor by sheer force.
Yet during the advance, exhausted knights fell one after another. Along with them, pegasi with shattered wings and broken bones dragged their ruined bodies down into the sea, raising nothing more than faint, forgettable splashes.
"Approaching Hecate Island, repeat, approaching Hecate Island! The Echidna Armory has released large numbers of Primal Chimeras, Primal Snake Women, and Primal Hellhounds…"
"First Fleet engaging in close combat! Ships four, seven, twelve, thirteen… sunk! Escort vessels wiped out! Retreat is not an option!"
Several isolated ships, surrounded by countless aberrations, pushed their engines to the limit and rammed straight into the open armory passages on both sides of Hecate Island.
In an instant, impact met impact. Pillars of fire shot into the sky as the entire island shuddered violently. The mechanical constructs that failed to escape in time were buried deep within the armory.
At the same time, the defensive light bands surrounding Hecate Island went dark.
Hecate Island, breached!
The brilliant explosion of the First Fleet's flagship was clearly the result of its mana reactor being forcibly overloaded and melted down.
At this moment, the army of gods continued to fall from the sky, scattering eerie crimson blood. On the sea, the human fleet was battered apart one ship after another as it fought to break through the ten Kingdom Islands and open the route to the Eye of the Tidal Sea, gradually torn to pieces and capsized under the onslaught of aberrations.
Frailty defined humanity. On such a battlefield, they were like ants, like worthless weeds.
Aboard the Argo, faced with scenes this horrific, heroes such as Circe and Medea, whose hearts were softer and more sensitive, could hardly bear to look. Almost instinctively, they turned their heads away and closed their eyes.
"Don't close your eyes. Open them wide and look!"
At that moment, Jason drew his short blade and slammed it into the ship's rail. He turned back with a ferocious expression and roared in near-hysterical fury.
"They may be nameless, but every single one of them died for that one-in-ten-thousand chance! For us! For the Argo's advance! Burn it into your memory!"
Circe and the others had never seen this side of their usually grinning captain, so violent and unhinged. An inexplicable fear rose in their hearts.
That thunderous roar forced them to open their eyes. Suppressing their reluctance, they etched into their souls the sight of those living figures who turned their backs on them, rushed toward the battlefield, and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Jason clenched his steel-hard teeth until blood streaked his lips. His expression settled into calm solemnity as he continued issuing orders to the fleets, orders that were no different from sending them to their deaths.
...