76. A Horde of Monsters? Talk To My Bus!
Due to the emergence of the Three Goddesses Alliance.
This resulted in a devastating blow to the Sumerian city-states.
The survivors marched towards Uruk.
Uruk had become humanity's last remaining city.
Therefore, the monsters created by the Beast Goddesses launched a full-scale attack on Uruk.
The monster attacks were most intense in the north.
In response, the King of Uruk built a massive fortress, the Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia.
Protecting Mesopotamia's last bulwark of humanity.
The tall and spacious walls completely separated the interior from the exterior, blocking the destructive beasts.
Below the city, blood and dust had already mingled into a sickening quagmire. Soldiers brandished their weapons, their curses and shouts drowned out by the monsters' roars and the shrieking of claws tearing through the air. At the front of the city wall, a tall man wearing a helmet—Leonidas I—sternly gazed upon the hordes of monsters.
He could sense the monsters' attacks growing more intense.
Even now, this final barrier held them firmly at bay.
The current situation showed no sign of improvement. As long as the three goddesses remained, this war would never end.
He commanded the people to attack the monsters.
Beast after beast was slain, the battlefield turning into a sea of blood.
No matter how resilient and hopeful they were, facing this unchanging battlefield, their resolute expressions were tinged with a touch of numbness.
After all, they had held out on this front for a full six months.
Just when they thought today would be just like any other day, "—General!"
A hoarse cry ripped through the stagnant air from the city wall, the scout's voice distorted with extreme shock: "In front! Directly ahead! Something... is approaching at high speed!!"
Leonidas I didn't hesitate. He pressed his heavy bronze boots against the rough surface of the wall, leveraging the momentum to soar into the air and leap to its highest point. Following the scout's finger, his sharp gaze pierced through the thick dust and the smoke billowing from the monsters, piercing the horizon.
There, behind the tsunami-like surge of monsters, an unusually abrupt trajectory tore through the chaos. Its astonishing speed, stirring up billowing yellow dust, shot like an arrow from a bow, ignoring the terrifying wave of monsters ahead, straight towards the battle line!
Ferocious claws, roaring maw, flying limbs... with a brutal and unreasonable approach, the thing tore a bloody path through the monsters!
"Everyone! Maximum alert!" Leonidas' roar was like a drumbeat, instantly awakening the numbness on the city walls.
The warriors tightened their grip on their weapons, drew their bowstrings even harder, and gazed at the approaching cloud of smoke and dust.
The distance was rapidly closing. The outline of the advancing figure gradually became clearer in the dense smoke and dust...
Leonidas I's pupils suddenly constricted.
Fragments of modern knowledge surged within the Servant's consciousness.
That outline...that square, box-like shape...that distinctive speeding stance...
Leonidas I was stunned.
Isn't that just an ordinary bus?
Yes! A bus, at a terrifying speed far exceeding any chariot, even beyond mortal imagination, crushed through swarms of monsters. Like a raging behemoth charging through an ant swarm, it crashed headfirst into humanity's last bastion—the northern wall of the Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia! ...
"Wuhu—! Speed bumps! So many speed bumps! Is this how civilized people are in the Age of Gods? Speed limit enforcement is too strict! They can't even let people speed!" Xiling's voice echoed over the wild roar of the engine. He excitedly swerved the steering wheel, sending the bus's massive body spinning in an exaggerated arc. A series of teeth-grinding "bangs, bangs, bangs" echoed from beneath the wheels, accompanied by the short, sharp sounds of bones cracking. With each bump, Xiling's smile brightened, as if he were playing an extremely exciting game of bumper cars.
However, the scene in the rear compartment was a living hell.
"Ugh... Ugh... I want to throw up!" Luo Tianyi's face paled, and she clutched her mouth tightly. Tears welled in her eyes, and her stomach churned with every violent beat.
"Second... motion..." Houraiji Kyuushou leaned back in her chair, eyes closed.
The Tarnished suddenly missed Morgott. No ride could be more bumpy than this one. Lemuen's delicate face had lost all color, her forehead resting against the cold window glass, as if seeking solace. Elaina lowered her head, suppressing a surge of discomfort.
Dan Heng and Kevin sat as upright as pine trees, their faces as sullen as water, like two stone sculptures.
But a closer look revealed that their knuckles were also white from excessive exertion, their bodies straining to the limit with every jolt.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and a certain shameful goddess had already demonstrated their limits with their actions—the traces of filth beneath their feet were a silent accusation. They now slumped weakly in their seats, their eyes blank.
Mash was in slightly better condition, but her tightly pursed lips and the cold sweat on her forehead betrayed the torment she was enduring.
The only sounds echoing throughout the entire car were Xiling's high-pitched cheers, like a rollercoaster ride, and the short, shrill howls of the dying monsters outside. Beneath the city wall, the swarm of magical beasts, previously frantically assaulting the ramparts, suddenly seemed to pause. They stopped biting and ramming, their heads turning in unison, bewildered, their crimson eyes focused on the bizarre, roaring steel behemoth that had so recklessly intruded upon their world.
After a brief moment of bewilderment, a more primal fury, a rage against foreign objects and provocation, ignited!
"ROAR!!!!"
A deafening roar replaced the previous siege roar! Like an enraged swarm of ants, the massive wave of magical beasts abandoned the approaching human wall, turned, and, fearlessly charging towards the bus head-on! They had a single goal: to tear this arrogant intruder to pieces! Facing the onslaught of Demonic Beasts bearing down like a wall of flesh and blood, Xiling, seated in the driver's seat, grinned almost furiously, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Hey? Want to play bumper cars? Are you sure you won't dodge my attack?!"
Before he finished his words, one of the strongest Demonic Beasts, relying on brute force, charged forward, slamming into the bus's front bumper like a cannonball!
"BANG!!!!!!"
A deafening roar! The sturdy vehicle body shook violently! However, it was only a moment! The next second, empowered and enveloped by Xiling's magic, the attacking Demonic Beast instantly shattered like an eggshell, its massive body instantly engulfed, crushed, and flattened by the merciless wheels. Only a blurry, bloody imprint remained behind, instantly covered in dust.
This steel beast, thoroughly transformed by magic, was no longer a vehicle but an extension of Xiling's will, a roaring war beast!
Let alone mere Demonic Beasts, even a truly high-speed train would have retreated! And what about these flesh and blood?
It was just... more speed bumps!
Atop the city walls, everyone was utterly shocked.
They stared wide-eyed at the bus, careening through the boundless sea of monsters, unstoppable. Every bump signaled the end of a group of monsters. The wheels splattered not mud but crimson blood and shattered entrails! A "road" paved with monster flesh stretched out menacingly behind it.
The monsters continued to charge forward, their ferocious instincts driving them to use their flesh and blood to block this unfathomable torrent of steel.
Alas, the outcome was unpredictable.
"Bang!"
"Puff--"
"Crack..."
The dull sounds of impact, the crackling of flesh and bones, echoed one after another, blending into a brutal yet efficient symphony of crushing.
One beast after another was swept under the wheels at the moment of contact, reduced to flattened pieces on the ground.
"General Leonidas!" A soldier's voice was nervous, pointing at the bus below, which was inching closer to the city wall.
"That thing... It's coming towards us! Should we do something?!"
Leonidas I stared at the bus tearing its way through the beasts, his brow furrowed beneath his bronze helmet. After a split second of deliberation, he made a decisive decision: "Watch its path! Notify the gate at the rear, prepare to let it in! Let it in!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, a cry pierced through the clamor of the battlefield, resounding with unmistakable clarity on the eardrums of everyone on the city wall!
"No—necessary—for—that—!!!"
Leonidas looked in the direction of the voice. He saw the driver's window of the rapidly approaching bus rolled down, and a hand extended, waving in his direction! Xiling leaned halfway out the window, an excited smile on his face.
"I'll come straight up, don't worry about us!"
A Demonic Beast seized the opportunity, baring its fang-filled maw and lunging at Xiling...
Snap!
Xiling swung his hand back... and the entire body of the charging Demonic Beast exploded in mid-air, dissolving into a cloud of blood and shredded flesh!
Xiling shook his hand in disdain and slammed the window shut with a clang.
Leonidas I frowned and looked down. How was the other party supposed to come straight up?
Was it with some kind of magic trick?
After a brief moment of thought, he chose to trust the other party. Inside the carriage, Xiling turned with a brilliant smile and announced loudly to his pale-faced companions, "Attention, passengers! The Age of Gods Sightseeing Monster Cross-Country Rally has concluded with great success! Our next stop is the Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia! Prepare to disembark!"
"Hold on tight!"
Xiling's last words were like a forewarning of death!
"Wait! Xiling! Don't—!"
"Stop!"
Weak, frightened cries of resistance erupted instantly.
Alas, it was too late!
Xiling's magic, like an invisible giant hand, ruthlessly tore apart the earth ahead!
Boom—boom—!
The ground in front of the city wall heaved, twisted, and deformed violently! A springboard, steeply sloping, almost vertically, forcibly shaped from rock and earth, rose from the ground! Its summit reached the height of the battlements!
Those witnessing this scene no longer needed to consider what would happen next.
They gripped their seatbelts tightly. As expected, the damned shove-back feeling came back.
The bus's speed instantly increased! Like a cannonball, it charged towards the earthen platform with unstoppable momentum!
The soldiers on the city wall saw nothing but a flash. The massive steel monster suddenly soared along that path, hurtling towards the sky above them!
"Oh… Oh my god!"
"It's flying?"
"Up there! Above us—!!!"
Even before the exclamations had died down, the shadow of the massive bus had already obscured the sky above them!
The soldiers instinctively tried to avoid the impending crushing force!
However, the expected impact never occurred. Just as the bus reached the apex of its parabola and was about to pass over the city wall—
Swish!
The entire bus vanished without a trace!
In its place, eleven figures and a small beast appeared in the air and landed on the city wall. For a moment, an eerie silence fell on the city wall.
Looking at the astonished soldiers and Leonidas I, their leader, Xiling smiled.
"My name is Xiling. Nice to meet you."