Chapter 784: The Giant Strides Upon Mesopotamia!
The next day dawned clear and bright, the sunlight bathing the city of Uruk in divine radiance.
While in the distance, the Persian Gulf lay dark as an abyss.
When Gilgamesh arrived at the palace's proclamation platform, his golden brilliance illuminated every pair of eyes.
"To all citizens who remain in Uruk!"
Without any unnecessary commotion, the moment the King's voice rang out, every citizen ceased their activities and raised their heads.
"Half a year ago, the Demonic Beast Frontline began its construction. I told you then that no matter how desperately you struggled, Uruk would fall."
"You could have fled. You could have drowned yourselves in pleasure. You could have lamented your fate and thrown yourselves into the underworld."
"Yet you all declared you would fight to the end. Knowing full well the outcome, you resolutely chose to resist."
"Without a doubt, Uruk is a city of happiness. Its history, its life, its people—and myself included."
The wind rose, lifting the Sage King's robes. Unnoticed until now, a beautiful woman in white with green hair and a veiled high priestess appeared at his sides, smiling softly as they gazed upon everything Uruk had nurtured—its people and its legacy.
Without lingering too long, Gilgamesh spoke again, his voice brimming with fervor:
"Let me say it once more—Uruk will fall! This is an unchangeable fact!"
"But do not grieve! For as long as even one person survives to greet the dawn of victory, the form of our lives shall be forever engraved in their memory!"
"Even if we perish in the end! Even if no descendants remain! Humanity leaves behind its will in the hearts of others! This is the power of the bonds we possess!"
"Not bonds of blood, but the passing down of wisdom—the chain of life itself!"
"Uruk's destruction does not mean our destruction! We shall shine in the dawn of victory, using that light to bridge the new era!"
One by one, the light of Spiritrons ignited—generals guarding the frontline, maidens defending the city, saints of noble bearing, goddesses soaring through the skies, a white-clad youth with violet eyes... The Servants representing Uruk's finest warriors manifested one after another. And when a black cloak billowed into place before them all, Gilgamesh's lips curled into a smirk.
Suddenly, he raised his arm and declared:
"Hear me now, my elite forces! At this moment, we shall deny the gods of origin and usher in a new age for mankind! This is the true final battle—our farewell to the gods!"
"Offer your lives to me!"
His fist clenched tight, the King raised his resolve to the heavens.
"For the glory of Uruk to be passed down through the ages!"
"Ooh—!!!"
Amid the roars of men, women, elders, and even children, streams of light erupted from the ground, converging in the sky. Under the combined efforts of Sakatsuki and Chaldea, a dazzling magical circle expanded, its intricate patterns completing in an instant.
The next moment, a brilliant flash—and everyone within the circle vanished.
The forces of Uruk had embarked on their expedition!
————
With the combined computational power of all of Chaldea and Sakatsuki, the King of the Moon Spirit, the Imaginary Dive proceeded flawlessly. The group felt as though they had entered a bizarre, kaleidoscopic tunnel. By the time their consciousness reconnected with their bodies, they had already arrived deep within the Persian Gulf.
Before the group could even recover from the ultra-long-distance leap, Tiamat had already locked onto the uninvited intruders. The Lahmu guarding their mother stirred, spreading their wings and lunging forward.
But faster than the Lahmu were two divine swords—one descending from the heavens and the other rising from the earth!
"Come forth, return to the land of myth, and shine once more—Purgatory Scythe, Dust Saw!"
Divine flames descended from the highest heavens, forging the searing patterns of the sacred weapons with infinite radiance. The earth dragon burst from its cradle, shaking its emerald-glowing, ancient, and solemn form as it roared with abandon!
The divine weapons of the war god Zababa—the Dawn Horizon that Scorches the Seas & the Verdant Horizon that Cleaves the Mountains!
Bathed in divine light, Sakatsuki laughed heartily. At long last, these two divine greatswords could unleash their full potential in his hands. As they swung, it was as if the age of gods had returned, with the war god brandishing his weapons to sweep away all enemies!
The world was painted in crimson and emerald hues. The Lahmu, which even Servants struggled against, fell like rain, leaving everyone in awe of Sakatsuki's divine might.
Yet Gilgamesh frowned.
"If this is all you've got, it's far from enough."
After all, the Purgatory Scythe and Dust Saw were weapons of sweeping slashes, not full-screen AOE attacks. Some Lahmu inevitably slipped through the gaps, quickly regrouping and surging toward the party in a dark, oppressive tide.
Though it seemed like only a few slipped through here and there, when the Lahmu reformed their ranks, their numbers were still suffocatingly vast.
And Sakatsuki? He was still laughing, gleefully commanding the divine swords to mow down the hordes, reveling in the thrill of cutting through them like grass.
"Freak," Anna muttered under her breath. Ishtar was more direct—she kicked Sakatsuki square in the rear.
"Stop laughing! The Lahmu are closing in. If this is all you've got, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
Yet even in this dire moment, the young man leisurely asked, "Have you all heard the story about—"
"No! Shut up!" the group roared in unison. How could he still be joking at a time like this?
Scolded by everyone, Sakatsuki pouted in mock hurt. But the moment Ereshkigal patted his head, he instantly perked up, raising his right hand with renewed vigor.
"Since you're all so eager, I won't keep you waiting any longer. Let the long-lost cry resound across the world once more, let the twisted myriad return to the eternal Eden—Sound the Earth's Cry, Adams!"
The first chant of liberation unsealed the long-slumbering divine swords.
The second chant awakened the seeds sown in the distant past.
Under the generous nurture of the Earth Mother Gaia, those once-tiny seeds had long since grown into towering trees!
While people were still pondering the name 'Adam' and speculating about the truth of magecraft, accompanied by furious roars and howls, one after another of the primordial giants—Adam—tore through the thick ground, broke through the surface of the Persian Gulf, and stood towering between heaven and earth, looming over the black tide and the abyss.
As the azure glow at their cores began to brighten, the giants awoke from their swaddling clothes, opening their eyes from slumber. A terrifying surge of energy, surpassing that of any Servant, rose into the air. The barrier from Eden spontaneously expanded outward, churning the rivers and seas, causing the earth to burst forth with new greenery!
"What?!" Kingu was the first to notice the change in the battlefield. His eyes widened in shock, unable to conceal his astonishment. The others quickly followed suit—even the most oblivious could keenly sense the oppressive atmosphere dissipating.
Thick, vibrant life energy replaced the suffocating pressure brought by the black mud!
"Laaa—" Tiamat's cry was filled with disbelief.
Her Authority, the Sea of Life, was actually being suppressed by these suddenly appearing lifeforms!
"Look, my friend Sancho Panza, over there stand thirty-some giants of extraordinary size!"
As if the great playwright Shakespeare had returned to the world, Sakatsuki held the Book of Destiny in his hands, spreading his arms wide and loudly reciting the tale of Don Quixote from the center of the stage.
Without a doubt—they were giants!
Thirty Adams! Thirty fully formed primordial giants, each towering a thousand meters tall!
This was the second 'Magic' Sakatsuki possessed—a true trump card he had been unwilling to unleash even when facing two Beasts, locked in brutal combat with the Demon God King and Tiamat!
This was the awe-inspiring spectacle nurtured over an immense span of time, one that would bring even Avicebron, the master of Kabbalah magecraft, to tears of ecstasy!
"Without an army of first-rate Servants, not a single one of these primordial giants can be defeated! Not us—and certainly not you Lahmu!"
Bathed in the stunned gazes of everyone, even Tiamat, the young man grinned wildly, brimming with arrogance:
"Come forth, become an immortal wall, and shield our glorious expedition like the stars themselves!"
In response to their creator's call, the giants raised their voices in countless resounding cries. Wielding obsidian greatswords, they roared their loyalty, marching forward with heavy, steady steps, crashing headlong into the endless tide of Lahmu!
The Lahmu shrieked and cursed, folding their wings and hurtling like cannonballs onto the giants. Faced with suicidal assaults that even the Ideal City could not withstand, the giants endured silently, bearing the brunt with their vast bodies—even if it meant their forms were shattered, their legs broken, forcing them to their knees!
"Sakatsuki!" Ishtar couldn't help but show a look of tension. But just as she thought the giants were finished, something unbelievable happened before her eyes.
Invisible magical energy connected the shattered limbs of the giants. In the blink of an eye, the seemingly crippled giants stood up as if unharmed. Their greatswords swung down, smashing the disoriented Lahmu, and their massive feet stomped mercilessly upon them.
Next, the [Autonomous Reality Marble·Garden of Eden] activated. The Lahmus had no chance to resist—they shrieked as they dissolved into black mud, absorbed and refined by Eden into pure magical energy that nourished the towering giants.
Amidst the howling surge of mana, when the giants turned their gaze back upon the horde of Lahmus, their presence had grown even more formidable!
Such an astonishing display left even Sakatsuki momentarily stunned.
The fully matured Primordial Giant·Adam could even consume the monsters born from the black mud!
Not even Avicebron could have foreseen that his unfinished masterpiece, the Primordial Giant Adam, would grow to such an extent that it could even brush against the authority of the Primordial Goddess!
For the people of Uruk, this was an unexpected boon indeed.
The giants' overwhelming performance allowed Uruk's expeditionary force to cast aside all concerns for their rear, focusing every ounce of their will and strength upon the Primordial Mother Goddess before them—upon the Beast, Tiamat!
"Come forth!" The Wise King Gilgamesh, having relinquished his protection over Uruk and restored his full magical energy, spread his arms wide. Golden ripples unfurled across the sky, and as the Gates of Babylon were unleashed, an overwhelming aura and countless phantasmal projections emerged from the radiance, their edges gleaming with lethal intent.
Like the clarion call of battle, the Wise King's assault marked the beginning. One after another, thunderous explosions erupted from the endless golden light, shaking the Persian Gulf and resounding across the land of Mesopotamia—
The great war had begun!