Altar Street. The battle had reached a deadlock.
Atalanta bounded between the stone pillars of the monument forest, her movements swift as the wind, her shots crashing down like thunder. Arrows infused with divine power tore through the air, plunging straight down to pin the Spirit Cores of the Interstellar Mountainous City defense troops rushing in from every direction.
In just ten minutes, more than a hundred bodies had already piled up at the road junction below.
The twin swordsmen, well versed in battlefield formations, made full use of the terrain. Using fallen stone pillars and the growing heap of corpses as makeshift barricades, they sealed off the approach, shrinking the surface where they had to meet the enemy head-on.
With this setup, a mere ten-man team, shields braced and spears planted, formed a tight formation at the narrow choke point and forcibly held back thousands of enemies pressing in from the outskirts of Altar Street.
Wave after wave slammed into them, yet the Argonauts stood firm like reefs cleaving the sea. The attackers gained nothing but hundreds more dead.
Still, the enemy was fearless, while human endurance had limits.
As the fight dragged on, three heroes were dragged out of formation by demonic hounds and torn apart within the tide of enemies. The rest were wounded in turn, their already fragile defensive line battered again and again, teetering on the brink.
Before long, perhaps frustrated by the stalled advance, scattered Olympian Guards from different city bastions gathered together, forming a golden-red surge of over a hundred warriors. They roughly shoved aside the auxiliary units in front of them, automatons and humanoid annihilation devices alike, then raised their cylindrical weapons. With solemn chants, they swung forward in unison.
"In the name of the great god Zeus, purge the foreign enemy and deliver judgment! Sword of Divine Retribution!"
In an instant, Ether surged wildly through the air. Heavy thunder rolled in rapid succession as hundreds of golden-red, spiraling pillars of light burst forth from the weapons of the Olympian Guards.
Under the tangled arcs of light, layers of blue stone pavement were torn up. Sand and gravel were crushed into powder, deep trenches ripped across the ground. That ferocious divine might slammed head-on into the Spartan shield formation, now reduced to just seven men.
"Star of the Chief God!"
"Pride of the Rear Guard!"
The twin swordsmen's expressions changed drastically. Each laid his blade across his palm and cut deep, using blood as the medium to roar out their divine invocations.
As the divine authority surged, the blood mist spread into the air and seeped in fine threads into the bodies of the remaining five Argonauts. Their muscles swelled instantly, raw power bursting forth from flesh and bone.
The two princes of Sparta, bearing both the bloodline of Heracles and the divine power of Zeus, fully unleashed their strength. Divine markings rippled across their bodies, arcs of light crackled, and an overwhelming presence erupted.
Boom!
A violent explosion followed. A visible shockwave blasted outward, flattening buildings within several meters as radiating cracks tore across the ground for dozens of kilometers.
Where it passed, solid stone shattered, grass and trees were reduced to flying debris, and even metal constructs like humanoid annihilation units were hurled backward, sparks flying as they broke apart in midair.
Of the hundred-plus Olympian Guards caught head-on, half suffered catastrophic damage. From inside their fully sealed armor came the sickening sound of bones shattering, blood pouring from the seams like rushing streams.
In a scene like the aftermath of a meteor strike, only the ground beneath and behind the seven Argonauts remained intact, untouched amid the devastation.
Cough! Cough!
As the aftershocks faded, golden light armor manifested over the twin swordsmen. Their faces went deathly pale as each spat out a mouthful of blood, their spirits clearly shaken.
Thankfully, the sacred armor of the War God's mountain and the divine artifacts gifted by Hephaestus had borne the brunt of it. Otherwise, they would have burned themselves out long ago.
The five Argonauts standing around them, clad in armor of bronze, silver, and other hues, were little better. Their hands trembled, faces tinged with green.
It was obvious that the prolonged clash had severely drained their divine power. That exchange had been anything but easy to endure.
If this level of combat continued, even with sacred armor and divine artifacts, they would not hold out much longer.
Whoosh!
At that moment, the ground shook violently. A sharp tearing sound split the air as a blue-white beam streaked across the sky and slammed straight into the Spartan formation, triggering a deafening explosion.
Caught completely off guard, all seven spat out blood mist mixed with shattered flesh and debris as they were blasted backward, slamming hard into walls and the ground.
An Ichor Cannon!
The prototype of the Giant God Soldier Talos. There's another one down here?!
Atalanta looked at the bronze colossus towering like a mountain as the glowing patterns on its chest slowly rotated and it advanced toward Altar Street. Her expression tightened.
After several encounters, she knew its nature well. Though its entire body was cast from bronze and nearly indestructible, there was a single "blood vessel" that carried magical energy through its frame. It ran from the neck down to the knee, concealed beneath a copper rivet.
That was its fatal weak point.
Lock onto that, and even this thing could be taken apart.
Seeing the wounded Argonauts below being split up and surrounded by the incoming tide of enemies, forced into isolated fights, Atalanta's impatience flared. She reached for her quiver, intending to eliminate the most dangerous threat first.
But the moment she raised her bow, several crimson beams swept across her path, forcing her to slide down a fractured, tilting stone pillar, dodging and leaping as she retreated.
Wide-area annihilation weapons. The aerial combat units from the glide point had arrived as well.
A heavy shadow settled over the huntress's heart. After a quick calculation, she made her decision. She lifted her hand, nocked the final two arrows, and shot them solemnly into the sky.
At once, under the resonance of divine power, one arrow split into two, two into four, multiplying in an instant into hundreds, then thousands. They fell like a vast curtain from the heavens, wiping out most of the monsters before the core temple and sharply easing the pressure on the gravely wounded Argonauts.
Even so, in that short span, three of the seven had fallen. Only four remained, barely holding on.
"We've stalled them long enough. Mission complete. You retreat to the northeast first!"
"Boss, what about you?"
"I'll be right behind you!"
Atalanta slung the Sky Bow, now empty of arrows, onto her back. Chanting divine words, she thrust her right hand into a Magecraft array and yanked hard, pressing the purple-black hide against her shoulder as she roared.
"Divine Punishment Boar! Receive the wrath of my god!"
Violent crimson-black divine patterns surged across her body. Her green hair was tainted pale violet by monstrous energy, and her hands twisted into sharp claws.
Unlike the minor enemies that could be dealt with carefully, Talos possessed firepower capable of changing the entire battle.
This monster could not be allowed to remain.
Atalanta's pupils narrowed as she locked onto the advancing bronze giant. With a low, feral growl, she dropped to all fours and sprinted forward like a beast.
The twin swordsmen, supporting one another, glanced back at the two comrades behind them, both battered and at the edge of collapse. Turning their heads away, they clenched their teeth, hauled them up, and followed orders, retreating toward the northeast quarter.
Found it!
In her beast-transformed state, mind raging and sharpened to a fever pitch, Atalanta skidded to a stop beneath the bronze giant's armpit. As if she felt no pain at all, she ripped out the two spears embedded in her shoulder and thigh. Blood holes exposing white bone gaped open, but under the golden apple's immortality, new flesh rapidly coiled and grew.
Regaining her agility, she vaulted over the massive palm Talos swung at her. Her metallic claws tore through layer after layer of bronze plating, then brutally ripped apart its vital conduit.
Deprived of power, the giant sparked violently as its enormous body collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Atalanta landed smoothly and tore away the boar hide that had nearly fused into her shoulder along with flesh and blood.
As dark red blood splashed down, the manic exhilaration and thirst for slaughter slowly faded. Familiar clarity returned like a rising tide, along with crushing pain and weakness, as if mountains were collapsing and seas were crashing through her body.
Thud…
Her knees buckled, and Atalanta sank to the ground. Excessive blood loss made black spots dance before her eyes.
As expected, frenzy was a double-edged sword. It amplified destructive power, but dulled awareness of danger.
Move. There are still active monsters nearby. They could surround me at any moment. I need to regroup with Castor and Pollux before planning the next step.
Clutching her torn, burning wounds, the huntress staggered upright, about to leave the ravaged battlefield.
Then the ground rumbled as earth and stone churned.
Her pupils shrank violently, and she instinctively rolled aside.
Boom!
A mechanical serpent burst from the ground, eyes gleaming with malice as it hissed at Atalanta.
Serpent Skin. A high-level defensive weapon deployed beneath the Interstellar Mountainous City, comparable to Talos.
As the vicious pressure bore down on her, the badly injured Atalanta froze.
Whoosh!
As if that weren't enough, a sharp tearing sound cut through the air behind her.
Damn it!
With no time to react, the huntress felt her pupils contract to pinpoints.