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He knew this wasn't the time to hesitate.
They had to get inside the city and destroy the enemy's magic setup first.
Otherwise, their weapons would remain useless.
Someone had already discovered earlier that these weapons were made of metal and could be affected by electricity-based attacks, but no one had expected the interference to be this severe.
Hyacinthus did have real ability.
If both sides had been on equal footing, he probably could have fought a respectable Familia War.
But now…
This could no longer even be called a Familia War.
It was a complete one-sided slaughter.
The Apollo Familia had recently bought large quantities of firearms, and they had performed incredibly well in monster hunts.
No one expected them to fail this catastrophically here.
Originally, they had planned to drown the Holy Child in overwhelming gunfire through sheer numbers.
Now that idea looked laughably naive.
Their strongest weapon had been disabled from the very start.
But Hyacinthus refused to give up.
"Don't stop, so don't you dare stop now."
He coughed up blood as he spoke.
He had no idea what else was waiting ahead.
All he knew was that everything in front of them was unknown, and the only way through the unknown was to push forward.
And maybe the formation ahead wasn't even complete yet, Otherwise, why would the enemy bother using this kind of electrical magic to stall them?
If they retreated now, they might be doing exactly what the enemy wanted.
Anos's actual thought process was much simpler.
I just wanted to see whether this would create an interesting situation.
Otherwise, why not just hang a meteor in the sky and drop it?
That was true.
If he had been on the attacking side, he would have started with a meteor strike.
Using the power of his divine authority, the Silver Hand of Ruin, he could have turned heavenly bodies into magic swords and unleashed the same meteor sword style Tony had once used, the one rumored to possess enough power to sink continents.
Of course, Anos wasn't going that far.
Not yet.
He also didn't currently have the raw power to support that kind of brutally efficient method.
He had always preferred careful cost management.
At most, he would have arranged several thousand miniature meteors in low orbit and used them as mobile bombardment platforms.
"Forward, keep moving."
Even after receiving some treatment, shrapnel wounds from grenades were nothing like ordinary injuries.
Fragments of metal were buried deep in Hyacinthus's flesh, and every second brought searing pain.
For the first time, he understood what the monsters they had once bombarded so casually must have suffered.
But he still refused to give up.
He knew he couldn't.
"Captain… are we really doing this?"
One adventurer, his spirit hollowed out by his dependence on firearms, asked nervously.
After spending days solving everything with guns, fighting without them felt unbearable.
"Of course we are."
"As long as we keep moving forward, the road ahead will keep opening up. Only by advancing do we have any hope of victory. So stop gathering around me and charge that fortress."
Hyacinthus shouted with everything he had.
If they lost momentum now, then they would lose their best chance.
Even though he was basically flat on his back by now, these people still had to go on and win.
"Yes... Defeat the Holy Child, Avenge the captain."
One member of the Apollo Familia shouted, finally understanding what Hyacinthus wanted.
At a moment like this…
Backing down was not an option.
"Charge."
Most of them were swept up by that emotion.
Their morale surged, and the entire force rushed forward in high spirits.
None of them realized that this electromagnetic barrier was only the first obstacle.
Compared to what came later, it was nothing.
…
Inside the golden city, Anos watched the scene unfold and pressed a hand to his forehead.
Now he knew exactly who had caused this.
Their behavior was far too strange.
Their emotions were unnaturally heightened.
So heightened, in fact, that he had nearly started seeing phantom flowers of hope blooming over them.
And the person responsible…
Was not Anos.
His gaze shifted toward Lili, who had just slipped back in from outside.
He already knew this little girl was behind it.
A while ago, she had said she felt a little unwell and needed to step out.
Ryu, Bell, and even Anos had all assumed she meant she needed the bathroom.
In reality, she had gone out and scattered pollen that influenced emotion.
That was why the Apollo Familia had gone charging toward the golden city as they had collectively lost their minds.
Their assault wasn't entirely without thought.
There was some logic to the surprise attack.
But it was still reckless.
Of course, from Anos's perspective, this was nothing but helpful.
He had wanted them to come and throw themselves at him anyway.
Heaven's Dominion was the culmination of his own curse arts.
The original version could only be used in a sacred overload state.
What he was using now was a failed experiment, something he had made during a bout of boredom while testing whether a partially prepared Heaven's Dominion could be transferred into a formation plate.
Since the failed version had little real value, he had simply embedded part of it into the ancient city.
And now, it seemed to be working rather well.
Just as his earlier judgment had predicted, the Apollo Familia had too few truly capable people.
If they had actually listened to the prophet girl's warning, things would never have gotten this bad.
At that moment, Liliruca, who had just returned from her "bathroom break," noticed Anos looking at her.
One glance at his expression told her she had been found out.
She stuck out her tongue, trying to act cute and get away with it.
"Lord Anos, Lili wanted to do something she could actually help with."
She looked at him with teary eyes.
Her version of "something she could help with" apparently meant luring the Apollo Familia into rushing over here to die faster.
That way, Anos would have more time to deal with other things.
It was a surprisingly fresh interpretation of "helping."
Anos, for his part, had no complaints.
In fact, it fit his intentions perfectly.
The whole point of defending the city was to keep his own side from having to work too hard while letting him enjoy the show.
And now, it looked like he might be able to finish everything in a single wave.
The pseudo Heaven's Dominion contained an endless variety of forbidden spells.
Most of them had come from different lines of magical theory Anos had developed while gradually growing stronger within Hestia's blessing.
Buffs for himself.
Blessings.
Curses for the enemy.
Poisons.
Environmental manipulation.
It covered nearly everything.
It's only flaw…
Was the absurd cost.
The formation plate version currently spread over the city wasn't even fully activated.
What the enemy was facing now was just Heaven's Dominion's automatic interception system.
At this point, Apollo's face had gone completely black.
Watching his Familia members fall one after another into the Holy Child's "underhanded" traps and formations, his eyes turned bloodshot.
It wasn't because he felt any concern for them.
He was simply furious that they still couldn't get their hands on the Holy Child.
"Hmph. Apollo, do you understand now how precious and how powerful my Anos is? Just wait. I'm already looking forward to the day I take over all of your Familia's assets."
Hestia swaggered over to Apollo's side and spoke in an even more smug tone.
Go ahead and be jealous.
Anos is mine.
All mine.
And if you think you're taking him from me, Apollo, you can wait for your next life.
"Hmph! It seems the Holy Child really is superior."
Apollo sounded as though he were admitting defeat.
But then his tone shifted.
"But everyone…"
"Can any of you honestly say you aren't tempted?"
"With those looks, that presence, that talent, how could you not be? Don't deny it, After seeing this battle, after witnessing the Holy Child's strength, every single one of you wants to pull him into your own Familia."
Apollo launched fully into one of his speeches again.
His goal was simple.
At this rate, obtaining the Holy Child for himself was impossible.
And if he couldn't have him…
Then he would ruin him.
"As everyone knows, there is only one way to drag someone into a Familia against their will."
"Strike while their Familia is still weak enough and start a Familia War."
"Apollo... Shut up!"
Hestia tried to rush forward to stop him.
But the moment she entered a certain range around him, she was thrown back.
Golden light, bright as the sun, poured from Apollo's body.
It was divine power.
Apollo had used divine power openly, in front of everyone.
The gods had all sworn not to use divine power in the mortal world.
There was only one punishment for breaking that rule.
Return to heaven.
Apollo knew exactly what would happen.
And he used it anyway.
The reason was simple.
Once he released divine power, no one would be able to interrupt him for at least a short while.
Not even Ouranos.
Because Ouranos did not want to completely tear things apart either, unless Apollo intended to stay in the lower world permanently after invoking it.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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