Meanwhile.
The world had already entered the eerie calm before the storm.
The moment the video ended, Council of Gods immediately held a press conference.
Councilor [Athena], standing before countless cameras, angrily denounced, "How dare you! Such a threat to human history, an existence that extinguishes human intellect, must be sealed away and suppressed—eradicated once and for all!"
"Council of Gods is willing to fight for the sake of humanity, to personally subdue and judge Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, and make him atone for his sins!"
The Council of Gods, standing atop the moral high ground, began to freely condemn and criticize Qin Shi Huang!
Under their incitement, the internet forums across the world erupted—
-[The Qin Shi Huang of the Lostbelt is indeed a tyrant, fully qualified to degenerate into a Beast of Humanity!]
-[Setting aside reality, even if the Lostbelt has already vanished, does Qin Shi Huang bear no responsibility at all?]
-[Let our United States, the symbol of freedom and democracy, thoroughly suppress this sinner! God is with us!]
-[With the video's exposure and the return of memories, Qin Shi Huang will undoubtedly wage war again, threatening global peace. He must kneel before God and repent!]
...
Souma frowned at the news. "These guys really won't stop until one side is dead."
The two nations stood at the pinnacle of the world.
Only when one fell could the other stand firm—this was a fight to the death.
As Souma walked down the street, his frustration grew.
All he wanted was to retire and live as an ordinary high school student—so why did trouble keep finding him?
What was even more exasperating was this:
The Council of Gods had undoubtedly mastered the power of a Chief God.
If not for the series of exposure videos released by [Alaya], which allowed his strength to rapidly return bit by bit—
And enhanced the power of Qin Shi Huang and the other summoned Heroic Spirits—
When the Council of Gods launched their sudden attack, their previous strength would have been utterly insufficient to resist!
From this perspective, Qin Shi Huang and the others all owe their gratitude to Alaya's exposure video.
Unfortunately, facing eleven chief god-level beings, attempting to oppose them head-on remains as difficult as ascending to heaven.
As Nameless walked, he suddenly noticed a silver-haired girl standing not far away, smiling at him.
This made his eyes narrow slightly.
It was unmistakably Athena!
"That tea was poisoned!" Souma realized in an instant.
Previously, with Alaya's assistance during his first projected encounter with her, he had drunk a cup of what she called her "bodily fluids."
It could be termed [Athena Tea].
Could it truly be that only through her bodily fluids could she establish a connection with him?
It seems that among the Olympian gods, Athena is the most terrifying deity!
Nameless initially intended to pretend to be an ordinary passerby.
But then, he suddenly noticed the surroundings had fallen completely silent.
The once-familiar streets seemed to freeze at this moment.
Time had stopped!
No—not time stopping.
It was clearly the use of divine power to isolate the surrounding space, creating a domain akin to a bounded field.
Athena stepped forward, her smile sweet: "Nameless... or should I call you Souma."
This guy's disguise is truly formidable.
To go from a hero protecting humanity to disguising as an ordinary high school student in Japan.
If not for leaving a little backup plan earlier, it would have been truly difficult to find him.
"..."
Souma felt an intense headache.
Compared to heroic spirits, these powerful gods found it much easier to recognize his true identity.
Athena continued: "The Council of Gods have decided to wage war, utterly destroying China's resistance, thereby becoming the true rulers of this planet!"
"So, what exactly are you trying to say?" Souma frowned at her.
"Simple—cooperation!"
Athena emphasized the word once more.
She had proposed this during their first meeting.
"Once the Council of Gods defeat China, they will become the absolute rulers of this planet. Influenced by the residual instincts within the machine gods, they will completely enslave all of humanity!"
Athena's expression turned grave. "Unlike Qin Shi Huang's vision of an eternal peaceful empire, they will manipulate human history in a manner similar to the Demon God King Goetia, seeking to transcend into a Human Evil beyond gods!"
This was the true ambition of the Council of Gods.
Once they completed their mechanical ascension, they would cease to be human altogether.
Even Qin Shi Huang of the Lostbelt, after achieving mechanical ascension, saw himself as the only [True Human], no longer considering humanity his kin!
Let alone a group of already arrogant beings who sought to become gods.
"The Demon God King..."
Souma felt complicated.
Clearly, Alaya's early broadcast of "Lostbelt of Qin" was not only to counter the threat of the Council of Gods.
The most fundamental reason was to provide him some assistance when facing the Demon God King.
Now, the Council of Gods's assault was imminent.
With his current combat strength, opposing chief god-level beings remained as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Only by reassembling the blessings of the Twelve Olympians and transforming once more into the strongest god-blessed hero could he oppose those machine gods!
Souma sighed inwardly.
After the Lostbelt incident, Qin Shi Huang had fought wholeheartedly for him, giving his all.
Well then, Zheng'er, this time, let me protect you!
Athena looked up at the sky and solemnly declared: "They're coming!"
Hum~
Her pale hand waved lightly, summoning an ethereal projection from the sky before Souma.
The projection's background showed the dark void of space.
Dozens of cosmic battleships, each hundreds of meters long, were brazenly piercing through the atmosphere from space, arriving above Fuyuki City in China.
The Council of Gods clearly intended to launch a sudden attack to suppress all of China!
The massive warships had already appeared openly across the internet, broadcasting live to project their terrifying might.
The leading [Sun God] council member even aimed his cannons directly at the Fuyuki Magecraft Academy below!
His declaration spread throughout China via the network—
"We, the Council of Gods, have come to bestow freedom upon you in defense of humanity!"
"Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng, who has committed heinous crimes, abandon all resistance and come repent before God!"
"Nameless, you have served humanity well. Step forward to receive our blessings and rewards, and join us in judging Qin Shi Huang!"
...
The series of statements brimmed with cunning and malice.
They were blatantly attempting to drive a wedge between Nameless and Qin Shi Huang.
Fuyuki Magecraft Academy descended into complete panic—
-[We're doomed! These guys really want to start a war!]
-[The Qin Shi Huang from the Lostbelt is indeed powerful, but we don't have the Great Wall Orbital Cannon or the Lishan Hero Vault in reality... How are we supposed to fight the gods?]
-[The Council of Gods just wants to deal with Qin Shi Huang. Surely they won't threaten us, right?]
-[When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken! Do you really think they're only here to punish His Majesty?]
...
In the Dean's office.
Tamamo-no-Mae watched the broadcast, gnashing her teeth: "These bastards, why did they have to target my Academy?"
Of all the cities in China, they had to choose her stronghold.
Wasn't this just bullying an honest person?
Or did they consider her the [Useless Beast of Humanity]?
"Because Nameless is in Fuyuki," Merlin calmly replied.
Since the Council of Gods wanted to deal with Qin Shi Huang and Nameless, Fuyuki City was the perfect choice.
Moreover.
After numerous exposure videos, Fuyuki had already become a gathering place for heroic spirits from various nations.
Heroic spirits from Britain, France, Greece, Uruk, and more had assembled here, making it the grandest stage of all.
By suppressing China here, the Pantheon would effectively suppress the entire world!
"So, how will Qin Shi Huang and Nameless respond?" Tamamo-no-Mae was eagerly anticipating their reaction.
"Something's happening with Qin Shi Huang!"
Merlin quickly activated his Clairvoyance, witnessing an overwhelming surge of energy erupting from the Epang Palace.
Brilliant light erupted, extending into space like a pair of radiant wings.
The light wings unfurled!
As the glow gradually dimmed, an impossibly long structure appeared behind the fleet of cosmic warships from the Lighthouse.
Its surface was clad in silver-white metal, exuding a futuristic aura.
Dark, gaping muzzles of cannons lined its surface, all aimed squarely at the gods of the Lighthouse!
It was none other than the Great Wall Orbital Cannon!
Merlin and Tamamo-no-Mae stared wide-eyed in shock—
The Great Wall of Space from the Lostbelt had descended into reality!