Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
With Skadi at the lead, the three advanced in a wedge formation. Freezing snow howled along their path, locking the dense swarms of locust demons one after another inside clusters of ice crystals. The demonic spears in Samael and Scáthach's hands burst with countless points of cold light, shattering every apocalyptic creature touched by their divine might.
But from the bottomless pit of Tanbei Canyon, the locust demon army continued to pour out without end. Their numbers kept swelling, spreading across the sky and earth until they reached the millions.
Scáthach's brow tightened at the sight. Red and black Ether coiled and rose around her as seven towering walls emerged in the shadows. A frigid, deathly silence spread outward in all directions.
"Wisdom that beholds the Abyss, the Primordial Runes manifest here. The kingdom sustained in my name, descend! The Gate to the Realm of Death's Overflow!"
In the midst of that cold, solemn chant, the Queen of the Land of Shadows bent her knees and leapt upward, standing suspended in midair. Two gates of the Land of Shadows, their frames jagged with rugged stone and carved entirely from mountain rock, each inscribed with twenty-four Primordial Runes, slowly swung open. Around them, a nearly tangible tide of crimson-black Ether formed a vast reverse-spinning vortex. Like a great whale drawing in prey, it swallowed more than half of the locust demon army that blanketed the sky.
Boom!
After devouring a million locust demons from the air, that abyssal realm slammed its gates shut.
Scourges that ravage the world, crawl back where you belong!
At the same time, Scáthach fixed her dark gaze on the canyon, where black smoke continued to rise, carrying countless locust demons with it. Her expression sharpened. With a cold snort, her powerful body arched backward into an exaggerated curve like a drawn bowstring, and the barbed demonic spear in her hand erupted with crimson Ether flames.
Pierce! Penetrate! Soaring Spear of Piercing Death (Gáe Bolg Alternative)!
As the Queen of the Land of Shadows called out the weapon's True Name and hurled it forward with overwhelming force, the abyssal pit struck head-on collapsed with a thunderous crash and was filled with shattered rock. Amid the exploding crimson light, a massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
After that blow, only a scattered few remained of the locust demon army that had blotted out the heavens.
But without Scáthach linking their attacks, even though Samael and Skadi covered most of the area, a few still slipped through and flew toward Thermopylae behind them. The Spartan defenders, already at the end of their strength, were immediately thrown into danger.
Seeing this, the Ancient Serpent's brow knotted as he turned and asked, "How is the battle in the Sea of Chaos?"
"A great victory. We've already cleared out two-thirds of the Persian fleet, but the remaining enemy warships and soldiers are still resisting fiercely. The main army won't be able to break through the blockade head-on and complete the encirclement in the short term."
Scáthach landed in a crouch, the Gáe Bolg in her hand spinning like a wheel as she swept away hundreds of locusts closing in around her. She answered after a moment's thought, clearly understanding the situation.
Samael thrust his spear diagonally, piercing two human-faced locusts that had broken through the crimson spear net. He glanced toward the Sea of Chaos, his eyes flickering.
"What about the Egyptians' ships?"
"No sign of them so far…"
Scáthach recalled what she had seen and shook her head slightly.
After a brief moment of thought, Samael made his arrangements decisively.
"Orders. First, Odysseus will take over the battle. He is to lead the Deep Sea Fleet and the Greek Navy to blockade the Sea of Chaos, wiping out the remaining Persian warships while cutting off the Persian army's retreat.
"Second, the Amazon warriors, Athenian heavy infantry, and Viking warships will withdraw from the battlefield, land from the flank, and reinforce Thermopylae. Seal the breach immediately, relieve the Spartans, and rebuild the defensive line.
"Third, Ana and the Argo will go ashore at Thermopylae and build a grand altar on site. With the blessing of the local faith, they will deploy a suppression spell, expand the battlefield domain, completely seal the bottomless pit of Tanbei Canyon, and cut off the source of the locust demon army!"
Before Skadi, hundreds of summoned Rune symbols shot out with a sweep of her wand, blasting the human-faced locusts into shattered dust.
After briefly clearing the nearby magical insects, the Goddess of Winter turned back, thoughtful.
"You intend to trap all the Persians here until they die?"
"Exactly. Since they came all this way, none of them are leaving!"
As the battlefield cleared slightly, Samael stepped over the corpses of human-faced locusts covering the ground. His gaze toward the Persian army's camp gained a cold edge.
On land, block Thermopylae and seal off the Persians' route north.
At sea, sweep away the Persian warships and cut off their retreat.
Order the Roman Empire and the Celts to send troops from the [Land of Nothingness], destroy the Persian Pantheon, and ruin the native foundation of the Persian gods.
At the same time, build a grand altar on site, use the local faith to stabilize the Thaumaturgical Foundation of the Greek gods, and amplify the divine power that he and Ana could wield. Through this gradual erosion, they would further weaken the Persian gods' ability to fight on foreign soil.
With this combination of moves, as long as they were patient, they could grind down the Persian army's fighting spirit and trap them with nowhere to run.
As for why patience was necessary…
On one hand, the Egyptian fleet had still not appeared, and its attitude remained unclear. Samael had to keep watch against Ramesses II.
On the other hand, Thermopylae was still far too vulnerable. He needed to redeploy his forces and strengthen the blockade. Otherwise, if the Persians tried to break out at any cost, whether by sea or by land, he might not be able to hold them all here.
But if the enemy was still obsessed with the so-called [Tower of Babel] and [Descent of Heaven], then this place would become their graveyard.
At that moment, as reinforcements from the Pan-Hellenic League were dispatched and deployed from every side, the five fingers gripping the Persian army by the throat slowly tightened.
The Argo was breaking through the smoke and sailing in from the Sea of Chaos, with every one of the Argonauts still alive.
The Valkyrie Legion descended gracefully from the sky, spears and shields in hand, forming a dome of steel.
The Berserkers and Druids began clearing the battlefield, restoring the damaged vegetation and ecosystem.
The Amazon warriors roamed the field, hunting down the locust demon army to buy time for the construction of the grand altar and the sealing of the hollow.
The mighty Athenian heavy infantry marched into Thermopylae in formation, while the Academy's Magi drew Magecraft arrays and repaired the defensive works.
Under the saturation bombardment of Magecraft, the human-faced locusts targeted by concentrated fire fell in rustling sheets. Tanbei Canyon itself was plowed over again and again beneath a sky-filling storm of spell rounds. The mountain peaks were forcibly shaved down by a hundred meters, nearly flattened outright.
Everything was proceeding steadily according to the strategic plan.
The Ancient Serpent looked toward the Persian army's encampment, now being crushed from all sides, its feelers withdrawn and all contact with the outside world gradually severed. A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
Heh. The virus beneath Greece, the Persian army at Thermopylae, the locust demon army in Tanbei Canyon…
Plague, war, famine… Your "Four Knights of the Apocalypse" are not much use. That only leaves "Death."
I'd like to see what you'll use to destroy my kingdom and judge my people!
Of course, to ensure that nothing went wrong at the very end, the most important final arrangement still had to be added once the grand altar was completed on site.