"So they're still going to fight?"
When she saw the human and the god communicating as equals, Erica had felt a little relieved, thinking they wouldn't come to blows. She never expected that, in the end, a battle was still inevitable.
After confirming this, surprisingly, Erica didn't feel particularly nervous.
Come to think of it, even an idiot like the Sword King managed to accomplish the great deed of god-slaying. There's no reason Lord Su Mo can't do the same.
However, the Sword King's experience in god-slaying relied more on luck. If he hadn't picked up the scraps in a war between Heretic Gods, he would have never survived the aftershocks of a divine battle with his own strength.
Lord Su Mo was naturally much stronger than the Sword King was back then, but the great deed of god-slaying still relied heavily on luck.
Since he has decided to fight, I must assist him from the side and find the right opportunity to help Lord Su Mo.
Erica's thoughts were largely the same as those of the others in the group.
Having witnessed Su Mo create miracles several times, they didn't think it was absolutely impossible for him to defeat a god, but they certainly didn't think this battle would be as easy as the one against the Divine Beast.
According to their guesses, this should be a battle where he's at a disadvantage in the early stages but makes a comeback later on. With Su Mo's wisdom, he would surely be able to seize a crucial opportunity and turn the tables.
"Haha! Let me see the source of your confidence!"
Seeing Su Mo agree, Verethragna's smile began to grow wild.
"Show me what it means to be human!"
This was clearly a retort to Su Mo's earlier question.
Su Mo was naturally happy to oblige such a request. The numerous techniques he had been secretly preparing were now brought to the forefront, displayed before Verethragna with an incredibly open attitude.
"O Lion of Steel, I entrust to you my sighs and my wrath. O cry of the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, be baptized in the blood of the sacred end, and manifest! Holy Spear, Longinus!"
With the skill of high-speed divine words, in the blink of an eye, the sword Erica had lent him transformed into a crimson spear.
Though it was just a mundane weapon, Verethragna could feel a sense of danger from the crimson spearhead.
"The Christian god-slaying spear. Is this your trump card?"
The young war god's expression was calm, his tone tinged with approval.
"Not bad. This is indeed a technique capable of harming a god—provided it can actually hit."
Erica's eyes, on the other hand, lit up.
"As expected of Lord Su Mo!"
Erica was all too familiar with this technique. Even among all the god-slaying weapons in mythology, the Spear of Longinus was one of the most special.
Not only because this spear had a legend of killing the Son of God, but also because the one who wielded it was a complete and utter ordinary person.
A holy spear that could allow a mere mortal to kill the Son of God was naturally in the top tier of god-slaying properties.
In the original story, Erica had even used this spear to scratch Athena. In Su Mo's hands now, its power was naturally several times stronger.
"This alone is not enough—"
Seeing this trump card, just as Verethragna was about to remind Su Mo, he saw another radiance bloom from Su Mo's body.
"Seven priests shall bear seven horns and blow them as they march, with armed men advancing before them... Cursed before the LORD is the one who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest son he will set up its gates!"
As the sacred words were chanted, Su Mo's physical functions were enhanced in all aspects.
"The Sacred Annihilation Prerogative!"
Erica quickly recognized the origin of the incantation.
This technique, derived from the Bible, could grant a human power on par with a Divine Beast. Her uncle, Saint Paul, had officially become a Paladin precisely because he had completely mastered this technique.
Under the effect of the Pure Yang Qi Refinement Method, Su Mo's physique had already reached a level comparable to a Divine Beast.
Now, with this additional buff, his "Anti-God" special attack attribute increased yet again.
"A little interesting!"
Verethragna's eyes lit up. With this double buff, Su Mo seemed qualified to be his opponent. If he didn't have to call back his last-remaining incarnation and hadn't made a promise earlier, he would have really liked to clash with the current Su Mo.
But even after obtaining the Sacred Annihilation Prerogative, Su Mo's actions had not stopped.
The crimson spear pointed directly at Verethragna's shadow, expanding it into a ferocious, dragon-like shape.
"In the name of the Red Cross and Saint George, thou art the Dragon!"
In that instant, Verethragna's shadow was imbued with the Dragon attribute, and Su Mo's attacks were imbued with an "Anti-Dragon" special attack attribute.
This technique cleverly bypassed the god's magic immunity, adding another layer of special attack to Su Mo's arsenal.
Attribute advantage trumps all. Special attacks make gods mortal.
Under a full triple stack of special attacks, even the Zoroastrian God of War couldn't help but feel a great sense of threat.
If he were to be hit by Su Mo's spear, even if it wasn't a vital spot, it would inflict damage equivalent to a critical wound.
"You really have quite a few trump cards!"
After a slightly wary glance at the weapon in Su Mo's hand, Verethragna's expression as he looked at Su Mo was now as serious as if he were fighting a war god or a god king of the same level.
If he faced these three layers of special attacks with the same carelessness as he had against the God King Melqart, he might actually lose.
However, as long as I take this seriously, victory is still in the bag...
Just as Verethragna was thinking this, he was startled to realize that Su Mo hadn't stopped chanting.
Wait, don't tell me it's not over yet?
Under Verethragna's astonished gaze, Su Mo formed a demon-quelling mudra with his other hand.
"Indra, submit your life! Surya, submit your life! Chandra, submit your life! Agni, submit your life... Rakshasa, submit your life! Yama, submit your life!"
A series of esoteric Buddhist techniques erupted all at once. The twelve blessings of the entire Twelve Heavenly Guardians were all layered upon Su Mo.
Seeing Su Mo enveloped in layers of brilliant light, even someone as worldly and knowledgeable as Verethragna couldn't help but be stunned on the spot.
From Su Mo's incredibly calm attitude earlier, he had indeed guessed that Su Mo must have a trump card, and it must be one capable of harming a god. But he had never imagined that Su Mo would have so many.
In reality, the first three trump cards combined were basically enough to challenge a god. If he had encountered a weaker god, they might not have even been his opponent.
But Verethragna could never have imagined that the first three trump cards were just the appetizer. Su Mo had directly summoned twelve Sanctuary-level blessings at once.
"Is this... really something a human can do?"
Verethragna was beginning to doubt his own perception.
For a god, Sanctuary-level power could be broken with a casual gesture, but when all these Sanctuary-level powers were stacked together, their effect was not a simple one-plus-one relationship.
For example, the blessings of the Twelve Heavenly Guardians before him—even Verethragna himself didn't think he could destroy them all with a single blow.