The God King Melqart was certainly not tired of living. On the contrary, he was very clear-headed.
At least, he believed himself to be clear-headed enough.
In this clash of Heretic Gods, he was actually the first to descend to the present world.
As the divine body worshiped by the Phoenicians, he was dissatisfied with the current state of his neglected faith and wanted to completely sink the island of Sardinia, which he had once protected, into the sea.
But just as he was about to do so, Verethragna, who craved defeat, descended from mythology. Neither Heretic God had a gentle temperament, so naturally, a great battle ensued.
The result of the battle was that Verethragna's divinity shattered into ten incarnations scattered across the land, and Melqart himself was severely wounded, hiding in the deep mountains to heal.
To be able to fight Verethragna to a draw was proof that his strength was at the top tier even among Heretic Gods.
He was, of course, aware of the commotion caused by the Divine Beast Boar earlier. Besides healing his injuries, he had actually spent most of his energy spying on Verethragna's condition.
After all, given their previous stalemate, whoever recovered from their severe injuries first would gain the upper hand and be more likely to win the battle.
For this very reason, he had not missed the moment Verethragna returned to his full strength. Nor had he missed the scene of how Verethragna was defeated head-on while at his peak.
To be honest, Melqart couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a human slay a Heretic God with a sheer sea of techniques while not even being a God-Slayer yet.
But the facts were right there. He had personally seen Verethragna return to mythology and had personally seen that detestable witch pull Su Mo into the Netherworld.
It was obvious that this ridiculous human would soon be reborn as a God-Slayer, and his strength would only grow greater. After Verethragna was subjugated, his opponent would inevitably be him.
Realizing this, Melqart's first reaction was not to flee, but to fight!
The thoughts of gods were often different from those of humans. For a God King like him, dignity was more important than life. Even in defeat, he must die with the dignity of a warrior.
Fleeing was undoubtedly the most cowardly act, one he disdained.
Having decided to fight, the next question was how to win. On this point, the outwardly crude but inwardly cunning Melqart had learned a precious lesson from the tragedy he had witnessed.
"First, I must not underestimate this cunning enemy. I cannot give him any opportunity to prepare his magic spells!"
Thinking of the hundred Sanctuary-level techniques he had seen enveloping Su Mo, Melqart's scalp tingled.
To be honest, if he were in Verethragna's place, he definitely wouldn't have lasted a minute against Su Mo in that state.
In his opinion, the biggest reason for Verethragna's swift defeat was that he was too pedantic. To wait for an enemy of that level to finish preparing before fighting... wasn't that just asking for death?
Having learned this lesson, Melqart decided that he would absolutely not give Su Mo any opportunity to prepare his techniques in advance.
However, that alone was not enough to kill the enemy. He was not a soft persimmon that could be easily squeezed. Therefore, he had to prepare a fatal trump card.
"Second, I must end his life as quickly as possible!"
Considering his opponent's ridiculously strong talent for techniques, Melqart suspected that even if he didn't give him time to prepare, if the stalemate dragged on, his opponent would inevitably be able to set up more techniques, stacking the advantage bit by bit.
As a Heretic God, to be afraid of a prolonged battle with a human... saying such a thing would probably become a joke, but given Su Mo's previous performance, this concern was necessary.
He had to forcibly break through his opponent's defenses before he had time to set up too many techniques. Therefore, speed was of the utmost importance here.
His opponent had now been reborn as a God-Slayer. In a normal battle, it would be almost impossible for his Authorities to kill Su Mo in a short time.
The most suitable tactic was to set a trap, prepare the battlefield in advance, and allow his Authorities to erupt all at once in a short period.
Having decided on this tactic, Melqart immediately began to consume his divine power, using his Authorities to prepare the battlefield.
The thunderclouds overhead, at some unknown point, had gathered into a dark, oppressive mass. Immensely powerful lightning brewed within, ready to strike.
The waves of the nearby sea began to churn restlessly, each one higher than the last, swelling up like mountains of water.
In a dark cave, tens of millions of locusts concealed their presence, silently awaiting orders.
Beneath the thick earth, tens of thousands of underworld warriors lay hidden.
As the god of the sky, the god of the sea, the god of harvest, and the god of the underworld, the total number of God King Melqart's Authorities was not to be underestimated.
If these dangerous powers were to erupt at the same time, even Verethragna might not be able to escape their might. No matter how strong Su Mo was, he would at least be severely injured. At that point, his greatest hidden trump card could easily finish him off.
With an extremely serious attitude, Melqart reviewed his entire battle plan. After confirming there were no problems, he began to adjust his own condition.
"Finally, and most importantly... I must first recover to my optimal state!"
While Su Mo and Erica were talking, Melqart was seizing the time to heal his final injuries. And when he had fully recovered, his warrior's spirit could not wait a moment longer. He immediately issued his challenge to Su Mo.
BOOM!
After his verbal provocation, a bolt of lightning as thick as a water barrel struck down from the sky, landing right in front of Su Mo.
This was both to enrage him and to prevent him from having a peaceful environment to prepare.
"A crude taunt."
Su Mo saw through his opponent's scheme at a glance. It had to be said, the methods of the gods were truly ancient and naive.
Against an opponent from the Age of Gods, this strategy might have been considered ingenious, but now, it probably wouldn't even fool a child.
However, even though he saw through it, Su Mo still acted as if he were completely unaware, arriving in front of the constantly radiating divine might of Melqart with extreme speed.
He had stepped onto the battlefield preset by God King Melqart without any hesitation.
Seeing Su Mo appear before him completely unguarded, Melqart's heart leaped with joy.
It's in the bag!
The prepared against the unprepared, a swift strike against a slow one, four Authorities against one...
The advantage is mine!