"..."
The moment the boulder scraped past the army formation with destructive force, the remaining survivors of the Ares Legion's vanguard seemed to freeze for an instant. Immediately after, an unspeakable terror swept across the entire battlefield.
In this era, armies lacking systematic, targeted training had no morale or discipline to speak of. When the casualty ratio reached one-tenth, such armies would collapse. Although this vanguard army came from the factions of various main gods and was slightly more experienced and worldly than other armies in this world, they were ultimately not divine beings.
With just a casual strike from one of the Snake-Footed Giants opposite them, the vanguard army suffered such a tragic price. They couldn't imagine what would happen if they continued to fight.
"Calm down! Re-form ranks!"
In the sky, the two lesser gods responsible for commanding this vanguard army flew back and forth, desperately shouting such slogans at the armies on the ground. However, the situation was already beyond their control. Even if the two of them used their divine power to kill dozens more, no one paid attention to their commands.
Dying at the hands of the gods was, after all, better than being smashed to pieces by a mountain thrown by those Giants.
Unfortunately, at this moment, the initiative on the battlefield was no longer in their hands.
In this brief interval, the hundred or so Snake-Footed Giants had already charged into the vanguard army's formation. Their two snake tails ruthlessly trampled over the vanguard's battle lines. A swing of their torches meant a sky-covering fire for the vanguard warriors, a casual swipe was a palm strike that could stir up a storm, and picking up and throwing a stone had the power comparable to a natural disaster-level magic.
In just a few moments, the vanguard army had completely collapsed. The remaining warriors had no will to fight. Those who died were dead, and those who didn't were desperately fleeing in all directions, scattering into the nearby mountains and wilderness, hoping to escape from under the noses of these Snake-Footed Giants.
"Damn it!"
The two lesser gods originally in command were both shocked and angered by this scene. They didn't feel sorry for the heavy losses of these non-divine beings; they were just worried that they would be reprimanded by the main god of their faction, or even eliminated by Ares, the commander of this War, for some excuse.
In their agitation, these two lesser gods directly vented their anger on the hundred-plus Snake-Footed Giants. The two gods transformed into a black smoke and a storm carrying lightning, and quickly arrived beside one of the Snake-Footed Giants.
These two lesser gods were subordinate deities. They controlled a portion of the divine authority of "Wither" extended from Demeter, and a portion of the divine authority related to "Storm" extended from Zeus and the Four Wind Gods. Both of these divine authorities could be used in battle and War.
Of course, the power of the two gods naturally could not be compared with that of a main god, but in the low-magic era of later generations, the two gods would definitely be considered "God-level" combatants.
When these two lesser gods transformed into natural phenomena and approached the Snake-Foot Giant, they mustered all their divine power and struck fiercely. Massive amounts of magic power, under their guidance, transformed into a raging storm and a silent, withering black smoke. The two combined, instantly forming a terrifying storm that could cause all things to decay, which then poured onto the Snake-Foot Giant targeted by the two gods.
After being struck by this black storm, the Snake-Foot Giant let out an unprecedentedly miserable scream. He fell heavily, like a collapsing mountain, crushing the earth and causing it to tremble continuously.
The black storm tore a huge gash in his chest, and the desolate wind carrying the concept of "Wither" continuously poured into his body from the wound, ravaging his internal organs, instantly leaving this Snake-Foot Giant on the verge of death.
It worked!
The two lesser gods rejoiced in their hearts. They gathered in mid-air, preparing to muster their divine power for another strike on this Snake-Foot Giant, but what they didn't expect was that the moment the natural phenomena they had transformed into converged, the Snake-Foot Giant on the ground suddenly erupted. He stretched out his hands and, with a powerful grab in the storm, instantly pulled out a lesser god covered in clouds and lightning, with part of his body still in the form of a storm.
"Ahhh! Save me quickly!"
Caught by the Snake-Foot Giant, this god immediately screamed to his companion. He wanted to escape, but the Snake-Foot Giant's palms tightly gripped his waist, preventing him from moving.
Just like Zeus, who had lost his thunder and was held in the hands of Typhon, this lesser god was also wantonly brutalized by the Snake-Foot Giant with brute force. But unfortunately, he was not Zeus and did not have the protection granted by the planetary suppression. Therefore, this Snake-Foot Giant exerted force, and with a snap, broke this lesser god's lumbar spine in half.
This storm-related lesser god immediately spat out blood, let out a cry, and died on the battlefield, his soul falling into the earth to find Charon for a boat ride to the Underworld.
The remaining lesser god, seeing this scene, dared not linger. He transformed into a black smoke and frantically fled towards the direction of the front army.
The tragic state of the vanguard army was also witnessed by the commanders of the front army. They swallowed hard, their will to fight already diminished by seventy percent.
At this moment, the few lesser gods responsible for commanding this unit couldn't help but start complaining about their colleagues who had been dispatched to the rear by Ares. They had all caused trouble together, so why were only some of them transferred to a safe place?
Although these Snake-Footed Giants were terrifying, it was impossible for them to directly break through the central army and reach the very rear of the legion. The central army was garrisoned by Ares's direct forces. Unlike the disorganized vanguard and front armies, that was an army personally trained by the War God, possessing an iron will and discipline, as well as powerful combat capabilities.
Moreover, the one leading this army was the Lord of War himself, this powerful main god, who had once fought against the ancient Titans on the battlefield. No matter how powerful these Snake-Footed Giants were, they couldn't possibly defeat the War God, could they?
Unfortunately, regret, hesitation, and complaints were all too late now. The Snake-Footed Giants had already attacked. After the vanguard army collapsed, they rushed non-stop to the pass set up by the front army and began to directly dismantle the defensive fortifications built by the front army with their physical bodies.
Because there were defensive fortifications and some War machines that could be utilized, the situation of the front army was slightly better than that of the vanguard army. They could use these things to contend with the Giants. After witnessing the tragic state of the vanguard army, several lesser gods also shed their contempt for the Snake-Footed Giants, taking steady steps and barely managing to stabilize their position.
However, the disparity in combat power between them and the Snake-Footed Giants was still too great. Within half an hour, the front army's encampment was tragically breached by the Snake-Footed Giants. This group of Giants directly charged into the front army's positions, and the front army also began to collapse on a large scale.
And just then, a deep red ominous star suddenly flickered in the sky. This ominous star rapidly fell from the sky, approaching this encampment. Then, the ominous star transformed into a flaming spear, which fiercely pierced the heart of one of the Snake-Footed Giants, pinning him firmly to the ground.
Immediately after, a tall figure descended from the sky, growing larger as he came, and soon transformed to a size comparable to the Giants, landing on the front army's battlefield.
The commander of the Divine Legion, Ares, the War God, finally appeared as the front army was collapsing on a large scale.