The assassination plot—how long these indigenous forces had been planning it was anyone's guess—was entirely driven by the intention to annihilate the nation of Orichalcum in one fell swoop.
If the assassination teams sent by the Southern and Northern War Preparedness Zones were anything like the one here, these two regions would undoubtedly fall! The gap in the royal city would be brutally exposed and easily exploited!
"Dammit! These natives are utterly despicable and treacherous!
I must contact the royal city for reinforcements, or else, if they succeed, the consequences will be unimaginable!"
The smile on Morette's face, which had appeared when he successfully invited Sterl, instantly vanished, replaced by a serious and urgent expression. This was nearly a matter of the royal city's survival.
Even though he had managed to recruit this powerful and mysterious figure, if the north and south were to be overtaken, it would create a gap in the strength of the gods—essentially a difference of ten gods' worth of combat power. Adding in the Ashen army's two formations, it would be a twelve-god gap. Even with this mysterious powerhouse named Hades, Morette didn't think he could face such a number of gods in one battle.
After all, when numerous gods unite, the combined might of their Law Powers and divine authorities can easily suppress any individual of equal rank, to the point where they cannot even release their Divine Power. To Morette, Hades was indeed powerful, but he could only be considered roughly equivalent to three or four weaker gods at the Divine Power level.
As for the earlier attack, it was simply this powerful figure taking advantage of the Ashen gods' focus on him to set up a long-planned sneak attack. In a direct confrontation, there was no way the battle could have been so easily resolved.
"Contact the royal city? No need."
Sterl waved his hand dismissively. Such an intense battle among gods could not have gone unnoticed by the royal city of Orichalcum. Reinforcements had already been dispatched, but they were being delayed by those reckless legendary demigods. It would be impossible for them to arrive in time.
As for sending more reinforcements, the gods of Orichalcum were no fools. They had probably already guessed that, given the situation in the three War Preparedness Zones, sending more gods would only serve to offer up their lives as sacrifices to the indigenous forces. Under such circumstances, the only viable strategy was to retreat to the royal city, fortify it, and rely on its strength to buy time and a chance to catch their breath amidst the heavy losses.
"This... Mr. Hades, though these natives are despicable, their strength cannot be underestimated. What if they have other ambushes waiting? If it's just the two of us, we may be in danger," Morette spoke, his voice tinged with concern, and he began contacting the royal city's forces through special channels. However, after a brief moment, his expression darkened, and his face grew grim.
Because the message he had sent was completely blocked by some kind of force, unable to reach the royal city, the power behind it immediately reminded him of the Shielding Power that had once helped conceal the gods of the Ashen forces.
As expected, the enemy was fully prepared for a total war with the nation of Orichalcum and had no qualms about their actions. This was an all-out attempt to sever the three War Preparedness Zones completely.
Sensing the gaze of Hades beside him, Morette's mood continued to sink. He attempted several more times to contact the royal city but still couldn't get through.
"Don't waste your time. Let's go. Ashen is nothing. I can handle them on my own."
Sterl spoke with an air of mystery.
"Ashen is like small potatoes before me, hardly worth mentioning."
They could barely resist the urge to suppress her on the spot, to publicly violate and humiliate her in front of so many soldiers below!
However, while Diana's strength was comparable to his own, and the god who commanded Flame and Curse was even a bit stronger, her abilities were particularly troublesome. She avoided direct confrontations with him, using her Swamp Law and Archery Law to delay him from a distance, buying time as she waited for reinforcements from the royal city.
Not only that, she occasionally loosed an arrow to support the other three gods who were barely holding their own. Without her aid, those gods would have long since been slain one by one.
Even so, the three gods were now in a desperate situation. Their Divine Power was almost entirely depleted, and after maintaining a state of heightened tension for so long, they were utterly exhausted.
At that moment, a terrifying force suddenly gathered in the army below. Nearly ten demigods, along with a number of legendary third-class warriors, combined their strength with the power of the military formations, unleashing a force that reached the level of gods.
But instead of targeting Diana, as in the Eastern War Preparedness Zone, the assault was aimed directly at the other three gods!
The sudden ambush caught the three gods completely off guard. They had no time to react, especially under the relentless assault of four enemy gods. Even though Diana sensed something was wrong, she was unable to provide any support in time.
A deafening explosion rang out!
One of the gods was instantly enveloped by the force of the military formation. A mix of powers tore through his Divine Power barrier, and simultaneously, the other two gods seized the opportunity and launched a lethal strike!
The god let out a chilling scream as his Divine Power shattered, his divine authority crumbled, and even his very soul turned to ash—there was no possibility of resurrection.
"We're done for."
Diana's heart sank.
The situation had already been dire, but with one more god now dead, the entire battlefront would collapse in an instant!
"Hahaha! Did you see that? This is the wisdom of Ashen! You foolish invaders will pay for your actions!"
The God of Curse and Flame laughed maniacally, continuously releasing waves of powerful flame to suppress Diana. In the midst of the chaos, Diana's focus was compromised, and she unwittingly found herself afflicted by a weakening curse!
This was no ordinary curse—it was the power of divine authority and Law, a force only gods could wield!
Immediately, a wave of weakness washed over Diana. At the same time, another scream echoed, and another god from Orichalcum fell.
Before long, the last remaining god, surrounded by four enemies of equal rank and the army below, which was now on par with divine strength, could only let out a final, angry roar before being completely overwhelmed by the various Law Powers.
Once that was done, the four Ashen gods, their strength now freed up, immediately moved to surround Diana. They closed in, trapping her from all sides.