I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

"A merchant from the Corpse Alliance?" Gil glanced at the man, a hint of impatience in his eyes. "What do you want with me?"

Corpse Alliance —

Speaking of this alliance, even Gil only glanced at it before losing patience for a simple reason—

Because they can be considered the origin of "Cursed Armor Imprints," and they also sell discarded military spirits and smuggle substances similar to anesthetics—

In short, they are a group of unscrupulous individuals who have tainted taboos and are driven mad by greed.

"The moment I saw you, I felt that this polluted air became even harder to breathe. Now get to the point and get lost."

Jill looked away and placed a piece of lapis lazuli on a nearby stone pillar.

A glint of greed flashed in the short man's eyes, because anyone with a discerning eye could see that the lapis lazuli that Jill was using to set up the formation was a top-quality gemstone, and there was more than one.

"What's wrong? Come up and try it if you want it?" Jill said casually, while picking up two larger pieces of lapis lazuli and amethyst and slowly fitting them together before stuffing them into the holes of the array.

"..."

When the short man heard these words, he felt not elation, but a chilling sensation as if he were being watched by some ferocious prehistoric beast. In that instant, his back was soaked with cold sweat.

If Jill wanted to, he could make no one sense the terrifying power he possessed, but if he was in a bad mood, he wouldn't want anyone to feel his peaceful demeanor.

A dull thud sounded, and Jill slammed her book shut. "What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything or getting out of here..."

Gil turned his head, and in the subtle glow of the surrounding elves, his scarlet eyes looked like those of a wild beast eyeing its prey in the darkness, making the merchants of the Skeleton Alliance feel weak in the knees.

"Do you want to die?" Jill stared at the man. "Five more seconds. If you don't have anything else to say, get out of here."

The oppressive aura made the man's legs feel weak, and his original plan to sell some military-grade elves was immediately abandoned.

"I'm sorry to bother you..." The man humbly chose to back down.

Just as the man was about to leave, Jill's voice rang out again, "Weren't you going to sell me something?"

"You're all prepared, but you don't have the guts to sell?" Jill scoffed.

Jill used magic to fuse the last few crystals together and then placed them on a rock. "However, you made a wise move; you chose life over profit..."

Jill's pointed remark sent a chill down the man's spine.

“Oh, right…” Jill raised the corners of her mouth, “Now that you’ve shown up, give me a few of those military elves you have—by the way, I don’t plan to pay for them.”

"!!!" The man's face showed a look of horror.

"Go ahead and call for help... if you think they can beat me..." Jill smirked, "then bring it on. Oh, by the way, I just gave the Imperial army a sound thrashing a few days ago... want to give it a try?"

The short man's face twisted slightly as he looked at Jill, whose body was now shimmering with light.

"Haha, so what should we do?" Jill found a broken boulder and sat on it. "Should we choose [life] or [profit]?"

The short man's face was contorted with anger and fear.

He was enraged by Jill's act of robbery.

Jill's strength terrified him.

However, making such a choice is actually not difficult.

The man reached into his robes and grasped several pieces of elven ore.

Those are fakes, they don't include the storage sprite.

"These……"

"What, do you think I'm so easily fooled?"

Jill's sudden words startled the man so much that he almost fell to his knees.

There was clearly a lot of anger in that sentence.

"I'll give you a chance. Hand over the three strategic-level military spirits, and I'll let you go. Otherwise..." Jill revealed a cold smile, "Anyway, these things will only harm people if you take them, so that means even if I take them, it shouldn't matter, right?"

"Damn it...you robber..."

"Hmm... that's not quite right. I prefer the title 'Tyrant'." Jill chuckled softly. "Anyway, there's no difference, so just hand it over obediently. Otherwise, it's not good for me to go through all that trouble."

After hesitating for a long time, the short man angrily threw several pieces of elven ore to Gil.

“Ha, that’s more like it.” Gil raised his hand and caught several pieces of elven ore. “I’ll make a deal with you, you guys from the Skeleton Alliance, you have to do this—”

Gil tossed a piece of ore into the air, then smiled at the short man. "If it works, all the gems I've used here can be yours. They may not be as good as the elven ore that sealed the elves, but these gems can still be imprinted with magic."

"Of course, if you betray our deal."

Jill jumped down from the rock, "I will uproot the entire Skeleton Alliance and kill you all..."

"Leave no one behind!"

Chapter 45 is divided into three groups.

at dusk.

"Ah, you're back." Jill raised her hand and greeted the group of girls.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Kusanagi was the first to respond to Gil’s words.

"I'm exhausted... Master, is there really a way to sneak into a place like that?" Lian asked, sitting by the fire and taking the cloth bag off her back.

“Of course there are, and there are plenty of ways,” Jill said, removing her black hat from the golden ripples around her.

Kusanagi thought for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Hades' invisibility helmet?"

"Pretty clever?" Jill raised an eyebrow. "You actually knew that..."

Kusanagi said, "In your collection, Your Majesty, there is probably only this one treasure that can conceal one's form and aura..."

"Ha, well said, catch!"

Jill tossed the hat to Kusanagi, "This thing can turn into strips of cloth. The rescue team can use the strips to wrap themselves up to become invisible and conceal their presence—but it can't conceal their smell or sound, so don't talk or eat anything with a strong smell. These two points are very important."

"In other words, things like garlic are prohibited... and talking while using Noble Phantasms is also prohibited... I understand." Kusanagi took out a small notebook from somewhere, carefully wrote this sentence in it, and then said.

Jill smiled helplessly, "Come and eat something. It's not exactly gourmet, but I think it'll be enough to fill your stomach."

"The king does not eat, and I, as his subject..."

"Shut up, go eat your food."

Gil casually picked up a piece of bread and stuffed it into Kusanagi's mouth. "Just eat yours, no more nonsense."

"Yes!"

So Kusanagi reluctantly took a piece of bread and started eating it.

"Next... let's talk about tomorrow's plans."

Jill held out her hand, and a map appeared in her palm. "However, I prefer to operate tonight."

"Is it because it's safer to leave now while things are in chaos than to protect Fiana while retreating?" Alice nodded thoughtfully, then said in a low voice.

“That’s just one reason.” Jill gave Alice an approving look. “There’s another reason.”

Jill reached out and pulled out a huge pistol.

“This time, things are definitely going to escalate.” Gil’s eyes gleamed. “I can’t be sure how many people the Holy Kingdom has brought this time, and they will definitely bring a combat force of Elf King level.”

The combat power of an Elf King is definitely in the four digits.

It's already comparable to Gilles's power level without using his extraordinary Noble Phantasm from Gate of Babylon.

"Here, take this gun." Jill tossed the pistol to Linslet.

"Huh? Huh?" Linslet's eyes widened as she looked at Jill with surprise. "But I don't know how to use it..."

Jill squinted. "You don't need to know how to use them. The enchanted bullets inside have different effects. As long as you don't aim at your own people and fire randomly, they can produce different results."

Jill personally engraved runes on the bullet tips. After being fired, the runes engraved on the bullet tips will automatically unleash their power. As long as it's not aimed at teammates, there shouldn't be any problems.

"That gun has considerable recoil. If you feel you can't handle it, give it to Yin or Lian..."

Gil took out a map. "This map was drawn by Enkidu using his perception and my memories. It's generally accurate, but there's a cell in it. That place is a place that can't be connected to the Elemental Spirit Realm—if I'm not mistaken, Fiana should be here."

Jill circled the room in large crimson ink.

"We need to start the operation tonight and catch them off guard."

Gil's eyes flashed with a serious light. "We'll split into three groups. One group will be the frontal assault team, which will be led by Kusanagi and me. The second group will be responsible for bringing that princess out. Ren, Alice, I'll leave this to you. The third group will be responsible for the rearguard and support. Enkidu, Claire, Linslet, I'll leave this to you."

Considering the balance of combat power, Gil, who has the strongest combat power here, must be responsible for the offensive, while Enkidu and Renruo should act together. If the others encounter danger, it would be bad, so this is the best grouping.

"Senior Ren, here you go, and this too." Kusanagi handed Ren a notebook and Hades' invisibility helmet. "If we're going to launch a full-scale attack, I'll take charge of the first, most impressive offensive."

Lian took the notebook and hat. "Then, I'll leave the task of containing them head-on to you."

"Ha, of course, although I came to rescue them because I was considering your feelings, there was also the reason that I didn't like them."

Jill raised the corners of her mouth, then rolled up the map in her hand and handed it to Lian. "Well then, let's get ready and begin."

“Alright!” Kusanagi stood up. “My lord, I will take my leave first!”

"If anyone was going to leave, it was me first, you idiot!"

"terribly sorry!"

The two left the underground space, and Enkidu smiled helplessly, "It really is..."

“Linslet, Claire, let’s get moving. Jill has set up a defensive position here. If there are pursuers, just do as I say…”

"Alice, let's move out too." Lian slung her bag over her shoulder and put the map and notebook into her bosom. "It's time to rescue our companions."

……

—In a world dominated by silence and darkness.

The girl with long, dark hair was sitting on the floor, concentrating her mind.

Both her physical and mental strength were on the verge of exhaustion, yet her dark eyes still shone brightly.

The room wasn't cramped, but it gave off a very oppressive feeling.

There were no windows, so no sunlight shone in. The only source of light was the glow from the few elven ores on the candlestick.

This is the Great Temple of Aresia, located in the heart of the imperial capital, Osdekiah. The underground "Isolated World Palace" was once a place for priestesses related to the royal family to practice their skills.

The stone slabs were engraved with markings, completely severing this place from the realm of elemental spirits. Not only is it impossible to summon contracted spirits here, but even casting spirit magic is impossible.