The Holy Grail War Blessed by the Gods

"Before coming here, I visited the king. Although he's more magnanimous than before, he's still not much different. He told me to find another place to go. You can ask the high priest here if you don't believe me." (9)

Manju shook his head and said. 0

Chapter 141 Direction (4)

"This wine looks much better than the cheap stuff on the market. Even in this day and age, there are always good things out there."

Evening arrived in the blink of an eye, and Manshu, instead of rushing off, decided to stay and wander around.

Although Uruk, rebuilt as a fortress city, no longer bears the resemblance to its former self, it still retains its exotic charm. While changed, it is still quite appealing.

At least in terms of style, it looked somewhat different from the cities Manshu had seen before; this city had been replanned and laid out for the war. ⑨

Manshu planned to stay here for two days to explore the city before continuing her journey.

This was also a good opportunity to explain my requirements to Siduri, who was standing nearby, and to have her deliver the necessary materials to Nippur City first.

However, although Gilgamesh promised Uruk resources, there wasn't much that Manju could actually use in the city.

The resources here are far from sufficient, and all Gilgamesh can offer is to lend out materials and manpower without affecting the operation of Uruk itself.

Hopefully, there are still enough manpower and resources available in Nippur. Although that city was once a great city, it has now declined and is no longer what it used to be.

The constant invasions of monsters were enough to force the local population to flee, so the city population in this era would not be very large.

Although scholars speculate that the city of Sumer during the Early Dynastic period had a population of tens of thousands, this figure includes the population of the surrounding rural areas.

Sumerian cities during the Early Dynastic period already had a three-tiered settlement system, consisting of a metropolis, a town, and a village.

In contemporary archaeology, when a settlement in a region reaches three or more levels, it can often be identified as a state society.

However, due to the relentless onslaught of monsters, the towns and villages surrounding the city have long since ceased to exist.

Uruk City was able to preserve some pastures and villages outside the city, but in the city north of Uruk City, without the protection of an absolute monster war front, even the city walls could hardly withstand the attack of monster hordes, let alone those villages.

In this era, a city with a few thousand people could probably be considered a large city, since most people had likely died in the attacks of the monsters.

How many human corpses would it take to create those 10 magical beasts? For the Sumerian world more than 4000 years ago, that would probably be more than half the population.

Therefore, we cannot expect too much manpower from Nippur. However, in this region, it is often necessary to consider using other people's resources to carry out tasks.

However, that's something to think about later. Now, Manshu picked up the ale and handed it to him. This ale looked much better than the cheap ones outside that weren't even filtered.

The ale I saw being sold outside before was probably just a cheap product, treated like everyday drinking water, so it wasn't processed much.

The wine here is the normal kind that can be drunk, after being processed in a way that is ahead of its time.

Manshu happily put the beer in his glass into his mouth. It had been a long time since he had tasted beer, so it was nice to enjoy it once in a while.

Moon Group: ㈧㈤倛六￠≯liu㈢∫◇⑷~↓泤∴°珥 As long as it's not a bitter drink, Manshu can always accept it.

That night, the group celebrated and drank heartily. Of course, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu were not yet adults, so they drank juice, as was Anna.

Ushiwakamaru and Benkei also heard that guests had arrived, so they came here to drink together.

Manshu spent two pleasant days in Uruk, taking in most of the sights of the city.

Indeed, just like the feeling I had when I first entered the city, it was a vibrant city full of life and hope, even though we were facing an almost apocalyptic situation.

"Although I don't like the king here, I have to say that he is indeed a competent king at this moment. Seeing this is enough. I can't afford to be too complacent, or I'll be outdone."

Manshu continued walking, leaving the city and heading north.

Siduri had already prepared the token for leaving the city, which was stamped on the clay tablet with Gilgamesh's cylinder seal, as proof that Manjus could mobilize the city of Nippur.

Cylinder stamps are also a distinctive feature of the Sumerian region, and their function is similar to the stamps we use in everyday life.

Cylinder stamps appeared before the invention of Sumerian writing. The Sumerians used clay tokens to record their wealth and sealed the tokens in clay balls for safekeeping.

However, if someone stole the mud ball at this time, they would not be able to prove that the mud ball originally belonged to them and that the property recorded inside the mud ball belonged to them. Therefore, the Sumerians carved patterns on hard objects to represent themselves and pressed them on the mud ball before it dried, so that they would not be afraid of others stealing and claiming it.

Later, when such objects were standardized, they were generally cylindrical stone pillars, with patterns symbolizing identity or things that were meant to be recorded carved on the sides.

Then all you need to do is roll the stone pillar a couple of times on the undried clay slab to imprint the design on it.

However, the format of cylinder seals was not standardized until the Akkadian Empire, since only a unified country could standardize the weights and measures of various regions.

Manshu took the clay tablet from Uruk that indicated his identity and prepared to set off.

Siduri originally wanted to send a squad of soldiers with Manshu, but Manshu said that would only be a burden to him, and he only needed a guide so that he could save some effort.

After all, if you're really leading a squad of soldiers, it's hard to say who's protecting whom.

Gorgon's monster army isn't just made up of weak mad dogs; it also includes evil dragons and lions.

Gilgamesh's place wasn't one where you needed to greet anyone. After the guide arrived, Manju left Uruk and followed the road to the Absolute Demonic Front.

It was already morning, and the monsters' offensive had resumed. Logically, they should have taken a detour, exiting through the flanks of the monster lines where the attack was weaker.

However, Nippur is not located near the two rivers, but rather roughly in the middle, so taking a detour would be quite a long way.

So Manju, along with the guide, grabbed his clothes and jumped off the wall of the Monster Front. (8)

"Wow...!"

The accompanying guide was clearly not expecting this to happen and was quite frightened.

"Calm down, you still need to give directions."

Manju flicked a bolt of lightning from his fingertip to calm the people down, and with his other hand hurled Baal's lightning, shattering the surrounding monsters. 3.

Chapter 142 Temple Drenching

"That person just jumped down!?"

Although Manju's attire looked strange, he was carrying Gilgamesh's clay tablet, which could prove his identity, so the soldiers didn't pay too much attention to him.

After all, the seal on the clay tablet was Gilgamesh's seal. With the king as its backer, what was there to worry about?

The soldiers assumed that Manju was there to check on the situation at the Demonic Front and would be traveling between Nippur and Uruk to record and report to Gilgamesh.

But in any case, no one would have expected Manshu to jump off the front lines of the Warcraft campaign.

The Warcraft front is quite high; this defensive line, built from the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, is higher than all the city walls on this land.

If someone jumps without protection, an ordinary soldier would probably not survive; at the very least, he would be crippled.

At this moment, the monsters' offensive had just begun, and the soldiers were not yet fully engaged in the battle and had no time to pay attention to their surroundings. When they saw someone jumping down, it still caused a commotion.

"What happened to cause this commotion?"

"Someone..."

The soldier was about to answer, but the sight below left him speechless.

A brilliant burst of lightning rose from the ground, and countless bolts of lightning transformed into serpents of light that rushed in all directions.

The low-level magical beast, the lion Ulidim, charging at the forefront, was easily torn apart. Lightning serpents flowed endlessly, each capable of piercing through more than a dozen magical beasts before stopping.

"The messenger carrying King Gilgamesh's orders just jumped off the defensive line. Could he... be planning to go directly to Nippur from here?"

The mud tablet had instructions on what Manju was going to do. Although the soldiers here probably couldn't read, the guide had told them where they were going when they arrived.

The literacy rate in this era was naturally not something to be expected to achieve. In the Early Dynastic Period and even later, scribes held a very high status.

These scribes were often praised and were even able to drive away the rich and some minor nobles.

This was also because the scribes were responsible for almost all the writing in the Sumerian region. In that era, not only were the lower classes unable to master writing, but many kings and nobles were also illiterate.

After all, what the king needed to do was command the army, not to be able to write and read. Early knowledge and literacy education came from temples, and the king might not necessarily choose to come into contact with them.

"This is utter chaos. If Lord Leonidas hadn't succeeded in his plan on the Tigris River, the number of monsters downstream would be several times greater than it is now."

A few days ago, Leonidas used the Tigris River to swallow many monsters and successfully halted their offensive.

The number of monsters that can reach the absolute monster front has decreased significantly in the past few days, so going out is not actually too troublesome.

Therefore, Leonidas has not been on the front lines of the Warcraft campaign these past few days, but has been training troops in the rear, hoping to reorganize his forces during this time.

The soldier only complained a little, but seeing that Manshu was moving forward quite quickly, he knew that she wouldn't be blocked or overwhelmed by these magical beasts, so he didn't say anything more and instead let the disorderly soldiers return to order.

"You bastard, you don't trust me at all, and you don't even trust your king."

While casting lightning, Manju scolded the guide behind him. Although the guide was calmed down by the lightning, he was still obviously listless. He immediately retorted when Manju said these words.

"What makes you say that? The king is a hero who saved this land, and no one in Uruk would not believe him."

“If you trust Gilgamesh, shouldn’t you also trust the people he trusts? Since he entrusted Nippur to me, why should he worry that I won’t be able to get there? In fact, you still followed your instincts in this dangerous situation, but you can’t be blamed for being such a naive person.”

Manshu was just teasing the guide behind him out of boredom while traveling. It shouldn't be taken too seriously. How could an ordinary person not be afraid of a life-or-death crisis?

Asking someone to entrust their life to someone they've just met is more than just asking the impossible.

Nippur isn't far from the Beast Front. The distance from Babylon to the Beast Front and from Nippur to the Beast Front isn't much different; you can get there quickly by traveling the straight line.

Nippur is not far from Babylon, actually less than 100 kilometers away. The religious holy city, built during the Kish era, has always held an important position, and its high city walls are the reason why the city has survived to this day.

As a religious city, it has a considerable number of temples, the most important of which is naturally the temple of Enlil, the king of the gods in the Sumerian world, who brought the city a lofty position.

The temple of Enlil, Ekol, is a sacred abode, much like Mount Olympus. Temples in the Sumerian world are the dwelling places of the gods, and this temple of the king of the gods is a place where all the gods gather.

Some even believe that the location of the Temple of Ekol is the birthplace of the gods, the dwelling place of the gods, the place of judgment, the place of life, the center of the earth, and the place that connects heaven and earth.

The temple's foundation is made of blue lapis lazuli, and the bricks that make the temple as smooth as red gold, gleaming brightly.

The entire temple was like a bull, raising its gleaming horns on the Sumerian land.

Although this temple is now completely useless, that's fine too. [QUN:㈨〗⒋㈧￡2∥♂牭●㈢■∽san⊙～０物]

If the temples and towers here still have gods, Manchu wouldn't have needed to come here. He should have found another place. If all else failed, he could have negotiated with Quetzal Koyatl to have her give up Elidu, or rebuild a city on the ruins of Babylon, which would at least be related to Marduk.

Of course, Nippur is also an option. The former residence of the Mesopotamian god-king, the throne that once ruled over all gods and dominated all life, is not wrong to have Marduk, who succeeded him as god-king, take over.

With this in mind, Manjustra arrived in Nippur.

The situation here is much worse than that of the Absolute Demonic Front not far away. Although it has tall city walls, it is still no match for the Absolute Barrier built by demolishing an entire city and taking many treasures from the Babylonian Treasury.

(9) If the time were still in the age of gods in Sumer, there would naturally be no need to worry about this city where the god-king sat. But now, although it still has some mystery, it is ultimately just a city wall made of earth and stone, which is really difficult to stop the endless attacks of monsters.

Lin is no longer just an ordinary monster, Uridim, in the monster army. The power of the monsters is increasing, and more monsters are being bred.

Initially, only creatures like Uridim ravaged this land. The scorpion-man Kitaburiel was the supreme commander of the monsters, while the evil spirits, mermaids, and bull-men were not worth mentioning.

The four terrifying dragons—Bashum the venomous snake, Mushumaff the seven-headed serpent, Ushmugal the water serpent, and Mushuhushu the raging serpent—are the even more powerful enemies.

In the early stages of the battle, such powerful magical beasts were not deployed; instead, they appeared gradually.

2. It was precisely because even these powerful dragon species had appeared that the resisting soldiers became increasingly convinced that the goddess of monsters was Tiamat.