Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

“Think it over before you speak,” Flora said calmly, once again interrupting the envoy’s carefully built momentum using the tactics employed in the Time Tower’s factional struggles. “I don’t have much time. You only have one chance here. If you want to persuade me, this is your only chance. If not, then go back to where you came from.”

And several seconds passed.

The white-haired servant opened her mouth, first with power, then with words. Both interruptions were justified, and both successfully dispelled the initial arrogance emanating from her. After careful consideration, she rationally chose a slightly safer approach. However, safe, in a sense, could also be called mediocrity.

"You must have come to earth with a wish to fulfill, and as long as that wish is not to destroy humanity, Uruk stands with you." Nakahara Tomoe... or rather, Tomoe Gozen, silently healed her wounds, looking earnestly at the goddess who had descended to earth before her. "I have traveled this far and witnessed this city being rebuilt and expanded under your protection. This shows that this city is useful to you, and its inhabitants are useful to you. And since you need them, you are destined to be on a different path from the demon goddess who seeks to exterminate the human world."

[Ah... so they finally spoke up? As expected, it's a similar situation to Ishtar. Even though their first reaction is still to attack, it's not like before—where they wouldn't apologize after a fight, and sometimes even tried to kill me. Instead, they'll temporarily restrain themselves for the greater good... perhaps there's still a possibility of change?]

Is it the influence of the god Mangotrund... or is it because I am already 'dead'?

“The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my ally,” Flora thought to herself, but said calmly on the surface. She had already made her decision, but for the sake of influence and stability, she still needed to maintain a certain air of authority.

“But the enemy of my enemy can be my ally,” the servant’s voice was earnest. “And this alliance will be very strong, because the Beast Goddess is very powerful. Uruk and Her positions are irreconcilable, so she will never betray Imanitic.”

“Ah, you’re right. The goddess is incredibly powerful.” Flora nodded. In response, she held up a finger and pointed it into the distance: “For example, you couldn’t even catch one of my fingers. Yet, as far as I know, you rank extremely high among the seven Servants of Uruk. In terms of power, Uruk doesn’t seem to offer me much support. And beyond that, you don’t seem to offer me much help either.”

Right where she pointed, a mountain silently collapsed and crumbled. The mere hundreds of thousands of tons of pressure were less than a fifth of the effort she exerted when 'playing' with Ishtar earlier. And now, she was stronger than before!

"As far as I know, Uruk's total population is 117,335. Of these, 6,000 are warriors, who consume over 100 tons of meat and 300 tons of grain and vegetables every day. The remaining 27,000 are either too old or too young and can't help much except for doing odd jobs. So, the remaining 80,000 or so are responsible for the operation of the entire fortress city and its food supply—am I right?"

“Yes…but—” Tomoe Gozen tried to explain something. However, a third interruption came immediately.

"However, you have three projects underway. The first is the northern defense line of Uruk, where you plan to build a high wall utilizing the terrain. This will require at least a month of construction, consuming 100,000 cubic meters of earth and 50,000 cubic meters of stone daily, as well as at least 2,000 workers on rotation. The second is the observation post and sea dike along the Uruk coast, with roughly the same consumption as the former. The third is the fortification and renovation of Uruk itself, which consumes slightly less, but the personnel requirements are comparable to the first two."

"Your supply chain is stuck at its limit, while my Imanitic is different. I don't need your massive projects. Furthermore, Imanitic maintains neutrality with the other goddesses. I can take my time, but you can't. If I form an alliance with you, even without providing you with resources, I will definitely share a huge burden with you—or rather, a significant portion of the pressure on the Beast Goddess will shift to Imanitic. After all, this place is relatively close to the Beast Nest."

Her meaning was clear—look, your situation is far more dire than mine; an alliance would benefit you greatly but offer me no advantage. More importantly, my strength dictates that I can disregard the chilling implications of a mutually destructive alliance. So… what price can you possibly offer for this alliance?

Flora longed to hear a condition like, "We can give you the Holy Grail as the price for an alliance." But she knew perfectly well that this idea was just a pipe dream—but dreams can become reality, and if managed properly, this alliance could become a bridge to peacefully acquire the Holy Grail, which was supposed to be the anchor point.

Then, just as she had expected, the white-haired creature in front of her fell silent.

"You see, you can't help me at all. But I don't need you to do anything. Tell me, is that right or wrong?"

"Yes……"

"But I am still willing to give you a chance."

"What...!?" The white-haired man tried to control himself, but he couldn't hide his excitement.

"Have you heard of Ban Chao?" Flora had somehow appeared behind her, placing her hands on her shoulders, and the surroundings suddenly changed!

The next moment, the two appeared thousands of meters above the temple, with the entire land beneath their feet, and a plume of dust rising from the northwest was faintly visible.

"Is it... that hero from the Han Kingdom?"

"Yes, that's right, Ban Chao, Ban Dingyuan. He once did something very famous, which was that when he was on a mission to Shanshan, he killed the Xiongnu envoy under the cover of night, leaving the King of Shanshan with no choice but to submit to the Han Dynasty. And now you have the opportunity to do the same thing, because the envoy of the Goddess of Warcraft is already on his way."

She pointed her finger at the dust that had risen.

“But I am different from Shanshan Kingdom, and the Kingdom of the Beast Goddess is different from the Xiongnu. Even if all these beasts die, she and I can clear up the misunderstanding with just a thought. Unless... the one who killed the beasts was my subject, acting according to my will.”

She pressed close to Ji Wujiang's back and whispered in Ba's ear.

“I can give you a chance, a chance to form an alliance with Uruk. My people will supply Uruk with food. My army will restrain the power of the Beast Goddess. And if necessary, I will even take action myself.”

“And the condition is…” Her voice was like the hiss of an ancient serpent. “You who have offended divine might must stay and serve me.”

Section Twelve: The Goddess's Broad Ideas

"Speaking of which, how's the new supporting role we chose going, Margot Lloyd? I feel like there's not much progress at all?"

"Yes, mainly because that bomb was just too powerful. I suspect that when it exploded, it resonated with a powerful void storm, triggering a chain reaction. As a result, what was originally a bomb specifically designed for mortals actually contained chaotic rules capable of causing transcendent beings to shut down. As a result..."

"Uh... what the hell are you talking about?"

"...Okay, to put it simply, the bomb explosion caused some strange natural phenomena for some strange reasons. Such as increasing the hardness of alloy steel by 100,000 times, lowering the boiling point of water to minus 200 degrees Celsius, and reversing the laws of thermodynamics. In short, that's it. It's a kind of interference effect produced after the world lines merged. Simply put, it was destined."

"I feel like you're patching things up."

"...I remember someone lost a bet before. Flora and Tomoe not only didn't fight, but they even formed a temporary alliance. And Gilgamesh actually anticipated this, and had Tomoe bring over a book of false vassals that was only revealed to be what it was after it was taken out...The Royal Treasury is really convenient."

"Your ability to change the subject has declined, Margot Lloyd... But now that you mention it, this thing really is quite convenient. It's said that it's set up as the 'original text of human wisdom'? Hmm... According to that, if a mortal can ascend to become a saint, wouldn't his treasury also contain something like the 'original text of saints'?"

“You misunderstood, Zheng Zha. The original text refers to the prototype, not the final form. For example, the original text of his ‘Book of False Ministers’ is actually ‘the world’s oldest contract transfer ritual.’ In fact, in terms of magical technology, it is not much higher than the ‘Book of False Ministers’ of later generations. It’s just that because this ‘oldest contract transfer ritual’ was a spell created by the gods of the Age of Gods, it was very effective at least at this point in time.”

"Uh... only the prototype? It's like later generations had cannons, but here they only have the catapult that served as the prototype?"

"That's one way to understand it, but this guy actually has cannons in his treasury. Because this world is different from the magic-free world you're in. This world has an age of gods, and the 'prototype of the cannon' was actually made by a certain god of forging. So the 'prototype of the cannon' he has is actually more powerful and intelligent than a 21st-century land-based electromagnetic cannon. Because the achievements of 21st-century mortals are still no match for the legacy of this 27th-century BC age of gods."

"I see... In other words, the reason why the weaponry in his treasury is so overwhelmingly powerful and comprehensive is essentially because he stole the wisdom and treasures of the gods. And if the civilization of this world were to develop into a trans-interstellar civilization that surpasses the age of gods, then the prototype in his treasury would be downgraded from an overpowered 'children are no match for parents' to an 'outdated and backward product'?"

"Oh! I know! It's like how no matter how powerful the Strike Freedom is, if you throw it into the world of the Demon Slayer, it'll only be easily crushed by grunt mechs. Prototypes are indeed stronger than mass-produced machines of the same generation or even the next two generations because they don't consider the budget and just focus on performance. But if the generation is seventeen or eighteen and it keeps improving, then no matter how strong the concept of the prototype is, it's destined to become a useless piece of junk!"

"Uh... although your analogy is a little off, that's probably how it is. So Zheng Zha, you don't need to worry about this guy pulling out some nonsense like a 'saint's original text.' While his treasury certainly contains the prototypes of all the secret treasures, their maximum strength won't exceed the limit of the Age of Gods. In other words, even if this guy uses every trick in the book and goes all out, he still can't do anything to Tiamat, who represents the upper limit of the Age of Gods in the Mesopotamian civilization. And this is basically what created the Tiamat god of the Seventh Singularity... If you haven't become a true god yet, then dealing with a Tiamat at full strength will probably take some effort."

"I see, Margot Lloyd. Thanks for the patching."

"...What kind of weird talk are you spouting? Be serious, we're having a strategy meeting right now. Anyway, we can't dawdle for too long. In a while, the other reincarnation teams should be entering the fray soon... Hmm, I've made some arrangements, which should be able to buy us some time."

“I remember asking about the progress of the ‘supporting role’ from the very beginning… It seems like you’ve been the one changing the subject, Margot Lloyd.”

"But didn't I answer you from the beginning that the development of the 'supporting characters' was so slow because 'that bomb was too powerful'? Did you think that while you were racking your brains trying to guide Hinako Akuta but to no avail, everyone else was just watching boredly from the sidelines?"

"...Is this even possible?!"

"That's exactly how it works, Brother Zheng Zha. While you were wasting your time blocking the way, we'd already wasted two spots on 'supporting roles.' But who knew those forty-odd storage pods would become a technological black box after the timelines merged? According to Sister Patchouli's calculations, without intervention from a true god or higher, these black box phenomena would naturally fade away within about a year. By then, the singularity issue would have been resolved long ago!"

"Is this really that ridiculous!"

"So I already said it was 'destiny,' and you're still saying I'm patching things up... Anyway, choosing the 'supporting characters' now requires a bit more time than expected. So Fujimaru Ritsuka and her group, and we, are very likely to be unable to land before all the other reincarnation teams enter the arena—my arrangements can't last long, and until then, we can only rely on this Miss Flora to break the deadlock."

"Hoo, she's just like Hector, the only warrior in Troy favored by the gods. How much will she pay for Troy, this city-state destined for destruction? Ah, it's something to look forward to."

“You really do have a deep-seated resentment towards Greek mythology, Sirin. Besides, at least here is Hinako Akuta, whom I guided…”

"Ahem, well then, Zheng Zha, good luck. Anyway, until the new 'supporting character' is ready, we can only do things through Flora. Now she has signed a contract with Tomoe Gozen and has finally become the true Master she always dreamed of being... Although she doesn't seem very happy, it should be considered that she has fulfilled a long-held wish. She has become stronger than before. So, whether it's a tragedy or a comedy, before more variables appear, let us, the 'Olympian gods' sitting high in the audience, enjoy watching what kind of dance she can put on."

"At least let me finish what I have to say! Hey!"

....................................

Flora blinked.

Did I do something that I didn't have to do?

The declaration, 'You don't need me, so I don't need you,' still echoed in his ears. However, reality slapped him in the face—yes, yes, by signing an alliance, he could indeed peacefully seize the Holy Grail. But signing a Servant might not be a necessary part of the plan.

Enmity with the Goddess of the Beasts is inevitable, and as long as she doesn't act herself, the Goddess of the Beasts won't harbor more hostility towards her than towards the other pillars of goddesses. After all, mortals and gods are ultimately different; although she has promised to intervene, when she does so is entirely up to her. Forming an alliance with the mortal world won't destroy the image she previously cultivated—a goddess descended to earth seeking to end humanity and recreate the age of gods—after all, war can be waged aggressively or peacefully, and destroying a nation doesn't necessarily require swords and spears.

[But this is just an excuse, not a reason for me to necessarily possess a Servant. What I did was unnecessary, and this pointless act was even anticipated by Gilgamesh! Although it's possible he simply had a backup plan. However, the fact remains that the tribute carried by Nakahara Tomoe contained the prototype of the 'Book of False Subjects' and related edicts!]

She stretched out her hand and looked at the back of her right hand. On the smooth skin was a crimson emblem—a pure equilateral triangle. No gaps, no distortions, no non-Euclidean geometry in the way; it was simply a perfect triangle with only one line.

The 'Book of False Subjects' originally consisted of only one Command Seal, a fact even the prototype from the Age of Gods was no exception. However, unlike later versions of the 'Book of False Subjects,' the prototype delivered by Gilgamesh could completely transfer command authority and energy supply channels without any backdoors—since he could predict Flora's actions, he could naturally deduce that Flora possessed divine wisdom capable of analyzing all things. In fact, she had now completely deciphered the principles of the 'Book of False Subjects,' and if she wished, with the omnipotence of divine power and intellect, she could absorb a massive amount of 'True Aether' and then copy dozens or even hundreds of Command Seals onto it.

But that's meaningless... A contract is built upon an alliance. As long as the alliance stands, the contract is absolutely secure. But if one party betrays the alliance, then even if the Command Seals are copied many times over, the Servant will choose to take their own life, or even betray them at a crucial moment... I miscalculated. This must be King Gilgamesh testing me. Although I don't know how much hidden information my actions have revealed, it's probably not a small amount.

Adding more Command Seals is pointless, and besides, she doesn't intend to. She finds this stable, unchanging equilateral triangle quite good; in some situations, it might even be seen as a reminder to herself. A reminder not to forget her original intention, not to forget that she descended to restore humanity, and not to forget why she made the covenant with Mangotlund.

My purpose is to restore humanity, to restore, and only to restore... I must remember this.

Her gaze drifted beyond the city walls, sensing the subtle flow of true ether, the result of her divine power dissipating within her. She could clearly see the white-haired servant battling the demonic beasts nearly a hundred kilometers away—Tomoe Gozen had accepted her deal and, in her name, had confronted a vanguard of approximately one hundred demonic beasts from the tens of thousands of monsters. She had overwhelmingly defeated the vanguard of this demonic beast army.

The horde of demonic beasts, hundreds of miles away, slowed their advance, roaring and howling as they underwent further transformation and mutation under the divine intervention of the Beast Goddess. Tomoe Gozen's participation in the battle, along with the Mangtlund divine power she carried, clearly demonstrated Flora's current stance. The tens of thousands of beasts, whose deterrent effect was originally far greater than their killing power, naturally transformed, evolving into an even more powerful fighting form.

The status held by ordinary humans from the Age of Gods and a goddess descended to earth is naturally different in the eyes of another goddess. The unseen messengers beside Flora told her that the beast hordes currently stationed on the northern defense line of Uruk were essentially still basic species that hadn't even undergone their first mutation. Lacking formations, strategies, organization, specialized magic, or combat attire, they simply charged chaotically at the mortal defenses of Uruk like 'beasts that knew a few spells (from the Age of Gods)'. Their behavior was more like hunting herbivores than fighting. Flora noticed that these magical beasts were quite particular about collecting the carcasses.

The corpses of our own kind must be taken away, the corpses of humans must be taken away, and the human prisoners must be taken away... So that's how it is. There hasn't actually been a proper battle in Uruk yet. The Beast Goddess merely sees Uruk as a resource gathering point, while she likely possesses far superior bio-engineering technology. Her true target should be the other goddesses, including myself...

My alliance with Uruk is, in a sense, tantamount to rejecting the Three Goddess Alliance. Although, due to my stance, as long as I don't personally intervene outside of Imanithic, they… especially the Goddess of Beasts, won't come in person but will simply deploy elite troops.

[Tsk, so I miscalculated after all? I've personally experienced the limitations of being a mortal. But...]

"Although my initial strategy was to plan carefully before acting, I'm not the kind of person who waits until I'm 90% certain before making a decision. Now that I've already done it, there's no need for regret. Self-reflection should also come to an end. Since I'm destined to be an enemy of the Goddess of Monsters, then fighting sooner... is fine too!"

Inside the temple, lightning and fire ignited in her eyes! And the next moment, a summoning decree flowed clearly from her consciousness!

“My God.” The high priest, who had been waiting outside the temple, appeared before her at her command. “Your believers await your instructions.”

“Knowing what to do is unnecessary… Though it might seem like forcing growth, I can’t worry about that now.” A stream of light shot from her fingers. Urban design plans and concepts from the Ruhr industrial region during World War I, referenced in later generations, were subtly implanted into the high priest’s mind—the priest groaned, blood trickling from his seven orifices before quickly recovering under divine intervention. The next moment, the high priest’s eyes were filled with fighting spirit and fanaticism!

"This is what Imanitis should look like in a month. There are rich iron ore deposits beneath the location I marked, and I have already instilled in you the relevant smelting methods. Selecting craftsmen, utilizing the rivers, and opening mines are your tasks for the next month. Send the selected craftsmen to the temple, and I will teach them how to build blast furnaces and forge steel—go, complete my task, and before that, order the selected warriors to come to the temple!"

“Your will.” The high priest respectfully withdrew, and the entire city of Imanitis came alive in an instant, like a ravenous beast awakening—the blueprints were made into clay tablets, and the clay tablets were then transformed into physical objects. The most fundamental element in the blueprints Flora gave to the high priest was the method for creating a primitive industrial machine, and this was the cornerstone of everything!

Creating a civilization may be difficult, but replicating one is not so complicated. And if one only needs to capture its form without its essence, then such a project would be even simpler for a deity with sufficient computational power!

I don't need inventors, thinkers, scholars, or accumulated knowledge and traditions. I only need craftsmen, only warriors!

[Craftsmen only need to know basic mechanical operation and how to press buttons. Soldiers only need basic combat awareness and how to pull the trigger! I'll decide their fighting style, and their marching strategy just needs to follow my logic—after all, their skin isn't black, and they won't have their brains burned out by the sun like those idiots who point their guns into the air!]

She stretched out her hand, divine power surging, and a wide-ranging mental interference spell was immediately unleashed—she knew exactly how to create an industrial civilization that lacked a core, possessed only the outward appearance, and that was all it needed to be. The first step was to standardize weights and measures, a matter she would resolve through her mental interference. The second step was to create an industrial mother machine, and then use machines to build machines!

This is the Age of Gods, an age where miracles and magic exist. In later generations, mortals would spend considerable time finding tinder and crafting fire using only their bare hands. But here, the Imanitians, once their bloodline is activated by her, can generate electricity and sparks with every breath!

The next step is quite simple: use wooden and stone tools to create steel implements, and then use those steel implements to create industrial machine tools. Expand production and improve processing precision using these machine tools—this is difficult for mortals, but not complicated for the gods and their divinely guided subjects. Anyone here can build machines from before the Industrial Revolution, given the blueprints. Furthermore, the seemingly natural, but actually divinely refined, iron ore she provides is enough to propel this place's technology tree into the Industrial Age!

[In the age of gods, everyone could cast spells; in the modern era, even magic is rare. Under the rules of True Aether, no mystery becomes ineffective due to widespread dissemination—the King of Magic hasn't even been born yet! Therefore, even without understanding electromagnetic principles and electronic control systems, warriors can master the art of wearing reactive armor by manipulating lightning. At worst, I'll repackage it as doctrine, turning the instruction manual into a consecration ritual to ensure the warriors of this era memorize it!]

Her mind surged, and all sorts of fantastical ideas burst forth from the depths of her soul as she loosened her boundaries. With the assistance of divine wisdom, she quickly deduced a strange technological tree that intertwined magic and industry, at least on the surface, without any apparent problems. Then, a plan that would seem like a mere guess to a human, but could be considered a long-term project to a god, rapidly took shape in her mind.

Within a month, a composite true ether system and modern industrial technology were built, and the productivity caught up with the industrial strongholds of the Ruhr industrial region in Germany during World War I.

Within two months, its combat power and scale will be equivalent to that of a non-nuclear state in the 21st century. The nuclear peace envoy will be replaced by a large-scale composite divine magic array.

In three months, the entire city of Imanitik will be transformed into a three-dimensional city, capable of flying over land, sea, and air, even if the land is submerged by the primordial sea, it can still fly into the sky and serve as a mobile battle fortress in the clouds!

She had sufficient knowledge and raw materials, and plenty of time. The only thing currently hindering her plans was a highly skilled population—in that instant, she understood why King Gilgamesh of Uruk single-handedly managed the entire city-state. Because he, with his absolute precognition or superior intelligence, was in the same predicament as she was now!

The only thing that makes him stronger than his opponent is that he possesses divine wisdom with almost unlimited computing power as support!

The flame-shaped bird on her shoulder cooed, and an idea for solving the population problem suddenly flashed into her mind. The next moment, she abruptly turned her head and pointed sharply to the coordinates she needed—the location where Tomoe Gozen was fighting the monsters!

She subconsciously rubbed the red equilateral triangle on the back of her right hand. Sensing the flow of divine power, she became aware of every physical change in the distant fighter—she hadn't intended to waste too much time on this woman. Just minutes before, she had thought that taking a Servant was a complete miscalculation.

However, with a change in her thinking, a new path chosen, and a different approach taken, these Servants, who have had so many battles and entanglements with monsters, now have a new purpose for her!

Since the Goddess of Monsters uses human corpses as raw materials to create monsters for battle, then why can't she, Man, a primordial creator like Tiamat, use monsters as raw materials to recreate living people?

You should know...

Their brains, which reside within the bodies of magical beasts, are still fresh!

Chapter Thirteen: The Undesirable Servant

On a piece of land beyond the city walls, on the outskirts of Imanithic, far from the city, beyond the forest, the Servants, now under new masters, shed their blood.