— — — — — —
After stepping out of the fortress, Ryo brought Eunomia to the summit of Mini Olympus, the mountain the Greeks had created on Mars.
By now, the breach Ryo had blasted open in the barrier had already repaired itself. In the distance, the damaged black fortress writhed like a living creature, its surface squirming as it regenerated.
All around them, soldiers in single-shoulder armor moved swiftly through the area, searching for intruders. Their sharp noses, broad foreheads, and matador-like gear made them unmistakably Greek.
The moment Ryo appeared with Eunomia at his side, they were surrounded.
The atmosphere turned heavy in an instant. Everyone here was part of Greece's divine war force, at minimum a mid- to high-ranking member of an affiliated faction. Naturally, they all recognized Ryo Yagami.
The supreme commander of the enemy alliance had appeared in the heart of their territory, standing beside their own leader. It was such a bizarre scene that no one dared breathe too loudly.
The only one at ease was Ryo.
Standing atop Mini Olympus, he lifted his head and looked toward the distant crimson clouds and the endless plains below.
Beyond those plains, far across the sky, floated a vast suspended continent, stretching so far it seemed endless.
That was the main continent of Little Garden.
"Nice view." Ryo sighed in appreciation. "With scenery this good, wouldn't it feel like a waste if I left without doing something?"
Eunomia broke into a cold sweat. "You... What exactly are you planning?"
This was the one thing she had been afraid of. Breaking into the fortress and taking her away was one thing. Greece had plenty of commanders. Losing one wouldn't cripple them.
But if Ryo intended to strike Mini Olympus itself...
That was another matter entirely.
As a divine war battlefield, Mars had terrifying gravity suppression. The density of matter here was absurdly high, and because of that, there were very few places on the planet that could even qualify as mountains.
Mini Olympus, standing at a thousand meters, was one of the rare high peaks. And those peaks were all strategic strongholds controlled by the major pantheons.
With flight heavily restricted, high ground like this gave an enormous tactical advantage.
Even Greece only controlled a single one.
If this place were destroyed, their terrain advantage would vanish entirely, leaving them on equal footing with the Arcadia Alliance and at a severe disadvantage in any future divine war.
That would be an even greater loss than Eunomia herself being captured.
Ryo glanced around at the silent Greek warriors and smiled. "I like fair competition."
He had to admit, the Arcadia Alliance probably couldn't produce this many disciplined elite soldiers even if they spent another ten years trying.
Still, Ryo wasn't bitter.
"Talent development is talent development. If we lose there, fine. I can accept that." He paused, then tapped the ground lightly with his foot. "But terrain advantage? That's just cheating."
Mars's territory was all assigned through Gift Documents, ownership established by the Little Garden central authority. The good land had long since been claimed.
There was no changing that.
This kind of first-mover advantage annoyed Ryo. Or rather, what annoyed him was the way the gods used their head start to monopolize everything.
So his solution was simple. If he couldn't have fairness, then he'd force everyone else down to the same level.
Eunomia's heart sank.
"You're really going to do this?" She gritted her teeth. "Taking me is one thing. Destroying Mini Olympus? Do you want an all-out war with Greece?"
Ryo smiled at her, "Do I look like the type to bluff?"
"Destroying Mini Olympus serves no purpose for you," Eunomia shot back.
"For me? No." Ryo's smile widened. "For the Alliance? That's another story."
As the words left his mouth, he lightly tapped the solid rock beneath his feet.
Then he sighed, "Time for a change of battlefield."
Eunomia's face changed instantly. She spun around and shouted at the Greek soldiers, "Everyone! Fall back five kilometers! Now!"
The moment the order was given, the Greek warriors obeyed without hesitation.
No questions. No wasted motion.
They turned and retreated at incredible speed, their movements sharp and coordinated. Even under Mars's crushing gravity, they withdrew at sonic speed, evacuating the stronghold in orderly formation.
Watching them, Ryo couldn't help feeling a little envious.
'What a great army. How did they end up serving that bastard Zeus?'
Then he thought it over and gave up. There was no way he could build a Little Garden army like this.
The faint divine aura on those warriors made it obvious they were all descendants of gods.
And judging from the familiar traces... most of them were probably Zeus's descendants too, even if separated by dozens of generations.
Their natural spirit rank was absurdly high.
To raise a force like that, Ryo would probably have to copy Zeus and become a professional breeder for a few decades.
Just imagining it made him lose interest.
"What a waste." He shook his head.
Once the soldiers had cleared out, he stomped down hard.
BOOM!
The solid ground of Mini Olympus exploded apart.
Blinding golden light erupted from deep underground, surging upward like a living volcano.
Dust and debris shot into the sky. The entire mountain shook violently.
Dozens of black fortresses swayed as glowing conceptual runes lit up across their walls, only to shatter moments later.
When the quake finally stopped, Ryo and Eunomia were standing in midair.
Below them, the thousand-meter mountain was gone. In its place was a scorched crimson wasteland, rivers of molten gold flowing through it.
Eunomia stared at the black fortresses half-submerged in the magma, her breathing faltering, "H... How...?"
Beside her, Ryo clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, "Still can't control that move properly."
He frowned. "How does that Taurus maniac manage it?"
It was Taurus Rasgado's unique move: [Titan's Nova.]
Ryo had learned it from Sasha's diary some time ago, but the finer control always felt off.
Looks like her notes were incomplete.
'I should just buy the full Twelve Zodiac battle arts someday... though I'll have to haggle with the stingy forum first.'
As that thought crossed his mind, Ryo suddenly looked up.
More precisely, he looked past Mars.
Toward Little Garden's main continent. Toward Olympus.
In his vision, it was partially covered by a massive shadow. A full quarter of it.
Ryo narrowed his eyes. "Euno-chan, look up."
Eunomia slowly raised her head.
"Look at the sky. Toward Olympus." He pointed. "Do you see anything?"
Eunomia stared for a long moment.
Then shook her head. "N-nothing..."
"Nothing?"
Ryo narrowed his eyes.
He didn't think he was imagining it.
And that aura, it felt familiar.
'Wait... isn't that... Algol?'
"That idiot. She said she'd give me a day's head start." He muttered under his breath.
Before Eunomia could ask what he meant, he turned away, "Let's go."
Eunomia nodded and silently followed behind him.
Then she heard him mutter something strange, "Hopefully Zeus hears about this sooner rather than later."
Her eyes widened.
'Sooner...'
And in that instant, she understood.
Just as she'd thought. Ryo Yagami had never launched this attack on Greece impulsively.
There was a deeper scheme hidden behind it.
A much bigger trap.
Unfortunately... as a prisoner, she would never get to see how it played out.
...
Ten minutes later—
News of Ryo's assault on the Greek position on Mars reached the upper layers. And landed directly in the headquarters of the Heavenly Army.
.
.
.