Pivot of the Sky
chapter-123

Gilgamesh’s display of arrogance clearly showed that he thought little of Ejypt’s army. Not wanting the soldiers’ morale to drop, Amon lightly coughed. Metatro understood his intention immediately. He waved his hands, telling the guards to step away. Then he drove Amon’s chariot forward out of the formation, as Gilgamesh did.

Once the chariot stopped, Amon stood up and slightly bowed. Facing Gilgamesh who was some distance away, he said: “Governor of Uruk, esteemed hero of the continent, I admire you greatly for your feats. However, you have led a huge army to occupy the land which does not belong to you and caused the loss of many lives. What reasons do you have for doing this? This is not a place where your army should come to. I can welcome you as a guest anytime, but I cannot tolerate an act of aggression like this. Please command your army to retreat immediately.”

Gilgamesh also stood up and slightly bowed. “You are Amon? We have met before! You slew the snake monster at Euphrates River and saved the people of Uruk City. I hereby express my gratitude for your heroic deed. I heard that not long ago you also captured the King of Hittite alive and this led to the successful forging of an alliance between the two countries. This feat makes me respect you all the more. However, today’s war is not between you and me. I have come here at the behest of my god’s oracle to punish the cruel and savage Ejyptian king.”

At this point, he smiled and said in a mocking tone: “Speaking of retreat, your army has retreated all the way from the border to this location at my request. I am very grateful to you for welcoming us in such a way.”

Laughter erupted from the army behind Gilgamesh. They were laughing at the way the Ejyptian army abandoned their border and retreated. In this wide plains where two armies numbering tens of thousands were preparing to battle, even though the two of them did not speak particularly loudly, everyone present were able to hear them clearly.

The combined laughter from thousands of soldiers resembled the roaring of thunder but Gilgamesh’s voice was able to suppress it and he continued to speak with clarity. Unfurling the scroll in his hands, he started reciting the contents of the scroll loudly. Amon had seen the contents already, for it was the declaration of war sent by the Uruk legion which resembled a song of praise for their god.

Every sentence spoken by Gilgamesh elicited a wave of cheering from the soldiers, which eventually culminated into a passionate roar. When Gilgamesh finished reciting the declaration, the morale of the soldiers behind him reached its highest point.

Gilgamesh was a ninth level supreme mage. However, differences existed between the ninth level supreme mages. For example, Amon was a seventh level mage, but his magical prowess was far stronger than the average seventh level mage. Gilgamesh had apparently reached the peak of the ninth level.

When he was reciting the declaration, he quietly employed the strongest mental control magic in the world, gradually boosting the morale of his army. On the other hand, when his voice reached the Ejyptian army, it conveyed an impression that his army was invincible and unable to be stopped, shakening their faith, breeding the doubts. Though not in a physical way, the battle had already quietly begun.

Amon started his response with a low and firm voice which carried with it a strange shocking effect. It was as if he was speaking right next to everyone’s ears, causing them to awake with a sudden jolt. If one were to simply compare their magical prowess, Amon was obviously inferior. However, he was still able to do relatively well.

The Ejyptian Commander-in-chief said with a cold smile: “You spoke too many names, but I cannot remember any of them. Can’t the Bablon Kingdom find a single man to write a decent poem? Dear Lord of Uruk, there are no beautiful flowers or good wine here, this is not the place for you to recite poor poems. If you wish to fight, we shall fight. All the people standing behind me are brave heroes, just like you and me!”

The names at the end of the declaration was a list of Marduc’s honorifics, and Amon’s words were obviously showing disrespect to the god. Gilgamesh closed the scroll and glanced at him from afar, his expression resembling one who was about to laugh. However, he quickly put on a serious expression and waved his right hand forward. At his signal, the army behind him started moving. Starting off with a relatively slow speed, the neatly arranged chariots and the heavy cavalry on both flanks advanced towards the Ejyptian army in an orderly manner. The sound of tremors came from the earth as they marched, bringing with it a heavy sense of oppression.

The charging chariots gave an oppressive feeling to the opposite side, a destabilizing shock. If the Ejyptian army stood still, they would surely be no good when the accelerating Uruk chariots reached them eventually. Facing the strongest legion in the continent, the legs of some Ejyptian soldiers started shaking involuntarily.

Amon raised his left hand towards the sky and the sound of drumming appeared from the army formation behind him. It was supreme mage Idu who personally carried out the drumming, and the sound of the drums carried with it a strange power which was able to awaken the faith and courage in the soldiers.

Next, Amon pointed forward. The Ejyptian army finally started moving as well, advancing towards the enemy along with the beat of the drumming. As the tempo of the drumming increased, their speed of advancement also grew faster.

The mages that came with the army had set up a large magical formation in this place while Urhiya was floating high up in the sky holding his staff. The sounds of chanting continuously appeared from the sky, seemingly inspiring the soldiers to forget all their fears. As both armies moved forward, both Gilgamesh and Amon’s chariots were engulfed within the troops.

With the dazzling swords and spears seen everywhere, both sides were unable to see each other clearly. At this moment, Gilgamesh shouted: “You despicable, craven Ejyptians dare to accuse me of assassinating the so-called Adoratrice of Isis, take a good look at the arrow fired by me!”

When everyone heard his words, Gilgamesh’s arrow was already shot, with a sharp and chilling sound which resembled the angry roar of thousands of wild bulls appeared. Even the accelerating chariots from both armies seemed to freeze for a second because of this noise. Gilgamesh had shot an earth-shattering arrow using a bow forged from Humbaba’s fangs and strings.

All along, Amon had been watching Gilgamesh’s movements closely, so he was fully prepared to react. When Gilgamesh nocked an arrow on his bow, Amon did the same. What Gilgamesh hated the most were the rumours which spread across the continent. So, he was going to take revenge using this method. Watching Gilgamesh’s arrow flying off, Amon subconsciously compared it to the arrow shot towards Icho that day.

He remembered that the arrow shot by the assassin was black in color, five feet long and was thick as a wine cup, resembling a throwing spear. Whenever the arrow encountered obstacles in the air, it released rumbling sounds which resembled those of waves crashing onto reefs and merely stopped briefly before continuing its flight with the exact same speed and direction. The arrow was most likely an extremely precious magical item as it contained power magic and was incredibly tough.

The arrow used by Gilgamesh was also precious, but it was much less unique in comparison. Crafted from the Damasc iron and engraved with magical formations using silver, it was just one of the standard arrows used in the army. The two-feet-long, finger-thick arrow flew like a silver lightning under the sun, releasing a terrifying roar on the plains as it soared, the roar of Humbaba.

Amon also shot out his arrows, three of them at the same time. The arrows he used were nearly identical to Gilgamesh’s arrow, while his bow was crafted using the two-headed snake monster’s fangs and strings. Each arrow produced a sharp piercing scream as they were shot, and they landed exactly onto Gilgamesh’s arrow. Two arrows collided in mid-air with a loud boom, after which Amon’s arrow shattered into several pieces.

The roaring in the plains seemed to weaken slightly while Gilgamesh’s arrow paused momentarily before resuming its flight with the same speed and direction. Three consecutive collisions between the arrows ended in the same way.

Despite firing three arrows, Amon was unable to stop Gilgamesh’s single arrow. By now, that arrow had arrived in front of the Egyptian army, the sound of roaring bringing with it a strong wave of air which flipped the two chariots in front of Amon over. Neither moving nor dodging, Amon stood his ground and raised his iron stick.

Metatro roared as he brandished his heavy longsword, leaped high into the air and slashed towards the arrow with a blinding silvery light. The silvery light exploded silently in the air as Metatro was knocked down and the arrow simply continued on its way towards Amon.

At this moment, a cry could be heard clearly as a heavy shield flew out from the right side of the formation and headed towards the arrow, creating strong gusts of wind along the way. As Gabriel was slightly far away from Amon, it was too late for her to reach Amon in time so she used all her strength to hurl a huge shield at the arrow. A deafening clash of metal was heard as the shield which resembled a door broke into several pieces. The arrow only paused for a moment before it continued flying towards Amon.

Countless beams of light descended from the sky, forming a multi-colored shield which covered Amon’s body.

Urhiya had been floating high up in the sky to maintain the large magical formation within the army when he saw the Commander-in-chief being attacked. Thus, he responded by utilizing his magic to provide protection. The earth-shattering arrow finally showed signs of slowing as it broke through multiple layers of shields, while the roaring sound in the plains also gradually subsided.

Amon lifted his iron stick and pointed it at the approaching arrow, and the arrow finally came to a stop at the tip of the stick. Just like that, it was fixated in mid-air by the spatial magic casted by Amon. After putting away his staff, the arrow fell down and was steadily caught by his outstretched hand. The silver arrow was scorchingly hot, as if it had just been burnt in a great fire.

No matter how the arrow had arrived, when the commanders nearby saw their Commander-in-chief catching the arrow steadily, they cheered loudly. However, in his heart Amon was shocked. Although the arrow Gilgamesh used was simply a standard magical arrow used in battlefields, its power had clearly exceeded that of the arrow shot by the assassin.

From the way Amon caught the arrow calmly, it seemed as though everything was under control. However, when the assassin shot the arrow, it had been a sneak attack which caught everyone by surprise, leaving no time for countermeasures. On the other hand, Gilgamesh had shot the arrow in clear sight of his enemy and this time the Ejyptians had sufficient time to tackle the attack.

The cheering of the Ejyptian troops suddenly changed into gasps of surprise due to the appearance of a burly figure high up in the air. He was swinging his golden fists and about to punch on Urhiya.

……

Too many things happened on the battlefield too quickly for anyone to react in time. Right after Gilgamesh shot his arrow, he closed his eyes and sat down taking deep breaths. The act of shooting the arrow had apparently taken quite a toll on him. At this moment, Enkidu suddenly jumped off the chariot, and with a bang on the ground, dust clouds arose and he leapt to a great height in the air.

What was this supreme warrior trying to do by jumping to such a great height? There was no way he could fly! Looking at his trajectory, his estimated point of landing was just in front of the chariots that were in the midst of advancing. Was he trying to lead the chariots’ charge into the enemy barehanded?

The troops which were charging towards the enemy were all in a high state of tension, and they only could spare their attention to focus on the enemy troops right in front of them. Due to Gilgamesh’s arrow, no one had the mind to look up in the sky. Thus, none of the Ejyptians had noticed Enkidu leaping high up into the sky. Besides, due to his speed, his figure resembled a flitting shadow and was difficult to see clearly.

Amon had spotted Enkidu clearly from his chariot and he raised his head towards Enkidu right after catching the arrow. After seeing Enkidu’s speed and height, Amon immediately shot another arrow. This time, the arrow that he shot was in fact Gilgamesh’s arrow. Instead of shooting it towards the air, he had shot it towards Enkidu’s estimated point of landing, which was in front of the Uruk legion.

The arrow did not hit Enkidu, but it also did not end up hitting nothing. The silvery shaft of the arrow blasted the ground with a booming sound as it landed, creating a wave of force which flipped two incoming enemy chariots. The frontmost Ejyptian soldiers cheered loudly when they saw this, as it signified that their Commander-in-chief’s arrow had achieved similar results as Gilgamesh’s arrow.

Having shot four arrows in a row, as the last arrow was released, Amon’s whole body felt numb and sore as a brief moment of intense weakness passed. This method of shooting arrows was not as relaxing as eating beans. It was the combination of willpower and strength, where one’s mental will was stretched more tightly than a bowstring. He needed a moment of respite to recover, but it was at this moment that Amon was shocked.

Amon’s last arrow did not hit Enkidu, but where had the supreme warrior disappeared to? Just as Amon prepared to shoot his fourth arrow, Gilgamesh suddenly opened his eyes and stood up. He pulled his bow and shot again.

There was no arrow on his bow, but he had created an invisible arrow using power magic and shot it with the bow. His target had been Enkidu in the air! When Enkidu reached the highest point of his trajectory, Gilgamesh’s invisible arrow hit him in the back. A distorted ball of light burst out from his scalemail as a great collision of energy dispersed silently.

The light seemed to meld into the sky as the burly warrior’s body seemed to blur. Suddenly, he accelerated diagonally upwards and flew towards Urhiya, reaching him in an instant. Within the distorted ball of light, a golden fist struck out!

……

Gilgamesh’s invisible arrow not only contained power magic which imbued a great force, message magic which concealed Enkidu by distorting light, but also spatial magic which converted energy into speed. An ordinary human’s body could not possibly withstand such an arrow, and most people who saw what happened would probably mistakenly think that Gilgamesh was trying to kill Enkidu. However, this ninth level supreme warrior’s scalemail had bore the brunt of this arrow and allowed him to appear in front of Urhiya instantly.

Nobody could have expected them to perform such a maneuver, the coordination between the two of them was flawless!

After Gilgamesh fired the second invisible arrow, he put down the bow and sat in deep meditation. These two shots were definitely not easy to carry out and some time was needed for him to recover. No longer concerning himself with what happened next, he seemed to have full confidence in Enkidu.

All these events happened within one or two seconds, and right after Urhiya had operated the magical formation to protect Amon, he felt something was amiss. In the next moment, Enkidu had appeared in front of him. It was not that he had let his guard down, but who could expect a supreme warrior to be able to travel such a large distance at such great speed?

An eighth level supreme mage was able to activate supreme magic instantly, and as soon as Urhiya mentally reacted, a shrill howling could be heard from the sky. This was a high level sonic barrier magic which offered both a tough defense and a powerful offense. The high frequency vibrations produced were capable of shattering huge rocks into powder, but it was unable to block Enkidu’s body made of flesh and blood.

Without even slowing down, his huge fist struck forward. Another sound resembling the shattering of glass was heard and the sonic barrier dissipated. Enkidu was not even holding his weapon, leaving his huge shield and broadsword behind on the chariot. Right now, he was only wearing a pair of thin golden gloves.

These gloves did not look like ordinary gloves as only the back of the hand and the finger joints were protected while the palms were exposed. They were made using the toughest serpent scales located at the back of Humbaba where its nine heads intersected. Punching out from within the distorted light, Enkidu’s fist looked like a golden comet with a tail of light.

As he held his staff with his right hand, Urhiya brought out two scrolls with his left hand. However, it was too late to activate the scrolls. Being so close to the enemy meant that even if he managed to activate the scrolls he would be harming himself as well, not to mention the time needed to do so. For a supreme mage like him, his instant-cast magic was far more reliable in such a situation.

Using his staff, Urhiya conjured an air shield, the air surrounding him seemingly solidifying into a thick layer of invisible armor. The outer layer was thick and viscous while the inner layer was tougher the deeper it went, with the innermost area as tough as steel. This was Concrete, the highest level elemental defensive magic that was most suited to be deployed in the sky, where there was nothing but air.

Next, a snapping sound was heard as the staff in Urhiya’s hand broke into several pieces followed by a dull bang in the air. Together with the destruction of the air shield, Urhiya’s body exploded into a mist of blood.

Before it was complete, Urhiya’s air shield had been destroyed by Enkidu in a single punch. The backlash of the interrupted magic broke his staff as well. The force of Enkidu’s punch could not be described with words, and without the air shield, it was impossible for Urhiya’s body to withstand the impact. He turned into a mist of blood.

In his moment of temporary weakness, Amon raised his head and saw the destruction of the air shield. He wanted to save Urhiya, but it was too late. A mighty eighth level supreme mage, with almost the greatest power and status in the continent, was smashed in one punch, like a swatted fly. Enkidu! Can he still be considered a human being?