# 1228
Chapter 1229: A Ray of Hope
The surging black hair parted, and a blood-soaked figure fell from the sky.
No. 22 crashed into the yellow sand like a corpse, his mangled eyes struggling to open. He watched as a white-robed woman emerged from the black hair, holding the [Royal Scepter]. In that dazed moment, her figure overlapped with a seductive goddess from his memory.
As if recalling something, endless humiliation flooded No. 22's chest. His eyes flew open in rage, filled with such venom that it seemed to spew fire:
"God...God! Another God!"
"These damn gods!"
"You all just wait... as long as I don't die, one day I'll make you all understand... what it's like to be a dog!"
No. 22's curses were swallowed by the howling wind. He gritted his teeth tightly, his remaining five fingers digging into the sand, dragging his rigid body forward like a worm, inching away from the battlefield.
In the sky, the white-robed goddess's blush faded. She licked her crimson lips and turned to look at the crescent moon boat.
The old man stood beneath the dim heavens, his withered hand gripping a white-hot, blazing heart, slowly pulling it from Ifrit's body.
Ifrit's eyes bulged wide, his chest rising and falling twice before quickly going still. His corpse hung before the crescent moon boat like a dead fish, drifting in the wind.
"A perfect sacrifice." The old man held the pulsating heart, examining it carefully, and sighed with satisfaction.
He tossed the heart into the air, where it transformed into countless blood threads, merging into the [Holy Grail].
The old man didn't stop there. He turned to Ifrit's corpse, like a meticulous fisherman with a blade, carefully cutting away every piece of the sun god's body and tossing them into the [Holy Grail].
As the sun god's heart and torso merged in, the crimson wine inside the chalice surged violently, nearly overflowing, releasing an intoxicating fragrance.
Once he finished dismembering Ifrit, the old man flicked his hand, discarding the ravaged corpse into the desert below like trash.
"Enough?" the white-robed goddess asked softly.
"That should suffice." The old man glanced at the brimming liquid inside the [Holy Grail], cradled the base, and lifted it.
His gaze swept across this realm, his smile gradually fading, replaced by solemnity and gravity.
He stood upon the crescent moon boat and spoke softly:
"From this day forward, the glory of Sumer... shall return to the world."
He cradled the [Holy Grail] in both hands, raising it high above his head. The overflowing liquid churned within the chalice.
The old man drew a deep breath and made his first wish:
"Let Inanna, goddess of love and war, and Gibil, god of fire, have their divine power restored!"
The words fell. The white-robed goddess in the sky and the crimson-armored man felt their depleted divine energy surge anew. Two terrifying Chief God auras erupted in succession!
Inanna closed her beautiful eyes, feeling the familiar fullness return to her body after so long. She exhaled deeply.
"A hundred years... finally back..."
Three figures stood in the moonlight. The ancient divine presence of gods from eons past had descended upon the world once more.
"Inanna, Gibil..." Lin Qiye stood in the distant howling sand, gazing up at the three figures in the sky, murmuring to himself.
He had seen both these names in the Oath Society archives. They belonged to the Chief Gods of Sumerian mythology. If he wasn't mistaken, the old man standing in the center on the crescent moon boat was Nanna, the moon god.
Moon God Nanna raised the Holy Grail, about to speak again, when his brow furrowed.
"What's wrong?" Fire God Gibil asked, puzzled.
"The consumption of restoring divine power was greater than I anticipated. We're still short of the sacrifice needed for that wish..." Nanna said darkly.
Gibil paused, then said: "Fortunately, there are the Uruk remnants. Kill them, and it should be enough."
"I'll go kill the remnants. You handle the agent." Inanna, goddess of love and war, said.
Gibil turned toward where Lin Qiye was, his form turning into a streak of flame that vanished on the spot.
Seeing this streak of fire heading straight for him, Lin Qiye's heart sank. His form transformed into a wisp of night, racing in the opposite direction!
After the [Royal Scepter] was taken, Lin Qiye's spiritual power realm had returned. Even so, there was no way he could outrun a Chief God.
Damn it!!
Why is he chasing me and not that No. 22 who isn't even dead yet?!
Lin Qiye cursed inwardly.
He didn't know that after undergoing the faith baptism and consuming the Pan Tao fruit, he appeared to these gods as a wellspring of vitality. Not to mention one No. 22—even ten of them combined couldn't compare to him.
As the streak of flame carved through the air, the distance between the two shrank visibly. Feeling the scorching heatwave surge from behind him, Lin Qiye's heart burned with anxiety.
An unprecedented shadow of death was rapidly descending upon him.
Before Gibil's divine power was restored, Lin Qiye could fight him evenly. But now, the fire god could crush him with just one finger!
Before true gods, "Klein" was no different from ordinary people—both were merely ants.
In that moment of life and death crisis, every trump card in Lin Qiye's mind flashed before him. Soul bearing, Ame-no-Murakumo, summoning thunder beasts... He had many cards to play, but none could threaten a Chief God.
Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, Lin Qiye pulled out a faintly glowing pale-blue [Star Coin] from his chest.
"The King's [Star Coins]..." A spark of hope ignited in Lin Qiye's eyes.
Being on par with the [Royal Scepter], [Holy Grail], and [King's Treasure Sword], the [Star Coins] must possess some extraordinarily powerful ability—one that even the hero-king Gilgamesh had feared. This might be the only way out!
But how does one use this thing?
The introduction to the [Star Coins] had been deliberately erased, and Gilgamesh hadn't mentioned how to use it before falling into chaos...
The pale-blue [Star Coins] spun continuously clockwise in Lin Qiye's palm. The flickering light reflected in his eyes, causing his mind to reel.
On instinct, he pressed the [Star Coin] between his thumb and forefinger,用力屈指一弹！
*Ding!*!
A crisp chime rang out.
The pale-blue [Star Coin], launched by the flick of his thumb, soared high into the dim sky.
Its polished surface clearly reflected Lin Qiye's eyes, as well as the approaching flames behind him, beginning to spin rapidly counterclockwise in the air!