# 1776
Chapter 1776: Hunt the Gods, and the Celebration
Northern Border.
Eight flickering points of light blazed across the heavens, followed by afterimages that collided violently with the divine figure streaking toward the city!
Ares, the Olympian God of War, pupils contracted sharply as he swung his axe behind him, striking the approaching afterimage. The blow gouged a deep dent into it, but his momentum was forcibly halted.
DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!
Successive metallic pillars rained down from the sky, carving terrifying craters into the earth as they landed precisely around Ares, encircling him entirely.
"What is this?!" Ares furrowed his brow.
At the same moment, a translucent panel materialized above the metallic pillars:
"SS-Class Item: [Eight-Pillar Suppression Technique]."
The surfaces of all eight metallic pillars erupted with brilliant radiance of every color, interweaving with one another to form a cage around him.
"Perfect timing to strike from my direction... What luck." A tall, white-haired youth stepped out from the snow and ice. Hanging at his waist was a black-gold longsword, and his cross-shaped, star-like eyes narrowed slightly,
"I've been collecting quite a few items lately, but had no one to test them on. Let me try them out on you first."
"Human Apex?" Ares sensed the aura emanating from the youth and frowned. "Tureq mentioned an absent apex... so this is you. Hmph. A mere brat, thinking you can stop me?"
Ares stamped his foot against the ground with tremendous force, and terrifying divine power surged outward. The miasma of war, blood, and slaughter swept through the air, causing the very heavens to darken!
"Don't underestimate him, Takishiro."
Ghostly green code streamed through the air as a figure in a plaid shirt emerged slowly, pressing down the brim of his hat as he spoke. "After all, he is a God of War. His combat power is not to be underestimated."
"Another Apex?" Ares was taken aback as yet another Human Apex revealed himself.
Wait, wasn't it said that besides one absent apex, all of humanity's strongest fighters were at Sunken Dragon Pass? Where did this second apex come from?
"It's fine, Takishiro. Go ahead and do your thing. We've got your back." A carriage emerged through the snowstorm, and Master Chen's voice drifted out unhurriedly.
At the same moment, a horse's neigh echoed from the distance.
A black horse wreathed in ghostly blue flames crashed through the blizzard and came to a halt near Ares. Chen Han gripped the reins, his military coat billowing wildly in the storm,
"Since this is a Hunt the Gods Celebration, everyone should get a share. Only one deity at the northern border? That's hardly enough to go around..."
He sighed.
Four Human Apexes surrounded Ares. Seeing this, Ares's expression completely changed.
Even if Great Xia had more Hidden Human Apexes, it was impossible for them to hide four at the northern border alone... This could only mean that the intelligence from Sunken Dragon Pass was definitely wrong. These top-tier human powerhouses never attended that celebration in the first place!
Damn it! How did Tureq and Kira relay such faulty intelligence?!
"You knew all along that I would come?" Ares's voice was grim.
"Of course." Master Chen's voice remained unhurried as it floated out from the carriage,
"Since this is a Hunt the Gods Celebration, how could we proceed without any deities participating?
Don't tell me you actually thought this celebration was simply throwing a grand party around those nine corpses?"
Ares seemed to realize something, and his face turned ashen.
What they had heard about the Hunt the Gods Celebration was that Night Watch was holding a celebration to commemorate their successful hunt of nine deities... Only now did he understand that this was never a "celebration" at all, but a larger-scale "Hunt the Gods" operation!
From the very beginning, this celebration was designed to provoke the gods in the mist, then feign weakness to lure the gods boldly into Great Xia's territory, where they would be hunted "without ever having to leave home"!
The gods thought they were the hunters, never realizing they were the prey lured in by the bait!
But he couldn't understand one thing—
Olympus had clearly sent infiltrators into the celebration venue, and had even sent confirmation that the event was proceeding as planned... How had they managed this?
Ares had no time to dwell on it. While these four Human Apexes lacked the ability to slay gods, combined they were more than a match for him... Since this was a trap specifically designed for deities, he had to escape immediately.
He immediately channeled all his divine power, slashing his axe at one of the metallic pillars. A deafening roar shook the heavens as the SS-class entrapment item was hacked open, creating a gap.
"Trying to run?"
Si Xiaonan tapped the empty air with both hands, and the surrounding environment shifted rapidly. Innumerable red bricks rose up around the battlefield, forming an enormous colosseum that sealed Ares and the four others inside.
Chen Han draped his white-gloved right hand slowly onto the hilt of his blade. A blazing pillar of life-force fire took shape high above Ares's head.
"Such vibrant life-force fire for a god... How splendid."
Chen Han's eyes narrowed. With a gentle flick of the reins, his phantom-black horse surged forward, its form like lightning as it charged into the formation. A blade of light slashed viciously toward the top of Ares's head!
Gazing upon the red-brick colosseum surrounding him, fury blazed in Ares's eyes!
He, one of the twelve Chief Gods of Olympus, the God of War who commanded blood, fire, and slaughter—when had he ever been treated like a caged beast?!
He gripped his axe tight and swung it with all his might to meet the mounted Chen Han!
Divine power tore through the void, and the terrifying force sent Chen Han and his horse tumbling backward several steps. He shook his wrist that held the blade and murmured to himself, "What immense strength..."
Ares's eyes burned crimson. Just as he was about to swing his axe again, a black-gold longsword sliced through the void and landed a featherlight cut on his arm.
Though the cut merely left a scratch, Ares could distinctly feel a portion of his divine laws being dispelled. He turned in shock to find a figure in white robes and silver hair gripping the blade, smiling faintly as he gazed at him.
The supreme Magatsu Blade, [Divine Calamity].
"Don't get so riled up." Master Chen's voice drifted out leisurely. "Today, you cannot escape Great Xia, and no one can come to your rescue... The moment you set foot in Great Xia, you were fated to become the tenth corpse on the altar."
"Corpse?" Ares clenched his axe tighter. Blood and fire danced around him, and even the red-brick colosseum beneath his feet trembled violently.
"You may have four people, but none of you possess divine laws... How do you intend to kill me?"
Inside the carriage,
Master Chen lifted a cup of hot tea and took a slow sip.
"Guess?"
BOOM—!!!
A blinding golden pillar of light pierced the sky and crashed down onto the earth, its brilliant radiance instantly engulfing Ares's figure!
Layer upon layer of searing divine might continued to emanate outward, ruffling the corners of the four Human Apexes' garments.
In the infinite void above,
A figure with pristine white wings on its back, clutching a golden holy sword, had already drifted into position directly above Great Xia.
Those pupils burning like twin suns gazed down coldly at the northern border.