"Vimana!"
Gilgamesh reached out to the side, and the golden screen of the Gate of Babylon immediately appeared.
Within the golden screen, a treasure resembling a warship slowly materialized, crafted from gold and emeralds, capable of high-speed flight in the air. This was Gilgamesh's royal chariot.
Gilgamesh and Bai Ye boarded the Vimana. Subsequently, the Vimana transformed into a streak of golden light, surging forward. It smashed through the hotel's floor-to-ceiling windows and ascended into the heavens.
They moved rapidly through the air, and soon, the Hanging Gardens were within close proximity.
However, entering the Hanging Gardens seemed to be no easy feat.
Numerous flying Dragon Tooth soldiers patrolled the vicinity of the Hanging Gardens, their bone wings flapping incessantly.
In addition to the Dragon Tooth soldiers, there were naturally the twelve massive stone pillars carved with magic inscriptions, posing as clear threats that would attack anyone approaching the Hanging Gardens.
Bai Ye asked, "Direct assault?"
Gilgamesh glanced at Bai Ye and replied, "Are you afraid?"
"Are you kidding me?" Bai Ye retorted, "Are you planning to provide my year's worth of laughter?"
Gilgamesh grinned.
In Gilgamesh's world, there were two types of people.
The first type were boring people.
The second type were interesting people.
Bai Ye, Gilgamesh decided, could reluctantly be classified as the second type.
The next instant, Gilgamesh accelerated, his chariot swiftly crossing the sky and charging towards the Hanging Gardens.
However...
Bai Ye and Gilgamesh were not the first to arrive!
As they neared, a loud noise suddenly erupted from ahead.
Immediately afterward, a figure streaked across the sky. The surrounding Dragon Tooth soldiers exploded, turning into piles of scattered bones that rained down below.
Bai Ye glanced and commented, "Is the opponent riding a Hippogriff?"
A Hippogriff, a legendary creature, was said to have the forequarters of a griffin and the hindquarters of a horse.
A man and a woman were seated on the Hippogriff's back. The woman had short pink hair, wore silver-white armor, and wielded a white medieval long spear. She appeared to possess considerable power, as her strikes instantly pulverized the Dragon Tooth soldiers.
As for the man, Bai Ye found him somewhat familiar, then a look of realization dawned on his face.
During the city-wide chaos, Bai Ye had clashed with three mechanical warriors, one of whom was named Zak, now standing before him.
At that time, due to being pressed for time, Bai Ye had not eliminated Zak but instead tossed him into the river.
Bai Ye had ultimately succeeded in securing the one hundred million reward for the city-wide chaos.
Therefore, could they be considered old adversaries?
As Bai Ye looked at the other party, Zak also looked back, his gaze darkening slightly.
However, the scene Bai Ye had imagined, with Zak charging at him, did not materialize. After whispering a few words into the woman's ear, she directly reined in the Hippogriff, and they veered away from Bai Ye and Gilgamesh, heading in another direction.
Bai Ye turned to Gilgamesh and asked, "Aren't we going to pursue?"
Gilgamesh scoffed, "A minor figure, not worth my pursuit."
Bai Ye remarked, "He's not exactly a minor figure, is he? Well, from the perspective of the King of Heroes, the names of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins might not carry much weight."
"Oh?" Gilgamesh inquired, "You know who she is?"
Bai Ye replied, "There aren't many knightly heroes in epic poems who ride Hippogriffs. The most famous would likely be Astolfo, one of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins."
In truth, Astolfo could be considered a renowned Heroic Spirit, but compared to the King of Heroes...
One was a king, the other merely a knight!
Bai Ye mused, "However, wasn't Astolfo renowned as a rare beauty in legends? Why is it a woman?"
Gilgamesh explained, "Heroic Spirits are heroes whose legends remain after death. They reappear in the human world through the convergence of faith. They are not truly existent, so gender holds no significance. What matters is the meaning embodied behind their name."
As Gilgamesh spoke, he accelerated again, charging into the midst of the Dragon Tooth soldiers.
In an instant, Gilgamesh's chariot transformed into a streak of golden light. As he surged forward, the surrounding Dragon Tooth soldiers continuously shattered, disintegrating into bone fragments.
But it was at this moment...
The stone pillars floating around the Hanging Gardens suddenly emitted a red glow.
The next instant...
A red beam of light appeared, heading directly towards Bai Ye and Gilgamesh.
Bai Ye reached out to the side. The Steel Slime quickly surged and condensed into the Xuanyuan Sword.
Golden Sword Qi!
Bai Ye unleashed a sword strike forward.
The Xuanyuan Sword vibrated in Bai Ye's hand, emitting a "humming" sound. Accompanying Bai Ye's slash, a crescent-shaped golden sword qi shot forward.
Boom!
The golden sword qi collided head-on with the red beam of light, resulting in a thunderous explosion.
The beam and the sword qi detonated simultaneously.
An incredibly terrifying wave of energy emanated outward in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, the surrounding Dragon Tooth soldiers, caught in the surge of the blast, had their bodies instantly shattered, turning into scattered bones that fell from the sky.
Gilgamesh's eyes lit up. He looked at the Xuanyuan Sword in Bai Ye's hand and said, "A fine sword."
"Hey, don't get any ideas about the Xuanyuan Sword," Bai Ye warned. "You've collected enough treasures already. Leave this child alone!"
Bai Ye was now all too familiar with Gilgamesh's character.
Arrogant, conceited, fond of fine wine and food, his greatest pleasure was amassing all sorts of treasures from across the land into his Gate of Babylon.
Gilgamesh snorted, "Then be sure not to die in battle, or I will claim this sword from your corpse."
Having spoken, Gilgamesh's Vimana once again transformed into golden light, charging forward.
The second massive stone pillar glowed once more, and a red beam of light reappeared, shooting towards the duo, attempting to impede their advance.
Boom!
The Vimana, in its golden light form, charged forward and collided with the red beam.
The deafening roar of an explosion echoed again, and then, the red beam was forcefully pushed aside, dispersing into countless red halos that drifted in all directions.
Gilgamesh's power was unleashed, appearing exceptionally dominant. After pushing aside the red beam, he grazed past the massive stone pillar, reached out, and summoned a Spiral Sword.
In the next instant, Gilgamesh raised the Spiral Sword and swung it to the side.
A surge of electricity swept out, striking the stone pillar with immense force.
A deafening crack!
The stone pillar tilted to the side, a fissure running from top to bottom, piercing through it. Even the magic inscriptions on the pillar were shattered.
Following this, Gilgamesh pressed onward, charging further ahead and descending within the Hanging Gardens.
...