Chapter 12: The Obstruction of Civilization

Last time, he tried to kill his son; this time, he's trying to kill me?

Xu Zhi's expression was complex and surprised, yet he quickly calmed down. It seemed audacious, but in reality, it was only natural. He gazed at Gilgamesh, the so-called Hero King. The last time Gilgamesh had faced death, he had brutally killed his own beloved son after being reborn. Now, facing death for the second time, he was actually raising his sword against Xu Zhi, the very one who had granted him the three treasures of civilization. Perhaps, from the very beginning, Xu Zhi should have realized what it would mean to choose a brave young insect-ape from a trembling crowd—one who dared to roar and question a towering, colossal giant. That he would swing his sword at him was also natural, for he had no fear. This was simply his nature.

With a calm expression, Xu Zhi said, "Gilgamesh, I warn you for the last time: cease your barbarism. This is not civilization; it is savagery. Your next action will cost you dearly—the heaviest price in the world!"

"There is no price heavier than death," Gilgamesh slowly opened his crimson eyes, as if transported back to his youth, revealing the long-lost passion and madness of his younger days. "Just as I once faced the Fenba Behemoth with the certainty of death, today I will slay the Wisdom Giant, seize his civilization, take his power, and achieve true immortality. I will lead my people, and I will challenge you!"

His muscles bulged, his pale skin like that of a Norse god, and he let out a fierce roar. "This is the first clash between civilizations, a challenge from one intelligent civilization to another unique Wisdom Giant. Wisdom Giant, even if you once guided our civilization, you now stand in our way." He raised his longsword high, his silver disheveled hair whipping wildly in the wind, a picture of arrogance and abandon. "With the might of my entire nation—"

Clang! Clang!!

The dull, distant chime of stone bells slowly resounded, and the entire Uruk King City erupted. Hundreds of thousands of assembled troops from across the city surged out, forming dense, orderly ranks.

Xu Zhi watched the scene and sighed. "Long before I even knew it, more than ten years ago, Gilgamesh had already prepared to move against the Wisdom Giant. The entire nation was militarized... Today, he merely lured me here, and if I don't agree to his terms, he will lead his people to kill me." Brave and cunning, from this perspective, he was indeed a great tyrant.

***

On the Ur Plain, in the great city of Mesopotamia.

Ishtar stood calmly before the palace. Even from a great distance, she could still see the towering giant beside the King City, its face piercing through the clouds with a holy, pure white glow. "What a magnificent, enormous, perfect life-form," Ishtar mused, awestruck, but her pupils constricted slightly. "It's time to act. If it weren't for seeking aid, how could His Majesty Gilgamesh, with his tyrannical arrogance, have given the precious Blood of Power to others? From the very beginning, he was looking for allies for this exact moment."

Thud! Thud!

With a light leap, she mounted the Ara Behemoth, put on her black felt hat, and wielded a black stone hammer crafted from behemoth bones.

"Mother! Grandmother! Great-grandmother!" Countless men and women on the plain seemed on the verge of speaking, then hesitated.

"Zarn, is he still alive?" Ishtar suddenly turned her head.

A young man showed a bitter expression. "Grandmother, Father is already confined to his sickbed, nearing old age and death..."

"My son, wait for me, Ishtar, Queen of the Steppe, to return and extend your life!" A flicker of sorrow crossed Ishtar's face as she looked at the towering giant in the distance, filled with immense longing. "I am not Gilgamesh, to be able to kill my own son with my hands. I cannot bear to see my sons, my grandsons, one by one, die of old age before my eyes. I want more Blood of Power, even the blood of the Wisdom Giant—that might be the Blood of Immortality..."

"To battle." She slammed her hand against the Ara Behemoth beneath her, displaying the ferocity and spirit of a steppe barbarian, and led her most elite barbarian cavalry army forward. "History will remember this great moment! In the 175th year of the Sumerian Dynasty, the Sumerians will slay the Wisdom Giant, drink the Blood of Immortality, and return victorious!!!"

***

The God Tree near the capital.

This vast, ancient tree, which once pierced the sky and was used to test the three treasures of civilization, had long been abandoned. Yet, at this very moment, a thriving Enkidu Forest City had been built upon it, flourishing and prosperous.

On the tree trunk of the highest treehouse's outer balcony, Enkidu leaned on his wooden staff, silently gazing at the awe-inspiring sight of the terrifying giant piercing the sky in the distance. Several disciples stood quietly behind him.

"Teacher, it's time to depart. We promised the King; we should uphold our word..." one disciple softly reminded him from behind.

"No, we defy the royal decree. We, the Enkidu Forest City, choose to do nothing." Enkidu sighed. Even from such a distance, looking at the King City, the terrifying aura of the giant weighed heavily on his heart, making it difficult to breathe.

"Is Teacher afraid?" a blunt disciple couldn't help but ask. "With the combined might of the three most powerful kings of Sumer's three great cities, even the legendary Wisdom Giant might not be invincible..."

"No, not fear. I do not fear death; I fear discarding something more important than life itself," Enkidu said softly. "My civilization and wisdom prevent me from butchering the Wisdom Giant who bestowed civilization upon us and saved our race, like a brutal beast. Without gratitude and morality, we would be no different from wild animals... My disciples, tell me! Are we now to descend into barbarism?"

The disciples remained silent. Their teacher was one of the three strongest leaders of the King Cities, a great Forest Hero King who had survived by accepting the Blood of Power, yet...

"I defy the decree and refuse to join the battle. My sin is unforgivable. Cut off my head." Enkidu looked at Utanapishtim, his most trusted disciple, beside him. "If His Majesty the King wins, take my head to the royal palace. My crime is defying the decree; given His Majesty's tyrannical rule, I am destined to die anyway. This was my decision alone. Please ask His Majesty not to bring harm upon the King City... If the Wisdom Giant wins, then take my head to the Wisdom Giant and beg for the great giant's forgiveness. Let the Wisdom Giant know that we still have true inheritors of civilization, that we are not purely barbaric, and implore it not to completely extinguish our race, to leave us a glimmer of hope."

"Teacher..." Beside him, Utanapishtim, his most trusted disciple, watched the great Sumerian sage in silence.

"Kill me," Enkidu said, standing on the highest treehouse's outer balcony, his arms spread wide in resignation.

After a moment of silence, with a hardened heart, blood bloomed. Utanapishtim cut off his mentor's head. One of Sumerian civilization's strongest heroes, Enkidu, the Forest King, offered no resistance before his death. Gazing at the calm, familiar face on his mentor's severed head, which he silently wrapped in animal hide, Utanapishtim's heart suddenly ached. Vaguely, he knew that something incredibly important in his life had slowly shattered.

The sky trembled.

"Volley!"

Countless black and red arrows and spears, like sharp spikes, pierced through the dense clouds in the sky, flying towards the terrifying Wisdom Giant. The earth groaned; the ground began to shake. Countless elite soldiers, like ants, surged towards the giant's feet. Inside the city, countless stone buildings and houses collapsed with a roar, one after another, crumbling like toy fortresses built from blocks. Civilians and women fled in terror. Screams, wails, frantic roars, death throes, explosions, beast roars, mad laughter—countless sounds intertwined. The most powerful Uruk King City had completely transformed into a bloody battlefield.