In the end, Duanmu Huai did not decide to redeem that battleship. First, he didn't need it yet; second, that "chance to trigger paranormal events" really made him feel a bit… uneasy.
So he decided to keep it for now and deal with it later.
There was no rush anyway.
To Duanmu Huai, Dardaniel's request had been nothing more than an unexpected incident. It hadn't wasted much of his time, so after solving Pandora's trouble, Duanmu Huai returned to his room and opened the system list.
[Special Godhood Quest — Godslayer]
[Quest Objective: Destroy a pantheon. Kill the gods.]
[As the God of Destruction, you must show all existence that your destruction is everywhere—inescapable and omnipresent. Mortal or divine, all shall be consumed by your fury and burned to nothing by the flames of annihilation.]
"Hmm… what exactly is this supposed to be?"
Staring at the quest, Duanmu Huai pondered. This was the one that activated back in Duel City when he shattered the illusion. Special godhood quests had never been activated by players before. After all, players in the game never became gods. They only had various classes, but never true godhood. So Duanmu Huai didn't quite know how to interpret this.
But judging from his experience, class quests typically strengthened class abilities or granted unique skills. Godhood quests should be similar—meaning his God of Destruction godhood likely had new skills waiting for him?
It was just that "destroy an entire pantheon"… really wasn't a small demand.
Well, better to go inside and take a look first.
With that thought, Duanmu Huai activated the Dream Crystal and opened the quest. The next moment, a flash of light streaked across his vision—followed by torrential rain and roaring wind slamming directly into his face.
Instinctively narrowing his eyes against the sudden storm, he opened them again to find himself standing on the street of an ancient city. The city had clearly been attacked—fires burned everywhere, corpses lay scattered across the ground, and soldiers were slaughtering wildly in the chaos.
In any case, this definitely wasn't modern.
Seeing the bodies around him, Duanmu Huai frowned. Judging from their clothing, he was in some ancient era… so, a mythic war?
"BOOM!!"
While he was still thinking, the entire city suddenly shook. Duanmu Huai looked toward the source of the sound and saw, on the battlefield outside the city, a gigantic man—tens of meters tall—swinging his arms and stomping soldiers like they were toys. Yet the soldiers, despite facing a giant, did not retreat. They raised torches and bows, attacking relentlessly.
Naturally, it was completely useless.
"Well, this does look like a mythic war—unless I somehow ended up in Gulliver's Travels."
Watching the giant, Duanmu Huai quietly drew his warhammer. Then he leaped skyward and charged straight toward the giant rampaging across the battlefield.
He didn't know who the bastard was, but judging from the scene, he definitely looked like an invader.
The giant, fully absorbed in tormenting the soldiers below, didn't notice Duanmu Huai descending from the sky. Duanmu Huai wasn't stupid enough to announce himself; he gripped his warhammer, pushed through the storm, and rushed directly toward the giant's head. At the same time, he silently drew his cards.
First—[Arms Enhancement]!
Then—[Mobile Armor]!
And finally—Fated Death!
Duanmu Huai didn't know what this opponent was, so he aimed to kill in one blow. Even if he couldn't kill him, he'd cripple him. So from the very start, he activated buffs, defenses, and summoned the black flames of Fated Death. The pitch-black fire erupted across the warhammer, enveloping Duanmu Huai entirely. With a roar, he and the warhammer became a black arrow plunging toward the giant's skull!
"What!?"
Perhaps sensing the overwhelming power, the giant abandoned the soldiers and looked up. He saw Duanmu Huai descending, hammer raised, ready to crush his forehead. Shocked, the giant panicked and lifted both hands to shield his face—as if shouting, "Don't hit the face!"
"BOOM!!!!"
Duanmu Huai's hammer smashed into the giant's hands. A massive shockwave burst outward, the black flames exploding violently. The giant wailed, staggering backward, and Duanmu Huai saw his body begin shrinking rapidly like a deflating balloon.
"Y-You! Who are you?!"
When Duanmu Huai landed, the giant—once dozens of meters tall—was now roughly human-sized. Still slightly taller than a man, but not much larger than Duanmu Huai. He glared at Duanmu Huai with shock and fury.
"I am Ares, the God of War! Where did you come from, you bastard?! How dare you ambush me?! What is your relationship with Athena!?"
"Athena… oh…"
At first the name Ares didn't ring much of a bell, but once he heard Athena, Duanmu Huai understood immediately.
Right. This had to be Greek mythology.
He wasn't well-versed in foreign myths, but Greek mythology he knew a bit—mostly because of one thing.
Athena, Saints, the Twelve Palaces. Childhood memories. Even if he hadn't understood everything then, he'd heard plenty over the years.
No need to say more.
Even someone who never studied Greek myths knew those names.
Judging from the lack of sacred armor here, this wasn't the world of Saint Seiya; this was actual Greek mythology.
If he had ended up in Investiture of the Gods, he might've hesitated—should he help the Chan Sect or the Jie Sect? But this was Greek mythology, a messy, filthy, incest-ridden family business—
Yeah. No moral burden whatsoever.
Just beat them up.
They aren't from his side anyway; he could do anything he wanted without guilt.
"Prepare to die!"
Duanmu Huai didn't bother talking to Ares, nor did he explain himself. He stepped forward, swinging the warhammer blazing with Fated Death's black fire straight at him. Ares immediately summoned a giant flaming battle axe and charged to meet him.
"Who the hell are you!? Did that bitch Athena send you!? Who are you!?"
It wasn't surprising Ares was confused. Greek gods were practically all related—one big family. Even if not close, they at least recognized each other. Unless someone was one of Zeus's many illegitimate demigod children, strangers were rare.
But Ares could feel that Duanmu Huai wasn't a demigod. He was a true god. His power was wild and violent, similar to Ares's own, yet mixed with a terrifying aura of annihilation—like the chill of Hades's underworld.
Who was this guy? Athena's secret lover?
"No matter who you are, anyone who dares challenge Ares has only one outcome—death!!"
Though baffled, Ares wasn't about to retreat. On the contrary, Duanmu Huai's appearance inflamed his anger. He already despised Athena—another war goddess who rivaled him—and he believed Zeus favored her more. That was why he'd marched his army to attack Athens. Since Greek gods could not kill each other, Ares wasn't worried Athena would come fight him herself.
But he didn't expect Athena not to appear… only for some bald weirdo in strange armor to show up!
"I'll kill you! Then I'll chop off your head and show that bitch what becomes of her silver-tongued schemes! Whatever she promised you, it doesn't matter—stand in my way and you die!"
"That depends on whether you've got the ability!"
Duanmu Huai roared back and charged again.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The flaming battle axe clashed violently against the black-flamed warhammer again and again. As God of War, Ares's strength was nothing to scoff at. But Duanmu Huai, the God of Destruction, though not yet fully powered, was more than enough to fight him.
If compared using Starsea Online's standards, the Greek pantheon was essentially indigenous gods—same tier as Duanmu Huai's current level. Perfect… for training.
Thus, the battle between the God of War and the God of Destruction erupted!
(End of chapter)