"To think you didn't run. It seems you still possess some martial valor. You are worthy of being buried by my own hands!"
Atop the mountain, the Heretic God, like a giant, spoke thus.
Within his eyes, filled with the majesty of a God King, flickered an incomparably frightening light.
Even Melqart himself was surprised by how smoothly his plan was going. Everything was proceeding exactly as he had planned.
Su Mo had indeed followed the scent of his divine might and arrived in the mountain pass he had meticulously designed. This terrain seemed ordinary, but who would have known that beneath the seemingly flat ground, it had already been completely transformed into the territory of the Underworld?
Along with the locusts, the tsunami, and the heavenly lightning, the power of his four Authorities tightly enveloped the space where Su Mo stood. With a single thought, he could completely submerge the human before him with his Authorities at any time.
Furthermore, it seemed his taunts had worked. Until now, the Su Mo before him still showed no intention of setting up any techniques.
Without any defenses, neither a Heretic God nor a God-Slayer could withstand the power of an Authority.
It had to be said, Melqart was almost completely satisfied with the current situation.
If there was one thing he was dissatisfied with, it was that Su Mo was far too unguarded.
From a rational standpoint, this was an absolute boon for him. But from an emotional standpoint, Melqart had a big problem with it.
"Since you know your opponent is me, why are you not going all out?"
A voice laced with divine wrath rang out, Melqart's gaze sharp and piercing.
"Did defeating Verethragna make you lose your basic vigilance? Or do you think I am easier to deal with than Verethragna?"
As he spoke, the God King's displeasure materialized.
Tactically, he indeed hoped for Su Mo to be careless and underestimate him, so he could take down the God-Slayer in one fell swoop. But his pride as a God King made him feel that Su Mo's behavior was a complete slight against him.
You were so cautious when dealing with Verethragna, but so careless when dealing with me. What's the meaning of this?
To him, face was more important than life.
"..."
Faced with the God King's questioning, Su Mo completely ignored him.
Melqart noticed that although the other's gaze was directed at him, his attention was clearly not on him. He seemed to be contemplating something else.
In the face of a God King of my caliber, this fledgling God-Slayer actually seems... absent-minded?
Silence is the greatest contempt.
Melqart himself was accustomed to disregarding the existence of humans. What he hadn't expected was that he would one day be on the receiving end of such treatment.
And so, he became enraged.
"O arrogant son of a fool! It seems I must grind you into the dirt before you understand the majesty of a God King!"
There was no need for further probing. He would see right now just what Su Mo was made of.
"O wind, O rain, O thunder! By my true name as Melkart, Baal-Hadad, I call upon you! O storm, heed the call of the Cloud-Rider and come forth swiftly!"
With the call of the divine words, the thunderclouds that had been gathering over Sardinia for half a day instantly unleashed thousands of lightning bolts. Rolling thunder condensed into a ball of lightning several kilometers in diameter, hurtling down towards Su Mo.
And this was merely a feint to draw his attention!
The moment the thunderstorm descended, countless locusts poured out of the cave behind Melqart, like a black fog that blotted out the sun, swarming towards Su Mo.
It could be seen that wherever these locusts passed, whether it was the life of plants and flowers or the cursed energy dissipating in the air, everything was devoured by these insects.
As the god of harvest and devastation, Melqart possessed the attributes of an agricultural god. He could bestow a bountiful harvest upon the land, and he could also mete out divine punishment.
At the same time, the earth beneath Su Mo's feet began to tremble. A dark swamp swallowed the land in all directions, and tens of thousands of skeleton warriors rose from the darkness that symbolized the breath of the underworld.
The mountains shook, the sea rolled back. A monstrous wave surged over the mountains and crashed into the pass, as if to sweep away everything on the battlefield.
Thunderstorm, tsunami, underworld, locust plague... The four long-brewing Authorities erupted all at once, completely transforming Su Mo's location into a death trap.
After detonating his four meticulously arranged Authorities at once, Melqart stared intently at Su Mo, trying to predict his next move.
However, to his surprise, even in the face of such a desperate situation, Su Mo still made no move. He didn't even activate a technique, let alone use an Authority.
What's going on? Has he given up?
Just as Melqart was puzzled, Su Mo finally moved.
He glanced around at the dense, almost inescapable encirclement of Authorities, then gently shook his head and finally uttered his first words.
"Is this still not enough?"
What does he mean, 'not enough'? Why is there not a hint of fear on his face, but rather... disappointment?
Melqart was completely unable to understand Su Mo's reaction.
But soon, Su Mo's next words made him understand.
After a sweep of his surroundings with an incredibly disappointed gaze, Su Mo just glanced lightly at Melqart and asked, as if to himself, "Could it be... that he's too weak?"
It was obvious who he was talking about.
"Insolence!"
Melqart instantly saw red, rage flooding his mind.
As a God King, to be looked down upon by a mere God-Slayer... if he didn't teach him a lesson, what would become of his divine majesty?
"Come forth, Chaser Yagrush! Expeller Aymur! Swiftly slay the God-Slayer before you!"
Consumed by rage, he directly pulled out his greatest hidden trump card.
These were the divine weapons that had once helped him slay a dragon and ascend to the throne of a God King, the mythological armaments that had once shattered Verethragna into ten pieces.
Unleashing all the divine power in his body at once, from the forest behind Su Mo, two massive clubs wreathed in wind and thunder suddenly shot out, aiming straight for Su Mo's back.
Compared to the desperate cage meticulously set up by the four Authorities, these two weapons, unleashed at the end, were actually Melqart's most trusted killing move!
He had originally planned to use these two killing moves to claim his prize after Su Mo had struggled to withstand the first four Authorities.
But now, he had been enraged. Naturally, he couldn't be bothered with such subtleties. He would unleash all his power on the spot and completely crush Su Mo in one fell swoop.