Shepherding Humanity

On the alchemical airship, the tall and handsome Grantham struggled to keep calm as he faced off against the apparition of the strongest hero in history.

"As expected of the Hero King of ancient Babylon. Even his summoned apparition is at the cusp of the Seventh Level. The airship’s no longer enough, I must use ‘Grantham’."

He never personally fought before this moment and had depended on his alchemical airship for spellcasting. Ten thousand Slime engines furiously pulled on their bellows to produce kinetic energy, which was converted into electrical energy and then latent spiritual energy through magical “circuit boards.” The resulting mana was enough to cast spells of the Sixth Level, allowing them to oppose the mighty Empress of Death who ruled over this world.

It may sound unbelievable, but ten thousand puny Slimes had been enough to contend with the Witch Empress who dominated this era.

This was the allure of alchemical technology.

This was the proof of the Slime engine’s endless potential!

"It's time to take matters into my own hands."

With a light jump, Grantham exited the alchemical airship.

"Haha! Natives of this world behold! This is airborne artillery! This is my power armor born from the fusion of magic and modern technology! Although I can't livestream, I can still take screenshots. I must show my fellow players the results of my ninety years of effort. With my technology, I’m now invincible in this world! They want to come? I’ve already single-handedly conquered this new map; all who come after me will only be able to stare at my back in envy! Well, other than me and Akina’s Speedster, it’s not like there would be many people who would be able to come to this world anyway."

As he laughed, black magic crests started spreading across the surface of the shield held in his left hand, and light concentrated on the staff in his right. He raised the staff high above his head.

"There’s no such thing as an unkillable being in this world. Even if you're a dead man, I can still kill you."

The faces of everyone on the ground turned slightly pale. They all knew what was coming. This was the signature spell of Circe, known as the cruelest spell with the most terrifying killing power…

"The Goal of All Life is Death!!!"

He roared!

Behind him, a giant puddle of slime appeared, a repulsive demon mask surfacing from its depths.

Boom! !

The surface of the mask furiously churned. Dark and eerie crimson vapor congealed, gaining substance. It roiled like blood. It bubbled like black lava.

It violently collided with Gilgamesh's sword swing.

The atmosphere itself twisted. A giant vortex formed, consuming all around it.

Once the air settled, Gigamesh’s apparition was gone.

The clear blue sky seemed to spread on forever.

All the clouds had been cleared away by the terrifying shockwave.

As everyone looked up into the sky, they were greeted with this incredible scene. It was a miraculous sight the likes of which this world has never seen before.

"Is this still the power of a human being?"

This was the question that was in everyone’s mind.

The legendary King of Heroes, the strongest man who dared to defy God, had been so easily…

"That was already everything I had." Medusa's body weakly trembled. As she dazedly looked upon the scene before her, fear dominated her very being.

"This may only be one-tenth of the Hero King’s full strength, but it’s definitely not something I can defend against. And yet, he could beat me so easily with my teacher Circe’s magic spell…"

"How can I possibly win against such an enemy!!?"

Medusa shivered. Dread like she’s never felt before spread throughout her entire body. Before she knew it, tears mixed with snot had stained her face.

She was an extremely vain woman, with amazing talent and invincible power. She always arrogantly looked down on the entire world because she had never known the taste of failure. But at this moment, her face was unprecedentedly ugly.

Fear had paralyzed her entire body; she had never been so weak.

"So this… fear?"

"A human’s fear… of death?"

She hovered in the air, trembling weakly. "What an awe-inspiring power! What intoxicating might! Enough to break my spirit and make me lose all hope of winning. But I am Medusa! How could the Empress of Death Medusa possibly…"

"Move, I command you… Move!!!" Medusa screamed heartbreakingly, her fragile voice resounding throughout the world. Tears streamed from her eyes, soaking her entire face. "Door that blocks my entry to the next Level, I command you to move!!!"

Boom!

An invisible force stirred. It was as if a power that had been building for a long time was finally breaking through its confines.

The sky churned.

Grantham looked on worriedly as Medusa screamed out in despair.

The Rose Witches on the ground were also taken aback. Everyone on the streets intently looked up at the sky.

The people of Babylon were all dumbstruck. Fear colored their expressions as they growled urgently:

"No!"

"Hurry up and stop her!"

"You fools are too late." Medusa silently rose up into the air, opening her arms as if to embrace the entire world.

Behind her, a blood-colored rose bloomed. As its petals opened one by one, Medusa’s power started soaring by leaps and bounds. Her aura surged, increasing by two-fold, three-fold, then ten fold… continuing on with no end in sight.

Her spiritual power has been completely released.

Boom!

This was the Epic Seventh Level of Magic, the level the Three Witches could not reach.

The level that only the legendary King of Heroes had reached.

After three hundred years of gathering her power, Medusa has finally reached this level.

For a while, she was silent. Life was truly full of ups and downs, and she did not know what to feel at this moment. After the shock has passed, gratitude welled up within her. She looked at Grantham and smiled: "Thank you. Even though I specialize in death magic, I have never once known the fear of death. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn't have comprehended the true meaning of death, and broken through to the Seventh Level."

"In return, I will not kill you." She smiled softly, "I will make you my consort, and allow you to rule the world at my side."

"Come."

She walked to Grantham and grasped his hand, smiling softly. "I will let you rule over the Kingdom of Babylon that you wanted to save, as long as you periodically provide us with men."

Grantham was stupefied. "What did you just say?"

Medusa was taken aback, then laughed lightly, and shook her head: "You still want to fight me? Even though I’ve only just become a Seventh Level Witch, I’m seventeen times stronger than before. You can no longer oppose me…"

"Only seventeen times?" Grantham had a disappointed expression.

Medusa was dumbfounded.

Boom!

She quickly retreated.

"The Flower of Death!!!"

A terrifying force that surpassed anything he’s seen before surged towards Grantham.

Grantham waved his staff.

"The Guardian of Spring."

With a clear ringing sound, the rose shattered.

An incomparable force hurled Medusa backwards.

Grantham sighed. "I’ve been so careful all this time because I thought you were only hiding the fact that you’re already at the Seventh Level. I’ve overestimated you. To think that you only broke through just now while on the verge of death…"

"Our monarch, the Empress of Death has been defeated!"

This shocking scene had been transmitted to both kingdoms, and everyone was reeling in disbelief.

Could it be that, just now, it was only the alchemical fortress under his feet that had been fighting against Empress Medusa, while Grantham himself sat back without doing anything? The moment he personally entered the battle, he easily crushed Medusa who has reached the Seventh Level?

"What kind of power is this?"

Medusa snarled, trembling in despair. "No, no… Your aura does not lie. You're clearly a Sixth Level Wizard, and yet, you can explosively release power equivalent to that of a Level Seven's!"

"This is the power of Alchemy. The great Creator once said that the ability to use tools is the mark of an intelligent species."

After a moment of thought, Grantham suddenly laughed. He bent down and gently helped up the beautiful girl before him. "Do you want to learn? I can teach you."

"Are you crazy?"

Medusa jerked up her head, shocked beyond words.

A new entry has been entered into "The Spear of Witchcraft" which recorded the Magic World’s long history.

[The Kingdom of Babylon, year 398. Grantham, the Great Emperor who Rules over Alchemy and the Gates of Truth, burst onto the worldstage. He defeated Empress Medusa in one move, throwing the entire world into an uproar.]

….

In a certain orchard.

Xu Zhi was sitting on his chair as always. He looked at the sandbox in the distance and scratched his head. "After nearly a full day, which translates to more than ninety years, this guy has finally taken care of my problem. But did he have to be such a coward? Leeching off of one woman after another, first the Seven Little Witches, then Lilith after that, and only coming out to show off once he no longer had any peer…"

This guy was truly shameless! !

Instead of level grinding like a proper main character, you leeched off of women from the beginning to end.

What a coward!

Thanks to his technology, he could have beaten any Level Six Mage once he had reached Level Five, but he just had to reach Level Six first. And even then, armed with “Grantham” and wielding the power of a Level Seven Wizard, he was still holding back the entire time in case Medusa was hiding her true Level…

"Shameless bastard."

Xu Zhi bit down on his apple, utterly speechless.