Chapter 18

Late at night, a group of black-clad assassins appeared at the Celestial Temple headquarters like ghosts.

Their faces were expressionless, their movements swift and ruthlessly efficient. Armed with silenced pistols and sharp blades, they silently slit the throats of guards hidden in the shadows.

Bodyguards, sentries, lookouts—one by one, they fell. The people inside the headquarters had no idea what was happening until doors were smashed open, shattering the silence of the night.

Everyone panicked and tried to draw their guns to fight back, but the next moment bullets pierced through their skulls.

In just a short time, the once heavily guarded Celestial Temple headquarters was littered with corpses and pools of blood.

The other side launched a fierce counterattack, but their reaction was too slow. Caught completely off guard, they could only shrink their defensive line and retreat while fighting.

Half an hour later, the Eagle Watch Squad brought the battle to an end.

"Cut off those two old guys' heads and present them to the Supreme King."

Falcon pulled down his blood-stained mask, speaking coldly.

"Yes."

"Withdraw!"

With a wave of his hand, hundreds of assassins withdrew in perfect formation, leaving behind nothing but ruins and corpses.

The surviving Celestial Temple members were now hiding in a shelter. This time, they had lost nearly half of their elite members, plus two elders.

"Shame! This is a complete disgrace!" Apollo slammed the table and stood up, his brows furrowed deeply.

"We fell into his trap. We all thought Damien's target was Ares, but his real target was us all along!"

Hermes, one of the twelve main gods' messengers, bit down hard on one end of a bandage between his teeth as he wrapped his wounds.

A flash of viciousness crossed his dark green eyes.

"Damien, Celestial Temple will never rest until you're dead!"

His face covered in blood, he cursed viciously through clenched white teeth.

On the warship, Damien was video calling his daughter Faye.

"That fish is huge! It's even taller than I am."

This morning, Shadow Sect members had caught several tuna, and Faye, having never seen them before, insisted on taking a look.

"Daddy, I want to go out on the ocean too, to see the big fish."

A rare softness flashed across Damien's face, "Okay, next time Daddy will take you to see the big fish, and fish that can fly too."

"Fish that can fly?"

Faye was still chattering excitedly when a sound came from the sky. Damien looked up at the black dot on the horizon, a cruel pleasure flashing across his face.

"Daddy? Daddy?"

"Sweetie, Daddy has to work now. Let's video call Daddy again next time."

Sophia's gentle voice came through the video. Damien turned back to say goodbye to them both.

The helicopter drew closer and soon landed on the deck. The cabin door opened, and Falcon emerged in black combat gear, holding two boxes.

"Supreme King, Falcon has completed the mission!"

The boxes opened to reveal the heads of two Celestial Temple elders, bloody and displayed inside, their eyes still wide open in death.

Damien's lips curved into a cold yet pleased smile. He reached out and patted Falcon's shoulder.

"Well done."

"Lord, shouldn't we launch the final assault now? Ares can't hold out much longer." Talon was eager to fight.

"Pass the order—all warships advance. Let's send them our gift first."

"Yes!"

On Devil Island, Ares looked at the two boxes that had been delivered, wondering what trick Damien was playing.

But when he opened them, Ares's body trembled violently. His hands gripped the edge of the table tightly as he ground his back teeth and squeezed out a voice from between them.

"Damien!"

Ares was consumed by rage, becoming anxious and out of control, losing his usual composure completely.

Military advisor Ash saw this was bad, "War God, this is Damien's scheme, meant to disrupt our morale. We can't fall for it."

"We must keep the attack on the War God Hall and the elders' deaths secret!"

Ares calmed down. "You're right."

"War God, we're now out of ammunition and supplies. All that awaits us is a dead end. Why don't you personally lead us into battle? Fighting with our backs to the wall, we might still have a chance at victory."

"Though Damien has many people around him, most are just a ragtag bunch. If we can catch them by surprise, we might have a chance to escape."

As Ash spoke, Ares's frown deepened, but his emotions completely calmed down.

"Arrange things just as you've said."

"First, send Milo and Clio away. I'll go out to fight and buy time. These two people will be very useful—we absolutely cannot let them die."

Ares said in a deep voice.

"Yes!"

Ares looked out the window at the endless sea, loading his gun magazines one by one. He rolled his neck and wrists, his bones making soft cracking sounds, his eyes narrowing slightly with a cold, sharp gleam.

"Damien, let me see if you, the Supreme King, truly live up to your name."

The heavy reinforced iron door was pushed open. Ares strode out in black combat gear, his upright figure radiating a cold and resolute aura.

In the hall, almost all the Celestial Temple members had already gathered.

Nearly out of ammunition and supplies, everyone looked tense.

"War God, let me fight my way out!"

Seeing Ares emerge, someone spoke urgently.

"Yes, fight our way out and kill that Damien kid."

"War God, we can't wait any longer!"

Everyone spoke at once. Ares raised his hand slightly, and the room fell silent.

Then his wrist suddenly turned, cold light flashed, and blood flowed from both sides. He smeared blood on his forehead, making a blood oath.

"Celestial Temple's dignity will not be challenged! Today we shall bring down divine punishment!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone was instantly filled with fighting spirit.

"Divine punishment!"

"Divine punishment!"

"Divine punishment!"

"March out!"

On the island, the salty sea wind rushed toward them. Black clouds pressed down heavily in the sky—a storm was coming.

Ares divided his forces into three teams. One team was responsible for creating a diversion with a surprise attack. He personally led one team to draw fire, while the last team would transfer the people and blood samples.

Ares had guessed Damien's intentions. He wanted to capture him alive and make him submit, kneeling at his feet and begging for mercy—otherwise he would have already ordered missiles to level the entire Devil Island.

This was Damien's arrogance, but it was also his opportunity.

Gunfire suddenly tore through the island's silence as the two forces unexpectedly met head-on.

"Damn it, it's an ambush!"

"Don't panic, stick to the plan."

Figures crossed through the dense forest, bullets flew everywhere. People kept falling while others kept charging forward. In just moments, the air filled with gunpowder smoke and the scent of blood.

"Ares, you wanted to see me. What's wrong, afraid to show yourself?"

Damien's lips curved in a casual smile, his tone somewhat contemptuous.

The gunfire stopped, and rustling sounds emerged.

Ares appeared with his people. Damien raised his hand to signal his people to hold back and walked over with his team.

One side looked battered but fierce, everyone like wolves; the other side was calm and composed, like hunters toying with their prey.

"As long as you hand over the blood samples, I can let you go."

Damien's voice was cold as ice.

Hearing this, Ares suddenly burst out laughing.

"Damien, you're too late. The samples were sent away long ago."