Looking at Tiamat still advancing, Li Xing's face held a hint of apology.
"My apologies, I know you wished to be with your children forever, but they have grown and no longer need the guidance of a god."
Following this, Li Xing's eyes glowed blue, and the Star God power within him surged. Accidentally, his body cracked, but it quickly healed.
"Alas, I almost self-destructed. I still can't unleash it fully. Li Yun, help me suppress it a bit."
Slowly, Li Xing's aura stabilized, reaching about eighty percent of what his spiritual foundation could bear. He intentionally held back to avoid self-destruction in battle.
"Susano'o, Complete Form!"
Li Xing, standing in the sky, was enveloped by a white skeleton, followed by sinews, flesh, and armor. A giant materialized in the air.
Although Susano'o was much larger than before, it still couldn't compare to Tiamat's colossal form. The entire Susano'o was only half Tiamat's height.
"Breath of Snow, Final Form, Absolute Zero!"
Without a word, Li Xing drew Susano'o's greatsword and slashed down. In an instant, all the surrounding Lahmu were frozen. However, it caused no damage to Tiamat, and an endless stream of Lahmu continued to emerge.
"Aaaahhhhhhh!"
Tiamat sang again, and a powerful magical blast surged forth. Li Xing hurriedly brought his sword across his chest, stubbornly blocking Tiamat's attack. He was still sent flying for over ten kilometers.
"Is this the Creator God? Hey! Why aren't you two suppressing her! Why do I have to be suppressed, and the stronger I get, the harsher the suppression."
Li Xing glared upwards, clearly holding a grievance against the other two Counter Guardians. It was too one-sided. They secretly placed a spiritual foundation on him, but wouldn't suppress Tiamat. Although Tiamat was in a self-imposed seal state, Li Xing truly couldn't defeat her in his current state.
Despite his grumbling, Li Xing's actions didn't slow. He was already flying forward, thrusting his sword towards Tiamat's chest.
Tiamat once again activated her Anti-Genesis Shield. Tiamat was not in a weakened state now, so Li Xing quickly dodged, his sword missing its mark.
"So close, so close. If I had touched that, I might have been assimilated."
"Stupid, Star, if you didn't try to copy her with data, she wouldn't absorb you. Think about it, Quetzalcoatl wasn't assimilated, was she?"
"Is that so? That's good then."
Now that he knew he wouldn't be assimilated, Li Xing was relieved. He could cut as much as he wanted. His current mission was to stall for three days.
...
Only one day remained before the transfer of the underworld.
Li Xing had been pushed back continuously. Tiamat had already reached Uruk, and with just a few more steps, she could completely engulf Uruk.
"Although I can't win, I've slowed down Tiamat's speed. Li Yun, unleash your full power!"
Li Xing decided not to hold back any longer. While he wasn't exactly slacking before, he had still hidden some of his strength. If he didn't go all out now, Tiamat would break through.
"Okay, I'm letting go now. You need to be prepared. If the suppression is too harsh, the power will rebound."
"Bring it on!"
Li Xing roared, and a powerful aura spread out, shattering the surrounding Lahmu in an instant. Susano'o also grew larger.
"I always feel that Susano'o has hidden power." Li Xing reached towards the sky, and a vortex formed. A golden greatsword descended from above.
Li Xing gripped the greatsword with one hand and casually swung it, creating an abyss in Uruk that temporarily halted the surge of the black mud.
"As expected. By borrowing the moment of burst, I've fully unleashed my power and summoned this divine artifact."
...
Outside the temple of Uruk, Gilgamesh, Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mash, and Fou were all watching Li Xing's massive form, which was now approaching Tiamat.
"That sword... could it be the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi? Based on Li Xing's spiritual foundation reaction, it's undoubtedly divine. Could it be... that Li Xing is the legendary Susano'o!" Romani, through observation, had essentially deciphered the moves Li Xing was using, mistaking him for Susano'o.
"Is that true, Doctor? Then Li Xing might be able to stop Tiamat here." As a Japanese person, Fujimaru Ritsuka was naturally well aware of Susano'o's identity. He was the great god who had slain Yamata no Orochi, and alongside Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, he was one of the three noble gods.
...
"The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is indeed much stronger than the Futsu-no-Mitama." Li Xing looked at the golden greatsword in his hand with pleasant surprise.
"Aaaahhhhhhh!"
Tiamat, who had been blocked, finally became angry. She began to charge up and unleashed a powerful magical blast.
Li Xing couldn't dodge, as Fujimaru Ritsuka was behind him. He could only meet it with the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
"Tengen! Draw sword! Slash!"
Li Xing swung the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi with all his might, cleaving vertically. It collided with Tiamat's magical blast, instantly distorting the magnetic field. The intense shockwave made even Gilgamesh unsteady.
"Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh!" Li Xing roared in anger, overdrawing a sliver of his strength to slash down, but it was nothing against Tiamat's magical power.
The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was directly scattered by the magical cannon. Li Xing took the full force of the blast. Susano'o was instantly annihilated by the cannon, and Li Xing's body became like cracked ceramic.
Tiamat's blast passed through Li Xing's body and struck Gilgamesh behind him. It was likely that Gilgamesh took the blow to protect Fujimaru Ritsuka. Fortunately, Li Xing had absorbed most of the power, preventing Gilgamesh from dying instantly.
"King Gilgamesh! I'm sorry, I didn't protect you well..." Mash's heart was filled with guilt, but Gilgamesh interrupted her with a single sentence.
"Don't worry about it. A mere fatal wound. Li Xing has reached his limit. Now is my time to make my entrance!"
With that, Gilgamesh's three hundred and sixty Divine Authority Tablets slowly rose behind him.
"Move! Divine Authority Tablets!"
The three hundred and sixty Divine Authority Tablets fired simultaneously, and countless treasures were launched as cannonballs by Gilgamesh.
Meanwhile, Li Xing had already fallen to the ground, using his last remaining strength to shield the surviving citizens.
...
A large number of Lahmu appeared again, frantically slamming their bodies against the temple of Uruk. Even Ishtar felt overwhelmed. Just as she was preparing to unleash her magic to resolve it all at once, numerous golden lights appeared behind her, followed by a barrage of chains that instantly eliminated a large number of Lahmu.
"As expected, you are all mass-produced. You are no match for me. To be rendered helpless by these mass-produced units, you old humans are truly useless. How dare you boast to me like this. Whether it's the Master of Chaldea or that guy, they can't do anything alone, yet they act so conceited and confident, and they managed to survive to the end, thinking they can do anything? This fact alone proves that I am not complete."
King Enkidu looked back at Gilgamesh on the temple and muttered to himself. It had to be said, with the Holy Grail's enhancement, his words carried weight.