Chapter 8
The Suspended Sword of Damocles
When his bugape’s lifespan was about to come to an end, and Gilgamesh was about to die of old age, he used the Blood of Power and avoided death. He restored a young body and gained a second chance at life, reverting back to the courageous and hot-blooded Hero King he had been when he was young. He was back to lead his tribe on further conquests.
Time passed; another decade had pushed its way forward.
The tribe, having settled down, had gone through several generations. The wooden huts that they lived in decayed over time and were starting to deteriorate. So, with Gilgamesh in charge, the people started to build houses out of stone. This was the time they officially entered the period of resistance against the great beasts, otherwise known as the Stone Age.
Gilgamesh, who had the genes of white ants, could easily pull out massive hundred-year-old trees that would have otherwise required the concerted effort of four people. A light leap could take him seven to eight meters high, and he also had a colossal strength that allowed him to move mountains.
He led his people against the giant beasts. After thirteen years of constant fighting, the momentum he had accumulated finally reached its peak and he chose to challenge the most terrifying and the most powerful hundred-meter tall beast in the land: the legendary giant beast, Finba!
The giant beast was nothing less than a towering mountain, even when sprawled on the ground.
Its body stretched across the entire Smikar Forest.
The sound of it breathing while it slept was strong enough to create a gust of wind in the dense and lush forest. It even made the the giant trees sway.
A single snort from the creature was enough to blow away a giant Alla beast.
It was also the same terrifying and invincible giant beast that Xu Zhi had seen previously. It was as large as a kitten.
It was the king that dominated the entire era of giant beasts.
The great battle raged on for three days and three nights. The earth cracked, the valleys crumbled, and countless beasts in the forest fled in fear.
On this day, Gilgamesh, with his well-sculpted body bathed in blood, returned with the Sword of Damocles in one hand and dragged the dead body of the huge hundred-meter beast, Finba, with the other.
Just the strength of one of his hands was so great that it could pull the corpse of the hundred-meter Finba, whose size was comparable to a towering mountain. This made the people of his tribe feel so proud of him, but at the same time, they were also extremely shocked.
Countless people had written hymns for him, praising his strength. This was the most powerful Hero King in history.
“I want to build a kingdom.”
The moment he returned, he looked at the people of the Stone Tribe and suddenly declared his wishes.
The tribe’s emotion hit the highest point!
Weeping with joy and embracing each other amidst tears, they knew that under the leadership of this great and handsome Sumerian Hero King, the miserable days where they had to wander about in a desperate and homeless plight would become a thing of the past. They no longer had to fear the wild species of giant beasts.
A new era of civilization had begun!
History is written by the victors, and Gilgamesh chose not to write anything about the atrocity that was killing his son. In Genesis, he only recorded his moments of valor.
The chapter on the history of the Sumer Dynasty was recorded as follows:
Gilgamesh, having drunk the Blood of Power, slew the legendary giant beast Finba with his sword and established the Sumer Dynasty. Moving giant rocks around, he built the first city-state in history, Uruk City.
Time was constantly passing.
Gilgamesh, who was invincible, began to work on the development of civilization.
He was driven and diligent, full of valor, and extremely charismatic, but he was also tyrannical and unstoppable.
He created the currency system, perfected the languages, and built cities. But he also cruelly divided his humble people into a multiplicity of ranks and classes and established slavery. Furthermore, he wasted manpower and money by sending a large number of warriors on expeditions to explore the far reaches of the world.
He was the great Hero King to his people, but he was also a complete tyrant, through-and-through.
Eighty-seven years into the Sumer Dynasty, Gilgamesh was a hundred and twenty-seven years old.
The Uruk Kingdom’s population had finally reached tens of millions.
Countless slaves were being traded. A Colosseum had even been built. Nobles made their slaves fight against giant beasts as a form of entertainment, roaring with laughter as they watched.
The people of the tribe from the earlier period had passed away. After nearly a hundred years, their grandchildren’s generation could no longer remember the hardship and struggles that their ancestors had faced. With such an easy and comfortable life, they were gradually heading towards degeneration.
However, the King of Sumer was still so valiant.
In the dark, murky palace of King Uruk, the arched roof had carvings of precise and delicate patterns. The snow-white wall lamps cast a pale light. On both sides of the palace, there were stone pillars encircled by flower wreaths and engraved with circular golden patterns. The floor was covered with a bright red carpet made from the fur of powerful beasts.
A handsome and imposing man sat calmly on an exquisite throne made of white bones. In his hand, he held the legendary sword that he never allowed to leave his side, the Sword of Damocles.
“Great King of Sumer, Lord of the City-state! Your Majesty, Gilgamesh!! We have finished exploring the earth in its entirety.” Dionysus, one of the Royal Ministers, made a slight bow and spoke fervently of what he had seen and heard over the years.
“Our world, what is it like?”
Gilgamesh was as handsome as a Greek statue. He sat on his throne made of the skeletal bones of Finba the great beast, looking as if he could see the endless blue sky beyond the palace walls.
The warriors who ventured out to explore the earth had traveled in all directions. They spent more than twenty years on this massive project before they finished one round trip. Countless lives were lost before they got to know the shape of the entire world.
Throughout the history of the earth, no matter what ancient period they belonged to, all the great kings had a strong desire for knowledge, as well as a very ambitious heart.
Dionysius gestured respectfully yet exaggeratedly and said, “Our world, where the sky is round, and the earth is square.”
“The sky is an infinitely high arc; the ground is a perfect square.”
“There is a massive ocean in the center, and it is surrounded by mountains and rivers.”
“This land is incomparably vast and endless. If you ride the fastest Finchera beast and travel along the path in a straight line, to get from one end of the world to the other, it will still take more than twenty years, even at if you’re moving at full speed…”
After a moment of silence, this greatest king of the world said, “Alright, you may take your leave.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Dionysius rose and left.
Then he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look at their king with a gaze filled with admiration. This great Hero King had led them out of a primitive life in the caves. He had brought about the era of tribes and farming, led them into the Stone Age, and now, they were further moving on to an era of city-states.
He had slain the most terrifying king of giant beasts, Finba, and had led them through many rounds of civilization.
More than thirty years ago, when Dionysius was still a lad, he was a well-known and promising young ranger in the city-state. He was summoned to the palace by His Majesty who ordered him to look into the geographical layout of the entire landscape. The king had entrusted him with the greatest mission in his life: to map the geography of the city-state.
It was thirty years later that he returned to the Uruk Kingdom. After he accomplished his mission, he was no longer a youth, but a trembling old man with clouded eyes who would not live much longer.
But His Majesty was still as young as ever.
He looked exactly the same as when Dionysius, being a young ranger, had an audience with him. His face was still extremely handsome and perfect as if time had left no mark on his face.
“What a great monarch this is!”
Dionysius’ body trembled; he was filled with fervor.
For over a hundred years, His Majesty had not displayed his power. No one knew how much more powerful he had become. Perhaps in the future, this long-lived immortal king would lead the Sumerians into the next era of civilization.
“Our world, where the sky is round, and the earth is square.”
When the palace was empty, Gilgamesh let out a long sigh before slowly drawing out the holy sword that he had carried with him all these years, the Sword of Damocles. It had a skillfully crafted blade that was fine and precise, and it emitted a cold light of shiny metal.
He stroked it gently with his fingers as if it were his lover that had accompanied him through endless years.
“I have mastered the power of the Torch, and have also gained a thorough understanding of the use and effect of the blood of power. As for the Sword of Damocles… I have scoured the entire world, but still haven’t been able to find out how it was made.”
Feeling full of amazement as he stroked the blade, Gilgamesh whispered to himself, “What material is it made of? What kind of giant beast’s skeletal bone is it? Or is it some kind of craft of a civilization?”
Unfortunately, this world was, after all, not a real world.
There were no mineral veins, no copper or iron ores, or any kind of ores at all. Xu Zhi had not deliberately buried ores in the ground. This was originally just an ordinary piece of farmland found in an orchard, and the ground was simply composed of soil. This was why they were destined to be stuck in the Stone Age for eternity. In the knowledge they had of the world, there was never the word “metal”.
To this world, this shiny and solid material was mysterious and powerful. And it was one of a kind.
“Having search to the ends of the world, we are still unable to find the Great Beast of Wisdom from back then. Where in the world does he live?” Gilgamesh took a deep breath.
The civilization that the Great Beast of Wisdom possessed was simply unfathomable.
The treasured weapon that he had received as a gift, the Sword of Damocles, was the holy sword that had helped him establish an entire civilization, but it might also be a warning to him.
He had only partially grasped the power of civilization. Much of it was still unknown. Just like the secret to how this sword was made, it filled him with such deep fear that he could feel shivers down his spine!!
The Sword of Damocles was like a suspended sword, with its tip hanging high above his head.
This sword brought him the power of civilization; it was powerful and mysterious. It allowed him to carve out glory, but it also made him feel extremely insecure. The tip of the sword might fall anytime, so there was a possibility that his life might be taken away from him at any moment.
“The power of civilization… really fills people with so much anticipation.”
He sat on his throne and, like a sleeping lion in deep slumber, slowly looked far into the distance. It was as if he was looking back in time, looking at the distant forest from a hundred years ago. Back then, he had met that huge, great figure, the ultra-large giant that stood ten thousand feet tall. Its entire body radiated a snow-white light like it was born in holiness. He was carried around in its wide palms, from where he could look down at the mountains and rivers of the world from high up in the sky, and this giant had handed him the Three Treasures of Civilization.
“Unfortunately, my life is coming to an end again. The Blood of Power no longer works for me. But I still want to live a third lifetime… Great Beast of Wisdom, I want to see you again!”