Conflict

"Stop messing around! Artoria! Is it really necessary for you to go out and attack when I'm here?! Don't be so willful, you little brat!"

"It's you, Xia! I'm no longer the weakling from the Fairy Forest! I am the King of Britannia! A king who has experienced twelve life-and-death battles! Why can't I?!"

"You'll never get your way on this! You want to fight in front of me?! While I stand by?! You can try! Kill me first, then you can go! No one will stop you!"

"Damn it!! You're too stubborn, Xia! Even you can't be this rude!"

"It's only natural! You are my top priority! I'll say it again! Where I am, I absolutely will not allow you to take even the slightest risk, let alone get hurt!

Don't use your responsibility as 'King' to pressure me! If you do, I'll tie you up and absolutely forbid it!"

"Are you restricting my freedom, Xia?!"

"That's right! Until you stop that foolish idea of going out to attack! Yes!"

"You!! You're simply too much!! Xia! I... I hate you! Hmph!"

Bang!!!

With a loud bang of the door, the dispute that had been echoing from a massive castle finally came to an end...

The guards outside finally breathed a sigh of relief. The argument, which had been ongoing since yesterday, was finally over.

They had no idea where this golden-haired girl had come from to make their King so furious yet so helpless.

Hmm... Perhaps that woman was a very special existence to the King...?

After all, if it were anyone else, let alone an argument, even a slight objection would have resulted in the King immediately dismembering them!

"A King's decision needs no input from trash!"

That was the first thing the King had said from the moment they met.

After Artoria stormed out in anger, Xia angrily punched the wall.

With a thud, a wide stone wall instantly cracked all over!

"Damn it! Why is Artoria now even more stubborn than when she was in the Fairy Forest! This is truly damned!" Xia said, breathing heavily, his eyes red with anger.

Standing up, Xia took several deep breaths to suppress the inexplicable anger.

"'Loyal Guards'! Come out!"

At Xia's call, twenty mysterious guards wearing golden cloaks instantly appeared in the otherwise spacious conference room. They had been Xia's personal guards since he awakened his Reality Marble for the third time, their loyalty and combat prowess were beyond doubt!

"Keep a close eye on Artoria! Do not allow her to leave this military fortress by more than 10 meters! Anyone who approaches with ill intentions will be killed on the spot! And anyone associated with these ill intentions will also be eliminated! Do you understand?!"

"Eternal Overlord!" X20

With a series of crisp salutes, the twenty individuals who were originally in place instantly vanished! As if no one had ever been there...

Creak...~

After dispatching the 'Loyal Guards' to protect the stubborn little lioness, Xia finally breathed a sigh of relief and slumped into a sofa.

Then, he forced a wry smile, a hint of helplessness on his lips.

Xia understood that his actions would undoubtedly cause Artoria to resent him, and she might even come to hate him.

But...

"If, for such a ridiculous reason, you were to get hurt 'in front of me'! I would tear myself apart!"

The harsh words he uttered made Xia feel even more troubled.

"Your Majesty, as per your instructions, two of the six intruders who infiltrated this 'Eternal Throne' have been eliminated. The remaining four are distributed within the 'Underworld'... and one is currently a guest in Your Majesty's castle. Therefore, only three of the 'Heroic Spirits' you mentioned remain in the Underworld."

Waving his hand to dismiss the scout, Xia rubbed his temples wearily.

"Artoria..."

Crunch...

The boots stepping on the snow made their unique sound.

The bone-chilling cold wind howled and swept towards him.

Standing in the snowfield.

A Berserker clad in black armor patrolled the surroundings, trying to find the 'breaking point' of this barrier to shatter it with a single blow.

However, after hours of fruitless searching, Berserker abandoned this method.

He began to walk aimlessly towards the center of the snowfield.

In Berserker's opinion, since he couldn't find the flaw in the barrier, his only option was to directly find the master and defeat them.

But unfortunately, whether it was Lancer or Assassin, they were both assassinated by Xia's 'guards' because they had this very thought.

"After the previous two Heroic Spirits, it's your turn, Berserker."

A voice suddenly appeared behind him. Without a second thought, Berserker instantly turned around! Roaring, he charged at the figure behind him!

"Roar!!!"

Facing Berserker's oncoming charge, the figure's face curved into a mocking smile. Then, he slowly raised his right hand towards the sky.

Snap A crisp finger snap.

RUMBLE!!! ~~~

A massive explosion suddenly rang out, shaking the entire snow plain.

As the smoke cleared, the previously flat snow had caved in, creating a crater 2-3 meters deep. The Berserker, lying in the pit, had his limbs pierced by four glowing red dragon-patterned pillars that appeared out of nowhere, pinning him firmly to the ground. A fifth pillar, pure white as jade, was clamped tightly onto the Berserker's head.

His crimson blood, mixed with some white substance, flowed slowly along the indentation in the ground, dyeing the pristine white snow with a vibrant red.

"To use the Fivefold Restraint Pillars, which were used to suppress mythical Fantasy Beasts, to kill you... does that not befit your name as a Heroic Spirit?

Farewell... Hm?

Heh, I almost forgot. Heroic Spirits who die in this 'Eternal Throne' are utterly annihilated. So then... goodbye forever, Lancer, the First Knight."

As the mysterious person's voice faded, the end of the third Heroic Spirit arrived.

The swirling snowflakes had stopped falling, and the raging blizzard gradually subsided. The white snowy ground shook violently! Then, like a continent sinking into the ocean, it slowly disappeared below the horizon.

Only a blood-stained reef remained, a testament to the life that had just perished...

WOOOO~~~!!

WOO WOO~~~!!

The war horns echoed across the sky.

Can't find the book title? Try searching by author, maybe they've changed their name!

As the horns sounded, a vast army of black-armored knights appeared on the horizon.

Their steeds were strong and powerful, covered in thick layers of silver armor. The knights astride them gripped their steel lances tightly, leaning forward slightly, ready to charge at maximum speed at any moment.

Bathed in sunlight, their black armor appeared even more lustrous and dark. Their long lances looked more menacing and bloodthirsty.

As they drew closer, at close range, one could see a sticky red light slowly gathering upon them.

This was the mark of slaughter, the testament to countless battles fought.

Every knight here had taken the lives of no less than a hundred people!

The charge of mere hundreds of knights carried the might of a hundred thousand soldiers!

They were brave, fearless, and even devoid of emotion.

The only proof they retained of being "human" was likely their unwavering loyalty.

"What a pack of battle-hardened lions! How wonderful it would be if they could serve me! Hahahahaha!!!" Hearing the Conqueror King's hearty declaration, the Hero King sneered and curled his lip.

"Before that, you'd best make sure you don't get yourself killed by what you wish to conquer! Honestly, to be stranded together with you, what a truly unpleasant turn of events!"

The Conqueror King selectively ignored the latter part of the Hero King's statement. He had already understood the proud king's temperament from their time at the drinking table.

However... now was not the time for bickering.

Facing the fearless charge of the knights surging forward, witnessing their almost materialized killing intent and their death-defying aura.

"Hahahaha!! Truly an elite force, one in a thousand! But... it's a shame I cannot conquer them! Gordias.Wheel!" The Conqueror King laughed heartily as he faced the charging knights and unleashed his Noble Phantasm!

Instantly, two dark blue bulls' eyes turned red. Thick white steam billowed from their nostrils.

Pulling a war chariot crackling with arcs of electricity, they charged towards the army before them!

The war chariot, pulled by the blue bulls, transformed into a swift blue lightning bolt as their charge accelerated! The electrical arcs surrounding it had reached an incredibly dense level, emitting a scorching white light. Even an ordinary Heroic Spirit would be instantly vaporized by the intense heat upon contact!

As the knight army faced the rapidly charging blue lightning, they quickly formed into a triangular formation to meet the onslaught!

"MOOOO!!!!!" X2

"Glory!" X600

In mere breaths, the blue lightning collided fiercely with the black torrent!

RUMBLE~~~!!!

In the first clash, dozens of black-armored knights were sent flying into the air by the blue bulls! However, their numbers were quickly replenished by the following knights, who continued their charge against the bulls!

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!!!

Knocked away, then replaced! Replaced, then knocked away! Knocked away, then replaced!

The blue lightning, like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, rampaged wildly within the black torrent!

And the black torrent, like a turbulent sea, charged at the Conqueror King again and again!

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!

With another earth-shattering roar, the dust settled.

The blue lightning was now blocked by the remaining half-hundred knights. Their cold lances were firmly braced against the bulls' sharp horns. At the bulls' feet, dozens of black-armored knights clung on, weighing them down.

"MOOOO!!!!" Seeing that they were being held back by mere mortals, the enraged bulls madly unleashed the lightning around them, attempting to electrocute them all. But the black-armored knights seemed completely unaffected by the lightning. Each time the arcing electricity struck their black armor, the dark metal would ripple slightly, as if absorbing the electrical energy, thereby protecting the knights.

The Conqueror King's pupils constricted slightly at this sight.

"Could it be... a blessing from a great magic of the mythical age?!"

Taking advantage of the Conqueror King's momentary lapse as he observed the miraculous efficacy of the black armor, the remaining half-hundred knights suddenly roared in unison!

"Loyalty! Foolish loyalty! Sworn to serve unto death!"

As a roar sounded, the 600 black-armored knights instantly turned into a black mist and swiftly arrived before the dozens of knights who had been blocking the Green Ox. They quickly enveloped them!

Then, a sinister black light shot up into the sky!

The Conqueror King's Thunder Wheel was violently repelled into the air the moment it touched the black light. The black light, shooting into the sky, instantly transformed into a black battle axe, which fiercely swung down at the Conqueror King, who had been repelled into the air!

"No...!"

The Conqueror King's heart skipped a beat!

"Tsk! Scum! Gates of Babylon!!!"

Just as the Conqueror King watched himself about to be split in two by the giant black axe, the Hero King's voice suddenly rang out! Then, a barrage of golden arrows fiercely collided with the black, ominous axe in the sky!

Golden light and black light engaged in a fierce stalemate in the sky! At one moment, the black overpowered the gold; at another, the gold suppressed the black.

The sky, which had originally been a clear blue, was now replaced by golden and black light.

The two clashing colors were each trying to render the entire sky in their own color! And then, to completely drive the enemy from the sky!

"Tch! You dare get carried away, you mongrel! I'll finish you off in one go!" Looking at the black and gold light swirling and strangling each other in the sky like two giant dragons, the Hero King felt as if his pride had been slapped across the face! To think he had to expend so much effort against mere death energy conjured from corpses!

Angered, the Hero King directly drew a tube-like weapon from the Gates of Babylon.

He slightly lowered his stance, "Enuma...!!"

A vast amount of magic was instantly released! The release of chaotic and violent magic made the air seem compressed, making it difficult to breathe.

As the EA condensed, the crimson magic grew larger and larger, and its violent nature became more potent with the increasing compression.

"Disappear! Enuma.elish!!"

With the Hero King's true name release! The fierce crimson torrent instantly surged into the sky and clashed with the gold and black light!

The sky, already disturbed by the golden and black torrents, finally could not bear it any longer as the crimson torrent poured in.

As a dazzling white light flashed amidst the three torrents!

Then, a thunderous roar shook the heavens!

The violent shockwave instantly sent the Conqueror King, who had just stood up from his chariot, flying again! Even the Hero King, holding the EA, was sent flying into the air along with him!