The Advance

"Ahhh... ahhhh, kill, kill... kill! [Die in my rage, hero! (Outrage Amazon)]... Ughhhh, ughhhh!!! Achilles!!!"

Sparks flew, skin tore open, flesh was torn apart. The earth groaned, and blood and foam swirled.

There were no rules of combat, nor were there any rules of combat required. Weapons, fists, nails, even teeth—anything that could harm the man before him was a tool worth using in Penthesilea's eyes.

The nerves groaned, bones were sheared away, and muscles began to break.

Achilles could clearly feel the pain eroding his flesh, knew that if this continued, even if his heel wasn't broken, his only fate would be to leave the stage.

However, a forced smile still appeared on Achilles' lips:

"Don't underestimate me, Your Majesty—"

As soon as he finished speaking, a round shield suddenly appeared in his hand.

That's not just a simple shield; you can tell at a glance that it's Noble Phantasm.

That is the legendary shield sung in over a hundred lines of the Iliad. A supreme work of art, an ultimate masterpiece surpassing human capabilities, its name is—

"[Achilles Cosmos (Achilles Cosmos)]!"

As Achilles unleashed his true name, the world etched on his shield began to spin—the world as Achilles saw it, the culmination of his life's work, which he had risked everything for.

Even after the gods have vanished, the imagery etched on the shield will still represent the mark left on this world by the being named "Achilles".

The attack from Penthesilea eventually stopped, even though she was a descendant of Ares, the god of war, and could not shake the world.

Achilles seized the opportunity to leap back a short distance, gazing at the woman he had once killed. Their dying words echoed in Achilles ears once more—

[Then I curse you. The spear in your hand will one day pierce the one you love.]

"Is that so? So your hatred for me runs this deep, Your Majesty."

Recalling the Noble Phantasm that had seemed to solidify its killing intent with every strike, and the severe wound in his chest that almost exposed his ribs, Achilles's usually sunny face showed a look of distress for the first time:

"Is it because I rudely removed your helmet that you are in this state? Then this is my fault..."

"Hoo-ha..."

At this moment, the only sounds on the battlefield were Achilles' bitter smile and Penthesilea's panting, perhaps due to the overload entering a cooldown period.

"Although washing away such sins might require atonement with death..." But the eldest sister is still alive, and even if it's for her wish, "I can't die so easily right now."

So--

"My head is right here, Queen of the Amazons. If you have the ability, come and take it!"

Achilles raised his spear, pointing it at Penthesilea, who kept his head bowed, his eyes serious.

However, to Achilles' surprise, his solemn declaration of war was met with a mocking laugh:

"Oh--"

"Varied--?"

Achilles' question, which he hadn't even had a chance to utter, was silenced by a pair of emotionless, indifferent eyes. It was Penthesilea; as she raised her head again, the madness in her eyes was gone.

Faced with Achilles' questioning expression, Penthesilea, having regained her composure due to her previous rage and loss of magic, merely shook her head slightly and said softly:

"You still don't understand, Achilles..."

Her purpose in participating in the war was to demonstrate to the world her bravery as a warrior, not her beauty as a woman.

If you're fighting a true warrior to the death, you should feel at ease even if you lose to the enemy.

However, after the fight was over, this guy took off his helmet and boasted about his own appearance.

[What a nice view?!]

How could he say such a thing in front of me, who was about to die in battle?

In other words, this guy never saw himself as a [warrior] from the beginning, right?!

That would be the greatest insult to herself as the Queen of the Amazons and as a warrior.

As for you, you probably still haven't realized that, have you?

That's why I'm angry, that's why I'm so angry I want to laugh.

But none of that matters anymore, because even mockery only angers the enemy for a moment.

She had already sworn an oath to kill this man who had humiliated her, no matter what form it took!

[So, my comrade-in-arms, my Master, what are your thoughts on this?]

Through telepathic communication with Wang Xiaoming, Penthesilea fully conveyed her thoughts to him, and soon received a somewhat surprised reply from Wang Xiaoming:

[If this is your wish... in the name of the third Command Spell, Berserker unleashes his second Noble Phantasm and fulfills his desire!]

Thank you, Master.

Feeling the magic power returning to her body, Penthesilea silently expressed her gratitude.

As she paused her reading, the Amazonian queen suddenly thought of something unrelated—

If I had been able to reach Troy before you died, perhaps our tragedies would have been rewritten, Hector.

Penthesilea subconsciously shook her head, then looked up at Achilles, whose gaze was grave, and a sudden smile curved her lips.

As expected, you still don't understand, Cherius.

However, you don't need to understand.

Because you will die here!

"Answer my call, brave and fearless Amazon warriors! Your queen, son of the god of war Penthesilea, is here!!!"

[Ride beneath my war cry, elite troops! (Trojan Reinforce)]

Amidst the raging magical energy, multiple Spirit Origin reactions suddenly appeared around Penthesilea.

Moreover, amidst the storm of magic, the sharp-eyed Achilles noticed that Penthesilea's youthful figure was beginning to grow?

When the magic dissipated, Penthesilea reappeared before him.

Achilles discovered that, deep within his memory, on that battlefield still burning with the smoke of gunpowder, the figure Achilles would never forget had once again appeared before him.

Chapter 284. The Attack

"In the name of the three Command Spell, Berserker unleashes his second Noble Phantasm!"

At this moment, Wang Xiaoming and Lily, having escaped from the long-standing battlefield between Achilles and Penthesilea, have arrived at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which serves as the main battlefield.

As the third Command Spell, shimmering with crimson light, disappeared from the back of his hand, a sense of loss suddenly welled up in Wang Xiaoming's heart.

In reality, it wasn't that Wang Xiaoming didn't want to stay there. You see, among the memories left in Hector's Spirit Origin, there were quite a few that could be used to provoke that hot-blooded idiot. Even if he couldn't cause Achilles any real harm, just staying by his side would be enough to distract him, thus giving Penthesilea plenty of opportunities.

However, recalling Penthesilea Naf's previous violent outburst, Wang Xiaoming was genuinely afraid that if he stayed there, she might accidentally beat him up again...

So, after a brief internal struggle, Wang Xiaoming took Lily and slipped away. After all, as long as someone could keep Achilles occupied, it would be a huge advantage for their side.

Following the message Siegfried had previously conveyed, Wang Xiaoming and Lily arrived at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

"Caster's Master..."

Upon seeing Wang Xiaoming and Lily arrive, Siegfried, who was already somewhat familiar with them, greeted them. Karna, standing next to Siegfried, was a bit quiet, but he also politely nodded to the two newcomers.

Wang Xiaoming's attention was immediately drawn to a group of "people" leaning against a corner not far from them—or perhaps they could no longer be considered "people" at all; judging from their current appearance, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them "puppets."

"Is it them?"

"That's right."

Karna answered the question, "Although Semiramis didn't kill the Master, the poison has robbed them of their thought processes."

"Caster."

Wang Xiaoming turned his gaze to Lily beside him.

Lily nodded and walked to the group of Red Faction Master, raising her wand. The light emanating from the tip of the wand enveloped the Master.

A moment later, after Lily put away her wand, she looked at the group of Master again.

Although he still couldn't speak, his eyes, which were now faintly bright, were a far cry from his previous dull and lifeless state, which had been robbed of his senses. His complexion had also improved considerably.

"They suffered too much harm before, and even I cannot completely cure them in a short time, so..."

"Don't worry, you've done a great job."

Seeing Lily's dejected expression, Wang Xiaoming gently reached out and ruffled her hair, softly comforting her. He then turned his gaze to Karna: "We have already expressed our sincerity, so Lancer, you..."

As per the previous agreement, they would be responsible for ensuring the safe evacuation of the Magecraft dispatched by the Mage's Association from the battlefield.

Although he hadn't initially made any additional demands, as the recipient of the benefits, Karna needed to demonstrate his stance.

"Understood..."

After closing his eyes and pondering for a few seconds, Karna opened them again and turned his gaze to his opponent, Siegfried: "While fighting Saber, I didn't have the energy to pay attention to my surroundings."

"Is that so? Then I won't disturb your battle any longer."

Wang Xiaoming nodded, understanding immediately, and then had Lily use Magecraft to lead the group away. However, just as they were about to leave, Wang Xiaoming suddenly turned around and asked:

Have you seen Mordred?

Perhaps because they had entered the enemy's core territory, the communication system that Lily had previously established using her magic was now partially paralyzed. Jeanne d'Arc and Jack the Ripper had already contacted each other; they were both about to arrive at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. With Jeanne d'Arc protecting them, Wang Xiaoming at least didn't need to worry about Jack the Ripper's safety.

But Mordred is different; with her fearless nature... well, if she's out of control, who knows what she might do?

"Saber has already gone in."

Siegfried pointed to the central building of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and told Mordred where he was.

"Okay, that's all, you can continue."

With a slight headache, Wang Xiaoming glanced in the direction of the building. He decided to wait until he had seen off the group of Red Faction Master before considering contacting Mordred.

After all, as the only Master in his own faction to participate in the battle, Wang Xiaoming had to at least ensure the lowest possible casualties among the Servant participating in the battle.

Watching Wang Xiaoming's departing figure, Siegfried and Karna, remaining in place, refocused their attention on their opponent.

As adversaries who met at the beginning of the war and then met again at the end, they were undoubtedly fortunate. It was precisely because of this that they hoped to personally defeat their opponent with their own weapons.

Although they carried different burdens, Karna shared the ultimate goal of preventing the [Black] faction's invasion.

Logically speaking, he shouldn't have chosen to confront Siegfried at this time, but rather should have tried to bypass him.

Nevertheless, this is merely an ideal idea. In practice, it's impossible to avoid facing the enemy's strongest Servant. Although it's unknown where they will meet, since there's no way to avoid him, it's only natural that Karna and Siegfried, as the only Servant capable of fighting him, would now have a showdown.

"Although I don't know how this Great Holy Grail War will end, I am truly grateful for the opportunity to compete against you on this stage."

Karna seemed capable of scorching the ground with sheer force of his presence, quietly displaying his fighting spirit.

Even though it was midnight, Siegfried seemed to see a huge sun rising on Karna's back.

"I am very happy to be able to fulfill my promise to fight again."

Siegfried, sensing his opponent's surging fighting spirit, was also excited by the upcoming duel.

The two sides faced each other at a distance of ten meters. Both the greatsword in Siegfried's hand that slew dragons and the spear in Karna's hand that killed gods seemed to be humming slightly because of their respective masters' fighting spirit.

--And so, the battle of guns and swords was about to begin.

"Lancer, that guy..."

Seated on the throne, Semiramis controlled every move of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. After seeing Karna let Wang Xiaoming and Lily leave, he was angry but helpless.

After all, before the battle even began, Amakusa Shirou, as Karna's acting Master, had agreed to Karna's request to fight Siegfried to the death unconditionally, and Semiramis, as Servant, naturally couldn't stop Amakusa Shirou's decision.

"Hmm..."

Rubbing her aching forehead, Semiramis sighed softly. The situation was far from optimistic. Even with all her Servant deployed, she was still struggling against the overwhelming numerical superiority of the [Black] faction.

This room is the final obstacle on the path to the Greater Grail.

The [Black] faction's Servant must pass through here to reach the Greater Grail. Therefore, they need to defeat the invading enemy Servant here. However, if the enemy Servant swarm in, even she will find it difficult to cope.

Therefore, the best tactic is to divide the enemy into smaller groups and defeat them one by one.

Thinking this, Semiramis focused her gaze on the Projection, which showed Mordred wielding her greatsword and slaughtering the Dragon Fang soldiers in the corridor.