A twilight-colored sword aura emanated from Balmung's blade.
A beam of light, over fifty meters wide and almost reaching the clouds, swept across the abandoned monastery with overwhelming force.
The entire abandoned monastery was pierced through by the sword energy in less than a second, and the ruins disintegrated and disappeared in the twilight light.
The sword energy continued to advance for several hundred meters, leaving behind a wide, barren gully of scorched earth.
Astolfo looked down at the shocking ravine below and whistled.
"That's amazing."
But Siegfried's expression did not relax.
Something's not right.
If this is indeed the Red Faction's stronghold, it should be garrisoned by at least one Servant and a corresponding defensive barrier.
But the monastery was destroyed too easily.
This doesn't look like a stronghold with Servant stationed there that has been breached.
It looks like an empty shell that has been crushed.
"Trap!"
Siegfried hadn't finished speaking.
Two magical reactions erupted simultaneously from the side of the monastery ruins.
Karna.
Achilles.
The two Red Faction Servant simultaneously dispelled their Spirit Form and were less than fifty meters away from Siegfried.
The moment Achilles appeared, he thrust his spear into the ground.
The spear tip sank into the soil.
Centered on the landing point, a ring of pale golden light spread out from the ground.
Siegfried's pupils contracted sharply. He immediately took a step back, but it was too late.
Siegfried and Achilles were both engulfed by the light at the same time.
The surrounding scenery was distorted, stripped away, and rearranged. The trees disappeared, the sky disappeared, and the distant battlefield disappeared.
Instead, there is a simple, enclosed space without any superfluous scenery. The ground largely retains the original soil texture, but it is completely sealed off by a layer of pale golden light.
The tip of the spear of Star of the Skies.
Achilles's One-on-One Barrier.
Siegfried gripped the hilt of Balmung's sword tightly. He sensed something was amiss immediately.
The enhancement effect granted to him by Archer Mukuro Hoshimiya disappeared.
The boost from "Release" caused the four basic attributes—Strength, Endurance, Agility, and Magic Power—to all return to their original values.
This barrier will eliminate all external interference. All external buffs, blessings, and conceptual protections will be severed.
He is now a pure Saber Siegfried, without any cheat codes.
Achilles stood at the other end of the barrier, pulled the ash spear from the ground, and rested it on his left shoulder with one hand.
"We've finally reached this point."
The green-haired youth grinned.
"One-on-one, a fair fight. No outside help, no support, no Command Spell, just the two of us."
Siegfried glanced at Achilles ' right arm, which was still sealed away.
Your arm is still in the same state.
Achilles glanced down at his right arm.
"Oh, this."
He shrugged.
"This isn't an external buff; it's a conceptual seal already etched into my Spirit Origin. The barrier can't break it."
"But it's alright, one hand is enough to take you down."
Outside the barrier.
Siegfried vanished in an instant.
Where Siegfried used to stand, there's nothing left now; not even a magical reaction can be detected.
Astolfo froze for a second in mid-air.
"Huh? Where's Saber!?"
He strained to look down, but only Karna remained on the ground.
Lancer, dressed in red, stood quietly in place, holding a golden spear, looking up at Astolfo in the air, but made no move.
What is he waiting for?
Astolfo broke out in a cold sweat.
Saber disappeared, Achilles disappeared, and Karna stood there alone.
This means that Achilles used some means to take Siegfried away alone.
Karna stayed here...
Was he waiting for me? No, if Karna wanted to deal with me, he would have done it already.
He was waiting for something else.
Astolfo made a very correct judgment.
slip.
A one-on-one fight with Lancer from the Red Faction? What a joke! My skill level is nowhere near Karna's. Staying here will only lead to my death.
Astolfo yanked on the reins, and the Hippogriff's wings flapped, creating a ripple of air as it began to climb rapidly.
Karna simply stood there quietly, his golden armor reflecting a soft light in the twilight.
My gaze passed over Astolfo's receding figure and looked towards a more distant direction.
It's as if they're waiting for a more worthy opponent.
Millennia Fortress, War Room.
A spatial window is suspended in mid-air.
Gordes let out a near scream as he watched Siegfried and Achilles disappear at the same time.
" Siegfried!? Where did Siegfried go!?"
Darnic also frowned, but his reaction was much calmer Gordes's.
"It resembles some kind of isolation-type barrier Noble Phantasm. Achilles might possess Noble Phantasm capable of pulling an opponent into a confined space for a one-on-one duel."
"Then send reinforcements immediately!"
"With just my Servant Saber and Rider Astolfo, they won't last long!"
"Calm down, Gordes."
Darnic raised his hand to interrupt him.
"Now is not the time for full support. We must first figure out the specific purpose of the Red Faction in setting up this trap."
Otherwise, if we attack rashly, our Yggdmillennia might find itself in a passive position.
Gordes's face turned bright red.
"You!"
Darnic's gaze turned cold. That look made Gordes swallow back the words he was about to say.
Darnic turned around and his gaze fell on Mukuro Hoshimiya on the windowsill.
"Archer."
"Um?"
"Send Heracles over there to support Rider."
"Okay."
A portal opened in the corner of the operations room, connecting directly to the battlefield.
Heracles was already waiting in the fortress hall. He walked into the portal without saying a word.
battlefield.
The portal opened thirty meters in front of Karna.
Heracles emerged from it.
Karna finally moved.
He lowered the golden spear from his shoulder, held it in front of him, and pointed the tip at Heracles.
I've been waiting for you for a long time.
Did you know I would come?
"You are the strongest Servant the Black Faction," Karna's voice was calm as still water. "They will definitely send you to fight me."
Heracles said nothing more.
The air between the two became thick and scalding hot in a very short time.
Then they moved at the same time.
Golden divine spears and giant axe swords clashed in the air.
The shockwave rippled outwards from the point of impact, uprooting all the trees within a 200-meter radius.
The ground cracked beneath their feet, and pebbles flew everywhere like bullets.
The sounds of metal clashing blended together, so fast that the intervals between individual clashes were indistinguishable.
Each of Heracles' axe blows carried the weight of a mountain splitting.
Karna precisely parried the force of each of his attacks, using the elasticity of the gun to deflect the impact, and then counter-stabbed back in the shortest possible time.
Both of them were top-tier demigod heroes from the mythological era.
The intensity of the battle has surpassed the realm of human comprehension.
Astolfo rode his Hippogriff high above the battlefield, not daring to even entertain the thought of intervening.
The aftershocks of Heracles and Karna's battle had already made the Hippogriff unsteady on its flight; any closer, and the overflowing impact alone would have knocked him and the eagle down.
"This is way too exaggerated..."
Astolfo held tightly to the Hippogriff's neck, struggling to maintain his balance.
Below the battlefield.
Heracles ' axe struck Karna's left shoulder.
Karna swung his spear backhand and thrust it into Heracles ' chest. The spear tip left a white mark on Heracles ' skin, but did not penetrate.
The passive defense of the God Hand: Attacks below a certain level cannot damage Heracles.
The two people can't kill each other.
Heracles had God Hand.
Karna possesses the Shemesh Armor.
One is a great hero who needs to be killed twelve times to be completely eliminated.
One is the Son of the Sun, who can reduce all attacks to one-tenth.
If neither side uses their trump cards, this battle could go on forever.
Millennia Fortress.
Gordes could no longer sit still.
Siegfried was nowhere to be seen from the spatial window; the isolation barrier completely blocked all external detection methods.
He was extremely anxious, not knowing whether Siegfried was alive or dead inside.
"In the name of the Command Spell-- "
Gordes suddenly raised his right hand, and the Command Spell on the back of his hand lit up.
"Saber Siegfried, come back to me!"
A Command Spell was used.
But nothing happened.
Siegfried did not appear.
The red light of the Command Spell gradually dimmed on the back of Gordes' hand, and then disappeared completely.
One Command Spell was consumed, but the command did not take effect.
"How is that possible!?"
Gordes's face turned deathly pale.
The Command Spell have failed.
Darnic looked at Gordes's distorted face, feeling nothing at all.
This is exactly the result I wanted.
The primary objective of this campaign is, of course, to completely crush the Red Faction. But a secondary objective...
Darnic shifted his gaze from Gordes's face and swept it over the other Master present.
Weaken the combat power of the other Master on the Black Faction.
Vlad III has already left the stage. Darnic himself has lost his Servant and only maintains his power through the Command Spell transferred by Fiore.
But Gordes still has Siegfried, Celenike still has Astolfo.
If these two individuals' Servant also perish in this battle...
No.
Darnic shook his head inwardly.
It would indeed be unwise to simply hand over two of the enemy's Servant' heads.
Heracles has already been sent there; with the God Hand under his command, at least Rider won't be in any trouble.
As for Siegfried...
It all depends on his own fate.