Vlad III rode a jet-black warhorse, standing at the very front of the homunculus army.
Its dark golden pupils swept across the sea of white bones before it, its expression as calm as if it were inspecting its own territory.
"On my land, there is no need for such filthy spirits."
" Kazikli Bey "
The earth cracked open.
Countless iron stakes erupted simultaneously from the depths of the ground, each one piercing precisely into the body of a Dragon Tooth Warriors.
The sound of bones cracking blended together, like ice collapsing collectively in the sunlight.
Hundreds of Dragon Tooth Warriors were nailed to the ground, their skeletons crooked, the dark red ghost fire in their eye sockets extinguished, and they could no longer move.
The iron stakes, like a forest of metal, stood on both sides of the road through which Vlad III rode.
The android phalanx surged past him, advancing over the remains of the Dragon Tooth Warriors.
Vlad III reined in his horse and gazed into the distance.
A red light was approaching. It was moving at great speed, its trajectory straight, like a shooting star flying from the horizon.
The light stopped thirty meters in front of Vlad III.
Karna.
Lancer, clad in red, stood silently, holding a golden spear. His golden armor gleamed softly in the night, like a sun set on earth.
The two looked at each other.
Vlad III.
Karna spoke first. Without any pleasantries or probing, he directly revealed the other person's real name.
"Lord of Wallachia, the Piercer."
"Since you know my name, you'll save yourself the trouble of introducing yourself."
"But there is one thing I would like to correct."
"Please speak."
I don't like the title "Piercing Duke".
Vlad III spread his arms wide, his dark golden pupils burning in the darkness.
"I am the King of Apologetics, the Shield of Christianity."
The iron stake rose up from the ground beneath his feet again, heading straight for Karna.
Karna dodged to the side, his golden spear sweeping across, severing all three iron stakes simultaneously.
The battle then broke out.
Vlad III had already undergone enhancement by Mukuro Hoshimiya before going into battle.
His four basic attributes—strength, endurance, agility, and magic power—have all been greatly improved.
With the added advantage of Romania's homeland, Vlad III has now reached the limit that his Spirit Origin can reach.
The iron stakes are being generated almost twice as fast as before.
It has a higher density, a wider coverage area, and even the hardness of the iron stakes themselves has made a qualitative leap.
Karna felt pressure for the first time.
The iron stakes themselves were indeed unable to penetrate the defenses of the Shemesh Armor.
But the number and speed of the iron stakes had reached a point where he had to take them seriously.
It pierced through the ground, swept in from the side, and plunged down from above.
Vlad III's control over the iron stakes was an art in itself.
Each one precisely blocked Karna's movement route, gradually compressing his space of operation.
"Oh?"
Karna's eyes narrowed slightly. This was one of the few times his expression changed.
"It's stronger than the intelligence reports."
That's because I'm stronger than usual right now.
Vlad III's voice was icy. He stood rooted to the spot, not moving an inch, but the ground within a hundred meters had become his weapon.
The iron stakes attacked Karna from all angles as if they were alive, their density bordering on frenzy.
Karna parried with the gun barrel, dodged with his agility, and occasionally released Mana Burst incinerate any approaching iron stakes.
But Vlad III's offensive showed no signs of abating.
On Romania soil, he was king.
Karna was forced to retreat more than ten steps.
For a short period of time, Vlad III actually gained the upper hand.
But Vlad III himself knew very well that this advantage would not last long.
Because he couldn't hurt Karna.
The Shemesh Armor, a divinely crafted armor that Karna was born with, reduces the power of all attacks to one-tenth.
Even the reinforced iron stake could only leave a faint white mark on the golden light membrane, which would quickly disappear.
Vlad III tried another approach.
He extended the power of the Kazikli Bey into Karna's body, directly creating iron stakes inside him.
This is one of the most terrifying uses of the Kazikli Bey: ignoring external defenses and penetrating directly from the inside.
The iron stake grew out of Karna's abdominal cavity.
Karna paused for a moment.
But that's all.
The next second, red flames erupted from his body.
Mana Burst).
The divine fire bestowed by the sun god Surya incinerated all the iron stakes from the inside. The metal, under the extreme heat, left not even slag, but turned directly into nothingness.
Karna didn't even change his expression.
"... Internal generation is indeed an effective tactic," he said calmly, "But it's not enough for me."
Vlad III's dark golden eyes darkened.
Even this method is ineffective?
--
Another direction of the battlefield.
Siegfried's greatsword clashed with Achilles ' spear in mid-air, sending up a string of dazzling sparks.
Achilles ' right forearm remained sealed, hanging motionless at his side. He could only grip the gun with his left hand, which severely limited his attack range and power.
Even so, he was still the fastest on the battlefield.
"Hey!"
Achilles thrust his spear forward, the tip grazing the surface of Siegfried's armor before being deflected by the Armor of Fafnir. Siegfried swung his sword horizontally in a backhand motion, and Achilles leaped backward, creating a safe distance.
"Fighting with one hand is so painful!" Achilles couldn't help but complain. "What the hell did that Archer seal on me?!"
Siegfried did not respond, but silently raised his sword again and approached.
--
On the other side.
Astolfo circled low in the sky on his Hippogriff, his knight's lance aimed at Atalanta below.
"Hehe, cat-eared sister! Take this!"
Atalanta's cat ears twitched slightly.
Don't call me Cat-Eared Sister!
Atalanta bow and fired three arrows simultaneously. The arrows' trajectories wove a net in the air, precisely blocking all of the Hippogriff's escape routes.
Astolfo pulled the reins, Hippogriff's body instantly became translucent, a dimensional leap.
The arrow passed through the Hippogriff's afterimage but hit nothing.
"Wow, that was close!"
When Astolfo reappeared from another direction, he was holding the black horn.
A sharp screech exploded, and the shockwave spread towards Atalanta. Atalanta's cat ears snapped flat, her balance was momentarily disrupted, and she staggered.
Atalanta's strength is indeed superior to Astolfo's. Whether it is the accuracy of her archery or her physical attributes, she is better.
But Astolfo has too many tricks up his sleeve.
The Hippogriff's dimensional leap, the Trap of Argalia control effect, and the La Black Luna's area-of-effect disruption.
In addition, the attribute boost from the "release" enhancement applied by Mukuro Hoshimiya combined with these factors made it impossible for Atalanta to finish the battle quickly.
"What a troublesome opponent," Atalanta murmured, a hint of annoyance in her amber eyes.
--
Further east.
Standing before Heracles was a knight clad in full silver armor and wearing a helmet that concealed his face.
Mordred.
Saber, the Red Faction.
The helmet was still on, meaning the real name was completely concealed. Heracles was unable to confirm the other party's identity by any means.
Mordred made the first move.
Mana Burst, red lightning crackled around the sword as he slashed towards Heracles ' face.
It was extremely fast and powerful, carrying a kind of reckless brute force.
Heracles raised his left arm and caught the sword with his bare hands.
The clanging of metal seemed to distort the surrounding air.
Mordred's feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground, and he was bounced back.
"What kind of power is this...?"
The voice coming from under the helmet was young and filled with Wrath.
Heracles gave his opponent no chance to breathe. He took a step forward, the earth cracking beneath his feet, and his entire body, like a giant blade, crashed directly into Mordred.
Mordred raised his sword to parry, the blade making a sickening crunching sound under Heracles ' fist.
"Are you kidding me!?"
Mordred was forced to retreat repeatedly, and several dents appeared on his silver-white armor.
Her Mana Burst indeed powerful, with an explosive force approaching that of Artoria herself.
But Heracles is Heracles.
--
On the battlefield of grunts, Spartacus was like a runaway battering ram.
The Dragon Tooth Warriors was smashed to pieces by his punch.
The android was kicked away by him.
He tore the puppet in half with his bare hands.
He doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. Anything that gets close to him will be violently dismantled.
And with each attack, his body was accumulating something.
The Dragon Tooth Warriors's bone sword struck his back, leaving a wound.
The puppet's stone hammer slammed into his shoulder, the bones cracking with a sound.
The injuries were mounting, and Spartacus's body was becoming increasingly dangerous due to these damages.
That was his Noble Phantasm, the Cry of the War-Monger.
The damage received is transformed into power and stored within the body.
Once the accumulated energy reaches a Neighboring World point, it will be released in a devastating burst.
He's like a ticking time bomb.