Chapter 71: The Overwritten Reality Marble
The sky-blotting rain of arrows, even under such dense aggression, had only managed to break through three layers of the floral shield's defense. This was only because the volley was interspersed with the focused attacks of the generals.
"I have no regrets. This is the only path."
The incantation was nearing its end. Upon the wasteland surrounding Shirou, hundreds of "swords" suddenly began to vibrate frantically!
"My whole life was
Unlimited Blade Works!"
With the final line of the incantation complete, Shirou swung his arm wide!
"King of Conquerors! Behold my world of infinite blades!!!"
At this moment! The entire world was overwritten!!
The originally pale blue magical radiance shifted abruptly, extending like golden lightning. The surging magical energy erupted with such force that the ground cracked instantly.
In the blink of an eye, Iskandar found himself standing in a barren wilderness devoid of any vegetation. Countless swords were thrust into the endless wasteland. A slow breeze blew through Iskandar's hair, yet no dust or sand rose with it.
The mental world "Ionioi Hetairoi" constructed by the "King of Conquerors" Iskandar had its terrain forcibly changed by Shirou.
However, it was not a total replacement. A clash between Reality Marbles is a contest of whose conviction is stronger. The King of Conquerors' conviction was not so easily erased. Although the environment surrounding Iskandar and his army had changed, it caused no direct harm to them. To them, they had simply moved from a desert to a wasteland filled with swords.
Thus, Rider did not pay it much mind. He continued to command his army, advancing toward Shirou's side with an unrivaled momentum.
Saber, who was fighting with all her might against the swarming soldiers, was beginning to feel the strain of being "two-fisted against four hands"—or in this case, facing ten thousand pairs of hands. She feared no one in a head-on duel, but attacks coming simultaneously from all directions were incredibly troublesome even for her.
Clang!
Swinging Excalibur once more, she cut down four encroaching enemies. By now, she had slain over a hundred. One must remember: these were all Heroic Spirits. Relying solely on the life-
and-death combat skills honed on battlefields, Saber swung her sword without pause, slaying one enemy after another.
From start to finish, she showed no sign of fatigue. As the possessor of the "Dragon Factor" and the heart of a red dragon, she did not require standard Magic Circuits; she generated mana simply through blood circulation and breathing. She possessed a "Magical Energy Core" on a completely different dimension from ordinary magi.
This was exactly why Saber was invincible across so many battlefields. Yet, even if her body felt no exhaustion and she fought like a perpetual motion machine, she could not perfectly react to every attack coming from her blind spots.
'If I don't retreat now, my arm will likely be wounded!'
Though she realized this, the strike she had already committed to could not be pulled back.
"Dammit...!"
The girl gritted her teeth, prepared to take the injury if it meant slaying the enemies before her. Even one more kill mattered; she had to carve a blood-soaked path for the person behind her.
At that moment, a figure blurred past. Leaving a trail of azure afterimages, he swung a blade and cut down the enemy attacking Saber's flank in a single stroke!
"Shirou, you..." Saber looked at the youth standing beside her in surprise.
Shirou smiled. "Thanks for earlier, Saber. Now it's my turn to help you!"
With that, Shirou channeled mana into the bright red longsword in his hand, causing it to streak toward the vanguard of the army like a sharp arrow. The red blade trailed a crimson light through the air as it dived!
However, it failed to hit anyone; it was knocked aside by a general wielding a halberd.
Clang!
Sparks flew instantly. The crimson sword was deflected and landed on the ground. The general hooked the sword with his toe, flipped it up, caught it with his left hand, and immediately mocked Shirou.
"Hahaha! Brat, you wasted all that time and this is the result?"
But faced with this mockery, Shirou's face showed no anger. Instead, he flashed a bright, sunny smile.
"Heh. Picking up other people's things isn't a very good habit."
The general gave a contemptuous laugh and was about to speak when he suddenly felt the sword in his hand grow searingly hot, scorching his palm.
"Tch! What is this!?"
His hand reflexively loosened from the burn, and the sword fell back to the ground. Confused, he looked down at the crimson blade, only to find cracks beginning to spiderweb across the surface. The cracks extended and widened, releasing an incredibly violent magical energy from within.
At that exact moment, Shirou raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist toward the general.
"Broken Phantasm!"
As Shirou shouted those words, the longsword shattered, and the massive amount of mana contained within was released in a surging explosion!
BOOM—!
Amidst the army of thousands, a small mushroom cloud erupted. A large number of soldiers were annihilated, and even some generals could not escape death.
Under Shirou's horrifying strike, the originally unstoppable morale of the King of Conquerors' army faltered for a moment. Although the soldiers did not retreat, the shock in their eyes was impossible to hide.
Seeing the wavering spirit of his troops, Iskandar let out a boisterous laugh.
"Soldiers! We have merely changed battlefields! The opponent seems to think we would be frightened by this! Hahahahaha!!!"
Infected by the King's boldness, the soldiers also erupted into thunderous laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
For most enemies, the collective laughter of ten thousand Heroic Spirits would be enough to make their limbs turn to jelly. But Shirou, witnessing this, only felt his heart race with excitement.
"Ah... Come then. Let us fight."
He couldn't help but let out a joyful smile. The swords in the wasteland seemed to vibrate in resonance with their master's passionate heart. When Iskandar saw Shirou's current expression and the look in his brown eyes, even he could no longer continue laughing.
Iskandar's expression turned serious as he whispered, "His gaze is different from when we first met..."
He sighed with a touch of regret.
"Originally, this King thought of bringing you under my command after defeating you. To arm my army with the weapons of your Reality Marble... we would surely be invincible in this world."
Shirou looked at Iskandar with a cold, resolute gaze, saying nothing.
Iskandar continued, "But it's a pity... I have realized that you are absolutely not the type to serve under another. And such a person can only be my enemy!"
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