Chapter 72: Fake Spiral Sword!
Riding on his horse, killing intent flickered in his eyes. He raised his sword high, pointing the tip toward Shirou, who stood on higher ground.
"Charge!!"
Accompanied by Iskandar's roar, the earth trembled under the advance of the army of ten thousand Heroic Spirits.
"OHHHHHHHHH!!!!" × N
The soul-shaking, morale-filled shouts of the army hammered against Shirou's eardrums. Facing such a vast number of Servants, there could not be even a single moment of relaxation.
"Saber, is your mana sufficient? Release your Noble Phantasm!"
Hearing Shirou's inquiry, Saber nodded with a resolute expression and replied, "Understood!"
Countless golden particles began to gather. The upraised golden sword burst into radiance—a light so dazzling that even Iskandar's pupils constricted.
"I see... so this is 'King Arthur'..."
Seeing the scene where this pure light converged, he could no longer treat the conviction of the "King of Knights" as if it were nothing.
"Do not let her gather magical energy! Soldiers, advance!"
As Iskandar raised his sword to command, the massive army erupted once more in deafening roars.
The simultaneous shout of ten thousand men created an immense pressure and a surging killing intent, making Shirou feel as if a thick mist of blood were swirling before his eyes. However, Shirou did not retreat; he glanced at Saber, who was concentrating intensely on gathering mana, and then cast his gaze back toward the distant army of Heroic Spirits charging toward him.
Facing the vast onslaught of ten thousand heroes, Shirou simply took another step forward. Simultaneously, azure wings, flickering like burning flames, bloomed behind him. Shirou stood at the highest point constructed by countless "swords," looking down at the densely packed sea of people swarming toward him.
"..."
In an instant, thousands of "swords" rose from the ground in response to Shirou's voice, flying into the sky. Then, Shirou swung his hand forward violently.
"...Fire!"
Instantly, the dispersed swords trailed blue shadows as they crashed into the sea of soldiers.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!!!
At the same time, the grand army roared, each soldier using their own techniques to deflect the Noble Phantasms falling from the sky.
"Do not harm our King!"
"Did you think the same trick would work again!?"
"How naive!"
In the end, only about a thousand soldiers were killed by the activation of "Broken Phantasm." Among them were many Heroic Spirits with martial skills on par with Lancer, but because they lacked sufficiently powerful Noble Phantasms, they met a bitter end under Shirou's "swords."
A tally of a thousand enemies looked impressive, but compared to a force of over ten thousand, it was still somewhat insufficient. However, Shirou never intended to completely annihilate a massive army of ten thousand Heroic Spirits through this method alone.
His own mana capacity wouldn't allow it. Although he possessed a powerful Reality Marble like "Unlimited Blade Works," his low personal mana remained a "weakness." While his 27 Magic Circuits were considered an excellent number for a "first-generation magus," they were still far inferior to magi who possessed "Magic Crests."
'It seems I really need to find a way to improve my mana capacity in the future...' Shirou thought to himself.
But while he had the thought, he didn't yet know how to do it; he could only leave it for future plans. For now, even if he couldn't wipe out an army of ten thousand with a wave of his hand, stalling them for a while was enough.
After all, he wasn't fighting alone!
"Saber, are you ready?"
Watching the army constantly crashing in like waves, sweat beaded on Shirou's forehead. After Gilgamesh, this was the first time he had manipulated Noble Phantasm attacks with such high intensity. Facing an army of ten thousand Heroic Spirits was no small pressure.
By this time, the holy sword in Saber's hand had accumulated a massive amount of magical energy, the blade emitting a blinding, eye-catching radiance.
"Yes, the accumulation is complete. Shirou, leave the rest to me."
Saber pursed her lips tightly, her eyes staring resolutely at the terrifyingly oppressive army of ten thousand.
At this moment, some Heroic Spirits within the army clearly realized that the holy sword gripped in Saber's hands possessed fearsome power. Many archers began to draw their bows,
aiming at Saber's small frame. The archers tightened their strings, their sharp arrows reflecting a cold light as they prepared to fire.
Seeing this, Shirou revealed a confident smile.
If it were a contest of melee combat, Shirou didn't believe he could compare to those generals who were peerless in the battlefields of the past. But if it were a contest of archery, he had absolutely no fear.
Shirou reached his left hand out to the side at random.
A longbow of black texture appeared in Shirou's hand amidst ripples in the air. Immediately, he aimed the bow at the army ahead with his left hand. Then, he opened his hand.
"Trace On... Caladbolg II (Fake Spiral Sword)."
The luster of magical energy surged in his hand, gradually constructing a uniquely shaped sword. The blade of this sword was an unusual spiral; anyone who saw it would be surprised by its uniqueness.
Caladbolg II Rank: A+ Classification: Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm Range: 1~40 Maximum Targets: 300 people
The prototype of this Noble Phantasm, "Caladbolg II," is the demonic sword held by the Irish hero Fergus mac Róich from Celtic mythology. Legend says this sword was forged by the elves of the land of gods and houses the powerful strength of the heavenly god's thunder.
Taking a shallow breath, his mind focused, Shirou's gaze pierced through a distance of several kilometers, precisely locking onto the center of several targets. At the same time, Saber saw Shirou drawing his bow; as Shirou's Servant, she could sense the quality of that Noble Phantasm and couldn't help but take a small breath.
"That is..."
Before Saber could finish her sentence, the sword of mingled gold and blue had already left the string!
Thwack!
The long sword pierced through the air, colliding with the arrows fired by the enemy archers. Because the arrows used by those archers were suppressed in rank by "Caladbolg II," they were pierced straight through the center and shattered the moment the tip of the sword touched them.
The archers' pupils dilated as they watched the sword fired by Shirou plunge into the crowd. The magical energy was released instantly, resulting in a sudden, violent explosion!
BOOM—!
The light was as bright as the sun, and blood stained the world. Another massive sound rang out; over a thousand soldiers were caught in the explosion!
Soldiers slightly further away had noticed the danger early and retreated at maximum speed, so they were not affected.
"Quite clever..."
Those soldiers had already realized the power of Shirou's "swords." Every time they saw Shirou manipulating a sword for an attack, they would immediately scatter like ants hitting water. Shirou did not yet have the massive mana required to make thousands of swords collapse simultaneously; otherwise, the soldiers' dodging would have been meaningless.
Though nearly ten thousand soldiers continued to roar and charge afterward, that was as far as they would get.
"Saber!"
With Shirou's call, Saber suddenly raised her sword high over her head, letting the dazzling light that shocked everyone become the most eye-catching existence in the entire battlefield.
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