The aerial courtyard of the Orbital Great Temple, Dodona, was blown open once more by a massive explosion.
Amid the drifting smoke, Shiomi and the group spearheading the assault on the main temple emerged into view.
At this moment, the aerial courtyard was completely devoid of people. The devastation brought by the Tower of Heaven had stripped it of its former radiance. Sunlight no longer touched the garden, leaving it shrouded in dim, oppressive shadows.
After entering this space, far broader than the stairways below, everyone immediately spread out, keeping watch in all directions. Shiomi stood at the edge of the courtyard, leaning forward to observe the Barrier covering Olympus from above.
"How is it?" Morgan asked.
"What do you think?" Shiomi didn't answer right away, instead tossing the question back to her.
"The Barrier looks simple, but its structure is incredibly refined. Forcing our way through would only drain us further." Morgan shook her head. "Since it was completed through Zeus's Authority, it's still eroding each other with your Tower of Heaven—"
Shiomi nodded. "That's my conclusion as well. Once we officially engage Zeus, neither side will have the strength to keep it going. When that happens, Storm Border will be able to fly up."
As he spoke, he shifted his grip on the spear. A deafening rumble echoed from behind them.
Turning around, they saw Lancelot and Tristan already fighting the autonomous defense systems stationed there.
As the final line of defense for the Fantasy Tree, it was only natural that not just Zeus, Crypters, and Alien Apostles, but all manner of dangerous forces had been packed into this place.
That said, the space here was nowhere near as vast as the interstellar city. The number of enemies currently deployed was still manageable.
"You go on ahead! Leave this to me and Tristan. We'll catch up once we're done," Lancelot called out.
He swung the Holy Sword of the Lake, azure mana slashes flowing like water as they tore apart the structures of the divine-made machines. Combined with Tristan's invisible arrows, their coordination was flawless.
Even as they spoke, more autonomous machines rumbled into motion, advancing steadily toward the aerial courtyard.
"Got it! Just don't take too long," Shiomi replied.
With a half-joking word of encouragement, he led the others forward, launching an assault on the path clogged with defense units and carving a bloody route straight through.
The Orbital Great Temple, Dodona, was composed of three sections.
The lowest was the aerial courtyard, a place where the gods once rested in their leisure. It had been a garden of such exquisite beauty that even Proper Human History could not rival it.
Above that lay the long passage known as the Corridor of the Machine Gods.
From the very beginning, this corridor had never been designed for human use. Tens of meters wide and tall, it felt like a launch route reserved solely for the true bodies of the Machine Gods.
Now, beneath this vast corridor stretched an endless mass of Olympus's divine-made weapons and soldiers clad in god-forged armor, each one rivaling a Servant. Together, they formed a defensive force built from nothing but sheer numbers.
It was a pure human-wave tactic, a wall of bodies with no path to bypass. Even if Shiomi and Morgan could fly over it, they would be intercepted by the flying three-headed divine beast Cerberus, which would mean abandoning everyone else behind.
The only correct choice was to cut a path straight through the chaos.
The moment Gawain realized this, he seized the initiative. Charging to the front, he unleashed the True Name of the Wheel of Victory Sword, sweeping away a massive swath of enemies.
The group advanced atop fallen foes, not a single weapon among them ever coming to rest.
Artemis, no longer capable of fighting, hung from Orion like a scarf, swaying on his back as he fired arrows in every direction.
Rather than slowing him down, her presence only heightened Orion's fighting spirit, making him look even more driven and imposing than when he had faced Beast Goyanskaya.
"Damn it! There's too many of them!"
Mordred shouted as greaves crackling with crimson lightning stomped an Olympus soldier into the ground, blasting a crater into the solid floor.
The soldier lay motionless, but Mordred didn't spare him another glance. She raised the King's Sword in her hand.
"I am not the king, but the one who follows in the king's footsteps… Burn, wrath of the stars! 'Clarent Blood Arthur - Rebellion Against My Beautiful Father'!"
The Noble Phantasm that symbolized rebellion against King Arthur became, in this instant, a blade that carved open the way once more, this time for the father she had once denied and opposed.
Unlike the wide, sweeping release of the Wheel of Victory Sword, Mordred's blade was a straight-line, anti-city Noble Phantasm.
Crimson, thunder-like mana surged forward, devouring everything in its path and leaving behind a road both terrifying and reassuringly wide.
"Don't waste time! Move, now!"
Mordred raised her sword, ignoring the mana drain from unleashing her Noble Phantasm as she shouted for Shiomi and the others to hurry.
"Mordred! Above!" Gareth cried out.
In that instant, everyone looked up. The massive Servant in a centaur-like form, the Berserker acting alongside Hinako Akuta and renamed "Xiang Wang," was descending from above, wrapped in overwhelming mana. He had timed it perfectly. Just as Mordred's Noble Phantasm ended and the newly opened path caused a brief moment of loosened tension before the next charge, Xiang Yu launched a surprise attack with his own Noble Phantasm.
"Mountainous Power and Matchless Valor".
In Proper Human History, Xiang Yu's martial might had long been passed down as a legendary idiom. When summoned with a human body, this Noble Phantasm functioned as an Anti-Human Noble Phantasm.
But the Xiang Yu of the Lostbelt had been given a centaur form, and his Noble Phantasm had expanded into an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.
There was no doubt about his intent. He was aiming for large-scale destruction, determined to stop Shiomi's group in their tracks.
"Don't even think about it, Conqueror!"
Shiomi shouted as he drove Gungnir into the ground. A defensive Barrier flared into existence, instantly cutting Xiang Yu off from them and blocking the full force of the Noble Phantasm.
At this point, even a Barrier hastily erected by Shiomi was enough to shield everyone behind him from the blow of a Servant on Xiang Yu's level.
More importantly, it bought Morgan and Scáthach the time they needed to layer additional defenses on top of it, making the Barrier completely unbreakable.
Another tremendous impact followed. Xiang Yu's Noble Phantasm failed to pierce the defenses. Instead, the rebounding shockwave tore back through his own side, sweeping away large numbers of soldiers and divine-made weapons.
Forced back by the recoil, his equine legs scraped across the floor of the Machine God's Corridor, leaving a long trail of sparks.
Before Xiang Yu could steady himself, Gawain and Gareth were already upon him, striking from left and right to pin him down and buy time for the others to break through.
Taking advantage of the route carved open by Mordred's Noble Phantasm, the group charged straight to the far end of the Machine God's Corridor.
Percival rushed forward and engaged Lanling Wang in battle.
Bedivere and Mandricardo turned back, staying behind to block the remaining forces and provide support for the others.