In the distance, beyond the walls of Uruk, a fierce battle raged.
Aside from the basic foot soldiers—the lion-hounds—along with various ordinary magical beasts and wyverns, there were also numerous high-level monsters present.
For instance, the lion that Castorice had slain before, Ugallu, and the Mušḫuššu, with its massive bladed head and scorpion-like tail.
It was important to understand that these creatures were fundamentally different from ordinary magical beasts. These advanced monsters were among the eleven children of the goddess Tiamat, each vastly superior in both size and strength compared to their common counterparts.
Except for Servants, ordinary soldiers stood no chance against them.
Before Castorice and the others had arrived, a Servant summoned by Gilgamesh, Tomoe Gozen, had sacrificed her life to take down one of these high-level monsters.
The fact that such a powerful Servant could only achieve a mutual demise with these beasts spoke volumes about how dire the situation had become.
This was a true war for humanity's very survival.
Now, aside from Uruk, few other human city-states remained standing.
Those who hadn't evacuated in time had all become food for the magical beasts.
Though humanity continued to hold out, repelling wave after wave of monsters at a tremendous cost, they couldn't reverse the declining situation.
After all, the magical beasts were endless, while human forces were difficult to replenish.
"With so many of them, how are we supposed to get through?"
Standing on a cliff in the distance, Ana gazed down at the swarming horde below, then turned to look at Castorice beside her.
"This is quite the headache. If it were just the few of us, reaching the city of Uruk would be easy. But with these survivors in tow... it becomes much harder. My abilities can't affect so many people at once."
Merlin scratched his head, troubled by the sight. The civilians had suffered greatly along the journey, and protecting them had cost Castorice a significant amount of energy.
Still, that level of expenditure was nothing to her. She wasn't a Servant, so aside from physical stamina, she didn't have the same strict magical energy limitations.
As a thousand-year-old Chrysos Heir, Castorice's strength was beyond doubt.
Dealing with these magical beasts was practically a one-sided slaughter for her.
However, no matter how powerful she was, this challenge remained incredibly difficult.
The horde of magical beasts outside was endless. Castorice's task was to protect these survivors while crossing this boundless tide of monsters to reach Uruk.
The distance wasn't far. According to the optimal route Merlin provided, it was only about a kilometer. Moreover, once they got within three hundred meters of Uruk, Servants would come out to assist.
But the problem was: how could they lead several dozen people through this beastly tide?
"Hmm... What if we carry them across one by one? Taking one or two at a time, we could move all several dozen people fairly quickly."
Merlin stared down at the magical beast horde, thought for a moment, then stroked his chin as he spoke.
"Though I despise humans, for something this minor, I'd be willing to help as a favor to you."
Ana glanced at Castorice and spoke.
Though Ana was somewhat tsundere, she had noticed how Castorice had looked after her these past few days—whether intentionally leaving the tastier food for her during meals or taking longer night watch shifts so Ana could rest and recover more magical energy.
Ana hadn't spoken of it, but she saw it all.
Her awkward nature made it hard for her to frankly say "thank you" to Castorice, but she could still offer this level of assistance.
"That likely won't work."
Castorice shook her head.
"These magical beasts aren't mindless. There must be someone directing their actions behind the scenes."
She observed the horde and gently shook her head again.
"You're right about that. There are higher-level magical beasts commanding these creatures. Before, one of the Servants summoned by King Gilgamesh sacrificed themselves to take down a Beast General."
"Though no others have appeared since, the fact that the horde continues its assault even after that general's death suggests there might be more than one of these high-level entities among them..."
Merlin nodded, dismissing the idea.
"Actually, I have a plan, Merlin, but I'll need your help."
After a moment of thought, Castorice looked at Merlin and spoke.
"What sort of plan?"
Merlin raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"We'll split into two groups. Merlin, I need you to use your illusion magic. Create an illusion of our group breaking through to draw the beasts' attention."
"But... my illusions can't fight. Those beasts might not be clever, but they'll still notice something's wrong..."
Merlin replied with some distress.
"That's where Ana comes in. Ana, you'll need to hold off any beasts that charge toward us. You mustn't let Merlin's illusion be exposed. Can you do it?"
Castorice looked at Ana, her eyes filled with trust.
"Tch... Who do you think you're looking down on? Of course I can do it. But you'd better be quick, otherwise I won't be able to hold out for long..."
Ana met Castorice's sincere gaze, pursed her lips, and finally agreed.
"Wait a moment, Miss Castorice. There's still a flaw in this plan."
Merlin raised a hand and spoke slowly, "Even if I can create an illusion and use my abilities to briefly conceal your movements, these magical beasts have keen senses. With the density of the horde ahead, they'll quickly see through the disguise I place on you all. What do we do then?"
Merlin looked puzzled.
"Yes, I've considered that as well. That's where my abilities come in. As a Chrysos Heir blessed by death, my power can grant life its end, and make living beings instinctively fear approaching me."
"Besides that, I can also manipulate the waters of the River of Souls. These waters carry an essence that the living detest most. Those magical beasts will subconsciously avoid my location."
"As long as I control the Souls' waters to encircle these people, we can safely pass through the beast tide."
As she spoke, the waters of the Souls gradually gathered over her small, deep-purple gloved hand, eventually forming a ring in the air.
What she intended to do was create a ring large enough to envelop several dozen people.
Under normal circumstances, this would be very difficult. But here on the battlefield, where the aura of death was thick, Castorice found that her power was somewhat enhanced when fighting in such conditions.
This surprised Castorice somewhat. If she could gain enhancements from death even on a battlefield like this, how much stronger would she become in the Underworld?
"In that case, I'll leave it to you, Miss Castorice. Ana and I will do our best to hold out. During that time, please lead them forward."
"I understand."
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