"Mere trash! Get out of my way!"
Accompanied by the neighing of immortal divine horses, a green meteor plummeted from the sky like a gliding bird. As it neared the ground, it transformed into a silver-white chariot blazing with emerald magical light. Guided by its master, it tore through the battlefield as if driving through an empty field. Homunculi and Dragon Tooth Warriors alike were obliterated in its wake.
The target of this comet was undeniably the Amazon Queen, who was venting her rage and madness on the battlefield.
Although Achilles departed later than the vanguard, Lancer Karna, the supersonic boost from his Rider-class exclusive Noble Phantasm, "Troias Tragōidia," allowed him to reach the battlefield first.
As a mighty warrior, the opponent Achilles sought was naturally the Black Berserker, Penthesilea, with whom he had failed to conclude their previous duel.
"Orpheus! Die!"
The moment she sensed Achilles charging toward her again, influenced by his attributes as a male and a Greek hero, Penthesilea instantly entered a state of Mad Enhancement. Roaring, she swung her morning star at Achilles.
Whoosh—!
Accompanied by the howling wind, the exaggeratedly styled massive morning star, propelled by Penthesilea's overpowered A+ Strength, smashed toward Achilles like a cannonball.
"Hahaha! Bring it on!"
Facing this ferocious strike, the meteor-like hero Achilles showed no intention of dodging. With a loud laugh, he drove his chariot straight toward her.
Simultaneously, the magical energy swirling around him and the chariot swelled and intensified. Bolstered by supersonic speed, he slammed violently into the morning star.
Bang!
Like a comet striking the earth, the moment the two collided, a massive shockwave erupted. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding homunculi and Dragon Tooth Warriors were blasted away. Those closest were instantly reduced to ash the moment the shockwave hit.
With just their first exchange, the battlefield around them was temporarily cleared. Within the blast radius, nothing remained except Achilles and Penthesilea.
As observers from both the Red and Black Factions turned their attention toward the commotion, they were astonished to find that when the smoke cleared, Achilles—who had physically rammed his chariot into the attack—was completely unharmed.
Taking advantage of Penthesilea's failed strike, Achilles had already launched several counterattacks against her.
Empowered by his skill "Dromeus Kometes" and his chariot Noble Phantasm, he perfectly demonstrated the truth of the saying: "Speed is power."
Facing Achilles, whose speed completely outclassed hers, Penthesilea was helpless, regardless of how unwilling she felt.
Right now, she couldn't even track the shadow of his chariot, let alone attack him.
But just as frustration appeared on Penthesilea's face, an arrow suddenly shot from the distance. As if predicting the trajectory of the high-speed Achilles, it struck him squarely as he stood on his chariot.
"What?!"
Confident in himself, the divine horses pulling his chariot, and his steeds, Achilles had absolutely zero defense against this seemingly miraculous strike.
Although the damage was heavily mitigated by "Andreias Amarantos"—the defensive Noble Phantasm born from the legend of his invulnerability—the attack's purpose was clearly disruption rather than damage.
Startled by the sudden attack on their master, the three galloping divine horses pulling the silver-white chariot slowly came to a halt. As they anxiously raised their heads to look around, Chiron, in the distance, issued a command.
"Caster, now."
"Understood."
Hearing this, the Black Caster, who had been prepared for this moment, chuckled. The next instant, the ground around Achilles surged upward, and two massive golems suddenly materialized.
"A trap? Unfortunately, parlor tricks are completely useless against me, Achilles!"
Looking at the golems surrounding him and his chariot, Achilles laughed loudly. He swung his spear, and in an instant, the two golems shattered into a pile of rubble.
But what puzzled Achilles was that, although they were mere puppets made of rock, why did it feel like cutting through flesh and blood when his spear sliced through them?
Before Achilles could dwell on it, Merlin smiled and provided the answer.
"Is that so? Proud Greek warrior, since you take pride in your warhorses, allow me to paint your glory with my colors~♡"
"What nonsense are you babbling about..."
Before Achilles could react, countless black and red flowers suddenly sprouted from the shattered remains of the golems. These flowers were eerie and chilling, their blood-red coloration making them look as if they had actually drank blood, sending shivers down his spine.
But what truly unsettled Achilles was that as the flowers bloomed, the three horses beneath him—Xanthus, Balius, and Pedasos—seemed to fall into some indescribable terror. Their eyes filled with panic as they grew restless, desperately trying to break free from the chariot's bindings and flee.
Seeing this, Achilles frowned. At that moment, a bizarre, faint fragrance reached his nose.
"Is this... an illusion?"
Achilles felt a sudden sense of dread. For the enemy Caster's illusion to affect even the immortal divine horses blessed by Poseidon, the rank of this illusion was terrifyingly high.
However, since the battle had already begun, retreating was not an option, even if he recognized the enemy's troublesome nature.
Moreover, even without his chariot, Achilles had no intention of retreating.
With a casual wave of his hand, he obliterated the flowers. Recalling the panicked horses and chariot, he smiled and looked toward the Black Faction.
"Hmph. If you think you can defeat me, Achilles, with just this, you are far too overconfident."
"Raaargh! Orpheus!"
Acting as if she hadn't heard anything, the berserk Penthesilea swung her morning star at Achilles.
Achilles still did not dodge. Instead, he raised his spear.
"No one can stop my battle! No one can interfere! Because this is the privilege belonging to me, Achilles!"
"Come! Queen from another world! Our battle has only just begun!"
With Achilles's roar, the tip of his spear began to bloom with green brilliance. Although, due to special circumstances, the true Noble Phantasm forming the core of the green light, "Diatrekhon Aster Lonkhe," could not be fully released against Penthesilea, under Achilles's persistence, the light still created a certain degree of isolation.
In other words, Achilles and Penthesilea had now entered a one-on-one duel arena.
The next moment, accompanied by Penthesilea's roar, the two clashed fiercely once again beneath the canopy of green light.
In the distance, Chiron watched this scene and shook his head helplessly, lowering his drawn bow.
As Achilles's teacher, Chiron naturally knew what capabilities his disciple possessed. Even though it appeared the Noble Phantasm hadn't been fully unleashed, they could no longer interfere.
"What is the matter, Lord Sage? Why did you stop shooting hidden arrows?"
Noticing Chiron's pause, Merlin, her face flushed as she observed the battlefield through her familiars, looked over. The lingering desire in her eyes was unconcealed.
"It's useless. As a hero who drew the attention of the gods after Heracles, as long as Achilles is on guard, no one can interfere with his battle."
Chiron seemed to feel a visceral repulsion toward Merlin's current expression. Frowning, he explained while changing the subject.
"Rather than focusing on that, we should pay attention to the battle between the King and the enemy Lancer."
Hearing this, everyone's gaze instinctively shifted toward Vlad III's location.
Sure enough, they saw a single Servant engaged in fierce combat with Vlad.
"Kazikli Bey!"
Under the cloak of night, thousands of iron stakes merged into a colossal, menacing black spear. Guided by its master, it thrust toward the red figure in the sky.
"Futile."
Watching the countless iron stakes swarming toward him like a tidal wave, Karna's expression remained unchanged. He simply uttered that single word, allowing the pitch-black spear tip to pin him in midair.
"Lancer of Red. You possess a fine suit of armor."
Gazing at Karna's chest from the ground, Vlad III chuckled in admiration.
Although his strike appeared to have hit its mark, the feedback from the iron stakes told Vlad III that the opponent had taken absolutely no damage.
His "Kazikli Bey" seemed ferocious, but it failed to penetrate Karna's defenses at all. Every attack was blocked by the transparent layer of defense covering his skin.
Karna showed no signs of smugness. He merely tilted his head slightly and looked at Vlad III.
"Well, are you going to surrender?"
"Hehe."
Hearing this, Vlad III couldn't help but chuckle.
"Surrender? Lancer of Red, you seem to forget my identity as the King of the Black Faction, their leader and protector. Do you think I, as a King, would surrender to you?"
"Furthermore, as a Servant, as long as I harbor hopes for the Holy Grail, I have no reason to leave the stage."
Karna did not say much, merely asking again as if to confirm.
"So, even if you cannot cause me harm, you still refuse?"
"Hmph. Do not be overly confident, Lancer of Red."
Vlad III sneered. Channeling his magical energy, he leaped from horseback, lunging fiercely at Karna, who remained pinned by the iron stakes.
At the tip of his spear was pitch-black magical energy, condensed from the power of five thousand iron stakes.
As mentioned before, the "spear" of the Lancer Servant Vlad Tepes was not the physical spear he held as a medium, but the twenty thousand pitch-black iron stakes.
Vlad III's application of "Kazikli Bey" wasn't limited to using it as an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm for wide-area mass destruction. In terms of classification, it also possessed Anti-Unit properties.
Just like now, converting five thousand of the twenty thousand stakes into magical energy and concentrating it into a single strike. Boosted by the "Demonic Defender of the State EX" within Romanian territory, the power contained within these stakes far exceeded normal imagination.
This was also why Vlad III, fully aware that Kazikli Bey was ineffective against Karna, still chose to pin him in place.
So, Son of the Sun, can you defend against my strike of five thousand iron stakes?!
Sensing the immense power gathered within the ink-black spear in Vlad's hands, Karna realized his golden armor alone could not completely block this strike. Without hesitation, he activated his own ability.
"Burn. 'Mana Burst (Flames)'."
Boom————
Like a sun appearing in the pitch-black night sky, with Karna's Mana Burst, a surging, scorching inferno instantly erupted, engulfing him. From the outside, he truly looked like a miniature sun.
Seeing this, Vlad III was forced to halt his advance and land, frowning at Karna, who was melting his iron stakes into molten metal.
"It seems you are no ordinary Heroic Spirit either."
Vlad III narrowed his eyes.
He didn't need to worry about the consumption of iron stakes. As long as he was within the range of Demonic Defender of the State, he could replenish them in no time. What truly troubled Vlad III was Karna's obvious mastery over flames.
Judging from his current abilities and the rumors surrounding him, this Lancer of Red, who resembled a sun god, seemed to be his natural counter.
And that was exactly the truth.
As the son of Surya, the sun god in Hindu mythology, the Mana Burst (Flames) possessed by Karna was vastly different from the Mana Burst (Flames) possessed by the Sun Knight Gawain. The latter's flames originated from his own attributes, with the Holy Sword of the Sun merely acting as a conduit. Karna's Mana Burst, however, largely stemmed from his identity as the son of the sun god.
The blazing fire he unleashed carried the true power of the sun.
And this happened to be Vlad III's absolute bane.
"Since you will not choose to surrender, Black Lancer, I formally declare war upon you."
With a wave of his hand, Karna gathered the flames around him into a cloak. Looking down from above, he pointed his flame-wreathed spear at Vlad III.
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Vlad III's eyes sharpened, realizing a fierce battle was imminent.
Meanwhile, Souya materialized and looked with a massive headache at Atalante, who was clinging to him like a koala.
"Um, Atalante. Could you unwrap your legs from my waist first?"