Roaring furiously, the demonic beasts charged toward the prey that had dared abandon the protection of the walls, turning their backs to the northern wall to face them directly.
Their intelligence was pitifully low; individually, their strength slightly exceeded ordinary soldiers, yet they fell far short compared to the two hundred warriors at Ritsuka's side.
But even so, tens of thousands of these weaker creatures massing together created a pressure that made Ritsuka slightly uneasy, despite the confident aura of her two hundred men.
Still, that was it—this wasn't her first experience facing a battlefield of tens of thousands, after all.
Lily sat upon a white horse clad in silver-white armor, looking back at the soldiers temporarily placed under her command.
Ritsuka, having experienced the previous Singularity, could confidently affirm that King Arthur was physically a very late bloomer. And Lily, as the earliest manifestation of that king, appeared even younger now. Although, barring strange accidents, her face would remain essentially unchanged for quite some time, Lily still radiated such childlike innocence that no one would ever associate her with the title "King."
A girl who barely looked fifteen, dropped suddenly onto a battlefield with a clueless expression—of course, these elite soldiers, each capable of facing third-rate Servants directly, wouldn't be without opinions.
Yet their unwavering loyalty to Ophis meant they wouldn't express dissatisfaction—not in word or deed.
Even knowing this, Lily's gentle heart couldn't bear seeing these warriors march toward almost certain death carrying suppressed doubts and frustrations.
"Everyone."
She turned her mount around, fully turning her back toward the demonic beasts, looking earnestly into the eyes of her soldiers.
"I understand that you're skeptical of me, and indeed, I'm quite inexperienced. As Master put it, I suppose I'm just a half-baked knight who knows only theory."
The cavalry remained silent, expressions unreadable as they watched Lily.
"Someone like me can't promise to bring each and every one of you safely home again—but surely, that's not what you truly want either."
Undeterred by their silence, Lily pressed onward resolutely.
"This is war. Sacrifice is inevitable; it is necessary. But what I can promise is that your sacrifices won't be wasted—I will ensure we achieve what you most desire: victory!"
"So please, lend me your strength!"
Though the soldiers still didn't respond verbally, the grips on their weapons subtly tightened.
Of course, Lily didn't expect such a speech from someone lacking true leadership skills to instantly change their hearts. Still, she felt obligated to at least promise something meaningful to these men risking their lives to open a path.
Jeanne watched Lily quietly, smiling gently and nodding her approval.
This heavy cavalry unit had been trained by Jeanne herself; commanding them now felt as natural as breathing.
And yet…
Jeanne unfurled her holy banner—emblazoned with the symbol representing Uruk under Ophis's rule: the serpent—holding it aloft in her left hand, while her right gripped a spear retrieved from Ophis's treasury.
"There's little time left, so I'll keep my words brief. The promise Lily-dono has made—I, too, will uphold it. I swear to protect Uruk to my very last breath! Ready yourselves!"
Jeanne turned her horse forward, facing the beasts head-on; the knights behind lowered their visors in unison.
As the beasts rapidly closed in, Jeanne's usually gentle, holy countenance turned icy.
In the Hundred Years' War, every battle, every kill Jeanne had made, had felt like a grievous sin.
Even if others believed she fought nobly to defend her homeland, it still couldn't erase Jeanne's awareness of her own sins.
Killing humans, extending warfare—in Jeanne's eyes, these were products of her own selfishness.
Thus, Jeanne had never accepted the title of "Saint."
Jeanne genuinely loved life, loved humanity, and loved her homeland deeply.
Because of that, she'd willingly shouldered sins heavier than anyone could imagine.
Not imposed by others, but burdens she'd chosen herself.
And now, mindless demonic beasts had turned their fangs upon humanity.
Once more, the Saint raised her banner and rode to war.
Yet another sin I'll have to repay...
Jeanne felt a heavy sadness.
Even though there was no other way, behind her stood two hundred souls about to follow her into a vortex of death.
Clasping her weapon tightly to her chest, Jeanne felt the flame in her heart burning fiercely.
Sins committed must be repaid—Jeanne was forever repaying hers.
"It's not yet time..."
Whispering softly, she spurred her horse forward, leveling her spear.
"Charge!"
A hundred figures shot forth like arrows loosed from their strings, directly into the beast horde!
One hundred against ten thousand. Cavalry versus infantry might still be debatable, but against such vast numbers of demonic beasts, anyone watching would think it utterly hopeless.
And yet, not a single one among those hundred cavalrymen hesitated even slightly.
"Chaldea's Master, you should get inside the carriage soon, hm?"
Seeing Ritsuka still anxiously observing, Merlin regained his usual mischievous grin and reminded her.
"Ah…yes, understood."
"Don't worry. You can still watch the battle through my familiar's surveillance spells even inside."
Sensing Ritsuka's unease, Merlin reassured her with a gentle smile.
"In that case, I'll ride along with Master~!"
"Quetzal-san…fine. Master, I'll protect the carriage from atop!"
Ignoring Quetzal, who was enthusiastically lunging at Ritsuka, Mash hopped onto the carriage roof.
Though Merlin had promised illusions to hide the carriage, trusting that man completely was impossible.
Even Merlin himself admitted fooling Kingu was extremely unlikely.
"Then, let's move out as well!"
Seeing everyone ready, Lily immediately commanded her own unit to follow Jeanne's group closely at a short distance behind.
Inside the carriage, Ritsuka nervously watched the images projected by Merlin's magic.
At that moment, Jeanne's forward unit was already less than five hundred meters from the beast horde.
The beasts' explosive charge strength vastly exceeded ordinary horses', and these "special horses" cultivated by Ophis had never faced actual beasts before. Claims about easily knocking aside elephants were all Ophis's own boasts. Although she knew Ophis wouldn't joke about her subordinates' lives, Ritsuka couldn't entirely suppress doubts about the special horses' ability to crash through the beasts.
A direct collision would maximize casualties for both sides…of course, the beasts could afford losses far better, leaving Ritsuka extremely tense about whether their side might lose too much in the clash.
Though Ophis had mentioned trying to secure some extra advantages for them at the start…
Recalling Ophis's earlier sincere promise to avenge them if things went wrong, Ritsuka suddenly found herself doubting just how reliable that semi-loli truly was…
Right now, the distance between the two sides had narrowed to three hundred meters.