*Thwup-thwup-thwup-thwup—!*
The roar of a helicopter echoed through the sky.
It was a reconnaissance helicopter from the Air Self-Defense Force, drawn by the previous explosions and the black sphere.
The pilot stared in horror at the chaotic dance of monsters below, incoherently reporting back to command:
"Is... is this hell? Monsters! There are monsters everywhere! Requesting... Ah!!"
Before he could finish his sentence, a massive tentacle suddenly shot up from the river, violently wrapping around the helicopter's tail rotor.
*Screech—!*
The sound of twisting steel rang out as the helicopter was yanked down like a toy, smashing heavily onto the riverbank and exploding into a fireball.
But the monsters were not afraid of the flames at all. Instead, as if enraged, they began to surge madly toward the city!
They let out murmurs laced with cognitive contamination, sounding like whispered ancient curses, utterly evil.
"Oh no! They are heading into the city!"
Artoria's expression changed drastically.
If this horde of monsters was allowed to charge into Fuyuki City, it would be a true massacre.
As the first Servant to witness all of this, she did not hesitate for a single moment.
"These monsters... I absolutely cannot let them take a single step into the city!"
The holy sword in her hands bloomed with golden light under the surge of magical energy. With a flash of the blade, a golden storm of magical energy swept outward.
The monsters were sliced apart in droves. Green fluid splattered in all directions, and a heavy, putrid stench filled the air.
Their severed bodies crashed onto the gravel of the riverbank, twitching a few times but not yet completely dead.
Just as Artoria prepared to turn to her next target, the severed corpses suddenly began to squirm.
Countless tiny tentacles sprouted from the severed ends, rapidly regenerating like dividing cells.
The upper halves grew new legs, while the lower halves sprouted new heads and arms.
In just a few short seconds, one monster had become two.
They staggered to their feet, their compound eyes locking onto Artoria as they let out even more frenzied roars.
The swordsman's figure drew silver streaks beneath the moonlight. Holding her holy sword high, she slashed at one monster after another.
While some were killed outright, many more simply split into new monsters.
Artoria furrowed her brows slightly. Wherever her blade passed, magical energy burned like raging flames in an attempt to halt their regeneration.
On the riverbank, even more monsters poured out like a tide, densely covering the entire field of vision.
They had already formed a blasphemous tsunami.
Soon, the number of monsters on the riverbank surged from dozens to hundreds. They formed a massive circle, trapping Artoria in the center.
"At this rate... it will be endless," Artoria muttered, panting.
These monsters were by no means naturally occurring; they had been dragged into the World of the Living from another dimension through some evil magecraft.
If the source was not destroyed, this battle would never end.
Her emerald eyes scanned the surroundings, trying to locate the source, and finally landed on the figures high up on the bridge—Francesca and François.
The Caster twins were standing there, wearing crazed smiles on their faces, the human-skin grimoire in their hands flashing with an ominous light.
"My, my, Artie-kins is certainly working hard," Francesca laughed, trembling with mirth.
François nodded repeatedly. "It's a pity that sow Joan of Arc isn't here. It just feels like it's missing a little something."
Clearly, they were the main culprits behind all of this.
"Something has happened over there as well," Asuka said, looking toward the riverbank after finishing bandaging the Kamado mother and daughter.
The evil magical energy washed over like a tide, causing him to frown involuntarily.
"Good heavens, what are those things!"
Under his guidance, the Kamado mother and daughter stumbled up to a high vantage point with him, gazing at the bizarre sight on the riverbank.
The exhaustion from the previous battle had yet to dissipate, and the scene before her directly assaulted Sumire Kamado's worldview as an ordinary human.
Asuka did not look back, merely dropping a worried instruction: "No matter what that is, take your mother and leave this place first!"
"If necessary, retreat to the Matou Manor. Without the magical energy restrictions from Lancer, I can operate independently by plundering magical energy!"
"At the very least, there is a Bounded Field there. It's safer than anywhere else."
"Also, don't do anything foolish again." He deliberately cast a glance at Sumire.
Sumire Kamado nodded vigorously. "...Please be careful, Mr. Asuka!"
Subsequently, Asuka transformed into a black shadow, sprinting toward the Mion River bank.
By the time he arrived, the area had already turned into a chaotic battlefield.
Tentacles thrashed in the air, compound eyes reflected the moonlight, and rotting flesh crawled across the ground.
They had no formation, only an instinctive hunger and desire for destruction, densely covering the entire shoreline.
In the center of the sea of monsters, Artoria was still fighting bitterly.
Without a shred of hesitation, he drew his Zanpakuto, its black blade already beginning to burn fiercely.
*Swish—!!*
Just as a monster attempted to ambush Artoria, he appeared at the perfect moment, cleaving the tentacled beast right down the middle.
He watched as the severed ends squirmed, about to spawn two smaller monsters.
"Regeneration types... how troublesome."
Asuka frowned. With a flash of his blade, he used Nugata's ability to devour it completely.
"Avenger!" Artoria's voice rang out across the battlefield. "The source of these things is on that bridge! Let's break through together!!"
Although she hadn't expected this Servant to come to her aid, the entire city was now in crisis; it was the perfect time to join forces.
Asuka nodded. The two fought side by side, tearing through the heavy encirclement of monsters and breaking outward.
They pushed toward the bridge, having to slaughter dozens of monsters with every step forward, their progress arduous.
Before long, a thunderous roar echoed through the sky.
It was Iskandar, returning after dropping off Kayneth.
"Boy, I've settled that Lancer's Master... By Zeus, where did these ugly things come from?!"
Iskandar surveyed the sea of monsters. After a brief moment of shock, the will to fight ignited in his eyes.
"Trying to invade the city? How arrogant!"
"But such a grand spectacle is exactly the battlefield for a king!"
He raised his short sword high. Magical energy surged like a storm, and the entire space began to tremble violently.
"Assemble! My brave warriors!"
"This heart is immortal! This soul is eternal! Across wastelands and oceans, offer your glory before the king once more!"
"Ionioi Hetairoi!!!"
Under his furious shout, the miracle known as a Reality Marble instantly overwrote reality.
The foul-smelling Mion River bank vanished, and the earth transformed into an endless desert, churning with heat waves beneath a blazing sun.
And on the horizon of that desert, war cries that shattered the heavens rang out.
"Kill!!!"
At first, it was just a dot, then a black tide connecting into a line.
It was tens of thousands of heroes and generals who had left their names in history, as well as those soldiers who were willing to follow Alexander the Great even after death.
Persian warriors on horseback, Macedonian phalanx soldiers wielding spears, nomadic riders brandishing scimitars...
"Kill! Kill!! Kill!!!"
Banners fluttered and warhorses neighed as they instantly surrounded the sea of monsters.
Seeing his once high-spirited subordinates, the King of Conquerors let out a heroic laugh.
"Charge—!!"
Iskandar roared, driving his chariot as he took the lead in charging into the sea of monsters.
His soldiers followed in his footsteps, advancing like a torrent of iron, completely unstoppable.
The Macedonian phalanx used their shield wall to block the impact of the monster tide. They thrust their spears in unison, turning the front row of monsters into honeycombs, while the archers behind them fired a volley of arrows, firmly pinning giant starfish to the ground.
Spears pierced the bodies of tentacle monsters, scimitars severed the limbs of compound-eyed beasts, and horse hooves trampled masses of rotting flesh and blood clots.
The sea of monsters was vast and endless, but Ionioi Hetairoi was equally boundless!
Whenever a soldier was struck down by a monster, their body would turn into Reishi and reform, rejoining the front lines once more.
On the battlefield, countless soldiers clashed with countless monsters. The murmurs were drowned out by bugle calls and war cries, as flesh and blood flew across the desert!
Seeing such a magnificent spectacle, Asuka could not help but be stunned.
In his heart, he couldn't help but wonder how he would counter such an ability if he were facing it.
Iskandar laughed heartily, opening a corner of the Bounded Field.
"Go! My army will hold off this scum!"