-873- The start of the battle

As the sun rose to its highest point, casting the entire North American continent under the scorching heat of the sun.

Within the borders of the northern kingdom, around the royal palace, numerous Celtic warriors formed a dense crowd, strategically positioning themselves, emitting morale that weighed on the air like hot steam, profoundly affecting the hearts of onlookers.

At the forefront of this vast army, two Servants stood as if leading the entire legion.

Fionn mac Cumhaill.

Diarmuid Ua Duibhne.

These two Celtic lancers stood proudly at the forefront of the army, gazing into the distance.

"Oh..."

At a certain moment, Fionn let out a sigh-like sound.

"So it's here?"

Diarmuid's expression was unusually serious.

In the distant horizon they were observing, a golden ship slowly approached.

It was the Argo.

...

"Is that it?"

Standing at the bow of the Argo, Rozen was also overlooking below, witnessing the multitude of Celtic soldiers.

The other Servants were also present, with none choosing to remain in the cabin.

Because of this, upon seeing the enormous legion below, many had their expressions changed.

"Damn...! How can there be so many...!?"

Jason couldn't help but exclaim.

Clearly, this royal prince had not expected the Celtic forces to be so overwhelming.

It was not a matter of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands; it was a terrifying number reaching into the millions.

Therefore, looking down from the Argo, all that could be seen was a vast sea of people, extending beyond sight.

"It seems that the Celtic forces are prepared to go all out in this war."

Atalante, wielding a longbow, wore a solemn expression.

"It's impressive to create soldiers using the Holy Grail, but typically, even if one has the ability to produce such a legion, magical power would be insufficient to support such a massive creation, wouldn't it?"

Rama said, not sure if it was admiration or amazement.

"Relying solely on Dragon Tooth Warriors couldn't compensate for this quantity."

Medea appeared troubled.

Only Scáthach and Karna showed no reaction on their faces.

"The only frightening thing is their numbers."

Karna spoke succinctly.

"Those soldiers are nothing more than created entities, lacking any training."

Scáthach expressed her indignation.

"Roar!"

Berserker's eyes, gazing at the legion below, only held ferocity, devoid of fear.

"Senpai..."

Finally, Mash released Fou, letting it hide aside. She then tightly gripped her shield and approached Rozen, gazing at him.

Rozen exchanged glances with Mash, then cast his eyes over the others.

"Alright."

After confirming everyone's condition, Rozen spoke.

"Let's descend."

Rozen gave the command naturally, and unsurprisingly, the one to execute it was Jason.

"Damn it..."

Jason, with gritted teeth, reluctantly steered the ship, turning the prow downward, causing the Argo to slowly descend.

At this moment, the war was officially declared.

...

When the Argo descended from the sky, the Celtic soldiers below immediately reacted.

Specifically, the archers positioned at the rear suddenly took action.

"Whoosh!"

Without saying much, tens of thousands of archers simultaneously raised their bows, moving in perfect unison, causing the air to roar.

Following that...

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Accompanied by a series of air-breaking sounds, countless arrows, like a violent storm, ascended from the ground, breaking through the atmosphere and shooting violently toward the direction of the Argo.

"They're shooting! They're shooting!"

Jason screamed without any heroism.

"Mash!"

Rozen quickly called out to Mash.

"Yes!"

Mash promptly rushed to the bow of the ship. Without any hesitation, she struck her shield, placing it in front of the ship.

"〈Lord Chaldeas〉!"

Mash then released the true name of her Noble Phantasm.

Suddenly, the pattern resembling a white city wall on the shield illuminated, transforming into a magical barrier. It rotated while blocking the front of the Argo.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!"

Numerous arrows fell on the barrier, all eventually bouncing off, creating a continuous symphony of metal collisions.

Under the protection of Mash's Noble Phantasm, the Argo continued its descent.

No, it wasn't just about descending.

"Courtesy demands reciprocity," Rozen spoke to one of his servents behind.

"Could you please greet them back and, if possible, reduce the enemy numbers a bit, Atalante?" Rozen addressed Atalante.

"Ah."

Atalante nodded with a cold expression.

"With my bow, I request the protection of Apollo and Artemis. Offer unto them this calamity," Atalante chanted quietly.

In her hands, the magnificent bow began releasing a formidable magical energy.

Atalante's bow, given to her by her patron deity Artemis, was called the "Sky Bow."

Through this bow, Atalante could not only control the trajectory of her arrows with magical energy but also, when fully drawn, increase their power to A-rank. Additionally, it could imbue magic, rendering its destructive force equivalent to missiles, something not to be ignored even by the defensively resilient Karna.

Therefore, most of the arrows shot by Atalante were surrounded by whirlwinds, a manifestation of the substantialized magical power.

In the basin earlier, as Rama's strength was at A-rank, he couldn't have deflected Atalante's arrows with the Immortal Blade if it weren't for that.

When Atalante prayed to her patron deities, Apollo and Artemis, she could utilize the Sky Bow to unleash a B+ rank anti-army Noble Phantasm.

"〈Phoibos Catastrophe〉!"

Atalante declared the true name of her Noble Phantasm, placing two arrows on the bowstring and shooting them into the sky.

In the next moment, the two arrows, circling each other, transformed into meteors, disappearing into the clouds.

"Clang!"

The cloud immediately burst into a colorful glow, captivating everyone's sight.

This was Atalante's Noble Phantasm, an arrow that invoked Apollo and Artemis for protection, bringing calamity upon the enemy.

The next second, a torrent of radiant arrows poured down from the cloud-like colorful sky, showering onto the massive army below.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"

Explosive sounds erupted.

Countless light arrows struck the ground, tossing soil into the air, raising dust, throwing crowds of soldiers, and whipping up strong winds. Many warriors were either blasted away or pierced, spilling copious amounts of blood and flesh.

In the face of a B+ rank anti-army Noble Phantasm, the fate of ordinary soldiers was such—merciless slaughter.

Moreover, given the dense formation of the enemy's legion, this volley of arrows could easily claim thousands or even tens of thousands of lives.

Naturally, the enemy wouldn't stand by and watch this happen.

"Hahh!"

With a furious roar, a red flash shot up from within the legion, rocketing into the sky.

The identity of the flash was a red spear.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Upon contact with the rocketing red spear, all the light arrows shattered like glass.