Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King [198] 

Credits: Imoral74

"Speak, then." Seeing that Alaric's report wasn't finished yet, Gilgamesh's expression remained unchanged. He merely adjusted his posture to face Alaric.

Alaric's voice echoed once more: "It concerns the relocation of the citizens of Nippur. With the threat of Kingu and the Gorgon beast hordes, the area beyond the northern wall is no longer suitable for habitation.

At the very least, the citizens of Nippur must be moved within the northern wall."

"Ah, that matter. Because of the beast hordes, the citizens of Nippur haven't been able to fully evacuate. For now, it seems the two Rider-class Servants should be able to hold the line until the evacuation is complete."

Gilgamesh raised his hand casually and said, "If you want the process to go faster, then you should take charge. Go and serve as the escort for the evacuation battle, Alaric."

"Beast hordes?"

Hearing Gilgamesh's words, Alaric immediately understood why there were still people living in Nippur.

But on his way to the Black Cedar Forest, he hadn't encountered many beasts. Could it be that they had gathered around Nippur?

A trace of doubt flashed through Alaric's mind, but he quickly suppressed it.

"I'll head to Nippur to assist with the evacuation."

Alaric readily accepted the task.

Seeing this, Gilgamesh nodded slightly. "Siduri, prepare for the evacuation and resettlement of Nippur."

Upon receiving the order, Siduri bowed slightly and said, "Then I will take my leave, my king."

After Siduri left the Tower of the Gods to begin preparations for Nippur's relocation, Gilgamesh turned his gaze back to Alaric and Merlin.

With all the information disclosed, Alaric no longer had a reason to remain in the Tower of the Gods. He left, intending to find a quiet place to strategize against the goddess, following closely behind Siduri.

This left the space for Gilgamesh and Merlin alone.

...

Half a minute later—

Alaric was sitting alone on the steps outside the Tower of the Gods, his fingers interlaced and resting on his knees.

Although he wore no glasses or similar accessories, Alaric's eyes at this moment seemed to reflect a pure white brilliance.

He was deep in thought.

After the battle with Kingu, Alaric had become acutely aware of his shortcomings. While many of these flaws were things he had long been aware of, the fight with Kingu had brought them into sharp relief.

The biggest reason was his inadequacy—he was far from being on par with top-tier heroes.

"I need to develop more comprehensively—"

So Alaric thought. Not just physical strength, but also the honing of his martial skills needed to be improved.

Since entering the Age of Gods, the dragon's blood within him had continuously strengthened his physique and magical energy reserves, bringing him closer to the level of a true dragon species—perhaps even surpassing it.

His strength was comparable to that of a heroic spirit.

However, time waited for no one. There wasn't enough time for him to wait for the dragon blood to grow stronger naturally. Unless Alaric could accelerate the growth of the dragon blood, he wouldn't be able to truly rival the divine dragons of the Age of Gods.

But dragons were the embodiment of mystery, the culmination of countless years of accumulation.

Alaric knew he couldn't speed up the growth of his dragon blood. Aware of this, he quickly dismissed the thought.

What mattered more was devising a strategy against Kingu. Facing hundreds of simultaneous Chains of Heaven, Alaric, as he was now, couldn't block them. The result would only be a repeat of his previous defeat.

He needed stronger martial skills or a countermeasure tailored to fight back—

"Multiple launches of Holy Judgment—"

Alaric couldn't think of many strategies. One of them was to enhance the ability to fire multiple Holy Judgments simultaneously, allowing him to counteract the Chains of Heaven in a one-versus-many scenario. However, the magical energy consumption for such a plan would be extraordinary.

According to Alaric's calculations, if he were to engage in a battle of attrition with Kingu using Holy Judgment, he could only sustain it for about three minutes. This estimation assumed that his Holy Judgments could match and cancel out Kingu's Chains of Heaven perfectly.

"Reduce magical energy consumption, or find a way to replenish my magical energy—"

To achieve the same or even greater power with minimal resources, Alaric believed there was potential for success. However, it wouldn't be an easy feat.

Achieving this would require Alaric to reach the pinnacle of magical energy control.

For Alaric, finding a way to replenish magical energy seemed like a simpler solution.

It wasn't only the Holy Grail that could provide an external source of magical energy. In his mind, the images of the Lion Heart King and King Ozymandias quickly surfaced.

After handing over the Holy Grail to Alaric, Ozymandias relied on drawing magical energy from the ley lines to sustain his consumption, while the Lionheart King had opted to create human batteries to maintain his magical energy supply.

The Lionheart King's method wasn't something Alaric could accept or replicate, so he decided to emulate Ozymandias by linking himself to the ley lines for magical energy.

"There's potential. I'll ask Gilgamesh and Merlin about it later. If it works, I can at least match Kingu."

Alaric gazed at the city of Uruk and the vast Mesopotamian lands beyond from the steps of the Tower of the Gods. In this era, where the gods had yet to leave, the ley lines were undoubtedly abundant with magical energy.

While not as freely accessible as the Holy Grail, it would still suffice for one person's use.

Putting aside the matter of ley line magic for now, Alaric began pondering the last and most crucial issue:

Unleashing his hidden power.

In the instant Kingu's Chains of Heaven pierced his limbs, Alaric had sensed something unusual.

A foreign magical energy had surged within his body—or rather, his magical energy had undergone another inexplicable transformation, similar to the time it had been reflected by the divine aura of Ishtar.

"Could it be Kingu?"

If the Chains of Heaven that pierced his limbs had somehow allowed Alaric to reflect or absorb Kingu's magical energy—or something else—Alaric had yet to notice any changes in his magical energy. He was completely in the dark about what had occurred.

But he was certain that something had changed. It wasn't an obvious transformation on the surface but a hidden one.

After thinking for a while without reaching any conclusions, Alaric decisively stood up and returned to the Tower of the Gods.

At this time, Merlin and Gilgamesh's conversation was just coming to an end.

Seeing Alaric return, Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow slightly.

Alaric hadn't hidden his solitary moment outside the tower from Gilgamesh or Merlin. Although neither knew what Alaric had been pondering, no one pressed him about it.

"I want to draw magical energy from the ley lines. As the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, you have authority over the ley lines, don't you?"

Having clarified his thoughts, Alaric spoke directly, locking his gaze on Gilgamesh. "If I can tap into the ley lines, I'll be able to hold off Kingu—"

With his prior experience wielding the Ruyi Jingu Bang, which had allowed him to compress his magical energy to unleash an overwhelming burst of power, Alaric had no doubts about his ability to output sufficient magical energy.

As long as he had enough magical energy, he was confident in his ability to engage Kingu in a prolonged standoff.

Even if he couldn't defeat Kingu, Kingu wouldn't be able to defeat him either.

"How intriguing—"

Hearing Alaric's request, Gilgamesh let out a faint smile.

To draw magical energy from the ley lines to fight against the Chains of Heaven, the embodiment of the earth itself?