Aozaki Aoko Case File [138]

Credits: Synben28

"Wow, that was terrifying," remarked the King of Conquerors with a sigh as he turned to Waver. "So, strategist, do you have any good countermeasures?"

"This King of Knights is far more fearsome than the one I remember!" Waver replied. "But it's not as though we lack ways to deal with her. I believe taking a direct hit from her first Noble Phantasm is unavoidable. However, our previous strategy of encircling her was not wrong!"

"So, you're saying we need to surround her and close the distance as much as possible before she can fire her second Noble Phantasm? Then engage her in close combat to wear her down and look for an opportunity?" asked the King of Conquerors as he steered his chariot closer to Artoria, continuing the conversation with Waver.

"Exactly!" Waver confirmed. "But this time, I'll have to use my Noble Phantasm."

Before Waver could finish his sentence, Artoria, having just unleashed her Holy Sword's power, moved once more. This time, instead of waiting for the soldiers of the King's Army to charge her, she charged into their ranks alone, wreaking havoc among them.

The Knight King was like a tiger in a flock of sheep. Each swing of her sword sent shockwaves that knocked away and eliminated dozens of soldiers from the King's Army. Whether they were generals or foot soldiers, none could stand against this humanoid dragon for even a single round.

During the battle, the King of Conquerors and Waver Velvet also joined the fray aboard the Gordius Wheel. However, Artoria, possessing the true Avalon—not the one elevated by a Servant's legend—ignored all attacks that struck her. As long as Artoria held Avalon, she was invincible.

"Ara, Ara, ignoring me like this isn't very polite, you know?"

At this moment, the floating figure of Aoko Aozaki, who had been watching from the sidelines, entered the battlefield. Her crimson hair glowed faintly as the magic crests on her body activated at full speed, exuding an overwhelming pressure.

Waver Velvet recognized it immediately: an otherworldly, unique form of Magic that defied all logic. The Magician Aoko Aozaki was about to reveal her power.

Gazing at the densely packed soldiers on the ground, Aoko smiled cruelly. She was about to teach these muggles that no matter how sharp their blades or sturdy their armor, they were no match for the overwhelming might of magic.

As Aoko's aura grew stronger, the Starmine and Starbow began to orbit around her. The starlight trailed long tails, resembling a time-lapse photograph.

At this moment, she became akin to the North Star, the axis of the universe.

"Galactic Seeker!"

With Aoko's self-suggestion, a massive magic circle glowing with pale blue starlight appeared in the sky, powered by an endless stream of magical energy generated by her mysterious magic circuits.

"Spindle, deploy!" Aoko commanded. Around her, numerous strange constructs appeared, as if magic circles had been drawn in three-dimensional space. These constructs rotated and accelerated the flow of her immense magical energy. "Let's see if you can dodge this!"

"Star Mine!"

From the layered, complex, spinning magic arrays came a torrential rain of magical projectiles.

Each projectile was powerful enough to overwhelm even the King's Army's Servants. Only a few generals could withstand a handful of the blasts with their sturdy bodies and weapons, but the sheer number of projectiles quickly overwhelmed them, burying them in the magical onslaught.

This was Aoko's brand of warfare in this world's magic system. Combined with the aggregation effect of the Fifth Magic, even ordinary magical projectiles became a force of pure destruction that even Servants could not resist.

The King's Army suffered heavy losses, and even the King of Conquerors, who was desperately trying to keep Artoria in check, had to focus entirely on defending himself. One of the divine bulls pulling the Gordius Wheel was struck in the head by Aoko's projectiles and destroyed.

"My apologies for the delay…!" Waver Velvet, at last, finished preparing his Noble Phantasm.

Holding a feathered fan, his eyes burned with determination as he stared at Aoko and Artoria, who were wreaking havoc on the battlefield.

"This is the ultimate formation of the Great Tactician!" Waver declared. "Unreturning Formation.

Break it if you can!"

The once clear and starry sky suddenly filled with lightning and thunder. A massive storm cloud, crackling with electric energy, descended upon the battlefield.

However, Waver's Noble Phantasm was neither the storm cloud itself nor the flashing lightning—it was the eight colossal stone pillars that descended from the storm, embedding themselves into the ground. The intricate, glowing patterns on the pillars formed a circuit that encompassed everyone on the battlefield.

Aoko, hovering in the air, immediately sensed something was off. Her magical projectiles, which had nearly struck their targets, suddenly veered off course and hit the ground instead.

Even Artoria's shockwaves, unleashed with each swing of her sword, began to miss their marks.

"So, this is Zhuge Liang's Noble Phantasm?" Aoko remarked, maintaining her relentless barrage of magical projectiles.

Thanks to Waver's Noble Phantasm, the rate of death among the King's Army slowed dramatically. Many Servants who were on the verge of being killed were saved by the Unreturning Formation, which relocated them to safer positions.

At the same time, those who had struggled to get close to the Knight King were repositioned to optimal attack points.

"Well done, strategist!" Iskandar shouted as he maneuvered the Gordius Wheel, now pulled by a single divine bull. "Soldiers, the time for our counterattack has come!"

With that, the King of Conquerors launched wave after wave of attacks at Artoria using the blade-like edges of his chariot.

However, the Knight King, empowered by Avalon, was untouchable. No matter how difficult it was for her to kill her opponents instantly, her sheer strength and the shockwaves from her strikes continued to deal significant damage to the enemy forces.

Neither the Gordius Wheel's blades nor the weapons of the King's Army's Servants could harm her in the slightest.

If Artoria were being supplied with magical energy by an ordinary magus, this battle would have lasted only until her Master ran out of energy.

But Aoko, as the wielder of the Fifth Magic, possessed magic circuits that generated infinite magical energy. As long as Artoria had a Master to supply her, her Dragon Reactor Core would continue to function indefinitely.

In truth, from the very beginning, the battle between Iskandar, Waver Velvet, and their opponents had been destined for failure.

"This dragged-out fight is getting boring!" Aoko exclaimed, her excitement rising. "I'll grant you all a glorious death!"