Red Archer Atalanta nocked two arrows on the string of her beloved bow, "Tauropolos," not aiming at the vast land below but at the night sky illuminated by the hazy moonlight.
The cool, dry wind unique to late autumn blew through her hair, and her beast-like ears twitched slightly.
The time had come.
"By my bow, I seek the protection of the Sun God and the Moon Goddess."
The arrows began to glow. Her Noble Phantasm was neither the bow nor the arrows shot from it. Both were merely catalysts. Her Noble Phantasm was the very act of "nocking the arrow and shooting it."
"Offer this calamity—'Phoebus Catastrophe'!"
The two arrows shot into the sky, tracing a dazzling path through the clouds before disappearing without a trace. This was a signal fire, the first arrow.
It was an appeal to the gods. The Sun God Apollo and the Moon Goddess Artemis, both deeply connected to the sun and the moon, were also the gods of archery and hunting, respectively.
As an Archer seeking their protection, the cost was calamity. The so-called protection meant bringing disaster upon the enemy.
The night sky filled with a faint glow, accompanied by a subtle sound like raindrops dancing in the wind. However, this was no gentle rain. The savage gods sought a sacrifice, unleashing a storm of disaster upon the earth.
Countless light arrows flashed in the sky, with Black Berserker Vlad III bearing the brunt. He calmly raised his hand, summoning dozens of black stakes from the ground to form a barrier that blocked the rain of arrows.
Following behind him, Black Saber Siegfried was even more at ease. He neither parried with his sword nor dodged, simply standing still and letting the arrow rain hit his body without moving an inch.
However, to think that the light arrows failed to harm Vlad III and Siegfried would be to underestimate this Noble Phantasm. In fact, "Phoebus Catastrophe," ranked as a B Noble Phantasm, was far from weak. The reason it was easily blocked was due to the formidable strength of the two Servants and the fact that the light arrows were targeting the entire army of homunculi and golems!
Atalanta's aim was not the Servants but the reduction of enemy troops!
Homunculi were hit by the arrows and fell one after another. Even the sturdy golems were shattered by the countless arrows—this was the expected outcome, confirmed by the Archer wielding her Noble Phantasm.
However, just before the light arrows swept through the enemy forces, a piercing eagle cry broke through the dark sky.
If "Phoebus Catastrophe" was a dense green light rain, then what came from afar was a massive azure light arrow—no, it was a storm.
An azure storm arose in the sky, and at its center, a fantastic beast that should not exist in this world appeared. The upper body of an eagle and the lower body of a horse, with wings as sharp as divine weapons. These wings, flapping continuously, generated a terrifying wind pressure that could obliterate all obstacles—including the disaster beseeched by Atalanta.
"Please, 'Hippogriff'!"
With this shout, the azure storm collided head-on with the green arrow rain, a clash of army-level Noble Phantasms!
In an instant, a dazzling light replaced the setting sun to become the brightest source of light in the sky.
At the heart of this radiance, the knight who initiated this clash shed his usual casual demeanor, showcasing the grandeur worthy of one of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins—all sparked by a conversation from a few minutes earlier.
"Teacher, are there any enemy Servants among the dragon tooth warriors?"
The speaker was Shinji, and the one he called Teacher was Chiron.
"No."
The sage man, who had been observing the entire battlefield with his Clairvoyance, shook his head.
Shinji's eyes gleamed, and he hinted, "Why do you think no one stopped the Grand Duke when he charged ahead? No matter how many of these small fry come, they can't threaten the Grand Duke and Saber. The idea of wearing them down is laughable—the Grand Duke could wipe them out in an instant if he wanted."
"Two possibilities: The first is that this batch of dragon tooth warriors is meant to be cannon fodder, testing the Grand Duke's strength. From that airborne fortress, it's clear the enemy has a very powerful magus. For a magus of this level, summoning dragon tooth warriors is merely a prelude; the main force is yet to come. The other possibility is..."
"Long-range attacks, right?"
Astolfo took over Chiron's words.
"I've done such things before—used my horn to intimidate and then had my Hippogriff sweep through. It was exhilarating, hahaha!"
"Since you have experience, I'll leave it to you," Shinji snapped his fingers. "You ride the Hippogriff and follow behind the main army. If it's the first scenario, you coordinate with the Grand Duke and Siegfried to sweep through as you described. If it's the second scenario, you use your Noble Phantasm to counter the enemy's. As a Rider, you must have an anti-army Noble Phantasm, right?"
"I do, but... that guy has a huge appetite. I can't sacrifice the homunculi just for my victory."
Summoning the Hippogriff and then riding and commanding it—at this stage, the mana consumption wasn't much, fully within the supply provided by a single homunculus. The problem arose when invoking its true name and unleashing its power.
At that point, the mana consumption was almost equivalent to the full release of an A-rank Noble Phantasm. And it wasn't just a one-time release; maintaining the Hippogriff's state would continuously drain mana, making it a highly inefficient use of energy.
Images of homunculi drained of their mana flashed through his mind, along with Sieg's plea. No matter what, he didn't want to do that now. Hence, he could only choose not to.
Ah, I'm an idiot, both foolish and cowardly.
He should have ignored the existence of the mana batteries and released the true name. Even Sieg wouldn't blame him for it. After all, Servants are summoned to fight and win; it's unreasonable to place such demands on them.
But Astolfo is such a Heroic Spirit—he only does what he wants to do, and no one can force him to do what he doesn't want.
Both Chiron and Shinji understood this well, and Shinji had prepared a way to persuade him.
"You've got one thing wrong. No matter how large the consumption of an anti-army Noble Phantasm, it's just a few homunculi. But if we let the enemy attack, the homunculi casualties would be in the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands. They are also his comrades. Although evaluating life by numbers is flawed, right now—it's the best approach. Are you going to sacrifice more homunculi on the battlefield for a few homunculi? Knight Astolfo."
On one side were Sieg's comrades, and on the other were more of Sieg's comrades—Astolfo, with his not-so-bright mind, could only come to one conclusion.
"Alright, alright, I'll do it, isn't that enough? Hippogriff!"
The knight tugged hard on his braided hair, summoning the Hippogriff and grumpily mounted it.
Shinji sighed upon seeing this: "Sorry, Astolfo."
"No need to apologize, you did nothing wrong!"
Astolfo gave his partner a strong thump and soared into the sky.
"Don't try to block it if you can't!"
"I know, I have an ace up my sleeve."
The last words were already fading.
"Teacher, was I wrong?"
Watching Astolfo's departing figure, Shinji showed a bitter smile.
"You were not wrong, this is war."
Chiron's face also showed a trace of sadness.
"Next, it's our turn. Assassin—don't die."
"You too, Teacher."
For some reason, a sudden unease crept into the previously confident Shinji's heart.
In the distance, the blue and green radiance exploded.