The war was imminent.
It wasn't a conflict between humans but a battle between humans and monsters.
A tide of creatures swept through the northern city-states, destroying everything in their path before setting its sights on Uruk.
Despite Ophis's efforts to monitor the surrounding city-states closely, ensuring that Uruk would not be caught off guard, the monsters moved too quickly.
By the time they attacked the fortifications, the wall, meant to serve as the main line of defense, was only half-built.
The remaining time had to be bought by the warriors of Uruk themselves.
Standing on the walls of Uruk, Ophis looked out over the battle lines against the monsters.
While she didn't possess the ability called clairvoyance, she could approximate it using her dragon's vision and simple magic, even from a distance.
Ordinarily, Ophis would rely on familiars to observe from afar, but with such a dense horde of monsters, ordinary familiars couldn't even get close.
On the battlefield, the monsters surged against Uruk's defenses like an ocean, but they couldn't break through the shield wall formed by the black-clad warriors.
Five hundred soldiers, who had bathed in dragon blood, stood at the front, serving as the first line of defense against the creatures.
Ophis scanned the battlefield and quickly realized that most of these monsters were species unfamiliar to Mesopotamia... or at least, none that Ophis had ever seen before.
As for their strength... if she were to draw a comparison, each one probably had the combat power equivalent to a small tank.
This level of power was terrifying, especially considering that the number of monsters in the horde was in the tens of thousands—at least, that's what Ophis could see with her own eyes.
Moreover, she could sense several times that number still lurking in the distance.
While the monsters were powerful individually, they were even more difficult to resist when gathered together. To Ophis, however, it was like comparing one ant to a colony.
They were so densely packed that she felt an urge to wipe them out with a single attack.
However, Ophis knew that doing so would have disastrous consequences.
This battle was just the beginning, a mere skirmish.
To the enemy, it was a game of slowly driving their prey into a corner. To Ophis, it was a desperate attempt to buy time.
If she acted now, everything would become irreversible.
The aftermath of such an attack would destroy Uruk.
This was one of the futures she had "seen."
Besides... she wasn't in any condition to fight personally at the moment.
Granting the soldiers dragon blood was no simple feat. The dragon blood was a crystallization of Ophis's power, a manifestation of the concept of "infinity."
While doing this wouldn't break her infinity, it left Ophis temporarily "vulnerable."
This vulnerability wasn't physical; in terms of normal combat effectiveness, Ophis could still fight at a regular level. But if she were to use her infinite power on a large scale, it would damage her concept of infinity.
Normally, this so-called "large scale" meant something truly massive. Unless she faced an opponent much stronger than herself, it was unlikely that Ophis would need to fight so intensely.
But now...
She watched as Altira mowed through the monsters like wheat, Arjuna fired arrows from the highest point, and Jeanne d'Arc waved her flag, leading the charge at the forefront.
Their unmatched strength meant that Ophis had to output energy at an alarming rate.
Indeed... the magic powering the six summoned beings was all supplied directly by Ophis. In other words, coupled with her current vulnerable state, the upper limit of her energy output had been drastically reduced.
However, from what Ophis had glimpsed of the future, no matter how powerful she was, if she acted now, Uruk would be destroyed. The restriction on her power didn't change that reality.
After all, she couldn't go down and fight herself.
Rather than letting this infinite source of energy go to waste, it was better used to support her soldiers.
While creating a "snake" was another option, one that wouldn't harm her, the process was complicated, and ordinary soldiers couldn't control that kind of power.
When she was summoned, Ophis had caught a glimpse of fate, but among the countless branches of the future, she found no way to avert disaster.
The future was set. In about half a year, Uruk would be destroyed by an unforeseeable catastrophe.
...That was the future that lasted the longest, and there were various other ways the city could meet its end before that.
No matter what, Ophis had to hold out until then. To do this, she didn't need one or two super soldiers, but an ironclad army that could hold the line.
At this moment on the battlefield, Altira unleashed his Noble Phantasm for the thirteenth time, clearing out a large number of monsters. But his body staggered, and he could only frown as he retreated back to the legion.
Though the Servants weren't made of flesh and blood, they had similar characteristics. Even with the endless magic provided by Ophis, the seemingly endless battle was beginning to wear them down.
The monsters were driven back for the moment, giving the army some time to regroup, but more monsters soon appeared on the horizon. Without a Servant capable of another massive attack, the army's burden would increase significantly.
It felt endless...
Ophis rubbed her brow.
The makeshift fortifications had been breached by the monsters in less than three days. The city wall in the rear was still under construction, and until it was finished, the army would likely have no chance to rest.
"Send a message. Have the reserve army fill in. Once Altira and Arjuna have finished their repairs, they should coordinate their Noble Phantasms to push back the monsters. Altira is particularly skilled in this sort of command."
"Yes, King!"
A prepared messenger ran off with the orders.
"Urgent news!"
But another messenger quickly arrived.
"A large jungle has suddenly appeared in the south. Per the king's orders not to act rashly, we have not explored it yet. We await the king's decision!"
Unfortunately, this news was anything but good.
The next moment, Ophis's eyes narrowed.
It seemed... she wouldn't have time to think about this new development.
A blue magic cannon shot across the sky, heading straight for Uruk!