In fact, everyone had already guessed from the start that the undead army from the northeast was under the command of Ishtar.
The magical beast horde advancing south from the northern Cedar Forest was undoubtedly the army of the Beast Goddess.
The draconic and beastmen forces charging north from the southern jungle were clearly sent by the Jungle Goddess.
So then, the undead army arriving from the northeast—if it wasn't under the command of the final member of the Three Goddess Alliance, who else could it be?
Besides, the northeast had always been Ishtar's territory. A large army marching from that direction could only belong to Ishtar—there was no second possibility.
But if that were the case, then another question arose.
"Why would that goddess be commanding an undead army?"
Anna voiced the question that lingered in everyone's mind.
After all, while Ishtar was a goddess of war associated with Venus, she was also a goddess of fertility and life.
As an Earth Mother who governed "life," it was far too strange for her to be leading an army of "death."
"Could it be..."
Merlin seemed to have realized something.
A look of both revelation and contemplation passed over him before he turned to glance at Rozen.
The next moment, Merlin saw Rozen's thoughtful expression—calm and unsurprised, without a hint of doubt.
(So this Master had already figured it out...)
Merlin blinked in surprise, then smiled to himself.
Rozen hadn't noticed Merlin's subtle gesture, but he had indeed been aware of the situation for some time.
That was why he wasn't the least bit surprised that undead creatures were appearing within Ishtar's territory.
Right now, Rozen understood one thing with absolute certainty:
The Three Goddess Alliance had indeed launched a full-scale assault on Uruk.
As for why they chose to act now—the reason was obvious.
"Looks like your reckless behavior yesterday really pissed off those Three Goddess Alliance, Chaldean."
From the throne, Gilgamesh finally opened his eyes, gazing down at Rozen with a half-smile, half-sneer.
Rozen didn't deny it.
Because aside from his actions triggering it, he couldn't think of any other reason why the three goddesses would break their deadlock and launch a joint attack on Uruk.
Each of the goddesses had already made their attitudes toward him very clear.
Gorgon loathed him with pure hatred.
Quetzalcoatl was intensely curious about him.
And Ishtar's attitude was ambiguous—seemingly unwilling to become enemies, but feeling compelled to act that way.
So even if she decided to personally eliminate him, it wouldn't be surprising.
In other words, Rozen's actions yesterday had indeed shattered the fragile balance the Three Goddess Alliance had maintained.
Especially in the Beast Goddess's domain—Rozen had not only destroyed her base of operations, but had also wiped out the hundred thousand beasts being bred within the temple. He had even rescued the hundred thousand humans meant to be transformed into magical beasts.
If she wasn't absolutely furious, it would've been bizarre.
Given that, it was no wonder she had finally lost all patience—abandoning the slow-boil approach and opting to wipe out humanity's stronghold in one decisive move.
To destroy Uruk. To destroy Rozen, the threatening and hated existence.
Just as Gilgamesh had said—Rozen had completely enraged them.
However...
"This outcome was inevitable. In fact, what's strange is that it didn't happen sooner."
Gilgamesh's tone shifted as he spoke.
Indeed, this situation was long overdue.
Since the three goddesses had already formed an alliance with the shared goal of destroying Uruk and exterminating humanity, it would've been perfectly natural for them to launch a coordinated assault from the very beginning.
The reason they hadn't wasn't because they didn't want to—but because they had been wary of each other.
But now, with their mutual suspicion set aside and their focus turned solely toward a common goal, they had finally made their move—bringing a three-pronged assault down upon Uruk.
This was an outcome that was bound to happen eventually.
Rozen's actions were simply the spark that lit the fuse.
Gilgamesh saw the truth clearly.
"They can no longer sit back and wait—which also means they finally feel threatened."
And so, rather than rage, Gilgamesh felt exhilarated.
The same was true of the four Servants under his command.
"Even though the fighting before was tough, it always felt like they weren't going all out—and yet we were already nearing collapse. That left this Okita extremely~ frustrated!"
Okita said with fierce energy—though her fierce energy somehow came across as more adorable than intimidating.
"The enemy was constantly whittling away our numbers, while we could hardly inflict any real damage in return. There were also huge reserves of enemy forces we hadn't even seen yet. We couldn't commit to any major operations, and had to stay on guard for threats from behind. If that kind of war dragged on, we'd be ground down to nothing. In that case, I'd rather have both sides go all out on the battlefield, so that I, Ushiwakamaru, can charge through the corpses of friend and foe alike, reach the enemy commander, and take their head."
Ushiwakamaru dropped her usual smile, her expression turning uncharacteristically grim—even cold—as she spoke.
"...Lady Ushiwakamaru, could you please go easy on the friend part?"
Benkei interjected awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable.
In the end, it was Nobunaga who summarized the mood best.
"This seems like a very serious crisis—but this is great, truly great! Rather than letting the enemy wear us down, we should go for an all-out showdown while our strength remains intact. This is the battle I've been waiting for. I knew I didn't misjudge you—you brought this perfect war to me. I'll make sure to credit you with war merits later."
Nobunaga laughed fearlessly, then patted Rozen on the shoulder with great satisfaction.
With Gilgamesh at the center, none of the heroes despaired at the looming threat.
Instead, they seemed eager—excited, even—as if they had been waiting for this moment all along. Their attitudes left even Siduri and the Uruk officials stunned.
Only Rozen and his companions understood the truth: while this situation looked disastrous, compared to being slowly weakened like a frog in boiling water, it actually brought a sliver of hope.
Now, there was only one question left.
"How do we respond to this large-scale assault?"
The one who had triggered this situation—Rozen—asked the question calmly.
At his words, everyone exchanged glances, falling into contemplation.
Even Gilgamesh was no exception.
Although they now had a faint chance at survival, the current crisis facing Uruk was undeniably grim.
In the past, just holding back the magical beasts in the north had pushed Uruk to its limits. Now, they faced a force of magical beasts ten times stronger—plus armies from the south and northeast under goddess command. This was no laughing matter.
Gilgamesh turned to Nobunaga.
"Do you have any brilliant plans, Owari's Fool?"
He actually asked her that.
"Who're you calling Owari's Fool!?! Don't call me that!!"
Nobunaga immediately exploded in fury.