"A futile attempt will only prolong the suffering."
The Lion King gazed at the alternative version of herself. Though they were the same person, their personalities and methods of action were fundamentally different. "Knowing the limits of life and acting within what is possible—that is what a true King should do."
In truth, the Lion King embodied the way of life Ahoge had always aspired to. Ahoge longed to approach problems with such rationality, but she couldn't. Now, having to continuously oppose this idealized version of herself felt like betraying her own principles.
"Artoria's effect will summon a..."
The Lion King was about to shout out the weapon's name when a problem arose.
"The Sword of Promised Victory... It's not here?"
The Lion King examined her deck. Although her primary weapon was the Holy Lance, she had once wielded the Holy Sword. Now, it seemed to have been lost. But how could it have vanished...?
The Lion King was never one to dwell on trivial matters. The existence or absence of the Sword of Promised Victory made no difference.
"Very well, let us continue. I will Xyz Summon myself by overlaying my Rank 6 Artoria on the field! Accept my Divine Protection! This is where your journey ends! Lion King Artoria!"
Lion King - Attack Power: 3500
"My own effect activates upon being Special Summoned, equipping me with the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad!"
Unlike the deck in Mordred's hand, this Lion King was in her complete form.
The golden Holy Lance, reaching its maximum output, bloomed forth in the Lion King's grasp.
[ Lion King ]: Attack Power 3500 → 4500.
"Rhongomyniad, the Holy Lance, cannot be targeted by card effects. While this card is face-up on the field, the equipped Servant cannot be destroyed by battle!"
The Lion King had added battle destruction immunity to her arsenal, making her even more formidable with her boosted 4500 Attack Power.
"Furthermore, once per turn, after activating this effect, at the start of my next turn, send all face-up Servants on the field (except the equipped Servant) and this card to the Graveyard! Then, add one Field Spell Card, Tower at the World's End, from my Deck to my hand."
This second effect transformed the Holy Lance back into the Tower at the End, mirroring its real-world manifestation which required time to complete. Similar to the Celestial Ark's field-wide Graveyard effect, but with an activation delay.
"Then, I activate this effect! At the start of my next turn, all Servants on the field will be sent to the Graveyard."
The Lion King immediately activated Rhongomyniad's effect, meaning Jiang You would need to be extra cautious when deploying his servants.
"Now, I activate the Field Spell Card 'Camelot'!"
The pristine white holy city rose majestically, its towering gates looming behind the Lion King.
"Camelot's effect! All Knights of the Round Table on the field gain 500 Attack Power and Defense Power. Once per turn, I add a Knight of the Round Table from my Deck to my Hand Card. While this card is on the field, Knights of the Round Table can be Normal Summoned without Tribute. Furthermore, all effect damage to the Main Battler is reduced to zero!"
Lion King's Attack Power: 4500 → 5000.
"Thanks to Camelot's effect, I add Agravain to my Hand Card."
"Then I Normal Summon Agravain directly to the field. Scribe, in the name of the Lion King, I summon you to join the battle!"
Agravain
6-Star Saber, Attack Power 1800.
Agravain, covered in blood, collapsed to the ground. His body was riddled with wounds, and he had even lost his left hand.
"My King... Your Majesty... I apologize for appearing in such a wretched state. I can no longer serve you."
Setting aside a certain utterly disgraceful individual, Agravain was nearly the weakest member of the Round Table. Even in legend, his death was ignominious, struck down by Lancelot with a single punch. Despite activating the highest level of Mad Enhancement, Agravain proved no match for Minamoto no Raikou. His survival until now was a remarkable feat in itself.
"That's not the case, Sir Agravain. All you have now is glory."
The Lion King treated her subordinates equally. She couldn't forgive Lancelot's betrayal, so how could she blame Agravain for his defeat? The Lion King helped Agravain remove the effects of his Mad Enhancement.
"Don't let anger consume you. In this final moment, stand by my side as a Knight."
"Yes! Your Majesty's command shall be obeyed!"
Agravain's sinister face broke into a defiant smile. Only those who knew him well would recognize this as his genuine smile.
Agravain's Effect: When this card is successfully Special Summoned, add one "Knights of the Round Table" or "Holy Sword" card from your Deck to your Hand Card.
As one of the few administrative officers, Agravain, the Scribe, handled nearly all tasks outside of combat. Therefore, his ability to manipulate cards was only logical. "I add [Holy Sword - Arondight] to my Hand Card."
From some unknown source, Agravain produced Lancelot's Holy Sword. He raised it above his head with both hands and respectfully presented it to the Lion King.
It was clear the Lion King intended to use Arondight's armor-piercing effect to defeat Jiang You, even if he managed to construct a defensive line.
"I know you possess a special Servant."
Earlier, the Lion King had mentioned being able to see everything within the city, referring to "Sir Gawain."
"Finally, I'll set two cards in my back row and end my turn."
The Lion King still held two cards in her hand. Predictably, one of them was the unused Arondight.
Jiang You surveyed the Lion King's field. Rhongomyniad couldn't be targeted by card effects, leaving him with no immediate solution. Thus, Agravain and the others were sent to the Graveyard by the Holy Lance the moment they became active, completely ignoring them. Meanwhile, the Lion King herself possessed four instances of targeting resistance, preventing the Holy Lance from destroying her in battle. This was indeed a troublesome situation.
Several Round Table-related Servants boasted remarkably aggressive base attacks. If Jiang You couldn't summon King Hassan for a direct breakthrough, he'd have to focus on surviving this turn.
Jiang You glanced at his hand. Excellent. Apart from Hundred Faces and Serenity, the Bonds of my Hassan Servants are all weak. His immediate goal was survival.
Jiang You decisively summoned his most reliable workhorse: Hundred Faces.
"First, I'll Normal Summon Hundred Faces! Her effect activates: Summon all cards with the same name from my Deck to the field, up to the maximum allowed."
Hundred Faces: Attack Power 800 x 4
Morning Glory: Attack Power 0
With Rhongomyniad's opening field nuke, the new objectives became clearing the Lion King's backrow and establishing a defensive line after the field wipe. Hundred Faces could easily generate a significant amount of resources.