"Looks like we made it just in time. Dr. Roman nearly overheated the communicator."
Sakura landed behind Mordred, turned slightly, and greeted Caren with a smile.
"I was worried we wouldn't last that long." Caren freed up a hand and cast healing Magecraft on Hassan of the Cursed Arm.
After entering the mountains, the sand vehicles were no longer usable, so they had to follow Chaldea's guidance and advance swiftly toward the coordinates of the Round Table Fortress.
The arrival of reinforcements didn't shake Agravain. What enraged him was seeing Mordred fighting alongside Chaldea.
"What are you trying to do? Are you betraying our king now?" Agravain demanded.
"It's not betrayal. It's correction." Mordred tightened her grip on her sword. "Though we chose to follow Father's plan, we all knew what it truly was—"
"So now you regret it and decided to side with Chaldea? How disappointing, Mordred," Agravain said.
"No, I don't regret anything," Mordred replied. "I've simply chosen a different path from Father and from you, of my own will."
"Have you forgotten who you are? Without the Knights of the Round Table and the king, you're nothing." Agravain never expected Mordred to admit fault.
A traitor once will always be a traitor. The Lion King must have known this—why else would she give Mordred 'Rampage' and send her to guard the wilderness instead of Camelot?
"It doesn't matter whose knight or successor I am! What matters is that I become who I truly am!" Mordred shouted as mana surged through her.
Agravain noticed her mana had changed. The Lion King's Gift was still active, but it felt more stable, more powerful than before.
"So, you formed a contract with Chaldea," Agravain muttered, raising his hand.
The berserk Enforcement Knights that had risen again charged forward once more.
"Boil over, Wrath of the Planet! 'Clarent Blood Arthur!'"
Clarent: Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword exploded with mana, sweeping forward in a wide arc from Mordred's hand.
Even under Mad Enhancement, the Enforcement Knights couldn't withstand the unleashed Noble Phantasm and dropped instantly. Only Agravain managed to avoid the attack.
"Saber, don't keep releasing your Noble Phantasm's true name! Even with my support, you won't last!" Sakura warned from behind.
"I know! But I'm not dying before I see Father and stop that plan!" Mordred yelled back, eyes locked on Agravain. "You're the last one. Now get the hell out of my way!"
She charged with her sword raised high, and Agravain countered with his own.
More Enforcement Knights poured from the fortress, storming into the central plaza to surround the group attempting the prison break.
"You with the skull! Protect the Master and the others! Leave these guys to me!"
Mordred shouted the order at Hassan of the Cursed Arm without even turning back.
She'd had the same concerns as Caren, but Sakura remained calm and levelheaded. She showed no hesitation toward this Hassan she'd once encountered. That's why Mordred entrusted him with the vital task of protecting their allies.
"Leave it to me."
With Mordred at the vanguard, the tidal wave of attacks from the Enforcement Knights was held at bay along a faint line. Supported by his throwing knives and the attacks from the two Masters, most of their forces were effectively stalled here.
Agravain didn't charge into battle himself. Instead, he used Mad Enhancement on all the Enforcement Knights, planning to overwhelm the rebels with sheer numbers.
But something felt off.
Even in the chaos of such a brutal battlefield, Agravain remained calm. While directing the assault against Mordred and Chaldea's group, he kept sensing something unusual within the fortress.
Scáthach and the soldiers from the eastern village were being blocked by Lancelot's troops at the main gate. That gate held a terrain advantage—breaking through wouldn't be easy.
The group aiming to infiltrate the fortress and break out the prisoners had been surrounded in the plaza inside. Morgan wouldn't appear on the battlefield—Agravain was sure of that. He was confident that the Camelot-style fortress encircling the mountain village required Morgan to stay within and command it.
That left three individuals unaccounted for.
The girl bearing Galahad's shield, the orange-haired young Master, the silver-haired adult female Master, and the girl who bore the same face as the King.
Those three must be with the new Master Mordred had been ordered to pursue earlier.
Had they already gone to the village to assist in its defense?
Agravain speculated silently. It seemed highly likely—but not enough for him to stop questioning it.
A loud boom.
Golden light flashed atop the fortress wall, and Tristan tumbled down from above, bloodied. He crashed down where the Enforcement Knights had cleared a space, then staggered to his feet.
Bedivere leapt down after him, landing behind Mordred. He dropped to one knee, exhausted, his prosthetic right arm trailing smoke.
"Haah... A beautiful strike, my friend. You fight even better than before—I'm proud of you."
Tristan stood, fingers trembling. An invisible arrow shot toward Bedivere's back, but Sakura's Magecraft defense blocked it.
The battle in the plaza grew more chaotic than ever, and a realization struck Agravain.
If this side was also a decoy—
Snap.
He sensed the destruction of the "Heroic Spirit Killer" used to bind Hassan of Serenity.
The chain would entangle any Servant who touched it, unaffected only by living humans. To destroy it required a powerful weapon—and Chaldea certainly had no shortage of those.
Moments after he ordered another unit of Enforcement Knights toward Hassan of Serenity's cell, the dungeon doors exploded. Knights were flung out in all directions.
"Sakura-senpai! Mission accomplished!"
Ritsuka carried the incapacitated Hassan of Serenity on her back. With cover from Gray and Mash, she broke through the Mad Enforcement Knights' blockade and retreated along their planned route.
Rain began falling from the overcast sky, soaking the battlefield inside the fortress.
Agravain blocked their escape.
"Tristan, can you still fight?"
"Of course... I'll play my harp until my last breath for the Lion King." He tilted his rain-drenched face upward, a faint, unreadable smile playing on his lips. "In the name of our friendship, I'll stop you here—"
Before he could finish, a violent wind swept through the fortress.
A flock of crows cried out, a shriek so chilling it struck fear into the hearts of even the Knights of the Round Table.
"Dad?!"
Sakura and Caren gasped in surprise as Shiomi emerged from the crows.
"King?!"
Tristan and Agravain were equally stunned by the Lion King's sudden descent from the sky.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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