Stumbling and staggering, he ran back from the hole he had smashed open with his own body.
At a single glance, he saw Nero struggling to resist Romulus's attacks.
Lin Qi paid no heed to the side effects of [Dodge], accelerating forward in a charge.
His spear stabbed against the "wooden stick" Romulus held in front of himself, forcing him back several steps.
He had barely managed to relieve Nero's predicament.
Both sides once again pulled back to a relatively safe distance.
"My guard! Wonderful, you are unharmed!"
Nero looked at Lin Qi with a face full of surprise.
"Ahem, it's hard to say I'm completely unharmed..."
Leaning on his flagpole, Lin Qi forced a weak smile and spoke powerlessly.
That single spear thrust just now had already been Lin Qi's full strength; after executing it, his entire body was wracked with excruciating pain.
If they continued fighting like this, Lin Qi estimated he could die on the spot for everyone to see.
"Mmm! For a human Master to be capable of this much, your will is truly worthy of praise!"
Romulus looked appreciatively at Lin Qi, who was breathing heavily but still staring intently at him.
Then, his tone shifted:
"However, it is boring, far too boring! This battle is too dull, completely failing to surprise me (Rome)!"
"And so..."
As he spoke, Romulus channeled magical energy into the Founding Spear in his hand; a red glow shimmered brilliantly upon it.
Nero and Lin Qi, who roughly understood what Romulus was about to do, had long since stood together.
"My guard! It seems the time has come to use your Noble Phantasm again!"
Lin Qi did not speak, only planted the flag into the ground.
He turned his head to Nero and showed a smile.
"Use it without hesitation. No matter the outcome, I will stand with you, Your Majesty."
Nero was taken aback for a moment, an unconsciously radiant smile spreading across her face.
"Umu!"
With a hint of barely perceptible delight, Nero and Lin Qi together grasped the flagpole.
Then, as if by prior agreement, they both looked toward Romulus ahead.
Their gazes revealed unwavering determination.
Romulus's Noble Phantasm release was also nearing its completion.
"And so, let it end here!"
"Here, I (Rome) shall unveil this supreme Noble Phantasm, unleashing the true form of [Rome]—"
[All Things Lead to My Spear (Magna Voluisse Magnum)]!"
The Founding Spear in Romulus's hand began to expand continuously, growing wildly like a real tree. In the blink of an eye, their field of vision was completely occupied by this seemingly boundless green.
The verdant tree canopy was utterly unlike any tree known to man; it more closely resembled a meteor falling from the sky, suppressing the very air. The whirlwind it stirred up sent their hair flying back incessantly.
The flag's cloth surface also whipped and snapped violently in the wind, as if threatening to break free from its restraints at any moment.
[Thus Is My Heart]!
A great light flourished!
Under their combined efforts, this Noble Phantasm inherited from Jeanne d'Arc, yet truly belonging to Lin Qi himself, manifested once more.
A brilliant gold-red radiance transformed into an indestructible wall, stubbornly blocking the way before the two of them.
Their figures shone brilliantly within this light, their shadows lengthening because of it, nonchalantly intertwining behind them.
This light was far stronger than any previous use of the Noble Phantasm.
But even so, their figures remained incredibly minuscule beneath this towering, colossal tree.
The moment the light was touched, it developed cracks, like shattered glass.
Therefore—
"Command Spell!"
One of the marks on the back of his hand flashed with a crimson red light.
It then transformed into a red beam, reinforcing the Noble Phantasm they both held.
The barrier formed of light was repaired in an instant, becoming considerably more solid.
The next second.
The attack of Romulus's Noble Phantasm arrived in full force, like a mudslide carrying massive boulders, crashing against the barrier in front of them.
[All Things Lead to My Spear]
Unlike the energy-based attacks of ordinary Noble Phantasms, this Noble Phantasm leaned more toward crushing the enemy with absolute mass; it was a terrifying super-heavy weapon.
It is an entity that appeared in the dream of his mother, Silvia, from her virgin pregnancy until before Romulus's birth, seen as identical to the great tree symbolizing Rome.
When its True Name is released, the spear enlarges and transforms into a great tree, creating "the past, present, and future form of the Imperial Capital Rome," rushing toward the enemy in a raging torrent.
It cannot simply be considered a normal tree. If its wood were cut and weighed, its density would far exceed that of steel.
To call it a monstrous "steel avalanche" would not be an exaggeration at all.
Under the impact of this terrifying mass, even with Lin Qi's Noble Phantasm blocking the way, the two of them held out for only a second or two before being pushed backward, forced into a frantic retreat.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Their backs smashed through who knows how many walls in succession before they barely managed to brace themselves, no longer being pushed back at the previous speed.
They propped up the flag with their hands, not daring to slacken even slightly.
Because if they dared to relax even a little, this terrifying "tree" avalanche would crush them both directly.
But even so, under this fearsome assault, the barrier condensed from light once again became covered in cracks.
Through the gaps.
The fierce winds carried by the "steel avalanche" whipped their hair, sending it flying straight back.
Time itself seemed to slow down at this moment.
Out of the corner of her eye, Nero glimpsed Lin Qi beside her, gritting his teeth and staring dead ahead.
Bathed in a field of gold-red light, their faces were also tinted gold-red.
But the bloodstains not yet wiped from Lin Qi's face were still visible.
The corner of Nero's mouth unconsciously lifted slightly.
This was joy—the joy of being trusted.
Nero could feel that, even at a time like this, Lin Qi still trusted her.
And it was unconditional, unreserved trust.
If Nero didn't say it, perhaps no one would ever know?
Actually, she, like Boudica, had also obtained the power of a Servant.
But unlike Boudica, who was re-summoned after her death,
Her own state was more similar to that of a Demi-Servant.
And the one fused with her wasn't someone else, but herself—the future Nero.
At first, she had only gained the physical attributes of a Servant.
Later, gradually, the memories, skills, and even the Noble Phantasm of her Servant self were all acquired by her.
So, naturally, she also came to know her own outcome.
A tragic outcome.
Ununderstood, unaccompanied, with no one even coming to see her until three days after her death.
Suddenly receiving such weighty information, even Nero began to doubt herself as an emperor.
'If this is the outcome, am I truly suited to be an emperor?'
...