At the edge of the battlefield, about fifteen hundred meters from Uruk's walls, the sound of chaotic footsteps broke the silence as the survivors, led by Merlin, emerged from the shadows.
"Survivors! We've reached Uruk! Just push through this last stretch, and we'll find sanctuary!" Merlin shouted, his voice drawing the attention of many demonic beasts.
At the same time, Ana manifested her sickle, clearly ready for a fight.
Further away, hidden from sight by Merlin's magecraft, Castorice was already manipulating the waters of the River of Souls, creating a protected zone.
Under Merlin's cover, they advanced toward Uruk in an orderly fashion, the demonic beasts instinctively giving way wherever they passed.
And so, Castorice crossed five hundred meters without incident.
Until... the commotion around Merlin grew louder and louder. Finally, the disturbance attracted the notice of the higher-level beasts on the battlefield.
"ROAR!!!"
An ear-splitting roar tore through the sky, and the very battlefield fell silent.
The next moment, a massive form descended from above. It had wings on its back and was covered in blue, armor-like scales. Its mere presence caused many lesser beasts to cower in submission.
Upon its draconic head, two sharp horns seemed ready to pierce the heavens.
And beside it stood another monster, wreathed in flame, resembling a lion.
"This is bad!"
Merlin's face darkened at the sight of these two creatures.
The Dragon-Beast Bashmu, and the Feral Beast, Mushussu!
These two were among the eleven children created by Tiamat, and their power set them leagues apart from the other demonic beasts.
They were the real deal—monsters truly capable of trading their lives for a Servant's.
The racket Merlin's group was making, combined with the prolonged resistance offered by the Servants, had finally drawn these two powerful beasts onto the field.
--+--
At the same time, at Castorice's position.
Several beams of light rained down from the sky, aimed directly at her and the group of survivors she was with.
"Found out?"
Castorice's brow furrowed. In the next instant, her sickle flashed into her hand!
The light projectiles were fast, leaving her little time. Fortunately, the enemy seemed to have only tossed a few casual shots their way, not employing any truly high-powered attacks.
Yet, even these casual strikes were enough to inflict heavy casualties among the people beside her.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Her sickle whirled, a boundless dance of blade-light unfolding in that moment.
She deflected the enemy's attack, but in doing so, the camouflage Merlin had placed upon them dissipated.
Castorice and the several dozen survivors were exposed, laid bare within the tide of beasts.
Luckily, the waters of the River of Souls under Castorice's control were still active, preventing the ordinary beasts from overcoming their instincts to charge and harm these people.
But with more and more beasts gathering, it was only a matter of time.
"Oh? A casual attack, and I've flushed out a few insects?"
A figure stood poised in the air above.
They had long green hair and a beauty so striking it was hard to tell if they were male or female, their voice equally androgynous.
"Lord Enkidu...? No, that's not right! This is an imposter!"
A ripple of unrest passed through the people below, but they quickly steadied their resolve.
After all, the kind and gentle Lord Enkidu would never raise a hand against them.
So, the one before them must be a fake!
"How noisy!"
Looking down at the people, Enkidu—or rather, Kingu—snorted coldly. With a wave of his hand, several chains tipped with spikes shot toward the crowd.
However, Castorice would not let him succeed. She immediately stepped in front of the people, her sickle sweeping out, easily shattering the chains.
"Oh? I thought you were just rats hiding in the shadows, but it seems you're a bit more interesting than that."
Kingu looked at Castorice, a flicker of interest in his eyes.
Castorice, in turn, met his gaze with a grave expression.
Unlike the enemies she had faced before, Kingu's power was genuinely on the level of a deity.
Her earlier method, while effective, had one flaw: it couldn't escape visual detection. A sudden, blank void in the midst of a dense battlefield, with beasts nearby falling into an eerie silence—of course it seemed suspicious!
Low-intelligence magical beasts might not notice, but any reasonably intelligent human observer would immediately sense something amiss.
That's exactly what had happened with Kingu. He had originally come to intercept and eliminate Chaldea's Master.
After waiting a full day with no sign of them, he had decided to observe the battle lines instead. By chance, he noticed the anomaly on the battlefield, uncovering Castorice's secret maneuvering.
Still, her strength surprised him. The Chains of Heaven were a weapon against divinities.
While they were merely very sturdy chains against those without divine blood, they were far from fragile. Yet Castorice's sickle had cleanly severed them, piquing his curiosity.
"While I am curious about your origins, my intuition tells me you pose a great threat to Mother. In that case, you shall be buried here!"
In the next moment, light shimmered in his hands, and sharp blades manifested.
Kingu's true strength as a Servant was unknown, but the vessel he inhabited was Enkidu's body.
As a creation of the gods, Enkidu's power was formidable.
Now, with Kingu possessing the body, he not only possessed all of Enkidu's strength and Noble Phantasm but also a ruthlessness and resolve that Enkidu never had.
Compounded by the fact that Castorice had to divert her power to protect the humans, she was quickly forced onto the defensive, the situation growing increasingly perilous.
Not far away, Ana and Merlin were also pinned down by the two powerful beasts, unable to offer support.
"Lady Castorice, please withdraw your protection. We, too, have the ability to fight."
Just as the battle was turning against them, the youth whom Castorice had personally saved stepped forward from the crowd, spear in hand.
"All along this journey, we have witnessed your care for us, Lady Castorice. But that does not mean we will become a burden, forcing you to divide your attention protecting us from a powerful enemy."
"Making it this far is already a tremendous fortune for us. So, let us charge through this final leg on our own strength! If we lack the courage to face a powerful enemy head-on, then returning to Uruk holds no meaning!"
At first, the youth's words caused some alarm among the survivors, but as he spoke, their gazes hardened with determination.
A unified cry rose from them.
They weren't foolish. They could see that Castorice was unable to fight at her full strength because she was protecting them.
On this battlefield, the curse of death was also a blessing.
Without Castorice's protection, they would have surely perished long ago in the jaws of wild beasts. But now that Castorice faced a crisis, they could not simply hide behind her, especially not if they were only acting as dead weight.
This filled the youth, and all of them, with a sense of frustration.
They were not weaklings who could only rely on the protection of others. In the face of a powerful enemy, they too could play their part.
Look—on this Demonic Front, while powerful commanders hold the line, the true backbone remains humanity itself.
After all, this is a battle for mankind's very survival!
"...I understand. Good luck to you all."
Castorice's peripheral glance swept over the people behind her, and she nodded.
They had less than five hundred meters to go until Uruk. Furthermore, soldiers would be waiting ahead to receive them. They could cover this distance. There would be losses, but compared to total annihilation, this was a far better outcome.
And in that very moment, having reclaimed her power, Castorice could finally face Kingu before her at her full strength!
The waters of the River of Souls coiled around her palms. For the first time, Kingu sensed an aura of extreme danger.
The person before him... had changed.
No longer distracted by protecting the humans, Castorice could finally unveil the full extent of her power before her opponent!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.