Early the next morning, the army set out.
Although the supplies brought across the sea were limited, the sheer size of the legion was undeniable, and marching ostentatiously would naturally attract the enemy's attention.
Under the effect of 'Divine March Tactics A+', an army of nearly ten thousand moved as flexibly as a small squad, mercilessly pounding any isolated enemy units they encountered. After annihilating the enemy and appropriating their provisions and supplies, Sakatsuki's legion even went on to dismantle several enemy camps and strongholds, disguising them as resource points for the Imperial army before continuing their advance.
Having experienced hellish battles against Servants, the soldiers were astonished to find that fighting their former enemies was now as easy as a father disciplining his son. Sometimes, they didn't even need to use Blood Qi. Under the command of their respective legion commanders, they formed battle formations and, without losing a single soldier, divided, surrounded, and steadily consumed all their enemies.
Like a coalesced dragon, they had become an existence that ordinary humans could no longer contend with.
While the troops' morale soared, Sakatsuki quietly absorbed the Blood Qi gathered from their 'plundering and slaughtering' along the way, sustaining their war efforts with the spoils of battle as they awaited the impending nightmare-level confrontation.
Two individuals enshrined in the Temple of Military Gods, respectively representing the pinnacle of annihilation and orthodox strategy in Chinese military history.
Now, as pseudo-Servants, remnants from different timelines, they were finally about to engage in a genuine, no-holds-barred battle.
After countless simulations and stratagems, the crimson-haired man opened his eyes, his face radiating confidence.
"Though I regret to say it, in terms of intelligence warfare, I've already taken the first victory!"
Zhuge Liang in Chaldea had long since reached Bond Level 13 or higher. Sakatsuki knew his skills inside out. Although the skills might differ in actual combat, being prepared in advance meant there was no need for panic.
—But soon, Sakatsuki dismissed this thought.
Because the situation before him was far more unexpected than he had imagined.
It was a boy with strikingly bright red short hair, his androgynous features remarkably attractive whether viewed as male or female, dressed in a refreshingly heroic style.
However, the scales and spikes coiled around his arms, along with the beastly heads protruding from his shoulders, rupturing his flesh, shattered the boy's aesthetic appeal. The ferocious beauty and delicate beauty did not harmonize; instead, they clashed like adversaries, making the boy's expression appear tortured.
Even so, when he caught sight of Sakatsuki at the vanguard of the legion, his eyes lit up with joy.
"Hello, I've been waiting for you!"
After that moment of sincere delight, malice surged like a rising tide. The beautiful boy opened his mouth in pain, uttering words that clearly did not belong to him:
"Another Servant of your Chinese lineage has already been captured by us. Fool who seeks to annihilate us, if you do not lay down your arms, then come! Let us bestow upon you the deepest despair!"
With that, the two beastly heads on the boy's shoulders roared, driving the body to turn and vanish from Sakatsuki's sight at a speed beyond human capability.
"Governor, it seems he's also..."
"Yes, just like Caligula back then." Sakatsuki nodded slightly. "The one issuing the challenge isn't him, but another existence."
Recalling the pleading look in the boy's eyes as he left and the taunting words spoken by that other presence, the white-haired commander impassively raised his hand.
"Continue the advance."
***
While Sakatsuki advanced triumphantly toward the final hurdle, Nero found herself facing a new crisis.
"Is this all you've got? Has Rome fallen so far in the countless years since my death?"
The one who voiced this taunt was a man dressed in the attire of a tribune, wearing a laurel wreath, his appearance notably corpulent.
Despite his portly physique, his combat prowess was astonishingly fierce. Each swing of his 'Yellow Death' unleashed a flash of yellow light, repelling any Servant who dared approach and slicing soldiers who failed to retreat into pieces.
"Damn it... I don't remember Caesar the Great being this formidable in personal combat!" Boudica loudly complained as she rolled to the side, dragging Fujimaru out of Yellow Death's attack range. "In that case, Chariot of Boudica!"
A chariot roared forth, not to attack but to block Caesar's storm-like onslaught. Though the defense lasted barely a moment before being shattered by the sword, Boudica had already retreated with the army beyond his attack range.
The man did not pursue. Instead, he stood motionless again, like a powered-down puppet, watching the Imperial army's disorganised retreat.
Bathed in the bloody sunset, the sharp scales on his body emitted a low hum, as if piercing the air.
Returning to camp, Boudica rallied the soldiers before plopping down onto a tent, puffing her cheeks in frustration.
"Seriously, what's with all these weird Roman emperors? No matter what, this is the nation he left behind for posterity, right? Wasn't his hand too heavy?"
Even if she still couldn't bring herself to acknowledge Rome, seeing living beings vanish one after another before her eyes pained Boudica's heart.
"Gaius Julius Caesar, the wise emperor who declared 'Veni, Vidi, Vici,' shouldn't be like this..."
Fujimaru Ritsuka sat nearby, lost in thought.
"Not only that, but as a Servant, his output is also severely mismatched with his Spirit Origin's state. According to Chaldea's calculations, those were attacks that should only be possible by burning his Spirit Origin," Dr. Roman's voice came through the wrist communicator. "At the same time, the Spirit Origin itself is impure, fluctuating unstably with strong signs of resistance."
"Which means..." Boudica and Fujimaru exchanged glances, quickly reaching a conclusion.
Most likely, something abnormal had affected this Caesar.
"Whew, good thing Nero had a headache and rested instead of joining this battle," Boudica sighed in relief, rubbing her temples.
If the current Roman emperor had seen her predecessors mowing down soldiers like weeds while being possessed by some foreign entity, her spirits would surely have taken a heavy blow, right?
Just then, the tent's curtain was flung open, and the emperor, having slept the entire day, strode in with boundless energy:
"Fujimaru, General Boudica, I've found a solution!"
"A solution?"
"Umu, I heard today's battle against the enemy ended in failure, didn't it? Ah... Sorry, Boudica, I didn't mean it like that."
"It's fine." Boudica looked at Nero's genuinely apologetic expression, finding it hard to connect her with the person who had uttered such cruel words the day before. "Your Majesty, please continue."
"Umu, well, it's simple. When I went looking for food tonight because I was hungry, I happened to hear some farmers talking about 'the gods manifesting.' A traveling merchant I passed earlier said something similar, and upon questioning, I learned that an ancient deity has appeared on an island in the Mediterranean!"
"If a genuine god were to join us, surely we could overcome this obstacle, right?"
"That's quite a detailed rumor," Fujimaru remarked.
"An island where gods reside... How wonderful! Ah, how romantic!" Dr. Roman mused dreamily. "An ancient deity descending in the first century! Gods who should have vanished returning to the human world...!"
After a brief discussion, everyone quickly decided that Nero and Fujimaru would set out for the Mediterranean to seek the deity.
But as Nero piloted the ship across the Mediterranean, she unexpectedly spotted several large vessels following a course toward another destination.
"Hmm? That's... the Roman Empire's insignia? Our ships?" Nero paused at the helm, peering curiously.
"Mr. Sakatsuki mentioned this before... They're probably supply ships supporting his expedition..." Fujimaru clung to a pillar, using conversation to distract himself from his seasickness. "Speaking of which, I wonder how Mr. Sakatsuki is doing now... Ugh..."
"Umu umu." The young emperor pondered, a strange light flashing in her eyes.
"By the way, Fujimaru, you can steer a ship, right? You definitely can, right?"
"...Huh?"
***
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