Leonidas I of Sparta stood as the final line of defense. Gilgamesh's servants had all been deployed, but their overwhelming numerical disadvantage made any effective resistance impossible.
"This is humanity's last stand! I will absolutely not let you pass!" Leonidas declared, his spear aimed directly at Jiang You. Summoned to protect the Human Order, he couldn't comprehend why Jiang You, a fellow Heroic Spirit, would act in such a way.
"Let them witness the true spirit of Sparta!"
"You going in or should I?" Jiang You glanced at Fairy Tristan. Once they breached Leonidas's defenses, the remaining soldiers would pose no threat, allowing him to advance straight to Gilgamesh's location.
"What kind of question is that?" Fairy Tristan scoffed. She wanted to face Gilgamesh personally. According to Jiang You, Gilgamesh's strength rivaled even her own mother's. With no other concerns weighing her down, she was eager to see what kind of person could possibly match her mother! "You hold him off. I'm breaking through!"
"Is that so? But as a Heroic Spirit who held Thermopylae with three hundred men against a Persian army of a hundred thousand, Leonidas is one of the most formidable defensive servants. You can't get past him without defeating him."
Sparta's strength ranked near the bottom of the second tier, but in defensive battles, its power surged as the enemy's advantage grew. This was evident in its ability to single-handedly withstand Gorgon's Noble Phantasm, which could clash with the true Tiamat. Given the current circumstances, Sparta's buffs were likely at their maximum.
"So, can't your Noble Phantasm just bypass his effects?" Fairy Tristan asked, suspecting Jiang You was changing the subject to steal her opponent.
"But I'd get far greater rewards for personally defeating Gilgamesh," Jiang You countered, glancing at the mission progress. With the soldiers holed up inside the city, the number of human kills hadn't increased. The Hundred Faces, lurking among the crowd, could strike at any moment, but their proximity to Gilgamesh meant only he could use Duel to lock Gilgamesh in place.
"Forget about it. As my Token right now, you can't challenge Gilgamesh to a Duel. You'd lose badly in a straight fight."
As for why he'd agreed to Ana's request, the reward for personally eliminating Gorgon was about the same.
"What nonsense! You can't even get in there directly, can you? Those golden pillars may no longer be able to fire over a wide area, but they can still intercept aerial attacks! Otherwise, we would have ridden our Flying Dragons right in long ago."
The initial barrage from the Divine Authority Seals had wiped out most of Jiang You's Wyvern Knights, but a few stragglers remained. He had planned to capitalize on the momentum and launch another assault. Unexpectedly, Uruk hadn't expended all their seals in the first volley, reserving some as backup. Now, all the Wyvern Knights had fallen, awaiting their resurrection cooldowns.
"Who said I had no countermeasures?"
Jiang You whistled sharply, and a snow-white Pegasus plummeted from the sky, snorting as it landed before him.
"This... a Phantasmal Beast?!" Fairy Tristan sensed a faint pressure emanating from the winged steed.
"Exactly. This is Pegasus, borrowed from Medusa. I didn't want to use him—Medusa's combat power would be significantly reduced without him." Jiang You stroked Pegasus's head. Thanks to Medusa's favorable Affection level towards Jiang You, Pegasus showed no resistance, nudging his head against Jiang You's palm. "Since I'm not personally controlling him, his precision and speed are somewhat diminished. Still, he'll be more than enough to evade these attacks."
"Great! Then we don't have to fight that muscle-bound brute!"
Thanks to Quetzalcoatl's training, Fairy Tristan had spent the past three days surrounded by muscular men and women. She'd developed a condition where the mere sight of muscles made her want to vomit. This was precisely why she vehemently opposed Jiang You's plan to have her fight Sparta.
"Why didn't you bring out this amazing thing sooner?! It's huge—it could definitely carry two people!"
"Did I say I was taking you with me?"
Perched atop Pegasus, Jiang You raised his hand to stop Fairy Tristan from climbing aboard. Pegasus, understanding his intent, took two steps back and turned sideways, lifting a hoof as if to kick her.
No way I'm letting Fairy Tristan steal my reward! Jiang You thought. Even if she couldn't possibly win, this is Tiamat's 'Anti-Genesis' Card! Delaying its acquisition by even a second would be disrespectful to myself.
"I don't want my back to be ambushed by a Servant. So, Fairy Tristan! I'm entrusting my back to you!"
In the next instant, Pegasus charged forward like an arrow shot from a bow.
"Stop him!"
Seeing Jiang You attempt a forced breakthrough, Sparta immediately ordered the soldiers on the walls to deploy the remaining Divine Authority Seals for interception. But it was too late; all ten-odd seals were fired, and Jiang Youyu and Pegasus had already transformed into shooting stars streaking across the sky, hurtling straight toward the tower where Gilgamesh stood.
"That bastard!"
Realizing Jiang You intended to abandon her, Fairy Tristan frantically tried to follow.
"You muscle-headed fool! Get out of my way!"
Sparta naturally refused to yield the path. He had failed to stop Jiang You, and he certainly wouldn't let Fairy Tristan through. "Absolutely not!"
"So, you've finally come?"
Watching the shooting star streak toward him, Gilgamesh, perched atop the tower, neither flinched nor dodged. Instead, he activated his Gate of Babylon, unleashing a counterattack. Unlike his younger self, he wouldn't underestimate his opponents. He knew that directly confronting such a powerful anti-army Noble Phantasm would leave him severely wounded, so he went all-out, unleashing the most suitable Noble Phantasms in a torrent of divine weaponry.
As previously mentioned, because Pegasus was controlled by Jiang You, it couldn't unleash even half its true power when clashing with Excalibur. Had it been struck, both Pegasus and Jiang You would have been riddled with holes.
This was precisely the effect Jiang You sought. He deliberately dispelled Pegasus's summoning, drawing Gilgamesh into the range of his own Noble Phantasm (though, in truth, Gilgamesh was already embroiled in the Holy Grail War's conflict, making this step unnecessary—a fact Jiang You was unaware of). He then charged headlong into Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.
"Foolish!"
Though he couldn't fathom Jiang You's motives, Gilgamesh immediately redirected all the swirling portals toward him, unleashing a torrent of Noble Phantasms. This barrage included numerous anti-magic weapons, intended to obliterate the intruder instantly. Siduri had already reported that the Magical Beasts in the north were stirring—if not dealt with promptly, Uruk's situation would become critically dangerous. "Vanish before This King!"
Dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of Noble Phantasms struck Jiang You simultaneously from all directions. Gilgamesh smirked in satisfaction. His treasury overflowed with prototypes of legendary Noble Phantasms. Even if this Servant possessed formidable defenses, such an assault would at least shred their armor.
To Gilgamesh's astonishment, the attack proved utterly ineffective. His Noble Phantasms seemed to have lost all momentum and properties, falling limply to the ground.
Jiang You grinned at Gilgamesh. "Goldie, I've brought you your third sunset!"