Even Melusine had never imagined that someone would use a beam attack to clear their path.
"Catching the enemy off guard before unleashing your strongest attack what's wrong with that?"
Artoria muttered softly after releasing her beam.
This tactic had been personally instructed by her lord, Lot, and Morgan.
In war,
one must think where the enemy cannot.
Striking unpredictably
is the key to victory.
Thus, a beam of light pierced straight through the ranks of the Wind Clan fairies.
It should be noted that later, when Excalibur became a Noble Phantasm, it would be classified as an Anti-Fortress weapon. Yet in this era of Britain, Excalibur's power was not only undiminished but far greater than its future Noble Phantasm form.
Melusine, caught off guard, had only enough time to react by yanking the Wind Clan's chieftain aside, saving her life.
The other Wind Clan fairies, however, were beyond her protection.
And so,
with that single beam, countless Wind Clan fairies were instantly reduced to ashes.
"Damn you!!!!!"
The Wind Clan chieftain, rescued by Melusine, slammed her fist furiously into the ground upon seeing this.
These humans they were truly despicable.
But Artoria's forces were not done yet.
After the beam's release, the army nocked their arrows and loosed them upon the fairies.
What was England's most famed military unit during the Hundred Years' War?
The English longbowmen, of course.
Though the people differed, the objective conditions remained identical.
So why wait? Lot and Morgan had naturally developed the Scottish longbow and equipped their army with it.
Arrows flew forth, a dense rain of projectiles descending upon the fairies.
In moments,
the already panicked fairies, caught unprepared, were struck by another volley.
Casualties mounted instantly.
Witnessing this, the already enraged Wind Clan chieftain burned with even greater fury.
She grabbed Melusine's arm and snarled, "Melusine! Kill those bastards over there!"
"...Very well."
Though exasperated by the chieftain's demeanor, Melusine nodded in acquiescence.
Pushing off the ground with her feet, she soared into the air.
Melusine, bearing the blood of Albion's dragon, possessed the gift of flight. Hovering midair, she surveyed Artoria's ambushing forces.
Her eyes locked onto Artoria, who stood leaning on her sword, gazing upward at the army.
Identifying her as the leader, Melusine focused entirely on Artoria and dove toward her.
"Hah!"
A clear, sharp sound rang out.
Melusine swung her sword downward from the sky, aiming to cleave Artoria in two.
However, her movement had long been detected. On command, countless archers unleashed a barrage of arrows at her airborne form.
The dense hail of English longbow arrows sought to turn Melusine into a pincushion.
But if such arrows could hit her, she would not be Melusine.
Dual blades in hand, she deflected every single projectile.
Not even her momentum slowed.
And then
She was upon Artoria.
By now, Artoria had already braced herself. Seeing Melusine's attack, she raised her sword to block.
Their blades clashed.
Artoria was forced back rapidly.
In raw strength, she realized she was slightly inferior to Melusine.
This surprised her.
Though unaware of her own Red Dragon bloodline, she knew well the extent of her physical power. In past battles, neither Kay, Galahad, nor even Lancelot had surpassed her in strength.
(As for that certain husband protagonist...
Well, that went without saying.)
The only foe who had ever overpowered her was the Calamity Vortigern.
Now,
Artoria had met a second enemy whose strength exceeded hers.
Still,
the gap was not insurmountable.
Manageable.
So Artoria assessed in her mind.
Then, seeing Melusine wielding twin blades, she decisively drew her own sword, Caliburn.
"Come, let us continue!"
Artoria declared.
Crossing her dual blades, she charged forward with a clear clang of steel.
Melusine, seeing Artoria's fervor, allowed a smirk to curl her lips.
"A worthy opponent!"
She met Artoria's assault head-on.
Four blades clashed as the two warriors locked eyes, neither speaking a word.
The onslaught continued.
Yet in terms of pure skill, Melusine clearly held the advantage over the current Artoria.
Not only was she stronger,
but her swordsmanship honed to the level of Lancelot at his peak far surpassed Artoria's own.
Thus,
as their duel raged on, Artoria found herself gradually outmatched.
Fortunately, her "Instinct" a battle-honed ability allowed her to narrowly evade danger time and again.
Even so, she sensed that without a change, defeat was inevitable.
On the sidelines, Guinevere and others recognized this as well.
Anxiety gripped her.
"This won't do. We must find a way to aid Artoria."
Guinevere's mind raced.
Then, spotting the Wind Clan chieftain, she immediately barked orders to the army:
"Charge the Wind Clan's leader now!"
"Yes!"
Knights leveled their lances and spurred their steeds toward the chieftain.
Had all six Clans been present, the Fang Clan's warriors would have intercepted the cavalry head-on.
But here, only the Wind Clan stood their frail forms no match for the knights' assault.
Seeing the cavalry thunder toward her, the Wind Clan chieftain panicked.
"MELUSINE! SAVE ME!"
She screamed desperately.