"This ability?"
Iskandar hadn't expected Damien's forces to include such a being.
"My king, retreat... this one's strange!"
"Our attacks can't touch her!"
Iskandar didn't hesitate, pulling the reins to guide Waver away from Yureiga.
"Pointless!"
Yureiga locked onto Iskandar's position. As a ghost-aligned wolf, physical attacks were ineffective against her.
Even magic, if she prepared in advance, could be blocked.
Her ability was akin to Obito Uchiha's Kamui from Naruto.
But Yureiga's power was even more extreme.
It had no time limit.
"Can't touch her?"
As Yureiga closed in on Iskandar and Waver, the guards near the king's chariot grew frantic. They hadn't anticipated someone breaching so close undetected.
"Even mana attacks don't work?"
Outside the bounded field, a silver-haired old man in a star-embroidered robe curiously examined the shadowy bounded field before him.
"Intriguing magecraft."
The old man was Ptolemy, founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of ancient Egypt and ancestor to Cleopatra.
He also built the Pharos Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders, and the famed Library of Alexandria, a powerful Heroic Spirit with both youthful and aged forms.
"How about this?"
Ptolemy raised his hands, boundless light blooming from them. "In the name of Ra, lingering souls of the mortal world, return to dust!"
"Hm?"
The moment Ptolemy acted, Yureiga, confident in her victory, sensed immense danger.
Without hesitation, she retreated.
But before vanishing, a Heroic Spirit's blade grazed her shoulder, leaving a shallow wound.
"The attack worked!"
"Why?"
"Wait, that light... was that Ptolemy?"
As the girl retreated and the shadowy bounded field shattered under the light, Iskandar's guards sighed in relief.
"My king, are you alright?"
"Thanks, Ptolemy."
Iskandar felt fortunate; that had been a close call.
He didn't know Damien had ordered his forces not to kill him.
Yureiga's goal was to capture Iskandar alive and present him to Damien for glory.
Sadly, her plan failed.
Yureiga hadn't expected her ghostly state to be countered by Ptolemy, leaving her furious.
"Oh, isn't that Yureiga?"
"Missing for a few minutes, and you flop like that?"
Kokoroga, floating cross-legged in the air, teased her.
"Don't gloat!"
"Capturing the enemy leader alive would bring glory to the entire Star Wolves!"
Good grief!
Kokoroga was speechless.
As if she were doing it all for the village.
Who didn't know the Star Wolves's loyalty to Damien was like that of faithful hounds?
Craving their master's praise and affection was ingrained in their bones.
If Yureiga succeeded, her tail would wag to the heavens!
"That old man isn't simple."
Tataga, Kokoroga, and Yureiga looked at Ptolemy beside Iskandar.
He was the founder of an ancient Egyptian dynasty.
Egypt, perhaps the civilization most versed in death and soul magecraft worldwide.
Yureiga's ghost alignment was less about darkness and more about death and spirits.
And no one was better at handling spirits than Ptolemy!
"Let's go together."
"Tataga and I will hold that old man; Yureiga, you grab the target, and we split the credit!"
"Deal!"
After the battle, the trio's mana was depleted but still sufficient for another fight.
"Rider?"
"Now's not the time to hold back."
Iskandar instructed Ptolemy, then raised his sword. "The enemy is upon us... how can we shy from battle?!"
"Soldiers! Charge with me!!"
"Ooohhh!"
Of the 30,000-strong army, nearly 10,000 were tied up by 400 wolves.
The remaining 20,000 split, with infantry guarding the flanks, keeping all threats outside the main battlefield.
As for the cavalry...
They would follow Iskandar, cutting through the goblin legion led by the kijin to reach Damien!
"A mythic war."
In less than fifteen minutes, the battle surpassed Irisviel's imagination.
"The Demon King is losing."
Artoria made her judgment.
"Hmph, losing?"
Gilgamesh scoffed at her assessment. "Fool! He's not even serious!"
"What?"
Artoria ignored his venom, wanting to know what he meant.
"What do you think those are?"
Gilgamesh pointed at the kijin in the goblin army. "Those, and the damned woman leading them!"
Gilgamesh had experienced Shion's strength firsthand.
She was powerful, stronger than the Star Wolves leaders already in action.
Yet she hadn't moved.
Why?
Because Shion and her kin were Damien's true elite!
"That woman and her clan..."
Gilgamesh's expression grew grave as he considered how to face Damien's challenge next.
No doubt, Iskandar had no chance of winning.
Which meant the one to face Gilgamesh in the final battle would be Damien!
[Reality Marble 'Ionioi Hetairoi' analysis in progress]
[Analysis progress: 90%]
[Analysis progress: 91%]
[...]
Meanwhile, watching the rising analysis progress, Damien calmly observed the battlefield.
With Shion and the kijin's speed, they should have been the first to engage.
But for Damien's plan, the kijin held back.
They gave the spotlight to the Star Wolvess.
[Analysis progress: 100%]
[Reality Marble analysis complete]
[New Reality Marble generating...]
"Success."
Through analyzing both the Time Alter and Ionioi Hetairoi, Damien successfully gained his own Reality Marble.
This meant...
"It's time to end this."
Damien turned to Snow Empress. "Tell Shion and the others... send the King of Conqueror off!"
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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