Chapter 98: The Volcano Area
[You have eaten the Golden Apple.]
[All of your skills have recovered, the fatigue on your body has been completely erased, all previous negative effects have vanished.]
Eikou felt his body instantly return to its peak.
Not only the dizziness caused by the Water of Life, but even the negative state from yesterday's diarrhea had been wiped clean, all skills restored to their initial level.
Though he could have saved the Golden Apple to give to Gawain, helping him recover his Noble Phantasm and once more use 'Galatine Propulsion,' Eikou himself eating the Golden Apple and using his skills could achieve the same effect, perhaps even better.
Most importantly, this was the reward Morgan had granted him—if he handed it over, it would be unreasonable. Better to just eat it right away and enjoy it.
"Wake up, Gawain, Tristan,"
Eikou shook the two who had fainted on the ground violently,
"We have to set off, we've already been left twenty kilometers behind."
Hearing this dreadful news, the two Round Table Knights, half-dead just moments ago, instantly jumped up, their faces full of disbelief.
"What, we've been unconscious for that long…?" Tristan said in horror.
"Not exactly… just get on the bike first, I'll explain later."
He hurriedly dragged the two still not fully conscious men onto the bicycle, preparing to continue the journey.
"So, Sir Eikou,"
Gawain rubbed his golden hair, his mind still hazy,
"Out of all of us, only you succeeded in moving Mother? How on earth did you manage that?"
"Don't, don't ask anymore…"
Thinking of the scene just now, Eikou blushed slightly.
Right after that, he patted the 'future son's' shoulder, Gawain, and immediately used all the skills that had recovered on him:
「Protection of the Lake B」「Dreamlike Charisma B」「Hero Creation E」
"We're being left twenty kilometers behind by Team Marie and Team Baobhan Sith, we can only rely on you to unleash Noble Phantasm once again to catch up."
He spoke seriously.
Gawain also nodded seriously: "Understood, leave it to me."
Through the broadcast came the narration of Homeroom teacher Finn about the situation on site.
"Team Eikou has successfully passed the third checkpoint, continuing toward the next. They have already been left behind by two checkpoints by the two leading teams, can they still catch up and recreate the miraculous comeback from before?
"Anything is possible, let's wait and see.
"On the other hand, Knight Roland was punished for sexual harassment by having to drink five bottles of vodka in a row. Who would have thought that after drinking that much, he could still barely remain standing. Truly worthy of being the most famous among the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, his reputation is indeed well-deserved."
Eikou glanced at the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne's team beside him.
He let out a slight sigh of relief, thinking to himself: this bunch probably won't be able to cause any more waves.
This French team had been tailing him the whole way, but now they were exhausted, the two teammates before had already used their Noble Phantasms to speed up, and the only one left with his Noble Phantasm, Roland, was drunk like that.
"Logically speaking… if they still want to win, at this moment they should let the substitute in their team, that is, Charlemagne, take the field himself. That might still pose some threat to us.
"But fortunately, the Twelve Paladins all seem to be a bunch of fools, thinking they can rely on their own strength and thus won't call on anyone else."
"And I absolutely don't need to remind them of this!"
The real opponents to worry about now were Team Baobhan Sith and Team Marie in the lead.
Sitting at the back of the bike, Sun Knight Gawain raised the holy sword Excalibur Galatine, once again releasing the True Name of the Noble Phantasm.
"We can see contestant Gawain preparing to release Noble Phantasm once again, just how dazzling will the sunlight on the blade become, even brighter than before! Clearly this time Eikou-kun has bestowed upon him an even greater source of power, dear audience please put on your sunglasses!"
"Excellent, Team Eikou begins to dash forward…"
"Heavens, what a spectacular burst! So this is the sister sword of Excalibur, its explosive force is truly astonishing, the magical energy released to propel the bike has directly destroyed the road behind them!"
"In just an instant, they've left the exhausted Twelve Paladins far behind."
"They're still accelerating, still accelerating, Team Eikou shows no intention of stopping,"
"Drawing one unlucky card after another, repeatedly hindered at the checkpoints, it seems Lady Luck has completely turned her back on them. But even so, that still doesn't affect their determination to move forward."
Homeroom teacher Finn at first intended to focus his commentary on the two leading teams, but was captivated by Team Eikou's outstanding performance, so he immediately switched the projection screen toward them.
At this moment, Napoleon suddenly seemed to realize something, letting out a sigh:
"It truly was a miscalculation…"
"What's wrong, are you lamenting again about the defeat at Waterloo?"
"Why do you keep bringing up Waterloo over and over?"
Napoleon retorted, then burst into hearty laughter, as though these failures had not the slightest effect on his mood,
"But perhaps I really did make a grave strategic mistake. I originally thought the obstacle I had set beforehand would hinder them, but unexpectedly that very 'obstacle' became the greatest driving force pushing them forward. Ha ha, does such a thing really exist in this world?"
"What obstacle? What are you talking about?"
"You will know soon enough."
So Napoleon said.
Homeroom teacher Finn of course didn't understand, but Jeanne Alter, sitting in the waiting area, immediately realized what the other side was alluding to.
Beneath the black armor of Lancelot, the maiden fell into a long silence.
...
[Under the propulsion of magical power from the Sword of Revolving Victory, your team's speed becomes incredibly fast.]
[You dash through the next checkpoint at a speed that leaves others astounded.]
[The target of this Luck Check is… Gawain!]
[Please roll once for a Luck Check.]
[Luck Check successful.]
[You smoothly pass the fourth checkpoint without encountering any obstacle or penalty game.]
Seeing this, Eikou and the two Round Table Knights instantly froze on the spot.
"What, this time it's not a Great Failure?!"
Eikou drew in a deep breath,
"Not even a Failure happened!"
Finally, finally…
After going through countless checkpoints, this time at last they passed!
Obviously, in terms of probability, rolling "Success" should have been the most normal result, yet why did they feel so moved?
Eikou immediately saw hope ahead.
As long as they gave it one more desperate push, they still had the chance to seize the championship!
"Gawain, full power! As long as we maintain this pace, there's still hope to catch up to them!"
"Leave it to me!"
Gawain, still releasing the power of the Noble Phantasm, instantly triggered a second fierce acceleration!
Their bicycle practically soared like flying along the racetrack.
[After passing the fourth checkpoint, you enter an entirely new course.]
[That is… The volcanic area!]