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IBHJ Chapter 738
🕑 Added 2024-03-05 06:47:02 +0000 UTCShirou nodded, then slowly extended his hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap
In the next moment—
His pale silver dragon armor began to glow. The dark, cursed flames in his eyes reignited into a cold, dazzling light. At the same time, the white light surrounding him flared with intensity, as if he'd become a massive, blazing sun.
The light shone on every eternal soldier, each of them bathed in Shirou's radiance. In the next moment—
Their fighting spirit surged, and at the same time, many memories and legends were inserted into their records:
[Giant Slayer]! [Indomitable Will]! [Mana Burst]!
[Giant Slayer] would give them a huge edge when fighting the giants, while [Mana Burst] would boost their destructive power and deadliness. Meanwhile, [Indomitable Will] would make them tougher and harder to kill!
With these three skills buffing the soldiers, plus the stat boosts from becoming Heroic Spirits and the replica weapons - those demonic spears Gae Bolg and the holy sword Galatine - these human soldiers could close the gap in strength and skills with the giant race. They'd be able to go toe-to-toe with the giants in battle!
The giants were a top-tier Phantasmal Species. Even though a Servant with average C-rank stats could easily beat a 15-meter giant one-on-one, these Fire Giants were clearly well-trained, with skills on par with the soldiers of the Eternal Kingdom. They were in a whole different league compared to regular giants.
As they advanced slowly, they chanted "Muspelheim" like it was their religion, their voices echoing like an endless chain of mountains bearing down on their foes - it was absolutely terrifying.
But the soldiers of the Eternal Kingdom were a different breed altogether. Their overall quality and mental toughness were way beyond that of ordinary armies, forged through countless battles and hardships that had shaped them into the ultimate fighting force. Not only did the giants' intimidating advance fail to break their spirits, it actually had the opposite effect, making them even more determined to stand their ground and fight to the bitter end!
Percival raised his Gae Bolg high and shouted, "Silence them!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the stern-faced soldiers, who were standing in perfect formation, moved as one. They lifted their Gae Bolgs, their movements synchronized and precise, and with a powerful, unified motion, they slammed the spears into the ground. Boom! The impact was thunderous, shaking the very earth beneath their feet, sending tremors rippling through the land.
Without missing a beat, the soldiers raised their spears again as one, their motion crisp and sharp, their timing impeccable as they brought their weapons down and struck the ground, creating another resounding impact that rippled through the air.
The earth itself seemed to come alive, resounding with the powerful marching song of the soldiers. While the giants used shields as drums and swords as instruments, the soldiers of the Eternal Kingdom used the very earth as their drum and their spears as instruments!
Rumble!
The sudden noise startled Sigurd, who was gathering the villagers some distance away. "What was that?"
"That's us, the soldiers of the Eternal Kingdom!" A nearby soldier puffed out his chest, his voice brimming with pride.
The soldiers from the Eternal Kingdom had an imposing aura that left the assistant stunned. He couldn't help but turn and look at the general, shocked to see his expression had changed.
The general spoke with utmost seriousness, "This human army... may be even tougher to deal with than Odin's Valkyries."
"How's that possible, General? They're just humans - they're food for us, nothing more!" the assistant giant scoffed. "They're just a bit louder, that's all. It doesn't mean anything!"
"Then why do you sound so unsure?" the general turned to him. "It's because you saw the shadow of our own army in those humans, isn't it? No need to explain. I saw it too. To think he could train those selfish humans into an elite force like ours... That human king is formidable. However, it makes no difference. We've prepared for this war for over 2,000 years! We will be victorious!"
...
Galahad held firm, maintaining the defenses around Lord Camelot's castle, while Shirou was stationed at the center. Outside the castle walls, the clash of battle raged fiercely in the frozen, snow-covered lands. The thunderous collisions of giants and human soldiers created a roar of chaos, lit up by bright bursts of light that briefly illuminated the icy battlefield. In the swirling snow and ice, the explosive fires of war bloomed violently, their shrapnel and debris scattering across the unforgiving ground.
Without warning, a barrage of huge black arrows arched high overhead from enemy lines beyond the walls. The obsidian shafts sailed upwards before raining down toward Shirou's position. But the massive projectiles clanged harmlessly off Galahad's barrier, failing to penetrate the castle's sturdy defenses. Still, the force of impact sent a tremor pulsing across the battlefield.
In the rear ranks within the castle walls, archers and magi ascended to the ramparts, taking up defensive positions. Some archers nocked arrows to loose volleys at the towering giants outside, while others began tracing intricate glowing magic circles, channeling powerful artillery spells to bombard the enemy forces.
But giants were ultimately giants - standing at the pinnacle of the Phantasmal Species. Coupled with their obsidian weapons and nigh-indestructible armors, their sheer vitality and destructive power gave them a massive edge.
The giants were unstoppable. Ordinary arrows and mana blasts couldn't even scratch them. The three Legions did their best to keep the giants engaged and busy outside the castle walls, but Shirou knew humans were outmatched against the giants' raw power. Even his EX Noble Phantasm wasn't enough to close the gap between their levels of existence. That's why, this time, he summoned forty thousand people right away. If he couldn't beat them with quality, he'd overwhelm them with quantity!
The three great generals, true to their reputation as the Knights of the Round Table, fearlessly charged into battle against the giants while expertly commanding the soldiers on the battlefield.
Shirou's tactical skills and disciplined army formations gave them an advantage, but their enemies were no mere pushovers. The Kingdom's own regimented soldiers, emboldened by cohesive formations of their own, withstood the thunderous onslaught of the armored giants and fought back tenaciously, aiming their strikes at the giants' few vulnerable points - their temples and eyes.
One particularly daring soldier, wielding the demonic spear Gae Bolg, nimbly dodged a giant's grasping hand and charged forward, plunging straight into the giant's ear canal. With a thrust, he skewered the spear through the left ear and out the right side of the giant's skull, his body instantly incinerated by the giant's infernal fire, but also drenched in sprays of giant's white brain matter and viscous blood. The grievously wounded giant let out an earth-shaking scream of agony as its brain was scrambled, its colossal body convulsing wildly as its nerves lost all control.
Based on experience against such big magical beasts, the soldiers expected the mortally wounded giant to be overwhelmed by despair as it awaited its death. But the armored giant's eyes held no fear of death, only an unsettling blankness and devout fanaticism.
The mortally wounded giant kept moving despite its grievous injuries. Its massive hand reached out and grabbed the soldier who had skewered its brain, the warrior now burned beyond recognition from the giant's infernal fire. The giant attempted to crush the soldier in its grip. The surrounding eternal soldiers, witnessing this, quickly drew their holy swords Excalibur Galatine, and tried desperately to sever the giant's arm to free their comrade. But the crazed giant acted as if it felt no pain, even as Galatine's blades hacked and chopped away at its flesh. It crushed the soldier to death before its arm was completely severed.
The giant's brain was shutting down, vital functions failing, yet it continued moving as if driven solely by willpower. Swinging its freshly severed arm like a grotesque club, it bludgeoned and killed another soldier who couldn't dodge in time.
The soldier whose lower body was crushed by the giant's grip didn't scream out in agony. Instead, wearing that same unsettling fanatical expression, he began dragging his mangled body, crawling towards one of the giant's feet. Even after being stomped on eighteen times, his body pulverized to a bloody pulp, the soldier somehow mustered the strength to sever the giant's Achilles tendon before his Saint Graph finally dissipated.
The crippled giant crashed to the ground with a thud, only to be swarmed and finished off by other enraged eternal soldiers. The battlefield was a scene of unfathomable brutality, with fanatical warriors from both sides clashing like countless bloody meat grinders colliding. Limbs were severed, bodies crushed and pulped underfoot as the two unstoppable forces slammed against each other in relentless, hellish warfare.
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
If nothing else this chapter showed quite a bit about both armies.
Azelios Rosemile
Anti-Army Noble phhantasm Anti-Giant Trait given Galahad summoned ....and Shirou/Arthur has yet to use his full power
