IBHJ 1175

Before they moved out, he used his ability to hand-pick three skills from his pool for each Heroic Spirit, choosing ones that best matched their fighting style, Noble Phantasms, and natural talents. The Casters then added their own buffs to strengthen everyone further.

There was just one downside—unlike Shirou's skills, the Casters' buffs couldn't stack. They could only apply one of each type. It was a shame, but they'd have to make do.

"I don't think so, your ability is just pure cheating!" Merlin couldn't help but protest.

Shirou smiled. Maybe so, but his support skills still fell short compared to powerhouses like Skadi, Gaia, and even his Eternal King buffs.

"Why won't you let me go with them? I'm the only one who can kill those things!" Mordred demanded.

"You're our trump card, Mordred," he said with a gentle smile, patting her head. "We can't risk having you running around out there unprotected."

"Um... Eternal King?" Kama's voice was uncertain. "Can we really win this?"

"Yes, definitely," he replied without hesitation. "We will take back our history."

…

"Forward! We'll crush every last enemy that threatens the Empire!" Lucius commanded solemnly.

Aife gave her spear one final polish, a cruel smile playing on her lips as the Empire's Special Combat Forces members each took up their divine spears and drew their gleaming divine swords.

"Lord Apostle..." Guinevere's voice wavered. "Will we win?"

"Without a doubt," Morgan replied firmly. "We'll destroy every enemy that tries to harm the Empire. Not one will escape."

"They're all just precious, aren't they? It's almost too much." Demonic Bodhisattva smiled before turning her gaze to the rainbow bridge. "Victory will be mine... and from it, my ideal world will rise, Sessyoin—!"

…

"Unbelievable..." Arthur stared at the invading Imperial Army from his position on the Eastern battlefield. "Are these really the Empire's soldiers?"

"Just a pack of mongrels," Gilgamesh scoffed from the South, his voice dripping with contempt.

On the Western battlefield, Ramesses II shook his head in disbelief. "To think they share the same divine nature as I do..."

"Hahaha!" Iskandar's booming laugh carried across the battlefield. "An Emperor who commands gods as their subordinates—now that is what I call impressive! I wouldn't have dreamed of such a feat myself." He scratched his head, his amusement giving way to concern. "Though having such a ruler as our enemy is... troublesome, to say the least."

From the command center, Shirou used Gaia's planetary perception to survey the approaching forces. His eyes widened at the sight. "Almost a thousand Divine Spirits... they really are gods." He let out a breath. "No wonder they call him the Heavenly Emperor."

"Something is off about their divinity, Shirou," Skadi said with a frown. As the goddess of the Norse connection point, she had massive divinity herself, which made her the most sensitive to its presence. What she felt from the Imperial Specialized Combat Forces bothered her, their divinity felt wrong somehow.

"It might be similar to Aife's," he said, though he didn't sound so sure.

"That's exactly it!" Merlin said. "Though maybe we should call it 'Demonic Nature' rather than divinity. And my King, there's something else—those weapons they're carrying..."

"I know what you mean." Shirou studied Gaia's map intently. "Every piece of their equipment—the armor, spears, and swords—they're all Divine Constructs."

"Good thing you had Ambrosius and Gaia modify this world first," Merlin said. "If they hadn't weakened the power of Divine Constructs in this land, we wouldn't have a chance against their forces."

Shirou nodded gravely. Besides the Root monster known as the Lord of Salvation, the Emperor and the Eternal Empire were the most formidable enemies he had ever faced. Yet despite their overwhelming power, he held onto his conviction. The Emperor and his army might be invincible, but the heroes would prevail!

"The Apostle—look!" Mordred's shout drew their attention to Gaia's map. They watched as Apostle Lucius burst onto the Eastern battlefield, his single sword strike felling three Heroic Spirits in an instant.

The surviving Heroic Spirits responded swiftly, unleashing their Noble Phantasms in a barrage of light. But their attacks proved useless—the Imperial Armor Lucius wore simply nullified everything.

"Did Ambrosius forget to add the [Primordial Fairy Arts] to them?" Shirou asked with a deepening frown.

"No, Ambrosius didn't forget," Merlin sighed. "The Imperial Armor is adapting to the [Primordial Fairy Arts] interference. It's evolving."

Skadi sighed and silently drew her Gungnir, then moved to step out of the command center, but Shirou caught her hand. “Wait, don't be hasty. His rampage won't last long.”

She turned to him with confusion in her eyes, but before she could ask why, a brilliant beam of starlight charged with intense mana lit up the screen, sending Lucius flying.

"That was—" Mordred started.

"Arthur," he said seriously.

…

On the Eastern Battlefield...

"What a twist of fate," Arthur said, gripping his Holy Sword as he faced Lucius. "Sword Emperor Lucius... I never thought we'd cross blades again."

"I don't know you!" Lucius struck out with a diagonal slash aimed at Arthur's throat, followed by two rapid thrusts targeting his chest. Arthur met the first strike with a steady horizontal guard, twisted his wrist to deflect the second, and sidestepped the third while keeping his blade between them.

"Then let me introduce myself." Arthur smiled, immediately countering with a low sweeping strike that forced Lucius to jump back. "I am Arthur Pendragon, wielder of the Holy Sword. In my history, you were my greatest and most formidable rival." He pressed forward with a combination of strikes - high, middle, low - each blow carrying enough force to shatter a boulder.

"I'll remember that. I am Lucius of the Twelve Apostles." His blade flashed as he deflected Arthur's assault, matching every strike with defensive movements before suddenly reversing the flow with a counterattack. His sword became a silver blur as he launched into a series of lightning-fast cuts. "Now, for the Empire's eternity—die, Heroic Spirit!"

As Lucius released his sword's limiter, reality itself was torn apart, revealing an imaginary void that tried to devour everything in its path.

"A sword that can destroy the world?" Arthur's eyes gleamed with interest. "How remarkable that someone wielding such a treasure is merely one of the Emperor's Twelve Apostles. But since you possess such power, I won't hold back either."

"Thirteen Restraints Released—Round Table Conference Begin!"

As phantom knights materialized around him, Arthur raised his Holy Sword high before they could speak. "This is Eternal King's battle of salvation! Unanimously approved!"

The Knights of the Round Table phantoms were speechless. Arthur was making them look bad! But... since this was for that Arthur among Arthurs… they'd let it slide just this once.

The Holy Sword, now free of its thirteen restraints, blazed with the light of salvation. As Arthur struck, his blade met Lucius's void of destruction with a thunderous boom. The endless void shattered, unable to withstand the weight of the salvation as it pierced through everything.

"What!?" The light of salvation engulfed Lucius as his face froze in shock.