Facing the enormous dragon blocking their path, Jeanne's expression grew heavy.
They couldn't stop. Once a cavalry charge halted inside enemy lines, annihilation wasn't far behind.
"Everyone, follow my banner closely!"
Trying to go around would inevitably expose them to the dragon's attacks, causing unimaginable losses. Even though charging head-on posed great risk as well, considering her soldiers' elite capabilities, forcing their way through might actually be the better option.
Jeanne raised her holy banner high, golden radiance enveloping her and those nearby.
The dragon's fiery breath came precisely as expected.
Knights behind Jeanne instinctively raised their shields—but soon realized their actions were unnecessary.
The flames, powerful enough to shatter mountains and split stone, disintegrated instantly upon contact with the golden light surrounding Jeanne, splitting neatly around her. Not even the knights directly behind her felt a hint of heat.
Gritting her teeth, Jeanne hesitated no more and urged her steed into a full sprint forward.
Although dragons were slightly more intelligent than ordinary monsters, they weren't particularly clever. Seeing its flames blocked by Jeanne's defenses, instead of shifting targets to the vulnerable rear, the beast became even more enraged, relentlessly following Jeanne with increasingly intense flames.
Naturally, this level of attack still couldn't breach Jeanne's protection. Effortlessly, the saint dashed beneath the dragon, slashing fiercely at its front leg with her lance.
As easy as cutting through tofu, the spear carved open a bloody wound.
All weapons bestowed by Ophis came from the highest tier within her treasury—excluding a few unruly top-tier items—and cutting through the scales of a lower-class dragon was naturally simple. However, that was all.
Freely wielding the weapons didn't mean the wielders could activate their Noble Phantasms' special abilities—not even basic releases were possible. Thus, Jeanne's strike, though deadly to an ordinary person, merely caused minor pain to a creature of the dragon's scale.
As expected…
Under current conditions, Jeanne couldn't afford another strike. She could only helplessly keep charging onward.
"Hm?"
However, she keenly noticed something unusual.
When her attack struck the dragon, a subtle stream of purple magical energy flowed along her weapon into the beast's wound.
"ROAAAR───!"
Unexpectedly, the minor wound made the dragon cry out in extreme pain.
Jeanne glanced back, witnessing the purple magical energy crawling through the wound like a tiny serpent.
"King Ophis's doing…?"
With the aid of her Revelation skill—and being not entirely hopeless in combat intuition—Jeanne quickly remembered what Ophis had given her earlier.
Yet, aside from strengthening her own abilities, there hadn't been any similar effects during earlier battles. Perhaps because previous foes were killed too swiftly?
Setting aside questions she couldn't immediately answer, Jeanne thrust her spear upward, stabbing it deeply into the dragon's underbelly.
"Haaaaah!"
"GRAAAHHH───!"
Blood gushed forth from the wound, the dragon's roars growing even more anguished.
Knights following Jeanne swiftly copied her example, first slashing at the dragon's legs before stabbing into its belly as they rode beneath.
Upon closer observation, one could spot weaker but similar purple serpents emerging from the knights' weapons, crawling into the dragon's wounds.
"GRAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Finally losing all reason, the dragon unleashed another sweeping wave of flames in desperation.
Guessing the consequences, Jeanne sadly bit her lip but continued onward without turning back, escaping the dragon's shadow.
That final sweeping attack was mostly aimed at the beasts chasing behind them, but inevitably caught the knights at the rear…
Though not enough to kill these knights outright, it was likely enough to unseat them, leaving them defenseless against the overwhelming horde closing in behind.
Jeanne couldn't save them. From her perspective, the survival of the majority was already the best outcome possible.
After one final act of defiance, the dragon collapsed helplessly.
Perhaps by fortune alone, only a handful of knights were crushed beneath the beast's body or caught by flailing limbs, leaving most of Jeanne's cavalry alive and intact.
Jeanne's unit had successfully passed through the dragon's obstacle.
...
Staring at the dragon barring her path, Lily's eyes flashed momentarily with panic.
Despite Lily's soft, adorable demeanor and her status as a mere "half-baked knight," with King Arthur's memories and sufficient experience, she could eventually reach heights equal to the full-fledged Artoria Pendragon. Luckily, the previous Singularities had provided plenty of "grinding opportunities."
Though still not yet a true top-tier Servant, Lily had already grown into a formidable fighter. Given just a few dozen seconds, she could carve this giant lizard into neat slices—but unfortunately, she didn't have that luxury right now.
Encountering such a crisis during her very first command, Lily hesitated momentarily, uncertain how to react.
"There must be something…"
Seeing the dragon about to unleash its flames, cold sweat dripped down Lily's forehead as she rapidly scanned future knowledge for similar situations.
Why is every example just blasting through with beams of light!? My sword in the stone isn't built for this sort of thing!
Its classification was clearly marked as an Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm!!
Forcefully unleashing her Noble Phantasm might kill the dragon, but it wouldn't prevent its flames. Her troops would still suffer catastrophic casualties.
Calm down, calm down.
Lily drew a deep breath, forcing herself to stay composed.
A beam attack, huh? If that's the case…
"It's risky… but there's no other choice…"
Lily smiled faintly.
Within the collapsing chalk-white city, the goddess who handed her that final remnant…
"My younger self—since you reject who I have become, let this fragment accompany you instead. Allow it to witness, in my place, the future you'll build after rejecting me…"
Proudly and without regret, the King of the Holy City had awaited her end upon the throne soon to be buried in ruin…
Though merely a fragment, it held a powerful will—perhaps precisely because it carried that final intention, its influence far exceeded an ordinary shard.
That's why Lily had always feared being corrupted by it, never daring to use it.
But now…
Behind her were knights entrusting her with their lives and a Master believing wholeheartedly in her.
Even if only for their sake…
Determination and resolve flashed clearly in Lily's eyes as she raised her empty hand toward the dragon.
"SACRED LANCE...REMOVING RESTRAINTS..."