Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

Page 386

In terms of ability alone, Enkidu and Gilgamesh were almost equal in strength, both being extremely powerful beings among the gods.

Furthermore, as the "Chain of Heaven," Enkidu's abilities grow stronger when facing enemies with divine power, which is why Gilgamesh, who possesses one-third of the blood of a god, has never been able to defeat Enkidu.

And for her, who is a deity herself, it goes without saying.

Thinking of this, Ishtar muttered resentfully:

"First Ereshkigal, then Enkidu... I mean, isn't this world being a little too hostile towards me?"

The enemy team counters her completely, how is she supposed to play?!

Shouldn't she be the one subduing the enemy? Something's wrong here.

Back to the point.

The best-case scenario is to take advantage of the enemy's inattention and successfully bring the citizens of Nippur back safely; encountering Enkidu would be the worst-case scenario for everyone.

Regardless, due to Kingu's presence, even the usually carefree Ishtar became serious and, led by Ushiwakamaru, found Leonidas I and began a war council.

"Now that everyone is here, I'll get started."

Leonidas I glanced around briefly and, without any preamble, went straight to the point:

"Since the other side has become wary and has begun to deploy magical beasts to patrol around Nippur, opening the city gates has become very dangerous."

"Therefore, I plan to use a feint attack."

"One team will lead soldiers to launch a large-scale attack on the east gate of Nippur City to draw the monsters' attention, while another team will enter from the west gate to evacuate the city's citizens as quickly as possible."

"As for the specific personnel arrangements... I must stay at the North Wall to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, so the team responsible for covering the attack will be..."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 448 Atypical Nighttime Conversations

The final arrangement was that the Chaldea group, including Gudao, Mash, Merlin, Anna, and Ishtar, would be responsible for guiding the citizens of Nippur out through the west gate.

The three responsible for drawing attention during the frontal attack at the east gate were Ushiwakamaru, Musashibo Benkei, and Fujimaru Ritsuka.

Ishtar was originally assigned to the frontal assault group, but considering the possibility of encountering Kingu during the frontal assault, she decisively chose to act with Gudao and the others.

Leonidas I also agreed with her choice.

As things stand, Goddess Ishtar is probably their strongest force. If she were to be easily defeated by Kingu due to compatibility issues, it would be an unbearable and painful loss for them.

There is another reason—

That is, Fujimaru Ritsuka took the initiative to join the frontal attack group.

While Ishtar's strength is undeniable, no one present has witnessed her true power. However, Fujimaru Ritsuka's strength is evident to everyone, at least to Ushiwakamaru and the others.

Therefore, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Ishtar each went to one side, which can be considered as balancing the combat power of the two teams.

After assigning the teams, everyone discussed the details of the operation in detail.

"……So,"

Finally, Leonidas I said:

"The operation will take place tomorrow morning at seven-tenths of the hour. After that, everyone is free to do as they please, but please get a good rest tonight and conserve your energy."

"Yes!"×n

……

...

late at night--

In preparation for the next day's operation, Gudao and the others ate dinner and quickly went to their assigned tents to rest. Meanwhile, Merlin went to the top of the city wall alone, with a Fou perched on his shoulder.

"Well, everyone's asleep in preparation for tomorrow's battle."

Standing on the edge of the city wall and looking down, Merlin's gaze fell on Gudao's tent, but for some reason his expression was rather poor, and he muttered to himself:

"Despite high morale and abundant combat power..."

"This is troublesome. There's an ominous feeling about it. In this situation, my prediction is definitely correct."

"Someone might leave tomorrow. One, no, two. If we lose people in a place like this, things will get even worse. Although I'd like to avoid this—"

"Snapped!"

"it hurts!"

Before he could finish speaking, Fou, perched on his shoulder, raised her paw and smacked him hard in the buttocks. Merlin winced in pain.

"Can you stop slapping people for no reason, Casey Palug?"

"Fu~!"

"What? If you have so much free time, you might as well go to sleep. There aren't any girls I can hook up with in the North Wall?"

"How rude of me, I'm working! The roots of flowers that clatter and spread all over the wall can at least reinforce it a bit."

"Hey, Anna and Gudako are here too?"

As they were talking, Merlin was surprised to suddenly see Anna and Fujimaru Ritsuka leaning against the wall.

"Fu~"

Upon seeing Fujimaru Ritsuka, Fufu decisively abandoned Merlin, leaped onto Fujimaru Ritsuka's shoulder, and licked her cheek.

Fujimaru Ritsuka was immediately at a loss for words, saying:

"Okay, Fufu, I just washed my face!"

"Fu!"

"It's not that I'm looking down on you... Never mind, whatever makes you happy."

Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka could only surrender with her hands clasped, giving up her resistance and letting Fou ride on her head.

Anna glanced enviously at Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had Fou on her head, and whispered:

"...It's just a night breeze."

Fujimaru Ritsuka also replied to Merlin:

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a stroll like you."

Because tomorrow's mission is quite important, she didn't teach Gudao the Summoning spell today, but instead let him rest until tomorrow's mission is over.

Moreover, after this operation, there should be more time available.

As for not being able to sleep...

She simply couldn't sleep. After all, sleeping wasn't her normal routine, and she wasn't particularly stressed, so there was no need for her to conserve her energy.

She's seen it all.

She was quite surprised to run into Merlin and Anna on this trip.

Why doesn't she remember this part?

Speaking of which, Gudao doesn't seem to be here either.

What do you mean? You didn't include her in your late-night conversation?

"I'm not just strolling around!"

After firmly correcting Fujimaru Ritsuka's statement, Merlin suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and approached Fujimaru Ritsuka with a smile, saying:

"I'm telling you, are you really not going to help with this operation?"

"..."

Upon hearing Merlin's words, Anna's eyes flickered slightly. After subtly observing the two of them for a moment, she spoke:

"Do you need me to step aside?"

"avoid?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka paused slightly, then waved her hand and smiled:

"It's okay, it's not like it's anything shameful, there's no need to avoid it."

Returning to Merlin's question, she knew what he meant and smiled helplessly:

"There's nothing I can do; I can't help forever."

By applying to join the frontal assault team during the day, she had already made her choice: not to interfere in the operation.

This operation is different from previous ones involving providing weapons and resources or intelligence. If she gets involved, she might accidentally end up directly in the final chapter.

However, she was not summoned to help the Chaldea group clear the Seventh Singularity.

Her purpose in coming here was to enable them to go further in the future.

So she decided to slack off this time.

"I see, that's a real shame."

Upon hearing her answer, Merlin showed a regretful expression, then smiled and asked:

"But wouldn't that be very tiring for you?"

"Is it really okay?"

After all, if they did nothing, given his sudden premonition, it meant that the other party could only watch them helplessly...

"Have it?"

However, upon hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka gave him a strange look and said:

"I think it's okay."

"……Eh?"