The Holy Grail War Blessed by the Gods

8. "That's... the Sphinx?"

(v) The only enemy that can linger in this desert, an enemy that even great heroes must be wary of, is perhaps that majestic divine beast.

7. A fearsome divine beast manifested as raging flames and wind, it walks proudly across this desert.

(vi) Arash immediately shot an arrow, and the Sphinx, sensing this, immediately spewed a storm of fire from its mouth and charged at incredible speed.

6. "It's just one."

Ilya's tense expression immediately relaxed, and she raised her rock sword and charged forward.

Si was struck by Ilya's rocky sword like a mountain range, clashing against the divine beast's claws that could easily tear apart the flesh of heroic spirits.

4. "However, seeing the Sphinx makes our progress seem more optimistic."

"No, if we see a flock of sphinxes, that might mean we're getting close to Egypt. A lone sphinx, however, can't indicate distance."

These mythical beasts roam freely across this desert, and can be encountered even at the very edge of the desert. In the past, the Holy Knights stationed at the border between the desert and the wilderness often battled the Sphinx.

Hassan of the Cursed Arm denied the optimistic claims made by Arash.

"I see. I heard you mention before that dozens of divine beasts would appear in groups here. But you made me sense the aura of the Sphinx. Don't mistake it for encountering a horde of divine beasts."

After Ilya blocked the Sphinx's attack with his rock sword, he sealed the Sphinx's feet with ice and snow and then cut the Sphinx in half at an extremely fast speed.

"But even one immortal divine beast can be troublesome, so let's leave quickly."

Even a single sphinx couldn't stop the group. After shattering the sphinx's body, the group quickly left while the sphinx recovered, continuing their journey towards Egypt.

My father has passed away, so updates will be paused until everything is settled.

As the title suggests, I will briefly explain the situation.

My father has been suffering from ALS for several years and lost his mobility last year. Since it was difficult for my family to take care of him long-term, we sent him to a nursing home. He was only brought back home on New Year's Eve this year, where he is now cared for by my mother, grandparents, and me.

By the second half of last year, my father was unable to get out of bed and could only lie in bed. Later, he also had difficulty eating and eventually had to be kept alive by injections.

Before Lunar New Year's Eve, the whole family consulted his opinion. My father finally chose to leave the nursing home and return home, intending to pass away at home. My mother also took a long leave of absence and came back, preparing to resign from her job.

After being brought home, the father only wanted to drink water. His grandmother wanted to feed him milk, but he refused. So, the father only drank water and lay in bed for more than a month.

Before he fell ill, my father was indeed a very robust man, and he often scolded me for being too weak, telling me to exercise more. If I were lying in bed, I probably wouldn't have lasted this long.

These past few days, all my father has been suffering from is pain. He has had difficulty speaking clearly for a long time, and now he can only utter very faint and completely unrecognizable sounds. For the past few days, we could hear him making very painful noises, and we could only buy whatever painkillers we could find for him.

Most of the time, we can only judge his needs by the sounds he makes and the difficulty of turning his head. Then we ask him one by one, and if he does, we ask him to blink. Only in this way can we take care of him.

The closer the day got, the more premonitions I had. After all, his condition had been deteriorating day by day in the last few days. When we first brought him home, he was in pretty good spirits, and with proper care, he even seemed to be recovering.

In recent days, however, he has become increasingly unresponsive to the outside world. When he drinks water, he needs to swallow a little bit with a small spoon each time.

Today, he can barely make a sound. His grandmother asked him to call out "Mom," but his father could only make the mouth shape after a few attempts, and he could no longer cough up the phlegm in his throat.

So I wrote this leave slip in advance. I can't wait until the time comes to write it, so that I can use it when it's time to issue it. If it comes to that, I'm afraid I won't be in the mood to say or write anything.

Thus eight

Chapter Sixty-Five: The Beast Horde

"Is that the ruins of a city ahead? The outlines of rather large buildings can be seen through the sand."⑦

After traveling for an unknown amount of time through the desert, Arash looked up again and gazed into the distance, raising his voice several octaves as he excitedly spoke. Lu

"If it's a city abandoned because of the Sun King's arrival, we might be able to find water or something to rest in temporarily."

This news was relatively good for everyone at the moment. Traveling in this harsh environment was extremely taxing on their magic and mental strength, and since there were still living people around, they all needed rest.

"Let's get there first and see if we can catch our breath..."

"I'm afraid I must apologize first; the road ahead isn't passable, and we'll probably have to go around it."

Arash's joy faded, replaced by a solemn expression.

"Did you see anything?"

"I'm not sure if you can see it, but you can see countless shadows in the desert between the buildings from here to there."

Arash pointed ahead, and everyone strained to look in that direction, but apart from Ilya, no one's eyes could penetrate the swirling sandstorm.

"This must be the Sphinx herd you mentioned before. What a magnificent sight! Dozens of mythical beasts roam here in groups like this."

Ilya exclaimed in amazement, and through the information transmitted from the ground beneath his feet, he was able to discover the divine beasts strolling ahead.

"It's not impossible for us to break through these Sphinxes with our strength, but it's really unnecessary. These mythical beasts, hailed as incarnations of gods, are practically immortal in Egypt."

The terrifying beast that appears amidst raging flames and winds is an opponent that ordinary heroic spirits might find difficult to defeat, or even be easily torn apart.

Although the people present possessed the ability to confront or even defeat the Sphinx, the Sphinx's claws also had the power to tear their bodies apart, making it not worth paying such a price for a temporary rest.

Moreover, even if they break through the Sphinx horde and enter the city ahead, how can they guarantee that the Sphinxes won't chase them down?

After a quick assessment, the group naturally made their choice: to bypass the ruins of the distant city and the Sphinxes patrolling around it, and continue on their way.

"I'm afraid we can't avoid it. The raging sandstorm has pointed the way for the Sphinx, and fire and storm have arrived."

Before they had gone too far down the road, Ilya suddenly swung his rock sword and hurled hailstones into the sky, where roaring flames and storms collided with it.

On this tangible land of ancient Egypt, mythical beasts, transformed into fire and storms, launched attacks in droves.

The moment Ilya spoke up to warn him, Arash swiftly dodged the flames brought by the Sphinx and simultaneously fired fifty arrows to quell the encroaching storm.

Hassan the Cursed Arm disappeared into the dust storm at some point, and when he reappeared, he was behind a Sphinx, having pierced through its body.

Mashu's shield protected Fujimaru Ritsuka in time. Fujimaru Ritsuka's camel, no longer concealing itself, broke free of the illusion and transformed into an angry serpent, charging out.

As a noble fantasy, and as a divine beast celebrated in Babylonia, a symbol of the great god Marduk and his son, how could it possibly feel fear?

The angry serpent opened its mouth and spat out lightning, unleashing the power of thunder and lightning it had received from the great god Adad, shattering the fiery storm spewed by the Sphinx.

However, in this desert, the power of Adad, the god who brought both devastating floods and abundant rains, could not be exercised.

During the Akkadian period, the storms brought by Adad would cause floods, while the wind would carry away the rain and cause the land to become saline. Therefore, Adad would bring both abundance and drought and famine.

However, this power does not entirely depend on the floods brought by storms, nor on the power of Ajiang's death and abundance.

In Sumer, Adad was called Ishkur, but he was rarely regarded as the god of rain and was often depicted as a ferocious wild bull.

This is because crop cultivation in southern Mesopotamia relies more on artificial irrigation than on natural rainfall.

The enraged serpent charged forth, wielding lightning and transforming itself into an uncontrollable bull, appearing as a raging god of death and destruction to fight its enemies.

Fujimaru Ritsuka was not idle either. While giving instructions to the best of her ability, she also used the skills she had just mastered.

A phantom figure dressed in white with dark skin appeared in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka.

This is a shadow-like entity summoned through a simple summoning method, relying on the bond between Fujimaru Ritsuka and the Servant.

The bow of Vulcan was pulled swiftly, and Agni's Heavenly Fire fell, clashing with the flames of the Sphinx.

"No, it's impossible to fight the Sphinx on this land; there's no chance of winning."

After fighting the Sphinxes for more than ten minutes, Hassan the Cursed Arm returned to the group's side.

The horde of divine beasts before them were formidable opponents for any Servant.

Amidst the earth-shaking roars of the divine beasts, flames and storms followed, their fiery claws, enhanced by magic, ready to take lives at any moment.

However, the mythical beast before them did not have to bear the risk of being torn apart if they were to slack off for even a moment.

Arrows pierced the Sphinx's body, assassins severed its head, and massive rock swords pulverized its flesh, yet could not kill it.

In such a short time, probably more than a dozen Sphinxes had been knocked down, but by this time, half of them had repaired their bodies and rejoined the battlefield.

"These guys in front of us have no intention of letting us leave. They think they can just retreat in front of a group of divine beasts..."

“Leave it to me, I will borrow Sviatogor's strength to stop these Sphinxes.”

Ilya, braving the flames, smashed a sphinx beside him, then tapped his own charred armor with his left hand, taking responsibility for the incident.

"Come, Sviatogor, I will recreate your power to pull down the sky, lift up the earth, and make the sacred mountain that protects the three realms tremble!"

Ilya planted the rock sword in front of him, placed his hands on the hilt, and made a declaration.

The massive rock sword roared, and the surrounding blizzard abruptly ceased, returning the magic power overflowing from the sword to it.

But the dust storm that had been blowing around them did not return to engulf them after the blizzard stopped; instead, there was still silence and emptiness around Ilya.

The Sphinx horde, which had been relentlessly and frantically launching attacks, hesitated at this moment, stopping in front of Ilya and not rushing to act.

"Let's go. If I'm not mistaken, that guy Ilya is carrying the world on his shoulders. The Sphinx can't possibly bear the weight of holding up the sky."

Arash sheathed his crimson greatbow and signaled to Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others to retreat.

The relentless sphinxes were not about to let the intruder and prey escape. Without hesitation, two sphinxes charged forward.

The moment the two sphinxes approached Ilya, their legs were snapped off, their heads were crushed into the desert, and they quickly exploded.

"Haha... If you want to come up, come up together. It's just that two of them can't carry the weight of the Holy Mountain."

Ilya let out a disdainful laugh, gripped the rock sword with both hands, lowered his center of gravity, and used all his strength to pull out the greatsword that was stuck in front of him.

Just moments ago, Ilya wielded the sword with effortless ease, but now, even with his full strength, he could only slowly pull it out.

As the sword was drawn, the sky and the earth roared at the same moment, as if Ilya's declaration was about to become a reality.

Upon hearing Ilya's provocation, the Sphinxes did not wait any longer, gathering together and transforming into a terrible calamity as they charged forward.

"Good thing! It's been a long time since I've been able to fully unleash my power without any reservations."

Ilya pulled the rock sword, which had gathered all the power, from the ground. The weight of the sword seemed to become incredibly heavy, and the surging magic even distorted the surrounding scenery.

The weight of the sacred mountain in Naslavic mythology, which maintains the balance of the three realms, was applied to this sword, condensing it into a power strong enough to shake heaven and earth.

The sword was raised and then swung down, its terrifying weight compressed into sword pressure, which exploded as the sword was swung, shattering the sphinxes in front of it along with the buildings behind it.

"Phew... It's been so long since I've done anything this strenuous. Just swinging my sword once has left me so exhausted."

After channeling the power of the Holy Mountain into his sword, Ilya, seemingly exhausted, sheathed it. Without even glancing at his victory, he turned and chased after Arash and the others.

Regardless of whether any remnants of the Sphinx group remain, there's nothing more we can do; all we can do is retreat. 4

Moreover, such a commotion might attract the attention of the desert's inhabitants; staying put would be futile.

Shortly after Ilya left, the blond man arrived riding a sphinx. Looking around at the ravaged landscape, he found traces of what the others hadn't had time to clean up before they left.

"Huh? A camel... is it a mouse that narrowly escaped the Pharaoh's eyes? How wonderful, having just been assigned a patrol mission, I'll already taste flesh and blood again."2

The excited man summoned the surrounding sphinxes and followed the trail.