The Infinite Dragon God Cannot Find Silence

"But you don't need to stop others from doing so!"

Ritsuka frowned as she retorted to Orpheus, but the latter remained unmoved.

"I said I was asked to do this. In the end, does Ritsuka really think that he can force me to back down voluntarily with just words?"

"So it really won't work..."

Ritsuka's initial courage seemed to deflate in an instant, but the next moment, the girl patted her cheeks with both hands, a strong sense of determination appearing in her expression.

"Mr. El-Melloi II, Miss Artoria should be the main force in dealing with Caster, right?"

"...If things get to the worst point, then relying on her to turn things around is indeed the best approach. Why are you asking this?"

El-Melloi frowned even deeper, looking at the Master girl who seemed to have changed quite a bit in the short time he didn't know about.

"Lily, Mashu, can you come with me?"

The two girls, who were suddenly asked the question, were slightly taken aback at first, but then both showed a determined expression.

"Of course, senior, didn't we already agree to fight together?"

"I am Master's sword, Master, please rely on me!"

Ritsuka smiled with satisfaction as she looked at the two Servants who were willing to believe in her without hesitation.

"Thank you... Mr. Second, please move forward, we will hold off Orpheus!"

"Wait a minute, Ritsuka!"

"You guys... this is too risky."

El-Melloi and the doctor then realized that the situation was getting out of control, and they hurriedly tried to dissuade Ritsuka, but they couldn't change her mind.

Standing between the two Servants, Ritsuka's gaze remained unwavering.

"Hold me back?"

Orpheus laughed after hearing Ritsuka's words.

"In the future, I might believe that these words are based on Ritsuka's confidence and honor, but at this moment... it is nothing more than an expression of arrogance."

"Let's find out if that's really the case!"

All hesitation and indecision vanished quickly, and a hint of eagerness even flickered in her eyes. Ritsuka faced Orpheus head-on and issued a challenge without any fear.

Chapter 157 The War of Delay (Part 1)

"Please proceed, Miss Artoria, Mr. II!"

"Master..."

El-Melloi opened his mouth to try to dissuade him, but was pulled back by Artoria who was standing nearby.

"Even Saber, you..."

El-Melloi was surprised. In his memory, although Artoria sometimes used some dangerous tactics, it was only for herself. As a knight, Artoria would not let someone as weak as Master take risks.

Artoria nodded at Lily, who returned a reassuring smile.

"There won't be any problems... that's what my gut feeling tells me, strategist, let's go."

Artoria gave a spirited smile, turned to look at El-Melloi, and awaited his final decision.

Seeing that even Artoria didn't object, El-Melloi sighed helplessly.

In fact, there is a way to break the deadlock. As long as the Heroic Spirits preparing for battle in Chaldea are mobilized, all problems can be solved.

However... each Servant mobilized would consume a portion of the resources originally intended for defeating the King of Heroes, which El-Melloi absolutely could not allow...

That's right. As a strategist, El-Melloi's rational side would temporarily suppress his thoughts due to the varying urgency of the situation, but ultimately, for him, killing the King of Heroes was an imperative task, and he could not afford to make any mistakes!

"Please, Master, be careful... Saber, let's go."

Ultimately, El-Mello had no choice but to agree to this risky proposal.

"Now's the time, charge!"

"what!"

Following Ritsuka's command, Artoria gave a soft shout, grabbed El-Melloi, bypassed Orpheus, and rushed forward without regard for anything else.

Orpheus frowned, raised one hand and then waved it slightly downwards, sending several Noble Phantasms flying mercilessly toward the two of them.

Having already agreed to Ishtar's request, Orpheus might hold back a little when it comes to Ritsuka and the others, but for the adult Lily, who has promised to fight seriously, and El-Melloi, who is not even on the radar, Orpheus's offensive this time is so powerful that it would be fatal if it hits!

Artoria showed no reaction whatsoever to the incoming attack and continued running forward at full speed.

Boom boom boom boom boom──

The weapons struck the objects, and loud explosions rang out in quick succession, but Orpheus merely raised an eyebrow.

Just before her attack was about to hit, a metallic gleam flashed by, and Mash's giant shield successfully intercepted all the weapons.

"It seems it wasn't all just empty talk... So how about this?"

Orpheus chuckled softly, and golden ripples several times larger than before appeared behind him, half of which were aimed at Ritsuka, while the other half began to turn around and aim at Artoria, who was trying to avoid him.

Artoria, as one of the top-tier Heroic Spirits, belongs to Saber, whose three attributes are the highest even among the Three Knights. Her agility is naturally excellent, and with the release of magic power, she can even rival the Lancer with the highest agility. However, in order to break through Orpheus, she has to take a long detour, and at this moment she is circling Orpheus at about a 60-degree angle with Ritsuka.

Even at an angle of less than 90 degrees, the Gate of Babylon can still bring both of them within its attack range.

With such a large quantity of Gate of Babylon, Lily, who is standing in front of Ritsuka, can no longer stop it alone. In this situation, will Mash, who is prone to worrying about her Master, choose to continue providing cover or return to defend? Or will she miss the opportunity because of this moment of hesitation?

Thinking this, the Gate of Babylon behind Orpheus roared out once more.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom --─

An even louder and more continuous explosion erupted again, completely obscuring the positions of Ritsuka and Artoria.

The next moment, Lily jumped out of the smoke carrying Ritsuka.

Meanwhile, Artoria ran out alongside Mash, completely unharmed.

"..."

Orpheus's lips curled into a smile.

Orpheus didn't care about El-Melloi's side, but she would never kill Ritsuka. Although the amount of treasure was beyond Lily's ability to handle, she still left herself some options.

With the help of her intuition, Lily is absolutely able to find a way out, and the only obstacle in Mashu's way is her own mind.

"I believe in my Master, and I believe in Lily."

Holding the massive cross-shaped shield that was still completely unscathed, Mash stood firmly facing Orpheus.

"They are fighting hard too, so I absolutely cannot back down!"

At this moment, Artoria had successfully bypassed Orpheus. In Ritsuka's and the others' view, the Gate of Babylon alone was no longer enough to bring both groups into the attack range at the same time.

I wonder if Orpheus has any other tricks up his sleeve... or rather, whether he will resort to other methods.

Actually, it wouldn't be a big deal if Orpheus gave up at this point. After all, she did fulfill her promise to Ishtar, but she was simply overtaken. She's not omnipotent, after all.

Orpheus, the small fry who used to be negative about most things, would indeed have made that choice.

only……

Orpheus felt a slight interest in these people.

Just how far can these people go?

Countless ripples of the King's Treasury spread out high in the sky above Orpheus, their number doubling again compared to the last time, before changing direction and enveloping both sides in the same way as before.

The next second, artillery fire roared.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom --─

This time, it was completely different from the previous minor skirmishes. The Gate of Babylon did not disappear after a single launch, but continued to unleash wave after wave of Noble Phantasms, raining down on Ritsuka, Artoria, and the others.

Although the attacks were many times more intense, Orpheus didn't expect to stop the enemy with this. But just as she was about to take her next step, something unexpected happened.

"what!"

Raising an eyebrow and shifting to the side, Orpheus dodged Lily's downward slash.

A rare moment of surprise rose in Orpheus's heart. He glanced at Ritsuka out of the corner of his eye and saw that her hand was flashing with a bright red light and her whole body was covered with countless magic runes. She was dodging the falling swords and spears with agility no less than that of a Servant.

Then Orpheus was even more surprised.

"Ophis's penetrating ability isn't a one-way defense, but a two-way isolation, right? It's not just a one-way shield. In other words, when we can't attack Ophis, Ophis can't attack us either, and vice versa..."

While running, Ritsuka also took on the role of commentator.

"When Orpheus used the Gate of Babylon to attack, you couldn't have let the attack pass through your body, could you?"

In fact, one of the ways El-Melloi came up with this retaliation had a fatal flaw.

That is, they could not predict whether Orpheus would ignore their attack because of his monstrous regenerative abilities.

This might be an opportunity for Lancer with the Yellow Rose, but given that they must use a real attack to stop the opponent now, it would be very troublesome if that were the case.

However, it seems that Ritsuka won her gamble.

Because of his promise to protect Enkidu and not allow attacks to easily fall on him, Orpheus kept dodging Lily's repeated slashes, but the smile on his lips became more and more obvious.

“Interesting, much more interesting than before, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Let me see for myself—just how radiant you are now!”

The Gate of Babylon in the sky erupted with an unprecedented roar!

Chapter 158 The War of Delay (Part 2)

The Gate of Babylon in the sky roared, and Noble Phantasms of far higher quality than those from seconds before were casually launched as if they were worthless, blocking Mash and Artoria's escape route.

"Aren't you going to give up?"

Lily frowned and slashed at him again with her sword.

Although Orpheus didn't know why the offensive against Ritsuka hadn't intensified much, and instead the attacks were concentrated on Artoria, Lily had great confidence in Mash, but she couldn't allow herself to keep Master in danger.

But before Lily's sword could strike Orpheus, a golden beam of light descended between them, the impact forcing Lily to stop.

As the strangely-looking black longsword landed in front of him, Orpheus turned to look at Ritsuka, who was still easily dodging the flying blades, a slight interest flickering in his eyes.

"Can this really be achieved simply by using the power of a Command Spell and magic that can only be described as ordinary...?"