In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

What angered her even more was that all her hard work and scheming had gone down the drain in an instant.

Artoria coldly stared at Zhu Yue, raised the Star Holy Sword in her hand and swung it forward. A crescent-shaped golden sword aura carrying terrifying power roared out instantly.

Zhu Yue dodged the attack by sidestepping, but suddenly heard a loud bang in her ear.

boom--!!

The beam of light unleashed by the Holy Lance Rungomminiad struck Zhu Yue, blasting half of her body into dust. Then, as if time had reversed, Zhu Yue's body returned to normal, though her aura had weakened considerably.

The Holy Lance has a special attack against enemies of the stars; even the king of the moon would pay a heavy price to withstand it.

Zhu Yue's face turned completely gloomy, her pure gold eyes blazing with endless rage, and her whole body exuding a chaotic and frenzied aura.

"Foolish! Ignorant! How dare you be so arrogant, you mere humans with such meager food!"

"Pay the price for your arrogance, and perish along with this old world!"

She slowly rose into the sky, and a huge moon appeared behind her, gradually solidifying into reality.

On the battlefield outside the main city of Northumbria, the mythical creatures of the Age of Gods who were fighting against Camelot's army stopped their movements and then suddenly turned into wisps of green smoke and disappeared.

Before everyone could figure out what was happening, a huge planet suddenly appeared in the sky.

"Oh my god... what is that?!"

"Could it be... punishment from the gods?"

The joy of victory was quickly overwhelmed. Everyone stared at the enormous planet, their faces pale and their eyes filled with despair.

Scáthach landed next to Morgan, looked at the enormous planet, and said with a serious expression, "Is that the Moonfall that Anahn spoke of?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, that should be it." Morgan nodded.

"But didn't Anan say that once the Moon King uses this move, it will immediately be targeted by the Counter Force?"

“Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, let alone that incarnation of the moon.” Morgan shrugged. “I guess she was driven to the brink.”

"Why do you seem so calm to me?" Scáthach asked Morgan, puzzled.

“There’s nothing to panic about. Lily has the Star Sword, which is specifically designed to target external enemies on the planet.” As an avatar of the primordial elves, Morgan has a fairly comprehensive understanding of the Star Sword. “The Moon King’s use of Moonfall is undoubtedly an act of invasion. Just wait and see; the Counterforce won’t just stand by and watch.”

Just as Morgan had predicted, the moment Zhu Yue used Moonfall, a will that transcended all living beings descended upon this place.

That is the Alaya, the collective consciousness of humanity. In order to ensure the survival of human reason, it descended here first to suppress Zhu Yue.

The moon, which was gradually becoming tangible, flickered, and the massive celestial body gradually became illusory, as if it might vanish into nothingness at any moment.

"It's no use, Alaya, you alone can't stop me!" Zhu Yue shouted, and the moon's shape stabilized once again, changing towards a substantial form.

Britain is still in the late stages of the Age of Gods, and humanity has not yet ascended to the throne of primates. As the embodiment of human reason, Alaya is also unlikely to exert much power.

To completely eliminate Zhu Yue, the planet's will must take action.

Artoria raised her holy sword high and solemnly declared:

"Seal Thirteen – Planetary Judgment Begins!"

"—!"

"This is a fight for survival!"

"This is a war to uphold humanity!"

"This is the war against evil!"

"This is the war to save the world!"

Chapter Sixty-Four: Anan's Contingency Plan

silence.

A silence.

After Artoria proclaimed her declaration of liberation, the Holy Sword did not respond and remained in its previous state, not fully unleashing its power.

"Why...why is this happening?" Artoria asked, her face filled with astonishment.

She raised Excalibur once more and proclaimed the Declaration of Liberation, but the holy sword remained motionless, just as before.

High in the sky, Alaya continued to entangle with the Vermilion Moon, but with its power alone, it was no match for the Moon King. The enormous moon was gradually solidifying.

When it is fully completed, not only will the whole of Britain be destroyed, but the entire world will be reshaped!

This is undoubtedly an act of world destruction, but why, why is Excalibur not reacting at all!

What exactly went wrong?!

Artoria's mind raced, her gaze suddenly falling on the Holy Lance in her left hand. She realized what it meant, and then gritted her teeth in anger.

The Holy Sword of the Stars is a creation of the planet, and the only thing that can stop the Holy Sword from being unleashed is the will of the planet!

She poured her will into the Holy Lance Rungomminiad, connecting with the will of the planet, and said coldly, "Gaia, what exactly do you mean by this!"

Artoria, who was raised from childhood to be the ideal king, always kept the etiquette of a knight in mind. No matter who she was facing, she always maintained a humble and respectful attitude, making her an impeccable knightly flower.

But at such a crucial juncture, she was betrayed by Gaia, and even with her strong personality, she couldn't help but feel annoyed.

—Zhu Yue is my guardian, I cannot lay a hand on her.

The will that transcends all beings responded in this way, calm and composed, like a still pond.

"She's about to kill you, and you still believe her!?" Artoria was completely shocked; she couldn't understand how Gaia's thought process worked.

Someone has already put a knife to your heart, and you still don't resist, and even say you believe her?

In other words, Artoria doesn't swear. If it were anyone else, Gaia's family tree would probably have flown out of the Milky Way by now.

— Zhu Yue's attack will indeed cause me irreversible and serious injuries, but it won't be fatal. Compared to that, humans pose a greater threat to me. In that case, I might as well take this opportunity to let Zhu Yue eliminate all humans.

"What are you talking about? Humans are a species that originated on this planet. How could we possibly pose a threat to you?" Artoria was completely baffled.

Suddenly, several scenes flashed through her mind: a desolate, scarred land; a dried-up, lifeless ocean; and a sky filled with dust and gloom.

Finally, a huge, grayish-white planet appeared, standing alone in the vast universe, filled with a sense of deathly stillness.

"This is......"

—This is the end I will eventually face in countless parallel worlds, and the culprit behind all of this is humanity.

"No, this is impossible, you must be mistaken, how could a human be, how could a human be..." Artoria involuntarily took a few steps back, her holy blue eyes filled with disbelief.

—I want to live, I don't want to die, so even if it costs me this much, I'm willing to pay it to survive.

Artoria's mind was in complete chaos. The future Gaia showed her had a huge impact on her, and at this moment, she had no idea what to do.

—But you are, after all, the Star Sword Wielder I chose. For your sake, I can reluctantly give humanity a chance, as long as you agree to my conditions.

"What are the conditions?" Artoria asked instinctively.

—Become my guardian.

"Guardian...?"

—That's right. Become my guardian, and I will grant you unparalleled power, making you a true Star Holy Sword Wielder. Even destroying the Crimson Moon will be a very simple matter.

Although Gaia's voice remained calm, it sounded incredibly alluring to Artoria.

By becoming Gaia's guardian, she can fully unleash the Holy Sword, destroy the Crimson Moon, and save everyone...

If she becomes Gaia's protector, she can kill Vortigern, seize the Holy Grail, and rescue her teacher...

By becoming Gaia's guardian, she can unify Britain and become the ideal queen that everyone hopes for...

As long as... you agree...

"I...I promise to be yours..."

Just as Artoria was about to agree, a voice accompanied by a soft laugh suddenly entered this space of the mind.

"You tried to snatch someone from me without even saying hello, Gaia, that's really unfair of you."

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Artoria's heart skipped a beat, and an overwhelming joy appeared in her eyes.

In the realm of the mind, a crimson feather appeared out of thin air, and pale crimson flames ignited, coalescing into the shape of a man.

The pale silver armor, the white cloak, and those signature black eyes and hair—it was none other than Anahn, who had been banished to another dimension!

"How is that possible? Weren't you banished? How did you end up here?!"

Gaia's voice unusually fluctuated slightly, revealing a clear sense of tension.

Gaia... seems very afraid of her teacher? This thought suddenly popped into Artoria's mind.

“Ah, yes, I was indeed banished, but that shouldn’t have any necessary connection to my being here,” Yanan said with a smile.

——.......

“But none of that matters. Let’s get back to the main topic.” Yanan crossed his arms. “I have to admit, Gaia, your psychological tactics are indeed very clever. Even my precious student was almost fooled by you.”

--......I don't understand you.

“Tsk, it’s pointless to play dumb at a time like this.” Yanan shook his head. “First, show your determination to make the target feel hopeless, and then take the opportunity to make demands in order to achieve your true purpose. Advancing by retreating is a human tactic, but I didn’t expect you to play it so well with your Counter Force. It seems you have been observing humans quite a bit over the years.”

—I don't understand what you mean. In short, I only have one condition: unless Artoria agrees to become my guardian, I will absolutely not lay a hand on Zhu Yue.

Gaia's voice regained its previous calm.

"Stop putting on airs, Gaia." Anan's eyes narrowed slightly. "With your cowardice, do you really dare to take such a huge risk and let Zhu Yue unleash Moonfall? When you're incredibly weak, can you really stop Zhu Yue's devouring attack?"

—Zhu Yue is my sister, she wouldn't harm me. Besides, even if she did, I would have no regrets. Rather than be destroyed by humanity in the future, I would rather hand this planet over to Zhu Yue here.

"Since you've already made this kind of decision, why are you just sitting by and watching Alaya stop Zhu Yue?"

——.......

"What, speechless now?" Yanan sneered.

From the very beginning, he was certain that Gaia would never allow Zhu Yue to unleash Moonfall.

If Gaia was truly as wary of humanity as He claimed, then He should have intervened from the beginning to stop Alaya and prevent it from interfering with Zhu Yue.

Since He chose to stand by and watch, it means that He did not want to see that scene either.

It was this flaw that allowed Anahn to glimpse Gaia's cowardice, and in this psychological game, the one who first showed weakness was destined to fail.

Therefore, no matter how Gaia threatened him, Anann didn't care at all.