In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

“…” Gold forced a weak smile onto his fat face. “It’s nothing, I’m probably just too tired these past few days. I’ll be fine after a nap.”

"Wow~" Fiore gently covered her mouth, her big eyes filled with obvious surprise, "Rider, and that Lancer from the red team, they're both so strong."

“That’s true.” Archer, as tall as an iron tower, crossed his arms and gave his assessment, “Even in the realm of Heroic Spirits, these two can be considered quite outstanding strongmen.”

"Then, what if we're comparing you to Archer?"

“In terms of marksmanship alone, I am no match for them,” Archer said calmly. “However, there are many martial arts, and marksmanship is not the only one.”

The meaning of this sentence is quite clear: I may not be as good as them at handling guns, but I am confident that I can defeat them in everything except guns.

Having understood the implication, Fiore smiled with relief: "So, which side do you think has a better chance of winning?"

Archer stroked his chin, a thoughtful look in his eyes: "But judging from the skills, the marksmanship of both sides should be about the same, but in the end, Rider should still win."

"Hmm? Why?" Fiore asked, puzzled.

“Rider on horseback has a natural advantage over Lancer on the red side. Although this difference might not mean much to Lancer normally, in this evenly matched situation, this small advantage can easily become the last straw that breaks the camel’s back,” Archer commented.

As if to verify his words, the next moment, Yanan seized the opportunity and suddenly swung the thick, black-and-white spear, which mercilessly struck Karna's waist, sending him flying and smashing several boulders in the road into countless fragments.

Karna's body suddenly spun in a way that defied the laws of physics, plunging his spear into the ground and creating a crack more than ten meters long before he managed to stabilize himself.

"A beautiful strike." He looked up at Yanan, his fighting spirit burning even more intensely.

Yanan frowned slightly. He had stabbed Karna at least ten times, but he still couldn't leave any wounds on the other.

The Golden Armor is way too overpowered... He shook his head helplessly. Even he would find it troublesome to deal with a divine weapon that can reduce all damage to only one-tenth of its original value.

Moreover, even with his A+ Godslayer skill, he still couldn't break through Karna's defense.

It seems that unless he activates his Noble Phantasm and uses the Annihilation form of the Heavenly Fire Greatsword, he will have no way to deal effective damage to Karna.

Of course, another method is to stall. After all, Karna is different from Gilgamesh, who is also one of the three golden masters. This son of the sun god is known for his huge magical energy consumption, and ordinary masters simply cannot afford his magical energy needs.

Although Anan's own magic power is also greatly depleted, with the support of the Yggdrasil clan, he can definitely last longer than Karna.

Just as the thought flashed through Anaen's mind, he suddenly saw Karna take out an ancient amulet from somewhere and stick it to his chest. The next moment, a huge amount of magic power surged out, restoring his aura to its peak.

What is that?! Yanan blinked in confusion, he had never heard of Karna having a way to restore magic power.

"This is spiritual energy that our Caster extracted and refined from the ley lines. It's five times more potent than ordinary magic," Karna said calmly.

Anan narrowed his eyes slightly. Purifying magic power is not something an ordinary magician can do. It seems that the Caster summoned by the Red Team this time is an extraordinary figure.

"Come on, Rider, there's still some time before dawn. Let's settle this before then." Karna's fighting spirit burned like flames as he took a sudden step forward.

The next moment, a strong sense of crisis gripped Yanan's heart.

"[Brahmastra, cover the earth!]!!"

A burst of intense flames shot out from Karna's right eye in an instant, piercing through the void like lightning and hurtling toward Anan.

Unable to take any precautions, Yanan could only slap his horse's back and leap into the air, narrowly missing the scorching beam of light.

However, Sleibnir was not so lucky. The scorching flames instantly covered its body, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into countless spiritual particles and dissipated.

As Yanan landed on the ground, he looked at the charred marks that stretched for hundreds of meters, and a look of solemnity appeared in his eyes.

Is this the true power of the Son of the Sun God, freed from the constraints of magic...?

Yanan's dark, deep pupils narrowed slightly as he began to consider whether or not to retreat.

His original purpose in coming here was simply to check on the situation of the Red Team. Now that his goal has been achieved, there is no need for him to stay here any longer.

Even if the fight continued, it would be meaningless. After all, his purpose in coming to this world was not to participate in the Holy Grail War, and his fight with Karna was merely out of interest. He had no intention of fighting Karna to the very end.

As for winning over Joan of Arc, he had already abandoned that idea from the very beginning.

"Prepare to retreat..." The thought had just crossed Yanan's mind when a strong impulse suddenly surged from the bottom of his heart, as if something wanted to break free from its restraints.

"This is..." He frowned slightly, carefully sensed it, and a strange expression suddenly appeared on his face.

"So that's how it is... Okay, okay, I'll listen to you."

A slightly helpless smile appeared on his face, the Black Abyss White Flower in his hand disappeared instantly, and then a huge wave of magical power emanated from his body.

"Is this... about to unleash her Noble Phantasm?" Jeanne's pupils suddenly contracted, and she gripped the flag tightly in her hand, ready to act at any moment.

"Is it finally time to activate the Noble Phantasm?" Karna's body was tense, his eyes filled with obvious solemnity.

The other Masters who were observing the battlefield through their familiars also clearly sensed this unusual magical fluctuation and quickly urged their familiars to retreat.

“What is Rider trying to do? Revealing his trump card so early, what if the other side finds a way to counter him…” Danic’s face was filled with obvious anxiety. “What is Sereneka doing? Why isn’t he letting Rider come back yet?”

“Why the rush, Danic?” Vlad III took a leisurely sip of his red wine. “This is a clash of the world’s greatest heroes, an intertwining of beliefs and existence. Such a once-in-a-century spectacle is enough to be witnessed quietly. I trust Rider’s judgment.”

Danic opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything. He could only give a helpless bow and say, "Yes, Your Majesty."

The Red team had no intention of letting Karna retreat. After all, no matter how strong the attack was, it would be weakened to one-tenth of its original strength by the Golden Armor. Unless the main god himself took action, it was impossible to kill Karna in one blow.

They absolutely could not possibly miss this golden opportunity to spy on the Black Faction Rider's Noble Phantasm.

"The rules of destruction, Ragnarok, bring the ultimate annihilation of the world. Descend, [Dragon of Despair that devours the world]!!"

boom--!!!

A vast surge of magic instantly soared into the sky, and a black light, deeper than the night, filled the entire world in the blink of an eye. Even Jeanne d'Arc, a Heroic Spirit, felt her vision darken for a moment, and then when her vision returned to normal, she saw [it].

Its surface is covered with jet-black scales that look like they were cast from molten iron. Its deep, cold black vertical pupils seem to connect to the legendary abyss of hell. Its wings, which blot out the sky, extend to the end of the field of vision. Its body, as huge as a mountain, is ancient and solemn, exuding an indescribable terrifying pressure.

As if awed by this colossal creature, which was both as beautiful as an angel and as ferocious as a demon, all the magicians who witnessed this scene, even those who were not present, couldn't help but take a step back, their eyes filled with obvious fear.

"That...that is..." Gold's body trembled, his voice trembling noticeably. At this moment, he could no longer care about his dignity as a descendant of a prestigious magic family. Just keeping himself from kneeling down was almost exhausting all his strength.

In fact, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have reacted this way, but he is currently in a contractual relationship with Saber, and the latter's state has also affected him to some extent.

A strong sense of unease welled up in Saber's heart; it was a fear that originated from the depths of his blood, the wail of the evil dragon residing within him, and the trembling in the face of a higher being.

In the realm of dragons, there are few beings capable of suppressing Fafnir in such a way, and there is only one that fits the image of the giant dragon before us.

Siegfried took a deep breath and uttered the forbidden name, word by word:

"Nidhogg, the despairing dragon that devours the world!"

Chapter Six: The Might of Nidhogg

A colossal, pitch-black figure hovered proudly in the sky, its shadow blotting out the sun and its immense pressure descending simultaneously. After countless ages, the legendary black dragon that brought Ragnarok has finally reappeared in the world!

Sensing the pervasive aura of death, even Karna, the son of the sun god, couldn't help but show a solemn expression.

His strong combat instincts warned him that if he were to be even slightly careless, he could very well die here!

Nidhogg lowered her head slightly, her dark vertical pupils coldly staring at Karna. The next moment, her ferocious maw suddenly opened wide, and dark flames rolled endlessly within it.

"It's coming!" Joan of Arc and Karna gripped their weapons tightly, their bodies tense as if wound up.

boom--!!!

Endless black flames swept out like fiery clouds, vast and overwhelming, as if to turn the entire world into a purgatory, mercilessly rushing down to the ground.

Feeling that indescribable power of death, Joan of Arc's heart leaped into her throat. If that flame were to fall, this land would be utterly destroyed!

However, at this point, even if she wanted to use her Noble Phantasm or Command Seals, it would be too late.

Suddenly, another massive surge of magical energy rose from the ground, and Karna's eyes closed slightly as a deep, ancient chant echoed between heaven and earth:

"Brahma, curse my body (BrahmastraKundala)!"

A vast and mighty stream of magic flowed into the Godslayer Spear, and blazing flames instantly covered the spear. A terrifying and boundless aura spread out, and it was thrown out like a meteor, instantly turning into a crimson curtain of fire that collided with the dark sunset clouds.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!

A thunderous roar instantly resounded throughout the entire world. Black and red flames intertwined and collided, evaporating everything within their range. Terrifyingly high temperatures instantly rose up, as if to turn the entire world into a scorching inferno!

On one side was the black dragon that ended the age of gods, and on the other was the descendant of the sun god. Watching this scene that transcended even the most fantastical, all the onlookers couldn't help but feel a sense of disorientation. For a fleeting moment, they even wondered if they had returned to that distant, ancient mythological era.

Seemingly dissatisfied with Karna's resistance, Nidhogg's eyes grew even colder. She took a deep breath, and then unleashed an even more surging torrent of black flames, instantly gaining an overwhelming advantage and forcing the crimson fire curtain to retreat at an astonishing speed.

Joan of Arc gripped the flag tightly and loosely, repeatedly, before finally sighing helplessly and choosing to stand by and watch.

The pitch-black flames, carrying intense death energy, relentlessly swept down, instantly engulfing Karna's figure along with the land within a hundred meters radius.

Two or three minutes later, the black flames gradually stopped raging. When everyone looked up, the once sandy desert had been completely turned into a barren wasteland. Sparse white smoke rose up, and the remaining high temperature made the space on this land appear distorted.

Seeing this scene, everyone couldn't help but gasp. Such astonishing destructive power would probably destroy even a heavily fortified city in an instant.

"cough......."

Karna, holding a spear, knelt on one knee in the center of the scorched earth. Although he appeared to be unharmed, the golden armor he wore, which he had obtained from the sun god Surya, was noticeably distorted, and its dazzling radiance had dimmed considerably. Karna's aura was also much weaker than before.

It was clear that even the golden armor could not completely defend against Nidhogg's offensive.

This is not only because Nidhogg herself is powerful, but more importantly because of the super-powerful special attack she possesses against gods. With the enhancement of this special attack, even a chief god would have to pay a considerable price to withstand this attack, let alone Karna, who is the son of a god.

With the Golden Armor already breached, Karna is clearly no longer a match for Nidhogg and Anan unless he is willing to sacrifice the Golden Armor and use that Noble Phantasm that can only be used once.

But the red team naturally couldn't possibly see this happen.

"Use Command Spells to summon Karna back." In the church, the white-haired priest sighed. Karna was one of the only two exceptional Servants they had, and they absolutely could not afford to lose him here at this time.

Looking at the black-haired youth in the picture, the priest couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. He thought it would be an easy battle, but he didn't expect to suffer a Waterloo right from the start. He wondered where the opponent had summoned such a powerful servant, even the son of the sun god couldn't defeat him.

He needed to get Assassin and Caster to finish building the Hanging Gardens as soon as possible... He thought to himself. Although they also had a powerful Rider on their side, he had to make several preparations to deal with the black dragon that ended the Age of Gods.

Assassin wisely refrained from arguing with his Master, silently nodded, and snapped his fingers.

A mysterious power permeated the air, and an absolute command acted upon Karna, causing his body to instantly dissipate into countless spiritual particles, vanishing from the spot in the blink of an eye.

“He ran away…” Yanan raised an eyebrow slightly, but this was not unexpected. After all, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Karna was already at a disadvantage, and continuing to fight would not be a wise move.

He didn't care about this, since he never intended to eliminate Karna in the first place.

The battle was over, and all the magicians who had been watching breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads. Although they hadn't been there in person, just witnessing this battle, which was nothing short of a myth, had put them under immense pressure.

Nidhogg's dark, vertical pupils swept coldly around him, and with a sudden flap of his massive wings, a sharp gust of wind swept out, instantly annihilating all the familiars around him.

The magicians' faces froze instantly, then they gave a helpless, bitter smile. This dragon of despair really had a big temper.

However, they did not know that Nidhogg did this simply to prevent them from seeing what was about to happen.

Nidhogg flapped its wings and landed steadily on the ground. Its ferocious head lowered slightly as it looked at the familiar black-haired youth in front of it, and the coldness in its eyes was gradually replaced by tenderness.

A dense black light burst forth once more, and the enormous dragon body, as massive as a mountain, shrank at a visible speed. In no time, the ancient and majestic dragon transformed into a cold and beautiful woman wearing a black knee-length dress. Her long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her phoenix eyes seemed to hold a thousand charms and ten thousand allure as she gazed longingly at the person she had been yearning for.

Joan of Arc froze instantly. For an uneducated village girl, witnessing a dragon transform into a human was an incredibly powerful experience.