How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

"By then, under the fierce onslaught of the monsters, the North Wall will likely be unable to offer much assistance. If you were to be caught in the monster horde at that time..."

He didn't continue speaking, but his meaning was already quite clear.

You Du nodded.

"I understand. Please don't worry about that. We have three Heroic Spirits on our side. An ordinary monster horde won't be able to harm us."

Seeing that You Du was so confident, Leonidas did not continue to stop them.

"In that case, shall I open the gate to the Northern Wilderness for you?"

“No need. It wouldn’t be good if we accidentally let some monsters in.” Yudo shook his head and refused Leonidas’s suggestion: “We have our own way to get out.”

Leaving Leonidas's tent, Yudo summoned his D-Wheel again, carrying Fujimaru Ritsuka as they drove vertically up the castle wall amidst the gasps of the onlookers.

Anna, who was below, was chained to the D-Wheel and pulled Mash along as they were carried up.

bass--

With the final screech of tires against the city wall, Fujimaru Ritsuka, sitting in the back seat, looked out at the endless wilderness beyond the city walls.

This is... the northern wilderness...

Scattered magical beasts could be seen wandering around the land, searching for a place to breach the massive city walls.

Landing back on the ground, Yuto put away his D-Wheel and turned to look at Mash and Anna.

"Are you ready?"

The two nodded in unison.

Yudou then took out the newly crafted Trap Card [Dragon Bloodline], infused it with magic power, and forcibly used magic power to skip the preparation of the overlay and activate it directly.

"Then... I'll activate the Trap Card [Dragon's Blood] from my hand!"

The card, held high, emitted a bright red light as it was infused with magic, attracting the surrounding magical beasts and causing those illuminated by the red light to experience subtle changes in their bodies.

The sound of my heartbeat became incredibly powerful, as if it were pumping out magic rather than blood, and every breath I took was imbued with magic.

"Senior, I feel like I'm...Senior?"

Just as Mash was shocked by the changes in her body, she was about to share her feelings with Fujimaru Ritsuka, but she froze on the spot when she turned around and saw her.

"What's wrong, Mashu? Is there something on my face—"

As she spoke, Fujimaru Ritsuka subconsciously reached up and touched her face, then felt something hard on her forehead...

horn?

Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately sensed something was wrong and looked up, only to find that everyone else, except her, had also grown a dragon horn on their foreheads.

when? !

She didn't feel anything at all!

Will it never turn back?

"Don't worry, I didn't inject much magic power when I activated it. The effect will probably wear off in about five minutes, but now..."

After comforting the somewhat flustered Fujimaru Ritsuka, Yuuto pointed to the monsters that had surrounded them.

"Let's deal with these guys first!"

"Yes! Senior, please hide behind me! I'll take care of them right away!"

The shield reappeared in Mash's hand, and Anna gave up struggling against the dragon horns with their hood up. She gripped her scythe and charged ahead, with Mash close behind.

The edge of the shield and the blade of the scythe each severed the head of a monster. What would have required some effort before the enhancement was now done effortlessly.

"My body feels so light, I don't feel tired at all!"

Anna and Mashu dealt with the surrounding monsters one after another as quickly as cutting melons and vegetables, and their relaxed appearance made Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was hiding next to Yuuto, feel a little envious.

How about... we give it a try?

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked around and spotted a lone magical beast.

Seeing this, You Du did not stop her, but simply moved the covered [Scrap Iron Scarecrow] to her side.

"Roar!"

Upon seeing Fujimaru Ritsuka approaching, the monster let out a threatening roar and crouched down, preparing to attack.

Fujimaru Ritsuka stopped a short distance away, exhaled gently to adjust her breathing, and activated her magic circuits, which then transformed into a simple enhancement magic spell that buffed her.

With just one glance, a battle was about to break out. The monster pounced on Fujimaru Ritsuka, but she dodged to the side and seized the opportunity when the monster was in mid-air to punch its soft chest and abdomen.

The monster was sent flying by a powerful punch imbued with dragon characteristics and enhanced magic. It fell to the ground and managed to prop itself up, but before it could take two steps, it collapsed to the ground, bleeding from its mouth and nose, and fell silent.

Fujimaru Ritsuka's punch shattered its heart.

All of this happened so fast that even she herself found the outcome unbelievable.

She looked at her fist, then at the corpse of the monster.

Could it be that she is actually... quite strong?

Just as Fujimaru Ritsuka was basking in the glory of her punch, Yuuto frowned as he noticed a 'line' gradually approaching from the distant black cypress forest.

No way... is it really that much of a coincidence?

Chapter Sixty-Six Stardust Dragon

"Master, it's time to go back!"

Seeing the billowing dust sweeping in from afar, Yuuto sensed something was wrong and immediately grabbed Fujimaru Ritsuka by the collar, throwing her, who was rubbing her hands together, ready to find her next victim, onto the D-Wheel.

"Whoa!"

Startled by Yuuto's sudden action, Fujimaru Ritsuka instinctively grabbed the back of the D-Wheel, but quickly recovered and asked Yuuto a question.

"Did something happen?"

"It's a Warcraft wave."

After putting on the helmet, Yuuto pointed out the direction he had been looking in, and then called back Mash and Anna, who were still in a state of frenzy.

Fujimaru Ritsuka squinted in the direction Yuwatari pointed.

Although she couldn't see anything at first, she soon saw the numerous magical beasts rushing towards her thanks to the enhancement effect of the [Dragon Blood Clan]. The sheer number of these beasts surprised her, causing her eyes to widen in astonishment.

"So many monsters! This is bad, we must tell everyone in Northwall as soon as possible! Rider!"

"We've been prepared for a long time! Hold on tight, Master!"

Yuto twisted the handlebars, the engine inside the D-wheel roared, and he drove towards the North Wall with Mash and Anna, who had managed to get on the bike at the last minute, leaving only a trail of light particles in their wake.

Fortunately, they were not far from the North Wall, and with the speed of the D-wheel, they returned to the North Wall in just a few breaths.

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, whose dragon horns on their foreheads had almost disappeared, went to King Leonidas to explain the news of the approaching monster tide, while Yuuto and Anna stayed on the city wall to let the soldiers guarding the city prepare to deal with the impending monster tide.

Soon, just as Youdu saw that the soldiers inside the North Wall had been mobilized, the monster horde in the distance had also reached a distance that the soldiers could see with their naked eyes.

Ulidim, which resembles a lion with a human head, has lion's feet forelegs and eagle's claws for hind feet. Its body is covered with snake-like scales, and it has a long, thin tail that ends with a scorpion's stinger. Mushuhuxiu, the giant lion Ugal, whose mane stands on end like a giant sun, and the enormous demon boar...

Just as countless magical beasts had gathered into a wave, about to crash heavily onto the reef known as the Absolute Magical Beast Front, Anna noticed that two small figures had appeared beside Youdu at some point.

One of them was wearing a yellow hat, while the other looked very similar to the D-wheel that the ferry was traveling in.

What is this going to do?

Just as she was wondering, the two figures beside You Du transformed into two beams of light and flew into the sky under her gaze. At the same time, You Du's voice, which sounded like chanting, also rang out.

"I'll use the 3-star Tuner monster 'Scrap Synchron' and the 5-star 'Wheel Synchron' as Synchro materials!"

The scrap Synchron with the yellow hat on its head transformed into three green rings in the light, while the crimson Wheel Synchron lost its form within the rings and became five bright stars lined up in a row.

"The gathered prayers will become a new shining star and turn into a shining road!"

As Youdu's chanting continued, a white card that Anna had never seen before gathered countless dazzling lights in his raised hand.

"Synchro Summon! Soar, Stardust Dragon!"

Roar--!

A clear dragon's roar resounded throughout the entire North Wall, and the white dragon covered in starlight in the sky attracted the attention of everyone on the North Wall.

"what is that?"

"A new type of magical beast?"

"But it feels a bit different from those magical beasts..."

The soldiers below the city wall were buzzing with discussion, while the soldiers who stood on the city wall with You Du and witnessed the entire process of him summoning the Stardust Dragon were too shocked to speak.

Fujimaru Ritsuka stood at the foot of the castle wall. Although she, like Yuto, had not witnessed Yuto summoning the Stardust Dragon, she felt inexplicably that this matter must be related to Yuto as she looked at the beautiful figure of the Stardust Dragon in the sky.

Is this some kind of unique connection between the Master and the Servant?

The wanderer on the city wall had no idea what the others were thinking. Under Anna's gaze, he raised his hand and pointed to the horde of magical beasts that had approached the bottom of the city wall and were roaring at the Stardust Dragon flying in the air.

"Go! Stardust Dragon! Shooting Sonic!"

The storm gathered in the Stardust Dragon's mouth, eventually condensing into a white beam of light that blasted towards the horde of monsters below.

The storm's breath tore apart the bodies of the surrounding monsters, scattering blood and flesh everywhere, clearing a space in the vast monster horde.

The Stardust Dragon did not stop; it continued to sweep across the ground with its breath, leaving a trail of destruction in its beams.

I have this feeling... like he could handle it all by himself?

Anna looked at the Stardust Dragon chasing after the monsters fleeing in all directions in the sky, and she didn't know whether to hold the scythe in her hand or not.

However, there were simply too many monsters. Even though the Stardust Dragons could hold off and eliminate most of them, a small number of monsters were still attacking the north wall.

Seeing this, Anna simply handed over most of the magical beasts to Youdu and Stardust Dragon, and jumped off the city wall with a scythe in her hand to clear out and harvest the remaining small groups of magical beasts.

"Hurry, hurry! Speed ​​up! The Dingir is ready to launch!"

Leonidas directed operations from inside the city, ordering the ballistae mounted on the city walls, known as the Seals of Divinity, to aim at the magical beasts that had not yet approached the city walls, firing several beams of magical energy that blasted a crater several meters deep.

He then led his soldiers to the city gate, set up their formation, and opened the gate. The soldiers in the front row used their shields to block the monsters' bites, while the soldiers in the back took the opportunity to attack with their spears.

Leonidas then defended the city gates against the attacking monsters.

"This level of attack is not much different from what we usually encounter! Everyone, get your spirits up!"

With a resounding clang, he struck his shield with his spear. Thanks to the superior physical abilities of a heroic spirit, Leonidas single-handedly slew numerous monsters, while also directing the other soldiers during the battle.

Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka followed beside him, helping other soldiers deal with the attacking monsters amidst the chaotic battle, while keeping a close eye on the movements of the Stardust Dragon in the sky.

"Be careful, Master! There are a lot of magical beasts around here. Please stay close to me!"

With her shield repelling one monster after another, Mash warily faced the horde of monsters and spoke to Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was protecting her from behind.

"Yes, don't worry, Mashu!"

Despite saying that, Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but look up at the top of the castle wall.

She still misses the days when she could take down a monster with a single punch, instead of being someone who can only hide behind Mash and be protected.

Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Three Goddesses

The monster horde continued into the night before finally being overcome thanks to everyone's efforts.

Watching the few remaining monsters flee back towards the Black Fir Forest, You Du didn't chase after them, but stayed where he was, pondering something.

He wondered if this Warcraft wave was Kingu's doing.

After all, ordinary magical beasts rarely possess this kind of collective intelligence, and now that the magical beast tide has passed, he has not seen anything particularly powerful enough to gather this group of magical beasts together.

In addition, the timing of this monster tide was quite coincidental, starting just after they left the city.

You Du thought that Jingu had deliberately chosen this time to launch the monster tide after seeing them, and was waiting to launch a sneak attack on them while they were resisting the monster tide, or the moment the monster tide ended...

He waited until now, but he hadn't seen a single trace of Jingu... Could it be that his guess was wrong, and that this monster tide was formed by chance and had little to do with Jingu?

Filled with doubt, Yuwatari and Fujimaru Ritsuka retrieved the Stardust Dragon. Having achieved their goal, they did not choose to linger on the North Wall and instead boarded the D-Wheel back to Uruk.

……

Yu Du's guess was actually correct.

The monster tide was gathered by Jingu, and he did indeed decide to launch the monster tide at that time after seeing Youdu and the others.

However, he made a slight mistake in the final part, when he launched a sneak attack after the monster tide ended and everyone was off guard.

At this moment, in the Blood Temple further south from the Black Fir Forest, Kingu, who had to cancel his original plans and rush back due to Gorgon's unusual movements, walked in.