318 Getting Attention

"Rider?"

Siegfried quickly halted his charge, looking at Arkhan with confusion, and couldn't fathom why he would show up at this moment.

Mordred also stopped her step as she glanced at Arkhan with mixed emotions.

"Tch..."

She spat lightly and turned her head away.

"Leave this to me, Saber. You go support Archer." Arkhan calmly stated.

Hearing that, Siegfried hesitated.

Though somewhat reserved, he wasn't foolish. He could handle the already weakened Saber of Red alone just fine, yet Rider suddenly interfering at this moment seemed off to him.

"Master, what should I do?"

Unable to decide, Siegfried sought guidance from his Master.

"Well..." Gordes hesitated.

"Just do as Rider says." Darnic suddenly chimed in. Currently, Rider's importance outweighed Saber's. It wasn't wise to pick a fight over such a trivial matter.

Hearing Darnic, Gordes breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to strain relations with Rider. After all, Rider had healed Sieg's body before, so he felt some gratitude toward Rider.

"Saber, do as Rider says."

Receiving the command from his Master, Siegfried nodded silently and sheathed Balmung. However, before leaving, he hesitated for a moment before turning to Mordred.

"You are a powerful opponent. I enjoyed this fight and hope for another chance to face you."

"Hmph, next time you won't be so lucky." Mordred shot back.

As Siegfried gradually moved away, Arkhan shifted his gaze to Mordred, rubbing his temples with a hint of a headache. Though mentally prepared, seeing this troublemaker on the battlefield still brought a wave of exhaustion to him.

"Hey, what's with that look!"

Under Arkhan's scrutiny, Mordred felt oddly guilty, as if facing her mother, Morgan, from childhood. To reassure herself, she raised her voice a bit.

"I'm a Servant too okay! Isn't it normal for me to be here?"

"Didn't you already leave the Red Faction?" Arkhan sighed.

"I'm not helping them..." Mordred rolled her eyes. "I just want a good fight with someone."

"I don't care about your reasons."

Observing Mordred's worn-out armor, Arkhan frowned.

"Now, go back and rest. If I see you on the battlefield again, I'll..."

Pausing for a moment, Arkhan's stern expression turned threatening.

"I'll spank you!"

Mordred blinked, then blushed slightly, embarrassed.

"Y-Y-You can't be so excessive! Even if you're King Arthur, we have no relationship, and I'm also a rebel—"

"Hmm? 'Rebel' what?" Arkhan slowly lifted Abyss Flower.

'Crap!'

Startled, Mordred instinctively covered her butt cheeks and took a few steps back. Even in her prime, she might not have been a match for him, let alone in her current condition.

If she were publicly spanked, her majestic reputation would be ruined!

Seeing the effectiveness of his threat, Arkhan strangely felt a sense of accomplishment as if he were a proud father. It turned out that disciplining a troublemaker child was quite satisfying!

'Hmm, it feels like accidentally opening the door to a new world...'

After thinking like that, Arkhan cleared his throat, rearranged his expression, and made a calm expression.

"Stay here and don't cause any more trouble for me, okay?"

With that, he wrote a rune in the air and returned to the battlefield in the sky.

Watching his retreating figure, Mordred stomped the ground like an annoyed child, creating one deep pit after another.

"Damn it, damn it all! Who does he think he is? He didn't even take care of me and raise me! What gives him the right..."

Kairi, who stood nearby, stayed silent with arms crossed.

After spending some time together, he understood Mordred's temper quite well. Despite her seemingly resentful demeanor, she wasn't actually that angry.

Maybe it was because—

She finally got the attention of 'King Arthur'.

===

*BOOOOOOM—!*

A colossal blue beam, over ten meters in diameter, crashed from the top of the dazzling pyramid to the ground.

The devastating impact created a massive charred crater, and countless silver arcs, like snakes, leaped in all directions, covering the land within a hundred meters.

It was the Dendera Electric Bulb, Ozymandias's super long-distance attack utilizing the artillery situated at his main temple that appeared like a massive electric ball. It was said to be as powerful as a solar flare, capable of destroying a city in one shot and effortlessly vaporizing a naval fleet.

Utilizing his 'A+ Agility', Heracles managed to escape the arc's coverage. Besides their considerable destructive power, these arcs also had a paralyzing effect. Once entangled, it was akin to becoming a sitting duck.

Despite him having the fur of the Nemean Lion, which could protect him from any kind of weapon created by humans, this electric ball wasn't made by humans. It was a manifestation of divinity, an attack even he couldn't immunize against.

In a way, Ozymandias was precisely the type of opponent Heracles struggled to deal with.

In a direct one-on-one situation, Heracles, with his peerless skills and powerful Noble Phantasms, could easily overpower most Servants. However, now Ozymandias sat safely inside his temple, leisurely attacking him with the Dendera Electric Bulb, rendering him unable to use his powerful skills at all.

It was a dire situation.

Heracles drew his obsidian long bow, and nine dragon-shaped arrows quickly shot out, colliding with the incoming blue beam, and creating visible shockwaves.

*BOOOM!*

With this brief buffer, Heracles stepped on the ground, displaying an agility that didn't fit his towering body, and dashed toward the pyramid akin to lightning.

"Oh? Are you challenging me head-on?"

Ozymandias, seated on his throne, raised an intrigued eyebrow and displayed a mysterious smile on his lips.

"Well, well, for your earnest efforts, I'll grant you this opportunity... But..."

He curved a mysterious arc at the corner of his mouth.

"Hope you won't regret your decision."

Without any hindrance, Heracles smoothly entered Ozymandias's temple. However, at that moment, the top of his head suddenly darkened as a massive claw abruptly descended from the sky.

Heracles narrowed his eyes, clenched his fist, and swiftly smashed upward with his bare fist.

*BANG!*

A deafening impact echoed as the attacker, a massive Sphinx, was sent flying, shattering the nearby steps upon landing.

Heracles turned to see the Sphinx attacking him and realized its appearance was far from ordinary.

This Sphinx was much larger than its kin, displaying not the typical sandstone gray but a deep blue like the galaxy, adorned with golden decorations and wings, exuding an inexplicable sense of nobility.

"Cosmosphinx..."

Heracles muttered softly, revealing the true identity of the Sphinx before him.