A Chaotic Beginning

The great battle of the Pendragon had officially begun.

All kinds of Artoria Species charged bravely ahead.

Whether it was someone naive and childish like Mordred or someone as mature and wise as Space Lion King.

In any case, while everyone was pushing forward with all their might, Artorius quietly disappeared into the crowd.

Did he not want to participate in this battle? Or did he want to escape?

Of course, neither of these was true. He simply wanted to win this war in the most rational, realistic way possible.

'If you charge too quickly, you'll end up like those vampires who foolishly appeared in the middle of the battlefield just now, instantly turned to dust. With hundreds of Artorias attacking at once, not even my Avalon or the Third Magic would be enough to handle them.'

'But on the other hand, not charging and not fighting, wouldn't that damage my reputation? More importantly, now is a good opportunity to reduce their strength, isn't it?'

Artorius's tactics were cunning and seemed to be effective.

His strategy involved quietly staying behind and continuously unleashing sword beam attacks, reducing the number of competitors while preserving himself. When some Artorias upfront exhausted themselves in the fierce battle, he would swoop in and defeat them in one go.

Perhaps it wasn't the most honorable approach, but it was a strategic victory! So, he was not wrong!

"Wisdom is more important than brute force..."

"Yeah, you're right..."

As Artorius muttered to himself, a sudden voice beside him responded to his mutters. He turned in surprise to see the same surprised expression mirrored on the person's face.

'X?!'

'Artorius?!'

With a confirming glance, Artorius realized it was someone just like himself, someone looking to gain an advantage from the shadow.

'Excellent.'

'Truly my son.'

After this silent exchange of glances, Artorius and X both showed appreciative expressions and instantly clashed with each other.

Facing someone as petite, faster, and more agile, with a shameless level of skill, a rarity among Artoria Species, Artorius decisively used the most 'appropriate' move.

He didn't use a holy sword, an imperial sword, or even a holy lance; instead, he used a twin Pure White Sword, one in each hand, which was a B-rank Noble Phantasm.

They were the most 'suitable' weapons for him at the moment because they were forged with his magical energy, crafted to match his height, arm length, and combat style.

Length, weight, balance, specifications, style—everything perfectly aligned with his requirements for a 'sword'.

It adhered to fluid dynamics, ergonomic design, and geometry. Whether slashing or thrusting, all his moves flowed seamlessly.

Although he couldn't unleash the most powerful, most destructive sword beam, in close combat, Artorius with twin swords could steadily keep X suppressed.

"Dammit, using tactics like this!"

Watching herself being forced into his rhythm, X gritted her teeth.

At such close quarters, with such a dense attack, she couldn't use her Noble Phantasm. She couldn't blast him away with her sword beam. She was forced to trade blows.

'I have the advantage in speed and agility, but...'

But Artorius's storm of sword blades had enveloped X, making it impossible for her to move freely.

In this situation, she couldn't step back and use all her abilities.

'In terms of strength, I'm at a disadvantage. Although my speed is a bit faster than Artorius, I'm being suppressed by him... and when it comes to techniques, it's a draw...'

In the blink of an eye, Artorius and X exchanged hundreds of blows.

The mother and son, who were already familiar with each other, became even more so in such an intense battle.

The gusts of wind stirred up by their attacks, and the aftermath of their battles, instantly swept into the battlefield, becoming part of the chaotic battle of the other Artorias.

Under normal circumstances, the battle between Artorius and X would be considered an epic, enough to inspire artists and writers to create thrilling works. Whether in poetry or drama, there would likely be a dedicated chapter in the future to document the battle between them, much like the tales of Hector facing Achilles or Kali battling Shiva.

However, amid such a chaotic battlefield, it was entirely different.

It wasn't that their battle lacked intensity, passion, or excitement. It was just that battles like these were all too common on the current battlefield of Pendragon.

There were plenty of characters with skills and abilities comparable to Artorius and X, even battles more intense than theirs were plentiful. It was like how Ex taking on XX, or Space Lion King facing the challenge of both Mysterious Heroines S and B simultaneously, as well as Mordred Subspecies.

Whether it was this world Mordred or from the Servant Universe, a total of five Mordreds. Once the battle began, every Mordred of Servant Universe ignored their respective organizations and quickly came together, fighting side by side.

They fought valiantly, with camaraderie and friendship at the forefront. Unlike the Artorias, who often plotted against each other, the smaller number of Mordred Subspecies managed to unite.

"Keep it up, just like this!"

"Yes, hold the line until the end!"

"We will win!"

"Defeat Fathers, marry our big brother, this is our era!"

The Mordred Subspecies were very excited.

Whether it was the spear-wielding Mordred, the one with a laser cannon, the one with a sword, the one with a great sword, or the one carrying multiple daggers as throwing weapons, they were all filled with excitement.

In just a short ten minutes, they had repelled three waves of attacks from their 'fathers'.

Although the Artorias grumbled something like:

"Mordred, how dare you be so arrogant!"

"You damn rebel! How dare you vie for the throne with your father?!"

"Watch me take your head in no time!"

Despite their words, due to their lack of unity and the fact that the top-tier and god-level Artorias hadn't noticed the Mordred Subspecies uniting, the ordinary Artorias were defeated easily and the victory still belonged to the Mordred Subspecies.

However, in the next moment...

"My body!"

"Wh-What's happening?!"

"It's poison... Who did this?!"

The Mordred Subspecies, who had just fought valiantly, suddenly dropped their weapons, fell to the ground in weakness, and were quickly consumed by the chaotic battlefield.