The Red Archer Atalanta loaded two arrows onto the bowstring of her beloved bow, the "Sky Bow", and her target was not the vast land in front of her, but the night sky illuminated by the hazy moonlight.
The cold, dry wind unique to late autumn ruffled her hair, and the beast's ears twitched slightly.
Time is up.
"I use my bow to ask for the protection of the Sun God and the Moon Goddess."
The arrow began to shine. Her Noble Phantasm was not the bow, nor the arrow shot from the bow. Both were merely catalysts. Her Noble Phantasm was the principle of "putting the arrow on the bowstring and shooting it."
"Dedicate such a disaster—'Arrow of Complaint'!"
The two arrows shot into the air traced a dazzling trajectory through the clouds and disappeared without a trace. This was the signal fire, the first arrow.
It was a complaint to the gods. Apollo, the sun god, and Artemis, the moon goddess. Both were gods with deep connections to the sun and the moon. Apollo was also the god of the bow and arrow, and Artemis was the god of hunting.
As the price for Archer's blessing, they demand disaster. The so-called blessing is to cause disaster to the enemy.
The night sky was filled with a faint glow, and there were small sounds like raindrops dancing in the wind. However, it was not a gentle drizzle. The God of Wildness sought a sacrifice and rained down a torrential rain called disaster on the earth.
Countless light arrows flashed in the air, and the Black Berserker Vlad III was the first to be hit. He raised his hand calmly, and dozens of black rafters rose from the ground, interweaving into a defensive wall to block the rain of arrows.
Black Saber Siegfried, who was a few steps behind, was more at ease than the former. He neither swung his sword to block nor dodged. He just stood there, allowing the rain of arrows to hit his body, and I remained unmoved.
However, don't think that this Noble Phantasm is weak just because the Light Arrow didn't hurt Vlad III and Siegfried. In fact, the "Arrow of Complaint" is a Noble Phantasm of B rank, not weak at all. The reason why it was easily blocked by the two Servants is not only because the two Servants themselves are strong, but also because the Light Arrow's attack area is the entire coalition of androids and puppets!
Atalanta was not going after the servants; she wanted to reduce the number of miscellaneous soldiers!
The androids were pierced by arrows and fell one after another. Even the puppets, which were supposed to be very strong, were shattered by the impact of countless arrows. This was how it should be, the archer who released his treasure was sure.
However, just before the light arrows swept the enemy, a loud eagle cry pierced the dark sky.
If the "arrow of the complaint" was a dense green rain of light, then what was breaking through the air from afar was a huge blue arrow of light - no, it was not an arrow, but a blue storm.
A blue storm rolled up in the sky, and in the center of the storm, a fantasy beast that should not exist in this world poked its head out. Its upper body was that of an eagle, and its lower body was that of a horse. Its pair of majestic wings were enough to rival any divine weapon. It was these constantly flapping wings that rolled up the terrifying wind pressure, and with the infusion of the wanton blue energy, it was enough to shatter all obstacles in front of it - including the disaster that Atalanta prayed to the two gods for.
"Please! 'Hippogriff'!"
Along with this shout, the blue storm and the green rain of arrows collided head-on, and the anti-military equipment confronted the anti-military equipment!
In an instant, the dazzling light replaced the setting sun that had just fallen into the horizon and became the most dazzling light source in the sky.
In the center of the glory, the knight who started this round of collision finally shed his usual insouciance and displayed a demeanor worthy of the name of the Twelve Warriors of Charlemagne—all of this stemmed from a conversation a few minutes ago.
"Teacher, are there any enemy servants among the Dragon Fang Soldiers?"
The one who was speaking was Shinji, and the one he addressed as teacher was naturally Chiron.
"No." The great sage who had been observing the entire scene with his clairvoyance shook his head.
Shinji's eyes flickered, and he pointedly said, "The Duke was leading the charge, but no one came to stop him. Why do you think that is? No matter how many small fry of this level come, they can't pose a threat to the Duke and Fei Ge. The so-called consumption is even more of a joke - as long as the Duke wants, these small fry will be gone in an instant."
"There are two possibilities. The first is that this group of dragon tooth soldiers are sent to die to test the Grand Duke's strength. It is not difficult to see from the aerial fortress that the enemy has a very powerful magician. For a magician of this level, summoning dragon tooth soldiers is just a prelude, and the next one is the main force. There is another possibility..."
"It's a long-range attack." Astolfo took over Chiron's words, "I've done something like this before. I used the horn to scare the enemy, and then used the Hippogriff to sweep over. Hahahaha, it's really refreshing."
"Since you have experience, I'll leave it to you." Shinji snapped his fingers, "You ride on Hippogriff and follow behind the army. If it's the first type, you will cooperate with the Archduke and Phineas to sweep over as you said. If it's the second type, you will use your Noble Phantasm to cancel out the opponent's Noble Phantasm. As a rider, you can't be without a Noble Phantasm to fight against the army, right?"
"Yes, but... that guy's appetite is too big. I can't sacrifice the child's companion for my victory."
Summoning a Hippogriff, then riding and using it - at this stage, the magic power consumption is not much, and it can be supplied by a single android. The problem lies in chanting the true name and exerting the power.
The magic power consumption at that time was almost equal to that of releasing an A-rank Noble Phantasm with all its strength. Moreover, the consumption did not end after releasing one attack. As long as the Hippogriff was maintained, magic power would continue to be consumed, which was a very poor way of using energy efficiency.
The image of the androids who had their magic power drained away appeared in his mind, and he remembered Sieg's tiny and insignificant plea. No matter what, he was unwilling to do that now. In this case, he could only choose not to do that.
Ah, I am really a fool, stupid and cowardly.
Originally, I should have ignored the existence of the magic battery and released my true name. Even Sieg would not blame me for this. After all, a Servant was summoned for fighting and winning, so it was impossible to make such an excessive request to him.
However, Astolfo is such a heroic spirit - he only does what he wants to do, and no one can force him to do what he doesn't want to do.
Chiron and Shinji are both well aware of this, and Shinji is prepared with ways to convince him.
"You are mistaken. No matter how much the anti-military treasure consumes, only a few androids will be sacrificed. If we allow the enemy to attack, dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of androids will die, and these are the companions of that child. Although it is biased to evaluate the value of life simply by number, it is the most appropriate thing to do now. Do you want to sacrifice more androids on the battlefield for those few androids? Knight Astolfo."
On one side were Sieg's companions, and on the other side were more of Sieg's companions - with Astolfo's not-so-bright brain, he could only come up with one answer.
"Ah, I'll do it. I'll do it, won't I? Hippogriff!"
The knight pulled his pigtails hard, called out the Hippogriff, and rode on it angrily.
Shinji sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Astolfo."
"No need to apologize, you did nothing wrong!" Astolfo hit his partner hard and rushed into the sky.
"You can't stop it, don't try to stop it!"
"I know. I have an ace." The last part of his voice was intermittent.
"Teacher, are you saying I was wrong?" Looking at Astolfo's departing back, Shinji gave a bitter smile.
"You are right, this is war." Chiron's face also showed a trace of sadness, "Next, it's our turn, assassin—don't die."
"Same to you, Sensei."
For some reason, Shinji, who was originally full of confidence, suddenly felt a little uneasy.
In the distance, blue and green light exploded.
PS: Arrow of the Complaint (Phoibos Catastrophe)
Grade: B
Type: Anti-military weapon
Distance: 2-50
Maximum capture: 100 people
This is a Noble Phantasm that embodies the concept of "drawing the bow and releasing the arrow."
Using the "Tauropolos" (Sky Bow) given by the patron goddess Artemis, he shoots an arrow to pray for the protection of Apollo, the sun god, and Artemis, the moon goddess. In response to this request, the God of Destruction grants Archer protection in the form of disaster to the enemy, and a torrential rain of light arrows falls from the sky, attacking all enemies in a wide range.
Also known as the "Soul-chasing Sword"... I'm kidding. By the way, the "aterial" version can only attack either the male or female, and it was too difficult to use, so it became what it is now. (It's related to the story that the fertile woman Niobe mocked Apollo and Artemis' mother Leto for having "few children", so Apollo and Artemis shot all of Niobe's children.)
It can carry out wide-area attacks or intensive attacks, making it a very convenient treasure. Although the attack power of each arrow is very small, because a large number of arrows will attack at the same time, it will be very strong against low-durability and high-agility servants. Isn't this Atalanta herself
PS2: Fei Ge said he had no pressure at all. He just lay on the ground and you could hit him as much as you wanted. It wouldn’t break my defense anyway.