Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 977: The Black Flood

The sound of "gong-ong" was exceptionally clear in the silent night.

The stench of tasteless beasts, an unprecedentedly intense killing intent, and a sense of absurdity not belonging to this era.

Yes, absurdity.

What surged out from beneath the coat was not only the beasts chasing after Ryougi Shiki but also entities beyond that.

A horse with a horn on its forehead, an enormous winged lizard, a war beast with flames around its four hooves, a giant snake tens of meters long, and more indescribable existences.

Each one was a phantasmal species that had long since gone extinct in the present world, each one a mystery that transcended modern sorcery.

There was no need to deliberately prepare a bounded field; their mere appearance turned this place into another realm, along with the rising activity of the Great Source, returning to an ancient age.

This was the true power of Nrvnqsr Chaos, the 10th of the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, a being who stood at the pinnacle of the vampire world—no, the pinnacle of the world of mysteries.

The creatures sent to deal with Ryougi Shiki were merely a playful hunt, an appetizer. Now was the time for the main course—a clash between myths, a war between the guardians of humanity and the monsters that denied human reason.

Having released over five hundred black beasts in one go, the Sea of Chaos finally stopped flowing and retreated beneath the black coat. In Fabro's emotionless, rational eyes, a certain clear desire flickered—a desire named consumption, named devouring.

"I wonder what so-called Noble Phantasms taste like? If I devour the concept of a Servant, I wonder what changes will occur in the Chaos within me?"

"Calm down a bit, you muddled brain of yours, all you think about is eating," Roa unceremoniously punched Nrvnqsr Chaos on the head.

"Don't forget, our goal is to capture the Servants and gain more fighting power. Just relying on Araya's Assassin is too weak. If we succeed this time, you'll have plenty of chances to devour later—this time, there are over ten Servants involved. Aside from the necessary seven, you can eat the rest however you like."

After taking the punch, Nrvnqsr Chaos's face twisted slightly as he tilted his neck, still expressionless.

"I cannot represent the entirety of my consciousness, but I will do my best."

Nrvnqsr Chaos at this moment was less of an individual and more of a collective, both physically and spiritually. With such a vast array of concepts mixed, even if they were all mindless and unintelligent beasts, it was beyond what a single soul could bear. The collapse of personality and reason was only natural.

"That's why chaotic people are troublesome, always at risk of losing control," Roa complained, his fingers absentmindedly grazing the back of his knife.

"I'll say this in advance—if your familiars go berserk, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Do as you wish," Nrvnqsr replied, still expressionless, showing no concern for the loss of his familiars.

"Araya, as per our agreement, you and your Servant don't need to engage in direct combat. Just focus on finding the enemy Master and stealing their Command Spells."

"Understood. I'm not Nrvnqsr—I won't do anything unnecessary."

Araya, though not as emotionless as Nrvnqsr, wore a perpetually gloomy expression that ruined the atmosphere just as effectively.

Roa couldn't help but sigh.

"Why are both of you so dull? Can't you at least try to be a little more cheerful?"

"Meaningless."

"Not necessary."

Both of them spoke at the same time, surprisingly in sync in this regard.

Roa chuckled wryly. "I really shouldn't have bothered discussing this with you."

"Thirty seconds until the enemy arrives."

Assassin's voice cut through the conversation, alleviating Roa's foul mood.

"So, they've finally come? Then, let the operation begin!"

The man with the short knife moved forward, positioning himself at the very front of the black beast army.

Araya raised his left hand, and three glowing inscriptions circled his body. A concealed bounded field unfolded, blending him into the night. In his place, only Nrvnqsr Chaos remained, gazing from afar at the enemy army charging towards them.

It was a flood just as black as Nrvnqsr Chaos's beasts, but unlike his chaotic horde, this opposing flood was not pure black. It was dotted with dark gold and ghostly green; the former, the color of weapons used by the army, and the latter, the magical energy flowing between them. From a distance, it looked like a thin mist, or perhaps clusters of enormous will-o'-the-wisps, completely enveloping the mountainside where the three of them stood—they were utterly surrounded.

Yes, utterly, without exaggeration. If you've ever seen a true gathering of ten thousand people, you'd understand that such a show of force is entirely normal.

In comparison, Nrvnqsr Chaos's beast horde was insignificant. If the Athanaton Ten Thousand was an ocean, then the beast horde was at most a river, a lake—even with the inclusion of phantasmal species like dragons and horned horses.

As its Noble Phantasm name suggests, Athanaton Ten Thousand—the ten thousand here was not a mere number but a literal, genuine ten thousand, without any exaggeration or falsehood!

Don't be misled by tales of armies of hundreds of thousands in various novels. Those armies count non-combatant logistics personnel and laborers, their numbers inflated to intimidate, while the actual troops in battle might only number in the tens of thousands. Among them, only one or two thousand could be considered elite, and it was these troops that determined the outcome of wars—and the Athanaton Ten Thousand was exactly such an army.

Yet, despite the overwhelming odds, the three surrounding individuals showed no fear. At the forefront, Roa instead revealed a smile of absolute confidence.

"Not bad, not bad. It wouldn't be right otherwise. You wouldn't be worthy of being humanity's guardians, or my prey—crush them!"

The last two words were infused with magical power and spoken in German.

As he uttered the incantation, Roa struck the ground with great force. The sheer impact cracked the earth, and visible magical energy flowed along the fissures, activating a pre-prepared spell.

In the next moment, the cracks beneath Roa spread a hundred, a thousand times faster, charging towards the enemy's formation and in the blink of an eye, toppling hundreds of soldiers in the vanguard.

But it didn't stop there. The cracks spread not only forward but also to the sides. The fallen soldiers, before they could stand up, were swallowed by the ever-widening chasms.

Then, with a forceful grip of his hand, the separated ground suddenly snapped shut, cutting off any chance of escape for the soldiers who had fallen into the fissure.

"A small greeting. I wonder if the King of Persia is satisfied?"

Having done all this, Roa dusted off his hands and stood up, smiling casually at the master of the enormous army.

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Servant Update:

Group 1

Lancer: Scathach; Master: Shinji

Rider: Medusa; Master: Sakura. Shinji

Archer: Gilgamesh; Master: Rin

Berserker: Hercules; Master: Acht(?)

Saber: Artoria; Master: Illyasviel

Caster: Medea; Master: Shinji, Sakura

Assassin: (???); Master: Araya

Group 2

Lancer: Cú Chulainn; Master: Bazett

Rider: Iskandar; Master: Waver

Archer: Karna; Master: Luvia

Berserker: Darius III(?); Master: (???)

Saber: Attila; Master: Lorelei

Caster: Solomon; Master: Olga Marie

Assassin: (???); Master; (???)

Extra Servant:

Faker: Hephaestion (Iskandar's Shadow); Master: Gray