The infinite sword system has been mastered, and you say this is the dragon clan?

Chapter 406 Draco: If the opponent is the Sword Emperor, it might be a bit tricky.

Who exactly is Chaldea?

In fact, not only Krimshildr, but also Nero the Younger and other Roman "local heroic spirits" naturally had similar questions in their minds.

Could they be the Chaldeans, descendants of the Semitic branch who established a kingdom in Mesopotamia a few hundred years ago (BC)?

Chaldea was indeed a civilization that actually existed.

The civilization of Mesopotamia has a long history. The earliest and most famous settlers were the Sumerians, who created the Epic of Gilgamesh. However, this land was subsequently occupied by various forces, including the Akkadians, Amorites, Hittites, Kassites, and the Assyrian Empire.

This land came to be ruled by the Chaldeans, who established the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom, more than 600 BC, and was finally conquered by the Persians in 539 BC. This was quite a distant time for the people living in the singularity of Rome.

Rumbling--

A powerful engine roar interrupted Nero's thoughts.

It was a sci-fi style flying ship, unlike anything seen in this era. Like a giant, iron-gray steel eagle piercing through the thick fog, it flew straight down from the distant horizon, bringing with it a thunderous roar and a whistling gust of wind that swept across the ground, almost like a storm. The surrounding trees were bent low by the wind.

Faced with this wild way of landing the ship, Little Nero almost thought he would be blown into the sky by the wind. Fortunately, Nuwa gently waved her sleeves beside him, and the jubilant and unruly air currents immediately quieted down and became obedient.

"There's no time to explain, hurry up and get on the ship!"

The ship's door opened, revealing Constantine's head. The captain looked anxious. "A large-scale spirit-based reaction has been confirmed in Rome—the Beast spirit-based reaction! The singularity's fundamental human value is increasing rapidly. Headquarters observers have determined that the source maintaining the singularity is there!"

“Then let’s go.” Nuwa nodded first.

Now that it's confirmed the culprit behind this singularity is still trying to escape, there's no need for secrecy. Therefore, Constantine openly revealed the Shadow Border to everyone. The next step requires collective effort, utilizing all available resources to launch a full-scale attack.

Where is Shirou?

Nuwa, pulling along the somewhat dazed-looking Nero, boarded the ship one after another with the others.

"He and a god named Amor have arrived at the battlefield ahead of us. He will be responsible for coordinating the reinforcements from the east and west of Caesar and Trajan."

Constantine quickly explained and led them to the main operations room, where some people had already arrived.

Nuwa glanced around; there were Constantine and Pope Joan.

"These two were brought over from the Eastern Roman Empire in advance. Due to the distance, their troops will be mobilized later. Ms. Ruoan said that the two of them are enough to help the front line play a significant role, so I let them board the ship and join the operation."

"Greetings, gentlemen," Constantine said, though he appeared quite polite, but his face still showed surprise at the futuristic creation that was Shadow Border. "I never imagined that the Sword Emperor would be backed by such a behemoth as Chaldea, capable of undertaking the great task of repairing the singularity... He must be extraordinary."

He and Pope Ruoan greeted Nuwa and the others with smiles. As high-ranking leaders with immense power, they were naturally adept at polite flattery and rhetoric. Nuwa was even more skilled in this art. However, there was no time for them to get to know each other and waste time with small talk. A few words would suffice. The most important thing was to exchange intelligence and communicate action plans.

Faced with peril, only war could save them. As the world teetered on the brink of collapse, even Kiyohime, who had been harboring resentment for keeping her identity and actions a secret from Chaldea and being kept in the dark, endured it all.

"Please look around, everyone. This is the situation in Rome and the surrounding Italian peninsula—"

Constantine presented a schematic diagram of the front-line battlefield layout to the seated crowd in the form of a 3D projection and a multi-view plan view. The novel, sci-fi-style war map once again amazed the assembled heroes.

“You can look around here, along the Italian peninsula coastline. The defensive line built by Augustus’s army is now retreating inward because they need to return to defend against the monsters that have begun to wreak havoc in Rome.”

"We conducted a high-precision observation of life responses and found that there seem to be no ordinary residents left there. Apart from the Servants, the other ordinary people have been transferred by the army—most likely Augustus's garrison. Meanwhile, Caesar's army, which is moving south from the northeast, and Trajan's army, which is moving north from the southwest, have also intervened and are preparing to assist in the simultaneous operation."

Nuwa raised her eyebrows. "That Augustus, he just let them into the blockade?"

Although at this juncture, everyone should naturally prioritize the greater good, they are not allies seeking peaceful coexistence, but rather adversaries clashing during wartime. Trust remains an issue; the defending forces are responsible to the faction they serve and cannot afford to lower their defenses based on wishful thinking.

What if we decisively open the defensive line, only to fall into the enemy's trap and let the wolf into the house, causing heavy losses to our own troops... that is, what is known as "borrowing a path to attack Guo"?
“It was Emiya who interfered,” Constantine said directly. “He used his power to destroy hundreds of kilometers of magical walls with one hand, and then Augustus’s garrison agreed to let them pass.”

The room fell silent for a moment.

A few seconds later, Ruo'an took a breath and exclaimed in admiration, "Sword Emperor is still as heroic and decisive as ever. This approach achieves the greatest efficiency and results with the least cost."

“That’s right, we at Chaldea call it efficiency,” Nuwa agreed wholeheartedly. “And what about intelligence on the enemy, Constantine?”

"Please rest assured, the good news is that the intelligence is very detailed."

Constantine casually pointed out a few scenes—so that everyone could see giant monsters emerging from beneath the city walls, attacking indiscriminately in all directions, as if the place had become a breeding ground for terrifying monsters.

"The enemy is currently mainly concentrated in Rome and is rapidly spreading outwards—this is basically consistent with the data on the 'monster He' that we detected earlier. It is clear that they have broken through the previous limitation of being able to operate only within the city limits."

"Furthermore, since they are operating on the ground this time, the difficulty of observation has been greatly reduced. We have already collected most of the monster data and categorized and summarized it. When encountering them, please take appropriate strategies based on the relevant intelligence."

"This is the magical beast Avaritia, which is most similar to the monster called the Demon Pillar. Unlike the Demon Pillar, which has a whole body of crimson eyes, Avaritia has fluorescent blue eyes all over its body. It is essentially a type of scale that emits magical energy..."

"The second type is the monster Superbia, which has no eyes but grows rose-shaped spikes. It uses these as 'guns' to shoot through targets or as a base for rapid movement."

"And then there's the monster Heacadia, which isn't much different from the former, except that its scales are sharper and its hard bones are more prominent..."

The heroic spirits all became serious, their eyes fixed on the video footage. To their astonishment, the seemingly invincible Roman army had formed a multi-pronged attack, yet they were suffering a series of defeats against the monstrous beasts...

"Why is this happening?"

Everyone simultaneously raised the same question: even if each of those monsters could fight against a dozen or even dozens of Servants, wouldn't the Roman coalition still have the advantage?
Constantine, seeing this, interrupted his explanation, his expression grim. "This is bad news. The Holy Grail blessing received by the frontline troops seems to have been interrupted. Da Vinci, you explain this to them." After a few beeps, the communication with headquarters was restored.

A Mona Lisa-like beautiful face appeared in the virtual projection in the conference room. Even Kiyohime was surprised for a moment. "Isn't the proportion of women in Chaldea a bit too high?"
On the other end of the communication line, Da Vinci smiled gently, his gaze upon the new faces in the conference room like that of a seasoned, shrewd businessman observing a group of new "customers" to be fleeced.
"Constantine has probably already summarized the current situation for everyone, right? Then let the all-knowing Leonardo da Vinci explain the source of the essential power of the Holy Grail Drops you all use~"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Everyone, prepare to unleash your Noble Phantasms! Caster's support team, prepare to unleash Magical Protection!"

A burly man, wielding a gun and shield, stood on the platform and issued commands: "The Holy Grail's protection isn't omnipotent. Even without the Holy Grail's magical resources, we Servants are still absolutely elite! Muscles are power, ha!!"

The burly general was named Leonidas I, the ancient Spartan king, who became famous for holding off a Persian army of 100,000 with only 300 warriors at the Battle of Thermopylae.

The massive bodies of the monsters resembled writhing, mad mountains, tearing through the earth and ravaging everything in their twisted and frenzied manner. Their disgusting, gleaming scales and spikes protruded outwards, easily withstanding the Noble Phantasms of average Servants or powerful physical attacks.

Then, under Leonidas's command, the exquisite combined Noble Phantasm attack finally tore open obvious wounds in their hard steel shells, causing the monsters' flesh and blood to fly everywhere on the battlefield.

"Oh, oh, oh, as expected of General Leonidas!" The soldiers of the main camp surrounding the burly man cheered loudly.

"Haha, it's nothing. As the commander of His Majesty Augustus's defenses, I, Leonidas I, am simply carrying a heavy responsibility, and dealing with the crisis is only my duty."

With that, he tapped the shield beside him with the barrel of his gun, making a loud clanging sound. "Spartans of this camp, raise your shields! Prepare for the monster's counterattack!"

Bang! Bang!
Like Leonidas I, the entire sergeant unit immediately obeyed the order and strode forward, taking over from their comrades in other units. They pointed their round shields forward and let out a roar of battle cries.

This is Sparta!
Boom——!
The monsters furiously unleashed malevolent and ominous streams of magic with their spikes or mandibles. These streams first pierced the atmosphere with dense, torrential rain, before finally striking the defenses of Leonidas's main force of Servants. The entire row of round shields formed a massive defensive barrier that remained unshaken no matter how the monsters bombarded it.

But Leonidas's mood grew increasingly heavy.

The reason is simple: the injuries on those magical beasts are healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Is it a monster that combines the immortality of dragons?
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"So it's the same here on your side. Has the Holy Grail become ineffective?"

Emiya found Trajan and Julius Caesar discussing their countermeasures.

The first thing I noticed was the small Holy Grail on the table, which had become dark and even leaked traces of black mud.

"Yes!"

The two were not fools; after a moment's thought, they came to the conclusion, "Has Your Excellency the Sword Emperor already discovered that the Holy Grail War was orchestrated by someone behind it all?"

“That’s right,” Emiya said, looking toward Rome. “The monsters and monstrous creatures your army encountered were likely derivatives of the Crimson Dragon. They were experimentally modified creatures with dragon-like characteristics. And the Holy Grail came from the tamer of these dragons.”

"According to my intelligence, that feature matches both of the descriptions in the Christian scriptures (Revelation of John) of the 'great prostitute of Babylon holding a golden cup and a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns'."

"The essence of the Holy Grail is the prosperity of civilization and human greed accumulated on the surface. That's why your Lesser Grail has the mechanism that 'the more prosperous it is, the more abundant its magic becomes.'"

"When that monster awakens, it will be the time she devours all this prosperity as if it were a meal on a tablecloth. Your Lesser Grail, as a byproduct of that monster's power, will inevitably become useless at that moment."

"This is what we Chaldeans call her—'Great Whore' is only a name for a time. She is the great calamity awakened by mankind, the one who most enjoys human history, one of the evils of mankind, a beast that holds the principle of 'fallen'."

After speaking with the two emperors and instructing them to change their strategy and adjust their tactics to counter the dragon-like characteristics of the monster Hera, the Emperor set off for Rome.

"BB, when will Nero and Pope Joan arrive?"

He tore through the air in mid-air, his momentum like thunder and lightning. The demonic beasts that tried to stop him along the way couldn't even utter a mournful cry before being cleaved into dust by his lightning-fast sword strike.

Based on calculations, the landing at Shadow Border, along with tactical group deployment, will probably take another fifteen minutes or so. What's wrong, senior?

"If possible, I need to rely on the power of faith."

If the goal is to slay that evil in humanity, nothing is more reliable than the arrival of Michael and the reenactment of the biblical myth.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Inside Rome.

An ominous, purplish-black atmosphere filled the space, completely enveloping it in an almost otherworldly environment—no, it had already become an otherworldly place.

Similar to how dragons created the Nibelungen to isolate different spaces, twisted tentacles and spikes seemed to "grow" out of thin air from beneath the ground of Rome's buildings, then worm-like or dragon-shaped heads and mouthparts emerged, growing stronger step by step, eventually forming one after another monstrous beast.

What was once a bustling city now seems to have become a breeding ground for monsters.

"Hmph, the Divine Ancestor is still guarding the city center, like a stubborn holdout that can't be removed, hindering my growth progress. I really hate him."

In an unknown space, the voluptuous woman impatiently tapped her fingers when suddenly her familiar—a magical beast from the outside world—sent a message.

"Is that Sword Emperor approaching? This seems a bit troublesome."

(End of this chapter)