In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

"This is the time for execution."

The iron stakes, as dense as dark clouds, swooped down in an instant, while more iron stakes emerged from the ground, attacking Karna from both sides and completely blocking all his escape routes.

"Penetrating it." A slight smile curved the corners of Vlad III's lips.

However, the bloody scene that Vlad III had envisioned did not occur. The black iron stakes did not even pierce Karna's skin; they were all blocked by the golden armor that had become one with the latter's body.

"Is this the legendary golden armor that was bestowed upon you by the sun god Surya himself? It is indeed a fine treasure." Although he did not achieve the results he had hoped for, Vlad III was not discouraged. How could the legendary son of the gods be such an easy opponent to defeat?

"Your Noble Phantasms are also quite impressive," Karna said calmly. "They are flawless in both attack and defense, and with such a large number of them, they are indeed very troublesome."

"While I am pleased by your praise, I must still remind you of something." A mysterious smile suddenly appeared on Vlad III's lips. "My Noble Phantasm is not merely what it appears to be."

"Ok?"

The instant Vlad III finished speaking, Karna suddenly felt a strange sensation within him, as if something was expanding inside him—hard, cold, and sharp…

*Pfft pfft—!*

Dozens of iron stakes suddenly pierced through Karna's body, tearing his skin and sending blood and flesh flying. His terrifying and hideous appearance resembled that of a demon suffering torture in hell.

"How about this?" Vlad III slightly raised his chin. In addition to the ability to accumulate damage, his [King of Execution] also has a special ability: once it hits, it can create a stake from inside the enemy's body to pierce through them until the opponent struggles in pain and dies.

Karna's Noble Phantasm, [Sun, Transform into Armor (Kavacha and Kundala)], possesses unparalleled defensive power, capable of reducing all attacks to one-tenth of their original strength. However, its only drawback is that it cannot defend against attacks originating from within the body.

“I see, Black Lacner. It seems you are a very demanding king. To you, these stakes are both a demonstration and a source of fear,” Karna said calmly, even though his body was pierced through. “'Because I want to protect my territory and country, I don’t care how bloody and terrifying the means I use.' That is the meaning of the existence of your Noble Phantasms.”

Vlad III narrowed his eyes slightly: "So what if it is?"

"Times have changed, Black Lacner. Now there are no subjects who obey you here. Perhaps a king should be aloof, but a king without subjects does not exist. Black Lacner, this is a miscalculation on your part. I am a Heroic Spirit, and I fear nothing even if my enemy is a nation," Karna said, his tone unchanged.

"Oh? Is that so?" Vlad III smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes; instead, his eyes were filled with an endless chill that sent shivers down one's spine.

"You don't care about fighting against my country alone? As expected of the Son of God. However, your arrogance displeases me greatly. I will punish you with death."

Vlad III charged toward Karna with his spear, and at the same time, countless iron stakes surged forth like a tide. The battlefield was now completely filled with his iron stakes, and all the land was under his control. Anyone who wanted to challenge the king who ruled the country was simply delusional!

However, for Karna, this situation of being surrounded by enemies was all too familiar.

boom!

He seemed completely unaffected by the iron stake, swinging his spear to deflect Vlad III's attack.

A hint of surprise flashed in Vlad III's eyes. This was a scene he had never seen before. How could someone continue to move even when their entire body was pierced through? What incredible willpower that must be!

However, what surprised him even more was yet to come.

"Flame [Agni], burn me!"

The blazing flames instantly enveloped Karna's entire body, burning and incinerating him relentlessly. Every single iron stake inside his body was completely destroyed, and Karna, bathed in the flames, was like a god descending to earth.

Vlad III frowned slightly, raised his hand again, and countless iron stakes came crashing down like a torrential rain.

Unfortunately, the stake wanted to defeat the embodiment of fire, the Son of the Sun, whom even the fire spirits could not burn away.

Clad in golden armor and wielding a divinely bestowed spear, Karna received the golden armor at his mother's lament and wish, and also inherited the blood of the sun god—these are only half the story of Karna's existence.

Karna's greatest weapon is his will. A strong will and heart, a hero who, despite suffering many misfortunes, does not complain about anyone's kindness, a man who, even if given something more special than anyone else, does not consider himself special because of it.

He was neither arrogant nor conceited; from birth until he was shot down, he was simply a hero who strived to live a life worthy of his father's name.

Therefore, even if his internal organs were pierced by iron stakes and his arm nerves were severed, even if he was under the mental pressure brought by these iron stakes, he could still calmly swing the spear in his hand and adopt the unimaginable brute force method of enduring the flames circulating in his body to burn the iron stakes.

This is the will of the man named Karna. He is fearless and will never kneel. Even if his opponent is an entire nation, he will never choose to back down!

Flames danced around the two Servants, mirroring the scene from before. Under the cleansing power of the flames, all sins were completely buried.

"Checkmate! Black Lacner!"

Bathed in flames, Karna took a step forward, the blazing magic power swirling around the spear, radiating an incredibly intense magical aura.

"Brahma, curse my body (BrahmastraKundala)!!"

The spear shot out like a meteor, releasing light with the destructive power of an avalanche. The ground cracked open inch by inch in an instant, and the terrifying heat melted all the iron piles hidden underground into molten iron.

"hateful!!"

Vlad III roared, gathering all the iron stakes in front of him to form an incredibly thick shield. However, under the onslaught of the divine spear, this level of defense was merely a slightly troublesome obstacle.

In just two or three breaths, the divine spear pierced through the iron stake's defenses and charged toward Vlad III.

boom--!!!

A deafening sound rang out, like a small nuclear bomb being detonated. A terrifying mushroom cloud slowly rose into the sky, and the shockwave from the explosion instantly wiped out all the Dragon Tooth Soldiers and puppets within a radius of a hundred meters, leaving only countless limbs and remains.

Amidst the billowing smoke, a spear flew out, which Karna caught, his brow furrowed as he looked towards the epicenter of the explosion.

As the thick smoke gradually dissipated, at the epicenter of the explosion, there was nothing else but a crater several meters deep.

But Karna knew very well that he had not killed the Black Laner, because just now, he had sensed a very strong magical fluctuation.

"Command Seals..."

Inside the Yggdrasil Castle, the radiance of spiritual particles flowed and converged, and Vlad III's figure reappeared.

"Hoo—" Vlad III tilted his head back and slowly exhaled a long breath, nodding to Danic beside him, "Well done, Danic."

“It is my duty.” Danic bowed slightly. Ever since Rider revealed the true identity of Red Lacner to them, he had been constantly on guard against the existence of this Son of God.

It was precisely because of this that he was able to pull Vlad III back at the exact moment Karna activated his Noble Phantasm.

“Launching this attack must have been quite a drain on Red Lancer,” Danic turned to look at the battlefield image projected to the side, where Karna’s figure was clearly visible. However, compared to his godlike appearance before, the flames surrounding this son of god had dimmed considerably. “This might be our chance.”

"Leave the rest to me." Vlad III's lips curled slightly. Thanks to the supplies provided by the Yggdrasil Clan, he had regained his peak condition.

Unless Lacner has some trump cards up his sleeve, he could easily defeat his opponent this time.

Just as he was about to return to the battlefield, he suddenly discovered that the sky garden, which had been static high in the sky, had begun to move slowly.

"Looks like they can't hold back any longer," Dannick said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“It’s alright, they’re not the only ones who are prepared,” Vlad III said calmly.

The instant his words fell—

"hold head high--!!!!"

A resounding dragon roar echoed across the sky.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Hardcore Mediation

Accompanied by a clear dragon's roar, it soared into the sky, making the already dim battlefield even darker, as if it had fallen into a land without light.

Everyone raised their heads in unison and saw a black dragon, as large as a mountain, soaring in the sky. Its body, seemingly cast in molten iron, was ancient and imposing, and its wings, which blotted out the sky, almost covered the entire firmament, exuding an indescribable and terrifying pressure.

Above the black dragon's head, a black-haired man clad in azure silver armor stood with his arms crossed, his expression calm and serene, giving off a sense of security as if he could withstand anything, even if the sky were to fall.

"So it's finally here?" In the Sky Garden, Semiramis, seated high on her throne, looked at the Dragon of Despair before her, a cold smile appearing on her delicate face. "It's just a dragon, so obediently kneel down!"

She snapped her fingers lightly, and the eleven jet-black panels, each over twenty meters long, surrounding the courtyard automatically lined up in front of her. After a brief gathering of power, a dazzling light burst forth, and a luminous blast roared through the air, hurtling towards Nidhogg.

These pitch-black panels belong to the Sky Garden's automatic defense mechanism and are called "TiamtumUmu," named after the ancient Babylonian earth goddess Tiamtum and the eleven monsters (Umu) she gave birth to. The name alone is enough to reveal the terrifying power contained within these pitch-black panels; each ray of light fired from them is equivalent to a meteorite impact, making their power comparable to that of a military-level attack.

Furthermore, with the blessing of Caster Medea's temple, the power of these light projectiles was further enhanced, with almost each one being equivalent to an anti-army Noble Phantasm.

The blinding light made Nidhogg squint slightly; even with her physical strength, withstanding eleven anti-military Noble Phantasms would come at a considerable cost.

"It's alright, leave it to me."

The gentle voice echoed in his ears, so Nidhogg immediately abandoned the idea of ​​dodging and remained where he was, without flinching or avoiding.

No matter what, she will always believe in this man unconditionally!

“Hmph, ignorant!” Semiramis sneered.

Yanan stared calmly at the incoming beam of light, slowly opening his palm to reveal a deep blue sphere with symmetrical concave patterns floating above it.

"The Ninth Divine Key - Star of Eden, first rated power, maximum output unleashed!"

The deep blue sphere floated forward, transforming into an enormous barrier that collided head-on with the eleven incoming light-emitting bullets!

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!

A deafening roar resounded, as if the entire sky had collapsed. The aftershocks from the impact dispersed all the clouds within a radius of 300 meters, revealing the dazzling and beautiful stars and Milky Way.

Click, click...

On the surface of Eden's Star, some small cracks appeared. It had withstood eleven anti-military Noble Phantasms, which was also a considerable burden for it.

Of course, if it were the original body, let alone eleven anti-military Noble Phantasms, even anti-national Noble Phantasms would be no problem.

Even so, Yanan was already quite satisfied. It was impossible to cast spells like [The Black Mansion of Ten and One] consecutively, as Eden's Star had bought them a very valuable buffer period.

Now it's their turn to launch an attack.

A black and white spear appeared in Anahn's hand, and with the influx of immense magical power, the holy lily pattern on the spear immediately shone with dazzling light.

"I am the black that devours everything, I am the white that gives birth to everything;

"Born before creation, existing after annihilation; "

"Divine Key - Black Abyss White Flower, First Rated Power - Holy Lance Blooms!"

boom--!!!

A white beam of light, like a pillar supporting the sky, surged forward with overwhelming force, hurtling towards the sky garden as if it were about to pierce through everything.

"You think you can conquer my garden (territory) all by yourself? Stop dreaming!"

Semiramis's face darkened, and with a wave of his hand, twelve EX-level magic circles appeared outside the courtyard, releasing beams of light with astonishing destructive power, directly meeting the white pillar of light.

"Who told you I'm the only one here?" Yanan said calmly.

A cold glint flashed in Nidhogg's dark eyes. Its ferocious dragon mouth opened, and endless black flames surged out like a torrent, instantly engulfing the twelve magical beams.

Without the obstruction of the magic beam, the white beam of light continued forward, its target the central control room of the Sky Garden!

Semiramis's eyes showed a hint of fear, and he subconsciously blocked the eleven pitch-black panels in front of him.

boom--!!

The light of the Holy Lance surged forward, tearing the first black slab to shreds with overwhelming force, and continued its assault until it destroyed half of the black slab before gradually dissipating.

"Damn it!" Semiramis completely lost her usual elegance, her face contorted as she crushed the armrest of the throne.

She never imagined that her invincible hanging garden would suffer such a heavy blow right from the start.