In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

—【Arrow of Complaint】 requires a large number of arrows, and each one needs to be enchanted by Atalanta herself. It is a Noble Phantasm with immense power, but it is difficult to use continuously in a short period of time... If even this move cannot subdue this outsider, then she will truly be helpless.

Under the tense gaze of the two, the dust stirred up by the rain of arrows was quickly washed away by the rain. The earth seemed to have been ravaged, with craters from the explosions everywhere and wisps of white smoke rising from it.

At the very center of the explosion, a pale blue light shield came into Atalanta and Tristan's view. The thin, eggshell-like shield was completely undamaged by the intense attack. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, perfectly protecting everything within its range.

"Sigh~" Atalanta put down the Sky Bow in her hand, lowered her head and let out a complicated sigh.

The moment Tristan saw the light shield, he flew in the opposite direction without hesitation, while anxiously calling out the name of the Grand Preceptor in his heart.

But at that moment, a black spear flew out from the light shield, like a black bird. Under the cover of rain and darkness, it silently and accurately pierced Tristan's head, breaking through the hard skull, penetrating the soft brain, and then flying out from the center of his forehead.

Tristan's eyes instantly became vacant, and her body plummeted downwards like a puppet with its strings cut. In the instant before her consciousness faded, she vaguely heard a calm voice:

"I told you, this time, you can't escape."

Chapter Forty-Five: Stealing a Home

After several days, Camelot finally welcomed a rain. The glistening raindrops fell from the thick clouds, like silk threads, washing the chalk walls and wide streets clean and bright. From a distance, they looked like jade, gleaming with a lustrous sheen, slightly diluting the dullness and oppression brought by the solemn high walls.

The chalk palace, located in the center of the city, is the king's palace. It is so tall and magnificent, like a noble white giant, silently overlooking the city. On ordinary days, let alone getting close, even just a glance will make people feel awe.

The continuous drizzle did not seep into the chalk palace, as if an invisible force was keeping them outside—in the realm of the gods, even the will of nature can only choose to submit or retreat.

On the spacious open-air balcony, Merlin, dressed in a white mage's robe, stood at the edge of the balcony, his pale purple eyes gazing at the misty rain outside the palace, as if he were thinking or recalling something, his expression somewhat lost in thought.

However, this rare tranquility was soon broken by a series of hurried footsteps. She turned her head, looked at the tall woman in armor, and smiled slightly: "It's you, Gawain."

The fairy knight Bagst, who had taken Gawain's place, strode in with a wild, beast-like aura. Merlin, however, seemed completely oblivious, his face still bearing a faint smile—perfect, yet somehow unreal.

Bagst stopped two meters away, his eyes fixed on Merlin: "Tell me, Merlin, where did Melusin go?"

"You've asked me this question many times," Merlin said calmly. "I've said it before: Melusin went to fight that outsider, but disappeared without a trace. Judging from the outcome, she has most likely met with misfortune."

"This is impossible!" Bagst took a step forward, his aura growing increasingly ferocious. "Merusin inherited the power of the First Dragon, Albion. There is no one in this world who can kill her!"

"Then I can only say that you are truly ignorant, Gao Wenqing." The patter of raindrops entered the palace, making Merlin's voice sound even softer. "In this world, nothing is eternal. The once vast fairy clan is now reduced to only a handful of us, homeless and barely surviving..."

Upon hearing this, Bagst's face immediately darkened. Merlin, seemingly oblivious, continued, "Even the dragon Albion herself has fallen. How can you guarantee that Melusin won't encounter an even stronger enemy?"

"What about Bawanshi!" Bagst gritted his teeth. "You know perfectly well that the outsider's strength is terrifying, so why did you still send her to deal with him!"

“I never forced Bavanshi,” Merlin said. “I just made the plan and handed it over to her to execute. She could have chosen not to show herself and let those guys test the outsider’s strength. Even if they failed, she could have withdrawn in time.”

“She would never do that!” Bagst nearly roared. “That short-sighted and petty Bawanshi can’t see the difference in strength between herself and that outsider. Once that outsider is surrounded, she will jump out triumphantly, driven by her desire for revenge, and there will be no chance for her to escape!”

“Even if that’s the case, she can only blame herself,” Merlin said calmly, his pale purple eyes looking at Bagst without any emotion. “Fairies are like that; they only care about their own satisfaction and don’t care about the possible consequences.”

Bagst remained silent for a long while, then said in a low voice, "Merlin, I'm increasingly convinced that signing the contract with you was perhaps the worst decision I ever made in my life..."

Merlin smiled without saying a word.

“Don’t think I don’t know why you sent Bavanshi out.” Bagst looked coldly at Merlin. “I also know that this time, that stupid woman probably won’t be coming back… Merlin, you’re always like this, treating everyone as pawns on a chessboard, and you’ll never let go until you’ve completely squeezed out their potential… You’re more like a vampire than Bavanshi.”

“A vampire…” Merlin turned his head to look at the heavy rain outside and nodded slightly. “That’s a good assessment… Bagst, you are indeed the one who sees things most clearly among all the fairies. If it weren’t for the constraints of your clan and friendship, you could have lived a much more carefree life.”

“If I lose these things, then I will no longer be myself.” Bagst said this and turned to walk out of the palace.

Merlin stared at the other person's back, remained silent for a moment, then turned around and looked at the rain outside.

Not long after, Bagst rode his warhorse out of the Chalk Palace and galloped through the streets of Camelot in the pouring rain. The guards, who had already received orders, opened the city gates and watched as the brutal butcher rushed out of the Wailing Wall and disappeared into the hazy rain in the distance.

"Even knowing it was a trap, she still rushed in without hesitation... Bagst, you clearly saw further than anyone else, yet you lived a more tragic life than anyone else." Merlin sighed, then gave a self-deprecating laugh, "But what right do I have to judge her?"

She exhaled softly, her mood returning to calm, her pale purple eyes no longer showing any emotion.

"It's about time..."

She gently raised her arm, her fingers slightly curled, as if trying to grasp something, and slowly reached forward...

......

The Holy Roman Empire, Imperial Palace.

After a long day of work, Nero soaked in the spacious bath. The rising steam made her beautiful face even more radiant. The warm water enveloped her body, making her feel completely relaxed, and she couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment.

Few people know that the reason she chose to establish the Holy Roman Empire here was actually because of this natural hot spring.

Just as mahjong is a national treasure of China, bathing was an indispensable part of ancient Roman culture. The ancient Romans' enthusiasm for bathing was simply unbelievable, even regarding it as a habit as eating and sleeping.

This was mainly because the technology of ancient Rome was so advanced at the time. More than a dozen centuries ago, they invented a sophisticated water transport and heating system, a feat that was almost revolutionary at the time.

Moreover, for the ancient Romans, the bathhouse was also a very suitable social place. When the emperor wanted to reward his subjects or express his affection for them, he would invite them to bathe together in the palace baths.

Not long after arriving, Mashu, Fujimaru Ritsuka, and Da Vinci, under Nero's enthusiastic advances, dazedly stumbled into the bath. However, when she tried to use the same tactic on Anan and Melusin, she was met with their unwavering rejection.

Seeing the former's attitude, the latter naturally shook his head as well.

"Sigh~ What a guy who doesn't know how to enjoy life... Or is it that taking a bath with Yu makes him so uncomfortable?" Nero looked down and a smug smile suddenly appeared on his face. "But then again, Yu is the 'Flower of Olympia' after all, it's normal for him to feel pressured."

She leaned back against the stone wall at the edge of the bath, closed her eyes, and muttered to herself, "Maybe when we get back, I should ask Da Vinci to modify the waterways and build a smaller bath for them too..."

She wasn't worried about this operation at all. In fact, after witnessing the great battle that took place on the outskirts of the Holy Roman Empire, no one should doubt the strength of Anan and Melusin.

The trio from Chaldea are quite strong, and the opponents they were assigned to aren't too powerful either. Even if they can't beat them, they can at least hold them off.

It was precisely because he had complete faith in them that Nero was able to lie here with peace of mind and enjoy the soothing effects of the hot springs.

Completely relaxed, Nero was completely unaware that, unbeknownst to her, a slender, flawless white arm was slowly emerging from above her head...

Chapter 46 Nero is missing!

At the top of the cliff, on a relatively gentle slope, Asterius, Medusa, and Atalanta were neatly laid out on the ground, their eyes closed and unconscious. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of their chests, they would have looked exactly like the dead.

After witnessing Tristan's death, Atalanta, knowing she had no chance of winning, immediately tried to escape, but was captured by Anarn.

Although Atalanta possessed the fastest speed in all of Greece, speed alone was useless against Anahn, who possessed the Thousand Worlds One Vehicle. In less than ten minutes, Anahn caught up with Atalanta, knocked him unconscious, and brought him back.

The reason he didn't kill them was that he wanted to try and see if he could use the Feather of Dust to break the constraints left by Merlin and help them find their true selves.

After this battle, Camelot lost five Knights of the Round Table, severely weakening his forces, leaving only Gawain and Ardyn.

However, in terms of combat strength, the Holy Roman Empire still lagged behind the former. Not to mention the Lion King who had become a god and the mysterious Merlin, Camelot alone had almost three times the number of soldiers as the Holy Roman Empire.

Human strength has its limits, and so do heroic spirits. If Anan were to unleash his full power, dealing with several thousand purgatory knights would not be difficult, but his true adversary is the Lion King.

He had to ensure he was in top form when facing the Lion King, and not waste his precious magic and stamina on these ordinary soldiers.

Therefore, replenishing the Holy Roman Empire's fighting strength was essential, which is why Anahn didn't kill these three Heroic Spirits at first.

If it weren't for Tristan's sudden appearance, Cú Chulainn could have survived...

Anan placed his hand on Atalanta's forehead and, with the help of the Feather Dust, carefully searched the latter's mental world. Before long, as expected, he found traces left by Merlin.

"As expected of a great magician, such an exquisite and ingenious magic concept is something that ordinary people cannot accomplish... If it were to be broken using Feather Dust, it would take at least two days."

Yanan sighed with mixed feelings of joy and worry. He was happy that the three could indeed be saved, but worried that it would take a long time, and right now, what they lacked most was time.

But no matter what, now that there is hope, these three people cannot give up.

Just as Yanan was considering how to bring the three back to the Holy Roman Empire, he suddenly heard a rapid howl from the distant horizon, as if something was rapidly approaching him.

A hint of wariness flashed in his eyes. He looked up and saw that familiar lake-blue armor and petite figure.

Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, his expression changed slightly:

"Wait, no..."

boom!

Before he could finish speaking, the rapidly moving figure crashed into him without pausing. The terrifying impact sent him flying, smashing through several large trees and huge rocks along the way, until he finally came to a stop against a cliff.

Gravel and sand pattered down as Melusin looked at Anan, who was almost entirely embedded in the mountainside, a hint of panic flashing in her large eyes: "I...I'm sorry, I got a little too excited and couldn't control myself..."

"It's alright, I understand." Yanan smiled wryly. Fortunately, he had awakened part of his black dragon bloodline the moment Melusin charged at him, strengthening his internal organs and bones. Otherwise, he would have been half-dead from that impact.

He looked down and saw that his silver armor was almost shattered, covered with countless cracks—luckily, the armor had absorbed some of the impact, otherwise, even if she activated her Black Dragon Body, she would probably be in serious trouble.

A supersonic dragon charge—that's no joke...

Yanan couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. He hadn't expected that he, who had emerged unscathed from a four-man encirclement, would almost have been gloriously sacrificed while being "hug" by his teammates...

He gestured for Melusin to step back a few steps, then pressed his hand against the rock wall and pulled hard, pulling his body out of the cliff.

He glanced down at the tattered armor, ran his hand across its surface, and the silver armor was restored to its original condition, showing no signs of damage.

After stretching his body a little, he turned to look at Melusin and asked curiously, "How did you get here?"

Melusin lowered her head, like a child who had made a mistake, and whispered, "When I saw Medusa suddenly disappear, I felt something was wrong. Merlin has always been wary of you, and I'm worried that she's planning to take advantage of our separation to attack you."

A hint of surprise appeared in Yanan's eyes; he hadn't expected Melusin's intuition to be so accurate.

Judging from the timing, she clearly started heading this way the instant Medusa disappeared.

A touch of emotion welled up inside him. He gently stroked the little girl's soft hair and chuckled, "Thank you."

Melusin squinted, like a lazy kitten comfortably enjoying Yanan's caresses.

Returning to the spot with Melusin, after Anahn explained his plan to her, she immediately stacked the three of them together like a human pyramid, then lifted Asterius at the bottom and held him above her head, looking at Anahn and saying:

"That's fine, let's go back."

Watching a little girl effortlessly lift a nearly three-meter-tall man, Yanan's lips twitched slightly...

......

As evening approached, Melusin and Anaen finally returned to the Holy Roman Empire.

However, upon returning, they sensed something was amiss. The number of soldiers guarding the city gates had nearly doubled, and some of the war machines secretly produced by Leonardo da Vinci had been quietly moved out...

"Mr. Yanan, Miss Melusin, thank goodness, you're alright!"

Upon receiving the news, Mashu rushed over, her face beaming with undisguised joy.

When she saw the trio being carried by Melusin, she knew that Mr. Anahn had ultimately escaped the enemy's trap unscathed.

"Mashu, what happened?" Yanan asked, frowning. He could clearly sense that Mashu's emotions, besides happiness, also included deep anxiety and worry.

Mashu opened her mouth, but after glancing at the surroundings, she didn't reveal anything specific. Instead, she said with a worried expression, "Come with me first."

Anan and Melusin exchanged a glance and followed Mashu.

......

They returned to the palace together, and in the lounge on the second floor, Anaen met Fujimaru Ritsuka. Like Mashu, she also expressed great excitement about Anaen and Melusin's safe return.