Miracle Summoner

"Three obstacles...?"

Rozen's words made everyone present fall into deep thought.

That was because, among those gathered, they could all think of at least one or two challenges that were bound to arise.

Rozen wasn't surprised and immediately began his explanation.

"The first obstacle is the defense of the Holy City."

His gaze swept across the group.

"I believe you all know by now that the Holy City itself is formed from the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad. The city walls are essentially the outer shell of the Holy Lance, and with the entire Holy City about to transform into the Tower of the End, the space there has already been isolated from the outside world since the moment I arrived at this Singularity. So, if we want to storm the Holy City and defeat the Lion King, we have no shortcuts available—we must attack head-on."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Since the Holy City was built from the Holy Lance's shell and was soon to become the Tower of the End, neither space manipulation magic nor abilities such as flight or burrowing would work.

The only way to enter the Holy City was through a direct assault.

"We have two options: either we advance all the way to the city walls and climb over them, or we destroy the city walls or the main gate and march in openly."

Rozen stated plainly.

"If nothing unexpected happens, the first option is the most practical. Destroying the city walls or the main gate would be extremely difficult—after all, they are part of the Holy Lance's shell. Even if Artoria were to unleash her Holy Sword with full power, I doubt it could shatter them."

Hearing this, Artoria [Alter] did not refute it and tacitly agreed.

Noble Phantasms were nearly indestructible. While ordinary ones might have workarounds, the Holy Lance was different—it was a weapon formed from the Tower of the End, capable of nailing down the very surface of the world. Even if it was just its outer shell, breaking through it would be an insurmountable challenge.

Therefore, rather than attempting to destroy the city walls or the main gate, scaling the walls to infiltrate the city was the more realistic approach.

However...

"Climbing the walls of the Holy City won't be easy either," Bedivere said with a solemn expression. "In typical siege warfare, the attacking side needs at least three times the defenders' numbers to have a chance at victory. But for a fortress like the Holy City, with the Knights defending it, we might need ten times their numbers just to stand a chance."

"Well, at least we don't need to worry about manpower," Jeanne [Alter] cast a sidelong glance at Rozen and said nonchalantly. "With you here, we'll never run out of troops. But getting inside still won't be easy, right? Since the Holy Lance is already prepared, we can assume that, aside from the Lion King, that cunning Iron Aggravain will do everything possible to fortify the city. And the Knights—since they were created by the Lion King—could all be deployed at once. If that happens, our chances of breaking in will be slim."

Those among the group who had led armies in battle recognized how dire the situation was.

This was more than just a simple military campaign—it involved divine beings, Heroic Spirits, and other mystical forces. If it were a straightforward clash between two armies, the balance of power would be easier to predict. But in a siege like this, sheer numbers wouldn't guarantee victory.

Not to mention...

"The Lion King has the power of the Holy Grail—and not just one, but three of them. Even after losing three of the Knights of the Round Table, she could use the Holy Grail to set up layers of defensive barriers. Breaking through both the Holy Grail-powered defenses and the Holy Lance's outer shell to enter the city will be extremely difficult. That is the first obstacle we must overcome."

Rozen shared his simulated predictions of the most likely scenarios.

"And even if we do manage to advance, we cannot ignore one major threat."

What threat?

"The Holy Lance's Light of Judgment."

Rozen said bluntly.

"The Lion King has taken this battle seriously. Her indiscriminate slaughter of the Mountain People proves that. If she detects our attack, she could unleash the Light of Judgment continuously before we even reach the city walls. That would be an existential threat to our forces."

The others responded in agreement.

"Indeed, the Holy Lance's Light of Judgment is terrifying," Mash said softly. "Its firepower is thousands of times stronger than even the highest-ranked Noble Phantasms. If it's fired without interruption, no matter how large our army is, we'll be wiped out before reaching the walls."

"Yes," Hassan of Serenity nodded. "The Light of Judgment covers an extremely wide area. If our formation is too tight, a single blast could annihilate us all."

No one could ignore the massive crater formations scattered across the wasteland—the remnants of past bombardments.

With that in mind, countering the Light of Judgment was absolutely necessary if they wanted to breach the Holy City.

"This is the second obstacle."

Rozen shrugged as he spoke.

"As for the third obstacle, I don't even need to say it. You all already know."

Hearing this, everyone gave bitter smiles.

This third challenge was obvious to all.

That was...

"The Knight of the Sun—Gawain."

Artoria [Alter] spoke of him as if discussing a stranger.

"The strongest knight of the Round Table, who guards the main gate, is the third obstacle we must overcome."

Exactly.

Even though Rozen and his team had already taken down two Knights of the Round Table and captured Lancelot, the so-called First Knight, when compared to Gawain, those three were not the most difficult obstacles.

"Under the sun, Sir Gawain is an invincible existence," Bedivere said gravely. "At noon, when he unleashes three times his usual power, there is no doubt he is the strongest knight of the Round Table. If not for the fact that his peak strength only lasts six hours a day, the title of First Knight wouldn't belong to Lancelot—it would be Gawain."

Even Lancelot himself, when facing Gawain, had no choice but to stall for time until sunset before he could retaliate.

But now, Gawain had no such weakness.

"With the Lion King's blessing, Gawain no longer loses power when the sun sets. As long as he remains on the battlefield, the sun will always be in the sky. Moreover, his strength is no longer just three times its normal level—it has reached six times its usual power. Even Ozymandias, the Sun King, was forced to retreat in front of him."

Mash frowned with concern.

"And he's stationed right in front of the main gate, waiting for us to arrive?"

Jeanne [Alter] spoke in an annoyed tone.

"With his Holy Sword, even after the enhancements Rozen granted us, it'll still be incredibly difficult to defeat him."

Hassan of Serenity sighed in frustration.

This was the third obstacle.

Only by overcoming these three obstacle could they enter the Holy City, march forward, and ultimately face the Lion King.

If they failed to pass even one of these challenges, they would not be able to claim victory in this war.

Therefore...

"We must overcome all three obstacle."

Rozen declared firmly.