Shiomi was slightly taken aback by his master being intercepted by Caenis.
During the initial breakout battle, Caenis had been heavily injured by Scáthach, but not killed.
After that came the fall of Artemis. Under those circumstances, the only way Caenis could have survived was if someone had rescued her, or if her Master, Kirschtaria, had used a Command Spell to transfer her away.
Yet she had not reappeared for a long time. Either she had been repairing her damaged Spirit Core, or she had been forbidden from taking the field.
In any case, Caenis showing up here was not out of the ordinary.
Having sorted this out in an instant, Shiomi stopped dwelling on Caenis altogether.
Before the battle began, his 『Inflaming Divinity』 had already been granted to all frontline combatants, Servants included.
Leaving Caenis to his master, the Storm Border slammed straight into the Olympus fleet, sending a tremendous shock through the hull.
On both flanks, Drake's and Bartholomew's warships also cut into the enemy formation. Knights of the Round Table and other Servants aboard them leapt out in coordinated pairs, closing in on nearby ships to engage.
Blades flashing with mana triggered explosion after explosion.
A metallic, multi-headed serpent burst up from beneath the sea. Several heads lunged toward the Storm Border's deck from different angles, some aiming for the hull, others trying to swallow Shiomi and Artoria whole.
"Out of the way!"
Barghest roared as the greatsword swung down, severing the serpent head rushing in.
"Barghest, stay on deck and make sure Sakura and the others aren't approached," Shiomi said calmly, extending a hand to shatter the gaping maw that tried to devour him.
As the massive serpent reeled backward, Shiomi leapt out. Artoria and Melusine followed close behind, each advancing along three separate routes that remained distinct yet close to one another, launching their assaults on the Olympus fleet.
Barghest wanted nothing more than to charge forward as well, but this time remained behind to hold the line.
Bolts of lightning laden with dense mana continuously fell from the sky, striking either the Olympus fleet or the Chaldea side.
Just as Shiomi had anticipated, every bolt targeted Chaldea's combatants. However, the fleet as a whole remained under Skadi's protection, and the lightning never achieved decisive results.
The Servants fighting atop the warships followed Shiomi's advice, keeping themselves in constant motion and never stopping, avoiding sustained lightning strikes.
Any occasional spillover damage was largely mitigated by magic resistance, dispersing most of the impact.
"Gareth, this ship's about to sink! Keep moving!" Gawain shouted to his sister behind him.
"The next target is over there!"
Gareth locked onto the nearest warship, sprinted up a break in the gunwale, and leapt forward.
She raised her shield to guard her front, aimed her lance at the deck with her right hand, poured mana into it, and crashed down like a cannonball.
"Heh! Hah! Imitation! Breaking All Restraints - Overloaded Light of the Lake: Arondight Overload!"
The Olympus soldiers failed to brace in time and were scattered by the impact.
Temporarily deep behind enemy lines, Gareth scanned her surroundings with caution, searching for her next target.
These Atlantis defenders came in many varieties: some specialized in defense, others in offense, and still others were special units capable of Magecraft-based attacks.
Their diversity even surpassed that of Camelot's soldiers.
After a swift sweep of the formation, her gaze fixed on the Magecraft unit standing at the rear.
Though Gareth looked small, like a puppyish and adorable girl next door, on the battlefield she was an exceptionally fierce warrior. Once, to protect a dear friend, she had defeated over a dozen famed knights using nothing but a single spear.
Her valiant figure in battle had earned her high praise from King Arthur himself, who named her the "Rampaging Wolf."
The moment she took up her weapon and stepped onto the battlefield, the puppy transformed into a wolf that tore its enemies apart.
"There!"
The Olympus soldiers who wielded Magecraft did not use it to attack. Once they realized Magecraft could not harm these Servants, they instead redirected it to reinforce the comrades around them.
These soldiers possessed a level of fighting spirit and ferocity far beyond that of humans. Without large-scale Anti-Army Noble Phantasms, clearing them out was extremely troublesome.
That meant the source of their enhanced combat power had to be cut off.
She charged left and right across the deck, rapidly punching through the Olympus soldiers' formation and heading straight for the Magecraft units.
Then cannon fire sounded from the right.
She knew Drake's warship was firing again.
But the shells exploded above her head, as if striking something that had been trying to ambush Gareth.
"Huh?"
Gareth stopped in her tracks.
In the raging storm, she looked up and saw a massive figure descending through the thick smoke.
Boom!
A gigantic axe gleaming with divine radiance collided with the Holy Sword of the Lake, unleashing a violent gale.
Taking the chance, Gareth retreated several steps and finally saw who had come to her aid.
"Sir Lancelot!"
"Fall back, Sir Gareth! This man is no ordinary opponent!"
Veins stood out on Lancelot's forehead as aqua-blue light wrapped around the Holy Sword of the Lake. In an instant, it clashed hundreds of times with the divine axe, the shockwaves sending ordinary soldiers flying.
Then both sides pulled back. Lancelot regrouped with Gareth, and the two faced their opponent head-on.
"A Servant of Proper Human History with such strength… you are not to be underestimated."
The giant, nearly three meters tall, fixed the pair with a cold stare. His iron-hard voice carried a note of praise.
"Heracles?!"
Jason, who was helping Drake pilot the ship, finally realized what their cannon fire had hit.
"Hey, wait, what's going on? I thought that great hero was taken out by Artemis's attack—" Drake's eyes went wide.
Before the Chaldea group arrived, Heracles had protected the crew of the Argo by enduring two of Artemis's arrows with his Noble Phantasm, 『Twelve Labors』, and had then withdrawn from the battle.
"Divine Spirit–class Servant reaction detected. Class response: Archer!"
The report came through Chaldea's communications.
"No, that's not my friend!" Jason clenched his teeth, anger and conflict twisting together. "That's the Heracles of this Lostbelt!"
In the waters of Atlantis, there was an island named after Heracles.
There was no doubt about it. In this Lostbelt, the great hero Heracles was no longer a demigod, but a full-fledged god.
"They'll definitely die! Those two Knights of the Round Table can't possibly beat Heracles…" Jason shouted. "Orion!"
"No, don't call Orion," Drake said. "The Knights of the Round Table are already moving together."
As Jason tried to call for reinforcements, the other Knights of the Round Table noticed this sudden shift on the battlefield. One after another, they leapt onto the warship, preparing to face the Divine Spirit Heracles.
"So they were still hiding something like this… no, no…"
Jason muttered as he clenched his fists. Unable to join the fight himself, he continued analyzing the situation.
"Was it that man… or was it Zeus, who replenished his power after the battle of Hecate Island?"