Meruem and the Conqueror King completely ignored the conversation between Artoria and Goldie.
Rather than ignoring it, it would be better to say they couldn't hear it.
Well, maybe Meruem heard it, who knows? Anyway, the Conqueror King definitely didn't hear it because he was still far, far away from Goldie and the others.
"So KING, now you can show your true skills, right? Otherwise, I can only crush you all the way!" The Conqueror King raised the Sword of the Cypriot high and shouted at Meruem. "I really want to know how you will deal with my peerless army!"
And the army around him waited quietly for their King's command.
With just one order from the Conqueror King, they would swarm forward and drown Meruem in this sea of humanity composed of Heroic Spirits.
"Indeed, if I were just a Heroic Spirit formed by an ordinary hero, perhaps I wouldn't be a match for your army of tens of thousands of Heroic Spirits no matter what. Even some Heroic Spirits related to gods couldn't contend with your army without special means or Noble Phantasms." Meruem's truthful words were pertinent, and of course, they made the Conqueror King beam with joy.
This army was what he was most proud of.
"However..." Meruem changed the subject; sure enough, there was more to say.
"I never said I was an ordinary Heroic Spirit." Under the gaze of the army of tens of thousands, Meruem remained unusually relaxed.
If it were an ordinary person, or even an ordinary Heroic Spirit, facing such a situation, it would be possible for them to be scared out of their wits or give up resistance.
It's just a mere army of tens of thousands.
Don't forget that Meruem once commanded millions of Chimera Ants.
At the same time, when confronting the universe emperor Frieza's legion, Meruem didn't flinch even when facing hundreds of thousands, or millions of troops.
And now, it was just a mere army composed of tens of thousands of Heroic Spirits.
"Conqueror King, and that guy over there claiming to be the King of Heroes, I told you long ago. Your vision is too narrow and petty. Europe? Asia? Even this world and this planet, in my eyes, are just one-millionth of the lands I once occupied." "Look further ahead, and you will realize your insignificance."
"And I said... I've killed quite a few gods too. Conqueror King, although the army you command is powerful, it's still a long way from the armies ruled by gods."
"Moreover, your Ionian Hetairoi has quite a few fatal weaknesses."
Meruem said while looking at the Conqueror King, slowly moving his hands from behind his back to the front.
Meruem was right. Don't look at how powerful the Conqueror King's Ionian Hetairoi is. Activating it is much simpler and faster than Archer (Heroic Spirit Emiya) in FSN using Unlimited Blade Works, which requires chanting a spell long enough for enemy Heroic Spirits to stab him countless times.
It appears with just one command from the Conqueror King.
Because Ionian Hetairoi is a Reality Marble where the Conqueror King continuously summons his former subordinates as independent Servants to fight the enemy. It is formed by the mutation of the shared mental image of those tens of thousands of Heroic Spirits.
Simply put, the belief of tens of thousands of Heroic Spirits formed Ionian Hetairoi.
So the Conqueror King doesn't need to chant.
But in reality? Success depends on belief, and failure depends on belief.
Different from Archer's (Heroic Spirit Emiya) Unlimited Blade Works, which won't be deactivated unless Archer deactivates it himself, it is forcibly broken by an Anti-World Noble Phantasm, or Archer is killed.
However, the Conqueror King's Ionian Hetairoi is different.
First of all, in the settings, the limit of the Conqueror King's Ionian Hetairoi appearance is that it can only be materialized for thirty turns at a time.
Although the concept of these thirty turns is very vague, it is certain that Ionian Hetairoi has a time limit.
Of course, Meruem wouldn't be bored enough to drag it out for thirty turns.
With that time, it would be faster to just forcibly kill the Conqueror King directly.
At the same time, Ionian Hetairoi has another weakness.
Because Ionian Hetairoi is composed of the shared belief of these tens of thousands of Heroic Spirits, as long as the number of troops drops to a certain level, Ionian Hetairoi will automatically disappear.
However, this number has to be at least half of the army of tens of thousands.
This is something ordinary Heroic Spirits wouldn't even dare to think about, but for Meruem, it's not impossible.
Although this world suppresses Meruem greatly.
But relatively speaking, these Heroic Spirits in the Conqueror King's Ionian Hetairoi don't have exclusive Noble Phantasms, or rather, they don't have any Noble Phantasms at all.
Without Noble Phantasms, how much strength can they exert relying solely on their own stats?
They are not Meruem; they don't have the attribute of God of Martial Arts. Nor do they have the ability to be accustomed to fighting barehanded with explosive combat power like Gold Saints.
Simply put, the strength difference between Heroic Spirits without Noble Phantasms and those with Noble Phantasms is worlds apart.
Imagine Artoria without a sword in her hand.
"Conqueror King, let me show you a part of my true strength!" Meruem looked at the endless army and revealed a bloodthirsty smile.
It was a gaze like a hungry beast.
Vertical pupils! Meruem's eyes changed from the original pitch-black pupils to vertical pupils that only beasts possess.
Not Sharingan, Byakugan, or Rinnegan, but Meruem's original eyes.
An extremely ominous and massive aura gradually rose from Meruem's body.
An emotion called fear actually bred within the army of tens of thousands.
It was a fear stemming from biological instinct, an emotion that appears when a prey is stared at by an apex predator.
"Yier Yier..." Even the beloved horse Bucephalus, appearing as a Heroic Spirit under the Conqueror King, showed signs of uneasiness.
That was a famous horse that had accompanied the Conqueror King through countless wars. Even when facing the most disadvantageous situation of being surrounded by enemy legions, such an emotion had never appeared.
"KING, what exactly are you!" Although the Conqueror King also had a bad premonition in his heart, he believed more in his army, his companions.
"What am I? I am nothing... I am just a King!" After speaking, Meruem actually took the initiative to attack the army of tens of thousands.
Fighting one against ten thousand, and using his body to confront them. If it were any other time, even the Conqueror King would feel like the opponent's brain was broken.
But at this moment, the uneasiness in the Conqueror King's heart grew stronger and stronger.
Clearly, the opponent is just one person.
When Meruem rushed into the army, he revealed a mouthful of white teeth.
"Itadakimasu (I'm digging in)!"
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