Miracle Summoner

Afterward, under Rozen's deliberate evasions—aside from a few unavoidable battles—the group arrived safely and without incident at the Cedar Forest.

At that moment, the sun on the far side of the horizon was already dipping below the mountains, signaling the arrival of dusk.

Rozen and his party hid behind a hill, gazing in the direction of the Cedar Forest.

"Grrr…"

"Roar…"

From within the Cedar Forest, the roars of magical beasts echoed intermittently, warning everyone just how dangerous the interior truly was.

Rozen looked out ahead, his eyes flickering with a ghostly light—his Spirit Vision active as he probed the forest's aura.

Within Rozen's field of vision, the limitless aura of the magical beasts inside the Cedar Forest had condensed into something like mist, constantly swirling and emanating outward.

It was easy to imagine just how many magical beasts were required to create such a dense and vast spectacle of spiritual energy.

Nearby, Mash and Anna waited tensely for Rozen's reconnaissance.

"How does it look, Senpai?" Mash asked cautiously.

Rozen shook his head with a resigned look.

"There really are a lot of them." Rozen carefully considered, then said, "Leaving aside the four low-threat but numerous types—Uridimmu, Musḫussu, Musmahhu, and Usumgallu—there are still hundreds, maybe even over a thousand other magical beasts. Those should be Ugal and Bashmu."

Upon hearing this, both Mash and Anna were left speechless.

"Hundreds to over a thousand Ugal and Bashmu?" Merlin spoke crisply, "That's not good. Just us alone won't be able to handle that kind of number."

If it were only Uridimmu, Musḫussu, Musmahhu, and Usumgallu, then it wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Though in myth these beasts are terrifying—like how Usumgallu is said to run ten thousand miles a day—in this place, their mass-production had significantly weakened them.

For instance, Usumgallu was indeed fast, but its maximum burst could only last about a minute. After that, its explosive speed dropped off, and at best, it could only contend with a squad of ten soldiers.

As for Musḫussu, it had low suppressive power but high endurance. If left unchecked, it could slaughter many soldiers. However, if eliminated early, it wasn't that much of a threat.

Uridimmu and Musmahhu were similar. While highly dangerous to humans due to sheer numbers, to Servants, even hundreds of them would be no issue. The only real problem was just how many of them existed.

But Ugal and Bashmu were different.

Even in legend, they ranked at the top of Tiamat's eleven beasts. One was the lion of the sun; the other was a venomous winged serpent that could corrode even gods—clear indicators of their threat level.

Even if mass-produced, the fact that their numbers were far fewer than the rest meant they were still special.

To put it bluntly, a normal Servant would struggle to defeat even one of them alone.

Take Ugal, for example. A third-rate Servant wouldn't stand a chance. Only first-rate Servants could deal with it.

Rozen estimated that Ugal's strength was already on par with a top-tier familiar. Even at the tactical level, it was still far more powerful than some Servants.

As for Bashmu, it might be even more troublesome than Ugal. Even if its raw strength didn't surpass Ugal's, its poison made it far more threatening.

And there were hundreds of such beasts?

Then even Altera would need to go all out to face that number—unleashing her full destructive capabilities and Noble Phantasm just to cope.

If even Altera—whose spiritual foundation rivaled that of a Grand-tier—had to do that, then regular Servants wouldn't stand a chance, even in groups.

Add in the rest of the vast horde of magical beasts—death by a thousand cuts—and the outcome of charging in was self-evident.

Of course, if Rozen truly brought out his trump card, it'd be a different story.

After all, when it came to numbers, Rozen had never been afraid.

If he unleashed Hyakki Yagyo in this era, capturing the Cedar Forest would be child's play.

Unfortunately, now was not the time for such recklessness.

Therefore...

"According to plan, I'll sneak in alone."

Rozen turned to the group.

"Merlin and Anna stay here. Mash will go with me in spirit form. Ishtar, you'll draw away Kingu. Once he's distracted, I'll conceal my presence and aura, and fly straight into the temple."

That was the most reliable approach for now.

Merlin and Anna weren't Rozen's contracted Servants. They couldn't enter spirit form to fly with him. Plus, their presence might be needed in case of emergencies, so it made sense to leave them.

Ishtar had been slacking off the entire journey—it was time she contributed.

Mash, being Rozen's Beast Vassal under Absolute Contract, could follow him without issue.

Once Kingu was drawn away, Rozen could stealthily fly into the Cedar Forest and infiltrate the temple to investigate.

"Not having to fight on the front lines is a huge relief for me," Merlin exhaled with no complaints.

"..."

Anna seemed like she wanted to say something but was stopped by Merlin, who placed a hand on her shoulder, shook his head, and whispered in her ear, "It's not your turn yet."

Anna bit her lip and fell silent.

As for Mash—no words needed. Being able to accompany Rozen and protect him was exactly what she wanted.

And Ishtar...

"Don't worry. I said I'd help, and I will."

Ishtar finally stood up from Maanna, and stared toward the Cedar Forest. Her ruby-like eyes turned golden in that instant.

Divine energy surged from her body.

"That detestable puppet—how dare he treat me so rudely! I, Ishtar, will have my revenge!"

Leaving those words behind, Ishtar turned into a golden streak of light and shot into the Cedar Forest.

Rozen and the others watched this scene, all holding their breath.

The next moment, at the center of the Cedar Forest, a thunderous explosion erupted.

Blast after blast followed, causing divine energy and mana to surge wildly. Countless magical beasts, disturbed by the chaos, roared in fury and panic as they converged on the source of the noise.

Not long after, a beam of golden light burst from the Cedar Forest, pursued closely by another streak. The two lights, one in front and one behind, vanished far away from the forest in the blink of an eye.

"Now's our chance!"

Rozen called out immediately. "Mash!"

"Yes!" Mash's expression tightened, and she instantly spirit-form shifted and vanished.

Rozen's jet-black coat surged around him, scattering dazzling embers as he rocketed toward the Cedar Forest.

Merlin and Anna silently watched Rozen's departure.

Tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful.