Doraemon looked at the scene before him and helplessly took off his Pebble Hat. In this situation, having the hat or not didn't matter anymore.
In fact, taking it off let us see our teammates.
"It looks like we have no other choice!"
"The Giant Statue is right ahead. If we charge through, we still have a chance."
"Now, let's do what we planned before!"
Doraemon encouraged us.
"Okay, let's go!" The others also took off their Pebble Hats. Then, as arranged.
I held the Denkomaru, Doraemon had the Air Cannon, Suneo and Gian had the Shock Gun and Super Gloves, Shizuka had the Small Light, and as for Princess Spiana, Doraemon gave her the Rebounding Cloak.
We formed an arrowhead formation and charged forward. Doraemon and I led the way, Shizuka and Princess Spiana protected the middle, and Suneo and Gian guarded the rear to prevent flanking.
Doraemon used the Air Cannon to blast apart the dense soldiers, and I activated my telekinetic barrier, slashing through with the Denkomaru all the way.
Up above, the mad Professer Kos had the airship drop bombs.
Luckily, Princess Spiana used the Rebounding Cloak to deflect the bombs, though they exploded elsewhere, filling the area with blasts and firelight.
Like that, we pushed through the fierce attacks and broke out of the checkpoint ahead. The soldiers in front were no match.
We charged all the way to the base of the Giant Statue.
I finally saw the massive Giant Statue up close—it had even more presence than the illusion Prince Kuntakku had summoned with the gem before.
It was the familiar dog-headed body, wearing a crown, with a majestic expression. The crown on the Giant Statue's head seemed embedded with a huge green gem. Its upper body showed robust eight-pack abs, lower body in a war skirt, but its hands were clenched and crossed at the chest, like a warrior ready to strike.
The entrance passage below the Giant Statue was guarded by numerous soldiers. In the original story, it required the prince's necklace to open, so Daburanda's group couldn't get in.
That's why they could only station heavy troops at the entrance.
We charged into the square in front of the Giant Statue, right up to the entrance at its base.
But when I arrived, what I saw was Daburanda's army in neat formation.
Daburanda stood with his hands behind his back, Saber beside him leaning on his sword. The two stood in front of the orderly soldier phalanx.
It seemed they were waiting for us.
On the Giant Statue square, four blazing fire altars were lit in front of the statue, with the solemn army and the grand statue behind.
This didn't feel like a battle; it was more like a ceremony.
I just didn't know who it was for.
"As expected of the heroes the prince sought, the saviors prophesied by King Bauwanko I. You all have commendable courage!" Daburanda spoke first, though his tone wasn't praising.
"Should we capture them?" Saber didn't say much, just asked coldly as always.
"Too much trouble. Deal with them here!" Daburanda ordered, then quickly retreated with his personal guards. He understood the principle of a gentleman not standing under a dangerous wall—fighting was too risky; better leave it to Saber!
Upon hearing Daburanda's command, Saber slowly raised his longsword and shouted, "All soldiers, prepare!"
The soldier phalanx behind raised their spears in unison.
"Attack!"
With Saber's order.
The soldier phalanx advanced slowly, spears raised, stepping in unison.
Whether it was the others or me, this was the first time we'd faced soldiers charging at us.
I'd only seen stuff like this on TV.
Now that I was seeing it for real, it was different from TV, where it just looked cool or heroic.
When you're on the battlefield for the first time, you understand the true power of a group.
No need for shouting or cheers, just the constant, uniform marching steps, accompanied by the rhythmic beating of war drums.
That forest of spears, their white tips pressing toward you like an overwhelming wave.
That kind of group momentum could crush anyone or anything; it felt like nothing could stand before them.
At that moment, we were all intimidated.
Six people facing an army of thousands—this required not just strength, but courage.
Seeing the fear on the others' faces.
In this situation, I couldn't hold back anymore, or we'd be the ones to die.
A few people against a whole nation—this wasn't child's play like before.
I raised my hand and unleashed a wide-range telekinetic suppression, causing the entire soldier phalanx to stutter for a moment.
No way around it; spreading the telekinetic pressure over so many people weakened it per person.
But it was enough—it broke their momentum.
Then, "Doraemon!" I shouted!
"Got it!" Without me needing to say it, Doraemon knew what to do!
Doraemon raised his Air Cannon and fired repeatedly at the soldier phalanx.
"Boom! Ah! Boom!"
Amid the explosions and screams, the entire phalanx was disrupted by Doraemon's barrage.
The others didn't just watch; Suneo and Shizuka, with their ranged attacks, used the Shock Gun and Small Light (which has range limits; in the original, it only shrunk part of the group) to attack.
"Advance! Advance! Attack!"
"Don't stop!"
Seeing this, Saber knew the formation couldn't hold.
He could only hastily command the soldiers to attack in scattered groups.
The first clash of future vs. ancient—future wins.
We didn't miss this chance and charged forward.
We dove right into battle with the soldiers.
"Don't get bogged down—head into the Giant Statue!" Doraemon shouted loudly.
We shook off the entangling soldiers and surged forward.
"You won't get past me!" Saber raised his longsword and blocked the way.
He targeted Princess Spiana, who looked weak and had no offensive weapon.
Luckily, Princess Spiana had the Rebounding Cloak. Though it didn't rebound Saber's attack, she was only knocked back a few steps.
Saber's strikes were indeed fierce; they even negated the Rebounding Cloak's rebound.
Saber frowned and swung harder.
This time, as a woman, Princess Spiana's strength was too low; she could barely resist, her hands numb from the shock of the slash.
Princess Spiana panted, struggling to hold on. It looked like she couldn't withstand Saber's attacks much longer.
Just as Saber was about to strike again, I noticed and used the Denkomaru to slash away a few entangling grunts.
I teleported over instantly, blocking the strike with the Denkomaru.