Chapter 85: Excalibut Galatine: Sword of Revolving Victory
"Team Eikou… has crashed again…?"
The incredulous cry of Homeroom teacher Finn echoed through the Simulation Room.
"This is terrible! Team Eikou's bikes have been knocked over by the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, crashing into the roadside barriers,
"And now, the Twelve Paladins have successfully taken the lead, leaving them far behind!
"Oh oh… the competitors behind are also catching up one after another—the moment Team Eikou crashed truly was a single misstep that led to a chain of mistakes! The delay in time has allowed the following competitors to overtake!
"What a pity! Team Eikou has lost the lead, and their rank is continuously dropping—second place, third place, fourth…
"In just a moment of carelessness, they've fallen out of the top 5!"
Hearing Finn's rapid-fire commentary and seeing the projected images in the waiting area, Jeanne Alter immediately felt a wave of worry.
Unlike Finn—a warrior who valued knightly spirit and excelled in straightforward, honorable combat—
Napoleon Bonaparte was a cunning and intelligent strategist, one who dominated battlefields, excelled in arranging formations, and struck with ambush tactics. Allowing Astolfo to use the conceptual skill "Trap of Argalia" to topple the lead bikes had no doubt been part of his plan from the very start.
Otherwise, with someone like Astolfo—possessing "Evaporation of Reason" and rarely thinking clearly—there's no way he could have come up with the idea to use this skill on his own.
"Will this be alright…"
Watching Eikou slowly get back up on the screen, Jeanne Alter frowned in concern.
You three want to win the Holy Grail, yet you'll have to face the elite team from Class France, and even go up against classmates from Class Britain!
…
On the racetrack of the competition.
[You have been knocked over by the bicycles of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne.]
[Please make an Endurance check.]
[Check successful, your body has not sustained any serious injury.]
"Cough cough…"
Eikou felt the impact on his ribs, the pain uncomfortable, but they didn't seem to be broken.
The first to get up was Gawain. With his sturdy build and resilient endurance, a crash like this was nothing to him.
"You okay?"
He quickly pulled Eikou to his feet.
Eikou glanced at the bicycle lying on its side. "It's fine, the bike's not broken."
"I was asking if you were okay?"
"I'm even more fine. How about you, Tristan?"
Tristan also jumped to his feet at once, saying he wasn't seriously injured.
The three young men almost immediately got back on their bicycles, trying to make up the ground they had lost.
"Sorry… it was my carelessness…"
Eikou pedaled while continuously regretting his mistake.
"In terms of strength and ability, if it were a head-on clash, we absolutely wouldn't lose to them. If the opponent attacked, we could have used Tristan's skill to evade.
"But they used Astolfo's 'Down with a Touch'—that doesn't count as an attack, but rather a conceptual skill that simply makes us 'fall down.' I nearly forgot that a Servant's skill is a conceptual and causality-based weapon."
He had truly underestimated this race.
Even though this wasn't the brutal slaughter of a Holy Grail War, the standard of strength from the opponents wasn't low at all—they were all legendary figures from major nations or Lostbelts, and their methods of combat were endlessly varied.
"I should have approached this with the mindset of a Holy Grail War—researching each Servant's weaknesses and traits in advance, rather than just looking at their surface-level stats."
But realizing this now still wasn't too late—there was still a chance to turn the tables.
"Sir Eikou, Sir Gawain, what should our next move be?"
Tristan asked.
Eikou looked ahead.
All of the leading positions were held by Class France contestants, not a single Class Britain member among them. This meant the French group's actions were organized and calculated from the start.
Everything was no doubt under Napoleon's control.
Through tactical formation arrangements, they had blocked the Class Britain contestants, allowing their own students to occupy the entire lead.
In the short time Eikou and his teammates were overturned, this group had pulled far ahead, and the gap with the fourth-place position was already significant.
As for the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, they were almost disappearing from sight.
"If we try to break through the encirclement, they'll likely use every kind of trick to obstruct us…"
Eikou said.
"In that case… there's no other way…" Gawain sighed.
"So we'll just give up…"
They all shook their heads and sighed.
"That's right, we give up."
"Give up on the idea of just obediently chasing… We'll directly take down every obstacle in our way, then take back first place!"
All three said in unison.
Right after, Eikou patted Gawain on the shoulder.
"Dreamlike Charisma, Protection of the Lake, Hero Creation… I've loaded you with every support skill I have—you know what to do next, right?"
Gawain nodded seriously.
"Yeah, leave it to me."
[Gawain activates Personal Skills: "Numeral of the Saint", "Charisma", "Belt of Bertilak"]
[Under the direct sunlight on the course, combined with your support skill boosts, he has reached his peak, strongest state.]
The Sun Knight stood with both feet on the bicycle seat, taking a stance to launch his attack.
In his hands, a Noble Phantasm gradually appeared.
"Excalibur Galatine: Sword of Revolving Victory", also known as the Sun Holy Sword, Caliburn of the Sun.
...
"Gawain of Team Eikou is standing on the rear of his bicycle, and has unleashed his Noble Phantasm!
"Unbelievable—Gawain's Noble Phantasm has charged so quickly! Could it be due to Mochizuki Eikou providing support?
"But in this situation, what is he using his Noble Phantasm for? There are clearly no enemies to his left or right, so just who exactly is he planning to attack?
"Wait a second!"
Homeroom teacher Finn suddenly stood up excitedly.
On the magical projection screen, Gawain raised the Noble Phantasm and suddenly swung it with great force.
"Excalibur Galatine!"
The scorching sunlight-like radiance of the holy sword erupted from the blade, transforming into a wave of blazing magical energy like the sun, sweeping forward and shattering all the ground in its path.
The flames blazed violently, surging into massive waves, like a ferocious fire dragon unleashing a powerful breath.
That overwhelming, awe-inspiring magical energy instantly propelled their vehicle forward at a blistering speed!
"What the—Team Eikou is using the explosive power from the Sword of Revolving Victory as a propulsion engine?! The explosive force is insane—just in an instant they've overtaken the front group!
"No wonder they're the most mischievous students in our class—they can even come up with this kind of Noble Phantasm rule-bending trick, but the effect is truly incredible!
"Fifth place, fourth place… second place! Straight to second place!
"I haven't even finished reading yet and Team Eikou has already accelerated to overtake two ranks in the blink of an eye—what godlike speed—and the gap with first place is rapidly shrinking. Can they overtake first in one go?
"They absolutely can—and easily, too!"