The three girls who had left ahead naturally noticed the commotion erupting behind them.
All three stopped at the same time and turned toward the source of the disturbance.
There, they could clearly see an enormous sword standing upright in the distance. Near its hilt was the silhouette of someone holding a bow.
"Ursus damn it! What was that?!"
Sonya was the first to react.
The rations she had been carrying fell to the ground because of the shock.
Yet she had no mind to pick them up. She simply stared at the gigantic sword towering far above the surrounding trees and let out a heartfelt curse.
The genuine kind.
Before the other two could even process what they were seeing, the figure atop the sword drew the bow to its limit and fired.
The projectile traveled at incredible speed.
Had there not been a thin trail of light tracing its path, they would never have been able to follow its flight.
It was only after the glowing trail disappeared from sight that they realized just how absurd the shooting distance was.
However, they soon had no time to dwell on that.
A brilliant flash erupted in the direction the arrow had flown, followed immediately by the roar of an explosion.
"...Is this Shirou's Originium Art?"
Although she was stunned by the sight before her, Lada's hands remained steady.
Not a single drop of soup spilled from the pot she was carrying.
"Maybe. Either way, we should leave immediately! We cannot stay here any longer!"
Anna quickly tore her attention away from the distant explosion and crouched down to help Sonya gather the supplies scattered across the ground.
If things truly unfolded as Shirou had warned, and that area was about to become a battlefield, then it would be an extremely dangerous place for the three of them—and for most people in general.
Just witnessing this level of destruction was enough to tell them that they could not possibly withstand it.
At the same time, Anna finally understood why Shirou had specifically asked her to inform Rhodes Island about the refugees who had begun organizing themselves and volunteering to fight.
The destructive power on display was simply terrifying.
"...Let us get moving."
Snapping back to her senses, Sonya hurried to help pick up the supplies as well.
She had not recognized it earlier, but after seeing what had just happened, she was certain that Shirou was the same person she had encountered at the school before.
Back then, that person had produced a sword out of thin air.
Now Shirou had created a sword as well.
An extremely large one.
Both involved swords, making it difficult not to connect the two.
The only thing she could not understand was why his appearance had changed so dramatically.
"Okay."
Although she did not quite understand why Sonya and Anna had suddenly become so anxious, Lada obediently carried the pot and took the lead.
Anna followed behind her.
Sonya brought up the rear, acting as the group's guard.
Before leaving completely, she glanced one last time at the figure standing atop the giant sword.
If she had previously held a somewhat favorable opinion of Rhodes Island, then now the organization had left an unforgettable impression on her.
And not just on Sonya.
Anna and Lada felt exactly the same way.
As for the person responsible for all of this, Shirou was focused entirely on the enemy's movements in the distance.
He had no idea that the three young Ursus girls behind him had just experienced a life-altering shock over the course of a few dozen seconds.
His attention was fixed on observing the enemy's reaction to that Broken Phantasm.
"They have stopped advancing. It looks like they are observing whether we can launch another attack. Should I fire another warning shot?"
After watching for quite some time, Shirou reported what he saw to Doctor and asked for instructions.
If the enemy withdrew now, there would be no need to worry about any of the problems that might come afterward.
For them, that would be the best possible outcome.
If battle could be avoided, who would willingly choose to fight?
Both Shirou and Doctor had hoped that this display of force would frighten the enemy into retreating.
Because once they truly started killing people, there would be no choice but to fight the enemy to the bitter end.
"Keep observing them for now. Amiya and Rosmontis will arrive at your position soon. While watching the mercenaries, make sure to keep an eye on your surroundings as well."
Doctor chose the more cautious approach.
At present, the enemy was still far away.
Aside from Shirou and his extraordinary long-range attack capabilities, everyone else was still in the preparation phase.
There was no reason not to let him conserve some of his strength.
Even if someone was supplying him with mana, Shirou's physical condition remained important.
Furthermore, Doctor had heard from Penguin Logistics about the strain caused by overloading his Magic Circuits.
Managing the pace of the battle was crucial.
If all of this were merely a simulation inside PRTS, or a hypothetical exercise on paper, she would undoubtedly choose overwhelming firepower and pursue a perfect victory.
But this was reality.
There were far too many variables to consider.
"Understood. Also, it seems that some people in the camp are organizing volunteers to help. You should probably make some arrangements on your side."
After receiving his next instructions, Shirou did not relax.
Instead, he focused his full attention on the advancing forces in the distance.
At the same time, he passed along the information he had learned from Anna to Doctor.
"I am already aware of that. I have sent people to investigate and check for suspicious individuals. Do not worry."
To Shirou's surprise, Doctor had already known about it and had even arranged personnel in advance. If any problems were discovered, they could be dealt with immediately.
It was no wonder Rhodes Island was willing to brave Catastrophes in order to rescue Doctor.
"Understood. Then I will let you get back to work. If anything else comes up, I will contact you again."
Since Doctor had already handled the matter, Shirou had no further concerns.
Remain on standby and wait for the next development.
That was all he could do for now.
The pressure created by the Broken Phantasm was considerable, and the enemy seemed to have noticed him standing atop the Ig-Alima.
After all, he was standing at such a conspicuous height that anyone with a pair of binoculars could easily spot him.
Shirou could clearly see people looking in his direction through binoculars.
It even seemed that they had started arguing among themselves.
After thinking for a moment, Shirou projected an ordinary arrow and placed it on the bowstring.
This time, he deliberately slowed his movements.
He wanted them to clearly understand that the attack was being launched by him personally.
Releasing the bowstring, he sent the arrow flying.
The projectile pierced the arm of a man who appeared to be some sort of squad leader.
Earlier, Shirou had noticed many people panicking after witnessing the Broken Phantasm.
Yet after a few words from that man, they had calmed down.
Even if he was not actually the commander, he was clearly an important figure.
In a situation like this, injuring such a person would be a significant blow to enemy morale.
The arrow did not stop after piercing the man's arm.
It continued onward and buried itself in the ground.
The tremendous force behind the shot tore the man's arm apart and sent it flying some distance away.
Several seconds passed before he finally realized he had been sniped.
By then, he had already lost an arm.
"Shirou, did you just attack again?"
Just as Shirou projected another arrow and prepared for a second round of attacks, Amiya's voice came through the communicator.
"Yes. I projected some arrows to apply pressure. Have you arrived already?"
The mana cost of projecting ordinary arrows was very low.
As long as he selected the right targets, the effect could rival that of a Broken Phantasm.
The only requirement was correctly identifying who mattered.
Otherwise, firing arrow after arrow at random would exhaust him sooner or later.
"We are almost there. We ran into three Ursus students on the way. They looked like students. I asked Ace to escort them safely back to the camp."
Hearing that, Shirou knew they had to be close.
The three Ursus students were almost certainly Lada and the others.
After all, they had only left a short while ago and could not have gotten very far.
"Be careful. I have caused quite a disturbance here, so I have probably become a priority target."
After reminding Amiya, Shirou turned his attention back toward the enemy forces.
The argument among them had intensified.
He could clearly see that the people at the front wanted to retreat.
The people behind them, however, were threatening them with weapons and forcing them forward.
The equipment worn by the front ranks was noticeably mismatched and heavily patched together.
The rear ranks, on the other hand, were uniformly equipped, and their weapons were obviously well-maintained.
One glance was enough for Shirou to understand what was happening.
"They are fighting among themselves. That is good news."
After relaying the situation to Doctor, their tone immediately became much more relaxed.
Having a point of weakness was enough.
Large numbers were not the problem. The real problem was a united enemy.
Most mercenaries fought for money and nothing else.
Expecting them to willingly throw away their lives was unrealistic.
Unless someone paid them more.
Even then, there were limits.
The mercenaries before them had reached those limits.
Shirou's combat ability had far exceeded their expectations.
And after he followed up with arrows aimed at several other prominent figures, most of the mercenaries had already lost confidence.
No matter how much money you earned, what good was it if you were dead and could not spend it?
"Then let us send a few more shots. This time, aim toward the Ursus military units."
After some thought, Doctor decided to have Shirou deliver another "friendly greeting."
A weakness had appeared.
Now it was time to tear that opening even wider.
As long as the Ursus military faction grew weaker, the mercenaries who wanted to withdraw would inevitably turn against them.
Unfortunately, the enemy forces were spread out.
Trying to conserve Shirou's mana and stamina was no longer practical.
They needed to crush the enemy's morale as quickly as possible.
If the enemy managed to recover their composure, far more effort would be required to deal with them later.
Not to mention there were still scattered hostile forces lurking around the camp.
If they could eliminate this problem directly, that would be the ideal outcome.
"Haah... understood."
After hearing Doctor's instructions, Shirou immediately grasped her intent.
The phase of friendly greetings was over.
Now it was time to make the enemy realize that advancing was hopeless.
Taking a deep breath, Shirou spoke aloud.
It was partly a reminder to Doctor and everyone listening through the communicator not to be startled by what was about to happen.
It was also a reminder to himself.
A Caladbolg appeared in his hand once more.
He nocked it on the bowstring.
Released.
Projected another.
Released again.
Then a third.
In one burst, he projected and fired three times in succession.
He could clearly feel his body temperature rising.
Fortunately, the cold wind quickly cooled him down, leaving behind only slight numbness.
His mana reserves, however, remained abundant.
The recovery rate was also remarkably fast.
Projecting several Caladbolgs in succession was still well within his capabilities.
But there was no longer any need to continue.
After three consecutive Broken Phantasms, the enemy had lost the ability to prevent the mercenaries from leaving.
The mercenaries stationed at the front broke through the Ursus military lines and began withdrawing.
The densely packed army instantly lost more than half its numbers.
The remaining soldiers first looked at the still-warm craters left behind by the explosions, then at the many comrades who had already departed.
In the end, they could only choose to leave as well.
The massive force that had given Doctor and Shirou such a headache was dismantled almost instantly.
Neither of them had expected that a few simple "greetings" would be enough to drive the enemy away.
It had been far easier than anticipated.
According to Shirou's original estimates, he would have needed to project dozens more Caladbolg, each heavily reinforced with mana to safely overcome this crisis.
Compared to that expectation, the Noble Phantasms he had just fired contained only slightly more mana than his usual projections.
Yet Shirou did not lower his guard simply because everything had gone smoothly.
Instead, he deliberately acted as though he were exhausted.
He crouched down and leaned against the hilt of the Ig-Alima.
He had not forgotten the true target of this entire operation.
All of this planning, all of this effort, none of it had been for those mercenaries.
Calming himself, Shirou shifted his attention to his surroundings.
Malice flooded toward him like an endless tide.
He could not tell whether it came from the retreating forces in the distance or from someone hidden nearby.
Nor did he know whether his performance was convincing.
He had no experience with acting.
If he performed poorly and caused the plan to fail, it would be incredibly embarrassing.
"...!"
The moment he felt someone's gaze fall upon him, every hair on his body stood on end.
He instantly turned, drew his bow, and fired.
The arrow streaked toward its target.
But there was nobody there.
"Was it my imagination?"
Regaining his composure, Shirou stared intently at that section of terrain.
He watched for a long time but discovered nothing unusual.
Moments earlier, he had sensed a gaze filled with overwhelming malice.
It felt exactly the same as when the Black Snake had fixed its eyes upon him in Chernobog.
But that could not be right.
He had personally killed the Black Snake.
Or had he?
Had the Black Snake chosen not to hide within his body after all and somehow escaped instead?
The enemy had spent so long preparing its schemes.
Could it really have simply fled?
Although Shirou considered that possibility unlikely, he decided it was better to be cautious.
He immediately informed Doctor and Amiya of what he had sensed, warning them to stay alert.
At the same time, he suggested contacting Talulah.
When it came to understanding the Black Snake, no one knew more than she did.
Having her come over and help analyze the Black Snake's motives would undoubtedly be the best course of action.