novelhk Page 297
Page 297
"Is that guy crazy? How could anyone possibly make something like that!"
"what?"
Rudeus had not read Shirou's letters, so he did not know what kind of task Shirou had assigned to the Seven Stars.
Hearing Rudeus's words, Qixing hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke up silently: "I also need your help with this matter. I'll tell you, Shirou is really crazy. He wants me to help him make a Noble Phantasm called Sky Garden, which is an aerial fortress similar to the Sky Castle of the Ankylosaurus!"
"What? An aerial fortress? Can such a thing really be built?"
"Who knows, but that guy did manage to produce the design drawings..."
Qixing sighed. As someone who had read the Fate series, she naturally knew what the Hanging Garden was. It was a Noble Phantasm possessed by a Servant named Semiramis—its full name was the Hanging Garden of Vanity, a fictional Noble Phantasm that was transformed from the legends of the Assyrian Empress in the past.
The specific concept of the Noble Phantasm is a floating garden in the air. As the name suggests, it appears as a large fortress floating in the air, consisting of neatly arranged and lush green floating islands, marble floors, and pillars. All kinds of plants are intertwined everywhere. The garden is floating because it has the concept of "inversion". In it, plants grow downwards and water flows from downstream to upstream.
The courtyard can float thousands of meters above the ground, and 11 counterattack formations are set up around it. The black coffin called "Ten and One" can fire extraordinary light bullets from the plates one after another. Each bullet is equivalent to a meteorite falling, and its destructive power is comparable to that of an army-level enemy.
In short, just by looking at the surface, you can tell how exaggerated the existence of the Aerial Garden Noble Phantasm is. But that's why, when Shirou realized he had to fight the Ankylosaurus, this Noble Phantasm was the first thing that came to his mind.
This is the only weapon that Shirou could think of that could rival the aerial fortress of the Ankylosaurus.
In his future diary, Rudeus also mentioned Shirou's idea of creating this Noble Phantasm, but due to the dire situation of the Grellard family at the time, he had to give up, which eventually led him to personally enter the fray and fight against the Ankylosaurus in the Sky Garden.
Although they ultimately won, they paid a huge price, which directly resulted in them being unable to maintain their strongest state in the subsequent battle against the Dragon God Orsteed.
Now that Shirou has stopped the Asura catastrophe, it naturally means that he has plenty of time to prepare for the creation of the Sky Garden.
However, even though he had time, the creation of this Noble Phantasm was still far too extravagant. At least Shirou himself had no chance of creating it, which is why he handed the blueprints to Nanahoshi and asked her to help him complete this unimaginable Noble Phantasm.
Qixing was undoubtedly quite resistant to this mission, but she was all bark and no bite. After complaining a few times, she still started the operation without complaint.
Seven Stars first focused on the forging workshop and began recruiting a large number of mages to assist him.
She divided the vain sky garden into several parts, and followed a modular construction method, starting with each part and then piecing them together at the end.
This complex process is beyond the reach of most mages; they would need to be assisted by a Saint-level mage or at least a high-level mage.
Such an extravagant commission naturally requires a huge amount of money.
Although the Grellat family gained a great deal of wealth after conquering the transfer maze, they would eventually run out of goodwill when it came to projects of this scale.
Fortunately, Shirou had already considered this, so before leaving the capital, he swallowed his pride and went to Princess Ariel to ask for financial assistance.
Ariel readily agreed and within a few days raised a large sum of money, which was then deposited directly into Shirou's account.
Shirou himself secretly went to the Kingdom of Asura and retrieved his account from his time as Muramasa, withdrawing all the valuable assets to fund the construction of the Sky Garden.
With so many preparations made, the creation of the Seven Stars' Noble Phantasm naturally did not present any financial difficulties.
She quickly gathered a large workforce and officially began constructing the Sky Garden.
However, even if there are no problems with manpower, there are still many issues to be addressed in the construction of the Sky Garden, the most important of which is the technical aspect.
Modern magical technology makes it difficult to recreate many aspects of the Sky Garden, and even with the Noble Phantasm design blueprints projected by Shirou, it's impossible to perfectly replicate them.
Just when production came to a standstill, an unexpected person came to the rescue—it was Aisha.
It seems that the demon Laplace within Aisha learned of the Grellat family's actions. Although he was an evil demon, he decisively chose to come and assist in order to protect himself in front of the Dragon God and the Ankylosaurus.
Laplace possessed a vast amount of magical knowledge, arguably more than all the magicians in the world combined, and easily solved many of the technical problems encountered by Seven Stars and the others.
Rudeus himself was a very talented magician. He only needed to use his vast magical power to recreate the technique that the demon god Laplace had told him, and he successfully created the key to the Sky Garden.
In addition, Loki also came to provide assistance. As a king-level mage, she was useful in many ways and could coordinate the work of most mages.
For this reason, the construction of the Sky Garden went very smoothly.
Even if everything goes smoothly, such a massive artifact would still require a long time to complete.
Whether it's Shirou's training in the sacred land of swords or the creation of the sky garden by the people of the magical city, it can be described as a race against time.
If everything goes smoothly, perhaps everything can be accomplished before the final battle.
However, just as Murphy's Law suggests, things generally tend to go in the worst possible direction, and this battle in which the Grellat family is fighting against the world with all their might is by no means something that can be easily accomplished.
Chapter 377 Shirou Comprehends the Sword World of Deprivation! The Ankylosaurus Summons Rudeus?!
In the sacred land of swords, Shirou is receiving special training from the water god.
The water god's training method for him was nothing more than simulated combat.
As the strongest active member of the Water God School, Lydia is naturally arguably the strongest in the world within its domain.
Even the Water God Style of Orsteed is definitely not as good as the Water God Style of the Water God.
However, for the Dragon God Orsteed, the god-level Water God Flow technique he possesses is only one of his many abilities. Even if the Water God Flow domain cannot defeat the Water God, he has a thousand ways to defeat Lydia.
In contrast, although the water goddess could defeat the dragon god in her strongest area, she was inferior to the dragon god in everything else, which meant she had no hope of defeating the dragon god.
The same principle applies to the Northern God and the Sword God.
They are all the strongest in their respective fields, stronger than Orstide, but they all struggle when facing Orstide.
Because Orsteed possesses all-encompassing power, a power that is irrational and without any blind spots.
That's why the Sword God, the Northern God, and the Water God tried to train Shirou, hoping to place their hopes on Shirou, who, like Orsteed, possessed all-around strength.
However, Shirou is now only a smaller version of Orsteed. Although he is strong in all aspects, he is weaker than the Dragon God in every way.
For this reason, several god-level powerhouses from the Holy Land of Swords tried to pass on their strongest techniques to Shirou, so that Shirou could get closer to the Dragon God.
This is also why the Water Goddess is training Shirou now. She hopes to pass on everything she knows about the Water God Style to Shirou. She doesn't expect Shirou to master it completely or even surpass her in the Water God Style swordsmanship. She just wants him to improve as much as possible and get closer to the level of the Dragon God Orsteed.
"Snapped!"
"Crack!" "Crack!"
In the training grounds of the Holy Land of Swords, Shirou's battle with the Water God lasted for a long time after it began.
As required by the water god, Shirou must attempt to defeat the water god Reda using only the Water God Style swordsmanship in order to pass the test.
The two did not combine any battle aura, but relied solely on pure swordsmanship to clash, and even the weapons they used in the duel were just ordinary wooden swords.
Even though it was a wooden sword, the pressure exerted by the two men was no different from that of a real sword. If they could not defend or dodge in time, their lives would still be in danger.
This is why both sides maintained absolute concentration, pouring all their power into each strike and pushing it to its limit.
"boom!"
After about a hundred rounds, Shirou was unable to dodge the sword that the Water God swung from the corner. He lost his balance and was knocked away by the Water God.
Most of the people present were not surprised by this result.
Even Shirou himself didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
His Water God Style swordsmanship is only at the King level, having comprehended two profound mysteries. Water God, on the other hand, is at the God level, having not only comprehended three profound mysteries but also created a fourth one on his own.
When fighting solely based on the techniques of the Water God Style, there is undoubtedly a huge gap in strength between the two sides.
Shirou could hardly think of any way to defeat the water god.
However, the water goddess Reda didn't seem to think so. Seeing Shirou's lack of willpower, she frowned slightly and said, "It seems you still don't understand the current situation, Shirou."
"What do you mean?"
Shirou looked confused, not understanding the water god's meaning.
Lydia slowly stopped what she was doing and said quietly, "Shirou, why do you think you were no match for me just now? What do you think is the difference between you and me?"
"Isn't it a difference in strength?"
Shirou instinctively spoke.
"The difference in strength does exist, but sword fighting often doesn't just depend on strength."
The Water God shook his head. "Even the weak are not incapable of defeating the strong, but the prerequisite is that the weak must clearly recognize their own position and make the most accurate judgment possible."
"Of course, the most important thing is that the weak must have the confidence that they will win. Without this, the sword will become heavy and the body will become sluggish. Even if you could win, you will lose. When two people risk their lives to fight to the death, the sluggish sword will surely lose."
"Shirou, because you believe I am the Water God, you don't think you can defeat me with the Water God Style. This cowardly idea makes it impossible for you to defeat me, let alone fight against the Dragon God Orsteed. Because from the beginning you have believed that your strength is inferior to the Dragon God, you will naturally shrink back and give up, unable to exert your full strength. If you cannot overcome your cowardice, you will not be able to challenge the strongest."
"..."
The water god's words suddenly made Shirou realize the truth.
Upon closer reflection, it's true. When facing the Water God, he hesitated to go all out because he felt the difference in their strength. His cowardice prevented him from unleashing his full power. With this mindset, even if he went all out to challenge the Dragon God Orsteed, he would still waver due to the huge gap in strength, and in the end, he couldn't win even a battle he could have won.
The first thing he needs to overcome is not his own weakness, but the belief that even if he is weaker than his opponent, he must find a way to win the battle!
"I understand, I will do my best!"
Shirou took a deep breath, his hands gripping the sword becoming completely resolute.
Seeing his appearance, the water goddess Reda did not hesitate and smiled as she spoke: "Very good, this is the kind of person I approve of. Then, I will not show any mercy from now on. Find a way to break my ultimate technique! Shirou, I'm going to attack, strip away the sword world!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the Water Goddess unleashed her most powerful technique, her strongest sixth secret technique: Stripping Away the Sword Realm!
In an instant, Shirou was once again trapped in a state where his entire body was bound by the sword's aura, unable to make even the slightest movement.
Back then, Shirou barely managed to hold his own against the Water God's Blade World thanks to the power of Unlimited Blade Works, and ultimately defeated them with overwhelming numbers.
It's practically a pipe dream for Shirou to break the Sword Deprivation Technique when he can't use Unlimited Blade Works and can only use the Water God Style techniques.
However, as the water god just said.
Challenging the Dragon God Orsteed is nothing short of a fantasy. If one cannot even break through the Water God's ultimate technique head-on, how can one possibly contend with the strongest Dragon God, who is almost invincible?!
The moment his thoughts reached this point, Shirou no longer hesitated or wavered. His gaze was fixed on the water goddess Reda in the distance, and he forced himself to take action within the realm of stripping away swords.
Of course, the result of doing so was that Shirou's body was torn apart by the water god's swordsmanship.
Even a wooden sword, when it gathers enough exaggerated sword energy, will definitely become a killing sword!
Shirou's body was instantly torn apart.
The swordsmen around them couldn't help but close their eyes when they witnessed this scene.
However, Shirou himself did not stop moving after the Sword World tore his body apart; instead, he continued to forcibly move within the Sword World.
He did not simply want to physically force the stripping of the Sword Realm's power. Even if he could forcibly block the stripping of the Sword Realm's power with the help of the Evil Dragon Blood Armor and his protective battle aura, it would clearly violate the condition that he could only fight using the Water God Style, and it would also violate the original intention of the Water Goddess Leda to teach him the Water God Style.
What Shirou really needs to do is to understand the Water God's movements, analyze the opponent's fighting methods through battle, and even imitate the Deprivation of the Sword World itself.
Yes, Shirou has been imitating other people's fighting styles until now. Everything about him is fake and false. But precisely because of this, this kind of deceitful method is something only he can do, and it is the only power he can bring to its fullest potential.
So what if it's not real? So what if it's not an authentic object?
What you learn by imitation can also become your own genuine strength!
"Snapped!"
As his body was being continuously ravaged by the sword realm, Shirou suddenly vaguely saw certain threads flowing in the air. Those threads were so dim and unclear, yet they were undeniably present.
Moreover, this scene was not unfamiliar to Shirou. He had vaguely seen the existence of these threads during his first confrontation with the Sword God a long time ago.
Shirou didn't understand what these threads were back then, and he still doesn't understand them now.
But there was one thing: the moment he saw the silk threads clearly, he vaguely saw the essence of stripping away the power of the sword realm, and saw the trajectory of that ethereal yet real sword!
"Snapped!"
Shirou slightly raised his right hand—
The sword light that would normally accompany the movement did not appear.
This scene was not obvious, so most people, except for Shirou himself, did not notice it.
The only person at the scene who noticed was the water goddess Leda.
The strongest of the Water God School saw Shirou dodge the attack of the Sword of Deprivation. Although it was only once, and seemed like a coincidence, the Water God Reda did not think it was just a simple coincidence.
A slight smile appeared on her lips, and her expression towards Shirou showed even more approval.
If it were this young man, he might really be able to defeat the Dragon God.
The water god unconsciously had this thought in his mind, and developed even greater anticipation for the battle between Shirou and the dragon god Orsteed.
……
A month has passed since the Grellat family returned to the magic city.
The construction of the rooftop garden is progressing very smoothly.
Following the projected notes given to her by Shirou, Shichisei completed the design of the entire Sky Garden, even adding some of her own ingenious ideas to make the Sky Garden more harmonious overall, and further enhance its safety and destructive power.
Even so, it is such a huge creation that it is normal for its manufacturing cycle to take not just months, but years.
The magicians of Seven Stars and Magic University spent a month working on it, but they could only barely manage to build the foundation for the Sky Garden.