"... they really fell for it?" Stheno was incredulous as the group made their way to the obviously growing pillar of smoke, having first carefully approached the likely roadside position of the enemy to no avail. "Why would anyone chase the first thing they saw?"
"It's possible they aren't actually chasing her, but want us to rush in and get counter-ambushed in turn," Nobunaga mused to himself. "Fortunately, depending on how cautious or daring they are, it's possible they pass on actually catching her in order to not fall into some sort of trap."
"Is it necessary to defeat the Servants, or could we simply circle around to their camp?" Jeanne suggested.
"Would be oddly fitting to achieve victory by attacking their camp when they least expect it," Okita seemed willing to go along with the Ruler's plan. "But what about the two who are being chased by the hostile Servants?"
"They'll be fine," Chloe surprised the non-Masters present by appearing abruptly. "I'd say the enemies are 'carefully following', rather than chasing. "However, burning magical energy on chaff enemies doesn't sound strategically sound to me."
Gudako thought for a moment. "Besides Saber, the only standout Servant in terms of cost-effectiveness is... ah, it's Sasaku isn't it?"
"She gets low level attacks for free since Ruby pays," Gudao nodded after his own assessment. "Well the only thing she has over an Archer scout is we don't have any that fly, let alone for free."
"As guns are not particularly mysterious nowadays, perhaps I can do this for you," Nobunaga offered. "If there's a way to get the enemies together, my Noble Phantasm can wipe out many of them at once."
"Why don't we Sabers just walk into their camp and start taking them out," Okita added. "It's not like an Archer would have problems with friendly fire when using normal bullets."
"Ahem. If you can also manage to not kill some of their officers, it could help to get information from them about their leader's goals." Stheno didn't sound nearly as enthusiastic as Okita, but that was her usual disposition.
"Even if they're working together, the Servants still stayed with their armies until now, going after those might shake something loose," Jeanne summed up her own thoughts on the situation. "Time isn't necessarily against us, since they have already had a week or so before we got here."
(Fortified camp at Okehazama)
"Enemies in the ca-!" The running soldier cut off as a blade erupted from his chest before he even heard the attacker approaching. Everyone was already on alert, but it was too late as men were falling all around, even those who had their armor on.
"Grab that one," Chloe indicated one who had a bit of decoration on his helmet. As though by magic, Kojirou appeared behind the officer, throwing the human to the ground with an alarming crack though the move was nonlethal.
Although the four armies had left some space between their individual sub-camps, it was clear that some sort of plan had been laid, as the other three quickly swarmed the Imagawa camp that was under attack by the three Servants.
Unfortunately for many of the spearmen trying to use their formation training against the swordsmen, many of them found out that Kojirou's weapon was long enough to simply remove their hand despite the considerable length of a yari that was usually an advantage to its wielder.
"Why are they all piling in like this?" Chloe's sword-boomerang technique helped keep enemies out of her face while she used her perception to identify the various officers who might have useful intelligence and should thus be knocked out instead of killed.
"Most likely, they're only here to fight Nobunaga," Okita suggested. "If they retreat while he's nearby that in itself might end their existence. Or perhaps there's some brainwashing at work, who knows?"
(Nearby)
"That's probably enough," Gudao said finally. He and Gudako exchanged nods. "Alright then Nobunaga, take them out with your (Three Line Formation). By my Command Spell: Release Noble Phantasm."
"Haha, what a cheap technique, someone says?" the Archer laughed upon feeling the rush of magical energy straining their temporary contractual link. "See now a demon descending in waves of flame ! (Three Line Formation) !"
The world warped, changing as the targeted area gave way to a scene of another battlefield. This one was much more open than the camp, with no obstructions or cover for the now-disoriented targets. Chloe, Kojirou and Okita quickly darted though the staggering soldiers; the ground which had become suspiciously muddy during the transformation did not hamper them in the least.
Meanwhile back at the Masters' position, thousands of arquebuses were appearing in the formation of Nobunaga's Noble Phantasm's name. To be sure, for a Servant lacking either Divinity or a Riding tag, the bullets were not necessarily immediately fatal. But human-level familiars had no chance."
"That's definitely not historical," Jeanne remarked as the shots of Nobunaga's firearms took apart the armies before them. With an Archer's usual accuracy, he made sure not to target those already on the ground, be they already killed or being knocked out by the Servants earlier.
"Ironically, people nowadays could easily be convinced that matchlock arquebuses were like magic in on a Warring States battlefield," Gudako quipped. "Humans do seem to find technological determinism strangely attractive."
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"They're in the camp !" Kuroda exclaimed suddenly. "Our soldiers are falling over like puppets! Bowling pins?!"
"It isn't as though they're even real people," Chousokabe shrugged. "But regardless, to waste their resources on fighting pawns. I guess they're desperate for an easy win?"
Shimazu didn't seem to care about the armies, however... "Are we going to at least try to take them down? We didn't have as good of a plan as they did, apparently."
"I'd say more that they adapted," Toyotomi shook his head. "Well, the boss and Takenaka should be good to finish the ritual. It seems like a pretty clean victory."
"There's a problem with that Nobunaga forming a link with Chaldea though," Matsudaira pointed out. "Even though we might rather not wipe out their Master, the boss' plan will be hampered if that is left to form."
"Speak for yourselves, but I want to catch that girl." Mouri had apparently taken some offense and was not about to let it go. Spreading her cloak out, she took flight now that there was no need to remain with the rest of the group.
(Just above the treetops)
"Oh hey, they did have someone with Fly," Ruby commented, just a few seconds after noticing with its sensors that the enemy Servants seemed to have broken off. Even with the particle interference, that was straightforward enough to detect, however for the single entity approaching them rapidly...
"You should probably dodge to the side."
"Huh?-"
A series of beams blazed their way across the treetops, scorching the leaves under their passage as their target practically jumped to the side to protect herself. As much as one can jump while mid-air, anyway.
"Tsk." Mouri, lacking the perception of the Archer class, indeed many things useful for direct combat as a Caster, could not meaningfully take part in the earlier exchanges. She had guessed, apparently correctly, that besides Shimazu who was simply closer initially, the main group had been outside of their target's acquisition range. Based off Matsudaira and Toyotomi's description, she could also guess that she would be going up against a 'fellow' Caster.
Specifically, the description of one item in particular caught her attention. Even Toyotomi probably didn't have its like (and wouldn't share anyway) and, shady as it might be, a Kaleidostick was not to be passed up. But how best to obtain that prize? "Must be nice to cavort around like that," the Caster grumbled while maintaining her flight speed and firing off beams ahead of her.
At such ranges, though each needle-like attack was not lethal to a Servant, many sacrifices had to be made to extend their range to reach. While conventionally, such a waste of magical energy and actually seeking out close combat were highly inefficient if not self-defeating, many encounters at the Servant level were not simply conventional. For one, the holder of something as convenient as a Kaleidostick had great advantages in prolonged combat scenarios due to the Mystic Code's ability to constantly pull in magical energy for her via the Second Magic. And for the other part, her objective needed to be close at hand...
"Where did she go?" Mouri muttered after realizing that Sasaku had dipped out of sight while her own vision was blocked by the mostly one-sided exchange at range. "Hmph, very well then. (Rain of Light)
The forest was devastated by a series of high rank magical blasts that shook the earth as it was barraged indiscriminately. In the midst of all the plant matter and soil being thrown about, one figure slowly became visible, having risen up now that being in the open was more advantageous when even the ground could serve as a secondary target.
The two small pairs of pink wings fluttering lazily from Sasaku's shoes were the only indication of her ability to fly. Mouri's cape did something similar, though it was rather more multi-functional.
"Oh no," Ruby said upon seeing the Caster clearly for the first time in the engagement. "That witch is bad news."
"How rude," she huffed upon hearing the word 'witch'. "I'll have to give that wand a personality upgrade."
"She's a famous enemy of Magical Girls," Ruby explained, ignoring the threat. "One who hates the carefree, lively and above all: young."
"Argh!" Mouri started unleashing her fury upon the pair who, backing off while dodging, were able to let the attacks harmlessly fly off into the sky behind them. Sasaku returned a swarm of distracting pink shots that didn't have the decency to shoot straight, but approached her while making ridiculous turns that complicated both interception and dodging.
While the Caster had intended to get close enough to use a restraining spell, the lack of a prepared position and the target magical girl dodging and erratically darting about in all three dimensions made catching her impossible.
"Yeowch! Why did you provoke her?!"
"See that staff she took out when getting serious? She's based on the famous Witch of Betrayal: you know, Medea."
"I'm going with a 'mute' option."
"Mhm. If she gets her hands on you, being cut into pieces isn't nearly the worst sort of Bad End you'll get. Watch out if she pulls a fancy dagger... I can tell you've already read about it from her records," Ruby continued seemingly blithely.
Both sides continued their battle at standoff ranges. Mouri-Medea's astounding attack generation potential was somewhat negated by the fact that she could only win with a direct hit on Sasaku. Without a helpful solid background and the latter's ability to continually regenerate her defensive layer from scratch damage, it made for a frustrating experience in trying to not only use a hammer on a gnat, but furthermore without killing said gnat. However, she was not without tricks to play.
"Hmm?" The witch had dropped out of sight, in itself not an issue were it not for the surprise that came with it: Ruby couldn't detect her. Even with the Event's interference, it shouldn't have happened.
"To the side?!"
A series of beams came from Medea who had somehow managed to teleport to a flanking position. Instinctively, Sasaku moved sideways, dropping to use gravity to assist a faster evasion. The Ruler frowned, concentrating on dodging as Medea shifted position again. While the two opponents had been dogfighting, the Caster had been able to prepare several positions, and was now using them and her full strength to put the pressure on.
"(Atlas) !" Abruptly, a section of the sky solidified around Sasaku.
"Oh no you don't. Feuer!"
Smiling faintly in satisfaction, Medea zoomed towards her prey, her magical defenses easily protecting her from the few pink bullets which had been lucky enough to catch her on the approach.
"Damn. Counterspell ! Wait, you don't have that?" Though Sasaku had abilities to dispel effects on herself, something like high pressure that practically solidified the air around the target was not particularly countered by it, instead only somewhat weakened in her immediate proximity by Magic Resistance.
They could only watch as the witch practically flourished her (Rule Breaker).
"I want no part in Medical (star) Medea!" Ruby saw its chance; being much smaller and indeed narrower than a person, it moved sideways and quickly escaped sans handle thanks to the effect of its wielder's resistance.
"Fu fu, too slow," Medea's target was of course the Mystic Code and, seeing that once it had made good on escape, Sasaku's transformation also disappeared - leaving her in an oddly familiar school uniform - the Caster focused on catching up to the Kaleidostick and, using (Rule Breaker) to secure its utility for herself.
As its would-be new owner closed in, Ruby abruptly changed course, darting under Medea. The Caster overshot massively, cursing as Ruby practically taunted her by slapping her foot with a small wing on the way past.
Ruby then flew straight back the way it had came towards Sasaku who, despite presumably losing flight, was essentially just standing supported and surrounded by the solidified air. Medea had turned around and was making for the wand with all her might.
The Ruler slowly reached out a hand as though pushing forward could allow her to retrieve her too-far-away wand, but instead...
"This is a day of judgment."
A formation of five green missiles shot out without warning towards the directly approaching Medea. The Caster's headlong rush, directly into the attack as it now turned out, meant she had no time to react before they reached her a heartbeat later, materializing into a set of black iron spears. Reinforced and with the addition of magic-defeating runes - Scathach's teaching - the weapons ripped through the witch's defenses which had been chipped away at earlier.
Screaming in anger rather than just simple pain, Medea fell inelegantly towards the forest below as her pieced limbs trailed blood behind her. However, injuries notwithstanding, she recovered her composure in time to use magecraft to break her fall, avoiding an embarrassing crash and of course further damage.
"Fufu, what should I do. With. You?"
Snapping her fan shut, a nearby Kiyohime took a deep breath and then exhaled a gout of her fire onto Medea.
"Whoa, she just annihilated her in cold blood," Ruby quipped having caught up with Sasaku who, having been released from the restraining spell, was in the middle of falling. The latter quickly transformed as the pair flew down to meet their Berserker ally.
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"Alright, do your thing Stheno," Gudako said cheerfully as several stunned or wounded, but still alive and able to answer questions, soldiers were brought to the Assassin.
"Isn't it rude to just start looting the field like that?" Okita tried to restrain her partner who was supposedly looking for 'additional intelligence' among the tents which were undamaged due to not being sucked into his Noble Phantasm. "Oh, did you just want to make tea? You could have chosen a better pot, though..."
Nobunaga's hands closed around a rather nondescript pot, having detected the faint magical energy that leaked from its closed lid. "Don't worry, this will be worth it."
*bang*
A gunshot rang out, sending the Servants scrambling to get in order.
"Gaaah !" Clutching his chest as the teapot fell onto the ground, spilling a number of golden-glowing Embers, Nobunaga could now tell that he had been tricked; his prize had not been left in the camp, defended by only humans (effectively undefended) after all.
"Hmm? Oh you're the Nameless one we met? Gudao asked after identifying the assailant by his black armor. "You have guns too?"
"He was looking for a Grail Fragment which we stole from him. It would have allowed the intended user to create a Singularity," the nameless Chousokabe explained quickly before anyone could interrupt him. All while keeping his two handguns trained on the fallen Archer. Chloe, meanwhile, seemed rather taken with the idea of a paired set of ranged weapons.
"N-no way?" Okita was in shock. "Nobu, surely you couldn't have-?"
""Ah, I see," Nameless realized from the statement. "Your branch must have had one of the few male Demon Archers."
*cough* Raising his head, Nobunaga focused the remaining magical energy received from the Chaldean Master's Command Spell, which had been reserved for such a moment. Though of course being shot beforehand was not part of his plan. "(Three Line Formation)"
As the landscape warped like before, the figures around him, now helpfully out in the open and easy targets for his very energy efficient guns, remained solid. One of them in particular caught his eye.
The arguably weakest member of Chaldea's party then did the least expected, but worst thing possible, as guns started appearing - clearly aimed at her as well as everyone else.
Stheno smiled.
Nobunaga's mind froze for a moment.
*bang* *click* *bang* *click* *bang* *click* *bang*
The gunner quickly took the chance to put two bullets each into the other's head and heart, shattering Nobunaga's Spirit Core.
"Totally cold-blooded," Chloe commented approvingly, the first one to recover enough to speak.
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Notes:
Kiyohime wasn't just passively watching the battle from the ground. Not only was it rather high up and troublesome to reach even as a dragon, the Medea-Sasaku fight was moving around relatively quickly, so she had enough trouble just keeping up. But of course, when she saw Caster start to fall, she made sure to get to her landing spot in time to deal the coup de grace in an 'elegant and ladylike' manner. Or so she would like it to be praised as.