As time passed, the entire Pyrenees Mountains were now filled with tension, everyone on high alert and ready for battle.
Now, the remnants of France were faced with the eyeing Egyptian army to the south and the steadily advancing army of monsters to the north.
Pinched from both sides and cornered on the Pyrenees Mountains, the French Army soldiers occasionally looked toward France's last fortress, waiting for orders from the high command.
At this tense moment, the Servant-fied Reines, using some unknown magecraft, managed to sneak into the heavily guarded French Army fortress undetected.
Arriving near the kitchen in a corner of the fortress, Reines finally saw the target of this trip, Jeanne, in a heavily guarded small room.
"Heh! So she's under house arrest? These Frenchmen!"
Right under the noses of the layers of guards, Reines, with a triumphant smile on her face, walked boldly up to the small room. The nearby guards actually ignored Reines, a living person, entirely. Then, Reines raised her left hand and snapped her fingers.
"Snap!"
Along with the crisp snap, a surge of mercury suddenly rose from beneath the feet of all the nearby guards, wrapping around them with lightning speed and dragging them underground. The mercury's movement was so swift that not one of the dozen or so guards had time to sound an alarm.
Jeanne, who was praying in the room, heard the noise outside and opened her eyes just in time to see Reines pushing the door open.
"Master, why are you here?"
"You failed, didn't you?"
A bitter smile appeared on Jeanne's face as she nodded to Reines.
"Yes! They didn't believe my explanation."
"Then they really are a bunch of people seeking their own deaths. Oh! Right, Jeanne, let's get ready to leave! The war is about to start, and we need to go meet up with Fujimaru and the others now!"
"Wait! Master, what do you mean the war is about to start!"
A hint of cunning flashed in Reines's eyes as she pretended to be casual and said:
"It's just war. Rin has already led the Egyptian army to the southern foot of the Pyrenees Mountains, just waiting for the outcome here to decide how to advance! To the north, the Dragon Queen's army is also almost at the foot of the mountain. So we must immediately meet up with Fujimaru and the newly arrived reinforcements to pass the message to Rin!"
Upon hearing this, Jeanne's face turned pale. She slumped onto the bed behind her, murmuring.
"France... La France..."
Seeing that the timing was right, Reines smiled and took out the Holy Grail that Sakura and the others had sent over from her body.
"But Jeanne, there is still hope!"
At this, a spark of color returned to Jeanne's eyes as she looked up blankly at Reines.
"Here! This is the Holy Grail Rin gave to me after I told her your thoughts. If you can use the power of the Holy Grail to convince those fellows within an hour, then we can tell Rin your idea succeeded, and the Egyptian army will immediately come up the mountain as allies to help France!"
Jeanne gazed at the Holy Grail, which was emitting a faint, holy glow, and carefully took it from Reines's hands.
"Lord! Is this Your will!"
Along with Jeanne's words, the Holy Grail slowly merged into her body, bringing her vast magical energy and even stronger attributes.
Jeanne's gaze returned from despair to normal and then became firm. She picked up the battle flag leaning in the corner and took the Holy Sword Catherine from under the pillow, tucking it into her belt.
Under Reines's watchful eye, she strode out of the room and charged toward the core area where Marie and other high-ranking officials were located in the center of the fortress.
Reines watched Jeanne's retreating back and pressed her communicator.
"Rin, Jeanne has started her move. Has that kid Fujimaru met up with you yet?"
"Don't worry, your apprentice is right by my side. But remember, you only have one hour. That's the maximum amount of time I can stall Cleopatra!"
"Yes, I understand! And Rin, thank you for being willing to give me this chance to implement my plan!"
"My, my, Reines, why have you become so polite? Your plan was good to begin with, wasn't it? And... I actually quite like that Village Girl!"
In the central council chamber of the French Army fortress.
Marie looked with a headache at the bickering generals, ministers, nobles, and bishops below, and couldn't help but sigh.
Although she had solidified her mission, it was not easy to implement, especially given the current crisis. If not for the fact that the people below truly respected Marie Antoinette, the flames of civil war would likely have already ignited in the last fortress of France.
Marie Antoinette nodded gently to Dion, who was acting as her guard at her side.
Receiving the signal from Marie Antoinette, Dion suddenly drew the sword at his waist and performed a beautiful sword flourish, attracting the attention of everyone in the meeting room.
Everyone present instantly understood this was Marie Antoinette's intention. Knowing the Queen was about to speak, they stopped arguing and turned together to look at Marie Antoinette on the main seat, although there was one person present who could not be judged by common sense.
In the hall, which had quieted down after Dion's sword dance, a crisp round of applause rang out abruptly.
"Clap clap clap! Dion, your dance was so beautiful!"
Astolfo clapped while hopping over to Dion's side, completely ignoring the atmosphere, and smilingly pestered Dion to continue.
Just as everyone was speechless, the Archbishop of France, with a benevolent expression, stroked his white beard, walked up to Astolfo, and said softly.
"Astolfo! The Queen has something to say, let Dion dance for you later!"
"Oh! Okay! Dion, you have to remember, okay!"
With a slightly flushed face, Dion first nodded to Astolfo, then turned to the Archbishop of France and bowed slightly to express his thanks.
At this moment, Marie Antoinette's crisp and pleasant voice rang out, slowly articulating her thoughts.
"Everyone, we have no time to argue now. Not only is the army from Egypt ready for battle in the south, but the Dragon Queen's army in the north is also about to be at our gates, so I hope you can reach a consensus as soon as possible."
The Archbishop of France took a step back, then bowed and bent towards Marie Antoinette, saying.
"Your Highness, my current opinion is to surrender to Egypt; at least that can ensure the safety of the people."
As soon as the Archbishop finished speaking, a noble pointed at him and said.
"Surrender to the infidels? Are you still fit to be a shepherd of the Lord? We will fight them to the death! France is the best in the world; there is nothing to fear from mere monsters and infidels!"
Marshal Gil glanced at this noble and said indifferently.
"At the foot of the mountain on the Egypt side, there are 50,000 elites, and the monster side is even more overwhelming. With the mere thousands of people we have left, what capital do we have to fight them? Queen, I suggest gathering all food and troops, abandoning other places, and defending the fortress to the death, then making further plans after the Egyptian army and the Dragon Queen's monsters start fighting each other!"
"Marshal Gil, do you mean to abandon our people? Your Highness, I propose to dismiss Marshal Gil; this kind of person is not fit to be one of us!"
"Heh! The minister speaks nicely, but without Marshal Gil, you would have long since been in some monster's stomach waiting to be digested, and you wouldn't have the opportunity to spout nonsense here! Don't you know our food is already in short supply? You don't want to surrender, you don't want to fight to the death, and you can't abandon civilians to defend the fortress..."
Then the people below started arguing noisily again, as if this meeting would never reach a conclusion.
Just at this moment, Astolfo said with a grin.
"Why don't you listen to what that Jeanne d'Arc says about forming an alliance with Chaldea? Isn't it said that the Egypt side is an ally of Chaldea? Isn't the ally of an ally our ally too?"
Astolfo's words stunned the entire meeting room, and then most of the people below started opposing Astolfo's proposal together.
"Who knows if this Jeanne d'Arc is a clone of the Dragon Queen, or just the Dragon Queen in disguise!"
"Exactly! Who can prove that this Jeanne d'Arc is really that Saint of Orleans!"
"Hehehe, how come our church doesn't know when that peasant girl Jeanne d'Arc was canonized as a Saint?"
Just as everyone was about to start arguing again, accompanied by a roar from the gate, Jeanne d'Arc, holding a war flag high and radiating holy light, appeared behind the shattered gate.
"The Lord can bear witness for me!"
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