Chapter 186: -183- Lay down the foundation for victory
"Let's take the castle of the Dragon Witch!"
Rozen's words filled the surrounding Servants with renewed determination.
Even Gilles seemed to finally snap out of his reverie and looked towards Rozen.
Meeting the gazes of everyone present, Rozen broke into a sudden smile.
"Now that our forces are gathered, to prevent the enemy from using the Holy Grail to do anything more and to put an end to the devastation happening in France as soon as possible, we should make the most of our time and retake Orleans."
This was Rozen's plan.
However...
"Compared to the enemy, our strength is still lacking in some aspects. It's a problem that can't be ignored."
Rozen brought up this point, causing the brows of the assembled Servants to furrow.
Indeed, that was a problem.
Even with the addition of Jeanne, Marie, Amadeus, Elizabeth, and Kiyohime, a total of five Servants, plus Mash, there were a total of six Servants on their side. In a typical Holy Grail War with only seven Servants, this would already be considered a serious overextension, yet the enemy was even stronger.
Including the dragon witch, the enemy had seven Servants in total, hundreds of Wyverns, and true Dragons. Their strength surpassed this side by far.
Although the French forces led by Gilles were here, they had already suffered significant losses in the previous battle in Orleans and were mostly comprised of regular soldiers. Their combat strength was not something to be expected.
Furthermore, Rozen hadn't forgotten that there was still a puppet master behind the scenes watching attentively.
So, even with the addition of more strength, the enemy still held the upper hand.
"Of course, these calculations of strength are just the basics. Quantity doesn't represent everything."
Rozen added.
"If we had extremely powerful top-tier Servants on our side, even if they're outnumbered, it wouldn't be impossible for one of our Servants to hold off three or four of the enemy's."
For example, King Arthur from the Fuyuki Singularity, with her ability, if she were to manifest in this Singularity and stand with Rozen, he could at least hold off several of the enemy's Servants.
Unfortunately, there were no Servants here who could rival King Arthur's strength.
Rozen had already used his authority as a Master to carefully observe the abilities of the Servants on his side.
Leaving Mash aside, when it came to the others, their combat strength was uneven.
Marie was a first-class Servant, but she couldn't be considered top-tier.
Amadeus could use magic through music, but it was still difficult to say if he could match the enemy's Caster.
Elizabeth surprisingly possessed considerable strength, likely enough to rival Archer or Caster from Fuyuki, but since her target was the enemy's Assassin, that Assassin's combat strength could possibly match hers or even surpass it.
In terms of Kiyohime, her abilities were almost certainly among the lowest among all the Servants. Rozen really didn't know if she could face off against one of the enemy's Servants.
As for Jeanne, her quality as a Ruler could be said to be the highest among all the Servants present.
If Jeanne could unleash her normal Ruler abilities, she would definitely be a top-tier Servant.
Unfortunately, Jeanne had lost most of her power and was likely to be at the bottom among the group.
Looking at the side of the Dragon Witch.
According to Rozen's reconnaissance, the enemy's seven Servants were almost all first-class, and some could even be considered top-tier.
Based on just their abilities, the difference between the two sides was surprisingly large.
Thankfully, the strength of Servants wasn't solely determined by their abilities; often, what decided victory or defeat were their Noble Phantasms, their trump cards.
Therefore, the method of calculating the difference in strength came back to the most basic number.
"I agree with Master's viewpoint." Jeanne was the first to nod, speaking seriously, "Indeed, we don't have the advantage. To recklessly confront the forces of the Dragon Witch like this would be imprudent."
After all, Jeanne had led troops in battle before; she had been a national heroine of France during her life, and she couldn't possibly overlook this fact.
"So, are we not going to fight?"
"That's not an option!"
Kiyohime and Elizabeth voiced their opinions one after the other.
On the contrary, Mash understood Rozen's personality very well.
"Senpai is an unexpectedly cautious person. If he doesn't see a chance of winning, he wouldn't say something like 'take the castle of the Dragon Witch'."
Mash voiced this to the others, causing all of their gazes to focus on Rozen.
"Do you have a plan to make up for the difference, Master?"
"Please do share, I'm all ears."
Marie spoke with anticipation, while Amadeus looked on curiously, prompting a slight smile from Rozen.
As Mash had stated, Rozen wouldn't say something like that without a chance of victory.
"While the enemy has the advantage, we're not without our strengths."
Rozen raised three fingers.
"Compared to the enemy, we have three advantages."
What advantages?
"First, we have a Master." Rozen calmly said, "With my support, your combat strength can be raised by several levels. Even if we can't surpass the enemy, the gap will be significantly smaller."
"Second, the enemy has abnormalities." Rozen continued, "I don't know if you've noticed, but the collective mental state of the enemy Servants isn't quite normal."
As Rozen pointed it out, the others began to recall.
Especially Mash.
"Senpai is right." Mash's face was serious, "The enemy's Archer, for example, has almost completely lost her rationality. In the battles during the attack and retreat in Orleans, she didn't show signs of intellect."
It wasn't just the Archer; other Servants also displayed a very bloodthirsty, cruel, and ruthless side, which was why they could so ruthlessly slaughter in the territory of France.
"This is clearly an abnormal situation." Rozen continued, "Not all of the enemy's Servants are Berserkers, so their collective irrationality can't be attributed to personal reasons."
If it wasn't due to personal reasons, then it must be due to some external factor.
"I'm afraid that the Witch used the power of the Holy Grail to attach the 'Mad Enhancement' attribute to the summoned Servants, making it easier to control and manipulate them."
Rozen speculated.
"In that case, we can exploit the weakness that the enemy Servants lack normal rationality and take effective actions."
During the retreat from Orleans, this was the reason Mash managed to escape with the French forces. If the enemy's Servants were all rational and collectively used their Noble Phantasms, even if Mash was as empowered as she was at the time, she would have been stopped.
Rozen told the group that this weakness could be used to their advantage.
This third advantage came from that.
"The enemy is not united right now. Three Servants of the Archer, Rider, and Saber classes are pursuing us separately. Isn't that right?"
This sentence revealed Rozen's plan to the group.
"Are you suggesting..."
Jeanne looked at Rozen with a sudden realization.
"Exactly."
Rozen nodded firmly, making his declaration.
"I'm going to first eliminate the three separated enemy Servants, weaken their combat strength, and lay the foundation for our victory in the future!"
This was Rozen's first step of action.
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