Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

If their numbers reach a certain level, they possess the ability to turn the tables and kill General Bud.

After all, unlike when Shirou Emiya first arrived in the Empire, they didn't have only one magic circuit activated, although they only possessed a portion of Shirou Emiya's magic circuits.

However, it is enough to project General Bud's gauntlet-type Imperial Arm - Thunder God's Wrath "Admirer". Although it cannot reach the level of General Bud, if there are enough people, it can completely counter him.

"Who are you anyway?"

Number 88 stared at Shirou Emiya with a furrowed brow, as if trying to find a flaw in his disguise.

A blue short sword appeared in Number 88's hand in that instant, and a set of blue armor instantly covered his entire body.

Despite being under several times the gravity, Shirou Emiya's current speed is basically the same as theirs.

However, Shirou Emiya, who had experienced countless battles, was far superior to them in terms of combat experience, combat skills, and combat thinking. At this moment, Shirou Emiya was not even on the same level as them.

"Qiang————!"

Number 88 brandished his sword, which clashed heavily with the blade once more. With the blessing of the [Noble Chariot], a powerful force erupted from the sword in Number 88's hand.

A powerful impact echoed through the alley.

The Noble Chariots do have their own weapons, but for some reason, they prefer to use swords in combat rather than guns.

"Qiang! Qiang! Qiang! Qiang!"

In the dimly lit alley, the sounds of weapons clashing rang out fiercely, causing sparks to fly everywhere, creating a dazzling spectacle.

Under these circumstances, Number 88, clad in the projected [Noble Chariot], rained down on Shirou Emiya.

A powerful force emanated from him.

At that moment, the walls of the entire alleyway transformed into Number 88's landing spot, flying back and forth at an astonishing speed, unleashing countless flashes of light that enveloped Emiya Shirou.

However, despite the relentless slashes from number 88, Shirou Emiya kept his other hand naturally hanging down, gripping the sword with only one hand to block the attack.

Although gravity suppressed his speed, the power that Shirou Emiya could unleash in a fight was not reduced at all.

Even at a speed of 88, it was completely ineffective against Shirou Emiya's powerful dynamic vision.

At that very moment, Shirou Emiya's battle silhouette and battle data were being continuously uploaded to the mental network through Android 88.

“Puff——!”

There was another sound of swords shattering, and the sword in Number Eighty-Eight's hand broke once again under Shirou Emiya's casual slash.

This time, however, compared to the previous shattering, Shirou Emiya could clearly feel that it had become much harder.

In such a short period of time, Number 88's projection magic skills have improved rapidly.

Although they can project, they cannot read about the sword user's skills like Shirou Emiya. Their current combat skills are all gleaned from constant battles and data collected from their phones.

To put it simply, the Noble Phantasm-type weapons projected by Shirou Emiya will be downgraded by one level, but these androids will be downgraded by two levels no matter what they project, until they become sufficiently familiar with the object, at which point they can barely reach the level of a weapon that is downgraded by one level.

Fortunately, they had enough people to train at the same time and to analyze and collect information, which enabled them to project objects stably in such a short period of time.

but----

"It's over!"

Emiya Shirou muttered to himself, knowing that from the start of the battle, he hadn't made any moves at all, basically just defending.

With a lightning-fast movement, golden lightning flashed around Shirou Emiya's mouth. Even under the suppression of gravity, Shirou Emiya's figure transformed into a golden phantom.

Almost simultaneously, the figure of number 88, dressed in the [Noble Chariot], also appeared, wielding a new Imperial longsword, and slashed down at Shirou Emiya's head.

Every move he made was aimed at the most vulnerable parts of the human body; he showed no mercy when fighting Shirou Emiya.

At that moment, Shirou Emiya's sword transformed into a reverse blade, becoming a beam of moonlight, like a pure white crescent moon, fiercely slashing down along with Number 88's attack.

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking came from Number 88.

Both the swords in his hands and the [Noble Chariot] he wore shattered.

The battle ends here.

Number 88 was breathing irregularly, kneeling on the ground. Under such intense fighting, he was even having difficulty catching his breath.

Although his physical abilities are very strong, that is the result of modifications, unlike Shirou Emiya, whose achievements are the result of constant life-and-death battles and continuous training.

"Seriously, you're really strong! Could you teach me some fighting techniques?"

Number 97 approached Shirou Emiya with great excitement. They knew that their strengths were roughly equal, and if Shirou Emiya could guide them, they would definitely become even stronger.

"Who are you?"

Number 88 slowly calmed himself down and asked again.

During the battle earlier, Android 88 asked him a question, but Shirou Emiya did not give a direct answer.

Chapter 348 Death is the Best Relief

The air seemed to freeze for a moment, and the entire alley fell silent the instant number 88 raised his question.

Shirou Emiya didn't know whether he should tell them about it. He didn't know if it was the right thing to do or what the consequences would be.

After all, judging from the conversation just now, they belong to the Empire and have always helped the Empire. They are just like the high-ranking officials and don't care about human lives at all.

Moreover, they share a network of consciousness that they don't fully understand. Each of them has a distinct personality, and who knows which one might tell the people of the Empire that they have returned.

However, Shirou Emiya is not sure how much time has passed in the Empire. He only knows that if the flow of time is the same, he should have been gone from this world for three months.

"You are—the original body, aren't you?"

Seeing that Shirou Emiya remained silent, Android 88 already had the answer in her heart.

With a mental network, communication between them becomes incredibly fast.

Unlike Number 97, Number 88 didn't dislike thinking. As the team leader, he naturally needed to think about many things and immediately confirmed that there were no abnormalities in the laboratory.

There is no possibility of an android suddenly running away. The Empire only has one laboratory, which is under heavy protection, so it is virtually impossible for an android to leave the laboratory undetected.

Even if something did happen, it must have been something that changed in the lab, not something as calm as it is now.

From the very first meeting, Number 88 never let his guard down.

I never expected that Shirou Emiya would jump out when I was just doing my routine work.

He also naturally engaged in battle with Emiya Shirou to test his absurd ideas.

Whether it's his superior combat skills or his projection magic that surpasses theirs, it's enough to prove that Shirou Emiya is definitely not a simple android like them.

Since he didn't come from a laboratory and possessed projection magic far more powerful than theirs, no matter how much he disbelieved it, he could only deduce that Emiya Shirou was the real person.

After all, the answer they got from the fashion expert was that Shirou Emiya died at the hands of Esdeath, and they had also deeply experienced the scene of being brutally murdered by Esdeath.

That deep fear naturally made them believe that their true form had died at Esdeath's hands.

"Yes--"

Emiya Shirou slowly lowered the Imperial Longsword in his hand and looked straight at Number 88. He did not deny Number 88's speculation, because he also wanted to know what they would think if they met him.

Number 97, standing behind Shirou Emiya, was also startled by Number 88's words.

Ontology?

The Mind Network, as the name suggests, is a network, and whether or not one uploads their feelings to the network is up to the individual.

If Android 88 did not intend to upload his thoughts, then the other androids would naturally not receive the information he was thinking at that moment.

This is one of the reasons why each android has its own personality.

Simply put, it is the sacred Kara that connects the thoughts of each of us.

"You, you are really the original?"

In fact, when Number 88 spoke, Number 97 already believed that Shirou Emiya was the real person, because when Shirou Emiya gave the accurate answer, he had already uploaded all his speculations to the Psychic Network.

At that moment, all the androids received the message from Number 88.

Shirou Emiya simply looked at Number 97's incredulous eyes and nodded slightly.

He has adjusted his magical energy flow, ready for battle at any moment. Unless Esdeath comes in person, the Empire should have no way to stop him now.

Even if Esdeath herself came, I should be able to escape.

Shirou Emiya did not make any guarantees.

Because the last time he came to this world, what he saw was only the tip of the iceberg of the empire.

"Shh-!"

Number 124 jumped down from the roof and stood next to Number 88.

While they were fighting, Number 124 was also keeping an eye on the surroundings.

"Did you have doubts from the very beginning?"

In front of Shirou Emiya, Android 88 had already deactivated the projected [Noble Chariot] and put away her weapon, showing no hostility towards him.

"No, because according to the information, you should already be dead."

Number 88 shook his head. The most common battle data on their mental network was Esdeath, and they had no doubt that Shirou Emiya had been frozen into pieces by her.

Because in their constant simulations within their mental network, the probability of defeating Esdeath is infinitely close to 0. Unless some miraculous event is triggered, it is impossible for them to win against Esdeath.

"Indeed, if I hadn't left then and had continued fighting her, I would have been the one to die."

Emiya Shirou answered Number 88 with a wry smile, his one percent chance of victory interrupted by the sudden teleportation.

The outcome, which should have been a victory, was reversed at that moment.

If he had really made a pact with Esdeath to continue fighting after that island incident, he would probably have only become a victim of her blade.

"You know that I fought Esdeath, and you should also know that we are enemies."

Emiya Shirou stared intently at Number 88, radiating hostility, as if seeking answers from his eyes.

"Death is the best release within the empire."

Number 97 said to Shirou Emiya, "This is not just the result he agrees with, but the result that all the homunculus agrees with."

It is important to know that in order to achieve his goal, the doctor arrested countless civilians. Many civilians were simply walking on the street when they were arrested with fabricated charges against them.