Why bother with the Holy Grail War? Let's play cards!

"Honestly, I originally thought I was the strongest when it came to logistics." After having a drink, Tawara Tota started talking. It wasn't just boasting; with his EX-rank Noble Phantasm, Endless Rice Bag, he could produce delicious rice almost endlessly without any cost. Among the known Servants, it wouldn't be a problem to say he was the strongest. "But compared to you, I'm even slightly inferior. Your two Noble Phantasms are just too overpowered. They can provide any kind of supplies. It's terrifying."

Jiang You's ability to travel between scenarios is treated as a secondary Noble Phantasm, a feat Jiang You readily embraces, saving him the trouble of explaining himself. Most inanimate objects, like Soul Crystals, can be crammed into his inventory, so quantity isn't a concern. However, living creatures, including Servants, draw their Mana from Jiang You. This is likely designed to incentivize players to actively acquire a full three-card deck.

The feast didn't last long; the mountain dwellers couldn't possibly maintain a good mood after their homes were destroyed. After accepting their thanks, Jiang You chatted with the heroes for a while before returning to their tents to rest.

When Jiang You was about to log off, he saw Bedivere hiding on the mountainside alone, avoiding everyone's sight.

Jiang You knew that the opportunity to improve his favor had come.

"You must have had a tough journey. This long trip must have been very painful for you," Jiang You said after Bedivere had finished venting his emotions by crying. He had been waiting behind Bedivere for a long time.

"I apologize for showing my pathetic side to you." Bedivere wiped away his tears. In front of others, he still needed to maintain the dignity of a Knight of the Round Table, but he didn't pretend nothing had happened. "I was just thinking about some sad things..."

“There’s no need to pretend in front of me. If I’m not mistaken, this silver arm of yours is actually the Sword of Victory of the Contract with your Queen Artoria.” Jiang You forcefully pushed the plot forward, even though he hadn’t actually seen through anything and was just reciting from the script.

"Can you tell?" Bedivere was surprised at first, but then he understood. In his mind, Jiang You was a very powerful Caster, and in his history, he was also a very remarkable character, but for some reason, he had not revealed it to others. "No wonder the Magic King was so surprised by your appearance. Your magical skills are probably much higher than Master Merlin's."

Jiang You knew nothing about magic, but he shamelessly admitted it. He went a step further: "Besides, you're not a Heroic Spirit, are you? Traveling all this way in a human body, constantly fighting powerful Servants, must have been terrifying, right?"

Bedivere's fingers trembled, and he smiled bitterly, "You've discovered me, but this is my duty, and my atonement. Because of my own selfish desires, I failed to return the Holy Sword, which prevented my king from entering Avalon. This is the punishment I deserve."

"You've kept watch alone for 1,500 years to fulfill a promise. Are you really just doing it for your own selfish desires?" Jiang You first acknowledged his dedication, then steered the conversation toward the Lion King. "But I am not qualified to forgive you on behalf of your Queen Artoria. So you must go to her and complete your unfinished journey. As for her evaluation, you should hear it from her own mouth."

"Until then, rely on us. I promise to bring you to the Lion King unharmed." According to the plot, Bedivere should be able to reach the Lion King, but Jiang You bringing him up before that is a different matter.

"Thank you!" With Jiang You's promise, Bedivere felt much more at ease. As a human, it was impossible not to be afraid when facing such powerful enemies. Since someone understood him and was even offering help, Bedivere was able to put aside other distractions. "Whether my queen forgives me or not, or even kills me, I will fulfill my duty and return the Holy Sword to her."

"Don't worry too much." Jiang You smiled and pointed to himself. "Have you forgotten my abilities? With me here, you can rest assured."

"!" Bedwell understood immediately. Jiang You was a powerful Caster who could see the future, and Jiang You's current attitude meant his fate was already clear. "Thank you, Mr. Jiang You!"

Jiang You successfully obtained Belleville's card.

Chapter 190 Agravivan: Lancelot, don't swear, I'm afraid

"Lancelot, why is it that only you have returned?" Agravan watched as the purple-armored knight returned to the throne room, but he did not see the other person. This made his already furrowed brows furrow even deeper, and his fierce appearance was like that of a hawk hunting its prey. "Where is Tristan? You did not swing your sword at your colleague again, did you?"

"Watch your tone!" Lancelot had never gotten along well with Agraven; he particularly disliked the gloomy fellow. "The moment I drew my sword against a comrade who disagreed with me before my king, I decided that I would only be loyal to him, and that nothing like that would ever happen again!"

“You better be.” Agraven gave Lancelot a sinister look. Lancelot had a problem with him, and so did he. Of all the Knights of the Round Table, this was the one he trusted the least. It was best not to believe a single word this guy said. “Then why didn’t Tristan show up?”

"Tristan's spirit origin reaction has already disappeared in the King's Judgment." Lancelot had already left the scene after defeating Arash, the enemy's strongest fighter. This was an agreement he made with Tristan—to eliminate one at a time. But even after the Lion King unleashed his Noble Phantasm, Tristan was still not seen leaving. Under such a world-destroying attack, even Tristan, who had received protection, could not have survived.

Speaking of which, the Chaldeans didn't escape either. Lancelot felt that he still had to tell the beauty in the camp that the Chaldeans had also died at the hands of the king's spear. It was very troublesome just thinking about it. He was afraid that he had no chance at all.

"With the King's blessing, he'd be held back by such a rabble?" Agraven was unaware that additional Servants had joined the battle. Since Tristan was outmatched, his death was just that—death. The Knights of the Round Table didn't tolerate useless individuals. Without the blessing, Agraven couldn't imagine what Tristan would have accomplished. "He truly disgraced the King. To die at the King's hands is his good fortune!"

"There's bad news." The white knight also stepped into the throne room. Of the Lion King's remaining Knights of the Round Table, only Mordred was not present.

“Gawain? Why are you here instead of guarding the city gate?” Agraven felt a tense atmosphere, as if he had a grudge against everyone. Camelot was already short-handed, and now that Tristan was gone, the manpower was even more strained. You can’t expect Mordred, who neglected her studies during pregnancy, to do anything other than fight. “The king has not yet completed her selection. Hurry up and return to your posts!”

“Agraven, you’re too hasty. Fewer and fewer refugees are coming to Camelot these days, greatly reducing the chances of finding a pure person.” Gawain’s dislike for Agraven wasn’t as strong as that for the other Knights of the Round Table; he had always been a sunny and cheerful young man.

"This is not something you should do by neglecting your post!" No wonder Agravan has a terrible reputation at the round table; only a stern-faced guy is disliked.

“Alright, alright, I have important news to report. Since the messenger couldn’t get here and couldn’t find you, I had to come myself.” Gawain wasn’t angry, but continued to explain why he had come. “The border patrol soldiers reported that Chaldea members are heading to the desert where the Egyptian Pharaoh is, but their purpose is still uncertain. In other words, they survived last night’s attack.”

“Lancelot, didn’t you say you had finished eliminating the traitors?” Agravan scrutinized Lancelot, seemingly trying to find any trace of lying on his face. “How do you explain this?”

“Watch your words.” Lancelot was not a man of good temper, and after Agravine’s repeated questioning, he also became angry. “This is a punishment personally bestowed by the King. Are you saying that the King is also condoning these traitors? Tristan, who was under the King’s blessing, has already left. The King has no reason to show leniency. Those guys must have used some method to circumvent the King’s punishment.”

“Regardless, they are still alive. How dare you leave without confirming that the enemy has been eliminated, and you even have the nerve to come back here!” Agraven’s anger was understandable. Lancelot had been acting with Tristan, and he left without seeing his companion return. Calling it betrayal wouldn’t be an exaggeration. “In this respect, you’re not even as good as that piece of trash Tristan!”

Lancelot, of course, couldn't say it was because he believed in the king's power; such a blatant attempt to shift the blame would be far too obvious. "This is my fault. I will lead the troops and set off. I will not set foot in Camelot until I have retrieved their heads!"

"Hmph!" With insufficient manpower, Agrave had no choice but to accept it. Even if he disliked Lancelot, he had to acknowledge Lancelot's strength. "You'd better keep your word. Also, since they survived, there must be other traitors who did too. Gawain, when you go back, tell Mordred to go back and clean up the remaining debris!"

Although Gawain felt it was unnecessary—the enemy, already destroyed by the Lion King, shouldn't be worth eliminating—he would still tell Mordred everything, as was his nature. What happened afterward wasn't his concern. "I will."

……

"It's all sand and dust, and you can't even see the road. Can't Mr. Wang Hassan be a little clearer?" Gudako trudged through the desert with difficulty. She was the only ordinary person here (the others didn't know about Bedivere's situation), and she couldn't help but complain under her breath.

"So this is what they call a test," Matthew said, pulling Gudako's arm to help her forward. Matthew actually wanted to say "riddler," Jiang You's words were surprisingly apt. Those who knew the information refused to reveal it directly, as if they wanted people to solve a riddle—how annoying!

"You guys are as tenacious as rats!" Lancelot charged ahead of the group. This time, he had no intention of holding back. The Chaldea people had indeed hindered the King's plans, and he had sworn not to return until he had killed them. This time, he would not break his promise!

“The knight who betrayed the Round Table, stay here!” Lancelot recognized Bedivere’s identity and made him the first target to be eliminated.

The indestructible lake light broke through the wind and sand, and with a sound of breaking through the air, it slashed towards Bedivere, who was the last one to fall.

The round shield blocked the flawless reflection of the lake, and the holy sword didn't even leave a trace on it. "I think you're the one who betrayed us, Lancelot!"

For some reason, Lancelot felt a fear of this little girl. He had already felt this way since they first met.

Chapter 191 Lancelot is fighting for custody (?)

"I think you're the one who betrayed us, Lancelot!" Matthew slammed his shield, knocking Lancelot back. In his blessed state, Lancelot could have easily dealt with the attack, even sending Matthew flying. However, his body refused to do so, and he couldn't use his full strength.

"Why do I feel so familiar with you?" Lancelot sensed something was wrong; for some reason, he wanted to run away, but...

"The name of the Heroic Spirit who entrusted his name to me is..." Matthew pursued Lancelot with his shield, but Lancelot showed no intention of retaliating, merely dodging. From the tone of his voice and his attitude towards him, Lancelot roughly knew who Matthew's Spirit Origin belonged to.

"Galahad!"

Matthew leaped into the air, shouting, and slammed his shield and body weight down on Lancelot. "You wretched father!"

You should know that Galahad had only called Lancelot the word "Dad" when he was a child. He always wanted to be called that by his son again. Unexpectedly, after becoming a heroic spirit, his wish came true. His child was even a more obedient and hardworking girl.

The call and accusation from his daughter made Lancelot's legs go weak. Facing Matthew, he had no strength at all. He took Matthew's attack head-on and was smashed directly into the ground.

Matthew pinned Lancelot to the sand, Lancelot's face contorted by the round shield: "Can you, a man who wields a butcher's knife so wantonly, still be called a knight? I am ashamed to have you as my father!"

“You don’t understand…” Lancelot knew he had done something wrong, but he didn’t have any confidence in his voice.

Seeing Lancelot's hostility disappear, Matthew also moved his shield away. "Don't I understand? Then tell me, do you know why the Lion King did what he did?"

“I know…” Lancelot sighed, like a father who had been forced by his boss to do something outside of work, made a mistake, and was being scolded by his daughter. “The Lion King gave us a choice, and some knights objected, but this time I chose to remain loyal to my King…”

"Enough is enough!" The round shield struck Lancelot on the head, producing a considerable echo. It was indeed a good headbutt.

"Enough is enough...? Ugh! I actually got scolded by my daughter." Lancelot felt even more pain in his heart than in his head.

"If you have doubts about the King, you should correct him! If the King is wrong, you should fight him! This should be your duty, Lancelot!" This was also what Galahad wanted to say. In that instant, Matthew and his Spirit Origin resonated. After his Spirit Origin Ascension, Matthew's armor coverage increased even further. "Therefore, I will duel you here, and I will correct you!"

“You…I…” Lancelot was at a loss for words, struggling for a long time before finally picking up his weapon. “Lancelot is here, betting his beliefs, to fight you. My child, if you lose, come back to Camelot with me…if I lose…”

Just as Lancelot pointed his sword at Matthew, a black shadow pounced on Lancelot at an extremely fast speed and punched Lancelot hard in the face.

“Ahrrrrrrrrr——”

"What do you mean she's your daughter, not mine?" Lancelot stood up angrily. This was his family matter. Even if he won, he would release the others out of respect for Matthew. Who was being so ungrateful! "I am Lancelot! You dared to steal my daughter! You alone, I cannot forgive! Break all the chains—"

Lancelot released his Noble Phantasm without hesitation.

Since the Black-Armored Knight never spoke and had just joined the team yesterday, everyone forgot his identity for a while.

"Come to think of it, the person Mr. Jiang You arranged to come and help... was also Lancelot?"

……

"A little boring."

"Come help me if you're bored!" Medea complained, clearly annoyed. While magic was convenient, Jiang You was the first person to boss a magician around like this. If Jiang You hadn't provided her with her services, she would have definitely given him a taste of the petty nature of a magician from the Age of Gods.

Because the game was so realistic, the heat and sandstorms of the desert were a real experience. Jiang You had no intention of enduring such hardships; it was just something he could think about.

So Jiang You decided to stay in East Village to win the favor of Hassan and the others. After setting up the venue, Medea took on the job of a civil engineer. Jiang You himself took on the job of supervisor.

"Over there in the clock tower..."

"Come on!" Although Medea wasn't a Saint, using such an obvious move again wouldn't be effective. She decisively refused, "Anyway, you better get moving. Even Jason isn't as lazy as you. I really don't know what they see in you."

"How about this as payment?" Medea's eyes lit up when Jiang You pulled something out of his pocket (inventory).

Medea had helped Jiang You a lot, and now Jiang You still had some Soul Crystals. Regardless of favorability, Jiang You felt that he should give her one. Anyway, this thing wasn't very useful, just like the characters in the game had favorite gifts, Soul Crystals didn't work very well for some characters.

"You're really generous, offering this as payment for such a small thing." Medea quickly accepted the Soul Crystal, afraid Jiang You might change his mind. She had coveted this for a long time; it was the foundation for Heroic Spirits to build their Spirit Foundation, meaning Heroic Spirit summoning was essentially based on the Third Law. If she weren't worried about lowering her value in Jiang You's eyes, she would have asked for it long ago. Now, she realized she had been overthinking it; Jiang You didn't care about it at all. "Just come to me next time you need something like this."

Jiang You received [Medea Lily] and some related cards. He flipped through them, but found no other Argonaut cards. It seemed that Medea's relationship with the others wasn't exactly harmonious; in fact, she was practically deserted. He would have to get the Hercules cards from Jason.

"I'll leave this to you. I'm going to find Minamoto no Yorimitsu." Although Medea was petty, her integrity was still higher than most Servants, so Jiang You wasn't worried that Medea would dawdle. As for why he didn't go to find Illya, it was because Illya was in school, and Minamoto no Yorimitsu forbade her to come here to fight during school hours.

By the way, Minamoto no Raikou is now in the logistics kitchen team. Jiang You plans to go and have a taste of the mother-loving bento (?) that Minamoto no Raikou prepared for Illya.

"Lord Jiang You, Lord Medea!" Just then, Bai Mao appeared before the two. "I'm sorry, but we are currently lacking top-tier combat power. Lord Arash can only exert less than 30% of his strength. A large number of knights have appeared on the mountain path, and we need your assistance!"

Chapter 192 Why is this like the Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather?

Speaking of which, the Servant population density in the Eastern Village is quite high. Leaving aside Jiang You, there are the three Hassans: Cursed Arm, Hundred Faces, and Tranquility, plus the half-crippled Arash, and then there are Jiang You and Minamoto no Yorimitsu. If you add one more Servant to this small village, you could start a Holy Grail War.

Oh, thanks to Mordred's intervention, they did indeed gather seven Servants. The two sides faced off in the canyon, a terrain that was indeed suitable for defense, but the battle between the Servants would determine the outcome.

"Even in this state, how could they still survive?" Mordred looked at the makeshift village, which had been fortified with defenses built using the crater created by the Holy Lance, and wore a rather puzzled expression. It was one thing for the Servants to survive, but how could so many villagers withstand her father's attack? She was certain that even a slight glancing blow from that attack would have sent her straight back to the Throne of Heroes.

"Hey, little Mordred." This was Jiang You's first time meeting Mordred. This girl perfectly inherited the characteristics of Saber-class Artoria, whether it was her face or her chest. "Actually, I'm quite curious why you agreed to the Lion King's decision. You know, you're known for your rebellious nature, this isn't like you at all."

You know, Mordred has a class restraint in the game and has a special attack on Altria. If Mordred rebels, maybe he will win?

"Don't act like you know me so well!" Mordred didn't like this overly familiar guy. How could he just call her "Little Mordred" like that? Even her father had never called her that! "My father said he needed me, that he acknowledged me. So I came to help her, that's all!"

It's a very simple and crude reason, but it's worthy of being Mordred. He can rebel for a very simple reason, and he can also make peace with his past for a very simple reason. There's a kind of beauty in the single-threaded brain circuit.

“Indeed, the Knights of the Round Table only have the King’s Chef and the Twisted King’s Chef.” Jiang You nodded. “So you came alone? Knowing full well that Tristan had already perished here, you were the only one sent. Does the Lion King have a problem with you?”

He thought that only friendly forces would do something like Calabash Brothers saving his grandfather, but he didn't expect that the Knights of the Round Table were also well versed in this.

"Don't think you can swagger in front of me just because you used Father's Noble Phantasm to defeat Tristan!" Mordred didn't believe that the Servants here had defeated Tristan. She knew very well her father's current strength; he was more like a god than a king. The Knights of the Round Table, blessed by her father, were more like apostles of God; even top-tier Heroic Spirits would be defeated on the spot!

"That's the downside of being unknown." Jiang You felt completely looked down upon, but that was to be expected; his stats were entirely due to his Noble Phantasm. It wasn't just one Heroic Spirit who had said his Spirit Origin was ridiculously low. "So, you incredibly powerful Knights of the Round Table, successors of King Arthur, the ones who ended the Age of Gods… are you interested in a duel with me?"

Jiang You's series of titles made Modred dizzy, and he didn't even notice that there were some titles that were not praises at all.

"I have no interest in weak Servants. If you try to escape from here, I might let you off the hook!" Mordred thought Jiang You was agreeing with him. "As long as it doesn't interfere with my father's plans, I can turn a blind eye. The only ones I need to deal with are those who killed our Knights of the Round Table!"

It wasn't Mordred's own thoughts; with her mind, the literal meaning of the mission was unfathomable. It was Gawain who had added some details when relaying it. Gawain understood that given Camelot's situation, no matter how many ordinary people there were, they wouldn't be able to breach the city gates. The only ones to be wary of were powerful Servants. If that were possible, he saw no need for such a large-scale massacre.

To Mordred, Jiang You was so weak that she could kill him with one hand, so the person who held Tristan back must not be him.

"I'm truly sorry then." Jiang You implied that if he didn't attack, how would he get his cards? He was also curious to see if Mordred's deck contained Morgan. "I'm the one who held Tristan back, and there's something else you're mistaken about. Tristan didn't die from Artoria's Noble Phantasm; I defeated him directly. The person you're looking for is me!"

"You?" Mordred scrutinized Jiang You. His steps were unsteady, his muscles were thin, and his physique was exactly that of an ordinary resident, without a trace of martial arts skill. "Like a bean sprout, are you kidding me?"