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

The battle between the two Lancelots was inconclusive. Jianlan, possessing the Sorrowful Blessing, was much stronger, but with Matthew's support, Jianlan had no choice but to surrender. His goal now was to get Jianlan to admit that he was the more suitable father. He couldn't afford to lose to someone who couldn't even speak a complete sentence!

"Sir Holmes, have you been waiting for us here all this time?" Matthew remembered Jiang You's words about a special connection, which he assumed referred to Holmes.

“Well, it’s true, it’s a bit difficult for me to explore this labyrinth on my own.” Holmes, holding his pipe, revealed a rather hearty smile. “After all, I’m a brainy person, so I’d appreciate your help in exploring this Astra Academy together. I’m sure you all have many questions… and so do I. For example, the true identity of the Magic King. The clues I’ve collected from various eras haven’t been able to connect it to the Magic King. With the testimonies of you eyewitnesses, we can advance the deduction further.”

“Actually…” Gudako interrupted Holmes, who was excited about the problem, somewhat embarrassed, “we already know the identity of the Magic King, so there’s no need to explore further here…”

"?" Holmes was startled. The current situation offered Chaldea no sufficient conditions to obtain the information they needed, no way to bypass the puzzle and directly obtain the answer. "Then the Lion King's purpose..."

“We know that too…” After all, someone just dumped out all the questions they needed right away.

"!!!" Skipping the deciphering and going straight for the answer, huh? Can't you at least show some respect for the detective? Holmes just wants to get back to the Throne of Heroes as quickly as possible.

Chapter 199 Dog K, isn't your range of interests a bit too far?

Jiang You only brought Minamoto no Raikou and Hassan to Camelot. There was no time to assemble troops for them now, and Jiang You just needed someone to help deal with the miscellaneous soldiers. Currently, Gawain and Agravain were the only knights left in Camelot. Jiang You could meet the Lion King after two duels at most.

The Servants hurried at full speed and arrived in front of Camelot Castle in a few hours.

Camelot's gates were now sealed, and tens of thousands of refugees gathered near the city walls, hoping to enter the inner city and approach the golden curtain of light that resembled a stairway to heaven. Though they knew nothing, they understood what had happened in Camelot and that this was likely their last chance. However, the knights seemed to have received orders that if they approached within a hundred meters of the city walls, they would be shot by the archers on the walls.

Jiang You and his group covered their bodies with cloaks, mixed in with the refugees, and soon approached the cordon.

"Minamoto no Raikou, can your Noble Phantasm destroy the city gate?"

“Although it looks like an ordinary city gate, I can sense an unusual power emanating from it.” Even though Minamoto no Yorimitsu was unfamiliar with Western magic, her warrior’s intuition allowed her to sense a special power emanating from the city gate. “It seems to be repelling malice. Besides, my Noble Phantasm is more suited to creating killing than destruction.”

"Only those with pure hearts can open it..." Jiang You recalled the setting of the City of Camelot (although it was created by the Holy Lance). This thing, as the prototype of Matthew's Noble Phantasm, had the feat of blocking Goetia's human destruction bubble, so its effect was self-evident. In the original work, Xuanzang, as a cultivator, was able to open it with her Noble Phantasm, largely because she was that pure person.

Considering that the Allied forces had attempted to climb the city walls in the original storyline, and that the soldiers of the Holy City of Camelot had defended against it, this method was indeed effective: "Then we can only jump over from above."

"Do you have a flying Noble Phantasm?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu didn't recall Jiang You ever using a flying Noble Phantasm.

"That's true, I don't have many Noble Phantasms." Jiang You, a Servant with only one Noble Phantasm, is quite rare these days, possessing a kind of retro charm. "But I can call for reinforcements! It's not the first time."

"Lord Gawain!" A soldier from the Holy City rushed over, "A large number of masked Hassans have appeared on the west side. Our arrows can't hit them at all, and they're getting closer and closer to the city walls!"

"Is it just Hassan?" Gawain knew of the existence of Tranquility and naturally understood that there were other Servants among the Mountain People. It would indeed be very difficult for ordinary soldiers to deal with them, but it would be too naive to think that these Assassins could break through their defenses head-on.

"Yes! Their skills are all very similar, about 60 people." For the Holy City, sixty people is too few. The Holy City has hundreds of knights alone, not counting ordinary soldiers. But if we use the strength of the Servants as a reference, then it is terrifying.

“Then I will…” It was daytime, and with triple damage, Gawain feared no one. He didn't believe any Servant could stand against him under the sun. Without unleashing his Noble Phantasm, even the Lion King wouldn't stand a chance against him. But he quickly realized something was amiss. How could the Mountain People have so many Servants? And if they wanted to attack, they couldn't have sent only Servants. The Lion King's order for him to hold his ground was clearly a precaution against others. “Draw some manpower from other directions to assist in the defense. Report back if anything changes!”

"The archers have been transferred. It's about time, Medusa, please."

"No need to thank me. On the contrary, I haven't had a chance to thank you." Medusa hadn't forgotten her sister's request to thank Jiang You. She was very satisfied with her life now, so she agreed without hesitation after Jiang You appeared. "However, with Pegasus's speed, they can't possibly hit us. You don't need to be so careful."

After thanking him, Jiang You suddenly received a Medusa favorability bonus. It wasn't much, not even a full three, but it was still NEW. However, the entire Medusa deck seemed to be focused on Gorgon. While magic cards could directly turn the opponent's servants into continuous magic cards and even circumvent graveyard effects, if not paired with a Medusa deck, they would only hinder themselves and were not very practical at the moment.

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it. Maintaining your existence in this world requires consuming my mana, and releasing your Noble Phantasm also does.” Bringing someone from elsewhere doesn’t come without a price, especially since Jiang You is currently a Servant without a Master. With his C-rank mana, he can’t store too much. “I can’t guarantee the speed. I don’t want to be riddled with arrows.”

Jiang You also considered raising Medusa to level three to increase her support. However, she was still Sakura's Servant and cared more about her. If he approached her directly, it would likely cause her to lose favor. So, he could just ask Sakura for help when the time came. Given their relationship, she would most likely not refuse.

“Then you’d better hold on tight this time.” Medusa sensed Jiang You’s magical energy supply, and it was indeed as Jiang You had described. “This time I don’t have the strength to hold you back. If you fall like last time… Or do you want to sit in the front?”

If it were Medusa's two sisters, Jiang You would think they were teasing him, but this was Medusa. Although her body was very mature, her emotions were still very simple. She was simply worried about Jiang You's strength. As a Servant, it was obvious that Jiang You only had a face, without the corresponding martial arts or magic skills.

Since Medusa had said so, Jiang You had nothing to worry about. Jiang You and Medusa mounted Pegasus together and put his arm around her waist from behind. Jiang You felt the touch of Medusa's belly, which was not a trace of fat, on his palm. It was very soft. He began to wonder if Lao K was secretly making butter.

Back in the beta, someone did something strange to the Dark Magician Girl, and got banned. Looking at the current situation, the players can't be blamed entirely.

Just as Jiang You was lost in thought, he received a warning from the system in his email. It roughly meant, "Please do not challenge the tolerance of the review process." The text was all in red, and he seemed extremely anxious.

"So is this thing detected manually or monitored by the system?" Jiang You thought to himself that this thing came at just the right time. The system was fine, but if it was detected manually, that would be a bit scary.

"Bellerophon!" Medusa had no idea what Jiang You was thinking. She controlled Pegasus, and the celestial horse transformed into a silver meteor that shot straight into the sky, then drew a perfect arc and crashed straight into the light barrier.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time!" Standing on high ground, Gawain watched the approaching meteors and unleashed his Noble Phantasm.

Chapter 200 Gorilla, your attack power is terrifying!

"This sword is a replica of the sun. Its purifying flames burn away all impurities. —The Sword of Victory! (Excalibur Galatine)!"

The slash of the Rotating Victory Sword unleashed a torrent of flames, so vast that even Pegasus couldn't dodge in time. Jiang You felt his vision instantly engulfed in flames, and the heat wave burned his lungs with every breath. It was daytime, and Gawain, with his triple power, could easily shatter the spiritual bases of Jiang You and Medusa.

But it doesn't matter. Jiang You has already captured Gawain within the range of his treasure. Soon this attack will be invalidated and turned into a duel invitation. Jiang You can actively enter the duel.

Facing the Rotating Sword of Victory's attack, Jiang You quickly severed his connection with Medusa, returning her to the world of War 5. After all, Medusa was notoriously thin-skinned, and Jiang You didn't want to see her reduced to a roasted snake. Without Pegasus's support, Jiang You continued to charge headfirst into the center of the heat wave.

“Invading from the sky is indeed one method.” Gawain watched the enemy being engulfed by his Noble Phantasm before feeling relieved. “However, invading during the day isn’t a wise move; the field of vision is too wide. Although you didn’t have a choice anyway, now you can just quietly wait for the Queen to finish…!!!!”

The consequences of being attacked from a distance after the Noble Phantasm was activated were now determined. Jiang You appeared in front of Gawain without any warning.

"He actually emerged unscathed from my Noble Phantasm!" This was no ordinary Gawain; this was the Nightless Gawain, a Gawain with a perpetual triple effect under the Lion King's blessing. Few Servants could withstand the attack of his Noble Phantasm, let alone Jiang You, who remained completely untouched.

Gawain dismissed the soldiers who wanted to come to their aid, knowing that sending more ordinary soldiers would only be suicide against an enemy of this caliber: "State your name, intruder. With such strength, you must be no nobody. In that case, Knight of the Round Table—Gawain—issues his challenge!"

"Jiang You!" As Jiang You announced his name, the duel space opened!

Jiangyou LP4000

Goldman LP4000

"A Noble Phantasm that changes the rules of duels?" Gawain, though a muscular gorilla, wasn't as intelligent as Mordred. After all, a brainless guy wouldn't be universally praised by his companions. Gawain quickly processed the knowledge that appeared in his mind. "You must be the special Servant my king spoke of? Possessing defensive abilities that can ignore my Noble Phantasm, and such a wondrous Noble Phantasm, it's no wonder Tristan and Mordred were defeated by you."

Gawain seemed to have mistaken Jiang You's immunity to attacks as Jiang You's own ability. This was a good thing, as Jiang You would not be subjected to unnecessary attacks before reaching the Lion King.

“I may not be your match either.” Gawain drew five cards from his deck. “But I will do everything in my power to stop you from interfering with the King. First, it’s my turn!”

"First, I activate the Spell Card [Rectification Army] to Special Summon two [Rectification Knights] of different classes from my Deck!"

Exactly the same as Tristan's card, two fully armed silver knights stepped onto the battlefield with heavy steps.

[Pacifier Knight L] Attack Power 1000

[Pacifier Knight A] Attack Power 1200

"Immediately afterward, I will sacrifice [Pacifying Knight L] to summon [Knight of the Round Table - Gawain]!" As expected, the Knight of the Round Table was able to summon himself into the field in the first round.

The sun was high in the sky, and a white knight emerged from the sun and landed on the battlefield.

【Knight of the Round Table - Gawain】 Saber 6-star, Attack Power 2500

"My own effect: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, add one 'Sword of Rotation Victory' to your hand! Then, equip this sword to myself!"

[Gawain] Attack power 2500 → Attack power 3000

"As you've surely witnessed, I activate the King's Blessing! Continuous Spell Card [Blessing of the Night], targeting me [Gawain], while this card is on the field, the targeted Knight of the Round Table gains three times its original ATK and DEF. Furthermore, during your turn, if the targeted follower has no Equip Cards, you can activate this effect once per turn: Equip 1 Equip Card from your Graveyard to the targeted follower. While this card is face-up, all coin tosses effects are locked to heads."

The original game had Gawain unleashing his Noble Phantasm once per turn, but here, the equipment card is repeatedly flipped, as the unleashing effect is on the sword. The coin flip determines whether it's day or night, and the effect of no night forces it to be day.

[Sword of Rotating Victory] Increases the equipped Servant's Attack by 500. Activate only when the equipped Servant is destroyed by a card effect. Tribute this card, negating this effect. Once per turn, during your turn, Tribute this card to destroy all face-up Servants on your opponent's side of the field. During this turn, the equipped Servant cannot declare an attack.

This has a similar effect to [Sword of Victory Contract], but the armor penetration is now negated once. While it loses 500 points of attack damage, it's more versatile. Of course, since Ahoge's defense is on him, he's not particularly dependent on this effect.

[Gawain] Attack power 3000 → Attack power 7500

7500 attack points is indeed the highest value ever seen. The triple effect emphasizes its own ability, and the holy sword becomes something like an overpowered material. However, like the original, it is very afraid of Wang Ha's effects.

"Then I'll put a card face down on the field and end my turn!" The Knights of the Round Table's cards tend to be face up, fighting fair and square, so there are very few cards in the back row.

Gao Wen's extremely high attack power basically eliminates the possibility of being broken in battle, but for Jiang You, effectively breaking the field is the most abundant means of clearing the field.

"My turn, draw!" Jiang You began his turn, making his most frequent opening move, "I Normal Summon [Hundred Faces]! Hundred Faces effect: Special Summon all cards with the same name from the Deck!"

[Hundred Appearances] Attack Power 800*4

[Morning Glory] Attack Power 0

"Host's effect: declare a card name! I'm declaring a magic card!"

A [Shining Star] was added from the top of the deck, which just happened to complement Wang Ha's ritual magic card, so it was a win.

"Then, I'll activate [Hundred-Man Library], unleash [Hundred Faces], and destroy your back row face-down cards!" Dealing with traps early is common sense.

"A very wise decision. Unfortunately, I activated the Trap Card [Percy's Belt] directly, paying 1000 Life Points to select one [Knight of the Round Table]. Until the end of my next turn, the selected follower cannot be targeted by effects and cannot be destroyed in battle!" This is the history of Gawain and the Green Knight, the legendary belt that can make one invulnerable to swords and spears.

Chapter 201 Gao Wen: Very angry, but not very surprised. Anyway, it wasn't the first time.

Gaowen LP4000→LP3000

I have to say that while the Knights of the Round Table are mostly open cards, they're still a bit tough to beat in this situation. Without a few hidden cards, it's really hard to get through. Removing Gawain now requires two untargeted destruction effects, which Jiang You doesn't have yet, so he'll have to survive another round.

"I stack three [Hundred Faces] here, and Xyz Summon [Fanatical] in Defense Position!"

The neatly dressed and murderous-looking Kuang Xinzi broke through the shadows and jumped into the battlefield. Since she saw Wang Ha, she has obviously become much more serious.

[Kuangxinzi] Defense 1000

Gawain glanced at Fanatic. This girl exuded a dangerous aura, clearly much stronger than the other Hassans. He hadn't expected the Mountain People to possess such a powerful force. This summoning condition, similar to the Lion King's, required a large number of Servants. Perhaps this was their trump card, right?

"Then comes [Battle Retreat]. I return [Morning Glory] to my hand and draw a card." It's highly likely it will be destroyed by a group attack next turn, so there's little chance to bait out its effect. Therefore, I use it directly. "Finally, I set three cards to the back row and end my turn!"

"Using only a Servant with 1000 DEF as a defense line?" Gawain didn't think the three Xyz Materials stacked under the Berserker's card were just for show; he needed to be careful. "My turn, draw!"

"First, I activate the effect of my Equip Spell Card to release [Sword of Rotation Victory] and destroy all your Servants on the field!" Gawain released his Holy Sword without hesitation, and the longsword, radiating a blazing light, was thrown into the air, forming a burning sun.

Then Gawain took the burning holy sword that fell from the sun and swung it forward, unleashing a torrent of flames.

"【Mad Dog】effect: Remove one Xyz Material as a replacement, and it will not be destroyed by the effect!" Mad Dog still has two Xyz Materials left, and can withstand 2 destructions.

"Just as I expected, but it's good that we can test the specific effects." Gawain had guessed this result. The most terrifying thing is when there are materials for an over-supplied Servant. Being able to stably consume materials is a good thing. "[Blessing of the Night] effect: Re-equip myself with [Sword of Revolving Victory] from the graveyard!"

"I activate the Spell Card 【Glorious Knights of the Round Table】. This can only be activated if you control only one 【Knights of the Round Table】 Servant. Once per turn, Special Summon 1 【Knight of the Round Table】 from your Deck. I Special Summon 【Knight of the Round Table Lancelot】 from my Deck!"

A lake covered the battlefield, and the knights on the lake were walking on the surface, with ripples coming.

Lancelot: Attack Power 2400

"Lancelot, how's the situation on your end?" Gawain inquired about Lancelot's situation and relayed information. They had previously thought Chaldea was the most threatening rebel group, but it turned out there was an even more dangerous Servant hiding there. "Whether or not you've caught up with the Chaldea members, please return to the Holy Capital immediately. We've all been deceived; this Eastern Servant named Jiang You is the greatest enemy!"

Lancelot saw the light curtain rising in the center of Camelot and realized that the Lion King had begun the final step of his plan. "There's not much time left..."

“There really isn’t much time left.” Gawain didn’t think he could defeat a Servant who even made the Lion King feel anxious. He needed Lancelot to return quickly to provide support; one more person would buy Jiang You more time, allowing the King to complete his plan. “So, hurry back to defend. If I lose, Agravure will be even less able to stop him!”

“I didn’t expect things to come to this. Your name is Jiang You, right? I will pass the information to Matthew and the others.” Lancelot knew that this singularity would be destroyed soon, and he was well aware of the Lion King’s current strength. Even disregarding the source of the blessing, all the blessed Knights of the Round Table together would not be a match for the Lion King. He didn’t believe that Jiang You could defeat the Lion King single-handedly. “If possible, please destroy me quickly. I will come with reinforcements.”

"What are you saying?! You bastard!" Gawain couldn't believe that Lancelot had betrayed the king again. He had clearly chosen to trust Lancelot. "Wasn't one betrayal enough? You should have rebelled when you were summoned. That way, at least you could still be considered a knight. Don't you feel ashamed, you disloyal and unjust bastard?!"

"Advising the king and correcting his mistakes is also what a knight should do!" Lancelot was essentially still thinking about his daughter, though he certainly couldn't say it out loud. "Now that the queen is heading down the wrong path, a knight should stop her and point out her errors! Gawain, you are the one who betrayed her!"

"So, you're trying to pass on a message? I won't let you succeed!" Now, the Lion King only has two Knights of the Round Table left at most, and Gawain is not going to let Lancelot go easily. "I activate the Spell Card [Saint's Number]! It can only be activated when there are three Servants on the field. Flip three coins, and activate the effect based on the number of heads."