The Holy Grail War Blessed by the Gods

“Ilya Muromcz is the greatest hero recorded in the earliest Slavic heroic poem, ‘The Song of the Warriors.’ When people talk about heroes in Slavic legends, the first one that comes to mind is Prince Ivan, and then Ilya.”

When discussing Slavic mythology, West Slavic and South Slavic myths are rarely mentioned; the focus is primarily on East Slavic legends, among which Slavic fairy tales and epic poems are the most important. 2

The representative figures of these two groups are Prince Ivan and Ilya Muromts, respectively. 9

"In legends, Ilya appears as a guardian and a free-spirited hero, which aligns with their account."4

"The Heroic Spirit before you is likely not a fake; its spiritual rank is exceptionally high, comparable to the top-tier Servants we've encountered along the way."

Dr. Roman also provided information about the instrument analysis, and with the situation clear, it became clear that Tawara Tota and Sanzo were not the type to make trouble unnecessarily. 4

"Given what has happened, I truly had no reason to stop you. In that respect, I did make a mistake and should apologize to you."

Ilya didn't put on airs, and the incident ended there. The group accepted Ilya into their ranks and continued their journey towards the Hanging Gardens. 5

Now there are things to ask along the way. From Ilya's words, it's clear he knows something about the current situation, so we can take advantage of the travel time to ask him. 6

In response to Dr. Roman's questions, Ilya provided almost everything he could, but only about the arriving beasts. He knew nothing about the desert.

He was not summoned for very long; it was after the war began, when Jerusalem appeared below, and the chain of human reason summoned him here to deal with the situation.

"It looks like a battle that took place here that was even more perilous than the one in Camelot. It's a pity we didn't get to see the king's Noble Phantasm in full operation; it must have been quite a spectacle."

Upon arriving at the Sky Gardens, Dr. Roman was able to see the entire fortress in its ruined state and couldn't help but sigh.

Now, restoration work is underway atop the fortress, and the Heart of the Mountain, rising above the tower, has reaped the sacrifices of this war.

The defeated Lion King and her Knights of the Round Table and soldiers were a considerable amount of magic, and the sun imbued this magic into this fortress.

The authority of the Almighty causes all things to move, turns the past into reality, and turns the future into the past.

However, since it wasn't an urgent matter, Manju quickly repaired the central area, while the outer areas were being rewound slowly. It would take about a day to fully repair the area.

The group didn't linger long, walking along familiar paths towards the central tower of the Sky Garden.

Of the two angry snakes guarding the area below the platform, only one remained. It lay resting by the doorway with its eyes closed, only opening them when it sensed someone's arrival, lazily making way for them.

"The Lion King who troubled you, the people of the mountains, is a ghost, and Jerusalem, destroyed, has been restored to its former glory. Now that you were enjoying the victory and the joy of the people, why are you in such a hurry to return?"

As the group re-entered the tower, Manju, waking from a restful slumber, saw Cursed Wrist who had returned with them and asked him a question. Lu

"With Bai Mao around, nothing will go wrong. My continued presence might actually cause more trouble." Lu

Besides, it's not time to rest and celebrate yet. Even you haven't had a chance to rest, so how can I focus on this? —Ran

Chapter 59 Preparation (4)

"These are not conflicting options. The journey towards dawn is never-ending; halfway through, one must always taste some sweetness before continuing to face the even more difficult road ahead."4

Leaning against the back of the throne, Manshu merely lifted her eyelids slightly, her right hand, which had been resting on the back of the chair, waving it gently.

“Go and celebrate! Here, you don’t need to suppress your desires; instead, you should embrace and release them with confidence. Prohibit when you should, and guide when you should. No festival is ever far removed from civilization and society. Go back to your fellow countrymen, or shall I command you in the name of Hanam?”

Having said that, Manju extended his index finger and pointed it at the cursed wrist. A stream of magic shot out from Manju's fingertip and engulfed the cursed wrist, Hassan.

When the magical light dissipated, Hassan of Cursed Arm returned to his normal appearance.

"Allow me to express my gratitude, my lord. You are my star, and I will always respond to your call from the shadows."

Upon seeing himself restored to human form, Hassan of Cursed Arm was overjoyed and excitedly exclaimed.

"It's just a simple transformation. To maintain it in the long term, you'll need your own skills to do so. How you do it is up to you."

"I no longer hold the belief that I can still have that possibility. Whatever my body becomes, it is a blessing I should be grateful for."

"Then so be it. Go and carry out my command, Cursed Wrist."

"Yes, my lord."

Hassan of the Cursed Arm didn't say anything more, merging into the shadows and disappearing from the spot in an instant.

"Now that you have come before me, why do you stop and not move forward, Ilya?"

After finishing his conversation with Hassan the Cursed Arm, Manju slowly turned his eyes and looked at the tall giant standing at the back of the group.

"When visiting someone's home, especially when the host is dealing with family matters, even I know that I shouldn't interfere."

However, I hadn't expected there to be no seating for guests, so I had to stay at the very back to avoid blocking my companions' view and preventing them from making mistakes due to misjudging the situation.

Although Ilya waited patiently for a while, he was clearly dissatisfied with being left out in the first place.

As Manshu spoke to him, Ilya pushed aside the people standing in front of him and walked towards Manshu's location.

"This is not a place to entertain guests; this is a place where subjects pay homage to the king, and a place for devout believers to make pilgrimages."

I can only say that I reluctantly agree with you, but if you want to stand next to me, or even sit next to me, then you are clearly unaware of the situation.

Your strength is insufficient to stand shoulder to shoulder with mine. In your conquest of Jerusalem, this land of turmoil, you have accomplished nothing except smashing the buildings of that city fabricated by the devil.

"It is not you who are qualified to be here, but the girl beside you. O last Master from Chaldea, you fulfilled your command role in the conquest of Camelot, inspiring the lost knights back to the right path and completing your final mission, far exceeding what you were supposed to accomplish."

As Manshu spoke, he turned his gaze to Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had been pushed aside by Illya, and then put Illya aside.

“I am not a person who cannot distinguish between good and evil, or who is indifferent to rewards and punishments. I allow you to make a wish to me, and the Almighty God-King will grant all your desires.”

"Ah...me?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka had been standing to the side, expecting that she would have to wait until Ilya and Manju finished their conversation before it was her turn, but she never expected to receive such a promise.

"My wish is to repair this singularity and stop the Magic King from burning away humanity."

There's no need to overthink Fujimaru Ritsuka's wish; she's on her way to saving the world.

"I have already made a promise that I will save this world and bring it back under my control. I will eliminate all life that attempts to claim ownership and destroy this world."

In that case, your wish is wasted, because it's something that doesn't need to be repeated. Hmm… then I'll grant you the power to participate in this journey of salvation, so that I can take you with me to save the world under my control.”

It would be too stingy to simply deny Fujimaru Ritsuka's wish, especially since Manju's sudden statement wasn't solely for rewarding Fujimaru Ritsuka.

“I witnessed Thoth bring knowledge, and Isis revealed to me the mysteries beyond the horizon. I will teach you the knowledge gained from the wisdom of the gods, so that you may borrow the power of the heroic spirits who are bound to you.”

Fujimaru Ritsuka is not without combat methods later on. Her Spirit Origin Shadow, which appeared in version 1.53 and was officially promoted to a full-fledged form in version 2.5, is a very good method.

This technology, which will appear in the near future, is not a rootless floating duckweed; in fact, it is what is called simplified summoning.

Manju expended some effort to analyze the spell and pass it on to Fujimaru Ritsuka.

"Alright, let's continue our conversation. Is there anything else you'd like to ask, Ilya?"

“You’re right. A hero is not respected because of his birth, but because of his achievements. I have not received any honor on this land, so I am indeed unworthy of a position.”

After witnessing Manshu's actions, Elijah had no doubts about Manshu's explanation and accepted it, thus his dissatisfaction disappeared.

“I will seek glory and merit, just as I have done on the land of Ross, and I will obtain them in the distant desert.”

Without saying a word, Ilya planned to leave and head straight for the distant desert. Judging from his appearance, it seemed like he intended to smash through the window and jump out.

"Don't be impatient, Ilya. Even I find it difficult to see the true nature of that desert. Rushing in will only cause us to lose our indispensable strength."

Seeing that Ilya was about to leave so abruptly, Manju stopped him.

"Being able to obtain intelligence before engaging that beast is always beneficial to the war, but this matter cannot be rushed."

We will rest here for two days, and I will prepare blessings and protection for you, so that you may enter the desert only when all is well, making the final preparations before this war.

"You're in charge here now, I have no objections."

Ilya stopped what he was doing and acquiesced to it.

"Then let's get ready."

Manshu nodded, opened the gate leading to the outside world, and then closed his eyes and fell into a state of drowsiness.

Chapter Sixty: Before the Departure

"The knowledge that king gave us is feasible, and it doesn't even require much effort to accomplish. In this way, even if you encounter an emergency, Ritsuka, you will have the strength to deal with danger when you and Mash are separated and alone."

After Fujimaru Ritsuka left the tower, he shared the knowledge about simple summoning that had appeared in his mind with Dr. Roman and Leonardo da Vinci.

As an omnipotent person, Leonardo da Vinci easily restored this existing knowledge and confirmed its feasibility.

After Fujimaru Ritsuka returned to her room in the fortress, Da Vinci instructed her on how to perform a simple summon, summoning a Servant with whom she had a bond during battle.

"This was indeed a great help. And the place we are about to go to, according to that king, is Egypt."

Common sense dictates that there's a problem with the timeline. In this era, the last dynasty of Egypt had already been destroyed for quite some time. This is likely a distortion caused by the singularity, or perhaps the emergence of human evil brought Egypt to this point.

So even knowing it was Egypt probably wouldn't be of much help. It's hard to say what would happen there, and it would certainly be more dangerous than the attack on Camelot, the Lion King.

Although the next task is simply to go forward and gather intelligence, to ensure safety, we still need to be fully prepared. Ritsuka, please use these next two days to familiarize yourself with this new function.

……

The day passed quickly, and by the morning of the next day, the mountain people of Jerusalem had returned.

The returning civilians removed their armor and weapons, picked up their construction tools again, and skillfully returned to their previous work posts.

Cursed Wrist arrived at the tower's entrance alone. The angry snake guarding the gate made no move, merely resting in front of the gate.

Cursed Wrist wasn't in a hurry. He stood in front of the Angry Serpent and waited. The Angry Serpent, who was guarding the door, snorted and reluctantly opened its eyes to make way.

"Is one day of celebration enough? Grand festivals last much longer than one day. When I went to Egypt and came back, there were festivals that lasted for several days."

Manshu seemed to be in much better spirits today. Seeing that the Cursed Wrist had returned after only one day, he opened his eyes, got up from the back of the chair, and asked him.

"One day is enough, sir. Any more than that would be unbearable, and we can no longer continue to indulge in pleasure without taking care of our responsibilities.

9. "I will not interfere with this decision. Now that you have made this choice, then hurry up and make the decision."

"The days of instability left on this land are numbered. Let us complete all that is unfinished, finished, and damaged, and then even this ravaged land will be restored to its former glory, like Jerusalem after its reconstruction."

4 Since the mountain people here were willing to return so quickly to continue the construction for Manshu, Manshu did not say anything more generous.

(8) There wasn't much time left. The state of the lurking beast was unclear. In the distance, Egypt was just a gray dust storm, and the ground beneath their feet was full of cracks that let through red light.

"I and my compatriots will do our best to complete this task. Now they are more physically and mentally prepared than before, and they are more skilled and can do things much faster than before."

"I know. The sun above is my eye, and it will always be watching over everything on earth, recording your actions, so just do it."

The sun on the 9th tower was replaced by the golden sun of Sekhmet. The golden sun was more comforting than the blood-red, eerie sun.

Hassan, the man with the Prism-Cursed Wrist, simply nodded in agreement, then hesitated slightly, took a breath, and looked up at Manjushri before speaking:

5. “There is one more thing, my lord. I heard from the new warrior that in one day you will send him to the desert where the clouds once belonged to the Sun King to gather intelligence.”

Although I don't know the warrior's identity, I want to gather intelligence on this matter, and as the old man of the mountains, I'll also undertake this mission someday.

“That guy Ilya probably spilled everything after having a couple of drinks with you guys. He’s not the type to be wary of people in this place.”