Type-Moon: Root Seiko

The divine bull that unleashed its true name covered a hundred meters in a single hoofbeat. Even with the reaction speed of a Heroic Spirit, it was far too fast. Jeanne d'Arc had no chance of dodging the attack with her Master.

If she or her Master dies here, it proves that their confidence is only this much.

...But naturally, that's impossible.

"Unleash your Noble Phantasm, Jeanne d'Arc."

Luo Zhen issued permission for the first time.

Joan of Arc, who had already gathered her strength, immediately responded with action.

She drew the sword from her waist.

The moment the sword was drawn, it burst into a blazing fire, so clear and dazzling even in the darkness and storm.

All the damage Joan of Arc suffered in battle, and all the power she accumulated, were added to her burning sacred flame.

Faced with the conqueror king's charge, which he could not turn back in time, Joan of Arc, holding a flag and a sword in one hand, raised them high and shouted his true name:

“Saint Catherine, be our witness!”

The golden flames swept by the holy sword even engulfed the lightning of the great god.

It transformed into a fiery tornado, engulfing everything in the world!

Chapter 63 Preparations for Gilgamesh

"Pfft?!"

In the impact that nearly burned out even the oxygen, the suffocating Webber lunged forward and landed face-first in the mud in front of Luo Zhen.

He only felt a slight sense of weightlessness and had no idea what the world was.

Until Luo Zhen squatted down in front of him and picked up a gem that had fallen from his arms.

"I see, so it's powered by Norse gem magic?"

The gem, having exhausted its magic power, crumbled in Luo Zhen's palm the moment he picked it up, turning into extremely fine dust.

This shares the same origin as the magic of the Tohsaka family.

Or rather, this is the true origin, while the Tohsaka family only half-learned it.

"Did you buy a lot of gems from the Norse magic family to use for magic? You're really rich."

"I borrowed it from the creditor..."

Weber struggled to sit up, choking back a few sobs.

The series of shocks was hard for him to bear.

But with a final burst of stubbornness, the boy managed to hold back his tears.

"I underestimated the Holy Grail War. Do whatever you want with me."

"I clearly sensed something was wrong and immediately summoned a Heroic Spirit after landing in Japan, but I was still directly attacked like this."

"Rider's been wiped out too, so I don't care anymore. I'm drowning in debt, and I stole the lecturer's relic. Going back to the Clock Tower is just asking for trouble... Pugu Yuvasa?!"

Before Webber could finish speaking, he was sent flying by the Conqueror's powerful slap.

The red-haired emperor, having deactivated the oxcart's Noble Phantasm, was utterly speechless.

"I'm not dead yet, why are you giving my last words?"

"But Saintess, your Noble Phantasm is quite interesting. I was prepared for the destruction of 'Divine Wheel,' so why am I unharmed?"

"Because of the Master's orders," Jeanne answered without hesitation.

Her azure eyes looked at Luo Zhen, asking if she should speak.

After Luo Zhen nodded in approval, the saintess continued to explain:

“My Noble Phantasm, ‘Saint Catherine, Witness,’ will only harm those I consider enemies. But my Master said that he has something to discuss with you, and this is just a friendly sparring match.”

"Therefore, I only destroyed your sword, King Conqueror, hoping this will prove our sincerity."

The Conqueror looked at the ashes in his hand, the marks left by his sword.

Joan of Arc's fiery storm enveloped Rider and his servants, and the final damage was concentrated on the Conqueror's sword, annihilating it.

Given that destructive power and attack range, if Jeanne had murderous intent, even if the Conqueror King immediately abandoned his "Divine Wheel," it would be difficult to protect Waver, his Master.

Anyone with eyes could see that the other party had shown mercy, causing the Conqueror King to grin as he looked at Ryougi:

“A remarkable courage, Saber’s Master.”

"Having gone this far and still having something to say, it seems this is truly a very important matter."

“Indeed, this Holy Grail War is very abnormal,” Ryougi Shinobu said frankly.

Weber, still lying at their feet, was completely bewildered and hadn't yet reacted.

Luo Zhen pulled him up and explained to the still immature boy:

“There are now four master-servant teams in Fuyuki City. With you and Rider, that makes five teams.”

"Apart from the group of golems that are still hiding in the shadows and attacked us, whose specific situation is unknown, the other four groups are all abnormal summons."

Joan of Arc was summoned by Kallen a month ago when the Church was attacked and the relic was accidentally activated.

King Arthur, Artoria, was summoned a year earlier by the Einzbern family through cheating.

The Mad Nobunaga is a product of Canaan's peculiar thought process; he was summoned more than half a year ago using the power of "I think".

As Weber just mentioned, the Conqueror King was summoned ahead of schedule because he felt inexplicably uneasy after arriving in Japan, even at the cost of his own energy.

Furthermore, the golem that attacked them at the port was clearly not summoned through normal Grail power supply.

This situation can no longer be explained by the word "coincidence".

"There's something bigger behind this Holy Grail War. The fact that the Greater Grail hasn't reacted to such an outrageous and unusual situation means there's definitely something wrong."

Luo Zhenru said, "I hope to maintain the ceasefire agreement with you and not fight to the death indiscriminately."

"The remaining two Class Servants will most likely also appear. I hope we can cooperate to confirm everyone's identities and find the mastermind behind the Holy Grail War. What do you think?"

-----------------

After extending this olive branch, Luo Zhen and Jeanne d'Arc quickly returned.

On the train, Joan of Arc, now dressed in her everyday clothes, stared intently at Luo Zhen's profile.

Her eyes sparkled, as if she were looking at some rare treasure.

Luo Zhen glanced at her: "What's wrong? You look at me like I'm a rare animal."

"Hehe~ It's nothing."

The saintess smiled sweetly:

"I just think that the Master is indeed very cautious and has good intentions."

"I could have defeated that King of Conquerors, or at least killed his Master. We already know his identity; Miss Canaan could have easily killed him with a long-range sniper shot."

"But Master deliberately took a long detour to gain the other's trust through sparring. You also guided that immature Master as a senior. It was very heartwarming, and I would like to express my praise for you."

"That's an exaggeration."

Luo Zhen was helpless against Joan of Arc's influence:

"What I just said is the truth. This Holy Grail War is very problematic, and I'm just afraid that if a Heroic Spirit is eliminated early, something unexpected will happen."

It would be great if we could go directly to check on the situation of the Greater Grail, but unfortunately we can't.

To prevent outrageous cheating methods like directly stealing the Greater Grail, its physical base is sealed within a large underground cavity at Mt. Enzo.

The area was protected by a tight barrier, with particularly exaggerated defenses against Heroic Spirits; even the witches of the Age of Gods could not easily approach it.

Unless the Third Reich uses its extravagant wealth to acquire an airship and hollow out the entire mountain, physically stealing the Greater Grail, it will be very difficult to obtain it.

Moreover, Luo Zhen is very frank:

“That Conqueror King and Master are indeed people I can talk to, which is why I talked to them.”

"If it were an archer summoned by Tokiomi Tohsaka, then there would probably be no room for negotiation. I and Arisu are prepared to take him down."

"Archer? Master, do you know who that Tohsaka family head will summon?"

Joan of Arc blinked in surprise; this was the first time Rozen had brought up this matter.

Luo Zhen nodded:

"The relic that Tokiomi Tohsaka found is the world's oldest snake molt."

"There aren't many heroic spirits related to this concept, and the excavation site is in Mesopotamia, so it most likely points to Gilgamesh, who had his elixir of immortality stolen by a snake."

“I know a little about what kind of person he is. Although he may have different personality traits like Saber and Lancer, just like King Arthur, we must be on guard.”

This was the earliest scheme that Ryougi laid out in the Holy Grail War, a special attack against Gilgamesh.

It would be fine if Tokiomi Tohsaka summoned a different Servant.

But if he were to summon the Gilgamesh he knew, Luo Zhen didn't think it made any sense to either side.

If the All-Knowing and All-Powerful Star hadn't been activated, the Pearl alone would have been enough to subdue him; the fragments of the First Law were overwhelmingly effective against him.