FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Thank you both for your assistance. My name is Jeanne Darc, and I am temporarily in charge of the garrison here."

"Jeanne d'Orcée! Is that the famous Joan of Arc from history?"

Although Hu Qiu didn't know much about the Type-Moon universe, he seemed to have some knowledge of world history.

"I dare not claim to be famous in history. I was merely fulfilling my duty as a French citizen," Joan of Arc replied somewhat shyly, surprised by the sudden praise.

"Wait a minute, does that mean the target we need to defeat is... Jeanne d'Arc Alter?"

Hu Qiu looked at Xia Yan, but Xia Yan did not respond.

"Jeanne d'Arc (Alter)?"

Joan of Arc was somewhat puzzled.

According to the original plot, Jeanne d'Arc should not have met Jeanne Alter yet at this point. Xia Yan was worried that bringing up too much information about Jeanne Alter now would affect the direction of the plot, so he quickly explained, "We heard that a Jeanne d'Arc who claims to be the 'Dragon Witch' has appeared in this area. She can control magical beasts to cause destruction."

Joan of Arc suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. No wonder some people in the city were whispering about me behind my back, saying that I was that Dragon Witch Joan of Arc or something."

"By the way, let me introduce myself. My name is Xia Yan, and this uncle's name is Hu Qiu. You can probably tell from our clothing that we don't belong to this era. The reasons are complicated, but please believe me, we have no hostility towards you or the people of this world. On the contrary, this world has become distorted, and our purpose is to correct this distortion."

To prevent the human soldiers behind Jeanne from hearing, Xia Yan spoke in a volume that only three people could hear.

"There are too many people around here, let's find a quiet place to talk."

Although Joan of Arc did not fully understand Xia Yan's words, she still believed them under the influence of her inherent skill, Revelation.

The three arrived at the forest that Xia Yan and Hu Qiu had crossed earlier.

"Actually, I noticed something strange about this world a long time ago. Those skeleton soldiers and wyverns are things that could never have existed in human history, but the people here seem to accept it all quite naturally," Joan of Arc said first.

"This is one of the manifestations of how this world has been distorted," Xia Yan said very seriously. "If we continue to let the monsters run rampant, not only will the Anglo-French War be affected, but the entire world could be ruled by monsters, and humanity will have no future."

Joan of Arc nodded in agreement.

"Joan of Arc, would you be willing to join us in finding this 'Dragon Witch'?"

Xia Yan seized the opportunity and extended an invitation to Jeanne.

After a brief moment of thought, Joan of Arc replied, "I need to inform the soldiers guarding the city of my decision to leave."

Xia Yan and Hu Qiu had no objections, and the two waited patiently for Joan of Arc in the woods, but as the sun set, Joan of Arc still hadn't come out.

"Brother Xia Yan, are we going to keep waiting?"

Hungry and thirsty, Hu Qiu finally couldn't bear it any longer and spoke.

"wait."

Xia Yan's attitude was very firm, because Jeanne d'Arc was the most crucial Heroic Spirit in this singularity. Although the main objective only stated defeating Jeanne d'Arc Alter, the hidden mission might allow Jeanne d'Arc to survive to the end.

However, the wait of half a day had indeed made him a little hungry.

Suddenly, Xia Yan's spiritual foundation stirred.

"Uncle, isn't your servant an Assassin? It shouldn't be too difficult for her to go into town and get some food and water, right?"

Hu Qiu replied somewhat awkwardly, "It's not difficult, but my servant, for some special reasons, doesn't accept orders to steal. Otherwise, I wouldn't be waiting here like this."

Xia Yan suddenly realized that he had forgotten that theft was strictly prohibited in Hassan's religion.

"Master, I can go too."

Morgan's voice echoed in Xia Yan's mind.

"No, I won't feel at ease if you leave. This is part of testing whether they are truly cooperating. However, I'll need you to make some ornaments."

Using his prop-making abilities, Morgan easily created five gold bracelets.

Xia Yan handed the bracelets to Hu Qiu and then said, "Let Assassin take these bracelets and exchange them for some food and water. That way, it won't be considered stealing."

While praising Xia Yan's resourcefulness, Hu Qiu immediately instructed Assassin to do so, and this time, Assassin did not refuse.

Not long after, Assassin returned with food and water, and she also brought back a message.

Joan of Arc was placed under house arrest in the city.

"Is the news true?" Xia Yan asked while munching on his bread.

"It should be right."

After stuffing a piece of bread into his mouth, Hu Qiu continued, "Assassin also brought back a message from Joan of Arc. She said she can't leave for the time being and that we should go ahead."

Xia Yan frowned.

Logically speaking, if Jeanne d'Arc, as a Servant, wanted to leave, ordinary human soldiers would not be able to stop her. So Jeanne d'Arc was not unable to leave, but rather did not want to leave.

"Did anyone ask Joan of Arc why she wouldn't leave?"

"I asked, but Joan of Arc only said that she was still needed here. According to Assassin's description, Joan of Arc seemed very distressed when she said this."

Where in the city is Joan of Arc?

"Location of the barracks."

"Okay, I'll go in and take a look."

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Xia Yan, relying on Morgan's disguise, easily infiltrated the city's military camp and soon met Joan of Arc.

Seeing Xia Yan enter, Jeanne said with a bitter expression, "I'm sorry, Xia Yan, I can't leave for the time being."

"Is it because you can't let go of these people in the city?"

Xia Yan succinctly revealed Joan of Arc's dilemma.

"Yes, the sergeant in the city told me that they can't live without me. Only with me do they have any hope of survival; if I leave, they will all die. So, if I leave now, it would be the same as killing them."

What a clever trick of shifting the focus and moral blackmail! But believe it or not, this tactic actually works on saints.

Xia Yan did not reprimand the people in the city. After all, from their perspective, it was understandable that they did so. However, there are priorities in everything. If they could not deal with Black Jeanne, even if Jeanne stayed here, she would be eliminated sooner or later.

"Then what do you think, Joan of Arc? You should know that the 'Dragon Witch' is the root cause of everything. Even if you hold out here to the death, you cannot change the fate of being destroyed."

"I know, but I am also a citizen of France, and I cannot remain indifferent to the people here."

Xia Yan sighed.

"In my homeland, there is a proverb that says, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' If you stay here to protect them, they will only become more dependent on you. Only when you are gone will they take up arms to protect themselves."

Seeing that Joan of Arc seemed somewhat hesitant, Xia Yan pressed his advantage.

"I have a way to solve this problem. The reason the people in the city won't let you leave now is because under your leadership, they have successfully repelled the monsters every time. But if they still fail to hold off the attack even with you around, their illusions about you will be shattered. At that time, they will have no one to rely on but themselves."

Joan of Arc retorted, "But that would cause a great many human deaths."

"Who said we were going to do it for real?" Xia Yan smiled slyly. "We can just pretend to be the attackers."

Xia Yan then revealed his plan, and Joan of Arc was successfully persuaded, no longer having any concerns.

"When will the plan begin?"

Joan of Arc asked one last question.

Xia Yan glanced at the sky; it was already night, the perfect time for a sneak attack.