FATE: Target of Grand Master

A red light flashed on the back of her hand, and Musashi, who had been prepared all along, instantly appeared behind Medb.

Despite Maeve's attempt to dodge, she was still slashed in the back by Musashi and subsequently fell from the carriage in mid-air.

"Maeve!"

Just as the Mad King was about to get serious, he sensed that Medb's magical reaction had become disordered. He looked up and saw Medb falling. Without turning back, he shook off Cú Chulainn and von Hohenheim, caught Medb steadily, and retreated eastward.

With the Mad King and Maeve retreating, and Minamoto no Takayuki still not arriving, the remaining Celtic soldiers were no match for them and were killed one after another by the Western Army's mechanical soldiers.

Seeing the changing situation below, Karna, who had been entangled with Arjuna, said to him, "If you don't retreat now, you won't be able to."

"It's alright. I only helped the Eastern Army so that I could have a fair fight with you again. As long as I can finish this battle with you, I will have no regrets."

Karna, holding the golden spear, sighed.

"I might have some regrets about dying at your hands, but I don't feel remorse or annoyance. On the contrary, Arjuna, why do you still hold a grudge about it?"

Arjuna, holding the silver divine bow, replied, "Karna, as expected of you, only you would say such a thing. But that's why my guilt is even deeper. You may not understand, but the feeling of winning unfairly is no less than the feeling of being unjustly defeated. So this time, I must settle the score with you fair and square."

Karna raised his spear and said, "We're surprisingly in agreement only on the point that we can't persuade each other with words. However, you don't have much time left for a fair one-on-one duel with me, so let's settle this with the next move."

After speaking, Karna's magical power began to rise, a sign that he was about to unleash his Noble Phantasm.

"That suits me perfectly."

Arjuna also raised his magical power to its peak.

"Noble Phantasm! Sun Wheel, submit to death!"

A dazzling light, like the sun, appeared behind Karna, and the tip of his spear aimed at Arjuna, unleashing a scorching and terrifying strike.

"Noble Phantasm! Shadow Hand of the God of Destruction!"

In contrast, Arjuna's Noble Phantasm merely gathers an energy ball in his hand and then swings it at Karna, but this energy ball should not be underestimated, as it contains the power of Shiva.

The blazing energy cannon collided with the energy sphere containing the power of a god of destruction, bursting out with a dazzling light like a nuclear explosion, causing everyone below to instinctively cover their eyes, and the resulting energy wave blew away all the soldiers on both the eastern and western sides of the battlefield.

Even Xia Yan and Chester, the two Masters, only managed to stabilize themselves with the help of their respective Servants.

"Haaaaaaah!"

Karna and Arjuna roared simultaneously, releasing all their remaining magical power without reservation, causing space to distort in the air.

Fortunately, both of their spirit origins were still within the range of normal Servants, and the battle was at a high enough level that it wouldn't completely level the battlefield below.

About a minute after both sides unleashed their full magical power, they began to show signs of weakening. When Xia Yan and the others on the ground could see them again, both of them were panting heavily in mid-air.

"It seems this is the result of our all-out effort."

Karna expressed no dissatisfaction with the draw.

"Yes, although I've never beaten you, I'm very satisfied to have a match with you without any distractions or worries."

Arjuna's lips unconsciously curled up slightly.

"Now that you've achieved your goal, shouldn't you consider the issue of your stance? You should be able to see that the Eastern Army practices racial rule, and a system where only Celts can survive cannot create a great nation."

Arjuna said in surprise, "You want to persuade me to join your side?"

Karna shook his head.

"We're not trying to persuade you to join us, but rather to let you judge for yourself which system is more beneficial to the people. You are, after all, a prince from the ruling class; surely you can see that too?"

Arjuna could see that the Eastern Army he was assisting was far more brutal than the Western Army, but in order to fight Karna, he even abandoned his moral compass and focused solely on his own selfish desires.

Only at this moment did Arjuna realize the terrible mistake he had made because of his obsession.

"You're right, I really shouldn't have helped the Eastern Army anymore. I never imagined I'd be fighting alongside you one day; it feels rather awkward."

"Same to you."

After the two talked for a while, Karna prepared to take Arjuna back to the Western Army.

Just then, a whooshing sound came from behind. Karna only had time to push Arjuna away before he was hit by a metal arrow and sent flying.

"Karna!"

Arjuna immediately flew toward Karna, who had been shot down. The metal arrow had pierced Karna's core, and blood stained a large area of ​​the land behind him.

"Fate really does play tricks on people. The last person I saw in this world was you."

Karna coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Cough...cough...I believe you won't be sad for me, nor do you need to be. Just do what you believe is right."

Seeing Karna with his eyes closed and his spirit origin beginning to dissipate, Arjuna was completely unable to control his expression.

Sadness, sympathy, anger—a mix of emotions welled up within him. Even though the battle was fair, the outcome was still unfair. He couldn't accept this result, and from this moment on, he was determined to annihilate the Eastern Army.

When Xia Yan and the others arrived, Karna's spirit core had completely dissipated, leaving only Arjuna standing alone, clutching a metal arrow.

Since they hadn't heard the conversation between the two, Xia Yan and Chester cautiously surrounded Arjuna when they arrived.

Arjuna raised his hands to indicate that he had no intention of starting a war and expressed his willingness to join the Western Army.

Xia Yan remembered that Arjuna in the original work also chose to join the Western Army after Karna was ambushed by the Mad King, so he did not refuse. However, considering that the NPC Servants in the trial might also be affected by the Masters who participated in the trial, Xia Yan and Chester decided to let him stay on the front line of the Northern Front for the time being.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Xia Yan and Chester analyzed the situation.

It is no exaggeration to say that this battle was a strategic victory.

In terms of troop numbers, the Western Army has a significantly higher casualty rate than the Eastern Army, almost one to ten. Although Karna was lost in the Servant battle, Arjuna was added, so the overall strength was not greatly affected. Most importantly, Musashi severely injured Medb, the key to the Eastern Army's rapid troop production, which will have a great impact on the Eastern Army's subsequent troop production efficiency.

The Western Army must seize this opportunity and launch a counter-offensive.