FATE: Target of Grand Master

Before setting off, Jeanne Alter was full of confidence. With her six Servants, a giant dragon, and numerous magical beasts, she was certain that she would not lose this battle.

But now, he was the only Servant left, and Fafnir had also fallen. He had been utterly defeated.

Just as Jeanne Alter was preparing to fight to the death, Marshal Caster suddenly appeared beside her and said, "Jeanne, don't be impulsive. We still have the Holy Grail and can continuously summon Heroic Spirits. Although they won by chance this time, their losses were enormous. When we attack again next time, they will surely be defeated."

After Marshal Shu's earnest persuasion, Jeanne Alter finally decided to temporarily evacuate.

Before leaving, Jeanne Alter said to Joan of Arc and all those who opposed her, "You just wait, the next time we meet will be the day you die!"

The resistance forces were also exhausted and could only watch helplessly as Jeanne Alter left.

After entrusting Siegfried, who still had some magic left, and Marshal Sword to lead the human resistance to clean up the battlefield, Jeanne came to Xia Yan's side.

At this point, the three Masters had informed each other of their situation. Two of their Servants were seriously injured, and one had died, making it a truly pyrrhic victory.

Xia Yan gave a vague explanation of Morgan's condition, but he could fool others but not himself. Morgan had been greatly exhausted from the two consecutive battles, and it was unknown when he would wake up.

The problem is that the other side possesses the Holy Grail and can summon new combat power indefinitely. If they are allowed to return, they will soon be worn down and killed due to insufficient magic power.

Xia Yan and his two companions were faced with a difficult choice.

"We will immediately pursue Jeanne Alter. If the three of you have any concerns, you can rest here for a while. Fafnir's flames just now eliminated most of the monsters, so this area should be relatively safe for the time being."

Joan of Arc saw the three men's dilemma and continued, "The three of you have already made a great contribution to France. The decisive battle to storm Orléans should now be carried out by the French nation itself."

"Xia Yan, what do you think?"

Unbeknownst to them, Xia Yan had become the core of the three masters, and even Diao Yunshang, who always thought highly of herself, began to consult Xia Yan's opinion.

"My opinion is naturally to follow suit. Judging from our current combat strength, the only ones we can still fight on our side are Jeanne d'Arc, Siegfried, Marshal Vlad III, and your Lu Bu. On Jeanne d'Arc's side, we only have Jeanne d'Arc (Alter), Marshal Caster, Vlad III, and Atalanta, who is likely to appear. Only by ensuring that the number of Servants is equal can the more than one thousand human soldiers we have gathered have an effect that can influence the balance of victory."

Hu Qiu asked with some surprise, "What use can these ordinary human soldiers be?"

"Don't underestimate their abilities. The number of monsters that Jeanne Alter brought earlier was not small, but they managed to withstand their attacks, allowing us to focus on the Servant battle. Given the number of monsters Jeanne Alter brought, I believe she came with the intention of taking us down in one fell swoop, so the number of monsters in Orleans is definitely not large now. Imagine, we now have a force equivalent to the combat power of those monsters we just encountered. As long as we don't encounter any Servants, they can even lead us all the way to the top of Jeanne Alter's castle."

After Xia Yan's explanation, Diao Yunshang and Hu Qiu finally understood the role of this unit.

Recalling when Xia Yan proposed the plan to gather human troops when he left Lyon, did Xia Yan foresee the current situation back then?

The two of them secretly raised their opinion of Xia Yan even higher.

"The only question now is, how much of Lu Bu's strength does he still possess?"

Seeing Xia Yan's concerns, Diao Yunshang said to Lü Bu beside her, "Although I think it's a bit unnecessary to ask, I'll just confirm again, Lü Bu, are you alright?"

Lu Bu deactivated his spirit form and swung his halberd twice in place.

"no problem."

Hu Qiu asked in surprise, "Lü Bu, your injuries have healed?"

Lu Bu's lips curled into a smile.

"It's just a minor injury, nothing to worry about."

Diao Yunshang rolled her eyes.

"It's not as easy as he makes it out to be. It's just that Servants can use more mana to speed up the recovery of their injuries. Don't be fooled by his current vigor; he can only unleash about half of his peak strength."

Lu Bu was somewhat displeased.

"Little Marquis, I just defeated three enemies single-handedly. You don't even praise me, but instead you're undermining me."

"I'm doing this so you won't get too cocky."

Lü Bu looked somewhat aggrieved.

"I've fought battles my whole life, what's wrong with being a little smug?"

Seeing that the master and servant were unlikely to be finished anytime soon, Xia Yan, as their representative, informed Joan of their decision.

Joan of Arc was deeply moved and promised Xia Yan that she would be there whenever her power was needed in the future.

The rebels then began a brief period of rest.

Thanks to Jeanne Alter's Hinako-like command, many roasted monsters were left on the battlefield, and the soldiers immediately replenished their strength.

Xia Yan and his two companions also enjoyed a feast of wyvern delicacies, which relieved their fatigue from the battle.

After a brief rest, the rebels didn't waste any more time and headed straight for Jeanne Alter's stronghold, Orleans.

Just as Xia Yan had predicted, the resistance forces encountered very few monsters until they reached the gates of Orleans. It seemed that the previous defeat had cost Black Jeanne a lot of money.

Joan of Arc stood in front of the castle, giving a pre-battle pep talk to the rebel soldiers.

"My fellow countrymen, what lies ahead is the final battle that will determine the fate of France. I, Joan of Arc, will pray to the Lord that the glory of victory will surely belong to France!"

"The glory of victory will surely belong to France!"

Led by Jill, the rebel soldiers repeated their slogans, their morale soaring to unprecedented heights.

After mobilizing his troops, Siegfried used his greatsword to break down the castle gate and rushed in first, with Joan of Arc immediately following.

Jill drew her sword, shouted "Attack!" and led the human troops in hot pursuit.

Xia Yan, Diao Yunshang, and Hu Qiu, under the instruction of Joan of Arc, covered the rear of the troops.

As soon as the rebels entered the castle gates, a rain of arrows fell from the sky. Siegfried wrapped magic around his greatsword and with a single swing, cut down the barrage of arrows.

"Leave this to me, everyone please continue on your way."

Siegfried leaped onto the city wall and confronted Atalanta, who was standing on it.

The others did not hesitate, leaving ample room for the two Servants who were also enemies in Fate/Apocrypha.

Xia Yan had become numb to the situation where the enemy's forces were not spared and his own forces were indiscriminately attacking.

Not only Xia Yan, but even Diao Yunshang couldn't help but complain, "It seems that always preparing for the worst really has its merits."

Just as the three Masters climbed a flight of stairs and were about to enter the main hall on the second floor of the castle, they all stopped in their tracks.

"Where did those soldiers go?"

Facing the empty hall, Hu Qiu couldn't help but ask.

This is also what puzzled Xia Yan and Diao Yunshang.

Although the trio was responsible for covering the rear, they did not stray too far from the main force of the resistance. Given the size of the main force, it was impossible for them to have all left before they arrived at the hall.

This hall is haunted.

Glug glug.

Suddenly, a lot of wriggling sounds came from behind the trio. A group of monsters with sticky tentacles, sharp teeth, and the ability to move on their own surged up from the stairs they had just walked up.

Xia Yan was very familiar with this kind of monster; it was a sea monster summoned by Marshal Shu.

Lu Bu released his spirit form and thrust forward, piercing the bodies of three sea demons. But the sea demons behind him seemed to have no need for magic and kept surging towards the three masters.

"Master, there are too many of these monsters. Even if I can hold them off, your magic power will be completely depleted."

Lu Bu kept wielding his halberd, but the sheer number of halberds he wielded still forced the "Flying General" to offer his opinion to his master.