FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Damn it, it still doesn't work?"

Richard actually had a lot to say to the Lion King, but after Xia Yan's conversation with the Lion King, he couldn't say a word.

The person he truly wanted to talk to was not the Lion King, nor the goddess Rungominiad, but King Arthur, Artoria Pendragon.

However, it seems that I am no longer able to convey my thoughts to the other person.

"One more time!"

Xia Yan's voice suddenly reached his ears.

Richard turned to look at Xia Yan, whose eyes showed no sign of dejection.

Why?

Why does this Master still have such a determined look in his eyes?

His own treasure was the trump card to defeat the Lion King. This was what Xia Yan told him personally. Could it be that he had a backup plan?

Having received their orders, Cú Chulainn, Morgan, and Osmandis once again launched an attack on the Lion King.

"then."

Morgan unleashed hundreds of black guns to harass Richard while tossing him the jeweled sword he always carried with him.

Richard quickly caught it with both hands, then looked at Morgan with some confusion.

"What are you standing there for? Didn't you hear Xia Yan's command? Use the magic power stored in the jeweled sword to unleash the Noble Phantasm once more."

Morgan clearly had no time to comfort Richard at that moment.

"But..."

"But you feel that you've already failed, and trying again is pointless, right?"

Richard remained silent in response to Xia Yan's words, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"It's different. This time, you need to properly express what you truly want to say to King Arthur, that is, Artoria Pendragon!"

Although Richard didn't know why Xia Yan was so confident, he could tell from their interactions over the past few days that Xia Yan was definitely not someone who would do something pointless.

Now that things have come to this, how can I hold them back!

Having absorbed the magic from the jeweled sword, Richard raised it once more, speaking the words he wanted to say to King Arthur.

"King Arthur, you have been my idol since childhood. Your holiness and nobility will not be diminished by your end. As a king myself, I have always looked up to you, hoping to become a king revered by all and build a prosperous and powerful nation. I learned the way of being a king from you, and I also learned the way of being a person. But, King Arthur, look at you now! You treat life as worthless, and your people as insignificant ants. You sit high above like a goddess. Where is the semblance of a king?"

The image of the holy sword once again materialized in Richard's hand, becoming more solid than its previous semi-transparent state.

"Noble Phantasm! Spear Piercing Death Thorns!"

Compared to before, Cú Chulainn's mana was almost depleted. In order to effectively restrain the enemy, Cú Chulainn planned to use his remaining mana to activate his anti-personnel Noble Phantasm and take a gamble.

clang!

The Holy Lance slightly deflected the trajectory of the Thorn Spear, and given that the Lion King's predecessor was Artoria with intuition, Cú Chulainn's Noble Phantasm only pierced the Lion King's chest.

For the Lion King, who has transformed into the goddess Rungomminiad, any attack that cannot cause a fatal wound is ineffective. Cú Chulainn's Noble Phantasm, though not very powerful, is the most dangerous. Unfortunately, it is meaningless unless it hits the Spirit Core.

With a kick, he sent the man-depleted Cú Chulainn flying, then pulled his spear from the seam of his magnificent chest and forcefully plunged the blood-dripping thorn spear into the ground.

Another burst of magic was released, neutralizing Osmandis's attack. The Lion King then fired several golden beams of light, blasting Morgan's black gun down.

"I've already said, counterfeit goods are useless against me."

Seeing that Richard was about to unleash his Noble Phantasm again, the Lion King couldn't help but mock him.

"So what if it's a counterfeit? Who says counterfeit goods can't compare to the real thing?"

Xia Yan's words caught the Lion King's attention.

"Utterly ridiculous."

The Lion King raised his holy lance, ready to teach this human who had always contradicted him a lesson.

"I advise you to keep your eyes on that side."

Following the direction Xia Yan pointed, Morgan had unknowingly found himself standing behind Richard.

"I am Morgan le Fay, the queen of the Lostbelt Fairy Kingdom, but also a being with pan-human history memories and characteristics."

“Could it be!”

The Lion King seemed to realize what Morgan was about to do, and his eyes widened in horror.

Morgan smiled dismissively and continued, "Therefore, I also possess the attributes of the Lady of the Lake. Excalibur is a treasure given to Arthur by Vivian, the Lady of the Lake, and Vivian and I are one and the same."

She placed a hand on Richard's shoulder and declared loudly, "In the name of Vivian, the Lady of the Lake, I hereby declare that the sword in Richard I's hand is also 'Excalibur'!"

The form of the holy sword in Richard's hand materialized, becoming indistinguishable from the real "Excalibur".

Richard raised his holy sword and shouted, "Excalibur!"

Golden light burst forth and shot towards the Lion King.

"Stop! Stop it now! Ah—!"

An even more dazzling golden light enveloped the Lion King. Unlike last time, this time, the Lion King, having been baptized by the light cannon, let out terrifying screams throughout.

Xia Yan clenched his fists silently. This was his real gamble, his last trump card.

The reason why Morgan wasn't given the blessing on the first try was that Xia Yan also wanted to test what level of "Excalibur" would have an effect on the Lion King.

Thanks to what the Lion King had said earlier, Xia Yan was convinced that he could succeed if he got a little closer to the original based on Richard's work.

After all, even with Morgan's declaration, star-made weapons are not so easy to replicate. Even projection magic can only make a fake that is infinitely close to the original.

Xia Yan doesn't need the genuine article, or rather, Xia Yan doesn't need to always be the genuine article. Morgan's declaration only made it almost equivalent to the genuine article the moment Richard raised the Holy Sword. And in that instant, his appearance was enough to awaken Artoria's consciousness by entering the Lion King's eyes.

As it turned out, Xia Yan made the right bet.

As the light beam dissipated, the Lion King's body began to repair itself again, but this did not lessen the Lion King's pain in the slightest.

"Ah—! Artoria, don't come out! Don't get in my way!"

The Lion King covered his head with one hand, looking as if he had a splitting headache, his expression switching back and forth between calm and ferocity.

As the goddess Rungomminiad's consciousness was about to lose control of the Lion King's body, her eyes suddenly turned cold, and she revealed a maniacal smile.

"Since you too are destined to revert to the ignorance of humanity, then vanish along with these creatures. Holy Lance, set sail!"

The goddess Rungomminiad manipulated the Lion King to raise the Holy Lance high, then turned the spearhead and plunged it into the ground.

All they saw was a golden beam of light slowly descending from the sky, parting the clouds, and landing in the very Camelot Hall where they were.

The goddess Rungomminiad has gone completely mad and is now determined to take everyone down with her using the Holy Lance!