FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Your Majesty, that's not very fair of you."

Xia Yan gave a wry smile and did not launch an attack on Gilgamesh.

"Oh? I don't understand what you're talking about."

Gilgamesh continued to play dumb.

Seeing that Gilgamesh was still trying to bluff, Xia Yan simply said, "No matter who owns the Chains of Heaven, I don't think it would be willing to attack you. Your request is simply to make me think that I cannot control the Chains of Heaven, so that I can exchange it for another reward."

Gilgamesh, feeling somewhat embarrassed after Xia Yan exposed his scheme, could only point to a statue in the corner of the temple and say, "Then attack that."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xia Yan unleashed the Heavenly Lock, which accurately struck the unfortunate statue.

Whether it's speed, power, or accuracy, it's much stronger than when he was in the Underworld. And since then, Xia Yan hasn't touched the Heavenly Lock at all, so it shouldn't be possible to achieve this effect.

Moreover, unlike Vimana, who only requires his approval, the user of the Chains of Heaven must be someone connected to a deity—this is a strict requirement.

Last time in the Underworld, Gilgamesh only lent it to Xia Yan, and it was understandable that Xia Yan could barely use it, but this time it was completely different.

Xia Yan, as the user of the Chains of Heaven, was completely controlling it on his own, which caused Gilgamesh to unconsciously use his Clairvoyance on him.

"I see. You're quite the mixed bag, calling you a bastard isn't an exaggeration," Gilgamesh muttered under his breath.

"Your Majesty, what did you just say?"

"It's nothing. Since you've shown control over my friend, it's probably not too bad for it to be with you. So let's leave it at that."

Is that all?

Xia Yan was surprised that Gilgamesh would so readily give him the Chains of Heaven.

Gilgamesh walked into the temple with his arms crossed. As he passed Xia Yan and the others, seemingly trying to save face, he said, "You bastards, you should be glad you've met me at this stage. If I were younger, you would all be beheaded by the time you asked for your rewards."

Xia Yan and Feng Yan had no doubt about Gilgamesh's words. If it were Gilgamesh, the Archer class, who was here, they probably wouldn't have dared to mention it.

In the eyes of that young tyrant, everything in the world belonged to him, and he had the right to judge everything, even the lives of the people, including the lives of Xia Yan and his four masters.

After Gilgamesh's figure completely disappeared into the temple, Morgan said, seemingly quite unconvinced, "If you dare to touch Xia Yan, then you're not planning to take Uruk."

Everyone knew that this was just the Great Witch saying something out of spite to protect her Master, so no one paid any attention to it.

Lan Muyan and Diao Yunshang walked up to Xia Yan and Feng Yan and praised them with envy and excitement.

"You two are really brave."

Diao Yunshang was generous with her praise.

"Compared to you guys, my Uruk cup suddenly doesn't taste so good anymore."

Lan Muyan wore a bitter expression, regretting his previous choice even more.

"No, your choice is excellent. With this Holy Grail, our chances of passing this trial will be much higher."

Xia Yan had only thought of the scene in the original story where Gilgamesh used the Uruk Cup to save Kingu, but the Holy Grail has more than one function in this trial, and if used properly, they will have hope of defeating Typhon.

After offering each other encouragement and comfort, Xia Yan and the others attended a victory celebration banquet hosted by Gilgamesh.

Ironically, despite being the host of the victory celebration, Gilgamesh had a long face the whole time, as if everyone owed him money. Fortunately, Siduri came to the rescue in time, saying many nice things to liven up the atmosphere.

The victory celebration ended in a joyful atmosphere for everyone except the king.

After the celebration banquet, everyone dispersed to enjoy what might be the last peaceful night of this trial.

Now that things have come to this, Xia Yan no longer needs to give special instructions on the rotation between North Wall and Uruk. After applying to Morgan and receiving permission, he also has some rare time to be alone.

"Xia Yan, you're here."

Someone Xia Yan never expected walked over.

Good evening, Ishtar.

Good evening. Are you here alone? Isn't Morgan here?

Ishtar looked around.

"I'm not a baby who needs constant care."

Xia Yan smiled and said, "Are you looking for me or her? Should I call her over?"

"No, no need."

Ishtar quickly waved her hand, then muttered under her breath, "It's better that she's not here."

"Um?"

"It's nothing. Haha, um..."

Ishtar tapped her index fingers together. She had clearly thought about what to say before coming to see Xia Yan, but once she saw him, she didn't know where to begin.

"Xia Yan, you've had a hard day."

"I'm fine. The ones who are really fighting are the Servants. They are the ones who made the greatest contributions today."

Ishtar chuckled, "Xia Yan, you really care about Servants. Even though we're all non-human beings, isn't making good use of them what a good Master should do?"

"You're right, a good Master should indeed make good use of Servants, but I don't like the word 'use,' as it makes Servants seem like tools. Perhaps many people think that Servants are just dead souls temporarily appearing in the world, and can't be called human at all, but they have their own feelings. They laugh when they're happy, cry when they're sad, and bleed when they're injured. In my opinion, they are no different from living people. If we're talking about how to make Servants exert their greatest combat power, it must be to treat them as trustworthy partners, not cold tools. I believe that Servants will repay my trust."

After hearing Xia Yan's words, Ishtar stood there in a daze, not expecting him to say such a long thing.

"Sorry, am I being a bit long-winded? I can't help but say a few more words when this topic comes up. Maybe I'm still not rational enough, but I just don't like the idea of ​​Servants as tools."

Ishtar shook his head.

"I'm actually quite pleased to hear you say that, because I'm a Servant too, and even a god wouldn't like being used as a tool. Achoo!"

A gust of cold wind blew by, and the moment Ishtar sneezed, Xia Yan saw her black hair turn golden.

I see. No wonder I felt something was off about Ishtar tonight.

During this trial, Ishtar and Ishtar barely interacted, and the way the goddess Venus joined Uruk was somewhat humiliating. Therefore, Ishtar was not very enthusiastic during the previous defense of the North Wall, and refused to come out of Uruk on the grounds that she was the guardian of Uruk.

According to Feng Yan and Lan Muyan, Ishtar did assist in killing flying monsters in the skies above Uruk, but given her strength, such results were clearly insufficient.

Fortunately, Uruk's fighting strength is still sufficient, giving Ishtar room to slack off. As for whether she will go all out later, Xia Yan is not worried. When Ishtar, who is possessing Rin, sees the actions of the Rahms, she will naturally not stand idly by.

"Xia Yan, what does that meaningful smile of yours mean?"

Ishtar saw Xia Yan give her a mysterious smile.

"Would you like to know, in my heart, whose smile is more captivating, Ereshkigal's or Ishtar's?"