To become a king and a magician

"Don't worry about that. I'll tell Achilles Archer his real name when we meet up with the Red Team later."

He would probably be happy to compete with his teacher.

——————————————————————————————————————

At the same time.

Inside the Red Team's temporary camp.

After much effort, Achilles finally found Atalanta leaning against the clock tower and greeted her, "Hey, big sister, what brings you here all alone?"

"It's you. Is there something you need?"

“We’re leaving in half a day. The priest wants us to gather at dusk.” Achilles leaped to Atalanta’s side, sat down, and looked down at the scenery. “Have you been in a bad mood lately, elder sister?”

Why do you ask that?

"Well, your expression and eyes seem a bit off, and you're hiding here. For a woman, this kind of behavior usually means she's not in a good mood, right?"

Atalanta glared at him immediately, then sighed and said, "No, I was just thinking about some things. You are the one who has no reason to care about me. You should be sharpening your gun. The war is about to begin, and you are our vanguard."

"My guns and tanks are always in top condition—besides, Lancer, you're the one with the more troublesome missions, aren't you?"

Achilles looked upwards, and at the top of the bell tower, Karna was already standing there.

"Red Saber's Master, although he is human, is no ordinary guy. He can gain an overwhelming advantage when facing two Servants alone. I'm itching to fight him."

"Are you going to deal with Xia Chuan, Lancer?" Atalanta asked, somewhat surprised. "The priest's tactical arrangement?"

"Exactly. What, Archer, are you also somewhat concerned about that Master?"

"I just wanted to stick an arrow in his head."

Touching the side of her face where Natsukawa had slapped her, Atalanta gritted her teeth: "Lancer, let's make a deal. Before you fight Natsukawa, can I have a match with him first?"

“I have some things that I need to get back from him.”

73. Before the war

Some distance away from Tulifas in the air.

Vanity's Sky Garden

The courtyard that Semiramis never owned or even saw in his lifetime has now become real, floating hundreds of meters above the ground and visibly moving towards Tulipas.

"Isn't this a bit of an exaggeration?"

On the observation deck outside the Sky Garden, Achilles gazed at the scene below.

They knew that Semiramis was building a fortress using various antiques and materials collected by Kotomine Shiro, and they had even seen the fortress. Achilles originally thought that Semiramis intended to use the fortress as a base.

But now...

"It actually turned into an aerial fortress. No wonder you said it was a Noble Phantasm for offense, Assassin."

"Go ahead and shower me with praise, Archer. This is my most prized Noble Phantasm, my Aerial Garden."

Semiramis laughed.

Beside her, Amakusa Shiro addressed the group, saying, "Alright everyone, please prepare for battle. At this pace, it will probably take about an hour for us to reach Tulifas and be within sight of the Black faction."

"Lord Natsukawa and Saber have already eliminated four Black Faction Servants for us. The remaining enemies are only three Servants. Let us end the Holy Grail War tonight."

"Didn't that guy and Saber steal all the limelight?" Achilles said with some resentment. "If I had known, I should have joined in back then and turned the battle into an unprecedented melee. Now we can only do some cleanup and finishing blows."

Amakusa Shiro shook his head: "Perhaps quite the opposite. The fact that you were able to escape from Lord Natsukawa and Saber's forces proves that the remaining three Servants are quite capable. Of course, I believe in your strength, Rider. Let's see how unstoppable your chariot is on the battlefield."

"Do you even need to tell me?"

Is there still an hour left?

Unlike Achilles' high spirits, Karna and Atalanta appeared somewhat calm. Karna's calmness was innate, while Atalanta...

Atalanta gripped the Sky Bow tightly in her hand and gazed in the direction of Tulipas.

There's still an hour until I see that man again.

(Just you wait, Natsukawa, this time I will definitely...)

--------------------------------

"Roughly speaking, the current situation is six against three, but it could also be described as three against nine."

At dusk, in a hotel in Tulipas.

Natsukawa Tora is explaining the final situation to Mordred and the others.

"On the surface, we are still on the Red Team. We will work together with the upcoming Amakusa Shiro and his group to deal with the Black Team, and then we will have an internal war within the Red Team."

"But the Red team is actually our enemy as well."

Joan of Arc said.

Amakusa Shiro plots to use the Greater Grail to materialize the souls of all humanity, an act that appears to be a salvation for all but is actually tantamount to the extermination of humankind. Perhaps having learned the truth from Natsukawa Toranoana, Jeanne d'Arc has recently received a similar revelation.

The content of the revelation was Amakusa Shiro Tokisada.

"So, the reality is that we have to fight at least three against nine."

Black's Chiron, Astolfo, and Frankenstein.

The Red team consists of Karna, Atalanta, Achilles, Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, Semiramis, and Shakespeare.

Although Shakespeare can be completely ignored in terms of combat power, his Noble Phantasm can have a considerable impact to some extent and cannot be completely disregarded.

"Simply put, it's about eliminating everyone and taking the Greater Grail for ourselves, right?" Mordred laughed. "I like this approach. What's already in our hands should be guarded like this, kicking out anyone who wants a share and keeping all the spoils for ourselves!"

Should a knight say such a thing?

"I'm just a third-rate knight, what's wrong with that?!"

Mordred's words directly shut Joan of Arc down.

With a hint of exasperation, Natsukawa Tiger tapped her head and continued, "So, regarding the next tactic—Karen, Jeanne, you two stay in a safe place as before. Leave the fighting to me, Mordred, and Angelica."

"I have no objection."

Karen, who had no fighting ability whatsoever, readily accepted the suggestion. After all, she had only come along to check on Natsukawa Tora's movements and did not intend to risk her life with him. It would be better if he died, saving her from adding to her workload.

And Joan of Arc...

“May I come along too, Mr. Natsukawa?” Jeanne asked. “I feel it is necessary for me to meet with Amakusa Shiro Tokisada. As a fellow believer in the Lord, I want to know why he has the idea of ​​saving all mankind, and I also hope to stop his evil deeds with my own hands.”

"No."

Natsukawa Tora flatly refused Joan of Arc's request.

“I understand your thoughts, but unfortunately, I can’t let you participate in the battle. You are currently reliant on Gray, and if you get injured in the battle, Gray will also get injured.”

"Don't worry about that. Although my combat strength is not outstanding, with this flag, Miss Grey will definitely not be harmed in the slightest."

As Joan of Arc spoke, she took out the holy banner adorned with irises.

However, the holy flag was far too big for her petite frame, so much so that she had to hold onto the flagpole with both hands to prevent it from falling over.

"No."

Even so, Natsukawa Tora still firmly refused.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Joan of Arc's power; he simply wanted to prevent any unforeseen events. If Mordred didn't still need the power of the scabbard, he would have even wanted to give the scabbard to Gray as well.

"Joan of Arc, you and Karen stay in a safe place—"

"Please let me fight alongside you, brother."

Grey's voice suddenly interrupted Natsukawa Tora.

In the blink of an eye, Jeanne had returned her body to Gray, looking at Natsukawa Torama with a firm and straightforward gaze. Gray said earnestly, "Brother, please let me fight alongside you."

"No. Why do you suddenly want to do this?"

"Because I want to be with you, brother. It doesn't matter where we go. You've always protected me so well, keeping me from any harm, but now, I don't want to keep watching your back anymore. If possible, please let me fight alongside you."

[Wow, this is rare! Dumb Grey actually wants to take the initiative this time. Looks like I'm in for some fun tonight—hey, buddy, let me go out and have some fun too, take dumb Grey out for a battle!]

[Anyway, no matter what happens, you can protect her, right? Or do you lack the confidence to protect her?]

Yad's provocation made Natsukawa Tora frown.

Then—

"Angelica".

"exist."

"Prepare for Vimana. Since that's the case, let's all go together, just like the first night."

74. So remember to bring a scanner when you go out.

The ruins of the World Tree Castle.

Two days ago, this place was turned into a small meteorite crater due to Natsukawa Tiger's sudden attack. Now, a simple workshop has been set up here.

Soil, trees, stones, metal... As the Master of Avisbronn, Roger Furein Yggdrasilnia is also an excellent Golem User. Although he only had two short days, he was able to build a decent magic workshop with the help of the golems.

This is now the last stronghold of the Yggdrasil clan, who have nowhere else to go.

The fortress was swiftly destroyed by Natsukawa Torato, and most of the hidden strongholds lurking throughout Romania were also lost due to Jack the Ripper. Without knowing the Red Team's movements, continuing to move around recklessly would undoubtedly be dangerous. Based on the principle that the most dangerous place is the safest place, and also to protect the Greater Grail, the remaining members of the Black Team returned to the location of the Greater Grail.

No matter what happens, we must protect the Greater Grail—the Yggdrasil clan, already on the verge of destruction, can only rely on the Greater Grail to revive itself.

The workshop was set up as a simple quadrilateral fortress, with the Greater Grail as the center, extending fifty meters in each direction. It also used the power of the Greater Grail to construct a barrier. Even Servants would need some time to break through this tortoise-shell-like barrier.

Of course, the standard for this Servant is Frankenstein. In other words, this fortress barrier only requires three attacks from Frankenstein to take it down—which is quite remarkable in terms of magic.

While it can't be expected to stop the Red team's attack, it's better than nothing.

In addition, to maximize the use of Chiron's power, watchtowers were set up at the four corners of the magic workshop, each equipped with surveillance magic with a maximum range of one kilometer. After all, no matter how excellent Chiron's eyesight was, he could only see in one direction, so the watchtowers where he was not were used by surveillance magic to locate enemies.

This is all the Yggdrasil clan could accomplish in just two days. The original Yggdrasil could have done even better. Their castle contained a wealth of magical materials and ancient artifacts, their magical energy was consumed by androids, and their golems were mass-produced... But all of this was destroyed by Natsukawa Torato's Moonfall spell.

Now, within this last stronghold of the Black faction, the three remaining Masters and Servants are holding their final meeting.

“I received intelligence from the surviving members of my tribe that a huge fortress in Sighishwara suddenly took to the sky and flew toward us.”