I, Wang Ha, the Three Red Unparalleled Assassin

"Tsk! You've really given me quite a surprise, you mongrel!"

Gilgamesh snorted coldly, and the disdain in his eyes when he looked at Artoria changed.

He raised his hand and quickly summoned a batch of defensive treasures, all of which were of A-rank, from the treasure vault, layering them in front of him.

The torrent of light struck Gilgamesh's location first, crashing against the defensive fortress built of Noble Phantasm shields wave after wave like crashing waves.

Immediately following, due to the overwhelming coverage of the Noble Phantasm, the entire courtyard of Ryudouji Temple was enveloped within the attack range.

"So, in the end, you still haven't given up your tragic wish to place your hopes on the Holy Grail?"

The old man of the mountain sighed as he looked at Artoria's resolute face, a hint of regret in his voice.

"The Star Sword, once a symbol of victory and hope, is now propelling human history into a period of upheaval and turmoil."

As the old man of the mountain spoke, he slowly raised his jet-black greatsword towards the golden pillar of light, his eyes gleaming with a blood-red light.

"Boom—!"

As the evening bell faded, an endless aura of deathly blackness permeated Ryudou Temple, while ghostly blue flames surged and rose with the fury of their master.

"O foreign king, so proud of your ideals! I shall slay your unrealistic delusions!!"

"The Angel of Death!!!"

The old man of the mountain murmured, brandishing his jet-black greatsword wreathed in ghostly fire, and slashed straight at the ceaseless pillar of light.

With a soft sound like shattering glass, the light from Excalibur instantly disintegrated into countless fragments in mid-air, scattering like snowflakes throughout Ryudouji Temple.

"Oh? It can even kill something like this? It seems I underestimated this old fellow."

Gilgamesh, who had been standing behind a circle of shields with his arms crossed the whole time, frowned, unable to think of a good way to deal with the Old Man of the Mountain.

"What!? How... how is this possible?"

Artoria stared wide-eyed at her own Noble Phantasm attack vanishing into thin air, and gasped in surprise.

"Hand over the head!"

The Old Man of the Mountain roared, his figure vanished in a flash, appearing before Artoria and slashing down at her with his sword.

Before Artoria's mind could even react, her body, guided by her intuition, made the most correct response.

Excalibur met the falling nameless greatsword, and a fleeting spark flew as they collided. However, Artoria, whose strength was far weaker than that of the Mountain Elder, was still sent flying by the sword.

Before Artoria could land and readjust her stance, a barrage of Noble Phantasms rained down from the sky, striking her and the Old Man of the Mountain.

Artoria swung her sword, relying on her intuition to cut down all the incoming Noble Phantasms one by one, while retreating backward repeatedly, seemingly struggling to cope with such an onslaught.

Gilgamesh, having retrieved the sword of finality from the Gate of Babylon, charged toward the Mountain Elder, his crimson serpent eyes blazing with an intense fighting spirit.

"Come, old man of the mountain!"

The old man of the mountain unleashed countless crisscrossing sword energies with a single sword strike, deflecting all the Noble Phantasms aimed at him. Then, he faced Gilgamesh head-on, who was charging towards him wielding two swords.

Gilgamesh blocked the Mountain Elder's slash with his right hand, and with his left hand, he swung his longsword horizontally towards the Mountain Elder's neck, the blade slicing through the air with a sharp sound.

Faced with the menacing longsword, the Old Man of the Mountain slightly raised the giant shield in his hand and blocked Gilgamesh's attack.

Then, he rammed his side against Gilgamesh with the massive shield covered in spikes, the dense aura of death filling every dark spike.

Sensing the danger, Gilgamesh immediately retreated. Not wearing armor, he wasn't about to foolishly take the Mountain Elder's shield bash head-on.

Golden spatial ripples appeared behind Gilgamesh, and his A+ level Noble Phantasms poured out towards the Mountain Elder, their terrifying firing rate comparable to some modern firearms.

The Old Man of the Mountain strode forward and chased after Gilgamesh. His superb martial arts skills allowed him to effortlessly deflect various Noble Phantasms that came his way with his greatsword, keeping up with the King of Heroes without slowing down for even a moment.

Gilgamesh leaped onto the roof of Ryudouji Temple, and the sword of finality in his hand instantly transformed into a bow shape.

He raised his hand, aimed at the Mountain Elder, and quickly drew the bowstring taut. A golden magic circle unfolded in the air, centered on the longbow, and arrows formed from condensed magic appeared on the bowstring.

As Gilgamesh released his grip on the bowstring, a magic cannon shot, powerful enough to pierce dozens of meters into the ground, hurtled towards the Old Man of the Mountain with the speed of a falling meteor and a long tail.

The Mountain Elder looked up at Gilgamesh, then charged forward to meet the barrage of arrows, quickly slicing four or five incoming magic cannon shots into pieces.

Gilgamesh's longbow transformed into twin swords once more, and he leaped from the rooftop to slash at the Old Man of the Mountain.

The clanging of swords against each other was deafening. The two figures flashed and changed rapidly throughout Ryudou Temple, their close combat proving to be evenly matched.

Just as Artoria, who had been forced back by the Gate of Babylon, was about to forcefully rejoin the fight, she was stopped by Merry, who had just arrived at Mount Enzou.

"Nice to meet you, King Arthur of this world. I am Meryl from a parallel world, a kind of alternate version of Merlin in this world."

After listening to Melly's words, Artoria carefully examined the other person and found that there was indeed a very familiar feeling coming from her.

Then, following her heart, the knight girl swung her Excalibur at Meryl without hesitation, only to have it easily blocked by Meryl's staff.

"King Arthur of another world, let's tell the story of the king together."

Mary still wore her usual cheerful expression, and her beautiful purple-pink eyes sparkled with a bright light.

Artoria felt a sudden, inexplicable panic, as if something terrible was about to happen if she didn't take some action.

But when it comes to scheming skills, Artoria will never be able to catch up with Meli in her lifetime.

Moreover, after being so thoroughly tricked by Merlin, Mary was naturally in a very bad mood.

If she could get some interest back from King Arthur in this world, then Merry would be full of energy and wouldn't give Artoria any chance to escape.

"The sea within the stars, the lookout tower. From a corner of paradise, I tell you: your story is full of blessings."

"Only the innocent may enter—the eternally isolated paradise!"

Chapter Fifty-Five: The Sword Saint of Britain

On a ten-meter-square platform atop the Tower of the End in the Starry Sea, Merry and Artoria faced each other.

This is not Avalon in Merlin's world, but the place where Merlin stays at home and spyes on the fairies in this world.

"Where is this place?"

Arriving at the Starry Sea for the first time, Artoria glanced around blankly before glaring at the instigator with murderous intent, as if she were about to chop him up.

"Welcome to the ideal world, King Arthur of another world."

Completely ignoring the knight girl's rude attitude, Merry spoke while giving Artoria the standard greeting she used when she was a court mage.

"I never imagined that King Arthur in this world would be a woman. In my world, the king has always been a man."

Upon hearing this, Artoria's pupils contracted sharply, and even her hands holding the sword trembled slightly, revealing a very complex expression on her face.

Despite being a woman, from the moment she pulled the sword from the stone and became the king, she has always appeared before the people in the form of a man under the blessing of Merlin's illusion.

Over time, Artoria became very concerned about her gender, and even troubled by it more than once.

Upon first hearing that there was a male King Arthur in another world, the girl naturally felt a mix of emotions.

"Can you tell me? What was the final fate of Britain, the kingdom ruled by men, in another world?"

Artoria lowered her holy sword. Compared to winning the Holy Grail War, the answer to this question was more important to her.

Having already known Artoria's wish, Merry naturally knew what the girl in front of her was hoping for, but sometimes reality is just that cruel.

"It was destroyed as well."

Melly shrugged, gave Artoria a helpless look, and said calmly.

"The whole process was basically no different from this world. The brat Mordred rebelled and caused trouble for his father. Although the king killed him with a spear in the Battle of Kalimdor, he also suffered irreparable damage."

At this point, Mary's tone became somewhat wistful, as if she were lamenting her Arthur's past experiences, which resembled a melodramatic soap opera.

However, apart from Arthur and Mordred, all the other knights of the Round Table were women, and each one of them was a beautiful and charming woman.

If nothing goes wrong, then something really strange will happen.

"And so, Britain, severely weakened, headed toward its doom, a fate that no one could change."

Artoria was quite disappointed after hearing what Merry said, but she quickly asked again with renewed hope:

"Didn't he ever think about saving Britain in that other world? Although we're different genders, our love for Britain must be the same, so what about him...?"

"No. After becoming a Heroic Spirit, this guy has been busy descending to various places where giant monsters have appeared to save the world. He only participated in the Holy Grail War once."

Before Artoria could finish speaking, Merlin shook her head and interrupted her, mentally scrutinizing Merlin's educational level.

What kind of messed-up ideas has this guy been feeding this little girl? Why is she so obsessed with the destruction of Britain?

Artoria lowered her head, her hands tightly gripping the Excalibur in her hands. After a moment of hesitation, she still did not intend to give up her wish.

"Since that's the case, then please let me leave. The Holy Grail, I am determined to have it!"

Looking at the stubborn Artoria in front of her, Melie suddenly felt a headache coming on, realizing that it seemed that words alone could not persuade this silly girl.

"That won't do. I've come all this way to deal with the anomalies in this Holy Grail War. We can't let such a dangerous thing fall into anyone's hands so easily."

Meryl shook her head vigorously, her attitude so firm that she had no intention of discussing the matter with Artoria.

You should know that this mission to deal with Artoria was volunteered by Melly, and if they really let her out...

Given the strength of the old man of the mountain, it probably wouldn't take much effort for him to settle things in the end, but that old man who always has his mind might actually kill Merry as well.

"Merlin from another world, are you going to stop me too? Stop me from changing the fate of Britain's destruction?"

Artoria roared angrily, her willow-leaf eyebrows slanting upwards like an enraged lion.

Although she was not facing Merlin, whom she knew well, Artoria was still feeling terrible, as if she had been betrayed by the person she trusted most.

"Even though this is not my intention, I have no choice but to draw my sword against you at this moment."

Artoria raised her holy sword again, aiming it at Melie, and leaped forward with one foot.

"For my beloved country, for the happiness of the British people, no one can stop me from obtaining the Holy Grail!!"

"As a king, I was prepared for this the moment I pulled the sword from the stone!"

With a series of crackling sounds, Artoria's holy sword strikes were once again blocked by Melly's staff, failing to harm her in the slightest.

"Hey!"

Merlin sighed softly, increasingly feeling that he should bear the main responsibility for this matter; he had simply ruined the entire vote.

"Is it because Merlin made you draw your sword too early? Even if your body stops growing, does your brain stop developing along with it?"

Meli's eyes gleamed as she swung her staff, smashing Artoria's holy sword aside and giving the knight girl a hard knock on the head, scolding her with a look of utter disappointment.

"Have your people begged you to save them? Have your knights begged you to rewrite their lives?"