I, Wang Ha, the Three Red Unparalleled Assassin

The old man of the mountain didn't care about such trivial details. To him, a name was just a label; as long as he knew the other person was calling him, that was enough.

"Is that so? I do think this matter is quite important."

Hieda Rei muttered to himself as he handed the manuscript, which he had just written a few dozen lines of, to the old man of the mountain, a proud smile on his face.

"The compilation of the Kojiki was completed not long ago, and my next goal is this book I've been planning for a while, the Yokai Chronicles."

"Of course, I personally prefer to call it 'The Record of Seeking Historical Information'."

The old man's gaze swept quickly across the preface at the very beginning of the book, and then he paused when he saw the first person introduced in it, because that was himself.

"Before you leave, check if I've written anything wrong. I'm planning to include Old Man of the Mountain as the first extraordinary person in this book."

Hieda Are handed the old man of the mountain a brush, indicating that he could make changes to the manuscript as he pleased, since it would be re-edited and copied later anyway, so it wouldn't matter.

The old man of the mountain did not refuse Hieda no Rei's request, and was also very curious about how the other party would evaluate and describe him.

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Name: Suzuki Satoru

Age: Unknown

Sex: Male

Race: Human (?)

Ability: The power to manipulate the degree of death

Danger level: Too high to be calculated

Human friendliness: Average (As long as you don't do anything reckless, you'll be fine)

Accommodation: Eientei in the Lost Bamboo Forest

Brief introduction: A mysterious figure whose strength is so great that no one knows how strong he really is. Legend has it that he has killed great monsters more than once, and even gods have fallen at his hands.

He suddenly appeared in the area and lived as a hermit in the bamboo forest, where he usually enjoyed fishing and drinking tea.

He has a very peaceful personality; as long as you don't deliberately provoke him, you'll be safe.

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The text ends here, showing that Hieda Rei had only just started writing and all the information gathering was still in its very early, roughest stages.

The old man made a few minor revisions to the manuscript, then returned it to Hieda no Rei and got up to leave the room filled with books.

"Regarding matters concerning yokai, you should ask Himari more often; she will surely know a lot about them."

After finishing all the matters, the old man of the mountain stepped into the boundary gate alone and embarked on the road back to the world of the Little Garden.

Tamamo-no-Mae and Minamoto no Yorimitsu planned to stay in this world for a while longer, and the old man of the mountain did not stop them.

After all, it's only natural to want to relax and unwind after finally getting away on a business trip.

As heroic spirits, they should both be aware of their limits and wouldn't do anything that would cause the world to collapse.

The void was pitch black, with only the eerie blue ghostly flames emanating from the old man of the mountain flickering alone. He walked for a long time along the path before him, the exact length of which was unknown.

Suddenly, the old man of the mountain felt a faint call from two other different directions, as if summoning him to come.

"Hmm? Are they all holding summoning rituals?"

"The magical aura on one side feels very familiar to me. Isn't this the Greater Grail of Fuyuki? Could it be that another Holy Grail War is taking place in a parallel world?"

The old man of the mountain stood still, gazing at the road ahead as he pondered quietly. In the end, he decided to go and find out for himself, while his return could wait.

When faced with the difficult choice of which side to respond to, the old man of the mountain made his decision without much hesitation.

"Fine, I'll just respond to them all."

A surge of magic enveloped his entire body, and his deep, muttering voice echoed in the void.

In a daze, the tall figure of the old man of the mountain split into two different postures with different attire, each taking a step in a different direction.

"Though the evening bell did not reveal anything, our meeting was destiny, nothing more."

★ Fate/Apocrypha ★

Chapter 146 The Holy Grail War

Romania is a country located in the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe.

It borders Ukraine to the north and Moldova to the northeast, Bulgaria to the south, Serbia to the southwest and Hungary to the northwest, and the Black Sea to the southeast.

The country's total land area is about 240,000 square kilometers, which is only about one-seventh the size of Xinjiang Province.

Whether in terms of land area or international status and influence, Romania is extremely insignificant in the world.

Some people might never even know that such a country exists in the world, let alone know its specific geographical location.

But recently, the name Romania has become a hot topic of discussion in magicians' circles.

The reason for this is that a Holy Grail War of immense scale will unfold on Romanian soil.

To be more precise, it should be held near the city of Tulifas in Romania.

It was night, almost midnight.

Outside the city of Tulipas, in a gloomy cemetery.

A burly man in a black jacket and sunglasses strolled among the rows of tombstones, carrying a portable suitcase in one hand.

The man's name is Lion's Robbery Realm.

His identity in the ordinary world is unknown, but in the mystical world he is an extremely skilled necromancer who also works as a bounty hunter to earn some extra money.

The request that Shishikage Kairi received this time was to represent the Mage's Association as one of the seven Masters in the Holy Grail War, which was scheduled to begin at midnight.

Lion Jie Li has a somewhat fierce appearance, with a head of brownish-yellow long hair, three hideous scars on his right eye, and a small mustache on his chin.

Just by looking at him, you can tell he's not a nice guy. He's the kind of unlucky guy who walks down the street without doing anything wrong, but always gets stopped and questioned by the police.

Commonly known as looking like a bad guy or a fugitive.

With a cigarette dangling from his lips, Shizi Jie Li circled the dilapidated paths within the cemetery several times, his gaze constantly scanning the surroundings, seemingly both vigilant and searching for something.

After observing the entire cemetery's terrain, Shiki Jie Li arrived at a clearing deep within the cemetery, surrounded and concealed by some trees.

He put the suitcase aside and began clearing away the weeds and pebbles on the ground, quickly solving the problem with a few simple magic tricks.

"call!"

After completing the preliminary preparations, Shiki Jieli glanced down at his wristwatch and realized that there were still fifteen minutes until midnight.

He looked up and peered at the moon through the gaps in the tree branches to confirm the accuracy of the time he had obtained.

After all, magic is a delicate art, and it's best to avoid even the slightest error.

Although the Holy Grail is what summons Servants in the Holy Grail War, the chosen Master only needs to use any material to draw a magic circle and then pretend to chant a few random incantations.

However, the earnest and meticulous Shiki Jie Li still intended to do things as perfectly as possible, because he didn't know if he could survive the next mission.

Perhaps, agreeing to accept this mission in the first place was a complete mistake.

But who can resist the temptation to hold up the Holy Grail, the 'all-powerful wish-granting machine,' and make a wish to realize their dreams?

Shi Zijie Jieli could readily admit that he didn't want to give up this opportunity easily.

Because he truly had a wish to fulfill, even if it meant sacrificing everything, to resurrect his adopted daughter who had died many years ago.

"Even though so many years have passed, I still can't forget you."

Shiki-kai-ri muttered to himself, raising his right hand and staring blankly at the crimson Command Seal that had already appeared on the back of his hand.

But his thoughts instantly returned to the morning when he negotiated with the person who commissioned the mission, recalling all the known information so far.

England, the Clock Tower.

Around nine or ten o'clock in the morning, Shishikatsu Kairi was sitting in the office of the Minister of Summoning, discussing the Holy Grail War with Rocco Belfebon, who was in charge of the department.

"During the Third Holy Grail War, a Master, with the help of the German army, forcibly seized the Greater Grail, which was the core of the ritual, thus ending the war."

"But the German army was still deceived by the Master who cooperated with them. The Greater Grail was stolen during transport and then completely disappeared."

"But just recently, the magicians of the Yggdomirenia clan, who govern the entire Romanian territory, have indicated that they possess the Great Grail."

Minister Rocco, with his white hair, has been in office for fifty years. His exact age is unknown, but he still remembers clearly what happened in the Holy Grail War sixty years ago.

"Among the Masters who participated in the Third Holy Grail War sixty years ago, there was indeed a magus named Danic Preston Yggdmillennia."

"While announcing their possession of the Holy Grail, the Yggdmillennia clan also announced their intention to leave the Clock Tower and form a new organization."

"And this Holy Grail War was something that damned Danic put on, like he was announcing the birth of his organization, creating some fireworks and gimmicks."

Upon hearing this, Shi Zijie Jieli became slightly more serious and had already vaguely guessed Rocco's purpose in summoning him. He couldn't help but ask:

"So? Does the Clock Tower want to send me as one of the seven Masters to participate in the war?"

Upon hearing this, Rocco gently shook his head, his gaze fixed on Shiki Jie Li sitting on the sofa, a strange smile on his face.

"No, it should be said that we hope you will fight against the Masters of Yggdrasilia as one of the Masters of the Clock Tower."

Lion Jie Li frowned slightly, his thick eyebrows furrowing as he stood up and went to Rocco's desk, asking:

"What on earth is going on? This doesn't seem like a traditional Holy Grail War."

“That’s right. There are seven of us and seven of the enemy; we are the Masters of the Red Team, and they are the Masters of the Black Team.”

Rocco nodded slightly, raised both hands and made a gesture of making the number 'seven' simultaneously, waving it in front of Shizi Jieli's eyes.

"This is a hidden mechanism within the Holy Grail War. When the seven Servants unite on one side, the Holy Grail will select seven Servants to oppose them in order to ensure the normal progress of the Holy Grail War."

"In other words, this is a seven-on-seven Holy Grail War, with a total of fourteen Servants participating."

The intelligence gathering was now complete, and Shizi Jieli had come to his senses.

But Rocco's words still echoed in his mind, and his body trembled uncontrollably, whether from fear or excitement, and his expression was extremely solemn.

"A total of fourteen riders? The so-called Holy Grail War."

Muttering to himself, Shishikage Kairi rose and began the final work of summoning a Servant, drawing a magic circle.

Compared to the gemstone solution used by wealthy magicians and the chicken blood used by poor magicians, the material that Shiki Jie Li used to draw magic circles was the most ordinary mercury.