That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

In fact, the power of this ancient nuclear warhead was weakened. It was detonated in the world of rules created by the Bull of Heaven and was affected by the rules of that world.

Hall looked down at the earth, the parts that made up the metal body of the Bull of Heaven were still trembling, and the rules of the Age of Gods that it unfolded still existed.

This is the Bull of Heaven, the most powerful divine beast in Mesopotamian mythology, and the trump card of victory held by the supreme deity Ishtar.

Hall was impressed: "The fact that the Bull of Heaven was not completely destroyed even after all that, what tenacious vitality it has."

Looking down at his right hand, the light patterns were dim. The maximum effort he had just exerted to activate his Noble Phantasm had severely impacted the magic circuits of this body, rendering it useless for the time being.

Although the Bull of Heaven did not die, it was practically dead. Its body was completely destroyed, and its core spirit core was exposed. Ordinary human weapons or magic could not affect its spirit core. The only weapon that could completely destroy the Bull of Heaven's spirit core was the Ea.

Take a step forward into the void before you, enter the subspace, and return to the pre-set spatial coordinates, which is the deck of the Radiant Ship.

The moment Hall stepped onto the splint, he heard the King of Heroes praising him with great interest: "Well done, magician. I am very impressed with you. Although you have not yet reached my level, your actions and achievements are enough to surpass even the great heroes of mythology."

Looking around the deck of the Radiant Ship, the Hero King sat on his throne, while Saber gripped the holy sword fixed to the ground, panting heavily.

"I just don't want to be praised by someone like you." Hall shrugged. "The spirit core you're talking about is the core of the concept of the Bull of Heaven, right? I'll leave the rest to you. I don't want to waste any more magic power."

"Killing the divine beast Gugalan is a feat that would alarm even the gods. Are you sure you don't want to personally take the plunge and win that glory?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Hahahaha, this is so interesting. The Bull of Heaven has a significant connection with me and my best friend Enki. It is not inappropriate for me to personally end it. Magician, when I return, I will definitely treat you to a proper meal with my treasured treasures. Look forward to it."

The King of Heroes rose from his throne, gripping the sword Ea, and passed by Hall, preparing to leave the Ark of Glory.

"Master, please do not move. The scabbard will heal your body."

Saber rushed to Hall's side. The young knight king's heroic brows were filled with concern. She grasped Hall's right hand and made physical contact with Hall to enhance the scabbard's self-healing ability.

A faint glow enveloped Hall's body, relieving the excruciating pain caused by the misalignment of his magic circuits.

Unleashing a magic spell of that scale would normally cause a Servant's Spirit Origin to collapse and perish long ago.

"Thank you."

Click~

Just as he thanked her, Hall heard a strange sound behind him. He was startled; the sound seemed to be the sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh.

Once, a certain unlucky person with bad luck pierced their own heart with a cursed magic gun, and that was the same sound they heard.

Chapter 198 Returning Home Together

Hearing the strange noise, Hall turned around and saw a scene that left him speechless: the sword Ea pierced through the chest of the Golden King and shattered the heart that symbolized the Servant's Spirit Origin.

What the hell? The mighty King of Heroes ended up with an E-rank luck?!

"Danic... Damn it!" The Hero King, filled with shock and rage, spat out a mouthful of blood, knelt on the ground, his face filled with resentment, and vanished in spirit form.

The ambush from the Master, delivered by a Command Seal, is simpler and more decisive than Assassin Li Shuwen's Noble Phantasm, "Unparalleled Strike."

Although the King of Heroes' golden armor grants him A-rank magic resistance, a command issued at the cost of one Command Seal can resist for a short while. However, if three Command Seals are required, even EX-rank magic resistance will be ineffective.

"Gilgamesh is dead? He's dead just like that? So easily?"

Hall stared blankly at the scene, overwhelmed by an unparalleled sense of absurdity.

It would be perfectly normal for a Lancer to receive such treatment, but who is the King of Heroes? The oldest king in the world, a Servant killer, one of the three golden targets, the author's favorite son, even if he is not the main villain, he is basically an existence outside the norm.

Is he really going to die so simply and inexplicably right in front of me? And without even finishing his lines?

Saber's emerald eyes met Hall's gaze, her pretty face filled with bewilderment. She hesitated and asked, "Master, is this a Command Seal?"

"There is only this possibility: the Master of the Hero King issued a Command Spell ordering him to commit suicide, and the castle where the Yggdrasilia clan resides has most likely been captured by the enemy."

Saber frowned in thought: "But the King of Heroes' Master could have used Command Spells to summon him back, so why would he have given the order for the King of Heroes to commit suicide?"

indeed.

Hall had come to a conclusion: "The Master of the King of Heroes is a traditional magician. The reason he participated in the Holy Grail War was to touch the Root. Under normal circumstances, he would not give up this ideal even if he sacrificed his life. So easily giving up the trump card that can guarantee victory means either his rationality was controlled by the enemy, or he made some kind of deal with the enemy. It's probably easy to guess."

Given Hall's understanding of the Holy Grail system and the magician named Danic, if the premise is that the red and black sides cooperate to achieve their wishes, Danic's choice to cooperate with the red side is perfectly reasonable.

Because of Romania's excellent spiritual veins, the Greater Grail system has stored up astonishing magical power, enough to summon twelve Servants at once for the Holy Grail War, and even have enough power to continue the Holy Grail War afterward.

The mechanism by which the Greater Grail system grants wishes is not complicated. First, there is magical power, and this basic condition must be met. Second, there is the soul of the Servant.

It only takes the power of six Servants to open the hole leading to the outside of the world, to come into contact with the vortex of the root that records all things in the world, and thus complete the Third Law or touch the root.

The Holy Grail War features fourteen Servants. If twelve Servants can be eliminated, two wishes can be granted.

If Amakusa Shirou Tokisada were to grant Darnic a wish in exchange for it, it would indeed be possible for him to betray his Servant. It should be said that this is the only option that would make him abandon the King of Heroes, the Black faction's only chance of winning in this Holy Grail War.

Yggdrasil's castle must be bustling with activity right now. I hope Ereshkigal is alright.

Hall felt a mix of emotions. He felt a pang of regret that the King of Heroes had been outmaneuvered by his own Master, but also a bit of schadenfreude. After all, while the King of Heroes in this world retained his arrogant and conceited personality, he was essentially a narcissistic goofball, perfectly capturing the character of the enthusiastic citizen, Mr. King.

Oh, and I haven't asked him to pay me yet.

Hall slapped his forehead. What a loss! What a loss!

wrong.

Hall looked around and it seemed that the Radiant Ship had not been recovered by the Gate of Babylon because it was affected by the Noble Phantasm ability of "Knights Don't Die Bare-Handed".

Well, it's a shame we can only ride the Radiant Ship, Vimana.

······

"Jill's presence... has vanished?"

Enkidu, who possesses an A++ level of aura perception, immediately sensed this surprising fact: it had indeed vanished in an instant.

What happened? How is this possible?

Was he ambushed by a fellow magician?

Enkidu quickly refuted this conclusion. Having fought the King of Heroes, he knew very well the performance of the golden armor he wore. In terms of defense, it was comparable to his Chains of Heaven. Even the weapons he created using the earth could not break it in a short time. It also had an unparalleled restraining effect on magicians.

The Golden Armor can nullify magic below the level of a Grand Magician, and its power will be greatly weakened even for higher-level magic.

The conclusion was that it was an unnatural death. Considering the strength of the King of Heroes, Enkidu was already certain of the outcome.

"A betrayal from the Master? Only a Command Seal could possibly make Gilles disappear in an instant."

A slight smile played on Enkidu's lips: "Gil, I've won this game."

"I'm glad you left the game before me, so I don't have to worry about you living alone and finishing the game all by yourself."

Splash splash splash~

The chains clanged, and the cocoon of chains slowly peeled away.

When Enkidu once again set foot on the earth, he, as the weapon of the gods, lost his balance and fell to the ground. A deep sense of powerlessness enveloped his body, his magic power was rapidly draining away, and he was unable to draw magic power from the earth.

Enkidu stared blankly at his right arm, where black spots appeared and slowly spread, cracking the skin wherever they touched, and his body was filled with a deathly aura.

"This is... death."

Enkidu murmured in realization. He was all too familiar with the strange phenomena manifesting in his body—things he had experienced and felt before, things that had been corrupted by the curse called death, leading to his weakening and eventual death.

He sensed that the source of the curse was the Command Seals, the only and most important connection between Master and Servant.

The concept of the curse of death is embedded in the Command Seals, and then activated by issuing the Command Seals, which even the weapons of the gods of old could not resist.

That is, he was also betrayed by his own Master.

Is it a coincidence?

Enkidu frowned slightly. Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, was a Servant of the Black faction, while he was a Servant of the Red faction. Both of them were betrayed by their Masters at the same time.

Moreover, this occurred at a delicate juncture when Gugalana suffered a severe blow.

"I am a weapon. The only value of being summoned is to fulfill the Master's wish. I have no value in being betrayed."

"It wasn't me who was betrayed, but my Master who was betrayed."

Enkidu smiled bitterly. He felt no fear of death, but began to worry about his Master's situation.

The only person he knew in the Red faction who could create the Curse of Death was Assassin, the Assyrian Empress, a dual-class Servant.

Chapter 199 The Desire for Weapons

A golden light flashed, and the goddess of Venus, Ishtar, piloted the celestial bow Maana back above Enkidu. The bow was fully drawn, ready to attack and vent her anger. But then she noticed the black spots on Enkidu's body, put one hand on her hip, looked him over, and asked in surprise, "I said, Mud Doll, the attack just now shouldn't have caused you such great damage."

Enkidu coldly replied, "Ishtar, you should also know very well that the only thing that can serve as a weapon to destroy the gods is the curse of death."

Ishtar stood in the sky with her arms crossed, scoffing arrogantly: "That's why I asked what happened. Why did you leave without permission? You are my prey, and I'm prepared to eliminate you with all my might."

"Stop pretending, Ishtar. The Bull of Heaven is closely connected to you. Your attack just now not only shattered Inanna's power, but how much strength do you have left?" Enkidu sneered as he gazed at the Venus goddess in the sky. The divine markings on her body had disappeared, and her divinity was several times weaker than before.

Ishtar's crimson eyes flashed with killing intent: "So, you still want to continue fighting?"

"I've already lost. I won't last past morning even without you lifting a finger."

It's too much of a coincidence; even the appearance of the Heavenly Bull, Gugalana, seems to be part of some plan.

Was it designed by Ishtar?

While Ishtar is indeed a vicious woman, the severe injury inflicted on Gugalana also significantly weakened her, her master. Given Ishtar's personality, she would certainly not accept such an outcome. Whether intentional or unintentional, Ishtar is very likely also a victim of manipulation.

So let's start from the beginning and work out the possibilities.

Enkidu recalled the beginning of the incident and analyzed the biggest suspicious point. He asked slowly, "Ishtar, you were summoned for a relatively short time. It shouldn't be possible for you to have gathered all the materials to summon Gugalana. Did you receive any help from anyone?"

Why should I answer your question?

"It's better for both of us to say it. Gilles' aura just disappeared. It wasn't because I defeated him or the Bull of Heaven that he was killed, but because of the Master's Command Seal. I believe someone is manipulating the course of this Holy Grail War from behind the scenes. If you're willing to become someone else's pawn, I don't care. It just confirms your image as a foolish and arrogant goddess."

“Your mouth is as rotten as your body.” Ishtar said with a sneer, then paused and added, “Logically speaking, it is indeed impossible to summon Gugalana in modern times. My success was due not only to my own excellent abilities but also to the help provided by Father Kotomine. He gave me a lot of soil from the Age of Gods and materials rich in magic.”

Upon hearing this, Ishtar understood what had happened.

Father Kotomine...

Enkidu pictured a handsome young man with white hair. The Red Faction, the Black Faction, and even Ishtar, a Servant who was considered neutral, all contributed to the current situation, which was all part of Father Kotomine's plan.

"I give you my final advice: be careful of that Father Kotomine." Enkidu staggered to his feet.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"The place we should go."