That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

Enkidu struggled to walk, his spiritual foundation melting and crumbling rapidly like ice and snow meeting a raging fire. The weapons created by the gods were utterly powerless against the curse of death.

It's fine to leave like this, but Enki doesn't want his death to be meaningless.

Wandering aimlessly might just be a way of not wanting others to see what I look like now.

His body was like an old porcelain vase, his skin cracked and stained with a grayish-white death aura, his eyes dull and lifeless, having lost the ability to see. Enkidu was now like a human statue that had endured decades of wind and rain, no longer possessing the beauty that surpassed all others.

-

"Why do emotions only become more intense when we are close to destruction?"

-

"I'm sorry, Master, there's nothing more I can do to help you."

-

"Please forgive me, even as a weapon I have selfish desires. I lied; I also have my own wishes."

"Finbaba, I still couldn't save you."

-

"Although it was only for a few days, I was satisfied to have met Jill of this era. It's just that her function as a weapon is somewhat inferior to that of her in life."

-

"Before leaving, at least let this dead land be restored to its original state."

-

The clay figure finally arrived at its destination. It wasn't quite sure where it was. It couldn't see, couldn't hear, and even its sense of touch was disappearing. Its empty body was filled with a sense of emptiness that was about to vanish. It just felt that this place was fine, this place was suitable.

Before becoming close friends with the hero-king Gilgamesh, before meeting the divine prostitute, when Enkidu was still clay, he encountered that being created—the perfect human being—when he was instilled with consciousness by the world.

Unable to determine whether to call him or her, the "one" known from the mud clump spread out in the forest emitted a boundless voice of hatred for everything in the world.

To save that, to understand that, that is the meaning of Enkidu's creation.

Memories echoed in the clay doll's consciousness. He subconsciously tried to grasp something, but could grasp nothing. He sighed and muttered to himself, "If this is my destiny."

Crash~

The clay figure's legs snapped like fragile stones, and it fell to the ground in a sorry state. It struggled to its feet, using its broken legs to support its body. It had to act before the curse of death would devour its body.

He understood.

Whisper softly, fulfilling the direction and meaning the world once gave you.

"The gun that pierces through everything, stitching together the wedge of the world's order."

"To curb the pride on earth, grant the first and last mercy."

"Enuma Elish! (Son of Man, hold fast to God!)"

There were no earth-shattering phenomena, only a tiny green sprout slowly emerging from the cracked skin of the dead clay figurine, symbolizing the flow of light of life flowing in all directions.

More and more, full of vitality, lush green vegetation grows wherever the light flows, spring flowers bloom, and countless green leaves and petals flutter.

The dead land, absorbed by the Bull of Heaven and torn apart by ancient nuclear warheads, is rapidly recovering its vitality.

The vines wrapped around the clay doll's corpse, rising from it and growing into a towering tree in the center of the dead land. The spreading vines gradually covered the body of the Heavenly Bull, Gugalana, tightly enveloping its core, and they both disappeared.

Although in the end the clay figure neither fulfilled its own wishes nor realized the meaning given to it by the world, it still felt that it had somewhat narrowed the distance between itself and that being.

The gods are Gaia's tentacles, the clay figures are weapons created by the gods, and Enkidu returned them all through the force of restraint.

On the Radiant Ship, Hall looked down in astonishment at the verdant land spreading across it, feeling the life force returning to the earth to repair it. He saw a giant tree rising from the ground in the distance and sensed Enkidu's presence from it, faint yet distinct, which then differentiated into nutrients for the torrent of life.

Hall frowned. Strange, why did Enkidu leave the stage along with the King of Heroes?

Chapter 200 Amakusa Shiro Tokisada

The Bull of Heaven, Gugalana, was completely silent.

Hall's Mystic Eyes confirmed this fact. Instead of destroying him, Enkidu's final manifestation as the Wedge of Restraint forced him back, returning him to the side of the world where the gods reside.

Then, the spirit origin aura of Enkidu, the divine weapon, disappeared along with it, basically confirming his departure from the scene.

Why did things develop in such a bizarre direction?

"It seems that no one gained an advantage in this battle against the Bull of Heaven. Gilgamesh and Enkidu, the world's oldest and closest friends, both left the stage. Ishtar lost the Bull of Heaven, her divinity was greatly diminished, and her strength will inevitably be greatly reduced."

"I also lost two Command Seals, and because I released the true name of my Noble Phantasm, the Noble Phantasm ability of 'Knights Never Die Unarmed' also disappeared."

"I don't know if acquiring a Glorious Ship is a huge loss or a huge gain."

Hall sat on the throne of the Radiant Ship, lost in thought. He rested his chin on one hand and tapped the armrest with the other. A huge magic circle unfolded in front of the Radiant Ship. After passing through it, the damaged parts of the ship were restored to their original state.

During the short period when Gilgamesh lent the Radiant Ship to Hall, Hall took the opportunity to analyze its magical properties. Although he couldn't replicate one, he found it quite easy to control.

The Radiant Ship is missing most of its armaments, and its most important strategic weapon, the Ancient Nuclear Warhead, was just used up. Nevertheless, the Radiant Ship's value cannot be said to be less than that of two Command Seals.

With the Radiant Ship, Hall can fight head-on against highly mobile Servants like Ishtar or Agarius.

Saber stood beside Hall, dressed in a blue court dress, elegant and beautiful, her small face filled with deep confusion. She crossed her arms and asked, "Master, do you know what happened?"

"I'm completely confused too, so I need to confirm this now."

"Where to?"

"Yogdomirenia's position."

Hall piloted the Radiant Ship through the clouds and flew at full speed for several minutes before returning to the skies directly above Yggdrasilena Castle.

A series of images were projected onto Hall, showing a magnificent aerial fortress hovering directly above the castle, its enormous size completely obscuring the castle.

It was the Assyrian Empress's EX-rank Noble Phantasm—Vain's Hanging Gardens.

Hall was not surprised at all: "Vain Gardens, just as expected. My house was robbed while I was away, which shows that this is a tower defense game."

"This is getting more and more troublesome."

"However, the Underworld doesn't seem to be affected." Hall breathed a sigh of relief upon sensing the existence of the Underworld.

······

In the main hall of Yggdrasilia Castle, only three people were present: Danic, the commander of the Black faction; Shiro Kotomine, the master of the Red faction; and Semiramis, the Assassin of the Red faction.

The atmosphere was tense and heavy, with occasional loud explosions, the sounds of Servants fighting inside the castle. Rider Agarius was holding off two opponents, Assassin Li Shuwen and Rider Astolfo.

Kotomine Shiro smiled as he looked at Darnic, the head of the Yggdmillennia family, on the throne: "Darnic, you have made a wise judgment. At this point, only a win-win situation can end this conflict."

boom!

Danic gripped his jeweled staff tightly and slammed it against the floor tiles, coldly scoffing, "The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, has already left the stage. What are you going to do next?"

It was indeed Danic who used three Command Seals to issue the order for the Hero King to commit suicide, which is also proof that the Yggdrasilia clan was driven to the brink of despair.

He received a request to speak with Kotomine Shiro as early as when he summoned the Hero King Gilgamesh.

From initial disdain to taking the Red Team Servant seriously after revealing their strength, to suffering setbacks in several head-on battles, and finally tonight's appearance of the Bull of Heaven completely shaking his confidence, he had to admit that even summoning Gilgamesh, the Hero King known as the Servant Killer, did not guarantee victory.

The shadow of the vain Hanging Gardens of Babylon loomed over the castle, shattering Danic's delusions. Eighty years ago, he had been prophesied that his magician bloodline was weakening; he had paid too high a price, betrayed countless people, and, having devoured too many souls, had even forgotten who he was.

Having paid such a heavy price, Danic could not allow failure.

Believing he had no hope of winning this Holy Grail War, he accepted the invitation to cooperate from the Red Master, who was also Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, a Servant summoned in the Third Holy Grail War sixty years ago.

The Black faction voluntarily withdrew from the Holy Grail War in exchange for the right to make a wish upon the Greater Grail.

Amakusa Shiro Tokisada replied with a smile: "Of course, we should clear the field first. If we want to realize our long-cherished wish, the Holy Grail War can only have two Servants left. In order to deal with the King of Heroes that you summoned, I had no choice but to distribute the precious relics to the red team's Master to summon a first-class Servant."

"The stronger a Servant's abilities, the more troublesome they become in a sense. How much effort do you think I've put into maintaining the situation? But God is on my side, and the three most difficult Servants to deal with in this Holy Grail War have all left the stage as planned."

Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes; Enkidu, the weapon created by the gods; and Ishtar, the goddess of Venus—these three top-tier Servants are all powerful beings that Amakusa Shirou Tokisada cannot control, and he had planned this incident long ago.

Ishtar, who had single-handedly forced both the King of Heroes and Enkidu to leave the stage, and then poured almost all her resources into summoning the Bull of Heaven, beautifully completed a self-destruction, damaging her divinity and preventing her from causing trouble for a short period of time.

Of course, Kotomine Shiro's plan was not perfect. In fact, the Bull of Heaven was not originally part of his plan. He simply took advantage of the conflict between the King of Heroes, Enkidu, and Ishtar to create a lose-lose situation for all three.

During the conversation, the Assyrian Empress lifted her skirt and stepped forward, leaning close to Kotomine Shirou's ear and saying, "Master, we have sensed a reaction from Servants at an altitude of about three thousand meters. According to the intelligence gathered from the fortress, it seems to be Caster and Saber from the Black Faction."

"They are the final stumbling block in this Holy Grail War. Can they be eliminated?"

"The Hanging Gardens of Vanity's range is insufficient unless we abandon the acquisition of the Greater Grail system."

"Then let them observe as guests, and send out the Rider if necessary."

"clear."

Kotomine Shiro looked at Danic and smiled calmly: "Next, with Yggdrasilia in charge, let's have a good talk about cooperation. We're sure we can find a mutually satisfactory answer."

"One of the six Servant souls needed to activate the Greater Grail system is still missing. Who do you think would be suitable?"

The young man was calm and gentle, and his smile exuded a friendly charm that made people feel relaxed.

Danic abruptly stood up, shouting angrily, "You mean the Black Faction must sacrifice a Servant?!"

Kotomine Shiro remained calm: "You don't need to doubt me at all; there is no conflict between our desires."

Danic's expression was uncertain. His act of ordering the Hero King to commit suicide with a Command Spell had blocked all escape routes for the Yggdrasilia clan, leaving them with no other choice.

One update today.

It's been terribly hot lately.

It's so hot I can't sleep. I feel like even the fan is blowing hot air. I'm constantly feeling groggy, and I have to go to work. My condition is just terrible.

That's why the update schedule has become so strange.

I start writing at 8 a.m., but sometimes I don't even finish two chapters until 3 or 4 a.m.

The air conditioner was supposed to be installed yesterday, but the installer has been delayed for several days.

If it doesn't arrive by tomorrow, I'll return it!

SN is garbage; even their physical stores are such rip-offs.

Chapter 201 The One-Punch Old Man

Boom~ Boom~

Above the side hall of Yggdrasil Castle, two beams of blue light chased each other, collided, and exploded. They struck the towering spire and instantly melted its stone. As if affected by a domino effect, numerous buildings collapsed one after another, burying the android army below that was casting magic support.