That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

"These demons are both Berserker's clones and his true form. They draw magic power from human fear. As long as there are humans nearby and they cannot be wiped out in one go, the demons can multiply indefinitely and become even stronger. I don't have much magic power left, and I've used up all my Command Seals. I don't have a way to deal with them for the time being. I think Rdier is more suitable to deal with them."

"Oh? It's that carefree conqueror Iskandar. I had no idea you two became so close."

Shinji Matou smiled, bowed, and turned to leave. The water elemental spirit reported Rider's current location.

······

In the central district where demons were most numerous, a chariot sped through the sky and unleashed a thunderous roar, forcing back the demons flying in the air. On the chariot, magic materialized into a spear in Rider's hand. As it was raised high, lightning descended, and then it was thrown. The lightning-wrapped spear pierced through the body of a demon on the ground, turning it to ashes.

"What's going on? Why are there demons in the city center?" Weber exclaimed in confusion and shock. Most of the city was engulfed in flames, corpses littered the ground, and demons roamed freely, turning the city into a living hell.

Rider shook his head in surprise: "They are indeed demons, but they have the aura of Servants on them. There is no mistake, they are Berserkers."

"These demons are all Servants? How is that possible? Their numbers are so vast."

Rider drew his longsword and cleaved the oncoming demon in two, his tone unpleasant: "These guys are impossible to kill completely. Rather than being numerous, they seem to possess resurrection abilities. Wait, a Servant is approaching. It's Caster."

"They're coming for us?"

"Most likely, he used two Command Seals to eliminate Archer, and his situation wasn't much better than ours. He must also want to get those two Command Seals."

"What should we do then?" Waver trembled, a hint of fear appearing on his brow, still vividly remembering the battle between Shinji Matou and Archer.

Rider patted Waver on the shoulder: "Relax. He's used up a lot of magic today. If he's smart enough, he won't face the enemy when he's exhausted, especially since he provoked him."

Soon after, Shinji Matou landed at a building not far from Rider. After Rider arrived, he asked, "Rider, do you have any good ideas on how to deal with the current situation?"

Shinji Matou knew about Rider's Noble Phantasm, so it was best to just pretend at this point.

Rider shook his head regretfully: "No, on the contrary, I want to ask you, Caster, the overseer of the Holy Grail War once said that you fought Berserker and almost killed it, so you should have some experience in dealing with it."

Shinji Matou nodded: "We can't let these demons continue to slaughter civilians. These demons are both Berserker's clones and Berserker's main body. If there are a hundred of them, even if we kill ninety-nine, the one left will continue to clone. They draw magic power from the fear of humans. This is the city center, and there is no shortage of humans here. If this matter is exposed during the day and causes chaos, the situation will be even worse."

Rider gazed at Shinji Matou and pondered, "But you don't seem worried at all."

Shinji Matou glanced at him and smiled meaningfully, "Rider, the Holy Grail War is not over yet. Archer has proven himself to be worthless, Saber has demonstrated lofty ideals, and you, the initiator of this banquet, have done nothing."

"Hmph~ So what do you want me to do?"

"Iskander the Conqueror, you are a world-renowned hero, surely you can produce a Noble Phantasm that is effective against cities or armies."

"That's natural."

“Saber, Lancer, and I will clear the blocks in three different directions to drive the demons to this central block. Meanwhile, my familiars will deal with any that escape. All you need to do is wipe them out in one fell swoop.”

“No problem!” Rider’s eyes lit up, and he patted his chest and readily agreed. He had no way to deal with the scattered demons, but if the demons gathered together, he could use his Reality Barrier to wipe them all out.

Weber grumbled, "Rdier! Making decisions on your own again."

Rider angrily rebuked: "Foolish boy, how can you become my subject if you don't even have this much magnanimity! This is a great opportunity to show your spirit to heroes of different eras, and perhaps they will change their minds and join us!"

Why hasn't this guy given up yet?

Shinji Matou pursed his lips.

Chapter 71: Chickens Fighting (4K, Recommendations Requested)

In the chaotic streets, a large number of soldiers were stationed, blocking the streets and setting up machine guns to fire at the surging monster horde. The acrid smoke filled the air, but the monsters were extremely fast and could even run along the walls. The army's overwhelming firepower barely slowed their advance.

The army commander's face grew increasingly grim. The monster was not made of flesh and blood, and bullets could only cause limited damage. Once the monster broke through the vitality blockade, the defense line here would collapse rapidly.

The commander roared, "Fire! Fire! Damn monsters! Where's the support?! Why isn't the second squadron here yet?!"

The communications officer inside the armored vehicle hurriedly reported: "Sir! The Second Company has already rushed to North Street to cover the evacuation of the large number of people hiding in the shopping mall!"

Damn it!

The commander paced back and forth, anxiously considering countermeasures, when a lithe figure descended from the sky.

"Sound! Strike Air!"

Saber shouted, and the invisible sword slashed down, whipping up a violent storm that engulfed the monster horde in front of the street. All the glass on both sides of the street shattered, and the powerful wind pressure crushed all the monsters along the way. The explosive gusts of wind prevented the soldiers on the rear defense line from firing their guns properly.

The commander stared in disbelief at the female knight charging into the monster horde, muttering to himself, "After the monsters, a Western female knight? Are we living in the world of Shonen Jump?"

"Sir, I don't think Weekly Shonen Jump would have such a bloody scene, let alone such a plot. I think it's probably a late-night anime or something."

"You guys are obsessed with anime! This is reality!"

"Sir, what do we do now?" The soldiers looked at each other in confusion. When they came to their senses, Saber had already cleared out most of the monsters in the street.

Saber broke the Wind King's barrier, greatly increasing the power of the Holy Sword. Because of the Holy Sword's own characteristics, it was effective against demonic monsters, and easily wiped out the demons on the entire street as if cutting vegetables and cucumbers.

A glimmer of light appeared on the water on the ground, and the water elemental spirit conveyed Shinji Matou's command to Saber.

"Understood. We'll head there immediately after clearing this street."

A few minutes later, with no demonic presence to be felt around the street, Saber leaped onto a tall building and quickly disappeared from the soldiers' sight.

The water elemental spirits discovered a shopping mall housing a large number of civilians, and it must be protected before the demons find it.

The more humans die, the more their souls will become food for demons, and their corpses will become a breeding ground for demons.

······

Shinji Matou flew over Fuyuki City, overseeing the entire situation. Occasionally, a few demons would spot Shinji Matou and try to attack him, but they would be torn apart by the air element spirits.

"Berserker's Noble Phantasm is troublesome, but it won't be very effective against a group of exceptional Servants." Shinji Matou chuckled softly. Elemental spirits kept sending back intelligence, and the number of demons was decreasing rapidly, with most being driven to the central district.

If Berserker Jack the Ripper's Master were a top-tier magician like Tokiomi Tohsaka, his power might even rival that of Saber. In the original work, Berserker Jack the Ripper injured Heracles, a Vengeance-class mage, by transforming into a demon.

Hercules, the Avenger-class Servant, is a special Servant who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, and even has a slight advantage in battle.

Berserker Jack the Ripper's Master was a second-rate magician like Ryunosuke Uryu, which limited the effectiveness of his Noble Phantasm. While continuously splitting demons could increase killing efficiency, the power of individual demons would be greatly weakened due to the limitation of magical energy.

After observing the demons for a while, Shinji Matou realized one thing: that Berserker, Jack the Ripper, had already left the stage. Just like Archer, Berserker used his Noble Phantasm to drag Fuyuki City into hell at the cost of burning his own Spirit Origin.

It incorporates the concept of hellish magic into reality, transforming the human belief that Jack the Ripper was a demon into a demon, drawing magic power from human souls based on human fear to generate a demon, and its Noble Phantasm is similar to a magician's Reality Marble.

To break the barrier, two conditions must be met: first, the demons must be completely wiped out in a short period of time; second, the core of the barrier must be destroyed.

The former was accomplished by a consortium of numerous Servants working together, while the latter required Shinji Matou to personally sabotage it.

With his eyes gleaming silver, his demonic eyes discerned the flow of magic in the city. The water elemental spirit searched for the core of the treasure. Suddenly, Shinji Matou's eyes flickered, and he muttered to himself with interest, "Oh? An unexpected development."

Shinji Matou saw something interesting: his Mystic Eyes detected the magical attribute of El-Melloi, the Lord of the Clock Tower, and this magical attribute seemed to have come into contact with Rider. In other words, Kenneth had found the student who stole his relic, Rider's Master Waver Velvet.

Gossiping is human nature, and Shinji Matou is no exception. He dispatched a wind elemental spirit to monitor the situation.

High-rise buildings on the ground.

"Shameless thief who stole the Holy Relic, my student Waver Velvet, I can't believe you actually have the nerve to participate in the Holy Grail War." A harsh, treacherous voice rang out behind Waver.

Weber's body stiffened abruptly. He turned around in disbelief and saw his necromancy teacher, Kenneth, wearing a dark blue uniform, looking down at him as always, his eyes blazing with anger.

Rider clears out demons in the central block below, leaving only Waver and Kenneth facing off on the rooftop.

Weber froze instantly, his face turning pale. Instinctively fearful of his mentor's imposing presence, he lowered his head and stammered, "Teacher..."

Swish!

The Moon Spirit Essence Liquid transformed into a long spear and thrust out, the tip stopping less than a centimeter from Waver's forehead. Waver was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground and staggered backward.

"You good-for-nothing! If I had wanted to kill you just now, you would be dead already. Instead of being wary of the enemy magician approaching you, you actually tried to back down at the first sign of trouble. You are as useless as the paper you submitted."

"this···"

"You should be glad I lost interest in the Holy Grail, otherwise this would be my last lesson to you," Kenneth sneered, though his anger at Waver for stealing his relics had long since vanished. If it weren't for this arrogant magic student's actions, he wouldn't have been able to summon the Queen of the Shadow Kingdom, let alone obtain those magical treasures.

"Hahaha..." Weber chuckled dryly, unsure how to react.

“Our Servants are all cleaning up the rampaging demons. Perfect timing. The Holy Grail War is a serious magical competition, not a place for magic apprentices to play house. Waver, since you've participated, it means you intend to compete with me. I remember your thesis was titled ‘What is the Path of Magic in the New Century?’”

Weber answered hesitantly, "Yes, you have criticized and denied my ideas."

Kenneth scoffed: "A deeper understanding of spells and a more skillful use of magic can compensate for innate perception. Hmph, that certainly fits the naive statement of a young brat. Now is the perfect opportunity, Waver Velvet, prove your thesis to me, Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald, a first-class lecturer at the Clock Tower and the head of the Archibald family, or pay the price for stealing the relic with your death."

Kenneth's tone grew increasingly harsh as he vented his anger.

"this···"

Weber retreated, sweating profusely. His fear of his mentor was like a thorn in his heart. Moreover, the fact that he had stolen his mentor's relics was true. He felt guilty and ashamed, and no fighting spirit could rise in his heart.

Shinji Matou listened to their entire conversation through the elemental spirits, and in terms of his opinion, Shinji Matou supported Kenneth.

This world is completely based on bloodline. Effort is worthless. Putting aside everything else, the Vortex of Origin, which almost every magician dreams of, is something that some overpowered individuals have been connected to since birth.

Weber's paper is not entirely without merit. The gap in magic that can be bridged by spellcasting skills is limited, and it necessarily requires extensive knowledge and a very high level of understanding of magic to support this claim.

If this paper were written by El-Melloi II, there would be no problem; but if it were written by an unknown magic apprentice, it would only make him a laughing stock.

Kenneth's expression darkened further when he saw Waver's uncooperative demeanor. He said indifferently, "You don't even have this much awareness? Fine, Waver, I'll give you a choice: hand over your Command Seals, and I'll forgive your past despicable acts. You can return to the Clock Tower and still be my student."

"Hand over the Command Seals?" Waver shrank back under his mentor's imposing presence, looking down at the bright red Command Seals in his hand. These were the only thing that connected Master and Servant; handing over the Command Seals meant abandoning one's Servant, which was undoubtedly a betrayal.

Rider, Iskandar the Conqueror.

That guy who talks to himself and doesn't care about his Master's feelings.

Rude and impolite, his personality is the type that Weber dislikes the most.

He enjoys physically punishing people, talks about unrealistic dreams all day long, and embarrasses himself in front of many followers.

This guy...

Is it necessary to break ties with one's teacher for his sake?

Does that kind of guy have the value to protect with his life?

does it worth?

Young man, as the master of the king, you should have the demeanor of a king.

What a stupid kid.

Don't be afraid; courage is simply facing your fears.

As my Master, you still have a long way to go in terms of vision!

The words of the King of Conquerors echoed in Waver's mind. The boy's gaze hardened, and he said resolutely, "I'm sorry, Master, but I do not intend to betray my Servant. Although I don't get along with that guy, and he is an incompetent Servant, no, perhaps I envy him. I want to become a Master worthy of him, so I will not back down here."

They are so arrogant and ignorant!

Kenneth, his face dark, scoffed disdainfully, "Then you can die here."

"Fervor, mei sanguis! (Boiling, my blood!)"