Xingtie: Can’t you just let me focus on completing the commissions?

If, for the next twenty or thirty years, there is no more news of the so-called Holy Grail War,

This man will probably forget about it completely.

but……

Unfortunately,

This matter has now come to nothing.

Kiritsugu Emiya, this man who calls himself a champion of justice, the beast within... has broken free of his cage.

The ruthless magician assassin of yesteryear has returned to this world.

“Those cards…only by destroying those things can there be a chance to salvage the situation.”

Irisviel gazed at the relic in her hand, her helplessness and vulnerability completely replaced by a resolute determination. She took a deep breath and made up her mind.

"We must obtain those two cards before Kiritsugu."

"The Greater Grail requires at least five Servant souls to descend. For the same reason, if we can destroy more than three cards, we might also be able to destroy this abnormal Holy Grail War."

"For Shirou and that child... I must do it!"

Chapter 248: The Young Stepmother.jpg

"Dream Summoning—!"

"Zhao Yun! Guan Yu! Cú Chulainn! Leonidas I! Romulus! Hector! Dimurti! Finn! Li Shuwen..."

"Hozoin Inshun! Nagakage Otora! Nezha! Li Cunxiao! Yang Zaixing..."

Memories of heroic spirits renowned throughout history and across the world for their use of long weapons flooded into Emiya's mind. His knowledge, skills, and combat experience were like water being poured into a large vat, the water level rising steadily until it nearly burst his brain.

On ancient battlefields, long weapons truly reigned supreme. Spears, lances, halberds, daggers, maces, naginatas, and long-handled swords—almost all of these types of weapons were categorized under the spearman class.

Guns, bows, and cavalry.

These three ranks are the ones that are meant to deal with the strongest warriors and generals in human history. Swords, used in close combat, are more often ceremonial weapons or small-scale melees on the land of China.

An inch longer, an inch stronger.

On the battlefield, long weapons often represent a safe distance.

Including the Saber-class servants he already knew, Emiya now possessed knowledge and skills from over a hundred Servants, enough to elevate many combat techniques to an unimaginable level.

"Gunmanship, swordsmanship, horsemanship, geology, astronomy, sociology, weapons maintenance, leadership, warfare..."

"If we were to complete the skills of magic, archery, and horsemanship, these skills would probably all be able to reach the realm of gods."

Senji Muramasa is a prodigy for reaching the pinnacle of sword-making on his own, but that is only the result of his specialization in sword-making.

These outstanding talents in other fields simply have an extremely broad range of expertise. If all their knowledge, skills, and experience were combined into one person…

Imagine this: four great European generals, plus a failed art student, a Russian shoemaker, and your medal... well, that doesn't count.

In addition, there is a super team composed of the most elite war talents in human history, such as Taigong Wang, Duke of Zhou, Sun Wu, Wu Qi, Guiguzi, Han Xin, Li Jing, Bai Qi, Zhuge Liang, Fengchu, Zhonghu, Youlin, Guimou, Fangmou, and Dudu.

"Could it be that simply accumulating skills in the field of warfare is enough to enter the realm of intellect?"

Emiya couldn't help but smile. If he could really use this to open another imaginary door to destiny, he would have made a huge profit in this Holy Grail War.

What is the concept of the Five Fates?

At least in the entire universe, there are very few beings who have embarked on so many destinies.

With its five cores and exceptional capabilities acting as a lighter, even a powerful envoy would be rendered helpless before it.

If he were to become a Five-Core Envoy in the future, and a banquet were held for those below the Star God, who would dare to touch his chopsticks if he didn't sit at the table?

"It takes a lot of time to digest the skills."

"If I were to try to fully integrate it, with my current abilities, I'm afraid I'd only end up with a hybrid that doesn't quite resemble anything else."

“Li Shuwen is proficient in both spear and fist techniques. The Six Harmonies Spear is a compilation of six spear techniques from the six most famous spear masters in China. Why not expand in this direction and increase the Six Harmonies to nine or twelve techniques, embedding the most suitable spear and sword techniques into it?”

"However, completing this project will require a lot of computing power and time, and I do need to think of a way to improve my computing power."

The powers of the Lawgiver of Reason, the mobilization of imaginary energy, the acquisition, assimilation, integration, and application of various skills...

His current brain performance is actually lagging behind, and he needs to upgrade his brain's computing power. If he had Fu Xuan's forehead eye, perhaps these things wouldn't be a problem.

"It's a pity that the Dharma Eye is a creation of the Venerable Master of Broad Knowledge. Analyzing it would probably be a huge undertaking. We can't keep carrying around the divination talisman to analyze it every day."

"We need to make some careful plans for the supercomputing equipment after we return to the Black Tower space station."

……

"Did you hand over the relic to me so easily?"

Looking at the relic in his hand, Kiritsugu Emiya's eyes flickered with an unusual light. He lowered his eyelids and murmured softly,

"This isn't like you, Alice."

"Or have you completely lost trust in me?"

"If I could, I really wouldn't want to hurt you and Ilya."

"But now it seems we're starting to go in opposite directions."

"You handed the relic to me to keep me occupied so you could go find the two children alone."

He took out his phone, which showed missed calls from his adopted son.

What do you want to do?

"They hid it from me and found those two children before me. I can probably guess why. Illya or Shirou have become contestants, right?"

"You got the card before me?"

"And then what? Victory in this Holy Grail War?"

“But, Alice… you probably can’t believe it, but from the very beginning, I was the first person to have a ticket to this Holy Grail War.”

"The reason I specifically brought you back from out of town was never for this useless relic."

"This has been the goal from the very beginning."

……

"I'll get straight to the point, Shirou, hand me your card."

At Ryudong Temple, the young adoptive mother found her adopted son. Without any unnecessary pleasantries or comforting words, Irisviel went straight to the point.

"This card is far too dangerous for you children."

"So, what do you intend to do with it?"

"Obtain three cards and destroy them. These cards should be the key items for activating the ritual. According to the original Holy Grail War setting, it requires absorbing the souls of five Servants to summon the Greater Grail. Here, if we can destroy three of them, the remaining four cards will not be able to trigger the qualitative change to summon the Greater Grail. Perhaps, this Holy Grail War will end because of this."

"End this war?!"

Young Shirou's eyes suddenly lit up. He was very pleased with his adoptive mother's plan; he absolutely disapproved of war that so indiscriminately took other people's lives.

If given the opportunity to bypass the formalities and disrupt the ceremony, he wouldn't mind offering up the card.

"Three cards. Ilya and I each have one, and... there's also a parallel world version of 'me' living in Ryudouji Temple, who should also have a class card. So that makes three cards in total."

"You in a parallel world?"

Irisviel's beautiful eyes lit up slightly. She hadn't expected that the three crucial cards had already been collected in the small Ryudou Temple. If she could obtain all three cards at once and destroy the temple, her plan would be achieved immediately.

If this Holy Grail War could be ended, she and her family could go back to what they were before, right?

Therefore,

No matter the cost.

She needs to obtain all three cards!

Chapter 249: I'm here to end this Holy Grail War!

"Ilia?"

He met a daughter he didn't know.

She still looks just as cute and delicate as ever.

However, it also exudes a cold, arrogant, and condescending indifference.

There was not a trace of affection in her gaze as she looked at me; it was as if there was simply another human being in her sight.

"Irisviel, I see. Are you the originator of this body?"

"I will take control of this little girl's body for the time being."

Meeting Irisviel's gaze, the little girl spoke in a voice full of childishness and affectation, yet devoid of warmth.

"I am Shidounai, and I have temporarily descended upon this little girl in the form of Caster in this Holy Grail War."

"A hero of the Ainu people? Please leave my daughter's body?"

"I can leave, but are you sure you can protect this little girl?"

The Ainu hero continued calmly,

"In the Holy Grail War, aside from your adopted son, there are at least five other enemies."

"Are you capable of protecting this child without me fighting?"

Irisviel opened and closed her lips, but after a long while, no sound came out. In fact, at this moment, she truly couldn't utter a declaration of protecting her daughter in the midst of war.

If I had to say,

Destroying the three cards was merely wishful thinking on her part.

and,

Such words must never be spoken in front of the Ainu spirit who has already possessed Ilya.

“I will fight in this child’s place.”

for a long time,

This declaration came from Irisviel's mouth.

"Give up this child's body; an adult's body is more suitable..."

"You have destroyed your own physical capabilities, which are as different from those of this little girl as the ocean and a stream."

"What will it take for you to give up Ilya?!"

"I will leave satisfied when I see that you, the grown elders, are qualified to protect the young."

Protecting children...?

Irisviel belatedly realized the significance of the inner workings of the story, and a sense of melancholy washed over her.

According to legend, the Ainu people encountered a giant serpent they could not defeat.

The people's repeated attempts to subdue them failed.

Therefore, they were regarded as deities and worshipped with young boys and girls.

Shidou was unable to turn a blind eye to such sacrificial acts.

He then volunteered to sacrifice himself to the tiger and kill the giant snake.

This anecdote fully illustrates her essence as a guardian of children.

And Ilya,

It was also the offering from the Einzbern family,

even……

She herself is one of them.

Both faced an inescapable fate.

They were also offerings that adults pushed before the 'gods'.