A Villain's Journey Begins in the Type-Moon World

As the magic was released, the Wind King's Barrier disappeared once more. The Excalibur, shining with golden light, clashed with the King's Sword, whose silver light was no less dazzling than the golden light. Intense magical fluctuations constantly blew through the golden hair of the two men, and the expressions of their struggle were equally intense.

"Hahahaha! What's wrong? Father, is this all the power you have now? No wonder you couldn't even defeat that guy! You can't even reach half of your peak strength!!" Mordred laughed wildly as he relentlessly forced Artoria to retreat.

Historically, Mordred might not have been able to defeat Artoria in a physical contest, but this is the Holy Grail War. Aside from the fact that Artoria's left hand was recently crippled by Diarmuid, significantly reducing her combat power, the difference in strength displayed on the ability panels also stems from the different Masters.

With Kiritsugu Emiya's magical abilities, Artoria's stats are: Strength B, Endurance A, Agility A, Magic A, Luck D, and Noble Phantasm A++.

With the amplification from Wang Chong and the power of ruin, Mordred's stats are now a level higher than those of Mordred in other timelines. Her stats are: Strength A+, Endurance A+, Agility A, Mana A, Luck C, and Noble Phantasm A+.

On paper, Artoria's only advantage over Mordred lies in her Noble Phantasm release—Excalibur. However, with her left hand now crippled, Artoria is unable to unleash her sure-win Excalibur.

It can be said without a doubt that Artoria currently has absolutely no chance of winning.

“Even if it’s only this bad, I can still take care of you, Mordred! And… don’t use that name again! I don’t have a son like you,” Artoria said coldly.

But as soon as he finished speaking, a huge surge of magical energy was released from Mordred, instantly blowing Artoria away.

“Saber!” Irisviel exclaimed.

Artoria crashed heavily to the ground, rolled a few times, and then instantly got to her feet, her intuition telling her that a deadly danger was about to strike. A bright white light swept towards her eyes.

Ding--!

"Uh!"

A crisp clang rang out as Artoria, relying on her intuition, narrowly dodged her own sword from piercing her head. However, Mordred's attack wasn't just a sword strike; after the initial swing, he followed with a kick, striking Artoria squarely in the abdomen and sending her flying.

The kick sent a churning sensation through Artoria's body, almost making her vomit. However, with the help of the kick, Artoria managed to stand up completely. Just as she raised her sword to meet Mordred's charging attack, she realized that she couldn't see Mordred in front of her.

Suddenly, another crisis struck. Mordred appeared behind her without her noticing, sweeping her sword horizontally to slash at Artoria's waist.

"Too fast! I can't dodge it!" Artoria could only try her best to use her sword to stop the opponent's attack.

"Die, King Arthur!" Mordred roared.

Currently, Mordred has completely entered a berserk state due to his anger. Only Wang Chong knows how violent he is. If it weren't for the passive effect of Ruthless Combo, he might not be able to keep up with Mordred's hand speed.

"call out--"

But just then, even faster than Mordred's slash at the waist, an attack struck Mordred's heart. It was a red spear, thrown at lightning speed. If Wang Chong hadn't known that the summoned Servant was Diarmuid, he would have thought it was a spear piercing through death thorns thrown by some giant dog.

Diarmuid made his move. He didn't want Artoria to be defeated so easily, so he had been keeping a close eye on Mordred's whereabouts since early on. After determining the most likely location for her to appear, he threw out his magic-breaking Crimson Rose without hesitation.

However, what was unexpected was that Mordred, who seemed to have lost her mind and gone mad, had a keen intuition beyond that of a beast. She kicked the shaft of the red spear that was about to pierce her body with her back foot. But it was this delay that gave Artoria a chance to catch her breath and finally turn around and block the slash that cut her in the waist.

Of course, Mordred's strength was too great, and she once again repelled Artoria. Just as Mordred was about to continue attacking Artoria, a figure suddenly appeared, holding a yellow spear, and thrust it towards the only unprotected head.

"Get lost!!" Mordred swung her sword upwards, knocking Diarmuid away and sending him flying to the same position as Artoria. However, Diarmuid was still able to easily pull out the red spear that Mordred had just kicked away. It seemed that even the path of the knockback was under Diarmuid's control.

“What astonishing power, Saber. How exactly did you manage to defeat that rebellious knight in the end?” Diarmuid said, holding his twin pistols and assuming a defensive stance.

“No… there were no victors in that battle.” A fleeting bitter expression crossed Artoria’s face before she looked more resolutely at Mordred, the knight who had betrayed her.

This moment, just like that moment before. On that Sword Hill, the exhausted Knight King, no longer at his peak, gazed at the roaring, defiant Knight Mordred, as if nothing had changed. The direct cause of the end of the Kingdom of Britain was this very rebellious knight before him. And now, she appeared before him once more, attempting to stop him once more. To prevent him from touching the Holy Grail and making his wish to return to the day of the King's Election, just as he was attempting to prevent the continuation of Britain.

Angry? Hateful? Perhaps a little. Ever since she signed the contract at Sword Hill and became a chosen Heroic Spirit, she had unlocked the heart she had kept closed for so many years. Her chest was indeed filled with that emotion of rage: "It's her! It's all because of her! That Britain was destroyed!!"

However, with the magnanimity and vision of a king, he clearly understood that the true cause of Britain's destruction was not this rebellious knight. Mordred was merely a puppet manipulated by fate. If anyone had to blame, it would be himself... for not being good enough, for failing to reverse Britain's doom.

Fate is so ironic. Just when Artoria wanted to rely on the Holy Grail to realize her vision of continuing the Kingdom of Britain, that "slave of fate" once again stood in her way. Just like that final, insurmountable threshold in the past.

But Artoria would never give up. Just like on Sword Hill, even if she was already wounded and could no longer see any hope, she would fight with all her might! She would fight for the future of Britain!

Thinking of this, the anger in her chest was once again filled by the burning belief in her heart, and the high fighting spirit made Artoria charge towards Mordred again.

Mordred!

"King Arthur!"

War cries and roars erupted from both sides, and golden and silver light clashed once more. The immense magical power of both sides was once again locked in a stalemate, and Artoria's burst of power at that moment was actually comparable to Mordred's current berserk state.

However, Diarmuid could see that Artoria's stamina was waning; this was the price Artoria had to pay for that momentary burst of power. Therefore, Diarmuid prepared to rush forward again to help Artoria. But just as Diarmuid was about to act, Kenneth's voice rang out:

"Lancer, what are you doing? Now is the best chance to defeat that Saber."

Chapter Seventy: Rebellion Against My Magnificent Father

"Lancer, what are you doing? Now is the best chance to defeat that Saber."

In an instant, Diarmuid understood his Master's thoughts. He did not want to fight against the rising star Mordred, but rather wanted to eliminate the weakened Artoria by backstabbing her.

In Kenneth's eyes, every time he eliminates an opponent in this Holy Grail War, his chances of obtaining the Holy Grail undoubtedly increase! Especially now that more than 7 Servants have appeared, the outcome of this Holy Grail War has become even more difficult.

Therefore, Kenneth was eager to eliminate a Servant, especially since this Servant had almost been defeated by his own Servant. If he let this Servant escape now, wouldn't all the sacrifices he made to reveal his true name and Noble Phantasm have been in vain?

"I, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, swear on my honor that I will defeat Saber! If you do not believe me, I can first deal with this rebellious knight to prove it to you! I beg your permission, my lord!"

Diarmuid, however, didn't see it that way. It wasn't just his pride preventing him from doing such a thing; even from a strategic perspective, Mordred was currently the greatest threat. Saber had already been pierced by his own yellow rose and was no longer a concern. If they could join forces with Saber to eliminate Mordred, even with a truce today, Diarmuid would be confident of defeating Saber in the future.

But if we deal with Saber first for the sake of immediate gain, how will we deal with Mordred afterwards?

Unfortunately, Diarmuid didn't have time to relay these thoughts directly to Kenneth, and Kenneth, seeing Diarmuid's defiance, couldn't help but feel a darkening on his face. Kenneth removed his gloves, revealing the Command Seals on the back of his hand, and slowly began to say, "By Command Seals..."

"My lord!" Diarmuid gripped his spear tightly. He already knew Kenneth's intentions, but he truly didn't want things to come to this. Why, why was the lord he served filled with suspicion towards him... Was this the fate he was destined to bear?

“Cover the red Saber, and the blue one… um?” Kenneth hadn’t finished speaking when he suddenly frowned, because he saw Mordred cleave Artoria in two with her sword again on the battlefield below. But this time, Mordred didn’t pursue Artoria. Instead, she turned around and swung her sword at Diarmuid.

"What on earth is that red Saber doing!? I was planning to have Diarmuid kill that blue Saber for her, so why is she attacking Diarmuid instead?" Kenneth was completely baffled by Mordred's maneuvering, but after Mordred's sudden attack, Kenneth temporarily interrupted his control over the Command Seals.

On the battlefield, Diarmuid narrowly dodged Mordred's rapid, continuous slashes. The gusts of wind stung Diarmuid's face. Such a fierce attack! It was truly unbelievable how the Knight King had managed to withstand this menacing royal sword so many times.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Try hurting me with those pistols!" Mordred laughed wildly, his attacks and momentum increasing, putting more and more pressure on Diarmuid. Finally, Mordred seized the opportunity, slashing his sword at the point where the pistols crossed, entering Mordred's most favored phase: a grappling match. It was clear that Mordred was about to use brute force to kill Diarmuid.

"Drink!" At that moment, Artoria also exerted her strength and rammed into Mordred. With the combined strength of the two, they managed to knock Mordred back.

"Bring it on, whatever you've got to offer!!" Mordred quickly stopped himself and launched into a tirade, his arrogance utterly boundless. Just as Diarmuid and Artoria were about to step forward again, Kenneth's voice rang out from the sky once more.

"Red Saber, stop here. I've already planned to have Lancer help you kill your sworn enemy, the King of Knights. Why are you still attacking Lancer? What good does it do you?"

"My lord! If we don't deal with this one..."

"Lancer! How many more times have you disobeyed my orders?! Is this what you call your dream? What you call serving your lord?!" The angry voice instantly made Diarmuid grit his teeth and shut his mouth, his hands trembling involuntarily.

"Red Saber, your Master must also hope you achieve more victories. Are you really going to give up such a good situation? Destroying the King of Knights will not only bring you one step closer to the Holy Grail, but also allow you to avenge your defeat and wash away the shame of your loss. Why not..."

"Hahahaha!" Mordred burst into wild laughter, abruptly interrupting Kenneth's words. After laughing, Mordred revealed a fierce and angry expression, roaring, "Don't joke around! You ignorant fool!"

"When did it become anyone else's business to interfere in the affairs between me and King Arthur?! I will kill anyone who helps King Arthur, and I will also kill anyone who tries to help me kill King Arthur!!" Mordred slashed the ground with his sword, creating a crack.

"You're a madman, you're completely unreasonable!" Kenneth was clearly angered by Mordred's words. As expected of a rebellious knight, you simply can't use normal thinking to understand his behavior and logic.

"Why should I, Mordred, need to explain my actions to others? Besides, someone who can't even hear the voices of his subordinates and followers, who only ever goes in what he thinks is right and does whatever he wants... I'll kill any such person I see! You rat should be glad you're hiding now!" Mordred said arrogantly.

"Red Saber, I am grateful that you have spared me from doing anything against my pride. But if you continue to insult my lord, I will use both my spears and your blood to wash away this humiliation for him!" Diarmuid raised his red spear, pointing it at Mordred and said fiercely.

Artoria, for some reason, seemed somewhat silent at this moment. Although Mordred's words just now seemed to be an insult to Kenneth, the speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart. Those words, "unable to even hear the voices of his subordinates and Servants, and always only moving in the direction he thinks is right," unintentionally touched the depths of Artoria's heart, her shattered beliefs, and her self-blame.

"The king doesn't understand people's hearts..." These words, spoken by Tristan, one of her former Knights of the Round Table, echoed in Artoria's mind at this moment.

"Heh, lacking in strength, but quite high in awareness. What a pity to have such a master," Mordred said.

"Although it's not quite right for me to say that, Red Saber, is this really the right choice for you? You're being so willful, won't your Master be disappointed?" Diarmuid said in a deep voice.

"Hehehe... My Master... Hahaha, yes, I still have my Master." Mordred's gaze turned to her father, Artoria, with a strange expression. Seeing that she had no expression, she snorted and said loudly again, "My Master is neither a vase who can only heal and needs to be protected, nor a guy who hides in the shadows, doesn't even understand his own Servant, and only uses him as a tool."

“My Master only gave me one order: to act as I please, to make as much trouble as possible, and to take responsibility for anything that happens. Hahaha, my Master is definitely the most interesting guy in the world. And therefore… you're right, I can't be too willful; I have to do something for my Master. For example…”

"I will bring victory to my Master!" After saying this, Mordred's expression suddenly froze, then her face lit up with a wildly joyful smile again. "Hahaha! My Master likes what I said very well, so he has given me special permission. He has granted me permission to unleash my Noble Phantasm!"

"What? The red Saber's Master is here watching too?" Everyone present was shocked, but what made Diarmuid and Artoria even more wary was that last sentence: "Release Noble Phantasm."

Mordred raised his royal sword, and the brilliant silver light suddenly disappeared, the hilt deformed, and then a soaring red light instantly rose up, causing the entire ground to tremble. This enormous magical power even caught the attention of Gilgamesh, who was still fighting against Mad Lan in the distance.

"What...what is this!?" Kenneth had never seen such a massive surge of magical energy before, and in an instant he could tell that his servant could not withstand this attack.

"This is really..." Iskandar's expression was solemn, but his eyes were also filled with excitement. He immediately steered his chariot to avoid the aftershocks.

"Look closely, everyone! This is the evil sword that destroyed my father!" Mordred laughed excitedly, raising the towering red beam of light high.

“Clarent—Blood—Arthur (rebellion against my magnificent father)!!!”

Chapter 71 The Prelude to Tokiomi's Death

“Clarent—Blood—Arthur (rebellion against my magnificent father)!!!”

The red light cannon, carrying immense power, slammed forward. The massive cannon, with a radius of 1 meter, cleaved the earth like a tidal wave, destroying all buildings that could withstand its force.

"Tsk!" Gilgamesh frowned, watching as the beam of light separated him from the black mad dog, giving him some peace and quiet. However, Gilgamesh wasn't going to just sit idly by. He noticed that after Lancelot, the Berserker class, dodged, he was staring blankly at the red light for some reason. Gilgamesh seized the opportunity, determined to completely annihilate this mad dog that had touched his Noble Phantasm.

It must be said that Lancelot's ability to withstand the onslaught for so long, besides the Berserker class bonus, is primarily due to the current Matou Kariya, who possesses the power of ruin within her body, and whose own magical aptitude has been optimized. This makes Lancelot's stats significantly better than before, allowing him to endure Gilgamesh's relentless Noble Phantasm attacks for so long.

However, even so, Matou Kariya was starting to feel the strain. At that moment, Wang Chong's voice rang out from the black mist ring around his ear: "Lancelot can leave the stage now. He seems to have been somewhat stimulated by Mordred's Noble Phantasm, and he might come to his senses and attack Mordred."

"Yes! What a pity, we almost embarrassed Tokiomi. Heh, but the situation has completely spiraled out of his control, hasn't it? Tokiomi Tohsaka, I really want to see your face when you can't maintain your magician's composure!" Matou Kariya sighed as he ordered Lancelot to leave immediately.

Upon receiving the order, Lancelot instantly snapped out of his daze. Seeing the Noble Phantasms about to strike him, he dodged them with a classic bridge maneuver, then grabbed the two Noble Phantasms with both hands, flung them at Gilgamesh, and began to retreat at top speed.

"Trying to run away!?" Gilgamesh waved his hand, causing Wang Cai to fire his Noble Phantasm to block the Noble Phantasm thrown by Lancelot. Then, just as he was about to chase after Lancelot, several arrows with rainbow light suddenly shot towards him.

"What a joke!" Gilgamesh was furious to the extreme at the sight of this attack. Here we go again! Another damned guy is blocking his way! What angered Gilgamesh the most was that the other party actually had the same class aura as him.

"A new Archer!?" Tokiomi Tohsaka, who had been closely watching the battle, finally couldn't hold back any longer. He could now conclude that each class in this Holy Grail War likely had at least two Servants. This meant that at least seven Masters were completely out of his control.

"You... you have an aura that I find repulsive. Is it the aura of a god? Or perhaps a goddess..." Gilgamesh looked at the figure appearing on the crane arm, his expression filled with disgust. He loathed those high and mighty gods, especially because of a certain goddess, which made him particularly resentful of female gods.

"What an impolite fellow! To show such an expression upon seeing a goddess? Does this glittering golden thing not know how to appreciate beauty?" From the crane arm, the girl's voice, like the melody of a cuckoo's song, was light and melodious, echoing through the morning forest. Each syllable she uttered was like a delicate thread, gently touching the strings of the heart.

"Ha! The goddess of beauty? That's even more repulsive and disgusting. Are you also one of those decorative figures placed by the gods, who then do nothing but foolish things?" Some Noble Phantasms appeared behind Gilgamesh again, but this time, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked particularly serious. A golden chain began to prepare quietly.

This is a Noble Phantasm that Gilgamesh would definitely use when he wanted to kill a god or demigod.

"Be careful, sister. Master warned us that he has a special Noble Phantasm against divinity." At that moment, another Servant wearing a cloak appeared, blocking the way in front of the girl who was shooting arrows, watching Gilgamesh warily.

However, when Gilgamesh saw the cloaked girl appear, for some reason, his eyes narrowed slightly. He felt that he and she seemed to have some kind of connection, but he couldn't quite see it clearly. Or rather, as Archer, he couldn't see it clearly.

However, Gilgamesh hesitated only for a moment before deciding to kill the two Servants who possessed the aura of goddesses. Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm was about to be unleashed, ready to strike the high and mighty "gods."

"By the Command Spell, King of Heroes, please calm your anger and retreat."

Gilgamesh was startled, instantly feeling the Command Seals binding him. He clenched his fist and turned his head to look in the direction of the Tohsaka family. Fate was unfolding as it had been ordained. Tohsaka Tokiomi had already decided that if a new Servant appeared, he would choose to have Gilgamesh retreat as a precaution.

Now, not only has a new Archer appeared, but he's also a god-level Servant! One is bad enough, but two have appeared?! This completely panicked Tokiomi Tohsaka. Upon seeing that the Servants in his household actually wanted to kill a god, he immediately activated a Command Spell, hoping that the King of Heroes would leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

"You think you can calm me down and make me retreat based on your advice?! You've got some nerve, Tokiomi."

After Gilgamesh finished speaking towards the Tohsaka family, he waved his hand, and the aura of the Gate of Babylon closed completely.

"You have escaped with your lives, gods." Then, Gilgamesh no longer looked at the two goddesses, but instead looked at the chaotic land and the crippled and wounded creatures. He had indeed completely lost interest, leaving only the words, "Bastards! Continue this tedious slaughter until we meet again. Only true heroes will meet me."

After saying this, Gilgamesh, under the effect of the Command Spell, transformed into golden particles and disappeared before everyone's eyes.

"Huh? Who are you calling a bastard?! Don't run away if you dare!" Mordred, who was still standing, roared in the direction Gilgamesh had left after hearing this.

Seeing that she couldn't call him back, Mordred stopped looking in the direction Gilgamesh had left and instead looked at the two servants who were kneeling on the ground in a sorry state.

At this moment, Diarmuid and Artoria, who had been directly struck by Mordred's Noble Phantasm, had their clothes soaked in their own blood. Both were severely injured and unable to move. Mordred's Noble Phantasm, unleashing magical energy, was simply too powerful. Even though Diarmuid and Artoria tried their best to dodge, they were still affected by the outermost beam of magical energy.

"Is this the end?" Diarmuid clenched his fists in deep resentment. He hadn't expected that the first battle would be the final one, already drawing to a close. Was his strength ultimately too weak in this Holy Grail War?

Meanwhile, Artoria stubbornly used the Holy Sword to support herself as she stood up.

"Saber!" Irisviel was about to rush over to use healing magic to cure Artoria, but Mordred shouted sharply, "Stand still!"

"If you dare to treat her, even if there's that dark stuff around you, I'll kill you!!" Mordred revealed a fierce look, staring at Irisviel, as if he would not hesitate to unleash his magic again and kill her if she used magic.

“Listen to her, Irisviel. Do as she says, and she won’t touch you… She only has me as her target.” Artoria said, panting and pale.

"How touching, King Arthur! I told you, I would slowly destroy everything you have! This is the price you have to pay! Don't worry, I'll come back to you after I've dealt with this guy." With that, Mordred walked towards Diarmuid without even glancing at Artoria. Mordred knew Artoria wouldn't run away, so she left her for last, intending to deal with the one who had disgraced her father first.

"Saber... Kiritsugu, where are you now... What just happened? Why did it turn out like this?" Since that gunshot, the entire situation has changed drastically, and it has become something that Irisviel could not control. She could only pray silently, praying that her husband could turn the situation around.

"Do you really think your husband can turn this around?" Suddenly, a strange voice appeared in his mind.

"Who!" Irisviel exclaimed in surprise, looking around, but she could not hear a sound.

"An illusion?" No one answered Irisviel's question. However, Wang Chong, who was leaning against the surface near the container, looked at Irisviel with a glint of light in his eyes.