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

Irisviel was a target he had long coveted. Having already mastered the Greater Grail, it was inevitable that he would seize control of Irisviel, the vessel for the Lesser Grail, and only he could save her life. Whether for villainous points, his own desires, or control over the Holy Grail War, Wang Chong was determined to firmly grasp Irisviel in his grasp.

"Oh, I almost forgot, there's also the sacred relic, the Distant Ideal Land. We can't let it fall into someone else's hands," Wang Chong thought to himself.

This is also why Wang Chong did not directly use the power of ruin to affect Irisviel's body. He was worried that the process might be hindered by this relic. In the end, he adopted the method of linking the Greater Grail with the Lesser Grail to begin influencing her dreams and gradually bring Irisviel under his control.

"Just in case... Hmph, I'll have to make a trip to Germany tomorrow. Ilya can't stay at the Einzbern residence," Wang Chong thought to himself.

The reason I'm not going today is because my schedule is already almost completely full. From morning until noon, I need to prepare for my conversation with Mrs. Irisviel, and in the afternoon, I need to take good care of another lady. As for the evening? That's when the Holy Grail War is at its most intense.

After considering the matter, Wang Chong decided to gather all the heroic spirits in the conference room after breakfast to plan the battle for the evening.

The real nightmare woven by Wang Chong may have only just begun.

Chapter 86 Meeting with the Saber Group (Part 1)

At midday, under the blazing sun, several figures moved back and forth in the alley. The man at the forefront drew a Glock 17 pistol, turned around, and fired at the figures chasing him, who had disappeared into the shadows.

However, the men behind him were exceptionally skilled, easily dodging the bullets. Even more impressively, one of them turned around and threw several daggers, aiming them straight at the man who had fired the gun in the back.

"Inherent control over time..."

The man used a magical mark etched on his body, instantly slowing down everything around him, while his own speed suddenly doubled from an outsider's perspective. With a lazy roll, he successfully dodged the dagger attack.

Then, using his own acceleration, the man quickly distanced himself from the group of shadowy figures behind him in an attempt to escape.

"These Assassins are really persistent. As soon as Maiya and I came out to meet up with Alice and the others, we were immediately targeted by these guys."

The man was none other than Kiritsugu Emiya. He had planned to meet Irisviel and the others when they arrived in the city that morning, but unexpectedly, he was arrested by the Assassins shortly after he left. Kiritsugu had no choice but to have Maiya bring listening devices or something similar to meet Irisviel, while he was responsible for distracting the Assassins.

"What exactly does Kirei Kotomine want... Why is he staring at me like that? His behavior is completely unlike that of a normal Master. What does he want from me?" Since observing him last night, Kiritsugu Emiya has become increasingly wary of Kirei Kotomine.

No matter how much he feared, he couldn't let himself be caught. And so, a long chase silently unfolded in the dark corners of the city. He chased, he fled, but escape was impossible.

……

"Have you remembered your character? Or if all else fails, let Leticia do it? After all, she's basically playing herself, so it's more natural and less likely to give you away." Wang Chong was still instructing Jeanne on what kind of Master she needed to play.

"Laetitia is too nervous and doesn't dare to face this situation."

"That's exactly the effect we wanted. He looks like a foreign high school student who doesn't know why he got caught up in this Holy Grail War, and he's always feeling uneasy," Wang Chong said with a smile.

"Stop joking. Even if she didn't know, she's still a Master who has summoned a Heroic Spirit. It's impossible for her to be completely ignorant. Besides, I was quite calm throughout last night," Jeanne d'Arc said with a smirk.

"Enough with the jokes. Anyway, you just exchange a few pleasantries, and I'll handle the rest of the conversation... If I'm not mistaken, they've arrived." Wang Chong, who had been chatting away, turned serious and quickly got into the zone.

"Wait... judging from the footsteps, there are three people?" Sensing their approach, Joan of Arc's excellent hearing quickly discerned the number of people outside the door. Wang Chong, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all.

"Knock knock knock..." A polite knock sounded on the door.

"Please come in," Joan of Arc said.

Then, the door opened, and the familiar Artoria and Irisviel walked in, followed by a woman with short black hair.

"Welcome to the three of you, Saber and Saber's Master, and this lady is...?" Jeanne asked, looking at the woman behind the two.

“Excuse me, this is my bodyguard, responsible for our safety,” Irisviel said.

“Isn’t this a bit inappropriate, Saber’s Master? Are you sure you want unrelated outsiders to participate in this meeting?” Wang Chong suddenly spoke up, his tone seemingly displeased.

“Caster, she’s just…” Artoria was about to say something when Irisviel stopped her and shook her head, so Artoria had to stop talking for the time being.

“I apologize, Your Excellency Caster. I understand that this behavior is extremely rude, but please rest assured, Maiya is not just our guard. She is also my partner in the Holy Grail War. I trust her completely, and she would never betray us or leak this information.” Irisviel explained with a hint of apology.

"You trust her? That's your business. I've only examined the two of you. I didn't see her offer any assistance during last night's Holy Grail War. In short, I don't trust her!" Wang Chong's firm attitude and the subtle but palpable pressure made Irisviel, who was facing this situation, feel immense pressure.

Noticing this, Artoria naturally stepped forward without hesitation to shield Irisviel from the oppressive aura. She fixed her gaze on Wang Chong and said somewhat rudely, "King of Ruin, you invited us here, yet you don't trust us. Why invite us in the first place? Or are you just here to deliberately put pressure on and provoke us?"

“No, I didn’t mean to distrust you two. On the contrary, I have already confirmed with my own eyes that you are trustworthy,” Wang Chong said calmly.

"Then why..."

"You two are undoubtedly of impeccable character. But that doesn't mean you have the ability to judge people. After all, even you, the Knight King, have made mistakes before, haven't you?" Wang Chong didn't continue, but his meaning was quite clear.

"But……"

“Never mind, Mrs. Alice, don’t let me cause you to miss out on useful information.” Wu Mi said at this moment. “Since the other party doesn’t trust me, I will just wait outside obediently. Of course, I won’t go too far. I will come immediately if there is any movement inside.”

"Well... alright." Irisviel seemed to have no choice but to compromise, watching Maiya turn and leave the room.

"Wait a minute." Wang Chong suddenly called out to Wu Mi, who was about to leave, and stood up, walking to the doorway. Seeing Wang Chong approaching, the three of them immediately became wary, wondering what this broken king was up to now.

"Don't be nervous, Ms. Wu Mi. Although I don't trust you, I won't be so impolite as to slack off as a guest. Waiter!" Wang Chong clapped his hands, summoning a female waiter.

"Take this young lady outside and find her a seat. Prepare her the third-ranked signature dish on the menu. I'll cover the cost," Wang Chong said, then turned and added, "Our conversation might take a while; it's noon now. If you want to fulfill your duty to your master, you need to be well-fed and have plenty of energy. Please forgive me if I offended you earlier."

"Thank you for your kindness." Wu Mi nodded slightly and followed the waiter out of the private room to wait at the table outside.

"Gentlemen, please don't mind me chasing that lady away. The intelligence we're about to receive is extremely important and we can't afford to be careless," Wang Chong said earnestly as he sat back down.

Seeing that Wang Chong's actions just now were indeed not intentionally targeting Wu Mi or themselves, it seemed that he was simply being overly cautious. Therefore, Irisviel and Artoria didn't say anything more.

“I also apologize for Caster’s rudeness just now. But please understand us, because this matter concerns the lives of many people and even determines the normal progress of this Holy Grail War. Therefore, Caster and I had no choice but to do this.” Jeanne d’Arc spoke up at the right time, further easing the tense atmosphere.

……

“That’s right, just as you predicted, Kiritsugu. That Ruined King may seem arrogant and unruly on the surface, but in reality, he is very thoughtful and cautious in every step he takes. Arrogance is just a disguise.” Maiya was at the dining table at the moment, secretly communicating with Kiritsugu Emiya.

"It's alright. I already guessed that, which is why I let you go in with me. This way, the focus of that Ruined King's attention and caution will be on you. After they kick you out, they will naturally have no good reason to suspect and search for the listening devices carried by Irisviel and the others," Kiritsugu Emiya said.

“Even if he didn’t take this step, he wouldn’t have searched for them, would he? Doesn’t he trust Mrs. Alice and Saber’s character?” Maiya asked, puzzled.

“Just as he said… he trusts their character, and only their character. If you hadn’t covered for them, there’s no doubt that the Ruin King would have done something like searching them.” Kiritsugu Emiya said, while continuing to listen to the conversation in the private room, and then added, “However, Irisviel and the others are still a bit inexperienced. That Ruin King is undoubtedly a master of diplomacy, and after what just happened, the initiative in the conversation has completely fallen into his hands. I’m afraid Irisviel will suffer.”

Chapter 87 Meeting with the Saber Group (Part 2)

"So Kiritsugu, that's why you chose to listen in on the contents? But you didn't prepare any means to communicate remotely," Maiya said.

“That Ruined King is a very perceptive judge of character. If I were to intervene and offer guidance, he would likely notice. So be it if we lose the initiative; we're already at a disadvantage, so it's good to feign weakness. All we need to do is find out what they were discussing,” Kiritsugu Emiya said.

"Isn't that a bit unnecessary... Are you worried that Mrs. Alice won't tell you that information?"

“This isn’t something Alice can decide; after all, the other person is Caster. If I were him, and I had extremely important information, I would use a self-imposed coercive bond to prevent either of us from sharing the information with others. Besides, there will always be some distortion or omissions in what you hear from someone else; it’s not as good as hearing it in person… cough cough cough!” Suddenly, a violent coughing sound came from Kiritsugu Emiya’s side.

"Kiritsugu, what's wrong? What's the situation on your end?" Maiya asked anxiously.

"I'm alright on my end. I've gotten rid of the Assassins for a while now. I have a few minor injuries, but they're not a big deal. It's just that I don't know when they'll show up again. It's like these guys have a complete grasp of our movements. They always appear at crucial moments. But after chasing us for a long time, they lose track of us again. It's really baffling." Kiritsugu Emiya lit a cigarette with a trembling hand to release the excessive pressure he was under.

"Be careful on your end. We'll come find you as soon as we've finished dealing with things here," Wu Mi said quickly.

"Okay, I'll leave Alice in your care." With that, Kiritsugu Emiya hung up the call and began to listen intently to the voice coming from the listening device.

……

Wang Chong's eyes were as sharp as torches as he glanced deep into Alice's collar. There was nothing special about the clothes, but underneath... Wang Chong smiled indifferently and retracted his gaze.

"Before we formally discuss matters, allow me to introduce myself. As you can see, I am Caster's Master, my name is Leticia, and I am a magus from France. A month ago, I was just in the midst of my training at school when, for some unknown reason, I was chosen by the Holy Grail, and thus had to suspend my studies to participate in this Holy Grail War," Jeanne began.

"Letitia? I am Irisviel von Einzbern, the Master chosen by the Einzbern family to represent them in this war. Just call me Irisviel." Irisviel introduced herself very politely.

As for Wang Chong and Artoria, there's no need for introductions, since they already revealed their names on the first night.

“Yes, Ms. Irisviel. To be honest, I was a little scared when I was chosen. After all, I’ve heard about the cruelty of the Holy Grail War and how intense the battles between magicians are, full of death. In fact… to be honest, after what happened in Fuyuki, I went straight to the church and almost gave up on the match.”

As Joan of Arc spoke, she lowered her head shyly, then turned to look at Wang Chong and said with a smile, "Fortunately, Caster was there later. He is excellent and encouraged me, telling me what to do. Only then did I gradually muster the courage to participate in this Holy Grail War."

"Is that so?" Irisviel looked at the pair with some curiosity. It seemed the two had a very good relationship. If Kiritsugu and Saber could be like that too...

Thinking of this, Irisviel couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that her husband and Artoria didn't get along in many ways.

"Miss Leticia, what are you referring to when you say you encountered some things?" Artoria keenly noticed the information in Jeanne's words and asked.

“Yes, after I arrived in Fuyuki, two strange things happened, and it was because of these two things that we have a secret that cannot be revealed to outsiders. I almost wanted to give up the competition. And this is the information I need to give you two.” Jeanne slowly began to speak.

"What kind of intelligence is it that warrants such serious consideration from you two?" Upon hearing this, Irisviel's expression also turned serious as she inquired.

"Before that, I need you two to do something." Wang Chong wrote down many magic incantations on a piece of paper and handed it to Irisviel.

"This is... a spell?" Even Irisviel couldn't quite understand some of the magic contained within it.

“This is a vow incantation.” Artoria had figured it out and continued, “The contents of this incantation are that we do not reveal any information we have heard to any third party without Caster’s permission. Once we sign it, its magic will be applied to the two of us, binding us to abide by the rules above.”

"Isn't it unnecessary to go this far, Caster?" After analyzing the situation for Irisviel, Artoria looked directly at Wang Chong and said with some displeasure.

"You can choose not to sign, or you can choose to leave, Knight King. But out of kindness, I can remind you that this information is not only important, but it can also determine whether you two Masters can survive tonight," Wang Chong said bluntly.

"What?" Artoria's expression changed slightly. Her intuition told her that the man in front of her wasn't lying. If that were the case, it seemed that something big was going to happen at her place tonight.

"...In that case, we'll sign it. We will never reveal the information you two have given us to anyone without your permission." After thinking for a while, Irisviel chose to trust them and signed her name on the contract. Seeing that her nominal Master, Irisviel, had already signed, Artoria had no choice but to sign the contract as well.

"The contract is in effect, and those who break their word shall be punished by eating mashed potatoes... Haha, just kidding, to lighten the mood... Knight King, why does your face look so grim? Don't you like mashed potatoes?" Wang Chong retracted the contract and made a joke with a smile. As Wang Chong expected, Artoria's face immediately turned ugly, as if she had recalled some unpleasant memories.

"Alright, stop making a scene, Caster. You should explain what happened to the two of you," Joan of Arc said with a hint of helplessness.

"Yes, you two should remember what happened last night with the extra Servants, right? The number of Servants in the Holy Grail War far exceeded the capacity we could handle before," Wang Chong said.

"Could the information you're about to share be related to those additional Servants?" Artoria asked.

“Yes… In fact, my Master had just arrived in Fuyuki City a week ago, before the Holy Grail War even began, when he already encountered two attacks by Servants. And those two attacks were the work of the extra Servants that appeared on the first night,” Wang Chong said.

"Huh? Two attacks by Heroic Spirits? And they started a week before the Holy Grail War? That means those extra Servants, like our Servants, had already responded to the summons a long time ago," Irisviel said, somewhat surprised.

“That’s right, and one of them you should be very familiar with. It was a battle that broke out in the wasteland a few days ago. It was also my battle with that Saber Servant, the rebellious knight Mordred,” Wang Chong said in a deep voice.

“Mordred…” Recalling the conversation between Wang Chong and Mordred, Artoria remembered that the two had fought each other.

“However, the details of what happened might be different from what you imagine. My encounter with Mordred was not a coincidence, but a carefully calculated inevitability. If you ask me why I am so sure, it's because before I fought Mordred, I felt a barrier descend upon my area. After that, I was attacked by Mordred. I'm certain that the barrier was set up by Casters of the same class. They wanted to eliminate my Master without anyone noticing,” Wang Chong said slowly.

"So, there is a multiple C-class Servant who actually appeared a long time ago?" Irisviel frowned and began to ponder after hearing this.

"What about the others?" Artoria asked.

"That was the first attack, carried out by an Assassin Servant. What was strange, however, was that the weapon he used was completely different from ours. I later looked up some information; those weapons were newly introduced in this era, called firearms, used as Noble Phantasms. Oh, and he also appeared on the First Night; he was the Servant who shot me in the chest," Wang Chong said.

Chapter 88 Meeting with the Saber Group (Part 2)

"Currently, we have information on three additional Servants. The one I'm most familiar with is Saber Mordred; I've already witnessed her Noble Phantasm. Then there's Caster, who excels at using barriers for stealth combat, though her true appearance is currently unknown. Finally, there's Assassin, who is skilled in using modern weapons." Irisviel muttered to herself after going through this information.

"But if it were just this much information, you wouldn't need to make such a big fuss," Artoria said, somewhat dismissive of the Servant information.

"Don't rush, Knight King. These are just appetizers. The main event is yet to come. Not only intelligence and evidence... but also some of my insights and speculations," Wang Chong said.

"One thing we can be sure of at the moment is that there are at least five additional Servants, and they all work very closely together. The top three, Saber, Lancer, and Archer, have all appeared. Of the bottom four, only Rider hasn't appeared, and Berserker is uncertain."

“It’s understandable that Rider didn’t appear, but why can’t we be sure about Berserker?” Artoria asked.

“It’s simple. Berserker’s actions can’t be understood through normal logic. Although he did help the Assassin retreat, he then left the battlefield with the King of Heroes and never appeared again. Logically, the Berserker’s combat power was still there, so why would he leave so early instead of acting with the other extra Servants? In addition, no second Berserker has appeared yet, so we can’t directly define that pair as an extra Servant pair,” Wang Chong said.

"Furthermore, I must make it clear to you that those extra Servants and their corresponding Masters are definitely not targeting us, the Masters and Servants who are participating normally. And without a doubt, they want to kill all the Masters except themselves," Wang Chong said in a deep voice.

"What?" Upon hearing this, both Irisviel and Artoria were taken aback.

“I can guarantee that this conclusion is accurate. Firstly, my Master was the first to be targeted and assassinated by the enemy. Secondly, it is the information I extracted from him during my battle with Mordred,” Wang Chong explained.

"You must be wondering why my Master wanted to withdraw from this Holy Grail War. That's because she hadn't summoned me when she was attacked for the first time. How could a Master alone be a match for a Servant? After the attack, my Master was seriously injured and almost died. If she hadn't successfully summoned me at the last moment... I'm afraid you wouldn't be seeing the Caster duo today."

"After their first assassination attempt failed, they even sent two Servants the next day to try and eliminate us silently, to prevent us from leaking information about them. Unfortunately, they still failed. My battle with Mordred was too intense, attracting the attention of at least two Servants from the Holy Grail War, including the King of Heroes. Knowing they couldn't eliminate us silently, they had no choice but to give up."

"The even better news is that I managed to learn from Mordred what those guys' original plan was. They intended to kill some Masters who were participating in the Holy Grail War normally, then take their place, and gradually devour all the normal Masters. As for why they did this, Mordred didn't say, but I guess it was related to the Holy Grail."

After hearing Wang Chong's account, Irisviel and Artoria exchanged glances. They had no idea that the Caster duo had already experienced such an unbelievable and terrifying ordeal before the Holy Grail War.

“These guys not only attacked before the war even began, but they also assassinated Masters who hadn’t even summoned their Servants. It’s utterly despicable. With these people around, I’m afraid this Holy Grail War will be fraught with unexpected changes, and everyone will be living in fear,” Artoria said.

"Yes, I was the first one they targeted because I hadn't summoned a Servant. They thought it would be the easiest way to deal with me, so they made their move first. Thinking back on it now, it sends chills down my spine," Jeanne said, her face also looking rather grim.

"Despicable, but extremely efficient. When they strike, it's with lightning speed. If given the chance to assassinate their Master, they would choose to kill their Master without hesitation, even if it meant choosing between Servant and Master. On the first night, they waited until I was exhausted from fighting the King of Heroes before striking. Two shots rang out; the first shot was meant to kill me. Even if it didn't kill me, it would force me to use all my strength to fight off the attack. Then, their real killing move—the second shot—was aimed at my Master. They were determined to silence us completely."

After Wang Chong finished speaking, he glanced inexplicably at the listening device on Irisviel's body, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Meanwhile, Kiritsugu Emiya, who had been attentively listening to the news from the sidelines, suddenly changed his expression upon hearing it, muttering, "So that's how it is... No wonder those Assassins seemed to be driving me away rather than capturing me..."

Inside the private room, Artoria frowned slightly and asked, "So, the black mist that appeared on Miss Leticia's body to block that attack was because you had already anticipated that they would attack you on the first night?"

“After all, we know too many of their secrets, so it’s inevitable that we want to eliminate them as soon as possible. And to be precise, it’s not that I anticipated they would make a move, but even if they were to remain calm and not act immediately, I would still induce them to reveal themselves and take action,” Wang Chong said.

"So, your defeat against the King of Heroes was actually something you did on purpose?" Artoria asked, realizing what Wang Chong meant.

"It's a double kill, I suppose. That Hero King is indeed very strong, that's undeniable. I just reserved some power for my Master beforehand, and I also had some tricks up my sleeve to defend against sneak attacks. In fact, I almost ran out of magic power at the time, but if I didn't put on this act, I couldn't fool them. It was precisely because this plan succeeded that they had no choice but to expose themselves, wanting to suppress us with their overwhelming strength," Wang Chong said with a smile.

"Fortunately, Iskandar, the Conqueror King, also possessed such a powerful Noble Phantasm. Even more fortunately, the fallen legions were able to replenish my strength, thus successfully stopping them. It seems that we Masters and Servants who participate in the Holy Grail War normally are truly blessed with good fortune."

"Those who act perversely will surely be punished by Heaven. This is probably why their schemes have been repeatedly thwarted by Lord Ruined King. However, there is still one thing I don't understand. Why not tell all the Masters about such an important matter, but only tell me and Irisviel? Now the enemy has no less than 5 Servants. Shouldn't we unite with the other Masters to fight against those extra Servants and the Masters behind them?" Artoria asked again.