Who are you calling a stable boy?!

Even if any Master still doubts Kotomine Rise's impartiality as the supervisor, Tokimatsu is certain that no one will object to working together to deal with Zheng Jing.

The pressure Zheng Jing is putting on is just that great!

According to Shi Chen and Li Zheng, this seemed to be a brilliant plan that would achieve multiple goals at once.

However, they both forgot one thing.

Zheng Jing, I don't care what rules your Holy Grail War has.

Fortunately, before they could do anything really stupid, Zheng Jing stormed into the church again.

As a result, Caster became the target of everyone's criticism.

Meanwhile, Kirei Yanfeng, stepping on the heels of his father and master's anxieties, happily followed in Zheng Jing's footsteps—

"There is."

Zheng Jing suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He stared at the flowing water in the sewer, his golden eyes seeming to burn slowly in the dim passage.

Chapter 105: Qi Li is puzzled, Zheng Jing leaves a trace

When water is used as a medium for magic, traces of the spells are often left behind.

Of course, excellent magicians often have their own methods for dealing with this problem, since secrecy can be said to be an important function of a magician's territory.

However, it is quite obvious that Gilles de Rais, the Caster in this Holy Grail War, is by no means an excellent magician.

In fact, he is not good at magic at all.

What enables him to perform various magical techniques, and even gives him the Caster class aptitude, is his Noble Phantasm, a grimoire of A+ rank.

Of course, Gildre didn't care about that.

He had no interest in magic itself; magic was merely a means for him to achieve his long-cherished wish.

—Just like what he's doing to these children now, it's nothing more than preparation for the liberation of the saintess!

"it is good......"

As if to sense some wonderful aura, Gildre opened his arms, stared into his fish-like eyes, and took a deep breath after implanting the last water demon egg into the human body.

"It's done!"

"Oh!"

Ryunosuke Uryu, who had been quietly watching Gildre complete everything, finally no longer needed to suppress his excitement and raised his arms in triumph.

"That was brilliant, sir! When can I learn that move?"

"Ryunosuke, don't be impatient. The preparations for the ceremony are complete. All that's left is to—"

"Certainly."

—Behind Gillespie and Ryunosuke Uryu, who suddenly stood still like statues, Zheng Jing suddenly jumped out from the shadows.

He walked past Gildre and Ryunosuke Uryu, straight to the blood-stained stone platform, and looked down at the child on the platform.

"Sleep well, I, Lao Zheng, am here."

With a touch of his fingertip to the child's brow, the child closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep under the influence of gentle internal energy.

Then, Zheng Jing used two fingers like knives, combined with the resurrection technique, to remove the demon egg that had just been placed inside the body.

With a burst of force, the monster egg slammed into Gildre's face, exploding into a dark blue pulp that covered his face.

The next moment, Zheng Jing raised the stick in his hand and delivered a powerful blow to the head of the immobilized Gildre.

Just as the staff, imbued with immense internal energy, was about to strike, a book made of human skin leaped out of Gildre's arms.

It is Gilles de Rais's Noble Phantasm, the Curiosity of Smoky Castle!

Legend has it that this book contains forbidden knowledge of ancient evil gods and possesses the power of a magical furnace. Even if the holder's magic power is insufficient, they can still use the power of this book to perform great magic rarely seen in the world and command evil demons and monsters in the deep sea.

Now that Gildre was immobilized by Zheng Jing's spell, whether it was because the Luoyan City cult possessed inherent supernatural abilities or because Gildre had prepared a backup plan, he suddenly jumped out at this critical moment, his evil light surging forth, to block Zheng Jing's murderous blow—

"Smack!"

The stick shattered with an eerie light, striking the cover of the human skin, but it made a strange sound like mud splashing.

—Immediately afterwards, a piercing shriek suddenly exploded from within the Luoyan City Church!

"Bah!"

Zheng Jing focused his energy in his dantian and let out a loud shout.

The sound waves, imbued with internal energy, reverberated outwards, instantly drowning out the howl emanating from some unknown demon.

The Naluoyan City teachings exploded violently, scattering into a cloud of ashes enveloped in a strong wind.

With the remaining force of the blows, Gildre, who had no other options, was instantly beaten into a bloody pulp.

"Pooh."

With a flick of his wrist, Zheng Jing brushed away the grime from the stick and spat at the dissipating pieces of debris on the ground.

He never wastes words with such lowlifes.

If it weren't for rescuing the dozen or so children that Gildre had imprisoned in the position, Zheng Jing wouldn't have used the concealment technique of the Haji Night Cult to sneak in. When he got to the entrance of this guy's position, he would have just picked up his stick and attacked.

Given Gildre's abysmal magical skills, calling this place a workshop would be an understatement; the idea of ​​discovering Zheng Jing, who was seriously concealing his aura, was simply a pipe dream.

Picking up the sleeping child, Zheng Jing ignored the still-living Yu Shenglongzhijie and walked towards a passage as if he couldn't see him.

Once Zheng Jing's figure had completely disappeared into the shadows, the immobilization spell on Yu Shenglong was suddenly lifted.

He was panting heavily when he subconsciously looked in the direction Zheng Jing had left.

He knew that place led to the place where he and his master locked up the children.

Thinking of this, a thick emotion welled up in Ryunosuke's heart.

He had just lost the first true friend he had ever met...

However, Ryunosuke Uryu had no time to appreciate these things.

Because behind him, a tall and strong figure was looking down at the man who had just escaped death.

"Ryunosuke Uryu".

Someone called his name, and Uryu Ryunosuke instinctively looked in the direction of the sound.

“The Venerable One said that you and I have something in common.”

"Grab Ryunosuke Uryuu's face," Kirei Kotomine said softly.

"I hope you can be a good start."

-

About an hour later, in a coffee shop, Zheng Jing and Kirei Kotomine sat facing each other.

"Hmm...that's not going to work."

Zheng Jing, who had successfully taught more than a dozen children to the local "hat uncle" anonymously as good citizens, put down his teacup and couldn't help but mutter something.

The black tea at this shop wasn't particularly good, but considering it was a coffee shop, Zheng Jing couldn't expect them to make excellent black tea.

"Your Excellency."

"Ok?"

Zheng Jing looked up at Kirei Kotomine across from him.

The man was expressionless, a stark contrast to when he had come out with him earlier.

"...Why was it that in the end, he was the one who got what he wanted?"

"It happens occasionally, that type."

Zheng Jing waved his hand.

"Besides, you don't think this is an easy path, do you?"

"Be more vicious to the vicious, and more cunning to the cunning. Discover what is most important to them, and understand what they fear most. Only by doing these things can you find the happiness you seek from these vicious and cunning demons and monsters."

"It's definitely easier for you to harm innocent people. What, are you having second thoughts?"

With a grin, Zheng Jing smiled at Kirei Kotomine.

"It's alright if you regret it. I, Old Zheng, am the easiest person to talk to. As the old saying goes, if you're going to help someone, help them all the way to the West. I don't mind helping you go to the West. It's just a matter of how quickly we part."

"..."

"You really do have some sincerity."

Looking at Kirei Kotomine, Zheng Jing scratched his cheek.

He did indeed intend to use Ryunosuke Uryu to make Kirei Kotomine back down.

If Kirei Kotomine really retires, then he won't need to hold back when he strikes him with his staff.

However, the fact that Kirei Kotomine could endure such an innate inner demon, cultivate diligently for over twenty years, and refuse to fall into the demonic path, searching everywhere for a way to save himself, and even considering ending his own life if all else failed, demonstrates his strong will.

The difference between Buddha and demon is but a thought...

That's enough.

Zheng Jing reached behind his head, plucked a hair, and handed it to Kotomine Kirei.

"Qili, keep this hair safe."

Chapter 106: Heh.

The moment Kirei took the hair, it suddenly flashed with a golden light. Fortunately, the two were sitting in a corner of the shop, and there weren't many customers in the coffee shop at the time, so the fleeting golden light didn't attract the attention of others.

Then, Kirei watched as the golden hair burrowed into his palm and remained motionless.

He moved his wrist and found that the golden hair seemed to have taken root in his hand, and no matter how much he shook his palm, it showed no sign of falling off.

"Your Excellency, this is..."

"If you ever encounter difficulties in your cultivation that you cannot overcome on your own, pluck this hair, hold it in your ring finger, clench your fist, and shout 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven!'"

Zheng Jing raised his hand and pointed to Kirei Kotomine's nose.

"Remember, this hair will only be given to you if it's a problem you absolutely cannot overcome on your own!"

Staring at the golden hair in his palm, Kirei Kotomine remained silent for a moment before slowly clenching his fist.

"Thank you, Venerable One."

"Alright, the monster's been defeated, the bad guys' gone, and you should finish this cup of tea while it's still hot. Now we should take you home. Let's go."

Unlike when they left, when sending Kirei Kotomine back to the Fuyuki Church, Zheng Jing didn't carry him on the way.

The two of them strolled along, one in front and the other following closely behind, until the sun began to set. They had walked through a small part of Winterwood and returned to the Winterwood Church.

"As expected of the Venerable One, you captured him with ease. How could someone as wicked as Caster be a match for you?"

Faced with Zheng Jing, Li Zheng dared not delay, and with his own son as a witness, he really couldn't find any reason to delay.

However, while Zheng Jing took Qi Li out, he contacted Shi Chen again. The two discussed it and concluded that if Zheng Jing really killed the Caster master and servant first, it wouldn't be entirely without benefits.

Zheng Jing won this prize, and the church will reward him with a Command Seal. As long as Zheng Jing's Master comes to receive this prize, he will definitely appear in front of Li Zheng.

Regardless of how much preparation is made when it appears, this will be the first time Zheng Jing's Master has revealed his true form in this Holy Grail War.

Of course, Shi Chen and Li Zheng had no intention of taking advantage of the situation to ambush and kill them.

Although they were very confident in their Servant Gilgamesh, Shichen and Lizheng both felt that they needed to think things through more carefully if their opponent was Zheng Jing.

If we act rashly, we risk attracting the attention of other Masters who want to reap the benefits before the outcome is even clear.

Therefore, Shichen and Lizheng ultimately decided to give them the Command Seal.

It's worth it to exchange for information about Zheng Jing's master!

"Venerable One, please wait! When will your...partner come to retrieve this command seal from me?"

Seeing that Zheng Jing was about to leave after sending Qi Li back, Li Zheng hurriedly spoke up, rolling up one of her sleeves to reveal her arm covered in bright red Command Seals.

That is the [legacy] that the Church collected from Masters who left before they had used up all their Command Seals in previous Holy Grail Wars.

"Oh? Old Li, if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have completely forgotten about it."

Without turning his head, Zheng Jing waved his hand.