I don't want to be a heroic spirit

"I'm sorry, but I've overstepped my bounds."

Looking at Artoria again, Vlad III's ferocious expression eased a little.

"That's alright. His doubts are not without reason. After all, King Arthur is not a god." Altria nodded, her expression calm. "Although I have the blood of a red dragon flowing through my veins, during my time as King Arthur, I was not a god, but a true king of men."

As King Arthur?

Everyone present caught the word keenly.

Could it be...that something else happened after the legend of King Arthur?

Many guesses flashed through their minds, and then they began to wait.

Waiting for me to give them answers.

"So... after King Arthur returned the holy sword, there was a sequel? You didn't die because of it?"

Vlad III stroked his chin, and it was obvious that he was also very curious about this.

"The real King Arthur did die after returning the holy sword... at least that's the way it is in the Arthurian legend you're all familiar with. As for my existence... well... it's a bit complicated to explain."

Altria showed a troubled expression, and after thinking for a moment, she said, "You can consider me as one of the possibilities of King Arthur, the form after King Arthur returned the holy sword and took up the holy spear Longomyniad."

"The Holy Spear Longomyniad has granted me divinity, making me both Arthur, the king of men, and Longomyniad, the goddess."

"However, I stand before you today as the Ruler of this Holy Grail War, not Arthur, the King of Men, nor the Goddess, the Lord of the Tower. I will fulfill my duties as Ruler and not favor either side."

"So, whether as a king or a ruler, I cannot accept your invitation, honorable King of Romania."

Even after Altria finished introducing herself, many people present were still in shock.

He returned the holy sword, drew out the holy spear, and became King Arthur, the heir of the gods.

No one had expected that the Ruler in front of them would be such a person!

Even if we look at all the heroes, King Arthur is undoubtedly the one standing at the top of the pyramid.

Both the holy sword of salvation and its worldwide fame prove its power.

Some even say that if King Arthur or Hercules were summoned during the Holy Grail War, victory would be almost certain.

However, the person before him was King Arthur, who had already become a god.

They were not foolish enough to think that the other party would become weaker than before after losing the holy sword. The fact that the other party easily defeated the red team's Lancer had already proved her strength. Otherwise, Vlad III would not have wanted to subdue her so much.

"King Arthur, who has become a god... Then you do have the right to reject me. This is truly regrettable..." Vlad III sighed and sat back on the throne. "However, I don't think I have any regrets about having the honor of meeting that perfect king. Hahaha!"

Vlad III suddenly figured it out and laughed happily again.

Chapter 181: Calculation of Restraint (16/31)

"Although I haven't had a king like you join me, my castle still welcomes you. I hope you can stay here and let me show you the beauty of my country."

It has to be said that Vlad III has an outstanding personal charm. No wonder so many servants of the black side are willing to lower their proud heads when facing him and follow him.

They were all the most shining heroes of that era and had their own pride, but Vlad III conquered them one by one with his own personal charm, which is the most rare thing.

"I'd like to visit the Red Team's headquarters later... But, for today, please allow me to bother you."

Artoria did not refuse Vlad III. After all, she had just rejected his invitation to form an alliance. If she refused again, it would be a bit of an insult to him.

"You want to go to the Red Army's base camp?"

Vlad III was slightly surprised, then stroked his chin and said, "From what I understand, the Red team's attitude towards you, Ruler, isn't it?"

Vlad III was being a bit euphemistic. This was not a bad thing at all, they just came straight at him and killed him.

"Oh! I understand." Astolfo smiled sweeter than a blooming flower and speculated, "Do you want to seek revenge on them? They attacked me unreasonably, so it's only natural for them to fight back! Do you need my help? I can help you... help you... uh... forget it. I'm weak, so I probably can't help you, right? Hehe!"

"Hmm... maybe we should find out the reason?" Chiron stroked his chin and thought. "The Red Team's sudden attack on Ruler is very strange. I guess Ruler wants to know why they attacked him, which is why he wants to meet them in person to find out the reason."

"But, wouldn't that be dangerous?" Fiore, the wheelchair-bound girl and Chiron's Master, said worriedly, "Regardless of the Red Team's motivations for opposing Ruler, if Ruler were to go to the Red Team's base alone, he might be outnumbered seven to one."

"That's right, Ruler. Going to the Red Team's base alone is too risky."

Danic spoke. This patriarch of Eugdomrenia was the one who cheated and stole the Holy Grail in the last Holy Grail War, and caused this Holy Grail War. If Artoria didn't know his character well, she would have thought that he was really worried about her just by looking at his expression.

"Taking action against the referee of this Holy Grail War without authorization is undoubtedly a violation of the rules. All of us on the black side are outraged by this. So, if you insist on going, we are willing to help you."

Altria looked at Danic deeply, unable to find any flaws in his expression.

Then she withdrew her gaze and said something that surprised everyone present.

"I already roughly understand the reasons why the Red Army is hostile to me."

The Master of the Red Assassin, the white-haired priest, is actually not a human, but a Servant.

Moreover, he was the Ruler in the last Holy Grail War. His real name was Amakusa Shiro Tokisada. He gained a physical body due to accidental contact with the Holy Grail. He lived in the human world for sixty years hiding his identity and survived until this Holy Grail War.

Amakusa Shiro Tokisada was a Japanese saint and the leader of the Shimabara Rebellion. He once led the suffering Shimabara farmers in a large-scale rebellion.

His original intention was actually good, and he wanted to create a better life for the people gathered around him, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not change the cruel world and ultimately he was inevitably doomed.

Having witnessed the cruelty of war with his own eyes and watched 37,000 people around him being killed by the shogunate army, Amakusa Shiro Tokisada had the idea of ​​saving the world and all mankind after being summoned.

To achieve this goal, the only thing he can rely on is the Holy Grail known as the "Universal Wishing Machine".

Of course, Amakusa Shiro Tokisada was not going to make a wish directly to the Holy Grail to achieve "salvation of all mankind". After all, the Holy Grail is simply a huge source of magic power with the third law [Heaven's Grail] as its core. Although it can be called a "universal wishing machine", it is definitely not an "omnipotent wishing machine". It also has its limits. At least the wish of "salvation of all mankind" is impossible.

Amakusa Shiro Tokisada's plan was to use the third method of the Holy Grail, [Heaven's Grail], or [Soul Materialization], to grant all of humanity immortality.

There will be no more death, no more illness, no more hunger. Amakusa Shiro Tokisada believes that in this way, humans will lose the reason to fight and achieve true world peace.

But, to be honest, Altria wasn't very optimistic about him.

As the Master of Chaldea, she knows more about this world than anyone else.

Once Amakusa Shiro Tokisada's wish is realized and the [soul materialization] of all mankind is truly achieved, then this world will most likely become a "world that loses the possibility of divergence", which is the so-called [cut-off phenomenon] or [lostbelt].

Even Artoria had to admit that Amakusa Shiro Tokisada was a truly noble man. Although his power was not as strong as most servants, in Artoria's eyes, he was more dangerous than most servants.

Courage, determination, awareness, forbearance, strategy, ruthlessness... Amakusa Shiro Tokisada possesses all the qualities that a man of great achievements should possess.

Although he lost to Sieg and Jeanne in the end, rather than the so-called "protagonist halo", Artoria would rather believe that the reason for his failure was actually the arrangement of the restraining force.

The previous conversation with Leonardo da Vinci also proved Altria's guess.

In this Holy Grail War, the restraining force also arranged another Ruler.

That person should be Joan of Arc, the "Chaste and Fair".

A Ruler who is not chosen by the Holy Grail, but assigned by the restraining force.

Including in the original work, Siegfried gave his spiritual base to Sieg, which was most likely done by the restraining force, but the parties involved did not know it.

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense, but there is no evidence, so these can only remain speculations.

However, Artoria didn't care about these.

She has a very clear position on herself. She is just the Ruler of this Holy Grail War. It is her responsibility to uphold the rules, and everything else has nothing to do with her.

She had no idea of ​​either ruining Amakusa Shiro Tokisada's plan or causing trouble for the restraining force.

Really, she originally thought that her personality was rather indifferent, and she didn't seem to be very interested in anything... After fusing with Chidai's spiritual base, the symptoms seemed to be even more serious.

Chapter 182 The ability to see the future? (17/31)

Altria thought a lot, but she didn't intend to tell others about it.

After all, these involve her secrets, which are difficult to explain clearly, and most of them are just her guesses.

"I will have a good talk with the Master of the Red Camp."

Now, most of the Red Masters should be controlled by Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, right? That's why Karna attacked Altria without saying a word, because he was under the order of Amakusa Shiro Tokisada.

Altria was a little curious. If Amakusa Shiro Tokisada knew her thoughts and knew that she did not intend to stop his plan, what would he do?

Would he give up on being his enemy? After all, his main enemy was still Black, and his own strength, which was no less than Karna's, could not be ignored. If possible, he would definitely want to have as few enemies as possible.

Of course, this is only on the surface, just like a gun will be alerted even if it is on safety, Artoria will definitely be alerted by Amakusa Shiro Tokisada.

Seeing that Altria seemed to have made some arrangements, Danik and the others could not continue to ask if she needed help, and could only send her blessings.

As for whether the blessing is sincere... no one cares, right?

Artoria nodded to Vlad III and then turned to leave.

"Ruler, I have another question and I hope you can answer it."

Artoria, who had already taken two steps, stopped and turned to look at Vlad III's words.

"Do you... have a wish you wish to place on the Holy Grail?"

Vlad III stared straight at Artoria's face, his deeply sunken eye sockets making his expression even more terrifying.

If the naive little girl looked into Vlad III's eyes at that moment, she would probably be frightened to the point of bleeding from all seven orifices or even exploding to death by the terrifying look in his eyes.

However, Artoria was obviously not scared by just a look.

"No."

There was no confusion, no hesitation, as if the answer was a matter of course.

"If you're asking about 'a wish placed on the Holy Grail', then I can answer you with certainty—none."

After all, there is a Holy Grail in her body at this moment. For her, the Holy Grail that everyone dreams of does not actually have much appeal.

"But if your question is 'what wish do you want to fulfill'... I would answer 'yes'."

"I also have a wish that I want to fulfill. Although I can't remember it clearly at the moment... But I clearly remember that I had a wish not as a god, but as a human."

"But, that wish... cannot be granted by the Holy Grail. I am sure of that."

After answering this question, Artoria left the main hall without looking back, and Chiron pushed his master away to arrange a room for Artoria.

Vlad III did not try to stop Artoria because he had already gotten the answer he wanted.

After Artoria, Chiron and the others left, the people present did not disperse, but started the next topic.

"Colles."

"exist!"

After hearing Danik's name being called, Colles stood up and showed no sign of stage fright even though he was being stared at by most people present.

"Since you brought Ruler back... then let us hear what you saw and felt."

"Yes!"

The Yogdomilenia family is the owner of this land, so they can monitor the battle between Artoria and Karna.

Moreover, they discovered Ruler's arrival earlier than the Red Team, so they were able to see Ruler earlier than the Red Team's servants.

In the previous battle between Artoria and Karna, they also wanted to see every detail of the battlefield clearly and get more information... But this was obviously impossible. The battle between Servant-level warriors was too far away for magicians, and most monitoring methods could not observe that battle, so they wanted to get information from the only bystander at the time.

So, Colles recounted in great detail his encounter with Artoria, the course of the battle, the content of their conversation, and the other party's performance.

Especially what Artoria had said before, that only Saber and Lancer on the black side could fight against Karna, Corles emphasized it and also expressed his own guess.

"The ability to see the future..."

It has to be said that Colles's conjecture is really too shocking.

If this conjecture is true, then Artoria is definitely the most difficult enemy, making everyone present even more wary of her.

"But... I've never heard of the legendary King Arthur being able to see the future?" Gold wiped his face, his expression grim. "If it was Merlin, King Arthur's court magician, the magician's magician, it would be perfectly normal for him to have the ability to see the future... But there are no related anecdotes or legends about King Arthur."

"I think my guess is very likely. After all, we're not facing the real King Arthur, but King Arthur who was elevated to a god by the Holy Lance Longomyniad. If he is a god, it's understandable that he can see things that mortals can't."

On the way here, Colles never stopped thinking, and since he put forward his own guess, he naturally had reasons to believe it.

"Also, if Ruler can really see the future, then that would explain how she knew why the Red Team suddenly attacked her... because she saw it with her own eyes."

Gold wanted to refute, because he was unwilling to believe such a thing either rationally or emotionally, but he could not think of a reasonable reason to refute the other party, so he could only look at Danic next to Vlad III with an ugly face.

Perhaps he felt that the words of Danic, the most accomplished magician present, were more convincing. He simply ignored Colles, a young magician with relatively little experience.

In other words, Gold looked down on everyone except the head of the family, Danic. His source of pride was the android manufacturing technology he obtained from the Einzbern. It could be said that all the androids outside were his work, which also led to his status in the Yugdomileniya family being second only to the head of the family, Danic.

Then, in this Holy Grail War, he also summoned Saber (Swordsman), known as the "strongest class", and the dragon-slaying hero Siegfried. This made him overconfident and he became so arrogant that he almost ignored the head of the family, Danic, and thought that he was the only one who could win this Holy Grail War.

However, he had no idea that Danik could see through his entire mentality.

Danic was too lazy to care about him. In Danic's opinion, this kind of idiot who couldn't even hide his inner thoughts was the easiest type to control and the easiest to deal with.