Kenneth's Counterattack

Facing Kenneth's question, Rovey remained composed and casually made something up. "So I had Scáthach help me make some preparations in advance. I didn't expect them to actually come in handy."

"Th-... is that so? Then we really have you to thank."

Hearing Rovey's answer, Kenneth secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Having just been rescued from such a crisis, he clearly had no reason to doubt Rovey. Moreover, everything Rovey had done so far had been to help him.

"Haha, what a fine lad! To make such an accurate judgment after only one night—what an excellent strategist! If you had been born in my era and stood as my enemy, you would definitely have become a grave threat to me!"

"Well? Interested in joining my ranks? Once I regain my body, I'll make you my military advisor, and we'll conquer the world together!"

Seeing Rovey's performance, Iskandar laughed heartily. His desire for talent rose once more, and he actually began recruiting him on the spot.

"No, King of Conquerors. I merely took advantage of a few circumstances. I can't be called a military advisor or strategist."

Rovey shook his head and inwardly sighed. I merely had the advantage of foresight...

—Boom!!

As everyone chatted, several RPGs suddenly whistled in from afar and exploded directly against the windows. The attackers outside had clearly noticed something unusual about those three floors and had continued their fierce assault.

Although the explosions did not penetrate inside, the violent shaking and flames so close at hand still made Kenneth's heart pound.

"Rovey, do you have any other countermeasures? We can't keep this up. If they unleash a Noble Phantasm, even a workshop reinforced with Runes will be difficult to defend!"

Realizing something was wrong, Kenneth hurriedly shouted at Rovey. Right now, he only wanted to know how they could resolve this predicament.

"Of course. Please remain calm..."

Rovey then looked at Iskandar before him and gave him a slight nod, speaking with great courtesy.

"King of Conquerors, when I went to see Weber, we exchanged intelligence, so I know about your Noble Phantasm. And now is the best time for you to act."

"My Noble Phantasm? Are you asking me to..."

"Use your Reality Marble to transfer the floor we're on. That way, they won't be able to attack us."

Seeing Iskandar's confusion, Rovey even gave him a reminder.

"So that's it. I understand."

Hearing Rovey's words, Iskandar's eyes lit up. He immediately understood what Rovey meant and could not help praising him.

"As expected of a strategist! You actually had a move like that! Why didn't I think of it?"

Meanwhile, the anxious Weber and Kenneth both widened their eyes upon hearing Rovey tell Rider to deploy a Reality Marble. They cried out in disbelief.

"Rider! You can actually use a Reality Marble? Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

To them, the shock of learning that Iskandar, this red-haired gorilla, could use a Reality Marble was no less than Emiya Kiritsugu bombarding a Magic Workshop.

After all, no matter how they looked at him, that red-haired gorilla had nothing to do with a Magus, did he?!

Faced with their astonished expressions, Iskandar merely scratched his head and casually answered.

"Other than this lad, none of you ever asked me."

"..."

The room fell into dead silence.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!!

As a seasoned high-rise demolition enthusiast, Emiya Kiritsugu generously sent Kenneth several more rockets.

The brilliant flames and explosions were especially dazzling beneath the dark night sky.

Under repeated precision demolitions and Emiya Kiritsugu's nonstop barrage of RPGs, the already teetering high-rise finally collapsed with a thunderous crash. Even the three floors of Magic Workshop that had been specially enhanced with magecraft were completely swallowed by dust and rubble.

Outside, Emiya Kiritsugu stood atop a distant building with binoculars in hand, coldly watching everything unfold.

When he saw the uppermost three floors of the building collapse as well, the corners of his mouth could not help lifting into a faint smile.

Sure enough, before sufficient firepower, all mystery became utterly fragile. Even that Lord who had chased him down and slashed at him relentlessly the previous night would be buried directly beneath the ruins amid the roar of artillery.

Now, the stronghold of the spear-wielding Heroic Spirit, the godslayer Fionn mac Cumhaill, and the Lord of the Mineralogy Department had been completely destroyed. Even their fates remained unknown.

Without a doubt, now was the best time to finish them off.

Without his workshop and seriously wounded, Kenneth would inevitably reveal himself. This would be his most vulnerable moment.

Thus, Emiya Kiritsugu did not hesitate to send Saber to clear the battlefield. She would hold back the godslayer Fionn mac Cumhaill while all the Assassins were deployed to assassinate Kenneth directly.

Tonight would be Lancer's end.

"I never expected the one who came here to be you... Saber."

On the other side, what Artoria saw upon arriving at the scene was not the Fionn mac Cumhaill Emiya Kiritsugu had anticipated, but Scáthach, who had been waiting here for quite some time.

The Queen of the Land of Shadows stood alone atop the ruins. Her crimson eyes coldly swept over the newly arrived Artoria, and a faint smile touched her face.

"..."

Artoria did not answer. She calmly surveyed the surroundings, her expression grim.

"I thought the famous King Arthur was supposed to be a noble Heroic Spirit, a true knight. I never expected you to use such extreme tactics, even dragging civilians into this for the sake of victory."

Noticing Saber's worried gaze, Scáthach sneered and mocked her.

"Using any means necessary in war is nothing unusual. But since you've already done it, then fight honestly and use every means necessary to win. Who are you putting on this pitiful act for now?"

"...I have no words in response to this outcome, Queen Scáthach."

Seeing the devastation around her, Artoria closed her eyes, unable to bear it.

"Being sentimental won't make you a qualified warrior... So these must be the Assassins who haven't withdrawn yet? They appeared together because they found no trace of the Master in the ruins, so they could only turn their blades on me?"

Scáthach looked around at the shadows appearing one after another. She had already grasped the situation on the battlefield.

"Saber, Assassin, and that glittering Archer—why didn't they come together this time?"

"I don't know..."

Artoria shook her head. She was equally dissatisfied with Emiya Kiritsugu's utterly heartless actions, so she answered nearly every one of Scáthach's questions.

However, what she had not expected was that although Kenneth's Servant was Lancer, she was not the Fionn mac Cumhaill they had anticipated, but this Queen of the Land of Shadows...

But none of that mattered now.

Because with the appearance of a golden figure from within the ruins, this battle had already reached its conclusion.

Kenneth, covered in dust and looking utterly disheveled, crawled out from the rubble. Then, shouting loudly, he ran to Scáthach's side and roared.

"Lancer, stop standing around! Hurry up and wipe out these bastards who destroyed my workshop!!"

The sight made Artoria on the opposite side want to call out his stupidity.

Under these circumstances, his appearance would only disrupt Scáthach's rhythm in battle. It would force the Queen of the Land of Shadows to divide her attention to protect him. If he had hidden until it was over, he might still have had a chance at survival, but revealing himself now meant certain death! There were Assassins on this battlefield, after all.

Seeing Kenneth, the Master, appear, the Assassins who had been searching the ruins immediately rushed toward him. Countless black shadows descended through the night, and within only a few breaths, a hundred figures had gathered—the entirety of Hundred-Faced Hassan's bodies—all fixing their sights on that ill-timed Lemon Head.

In response, Scáthach merely glanced at Kenneth. The two exchanged knowing smiles and silently nodded.

Kenneth in particular appeared to be pretending to be furious, but inwardly, he was almost laughing himself sick.

All the Assassins were in position, and Saber was here as well. They might actually be able to sweep the other side away in one stroke this time.

As a Lord, his mind was naturally extremely clear in such a critical moment. How could he not know that recklessly running out would create a massive weakness on the battlefield? It would even hold Lancer back... Even if he were going to act foolishly, he would not be foolish in such a way.

But by the same logic, how could he lure all the fish out without exposing such an enormous weakness?

The enemy had formed an alliance and exploited their information advantage, hadn't they?

Then they could not blame him for doing the same. Their side had already joined forces too, and their strength was no worse than the enemy's.

Thus, Kenneth and Rovey's plan was simple: use themselves as bait, lure the snake from its hole, then catch them all in one net!

"Good! So one of the godslayers really belongs to that Lord. As long as we eliminate him, we'll remove a major threat!"

At that moment, seeing Kenneth appear through the image transmitted by the familiar, Tokiomi Tohsaka excitedly stood up. He immediately instructed Kirei Kotomine at his side not to hold anything back and to commit every Assassin to the battlefield, determined to eliminate this threat.

"..."

Kirei Kotomine's expression remained cold. Looking at the image relayed by the familiar, he vaguely felt a sense of foreboding. Just as he was about to advise against it, he saw Tokiomi Tohsaka's excited expression, and a thought suddenly arose in his mind...

I wonder what expression my teacher would make if this really were a trap?

On the other side, Emiya Kiritsugu's expression was somewhat strange when he saw Kenneth appear.

"He came out so easily... Strange. Very strange..."

Though he could not explain why, an indescribable sense of dread enveloped Emiya Kiritsugu's heart.

His assistant, Maiya Hisau, quietly asked, "Kiritsugu, as expected, Saber won't attack El-Melloi."

"It was expected. Asking King Arthur to perform such a finishing blow, and to fight an unfair two-against-one battle, is already her limit. Given her personality, she will never directly attack a Master unless... we use a Command Seal!"

"But that would mean a complete break between us and Saber..."

Maiya Hisau naturally understood the consequences of such a thing, so she still wanted to dissuade Emiya Kiritsugu.

But at that moment, Emiya Kiritsugu, gripped by extreme unease, could not spare any thought for that.

His most important trump card, his wife Irisviel, had disappeared. His cooperation with Tokiomi Tohsaka was like seeking a tiger's skin, and his compatibility with Saber was far too poor.

At this moment, he had no other choice.

There was no time left to hesitate. If he wanted to win, he had to seize every opportunity.

He had to end this quickly and eliminate the enemy as much as possible, no matter the cost!

Having thought that far, Emiya Kiritsugu did not hesitate any longer. His gaze sharpened, and he directly used one of his Command Seals.

"By my Command Seal, Saber! Attack Kenneth immediately and eliminate them at once!!"

—Whoosh!!

A flash of red light vanished, and one of the red markings on the back of his hand disappeared.

On the battlefield.

"I'm sorry, Lancer. Fighting you in an environment like this was never my intention, but..."

Although the Assassins had been urging her to act, Artoria did not immediately attack. Instead, she continued speaking with Scáthach until...

"Kiritsugu!!"

The next instant, Artoria screamed. Her body moved against her will as she swung her holy sword and fiercely slashed at Kenneth beside Scáthach.

"So that's... the effect of a Command Seal?"

Seeing this, Scáthach raised an eyebrow slightly and immediately guessed the answer.

"It seems Saber's Master is quite a troublesome fellow as well..."

Kenneth's Counterattack

—Clang!!

The piercing sound of spear and sword tearing through the air rang out. As they swung, they brought a chain of sharp explosions through the air, and streams of differently colored magical energy burst forth across the ruins. The force unleashed in the instant their weapons collided was enough to tear apart the earth and shred the air...

"Oh? Are we finally getting started?"

On the battlefield, Scáthach's expression did not change in the slightest as she faced Artoria, who had received the sudden enhancement of a Command Seal and charged straight at her.

Rather, this was how the attack should look.

To her, the hesitant Saber from before had been far more irritating than the current one.

The battlefield was a place of life and death, deception and schemes. This was especially true in the Holy Grail War, where heroes from countless times and spaces, spanning entire ages, gathered to fight.

Using every means necessary for victory and employing special tactics seemed entirely reasonable to her. If anything, what surprised her more was that after suffering defeat the previous night, they had managed to organize such an effective counterattack today.

Therefore, Scáthach did not think Einzbern's strategy was wrong at all. On the contrary, she found much of it worthy of praise. At the very least, their decisiveness was absurdly formidable.

If the Saber before her could stop fussing and simply start fighting, Scáthach's experience would obviously be much better.

However, Scáthach had not expected that the first thing this woman would do after arriving with a group of Assassins was not finish them off, but stand there grieving over the destruction she had caused and blaming herself for her Master's actions.

Seeing that left Scáthach thoroughly speechless and confused. She even began to wonder whether this was really King Arthur. Why did she feel more like a newly fledged knight?