"Want to cooperate?" The King of Conquerors looked at Diarmuid and gave a helpless smile. "Though it feels somewhat improper, Saber's Noble Phantasm is simply too powerful. If we do not cooperate, neither of us will be able to win the Holy Grail War."
That was right. Whether it was the King of Conquerors or Diarmuid, both had entered this Holy Grail War for victory.
No one desired defeat, unless that defeat held meaning.
Right now, neither the King of Conquerors nor Diarmuid wanted to lose. Although Caster had withdrawn, another powerful enemy had emerged. They believed they could not defeat her alone.
That was why the King of Conquerors proposed an alliance. Diarmuid's martial skill was exceptionally formidable. Though his mobility was inferior to the King of Conquerors', if they worked together, Diarmuid and the King of Conquerors would form a pair: one possessing tremendous mobility, the other unparalleled martial skill.
"What do you think, King of Conquerors?" Diarmuid merely smiled and did not agree right away, because he knew very well that the decision was not his to make.
"I think it is possible. Saber is simply too powerful. Her Noble Phantasm is practically the natural bane of Servants." Driving his ox cart, the King of Conquerors looked at Mikaela, who had already dismissed the Divine Grace Barrier. "And both of us know that Saber is hiding even more secrets. I believe your lord has seen that as well."
Though the King of Conquerors had only spoken briefly with Kayneth, he had already seen that Kayneth was a man of great wisdom. Had they lived in an earlier age, he would surely have recruited him into his army.
Although Kayneth could not engage in overly intense combat, his wisdom and calm judgment made the King of Conquerors inwardly nod in approval.
The King of Conquerors held Kayneth in very high regard. He believed that if he could see these things, then Kayneth must have seen them too.
"That is right. My lord said Saber carries a great secret, but with insufficient intelligence at present, he can only make a few tentative deductions." Diarmuid seemed somewhat tempted. Cooperating with the King of Conquerors had benefits and few drawbacks. If there truly was a drawback—
It was that in the final battle, he might have trouble dealing with the other man's Inherent Domain. But for now, the King of Conquerors was far less threatening than Mikaela.
"Therefore, I have decided to investigate Saber tonight." The King of Conquerors spoke without the slightest hint of jest. "Though we are allies for now, I will not take advantage of someone in danger. But once that Sea Demon and Caster are dealt with, Saber and I will become mortal enemies."
"Hm?" Diarmuid looked at the King of Conquerors with some confusion. "Are you not afraid of death?"
The strength Mikaela had displayed was not something the King of Conquerors could overcome. She had just used her Inherent Domain, and even her Master could barely endure the burden. Setting aside the matter of mana, if he fought Mikaela now in direct combat—
The Divine Grace Barrier alone would be enough to kill the King of Conquerors on the spot.
"That is why I sought you out." The King of Conquerors gave a broad smile as he looked at Diarmuid. "You are a qualified hero. I know very well that you will bring victory to your lord. Therefore, Saber is our greatest enemy right now. We must cooperate temporarily, defeat Saber, and uncover her secrets."
"What do you intend to do?" Diarmuid was moved. He thought the King of Conquerors' proposal was quite good. In his view, Saber had concealed far too much. Even after his lord mobilized the resources of his family, they still had no way of investigating either her Noble Phantasm or her identity.
If the King of Conquerors' plan succeeded tonight, then he and the King of Conquerors might glimpse a corner of her secrets.
"It is simple. We infiltrate. You watch from outside. If Saber unleashes that terrifying Noble Phantasm, then kill Saber's Master and force her to return to her Master's side. By then... Saber, having used her Noble Phantasm once, will surely enter a weakened state."
At that, the King of Conquerors showed a wide smile and said with complete sincerity, "Afterward, if we truly uncover reliable intelligence, I will personally visit you with my Little Master."
The King of Conquerors did not say what would happen to Mikaela once she entered that weakened state, because the outcome was unknown. He would not speculate. He merely told Diarmuid the final result.
If they truly obtained vital intelligence, Diarmuid would naturally spare no effort to protect the King of Conquerors and Waver.
Now... just as the King of Conquerors had planned, Diarmuid watched Mikaela, whose eyes burned with a flame called rage, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He gripped his spears tightly, but did not rashly attack. Instead, he wanted to see whether she would use another "Noble Phantasm."
Likewise, the King of Conquerors summoned the Chariot of Godly Might and watched the situation below from the sky. If things truly became dire, he would immediately attack Saber's Master.
Rather than leave, the two intended to press Mikaela step by step, to see whether she possessed a second Noble Phantasm besides the Divine Grace Barrier!
"To be honest, I never expected you two to get together." Mikaela suppressed her anger and took a deep breath. So what if she knew the plot?
From the moment he intervened in this world, everything had begun changing. The so-called plot merely gave him a slight advantage.
That advantage had not vanished yet. He had decided that no matter what happened tonight, he had to leave either Diarmuid or the King of Conquerors behind for good.
"Faced with a powerful enemy, one person alone naturally cannot destroy him." Diarmuid pointed the tip of his spear at Mikaela and spoke seriously. "Against such an enemy, gathering companions and attacking together is naturally the best choice."
Diarmuid's implication was obvious. In a one-on-one fight, I am no match for you, but I have allies, while you have several burdens!
That was right—burdens. Emiya Kiritsugu, Irisviel, and Maiya Hisau stood behind Mikaela. They might be capable when dealing with humans, but at present, they were merely burdens on Mikaela. Apart from supplying mana, they served little purpose.
"It seems the King of Conquerors will not be coming down." Looking at him in the sky, Mikaela took a deep breath. He did not know how much intelligence Waver had heard, but without knowing exactly how much they had learned, he would have to throw out more smoke screens.
"Let me show you my true form." Mikaela decisively crushed a card. A rather dazzling light radiated from his body, and his body seemed to shrink by half, becoming much smaller.
"This truly is... Saber had never revealed her true appearance?" Diarmuid looked at Mikaela's new form, surprise flashing through his eyes.
"Well, wasn't this what you had always wanted?"
After crushing the card, Mikaela wore a nun's habit. Her height had changed from 163 centimeters to 145. Oath of Judas rested on her back, and her blue eyes fixed on Diarmuid as she said coldly, "However, you may not be going home tonight."
Theresa Apocalypse.
This was Mikaela's trump card—the card he had kept hidden until the very end.
Oath of Judas was a weapon card.
Theresa was a character card.
When using Theresa, Oath of Judas could be used as well, because the two were originally a matched set.
Mikaela could not bring out all of Oath of Judas' power, but after using the Theresa character card, she could unleash most of Judas' strength.
Mikaela's physical abilities had originally been inferior to those of Servants. In close-quarters combat, there was a seventy percent chance he would be torn apart by them.
But after transforming into Theresa, her physical abilities were greatly enhanced!! Going head-to-head against a Servant was no longer a problem.
"Not going home? That is difficult to say." Diarmuid could sense that something dangerous seemed to be watching him, but he felt no fear. Instead, an excited smile appeared on his face. "However, Saber, you truly are full of surprises. I cannot help wanting to find out just how much power your true form possesses."
Mikaela raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then I will grant your wish."
The moment she finished speaking, she seemed to pinch something between her fingers and hurled it into the sky without hesitation.
"Heaven's Justice!!!"
Countless spears of light appeared from the void like rain and descended toward Diarmuid.
The battle erupted in an instant.
Faced with the falling spears of light, Diarmuid swung his twin spears and knocked them aside. Even when he could not deflect them, he used the agile movements and experience forged through countless battles to evade them.
Very quickly, unlike their first battle, Mikaela and Diarmuid were both constantly probing each other's strength.
At this moment, Diarmuid had fully brought his technique and speed into play.
"Hmph!" Mikaela, who had already transformed into Theresa, gave a faint snort. She had seen his movements during their first battle. Those spears of light just now had merely been probing attacks.
"Clatter, clatter, clatter—!!"
Countless golden chains emerged from Oath of Judas, sealing off the entire area. They seemed intended to prevent Diarmuid from escaping, or perhaps to stop the King of Conquerors from launching a sudden attack.
A golden gleam flashed through Mikaela's blue eyes. With a slight exertion of her hand, a golden spear appeared in her grasp.
"Boom—!!"
Gripping the golden spear, Mikaela lightly stomped the ground. Accompanied by a thunderous blast, she shot forward like a bullet.
"A contest of close-combat ability? Now this is Saber!" Diarmuid ignored the golden chains around him and showed an excited smile. Compared to their first probing battle, he preferred fighting the current Saber.
Her figure was so beautiful and dazzling. Though she wore a nun's habit, one could see from Saber's killing gaze that she was now going all out!
Since his opponent had given her all, then as a member of the Knights of Fianna, he could not ignore her resolve!
"Compared to Saber, I look more like Lancer now."
Mikaela mocked herself, gripping the golden spear tightly as she looked at Diarmuid with icy eyes. "And... today, you are dead. No one can save you."
The two officially clashed. The instant the golden spear met the Red Rose of Purgatory, the Red Rose of Purgatory directly "ignored" the golden spear, its tip thrusting toward Mikaela.
But Mikaela seemed to know that the golden spear could not block Diarmuid's attack. She slightly twisted her body and avoided the tip of the Red Rose of Purgatory.
Even after becoming Theresa, the spear she conjured still cannot block the Red Rose of Purgatory?
Having learned that, Mikaela stopped using the spear. She directly pulled Judas from her back and smashed it toward Diarmuid without another word.
"That will not work. I have already remembered the weight of that weapon."
Diarmuid would not clash head-on with Mikaela. Last time, he had suffered a disadvantage because he did not understand the weight of that cross.
Now Saber seemed like an entirely different person. Diarmuid did not know how much power Saber in this state could wield with that cross shining with holy light, so he could only avoid its edge for now.
"Hmph." Mikaela snorted coldly and pressed the attack, intending to let Diarmuid properly taste Theresa's brute strength combined with Judas' weight.
What did it mean to break all techniques with sheer force!!!
"Clang—!!"
The crimson spear struck Oath of Judas, and Diarmuid's brow furrowed slightly. He swung his other hand, stabbing the yellow short spear toward Mikaela.
Several spears of light emerged from Oath of Judas and blocked the yellow short spear—the Yellow Rose of Mortality.
I already knew it was a versatile weapon, but this weapon is far too troublesome. Diarmuid retreated several steps, staring at the Oath of Judas in Mikaela's hands with a slight frown.
"What is wrong? Not coming to attack? Or are you waiting for the King of Conquerors to come down and support you?"
Watching Diarmuid retreat, Mikaela did not stop attacking. Instead, she swung Oath of Judas and continued smashing it toward him. As she attacked, she said calmly, "If you are counting on the King of Conquerors coming to support you, then wake up. If he dares to come down, then I dare to deploy the Divine Grace Barrier and send both of you out in one go."
That was right. The King of Conquerors in the sky truly had no intention of coming down to help. Although he and Diarmuid were cooperating, he would not rush over howling to "die" just because Diarmuid had fallen into trouble.
"This is troublesome. I did not expect Saber to expose her trump card directly in her rage. No wonder she had remained so calm." The King of Conquerors watched the battle below, then looked at his Little Master beside him. "What intelligence did you hear that made Saber become so frenzied?"
"It is very important intelligence, but right now, we must find a way to save Lancer. Otherwise, tomorrow will be troublesome for us." Seeing Mikaela attack Diarmuid so frantically, Waver felt a trace of relief in his heart.
He truly felt that coming here to gather intelligence had been the right choice. Otherwise, tomorrow, he and the King of Conquerors would have been surrounded and attacked for no apparent reason.
Just like now, if they had not been wary of the Noble Phantasm in Saber's hands, the King of Conquerors would likely have already joined the battle alongside Diarmuid.
"Though I want to help, I cannot. That Saber..." The King of Conquerors looked at the golden chains surrounding Mikaela and Diarmuid. He had a premonition that if he rashly attacked, those seemingly insignificant golden chains would suddenly erupt and unleash attacks no weaker than the Divine Grace Barrier.
The King of Conquerors trusted his instincts completely, so he would not foolishly go down to help. He simply watched from the side, waiting to see how the situation developed.
"Bang—!!" Oath of Judas missed and smashed fiercely into the ground. Theresa's monstrous strength, combined with Judas' own weight, blasted a massive crater into the earth.
Seeing that crater, Diarmuid felt a hint of relief. Fortunately, he had not taken it head-on. He could have blocked it, but doing so would have brought no benefit.
"Ha!"
The moment Oath of Judas missed, although Diarmuid felt relieved, he was an exceptionally qualified warrior. He saw Mikaela's opening!
Diarmuid drove the yellow short spear into the ground, gripped the crimson spear with both hands, and attacked Mikaela's head without hesitation. If this strike landed, she would surely suffer severe injuries.
"Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter—!!!"
At the instant Diarmuid attacked, the golden chains spread through the sky seemed to sense something and abruptly rushed toward him.
Unexpectedly, Mikaela voluntarily released Oath of Judas and leaped backward. Though she did not completely evade Diarmuid's attack and a bloody mark appeared on her small face, such an injury was nothing serious.
Before Irisviel could even use healing magecraft, Theresa's own powerful regenerative ability restored the wound on Mikaela's face. Mikaela had not even felt the pain before the injury healed.
However, Diarmuid's situation was rather dire. The overwhelming golden chains left him scrambling.
"Buzz!"
Accompanied by an obscure and incomprehensible surge of energy, a pale golden barrier emerged from Oath of Judas and instantly enveloped Mikaela, Diarmuid, Emiya Kiritsugu, and the others.
For Emiya Kiritsugu and the others, it was a protective circle.
For Diarmuid, it felt like this place would become where he withdrew from the battle unless he found a way to escape.
Why?
Because the instant the golden barrier unfolded, over a dozen pure golden spears, thicker and sturdier than before, bombarded Diarmuid.
This was area-of-effect damage. The space Diarmuid could move within was only so large. In terms of martial skill, he was among the foremost participants in this Holy Grail War.
But Mikaela had no intention of playing some sacred knightly duel with him. Instead, she gave him a lesson.
A lesson called: The times have changed, old man.
My wife! I want her body.jpg
PS: "Your beloved author is adjusting their sleep schedule, so updates have been a little scarce recently. But the word count has been pretty high =A=! These two chapters together have five thousand words! I am working hard to escape the 2K gang."
If the previous golden spears had merely been ordinary shells, then even if Diarmuid took a few explosions, he could ignore them completely.
The golden spears now descending toward the ground, however, told Diarmuid's instincts that he absolutely could not take them head-on!!! Otherwise, even if he did not die, he would be severely injured!!
On the other side, Irisviel's body trembled faintly, and Emiya Kiritsugu frowned. He inwardly sighed. Just as Mikaela had said, going all out consumed an utterly terrifying amount of mana.
If Irisviel were not the Lesser Holy Grail herself and possessed twice the mana of an ordinary magus, she likely would not have been able to sustain it for long.
Though the consumption was immense, the results were impressive. Mikaela was currently suppressing Diarmuid completely.
"Boom—!!!"
An explosion rang out. Diarmuid looked somewhat disheveled, his expression turning grim. He had successfully avoided those golden spears just now, but the explosions at close range had still left him with minor injuries. If he did not quickly find a way to escape, he would likely be worn down to death in the coming battle. Even if he were not, his lord would have to waste a Command Seal to save him.
"It is not over yet, Diarmuid! How long can your agile movements last?" Mikaela moved her hand, and the golden barrier generated dozens more thick golden spears. At the same time, several golden chains emerged from Oath of Judas and charged toward Diarmuid.
Before you continue