The King's Banquet - Two

The quiet late night was shattered by the revelry of a banquet. Under the starry sky, surrounded by countless twinkling lights, the feast hosted by the four King's Candidates was in full swing.

Drinking with the King's Candidates, reveling with the King's Candidates – this was a supreme gathering that only those who were "Kings" could enjoy.

"The glory of a King."

The Conqueror King raised his wine barrel, shouted to the sky, and then drained the nearly half-meter-tall barrel in one go.

"Hmph, is he truly this crude in both actions and demeanor? What an uncivilized King's Candidate!" Seeing the Conqueror King's boisterous display, the Hero King, though disdainful, also raised his goblet and drank it down.

Savoring the lingering aroma of the wine in his mouth, even the discerning Hero King showed a look of satisfaction.

"Hoo!!! Hahaha, what excellent wine! It's like nectar from the heavens! Eternal King, you truly have many fine things!" After finishing, the Conqueror King casually tossed aside the now-empty wine barrel, grabbed another one nearby, and began drinking heartily again.

"Hmph..."

While the Hero King didn't offer much praise, his satisfied expression and the way he raised his goblet to his lips again clearly indicated his delight with Xia's collection.

Watching the Hero King and the Conqueror King drink, Xia understood that his prized possessions had earned their approval.

"I have gone through countless reincarnations for eons, traversing more than a thousand worlds! If I couldn't even present something like this, wouldn't that be too embarrassing?!" Xia said with natural arrogance. Indeed, simply having experienced thousands of worlds was enough to give Xia the right to be so proud.

"HO?!" Seeing Xia's arrogant demeanor, the Hero King became displeased.

"You get so boastful just from a little taste! Well, let me show you! A drink truly befitting a King!"

With a loud snap of his fingers.

A golden ripple shimmered behind the Hero King, from which a wine cup of pure white jade slowly emerged, along with four exquisite small cups placed to the side.

Within the cups, the water-like ripples of five colors emanated a seductive, mellow fragrance.

The moment he smelled the aroma, the Conqueror King stopped drinking from his wine barrel and stared, dumbfounded, at what the Hero King called "God's Wine." Even Artoria, who had been diligently devouring the food, looked up, her eyes wide as she gazed at the five-colored light in the cup. Her little nose twitched, inhaling the alluring scent.

"Keep your eyes wide open! This is the wine that King's Candidates should drink! Eternal King! Compared to this, your previous offerings are nothing but gutter water!" Seeing the dumbfounded expressions of the other two King's Candidates, the Hero King's pride was fully satisfied!

"Hmph, you call this thing God's Wine?! Foolish Hero King, your overly narrow worldview, can't even the oldest King of Humanity escape it!?"

Looking at the cup of wine radiating five-colored light, Xia sneered coldly.

Then, with a thought from Xia, the food and decorations on the table instantly vanished! In their place appeared a large wine jar with a coiled golden dragon.

Golden dragon patterns, a body inlaid with emeralds, and a luxurious lid constructed entirely of pure white diamonds!

With a wave of Xia's hand! He flipped open the lid that was suppressing the fragrance within the wine jar!

The moment the lid was opened, a dazzling golden light erupted from the wine jar! It dyed the originally dark sky a golden hue~!

Illuminating the entire land.

"This wine is called 'Return to Emptiness.' It's a treasure I stumbled upon during my ninety-fourth thousand three hundred and thirty-third reincarnation. Not only is its taste an unparalleled delicacy, but it can also grant humans immortality without cost! It is also the supreme medicinal herb for healing! Hero King, this is a hundred times superior to your God's Wine!"

"How about it?! Hero King?!"

With his arms crossed and his head held high arrogantly.

Xia maintained this posture, looking down at the Hero King, and said loudly.

"You want to compare treasures and collections?! Then you've chosen the wrong opponent!"

"Hmph! Fine! Let me, this oldest King of Humanity, tell you! What true disparity is! Prepare yourself for utter defeat!!"

With a shout from the Hero King, the golden light of the Gates of Babylon appeared again! And it was even more concentrated and dazzling than before!

This also indicated that the item the Hero King was about to present was definitely a treasure among treasures!

"Ha?! A gap of tens of millions of worlds, and you think your mere title of 'Oldest' can bridge it?! Don't get too arrogant, Hero King!!"

"Shut up! Gates of Babylon!"

"Hahahaha! Imaginary Sphere!"

With the release of two true words, the two mighty King's Candidates manifested their treasured possessions into reality!

Gold, silver, bronze, noble, magnificent, dazzling, even treasures that would stir the hearts of gods.

They appeared one by one above the golden light shimmering behind Xia and the Hero King.

Artoria and the Conqueror King stared, dumbfounded, at the luxurious items floating in the air. They could hardly believe that a mere Heroic Spirit could possess so many Noble Phantasms simultaneously!

And all of them were exceptional, truly...

"Damn rich people..." X2

With two low, unwilling grumbles, Artoria and the Conqueror King exchanged a glance, then quickly ran towards the area of luxurious competition.

Seeing wine, they'd drink! Seeing delicious fruits, they'd eat!

While eating, they grumbled, "Eat yourselves to death! Eat you poor! Drink all your treasures!! Damn nouveau riche!!"

But unfortunately, the banquet continued until both Artoria and the Conqueror King were stuffed, while Xia and the Hero King's comparison of wealth continued amidst their gnashing of teeth...

And it had already escalated from comparing wine and collections to comparing armaments and armor!

The venue of this banquet was now filled with dazzling, luxurious treasures.

You might step on an A+ ranked treasure with a casual step. If they didn't know that these treasures couldn't be used even if taken, the Conqueror King would have been the first to snatch them all!

A+ ranked treasures all over the floor!! The frustrating feeling of being able to see but not take made the Conqueror King feel so useless for the first time~!

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The Conqueror King sighed heavily, looking speechlessly at the two kings still locked in a full-power contest.

"This might be... the only battle I've ever lost before it even began?"

Upon hearing the Conqueror King's words, Artoria patted his broad back comfortingly.

"No need to worry, they've both surpassed the status of ordinary Heroic Spirits. They're special existences in a sense... (like prodigal sons~)."

"Heh, that's true~ You don't have to worry about being poor. After all, that Eternal King is quite something towards you... Heheheh..."

As the Conqueror King let out a mischievous, wicked chuckle and gave her a knowing glance.

Artoria's face instantly flushed red.

"No, it's not like that! Xia is merely my guardian knight! It's not the kind of relationship you're thinking of! We... we just simply protect and support each other! Like... like!! Yes! Like companions!"

The Conqueror King watched with amusement as the Knight King, blushing and anxiously explaining, reacted so strongly to what was merely a teasing remark.

However, he hadn't expected that the usually stern Knight King would also have such a girlish side... Heh.

Smiling, the Conqueror King shrugged, indicating that he understood the relationship between Xia and the King before him. Only then did Artoria's agitated state slowly calm down.

But her slightly lowered head and the lingering blush on her cheeks showed that Artoria's heart hadn't fully settled.

To prevent the King before him from remaining in an awkward state, the Conqueror King slowly turned to the two kings still competing and asked, "My two esteemed kings, please rest and let's talk. Why do you pursue the Holy Grail?"

Hearing this, the two kings stopped. One stood there with a placid expression, while the other arrogantly tilted his head to look at the Conqueror King.

"Mongrel, that's a redundant question! Everything in this world originally belongs to this King! This King is merely reclaiming what should rightfully be his! It's that simple!"

After speaking, the Hero King sat down on a luxurious Noble Phantasm, casually opened a bottle of wine, and began to drink heartily.

The previous contest had indeed depleted his magical energy significantly.

"Artoria wants it. That's all."

At this moment, Xia, who had also stopped, sat opposite the Hero King, opening a bottle of wine and drinking as he spoke.

"Hmph! To give up a King's pride for a woman?! Mongrel!"

After taking a large gulp of wine, the Hero King sneered with a slight curl of his lips.

"Pride? If she desires it, this broken soul can be offered at any moment! What is this 'pride' worth?"

"Hmph! Is this how you live, Eternal King?!"

"It is the source of my life! Hero King, who knows nothing of love!"

He glanced dismissively at the Hero King, and as the latter wore a mischievous grin, they raised their cups, clinked them together, and drank in one go.

{I acknowledge your kingship, fellow known as "Eternal"...}

"Then, what about you? After hearing the Eternal King's declaration, what are your thoughts, Knight King!"

The Hero King turned his head, looking at Artoria with a wicked grin.

In an instant, the three kings present turned their gazes towards the Knight King's somewhat flustered face.

Xia, on the other hand, was looking down with a half-watchful expression, appearing somewhat nervous.

Artoria took a deep breath.

"Huu..."

After exhaling, Artoria glanced at Xia, who was holding a wine glass in a drinking posture but hadn't taken a single sip.

"My wish is to use the power of the Holy Grail to return to the past and rectify my mistakes! To allow Britannia to elect a true king once more!"

"This is my sole aspiration as the King of Britannia."

As Artoria's voice fell.

Crack!

The wine glass in Xia's hand shattered completely, and the priceless, supreme wine slowly flowed from his palm...

The Hero King lightly raised his head, looking at Xia opposite him, covering his face and chuckling sinisterly.

"Young man... the road is indeed winding!"

If it's not okay, let me know.

I'll change it if needed!

That's all~!

By the way...

Saturday - Sunday

Can I take a leave?

I want to play games... Hehehehehehehe.

You can try searching by author if you can't find the book by its title. Maybe it was renamed!