In fact, Li Zihan's beginner gift pack contained King of the Cavern's Noble Phantasm, "Tiger, Burning Bright!" That was why he could still find time to participate in the Holy Grail War after causing so much trouble. In terms of escape alone, every mage in the Clock Tower combined could not compare to Li Zihan.
Old Worm was remarkably open-minded and soon approached Li Zihan for negotiations. He said that giving him the Matou Family's Magic Crest would not be a problem, but Li Zihan had to handle one matter for the Matou Family: represent them in battle.
Li Zihan happened to have his eye on the Holy Grail as well, so he went downhill with Amiya and reached an agreement with Old Worm. In return, he obtained part of the Matou Family's Magic Crest, inheritance rights, and Sakura Matou, whom he had specifically requested as an extra.
Remembering how Old Worm had so readily handed over the heir he had only just acquired as a bonus, Li Zihan felt as though he had taken part in a very improper deal.
If Tokiomi Tohsaka found out, he would probably fly into a rage. Li Zihan thought.
Besides, the young man felt that if Old Worm had been sent to his previous life, he could easily scam the state out of 175 to 200 bullets in some remote wilderness. Li Zihan himself would probably receive VIP treatment in a cell while discussing life with the police officers, perhaps even three years of free meals in juvenile detention.
After inspecting his weapons and confirming that there were no issues with the Mystic Codes, the young man sighed and left.
P.S. Everyone is welcome to complain.
Tokiomi Tohsaka Had Victory in His Grasp
Fuyuki City, the Tohsaka residence.
A middle-aged man dressed in a red suit sat upright before his desk, holding the latest report sent by the Holy Church, his brows tightly furrowed. With deeply carved features that made him seem cold and stern, he calmly reviewed the newest intelligence and made his final preparations before the war. A jewel fax machine printed information on his enemies onto pristine white paper. Tokiomi Tohsaka, head of the Tohsaka Family, continuously analyzed the coming changes on the battlefield based on this information.
Waver Velvet, a Clock Tower student. His mage lineage extended back only three generations. He had stolen his mentor's Holy Relic and come to Fuyuki City to participate in the Holy Grail War. Not much of a threat.
Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, head of the Archibald Family, a brilliant mage of outstanding accomplishments, Lord of the Clock Tower's Department of Mineralogy, and a first-class lecturer in the Spirit Evocation Department. His mastery of magecraft was extraordinarily high. Without question, he was a formidable enemy in this Holy Grail War and had to be treated with caution.
Kiritsugu Emiya, a mage with no affiliated organization. The Einzbern Family's son-in-law, son of Norikatsu Emiya, a mage designated for Sealing by the Mage's Association, and the fifth-generation heir of the Emiya Family. A war hound and assassin utterly devoid of a mage's sense of honor. A mad dog who required vigilance and caution, a disgrace to mages. He truly could not understand why the Einzbern Family had chosen someone like him as their Master. Had Einzbern fallen so low as well?
Furthermore, the Matou Family's Magic Circuits had been continuously deteriorating, and no mage capable of participating in the Holy Grail War could be found within the family. Old Man Matou had recalled a disciple he had privately trained, just as the Einzbern Family had done, and sent an outsider to fight as the Matou representative. Anyone Old Man Matou had taken a liking to would undoubtedly be an excellent mage and needed to be taken seriously.
No suitable mage had taken the final Master position. It would likely be occupied by some extraordinarily lucky ordinary person. Someone who had never encountered Mystery posed virtually no threat to the Tohsaka Family.
The enemies might be strong, but this war would be Tohsaka's victory. The preparations made by the Tohsaka Family were not something others could easily imagine. Tokiomi Tohsaka's furrowed brows relaxed as he gripped the cane at his side. The next moment, crimson flames rose from every sheet of paper bearing the intelligence.
As the papers turned to ash, a confident smile curled across the Tohsaka Family head's lips. Nothing could stop the Tohsaka Family from fulfilling its long-cherished wish.
They had gone to great lengths to obtain the shed skin of the first serpent of ancient times from Mesopotamia, using it to summon Mesopotamia's king—Gilgamesh.
Through his grandfather's old friend, Rin Tohsaka, they had formed an alliance with the Holy Church, which served as supervisor. This allowed them to learn the information and movements of every Master, giving them the advantage in intelligence.
After concealing the fact that Kirei Kotomine had already received the Stigmata, he arranged for Kirei Kotomine to become his disciple. Then they put on a show of parting ways, while he secretly commanded Kirei Kotomine and Assassin from the shadows.
As one of the Three Founding Families, the Tohsaka Family had an ancient pact with the equally founding Einzbern and Matou Families. They could form an alliance at any time to jointly resist outside participants in the Holy Grail War.
Even if his enemies were numerous outstanding mages and heroes who had stepped out of ancient legends, Tokiomi Tohsaka did not believe he would be defeated. The Tohsaka Family's preparations for this Holy Grail War were far beyond what outsiders could imagine. Even though the road to The All-Works Cauldron was fraught with difficulties, Tokiomi Tohsaka had absolute confidence in himself.
When he was young, his unremarkable talent had earned him the contempt of geniuses. Yet Tokiomi Tohsaka had become an exceptional mage through hard work, and the hardships and bitterness involved were easy to imagine. He believed that he could overcome the trial known as the Holy Grail War, just as he had emerged from hardship in the past.
While the head of the Tohsaka Family analyzed the situation, what was transmigrator Li doing?
The answer was rather embarrassing: he was setting up the most basic surveillance magecraft in the sewers. He had asked Old Worm for many low-grade familiars—useless things that could not even beat a six-year-old child and possessed only the most basic scouting abilities.
Fuyuki City had a great river of unknown name, with astonishing length and width, which directly divided the city in two. Thus, the designer who constructed the city's drainage system naturally centered it around this river and built an extremely complicated network of sewers.
In the future, Mr. Bluebeard and Ryunosuke Uryu would use this place as their base, weaving murder cases on a grand scale in pursuit of their so-called art.
Before you continue