Red Masters / The Red Faction

However, Wang Xiaoming probably didn't expect that although the girl seemed naive and innocent, she was surprisingly good at sensing other people's emotions.

In the instant his hopes were dashed, no amount of complex emotions could conceal the hint of disappointment in Wang Xiaoming's eyes.

Although the girl didn't understand why the man who summoned her was showing such complex emotions, she realized that, given the current situation, she might not be the Servant he was looking for.

Medea, who silently kept this in mind, seemed to want to say something more, but what happened next caught her off guard—

In Medea's perception, an extremely violent magical force was rapidly rushing towards them, and in the Holy Grail War, only Servant could possess such magical power.

Given the current situation where it's impossible to distinguish friend from foe, it would be unwise for me, as a Caster, to rashly meet with the other side.

"Master!"

Medea called out to the man who had summoned her, trying to use Magecraft to escape the place before he arrived.

However, to Medea's surprise, before she could even cast her Magecraft spell, she suddenly felt her body lighten and found herself being pulled into the man's arms.

"Huh?"

Before Medea could react, she suddenly heard a roar like an earthquake. Peeking out from the man's arms, Medea was surprised to find that the spot where she had been standing was now shrouded in dust and smoke from the roar.

As the smoke cleared, a small figure completely clad in armor gradually came into view. Upon seeing Medea being carried by Wang Xiaoming, a voice tinged with displeasure emanated from within the heavy helmet—

"What? It's Caster! I came all this way so excited to see who it was!"

(Vomiting blood)

Chapter 177. Red Master

"What? It's Caster! I made a wasted trip..."

As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, a short figure completely covered in armor gradually emerged, with raging crimson magic faintly swirling around the armor.

After carefully setting Medea down from his arms, Wang Xiaoming took a half-step forward, using his body to block the gaze directed at her.

Although there was a considerable distance between them from dodging the impact of their opponent's attack, Wang Xiaoming could still feel the gaze of his opponent, like that of a lion, a apex predator, fixed intently on them. He figured if they made any unexpected moves, the opponent's seemingly hostile greatsword would undoubtedly come crashing down without hesitation.

"Hey, I'm asking you something!"

Although separated by a rather heavy-looking helmet, the other person's voice still reached Wang Xiaoming and Medea's ears clearly.

"Are you Caster and Master from the [Red] faction?"

Before Wang Xiaoming could answer, another tall figure appeared behind the other person.

"Kadoya... shi?"

The newcomer's tone was somewhat surprised after he saw Wang Xiaoming's face, who was confronting his own Servant.

"So it's Master, you know him."

Seeing that his Master recognized the other party's identity, the Servant covered by armor stopped focusing on Wang Xiaoming and instead turned to ask his Master.

"I've only seen his information in the intelligence provided by the Mage's Association, but he is indeed Master in the same faction as me."

After explaining to his Servant, the man turned his gaze to the group opposite him:

"Don't be nervous, I am Kairi Shishigou, and like you, I am a [Red] Master."

The Master of the pair opposite him hesitated for a moment before also giving his name.

"Tsukasa Kadoya, nice to meet you."

Since they were on the same side, there was naturally no need to go to war. After finding a place to stay temporarily, the two sides began to exchange the limited intelligence they had.

"Is that so? You're also Servant summoned nearby."

After listening to Shishigou's account, Wang Xiaoming showed no surprise whatsoever.

After all, Bucharest is a city with nearly six hundred years of history and several high-level spiritual veins, so it would be reasonable for the other party to come and investigate if they sensed the fluctuations of other Servant nearby.

Only--

As Wang Xiaoming's gaze shifted downwards, a hint of helplessness and heartache flashed deep in his eyes when he looked at the long box beside him. Inside the box was the relic that Circe had given Wang Xiaoming to summon Medea. Due to the "enthusiastic" greeting from Shishigou's Servant, the wand, which hadn't had time to be retrieved, couldn't escape its fate of becoming scrap.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

Sensing Wang Xiaoming's somewhat disappointed mood, Shishigou scratched his head, then lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly to apologize to Wang Xiaoming.

Relics, as catalysts for summoning Servant, are valued based on the Servant they can summon. However, even the price of a relic that can summon a Servant with a lower spirit level is beyond the reach of a mercenary like Shishigou who frequents battlefields.

Not to mention--

Shishigou's gaze shifted slightly to the girl beside Wang Xiaoming.

Although the maiden-like Servant had remained obediently beside her Master without speaking since the conversation began, her mere presence unconsciously drew attention. This wasn't due to any seductive Magecraft; Shishigou had already secretly confirmed this to his Servant through telepathy.

Her own Servant possesses Rank B Magic Resistance, capable of nullifying Magecraft with incantations of three verses or less. Even powerful Magecraft is difficult to harm her, and mere charm Magecraft has absolutely no effect on her.

Since no trace of Magecraft was detected, aside from the possibility that the opponent's Magecraft skill was so high that their Servant was unable to detect it, only one fact remains—

The other party's Servant does indeed possess an aura that inspires goodwill even when simply sitting there.

But in either case, such a character is rare in history and even mythology.

Suddenly, the faint sound of flapping wings in the sky interrupted Shishigou's thoughts, and the two of them looked up simultaneously. They saw a gray pigeon perched on a branch. It rolled its emotionless, bird-like eyes and spat out the piece of paper it had been carrying in its beak. Having completed its task, the pigeon flew away.

Shishigou got up, walked over, picked up the piece of paper, glanced at it, and then turned and handed it to Wang Xiaoming.

Who delivered it?

Servant had been in spirit form suddenly appeared behind Shishigou and asked curiously.

"Just some guys whose interests align with ours."

As one of the "shared interests" mentioned by Shishigou, Wang Xiaoming took the note and found it contained a list of times and locations.

Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, Sighisoara, the Church on the Hill.

What do you think?

After reading the note, Wang Xiaoming turned his attention to Shishigou. Shishigou's response was:

"The necessary exchange of intelligence is still needed."

"..."

After hearing Shishigou's reply, Wang Xiaoming pondered for a few seconds before raising his head again and saying, "We don't have any plans to join forces with other Master for the time being, so we can't travel together on the way to Sighisoara."

"Is that so...?"

Shishigou nodded in understanding, then stood up to say goodbye to Wang Xiaoming.

"Then, Mr. Kadoya and this unknown lady, I hope we'll have the opportunity to fight side-by-side on the battlefield."

"Yes, I hope so."

Watching Shishigou and his Servant gradually disappear into the darkness, Medea, who had been obediently following Wang Xiaoming, asked curiously:

"Master, aren't we going to Sighisoara with Mr. Shishigou and the others?"

"Ah, that's right."

Wang Xiaoming turned his gaze back to Medea, but due to her height, the petite Medea could only look up at him.

"Anywhere else would you like to go besides Sighisoara?"

"Huh?"

Medea was momentarily caught off guard, tilted her head slightly, as if trying to figure out what her Master meant.

"Don't think too much about it..."

Seeing Medea's puzzled expression, Wang Xiaoming gave a faint smile:

"I just want to spend more time with you."

"Eh--!"

Chapter 178. The [Red] Faction

Several days have passed since the summoning ceremony ended, and both sides participating in the Great Holy Grail War have confirmed that their opponents have also summoned their seven Servant.

However, during this period, no conflict occurred between the two sides that could have triggered a war. Apart from a certain [Red] Servant having some friction with the Chiron while gathering intelligence in Trifas, everything was peaceful.

However, both sides participating in the Holy Grail War understand that the current situation is a standoff where they are spying on each other, and a silent and fierce intelligence war is being waged behind closed doors.

Whether it's [Red] or [Black], massive amounts of intelligence information flow into both sides' headquarters every day.

Meanwhile, in a church in Sighisoara, which was also the headquarters of the [Red]...

"Assassin, still no news from Caster and the others?"

A white-haired young man dressed as a priest asked a question to a disheveled woman in a heavy dress beside him.

No, not at all.

The woman known as Assassin showed a troubled expression, which stirred something in everyone's heart, but the priest remained calm.

"Using the intelligence network built by the pigeons, I haven't found any information about Caster within Romania. It's true what they say, Caster lives up to his name."

Caster has been considered the "weakest" class in all previous Holy Grail War. Compared to other classes, the Magecraft has very low attack, defense, stamina, and agility, but in exchange, they gain powerful luck and magic power.

While not as powerful as Assassin with his [Presence Concealment] skill, Caster, skilled in Magecraft, is determined to hide himself, making him a nightmare for the intelligence network built with familiars.

However, Assassin's praise was not good news for someone.

"Oops..."

The priest pressed his fingers to his temples, his expression pained.

Saber, hailed as the most outstanding among the seven Servants, has left the church with her Master and is acting alone. Coupled with Caster, who remains elusive, the [Red] faction is at a significant disadvantage in terms of numbers.

However, the time for despair has not yet come.

The priest turned his gaze to his Servant and asked her:

"How's your Noble Phantasm coming along? You should have gathered all the materials you were missing before, right?"

"Ah, the only thing missing is the ceremony to establish it as Noble Phantasm. The problem should be solved in three days at most."

"Understood. Let's set the attack on Trifas for three days from now."

The priest nodded; this was probably the best news he had heard all day.

"Something terrible has happened!"

The church doors were suddenly pushed open, and a figure in emerald green nimbly leaped in front of the priest and Assassin.

"Archer?"

Upon seeing the anxious look on the woman's face, dressed in emerald green, the priest's mood, which had just brightened, seemed to plummet again.

"Berserker, driven mad and out of control, has begun walking towards Trifas!"

"How could this be—"

Before the priest could speak, Assassin's brows furrowed. This news was definitely adding insult to injury for the [Red] faction's current dire situation.

"It seems that Rider accidentally mentioned the location of the Yggdmillennia base in front of him during our conversation."

When explaining the reason, Archer seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"..."

Assassin was speechless for a moment, while Shirou muttered in a leisurely tone:

"... Then there's nothing I can do. Archer, may I request your support for Berserker's rear?"

"It is my duty."

Archer's answer was resolute and carried an unconventional, ancient charm.

"However, please remember to retreat immediately if things go wrong. There is absolutely no way to stop that Berserker. Even if his Master uses Command Spell to force him to do so, he will still repeat the same thing after a while."