An Unexpected Visitor

"That's true, Assassin, but you specifically built a castle and prepared to besiege it, so why are you saying such things now?"

Although he was excited by Assassin's words, Rider looked helpless when he thought about the current situation.

The Red Faction's main base is a massive fortress prepared by Assassin. Although everyone knows this is Assassin's Noble Phantasm, no one knows its Noble Phantasm abilities.

Assassin, the owner of the Noble Phantasm, smiled slightly.

"A siege battle? No, Rider. What I possess are Noble Phantasm for offense."

Both Rider and Archer wore expressions of confusion. In Rider's common sense, the only movable structure was the "Troy," and that only appeared after his death.

Seeing Assassin's mischievous behavior, the priest standing to the side smiled and offered some advice.

"Assassin, stop being so mysterious, let us experience it for ourselves."

"Hmm... Master, you seem to be quite passionate too."

"Because I'm a man."

"I see," Semiramis said, understanding, and then pressed his hand against the gem embedded in the armrest of the throne. Instantly, the earth began to tremble slightly.

Was it an earthquake? The Servants exchanged glances. But the tremors began to intensify... and then suddenly stopped.

"Hehe, look outside."

Hearing Assassin's words, everyone except her rushed out of the throne room to the outside. The earthquake just now was clearly something Assassin had intentionally caused. But what was the reason—

"What--?!"

Two people were suddenly speechless—Rider and Archer. Even the priest, who usually tried hard to maintain a calm expression, had an unusual flicker in his eyes. Even Lancer widened his eyes slightly as he looked down.

There was nothing outside.

Below them was only a vast expanse of space, with clouds nearby. In other words, they were floating in the air.

"[Hanging Gardens of Babylon of Babylon] As you can see, my Noble Phantasm is the Sky Fortress."

Assassin infused a hint of pride into that statement.

--The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, a legendary garden on the roof of Babylon. In reality, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were rooftop gardens built around 600 BC by Nebuchadnezzar II, the Neo- Babylon king.

In other words, this was not originally Assassin's Noble Phantasm; she had never actually seen the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

However, a legend that has been passed down through generations for over 2000 years has given her this Noble Phantasm when she was summoned as Servant. The abilities of Heroic Spirit, created based on people's beliefs, are influenced by those beliefs.

Therefore, it was labeled "hypocritical." To those who knew the truth, this would only be a laughable topic, because she never actually built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. However, vanity doesn't necessarily equate to vulnerability. No, in the instant of gathering materials to complete the Noble Phantasm, at least in this era, vanity had transformed into reality.

The reason why the [Red] faction has not taken any large-scale actions so far is to create this Noble Phantasm.

"Next, it'll be time to fight those 'black' guys!"

Rider, ignited by the Noble Phantasm, was already itching to fight, and even the taciturn Lancer raised his head and stared directly at Assassin.

No, there's no need to rush.

Seeing that the Red Faction 'Servant had all been successfully provoked, Assassin, the instigator, revealed a "strange" expression:

"There's no rush."

"Why?"

Rider, who asked the question, looked frustrated.

"Before that, I need you to help me find someone. The message from the pigeons says they've found the location of the [Red] Caster—"

Chapter 212. An Unexpected Visitor

"Um... what's wrong?"

The next morning, Wang Xiaoming, who had reunited with Lily in the hotel restaurant, looked at her face, which was filled with gloom, and asked her with concern.

"Master, please don't make me have such strange dreams again!"

Lily, who had always wanted to see the true face of the purple figure in her dream, was unable to do so when she opened her eyes in the morning.

Although completely confused, Wang Xiaoming decided to take the blame after seeing Lily puffing out her cheeks and complaining to him.

"Hey, Caster--"

A sudden greeting from the side caught Wang Xiaoming and Lily's attention. They saw Saber and her Master, Kairi Shishigou, appear at the entrance of the restaurant.

After seeing Wang Xiaoming and the others turn their gaze towards him, Shishigou waved as a greeting.

I have to say something here: it was only last night that I discovered the two of them were staying at the same hotel. They had already said goodbye, yet they walked into the hotel one after the other. Such a coincidence is always a bit awkward for the parties involved.

Not long after, Saber and Shishigou, also carrying trays, arrived at Wang Xiaoming's table. Looking at the food in front of Saber that almost completely blocked her view, even though there weren't many guests in the hotel, Saber was still the most eye-catching person in the hotel.

Saber, who was enjoying her meal, suddenly looked up at the people at the table and asked in confusion:

"What's wrong? Why are you all looking at me?"

"It's nothing, Saber. Do you have enough food? If not, I have some more here~"

"Ah, thank you so much, Caster!"

When Lily pushed the untouched food from her plate in front of her, Saber thanked her but couldn't help complaining about her Master: "My Master never lets me eat my fill."

"Hey, Saber, I'll get angry if you talk to me like that."

Upon hearing Saber's unreasonable complaints, Shishigou retorted, "If we ate like you, we'd be broke by now!"

"Whispering sound--"

Saber turned her head away in dissatisfaction, while Wang Xiaoming and Lily, who were "watching" from the side, exchanged a glance and both noticed the smile in each other's eyes.

Thus, amidst the bickering between Shishigou and Saber, the two Servants from the [Red] faction and their Master enjoyed the brief peace following the end of the battle.

After breakfast, Saber and Lily huddled together around the table, whispering amongst themselves. Meanwhile, on the other side, Shishigou and Wang Xiaoming began discussing their respective plans for the upcoming battle.

"You're not planning to go to Trifas?"

Shishigou stared in surprise at Wang Xiaoming's words. Wang Xiaoming nodded firmly.

"..."

Perhaps before he could formulate his question, Shishigou lit a cigarette. As the smoke slowly filled the air around him, a hand reached out—

"Give me one."

Shishigou glanced at Wang Xiaoming with surprise, but still casually flicked a cigarette from his pack and gave it to him.

I always thought you didn't smoke.

Shishigou, who was about to remind him that the taste of this cigarette was worse than ordinary cigarettes, could only swallow his words after seeing Wang Xiaoming's skillful movements.

"It's [Dragon Smoke]!"

After taking a puff, Wang Xiaoming said with some curiosity.

"You know this cigarette?"

Shishigou sounded even more surprised.

[Dragon Smoke] is produced in Taiwan. Due to its unique flavor, it is a very niche cigarette even in Taiwan, and is considered a rare item outside of Taiwan.

"Ah, a Magecraft I know likes to smoke this cigarette, so--"

As if the cigarette reminded him of something, Wang Xiaoming shook his head helplessly.

Perhaps because they were both fellow smokers, Shishigou became interested and began to ask Wang Xiaoming about his doubts:

"Is the reason you're not going to Trifas because you don't want to participate in the Holy Grail War?"

Because the Greater Grail of this Great Holy Grail War was set in Trifas, even though Trifas was the stronghold of the Yggdmillennia clan, the main battlefield of this Great Holy Grail War was still unreasonably set there.

Therefore, the Red Faction, which wants to seize the Holy Grail, naturally had to start a war in Trifas.

"Because neither Caster nor I had any desire to place our hopes on the Holy Grail."

Wang Xiaoming's answer without the slightest hesitation made Shishigou nod thoughtfully.

As a "mercenary" dispatched by the Mage's Association, Shishigou felt sorry for losing a comrade, but he could understand this sentiment—if one did not have a wish to place on the Holy Grail, then there would be no need to pay the price for this war.

As for why he wanted to take a spot in this Holy Grail War, that's not something Shishigou needs to worry about.

But as the mastermind behind the Red Faction, if the Mage's Association finds out about this...

After taking a deep drag of his cigarette, Shishigou looked up at Wang Xiaoming with a serious expression. "If I'm lucky enough to survive this Holy Grail War, please contact me if you ever need any help."

Let's just consider this a small act of help for a hard-won fellow smoker.

"Ah, then for the sake of my future, I can only wish you good luck in your military endeavors."

After hearing what Shishigou said, Wang Xiaoming gave a wry smile.

"Of course."

After saying this, a slight smile appeared on Shishigou's lips.

"Oh, right, there's also something about Jack the Ripper."

"What's wrong?"

Upon hearing Wang Xiaoming mention the "murderer" from last night, Shishigou also became serious.

"I do not recommend that you inform the other Master about this alliance."

"That's what I think too."

After stubbing out his cigarette, Shishigou nodded.

The Master of Jack the Ripper has signed a "Geis" with herself, meaning that unless Jack the Ripper finds a new Master, she will never be able to attack Wang Xiaoming and Shishigou.

Now that Wang Xiaoming has withdrawn from this Holy Grail War, the only ally of the Jack the Ripper faction has become Shishigou and Saber.

After the struggle between the [Red] and [Black] factions ends, if neither side withdraws, this alliance will become a joke for Shishigou.

Moreover, Shishigou still hasn't found a reason to trust the priest he has a very bad impression of.

"In that case, then we shall..."

"Master, there's a response from Servant."

Lily's words abruptly interrupted Wang Xiaoming's attempt to say goodbye. At this moment, Wang Xiaoming and Shishigou, the two Masters at the center of the incident, realized—

Before they knew it, the entire restaurant was empty except for the four of them...

"Ah, it looks like we've been locked down."

Sensing the increasingly powerful source of magic approaching, Wang Xiaoming and Shishigou exchanged a glance, but neither showed any sign of panic.

During the daytime, even if the visitor is an enemy Servant, there is no reason to start a battle.

It's better to sit still and see what tricks the other side is up to.

Not long after, a tall man and a petite woman appeared at the restaurant entrance, and everyone's attention quickly settled on their table.

The young man quickly approached Wang Xiaoming, but his gaze first locked onto Saber.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Saber."

"Ha, who are you?"

Saber, sitting in her seat, asked with a displeased expression.

"I am Rider of the Red Faction, and this time I am here for..."

As the tall young man spoke, he turned his gaze towards Wang Xiaoming: "Hey, you're [Red] Caster..."

Before he could finish speaking, the woman beside him, upon seeing Lily next to Saber, instinctively widened her pupils in surprise.

"Lily?"

"Huh?"

Looking at the girl in front of her who had called out her name, Lily blinked in confusion.