On High Alert / Landing (Part 1)

Just as Wang Xiaoming and the others moved to Bucharest, Amakusa Shirou summoned all the Servant still remaining at the base.

"Assassin's familiar has given instructions; the [black] faction has already begun its operation, and the attack will likely start tonight at the earliest."

Once all the Red Faction's Servant had gathered in the hall, Amakusa Shirou informed everyone of the information he had gathered.

However, the people present were not surprised by this information. Since the Holy Grail was here, it was only natural that the final battle was approaching.

"You called us here for more than just this, didn't you?"

"We've been seen through."

Faced with Karna's) questioning, Amakusa Shirou smiled and raised his arm. The Command Spell engraved on his arm were flashing with a crimson light.

"My plan is about to enter its final stage, at which point I will be too preoccupied with the battlefield. In that case, none of us will be able to counter Ruler's Command Spell. So I will now use two Command Spell to grant you the ability to resist Ruler's Command Spell."

Due to its unique class nature, Ruler possesses the class skill [God's Resolution], which grants it the right to use two Command Spell on each Servant participating in the Holy Grail War.

Amakusa Shirou, who was summoned as "Ruler" in the last Holy Grail War, was perfectly aware of this.

Only Command Spell can resist Command Spell.

"While I don't believe the saint would use Command Spell in this way, it's best to take precautions to prevent the command from being used for suicide."

"Well, you're not wrong, after all, that guy is over there."

The others present were all aware of the veiled meaning in Achilles's words.

No one would have imagined that Wang Xiaoming, who seemed like an ordinary person, actually possessed such powerful Heroic Spirit energy.

He was able to hold out in Troy for ten years on his own, under the terrifying pressure of the Greece coalition.

The people present all knew of Hector's deeds. Moreover, one of the people who had participated in that war was standing there...

But thinking about these things now is pointless.

Achilles, facing his "old rival" again, was naturally looking forward to the duel. However, Rider was also wary of whether his opponent would resort to any "tricks" or "schemes," after all, he had suffered a lot of losses due to Hector's schemes in the previous Trojan War.

[Encouraging Ruler to use Command Spell to commit suicide]

Achilles believes that, given the chance, the guy who inherited Hector's power will definitely do it!

"Because I'm going to use Command Spell on you, I just wanted to let you know that beforehand."

Amakusa Shirou Shiro looked around and found that no one objected to his suggestion. This was to be expected; regardless of whether one was a hero or not, no one would want to be ordered to commit suicide.

"Then, if there are no objections, I will use Command Spell on you."

As he finished speaking, the Command Spell on Amakusa Shirou's arm began to flash with an eerie light.

Under the blessing of the Command Spell, although the Servant's stats remained unchanged, they believed there was no more effective way to use the Command Spell than this command. This was because they had sealed one of their opponent's trump cards.

"Oh, right..."

After using his Command Spell, Amakusa Shirou, who should have left, suddenly stopped and spoke to the people present about something—

"According to the display on the spirit artifact panel, the other side should have summoned another Servant."

"What?"

This was everyone's first reaction upon hearing this absurd news, but then they remembered Amakusa Shirou's identity...

Clearly, this news was not something he deliberately fabricated.

Although Ruler's class has lost the ability to sense Servant due to the damage he suffered during the last Holy Grail War, he still possesses a magical artifact called the Spirit Disk. This is an item entrusted to the overseer of the Holy Grail War, which has the function of displaying the attributes of the Heroic Spirit summoned by the Holy Grail.

The number and class of all Servant have appeared, regardless of where they were summoned, will certainly be displayed on the Spirit Disk so that the Overseer can monitor the entire battlefield.

"Do you have any information about this Servant?"

Lancer's question was met with a denial from Amakusa Shirou: "The Spirit Item Disk only shows the Servant's class; the new Servant is a Berserker."

"Berserker..."

Upon receiving this information, the atmosphere in the entire hall instinctively froze. There was no way around it; the person who had previously self-destructed had left such a deep impression on everyone.

"Although we don't know the Berserker's real name yet, it's probably meant to be used against the Rider."

After all, at this point, apart from Archer's strange Noble Phantasm, there was nothing in the [Black] faction that could harm Rider, so it's not hard to understand why they would pin their hopes on the newly summoned Servant.

"Who cares? As long as my opponent can give me some fun, that's all that matters!"

Rider, on the contrary, seemed eager to try out Amakusa Shirou's suggestion.

"Then, I'll leave it to you all. May you all have great luck in the battles to come!"

After bowing to the people in the hall, Amakusa Shirou turned and walked out of the hall; his own battlefield awaited him.

The sun had completely set, and the sky had transformed into a star-studded night.

There was not a ray of moonlight; the sky was as dark as a new moon night. Although the city of Bucharest itself shone brightly, once one took to the skies, the surroundings became as gloomy as if sinking into the deep sea.

"Are they here...?"

The Semiramis, who had been feigning sleep on her throne, suddenly opened her eyes. Multiple Servant auras appeared at the edge of her perception range, but these auras seemed somewhat indistinct.

"Tsk..."

Frowning, Assassin casually waved her hand, Projection the scene outside the aerial fortress onto the entire hall. However, to Assassin's surprise, a thick cloud of smoke completely blocked her view.

"This... must be the work of Jack the Ripper."

Atalanta, who was also in the hall and witnessed the same scene, offered his deduction.

Although I've never seen what the Jack the Ripper looks like, the way he uses smoke to hide himself is absolutely in line with the characteristics of the "Assassin" class.

"Oh--"

After hearing Archer's words, Assassin gave a cold laugh.

[Since the enemy is hiding in the smoke, then we just need to make the entire fog the target.]

With this simple thought in mind, Assassin raised his right hand—

"If this is all you're capable of, then... disappear."

As Assassin proclaimed his declaration, the aerial fortress's protective measures, the [Tiamtun Umu], composed of Tiamtum Umu, slowly opened its fangs, spraying beams of light representing death at the "invaders."

Chapter 278. Login (Part 1)

As the beam of light shot out from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon tore through the smoke, Assassin and the others, who remained in the fortress, could clearly see the explosion that occurred within the smoke.

Immediately afterwards, the machine, transformed into a fireball, appeared below the smoke and plummeted straight towards the sea of clouds.

However, this Issei did not allow Assassin and his team to relax, because the thick smoke did not dissipate due to the attack, which meant that the Jack the Ripper was still alive.

"Tsk, what a hassle."

With an impatient look in his eyes, Assassin raised his right hand again.

The next second, the eleven stone slabs surrounding the Hanging Gardens of Babylon unleashed another torrent of light that swept towards the cloud of smoke concealing the [Black] faction's whereabouts!

Meanwhile, also a thousand meters above the ground in the sea of clouds, Wang Xiaoming and the others, who were also watching this scene through Projection Magecraft, seemed to be marveling at the Noble Phantasm of Semiramis, which was like a rain of light.

However, this scene seems a bit strange?

If the [Black] team wasn't attacked... then what was in that cloud of smoke that Semiramis used to attack?

"Cough--"

A soft cough drew everyone's attention from the Projection to Wang Xiaoming.

"Now that the Red Faction's attention has been drawn over there, we can begin the next phase of the operation."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Xiaoming fixed his gaze on one of them:

"The task of striking first is entrusted to you, Archer."

"Understood."

How long has the bombardment of that cloud of smoke been going on?

Semiramis doesn't need to calculate, because the magical power she receives from her Master is now limitless. As long as she fights, she can activate her Noble Phantasm no matter how many times she attacks.

However, this action did not last long before it was stopped by a voice—

"Stop, Empress of Assyria."

Assassin, his brows furrowed slightly, turned his gaze to Lancer, his displeasure clearly indicating he wanted an explanation.

"Continuing the attack will be futile, because the other side isn't even there."

"How could you...?"

Assassin, who instinctively wanted to refute Lancer, suddenly realized that the Servant aura emanating from the cloud of smoke seemed to have remained unchanged from the beginning.

This is simply impossible. Even if the opponent has Ruler and Rider with extremely high Magic Resistance, the remaining Servant simply cannot survive the baptism of his Noble Phantasm.

Unless--

Is this some kind of smokescreen?!

Damn it!

Awakening to his senses, Semiramis gritted his teeth, a pale purple figure flashing through his mind. Though they had only met briefly a few times, Assassin understood—

If it really is her, then it's not impossible for her to conceal her whereabouts while under my surveillance.

After all, hidden beneath her harmless appearance is an astonishing strength that would allow her to remain at the pinnacle of Magecraft even in the Age of Gods.

Boom--

The sudden tremor of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was enough to signal an enemy attack to the Red Faction 'Servant. The Semiramis, seated on the throne, widened his eyes, unable to hide his surprise.

She sensed that one of the eleven cannons forming the outer perimeter of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, known as the "Tiamtum Umu (Tiamtun Umu)," had collapsed!

Assassin immediately expanded the search area, but still couldn't find the culprit who attacked the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

"It's Chiron, isn't it...?"

Assassin made his own judgment: only that guy on the opposing team could carry out such a long-range sniping.

Having deduced his opponent's identity, Assassin had a plan in mind. His gaze shifted to the huntress in the emerald green dress in the hall—

"Archer, how about we hand him over to you?"

Faced with such an elusive opponent, the best choice would naturally be the finest hunters from Arcadia.

"No problem."

A good hunter never refuses his prey, and after receiving Assassin's order, Archer walked out of the hall without hesitation.

"I'll go cover you!"

Rider followed Archer out of the hall. While he disliked Assassin's condescending attitude, Rider also had his own ulterior motives.

Archer is that guy's son; if Archer is in danger, then that guy will definitely show up.

Watching Rider leave with Archer, Assassin was displeased, but the shockwave from the destruction of the second turret left her no time to dwell on it.

After setting the turret to defensive mode, Assassin refocused his attention on the battlefield.

The blood-red meteor that streaked across the night sky had destroyed the third emplacement.

A meteor flying at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow is more like a missile than an arrow.

Arrows that can fly towards a target without needing to be aimed are more efficient than regular shooting. If left unattended, Archer's sniping will surely destroy all 11 black coffins within minutes. At that point, the entire Hanging Gardens of Babylon will be completely undefended.

Leaving a trail imbued with terrifying magic, the "meteor" bared its fangs at the fourth black coffin. However, just as it was about to strike, for some unknown reason, the "meteor" was detonated in mid-air.

"..."

As the distant "meteor" exploded and slowly dissipated into magical energy, Archer, who had just lowered his longbow, realized that the enemy had arrived, and that the Servant with such a long attack range must be...

Hearing the whooshing sound, Archer instinctively looked up at the sky. In the night-shrouded sky, something seemed to flash by.

"?!"