A--chil--les!!! / Queen of the Amazons

"Ah, leave this to me. Caster and I will be there in a bit."

Just as everyone was struggling with this, a voice suddenly interrupted.

--It's Wang Xiaoming, but shouldn't he be fighting Achilles right now?

Chapter 282. Achilles!!!

Why is this happening?

He had initially joined the Holy Grail War to find an opponent worthy of his battle, but in answering the call, he encountered his nemesis from his previous life on this battlefield.

The two things that should have brought him joy should have combined to create an even more dreamlike and blissful emotion, but why did it turn out like this...?

Looking at the girl in front of him who kept swinging her meteor hammer at him, the Achilles, whose heart was filled with blood and tears, just wanted to grab the bastard who caused all this and beat him up!

Hector, you bastard!!!

If we move the timeline slightly forward, back then, the Achilles was like a fat rabbit that hadn't yet fallen into the trap, but whose eyes were already fixed on the carrot in the pit—

"Hey, Hector, I've come as invited!"

Piloting his chariot, Achilles arrived at the source of that familiar aura, and immediately saw Wang Xiaoming standing on the top of the plane, along with his Servant [Red] Caster.

"It really was you."

After finally confirming the identity of the person before him, Rider suddenly remembered—

When I first met Wang Xiaoming, his strange behavior of constantly glancing at his heels... So, this guy had been watching me make a fool of myself from that moment on?

Tsk, it really was that bastard!

However, Wang Xiaoming remained remarkably calm in the face of Achilles's expression, which was a mixture of surprise and anger.

"While I am pleased that you recognize me as 'Hector,' I am actually just his successor."

"The successor?"

"Ah, that's right. There's a short story behind it too. Would you like to hear it?"

"Okay... wait!"

Seeing the expression on Wang Xiaoming's face that seemed to say "You've hit the jackpot," Achilles, who was about to agree on the spot, suddenly remembered that back in Troy, it seemed that it was because of this expression that he let this bastard escape at least five times!

"You're stalling for time?!"

"Well, if you don't want to hear it, fine, but if you slander me like this, even if you were Achilles, you couldn't forgive it."

Did I guess wrong?

Rider felt somewhat ashamed, unaware that Wang Xiaoming was even more surprised.

Based on the memories Hector's Spirit Origin gave him, this method should be quite effective, but judging from Rider's performance...

Does that mean you get smarter after you die?

Boom--

The sound of an explosion coming from the distant Hanging Gardens of Babylon caught the attention of the two people present.

"You bastard..."

The flashes of fire from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the command from the Semiramis to return to help made Rider realize that he had been outmaneuvered after all.

"They were just stalling for time!"

In response, Wang Xiaoming scratched his cheek, his expression showing no embarrassment at his plan being exposed.

"You've been discovered. So what are you going to do? If you want to come back to help, I won't allow it."

"What, you're finally willing to fight me?"

Rider, having grasped the underlying meaning in Wang Xiaoming's words, revealed an excited expression, instantly forgetting the slight annoyance he had just felt at being outmaneuvered.

As for Semiramis's plea for help?

Who cares about that anymore!

The thought of Semiramis's condescending gaze filled Rider with resentment.

All of that was no longer important; focus returned to the opponent before him, and all previous negative emotions were replaced by soaring fighting spirit.

So, right here, let's fight to our hearts' content!

As for Rider's nemesis (in his own eyes), Wang Xiaoming always had a listless look on his face. "But I can't beat you."

Wang Xiaoming was right. Whether in mythology or in the present, whether it was Hector back then or Wang Xiaoming now, none of them possessed the crucial factor that could harm Rider's body—[divinity].

"This isn't turned off..."

Rider was about to say that he could use his Noble Phantasm when Wang Xiaoming interrupted him:

"So calling a helper shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Helper?

Upon hearing Wang Xiaoming's words, Rider immediately turned his gaze to Lily standing beside him, but then dismissed the idea.

He understood that Hector would never allow such a delicate girl to go into battle, no matter the circumstances. Rider suddenly remembered what Amakusa Shirou had mentioned earlier—

"Is it that Berserker?"

"Hey, you know what?"

"I've heard Amakusa Shirou mention it before."

Seeing the surprised expression on Wang Xiaoming's face, Rider suddenly felt a surge of pride. After being fooled so many times, he had finally managed to steal the spotlight this time.

To be honest, Rider didn't stop Wang Xiaoming from calling for help; in fact, he was quite curious.

"Really? You know this Berserker too."

Know?

Who could it be?

Paris? The man who sealed his own fate with his last arrow?

Or is it Ajax? If it really is him, Rider really wants to see his conflicted expression as his former comrade-in-arms is now on the opposite side.

Or is it...?

Just as Rider was letting his thoughts wander

"In the name of the Command Spell, Berserker has come to my side!"

As the crimson light emanated from the Command Spell on Wang Xiaoming's hand, tiny golden spiritual particles began to combine and construct within the battlefield between the two...

From the immense magical power emanating from its still-uncomplete form, Rider could sense that this Berserker must be a powerful Servant.

Thinking about this, Rider's eyes unconsciously revealed excitement.

But as time passed, the figure before him gradually became clearer. Rider was surprised to find that this Berserker was unexpectedly short. None of the enemies or friends he knew in his previous life seemed to be this short, and...

This Berserker's outfit looks so familiar!

Rider swallowed instinctively, a sense of panic rising within him for the first time, but it was too late to stop it.

"That familiar scent..."

As Berserker finally appeared on the battlefield, an ominous voice rang out:

"It really is you, Achilles!!!"

Then, Rider saw a short figure charging towards him, wielding a flail.

Chapter 283. The Amazon Queen

"A--Achilles!!!"

Hearing the angry voice and hearing the meteor hammer hurtling towards him, Achilles, caught off guard, took the blow head-on.

To his surprise, his prized immortality seemed to have no effect on the opponent's attacks!

"Cough...!"

Achilles, gritting his teeth and enduring the impact, instinctively took two or three steps back, clutching his shoulder where he had just been attacked. Looking at the petite figure before him, his eyes were filled with astonishment.

Although Achilles wasn't actually seriously injured by the attack due to his armor, the pain was definitely felt in his brain.

Who exactly is she?

Wanting an answer, Achilles instinctively looked in Wang Xiaoming's direction, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

Damn it, he fooled me again!

Enraged, Achilles could only silently remember this grudge, planning to settle it another time they met. Right now, the most important thing was—

With a speed that even a normal person could hardly perceive, Achilles dodged the meteor hammer that was swinging at him again. His eyes were fixed on the girl before him, and he could clearly feel the anger in her eyes that seemed to want to burn him to ashes.

Now that Hector, who knew the truth, had disappeared, Achilles could only rely on himself. He gripped his spear tightly, and in the brief moment of parrying the attack, began to ponder the identity of his opponent.

If someone can still call out his name, then they must be someone he has met at least once, but in his memory, no one would use such a ferocious weapon as a meteor hammer.

But speaking of [rage]... a race that perfectly fit the image suddenly came to mind, a race whose mere twelve-man force nearly tore the entire Greece coalition apart.

--The Amazon, and the Amazonian queen who haunts my dreams...

Wait a minute, as if he had just realized something, Achilles shuddered, dodged another blow that nearly hit him with the hammer, and began to carefully examine the furious girl in front of him.

Although she still had a youthful and immature appearance, her stunning beauty, unmatched by ordinary people, was like a shy flower bud waiting to bloom, already allowing Achilles to catch a glimpse of her...

"Could it be that you are... Penthesilea?!"

"!!!"

Upon hearing the name uttered by Achilles, Berserker's relentless onslaught abruptly ceased, like a sudden pause at the climax of a musical movement, catching everyone off guard.

"You, are you really... her?"

Seeing that the other party had stopped their attack because he called out the name, Achilles' tone was full of surprise and a hint of barely perceptible joy.

--Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons.

After Hector's death, Penthesilea led a legion of twelve Amazons to join the Troy and began fighting against the Greece coalition.

The battle was undoubtedly brutal, but this brutality was only directed at the Greece coalition forces.

Unlike the guerrilla tactics employed during Hector's reign, the Troy army, after the Amazons joined them, fearlessly charged towards the Greece coalition, which outnumbered them many times over!

There is only one reason for all of this: it is because of the Amazon queen Penthesilea, who possesses the bloodline of the war god Ares!

Under Penthesilea's leadership and inspired by Ares, the god of war, the Troy army achieved astonishing results.

As a result, wherever the Amazons' war songs were sung, the Greece coalition would be so terrified that they would even have difficulty holding their weapons.

Just when the Troy thought they had finally received divine favor and were about to win this desperate war, that man appeared.

When Achilles appeared on the battlefield, he single-handedly reversed the tide of war, which had begun to tilt in Troy's favor...

The Amazons, who instilled fear in the Greece coalition, couldn't even last a single round against his spear.

Is he really that powerful?

The Troy remembered the prince they had worshipped as a god, who had once been so easily slain by Achilles.

When fear once again gripped the hearts of the Troy, Penthesilea, as their leader, naturally stepped forward without hesitation. It was this decision that, however, led to the last and greatest humiliation of her life.

"Unforgivable..."

"What?"

The somber atmosphere was suddenly broken.

Looking at Penthesilea, who was uttering a cryptic remark, Achilles, still unaware of what was happening, instinctively asked a question in return.

It was just a completely unrelated rhetorical question, yet it was like a lit cigarette butt being thrown into an open powder keg—

Penthesilea's already formidable aura, capable of leaving one speechless, surged even higher after unleashing a roar!

"Unforgivable... only you! Never forgive, Achilles!!!"

There were no superfluous words, nor any cumbersome actions. Perhaps for Penthesilea at this moment, reason was merely a burden that restricted his strength.

And all that long-held resentment, the warrior's pursuit of power, and the blood of Ares, within him, at this moment, all transformed into fuel for his anger towards the man before him.