Chapter 122

If I didn't know the truth, I probably would have given up on dealing with the Old Worm by now.

Seeing that Lan Ze remained silent, Matou Zouken's face unconsciously revealed a faint smile, "If there's nothing else, I'll go back and rest. As for the damaged gate, I'll have someone repair it tomorrow—"

As he spoke, Matou Zouken raised his head and looked at Lan Ze.

But almost instantly, Lan Ze raised his head and roared in fury, "Did I tell you to look me in the eye? You bastard!"

Lan Ze, utterly devoid of martial ethics, unleashed a Noble Phantasm from the Gate of Babylon behind him with a "whoosh," hurtling towards Matou Zouken.

The blades of fire and light pierced through Matou Zouken's body, but almost in the next instant, the hunched Old Worm had transformed into countless flying insects that drifted in mid-air.

"Junior, state your name." Matou Zouken's gloomy voice came from mid-air. Clearly, Matou Zouken was angry. He hadn't asked Lan Ze to leave despite speaking to him in a gentle tone. He was too lazy to hide his true nature anymore and tore off his hypocritical mask at this moment.

"My name?" Lan Ze smiled. "My name is—"

He looked up. "Merlin!"

"If you don't like me, you're welcome to come and cause me trouble anytime, provided that..." He paused, "You can leave here alive!"

Among the flying insects in mid-air, an eye seemed to appear, its gaze carrying a mocking smile.

"If I want to leave, what can you do about it?"

No matter how powerful the Heroic Spirit are, most can only move along walls and cannot fly in mid-air. Divine Era Magus like Medea are ultimately a minority.

"Caster!" Irisviel instinctively turned to look at Lan Ze beside her. At the same time, she raised her hand, and as her fingertips danced, a translucent bird swooped towards the swarm of dark flying insects. The silver threads seemed to form a circle, intending to bind Matou Zouken.

However, the moment the silver threads bound the flying insects, a chilling insect-like cry suddenly rang out, revealing that the insects were actually devouring the Magecraft Irisviel had released!

Matou Sakura watched this scene, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.

This old man is actually quite capable... This way, I won't lose a subordinate and I can gain Lan Ze's trust at the same time. It's a win-win situation.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave, Merlin," Matou Zouken said menacingly. "I will personally come to settle this score with you another day."

After saying that, the swarm of insects was about to fly towards the sky, but at that moment, Matou Zouken suddenly heard a light, airy voice coming from the Servant on the ground. "You seem to have forgotten something."

"I'm a caster, after all."

As Lan Ze finished speaking, he turned to Irisviel and said, "Hurry up a bit."

"Huh?"

Irisviel was stunned for a moment. Before she could react, she saw that the Servant had just been beside her had disappeared, and in its place was a giant blue dragon.

Its blue scales seemed to reflect a silvery light under the moonlight, and its pair of deep blue beast eyes shone with a chilling light.

--A farewell gift that Kishinami Hakuno gave to Lan Ze before she left.

The scales of the white dragon.

However, the dragon was originally black, but under Tiamat's influence of replenishing magic power multiple times, Lan Ze, who had transformed into a dragon, shed his black scales and now appeared as a blue dragon!

"Aaa!" Almost at the same time, Tiamat, who was watching, excitedly stood up from the bedside and rushed towards the image.

"Mother, calm down! That's just an image! You can't get past it!" Ishtar struggled to hold Tiamat's arm, shouting helplessly.

"It's amazing that that guy can turn into a dragon, but you don't have to do this! You're going to smash the walls of Lan Ze's room!" Sajyou Manaka grabbed Tiamat's other arm with all her might, trying her best to stop Tiamat.

"Aaaa! (That's my baby!)"

"I know! Calm down!" Ishtar let out a heavy sigh and comforted Tiamat again.

She was a goddess favored by the gods, and since childhood she had only ever received comfort from others. This was the first time in Ishtar's life that she had experienced what it felt like to constantly risk her life to comfort others.

This is so tiring!

"Aaaaaa~!"

Just then, a dragon's song echoed from the image, the same song Tiamat had uttered earlier. Tiamat excitedly raised her head, her red starry eyes fixed on the scene in the image.

"Aaaa~!"

When the dragon's song echoed through the city once more that night, Matou Zouken's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, jumped again.

He subconsciously looked down at the ground, only to see a blue demonic dragon sweeping down from the ground.

How can Servant turn into a demonic dragon?!

Matou Zouken's heart pounded wildly. He turned to run away, but as the incomprehensible "Aaa" sound faded, a dazzling beam of light gathered from the blue dragon's mouth.

"Take this!"

Lan Ze opened its mouth, vibrated its wings, and spat out a beam of light towards the swarm of insects in mid-air.

"Destruction Spray White Light!"

The dazzling beam collided with the insect in mid-air, and the originally pitch-black insect almost instantly transformed back into Matou Zouken's appearance.

His gaze was fixed on the demonic dragon soaring in mid-air, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "You brat! How dare you—"

"Why are you spouting so much nonsense!"

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon raised its giant claw and slapped Matou Zouken, who was in mid-air.

With a loud bang, a huge crater was formed in the ground.

Irisviel lay on the dragon's back, staring at the giant dragon in astonishment. Then, her eyes flickered slightly, as if she were lost in thought.

At the same time, a withered hand suddenly reached out from the ruins.

Matou Zouken slowly crawled out of the ruins.

He didn't look up at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon circling in mid-air, but instead looked at the little girl who had somehow appeared in front of him.

"Master, Master--"

Matou Zouken as he tried to say something, but more insects crawled out of the ground and began to swarm towards him. Any ordinary person who saw this scene would feel a sense of overwhelming fear.

Matou Sakura simply stared indifferently at Matou Zouken, her hands behind her back, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "This is a necessary sacrifice, Matou Zouken."

Matou Sakura took two steps back, then suddenly called out in a clear voice, "Berserker!"

Almost instantly, beside Matou Sakura, the dark particles silently coalesced into a black figure. He wore black armor and exuded a chilling aura. He whispered, "Arthur ~!"

"Give me back Mashu!!"

As Lancelot shouted, he pulled out a nearby street lamp. The power of 'Knight cannot die by hand' imbued the street lamp with the attributes of Noble Phantasm, and Lancelot swung the street lamp at Matou Zouken.

"Don't touch my daughter!"

Lancelot shouted as he hurled the Matou Zouken.

In the end, Matou Zouken had turned to ashes and disappeared from sight.

At the same time, the azure dragon in mid-air quietly flew down to the ground, and when it heard Lancelot's voice, it felt a little strange.

"Caster, that Berserker seems to know you...?" Irisviel whispered in Lan Ze's ear.

Having already transformed into human form, Lan Ze glanced at the Servant clad in black armor and coughed lightly. "He's probably not calling for me."

"I know Mashu, but we're just ordinary friends. Is it really that big of a deal..." Lan Ze muttered to himself. Then, he looked up at the scattered remains of the flying insects in mid-air and felt a slight sense of relief.

On the second night of the Holy Grail War, Matou Zouken was killed in action.

The ground was charred black, and faint wisps of black smoke seemed to drift into the air.

Lan Ze, holding Irisviel's hand, gazed at the scene, then turned slightly to look at Matou Sakura and smiled, "Now you can rest assured, Sakura?"

"Ah... um, thank you, big brother." Matou Sakura raised her head, a bright smile on her face, but inside she was so angry that she almost couldn't control her emotions.

"Shall we take you back to the Tohsaka Family?" Irisviel said softly, tilting her head slightly.

Matou Sakura looked up at Irisviel.

Her face was extremely beautiful. Even though her hair was slightly disheveled in the strong wind, she was still stunningly beautiful. She wore a white dress, and her figure was sexy and alluring. A white ribbon on her lower abdomen outlined her slender waist. Her silver hair fell down to her proud, swan-like white neck. Even "Matou Sakura" had to admit that this woman was simply a flawless woman.

After a pause, Irisviel continued, "Or... would you like to come back to Einsbern Castle with us first, and we'll send you back tomorrow?"

Matou Sakura was secretly delighted and was about to speak, but then Lan Ze shook his head first. "That's not appropriate, Master."

"Sakura is, after all, the Master of this Holy Grail War. If we take her back, she'll feel uneasy, won't she?"

Matou Sakura was taken aback and was about to speak, but Lan Ze gently patted Matou Sakura shoulder and said softly, "You don't need to say anything. I know, big brother. The Matou Family is no longer a threat. You can choose to stay here or go to the Tohsaka Family."

"Although we are all participants in the Holy Grail War, at least tonight we are not enemies."

"Or... are you planning to give up your spot in the Holy Grail War?" Lan Ze asked softly.

His meaning was quite clear: if you weren't the Master, taking you back wouldn't be a problem, but now that you are the Master, I can't let another Master go back with us to ensure the Master's safety.

Matou Sakura hesitated visibly.

She didn't care about killing Matou Zouken, but the Servant she summoned... was quite useful.

Are we really going to eliminate even the Berserkers just to get close to them?

This guy... could he have already discovered my identity?

Matou Sakura's eyes flickered slightly, and her legs suddenly went weak, causing her to fall towards Irisviel.

The accident happened so fast that before Lan Ze could even react, Matou Sakura had already fallen into Irisviel's arms.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" Irisviel quickly helped Matou Sakura up and asked anxiously.

At the same time, the emerald green healing light in her hand quietly shone, healing Matou Sakura's injuries.

"Thank you... I'm fine..." Matou Sakura raised her eyelids, her moist eyes exuding a captivating charm that made one's heart race.

Irisviel felt her heart race instantly at just one glance, and her vision seemed to be robbed by Matou Sakura for a moment, leaving her with only this little girl in her eyes.

Just then, Lan Ze suddenly reached out and picked up Matou Sakura from Irisviel's arms.

"B-Big brother, what are you doing?!" Matou Sakura was startled and instinctively tried to break free from Lan Ze's embrace, but apart from kicking her legs wildly, she had no way to escape.

"Since you don't want to stay here, I'll take you back to the Tohsaka Family," Lan Ze said with a smile, looking at Matou Sakura.

Those dark eyes were completely calm, but they only deepened Matou Sakura's shock.

Without a doubt... this Servant is truly immune to her charm abilities.

Just who is this guy...?

Matou Sakura suppressed the flutter in her heart and said, "No need... I'll stay here tonight."

"Is this alright?" Irisviel asked with some concern.

"It's alright." Matou Sakura gave a gentle smile.

"Berserker will protect me."

Lan Ze gently placed Matou Sakura back on the ground, patted her head lightly, and said with a smile, "Then go back and get some rest, Sakura."

Matou Sakura nodded expressionlessly.

Lan Ze took Irisviel's hand, gestured with his eyes for her to be quiet for the moment, and then led her to the end of the street.

"Oh, right, big brother." Just then, Matou Sakura's clear and lovely voice suddenly came from behind.

As Lan Ze turned around, Matou Sakura asked in a gentle voice:

"Is your name really Merlin?"

Lan Ze smiled and said, "Yes."

Matou Sakura tilted her head and said, "But as far as I know, Merlin isn't the white-haired nightmare—"

"Everything you're seeing now is an illusion, little sister." Lan Ze interrupted Matou Sakura, mimicking Merlin, and gave a mysterious smile, feigning profundity.

"Big brother, I am Merlin."

Matou Sakura paused slightly, then nodded gently. "I see... I understand."

"I will repay you properly in the future, Merlin," she said with a smile.

Lan Ze smiled and nodded, "I'm looking forward to it."

After saying this, Lan Ze transformed into a giant dragon and carried Irisviel away from the scene.