Chapter 55

Since Xunxin and the others arrived in Fuyuki City, half a year has passed. During this time, because Xunxin summoned Kenshin half a year earlier, he had to pay for all the mana required for Kenshin's existence during the irregular summoning period. Of course, this amount of mana was no problem for Xunxin. During the Holy Grail War, the Grail would grant the Master three Command Spells to control the Servant's actions, and the shape of the Command Spells was related to the characteristics of both the Servant and the Master. For example, Emiya Shirou's Command Spells symbolized Unlimited Blade Works and Avalon, while Emiya Kiritsugu's Command Spells were composed of a balance, a sword, and a cross, symbolizing judgment, execution, and redemption. As for Xunxin's Command Spells... an endlessly extending spiral pattern, probably influenced by the spiral drill Xunxin always carried with him.

But no matter what, summoning Kenshin was half the battle for Xunxin. Kenshin's combat strength did not disappoint Xunxin's high expectations, with the power of an Eighth Heart, and against humanoid opponents, it could even be equivalent to a Ninth Heart. Most of Kenshin's techniques were designed for humanoid opponents, making it difficult to fight larger enemies, so he was rated as an Eighth Heart by the Infinite Heart.

During these six months, Xunxin and the others made thorough preparations for the Holy Grail War. They traversed Fuyuki City, placing high-tech cameras and other devices, which was necessary. As for various magical rituals, Xunxin did not set up many, knowing that this time their opponents were all magicians. Any not-so-secret rituals could be detected, and if they were traced back to Xunxin's base, it would be troublesome. Although it would be easy for Xunxin's tofu shop to be found once the war officially began, it would be another matter if the local managers—Tohsaka Tokiomi and Kirei Kotomine, who had already summoned Assassin—discovered it during the preparation period. Tohsaka Tokiomi was not much of a problem; he was just a traditional artillery-type magician. Xunxin could easily break through his defenses with a single spatial distortion slash and kill him. Moreover, Tohsaka Tokiomi would not sneak attack Xunxin in his absence, as the noble code sometimes severely limited one's actions. Speaking of which, if you are both a participant and a judge in the world, why bother with noble etiquette...

Kirei Kotomine, on the other hand, was different. In terms of combat ability, Kirei Kotomine was the strongest among all the Masters. An elite of the Church's Enforcers, he had honed himself to be harder than steel, which was not an exaggeration. In the original story, Emiya Kiritsugu used the effects of Avalon to attack Kirei Kotomine with a Calico M950 at close range. Despite being hit all over, Kirei Kotomine only had a slight wound on his head and felt a bit of pain, truly a human monster. Although Xunxin's current physical strength far exceeded Kirei Kotomine's, and he could easily crush a bullet with his bare hands, Kirei Kotomine was currently lost, and even Xunxin could not predict the actions of someone with a completely lost mind. Being unable to predict the opponent's actions was dangerous, which was why Xunxin could not alarm him. Once Kirei Kotomine became interested in Xunxin, he could directly send Assassin to investigate or take action, which would be troublesome even for Xunxin.

This Assassin had the ability to create clones, each of which, although not very powerful, had the strength of a second-rate Heroic Spirit divided among eighty clones. Even the participating magicians could defeat several clones in direct combat. However, Assassin's true strength lay in each clone having unique skills, such as knowledge of poisons, trap-making, and cunning. Assassin's true ability—assassination—was not fully utilized by Tohsaka Tokiomi and Kirei Kotomine. They only used the Assassin class's ability to conceal their presence to investigate opponents, which was a waste of a powerful Heroic Spirit in a certain aspect. If Assassin were summoned by Emiya Kiritsugu, the combination of ancient and modern weapons and poisons would be a nightmare for all Masters. Kenneth might be poisoned to death by drinking water in a hotel, and Waver could be assassinated after his hiding place was discovered by Emiya Kiritsugu. Moreover, if the Assassins were equipped with modern weapons and the bullets were coated with poisons created by the B-rank poison skill, even a Servant could suffer fatal injuries if hit. If what Assassin failed to do in the story happened to Xunxin, it would be the worst-case scenario. Therefore, before the story began, Xunxin absolutely could not let Kirei Kotomine know of his existence, which was the most important point for Xunxin.

As for finding a suitable ally, Xunxin decisively chose Kiritsugu Tohsaka, who was being transformed by the old worm Zouken Matou. This person, apart from his love for Tohsaka Kiri and Sakura Matou, was filled with anger towards Tohsaka Tokiomi for his irresponsibility and for taking away the one he loved. Such a person was almost a loyal ally for Xunxin, and his Heroic Spirit, Lancer, had a significant advantage against the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. At least, the results would be better than those of the Conqueror, who would be severely injured by Gilgamesh's Enuma Elish or his Noble Phantasm. This was also why Xunxin did not choose Waver as his first ally. Of course, there was also the reason that the Conqueror himself was extremely wise. To become a conqueror whose name spread throughout the world, one had to have high intelligence. Every action of Alexander in the story had a clear purpose, and if not, Gilgamesh would not have recognized him as an opponent. However, Xunxin still considered Gilgamesh to be his greatest opponent. The oldest Heroic Spirit, Gilgamesh, was extremely powerful, and although his close combat ability was not outstanding due to the class restrictions, according to Gilgamesh's legend, he was incredibly strong, with no one in the world able to match him except for Enkidu. In other FATE works, Gilgamesh's close combat ability was also depicted as outstanding, capable of overwhelming Saber even with lower stats. In addition, Gilgamesh had numerous Noble Phantasms, and although they could not be fully released, their constant effects alone were enough to give all Heroic Spirits a headache, including Xunxin. Therefore, Lancer, with the ability "Knight of the Lake," became the most needed ally for Xunxin. With Lancer's "Unlimited Blade Works," he could maintain full combat ability under any mental constraints (including Madness). When Lancer picked up a "weapon," it became equivalent to a D-rank Noble Phantasm. Any Noble Phantasm of a higher rank would fall under Lancer's control. With four attributes at A-rank or higher after Madness, Lancer could effectively counter Gilgamesh's Treasury of King. Unless Gilgamesh used Enuma Elish or his ultimate weapon, he could not defeat Lancer, assuming Gilgamesh had no other hidden aces.

To achieve the goal of allying with Kiritsugu Tohsaka, Xunxin had to eliminate the head of the Matou family, the old worm Zouken Matou. After all, Kiritsugu Tohsaka's main goals were to save Sakura Matou, teach Tohsaka Tokiomi a lesson, and rescue Kiri from Tohsaka Tokiomi. The first two goals were the most important. To truly ally with Kiritsugu Tohsaka, whom Xunxin admired, Xunxin could think of no other way than to eliminate Zouken Matou. To achieve this goal, from the moment Kenshin was summoned, Xunxin, Kenshin, Yaoyue, and Chilian delivered goods to locations near the Matou residence as much as possible. They then placed the talismans and magical tools needed to create a barrier at various key points. To avoid being detected by the centuries-old magician Zouken Matou and the Fuyuki City manager Tohsaka Tokiomi, Xunxin and the others could not place too many materials at once. It took four months to complete the barrier setup within a 200-meter radius around the Matou residence.

The effect of this barrier was to prevent the old worm's brainworms from escaping. Xunxin put a lot of effort into it, creating a barrier with tracking, locking, annihilation, and defensive effects. The underground part was as effective as the above-ground part, completely sealing off all escape routes for Zouken Matou. As long as Zouken Matou did not have spatial magic, he would be eliminated by Xunxin and the others. And that day was approaching...

PS: The fourth chapter has begun. The protagonist might purchase a space warship from other Infinite Apostles for technological purposes. If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the review section. Also, please recommend, review, and collect the book.

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