Chapter 64

In the forest of Einzbern, a red figure clashed repeatedly with a black one. The fiery sword, transformed from the blazing red lotus flames, collided with the black keys used by the Church to eliminate spiritual bodies. The black keys were severed, only to be repaired by Kirei Kotomine's magic. Although Kirei was a mid-level Heart of Seven, and the Red Lotus was a beginner Heart of Eight, there was a significant gap in their combat abilities. However, in close combat, the Red Lotus, who had only been born six years ago, was still somewhat inferior to Kirei, who had over twenty years of combat experience.

The two clashed again, and the Red Lotus pressed the fiery sword towards Kirei. Even though Kirei was a human of exceptional caliber, he still had a considerable gap when facing a true anomaly. Despite Kirei using all his strength to block the fiery sword with both hands, the sword still inched closer to his head. In terms of strength, the Red Lotus's power was roughly equivalent to a B+ rating among Servants, which was far beyond what Kirei, still a human, could withstand. Seeing that his full strength was no match for the Red Lotus's single-handed power, Kirei released the black key in his right hand, moved closer to the Red Lotus, and used the nearly melted black key in his left hand to push the fiery sword away. Then, he punched the Red Lotus's abdomen with a short, powerful strike.

"Clang!" To Kirei's surprise, the punch did not feel like hitting flesh but rather a very sturdy steel plate, causing the bones in Kirei's right hand to crack. The Red Lotus's true form was the Infinite Blade, and while it felt like a normal human in everyday life, even with skin as soft as the finest, during combat, both the Red Lotus and the Radiant Moon had a hardness close to their true form. In other words, Kirei had punched an A-ranked Noble Phantasm. The fact that only his hand bones cracked was due to Kirei's usual rigorous training.

Kirei reacted quickly and immediately retreated after the failed attack. However, the Red Lotus's speed was not slow either. Before Kirei could retreat, the fiery sword slashed towards his chest. Kirei quickly drew a new black key from his robe and extended a spiritual blade to meet the fiery sword, which was extremely hot. There was almost no chance that the Church's disposable weapon could block the fiery sword condensed by the Red Lotus. The black key was easily cut, and Kirei's chest was left with a shallow burn mark. Just as the Red Lotus was about to continue the attack, several throwing knives shot from behind Kirei towards the Red Lotus. The fiery sword sliced through the air, cutting the knives in half and vaporizing them with the heat of the red lotus flames. From the shadows, several figures in black, wearing skull masks, emerged. They were Kirei's Servant, the Assassin named Hassan. Although the divided Assassin's combat power was even weaker than Kirei, each division was roughly equivalent to a small sea monster summoned by a Caster. However, the overwhelming number was still a significant threat to a Servant without area-of-effect attacks.

"Do you think you can defeat me just by outnumbering me?" With a faintly mocking smile, the Red Lotus extended a fiery sword from his left hand. The four Assassins blocked the Red Lotus from all four directions, leaving no room for escape. They slowly circled the Red Lotus, trying to find a weakness.

Suddenly, the Assassins moved, all four attacking simultaneously. The scimitars glowed with a blue light. If they had cut a human or a Servant, the secret poison on the blades would have been quite effective. However, for the Red Lotus, whose true form was not a living being, it was completely useless. Releasing a large amount of red lotus flames and sword energy, the Red Lotus spun his body, causing the two fiery swords to rotate. The Red Lotus was now surrounded by red lotus flames, with no blind spots. The flames and sword energy spread outward, cutting the Assassins in half and turning them to ashes. Although the Red Lotus had not learned much magic from Xunxin, he had learned several suitable reinforcement and fire magic spells. This move was called "Arc Light Flame Blade." The highly compressed red lotus flames, combined with the Red Lotus's own sword energy, had a power exceeding the original magic. The low-magic-resistant Assassins could only meet their end when faced with such a powerful spell. After defeating the Assassins, the Red Lotus did not find Kirei. Clearly, Kirei had used the Assassins as pawns to block the Red Lotus while escaping. With the abilities of an elite Executor, Kirei had long left the battlefield. Unable to resolve Kirei, the Red Lotus returned to the base camp, the Aozu Tofu Shop, leaving the two Einzbern members sitting on the ground, staring at each other.

On the other side, Caster was taking a beating. The Divine Chariot of the Conqueror was far more formidable than the Wind King's Hammer of the previous Saber. The A+ ranked Divine Chariot, enveloped in lightning, crushed the monster horde, leaving ordinary water demons powerless. After drawing his full-blade sword, Kenshin's Strength and Endurance increased by two minor levels. Using the sharpness of the full-blade sword, Kenshin forced his way into the water demon horde. While Japanese swords were excellent in sharpness, they were poor at breaking armor. Therefore, when facing armored Servants, Kenshin used the reverse-blade sword, which could shatter armor. However, the soft-bodied water demons were not something the reverse-blade sword could handle. The reverse-blade sword could only knock the water demons away without causing fatal injuries, while the sharp full-blade sword was more effective in clearing the water demons. To deal with the water demons, Kenshin almost didn't need to use any sword techniques. He just needed to use his godspeed to rush past the water demons, placing the full-blade sword at his side to easily cut them in half. With his Aura Opened and godspeed activated, Kenshin's speed even exceeded that of the Conqueror's Divine Chariot. Even with the eyes of the Servants, they could only see a red streak of light cutting through the water demon horde.

Saber and Lancer were facing the water demon horde head-on. Saber unhesitatingly released the Wind King's Hammer, and the hurricane's roar swept away countless water demons, tearing them apart. Lancer was in a more tragic situation. With only a human-targeting Noble Phantasm, Lancer could protect himself but had no chance to defeat the water demons. Therefore, Lancer's role was to stand in front of Xunxin and Waver, protecting the vulnerable Master. Of course, Xunxin didn't need Lancer's protection, but it was nice to have someone help protect the almost powerless Waver, allowing Xunxin to focus on preparing magic without worrying about Waver's safety.

"The number of water demons and their ability to continuously resurrect are quite astonishing. Caster's mana must be immense," Saber reminded Rider. Hearing this, Rider frowned and suddenly thought of a strategy.

"Lancer, can your red spear break magic?"

After cutting several water demons, Lancer looked at the powerful Rider and said, "No problem. As long as my spear tip touches Caster's Noble Phantasm, I can break his spell with one strike."

"In that case... Lancer, jump onto my chariot. Xunxin, Saber, I'll leave my Master to you."

The Conqueror's chariot began to rise into the air. Seeing the Conqueror's actions, Lancer immediately understood his intent and reappeared on the chariot after etherealizing. Without Lancer and Rider blocking, hundreds of water demons rushed forward, forcing Kenshin and Artoria to retreat to Waver's side.

"My holy maiden, let me clear away all the obstacles. We will eventually become one." Under Caster's command, the water demons surged like a tide towards the four standing on the ground. Even Saber and Lancer couldn't withstand the simultaneous attack of hundreds of water demons.

"Phew, finally ready. Saber, Lancer, move aside." Hearing the voice behind them, Lancer and Saber immediately retreated. As soon as they moved, a nearly ten-meter-tall white ice wall rose from the ground, and a freezing wind swept towards the water demons. The water demons, which would continuously resurrect, were indeed a problem. However, as aquatic soft-bodied creatures, their bodies were covered in a large amount of mucus. The sub-zero wind froze the mucus, and the internal fluids of the water demons gradually solidified in the extreme cold. The water demon horde lost its ability to move within seconds. By then, Rider had already brought Lancer to a sufficient height. Lancer placed the Gae Dearg (Red Thorn) on the Divine Chariot, gripped the spear with his right hand, and prepared to throw it.

"Take this, you evil one! Gae Dearg (Red Thorn)."

A crimson meteor descended from the sky. Even though Caster tried to dodge, the red spear still tore through the cover of the Grail Book and landed at Caster's feet, producing a destructive force nearly twice that of the King's Treasury. The explosion sent Caster flying, and the frozen water demons lost their ability to materialize in the world, turning into blood on the ground.

"Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn! You damn it!!!"

Seeing his magic destroyed, Caster angrily cursed Lancer. However, Caster was now surrounded by four Servants. Even though the Grail Book quickly repaired the damaged part, Caster didn't have time to summon more water demons to deal with the approaching Servants. Perhaps Caster's fate was not to die, as Kenneth's injury was transmitted to Lancer through the contract, causing Lancer to turn and look towards the Einzbern Castle. The other Servants were also puzzled by Lancer's actions, and Caster took the opportunity to activate all the mana in his Noble Phantasm, forcing several tons of blood from the ground, forming a high-temperature blood mist. When the mist cleared, Caster had disappeared from everyone's sight.

"What's wrong, Lancer?" Artoria looked at the stunned Lancer.

"Sorry, my Master is in danger. He left me to attack your base."

Hearing Diarmuid's words, Saber cleared the path to the Einzbern Castle. "It must be my Master's doing, Lancer. You should hurry. Go rescue your Master."

"Yes, it would be a shame for a Servant to withdraw from the battle for such a reason." Kenshin returned to Xunxin's side, indicating he wouldn't stop Diarmuid.

"Right, Lancer, go save your Master. Of course, if a brave warrior like you could join my ranks, that would be great." The Emperor still had the idea of recruiting other Servants, but Diarmuid politely declined and etherealized to the Einzbern Castle to rescue Kenneth.

The next day, after everyone returned.

"Eh, Waver, where's Rider?" The Aozu Tofu Shop continued to operate normally during the Holy Grail War, and Rider, who usually ate for free, was nowhere to be seen.

"Uncle Aozu, I sent Rider to the Unzen River to collect water samples. Um... Rider should be back around now." As he spoke, Rider walked into the tofu shop, holding a bulging handbag. Xunxin quickly pulled the two into the inner part of the tofu shop, which was Xunxin's true magical fortress. Waver took out a large number of experimental tools, arranged the test tubes Rider brought back in order, and began to mix reagents. He then took out a map of Fuyuki City marked with over a dozen points and dropped the prepared reagents into the test tubes marked with the river mouth. After the reagents were added, the water samples in the test tubes quickly became murky.

"Oh? Kid, is this alchemy?" Rider observed Waver's experiment like a curious child.

"Yes, there are remnants of magical spells in the water, indicating that someone has established a magical workshop near the river." Waver continued to add reagents to the test tubes, and after one test tube, no more murkiness appeared.

"Rider, did you see any large drainage pipes at these two locations when you collected the water samples?"

The Conqueror thought for a moment. "Yes, there was a large one there."

Waver stood up and turned to Xunxin and the Conqueror. "That's it. Following the drainage pipe should lead us to Caster's workshop."

"You have some skills, Waver. It seems you didn't waste your time at the Clock Tower." Xunxin patted Waver's shoulder encouragingly, and the Conqueror looked at Waver in surprise.

"Hey, kid, are you a very talented magician?"

"How could that be? This is just the basics of magic." Waver said helplessly.

"Even the basics, but being able to apply them flexibly, Waver, you have remarkable talent." Xunxin generously praised Waver. Although his innate conditions as a magician were not good, Waver's efforts made him the second person to discover Caster's workshop in the original story, the first being the Assassins who had been tracking Caster, not magicians. Therefore, in the original story, the best cooperation between a Master and Servant, aside from the two mentally unstable Caster teams, was Waver's team.

"Since we've found Caster's location, let's storm his lair and bring him out." The Conqueror had already equipped his conceptual armament, and the sword of Alexander appeared in his hand.

"Wait, wait, wait, that's Caster's stronghold. Just rushing in..."

"Listen, Waver. You should have some confidence in the Conqueror. This Caster is different from previous ones. He is not skilled in magic but is only a demonized legend. I bet the workshop is just filled with water demons waiting for us."

Hearing Xunxin's words, Waver was speechless... Waver knew this, but his excessive caution could easily delay the opportunity.

"Let's do this. I'll go with you. Kenshin and Berserker will stay here on standby. Akane, Yae, and Yashin will assist us remotely with千里眼 magic. If things go wrong, we'll use spatial magic to teleport back. That should be fine, right?" Although spatial manipulation belongs to the Second Magic user, the Jewel King, some magicians can still perform spatial movement. Of course, Xunxin kept many things from Rider and the others, including the true forms of Akane and Yae, and his own spatial abilities.

"Let's go then. We'll give it a try and see what we can find."

PS: It seems many readers like the author with no principles. Should I change my style? Also, please leave reviews, recommendations, and favorites.