After dealing with the attackers, Lancer didn't bother with them anymore and left them to the nearby homunculi. Or rather, not long after the battle ended, the homunculus troops had already arrived at the scene, and only then did Fiore completely relax.
"Mr. Lancer, how did you find these people?"
Although she seemed to be just purely curious, her rosy cheeks were actually more for the sake of changing the subject.
In her opinion, the other party's ambiguous actions towards her before were just to numb these attackers, but as someone who had encountered this kind of thing for the first time, she still felt a little shy, especially when she remembered the itchy feeling in her ear when the other party was talking close to her.
"Instinct."
"Instinct?"
"That's right, instinct. After being assassinated so many times, I developed this instinct."
When Lancer said this, he himself didn't feel anything, after all, this was all true, but in Fiore's eyes, it was incredibly 'magical'.
Could it be that the other party really relied on instinct to find enemies?
Fiore, whose wheelchair was being pushed by Lancer, kept thinking about this question on the way back.
Lancer only found out the next day that the assassins were sent by the 'Clock Tower', but he didn't think much of it. Anyway, his goal was to survive the Holy Grail War. As long as the servant was summoned, he would be temporarily safe.
He was more focused on the matter of 'summoning a servant'.
But what he didn't know was that his plan had lost its prerequisite from the very beginning...
"What?! The Clock Tower also participated in this Holy Grail War? And they also have seven servants?!"
When the seven masters, including Lancer, gathered in the conference hall, Darnic also revealed the information he had just obtained from his informant in the Clock Tower.
"That's right! That's how it is. The situation has been confirmed. The people of the Clock Tower have found a special rule from the documents left by the three founding families of Fuyuki City before——————'When the seven masters participating in the Holy Grail War belong to one side, it is allowed to summon seven servants to fight against them.'"
At this time, Darnic's expression was very serious, but he was still calm. No matter what, they had been preparing for a longer time than the Clock Tower, so the problem shouldn't be too big.
But if he knew that a certain person not only knew about this mechanism but also had been prepared for a long time, and was even ready to tell the other party if the Clock Tower didn't find out, what kind of expression would he have? Unfortunately, he didn't know.
"Seven masters?! That man..."
Gordes's expression instantly became extremely ugly after he got Darnic's confirmation. At the same time, he stared at Lancer, who had his hands crossed and said nothing, with a fierce look.
"Gordes! This is an extraordinary time! And everyone is a member of the family! At this time, everyone should be united!"
Didn't Darnic know what Gordes wanted to say? It could even be said that after he learned the news, the 'MMP' in his heart almost came out, but his rationality told him that at this time, it was meaningless to think about things that he could no longer change.
Everything had become a 'foregone conclusion'. Instead of regretting, it was better to deal with the matter at hand, and...
"According to the 'rules', we belong to the Black Faction, and the Clock Tower belongs to the Red Faction. We will each drive our servants to fight. The normal Holy Grail War will only resume when there are only seven servants left in the end. And during this period, for the sake of fairness between the two sides, the Holy Grail will also autonomously summon an independent servant——————Ruler!"
'!!!'
The body, which had been sitting silently in its seat, twitched unconsciously.
Before, when Darnic said that this Holy Grail War would become a melee of fourteen servants, he almost couldn't control his emotions, but after thinking about it carefully, this was not without benefits to him. He might even get some help when he escaped, so he was still quite calm after that. But when he heard 'Ruler', he was no longer calm at all.
He had watched FZ and FSN and had a basic understanding of the Holy Grail War. He had also played FGO, but like most players, he was just there to admire the character art. He basically didn't know anything about the plot, let alone some settings that FZ and FSN didn't mention, after all, could settings be admired?
But he was incredibly clear about the term 'Ruler'. It was also the only heroic spirit he had before he quit, and the other party's identity was that famous saint from the Hundred Years' War————Jeanne!
'If it's really her, then my survival rate should increase a bit more...'
There was a lot of bad news, but fortunately, there was at least some good news. The silent him at this time was simply thinking about how to get through this Holy Grail War...
Everyone felt helpless about the Holy Grail War turning into a Holy Grail War, but since it had already happened, what needed to be done was to solve it rather than complain.
The defensive mechanism that was originally prepared to counter the Clock Tower's counterattack was accelerated, and the homunculus factory and the Golem Factory were almost working at full capacity. A large number of homunculus soldiers and golems appeared near the castle every day.
While most people were preparing for war nervously, five masters, including Lancer, were making their final preparations.
And Lancer was facing another thing——————Holy Relics.
He looked at the small box on the table with a conflicted expression. It contained the Holy Relic that Darnic had prepared for him——————a fragment of a sword.
According to Darnic, this was 'a fragment of the legendary Holy Roland's sword, and with it, there is a high chance of summoning the legendary Holy Roland.'
There was no need for too much introduction about 'Holy Roland'. The other party was known to the entire world as the most famous knight in Christianity. In addition, he could almost be considered the first person to be called a 'Paladin'. His power, with a powerful reputation and legend bonus, could be said to be self-evident.
But Lancer didn't want to use it!
The reason was simple. It was because it was given to him by Darnic.
Although the two of them were temporarily on the same side due to circumstances, Lancer had never trusted that man with a fake smile. He remained vigilant about everything the other party proposed, even that seemingly innocent lady.
Who knew if the other party had already prepared tools to counter Holy Roland or something else?
And normally, when a Holy Relic is not used for summoning, there is a high chance of summoning a servant with a good affinity with oneself. Lancer had a high chance of summoning his senior brother, and a very low, almost negligible chance of summoning his master.
In terms of fame, Cu Chulainn was naturally not as famous as Holy Roland, but if he summoned his senior brother, the two of them could definitely trust each other's backs, and Lancer wouldn't have to worry about being betrayed.
Abandoning the tempting 'bait', Lancer finally decided to return this Holy Relic to Darnic, and the other party didn't express any opinion on this, just smiled.
He had seen the lake of summoning servants on the monitor countless times, but when he personally stood in front of the magic circle, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous, because he was looking forward to seeing his senior brother again after a 'thousand years'.
He took out the Force Orb and checked the time again before he stood in front of the magic circle————
(Translate Note: Actually, the original novel doesn't explain the ritual in full, so this part is an addition that I think should be there.)
Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation
Let (colour of the catalyst) the colour I pay tribute to / Let my great Master (your ancestor's surname) be the ancestor*
Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall
Let the four cardinal gates close.
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate.
I hereby declare.
Your body shall serve under me.
My fate shall be your sword.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail If you will submit to this will and this reason…
Then answer!
An oath shall be sworn here!
I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven.
I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!
From the Seventh Heaven,
Attended to by three greet words of power
Come forth from the ring of restraints
Protector of the Holy Balance!
Lancer kept reciting the pre-prepared spell, looking at the movement in the center of the magic circle with some nervousness, but when the heroic spirit appeared, the dazzling bright light made him have to close his eyes.
He didn't open his eyes completely until the red light dissipated, and then he was completely stunned.
A red cheongsam, a single ponytail tied with a hair tie casually sticking up, a serious-looking Eastern person stood with his hands behind his back, looking directly at him.
'Who is this? Even if I can't summon my master, why isn't it my senior brother? This isn't scientific!!'
Lancer was completely in a state of bewilderment, but before he could speak, the servant he didn't know spoke first.
"You are that person's disciple? Very good."
Listening to the other party's proper and clear Chinese, the look of bewilderment on Lancer face became even more serious, and the other party, seeing Lancer reaction, smiled slightly.
Lancer had once considered how to take the initiative to communicate with an unknown servant if he summoned one, but what he didn't expect was that the servant he summoned actually took the initiative to communicate with him, and from the way the other party looked, he seemed to know him? And from the other party's tone, he seemed to know his 'master'?
But the other party was the Queen of the Land of Shadows. No matter how you looked at it, besides him, a person who used a 'system' to cheat his way there, shouldn't Chinese people be under the jurisdiction of the Land of Shadows?
But surprise was surprise. Since his servant showed goodwill, Lancer wouldn't ask for trouble. After all, the other party had already been summoned, and his survival would depend on the other party.
And the other party also began to introduce himself while smiling.
"Li Shuwen. I don't know if you have heard of my name. I am a 'somewhat famous' Bajiquan. I was summoned as an Assassin in this Holy Grail War..."
He really was a Chinese person. But Li Shuwen? It sounded a bit familiar. Who was it?
Lancer was puzzled, but the other party's words had not ended.
"You might be a little confused, but it's actually simple. The two most suitable classes for your senior brother have already been summoned in advance, so your teacher asked me to help you."
He really was an acquaintance of his master. And... the Holy Grail War could be played like this?
Although he was very surprised at first, he quickly calmed down. His master was the 'Queen of the Land of Shadows' and the one who mastered the original runes. The Holy Grail War was just a mere... it didn't seem impossible?
Seeing that Lancer finally showed a look of understanding, Li Shuwen smiled and extended his right hand.
"Let's get along well for the next period of time."