Saber stared blankly at the man standing in front of her.
Although his words were still harsh and full of bandit logic, at this moment, that broad back gave her an unprecedented sense of... security.
"Hmph... Hahahaha!"
Rider suddenly burst out laughing, doubling over in mirth. "Interesting! Truly interesting! Ruler, it seems your tyranny is even more unreasonable than this King's!"
"However..."
Rider's laughter abruptly stopped, his gaze snapping toward the surrounding courtyard walls and the woods, his expression turning incredibly cold.
"Before we discuss fists, it seems a group of rats who don't know the meaning of death have crashed our banquet."
The wind stopped.
In its place, an extremely chilling killing intent emerged.
At some unknown time, the previously empty surrounding area of the courtyard, the tops of the tall walls, and the tree branches were densely packed with human figures.
They wore ghastly white skull masks, their heights varying—some hunched like apes, others burly like great bears, and there were even slender female figures among them.
Nearly a hundred dark figures, like a flock of vultures smelling carrion, silently encircled this royal feast until it was completely sealed off.
Assassin, Hassan-i-Sabbah, the Assassins' Order bearing the title of Hundred Faces.
Those eyes hidden behind the masks gleamed with greed and killing intent, staring fixedly at the four figures below.
"Uninvited bad guests truly spoil the mood."
Rider clicked his tongue in annoyance, downed the last of his wine, and knitted his brow deeply.
He heavily set down his wine cup, placing one hand on the hilt of the short sword at his waist, his muscles tensing as the imposing aura of the King of Conquerors began to rise. "Since you dare interrupt a King's banquet, you should be prepared to be trampled!"
Buzz—
Furious magical energy surged around Rider; the precursor to the Reality Marble, 'Ionioi Hetairoi,' was already manifesting.
He intended to drag these uninvited guests into his inner world and crush them into meat paste with his horses' hooves.
However, a hand suddenly shot out, stopping the King of Conquerors just as he was about to release his magic.
"Wait, Rider."
A hand reached out, blocking Iskandar's path.
Hansen slowly undid the buttons of his cuffs, neatly rolling up his sleeves to his elbows, revealing smooth, well-defined forearms.
"You are the guest; how can we let the guest clean up the trash?"
Rider paused, turning his head to look at Hansen. "Ruler, although these guys are weak individually, there are quite a few of them."
"It might not be easy for you to clean them all up alone, right?"
Hansen raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the dense black shadows, and smiled benignly. "When it comes to quantity, that happens to be my specialty as well."
On the wall, the lean Assassin leading the group let out a piercing sneer. "Boasting! Ruler, no matter how strong you are, you are still just one person."
"We are the collective, the darkness, the omnipresent shadow! How many of us can you even kill—"
Like a frantic hen whose neck was suddenly grasped, the arrogant words cut off instantly.
At this moment, the lean Hassan was frozen in place.
He felt a large hand press down on his shoulder; the scorching, heavy power like molten lava made his very soul tremble involuntarily, rendering him unable to utter a sound!
One, two, ten... Under the shocked gaze of the Three Kings, Hansen's figure had appeared behind every black-clad Assassin on the treetops, walls, and rooftops!
These figures shared the same hairstyle and wore the same nonchalant smile.
Almost instantly, they formed one-on-one close-contact services.
"You just said..."
The nearly one hundred Hansens on the grass spoke simultaneously, their voices overlapping to create a resonance that sent chills down the Hassans' spines.
"You are a collective?"
Then how about you experience 'Megaton Split'?
"Aaaaaaah..."
Driven by instinctual fear, the Assassins lunged forward, brandishing their daggers to counterattack.
But it was all in vain.
Crack—!!! x N
The sound of dozens of bones breaking merged into one massive sound, perfectly synchronized and crisp.
All the Hansens struck at once.
Some snapped necks, some pierced hearts with a hand-chop, and others directly crushed skulls.
Death came too quickly; many Hassans were casually crushed by the Monster King before they could even scream halfway.
Thump, thump, thump... In the next second, nearly a hundred black-clad corpses fell from the heights like dumplings, smashing onto the courtyard lawn and kicking up clouds of dust.
Blood stained the meticulously trimmed lawn of the Einzbern estate.
The Hansen clones, having finished their targets, did not linger; their bodies dispersed like Spiritual Particles, sinking into the ground or shadows.
In just three seconds.
Only one Hansen remained in the courtyard, calmly dusting off his hands. "All done."
Rider & Archer & Saber: "..."
Among them, Gilgamesh's expression was the gloomiest.
"Hmph!"
The King of Streetlights, who hated seeing others show off in front of him the most, sharply waved his sleeve, his body dissolving into golden Spiritual Particles.
"A farce."
"Next time we meet, this King will make you understand what true power is!"
After throwing out this conventional threat, the golden radiance vanished completely.
Rider also sighed; he had lost the mood for drinking further.
"Although I wanted to say a few more things, the atmosphere has indeed been ruined."
Iskandar gave Hansen a deep look, then summoned his chariot, the Gordius Wheel, which rose into the air amidst roaring thunder.
"Ruler, you are a terrifying fellow, but this King... looks forward to the moment I truly conquer you on the battlefield!"
"Let's go, kid!"
Amidst the roar, the Divine Bull pulled the chariot soaring into the clouds.
In the courtyard, only the corpses continuously dissolving into Spiritual Particles and the mess remained... Deep night, Miyama Town, Fuyuki City, the Tohsaka Residence.
The air in the study seemed frozen, only the flames in the fireplace occasionally crackling.
The heavy red velvet curtains were tightly drawn, isolating everything outside.
Tohsaka Tokiomi sat in that iconic high-backed chair, gently swirling a glass of wine the color of rubies in his hand.
His posture remained elegant, his back straight, every strand of his hair meticulously groomed.
But if one observed closely, they could notice the fingers holding the wine glass trembling minutely.
It was excitement, and also the relief of a gambler when the dice finally settle.
"Assassin... all wiped out?"
Tohsaka Tokiomi murmured to himself, a knowing smile slowly curving his lips.
On the desk before him lay the intelligence records just transmitted by his Familiar.
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