A sliver of morning light pierced through the night.
The smile on Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's face was no longer as calm as before.
Although he had heard from Semiramis that the maneuverability of the Hanging Gardens was a bit poor and the speed would be slower, he hadn't expected it to be this slow!
At this snail's pace, it would probably take over a dozen hours to reach the destination, the sky above Yggdmillennia Castle.
But Rider Achilles, does he have the ability to hold out under that god-like King Arthur for such a long time?
No, even if he could hold out.
In such a long time, the masters of the Black Faction would surely have discovered the Hanging Gardens hours earlier and started making strategic preparations!
Then wouldn't Saber, Archer, and Berserker, who are still in the town now, be able to rush back?
Then, the situation he would face would be Lancer Karna leading the attack, Semiramis still defending the Hanging Gardens, Caster Shakespeare slacking off as usual, and himself, the master, having to go onto the field to deal with the Black Faction, which would only be missing Jack the Ripper.
Now, even the detonation time of that self-destruct bomb, Spartacus, would have to be re-estimated!
Plans really can't keep up with changes!
Although he was so anxious inside that he wanted to be looming over Yggdmillennia Castle the very next moment.
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada still maintained his outward calm and air of confidence.
Because he had discovered a more serious problem.
If the Ruler Faction saw that he could not send reinforcements and decided to surround and kill Achilles within a few hours, and then arrived to complete their mission and end the 'arrogant journey' of him, the 'cheater', then there would be no hope left at all.
"Shirou, your heart is a bit chaotic right now." Semiramis suddenly appeared in the garden beside Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, who was sitting on a bench, unable to maintain his calm posture, covering his face with his elbows resting on his knees, and reminded him.
"Assassin, is there no way to speed up the Hanging Gardens further?" Amakusa Shirou Tokisada looked up at Semiramis and asked.
"It can't be done." Semiramis shook her head and replied, "After all, this Hanging Garden is nothing more than the aerial fortress of 'Vanity'; its main selling points are the aerial combat form that is easy to defend and hard to attack, as well as the powerful light cannons and the special permission enhancements I have while inside."
"But movement speed was not taken into consideration."
"But the time it takes is too long." Amakusa Shirou Tokisada let go of his hands, revealing his somewhat uneasy face. "There are too many variables in between. Remember, speed is the essence of war."
Semiramis raised an eyebrow and looked at Amakusa Shirou Tokisada.
"Are you starting to worry that we will lose?"
"If it weren't for the existence of the Ruler Faction, we would undoubtedly win." Amakusa Shirou Tokisada replied, filled with worry. "But the influence and strength of the Ruler Faction are terrifyingly strong, and coupled with Archer, who defected from our side, they have instead leaped to become the biggest variable in this Holy Grail War."
"In terms of raw strength, the Ruler Faction has even become the strongest of the three sides."
"But you have my Hanging Gardens." Semiramis pouted somewhat dissatisfiedly. "There aren't many Servants who have flight capabilities like Lancer and Rider; they can't reach us."
"However, when transferring the greater grail, they might be able to use our means of transferring it to sneak in," Amakusa Shirou Tokisada warned.
"Then let Lancer kill the most difficult ones first, and as for the rest... I will let the divine fish play with them properly." Semiramis was full of confidence in her Hanging Gardens. "Or perhaps let them die miserably under my poison? Mmm-heh-heh-heh-heh—"
The world's oldest poisoner queen revealed a cold and cruel smile on her beautiful face.
"I hope things will proceed smoothly." Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, however, frowned and muttered in a low voice.
He was not worried about the Hanging Gardens being breached by the Black Faction, but he was worried that the Ruler Faction had the ability to easily breach it!
That Ruler is terrifyingly strong!
She can crush Karna and Achilles even while holding back; it's truly beyond the standard!
And for some reason, he always felt that he seemed to have overlooked something.
"Are the pigeons still unable to enter that town?" Amakusa Shirou Tokisada continued to ask.
"No, they can't get in." Semiramis retracted her smile and shook her head, replying, "As expected of a Servant who has ascended to the Ruler class, my familiar was burned to ash the moment it just approached, before it could even get close."
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada looked at Semiramis with an expression of wanting to say something but hesitating.
He felt that Semiramis seemed to have some misunderstanding about the Ruler.
Just like him.
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was a Servant of the previous Holy Grail War, and a Ruler at that. Although he was the one who eventually received a physical body and remained, he relied on a battle of wits.
Didn't you see that in the end, he couldn't even protect the greater grail, letting that fellow Darnic seize it in league with the German army?
But that monster Ruler fighting Achilles is different.
While he wasn't sure of King Arthur's level in a battle of wits, he had some personal experience of just how strong her individual martial prowess was.
If the Ruler who descended back then hadn't been himself but her, the greater grail would likely still be in Fuyuki City right now.
Mhm, though he didn't say it outright, at this moment, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada truly felt a sense of dread toward that Ruler.
---
"Kh!" Unable to dodge in time, Achilles used the spear in his hand to hard-block a Strike Air from Artoria.
He was instantly blown back several hundred meters.
He slammed violently into the ground, carving out a long trench.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Achilles couldn't help but spit out several mouthfuls of blood, then used his spear to prop himself up against the ground, standing up somewhat shakily.
"I expected you to be strong, but this is just too ridiculous." Achilles looked at Artoria, who was rushing toward him with her sword, then crouched down to build momentum for a sprint.
When he attacked, he couldn't even scratch the opponent.
But when she swung that sword, she could make him temporarily lose his combat and reaction capabilities for several seconds.
Once pulled into the opponent's attack rhythm, Achilles felt he would be doomed for sure.
After all, he was too famous; so famous that anyone with even a slight knowledge of Greek mythology knew that Achilles' heel was his weakness.
However, Achilles could also tell.
That Ruler was intentionally driving him away from the direction of the town.
He just wasn't sure if her intention was to protect the ordinary people in the town or to prevent that Sanzang's 'Temple Project' from being destroyed.
But Achilles didn't really want to look into that point.
He only knew that the closer the battle was to the town, the more that Ruler would hold back, lest an over-exertion of force level the town behind her as well.
"Ahaahaha—it's rare to feel such boiling blood!" Achilles saw his chance and, like an arrow leaving a bowstring, quickly streaked past Artoria's side, then charged toward the town.
Artoria made a sharp turn without changing expression, leaping up by using the acceleration from her recent sprint, intending to drop down from high altitude and get ahead of him.
To this end, she even thoughtfully summoned several Purification Knights to block Achilles' path and slow him down.
"Hahaha! A familiar-class summoning technique?" Achilles didn't even give them a second glance; with a sweep of his spear, he directly swatted away the Purification Knights that were swinging their swords at him.
But Artoria's goal was achieved.
Achilles' pace slowed by a few beats.
And those few beats allowed Artoria to face Achilles once again.
"Yare yare—" Achilles' brow was tightly furrowed as he forced a smile.
If you can't win, you can't win.
This feeling was even more troublesome than when he fought Hector back then.
At least against Hector, he had a chance of winning.
But against this Ruler in front of him, he didn't have the slightest chance of victory.
Rather, surviving would count as a victory.
Despite being invulnerable and immortal...
...the opponent's sword force was massive and its momentum heavy.
This really was hard to deal with.
This was probably the strongest and most terrifying opponent he had faced since he gained consciousness, right?
In just an instant, Achilles nearly went through all the enemies and rivals he had encountered in his lifetime.
In the end, he confirmed that not a single opponent or enemy could compare to her.
Even though she was still holding back quite a bit right now.
The moment the sword light swept before his eyes, Achilles leaned backward to try and dodge it.
At the same time, his spear swept toward Artoria's legs.
Despite being dominated, Achilles was still high-spirited and didn't intend to let any opportunity pass.
But before the spear could sweep her legs, Artoria had already delivered a kick toward his abdomen.
Achilles flew backward again, the spear in his hand nearly slipping away.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough!"
Achilles rubbed his stomach, then stood up to reset his stance.
"I didn't expect King Arthur would use this kind of move too," Achilles provoked her with words, his eyes fixed on Artoria.
"Mhm... I learned it from my not-so-obedient but still somewhat cute daughter," Artoria responded, her tone relaxed even as she sized up Achilles with a face as calm as water.
"Oh? Daughter? Ah, it's Saber," Achilles quickly sorted out his thoughts.
The information that the Red Faction Saber was Mordred had long since been conveyed to them by Amakusa Shirou Tokisada.
"I haven't fought Saber yet," Achilles said, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "But if that kick just now was learned from her, then fighting her must be very interesting."
"Probably," Artoria raised an eyebrow, her expression showing no ripples.
She recalled the scenes she had once seen of Mordred training Daniel.
And Daniel's current attitude when facing this Mordred here.
No matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like he had encountered anything 'interesting.'
On the contrary, her own daughter's behavior, based on the movies and TV shows she had watched at the Shinomiya Residence, was a bit like a delinquent girl.
Clearly, most of the Knights of the Round Table were the image of politeness.
As it turned out, the one closest to her in blood was the one least skilled in etiquette.
As expected, it must be because she paid too little attention to her back then.
Or perhaps her Royal Sister didn't know how to raise a child?
But Gawain, Agravain, and the rest—every single one of them was quite decent.
Whether in literature, martial arts, or internal affairs, they were all powerful assistants by her side.
Hiss—thinking about it this way, did she still owe her Royal Sister a 'thank you'?
A certain nameless Avalon flower fairy, currently peeping from the top of a tower, nearly burst out laughing.
He saw through Artoria's current distraction in an instant, and her thoughts were even straying a bit.
After all, he was the one who had taught this child back then.
Achilles was a bit depressed.
Though his blood was boiling and he had the posture of someone who could fight for another day...
...the opponent wasn't giving him much face.
Her face hadn't shown a single ripple from the start until now, and now she even wore an expression of 'I'm spacing out, do as you please.'
One-sided passion cannot last long.
So now Achilles even had a bit of a mind to call a truce and leave.
When was the last time he had this thought?
Oh, he remembered it was likely when he was first sent to Chiron to study and was severely disciplined by that Centaur teacher.
How did he vent that depressed emotion back then?
Oh, after being disciplined by that Centaur teacher for several days in a row, he slowly got used to it.
Later, he grew step by step, finally growing until he finished his apprenticeship.
But the one opposite him now wasn't his kind and friendly teacher who just happened to hit especially hard and felt a bit black-bellied!
It was a lethal opponent!
Just as Achilles was trying to find a way to vent the pent-up emotions in his heart, a figure walked out from the direction of Sighisoara.
Artoria also seemed to have received a new instruction, suddenly stopping her offensive and pulling back to the side.
"Hm? What's wrong, Ruler? Not going to keep hacking at me?" Achilles hadn't noticed the figure yet, instead continuing to provoke Artoria.
After all, the opponent was too strong; he had to invest his entire being into being wary of Artoria to ensure his heel wasn't hacked off by her.
The sound of something sharp piercing the air and rapidly approaching still reached Achilles' ears.
As if he understood something, he suddenly reached out and caught the arrow.
"Big sis, you finally... Eh? A-Ah—!"
Achilles, who originally thought Atalanta had finally decided to come out and face him, had just put on a smile and looked over...
...only to find a face that made him miss it enough to cry, but one he didn't want to encounter in this situation, appearing before his eyes.
Achilles' facial expression management instantly went out of control.
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