The Great Holy Grail War (Part 3)

Yes.

The homunculus has finally been taken care of.

Sisigou and Mordred's assault on Trifas occurred shortly after, while Siegfried and Gordes have met Jeanne and Karna at the highway. As canon, they found her being attacked by Karna and the first battle between Servants in this Holy Grail War was fought.

The golems manufactured by Avicebron that Mordred defeated are merely the light-weight ones created for the purpose of recon duties. Despite seemingly weak, the Spanish Caster is surprisingly versatile.

That means Spartacus should reach the grassland plains soon.

Trailed by Achilles and Atalanta, he should come into contact with the Black Faction. The rebel who wishes to stop all oppressor must have heard from one of his allies that the Lancer of Black is the Prince of Wallachia or else he wouldn't be rushing to the Fortress of Millennia like he's on drugs.

The fortress is located north-east of Trifas and the three hectares surrounding it are forests. Trifas is situated on a plateau rising from west to east, so one can watch over the entire city from the highest point of the fortress.

The Fortress of Millennia encircles a portion of Trifas within its walls. Outside those walls are various constructions, the number of which have steadily increased over the past three hundred years or so. The castle is located at the easternmost tip of the north side of the city. Beyond that, there is a great forest and grasslands further to the east.

So far, I have not shown any of the Arthurian Noble Phantasms to the Masters and Servants of Black. The bow in my hand is the improved Moonlight Falling, and the dark purple sword sheathed on my waist is an entirely different weapon from the holy sword wielded by Lancelot.

It is merely an imitation created by reforging an incredibly old sword once wielded by a holy knight during the Eight Crusade. The weapon has almost seven hundred years of Mystery, so it is able to reach the level of an E-Rank Noble Phantasm after being enchanted and fused with Dire Miralis' dragon core to act as its power source.

It's nothing special. It can't shoot beams, or even Mana projectiles. I didn't even give it a name. It's just an incredibly sturdy sword that won't break down when blocking attacks from a Noble Phantasm unlike Sasaki Kojirou's Monohoshi Zao.

No matter how much I try, my works cannot reach the level of Shakespeare's because the items and weapons he produced are further improved by the tales he wrote. It is a literal 'Literary Masterpiece Endowment' only available to famous writers like him.

My armor is something I crafted by following the Lion King's example. There's no special effects, but the Phantasmal Beasts' parts make it's formidable enough to withstand blows from physical and magical attacks below B-Rank without being scratched.

My Servant data is also fake, fabricated by the System in order to mix me in with the other Heroic Spirits. They'll probably think that I have a continuous-active type ability that can hide my Personal Skills and Noble Phantasms permanently.

Unfortunately, the utilization of my stronger Noble Phantasms are limited by the current situation. I can't use Rhongomyniad, Arondight, and Avalon since that'll just give away my identity, causing them to be suspicious of my existence, especially when Mordred were to see them.

Additionally, the presence of Celenike and other Black Faction members are restricting my movement. I'll only be able to sneak out when they have their hands full... and thankfully, I'll be able to do that soon...

"The enemies are nearing, Rider." Celenike's voice came through my mind.

Have Spartacus made it to the forest near the plains? ...I doubt that Vlad wants me to rush in and engage him like what Astolfo did since they want to hold the information concerning me back as much as possible.

Although that works in my favor... this is a chance I cannot let go.

It's time to test the waters.

...

Crash!

"Wait for me oppressors! You fiends shall lie in the cold earth as my sword is inserted into your arrogant selves!" Swinging the gladius too large for the average man to lift, Berserker of Red easily destroyed a golem almost twice his size.

The force behind each blow created a tempest. One by one, the group of bronze puppets fell to the might of Spartacus, the strongest gladiator and the ringleader who raised a large-scale rebellion of slaves in Ancient Rome.

"Are we seriously letting him be like this?" A young woman who was clad in verdant green questioned her partner.

"Do you think he'll listen to us in any way, Sister? That thing is just a mass of muscles that only lives to suppress the ones in power, there's no way he'll stop." A handsome man with green hair answered.

"My name is Atalanta. Do not call me that, Achilles." The Chaste Huntress of Greek Mythology replied without looking at the famous hero of Trojan Wars. Achilles has been attempting to make an advance on her since their first meeting, and she was not one to please.

"Oh, come on, it's just a bit of sibling bonding... Though I am also quite worried about you being hurt." Achilles chuckled. "In any case, this is a good chance to see what the Black Faction is capable of. We only need to support Berserker. On the other hand, Sister, have you seen your Master's Face?"

"No. I have only met-"

Whoosh! All of a sudden, an arrow came down from the sky and pierced Spartacus' knee.

"They're here." Atalanta spoke up calmly while an arrow was already nocked in her bow. Tauropolos: Bow of Heaven, the celestial bow granted to her by the gods and blessed by the goddess Artemis herself, was ready to fire the moment she marks an enemy.

It is not a Noble Phantasm, but it is an armament that rivals them. There is nothing its arrows cannot pierce, and drawn to its limit, it is able to perform a pure physical attack exceeding A-rank in power.

"Hahaha!" The mad warrior laughed, his smile never leaving his face. The pain did nothing to him. He pulled out the arrow and advanced, anticipating the taste of blood when he killed the Prince of Wallachia. The oppressed ones shall be freed, and the oppressors will die like dogs!

With the sounds of footsteps, reinforcements arrived as golems charged towards the Thracian gladiator. Rather than trying to punch him, the bronze puppets got near him all at once and embraced the mad Servant in a tight hug.

"Face me like a true warrior, coward!" Spartacus' couldn't resist the sudden assault. More arrows were raining down on him, making him helpless against the golems' onslaught. Suppressing the Berserker of Red, the bronze giants crushed him under their heavy weight.

As if on cue, Vlad and Avicebron's figure appeared from behind the treeline. The Spanish Servant snapped his fingers, and the earth puppet transformed into a liquid-like state, freezing the bound Spartacus in place.

"I shall... crush you, oppressor!" Spartacus howled, scrambling in the magical mud. However, he could not release himself. No matter how strong he is, there was no point in struggling when he could not even move his limbs.

"I have spent my entire life fighting against insurrectionists such as yourself. I destroyed them, leaving their meat to rot on my stakes..." Vlad the Impaler stated emotionlessly. Stakes came out of the ground, they ignored the Thracian gladiator's spiritual core, skewering the Berserker without killing him.

"...I understand now that I have come face to face with you. Your rebellion is the embodiment of your noble spirit. The strong will always trample over the weak... but you fight because you are unable to accept that. You fight until you have turned the strong into the weak."

He believes that it was truly worth the price of sacrificing half his golems in order to ascertain the man's dream. He fought not for the sake of the weak. The mad warrior would not have come so far for such pretenses of altruism. No, it was simply that...

"Do you dream of a world where all are equal? Yet your dream is but a flight of fancy. For the first time... I feel I must show my respect to those we call the rebels." Lancer nodded in satisfaction. "Now, then... I'll leave the rest to you, Caster." Lancer of Black gazed at his side, where a fierce battle between four heroes was happening.

"Yes, My Lord."

At the same time, Siegfried and Fran have began their battle against Achilles and Atalanta. The Rider of Red parried away all of their offensives with ease while a mocking smile formed on his face.

"...What's wrong, Saber of Black? Can't you even scratch me?!" Once again, he pushed Siegfried back with a straight jab at the man's neck. Although the Dragon Slayer was losing due to having weaker agility, his Armor of Fafnir: Blood Armor of the Evil Dragon rendered all of Achilles attacks into zero.

Meanwhile, Rider of Red's Andreias Amarantos: Amaranth of the Brave made him invulnerable to all of Siegfried's sword strikes, causing this exchange of blades to come to a standstill.

Yes, if any damage without Divinity or if any physical attacks beneath B-Ranks are nullified, then...

"Argh!" Without warning, arrows rained down from the sky and assaulted Achilles' position. Additionally, another arrow imbued with Atalanta's full strength was shot towards the chest of Siegfried.

However, Achilles was not one of the most famous hero in history for nothing. All but one arrow from the sudden barrage managed to hit him. "What? This is... pain? Did I take damage?" The demigod widened his eyes and stared at the direction where the arrows came from.

"...Achilles." Far away, atop the castle walls was Chiron and Fenric. Eyes glowing green, the great sage of Greek Mythology nocked his bow and released more arrows. To meet his student in this Great War... "What an ill fate..."

The silver knight had also shown his skills with the bow by disabling Spartacus without much effort. He then proceeded to assist the centaur. Creating one more arrow out of magical energy, this time, he invested a greater amount of Prana into it.

Pulling the arrow back, his eyes shined in a similar color to Chiron's. Then, he fired. Without waiting, his eyes glowed purple this time. As if guiding the arrow, the original speed and force beyond A-Rank was once again increased.

Whoosh!

The projectile was like the brightest stars in the sky. It produced sonic booms in the air. The Rider of Black smiled in his helmet, watching his work fly towards its target without stop. It instantly destroyed the EX-Ranked arrow shot by Atalanta, making the green huntress exclaim in shock.

"Watch out, Achilles!" The lioness shouted in warning. She quickly prepared her bow for another round of arrows. This time, she focused on quantity over quality since they are now outgunned by the Black Faction.

Not letting go of this rare chance, Frankenstein dashed past the stunned Achilles and into the forest. Every flora in her way were trampled, and even giant trees fell down, protesting the mad warrior's cruel treatment.

The arrows shot by Chiron arrived at this moment.

"Damn it!" Achilles frowned in frustration, the projectiles were definitely focused on him. They bombarded him without giving him a room to breathe. Nevertheless, his blood was boiling with joy and excitement at this moment.

He had believed that the only enemy who could harm him in this Holy Grail War was Karna, and that guy was a Servant on their side. He would have to deal with the Black Faction first before finally getting a chance to fight someone as strong as the Son of the Sun God. But he has now found a worth enemy for him to kill.

A few meters away, the ever-silent Siegfried swung Balmung to get rid of the cloud of dusts to regain better vision. Spotting the struggling Rider, he raised his great sword and bolted towards him.

"Tch." Achilles clicked his tongue and blocked the holy sword with his spear while simultaneously grabbing an arrow that targeted his heart. Knowing that the hero of the Trojan War outclassed himself, the Dragon-Blooded Knight flicked his wrist and slammed the sword pommel into the man's stomach.

Despite taking no damage, Achilles was still knocked back several meters. The opening gave Siegfried the chance to follow up with another attack, and more precised arrows rained down on the Red Rider at the same time.

"UuuUuuAa!" Frankenstein's charge was unstoppable. Thanks to the assistance of their own Rider, every projectiles shot by Atalanta were warded off by him as if there was a wind barrier surrounding the artificial bride.

"The Archer of Black? In that case..." The Chaste Huntress furrowed her brows and increased the arrow count she was shooting. For someone who was especially confident of their own archery skills, the lioness was stumped after witnessing all her arrows getting destroyed in mid-air.

It's not like she wanted to boast about it, but Atalanta is considered one of the best archer in Greek Mythology. The act of countering all her arrows while they were still flying meant that the opposite team's Archer must be as strong as, or perhaps even better than herself.

Yes, it's an amazing feat, however... she underestimated him.

"Uh?" Atalanta glanced up at the sky. To break her attention during a battle was a fatal mistake, but there's something wrong. She could tell it, something was extremely wrong here. Call it a bad premonition, or her beastly instincts... Then, as if predicted by her-

Whoosh!

"Watch out, Sister!" Shouting the same warning given by Atalanta earlier, Achilles frantically sped towards the female Archer. Without caring about his own well-being, he ignored all the blows from Siegfried, and he inevitably took three arrows in his back.

"Ugh!" Although the projectiles were embedded deep in his body, he did managed to avoid the lethal areas, causing the wounds to be not as bad as it seemed.

"Faster, I need to be faster!" Understanding that he was still too slow, the magical energy surrounding him spiked. Dromeus Komētēs: Comet Form was promptly utilized and he arrived beside Atalanta in no time...

Unfortunately, he was still too late.

"...ATALANTA!"

-x-X-x-

Earlier the day at dawn, Jeanne d'Arc arrived in the town of Trifas... with a suitcase of ruined clothing and accessories.

'I'm sorry, Laeticia.' Sighing at her own blunder, Ruler first tried to find a place to stay so that her body could rest. Her summoning was an imperfect one, one which she has to possess a willing host in order to materialize in the world.

Having a physical body not of her own meant that she was unable to travel in spiritual form, she has to sleep, and has to sustain her body through nourishment of common food. Though regrettably, all three hotels that were available were full.

Unlike the less popular Sighisoara, there were a large amount of 'tourists' in Trifas. 'Mages.' Ruler thought. Several men and women she saw in the hotel lobby were already trailing her since she left the building. They were definitely spies from either the Yggdmillennia clan or the Mage's Association.

In any case, the hotelkeeper had pointed her to the small wooden church. "...I'm sorry, but we only have the attic left. Is that all right?" Alma Petresia was the sister's name. The gentle woman truly suited one whom was raised in such an idyllic place, a woman who needed nothing more than the love of God.

Although there were no extra rooms due to the church's small size, the sister has agreed to let her, a stranger, stay in the church for several days, and she is genuinely thankful for the woman's benevolence.

"Any place where I can rest would be enough. Thank you very much." She was in no position to make demands on luxury, and she did not much care for it in the first place.

"Um."

"Yes?" Noticing the sister's odd look, Jeanne stopped moving.

"Are you perhaps named Jeanne?" Alma questioned while examining the young girl's messy suitcase.

"Oh yes. May I ask how did you know my name?" Ruler flinched at the mention of her name.

"Ah! So you are Jeanne. Here, a gentleman told me that you are arriving at Trifas this morning and asked me to hand this to you." The sister took out a note and a big envelope from her clothing's pocket, and passed it to the confused saint. "Now follow me, I'll show you the way to the attic."

"Uh, thank you." The French girl nodded and glanced at the items with a suspicious gaze. On the way, the words spoken by the sister were slowly tuned out by her. She only remember accepting Alma's generous offer of free meals, and something about the device that could warm up food... microwave, was it?

Sitting down in the attic, Ruler decided to check the note and the envelope first before heading to the chapel for her daily prayers. "...Hm?" She rubbed her eyes and looked at the note for the second time.

It's blank.

'The note is blank... Wait, don't tell me...' She inserted Prana into the note, and soon, words started appearing on the piece of white paper. "...Be careful of the Red priest...? What does this mean?" Bewildered by the unusual contents, she picked up the brown envelope and opened it.

"...These papers are money, right? And this is..." The French girl raised an eyebrow and put down the 5,000 Romanian Leu beside her. "...Advanced Mathematics That Can Be Understood By All Simple Village Girls (Special Edition)...? Just what is this-"

Without warning, the note and envelope burst into flames. "Ah, hot, hot, hot." Throwing them into the air, Jeanne watched them burned into nothingness as not even ashes remained.

"Who...?" She stared into space, trying to make clues of the one who sent her the message. Even if she has a way to trace the note's origin, the evidences have already been incinerated right before her very eyes. Sighing at her dilemma, she opened the chunky textbook and skimmed through the subjects.

"Ah, I can actually understand this."