[FDJ]Chapter 113: The Unfortunate Musician

The male Archer holding a harp slowly walked into the valley, his eyes gently closed. The soldiers stationed here had all run away, and he didn't even spare a glance at the remaining ones.

Failnaught: Phantasmal Music of the Painful Lament, a Noble Phantasm capable of defeating hundreds of human soldiers, was not able to display its true power here.

"Time-traveling magus, you need not panic. I only have one question for you," he said, not waiting for Suzuku to respond. "What are your chances of ultimately saving human history?"

Chances? Suzuki had never even considered such a question. Wasn't saving human history a given, a sacred mission?

"Saving human history is my duty. The chances of success are not something I've pondered," he replied.

"Is that so? How unfortunate. It fills me with sadness..."

The red Archer gently caressed the harp strings, and two invisible arrow-like curves pierced through the hiding places, killing the injured soldiers who had been clinging to hope. He was now somewhat angered. The Master who had traveled through time to the past in an attempt to prevent the Singularity's birth had not even considered the most crucial aspect. How could someone who blindly believes in the triumph of good over evil shoulder such a heavy responsibility? Failure would mean the interruption of human civilization. Richard was currently undertaking this perilous task - he possessed the Holy Grail, had numerous Servants assisting him, had a meticulous and comprehensive plan, had stable and reliable allies, and held an unwavering faith in success.

Even though Tristan knew that creating a Singularity went against human order, he was still willing to stand by Master Richard. Currently, their chances of success exceeded 90%, and they had an ace up their sleeve that could clinch the victory. Though Tristan did not know the details, he was certain that Richard possessed it, for Richard now exuded absolute confidence, transitioning from defense to offense without hesitation, much like the King Arthur had served in life, the King of the Knight, whose blade pointed the way to victory.

Sacrificing some to secure the eternal happiness of the rest - as a knight, Tristan would resist and feel guilty, but as long as the king gave a clear order, he would carry it out.

"Then try to stop me, stop us, if you can uphold the justice of human reason. I am a Servant, Archer," he paused for a moment, his slightly closed eyes seemingly opened a slit.

"I wish to duel with you."

Suzuki shook his head with difficulty, refusing the other's request. He was just like the people on the ground who had their heads shattered by an arrow - he couldn't even grab a single hair of the Servant. As long as the Archer in front of him lightly strummed the strings of his harp, another headless corpse would appear on the ground.

"Why can't you? My Master said that you from the future fight for the sake of humanity. Are you afraid of death, or do you simply lack the strength to match us? Do you think the Holy Grail War is just a contest between one Servant and another, or between one group of Servants and another? Do you think you can snatch victory in the end through your underhanded information research tactics? Well, too bad, this time my Master has Servants in overwhelming numbers, and you..."

Archer did not continue. Delivering consecutive blows to someone who looked like a just-of-age youth was not interesting. At the very least, he should leave the other with some fantasy that this world is not filled with plots and schemes.

"You are too weak. If you are participating in the Holy Grail War just to try to get a wish granted, that's understandable. But you bear the burden of saving humanity - are you qualified? If you know what's good for you, leave. My Master has declared that your Servants cannot be attacked. Since he doesn't want a confrontation with you midway, I'm too lazy to bother killing you myself."

Archer hung his harp at his waist and walked straight up to Suzuki. He briefly looked at the frightened young man. At this age, King Arthur had already drawn the sword from the stone and won many battles. Most people can be ordinary, but these chosen ones cannot. Since they have chosen this path, they cannot blame the strong for bullying the weak on the path.

On the battlefield where strength speaks, weakness is a sin.

Archer no longer paid attention to Suzuki, ruthlessly trampling on the severed limbs on the ground, and headed towards the next defensive position. Perhaps he was a little too cruel this time, not in line with his usual style, but he felt it was necessary. Suzuki was already lucky to encounter Tristan of the Round Table today. If it were Mordred, Agravain, or other colleagues, they wouldn't care about subtle hints. As long as it was not explicitly forbidden by a command seal and beneficial to the king, they would do it, even if it resulted in a massacre.

"Are you the Knights of the Round Table, Tristan?"

Upon hearing these words, the tense expression on Archer Tristan's face relaxed slightly, but his vast knowledge and insight were still far from enough to stand in this place.

"What makes you so sure? Is it because of my English-style armor and harp?"

"The style of your armor and cape can only suggest that you are a knight servant from Britain, and among these knights, those skilled in archery are few, especially those with poor eyesight who are also adept at playing the harp. And your skills carry misfortune, so the probability of you being the Tristan from the Arthurian legends, the Knight of Lamentation, is higher."

"Well done." Tristan lightly clapped his hands in appreciation. "But now my comrade Rider is battling your servant, and excluding Berserker, the Rider King's strength is the greatest among us. Do you want to gamble a command spell? Will you and your servant kill me first, or wait for Rider to catch up, and I'll find an opportunity to shoot you down with an arrow?"

Archer Tristan was well aware that Assassin had already infiltrated the valley first, and his Master Richard was about to arrive. If they were to truly attack Suzuki Yuki, he would have no chance of winning.

"Your weakness is poison, and with your E-rank luck, you're helpless against all sorts of..."

Archer waved his hand to signal Suzuki Yuki to stop. "Cunning tactics are only applicable in evenly matched situations. Even if my weakness is just having my earlobe pinched to die, you can't do anything to me since you only have one servant. Without a servant, you have no real combat power. Just like mistletoe dependent on trees, it falls when the support is blown by the wind. Ah, the endless tragedy of powerless humans. It wouldn't be bad for me to lead this musical piece to its climax, listening to the song of sorrow."

Archer Tristan raised his harp, the body extending and transforming into a long bow with strings. Tristan picked up several arrows and aimed where he stood.

"Curious about how I did it before?"

Without waiting for Suzuki Yuki's reply, Archer Tristan drew the bow and fired four arrows in succession.

The sound of the vibration frightened Suzuki Yuki, who wanted to use a command spell, but his reason prevented him from doing so.

...

In the valley, the night wind swept over the hidden or conspicuous magical defenses and magi on the ground. Assassin Servant Jane Grey, who had already released her murderous urges before setting out, quickly located the positions of two important targets after a sweep. Saladin was still in the imperial palace within the temple, guarded by many soldiers outside.

The Master of a special Servant was also captured in a nearby cottage, with few guards outside but at least 7 magi observing from all directions. Of course, they had not yet detected Assassin Jane Grey's stealth, and she could have killed all the guards outside the cottage within a minute.

However, she did not act according to her nature, as her Master's cautious attitude forced her to be more careful. Without killing anyone, Assassin Jane Grey bypassed the guards and easily infiltrated the cottage, where she found the unconscious young girl Aphaf and the prominent book by her side.

Assassin Jane Grey regarded the book as a potentially threatening magical artifact while ignoring the female attendants inside busy fortifying the magical defenses and the waiting maids.

While killing, Assassin Jane Grey could feel exquisite pleasure, but before she could enjoy this pleasure, she had to complete the task her Master had assigned her - to eliminate the Master of the Alter Ego Servant.

Seeing the young girl on the bed who was even younger than herself, Assassin Jane Grey quickly approached, and her palm instantly transformed into a terrible blade-like claw.

None of the people inside the cottage had noticed the extremely dangerous assassin Servant raising her blade, as they were still busy with their tasks, especially the female attendant with some magical knowledge, who, upon seeing the warning smoke rising outside, diligently confirmed that the guards outside were in place and the cottage's magical defenses were complete.

But these were of no use to Assassin Jane Grey.

The claw blade swung down towards Aphaf's chest, and without any unexpected events, the frail girl would be disemboweled and her heart shattered.

The book also flashed a light at the last moment before the claw blade made contact as if giving a warning, but in its current state, unable to transform back into a Servant, it could not help its Master.

The jarring sound of metal striking broke the silence in the cottage, and the maids and female attendants all looked in Aphaf's direction. They had not yet seen Assassin Jane Grey's astonished expression, but they could see the silver armor that had appeared on Aphaf's body. In the next moment, a divine light illuminated Assassin Jane Grey, and the barely qualified Servant Jane Grey, who had obtained her Servant status through demonic legends, instinctively recoiled from this bright light and had to retreat.

Exposed, she no longer held back, and with a wave of her hand, she killed two maids. After adjusting to the light, she let out an exclamation, as the armor originally belonging to Berserker Godfrey had somehow appeared on the target magus, though it seemed to have shrunk by two sizes, the holy power she could not mistake, and compared to this Berserker Servant's strength, she would likely be slain in a single round in a normal confrontation.

"This is... impossible!"

The armored Aphaf finally awoke, but her condition was very poor, and she could only mumble vaguely and take a defensive stance, unable to even stand up.

After a moment of panic, the female attendant was the first to flee the cottage and call for help outside, while the remaining two maids were simply terrified and lost consciousness. Only Assassin Jane Grey maintained her composure, warily observing the opponent while carefully assessing the situation.

In her eyes, the young girl who had suddenly manifested the armor was still physically very weak, and her attempt to use offensive magecraft had instantly failed, her magical energy in disarray. Aside from the mysterious armor, she was still easy prey that could be killed in an instant, as long as she could strip off the sturdy outer shell that repulsed her.

Jane Grey approached again, effortlessly grabbing Aphaf, her terrible blade-like claws firmly gripping Aphaf's arm guards and forcibly pulling the frail girl up from the bed.

"Little one, you've brought me a surprise, so let me give you one as well, shall we?"

The uncovered mouth beneath the bandages suddenly opened wide, and an earsplitting scream echoed through the surroundings, spreading fear and resentment.