Jiang You captured both Achilles and Jason within the range of his Noble Phantasm. Nowadays, he rarely took the initiative to play cards with others anymore; using a modern Deck against an ancient Deck was somewhat lacking in flavor and didn't feel very entertaining. It was better to just watch them fight like crickets.
Achilles saw Jason's expression suddenly change from his previous panic to complete confidence, which made him a little unsure of the situation. Almost all of Jason's strength came from the crew members of his Noble Phantasm, the Argo, but the summoning had failed this time. Where on earth was his confidence coming from?
There was another question: why didn't the enemy continue to flee? Right now, even though Jason was in a pathetic state, he could still manage to slightly hinder him. Jeanne d'Arc's strength as a Ruler could only be considered decent, so even with two of them, there was no advantage. Jason couldn't fully activate his Noble Phantasm, so he wasn't a concern either. Therefore, the only variable left was this Servant from the East. Could it be that he truly had the strength to simultaneously face over seven Servants?
However, now was not the time to think about such things. The battle was still ongoing. With such a massive commotion here, the other Servants should be arriving soon. If he just stalled for a little while, he would no longer be fighting alone. At that point, no matter what kind of scheme the enemy was plotting, it wouldn't matter; his side would have an absolute numerical advantage.
Achilles thrust his spear straight at Jason's vitals, but unexpectedly, Jason didn't dodge or evade, directly meeting the attack head-on. Achilles didn't hold back either and followed through with his strike, only to find his offensive dissolve into nothingness. Even the momentum from his high-speed movement vanished the instant he made contact with Jason, bringing his entire body to a sudden, abrupt halt.
"A defensive Noble Phantasm?"
Achilles had only launched a normal attack, so it wouldn't be surprising if even an E-Rank Noble Phantasm could block it. However, this method of blocking damage was a bit bizarre, and there seemed to be no relevant description of it in Jason's legend.
"No, it's an offensive one!"
Jason heaved a sigh of relief. He had originally been worried that Jiang You would play a trick on him and make him look like a fool, which wouldn't be out of character for the guy.
"Since Noble Phantasms won't work, I'll fight using this method! Achilles! Let me show you my strength as your upperclassman! Duel, start!"
"I think it's more of a functional type, actually?"
Its exact classification was a Barrier Noble Phantasm, but Jiang You wasn't too sure how to specifically categorize it either.
The Duel Space expanded, and Achilles found himself confined to a small area. Immediately after, a surge of knowledge was forced into his brain.
Jason LP 4000.
Achilles LP 4000.
"Fighting using one's own legend? What an... interesting Noble Phantasm."
Noble Phantasms come in all shapes and sizes, so Achilles didn't find a card-playing Noble Phantasm strange. "My Deck...? Let me see... Hector is actually here too. Hmph, to think my fated rival would also appear in my Deck. If it's him, I don't really mind. But Paris is here too... How should I put it, just seeing his face kills my mood. I can't muster any will to fight."
"As for my side, naturally, they're all my companions!"
Jason patted the Deck in front of him proudly; he knew what was inside even without looking. Though, perhaps because he hadn't played cards in a long time, he couldn't help but feel that his Deck seemed a bit thinner.
"By the way, Jiang You, should we initiate a Shadow Game?"
"You're the one playing cards, and you're asking me?"
Jiang You was speechless. It seemed this guy hadn't noticed the crucial point.
"I don't even know why I'm fighting him in the first place!"
Jason shot Jiang You an international friendly gesture. This guy Jiang You hadn't explained anything clearly.
"Achilles is my junior apprentice brother, after all. Without a good reason, I'm definitely not going to go for the kill."
"How should I put it... I'm basically just out here to have fun this time."
Jiang You actually felt no sense of crisis regarding the situation on the Fate/Apocrypha side. Everyone here combined wouldn't even be enough for him to fight alone (in a duel). Several of the combatants he could mobilize could even wipe them out single-handedly, so there was really nothing worth watching.
"Just don't let them be eliminated. Do whatever else you want."
Since he was already here, he might as well drag them all over to have fun. None of the servants here were truly heinous villains anyway. As for Amakusa's situation, he would wait and see; the Amakusa from Fate/Apocrypha and the comedian from Chaldea felt like basically two different people. Jiang You needed to observe him before making a decision. At worst, he would just send him back.
As for why he didn't just explain directly: first, he could get collection rewards upon defeating them; second, they didn't even believe St. Jeanne, so how could he expect them to listen to the one-sided claims of a stranger like Jiang You? However, they couldn't be blamed. Any servant who knew of the existence of a Beast understood the gravity of the situation. No one would ever imagine that a Beast inherently possessed a side that loved humanity.
"Fun?"
Achilles caught the key words. "Treating the survival of humanity as a game? ...How truly despicable! Since you've appeared here, you must know what's going on with the Jeanne d'Arc beside you, right?"
"Do you mean the black one or the white one?"
"Don't play dumb!"
Achilles said dissatisfiedly, "The current Jeanne d'Arc is mixed up with a Beast. You should know what a Beast is, right?"
"Of course I know."
Tiamat had already explained the whole course of events to him; weren't they just picking on Tiamat because she spoke slowly and couldn't explain things clearly?
"Isn't it just Tiamat?"
"So that Beast is Tiamat!"
Achilles felt he had gathered crucial intelligence, but the current situation didn't allow him to pass this information on.
"Huh? So you didn't know? Jeanne d'Arc, didn't you tell them?"
Jiang You hadn't expected that the opposing side hadn't even figured out which Beast Tiamat was. The number of these servants combined was several times that of the current rundown Chaldea, yet they actually weren't as professional as Chaldea. Furthermore, Jeanne d'Arc apparently hadn't mentioned it when she was explaining things earlier.
"Ah?"
Jeanne d'Arc shook her head innocently. "I didn't have time to say it out loud, I'm sorry..."
"I'm not blaming you."
The village girl was simply too honest, Jiang You thought with understanding.
"Either way, it's the same outcome for any Beast. It doesn't really matter."
"Huh? That terrifying little white girl is a Beast?!"
As Medea's pawns, Jason and Tiamat had rarely interacted with her. He had only sensed her overwhelmingly terrifying presence and Spirit Origin, never considering her Class. Since he hadn't been summoned to face a crisis, Jason lacked the relevant knowledge. "What is a Beast? Is there really a Class like that?"
Well, there's another heavyweight here, he thought, but no one paid him any attention at the moment.
"Since you already know everything, I won't waste my breath."
Achilles' eyes burned with hostility. He was now certain this servant belonged entirely to the Beast's faction. Before, he had suspected Jason had only entered the fray to aid Jeanne d'Arc. "Jason, don't blame me for abandoning our brotherhood this time. You're standing where you shouldn't be!"
"You weren't exactly being considerate earlier!"
Jason met Achilles' gaze, sensing the man's unusual seriousness. Completely unaware of the situation, his own confidence faltered slightly.
"I'm saying, isn't there some kind of misunderstanding here? Even though the guy behind me has a terrible personality, how could he possibly be connected to something that threatens humanity?"
"Do you think Jeanne would be involved if it weren't serious?" Achilles countered. He still couldn't understand why Jason had been summoned by such an unrelated servant. Earlier, Jason had even mentioned Medea. Could she have appeared as well? "As a Ruler, she's already taken action! This isn't about misunderstandings anymore—the truth is right before our eyes!"
"Looks like I don't have a choice after all," Jason sighed. Forced into a fight after going in circles, he declared, "Then I won't hold back! I'll go first—my turn!"
Confident in his superior Duel experience, Jason seized the initiative. Achilles, being a servant from the same era, was likely familiar with Greek Heroes and wouldn't be as absurdly unpredictable as Jiang You. As long as he set up the board properly in advance, there shouldn't be any problems. Even if his Noble Phantasm didn't respond, his Deck offered precise card retrieval.
"First of all... my luck's not great today, huh? Why am I the only one here...? Hmm, but no matter, it's fine. No problem at all."
Jason glanced at his hand, noting that he had already drawn the crucial cards.
"The battle is decided! I activate the Spell Card Astrapste Argo! From the moment this card is activated until the summoning phase ends, no card effects can respond to it! Summon as many Argo servants as possible from my Deck and Graveyard!"
"Damn it!"
Achilles' expression darkened slightly. As Captain of the Argo, Jason's Deck would undoubtedly contain cards for all his crew members, including Hercules. While acknowledging Hercules' superior strength (though that wouldn't stop Achilles from challenging him), he also knew he was no match for the demigod. Not to mention the other crew members, including their Big Sister Atalante. This is going to be tough...
"Ha ha ha! My own strength may be lacking, but my companions are incredibly powerful! Hercules is the strongest!"
With a grand sweep of his hand, Jason declared, "Come forth, my crew! Let the younger generation witness the glory of Greek legend in its prime!"
Yet, when the summoning occurred, only Jason stood alone on the battlefield.
Jason Attack Power: 1200
"This... this can't be right!"
Jason refused to accept this, repeatedly scrutinizing his Deck. Suddenly, he realized that he was the only servant in the entire Deck.
"Where's my crew?! Where did they go?!"
Didn't I warn you about this? Jiang You thought, having foreseen this outcome. While his cards running off was absurd, given Jason's summoning logic, it wasn't entirely illogical. Who else needed their summon to consent to being summoned? Only this pathetic excuse of a hero operated on such a humiliating mechanism. Still, Jiang You hadn't expected even Medea Lily to stay away.
"Am I late?"
Suddenly, a green-themed, cat-eared girl appeared nearby.
"A spatial anomaly suddenly manifested here. For some reason, it feels familiar, but it doesn't seem to be stopping anyone else, so I just came in. Chiron is waiting outside and ready to provide support at any moment."
Chiron had advised against rash action, but Atalante, ever impulsive, charged right in. Fortunately, Jiang You's Duel Space seemed to have no effect on outsiders.
"Atalante, you're here! You're the only one who answered me, waah... I'm so touched! Next time, I promise I won't complain about your strong cat smell anymore!"
Jason recognized the familiar voice instantly. He'd assumed he'd summoned her himself.
"Big Sister! No, you're not late—in fact, you're right on time!"
Achilles' face lit up with delight. Reinforcements had arrived, ensuring that none of the other servants present, including Jeanne d'Arc, would escape.
"Jason? Meeting you here of all places?" Atalante's expression soured with disgust. "You're like a persistent ghost, haunting my every move! Stop making such a pathetic face! It's revolting! And I already rejected your summons! We're busy enough here, you know!"
"!!!"
It finally dawned on Jason that Atalante had been summoned through a regular Holy Grail War summon.
"You're participating in the Holy Grail War too?"
"Ah... Right, what are you doing here? The slots for Saber and Rider should already be full. You're still fighting Achilles? Wait a minute... this method!"
This Atalante seemed to retain memories from her summoning in the Fifth Holy Grail War, quickly recognizing the nature of this space.
"Has that servant arrived as well?"
"Am I really that unremarkable?"
Jiang You waved at Atalante. They weren't particularly close, having only met a few times. In fact, he'd spoken more with Asclepius.
"Long time no see, Atalante."
"Jiang You? You're here too? Are you the Black Faction's Assassin?"
The only servant whose identity remained unconfirmed was the Black Faction's Assassin. Jiang You seemed to fit the bill perfectly, as Atalante's understanding of him remained at the level of knowing he could wield the Hassan Deck and Gilgamesh Deck. It was perfectly natural for him to have Assassin adaptability.
"Big Sister, do you know him?" Achilles asked, feeling even more awkward. Why does it seem like all the Greek Servants recognize this guy? Did I miss someone? "But be careful! This Assassin has already betrayed us! He's the enemy."
"An enemy?" Atalante repeated.
If Jiang You could command Medea, it stood to reason he could command Atalante as well. This explained the current situation: Atalante's most vivid memory of Jiang You was the moment he physically shielded her from Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm Release, a testament to his formidable strength.
"He's incredibly strong. We must approach him with caution. However, his weakness is also obvious—simply avoid initiating attacks!"
Atalante had been active during the Fifth Holy Grail War, possessing extensive intelligence, though it hadn't been updated since then.
She scrutinized Jiang You closely, quickly noticing something amiss. His Spirit Origin was heavy, concealing something terrifying beneath its surface.
"You... you're not Jiang You, are you?"
"Huh?" Jiang You replied, startled.