To be honest, Aslan almost couldn't stop himself from slapping him across the face. He knew that this friend of his, who was both a mentor and a friend, was extremely straightforward and boisterous, but he never expected his friend to be so tactless. Of course, compared to Merlin, the Balin before him was much better.
Aslan had only come to say hello and had no intention of having a deep conversation with Kenneth. But Kenneth directly told Aslan his entire plan. In his eyes, Aslan was also part of his faction. What's more, he didn't need the Holy Grail that much himself; he was here just to add a layer of gold to his resume. So whether it was him or Aslan, as long as one of them could win the Holy Grail War, it was not a loss for them. In the eyes of outsiders, Aslan was also part of their El-Melloi faction. Even if Aslan achieved the final victory, it would still bring prestige to their faction.
Kenneth's trust in Aslan was, of course, also a trust in his own judgment. He could see that Aslan was not the type with strong ambitions. It was for this very reason that he didn't worry about this student of his secretly stabbing him in the back. A person without ambition was more trustworthy.
Kenneth directly told Aslan that he planned to take the initiative and attack today or tomorrow with Balin. Compared to always hiding in the dark, waiting for someone to break down their door at an unknown time, it was better to move the battlefield from his own base to another location. On one hand, it could protect his own base from the effects of battle. On the other hand, Balin also thought so.
After Balin learned that the familiar yet strange person before him was really not the Aslan he knew, he felt a bit emotional that after so many years, someone could be born who looked almost exactly like his own ancestor, and who also had a deep enough understanding of Faerie Letters. Faerie Letters must be their true family magic.
After discovering that Balin had actually believed what he said, Aslan was secretly laughing in his heart. Of course, Aslan had also not expected that his own split spirit would descend upon this battlefield. How should he put it? This was equivalent to directly solidifying his current hidden identity. After all, look, the Aslan from 1500 years ago had already been summoned as a Heroic Spirit. How could the person before them be him? In a way, had he inexplicably given himself an assist?
Balin even patted Aslan's shoulder. "Your ancestor and I were good brothers, like a mentor and a friend. You can call me 'Godfather,' and I'll teach you all my sword skills. How about it?"
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After hearing his good friend, who was both a mentor and a friend, say this, Aslan almost raised his forging hammer again. But fortunately, Aslan also knew that he absolutely could not let his forging hammer appear at this time, so he locked it away in his Mystic Code, ensuring that in a moment of urgency, he would not subconsciously take it out.
"No, no need. We still have a lot of forged equipment left by our ancestor. The times have changed. Rushing up with a treasured sword now is not as good as directly activating our ancestor's equipment and firing a shot from afar. Wouldn't that be much faster?"
Good grief, Balin. Only now do I know that you wanted my descendant to call you 'Godfather.' You've got some nerve. Do you have the guts to ask Lü Bu Fengxian to call you 'Godfather'? Speaking of which, isn't this guy afraid that if I also appeared in the Holy Grail War and happened to hear my descendant call him that, I would directly greet him with a Noble Phantasm release?
Balin nodded, his tone also holding a hint of affirmation and praise. "That's right. That guy's forging technique is indeed very strong. The treasured sword in my hand was forged by him. But has his vision already been completed? As expected of Aslan. He must be the one with the most extraordinary achievements among our group."
After a brief exchange with Kenneth, Aslan chose to leave. He was worried that if he spent too much time with this old friend, his old friend might see through some flaw in his act.
Walking in this city, Aslan circled the entire city once. On one hand, he was reconfirming the map of the entire city. On the other hand, he was also planning some things. After all, having come to the Fourth Holy Grail War, there was still one thing that had to be done, right?
In the process, he also felt a few clashes of magical energy. It seemed to be the mutual probing between Heroic Spirits. But it was only a probing of residual magical auras. In the process of probing, perhaps some gains were made, perhaps nothing was gained. In any case, they had not yet taken the step of a true battle. But this also made the atmosphere of this city become more and more oppressive.
It was also on this night that a black shadow prepared to sneak into the Tohsaka household. Its elegant posture was comparable to that of a ballet dancer. Any high-difficulty movement was like that of a gymnast who had trained for years. It could even press its cheek to the ground, its body twisting nearly 360 degrees, to dodge the magical fluctuations with unimaginable movements.
Just as this black shadow was preparing to reach for the core of the magical defense—a ruby—and casually say something like "is that all you've got," a blade glowing with a golden light had already pierced through his hand and the jewel together.
Followed by a sentence, "A rat should crawl on the ground."
Countless blades pierced through his body.
Watching the image transmitted back by his familiar, most of the contestants frowned. Aslan watched everything that Merlin was live-streaming with magic but didn't have many thoughts. Come to think of it, whether Tokiomi had summoned the Wise King or Kid Gil, it would have been much better than summoning this tyrant. At least the King in those two states was easier to talk to, not to mention they wouldn't be so reckless in battle.
But it was also because he had summoned this most arrogant king that their chances of victory were greater, and Aslan was not so worried. You must know, the strength of a Heroic Spirit, or rather, a team, was not just about looking at strength. What was more important was the arrangement of the war and the ability to respond randomly to any special events. That ancient king, when he was a child or an old man, the former would make full use of the Noble Phantasms in his treasury, while the latter would look at everything with a calm mind, not being pleased by external gains, nor saddened by personal losses. It was precisely this calmness that would prevent him from making wrong judgments and would allow him to go all out.
"Merlin, prepare for battle. When you fight others, I want you to hide your staff and use only your sword. I want you to disguise yourself as a Saber. Any problem with that?"