"This is our King, President King Edison! He rules the entire West. Everyone, shouldn't you pay your respects?"
Helena spoke, standing beside Edison. Her height of 1.4 meters next to a 1.85-meter tall sturdy man made her seem somewhat like a fox borrowing the tiger's might.
Mo Shuying didn't move an inch after hearing this, and neither did the people around him.
"Blavatsky, don't be rude. These are guests; there's no need for them to bow. Hahahaha, you all seem quite surprised by my head, don't you? Don't pay it too much mind. Although I have a lion's head, my mind is indeed human. There's no doubt about that."
Edison laughed heartily. From the sound of it, this President King was quite approachable.
Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at Mo Shuying, and seeing that he didn't seem inclined to move, they stepped forward and spoke.
"President King, may I ask why you've invited us here?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka was straightforward, without any pleasantries.
"Oh, that."
Edison settled onto his throne, looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka, and said with a smile.
"Isn't the other half of this territory occupied by the evil Celts? Although their ordinary warriors pose no threat, unable to even defeat our mass-produced Mechanical Dolls, they have many more Servants than we do.
To be frank, including myself, we only have three Servants. While we have enough troops, we lack Servants capable of fighting a thousand. Even if we manage to reclaim a few cities, they would quickly be retaken by their Servants due to our lack of personnel. This has led to a stalemate, or rather, continuing like this is disadvantageous for us, because they possess a Holy Grail capable of summoning Servants. What they likely don't lack are Servants."
Edison was quite frustrated. In fact, there were some "wild" Servants in this Singularity, summoned by the Singularity's restraining force, just like Edison himself. There were many of them, but most had not joined any faction to this day. Even if Edison invited them, he would be immediately rejected. Edison never understood why.
"So? You want us to join you?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka understood Edison's meaning.
"Exactly!! Hahahaha! What a clever girl! This intelligence is truly worthy of someone who has conquered four worlds. Haven't you come to this world to obtain the Holy Grail and defeat evil? Join forces with me, and when the time comes, I will give you a satisfactory gift."
As Edison said this, Fujimaru Ritsuka fell into thought.
Most people would assume that if Edison said this, the satisfactory gift would be the Holy Grail. Edison would hand over the Holy Grail to Fujimaru Ritsuka as thanks after victory, which sounded quite good.
However.
"A satisfactory gift? I'm a very greedy person. I wonder what gift President King will give us to satisfy me."
Mo Shuying walked out with a smile, looking at Edison.
"Oh~ an open-pit gold mine has been discovered in my territory. You must like gold, right? I'll give you a few tons of gold then."
Edison said magnanimously, but as soon as he spoke, Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had been considering, paused.
"Wait a moment, President King, aren't you referring to the Holy Grail when you speak of a gift?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at Edison and asked.
Edison narrowed his eyes, extended his large hand, and waved it, saying.
"Of course not. The Holy Grail is still useful to me; I cannot give it to you."
"..."
At this, Fujimaru Ritsuka realized how naive they had been. For a moment, they had actually thought this President King was an ally!
"May I be so bold as to ask, what do you intend to do with the Holy Grail?"
Mo Shuying spoke, asking directly.
"Hahaha!"
Edison burst into laughter, a hint of triumph in his voice.
"I am an expert in modification and creation! Once I obtain the Holy Grail, I will modify it, turning it into America's Noah's Ark, protecting this world, making it independent from all other worlds, escaping Humanity's Incineration, and becoming the sole America!! Hahahaha!"
"..."
Everyone fell silent again.
Fujimaru Ritsuka spoke after a few seconds.
"President King, do you know that if this Singularity isn't repaired, other worlds will be destroyed?"
"Of course I know, but so what! I only need America to endure!"
Extreme! Fujimaru Ritsuka heard extremism in Edison's tone! According to Edison's words, if things truly turned out that way, in the end, all other worlds would be destroyed, leaving only this Singularity.
"The people in other worlds aren't important, are they?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka said with a darkened expression.
Edison shook his head, and Fujimaru Ritsuka paused, thinking there was a turning point.
"Actually, I believe there's no need for the humans in this world to survive either. Have you seen the Mechanical Dolls I've created? How artistic, how agile! Right now, because of the war, all the Mechanical Dolls have been sent to the front lines to fight. Once the war is over, I can produce dolls specifically for manufacturing other dolls, and then both speed and precision will be greatly improved. Unlike now, a group of humans can't even produce one combat Mechanical Doll in a single day. It's too slow, too slow! They're already on a 24-hour work schedule! Why is the speed getting slower and slower?!"
"!!! What did you say?!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes widened. They couldn't believe their ears. A 24-hour work schedule? What kind of ridiculous statement was that?!
"Sir! Even a 24-hour work schedule is too much. Humans have limits! The slowdown must be because the workers are too tired! Who works 24 hours, 24 hours a day?!"
Even Mash couldn't help but speak up, but it seemed to be of no use.
"That's why I say humans are useless. Once this world is unified, I'll gather all humans together—miners to the mines, smelters to the smelters! I'll squeeze out their last bit of remaining value! That will be their final contribution to my mechanical empire."
Edison looked up at the largest light bulb on the ceiling, a look of rapture on his face.
"Heh."
Fujimaru Ritsuka sneered, slowly retreating back into the group. There was no point in talking further; under these circumstances, there was nothing left to ask.
"Alright, now it's time for you to choose. Will you join me in unifying the world, or will you choose something else?"
Edison looked at Mo Shuying and the others. Not far away, Achilles sensed the atmosphere was off. He uncrossed his arms and fixed his gaze on everyone.
"We apologize, but your goal conflicts with our ideals. We choose to leave. Please, President King, send us on our way."
Fujimaru Ritsuka spoke.
The lion-headed President King revealed a sinister smile.
"Heh, I thought you would try to deceive me first, make me drop my guard, and then seize the opportunity to leave. But it seems your courage far exceeds my expectations. Send you on your way? Very well. Achilles, send them to Hades."
Achilles: "...Yes."
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