The gordius wheel swerved at the critical moment, narrowly missing Saber and Lancer as it crashed into the ground, leaving spiderweb-like cracks in the concrete and filling the air with dust.
Saber and Lancer were forced to separate, each taking a few steps back while warily watching the uninvited guest.
Iskandar stood up from the chariot, his hulking frame, over two meters tall, exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure.
He surveyed his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over Saber, Lancer, and Irisviel in the back, a hearty smile on his face.
"Both of you, sheath your swords! In my presence!"
His voice boomed like a giant bell, causing the mist to churn.
"I am the King of Conquerors, Iskandar! I have descended into this Holy Grail War under the Rider class!"
Saber, Lancer, and the masters observing from the shadows were all stunned by this declaration.
(This guy... he just revealed his true name like that?)
(Is a true name something you can just go around telling people?!)
Waver had despairingly covered his face, wishing he could crawl into a hole in the ground.
Not far away, in a hidden spot atop a large shipping container, Long Night Moon and March 7th lay silently in the shadows, taking in everything happening in the vacant lot at the docks below.
"Wow... so these are the 'Heroic Spirits' of this world?"
March 7th widened her eyes as she watched the scene below, whispering in awe, "That blonde lady's swordsmanship is so cool! And that uncle riding the ox-cart..."
Long Night Moon watched the scene below with calm, crimson eyes, softly explaining to March 7th:
"Saber, Artoria Pendragon, the legendary King of ancient Britain, the embodiment of chivalry. She possesses a powerful anti-fortress Noble Phantasm, has exquisite swordsmanship, and abundant mana; she is a top-tier Servant."
"Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, the Face of the Spotless Countenance from Celtic mythology, a knight of loyalty and tragedy. His dual-spear technique is extraordinary, and the Noble Phantasm he wields has the properties of 'anti-magic' and 'inability to heal,' making him very troublesome."
"Rider, Iskandar, the famous King of Conquerors in history, the founder of the Macedonian Empire. He has a heroic personality and possesses the EX-ranked 'Ionioi Hetairoi' Noble Phantasm, capable of summoning his army from when he was alive to fight alongside him. The boy next to him is his master, Waver Velvet, a student from the Clock Tower; he lacks experience but has some potential."
March 7th listened, completely dumbfounded, her eyes filled with admiration as she looked at Long Night Moon: "Big sister, you're amazing! How do you know everything?"
Long Night Moon shook her head slightly, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile that carried a touch of helplessness and doting: "It's just basic homework for a master. Information is the primary element of battle."
She reached out and gently ruffled March 7th's pink hair, "Did you remember that?"
"Mm-hmm!"
March 7th nodded vigorously, then looked eager to try, "Then big sister, should we also... go down? It feels so lively down there!"
Long Night Moon pondered for a moment.
"To be precise,"
She looked at March 7th, her crimson eyes holding a trace of hard-to-detect mischief, "It should be 'you' going down."
"Eh?!" March 7th was dumbfounded, "Me, just me alone?"
"I cannot easily intervene."
Long Night Moon shrugged, her tone matter-of-fact, "I am currently an 'ordinary master' and need to follow certain 'rules.' Exposing too much power will cause unnecessary trouble. As for you, you are my 'Servant,' of the Berserker class, so participating in battle is only natural."
"But, but..."
March 7th looked at the Heroic Spirits below, whose mere presence made her a bit timid, her voice dropping a notch, "Those people down there all look so strong... and I'm just an ordinary Berserker..."
"Don't be afraid."
Long Night Moon's voice softened, carrying a comforting tone, "You are not weak. Your Six-Phase Ice, and... you yourself are a girl who can bring about miracles."
She paused, then added, "Besides, I will be here to provide you with intelligence support and necessary little bits of help. You are not alone."
March 7th looked at Long Night Moon's calm yet reliable gaze, and the nervousness in her heart calmed down slightly.
She took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and pumped herself up: "O-okay! Let's just treat this as a special Trailblaze mission! I'm going!"
She was just about to get up when her wrist was gently held by Long Night Moon.
"Don't be in a rush."
Long Night Moon signaled for her to stay calm, casting her gaze back down below.
At this moment, Rider was holding forth, attempting to recruit Saber and Lancer to join his ranks, only to be flatly rejected by the two proud knights.
"The situation is chaotic now; it's the perfect opportunity."
Long Night Moon whispered into March 7th's ear, her warm breath making March 7th's ear tickle, "Do you see that Lancer? His attention is primarily on Saber and Rider."
"Mm..."
"Your ice arrows have good range and accuracy."
Long Night Moon's tone remained steady, but the content of her words made March 7th widen her eyes, "Take this chance and hit him with a 'black arrow'."
"A, a black arrow?"
March 7th stammered, "Is, is that just a sneak attack? That doesn't feel right... it feels like something a bad guy would do..."
Long Night Moon gently pinched March 7th's cheek, a smile of helplessness on her face: "Little March, this is the Holy Grail War; it is a battlefield. There is no absolute 'good' or 'bad,' only victory and defeat. Besides..."
She looked down at Rider, who was shaking his head in regret, and at Saber and Lancer, who remained vigilant, "Lancer is very strong, a formidable rival to Saber and a potential threat. Weakening him will be advantageous for your subsequent actions."
She slowed her voice, as if coaxing a child: "Look, your ice arrows are very fast. As long as you hit accurately, he won't even feel pain. This is much more 'gentle' than a head-on fight, isn't it?"
March 7th was a bit dizzy from Long Night Moon's specious reasoning, but her sense of justice and hesitation were gradually shaken by words like "battlefield," "threat," and "advantageous," as well as by Long Night Moon's soft yet firm gaze.
(It seems... like it makes some sense?)
(And big sister is doing this for my own good...)
She bit her lower lip, and a wisp of slightly unstable ice energy quietly condensed at her fingertips, silently forming a translucent ice bow in her hand, with a crystalline ice arrow nocked onto the string without a sound.
"I, I'll try..."
At another hidden high point, atop a shipping container, Emiya Kiritsugu lay quietly at his sniping position, like a lifeless statue.
The magically reinforced sniper rifle in his hands was held steady, and he calmly scanned the docks below through the high-magnification scope.
His primary target was Lancer's master, that Clock Tower Lord hiding in the shadows, Kayneth.
As long as the master was eliminated, Lancer would be nothing to fear.
However, just as he was about to lock onto the area where Kayneth might be hiding, the edge of his scope's field of vision captured a few black shadows flashing by like ghosts—the presence of multiple Assassins.
(As expected... the death of the Assassin was a ruse.)
Kiritsugu immediately abandoned his plan to snipe Kayneth.
Exposing himself while Assassins were lurking would be a losing trade.
Like the most patient hunter, he continued to lurk, observe, and wait for a new opportunity.
Just then, a sudden change occurred!
A magical fluctuation carrying a distinct chill came from a position diagonally above!
Kiritsugu's pupils contracted sharply, his sniper rifle muzzle adjusting almost instinctively, and the scope instantly captured the source of the magical fluctuation—
Higher up in the stack of shipping containers, two female figures came into view.
One was holding a black umbrella, wearing a black and red dress, with a mysterious aura; the other was a pink-haired girl, holding an ice bow, with the arrowhead aimed at Lancer below!
(New master and Servant?! When did...)
Alarm bells rang in Kiritsugu's mind.
He subconsciously placed the crosshairs of his scope over the head of the woman holding the umbrella.
However, in the scope, the woman holding the umbrella seemed to notice his gaze and turned her head slightly.
Across a distance of several hundred meters, through the high-magnification scope, Kiritsugu clearly saw the woman raise her index finger toward his direction and gently press it against her lips.
It was a silent "Shh—" gesture.
At the same time, her crimson eyes seemed to meet his gaze for an instant through the lens.
Crack!
With a soft sound, the lens of the scope in front of Kiritsugu developed spiderweb-like cracks without any warning!
(I've been discovered?! Magic? Or...)
Kiritsugu didn't hesitate at all; like a startled cat, he instantly packed away his sniper rifle, curled his body, and slid down from the top of the shipping container at maximum speed, disappearing into the complex shadows of the cargo containers in a few leaps, decisively abandoning this sniping point.
(That woman... is very dangerous.)
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