Because of this reconnaissance operation, Yūdō finally confirmed that everything Kotomine Kirei had said before was true.
The Heroic Spirits appearing on the Red faction's side this time were all participants from the Fourth Holy Grail War—every single one of them, save for one exception.
That exception was the Saber who should have belonged to Emiya Kiritsugu.
It was no longer Artoria.
Instead, standing there was an unknown Heroic Spirit clad in pure white full-body armor, streaked with vivid red lines.
Of course, now was not the time to be shocked by the change in Kiritsugu's Saber.
Because with his sudden exposure, Yūdō found himself in an awkward and dangerous situation—surrounded by seven Heroic Spirits.
"We didn't notice anyone watching us at all before. To hide one's presence so perfectly… that must be the Blue faction's Assassin."
As Yūdō's figure abruptly emerged, the expressions of the other Heroic Spirits present were all filled with surprise. Among them, Iskandar—the King of Conquerors—shifted his gaze toward the Archer known as the golden one.
Just like the Blue faction on Yūdō's side, the Holy Grail granted them the ability to perceive the true names of enemy Servants. However, they could not see the true names of Servants belonging to their own faction.
None of the others had managed to detect the Blue faction's hidden Assassin.
But their Archer had.
This alone made Iskandar keenly aware that their Archer was anything but ordinary.
Moreover, from the way the man referred to himself as "this king," it wasn't difficult to guess that he too was a ruler whose name echoed through history. That only heightened Iskandar's interest in the golden Archer.
"It's probably because the Blue faction was overly confident in this Assassin's concealment abilities that they sent him alone," Iskandar continued."Unfortunately for them, that confidence has backfired. We've seized the initiative."
Seeing Yūdō revealed, both Tōsaka Tokiomi and Kayneth were visibly delighted.
From the moment they arrived in this world, the Holy Grail War had already begun in earnest.
Sending an Assassin with such exceptional stealth to gather intelligence was clearly meant to scout their formation and gain an advantage for future battles.
But the Blue faction likely never imagined that their Assassin's concealment would be seen through by the Red faction's Archer.
Now, the Red faction had a full seven Servants present.
The Blue faction, on the other hand, had only a single Assassin—one not particularly suited for direct combat.
For the Red faction, this was practically a free head delivered right to their doorstep.
Surrounded by seven Heroic Spirits, neither Tokiomi nor Kayneth believed there was any chance the Assassin could escape.
The Blue faction had intended to gather intelligence—yet instead, the advantage had been snatched away from them.
If they eliminated the Assassin here, the Blue faction would be left with only six Servants.
Seven versus six.
Even setting aside the individual strength of the Servants, the Red faction already held a numerical advantage.
"This king thought it was just some stray rat scurrying about. Turns out it really is a rat—trash that couldn't even leave its name in history?"
Having watched his projected Noble Phantasm get knocked aside with bare hands, the proud golden Archer naturally couldn't stomach it.
When he used the Holy Grail's rules to peer into Yūdō's Servant information—seeking to learn just what kind of existence this was—Gilgamesh burst into mocking laughter.
Any being capable of becoming a Heroic Spirit was, without exception, someone who had carved a deep mark into history.
So what exactly was this mongrel standing before him?
A powerful great yōkai from some era?
In other words, something that couldn't even leave behind recorded achievements in human history.
Just seeing the suffix attached to Yūdō's true name was enough to make Gilgamesh lose all interest in reading further.
There was no need for anything more.
A Heroic Spirit that couldn't even leave a trace in history didn't even qualify as a mongrel in the eyes of the King of Heroes.
However, Gilgamesh's disinterest didn't mean the others felt the same.
"No way… This Servant completely defies common sense. Are these really the parameters an Assassin should have?""No—forget that. Are those even normal Servant parameters? They're absurdly strong!"
Unlike Gilgamesh, Waver—still very much a newcomer—cautiously used his Master privileges to check Yūdō's parameters.
And the moment he did, his jaw nearly hit the floor.
Aside from the strange true name, every other stat on Yūdō's Servant sheet could only be described as dazzling.
Earlier, his own Servant Rider had told him that while his parameters weren't outstanding, they certainly weren't weak either.
But when Waver compared Rider's "not too weak" standard to Yūdō's parameters, Rider's stats looked like a failing grade on a perfect-score exam.
"A failure really is a failure—making a fuss over nothing," Kayneth sneered upon hearing Waver's startled cry."What, did your Servant's parameters suck so badly that seeing someone else's scared you senseless?"
Even as he mocked him, Kayneth and Tokiomi both checked Yūdō's parameters for themselves.
And just like that, there were two more Masters standing there in stunned silence.
It wasn't that Waver had overreacted.
These parameters were genuinely abnormal.
An average of A-rank or higher across the board—several stats even reaching A+.
This was supposed to be an Assassin?
Even if the Holy Grail summoned a pure god, their parameters probably wouldn't look much better than this.
"We can't let this Servant escape. If he does, he'll become a major obstacle to our victory later."
Almost the instant they saw Yūdō's parameters, both Tokiomi and Kayneth made the same decisive judgment.
Kayneth immediately ordered his Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, to attack—then signaled the others with his eyes to join in.
Like Cú Chulainn, Diarmuid had Luck E.
But his luck was clearly better than Cú Chulainn's.
With his legendary "Love Spot," Diarmuid was infamous as a wife-stealer—a walking disaster for married men.
Unfortunately for Kayneth, he happened to have a beautiful fiancée.
When he first summoned Diarmuid, Kayneth was convinced he was destined to wear a green hat, and thus harbored deep dissatisfaction toward his Servant.
But then the Holy Grail War's rules abruptly changed, sending them ten years into the future—to Fuyuki City in winter.
Only Masters and Servants could come.
His fiancée was left behind.
And without her, Diarmuid had no chance to seduce anyone's wife.
As a result, Kayneth's attitude toward Diarmuid improved considerably.
As the Lancer class—one of the most demanding to qualify for—the moment Kayneth spoke, Diarmuid's body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
The crimson spear thrust out in a flash, aiming straight for Yūdō's vital points.
In response, Yūdō drew the long blade at his waist almost simultaneously, striking after his opponent moved.
As the greatest warrior of the Fianna in Celtic myth, Diarmuid's martial skill was undoubtedly impressive.
But Yūdō's was greater.
A++ rank — Infinite Martial Mastery.
This was not a skill that ordinary Servants—or even ordinary warriors—could ever hope to possess.
Among the countless Heroic Spirits enshrined on the Throne of Heroes, those who possessed this inherent skill could be counted on one hand.
Martial prowess honed to the point of peerlessness in a given era, achieving complete unity of mind, technique, and body—unaffected by mental interference, capable of unleashing overwhelming combat power.
In this Holy Grail War, aside from Lancelot as Berserker, Yūdō was the only other Servant to possess this inherent skill.
However, Lancelot's Infinite Martial Mastery was only A+ rank.
Yūdō's was A++.
The "+" symbol didn't merely mean "stronger than normal."
It carried special significance.
A+ meant the theoretical ability to unleash twice the power of an A-rank.
A++ meant three times—or more.
Though both possessed Infinite Martial Mastery, the difference in rank was clear.
Moreover, Lancelot had descended as a Berserker, robbed of reason. Even with the skill, he couldn't bring out its full potential.
Yūdō was completely different.
As an Assassin who retained his sanity, he could push this inherent skill to its absolute limit.
Diarmuid's spear technique—praised even by the King of Knights—was impressive.
But before Yūdō, it simply wasn't enough.
Yellow Rose and Red Rose alternated in relentless attacks, Diarmuid pushing the Lancer class's strengths to their limit.
Unfortunately, his opponent this time was simply too monstrous.
Like Cú Chulainn, Diarmuid possessed top-tier Agility—one of the Lancer class's greatest advantages.
Yet even so, Yūdō strolled through the storm of spear strikes as if taking a leisurely walk, dodging with an ease that made it look like child's play.
This outcome was hardly surprising.
Diarmuid's Agility was A+.
So was Yūdō's.
And aside from Agility, nearly every other parameter Yūdō had completely outclassed him.
With no advantage in stats and inferior martial skill, what could Diarmuid possibly use to contend with Yūdō?
At first, Diarmuid pressed the attack relentlessly.
But after only a few exchanges, he found himself repeatedly teetering on the brink of disaster.
"Who gave you permission to steal this king's prey?""Even if it's just a nameless rat, defiling this king's treasures leaves only one outcome—death."
Just as Yūdō and Diarmuid were locked in fierce combat, Gilgamesh voiced his displeasure at Diarmuid's audacity in taking his opponent.
With a snap of his fingers, golden ripples spread across half the night sky.
From them, countless Noble Phantasms of varying shapes shot forth, raining down upon Yūdō and Diarmuid alike.
Yes—Gilgamesh's barrage wasn't aimed solely at Yūdō.
Even Diarmuid, who was fighting him, was caught in the attack.
To the arrogant King of Heroes, there was no such thing as "allies."
And Gilgamesh had never needed allies to begin with.
His true target was the one who had offended him—Yūdō.
As for Diarmuid?
That was simply bad luck.