Chapter 98: The terrain is favorable for me! Servants who are not doing their jobs?
Amidst the clamor of other Masters and Servants actively preparing for battle, Arthur's strategic planning never ceased.
At this moment, he and Merlin moved through the depths of the mountain forest, occasionally bending down, their magic like threads probing into the earth, meticulously sifting through the hidden ley lines.
The Fuyuki City underground ley lines had few core nodes to begin with.
The main residence of the Tohsaka Family, its administrators, was impregnable and could be considered one.
The second was Enzou Mountain.
The Ryuudou Temple at the mountain's summit acted as a natural magical workshop, with the ley lines serving as its hub, invisibly influencing the entire city.
That's right!
Since Merlin's attempts to build his own workshop always ended in failure, Arthur simply handed this ready-made treasure trove over to him.
He still couldn't understand why the other participants were so indifferent to seizing such an early advantage by occupying ley line nodes.
Admittedly, the Tohsaka main residence was guarded by Hero King Gilgamesh, making it impossible for ordinary people to approach.
But Enzou Mountain was wide open, practically undefended!
To take a step back, the Fuyuki Church in the southern suburbs and the New Metropolitan Hall in the eastern district were also ley line nodes capable of accommodating the Holy Grail's descent.
Gaining a geographical advantage first was always a good thing.
Time quietly slipped away as the two focused on sifting through the ley lines.
As night fell and the pale moonlight poured down, it signaled that the fires of the Holy Grail War had reignited.
Merlin, whose connection to the ley lines had grown deeper, smiled faintly and gestured with a hand, full of interest.
"Master, there are intense magical fluctuations in the west, it should be Lia and her group engaging Diarmuid's team."
"West side?"
Arthur squatted down, touched the ground with two fingers, closed his eyes, and focused on sensing the specific situation in the west.
"There are only two Servant reactions, are the other teams not planning to intervene?"
Merlin shrugged, his smile relaxed.
"Perhaps they haven't received the battle report yet, after all, Servants with exceptional perception range are rare."
Arthur focused and expanded his perception range, then shook his head calmly, refuting him.
"Regardless of the other teams for now, the Tohsaka Family couldn't be unaware."
Hearing the hidden meaning in his Master's words, Merlin gave an awkward smile and raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Master, Hero King Gilgamesh is not easy to deal with; rashly using Clairvoyance to peek might alert him."
Arthur smiled nonchalantly: "That'll have to wait until he changes that arrogant and conceited attitude. Get to work."
The incubus, attempting to slack off, was once again precisely handled by his Master, and could only activate Clairvoyance, his gaze piercing directly into the Tohsaka main residence.
"Hmm—hmm!"
"The Tohsaka Master is also observing the battle; for now, it seems they have no intention of intervening."
Arthur's eyes flickered slightly as he pressed on: "What about Gilgamesh? Will he obediently listen?"
Merlin raised a hand to scratch his cheek, explaining in his usual tone.
"Gilgamesh is currently in the underground suite, savoring fine wine, completely unaware of the outside conflict."
Arthur shook his head and chuckled at the news.
"Truly worthy of being the most arrogant and conceited King."
After a brief moment of emotion, the Master and Servant once again immersed themselves in the ley lines, meticulously sensing every ripple of magic in the west.
Due to a left-hand injury, Artoria couldn't exert her full strength.
Fortunately, she had already discerned Diarmuid's Noble Phantasm's true nature, so maneuvering for a while was not an issue.
Conversely, inside the castle, Kenneth's magical reaction, which had been as fiery as a blaze, suddenly turned into a decaying force, clearly indicating he had suffered a severe injury.
Subsequently, Diarmuid's magical reaction instantly flashed near Kenneth, and both quickly withdrew from the Einzbern castle grounds.
Arthur withdrew his fingers, stood up, stretched, and grumbled.
"Lost again? Is this the terror of E-rank Luck?"
…The Crimson King's Dividing Line…
A gentle breeze rustled through the treetops, and the air was filled with the crispness unique to morning.
Fujimura Taiga, embracing the weekend, dragged a sleepy Arthur out of the house bright and early, heading straight for the Shopping Street!
After dawdling halfway, Taiga impatiently put her hands on her hips and shouted at the unenthusiastic Arthur.
"Walk faster! The Arcade recently got a lot of new games, if we're late, we'll have to queue for ages!"
Arthur yawned lazily and waved his hand to reassure her.
"Don't worry, you definitely won't have to queue."
After all, subtle suggestion spells, though minor, were quite useful at times.
Taiga, of course, couldn't hear Arthur's thoughts; she just pouted angrily and pushed his back hard, urging him to hurry forward.
But they hadn't gone far when Taiga felt Arthur's steps abruptly halt, as if he were nailed to the spot like an iron stake, not moving an inch.
At this point, Taiga peered forward and saw a pair of individuals with a striking size difference standing at the entrance of the Shopping Street.
One was a young man in a dark blue suit with a bob haircut, exuding a faint aura of vulnerability.
The other was a red-haired muscular man over two meters tall, wearing a white T-shirt with bulging muscles.
Taiga subtly nudged Arthur with her elbow and whispered, "Acquaintances?"
Arthur shook his head slightly, then gently waved a hand in front of Taiga's eyes, completing the suggestion, and then asked aloud.
"Conqueror, why are you here?"
Iskandar turned at the sound, carefully recognized the magical fluctuations emanating from Arthur, and grinned.
"It's you, Lionheart King."
"Lionheart King!?"
Waver's face instantly changed, and he quickly shrank behind Iskandar's broad back, not even daring to show his head.
Arthur looked at the trembling Waver with interest and reminded him.
"What are you afraid of? Combat is forbidden during the day."
"Oh… oh right!"
Waver secretly breathed a sigh of relief at the words.
He awkwardly stepped out from behind Iskandar, trying his best to appear composed.
Iskandar patted his Master's slender shoulder in encouragement.
Then, he proudly pointed to the white T-shirt with the 'Grand Strategy' logo printed on his chest, a look of triumph on his face.
"I'm preparing the wine needed for a banquet; you should come too!"
"A banquet?"
Arthur frowned slightly, realizing he couldn't follow the other's thought process at all.
Even if it was daytime and combat was forbidden, no Servant would be so leisurely as to go and hold a banquet, right?
Iskandar saw his confusion and explained proudly.
"Drinking capacity is a measure of one's capacity!"
"If one can conquer an opponent on a spiritual level, why isn't that a great victory?"
A hint of understanding flashed in Arthur's eyes, and his tone became subtly nuanced as he replied.
"So, you intend to decide the ownership of the Holy Grail with a banquet?"
Iskandar seemed to completely miss the insincerity in Arthur's words, instead raising his head with even greater confidence.
"Why not? That 'Goldie' has already promised me he'll come!"
"Goldie?"
It must be said that Iskandar indeed had some talent when it came to coining nicknames.
At least the moment Arthur heard this appellation, the image of Gilgamesh, who constantly uttered "mongrel" and "this King," clearly appeared in his mind.
"You managed to invite that arrogant fellow? Have you been to the Tohsaka main residence?"
In response to Arthur's question, Iskandar scratched his head in confusion and pointed to the liveliest and most bustling Arcade in the Shopping Street.
"No, I just happened to see him walk into that place a moment ago, so I casually extended an invitation."
Arthur: (°□° ;)
Alright, alright, alright!
One is buying wine to prepare for a banquet? The other is going into an Arcade to play games?
You Servants really are one more playful than the next!
Fine!
I'll just have to see what other shenanigans you idle bunch can pull off at this banquet!