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IBHJ Chapter 573
🕑 Added 2023-11-15 01:21:55 +0000 UTCSquinting, Mordred said, "Many say Eternal King was a man of lofty morals. But perhaps he was someone who liked to bully the weak?"
Shirou glanced at her, smiling gently. "Don't worry. I won't harm your Master. Quite the opposite - I'm grateful to him now. So you don't have to deliberately provoke me."
Mordred went silent. His reaction wasn't what she expected.
Malice or anger she could handle, but this gentleness...it made her uncomfortable.
It wasn't just Shirou. Mordred was accustomed to malice, anger, and killing intent from others. She adapted easily to those reactions, yet somehow goodwill made her uncomfortable.
Perhaps she was simply a contrary person by nature.
Shirou looked at Sisigou. "Let me introduce myself - I'm the black Assassin. Like me, you're an outsider to the Red and Black factions. United we stand, divided we fall. Since we're both loners, why not ally together for survival and take the Grail?"
Sisigou looked at him in surprise. "Black Assassin, you want to ally with us?"
"Yes," Shirou nodded. "I still have some strength left, and your Red Saber shows promise too. An alliance could work."
Sisigou was stunned. He'd thought himself checkmated, yet his opponent offered alliance?
If this Grand Servant was as formidable as Kotomine and Mordred claimed, he'd make a reliable ally.
And this Assassin was the Red Saber's father, King Arthur. Their relationship was complicated, but still.
In this checkmated state, agreeing was the only option.
Refusing such an offer after being cornered would be foolish.
"You're completely right, I of course agr—" Sisigou began.
But Mordred suddenly cut in, provoking, "Who knows if your strength is up to it?"
Sisigou looked at her in disbelief. He hadn't expected the usually calm, rational Mordred to provoke Shirou when they were so clearly cornered.
Even Saber was surprised. Though they hadn't interacted much, she knew this Mordred had more composure than her rebellious knight.
Why the outburst now? Could Mordred have an ace up her sleeve? Saber wondered.
But she was mistaken. There was no calculated plan - Mordred had simply lost her composure with Shirou.
She shouldn't have been so irrational, but she couldn't restrain herself before him.
"You have a scheme, don't you, Eternal King?" Mordred accused. "Deep down, you're furious and want to beat and kill me, right?"
Shirou looked at her, puzzled. "Why would I beat you? What are you thinking?"
After a pause, he said, "Oh, I see. You feel I didn't acknowledge you. Don't overthink it. I do acknowledge you. My mind's a mess too - I don't know how to communicate with you either. But don't cause trouble, okay?"
"I'm not making trouble!" she exclaimed, churning with emotions she didn't understand. "Are you really Eternal King? My sword buried Camelot and destroyed its statue - it should deal great damage to all of Camelot's Heroic Spirits, especially Eternal King! So why doesn't it?"
"Because the part of me here is not Eternal King," he replied.
"Not... Eternal King..." she looked at him in astonishment.
I see...
She understood everything now.
No wonder her [Rest, Lie Down Forever] had no extra effect on him.
Wasn't this only natural?
The one summoned as Assassin was Fujimaru Shirou, not Eternal King. Her sword was meant for the King - not Shirou.
Wait...
Could it be...
Mordred guessed a terrible truth.
She pointed a trembling finger at him, looking shocked. "You - you knew I'd be in this war. Knew my Noble Phantasm has extra damage against you... so you descended with a different aspect?"
The more she considered it, the more sense it made.
The Eternal King, slumbering in Avalon as the king ruling over all creation, should have foreseen this.
If so, had she been seen through from the start? Were all her actions within his control?
Mordred was extremely horrified at the thought.
She absolutely didn't dare underestimate Shirou, because she could grow to this level relying on the wisdom he left behind.
Seeing her expression, Shirou knew she was overthinking.
Because it was too familiar.
The Camelot knights had shown this kind of face when they thought too much back then.
"Don't overthink, Mordred," Shirou said helplessly. But she clearly wasn't listening now.
He sighed. "Set up your Reality Marble."
"What?" she asked.
"Like your game with Saber, I'll show you my strength," he said gently. "I don't want to hurt you with real weapons. Don't worry, daddy will go easy on you."
Mordred: "......"
She bristled like a cat whose tail was stepped on. "D-Don't joke around! Who wants you to go easy?! I'll show you my power!"
Nothing else mattered now, there was no way she could endure being looked down on by this guy.
She gritted her teeth and stopped switching forms, instead reopening her second form.
Strange light emanated from the Grail as bizarre stellar patterns crawled onto Mordred's face.
Shirou's gaze sharpened at the sight. Though he didn't know Mordred's exploits, there was no doubt those patterns were proof of her existence.
A flash of light shone in Mordred's eyes. The next moment, strange ripples appeared in the space around them.
Here it comes! Saber thought.
In the next moment, two vast kingdoms appeared below them.
"This again..." Saber's expression was solemn. She had lost to Mordred at this game herself.
At this moment, as the illusion appeared, Shirou and Mordred's outfits also changed.
The two were dressed in gold and silver, with crowns on their heads.
"This is..."
Just as Mordred was about to explain, he gently said, "No need to explain, I know everything. This is Britain, reenacting the war between the kings, right?"
"Hmph! That's right!" she snorted, then narrowed her eyes and smiled. "You can take the south, I'll take the north. How about it? But don't worry, I definitely won't cheat or take advantage of you."
"You decide, either is fine," he said gently. "Rest assured, I'll go easy on you."
The north was Vortigern's territory, and naturally had more abundant resources before King Arthur's appearance.
It could be said to be the advantageous territory.
Though Mordred seemed to have lost reason on the surface, inwardly she remained wary of him. She wouldn't be as relaxed as with Saber.
Extremely cautious!
Therefore, she took the northern land.
But upon hearing Shirou say he would go easy on her, she bristled and resentfully said, "I don't need you to go easy on me!"
Turning around, she directly went to the southern land.
Yes - what was there to be greedy about?
It was just more land.
Watch how she would put him in his place!
Yet he only smiled and shook his head. "Such complicated feelings make you easy to exploit."
...
As the illusion unfolded, Shirou found himself falling into Vortigern's territory.
The capital was located in the fortress city of Londinium, vividly brought to life by Mordred's Grail. Though not perfect, the illusion felt startlingly real.
Shirou now ruled over Scotland and northern England, commanding a vast kingdom of Saxons, Picts and Britons.
The scene appeared to be set in the early days of Vortigern's reign, when he faced constant threat from the northern kings.
Sitting upon the illusory throne, looking out over his kneeling subjects, he couldn't help but rekindle the passion and pride he had felt in his days as a king.
Though over ten years had passed in his world, it had only been a little over two years by his senses.
Shirou had thought he wouldn't cling to the past, but sitting on the throne again made him realize his king's blood had never cooled.
Only this time, he was not King Arthur, but the Usurper King who had opposed Arthur!
Shirou considered for a moment and decided not to attack Mordred as Artoria had. Instead, he stationed his army at the border and began infrastructure projects within his kingdom.
Shirou was well aware of his own strengths and weaknesses.
His military tactics were not actually that good. Without magical beasts, it would be hard to replicate Vortigern's strategies.
Plus, from Saber's account, this Mordred was clearly no pushover.
Without absolute overwhelming advantage, it would be difficult to make rapid advances. Instead, he could get bogged down in a prolonged war, hampering his pace.
Moreover, the competition between countries was not determined solely by force like personal combat, but by overall national strength.
Shirou stationed his army at the borders and assigned domestic infrastructure projects.
Seeing this, Mordred had an "as expected" expression.
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
Interesting way to settle things.
