"Irisviel!"
Saber ignored her own tangle, and ignored the debate with Rider, and rushed to the side of the acting Master.
Irisviel raised her head with difficulty and spoke incoherently.
"There are... new invaders... Caster's summoned monsters... They are surrounding us from behind, there are over 500 of them!"
"What? Caster?"
Waver and Shinji jumped up at the same time.
The former pulled Rider's arm hard and shouted excitedly: "Hurry up, hurry up and defeat him."
The latter looked at the back door of the castle with an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
"Is this guy crazy? Well, he is indeed crazy, but he shouldn't be so desperate. There are four servants here. Does this guy want to fight four alone?"
The Servants and Masters present would never know that Caster was unwilling to accept the failure of last night and was ready to make a comeback. He chose this time when he would not be disturbed. Unexpectedly, -
Don’t think about it. I didn’t kill you before because of various interferences, but I will definitely kill you this time.
"Ms. Irisviel, can you confirm Caster's location? Let's kill Caster together, and the extra Command Seals will be divided equally."
"No." Irisviel, who had recovered from the magic feedback, activated the "Clairvoyance" magic. "He didn't enter the barrier. I can't find his location."
"More cautious than before!" Saber gritted her teeth.
Scathach, the only one who had never belittled Saber's kingly way and wishes, put down her wine glass and stood up.
"Saber, Archer, Rider, you guys continue, I'll go clean up. Master, will you come with me?"
"No problem." Shinji's expression was relaxed, as if he didn't take Caster's summons seriously at all.
In fact, he really didn't take this group of soldiers seriously. He had killed more than 200 monsters with his own hands in two nights, not to mention that Scathach was by his side now.
As for the castle, he really had nothing to worry about. Firstly, he trusted the pride of the three kings. Secondly, he had left an eye here, and she was now secretly watching here in the corridor on the third floor of the castle.
"That's not necessary."
Just as the two were about to leave, Rider suddenly spoke.
"Saber's Master just said that Caster's monsters are scattered and surrounded. It is too inefficient to defeat them one by one. It is better to wait for them to gather here and destroy them all at once."
"Don't make a decision on your own, King of Conquerors." Archer narrowed his scarlet eyes and snorted coldly, "Do you want these bastards who are worse than bastards to defile the banquet? Or do you want them to dirty my Noble Phantasm?"
"Neither." Rider smiled and shook his head. "Well, you will know when you see them. I will stop them at the city wall. Saber's Master, is there any way for us to see the movements of the monster army?"
"Yes." Irisviel walked into the castle again, and this time her purpose was the crystal ball.
The barrier of the Einzbern family is indeed of a very high level. The attached "Clairvoyance" magic not only allows for far-sightedness, but also allows for observation of every move within the barrier from multiple perspectives - excluding the part that has been destroyed by Rider and Archer. Fortunately, no evil aura unique to monsters has been sensed in this area.
Looking at the image in the crystal ball, Rider smiled in admiration.
"He actually made these brainless monsters form an army formation. This guy Caster is worthy of being a marshal of a country."
"Don't, don't laugh. They're coming closer." Waver pulled Rider's clothes and whispered.
"Don't worry, don't worry." Rider's expression did not change at all, and he continued to concentrate on studying the monsters' formation. "There are still 500 meters to go. It's still early. Remind me when it's 50 meters."
...
"50 meters."
"Remind me again after 20 meters."
...
"20 meters, 19 meters, Rider."
In an instant, a whirlwind blew up.
The wind was hot and dry, as if it would burn everything.
This wind does not belong to the forest at night, or the courtyard of a castle.
The wind blew from the scorching desert, roaring in my ears.
Weber felt the prickly sand on his tongue and quickly spat out a few mouthfuls of saliva.
The saliva was mixed with dust and hot sand that could not possibly exist here, brought by the strange wind.
"Saber, Archer, and Assassin, this is the last question of this banquet - Is the King aloof?"
Standing in the center of the swirling hot wind, Rider asked.
The bright red cloak fluttered on his shoulders, and it was unknown when the King of Conquerors' attire had transformed into the Servant's original battle robe.
Archer twitched his lips, sneered, and answered wordlessly that there was no need to even ask such questions.
Scathach also did not speak. The aura she exuded said it all—there were no living people in the Shadow Kingdom now. As the only ruler there and the only outlier, how could she not be aloof
Saber did not hesitate. Her way of kingship and the years she had spent as a king had already given her the most truthful answer.
"The king... is naturally aloof."
Hearing the three people’s answers, Rider laughed loudly. The swirling hot wind seemed to echo his laughter, becoming even more violent.
"No! You really don't understand at all! Today, I will let you see what a true king is like."
The abnormal hot wind finally began to subvert and erode reality.
In this impossible vision, distance and position lost their meaning, gradually transforming into the place where the dry, strong wind with hot sand should blow.
"How... How is it possible...!"
The voices of astonishment came from people like Waver and Irisviel who knew what magecraft was.
"Is this... an inherent barrier!?"
The hot sun scorched the earth. The view was extremely vast, extending to the other side of the horizon covered by violent sand and dust, and beyond the cloudless sky.
The scene that was transformed in an instant from the nighttime Einzbern Castle was clearly an illusion that eroded reality. It was the ultimate magic that was on a par with miracles.
"How is it possible... to make a mental landscape materialize... You're obviously not a magician."
"Of course not. I can't do this alone."
Standing proudly in the vast barrier, Iskandar's face was filled with a proud smile, denying Waver's doubts.
"This is the land where my army once galloped. This is the scenery that is deeply engraved in the hearts of the warriors who have shared the joys and sorrows with me."
As the world changes, even the positional relationships of the people involved change.
The monsters that were originally so numerous that they surrounded half of the castle became a group and were driven to the other side of the wilderness. Rider was in the middle, while Saber, Archer, Assassin, and the three magicians were moved to the other side.
This means that Rider faced hundreds of monsters alone.
No. Is Rider really alone now
Everyone stared with wide eyes at the shadows that appeared around him like a mirage.
There was not just one shadow, but two, then four, the hazy figures on horseback multiplied and looked like an army, and the colors gradually became clearer.
"This world can be recreated because it is imprinted in the hearts of each of us."
As everyone watched in amazement, the cavalrymen materialized one by one beside Iskandar. Although they were of different races and had different equipment, they were strong and their shiny armors were decorated with extraordinary heroism, showing the strength of the army.
Only Waver and Shinji can deeply understand the true nature of these extraordinary phenomena.
"These people... every one of them is a servant..."
Only the Master who has completed the formal contract is qualified to have the clairvoyance to see through and judge the spiritual level of the Servant. Only they know the true trump card of Iskandar and the true appearance of the ultimate treasure.
"Look, this is my unrivaled military force!"
At this time, the Conqueror King raised his arms and boasted loudly about the cavalry troops in a tone of great pride.
"Even if their bodies are destroyed, their souls will be summoned by the world in the form of 'Heroic Spirits'. They are the legendary warriors who are loyal to me. They have responded to my call and come across time and space. They are my eternal friends. The bond between them is my greatest treasure! My way of kingship! My most powerful treasure, 'The King's Army' (Ioairoi)."
An EX-level anti-military weapon that allows the continuous summoning of independent servants.
There are the god of war Antigonus, the Mahalagad king Porus, Iskandar's childhood friend, Leonato, the governor of Hellespont-Phrygia, Ptolemy, the governor of Libya and Arabia, and of course Hephaestion, Iskandar's most trusted minister, and the founding monarchs of the dynasties of later generations. There are as many legends as there are heroes gathered here, and each one is a unique heroic spirit.
All of them had great reputations, and they were all warriors who had fought alongside the great Alexander the Great.
The only horse that was not ridden came up to Rider. It was a particularly strong and brave horse that could be called a giant beast. Although it was not a human, its strength was no less than that of other Heroic Spirits.
"Long time no see, buddy."
Rider smiled innocently like a child and hugged the giant horse's neck tightly with both hands.
It was the legendary horse Bucephalus, who was later revered and deified. Under the command of the King of Conquerors, even horses were upgraded to heroic spirits.
Everyone was speechless with amazement. Facing this magnificent army, even Archer, who also possessed an EX-level super treasure, stopped laughing.
The King of Conquerors materialized the loyalty of all people that endured even after their death and transformed it into an extraordinary Noble Phantasm.
Saber's entire body was shaking, not because she was afraid of the power of Rider's Noble Phantasm, but because this Noble Phantasm itself had already shaken the foundation of her honor as the Knight King.
No distractions and strong support--------
The deep emotional bond between him and his subjects, which even reached the realm of a treasure-------
As an ideal king, the Knight King could not obtain something in his entire life...
"A king must live more vividly than anyone else and be admired more than anyone else!"
Rider mounted Bucephalus and shouted loudly.
The neatly arrayed Heroic Spirits responded to his words, banging their shields and cheering in unison.
"The one who gathers the wishes of all the heroes and becomes their role model is the king. So—"
Filled with overwhelming confidence and honor, the King of Conquerors looked down upon everything around him.
"The king is not alone, because his wishes are the wishes of all his subjects!"
"Exactly! Exactly! Exactly!"
The shouts of the heroic spirits shook the earth and reached the sky. No matter how strong the army or how thick the city walls, they were no match for the King of Conquerors' comrades. Their passionate battles were enough to split the sky and the sea.
Not to mention a group of monsters that don’t belong to this world.
"Okay, let's get started, monsters - let's ravage!"
Rider's command echoed all around, ruthless and decisive. Then------
"AAAALaLaLaLaLaie!!"
The deafening sound of charging and killing followed. This was no longer a battle, nor did it even feel like a sweep, it was just pure devastation.
Wherever the King's army passed, the monsters summoned by Caster were reduced to ashes, leaving only a cloud of flying dust mixed with the smell of blood, drifting with the hot wind.
"-------Oooooohh ...
The shouts of victory rang out. The heroic spirits who had completed their mission dedicated their glorious victory to the King, praised the King's reputation, and at the same time returned to their spiritual bodies and disappeared into the other side of time and space.
As the Heroic Spirits disappeared, the inherent barrier maintained by their magic was also lifted, and all the scenery seemed to be a dream bubble, returning to the forest at night and the courtyard of Einzbern Castle.
PS: I won't write about this later, so I'll mention it first. The main purpose of the emperor releasing the royal army was to show Saber his own way of kingship, and to correct Saber's way of kingship and wish, which he thought was very pathetic. This was explained in the novel and the animation, so he used this method of grinding mustard seeds with a millstone and shooting mosquitoes with a cannon - whether it was against monsters or the Hundred Faces.
PS2: I have to admit that I deliberately arranged this scene because it cannot be missed. Without it, it would not be the Fourth War. I also began to appreciate the Emperor in this scene, although I did not draw the Emperor in "Fategrandorder".
PS3: I didn't choose Weber as the protagonist this time because I didn't want to deprive the emperor of the opportunity to appear. As we all know, the gay atmosphere in Macedonia is still quite serious. If Weber was chosen, the book would develop in a strange direction.
PS4: If I remember correctly, there seems to be a statement in the fifth volume of the El-Melloi II Case Files, which says that Waver's style of doing things is like Ptolemy or Seleucus.