There is a sword, a Japanese sword.
The knife is three feet and three inches long and one and a half inches wide.
The blade is like frost and snow, and the blade pattern is like clouds. Even with the scabbard blocking the way, one can still feel a chill coming towards him.
Even from the perspective of servants who are proficient in all weapons from ancient and modern times, this sword is a top-quality product that can be called first-class, a weapon specially created for combat.
Even if used in a battle between Servants, it is more than enough.
However, surprisingly, the person holding the sword was not just any Servant, but a Master.
The priest named Shirou held the knife in his right hand, and with his left index and middle fingers together, he moved along the blade from bottom to top.
It was not known whether it was accidental or deliberate testing, but the sharp blade cut the priest's finger. Red blood quickly overflowed and flowed through the hideous blood grooves on the blade, adding a touch of enchanting color to the precious sword.
Shirou's face remained calm after the cut on his finger, as if he didn't care about the cut at all. He casually made a knife flower, and when he put the knife in front of his eyes again, the blade was as clear as before, reflecting the boy's brown skin and white hair like a mirror.
With one last glance at the two-character inscription at the end of the blade that was dazzled by the reflection, the young man, dressed in the same unchanging monastic robe, inserted the sword into the scabbard and revealed a sincere smile from the bottom of his heart.
"Thank you, caster, for making such a fine knife."
"No, no, my strength is not worth mentioning at all. It's just that the sword is a rare and famous sword. Otherwise, it would never reach the level of a C-rank Noble Phantasm."
Although it is not known whether Shakespeare was truly being modest or speaking sarcastically, the term "C-rank Noble Phantasm" still surprised the servants, including the assassin Semiramis.
"-ah?"
"What's that? Can you create a Noble Phantasm?"
"Your unique skill... should be 'ent'; is that the power?"
"That's right."
In response to Semiramis's question, Shakespeare puffed out his chest proudly and affirmed.
Strictly speaking, the skills of Crimson Caster Shakespeare cannot be called magic. It is impossible to strengthen the equipment to the level of a Noble Phantasm with simple strengthening magic.
But he didn't cast magic on the knife. He just looked at the knife that Shirou handed him and "wrote" how sharp the knife was and what a bloodthirsty product it was.
Language and words can distort the real world. This is the ability of the writer servants, and Shakespeare is the most outstanding writer in human history, so he can turn the impossible into possible.
Concept Armament - There is a kind of armament in the world that works not with physical force, but through the concept of the object itself. With the writings that Shakespeare poured his soul into, even if the target is just a small stone on the roadside, it can fully have the concept of killing.
Of course, this ability has its limits. Depending on the level of the object being depicted, it is possible to create a Noble Phantasm ranging from the lowest E-level to the highest C-level.
"... Can I ask you a question? Why don't you use this to fight?"
Karna remained silent and asked. His question was indeed reasonable. Since a mere sword can be turned into a treasure, then just use it to fight.
"I will not write my own story, because I only have the talent to weave other people's stories, and I have nothing else to write. Moreover, I want to witness the end of the Holy Grail War with my own eyes."
Shakespeare replied in a firm tone.
Karna understood what he meant and said with a frown:
"So you're afraid of trouble?"
"Yeah, about right."
Hmm—Karna nodded to show that he understood.
"That's unavoidable. Your goal is to write the stories of people other than yourself. No matter if the outcome is disastrous or tragic, you have to write it to the end. Therefore, surviving until the last moment is your goal. Fighting on the front line is naturally impossible."
In response to these cold words, Shakespeare smiled with joy:
"We must do this! Regardless of happiness, misfortune, or the truth of despair! Until the end, watching your stories is our mission!"
As a Servant summoned by the Holy Grail War, this was a line that was totally out of character. He said with absolute certainty that he would watch until the end.
Atalanta and Achilles didn't know whether to feel helpless or angry about this.
"Master, what do you want to do with this knife...?"
"Is there any need to ask? Of course it's just a last resort." Shirou said, taking out something he had prepared long ago from his arms.
The cotton rope for the handle is an indispensable tool that is wrapped around the handle to increase the friction between the sword and the hand to improve the feel.
The lower thread of the scabbard is used to fix the scabbard to the belt for easy carrying.
After wrapping the cotton rope around the handle of the knife and hanging it around his waist, Shirou nodded with satisfaction.
"With this, the final preparations are complete."
"You want to go to the battlefield?" Semiramis's face changed and she shook her head repeatedly, "No, you are the Master, and you can leave the fighting to us servants."
"Although you appear to have accumulated a lot of combat experience, you are still a human being at the end of the day."
"If we run into the other side's Servant, it will be the end."
As Achilles and Atalanta said, compared to the Servants, the Masters who are still in the human realm are too fragile, and even with the Noble Phantasm they cannot change this reality.
Generally speaking, the Master should not run to the front line. Servants do not necessarily target only Servants. If the enemy Master is a rational person, seeing the Master running to the front line, he will generally order the Servants to kill him. As long as the Master dies, the Servant's death countdown begins. At least it is impossible to continue fighting with all your strength.
Moreover, the next battle is undoubtedly a decisive battle. Not only will the servants clash with each other, but all the chess pieces will be mobilized. It is a war of unprecedented scale.
In such a situation, as a mere human, he could not bear it no matter how hard he tried.
"Don't measure me by the standards of ordinary humans. I'm very strong." Maybe it was because his youthful looks and gentle smile were too deceptive, but no one took his words seriously.
Achilles shook his hands like he was shooing away a fly. "Yes, yes, I know you are very powerful among humans, but leave the fighting to us."
"I'm really strong!"
Semiramis sighed at the Master who was boasting about his strength like a child.
"Master, no matter how confident you are, please remember that you are my master. Your death is equivalent to my death. So, please do not risk your life."
Now that things have come to this, Shirou had no choice but to agree.
"All right. I won't fight while you can handle it, but if something unexpected happens—"
"With us here, there will be no accidents!" Achilles shook his hair in a chic manner, "You can just sit here and enjoy our bravery."
"Then I'll leave it to you." Shirou took a deep look at the city of Mirenia, whose outlines could already be vaguely discerned, and tried hard to suppress the boiling blood.
"It seems that Black has discovered us. I can sense that they are in a state of confusion."
With the archer's skill "Clairvoyance", Atalanta could, to some extent, grasp the situation of the city shrouded in darkness several kilometers away. Relying on the instinct of wild animals, she could also sense the invisible aura.
"In that case, I will take this opportunity to have the 'miscellaneous soldiers' line up."
Semiramis raised her hand high, and a cauldron with a diameter of three meters appeared in front of everyone, floating in the air.
"Miscellaneous soldiers?"
Achilles looked at Semiramis in confusion, and the latter smiled seductively.
"It's not a good idea to have only generals in a war without soldiers. Even if they are just androids or puppets, they are quite annoying when put together. I will select some dragon tooth soldiers. Three thousand should be enough, right?"
The Dragon Fang Soldiers made from Dragon Fangs were just miscellaneous soldiers that were thrown away after use... However, even if they were thrown away after use, the number of three thousand was really too abnormal.
"Of course the more the better... But assassin, that's impossible anyway, right?"
"Of course it's impossible in general. But as long as I'm in this sky garden, there's nothing I can't do."
Semiramis smiled confidently in response to Achilles' question. Under her control, the cauldron crossed the border of the garden and quickly turned around.
Instantly, the slightly yellowed bone fragments inside fell to the ground like rain. As they landed, they grew like plants, eventually forming skeleton soldiers with lizard-like heads.
"...seems very fragile."
Atalanta looked down and groaned.
"Ah, that's right. They are indeed very fragile, extremely fragile. But anyway, there are so many of them, so it's not a big deal to fight against Servants, but it should be enough to fight against androids. If the opponent's Caster is also a small soldier like ours, we might be able to defeat him."
"Hahaha, this is really harsh. But I'm afraid that no other Caster in the world is as good a writer as me!" (Andersen, Alexandre Dumas and many other writers expressed their praise.)
Shakespeare retorted nonchalantly. Semiramis had decided not to say anything.
"The black guys finally showed up."
When everyone except Atalanta could only see darkness ahead, the Thousand World Tree Clan and its servants seemed to have finally taken action.
This is completely different from the small-scale battles that have taken place so far. There is a battlefield, soldiers, weapons, and generals. There is territory to be fought over, and more importantly, there is a "king" to be conquered.
"So, who will take the lead?"
Atalanta, Achilles, and Karna all looked at each other in response to Shirou's question. Shakespeare, who was not going to participate, acted as if it was none of his business.
Karna shook his head wordlessly, as if to say "please go first".
Then, Achilles and Atalanta looked at each other. It seemed that both of them wanted to take the lead.
Semiramis shrugged helplessly, and Shakespeare said that he would dedicate poems of praise to the warriors who took the lead to add fuel to the fire.
"... Please discuss this peacefully."
Although they did not comply with Shirou's request, the two agreed to a compromise.
"I'll take the lead."
Achilles made his decision, but Atalanta summoned her bow as her weapon and raised it high into the air.
"But I will launch the preemptive attack. I was planning to release the Noble Phantasm anyway."
"I see. That's settled then."
"This is our first collaborative project, isn't it? How about a love poem?"
Achilles responded to Shakespeare's suggestion with joy:
"Oh, please."
But Atalanta frowned reluctantly:
"No, forget it."
So Shakespeare combined the opinions of both parties and decided to write a sad poem about a lovelorn man.
"ah-"
And so, with Shakespeare's chanting, the decisive battle began.
PS: Enchanting (Ent): Level A
The skill of Red Caster Shakespeare. It can also be called "Famous Text Endowment". It starts with "Now let me tell you how powerful this thing is. Please listen carefully." and reads out the verses like a raging wave. It enhances the sharpness or strength of the blade through words such as "can cut through everything in the world" or "can block all kinds of attacks". But each one requires literary expression that is enough to move the reader.
It is said that any writer who leaves his name in history has a high chance of possessing it, whether it is a skill or a treasure.
If it is Shakespeare, who is extremely famous, he can even make a C-E rank Noble Phantasm. If it is an E-rank Noble Phantasm, even a stone picked up on the road will do; D-rank has the opportunity to turn modern weapons and other industrial mass products into Noble Phantasms; C-rank Noble Phantasms must have the corresponding spiritual level, and they must be weapons that can match the words of the great writer.