Both Britain and Ireland are island countries, isolated overseas. But what is interesting is that both countries have a closer relationship with forests than oceans. The Druids, which later became popular all over the world, are the most important heritage of Celtic culture, and their origins come from forests.
To this day, both countries still maintain a large amount of forest area. Take the UK for example, there are 15 national forest parks on 244,100 square kilometers of land, including inland waters, and lush vegetation can be seen everywhere.
The vast green space makes the UK's climate pleasant and its scenery beautiful, but it also provides a natural hiding place for many shady things.
In the middle of the connecting line with Fuhailin as the starting point and Fuhailin's Son as the end point, there is such a forest with lush vegetation. Even in late autumn and early winter, it is still green - no, it was still green a few minutes ago. Now all the green has disappeared along with the life of the earth, leaving only a dry and desolate shell.
In the middle of this forest that suddenly withered from its prime, there were two men, both dressed in black and robed in black, and of tall stature. Surprisingly, these two men, who were considered burly even among Westerners, actually had oriental faces.
The older one had long hair that fell over his shoulders, and a hideous, twisted scar above his left eye. His face was solemn, and his hands hung naturally, giving off an astonishing sense of oppression that would make one feel suffocated just by looking at him.
The slightly younger one had short, neat hair with strong lines, one hand behind his back and the other on the tree beside him. Unlike the former, he did not reveal any aura, and his expression was not so serious, but the magic power that kept flashing on his body and the complicated patterns around him exuded a power that was no less powerful than his companions.
After an unknown amount of time, he exhaled, and then his hands on the tree tensed up and he slapped it hard.
The next moment, the man's palm sank into the tree trunk and was completely embedded.
"It succeeded. The magic power has been sent to Fuyuki. Next, we have to see if the Greater Holy Grail will change as Hatteras predicted."
"Where's Hatres?" the long-haired man asked. His voice was very similar to that of the short-haired man. If you didn't look at the picture and only listened to the voice, you would think there was only one person here.
"No surprise, he's dead."
The long-haired man showed a trace of regret at his companion's answer.
"What a pity! One less person is qualified to see into the abyss of the devil. The heart stolen by the goblin could not save his life."
"It's your own fault." The short-haired man was indifferent. "When the princess showed up, I had already warned him to leave as quickly as possible, but what about him? He thought he had a Servant and was a 'changeling', so he ignored my warning."
"Please reflect on yourself before you say such things. The man's solemn face showed a little more distress. "Think about what you have done before. If it were me, I would not dare to believe your words too much, at least not completely."
"Hehe, that's a shame. It's a rare time for me to tell the truth, but no one believes me."
The short-haired man sneered while grinning in a creepy smile.
The long-haired man obviously knew about his companion's bad character, so he stopped talking and changed the subject.
"Is the True Ancestor's princess really that scary that the 'Changeling' and the Heroic Spirit didn't even have a chance to escape?"
"It is indeed that scary. No, it is scarier than you think. You have transcended the limitations of lifespan and have seen a lot, but you have never experienced the era of vampires. You don't know how powerful she is who ended the rule of vampires. Compared to her, Servants and 'Changelings' are as fragile as babies."
"So, that's why you want her power?"
"That's exactly right. That's why I want to gain her power and become an immortal, eternal being."
"Immortality, eternity, and meaninglessness."
The short-haired man was not angry: "That's only for you. Different people pursue different things. The 'root' you pursue is also meaningless to me. But it is precisely because of our different pursuits that you and I can cooperate. Otherwise, one of us would definitely fall into a deep sleep."
"Indeed."
"Let's go. There's no need to stay here any longer. Hatres is dead, and we didn't get the Servant. This plan has failed halfway."
"But the crucial half has succeeded. The Greater Holy Grail has received an excess of magical power, and the rules of the Holy Grail War will inevitably change. In this way, you may also be qualified to summon a Servant."
Hearing this guess, the short-haired man smiled even more happily:
"We really have to thank Hatreth. If it weren't for his final sacrifice, the effect wouldn't have been so good."
"This is the result of your deliberate induction. From the moment Hatteres chose not to leave, you foresaw that this would happen. That's why you asked me to use the barrier to block the breath of the 'True Red Fruit', and then release the fruit at the critical moment, in order to attract everyone's attention, so that you have enough time to activate the spell of extracting spirit veins and transferring magic power."
"No, no, you are really wrong this time. No matter what, I can't do that. If I could, Hatres wouldn't have died. Whether as an assistant in magic or considering the fighting power of the servant, I don't want him to die. But his death is inevitable, and we can only choose to take advantage of it. Don't forget, you and I, we have irreconcilable reasons, you for the 'root'; I for the princess, for this, the power of the Holy Grail is necessary!"
The short-haired man spoke in a decisive tone, and his tone was so firm that after hearing his words, the long-haired man's expression returned to solemnity.
"Let me confirm one last time. Are you sure that the 'Greater Holy Grail' can lead to the 'Root'?"
"Then I will answer you one last time. The father of this body is the supervisor of this ritual and has supervised the ritual twice. The teacher of this body is a direct descendant of one of the creators of this ritual. I believe their words more than Hatteres's investigation. Even if you can't, it will be much easier for you to deal with that woman with a Servant."
"You'd better not lie to me, Michel Roa Fadanyan. Otherwise, even if your soul is immortal, I have a way to make you fall into an eternal sleep."
"I believe you have this ability. The reason why I have not been discovered by the princess since I woke up is because your barrier has blocked the world's record—"
Before he could finish his words, the short-haired man called Roa suddenly dodged to the side.
Almost at the same time, several sharp objects flashing with cold light passed by the man's body and pierced into the dead tree beside him.
Then, the dead tree exploded as if someone had installed explosives, and was blown apart along with the cold light. The only thing that remained intact was the handle that served as the fulcrum.
Through this handle, Roa successfully identified the type of throwing props.
"Black Key? Someone from the Church?"
The next second, a fire lit up in the darkness, and a blazing flame burned fiercely.
The flames illuminated the figure hiding in the dark, a girl in black monastic robes, with short sky-blue hair and eyes. The hatred and resentment on her face were more intense than the flames in her hands.
The girl clenched her teeth so tightly that she even drew blood. The blood oozed out from the gaps between her teeth along with a sound full of murderous intent.
"Finally found you, Roa!!!"
PS: Don't doubt it, Roa has this ability. He is a master at playing with spirit veins. He has done things including but not limited to sacrificing cities and connecting with spirit veins for super-speed recovery, which led to the fact that every time Elquit killed him, he and the nearby land were destroyed together, which shows his attainments in this area. And it is not difficult to see from the dialogue that he has been preparing for the Holy Grail for a long time. As for why he set his sights on the Holy Grail, don't worry, just wait and see.