Chapter 241
"Splendid! Truly splendid, Assassin!"
Inside the Hanging Gardens, Caster of Red—William Shakespeare—threw his arms wide and raised his voice in extravagant praise.
"To recreate the legendary Hanging Gardens in this age... this is art! No, even calling it art feels inadequate. This is nothing less than a great undertaking worthy of myth itself!"
"Indeed." Karna gave a calm nod of agreement. "To create something of this scale while summoned under the Assassin Class is an accomplishment worthy of pride."
"Well, although I was summoned as an Assassin, I do happen to know a thing or two about magecraft."
Semiramis smiled in obvious pleasure.
She had to admit, educated men really did know how to speak. Every word seemed perfectly chosen to soothe both body and spirit.
"Assassin," Shakespeare continued in the same theatrical, almost operatic tone, "how do you intend to win this war?"
He swept one arm outward dramatically.
"The enemy currently possesses six Servants, with every Class save Assassin accounted for. More troublesome still, they have that utterly abnormal human youth among their ranks. One could hardly call their lineup anything less than formidable."
"Meanwhile, on our side, Berserker and Archer have already left the stage. Her Majesty, despite being Assassin, must remain here to preside over the Hanging Gardens, while I, as Caster, am regrettably not someone upon whom one should place great expectations in direct combat."
Shakespeare sighed deeply, as though lamenting the tragic state of an army in some grand historical play.
"Viewed from that perspective, our side appears to be at a rather severe disadvantage."
Achilles and Karna were nearby, one standing and the other seated.
Neither showed much reaction to Shakespeare’s analysis, remaining so still and composed that they might have been two statues.
"Caster, there is nothing wrong with assuming the worst before a battle," Amakusa Shirou Tokisada finally said from beside Semiramis, where he had remained quiet until now.
"However, your information contains a rather significant gap."
"Oh?"
Shakespeare immediately bowed with one hand over his chest.
"Then, good Father, if you possess some crucial information to share, this humble playwright is all ears."
"To begin with, Saber of Black has already been eliminated. Assassin of Black is gone as well."
Amakusa spoke with complete composure.
"So, in terms of Servants alone, the two factions are currently still evenly matched at five against five."
"What?"
The revelation immediately drew surprised expressions from every Servant present except Semiramis.
"Is that true?" Karna asked.
He had personally encountered Saber of Black before and had clearly sensed the immense power emanating from him.
Siegfried had unquestionably been a formidable opponent, and Karna had expected that they might eventually cross weapons properly.
Yet somehow, without warning, that Servant had already disappeared from the war.
"Hey, priest."
Achilles frowned.
"That isn’t the kind of thing you joke about."
"Of course not. My information is completely reliable."
Amakusa’s confidence did not waver.
As a Servant who had originally been summoned as Ruler, he possessed privileges similar to Jeanne’s.
Among them were powerful detection capabilities that allowed him to observe activity within a radius of roughly ten kilometers, as well as the ability to perceive whether the Servants participating in the Holy Grail War remained alive.
Therefore, the moment Assassin and Saber of Black had disappeared, Amakusa had immediately become aware of it.
"I see."
Shakespeare nodded thoughtfully.
"In that case, our numerical disadvantage is considerably less severe than I had feared."
"Precisely. That boy remains an unpredictable variable, but our chances are still quite favorable."
Amakusa turned slightly toward Semiramis.
"Especially since our side happens to possess an exceptionally capable commander."
"My, my."
Semiramis smiled, clearly pleased.
"What a delightful compliment. In that case, I shall graciously accept it, Master."
Then her expression abruptly sharpened.
The relaxed beauty vanished, replaced by the overwhelming presence of a queen.
"Very well. I will now assign everyone’s roles for the coming battle."
Her gaze swept across the gathered Servants.
"There is no need to concern yourselves with the enemy’s lesser troops. I have already prepared several thousand Dragon Tooth Warriors, more than enough to establish an overwhelming advantage against ordinary forces."
"The real problem is the enemy Servants."
She first looked toward Karna.
"Lancer, you will deal with Lancer of Black. Victory is unnecessary. Your task is simply to keep him occupied and prevent him from interfering with the other battlefields."
Semiramis had certainly not forgotten about Kiriya.
That human youth remained the greatest unknown in the entire conflict, so Karna, one of their strongest trump cards, could not be committed without restraint.
"Understood."
Karna nodded without objection.
"Rider, you will keep Archer of Black occupied. Do not allow his bow to interfere with the rest of our operation."
"That’s fine."
Achilles’s expression then became serious.
"But I have one condition, Queen of Assyria."
Semiramis looked at him.
"If that kid appears, then he becomes my opponent. No one else gets him. Any problem with that?"
"..."
Displeasure immediately appeared on Semiramis’s face.
As a queen, she possessed an instinctive distaste for those who refused to obey her commands without question.
Their gazes met.
For a moment, the atmosphere inside the chamber grew heavy.
"Well, perhaps that arrangement would not be so bad, Assassin."
Amakusa intervened before the tension could escalate.
"We may as well allow Rider to handle that young man. As for Archer of Black, I have another candidate in mind."
"Hm?"
Everyone turned toward Amakusa.
Yet instead of immediately explaining, the priest wore a faintly bitter smile.
His Revelation had just descended upon him.
And the message it brought was not particularly pleasant.
"I had assumed that, once we gained the advantage of flight, we would reach Yggdmillennia first."
Amakusa sighed.
"Apparently, I was mistaken."
"That boy has already arrived."
"What?"
The others froze for a moment before immediately beginning to speculate.
"He can fly too?" Achilles guessed. "Or maybe he has some kind of flying mount?"
"No."
Karna shook his head.
"If he had approached through the air by conventional means, we would certainly have detected him."
"Then perhaps he simply ran there?"
Shakespeare offered the possibility before immediately reconsidering.
"No... if he possessed enough speed to overtake the Hanging Gardens on foot, surely such movement would have been conspicuous enough for us to notice."
"Then he must possess some kind of Noble Phantasm or ability resembling instantaneous movement."
Semiramis ground her teeth slightly.
"That boy truly does have an endless number of tricks."
After a brief pause, she looked toward Achilles.
"Very well. Rider, you will deal with the boy."
Her voice became stern.
"I have only one requirement."
"You are not to allow him to interfere with any of the other battlefields. Can you manage that?"
"Hahaha! Of course."
Achilles gave her a thoroughly confident grin.
"Who the hell do you think I am?"
"Then what about Archer of Black?"
Shakespeare raised a hand.
"If Rider is occupied elsewhere, who will restrain him? And allow me to remind everyone in advance that I am most certainly not suited to direct combat."
As usual, Shakespeare made absolutely no attempt to disguise his cowardice.
"I have someone in mind for that as well."
Amakusa looked toward Semiramis.
"After all, Saber is still following behind us. It would be rather wasteful not to have her participate."
"Hehe. You have a point."
Semiramis raised a hand and activated long-distance projection magecraft, establishing contact with Mordred and Kairi Sisigou.
A moment later, her beautiful face appeared before the two of them.
"Greetings, Saber—and Saber’s Master."
Semiramis smiled elegantly.
"The war is about to enter its full-scale phase."
Her sudden appearance startled both Mordred and Kairi, but neither was inexperienced enough to remain rattled for long.
Kairi quickly regained his composure.
"What do you want?"
"I need the two of you to keep Archer of Black occupied."
Semiramis went straight to the point.
"Do you believe you can handle it?"
"Hah?"
Mordred’s face immediately took on its usual wild expression.
"Who the hell do you think I am? He’s just an Archer."
Then her eyes narrowed.
"But why exactly should I listen to you?"
"We’ll take the assignment."
Kairi answered before she could continue.
"Master—"
Mordred immediately turned toward him, but Kairi raised a hand and stopped her.
"Come on. We’re technically on the same side. We should at least contribute something."
"Excellent."
Semiramis had received the answer she wanted.
"Then I look forward to our cooperation."
Without wasting another word, she severed the connection.
"Master, what are you thinking?"
The instant Semiramis disappeared, Mordred turned toward Kairi with obvious irritation.
"That poisonous woman is clearly up to something."
"Calm down."
Kairi soothed her with practiced patience.
"Of course I know she has her own agenda."
"But at least until the Black faction is defeated, our goals are aligned."
His expression hardened slightly.
"Once that happens, everyone can rely on their own abilities."
"Fine."
Mordred accepted the reasoning surprisingly quickly.
"You’re the Master. Your call."
Then she narrowed her eyes and looked toward the direction of the approaching battlefield.
"Archer of Black, huh?"
A fierce smile appeared on her face.
"He’d better not disappoint me."
"Hey, hey."
Kairi immediately issued a warning before she could work herself up too much.
"This is only a containment assignment. Don’t get carried away again."
"I know."
Mordred waved one hand dismissively.
Seriously, what kind of person did her Master think she was?
Did she really look like someone who allowed her emotions to take over during a fight?
...
Back inside the Hanging Gardens, Semiramis ended the communication only to be faced with one final problem.
Shakespeare raised his hand again.
"Although arrangements have now been made for the three strongest members of the enemy faction, Black still possesses Caster, Rider, and Berserker."
His brows rose theatrically.
"How do we intend to deal with those three?"
"Hehe."
Semiramis casually swept a strand of long hair behind her pointed ear.
"Why, I shall deal with them myself, of course."
The Queen of Assyria smiled with complete confidence.
"You need only watch carefully and look forward to the performance."
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