[FDJ]Chapter 130: Trojan Horse Tactics (Patreon)

With eyes that could pierce through the tracks left in the darkness, he pursued them. Archer drew his bow and shot an invisible arrow before Don Quixote could notice, symbolically shooting it between the two mounted Servants.

"Sorry to interrupt your discussion. If you are setting a trap for me, there's no need. If you are gathering information about the unknown evil god, we also don't know much." Tristan narrowed his eyes slightly as he stood on a collapsed ruin. With one hand holding a bow and the other plucking the strings, it seemed as if the next arrow would be aimed at someone, the previous shot merely a warning.

Suzuki scrutinized the not-so-obvious Archer in the darkness, only able to make out a vaguely human shape. He leaned towards quickly taking down the opponent with weak poison and extremely low luck value. Eleanor, on the other hand, had so far almost indicated she wouldn't put in any effort. Unless it involved directly fighting against her son Richard's forces, she could execute any other order, but actual combat was subject to her willingness.

When it came to using Noble Phantasms, the previous impact on Berserker and Assassin had markedly different effects. It seemed calculated: Berserker was strong enough to only be slightly weakened, while for the bloodthirsty Assassin, Eleanor showed no restraint, indulging in sadistic pleasure and standing on moral high ground, justified in her righteous slaughter of evil.

Considering his Servant's attitude, Suzuki often remained silent after their rendezvous, leaving Eleanor to take full control. Eleanor seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Archer? You guessed that the knight and I planned to ambush you. My Master has seen through your weaknesses, and you still came alone? You escaped unscathed last night, but can your comrades arrive in time tonight?" Eleanor took two steps forward, shielding Suzuki behind her, apparently ready to join forces with Don Quixote in attacking Archer Tristan.

The earlier Suzuki who had just arrived in this era wouldn't have doubted, but now, through his second Servant, he had learned about scheming and insinuations. Eleanor's words implied that Archer should quickly summon other Servants, giving both sides a reason to halt this sudden encounter.

Suzuki was still quite unskilled in this area. Eleanor's expressions and tone rarely changed, always maintaining a slow, aristocratic manner of speaking, often using long Latin words. Observing her expressions, it was hard to tell when she was truly angry or silent, which could be intimidating.

The teaching at Chaldea included introductory knowledge on these subjects, but Suzuki could only recall specific examples. Applying it was like using a bunch of rulers and compasses to measure irregular patterns, a different matter entirely from recalling the information on Servants recorded by the Chaldea organization and gradually piecing together intelligence using Master authority.

Strictly speaking, Chaldea's teaching did not expect tools like Suzuki to understand complex games, conspiracies, or psychological insights. With the aid of magecraft, many magus also found it difficult to master these aspects.

Suzuki still refrained from expressing his opinion. He temporarily believed that following Eleanor's approach was better. If a battle broke out in the city, Richard might turn hostile in an instant. He and Eleanor could retreat unscathed, but the allied Master-Servant pair might not be so fortunate.

"Our Caster has not been on the front lines, and the Master has no intention of having him engage in close combat with you. As for whether Rider is in the city... you should know, right?" Tristan, like Eleanor, spoke firmly but had not launched an attack beyond the deliberately missed first arrow.

Don Quixote found himself in the most awkward situation. His Master desired a Servant battle. Perhaps due to her enhanced armor or slightly improved magical abilities, Aphaf was brimming with fighting spirit.

"Master, Rider is in the city. Archer has most likely already notified Baldwin I, the Rider. With the speed typical of a Rider, we won't make it in time..."

Before the elderly knight Don Quixote could finish speaking, Aphaf transformed into a state clad in shining silver armor, weaponless but unmistakably ready for battle.

"Vivar, I command you to defeat the Archer ahead!" Aphaf had already used up three Command Spells. Her orders remained firm as if she was certain her Servant would never betray her and would execute her commands without hesitation.

"Master, I suggest—"

"Attack!"

Don Quixote adjusted the lance on his back and, as he lowered his hand, drew the sword at his waist. "By your command."

"Don't worry. If Rider Baldwin I shows up, I'll intercept him. With your advantage against knight-class Servants, you should have no problem dealing with Archer, right?" Eleanor stepped back, seemingly intending to let Don Quixote take on the fight alone.

The second arrow, held for a long time, flew towards Don Quixote, who blocked it with his sword. Multiple invisible arrows followed, accompanied by the sound of strings cutting through the air, closing in on the elderly knight.

Eleanor timely used a buff ability on Don Quixote, significantly increasing his sword-swinging speed, allowing him to precisely block nearly ten invisible arrows.

Heroic Enhancement.

Suzuki confirmed that Eleanor had used the Queen's Crown ability, while also employing her third ability.

As Archer Tristan paused, Don Quixote rapidly charged up to the high ground where Tristan stood. The sword strike clashed heavily against the knight's sword that had not yet been drawn. Both used their secondary weapons, neither yielding.

Suzuki then accurately recognized how low Don Quixote's strength attribute was in his Alter Ego class. It was only with Eleanor's double buffs that he could match the B-ranked strength of an Archer.

After several successive slashes, the double-handed sword-wielding Don Quixote prevented Tristan from drawing his bow at close range. There was a significant difference in their sword-drawing speed. Eleanor's buff abilities not only addressed Don Quixote's weaker aspects but also comprehensively enhanced his offensive strength.

Tristan was forced to forgo his bow and use his sword to defend. However, Don Quixote never gave him the chance to draw his sword. In the continuous clashes, Tristan felt he was struggling to keep up with Don Quixote's slashes. He did not have the advantage in a power contest, and even in the initial few strikes, he had exerted his full strength.

"Old man, your Master's choice better be wise."

Tristan leaped from the high ground, using his movement speed to barely distance himself from Don Quixote. But as he slowed to draw his sword and face his opponent, multiple beams of light swept across Tristan's front. Tristan did not dodge, forcing his way through, relying on his exceptional anti-magic abilities to withstand Aphaf's magic.

After the beams, Don Quixote followed closely. The clash of their swords produced a flurry of sparks, especially striking in the night.

This time, with his bow sheathed and using his sword to defend, Tristan's movements began to lag, and the strength of his sword swings diminished. He was not a Servant proficient in close combat.

Soon, he felt interference from another direction. Illusory shackles appeared out of nowhere from a magic circle, attempting to bind the battling Archer.

But they had no significant effect. The magic took over five seconds to truly bind Tristan, and he had already adjusted his stance, instantly breaking the magical shackles.

Seizing the opportunity, Don Quixote struck Archer on the shoulder armor, forcing the latter to retreat hurriedly.

While retreating and advancing, the two Servants moved closer to the city wall from their original position. Aphaf hurriedly followed, seemingly intending to join the battle, using her bestowed sturdy armor to withstand the Servant's attacks.

"Should we follow them, Master?" Eleanor asked with a smile, looking back at Suzuki.

"Will the enemy Rider come to support?"

"That, I don't know. Archer appeared just to drive us away, not to start a real battle."

Eleanor seemed to be speaking the truth. When she was alone with Suzuki, she tended to be more honest, though she still withheld many things.

Suzuki was momentarily indecisive, but he noticed something different about the magical energy underground.

"What’s wrong?"

As Suzuki expressed his surprise, Eleanor was also taken aback. She sensed that the magical energy underground had become different as if it was becoming more active under some external influence.

Eleanor quickly summoned her luxurious chariot, pulling Suzuki onto it. "Don't get off. We need to be ready to retreat at any moment!"

Suzuki's first thought was that the avatar of the evil god named "Yog" was about to descend again. However, recalling the previous situation, he felt it was different. Those unknown creatures from another world did not affect the ley lines beneath the surface.

"It's not the evil god," Eleanor noticed Suzuki's concern and did not ask him to immediately take out the bronze mirror for protection. Eleanor also knew that avatars of unknown evil gods had little interest in the magical energy of this world and might even be "unaccustomed" to it.

Through Eleanor’s observation, the magical energy of the underground ley lines was accelerating toward... the cathedral in the city?

Following Eleanor's gaze, Suzuki also looked towards the relatively tall spire buildings in the city.

"What’s happening over there?"

As Suzuki and Eleanor noticed the change in the flow of magical energy in the underground ley lines, two hidden demons also sensed the problem. They immediately locked onto the direction of the cathedral and confirmed that the magical energy from the entire city was accelerating toward that direction.

"Could it be that the Singularity is about to be born early? Impossible," Elligos's giant beast, which he was riding, also became wary of the current abnormality, raising its fur and emitting low growls. If an angel arrived early, it would dare not show hostility.

Katina summoned a crow to quickly rise into the sky, using multiple angles to re-examine the source of the anomaly. Soon, through the stone bricks at the top of the tower, she saw the situation inside.

"How could this be?" She was momentarily at a loss on how to explain it to her companion. Not only her, but Richard, who was originally praying devoutly beside the ritual at the top of the tower, was also shocked.

The golden box containing the fragments of the Ark of the Covenant was not only emitting a sacred glow but also automatically began absorbing magical energy, attempting to repair itself.

All the holy relics placed around the ritual responded to the central golden box. The magic circle originally used for guidance temporarily became a point of convergence for magical energy.

The Ark of the Covenant was no ordinary relic. Simply relying on a fragment to gather magical energy for self-repair required enough magical energy to deplete Richard's Holy Grail. He was hesitant about whether to forcibly stop the golden box. He couldn't be sure if stopping the current anomaly would affect the angels' descent. However, if he did not stop it, the entire city's and surrounding area's magical energy would be temporarily exhausted. He also couldn't use the Holy Grail to replenish it, as the Holy Grail was also an indispensable treasure for him.

Upon hearing Katina’s rough description, Elligos burst into laughter. "We've all been too focused on the Servants and Masters, overlooking the one who initially gave up the Master’s authority."