Dark clouds obscured the moonlight, and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere permeated the air.
It was as if the whole world was holding its breath, awaiting an inevitable storm.
When Rider concluded his debate on kingship with the words, “Just a little girl, bound by the idol called ‘King’…”, Saber’s eyes turned utterly sharp.
Her eyes burned like two emerald flames.
Enraged by Rider’s words, the magic power within her began to surge, like a volcano about to erupt, nearly reaching the point where she could no longer restrain herself from acting.
As the Knight King, whose name would live through the ages, to be described by Rider as “a little girl, bound by the idol called ‘King’” was the greatest insult to her.
“You can’t say that, Rider.”
Saber’s fury was interrupted by another person.
An outsider, completely unrelated to kings, had inserted himself into the path of judgment between kings.
Chen Yu’s eyes were somewhat unfocused, his body swayed slightly, and a faint smile still hung on his lips, clearly indicating he was a bit drunk.
“Darling, you’re drunk after just one cup?”
Nyarlathotep looked at the empty golden wine glass and, smelling the alcohol emanating from Chen Yu, considerately supported him, preventing him from potentially falling due to intoxication.
Chen Yu shook his head, pushed away Nyarlathotep’s support, and, somewhat unsteadily, said to Nyarlathotep, “Nyarlathotep, I’m not yet incoherent…”
After one cup of the magic-filled King’s Wine, the world seemed to suddenly become soft and blurry.
Everything around him was as real as a dream, yet as illusory as reality.
Saber turned her gaze to Chen Yu.
“Caster’s Master, do you also mean to mock my path of kingship?”
“Mock you? No… of course not… how could I…”
Seeing Chen Yu say he wasn’t mocking her, Saber’s expression improved slightly.
But Chen Yu’s subsequent words caused the faces of Saber, Rider, and Archer—the three kings—to change dramatically.
“If I were to mock your path of kingship, then I wouldn’t just mock you, Saber; I would mock all three of you.”
After saying this, Chen Yu, fearing others wouldn’t understand, specifically pointed at Saber, Rider, and Archer: “Yes, you! The paths of kingship that the three of you are currently competing over are all trash!”
“You seek death!”
“Mongrel!”
“…”
Archer stood up in a rage, throwing his golden cup to the ground.
“Does a mongrel dare to presume to comment on the path of kingship?!”
Although Archer found Chen Yu to be a very interesting person, that didn’t mean he could violate his dignity.
Since he made a mistake, he needed to be punished!
A golden ripple appeared behind Archer, and a golden sword was launched by Archer as a noble phantasm.
Facing the rapidly approaching noble phantasm, Nyarlathotep wanted to stand up and block it, but Chen Yu stopped her.
When the noble phantasm was still an inch from Chen Yu’s body, it instantly vanished, as if it had never appeared.
Only Chen Yu’s slightly trembling finger and the scattered sparks in the air told everyone that this was not an illusion.
“You have some skill. If so, what profound insights can a narrow-minded commoner have?”
In response to Archer’s question, Chen Yu, swaying slightly, walked from the audience seats to the main stone table, his expression unchanged as he poured himself a cup of “King’s Wine,” took a sip, and spoke to himself: “Although I am not a king, and I don’t understand any ‘path of kingship,’ I do understand the saying, ‘Times create heroes.’”
“The path of kingship you speak of is like a river. For an elephant, it’s a small ditch; for a lion, it barely reaches its knees; for a rabbit, it would be half-drowned just to cross it.”
“Three kings from different eras, with different productivity, different concepts, and different national conditions, yet you ignore your respective historical backgrounds and prepare to persuade each other, believing that by comparing your paths of kingship, you can contend for ownership of the Holy Grail? It’s like playing house, truly laughable!”
“Rider, you mock Saber for being desireless, like a vase. But it is precisely the ‘useless vase’ you speak of that overthrew the oppression of the Roman Empire, resisted the Saxons, consolidated the territory, and it is precisely the ‘vase’ you speak of that killed the rebellious White Dragon Vortigern, saved the people, and set about rebuilding the destroyed cities, allowing Britain to linger for another twenty years. Such achievements are sufficient for a king.”
“However, the demise of Britain was destined, irreversible by human power. The Age of Gods declined; when the era once overflowing with mystery and magic ended, and the ether in the atmosphere dissipated, the once fertile land became barren, food production was insufficient, and the land could not support the population. Coupled with frequent disasters, famine, and wars, the people saw no hope, and the nation would naturally perish.”
“Rider, if you were placed in Saber’s position, not to protect Britain as a savior, but to ravage Britain with the stance of an overlord, enforcing your tyranny, what would be the outcome? It would probably only accelerate Britain’s demise!”
“Rider won’t do, nor will Archer. To save Britain, one would have to reverse the demise of the Age of Gods, relying on the power of the Holy Grail to change the fact that the Age of Gods receded from the surface.”
“But then again, none of you three kings seem to be very capable. Although you are legendary, your nations were destroyed after your deaths, which just goes to show that your levels are actually quite similar.”
One died from overwork, one died of illness on horseback, and one was stabbed to death by a rebellious son. Looking at it this way, none of the three kings had a good end.
After Chen Yu finished speaking these words, a suffocating, brief silence once again descended upon the courtyard.
“How bold, truly how bold! Have you finished speaking! To dare to comment on kings, to commit insubordination, how do you wish to die?!”
Archer clapped his hands, his eyes as cold as the glaciers of the far north in winter, gleaming with a chilling, piercing light.
Behind him, countless golden ripples emerged: knives, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, forks… every weapon shone with a golden radiance, releasing an undeniable, intense magic power, ready to be launched, illuminating the surroundings of the courtyard as if it were daytime.
But standing amidst the impending deluge of noble phantasms from the Gate of Babylon, Chen Yu showed no fear; instead, he continued to savor the fine wine in his cup.
He seemed to feel no threat from the Gate of Babylon at all.
Nyarlathotep immediately stood in front of Chen Yu, while Saber’s expression was somewhat complex.
As the other person said, what truly forced Britain’s demise was not war, nor internal strife, but an inevitable natural disaster.
It was the inevitable consequence of the dissolution of the Age of Gods; Britain was destined to be destroyed.
If she wanted to save Britain, she had to reverse the fate of the Age of Gods’ dissolution.
How could she not know that what she pursued was a flower in a mirror, a moon in water?
But she still chose to rush into the fire like a moth.
Only to save Britain!