Rider looked at the renewed killing intent in the courtyard, turned his somewhat stiff neck, and waved at Archer: "The banquet isn't over yet. Wouldn't starting a fight now be a waste of good wine! Sit down, all of you. If any of you truly want to fight, I will stop you!"
After speaking, Rider stared at Archer, waiting for his choice.
"Hmph!"
Archer clicked his tongue in displeasure, gave Chen Yu a warning look, and sat back down.
Behind him, countless golden ripples vanished.
He didn't take Rider's words to heart at all; he just didn't want to get into a disadvantageous situation of fighting multiple opponents.
It was clear that Caster's Master's words were in favor of Saber.
Although that black mad dog hadn't attended the banquet, he was still on standby at the Matou main residence.
Starting a war now wouldn't gain him any advantage, so he might as well follow Rider's lead.
After Archer sat down, Rider spoke again: "Caster's Master, if none of us three are fit to be king, then according to you, who truly deserves the title of 'King'?"
"It should be a combination of your three kingly paths. The combination of the Overlord's Way, the King's Way, and the Benevolent Way. His magnanimity, his breadth of mind, and his abilities must be superior to his subjects. He focuses on the destiny and direction of his subjects, on this life and the next, and on the ages to come. He possesses both virtue and talent, is wise and enlightened, educates all people, conforms to the will of heaven, and governs for the public good, high yet not isolated. When the King raises his arm, the world follows; when the King calls, hundreds of families respond. He reigns over the world, protecting all people. I believe this is the true King, the King worthy of people's devotion."
As the saying goes, those with different paths cannot conspire together.
Since ancient times, ideological disputes are like argumentative people; it's hard to make others believe in one's viewpoint.
"No gold is pure, no man is perfect. The kind of king you speak of doesn't exist in reality, does he? Or rather, only an ideal king could achieve that."
"Indeed, becoming such a king is difficult, but this is the 'King' that people idealize in their hearts. It's not an exaggeration to call him the 'Ideal King'."
Chen Yu nodded, agreeing with Rider's statement.
"Heh heh, 'Ideal King', huh... What's the point of talking about a king that doesn't exist?"
Rider scoffed twice, refilled his cup, and turned his gaze to Nyarlathotep: "Since it's come to this, Caster hasn't been asked yet. Caster, why are you pursuing the Holy Grail?"
Nyarlathotep, seeing Archer put away his Gate of Babylon, also lowered her guard. She helped Chen Yu sit down and said, "Nyarlathotep doesn't have any wishes."
"What?"
Hearing Caster say that she had no wish to entrust to the Holy Grail, Rider was utterly shocked. This was far more important than Chen Yu's meddling with talk of a worthy 'Ideal King'.
Even Saber and Archer showed surprised expressions, and Waver and Irisviel were even more incredulous. They couldn't believe that she would participate in the Holy Grail War without any wish.
Nyarlathotep didn't care about others' opinions. Her eyes, full of love, looked at Chen Yu: "After Nyarlathotep arrived in this Holy Grail War, she already obtained what she wanted. Pursuing the Holy Grail is merely Nyarlathotep responding to Darling. If I had to say, Darling's wish is Nyarlathotep's wish, and Darling's goal is naturally Nyarlathotep's goal."
It sounded like a casually exposed lie, yet no one stood up to question it.
The love in Nyarlathotep's eyes was like a bonfire on a summer night, ardent and bright, without a hint of falsehood.
"Well, since Caster says that, then Caster's Master, tell us what your wish is!"
"My wish? If it were an uncorrupted Holy Grail, I might consider what wish to make, but with the current Holy Grail, I only want to feed it to Nyarlathotep."
Rider keenly sensed the hidden meaning in Chen Yu's words. He gazed at Chen Yu and asked, "What exactly do you mean by that?"
Before Chen Yu could answer, Saber, who had already adjusted her mindset, spoke first: "According to him, the Holy Grail is corrupted..."
Then Saber, in as calm a tone as possible, repeated the information Chen Yu had once told them.
Saber's words were like a bombshell dropped into the courtyard.
After hearing Saber's account, Archer showed a subtle expression.
Compared to ordinary treasures, this corrupted thing that carried the "Evil of the World" seemed even more worth his attention.
"Oh dear, this is a bit troublesome..."
Rider irritably ran his hand through his hair.
When he first met Saber and the others tonight, he noticed that her mood was a bit low.
He had initially thought it was due to trivial matters of unfavorable warfare, but he hadn't expected it to be related to the Holy Grail.
In terms of magical attainment, Nyarlathotep, who could manifest as a Caster, was naturally the most knowledgeable about magic among them.
Although the Holy Grail being corrupted was just the word of Caster and her Master.
But the fact that this Holy Grail could summon beings like Berserker and Caster seemed to indicate some problems.
Caster, needless to say, although she currently seemed relatively normal, she herself admitted to being an evil god.
And Berserker's appearance felt more like a twisted evil spirit than a Heroic Spirit.
However, was the Holy Grail truly corrupted, or was it just a misleading one-sided story?
The thought of having to verify the truth of the information when he returned gave Rider a headache.
If it was false, that would be fine; it would just be a smokescreen provided by the other party.
But if the information was true, he certainly didn't want to entrust his wish to a problematic item for it to be granted.
Saber and the others were also troubled by this.
If they hadn't received this news, they would only need to consider how to obtain the Holy Grail.
But ever since learning this news, Saber felt as if the sword in her hand had become much duller.
However, very soon, everyone no longer had time to ponder this question.
A strange aura gradually permeated the courtyard.
Saber and Rider's expressions changed.
Even Irisviel and Waver quickly noticed the anomaly in the air.
Although invisible, that cold killing intent, deeply buried in the depths of the soul, could be clearly felt even through the skin.
Accompanied by bursts of cold laughter, one pale-boned masked figure after another appeared in the moonlit courtyard.
There were men and women, tall and short, large and small.
The entire courtyard seemed to be surrounded by these strange figures.
Rider pointed at the two or three dozen Assassins that had already appeared around the courtyard and were still multiplying, saying: "Are all these Archers the ones you invited to the banquet? I remember your Master and Assassin's Master were allied."
After gathering intelligence over the past few days, everyone, except for Caster's Master who seemed to have popped out of a rock, generally had a good understanding of the other Masters' information.
Naturally, they could guess some things.
However, Archer merely retorted with a grim expression: "Tch, I don't care what these mongrels are doing; only Tokiomi could pull something like this."
Deploying so many Assassins was definitely not Kirei Kotomine's sole command; it must have been Tokiomi Tohsaka instructing him from behind.
Although the banquet was initiated by Rider and the venue was provided by Caster, the drinks were provided by Archer.
As one of the hosts, Gilgamesh, Tokiomi Tohsaka dared to send assassins to the banquet. This was simply disrespectful to him!
The thought of Tokiomi Tohsaka either forcibly making him retreat with a Command Seal or rashly letting Assassins interrupt the banquet of kings made Archer increasingly annoyed with him.
From this point on, Archer had already begun to consider replacing his Master.
A subordinate who defied the King multiple times, no matter how outwardly respectful, had no value!
Tokiomi Tohsaka, you have chosen the path of death!