"I never imagined it would come to this!" Inside Millennia Castle, after listening to Chiron's explanation, Fiore, acting as the interim Lord, couldn't help but lament. The Greater Holy Grail had been stolen. Lord Darnic was dead. The Black Faction's strongest Servant, Vlad III, had also fallen in battle. The current situation for the Black Faction was extremely precarious.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Roche's shouts continuously echoed in the council room. "Let me go, let me go!"
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!" "My teacher, he would never betray me! Never!" Roche, whose hands and feet were held down by two homunculi, struggled relentlessly. He simply couldn't believe that Avicebron had betrayed the Black Faction and joined the Red Faction. Ever since he learned of this, he had been clamoring to go to the Red Faction to find his teacher and get an explanation. But Fiore, who had already learned of Avicebron's intentions from Chiron, would never allow him to go to Avicebron. So she simply ordered the homunculi to restrain him.
Fortunately, there were still Servants present in Millennia Castle at this time. Otherwise, it might not have been possible to restrain him. After all, the control of the Golems left by Avicebron was in Roche's hands.
Therefore, when going to restrain Roche, Fiore brought Caules and Frankenstein along, which prevented any complications. No one among the Masters and Servants present paid any attention to Roche's wails. After all, the current situation for the Black Faction had reached a critical life-or-death stage. In fact, in this battle, the Black Faction's greatest loss was not Vlad III, but Darnic himself. As the Lord who had led the Yggdmillennia family for over a hundred years, Darnic's existence was extremely important to the Yggdmillennia family. But now, Darnic was gone.
This caused all the Masters present to fall into confusion, unsure of what to do. Looking at the solemn atmosphere around them, Shirou suddenly said, "I remember the Yggdmillennia family's original goal was to contend with the Mage's Association, wasn't it?"
Hearing this, all the Masters present trembled. That's right, they were contending with the Mage's Association!
But now, their leader Darnic was dead. Without Darnic, how could they continue to contend with the Mage's Association? Not everyone had the courage to contend with the Mage's Association. Moreover, with Darnic dead, no one could completely control the Yggdmillennia family, not even Fiore.
"It seems everyone doesn't want to continue the struggle with the Mage's Association. Then now is a very good opportunity, a chance to ease relations with the Mage's Association!" After hearing Shirou's words, all the Masters in the room turned their gaze to him. Only Fiore instantly understood Shirou's idea.
"Shirou means to use the fact that the Red Faction's Master is Amakusa Shirou Tokisada?"
"That's right!" He nodded at the clever Fiore. "In fact, the Masters sent by the Mage's Association to the Red Faction have all been controlled by Amakusa Shirou Tokisada. He's using the Red Faction Servants to achieve his own wish."
"That means he used the Mage's Association!"
"And more importantly is his wish, the salvation of all humanity!"
"Although we don't yet know the specific details of his wish, from his statements, it's a large-scale wish affecting all humanity. The Mage's Association will not allow such a thing."
"And the Mage's Association will have to rely on us to stop the Red Faction. In that case, the Yggdmillennia family might not be purged afterwards." After listening to Shirou's explanation, a light suddenly appeared in the eyes of the Masters present. That's right, in that case, they might still survive. The crowd, having found a glimmer of hope, couldn't help but rejoice. But Fiore heard another meaning from Shirou's words.
However, just as she was about to ask, she was stopped by Chiron. At the same time, Shirou also gave her a meaningful glance. Seeing this, Fiore no longer asked anything further.
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In Fiore's room, all remaining Black Faction Servants, along with Jeanne, Fiore, and Caules, were gathered. After concluding the explanations to everyone, the scattered group met again here.
"Shirou, from what you said earlier, do you already have a method to deal with the Red Faction?" After all, the idea Shirou proposed earlier was for the continuation of Yggdmillennia, but if the Red Faction won this Holy Grail War, no one knew what would happen.
"That's right, I do have some plans in mind!"
"Is it feasible?" Chiron was also extremely expectant of
the plan Shirou spoke of. Even he had not thought of any method at this time. After all, the difference in numbers and quality between the two sides was simply too great.
Now, including both Rulers, the Red Faction had seven people, while the Black Faction had only five. Even so, the Red Faction's Servants were all top-tier existences in terms of quality. Such a situation truly left Chiron at a loss as to how to break the deadlock.
"It should be feasible. With Roche here, we can lure Avicebron out at any time, so this plan cannot be told to Roche, otherwise it will easily be leaked."
"The current Roche is no longer on our side! He's probably
thinking about how to find Avicebron at all times. This is good; only this way can we lure Avicebron out."
"Given Avicebron's personality, even if he suspects a trap, he will come. After all, this is his wish!"
"But even without Avicebron, we still can't contend with the Red Faction!" Facing Shirou's optimism, Chiron analyzed with some helplessness. "According to your words, their Caster is Shakespeare, who lacks frontal combat ability and will stay by Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's side as support."
"In that case, you confronting Karna, me confronting Achilles, and Jeanne confronting Amakusa Shirou Tokisada should be feasible!"
"But what about the remaining Atalanta and Semiramis?
Astolfo and Frankenstein definitely can't take on those two."
"It's more than just 'can't take them on'!" Shirou, understanding the power difference, couldn't help but retort, "Within the Hanging Gardens, Semiramis's strength will definitely not be much weaker than Karna's and Achilles's. Forget one-on-one, even if both of them went together, they would never be her match!"
"Hmph hmph!"
"Heh heh!" Hearing Shirou's assessment, Frankenstein and Astolfo both expressed their sentiments. One was filled with dissatisfaction, while the other was keenly aware of his own limitations. Shirou just smiled at this.
"Don't worry, this situation is only temporary; it may yet change later." Seeing Shirou's confident expression, Chiron, though having doubts, did not ask further. After all, every Servant has their own secrets. Perhaps Shirou even possesses a Noble Phantasm that could change the current situation!
"But now that our side is weaker, won't the Red Faction just gather and launch a surprise attack on our fortress, wiping us all out?" Regarding Fiore's concern, Shirou and Chiron exchanged glances, then smiled.
"Don't worry, Master, the other side won't launch a surprise attack on us."
"After all, our numbers are not small. If too few of their people come, it's very likely they'll just be sent to their deaths. But if too many come, their main base will be in
danger instead."
"Their main base in danger?" Hearing this, everyone except Shirou and Chiron looked bewildered.
"Of course, after all, Emiya's Noble Phantasm Unlimited Blade Works, once it pulls enemies in, can hold several people at once!"
"This way, the remaining people can simply overpower them by number and enter the aerial fortress to destroy the Greater Holy Grail!"
"From their perspective, aside from destroying the Greater Holy Grail to prevent them from obtaining it, we have no other way to turn the tide. Of course, this is also my thought."
"Therefore, to prevent any accidents, the other side will absolutely not easily transfer their main forces away from the Hanging Gardens."
"And this gives us a chance to turn the tide!" Shirou declared, continuing Chiron's words.
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