Chapter 100: Let's Form an Alliance!
"Oh? What a surprise, I didn't expect our contestant Eikou to take the initiative to propose an alliance with the enemy side."
"In a race, forming alliances is actually quite a smart choice, but these two teams not long ago were fighting each other to the death. Can there really be a chance for an alliance?"
"Suddenly receiving an alliance proposal from Team Eikou, will Captain Charlemagne of the Twelve Paladins agree?"
Homeroom teacher Finn enthusiastically commented, then watched Charlemagne on the screen with some tension.
Charlemagne was seen bowing his head in deep thought for a long time, before finally laughing heartily as he refused:
"Sorry, I truly admire your boldness. But if I carry you guys for a stretch, and then you turn against us in betrayal, what then? The fewer dangerous unexpected factors, the better!"
"How could we possibly betray you, when I have upright and righteous Round Table Knights on my side!"
Eikou argued righteously.
Yet Charlemagne still shook his head.
"I'm not worried about the two Round Table Knights at your side, my concern is mainly about you. I don't know why, but I have a strange impression of you, that is 『generally a righteous person, but capable of doing anything to achieve his goal』."
"You seem like a very difficult opponent to deal with, I don't want to raise a tiger only to leave behind future trouble."
Damn it, he guessed right!
Eikou really had considered that after forming an alliance, he would then find a way to betray the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, using that team as a stepping stone to climb further up without the slightest hesitation.
"If you don't ally with me, then how do you plan to face those teams ahead all on your own?"
He still refused to give up, pressing the question further.
Charlemagne's gaze grew stern: "Of course, by relying on fighting spirit!"
"…You and your teammates, your thinking isn't much different at all."
Eikou regretfully shook his head.
"In that case, there's no other way, I'll just give up then."
Seeing him bow his head and sigh, Napoleon, who was watching the livestream, was a little surprised:
"Oh my, contestant Eikou so easily gives up like that? This performance doesn't seem like him at all."
"Nuh nuh nuh, Napoleon-sensei,"
Beside him, Finn calmly explained,
"If you think he gave up so quickly, then it means you still don't really understand this kid. I'd bet that right after this, he'll definitely say… 『Forget trying to sincerely persuade you, I'll just keep beat you until you agree.』"
"Then I won't pretend to be some righteous person anymore, I'll forget trying to sincerely persuade you, I'll just keep beat you until you agree!"
As expected, Eikou on the livestream said exactly that.
At once, he cast a sidelong glance at Tristan, who immediately understood, pulling back his bowstring, the arrow aimed straight at Charlemagne.
"Noble Phantasm release — Failnaught: Phantasmal Music of the Painful Lament!"
Tristan's Noble Phantasm had been unleashed, immense mana weaving into deadly threads, like a venomous spider's inescapable web, that in just another second would bind the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne.
Tristan's Noble Phantasm carried the effect of "sure hit," this shot would absolutely land.
Aside from Jeanne Alter, who was inconvenient to bring out, Tristan's Noble Phantasm was their team's one and only remaining trump card.
Originally intended to be saved for the final stage, but now there was no time to hesitate—fire it directly at Charlemagne!
"What?!"
Charlemagne was startled, and just as he was about to activate his first skill — 「Over the Royal Road」, a skill that granted himself invincibility — Eikou's voice cut him off.
"Even if you buff yourself with a shield it's useless, because our Tristan has a third skill with the effect of removing enemy buffs! In other words, this is an attack you absolutely cannot avoid! Do you want me to fire this Noble Phantasm at you, or at our common enemy?"
"..."
"So how about it, Emperor Charlemagne,"
Eikou said,
"If you won't ally with us, then we fight right now — Round Table Knights versus the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne! I'll have Tristan unleash his Noble Phantasm immediately and shoot you down! Even if your Noble Phantasm is clearly of very high rank, if you take a direct hit from another Noble Phantasm, you'll definitely be seriously wounded, won't you?!"
"Wait, sticking to me like this isn't cool at all!" Charlemagne looked a little taken aback, "If you use your trump card right here, you definitely won't be able to take first place either!"
"That's fine, as long as my misfortune can destroy someone else's happiness, that's enough."
"…Should I call you a scheming trickster, or an honest and straightforward man."
Charlemagne helplessly raised a hand to his forehead.
If he stubbornly took Tristan's Noble Phantasm head-on here, then the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne would only suffer grievous injury, losing any chance of victory entirely.
As a leader, the only choice was to yield to Eikou.
"Alright, alright, I've felt your resolve! From now on, we're allies. Don't you dare suddenly stab us in the back!"
"Haha, what a beautiful friendship! As expected, compared to ugly struggles, I still prefer communicating with the enemy through words."
"That's you using half-baked violence and coercion." Charlemagne complained.
Eikou signaled to Tristan at his side.
The latter nodded, immediately using his threads to bind the bicycle of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, like a cart hitched tightly to the rear, pulled along without expending any effort, enjoying the full thrust of Charlemagne's Noble Phantasm.
And with that, they were truly in the same boat!
[You and the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne have become temporary allies.]
[You have received high mobility acceleration from Charlemagne's Noble Phantasm.]
"Haha, though these two teams had once clashed violently, in the end they now stand on the same front."
"Team Eikou is now reaping the benefits of the 'drafting' from the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, surging forward in pursuit of first place! But will the two teams ahead allow it, and will temporary ally Charlemagne truly let him get his way?"
Finn the commentator switched the livestream frame to the front,
"If nothing unexpected happens, they will soon catch up with Baobhan Sith's team and Marie's team."
"The race has already gone halfway, but the alliance between Team Eikou and the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne has made the situation even more complicated. Let's wait and see what kind of spectacular performances they will show us next!"
...
[Thanks to the propulsion of Noble Phantasm Charlemagne, you quickly reach the fifth checkpoint. Please perform a Luck Check.]
[The one to be checked is you.]
[Check successful.]
[You encounter no trouble and smoothly pass the fifth checkpoint.]
[The Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne also pass their Luck Check.]
Eikou let out a slight sigh of relief.
Having been plagued by misfortune before, now that his luck suddenly returned to normal, he felt a bit unaccustomed.
[You continue accelerating forward, advancing with astonishingly high mobility speed, and the leading position is now right before your eyes.]
[Not long after, you see figures just ahead.]
[That is… Baobhan Sith's team and Marie's team locked in battle!]
[But as you draw closer, you can clearly see that these girls are dressed very scantily… it is swimsuit spirit origin!]