"They've all arrived."
"No, there's still one missing. But never mind, we don't need to deal with that one. We just need to finish these off."
Just when Tia thought she had wiped out all the Hassan of the Hundred Faces with her Moonlight Mercury, another group appeared on the battlefield—this time, even more than before.
Tia was shocked.
She knew Hassan of the Hundred Faces was supposed to have 88 bodies. The ones who attacked Lancelot in the forest and the ones she killed here with her Noble Phantasm, Moon Spirit Marrow, shouldn't that add up to 88 already? Why are there suddenly so many more showing up? Tia did a quick count—there were over eighty of them.
Wait! Got it! Command Seals!
Before, Kotomine Kirei only ordered Hassan of the Hundred Faces to attack us with a simple command. But now he's using Command Seals to send all the dead Hassans out again, as if activating their Noble Phantasm.
But what about the last one—could that mean Alexander the Great? So they plan to leave him for Gilgamesh to deal with?
Heh… that Tohsaka Tokiomi really thinks too highly of himself!
Tia knew very well that although Hassan of the Hundred Faces was Kotomine Kirei's Servant, Kirei had always followed Tohsaka Tokiomi's orders when commanding them. So now, Tokiomi intends for Hassan to wipe us all out here.
But he left out Alexander the Great. Is it because Tohsaka Tokiomi thinks the one who saved Matou Sakura earlier was only Alexander? So he plans to have Gilgamesh personally take down Alexander as a way to "repay" him for saving Sakura?
At this moment, Tia pieced everything together based on what had happened in the original timeline.
"Hehehehe, with so many of us here now, do you think you can still fight us?" one Hassan sneered.
"You're strong as individuals, but we have 88 bodies! In terms of numbers, we outnumber you by dozens of times! Hahahaha!" another Hassan laughed loudly.
Just then, Alexander the Great came charging this way on his ox-drawn chariot.
"Hmph! Talking about numbers… huh?" Alexander said, "Do you know… interrupting a fair duel between two knights is something that really angers us spectators! In that case…"
As he spoke, fierce winds suddenly burst out from his body, blowing so hard that everyone around could barely keep their eyes open.
"Then I'll show you what real numbers look like!" Alexander roared. In the next moment, a huge white light erupted from him.
In an instant, everyone found themselves in the middle of a vast desert.
Looking around, the endless sand seemed to meet the sky at the horizon. A faint breeze blew across the desert, carrying grains of sand in it.
"This is… a Reality Marble!" Irisviel exclaimed, having been pulled in as well.
"This… is the King of Conquerors' Reality Marble?" Emiya Kiritsugu said as he shielded Irisviel.
Tia, of course, already knew this, so she wasn't surprised.
But the others reacted very differently.
"A Reality Marble?!" Kayneth frowned, then glared at Waver with hostility. "Hmph! Waver, you really…"
Diarmuid let out a silent sigh…
Waver, trembling, stepped back two paces to hide behind Alexander before finally feeling relieved. Then he looked around at the new surroundings.
At this moment, Alexander the Great's ox cart had already been put away.
"Isn't a Reality Marble something only the most powerful magi can create, the physical form of their inner world?!" Waver was stunned, staring in disbelief at Alexander the Great. "But you're clearly not a magus!"
"Ah, that's right, I'm not a magus, so I shouldn't be able to create one. But… this world doesn't belong to me alone! This land was walked by me and my unmatched warriors. It's the shared image in all our hearts!" Alexander the Great spread his arms wide, and from behind the group came a vast army.
"Look! My matchless army! Even though our bodies were destroyed, and our souls summoned by the world as Servants, they still remain loyal to me. My unmatched warriors! The bond between us! That is my greatest treasure! My kingly path! The strongest Noble Phantasm of Iskandar—Ionioi Hetairoi!"
"Waaahhhh!!!" Countless soldiers roared in unison, answering Alexander's call.
"Here… every single one of them is a Servant!" Waver was shocked.
At that moment, a horse walked up beside Alexander the Great. It was his steed, which had also become a Servant together with him.
"You came, old friend!" Alexander stroked its mane, then swung himself onto its back. "As a king, I must live more brilliantly than anyone else, and capture the hearts of all who see me!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" his soldiers shouted in unison.
"To carry the admiration of all warriors and lead them forward—that is what it means to be king!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" the soldiers shouted again.
"Knight King, even if our paths as rulers cannot be compared because of the differences in our times, I still hope you understand this—being a king means carrying out your belief to the very end! If you choose to be a saint without desire, then you must follow that path completely! But when faced with rebellion among your knights, you wavered." Alexander pointed directly at what he saw as King Arthur's mistake, then turned his head toward Hundred-Faced Hassan. "And now, Assassins… tell me, is my army large enough?"
The Hundred-Faced Hassans, deliberately placed on the far side of the Reality Marble by Alexander, were now completely terrified.
"Then! Trample them!" Alexander drew his sword and gave the order, and his entire army charged at the eighty-eight Hassans.
Tia glanced at the eighty-eight Hassans and gave a disdainful smirk.
Tohsaka Tokiomi… Tia remembered that in the original story, Tokiomi's plan was for Kotomine Kirei to use the Hassans' sacrifice to draw out Alexander's Noble Phantasm. But to Tia, the Hassans were best suited for assassinating Masters, just as they had already tried with Waver, Kayneth, and even himself along with Kayneth. Unfortunately, they had miscalculated our strength.
If I had the Hundred-Faced Hassan, I'd definitely have them strike when the enemy Masters were asleep. Killing Masters is the most efficient way to win the Holy Grail War.
Meanwhile, King Arthur's face darkened after Alexander's blunt words.
(End of The Chapter)
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