Xyrin Empire
Chapter 484 Swordsman

Chapter 484: Chapter 484 Swordsman

In the evening, almost as if by routine, Tohsaka Rin led her Servant to the Emiya Ruins and was startled upon seeing the fierce, tattooed, bald "Construction Team" bustling about cleaning up the debris in the yard. Of course, she couldn’t possibly be scared by these seemingly fierce ordinary people. What really made Miss Tohsaka exclaim was Emiya Shi Lang, who was directing a gang of mobsters.

"Has this guy finally been driven by life to join the mob?" Rin muttered lowly beside me, "Or has Emiya’s distant cousin, the boss of the Yamaguchi Group, finally found his long-lost blood relative?"

When Miss Tohsaka’s mouth was left unchecked, there was no telling what might come out of it. Indeed, it has been proven that daughters of noble families are the source of chaos, with Lin Xue as a cautionary example.

"Tohsaka!" Emiya, who was directing the "Fujimura Village Labor Corps," had seen Tohsaka’s arrival and hurried over to greet her, "I’m sorry for letting you see us in such a sorry state."

"Well, you have been looking pretty rough these past few days."

Tohsaka, are you mocking me?

"However, it’ll be a bit troublesome with all these people around."

Tohsaka Rin looked troubled as she watched the workers bustling in the yard. Clearly, she hadn’t anticipated that the Emiya Residence would suddenly turn into a construction site, or rather, although she had long expected the Emiya Mansion to undergo renovations sooner or later, she had never imagined that the seemingly unconnected Emiya would have such a decisive and powerful guardian.

Of course, what Tohsaka was referring to was that discussing matters related to the Holy Grail War would be very troublesome with them around. And judging by the looks of things, the Emiya Residence would probably be occupied by these people for a long time to come. Even though Fujimura had given strict orders not to disturb Emiya’s normal life, they were still ordinary people, and it was best to keep them away from the Holy Grail War, an affair where ordinary people could perish simply by scratching the surface.

"Let’s go to my house," sighed Tohsaka in resignation, "There’s no choice but to go this time. Oh, is the alien uncle coming too?"

Alien... uncle... You’re doing this on purpose, right? Isn’t it just because Emiya let that nameless unlucky Heroic Spirit escape last night? Do you have to hold such a grudge?

Compared to the half-hearted Emiya Shi Lang, Tohsaka Rin, as a magic expert, was naturally more concerned about furnishing her "headquarters." As soon as I walked into the European-style mansion that featured black and red colors and seemed to bear years of history, I immediately felt the slight tremors of energy fluctuations around me. These fluctuations were complex and intricate, obviously not a result of overnight work but formed over many years of improvement and additions of countless defense and alarm barriers resonating together. Of course, the half-hearted Emiya himself couldn’t sense any mystery in this seemingly empty western-style mansion. He was simply amazed by the sophisticated and high-class Western-style decor all around him, full of praise, joined in admiration by Zuotian Tsuruya, who, equally of humble origin, considered herself not very knowledgeable.

"It really is fitting for the daughter of the Tohsaka Family, this fireplace mantle looks very noble. If Chichun comes over, she’ll scream for sure," said Tsuruya, who had once again lost control of her super carefree nature and was already curiously approaching the fireplace, "Wow, is this ivory? It’s lifelike~~"

Cut it out, you silly girl. What’s there to be amazed at? The keychain I gave you a few days ago was carved from Northrend Emperor Amber. If you threw that on sale in the Eastern Kingdom, you could buy a three-bedroom and two-living room set within the second ring of Silver Moon City. We’re rich, alright!

Tsuruya’s affinity always worked like magic, and Tohsaka looked at this vibrantly energetic girl with no sign of impatience on her face, just a slightly sullen curl of her lip: "If it wasn’t for the fact that they all have sentimental value, it would be better to sell them for money."

Uh, that comment is really... wait, wait a second.

"Say, have you actually already sold them for money?"

I couldn’t help but shrug in resignation and pointed at the so-called ivory sculpture, "This thing is a hundred percent plastic!"

"How can that be!" Tohsaka immediately exclaimed in surprise, then swiftly moved to stand in front of the fireplace, "All these are genuine articles!"

Tch, due to various subtle reasons, my skill in detecting forgeries is unparalleled, you know. Even that Imperial Officer who peddled plastic jade all over the North China region was defeated in front of me. Did you think that the fact you’ve sold most of the valuable stuff in this living room for fakes would escape my eagle eyes?

Having her most embarrassing secret exposed, Tohsaka, whose skin wasn’t thick to begin with, instantly blushed and clumsily tried to divert everyone’s attention, "Ahaha... Since you’re here, you’re guests, so please don’t be shy and sit down, haha... Archer! Make tea!"

The man in red grimaced, shrugged his shoulders at me, and reluctantly switched into butler mode.

Now that an alliance was formed, it was essential for us to exchange the information we had gathered. Emiya, who was harried by the grandiose alien landing, naturally didn’t have anything valuable to offer. As for what Saber mentioned, the nighttime spying on the Emiya Residence wasn’t really useful owing to the lack of information and the excessive ambiguity of potential suspects. Tohsaka, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have any breakthroughs either, except for noticing some magician activities near the park and a mysterious and unfortunate Heroic Spirit Girl who was thoroughly defeated by the combination of a fuzzy-haired girl and a little pet. That’s about all the information she could offer.

"It seems everyone has gone into hiding, not taking the initiative to strike. Are they planning to sit on the wall and wait to pick up the scraps?" Tohsaka frowned as she summarized the information, "It’s different from the previous Holy Grail Wars. This time it’s too quiet."

"No," Red A, who was pouring tea, reminded us, "Rin, you’ve forgotten a crucial factor: the few battles that should have broken out among the Heroic Spirits by now, which were supposed to be the catalyst for an all-out war, have all been disrupted by the Centaurus photography club enthusiasts."

"Ah, that’s right; I was careless."

Are you guys intentionally making my day difficult today?

Little Baobao immediately stretched out her hand and cheered incoherently, clearly realizing that what Red A just mentioned was related to her. She took it as her own accomplishment.

"But who would have thought, Mr. Chen has a daughter already, and she’s so impressive."

Emiya, with a surprised look, earnestly praised Little Baobao, and immediately, another voice came from my collar, "Dingdang is also very impressive! Don’t ignore Dingdang, alright~~"

"Uh, and there’s this amazing little creature... Ah, sorry, I mean no offense!"

As soon as Dingdang’s menacing glance swept over, Emiya, who had already been tormented by this petty creature in the morning, quickly apologized. The experience of having thistles grow under his armpits was enough for one lifetime; who knew what this Little One planned to make sprout from him next.

"If no one is taking the initiative to attack, then it looks like we’ll have to be the ones to stir the waters," Tohsaka put down her cup and after thinking for a while spoke up, "An unidentified Heroic Spirit has been snooping around Emiya’s place. This indicates that there might be an enemy in the shadows targeting us, and such a situation continuing for too long is highly unfavorable for us."

"Right, in that case, aren’t the workers at my home in danger?" Emiya asked nervously, his act of thinking first of the safety of others while forgetting himself to be the actual target of the enemy made Tohsaka shake her head in exasperation once again.

"If you’re not at home these days, they are actually safer. The Holy Grail War must stay out of the public’s sight, and unless necessary, no magician wants to break this rule. And that sneaky Heroic Spirit will definitely have the ability to detect whether you’re at home or not."

"Ah, I see," Emiya sighed with relief.

"Then, we’re only left with launching an offensive attack to break this strange stalemate," Tohsaka nodded and said, "in that case, I suddenly recall a piece of interesting information I obtained the day before yesterday."

"There was a very brief magic fluctuation at the Yododani Temple."

"Yododani Temple?!" Emiya exclaimed, "How is that possible? Tohsaka, didn’t you say previously that there have never been any signs of magicians in that area?"

"One could only find out by investigating," Tohsaka spread her hands, "Yanagizawa Ichiro lives there, and if a magician really chose that place as a battleground, or even a base camp, it would be sensible and logical to promptly investigate and clarify the situation."

Emiya saw that Tohsaka was not joking; it was indeed possible that the place known as Yododani Temple could have been occupied by an unknown magician. After a brief moment of thought, he nodded and said, "In that case, there’s no problem with investigating, but wouldn’t it be rash to charge into the enemy’s base? Wouldn’t they set traps or something?"

"Don’t worry," I raised my hand, "We’ll be participating this time too."

"I’m glad you said that, but why do I feel like your expression suggests we’re preparing to go on a picnic?" Tohsaka immediately showed a suspicious look, expressing significant doubt about our group, which was powerful but unpredictable and unstable, "Although it’s true that we have strong combat power, I’m seriously worried that Yododani Temple might become the second Emiya Ruins."

Well, there’s no denying it, after all—we’re even turning the entire Holy Grail War into something like a picnic.

With the reassurance of combat power, Emiya became much more confident; whether it was the impact of knowing about Sakura ahead of time or because Emiya in this world was more decisive in killing than the original, he immediately agreed to Tohsaka’s plan. However, he made a few requests: first, to absolutely avoid harming the ordinary people living near Yododani Temple, and second, if possible, to simply defeat the enemy’s Heroic Spirits without harming the lives of any magicians there. Tohsaka found the second request somewhat pedantic, but considering the somewhat unfair advantage their combat power gave them, she still nodded in agreement.

"Hmph, speaking as if victory is already in hand, such arrogant statements."

Red A and Emiya always had some friction, so even without any specific issue, the former would habitually mock Emiya, now full of confidence in punishing the wicked. However, before the two could start bickering, I calmed everyone down with my statement: "It’s in the bag already, isn’t it? My tactic is to start by dropping seven or eight landing pods on that Heroic Spirit, and if he’s still alive, I’ll let Little Baobao and Tsuruya go up and flip his face with a brick. If he’s still breathing, then let Pandora and Visca dismember him, and if he’s not dead by then, we’ll activate the Invisibility Field and come back for a barbecue."

It was very obvious, the shivering on Tohsaka, Emiya, Saber, and Red A was quite pronounced.

Like most temples, Yododani Temple was built in the mountains. This temple, nestled in the midsection of Yuanzang Mountain, has a long history. However, since the Holy Grail War began, it had never caught Tohsaka’s eye. According to her, there had never been a sense of a magician’s magic power or anything else attention-worthy near Yododani Temple but now, we discovered something fishy.

Looking up at the tall stone steps in front of the Yododani Temple gate, I shared my discovery: "The whole mountain is shrouded in a barrier, a barrier that directly harnesses the power of nature, which has a strong suppressive effect on energy and spiritual bodies. That’s why, Tohsaka, you didn’t detect the hidden magical fluctuations here before. Creatures like Heroic Spirits would probably experience a reduction in strength after forcibly passing through the barrier. So, if we’re talking about a base camp, I suspect that no magician’s base can rival this natural barrier."

"I wonder which lucky fellow discovered this place," Tohsaka said enviously after hearing my analysis, "In that case, should we be more cautious? Someone who could occupy such a naturally superlative spot would have no reason not to use the powerful natural Spirit Vein nearby to set up an Array."

Looks like you still don’t realize the kind of two-legged nuclear bombs you have on your side, Miss.

Yododani Temple’s main gate was the only place without a barrier, so if they didn’t want their strength to diminish by forcefully breaking through a barrier, a frontal assault here was really the only way. Of course, the enemy would undoubtedly be expecting them at this very vulnerability.

So, like a pack of strange tourists visiting a temple at midnight, a large group of people made their way up the high steps of Yododani Temple, climbing steadily. Along the way, Tsuruya even whipped out her digital camera and snapped photos everywhere, claiming she wanted to capture the floating spirits that supposedly appeared around ancient temples only at midnight. I was curious whether she was trying to prove her identity as a Centaur photography enthusiast with this method. Meanwhile, Little Baobao was pulling on Sandora’s sleeves, incessantly asking questions like a little kid out with adults for the first time.

This excursion-like atmosphere didn’t quite fit the image of assaulting enemy territory, to the point where even usually serious Tohsaka and Saber began to relax as they walked. Near the gate, Tohsaka even started a conversation with Tsuruya about weight loss—so much so that when we finally arrived at the gate, nonchalantly, and encountered a tall, skinny man dressed in ancient Japanese samurai attire holding a long, slender sword, everyone was stunned for a good while. Then, belatedly, Tohsaka blurted out, "Ah, are you the enemy?"

It turned out that those who hang around the Imperial High Level too much would inevitably be tainted.

"What we have here... what a truly unprecedented ’enemy,’" said the man with the bamboo-like sword, a muscle twitching on his forehead. "Unprecedented both in numbers and personality... But it’s okay, at least they aren’t those feeble yet annoyingly persistent foes from the other day. So, do you wish to pass through here?"

I glanced at him sideways, "Duh, how much is the entrance fee?"

There was an awkward silence.

"Can I take your last remark as a provocation?" Although he seemed calm, the bamboo-sword man was clearly irked by this kind of disregard and mockery. Meanwhile, he was also stealthily observing the newcomers before him.

Heroic Spirits, two of them—this could be tricky, but with serious effort, and the array nearby, plus "those things," he probably wouldn’t be defeated. The rest were all humans, even children, and except for the girl in the red coat and black skirt, it seemed none had magical powers. This meant...

This meant what exactly?! Was this really a fighting squad?

After observing for a few seconds and concluding that most of us were ordinary people, the bamboo-sword man wanted to cry without tears. What was with this Holy Grail War being so strange? Every day those inexplicable people came to harass, and now, he had encountered such a bizarre enemy, with that little girl even taking photos everywhere with her digital camera! Was this Holy Grail War organized by someone forcefully implanting Sony advertisements?

Taking a deep breath, the tall and skinny man forced himself to calm down, trying not to pay attention to the relentless flash of the camera held by the black-haired girl wearing a cherry blossom hair accessory ahead of him. Yes, stay calm, take that as a deceptive tactic employed by the enemy due to their lack of strength, and focus on the two Heroic Spirits in front...

"Then, to fulfill my duty, I am Sasaki Kojiro, the Heroic Spirit Assassin, and I must stop you all right here at this gate."

Did he just reveal his true name?

Tohsaka and the others were immediately startled, and then became even more cautious.

Standing alone so boldly before the gate, facing so many enemies without concern and revealing his true name, there was only one explanation: the Heroic Spirit before them had absolute confidence in his strength and must have something to rely on.

Saber took a few steps forward and held her hands in front of her in a ready stance, speaking solemnly, "Since we are in the Holy Grail War and you have kept the creed of declaring your name before combat, you are a foe worthy of respect. This time, I shall be the one to face you. My name is..."

"There’s no need," the Heroic Spirit named Sasaki interrupted, casually waving his super-long samurai sword. "Announcing one’s name before battle is merely a swordsman’s custom. Besides, knowing the enemy’s name doesn’t hold much significance for me." (To be continued, for more details, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)