Xyrin Empire
Chapter 490: Utter Defeat, The Return

Chapter 490: Chapter 490: Utter Defeat, The Return

Makoto Shinji?

How did he end up here?

Ever since I whisked Sakura and her Servant away, turning Rider, Makoto Shinji’s sole ceremonial guard, into an employee by deceit, this piece of trash had gradually faded from our sight. Not that we were going to let him get away with it scot-free. Instead, we kicked him out of the Holy Grail War. A nobody who’d lost his only Servant and had no magical talent himself wasn’t worth taking note of. In my mind, this kind of small fry should only be a flash in the background music during credits, screaming for two seconds as he’s beaten up by ruffians A, B, and C, before being heartlessly labeled as "Makoto Shinji Portrayer—Extra." Or maybe, when I’m in a good mood, I’ll grant him a silhouette, dying alone in a city alley after N years. But never did I expect to find Makoto Shinji, who should have been long gone, suddenly appearing before us, even with a smug look of self-satisfaction.

Hey, don’t tell me this asshole bumped into a hidden master disguised as a beggar while buying adult films the day before yesterday and got taught the "Beidou Divine Fist Manual" and had the T-virus open his meridians, alright? That would kill me from laughter!

"Shinji, you haven’t answered my question yet. How come you’re here?"

Emiya clenched his fists and stared intently at the person before him; the sudden appearance of the other at this time heightened his vigilance due to its strangeness.

"Ah, Emiya, you’re not very courteous to your friend," the blue-haired youth mocked with a feigned sigh, "I was awaiting you right here yesterday. Alas, you, the lucky fellow, had already slipped into that Tohsaka woman’s place. Originally, I planned to kill everyone here and then flatten the Tohsaka Family, capturing you and that detestable Tohsaka together. But instead, you’ve taken the initiative to walk right into the palm of my hand. You really are the best, my friend."

"Did you lay a hand on the ordinary people here?!"

Emiya’s voice turned frosty, and at the same time, Altoria stepped sideways, ready to strike at any moment.

Unperturbed by the threat, Makoto Shinji scoffed with contempt, "Hmph, your hypocrisy is truly boring. But don’t worry, they’ve just passed out. Right now, you should be more concerned with yourself! Even though I have no clue how you hid that slut Sakura and that traitorous Rider, killing you will surely make them come out..."

"Saber!"

"Understood!"

The golden-haired girl suddenly swung her Invisible Sword, transforming into a streak of silvery light that shot towards the enemy like lightning. Irrespective of what kind of backing the foe might have had to be so audaciously confident, allowing him to keep stalling was obviously a bad idea. Thus, at Emiya’s signal, Altoria launched a surprise attack.

However, facing such a charge that was far beyond what a human could resist, Makoto Shinji, who should have been scared for his life, didn’t show the slightest panic, but rather flashed a smug smile.

"Haah!" Out of nowhere, a towering figure blocked Altoria’s path, facing the Knight King’s lethal blow without attempting to dodge. Instead, he swung his Long Spear with a reckless abandon, attacking ferociously.

"Crack!" A sharp sound rang out. The black Long Spear, of course, did no damage to Altoria, and it was nonchalantly split in two by the Invisible Sword with a single swipe. The figure that had blocked Saber was struck head-on by the Knight King’s charge in the next moment, retreating over a dozen steps before finally managing to stand his ground in front of Makoto Shinji.

In just one second of combat, the vast disparity in strength was made blatantly clear.

"Heroic Spirit? Lancer?" Even though she had gained the upper hand in the first round, Saber still cautiously gripped her holy sword, staring intently at the enemy before her.

The man was a robust figure standing at 1.8 meters tall, but two-thirds of his face was obscured by a tall helmet adorned with a red plume, hiding his features. The helmet’s design seemed somewhat... hmm, indistinct. He was dressed in full body armor devoid of any distinctive markings, resembling the standard issue equipment of some ancient army’s ordinary soldier. In his left hand, he held an oval shield wrapped in metal and leather, the surface of which was marred with deep cuts and axe marks, evidently having faced life and death alongside the warrior for countless years.

Such gear didn’t seem characteristic of a Lancer Heroic Spirit known for agility and superior fighting skills; rather, it resembled that of a common ancient infantryman. However, the weapon he wielded was indeed a long spear, which was no wonder why Saber’s tone was laced with confusion and hesitation when confirming his identity.

His weapon destroyed, left with only half a spear shaft, the Heroic Spirit in plate armor showed no sign of panic. He calmly discarded the broken weapon and casually grasped a seven-foot long metal javelin from thin air, preparing to fight in hand-to-hand combat.

"A fine soldier," praised Altoria, who had led armies in campaigns for many years, not stinting in her admiration for the composed warrior before her, "but as a Heroic Spirit, far too weak."

Indeed, although not lacking in combat awareness and bravery, the undeniable truth was that this infantry Heroic Spirit’s energy intensity paled in comparison to Saber’s. Just in the brief moment of contact, his weapon had been cut in half and he had been repelled nearly ten meters. If Makoto Shinji was relying on such a Heroic Spirit, then one could only say that his brain had been taken over by Wang Zhihe Tofu.

The completely armored Infantry Spirit gripped the javelin tightly, cautiously circling Saber. Then, suddenly, he raised his right hand and hurled the seven-foot heavy javelin with all his might!

Caught slightly off guard by the enemy’s shift to ranged attack, Saber nonetheless reacted instantly, deflecting the lightning-fast javelin with her sword, and then, with a burst of energy, she charged towards her opponent, who at that moment drew a simple, unornamented short sword from his waist and met the golden-haired girl’s fierce attack with standard soldier combat skills.

Standard ancient elite infantry tactics: throwing, fighting, blocking—all were the most basic soldier combat skills, straightforward and unadorned, their power incomparable to the lethal techniques of grand heroes. These were nothing but simple actions honed through thousands of repetitions to become combat instincts, relying on a variety of fighting methods to confront the enemy. Nameless, with neither Treasure nor Ultimate Skill, the Infantry Spirit faced the renowned Knight King with such ordinary tactics; the outcome was as clear as day. Just after a few exchanges, Saber once again sent the opponent’s weapon flying. The next second, the heavy oval shield split in two under the force of the invisible holy sword, and the next moment—Saber’s victorious follow-up strike was interrupted by another javelin suddenly flung at her.

"Whoosh!" Carrying a sharp whistling sound, the black javelin streaked past the golden-haired girl’s hair and deeply embedded itself into the ground. Then, more sounds of cleaving air came from all directions. I suddenly remembered the words Illya had said:

"...just by escaping with Illya... Berserker was severely injured by the javelin..."

Could it be that it was this strange Infantry Spirit who destroyed the Einzbern?

As if to confirm my guess, with the waves of energy concentrating, shadows began to emerge from the surrounding night, their silhouettes tall and muscular, fully armored, holding oval shields and javelins. Amidst Makoto Shinji’s smug laughter, the true form of these soldiers was revealed. Although there were minor differences in stature and armor details, these soldiers were clearly identifiable as belonging to one army. With uniform and cautious steps, the infantry that swarmed from all sides had, in an instant, blocked all escape routes. From beneath their heavy helmets, a pair of calm, resolute eyes could be seen, eyes that also bore the endless stench of blood. These soldiers raised their heavily scarred shields in front of them and then simultaneously lifted the javelins in their right hands.

"Now, with just one command from me, you’ll have no place to be buried," said Makoto Shinji, smugly hiding behind two tall soldiers. The absolute advantage in numbers made him believe he had already secured victory. "Hmph, I always said that since we have such an ace up our sleeve, we should overthrow the other magicians with overwhelming tactics. That old man is always so timorous, worried that someone else might hold a similar ace, utterly shameful... Hey! Emiya, how does it feel? Desperate much?"

"Saber, what is this..." Fear was evident on Emiya’s face as it was anything but pleasant to be encircled by hundreds of Heroic Spirits. Saber, meanwhile, grasped her weapon and cautiously surveyed the surroundings. There was no doubt that these besieging enemies were Heroic Spirits, but what manner of twisted magician could sustain the magic power of so many Heroic Spirits simultaneously?

The strength of that Infantry Spirit had been tested in battle, unable to withstand ten strikes from the Knight King in direct combat, but when attacked by two hundred Heroic Spirits of that caliber, the change in quantity was enough to reverse everything. Even as strong as Saber was, she could not widen the gap between herself and these infantrymen as one would between a Heroic Spirit and an ordinary human. The girl, aware of this fact, cast a pleading gaze toward the Aliens A and B, who had been posing as onlookers the entire time.

Hey, isn’t it about time you guys pitched in?

Such information "beeped" through Altoria’s ahoge antenna, reverberating in my mind. It seemed that continuing to spectate was no longer suitable under these circumstances.

Because we had become the ones being watched...

About two hundred Infantry Spirits, roughly one-fifth the strength of a typical Heroic Spirit, perfectly coordinated and well-trained, could achieve the effect of combining numbers and tactics to defeat powerful Heroic Spirits. I was almost certain that the mysterious enemy who had stealthily spied on the Emiya Mansion that night was one of these fellows, and the destruction of the Einzbern by the Heroic Spirit Army, as mentioned by Ilya, was also their doing. Despite not knowing how the Makoto Family managed to activate such an outrageous cheat, this phenomenon, which was completely incompatible with the existing world rules, was undoubtedly related to the distortion of the Fate world.

"Ha, a mere human dares to be so brave," seeing me step towards him, Makoto Shinji couldn’t help but take a half step back, but then he burst out laughing, "You must still be completely clueless about everything that’s happening before your eyes... What?!"

It was just a casual pat, as if I were greeting someone I knew by patting them on the shoulder. I lightly patted one of the Infantry Spirits who stepped up to intercept me from the side, and he instantly exploded into a bright burst of energy sparks.

An energy body, you think you can compete with me?

"Wow! Ah Jun, you’re amazing! Go Ah Jun!" Such purely obstructive cheering from behind me made me nearly stumble, Sandora, this girl, couldn’t be bothered to help out, at least play the part of a spectator for me!

"Pfft," "pfft," "pfft," a series of soft thuds continued without interruption. Initially, I was quite interested in patting out those Infantry Spirits one by one, but when they organized an attack, I couldn’t even be bothered to lift a hand. I simply stood there and let them attack; every Heroic Spirit or javelin they threw disintegrated into bright flames upon nearing me thanks to the energy disintegration force field. For a moment, it was as if fireworks were being set off within the Emiya Mansion.

I felt quite pressured as the fireworks tube.

"This... this is impossible!" A clichéd line, but Makoto Shinji still shouted it out, the prospect of his two hundred strong Heroic Spirit Army gaining the upper hand only to be reduced to fireworks so effortlessly by that strange "ordinary person" was bewildering and the fear of impending defeat made him cry out in alarm, with a faint weeping tone: "Stop it! You idiots, stop! Stop!"

The attack stopped. Already, about fifty Infantry Spirits had disintegrated under the force field, but the remaining hundred or so still maintained a dense and orderly formation, surrounding us layer by layer, as if the scene of being swatted like flies one after another had never happened. At this moment, even I was taken aback. The high level of training these soldiers displayed was astonishing, almost like robots who could march forward at a steady pace even facing an endless abyss, chanting "left, right" in unison. Such extreme military discipline, I had only seen in the Xyrin Soldiers before. These Infantry Spirits truly broadened my horizons.

But unfortunately, these excellent Soldiers were all enemies.

"Alright, if you won’t attack, then it’s my turn," I tugged at the corner of my mouth, having made up my mind not to let a single one escape today, "Death Finger!"

Accompanied by a shout that almost choked Sandora, I suddenly stretched out my hand, with my fingertip emitting red lightning, striking an Infantry Spirit who hadn’t had time to react. He had just raised his shield when he, like his predecessors, exploded into a large burst of light.

"Direct Death Demon Eye!"

In my sight, two Infantry Spirits "pop, pop" turned into fireworks.

"Moon Reading! Heavenly Light!" "Great Snake Scythe!" "Super Electromagnetic Cannon!" "Positive Electron City Breaking Cannon!" "Beidou Compassionate Fist!" "Dynamic Light Wave!"

"Uh, what is Chen doing?"

Staring in stunned disbelief at someone using a flurry of flashy but incredibly powerful skills to reap the lives of those eerie soldiers, Saber’s ahoge spun around in place before she nudged Sandora and asked in a low voice.

"I don’t know," the Queen said bluntly, closing her eyes, "because I didn’t see anything!"

"So..." Emiya paused, then shrugged at his Servant, "let’s pretend we didn’t see anything as well."

Meanwhile, as the number of his Heroic Spirit Army diminished under those bizarre and quirky attacks, and as not even a single hair on the enemy was harmed by his side’s attacks, Makoto Shinji’s face had turned deathly pale. His legs trembled uncontrollably, no longer displaying the smug expression he had at the beginning. Large beads of sweat finally slid quietly down his forehead as another Infantry Spirit vanished into thin air under a "Damn your Heavenly Pegasus Meteor Fist."

"Don’t... don’t come any closer..."

With fewer than ten heavy armored infantry remaining intact by his side, Makoto Shinji’s spirit was on the verge of collapse. He stumbled backward, clumsily pushing the soldiers in front of him forward, "I surrender! I give up! Don’t kill me!"

"Of course," I stopped in my tracks, suddenly flashing a radiant smile, "I certainly won’t kill you, and from now on, I won’t harm a single hair on your head."

Makoto Shinji, Emiya Shirou, and even Altoria all froze in place, watching me with incredulous eyes. After a few seconds, a look of wild joy suddenly appeared on Makoto Shinji’s face: "Really... really? You’re really going to let me go?"

"Well, I just thought it would be better to hand you over to someone else."

I shrugged my shoulders and as my words fell, a sharp wailing suddenly pierced the air. Ah, don’t worry, it’s not another landing capsule.

Black chains burst through the air, appearing out of nowhere, and the sharp blade bound to the tip of the chains glistened coldly in the moonlight as it shot towards the nearest Infantry Spirit to me.

The latter was quick to react; as soon as the chained sword appeared, he lifted his shield. A "ding" sound rang clear as the blade sank deep into the leather and metal-covered round shield.

But this beautiful deflection brought him ease for less than a second. In the next instant, starting from the point where the shield was hit, crystal blue Crystal Flowers rapidly spread out explosively.

Like an infection, the soldier who had blocked the attack quickly became covered in a growing crystal substance, and in less than ten seconds, the brave Soldier turned into a sparkling blue crystal statue.

Saber standing next to Sandora instinctively covered her right arm—it was something she seemed to have encountered before!

With a delicate "pat" sound, the tall purple-haired girl landed gracefully before me, holding the chained sword that served as her weapon. The ends of her nearly ankle-length hair fluttered slightly in the night wind, where strands of bluish-white crystal-like hair emitted a mystical, ancient glow.

"Rider!!" Makoto Shinji’s voice was almost distorted as he hysterically raised his hands and screamed, "You traitor, it’s true... You really switched sides to Emiya, haha! You traitor!! Have you finally shown yourself before me!?"

"Not just me, Human," the tall purple-haired woman spoke calmly, "My master is keener to showcase her new powers here—with you as the first whetstone."

(To be continued... For further details on what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters available, support the author, support genuine reading!)