The infinite sword system has been mastered, and you say this is the dragon clan?

Chapter 381 As everyone knows, the Holy Grail War is conducted in secret...

From the moment Siegfried unleashed his Noble Phantasm to the moment his Spirit Origin was severely injured and bleeding profusely, it was only a matter of a moment.

The girl in Emiya's arms looked somewhat dazed. She had only caught a glimpse of the twilight-colored waves of light surging amidst the night scene, when they were forcibly torn apart by something, and a dazzling flash illuminated the entire street before finally returning to calm.

"The Servant... is dead?"

She opened her eyes wide in disbelief, her crimson pupils reflecting a bloody scene, her voice trembling slightly.

The girl struggled to lift her head to look at Emiya, who was forcibly embracing her. In her mind, in this Roman world, these Servants were the emperor's first-tier henchmen.

These followers were elite and fierce, leading troops in battle and fighting against each other. On this fertile land of the empire, which spanned millions of square kilometers, they helped the emperors build magnificent foundations, prosperous cities, and efficient power systems. But more often than not, they established positions and fought each other.

Besides conquering cities and seizing territories, they sometimes carried out assassination or pursuit missions, which suggests that the followers were divided into different types: some were good at charging into battle, some at managing affairs, and some at assassination...

Regardless, they were symbols of military power and extensions of imperial privilege.

But he himself was not one of those emperors.

No one knows when it started, but she lost her original appearance and became this child-like figure that no one could recognize. She was forced to live on the streets, and then inexplicably became infamous again, becoming a "pest" that everyone hated and the emperor wanted.

Therefore, she had actually been pursued by Roman soldiers led by her followers several times before, but thanks to her familiarity with the terrain and the fact that her followers didn't personally intervene, she was able to escape very quickly. Moreover, she knew perfectly well that once her followers made a move, her speed would be nothing more than a tortoise's crawl. Just like when she faced that follower just now, she was utterly powerless to resist.

The girl's eyes flickered, her expression complex.

However, this seemingly hopeless situation was shattered by the man who called himself the Sword Emperor.

The six Roman emperors who appeared in this era, according to legend, possessed incredible "privileges" that surpassed those of their followers. Is this man... really the seventh?

Having just appeared in this era, does the Sword Emperor dare to clash with an emperor who has already established territory and power, all for her own sake?
"Thank you...you..." the girl said through clenched teeth, her voice low and seemingly embarrassed.

However, Emiya remained aloof and unblinking—he was still diligently playing his character.

"What are you muttering about? I didn't hear you. Speak louder."

"Snapped."

She pursed her lips in displeasure, and her body, which had been huddled in his arms, began to sway. However, she was worried that the Sword Emperor might get upset and throw her away, so she only gently punched Emiya's chest with her small side hand.

Emiya carried her to Siegfried, who was severely injured and nearly powerless.

"I originally wanted to spare your life and ask you about the intelligence of this era... Unfortunately, I have already declared the end of your fate. Once you speak, there is no going back. Besides, it would be a good thing for a warrior like you to die by my sword."

A hazy phantom appeared around Emiya once again.

Those familiar with this move already know that terrifying Servant shadows can emerge at any time to attack.

"Ahem... I apologize for not being able to satisfy His Excellency the Sword Emperor..."

Siegfried no longer had the strength to lift the greatsword Balmunk. His back was brutally ripped open, a horrifying, long, narrow wound oozing copious amounts of blood. He could only manage to clench a few handfuls of dirt with his bare hands, and then his lips moved intermittently:

"Six... no, ten..."

The girl blinked in confusion. This servant, on the verge of death, seemed to be uttering numbers that were meaningless.

Emiya frowned; he knew what Siegfried was doing.

This was an attempt to determine how many Servant shadows attacked simultaneously in the move that Emiya had just used to defeat him, thus interrupting the Noble Phantasm "Fantasy Greatsword: Fallen Demon" while simultaneously breaking through Siegfried's own protective armor "Evil Dragon Blood Armor" and severely injuring him.

It's true that Emiya just now split into 10.

The system, improved by Nuwa, is based on Emiya's Unlimited Blade Works. Simply put, it uses the Reality Marble Unlimited Blade Works as hardware, equipped with a user-friendly operating system and a feature-rich software system.

This system allows Emiya's Noble Phantasms within Unlimited Blade Works to materialize into the shadows of Servants wielding those Noble Phantasms, just as Emiya demonstrated with others before. However, it doesn't simply allow for arbitrary manifestation within the system; it can also actively cross the boundary between virtual and reality, leaping from mental landscapes into the real world.

To be precise, this is no longer within the scope of summoning magic, but rather a precise intrusion of reality into a part of one's own inherent barrier.

In other words, it can be understood as a "more advanced" projection magic trick than before.

Previously, the projected Noble Phantasms were essentially taken from Unlimited Blade Works. Now, it's just that the Noble Phantasms from Unlimited Blade Works, along with the pre-loaded "user" projection, are being taken out together.

In this respect, Emiya was very satisfied. As long as he broke free from the constraints of summoning spells, he was not afraid of the "anti-summoning" threat from the mastermind, Goetia.

With a gentle wave of his hand, a phantom image appeared beside him, showing a servant carrying a guillotine, stepping forward.

Just to be on the safe side, it's best to completely remove this Mr. Siegfried, who's so good at apologizing... After all, delay might cause unforeseen changes. The thought flashed through Emiya's mind, while his gaze seemingly unintentionally swept over the quiet ruins and the cold moonlit night.

In his mind, Siegfried shouldn't make any unnecessary remarks during battle... unless, of course, he had some special purpose.

"—Are you trying to use words to pass information to your comrades?"

The voice just fell.

Just as the Servant Shadow was about to draw his sword and finish off Siegfried, a crimson demonic light surged forth.

Boom boom boom boom——

It was like a violent torrent that annihilated both sides. The ground, scarred and cracked, wailed once more. The air currents generated by the explosion of the demonic torrent shot into the sky, and billowing smoke and dust, carrying deadly fragments of rolling stones, exploded at all angles before finally returning to silence.

"Ha! Damn Siegfried! You've kept me waiting so anxiously...! Balmunk!"

A noble woman with hair similar to Siegfried's, dressed in a princess dress, emerged from the smoke and dust. Unfortunately, her temperament was completely opposite to her beautiful appearance; she appeared violent, mad, and extremely manic.

“Wait, Commander Krimhilde, based on Siegfried’s warning, we cannot act on our own—” The long line of Roman soldiers behind her followed closely, trying to keep up with the woman’s pace, but it was all in vain.

"It's so annoying how long-winded it is!"

A woman named Krimhild wielded a demonic sword similar in style to Siegfried's greatsword but in a black and red hue. Fueled by a berserk state, she swung it violently, the sheer force of her magic dispersing the dust and scattering the fragments, revealing the scene at the eye of the storm—

The shadow of the Servant summoned by Emiya had already utterly executed Siegfried, who helplessly dissipated into scattering light. Krimshildr's intervention was already too late.

"Damn-!"

The woman in the princess dress roared even louder, her black and red magic sword slashing wildly across the chaotic street.

'Who is Krimschild again? ...Siegfried's wife?'

Emiya racked his brains for a long time before finally finding the other person's name.

It seems that this person, as the wife of Siegfried in the legend of "The Song of the Nibelungs", vowed to avenge her husband after his assassination. She used various schemes and persistence to achieve her goal, and in the process, she became psychologically twisted, transforming from a pitiful princess into a fanatical avenger with a deep obsession.

Sigh, it's inconvenient that Mashu isn't around right now. Otherwise, if Mash were here, she could immediately tell us the origins of these Servants who don't hide their real names at all.

At the same time, with a casual wave of his hand, another figure split off from the phantom beside him.

A faint chanting arose: "—The Sword of Victory Revolves! (Excalibur Galatine)"

The scorching, dazzling magic power, like that of the sun, swept away everything and scorched the earth. The brilliance of the Holy Sword of the Sun overshadowed the crimson magic light of the Demon Sword Balmonk—no, it completely and silently devoured it—and then, untouched, it swept straight towards the enemy and crushed them with overwhelming force!

Krimshildr's pupils contracted sharply. She was furious, but not stupid. She immediately jumped back to the front of the army formation and ordered, "All battalions from the first to the fifth! Activate the 'Pseudo-Noble Phantasm' strategic defense technique!"

"As you command, my lord!"

The chief centurions behind him obeyed the order and shouted fervently, "In the name of the Tenth Freytensis Legion, we swear to deliver ten thousand victories for His Majesty!"

The standard ringed armor of the Roman soldiers rustled as their large shields were thrust forward. Instantly, a vast magical power surged forth, forming a spell under the seemingly invisible hand of command, and enveloping Krimshild in a shield of magical light.

Boom!

The horizontal wave of sword energy emanating from the Holy Sword of the Sun slammed into the Roman legion's defensive shield. The magical energy exploded, sending up a dazzling burst of fire, but the defense remained perfectly intact, without even a ripple.

"Oh? A tactic against Servants developed on a legion-by-legion basis? That seems interesting..."

Emiya noticed that these Roman soldiers possessed considerable magical energy fluctuations, with many of the centurions and corps even exhibiting Servant-level fluctuations.

Even if these are only equivalent to third-rate Servants, it is still a rather astonishing fact!

This is abnormal. How did they manage to do it? Was it through the Holy Grail? Or was it due to the privileges of the emperors?
Furthermore, Krimshild just mentioned "strategic defense techniques," which means there might also be collective Noble Phantasms like "strategic attack," "strategic siege," or "strategic annihilation."
No, you guys... is this really the Holy Grail War?
Emiya thought of the original Holy Grail War from the island nation, which "needed to be conducted in secret," and then looked at the Holy Grail War from the Romans, which was a group war fought by Servants...

You Romans are really full of martial spirit! Could it be that you've mistaken the Holy Grail War for a real war?
—Where are the overseers of the church? Come and take charge! The church… oh, Christianity in this era is still just a few big cats and a few small cats, so never mind.

Without anyone in charge, the scene grew grand, but Emiya found it rather interesting upon closer inspection.

With more Servants in Chaldea in the future, could we learn about Servant group combat?
But the little girl in her arms panicked. She kicked her legs and struggled softly. "Hey... let's go! What are you daydreaming about? There will be more and more of them. Right now, it's just a legion, not even a detachment. If the main force is sent to surround and kill us, even the 'Emperor' won't be able to escape!"

Emiya remained calm and unperturbed, even having the leisure to chat. "I'm not called 'Hey,' I have a title."

"Sword Emperor... what kind of title is that? Ugh, I... I don't like it!" The girl always felt that this title was like a strange nickname, not something suitable for ordinary conversation. "And that 'Master' thing you used..."

"Then you may be allowed to call me 'Saber'."

Emiya turned around and said this.

The problem is that his approach, compared to the development of the Fate/Stay Night world line, is completely contrary to the established order.

“Saber…” The girl was silent for a moment. This was even worse than the Sword Emperor; it was completely meaningless! Wait, I seem to have heard that there's a type of Servant called Saber…

Moreover, she sensed a hidden meaning in Emiya's smile—a deliberate attempt to tease her—which made the girl blush with slight annoyance.

Emiya didn't notice the blush, but instead asked, "And what about you? You haven't revealed your name to your savior in all this time?"

The girl hesitated for a moment, her eyes shifting, "...Claudia, my other name is Claudia Augusta."

"Huh?" Emiya was bewildered. He had never heard of this name before. He had thought that this girl would be a younger version of Nero in this world, but it turned out not to be.

Of course, it could also be a pseudonym, since the person used a pseudonym first.

"They're attacking!" Claudia suddenly tugged at Emiya's sleeve.

"It's nothing." Emiya waved his hand.

Several more knights appeared beside the Servant's Shadow "Gawain," and a faint sigh drifted over, "How truly sorrowful—"

bass!bass!bass!
An invisible, dense twang of strings rang out, transforming into transparent wind blades that easily pierced the throats of Roman legionary soldiers, reaping one fresh life after another.

"Silence! All ten squadrons, activate the 'Pseudo-Noble Phantasm' strategic strike technique in unison!" Krimhild shouted. At the same time, the demonic sword Balmonk in her hand also gleamed with a fierce light.

"An evil dragon crawls across the ground, my hatred burns like a raging fire. The Wandering Demon Sword - The Fallen Saintess!"

In an instant, the Roman legions behind the vengeful princess unleashed a massive surge of magical power—an offensive force entirely different from the defensive shield. This power actually combined with Krimhild's magic sword beam, forming a gigantic black-red tidal wave as wide as a river!
'It feels quite powerful. In terms of burst damage, it's stronger than me deploying ten Servant Shadows simultaneously, but... it's not even half as strong as my divine sword—'

Emiya sensed the immense power of that energy and instinctively wanted to draw his divine weapon and overturn the table, but that would jeopardize his status as the 'Sword Emperor'.

Okay, let's keep a low profile and not overwhelm them too much.

Revealing the power of the divine sword and pushing the enemy to their limits will lead to another series of strange and unexpected situations, just like last time.

So, one can slightly surpass the level of "evenly matched" without completely overwhelming the enemy, making them tremble with fear at the power of the "Sword Emperor" without feeling that it is unacceptable.

And so, under the astonished gaze of the little girl Claudia, Emiya raised his finger again, and several more Servant shadows leaped into the battlefield, with more than a dozen phantoms leaping from the illusion into reality!

Considering the attack launched by that single Servant's shadow just now, if there were more than ten more... Claudia felt her heart race. That would be enough to form an army by itself! And not just at the level of a mortal legion, but surpassing a Servant-level legion!
One of the Servant's shadows even leaped into the sky, a clear female voice chanting, "Rise from the withered bones! Breath of fire, wings of iron!... Proclaim the moment, Arondette!"

The female figure and the dozen or so figures on the ground all emitted intense magical fluctuations, transforming into a dazzling combined attack beam that ultimately collided violently with the "strategic strike" beam of the opposing Servant legion!
Claudia gasped in shock, covering her mouth. The combined attack of the two caused a devastating collision that shook the earth and caused city buildings to collapse in an instant. However, the streaks of light from the Servants under Emiya's command only slowed down for a moment before engulfing the beam of the demonic sword opposite them.

Then, carrying the remaining force, it swept away Krimshild and thousands of Roman soldiers like leaves!
The power of the Sword Emperor is terrifying!
(End of this chapter)