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

Chapter 399 Hajimi, you bastard, you actually got humiliated even when you went back to your hometown!

When Julius Caesar slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage, Hector hurriedly stepped forward to advise him:

"Hey, Caesar, everyone knows things haven't been going well lately, but when you go over there, please don't put on too much airs! While it's true that an emperor should maintain a certain decorum at a banquet, don't act like that Sword Emperor—"

Compared to Trajan's meeting with his courtiers, which, though heavy, was somewhat relaxed, Caesar's situation was much more tense and urgent.

After all, Emiya had genuinely seized nearly half of their territory, including the cities across the bay, and had therefore built numerous military fortifications and implemented the highest level of security.

However, if the actions and attitude at this meeting are not up to par, then all efforts will most likely be in vain, and these defenses, which have only been built recently, may be crushed to dust by the Sword Emperor in a single day.

"Hmph! How could I not know what you're worried about? I'm just feeling down, can't you tell?"

Caesar shoved Hector aside, and the immense force of his powerful arm nearly sent the Greek general flying.

"...How could such an outrageous thing happen in this world? A single person defeating an army of thousands is simply breaking the rules!"

Then, the emperor, still wearing a sullen expression, reached for a large plate of beef stew in Burgundy from the table and began to chew it heartily. He abandoned his usual leisurely manner and began to eat with great gusto.

"Why are there only three plates left? Tell the kitchen to make twenty more! Plus ten plates of pan-fried salmon!"

In fact, ever since the war turned against him, Caesar had begun to relieve his resentment and depression by binge eating...

He is a Spirit Origin Servant. Theoretically, Servants do not grow or change their physique due to eating, unless they are pseudo-Servants like Amor who manifest by possessing a human, or Servants themselves switch to Spirit Origin Ascension state.

However, this food is not ordinary food. It is a product made by a chef-type Servant using a Noble Phantasm, and it is rich in unique magic. Eating it so lavishly will inevitably lead to a gradual increase in weight.

Hector hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped... If His Majesty Caesar cares about those women, then at least he should take care of his figure, right?
Because he was dumped by a woman, he became addicted to food and ate his way into "Fat Caesar." When he attends a banquet looking like this, won't His Majesty Caesar be even more looked down upon?
As Hector thought of this, a sudden thought flashed through his mind: Wait, could this be a tactic by His Majesty Caesar to feign weakness?

“By the way, Hector,” Caesar looked up from the pile of food, seemingly calming down and regaining his usual composure, “that Krimshild fellow, hasn’t he been quiet lately, has he?”

“Your Majesty, she seems to have gathered surviving followers on the battlefields of the nations. According to Assassin, she is training them as her private army by inciting hatred of war.”

"Hmph, keep a close eye on her. Don't let her expose the eagle flag I bestowed upon her. Try to distance yourself from her as much as possible! Otherwise, that would be a real problem."

Hector was startled, as if sensing something. He quickly realized that Julius Caesar was still thinking calmly, otherwise he wouldn't have told him to distance himself from Krimshild.

"Could it be that the crazy woman is so audacious as to plot an attack at the King's Banquet in order to seek revenge...?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Hello, welcome back to your loyal Shadow Border Imaginary Submarine, Your Majesty! All the Heroic Spirits, including the Chaldea headquarters communications personnel, are in position and await Your Majesty's inspection!"

Tonight, as usual, when Emiya returned to the Shadow Border for the meeting at the appointed time, little Leonardo da Vinci appeared from a virtual screen projected from the porthole, mimicking someone's tone and making a harmless joke at his expense.

"Good grief, you're doing this too?"

Emiya clicked his tongue inwardly, "Could it be that you all know about that concubine selection and banquet?"

Since the Holy Grail War, the intelligence-transmission technology of the Roman states has been constantly iterating and updating with the emergence of Servants. Just like the scene of Emiya cleaving through an army and splitting an island with a single sword strike, it was immediately discovered and the specific target was observed by the various states. Other similar rumors also spread particularly quickly here.

But this is too fast! It hasn't even been a day yet.

"Hehe, Emiya, you didn't expect that, did you!" The girl stepped out of the light screen and skipped around Emiya in the form of a virtual projection. "According to them, the emperors had only just received your invitation when all sorts of news had already spread throughout the city!"

"Let me put it this way! There are just too many Servants in this world, and a lot of information simply can't be kept secret!"

Leonardo da Vinci then offered an explanation: "Emiya, your every move has been under the world's scrutiny since the Battle of Cyprus. The most important figures of this era are emperors, and it's only natural that the most powerful emperors would receive such high attention, isn't it?"

"I dare say that the first reaction of most people upon hearing this news is that they will try every means to witness the grand banquet in person! The strongest person and the most honorable emperor hosting a banquet for the nations and selecting concubines—that is probably the highest-level event of this era!"

Good heavens! Really good heavens! He exclaimed to himself repeatedly.

To be honest, Emiya still remembers that at the beginning, his identity as the Sword Emperor was just a disguise. He changed his identity as an outsider to make it easier to integrate into the local singularity.

He never imagined that he would one day make this identity so exaggerated. At first, it was just to find out about the Holy Grail, but after defeating the army and conquering the territory, he actually became known as the "incarnation of Michael".

He thought things would calm down after the war was suspended, but then, because of a concert, another bombshell story broke: he was choosing a concubine for himself… Sigh! The powerful influence of Amor…

Will the identity of the Roman Sword Emperor, which was merely a temporary measure, eventually become a reality?
On the way to the meeting room, Emiya, who had been holding back for so long, jumped out and excitedly suggested, "[Don't be so quick to complain about the trouble, senpai! Hehe, since we've chosen to host a banquet for all the nations, we've essentially taken the initiative!]"

Next, it's time to figure out how to make the banquet more interesting! For example, getting everyone to pay for tickets, gifts, and admission tickets. Oh, and the contractors too—we can pay them nothing and then allow the Eastern Roman Christian team to handle all the advertising and promotion for the banquet!

Emiya thought to himself, "When it comes to being ruthless, you're the worst. You treat Constantine and his ilk like free slaves. If things continue like this, you might as well just broadcast it globally. I wonder if using television to build an image and spread your faith will even be effective."

If this works, having him perform a high jump wouldn't be out of the question—

"Alright, Emiya, you should hurry up and head to the meeting room. All the other attendees are here."

"Fine, I didn't want to be the last one to arrive either. But I've had a stalker named Kiyohime watching me lately, and it's quite troublesome to avoid her for a while, even if it's late at night."

"arrive."

Emiya entered through the automatic sliding doors and was immediately met with an unprecedented scene of chaos inside:
Rumble, rumble!

The sound exploded, and a scene of utter chaos unfolded before my eyes!
Numerous figures crisscrossed and twisted, a violent gust of wind echoed through the room, accompanied by the clanging and banging of furniture. If it weren't for the absence of any Noble Phantasm fluctuations, Emiya would have almost thought he had encountered a riot of Heroic Spirits destroying his house.

Black Jeanne, Black Mary, and the little black magician Prierati, all "French" Servants, clashed with "Japanese" Servants like Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Shuten-dōji. Infighting broke out among members of the same faction, and even "Former Servants" like Mash and Melyuchina fought amongst themselves. Long tables or chairs made of special steel, several meters long, were treated like toys in the Servants' hands, flying around in mid-air. Occasionally, fragmented shouts of insults drifted by: "I was here first!" "Shameless cow-like bitch!" "Stupid assault girl!" "Shirou is mine!"

"Calm down, everyone!" A soft, cotton-candy-like voice was drowned out by helplessness. Of course, there were also strange statements like, "I am the strongest dragon! Beauties only belong to the strong!"

The scene was extremely out of control and chaotic.

"Oops, did I go to the wrong place?"

Emiya tilted his head, then took half a step back as the automatic sliding door closed. He stepped back to the doorway and looked at the sign—Conference Room. It was indeed the right place.

When Emiya re-entered the room, the chaotic scene had vanished once again as the door was quickly slid open.

The female Servants, or female Chaldea members, all sat obediently in their seats like dignified ladies.

Only fragments of furniture, cracks in the walls, and some disheveled clothes silently tell the story of a farce that never happened.

"Don't you... have anything to say to me?"

Emiya sat down and felt a distinct sense of damage to the chair beneath him. He looked around.

"No," Nuwa said with a smile, "Non-nothing, Nuonuo and I are not jealous of the female heroic spirits of Chaldea because we can't openly participate in the 'wedding banquet'!"

"I don't feel resentful because they had the opportunity to compete for the title of 'concubine' while we didn't, and I certainly don't envy the woman who eventually became your empress!"

Wow! You just said it all!

Emiya caught a whiff of sourness in the air and the sound of a vinegar jar overturning. He was finding it unbearable and was about to explain that this absurd suggestion of choosing a concubine was the work of some Roman god of love—

“Alright everyone,” Leonardo da Vinci broke the strangely heavy atmosphere, “Communications at Chaldea headquarters are now open. The regular meeting is officially beginning!”

"..." Wei Gong and Nuwa's expressions simultaneously turned serious. Alright, let's not dwell on this for now. Otherwise, if we report this to headquarters later, it will only create more chaos.

"Okay, this meeting will proceed as usual to gather intelligence and discuss follow-up actions."

On the screen, Director Caesar tidied up the briefing, glanced up, and said, "Huh? Why are you all so serious? Hmm? Is your meeting room a bit messy...?"

"Ahem!" Nuwa spoke first, "Well, first of all, it's worth reporting that Shirou and I successfully tested the 'Sword Training Ground' on the island of Cyprus!"

"Oh, that's true! The report says that the training ground has completed a lot of data supplementation on martial arts and magical artifacts, and can be operated for a long time as a place for continuous training of combatants' skills."

Caesar's attention was immediately diverted. "You've done a very good job. This gives Chaldea a continuous and reliable means of increasing its combat strength."

"Then on the other hand, regarding that girl you mentioned last time, Emiya, whose pseudonym is Claudia, and whose real name is tentatively Nero, and who is suspected of being bound to the Holy Grail. We conducted some investigations into the rumors about her being a 'Beast of Calamity,' but none of the Servants such as Jeanne Alter and Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who are operating in various countries, have been able to find the source of the rumors."

"Nothing was found?"

Emiya still remembered that when Nero was first being hunted down, it was because of that inexplicable rumor, but it was clear that this Nero was harmless, even less so than any random Servant.

If that's the case, then someone must be hostile but unable to act openly, which is why they're targeting Nero.

"However, according to a few followers, the rumors seem to have started without warning from the Italian peninsula."

"The Italian Peninsula..."

Emiya thought for a moment. It seemed that the rulers of that place were extremely closed-minded and restricted all kinds of circulation, but the rumors actually came from that place.
“Yes,” Director Caesar nodded. “Current intelligence indicates that this blockade is due to the large defensive line jointly established by the local followers and Augustus’s army.”

"However, this defense line is not completely impenetrable. Xia Mi pointed out that there are gaps that can be exploited. She has also completed the exploration work led by the team in the past few days. Please have the person in charge of the mission report on this matter."

"Oh?" Emiya looked at the head maid, Natsumi, with surprise. He did remember that Rome was once the fiefdom of the King of the Earth and Mountains in ancient times. Letting Natsumi infiltrate it was like returning to her hometown.

Master Xia, have you finally returned to your home turf and had a chance to shine?

"Well, ahaha..."

To everyone's surprise, Xia Mi looked embarrassed and awkward, her face flushed and her lips twitching unnaturally.

Emiya thought to himself, "Could it be that he's embarrassed to boast about his achievements in front of everyone? That doesn't make sense."

"Actually... I didn't manage to sneak in!"

Master Xia said somewhat discouragedly, "I originally thought that by going through those underground passages unknown to the locals, I could find my 'old home' that I built there back then, but who knew, who knew..."

As Xia Mi spoke, she seemed to become angry but couldn't find a target to vent her frustration on, as if she had "suddenly become angry in a state of extreme rage."

"So what?"

"Who knew my hometown would be taken over by a bunch of monsters that are neither dragons nor ghosts!" Xia Mi said indignantly.

"That thing seems to call itself some kind of demonic beast, He. It looks bizarre, with a dark and huge body similar to a demon god pillar, but its body is covered with spikes, scales, teeth, and mouths. It has no aesthetic appeal at all!"

"...So, the reason you failed in your exploration was because you couldn't win? And you had to run back?"

"Oh, yes..."

(End of this chapter)