Why bother with the Holy Grail War? Let's play cards!

[Hundred Appearances] Attack Power 800*3

[Morning Glory] Defense 0

"Then there's this card, the Quick-Play Spell Card [Mastery of the Encyclopedia]! Since there are five [Hassan-Sabbah] on the field, all three effects activate! All Assassins on the field gain 500 ATK until the end of the turn! Destroy one Spell/Trap Card in your opponent's back row! Draw 1 card! I'm going to destroy [Dojigiri Yasutsuna]!" If Ilya were to replenish resources, the loss would be quite humiliating, not to mention that Minamoto no Yorimitsu could use the Oni cards in the Graveyard to destroy them instead.

[Hundred Appearances] Attack power 800*4 → 1300*4

"I'll stack four [Hundred Faces] here, and Xyz Summon [Fanatical] in Defense Position!"

[Kuangxinzi] Defense 1000

Keiko emerged from the shadows, this was the first time she appeared in a defensive posture.

"You want to rely on the material's debuff effect to block Minamoto no Yorimitsu's attack?" Ilya saw through Jiang You's thoughts. "You can't win by passively defending like this."

"As long as we hold on, we'll find a chance eventually." Jiang You didn't necessarily want to win against Ilya, but he couldn't afford to lose too badly. "[Madman's Blessing] effect: Remove materials and destroy your Servant! Delusional Heartbeat!"

"It's not enough to only fight for such a short time each time!" Jin Shi sighed as he looked at the hand reaching for him. He still wanted to experience those iron blocks that could move on their own; the roaring sound filled him with longing.

"There will be opportunities in the future." Although reluctant to admit it, Minamoto no Yorimitsu knew that he would inevitably be working with Jiang You in the future, and Sakata Kintoki would have many opportunities to appear in the world. However, if she knew that Kintoki was planning to become a biker gang member, she would probably cause a scene again.

The ineffective [Minamoto no Raikou] and [Sakata Kintoki] were destroyed by Lianlian and sent to the graveyard. This left [Kyoushinko] with only two materials left, enough to block three attacks.

"Finally, I set two cards face down in my back row to end my turn!" Jiang You still has a [Stealth Change] card in his graveyard, so surviving should be relatively easy.

But how to win? Jiang You felt that when necessary, he should shout, "Sesshouin, save me!"

Chapter 166 Ilya, Don't Blame Me for Being Despicable

"Draw a card for my turn!" Ilya added another card to her hand.

"At this very moment!" Jiang You revealed one of the face-down cards from the back row. "I activate [All-Powerful Symbols Break the Rules], transferring control of Minamoto no Yorimitsu to my hands!"

At the beginning of this round, the BUFF of [Minamoto no Raikou] that was not affected by the effects of other cards had disappeared. Jiang You decisively snatched control of [Minamoto no Raikou], but there was no [Oeyama] servant in his graveyard, otherwise the effect would be better.

"I actually betrayed Illya again!" Minamoto no Raikou's pupils trembled. She had never expected that in only three appearances, she would become an obstacle to Illya twice. She was almost heartbroken and cried, "I am simply the most irresponsible mother in the world!"

"No, it's not that serious." Jiang You felt a bit of pressure from Minamoto no Yorimitsu. This guy was like a child in some situations: extremely possessive and easily hurt.

But this didn't stop Jiang You from pressing his advantage. Since the favorability rating was already quite low, he didn't mind being a little more audacious, hoping to see the Servant's amusing reaction: "Also, you're not Illya's mother. Her mother's name is Irisviel, and she has white hair and red eyes just like Illya. Don't let her bother you. I'll..."

Because of Illya, Minamoto no Raikou couldn't really fight Jiang You, and she couldn't refute what Jiang You said. So, in grief and anger, Minamoto no Raikou really cried.

"...?" Rin Tohsaka realized she no longer understood this world.

"Stop bullying Raikou!" Illya said, a headache forming in her mind. Neither of her Servants were exactly easy to deal with. Jiang You was practically a saint when he was good, but incredibly petty when he was bad. Ever since Raikou refused to let him call her "Mom," his attitude had completely changed. "Raikou has taken such good care of me; I genuinely call her 'Mom.'"

"Sakura, shall we just leave?" Rin Tohsaka was also starting to get a headache. She felt that the Holy Grail War's summoning ritual wasn't for summoning allies, but rather for summoning Servants to meet (or even be related to) each other. "I can't stand this awful place for another second!"

"Ilya, you really... If only Kintoki were half as sensible as you." Minamoto no Yorimitsu's mood instantly shifted from sunny to cloudy; his emotions came and went quickly.

"Oh, as expected, my favorability rating has dropped again. But, this thing should be called hatred value now, right?" Since it wasn't a positive number to begin with, Jiang You didn't care. "Looks like hatred value doesn't give any rewards, so it's only good for entertainment."

Seeing Jiang You saying strange things again, Illya quickly started her own actions to avoid irritating her servant again.

"First, there's the effect of [Snow Castle]: add one [Sera] from the deck to your hand!" Ilya glanced at the only copy of Irisviel in her deck. She really wanted to see her mother, but ultimately decided against searching for her. After all, the effect wasn't very practical, and Minamoto no Yorimitsu wasn't in a good state right now.

"I Normal Summon [Sera] and activate [Sera]'s effect to add an [Illya] from my deck to my hand!"

[Sera] Attack Power 1000

"The effect of [Heaven's Clothes] in the Graveyard! Banish [Illya] in the Graveyard! Special Summon myself to the field!"

【Heavenly Clothes】Attack Power 1500

"Then, I'll adjust the star level of these two cards here, 2+4=6! Special Summon [Illya (Heavenly Robe)]!"

[Illya (Heavenly Clothes)] Attack Power 2500 → 3000

"[Illya (Cloak of Heaven)]'s effect: When this card is successfully summoned, Special Summon a Servant of 4 or lower from the Graveyard! I will summon [Serenity]!"

[Tranquility] Attack Power 1500

Jingmi landed lightly on the ground. When she found herself in Illya's battle area, she could feel her panic even through the mask.

"Master, I'm sorry..." A voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz came from Jing Mi's mouth, "I didn't want this to happen."

Well, the servants seem to attach great importance to this aspect. Not every servant changes his Master as casually as Red A.

"And then I Special Summon myself!"

The second Illya appeared, but this Illya was not like the dull-eyed replica. Her temperament seemed more integrated, and her body was more fragile, like an ordinary girl. She seemed frightened and looked around hurriedly.

【Illya】Attack Power 1500

"I release myself and Special Summon [Minamoto no Yorimitsu] from my Deck!" Illya thought it would be another mindless copy like before, so she didn't pay attention. It was too late to shut up.

Ilya, seeing the light of liberation emanating from her body, looked utterly terrified. "Wait!"

But it was too late. In the light of her disappearance, the second replica, Minamoto no Raikou, appeared. By this point, the three Illyas and the three Minamoto no Raikou were completely consumed.

[Minamoto no Yorimitsu] Attack power 3000

"...Just now, did I speak?" Ilya's outstretched hand stopped in mid-air. She had participated in quite a few duels, and the fact that the second body was a mindless copy should be common knowledge.

"Looks like another character from another work has been added to the mix." Jiang You had previously encountered Matthew, who was playing through Chapter 6, but he didn't know how far they were progressing. Similarly, he couldn't be sure whether the character Sesshouin Kiara was from CCC or FGO. "That appearance is probably Illya from *Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya*, right?"

Jiang You actually wanted to say that his favorite character was Illya in "Magic Illya", but since this had to do with Illya's favorability, he swallowed his words back.

"What the hell is 'magical girl'?!" Ilya had a basic understanding of anime and manga, and she didn't really understand this kind of frivolous stuff. "And how do you even know this?! Just how much weird knowledge do you have in your head?!"

"I'm equipping myself with the Spider Cutter!" The legendary sword Spider Cutter appeared in Ilya's hand. With absolutely no swordsmanship experience, she swung it twice and almost slashed herself.

"Careful!" Seeing that Illya almost hurt herself (but she didn't), Minamoto no Yorimitsu quickly said with concern, "If little Illya wants to learn, Mommy can teach you!"

【Illya (Heaven's Robe)】3000→3500

"Never mind! Let's enter the battle phase. I will attack Minamoto no Raikou first!"

Minamoto no Raikou opened his arms and faced Illya's blade without any resistance. She had long wanted to leave Jiang You's field.

Jiangyou LP1050→LP550

"Next up is [Tranquility]'s attack!" Illya commanded Tranquility to attack Kyouko. "[Kyouko]'s defense is only 1000, and any Servant who has fought [Tranquility] will be instantly destroyed! So, there will be a total of two destruction effects!"

"The effect of [Kerberis] can be replaced by one Xyz Material when it is destroyed by battle or effect! A total of two times!" At this moment, Kerberis has become a blank card with no effect.

"It's not that it's Lady Tranquility, but even a gentle attack is so deadly." Because of Tranquility's poisonous body, Kyoko felt intense pain, but instead of being angry, she looked at Tranquility with admiration.

However, Jingmi was still in a state of self-blame and did not respond to her.

"Finally, Minamoto no Yorimitsu's attack!" Then, the second Minamoto no Yorimitsu launched his final attack, sending Kyoshinobu to the graveyard.

Jiang You looked at the [Support Shot] in the backcourt. This thing had no effect because of the presence of Illya in the Heavenly Clothes form.

"I will place this card face down in my back row and end my turn." Ilya has three followers in the front row, full health, and a face-down card in the back row, giving her a significant advantage.

"My turn—" Jiang You looked at the scene, considering whether he should use a guaranteed draw to summon [Sesshouin Kiara] to clear the field. In this situation, as long as the back row doesn't have [Origin Bullet], pulling out either the Heavenly Robe form from Illya's graveyard or Minamoto no Yorimitsu would secure an immediate victory.

Jiang You abandoned this rather wonderful idea. He felt that Ilya should win this round at this time; after all, losing would obviously increase her favorability. He decided not to cheat in front of Ilya. "Draw a card!"

This card was a reward for Matou Shinzo's defeat. [Cursed Arm], it seems fate intended for him to lose.

"I..." Jiang You was about to strike with his card to deliver a blow to his dignity when he noticed that the card "Sound the Death Knell" had lit up—he clearly didn't have the corresponding card in his deck.

There were four 2-star [Hundred Faces] in the graveyard, one 1-star [Tranquility], and this [Cursed Arm] in my hand, for a total of twelve stars, matching the star rank of the Holy Roman. It was needless to say who could be summoned.

How could the player resist after obtaining a powerful new card? Jiang You immediately gave up the idea of ​​letting Illya win and decisively chose to summon.

"Ilya, don't blame me for being despicable!" This was a card beyond Ilya's comprehension, quite different from what Jiang You had agreed upon. "I activate [Sound the Death Knell], banishing all [Hassan] cards from my hand and graveyard, and Ritual Summon [Old Man of the Mountain] from my Deck!"

At sunset, melodious bells echoed. White feathers floated in the air, representing not holiness, not peace, but death!

A sword mark cut through the space, and a dark blue flame burned on the scar in the space, burning open a passage to the underworld.

The Servant of the Dark Servant stepped out with a great sword in hand, coming to announce death!

【Old Man of the Mountain】Assassin, 12-star, attack power 4000!

Chapter 167 [The Old Man of the Mountain]

"This...this is the same attack power as that Servant from Rome!" In Ilya's knowledge, only Romulus possessed this basic attack power, and a Servant's star rating largely reflects their strength. A twelve-star Servant could never be a simple character.

"As a Grand Servant, it naturally has the same 4000 ATK!" Equivalent to the ATK of Osiris the Tormentor, it's also among the top Servants in the Type-Moon world (later, there were 5000). "[Old Man of the Mountain] This card is unaffected by other card effects during the turn it is summoned. This card cannot be destroyed by card effects! As long as this card is on the field, it cannot be banished! While this card is on the field, the effects of cards activated in your opponent's Graveyard are negated. Damage taken by the owner of this card while it is on the field is reduced to 0. When declaring an attack against this card, the effects of the Servant targeted by the attack are negated, and the Servant regains its original ATK. Also, the Servant that battles this card is banished, and the opponent's leader takes direct damage equal to the banished monster's DEF!"

"Additionally, [Old Man of the Mountain] has another effect: it frees itself! Your opponent must send one Level 12 Servant from their field to the Graveyard! Servants sent to the Graveyard by this effect cannot have any effects that are unaffected by other card effects during this match." It's obvious who this effect is targeting, even though it's unusable right now.

"Wow...so powerful!" The dense array of effects clearly indicated it was no ordinary card; its 4000 attack power meant it could only be destroyed in battle. Ilya glared at Jiang You; they had clearly agreed not to use cards she didn't have.

"[Hundred Faces (Host)] Effect! If this card is Ritual Summoned, it can be Special Summoned to the opponent's field in Attack Position. If Special Summoned by this effect, this card's effect is negated, and it is banished when it leaves the field." Due to its own effect, Hassan, dressed in an evening gown, was summoned to Illya's field.

[Bai Mao (Host)] Attack Power 800

When Hyakko saw the Servants on the field, she was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground. She trembled and bowed her head, trying to reduce her fear with a devout tone: "First...First Lord! Hyakko, the nineteenth successor to the name of Hassan-Sabbah, pays homage to the First Lord."

"Hassan? And isn't this Spirit Origin a bit too much?" Rin Tohsaka was unaware of the Grand Order's existence; she couldn't believe that the weakest class among the Seven Riders would possess such a powerful Servant. "Is there really any Servant who could rival him?"

“The First... Hassan?” Illya looked the Mountain Elder up and down. Beneath his black robes lay solid armor, and the greatsword, taller than her, looked incredibly heavy. “Rather than an Assassin, Saber... no, Berserker would be a more fitting description.”

"No doubt about it, I am an Assassin." The old man of the mountain replied to Ilya in a deep voice. As the creator of the term Assassin, he was naturally not any other class.

"Is...is that so?" The old man's tone was extremely calm, but even so, Ilya felt considerable pressure. She immediately ended the conversation.

The Old Man of the Mountain (hereafter referred to as Wang Ha) shifted his gaze to Bai Mao, who dared not even raise his head. "With that look on your face, what are you planning to accumulate with your countless useless pieces of wisdom?"

Baimao wanted to bury her head in the ground. She could already feel her neck getting cold and didn't dare to answer at all.

Jiang You had no choice but to help her out of the predicament. He was worried that if Wang Ha scared her, Bai Mao would abandon the spirit base of this clone, and he didn't want to lose the Bai Mao form. A stable extra card, plus a special reward—that was too good to pass up. "I made her do it."

"Is that so?" Wang Ha greatly admired Jiang You's sense of responsibility. He turned his head, intending to take a closer look at this Master with a hundred different appearances.

But the moment he turned around, he stopped abruptly. Then, as if nothing had happened, the powerful Servant slowly turned back around. "Since it's your Master's request, it's not impossible. Then temporarily place your foolish head on his neck."

"Thank you... thank you, First Generation Lord!" Bai Mao hadn't expected the First Generation Lord to be such a reasonable person. His tone became more relaxed, but also more humble.

"Stand up!" Wang Ha roared, clearly displeased with Bai Mao's submissive demeanor. "A duel is a battle, and even if I am your opponent, you must raise your blade!"

"Yes, First Generation!" Hyakko quickly jumped to his feet and grabbed his microphone at the command. Faced with this scene, Wang Ha forcibly suppressed the urge to cover his face.