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

"Lancelot!" Facing an elite monster, Jiang You immediately sent his strongest Servant to test his mettle. The Knights of the Round Table should be used to deal with the Knights of the Round Table!

"Ahrrrrrr—" At this moment, Matthew had already stepped forward to engage Tristan in combat. Lancelot, without Jiang You's reminder, also rushed forward, his Unrepentant Lake Light slashing towards Tristan's vital points.

Although the lake light color of Kuanglan Wuhui was different from that of Lancelot of the sword class, Tristan still recognized the weapon at a glance.

“Lancelot?” Tristan recognized the true identity of the black knight who was hiding his identity, though the other party made no attempt to conceal it. He narrowed his eyes and glanced at Matthew. Galahad's aura was far too strong. As a Knight of the Round Table chosen by the Holy Grail, Galahad had never answered the Lion King's call. If he were here, it would be understandable if Lancelot rebelled, especially since this wasn't the first time Lancelot had done something like this.

Tristan, who was about to speak, checked carefully and found that he did not feel the blessing of the Lion King from Lancelot. He soon realized that this Lancelot was not the one summoned by the Lion King.

"Ahh... this truly saddens me. Facing the attacks of two Knights of the Round Table, I can only use the King's Blessing to fight back. But this isn't a power I can freely control. Even if the opponent is weak, I will ruthlessly swing down with this merciless blade... Ahhh, I'm so sad."

With his special protection, Tristan easily withstood their attacks. His harp bowstring used sonic waves as vacuum arrows to block their advance, preventing Tristan from moving an inch. "To appear before me in such a way, you are truly hideous, like a beast. Even a king would not forgive you in such a state. Let me take your head and burn you and this wretched village to ashes."

"Ahrrrrrr!!!!" In this state, Lancelot only instinctively protected Matthew, obeying Jiang You's orders. He didn't care what Tristan said and continued to launch a fierce attack.

"You're wrong, there are three in total! That's enough, Tristan!" Bedivere had also arrived by this time. Seeing that other Servants were already helping to sweep away the remaining enemies, he launched an attack on Tristan as well.

"...Another one. I never expected you to appear on this battlefield, and even be our enemy. How sad..." Tristan's nickname "Trinity Tristan" is not without reason; the same applies to Phineas, Rice Jar, and Umu Monster.

“Sad? Nothing is more sad than what you have done!” Bedivere simply could not comprehend Tristan’s actions. The Knights of the Round Table he knew were nothing like this. “Has the dignity of the Knights of the Round Table fallen to rock bottom? Or is this what the King now intends?”

“You only see the king…” Tristan wanted to reenact the famous scene of “the king doesn’t understand people’s hearts”, but Lancelot didn’t give him the chance and launched a series of violent attacks on him.

"Surrounded by three Knights of the Round Table, I have no choice but to show mercy. The pain of killing three knights who fought alongside me may never heal." Under the influence of the blessing, Tristan unleashed his full power. Because Jiang You arrived early, Xuanzang with Cursed Arm and Tawara Tota, who were supposed to fight alongside him according to the plot, were unable to arrive in time (although they did arrive, they were unable to defeat Tristan in time). The three Servants struggled to hold on against Tristan's Noble Phantasm.

"Looks like this blessing works pretty well. Can I have some too?" Jiang You approached Tristan, realizing he couldn't defeat him using conventional methods. But that was fine too; Jiang You felt it was time to collect the Knights of the Round Table card set. Defeating them all here would at least get him three Knights of the Round Table cards. He just wondered what the Lion King card would be like.

In short, it must be very large. Jiang You is talking about the numerical value.

"Is there another Servant?" Tristan merely glanced at Jiang You out of the corner of his eye, and he knew that Jiang You had absolutely no fighting skills, his steps were so unsteady it was almost unbearable to watch. He simply fired a Vacuum Arrow towards Jiang You's heart. "Even such a weak Servant dares to interfere in the internal affairs of the Knights of the Round Table? How sad, the honor of the Knights of the Round Table is disgraced."

As Tristan expected, Jiang You didn't dodge at all. Of course, with his dodging skills, he didn't have time to dodge.

Then, the duel began.

The special space unfolded, and Tristan discovered that his attacks had been ineffective, and the Lion King's blessing had vanished. The others were also moved aside by the space's influence. The space between him and Jiang You created a large enough arena for a duel.

"By the way, this is a dark game. If you lose, you'll have to hand over your blessing and go back to Valhalla." Jiang You was a little envious of the Lion King's blessing and was trying to see if he could take it away using a dark game.

"A Noble Phantasm?" Tristan hadn't expected anyone to be able to influence him beyond the Lion King's blessing; it was practically impossible. It seemed Jiang You's weakness was merely a facade; his true purpose was to drag him into his Noble Phantasm. But what were the triggering conditions?

After a brief moment of shock, Tristan relaxed. Although he was affected by the unknown Servant on the other side, the Lion King's Blessing was still there. The opponent had only temporarily stripped it of its power. He could clearly feel that the Blessing was summoning him from the deck, ready to respond to his call at any time.

"You want to defeat me with this Noble Phantasm? What a pity! The King's greatness is beyond your comprehension. This card, constructed from experiences and the past, present, and future, is indeed a miraculous Noble Phantasm, but can you truly defeat us Knights of the Round Table and our King? How sad! You simply cannot comprehend the terror of the King's present. Let me defeat you within your Noble Phantasm!"

Jiangyou LP4000

Tristan LP4000

Chapter 184 So which Isolde is in Cui Beisai's deck?

“Ah, how sad. According to knightly etiquette, one should yield. But my king’s request is to resolve this quickly, so I will go first!” Tristan began his turn immediately.

"First up is the spell card 'Gathering of the Knights of the Round Table,' which adds one 'Knight of the Round Table' to my hand. If 'Artoria' is on the field, add an additional 'Knight of the Round Table' to my hand. Of course, I'm so sad, my Queen won't easily appear here, so I can only search for one. The one I'm adding to my hand is 'Knight of the Round Table Tristan'!" Most Heroic Spirits' decks are centered around themselves, which makes perfect sense.

"Then comes the spell card 'Pacifying Legion,' which Special Summons two 'Pacifying Knights' of different classes from the Deck!" These are artificial weapons created by the Lion King using the power of the Holy Lance to mimic the function of the Knights of the Yangtze River, and each Knight of the Round Table was equipped with them. In terms of pure combat power, they are comparable to some third-rate Servants.

Two fully armed silver knights stepped onto the battlefield with heavy steps.

[Purification Knight S] Saber Attack Power 1000

[Purge Knight A] Archer Attack Power 1200

"The effect of [Pacifier Knight] is that while these cards are on the field, their ATK and DEF increase by 200 for each card with the same name. How sad, this effect is useless now. I'll sacrifice [Pacifier Knight S] to Tribute myself, [Knight of the Round Table Tristan]!" The Pacifier Knight was merely a stepping stone; the real purpose was to summon himself.

Amid the sound of waves, a handsome red-haired man walked slowly towards them, plucking the strings of a zither.

[Tristan] Attack Power 2000

"The sound of waves?" Tristan listened to the sound effects that accompanied his entrance, the sounds that had lingered in his ears before his death, truly a part of his life. His already furrowed brows almost came together. "It's so sad. Heroic spirits are such tragic beings, trapped in the cycle of life. Ah, how sorrowful."

"Tristan, can you please stop repeating those two words? I'm tired of hearing them." Tristan isn't some weirdo who's just cute. "If you want to cheer up, you should have Isolde in your deck too. My Noble Phantasm can let you see your loved ones again. Everyone who's used it says it's great."

Of course, there are also people who don't want to see their past selves, and those who didn't receive any recognition because their work was so poor, but those people have already been dealt with. So, the positive reviews are still 100% for now.

“Ah, Isolde.” Tristan did know that she was in his deck, but his situation was not that simple. “But which Isolde is it? This feeling of uncertainty, ah, how sad, it’s like grabbing a straw while drowning, you can’t be sure when it will break, you dare not pull hard but dare not let go, there is nothing more sad than this.”

Jiang Youcai just remembered that there were two Isoldes in this person's love history. Tristan was probably not sure which Isolde he wanted to meet, and he didn't know whether the card with the same name had any notes.

"That's really quite sad." Jiang You recalled the legend of Tristan and could only say that you shouldn't eat meal replacements unless necessary.

“It’s truly heartbreaking to be so close yet unable to meet you. But I am still very grateful to you for giving me this opportunity.” Tristan bowed to Jiang You. “In return, I will do everything in my power to defeat you!”

"If possible, I'd prefer your reward to be handing over your deck." Jiang You felt that having a deck generated from his own history was simply a bad civilization. If it were physical cards, he wouldn't need to collect them one by one; if he won, he could just go up and pull out the deck and be done with it.

"[Tristan]'s effect: When an enemy Servant with attack power lower than this card declares an attack, it will be destroyed immediately!" Although Tristan is not known for his martial arts skills, his wide-range Vacuum Arrow is a veritable shredder for crushing weak enemies.

"Next comes the blessing from our King! I activate the Continuous Spell Card [Flip Blessing]! This card's activation cannot be negated, and its effect cannot be activated in response to this card's activation!" The Lion King's blessing appeared in Tristan's hand as a Continuous Spell Card, a card with a special effect, signifying its immense power.

"This card can be used to target one Knight of the Round Table on the field. While this card is face-up on the field, the targeted Knight of the Round Table cannot be destroyed by battle, cannot be destroyed by card effects, cannot be targeted by card effects, and gains 500 ATK. Also, as long as this card is on the field, damage taken by your leader in battle is converted into an equal amount of healing!" In the game, Reversal Blessing reverses class advantage, dealing only equal damage to all classes except Saber. Here, the name is more fitting, converting damage into healing.

"By the way, this card also cannot be selected and cannot be destroyed by effects. The King's Blessing is not so easily removed! Of course, this card will be destroyed when the selected target leaves the field." Tristan added to the setting, explaining that it is indeed reasonable for a blessing without a physical form to be unselectable.

[Tristan] Attack power 2000 → 2500

Being unable to be selected and unable to be broken by battle is indeed a very good resistance. The only means Jiang You can use to defend himself are Wang Ha's attacks and Shashengyuan's cannibalism.

"Finally, I set two cards face down in the back row to end my turn." Tristan quickly completed his setup, displaying an air of single-handed dominance.

"So strong!" Gudako thought back to her deck. She had a lot of cards, but most of them were used independently. Tristan's effect made it difficult for her to find a way to break through. However, Tristan's offensive capabilities were also insufficient, likely leading to a war of attrition. "Mr. Jiang You, can you win?"

Jiang You glanced at Gudako. He didn't dare say anything like "I will win." Tristan might pull out some strange card and cut him off.

"It seems your deck is more geared towards solo combat." Jiang You had actually prepared to face multiple Knights of the Round Table simultaneously, but Tristan's performance and cards didn't seem like a team-based strategy. However, this did fit the current storyline, as the Knights of the Round Table were being played one at a time. "I'm sorry, the Lion King's blessing is completely useless against me."

“It’s truly heartbreaking,” Tristan said to Jiang You with a hint of pity. “You simply cannot comprehend what kind of being our Queen is now, and her blessing.”

"Indeed, if you stay on the field, most decks I know of will be crushed by you. Only Rin Tohsaka has a slight chance, but unfortunately, you've run into me." Even excluding King Hassan, one of Jiang You's cards is just right for the current situation. "My turn, draw!"

Chapter 185 The Knight King Understands People's Hearts

Jiang You didn't activate Destined Draw right away, as the required Magic Cards were already in his hand at the start of the game. He wanted to use King Clam, but not only did he not have any in his deck, but even the Hassan in his hand wasn't enough. Sesshōin couldn't summon Servant Summon because the opponent only had two Servants on the field.

"First, I activate 'The Unfulfilled Promise' to send one card from my hand to the Graveyard, and add 'Snow Castle' from my Deck to my hand." It's unusual that 'Emiya Kiritsugu,' who usually accompanies 'The Unfulfilled Promise,' didn't appear. Jiang You figured it had been quite a while since he'd seen Kiritsugu, causing his bond level to drop. However, Kiritsugu in the Fourth Holy Grail War is now similar to the Kiritsugu in Magica and Illya—wandering around everywhere. On the other hand, the probability of drawing 'Illya' has increased significantly.

However, the card sent to the graveyard this time is [Stealth Change], which is equivalent to half a Kite Robot, so it is not a complete loss of cards.

"I activate Snow City's effect! Add one [Lyserite] from my Deck to my hand!" Although Sera was a bit more advantageous in terms of card advantage, it would require using a Normal Summon, so Jiang You chose Lyserite instead. "[Lyserite]'s effect: Send one [Heavenly Garment] from my hand to the Graveyard, Special Summon one [Heavenly Garment] from my Deck!"

At the same time as [Lijelite] entered the graveyard, Tristan also turned over the face-up card in his backfield.

"Although I don't know what you're summoning, it must be something quite troublesome." Tristan's intuition was correct. [Heavenly Garment] could repeatedly banish Einzbern followers, allowing it to move freely between the graveyard—truly a garment passed down through generations, its effects lasting even after the person leaves. "I activate the counter-trap card [Advice to the King of Knights]! This card can only be activated when an opponent's follower activates its effect; negate that effect! Your Majesty, you don't understand human nature!"

"Good heavens, such noble speed. But your king (?) clearly understands human nature, doesn't he?" Jiang You's impression of Lancer Artoria was based on her third ascension illustrations and some fan works; he was referring to memes. The truth is, Lancer Artoria in the Sixth Singularity is clad in full armor, completely covered up, and the human nature that Jiang You wanted to see was also nonexistent.

“It truly saddens me. Though this may seem inappropriate, the current king certainly deserves such praise.” Tristan assumed Jiang You was referring to the Lion King's actions. He and Gawain understood the king's choices, but they were now simply Knights of the Round Table fighting for the Lion King. Whatever decision the Lion King made, they would fully support him. “If you can understand or even accept our king's decision, then surrender. At least you'll die peacefully.”

“We’re not talking about the same thing.” Jiang You certainly wouldn’t elaborate on what he meant by “human nature,” as he didn’t want to be labeled with any strange tags. There were still quite a few Heroic Spirits watching, and he couldn’t afford to lose any goodwill. “Since you’ve interrupted, let’s just activate this card. You flip, I flip! I banish [Lyserite] from the Graveyard. Activate the Spell Card [The Corrupted Grail]!”

A pitch-black hole appeared above everyone's head, and black mud filled with malice flowed out of the hole.

"While this card is on the field, all attack and recovery bonuses are reversed. The blessing the Lion King gave you in the Northern Hemisphere has now become a curse!" This card perfectly counters the effect of [Reversed Blessing]. Battle damage will also change from healing back to effect damage, which Tristan cannot avoid.

[Tristan] Attack power 2500 → 1500

"It's truly heartbreaking that you, a Heroic Spirit, wield such evil power..." Tristan, mistaking the card for Jiang You's history, widened his narrowed eyes and scrutinized Jiang You with utmost caution. "As a knight, I must punish such a being!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Jiang You gave him a friendly gesture, what a hypocrite. "I'm using this thing to save people, and you're practicing your chivalry by committing massacres (?), and you still have the nerve to criticize me? Just wait, I'll definitely slap you in the face today!"

"Because there is [Snow Castle] on the field, I Special Summon Illya from my hand!"

[Ilya] Attack power 1500 → 1000

"The Knights of the Round Table?" Since Ilya had only been summoned recently, Jiang You hadn't explained the situation to her, and she was only now learning about the identities of her enemies from the others.

The Knights of the Round Table are legendary figures, and Ilya imagines they were incredibly powerful, likely top-tier Heroic Spirits. "But it doesn't matter, Caster is the strongest!"

"Please spare me, according to the normal timeline, the guy who said that would already be a scapegoat." Jiang You didn't expect Ilya's boasting about Hercules to come back to haunt him, so he quickly interrupted her toxic praise. "I activate [Ilya]'s effect, Special Summoning a Berserker from my Deck! However, the effect will be negated, so come on, [Minamoto no Yorimitsu]! Let the Knights of the Round Table see your power!"

Purple thunder falls here, and Minamoto no Raikou wearing an apron appears!

[Minamoto no Yorimitsu] Attack power 3000

Minamoto no Raikou, holding an egg beater, struck a fighting stance. She was still preparing Illya's lunch box for tomorrow, some of the ingredients needed to be prepared and frozen in advance. She looked like a mature wife, with no trace of the military commander's aura.

"The concentration of this magic power..." Minamoto no Yorimitsu keenly sensed something was wrong with the environment, but this Noble Phantasm was something she was very familiar with. Sure enough, she turned her head and saw that annoying guy, and Illya. "Jiang You, you were summoned to another place, and you brought Illya with you, right? How could you let Illya come to such a dangerous place? In this era, there are fantasy species that are on par with demons!"

“It’s actually Lord Minamoto no Yorimitsu.” As a fellow servant from the mid-Heian period, Tawara Tota was very familiar with the legend of Minamoto no Yorimitsu. “However, her aura… is somewhat terrifying in every sense.”

So Tawaratouta decided not to talk to him.

"Looks like I need to find a way to get the Heracles card." Minamoto no Yorimitsu is quite a troublesome Servant if he doesn't agree with him, so Jiang You thinks it's best to use him sparingly. Besides, Heracles' effects are more suitable for Illya. "Next time I'll secretly bring Illya out to play!"

"You...!" Minamoto no Yorimitsu was furious, but she really couldn't do anything about Jiang You. Jiang You could take Ilya away at any time without her consent, which made her feel like a single mother whose child was taken away by her ex-husband.

Seeing that tears were welling up in Minamoto no Yorimitsu's eyes, Ilya quickly comforted him, "It's alright, Yorimitsu. If you're worried, I can use a Command Spell to summon you."

Jiang You touched his chin, thinking about the feasibility. But isn't it a bit too much to keep doing this?

Chapter 186 Successfully tricked Minamoto no Yorimitsu into giving her body (not really).

Jiang You paid attention to his Command Seals, which would be refreshed every time he entered a new scenario. He also didn't know what the situation was with Illya's Command Seals. You know, Illya never used a Command Seal in the entire fifth war.

"There's another problem. Illya, your summoning method is my Duel Spirit. After it's defeated, it won't affect your main body. You can summon it again after a cooldown period. But if you summon Minamoto no Yorimitsu using Command Seals, she will truly return to the Throne of Heroes after being defeated." Jiang You felt there was some room for maneuver in this matter. Minamoto no Yorimitsu's card could make up for his lack of points, so it was impossible for him not to be tempted.

To be precise, he coveted the bodies of all heroes, including King Hassan.

"In that case, Raikou, you shouldn't come." Ilya didn't want Raikou to leave for this reason. "I'll help out with Jiang You's side. Just think of me as someone who's here to have fun. Don't worry."

"So, Minamoto no Yorimitsu. If you're so worried about Illya, then entrust yourself to me." Jiang You tried to bypass the affinity requirement and directly obtain Minamoto no Yorimitsu's card. There were precedents for this; as long as the Servant agreed, it was fine. "That way, you can all travel with me in other places without worry. Minamoto no Yorimitsu, you wouldn't want Illya to leave you behind and adventure with me, would you..."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu wasn't worried that Jiang You was lying about his Noble Phantasm, and she readily agreed: "I promise you, Illya, I will protect you."

[【Minamoto no Yorimitsu】*3 has been sent to your email address. Please check your inbox.]

“But Jiang You, you…” Ilya realized that Jiang You was active in other places in his true form. They were fine if they were defeated, but if something happened to Jiang You, they would really be gone.

"Don't worry, I'll leave the artifact behind. You can summon it later..." Jiang You had never actually died in the game, but he figured he'd most likely have to restart from the last checkpoint, or at worst, replay the story. The only problem was that this crossover story was as long as the main storyline of the main game, and both could only be progressed chronologically. He didn't dare to try it lightly.

"You're not allowed to die!" Ilya dared not let Jiang You return to the Hall of Heroes; this guy couldn't even tell her about his past. As Jiang You's Master, she could clearly see his stats, but she had no way of confirming his true identity. Who knew who his so-called holy artifact would summon? "Even if it really summons you again, will it still be you? With your personality, you'll probably just run off with any Master who seems to have a good effect! Don't even think about escaping our Dark Game this way!"

Jiang You thought to himself that this ridiculous setting had been abandoned long ago. "Don't worry, with my abilities, even if I can't win, escaping won't be a problem."