Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Ritsuka remained calm. In the midst of their playful scuffle, she even flipped over and pinned Mordred, who wasn't using her Servant powers, before jumping to the side. She clutched her chest, panting, and blushed as she exclaimed.

"Stop making a scene! If you keep this up, I'll send you back! Chief, aren't you going to help me talk to her?"

"If that's the case, why did you all come? The director needs protection too!"

"Ahem"—Olga Marie's feigned cough came from Chaldea. Then came a quiet, self-deceptive muttering. "The communications seem to be malfunctioning..."

—【No, your side is more important. Because it's very likely that a third continuous spirit particle transfer can't be performed. You must rely on the information from the last one to repair this singularity. Because we can't rule out the possibility that Hinako Akuta won't be able to arrive in time to provide support. Of course, Olga Marie will outwardly maintain the attitude that continuous spirit particle transfer can be performed again. But the plan has actually changed. She doesn't intend to continue the previous plan but instead has you pull out two 'anchors' in succession—she said she knows it's difficult, but she also believes that Ritsuka, you won't give up this heavy responsibility.】

—【Of course, if Ritsuka encounters an irreversible crisis, Chaldea will still forcibly recall you. We will always be by your side providing military support. Olga Marie's suggestion is for you to find a base as soon as possible and ensure its stability. That way, even if you fail this time, Chaldea can still deploy its Master to that base after dealing with internal issues, provided that the base survives the God War.】

The next moment, Ritsuka jumped up.

"Alright! I know I was wrong, I admit defeat!" Ritsuka raised her hands and waved them forcefully to show her surrender. "I'll go solve this problem right away—this kind of thing can be solved by finding a large spiritual vein and then transferring the magic supply, right? Director, don't play dead, say something too!"

"I agree to the plan. I will do my best to fix this singularity this time. However, I still need to have it verified by the director."

And so Chaldea's 'broken' communications were immediately restored.

“Ritsuka, as the Master responsible for carrying out the work, you have the authority to make your own decisions during the repair of the Singularity.” Olga Marie’s wording was somewhat strange. She used the term “repair the Singularity” instead of “remove the anchor point.” And she immediately added, “However, I think it’s sometimes necessary to listen to the opinions of Servants. This time, you can treat the words of the Knights of the Round Table as my orders. Ritsuka, go find a suitable base first.”

Her wording was somewhat odd, and her answer was slightly off-topic. However, Ritsuka and Mashu understood her words perfectly—they exchanged a glance, a knowing look forming in their hearts simultaneously. Mashu's eyes held a hint of worry, while Ritsuka's gaze was filled with determination.

And that was the end of her playful banter with Mordred.

“Securing a ley line…” Fujimaru Ritsuka hesitated for a moment. “If we’re talking about the easiest large ley line to obtain, then acquiring the Uruk ley line by obtaining King Gilgamesh’s permission should be the easiest goal to achieve. But King Gilgamesh is very likely in the Underworld right now…”

She took a light breath.

“I have a slightly risky idea.” She paused for a moment, then continued, “We’ll go to Imanith, the Imanith that Sister Ba mentioned, the one where the god Mangotrund resides. Because our ultimate goal is to repair the Singularity, we need to find a way to stop the God War before that.”

“But what if we do that…” Mashu clenched her fist and raised it to her chest, looking worried. “Wouldn’t that be too risky? And our intelligence advantage that we’ve built up before…”

However, Ritsuka shook her head.

"No, we don't have time. Based on past experience, the God War will begin when the day ends and darkness falls. Although this is different from the three days initially predicted, Sister Ba did not appear this time either, so it is possible that this time the God War will break out in less than a day... The God War may break out ahead of schedule."

She found a twig and drew an equilateral triangle on the ground.

“Imanitek, Uruk, Tiamat—Tiamat sleeps in the sea, and we have no way to reach her. Mangotlund is of the same divine status as Tiamat, a powerful deity that even Miss Ishtar could not contend with.” She poked hard at the two apexes, then cut off the two horns.

"The war between the gods doesn't break out without a reason. Sister Ba and Mr. Merlin in the Underworld both told me that the goddess Mangotrund has a pact with King Gilgamesh. Moreover, the city she controls protects many humans and even accommodates a huge population close to that of Uruk. Based on all the known information, she should be a benevolent god who favors humanity, and the possibility of us encountering danger if we contact her is very small."

“But that goddess showed no mercy in the war,” Mash objected. “Miss Ishtar only wanted her to stop…”

“That’s war,” the knight Gawain, who hadn’t said much until now, said gently. “Mash, once a war of the gods begins, when it stops is not up to the participants. And that’s something that hasn’t even happened yet.”

"But……"

“Mr. Gawain is right, Mash.” Fujimaru Ritsuka reached out to comfort Mash—she winked at Gawain, who immediately nodded and went to survey the surroundings—and Ritsuka continued, “Participating in the war was Ishtar’s choice. But if we can stop that war this time, then Ishtar’s misfortunes will naturally disappear. And, there’s something I’m concerned about…”

She tilted her head, looking northwest of where Imanitic was. Sunlight shone from behind her, and for some reason, the ground not far away seemed strangely white—she rubbed her eyes, then realized it was an illusion. The whitened ground returned to normal, and the Servants around her did not raise any alarms.

She continued, "After that separation, I never saw Sister Ba again until the second continuous teleportation began. According to Miss Ishtar, when we left Kusa and reappeared in Uruk through the ritual, there was a very strong energy reaction in the direction of the Blood Temple. Then Tiamat was awakened, and then the divine war that swept across the continent began... I suspect that this is related to Sister Ba. She might be a very important key."

“Fujimaru.” The director’s voice switched to a serious tone and rang in her ear. “You are the one who will carry out the actual execution, so I won’t deliberately interfere with your decisions. But you need to think carefully. If you misjudge and fail to persuade Mangtlund, then your body may not be able to withstand the third spirit transfer.”

“I’ve made up my mind, Director. I’m going to Imanitis. I’m going to stop this war.”

"Then do it your way." In the control room, Olga Marie bit her finger, but gave a firm answer.

Fujimaru Ritsuka turned her head to look at Mash.

"Senior, I'll do my best!"

She then looked at the Knights of the Round Table.

“We are the swords in your hands, and swords do not dictate what their masters should do.” – Bedivere nodded in reply. Mordred, standing beside him, tilted her head to look at the scenery, silently acquiescing.

"That's fantastic! With everyone's help, we're sure we can persuade God Mangtlund, stop this divine war, and even repair this singularity!" Ritsuka clenched her fist, brimming with energy. "Then let's—"

“Wait a minute.” Tristan suddenly tilted his ear and pointed to a nearby grove of trees. “There seems to be some strange noise over there.”

The next moment, a sword aura whose power had been suppressed was casually swung out by Lancelot-Garonne, striking the forest with a force that would not harm mortals.

Several startled birds took flight, cooing as they flitted about.

“There’s nothing there.” Lancelot-Garonne withdrew the sword he had drawn an inch from its sheath.

“Hmm, maybe I’m mistaken. But be careful, enemies could appear out of sight at any moment.” Tristan’s words were pointed. And he knew that everyone present understood the true meaning he was trying to convey.

So the group set off towards the northwest.

As the sun rose, a wisp of morning mist naturally drifted along the Chaldeans' path.

It's still very thin.

Insertion Section · Reincarnator · Demon Team Decision

It's almost time...

Beyond the table, and beyond that, somewhere still within the Holy Hunting Ceremony yet far from the main battlefield of the Dao Struggle, many worlds, like bubbles, are born and perish with the ebb and flow of the energy ocean. They generally operate according to the script of the Moon World and extend into some strange developments.

The theme of all these Holy Grail Wars is the Holy Grail War, but among these countless Holy Grail Wars, there is one world where the Holy Grail War does not begin in the usual Fuyuki City or other cities and prefectures in Japan—its starting location is far away, in Romania, on the other side of the world. An independent magician family calling themselves the Yggdrasil has seized the Greater Grail through some means and is attempting to win the war directly by internally absorbing it. Their actions have incurred the direct attack of the Mage's Association, the authoritative body within the mystical world.

The specific details of the game and the undercurrents between the two sides need not be elaborated upon. In short, the final result was that this Holy Grail War was held in a seven-on-seven format between two factions. This Holy Grail War, with Romania as the main battlefield, quickly became intense after it began, and it may soon reach its conclusion with a complete victory, a Pyrrhic victory, a draw, or a double loss for one side.

Of course, that's not important.

It's not important to many 'people'.

As this unorthodox Holy Grail War drew to a close, the final forces of the Yggdrasil, led by a homunculus, launched a direct attack on the Hanging Gardens constructed by the Assyrian Empress Semiramis. Meanwhile, outside the battlefield, in a small town with a name that few would likely care about, a group of lazy, oddly dressed outsiders wandered aimlessly through the streets. They appeared to be ordinary tourists from a foreign land, somewhat noticeable, but nothing more.

They were really a strange group of people.

A handsome young man from the East exuded a gloomy aura, looking as if he had suffered a terrible heartbreak. He sat on a bench by the street, carving out a statue of himself—or rather, a statue of someone who looked exactly like him—from a small block of wood, then viciously slicing it into pieces.

A blonde, golden-eyed foreign girl, draped in a black cloak and sporting a replica lightsaber at her waist, looked like a hardcore Star Wars fan. She spent half an hour browsing through a street full of dessert shops, then stuffed her seemingly bottomless stomach to the brim with a ton of local sweets that would probably cost kilograms.

There was a pair of beautiful women walking down the street, their presence like a field of blooming lilies. Their blonde and purple hair flowed in the wind like marigolds and violets in full bloom. They seemed quite interested in the circus, watching the various performances with great interest in the town's only theater. The Gypsy tricks made them laugh heartily, as if they were two young girls who had just graduated from academy.

A young man with strikingly handsome features, bordering on the alluring, yet possessing a hint of the typical white-collar worker's slump, strolled through a shopping mall with his girlfriend, who barely reached his chest and looked more like someone who should be calling the police—he seemed to have no interest in buying anything. His girlfriend, however, seemed to disagree, so like most stay-at-home men, he watched with a doting expression as his partner flitted through the luxury stores like a butterfly, while simultaneously wincing at his own wallet and pretending to be completely unconcerned.

Besides them, there were many others, men and women, totaling nearly twenty, who seemed out of place in this small town yet strangely integrated into it. They were all like, or rather, a group of curious foreign tourists. There's no need to detail their identities or physical characteristics yet. Among them, a bespectacled man with a detached expression did something different.

Because he was meeting with guests.

In a private room of a Chinese restaurant, a rarity in this small Romanian town, you'll meet a 'guest' who looks exactly like you!

They are the Demons, and their identity is self-evident.

The people having their conversation in this private room are naturally 'Chu Xuan' and 'the real Chu Xuan'!

And this meeting has been going on for a very long time. So long that the members of the Demon Team are bored and going shopping, so long that this long meeting is nearing its end.

“…Then,” the clone Chu Xuan closed the document in front of him and adjusted his glasses. “The agreement is hereby signed. Under the condition that the above conditions are met, the distribution of the benefits from this ceremony will be based on the plan you proposed. However, this is not a strict constraint, and there is still room for adjustment in case of specific circumstances.”

"It's alright. In the end, it all comes down to strength. Ultimately, it's about competition. You and I both know that," the real Chu Xuan replied. He put away the documents in front of him. They were just ordinary paper, with ordinary agreements written on them with ordinary pens and signed by both parties—signatures devoid of any power. Strictly speaking, these things wouldn't even have much binding force on ordinary people, because there were no coercive contracts or curses to guarantee their execution. However, beyond this non-existent enforcement, there was something else that maintained its authority.

That was the consensus among Chu Xuan and his group.

When both Chu Xuans agree on something and are determined to carry it out, very few things in this vast multiverse can defy their will.

The two gentlemen and ladies currently playing chess, along with their unnamed opponents of the same rank, are likely exceptions. However, Chu Xuan and his group are aware of their existence and have adjusted their strategies accordingly—of course, given their current resources and level, it's quite difficult for them to discern the paths and interests of those chess players. This also indicates that their current chess game is not yet worthy of intervention from beings of that level.

So, Chu Xuan, the real person from the Zhongzhou team, nodded. After putting the documents into his briefcase, he got up and left, quietly pushing open the door like an ordinary civil servant who had just closed a project. And the moment he stepped out the door, his form completely disappeared from this space.

A clone of Zheng Zha silently appeared in the seat next to Chu Xuan with his girlfriend—who was naturally Luo Li. This Luo Li was the original Zheng Zha from the source world, the one who had died of illness, not the original Zheng Zha created using the power of the main god. This was achieved using the technology Chu Xuan had developed to send the clone Alice back to the source world. After the clone Alice personally verified the feasibility of this method, she used her ritual magic to orchestrate the return of this departed soul.

—The Demons achieved a unified voice because of this move. From the past to the present, the stability within this team has been maintained.

“So,” the clone Zheng Zha didn’t predict the facial scars in the record, nor the gloom and rage shown in it. “…Shouldn’t we make a move?”

“There’s no need to intervene.” The clone Chu Xuan raised a finger and pressed the base of his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “There’s no life-or-death rivalry between us and the Central Continent Team. Moreover, after the first half of the Hunting Saint Ceremony ended, our strategy to curb their development can be considered a failure. Most of the members of the Central Continent Team have already successfully reached the mid-stage of the fourth tier, and it’s an inevitable and unstoppable fact that your true form and Alice’s true form will reach the high-stage of the fourth tier.”

“Luo Ye has chosen her. Her future as one of the Four Highs, a Spiritual Position, and a Transcendent Being is destined to arrive.” The clones Alice and Patchouli appeared silently in another location. The clone Alice was still wearing the blood-red dress she favored.

"Although she doesn't understand the significance of Luo Ye choosing her, or even the meaning of Luo Ye's existence, being chosen is being chosen. It's 'destiny,' something you can't envy. And sooner or later, the entire Central Continent Team will become extraordinary, some members will become true gods, and two members are destined to become transcendent beings. Continuing to suppress them is just a useless waste of our time." The clone Alice shook her head slightly and sighed.

"That being said, I am actually quite jealous of her... I guess that's my inner conflict."

"From what you're saying, does that Miss Luo Ye perhaps have some extraordinary background?" The clone Ex appeared in another location, biting into a sandwich cookie, her words slightly mumbled. "Um, sorry, I was just asking casually. If it's a secret, then forget it."

“It’s no secret.” The clone Alice shook her head again. “Luo Ye is really just an ordinary person with no background, no talent, no profound virtue, and no illustrious past life. She has no one behind her, no saint. But it is precisely because of this that her existence is so significant.”

Her answer was also somewhat cryptic.

But the clone Exus was clearly on the same wavelength as her, and after hearing her explanation, she also gained some understanding.

"So that's how it is. Ordinary among the ordinary, destined for a mediocre life if not for that person's gaze. Even now, there are no ordinary people who have never truly accomplished anything—I understand. Being chosen by her is truly your good fortune. I'm even a little envious..." She suddenly shoved a chocolate sandwich cookie down her throat, blocking the rest of her sentence.

"Phew, I almost said that." She pressed her hand to her chest, exhaling a slightly sweet breath. "Only Alice could say something like that; I couldn't possibly accept it."

The clone Alice shook her head, ignoring the guy who was trying to get her attention. She tilted her head and looked at the clone Chu Xuan.

"So we'll just stay here and do nothing?"

"Stay here, but don't do nothing," the clone Chu Xuan replied, snapping his fingers—the battlefield within the Assyrian Hanging Gardens clearly appeared before their eyes. Then, what appeared before the reincarnators was the scene inside Semiramis's throne room.

Because the demons' reincarnations did not interfere with this world, the Holy Grail War in this world continued according to its original script—Empress Semiramis encountered a surprise attack from the Servant Mordred and her Master. Due to a misjudgment in her battle strategy, the Assyrian Empress, skilled in poison, used the deadly venom of the Hydra, while Mordred's Master happened to be carrying a juvenile Hydra specimen. Therefore, a mutually destructive outcome was inevitable.

The Empress will die by the sword of the Rebellious Knight, and the Rebellious Knight and her Master are destined to die from the incurable poison and relentless magical bombardment of Hydra. If the Reincarnators do not intervene, this future cannot be changed.

The clone Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses, his gaze sweeping beyond the projection and the outer sky towards the starry heavens. He could clearly see the endless void beyond this bubble-like world. He could also see the colossal silver shadow, formed through the Hunting Saint Ritual, whose scale and energy level were immeasurably high.

He possessed tools capable of dealing with the colossal shadow, but using them would be counterproductive. The clone Zheng Zha was also capable of fighting the behemoth, but it had also been bogged down here, unable to attend to anything else. Furthermore, given the terms of the deal with the original Chu Xuan, both taking action and disengaging would result in significant losses for his side.

So he looked away.

“That rebellious knight is a good entry point; Alice, you can try using her.”

“I know,” the clone Alice replied. “But my original self certainly knows as well, after all, the flaw is far too obvious.”

"It's alright." The clone Chu Xuan shook his head slightly. "The proxy war won't focus on just one point; your actions can serve as cover for others. I suppose you've also noticed the Celestial Team's little tricks. Are you interested in using them to your advantage?"

“I’m the one doing this,” Patchouli said with a smile. “My original body took the Predator Planet and all its parallel phenomena. But I’m quite interested in the Temple of Time. There’s no information witch in this world who doesn’t control the floating city. Since Adam is willing to do this for me for free, I can only accept it.”

The clone Chu Xuan nodded and did not reply.

Soon, the other members of the Demon Team also appeared in the small private room at the appropriate time—their identities and appearances need not be described, as it is not the right time yet. As the clone Chu Xuan assigned them tasks, the Demon Team, filled with clones, joined this proxy battlefield.

Meanwhile, or perhaps at a different time, on another 'bubble', Chu Xuan, dressed as a civil servant, appeared at the site of another Holy Grail War before the script had been executed.

This is Tokyo, where another Holy Grail War of a different scale will soon begin.

On this land, there is a young girl with a deep 'connection' to the Holy Grail. If all goes according to plan, she will participate in a Holy Grail War in a few days and easily win with her extraordinary talent in a very short time. However, before she succeeds, her servant, unable to understand her abnormal mind, will betray her, causing her to die before she can give the Holy Grail to her servant.

Her servant is Arthur Pendragon. He is the original source of the female version of Arthur, and also a suitable entry point into the game.