In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

“But the Black Faction’s Rider is not to be underestimated. Moreover, we don’t know if they have summoned any other exceptional Servants. It’s always good to be prepared,” the priest said with a gentle smile.

"Do as you please." The disheveled woman in the dress waved her hand casually. "Those two are definitely coming, unless they're planning to challenge the entire Black Faction all by themselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, the magical device placed to the side suddenly activated on its own, and a moment later, a line of text appeared on the paper.

Kotomine Shiro picked up the paper, glanced at it, and immediately smiled before showing its contents to Assassin.

"They've arrived."

......

......

The Thousand World Tree Castle.

The glow of the setting sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, falling onto the floor like a layer of flowing gold leaf. In the room, filled with a pinkish, ambiguous atmosphere, Yanan and Nidhogg lay on the soft Simmons bed, the messy marks on the bed a testament to their previous madness.

Nidhogg breathed heavily through her cherry-like mouth, her beautiful eyes were hazy, her naked body was covered in fragrant sweat, and her smooth and tender skin was covered with an alluring rose red, like a blooming daffodil, making her even more beautiful and charming.

Yanan's fingers gently slid across her skin. Nidhogg, still sensitive after their passionate encounter, trembled slightly and quickly grabbed Yanan's restless hand, her large eyes pleading, "Can we rest for a bit? It's been seven hours, I really can't go on."

"Oh?" Yanan glanced at her mockingly. "I wonder who was just on top of me, swearing they wouldn't stop until they completely drained me. Why are they begging for mercy now?"

"I'm sorry, I was wrong, please forgive me." Nidhogg admitted defeat without any backbone.

"Heh, that's more like it." Yanan's lips curled into a slight smile as he stopped teasing Nidhogg.

“You big bad guy.” Nidhogg gently bit Yanan’s chest. “I really don’t know where you get so much energy all day long. I’m a dragon and you’re a human, but I’m always the one who can’t handle it.”

That's because I have the Black Abyss White Flower on me. You can't possibly compare to me... Yanan thought to himself.

As the initial passion subsided, Anahn gradually calmed down and began to ask Nidhogg about the changes that had occurred to him since leaving Britain.

Thanks to the thorough preparations he made before leaving, Artoria smoothly succeeded to the throne. Due to the legend that the "Chosen King" might return to the earth at any time, the lords and nobles dared not overstep their bounds in the slightest. Although a few idiots would occasionally appear, they were easily wiped out by Artoria's troops.

Currently, the entire island of Britain has been completely taken over by Artoria. Due to Anaen's instructions, she did not rush to expand into the European continent, but instead steadily cultivated the island and accumulated strength according to the development plan left by Anaen.

With her extraordinary personal charm, Artoria has won the trust of everyone, which makes Anan feel a little emotional. The naive girl from back then has finally grown into a qualified queen.

"And what about Morgan? What's she doing?"

Nidhogg smiled wryly, “Ever since you left, Morgan has been completely distracted. Two years ago, she moved out of Camelot and back to Onic, and she hasn’t left since. No matter how much Al and I try to persuade her, she refuses to come out.”

A complex look appeared in Yanan's eyes. He knew, of course, that Morgan did this entirely out of remorse for his departure.

Chapter 8 The Awakening of the Artificial Human

As evening approached, since Nidhogg needed to rest, Anan left his room alone, intending to take a casual stroll outside.

But as soon as he arrived at the central hall, he bumped into Joan of Arc and Danic, who were walking out.

"Ah, it's you, Rider." Upon seeing him, Joan of Arc immediately showed a joyful expression and rushed forward.

Glancing at the handbag in Joan of Arc's hand, Anahn raised an eyebrow slightly: "Are you planning to leave?"

Joan of Arc nodded: "I have a general understanding of the situation here, and it's time for me to leave."

Glancing at Danic's unpleasant expression beside him, Yanan chuckled inwardly. He knew there was no way this stubborn saintess could be won over.

Danic was also helpless. He accompanied Joan of Arc to tour the World Tree Castle for a whole day, making all sorts of subtle and overt hints along the way, until his throat was almost hoarse, but the noble saint still refused to budge and refused to join their camp no matter what.

He dared not use force against Joan of Arc here, since Joan of Arc possessed two Command Seals corresponding to each Servant. Even if they could capture Joan of Arc, they would certainly have to pay a considerable price.

Moreover, the Greater Grail is buried here. If it gets accidentally damaged during a battle, he'll be devastated.

“Alright then, I hope we’ll have the chance to meet again in the future.” Anaen turned to Joan of Arc and smiled.

Joan of Arc's eyes darted away slightly, and she fidgeted with her fingers somewhat awkwardly. "Well, there's something I've always wanted to ask you, but I don't know if you..."

Thump—!

Before Joan of Arc could finish speaking, a loud bang suddenly rang out, causing the entire World Tree Castle to tremble slightly.

Joan of Arc and Anaïs turned their heads at the same time and instantly pinpointed the source of the sound.

"It's the incubation room!" Danick frowned deeply. "Something happened over there?"

Without saying a word, Joan of Arc and Anaïs immediately headed towards the incubation room.

Thanks to the strength of their heroic spirit bodies, they arrived at the incubation room in no time. Saber Siegfried also arrived at the same time.

The three exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and walked into the cultivation room without saying a word.

Inside the cultivation room, which covers an area roughly the size of a football field, stand rows of magical cultivation tanks, each containing an artificial human being submerged in a light green liquid. Above the tanks are magical transmission pipes that extract magical energy from the artificial humans and continuously supply it to the magicians of the Thousand World Tree Clan, ensuring their efficient magical energy supply.

Looking at these androids, whose appearance was no different from normal humans, but whose eyes were as lifeless as inorganic matter, Joan of Arc clenched her fists tightly, and a hint of sadness appeared in her eyes.

She already knew that the Black Faction was using androids as magic batteries, but seeing this scene still made her feel suffocated.

Anan and Saber ignored her and headed straight for the depths of the cultivation room. Jeanne quickly composed herself and followed behind them.

Before long, they discovered the source of the anomaly.

A man standing like an iron tower stood there, his lion-like eyes filled with wild and unruly arrogance. A strange man wearing a mask, blue striped clothing and a matching cloak stood opposite him. Although he was surrounded by many tall and muscular golems, their imposing presence was actually inferior to that of the other side.

Archer Hercules and Caster Avisbro, though unaware of what had happened, were visibly tense.

None of the three stepped forward. Joan of Arc, being a Ruler, was not in a position to interfere in the Black Faction's internal affairs. Saber Siegfried was not good with words and did not know how to participate. Anaene simply watched the show.

"Archer, hand that android over to me!" Caster's voice was filled with obvious madness and excitement. "He is my hope!"

Artificial humans?

Joan of Arc and Saber Siegfried were both startled, their gazes instinctively shifting to see a homunculus lying unconscious behind Archer's tall figure.

Is this android the reason for the standoff between Archer and Caster?

Looking at that young and pained face, Yanan raised his eyebrows slightly, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.

“Impossible,” Archer said calmly. “This android has developed its own consciousness and is undoubtedly a human being. I cannot hand him over to you.”

The android has developed its own consciousness!?

Ruler Jeanne d'Arc and Saber Siegfried's pupils dilated instantly, their emotions surging like a turbulent sea.

"What does that have to do with me!" Caster had completely lost his mind; he was now more like the Berserker than Frankenstein. "You have no idea how much effort I've put in to achieve that goal. Now... just one last step, just one last step!!!"

Archer crossed his arms and responded indifferently:

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You!" Although his expression was obscured, Caster must have been glaring with rage. He roared like a wild beast, "Get that android back to me!"

The towering golem's eyes lit up instantly, and it strode towards Archer.

"Step back." With Archer's cold words, a three-headed black dog suddenly sprang out of his shadow and quickly swelled to a size of five meters. Its sharp fangs were like indestructible divine weapons, and in no time at all, it tore these golems, whose physical strength was comparable to that of special alloys, to shreds.

It seemed that this lifeless object could not satisfy the three-headed dog from hell. It suddenly turned its head, and six pairs of eyes filled with obvious greed stared straight at Caster.

Saber Siegfried frowned slightly. After all, Caster was their ally and their biggest source of manpower. If Archer killed him, they would lose a powerful ally.

Just as he was hesitating about whether to make a move, he heard Rider say calmly from the side: "Don't worry, Archer knows what to do."

As expected, Cerberus bared his teeth at Caster and threatened him before obediently retreating back to Archer's side.

Caster was trembling with rage; he had actually been threatened by a dog!

"Teacher!" A startled voice cried out as a blond boy rushed in, his face full of anxious concern. "Teacher, are you alright?"

"What's going on?" Danic, Fiore, Gold, and the others who arrived late were all dumbfounded when they saw the situation. How did Archer and Caster suddenly start fighting each other?

Archer stood with his arms crossed, saying nothing. Caster was so angry that he couldn't speak, so he had no choice but to let Anan speak on his behalf and recount the previous situation.

"An android?" Everyone's eyes immediately focused on the android at Archer's feet, and their hearts skipped a beat.

What could possibly be the reason Caster is taking this so seriously...?

"He's the core!" Caster suddenly shouted. "And the top-tier core at that! With him, I guarantee I can tune [the person in the original location] to their perfect state!"

The most perfect [original person]! Upon hearing this, Darnic's heart pounded violently. They already had Archer and Rider, two exceptional Servants, plus Lancer, who was equally exceptional thanks to the local buff. If they could add a perfect [original person], then this Holy Grail War would undoubtedly be their victory!

He then turned to the towering man and said, "Archer, you must have heard it too, that android is crucial to us, it might even be the deciding factor in this war, so, could you...?"

However, before he could finish speaking, the three-headed dog that had been lying quietly beside Archer suddenly raised its head, its six eyes staring fiercely at him.

Danic was so frightened that he instinctively took a step back.

Archer reached out to comfort Cerberus, and said calmly, "I don't care about winning or losing. I only know that this child has developed his own will and become a true human being, so I must save him."

"Huh? What a joke, how could androids say such a thing? I never even gave them that concept." Gold laughed dismissively.

Cerberus turned his gaze to him again, which made the fat man tremble with fear. At that moment, a tall figure suddenly stood in front of him, blocking the three-headed dog's malice.

“Mind your own business…” Gordes curled his lip as he looked at Siegfried standing in front of him.

"Whether it is or not, why not let him explain it himself?" Anaen smiled, summoned the Black Abyss White Flower, and strolled towards Archer.

Cerberus intended to use the same tactic to intimidate Anahn, but after Anahn glanced at it with his dark, deep eyes, it shrank back as if it had seen something terrifying, and let out a pitiful whimper.

“Your dog is quite interesting.” Yanan raised an eyebrow slightly. “How about giving it to me?”

Cerberus was startled and quickly looked at his owner pitifully.

In its eyes, this creature, whose entire body exudes the scent of a top-tier dragon, clearly wanted to eat it as food!

Archer frowned in confusion: "What do you need it for?"

“I have a daughter and I want to find her a pet,” Yanan said bluntly.

He had always wanted to find Mordred a pet, but he hadn't found a suitable target. Cerberus was so intelligent and resilient, and as a divine beast, it was quite powerful, making it a good candidate.

Daughter... Archer paused for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "Let me think about it carefully."

Upon hearing this, the three-headed dog's six eyes rolled back, and it collapsed to the ground.

"Thank you very much then." Yanan nodded with a smile and inserted the Black Abyss White Flower into the android's shoulder.

As the holy lily pattern on the gun flashed slightly, the power of life surged into the android's body, and after a moment, the android slowly opened its eyes.

Looking into those weak and tired eyes, Gold's heart skipped a beat; those were not the eyes of an android.

Seeing the strangers surrounding him, the android was clearly startled and instinctively tried to run away, but fell to the ground again.

Although Yanan replenished his life force, the decline in his physical functions could not be cured in a short time. He was now no different from a one- or two-year-old child, and he could hardly run or even walk.

Seeing that there was no hope of escaping, he could only helplessly hug his knees and squat on the ground, his body trembling like a frightened quail, and he said in a trembling voice, "Please...please don't kill me."