Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Even with the blessing of the "Heart of Albion", there are only two or three hundred gates at most, which is about the limit.

However, the two things are fundamentally different.

Each of the swords that Shirou projects is a masterpiece that can be hailed as a Noble Phantasm.

In addition, his extraordinary shooting speed, honed through thousands of years of battle—

Shirou's sword strikes easily knocked down a large number of Vlad III's stakes.

"what?"

Lancer's expression shifted slightly.

This was the first time he had encountered an opponent he could not suppress.

In the preliminary battle of the Holy Grail War, the Mage's Association sent 50 elite mages—Lancer killed 49 of them in an instant, severely wounded them, and deliberately let the last one go.

The violence of numbers was what Vlad III was most proud of.

Now, his confidence, though only slightly, has indeed wavered.

"……snort."

No problem.

Vlad III still possessed two significant advantages.

One reason is the added advantage of its popularity within the motherland.

In Romania, especially in Transylvania, his fame is at the highest level.

Although fame doesn't bring about significant changes in strength, there is a strong faith in Vlad III here.

At the same time, Vlad III himself is the Servant most capable of leveraging his fame bonus—

"Guardian General of the Nation" is a skill that allows the user to treat a specific area as their own territory.

Fighting within this territory grants Lancer, as the king, an attribute boost equivalent to "Berserk A".

In addition, there is the magical power supplied by the Yggdrasil clan.

Hundreds of artificial life forms continuously provide Vlad III with magic, allowing him to unleash an endless barrage of "piercings".

no problem.

Even if his opponent is the legendary "Holy Sword Wielder".

Indeed, Vlad III discovered the red-haired boy's true name earlier than anyone else.

The Grand Prince of Wallachia, a devout believer, realized this.

This heroic spirit who seized the position of "Black" Swordsman was none other than the saint whom the church had been praising for a thousand years—

The "savior" who held up the Holy Grail.

...It was truly shocking.

Although I anticipated encountering a top-tier Servant with extremely high renown in the seven-on-seven Holy Grail War.

But who would have thought that they would encounter the strongest knight king who was said to never appear in the world?

If we're discussing the character of Heroic Spirits, there's probably no Heroic Spirit who can be compared to this ever-victorious king of the Age of Gods.

In some legends, he even led the Knights of the Round Table to defeat the "Grand Dragon" and devour its heart.

In this respect, he can be considered a descendant of Siegfried, the legendary dragon slayer in German folklore.

Thus, the dragon slayer was defeated by his own original work and took the place of the "Black" swordsman, a truly ironic turn of events.

The opponent possesses the planet's strongest heart and wields the Infinite Sword, including Excalibur. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the planet's defense mechanism.

Nevertheless, Vlad III should still have some advantages.

The Greater Grail limits the potential of Servants.

If you want to participate in the game, you must follow the rules, and even the "savior" is no exception.

No matter how powerful or extraordinary his heroic spirit was, he could not defeat Vlad III, who ruled a country and turned the territory beneath his feet into a source of power.

Lancer has once again freed "Kazikli Bey".

The "Black" swordsman calmly projected two hundred swords to confront the twenty thousand stakes.

The ultra-high-speed firing shattered the stake before it could even get close to Shirou.

The situation remained deadlocked.

Exploding sword blades and stakes flew everywhere, and flames boiled along with the earth.

If Vlad III's stakes were a flood, then Shirou's sword was a storm.

On one side is sheer numbers, on the other is lightning-fast destruction.

Two fierce forces collided, shattering everything around them into dust.

At that moment, Lancer suddenly realized something.

The red-haired boy clad in black before him—the one opposing him—was not currently in the identity of a king.

It was a monster, a legend, a natural disaster, a European horror story that Vlad III had known since childhood—

The undead king who wreaks havoc on the land and stirs up storms, the Wild Hunt.

So that's how it is...

In some fictional stories, the true identity of the Wild Hunt is King Arthur, who wanders the earth.

The King of Britain did not travel to the distant land of fairies with the witch as legend had it, but instead became the King of Dark Storms.

Thinking of this, Lancer, who was immersed in the intense atmosphere of the battle, actually curled up the corners of his mouth.

It seems that Yu and the "Black" Swordsman have more than just being known for their loving husbands—

You too, after death, were stigmatized by fools.

Vlad III, feeling a sense of resonance, felt a deep sense of admiration.

"Truly worthy of being the legendary king, he has single-handedly resisted my kingdom to this extent."

It's not without reason that you're seen as a symbol of terror by the world; in the eyes of your enemies, you are the most terrifying legend.

"Thank you, you're not bad either."

Shirou calmly countered the attack while speaking.

"That's why I said, don't care about what other people think—Lancer, you care too much about what the world thinks."

"what?"

Instantly, flames ignited in the eyes of the "Black" Lancer.

Vlad III's reason for responding to the Holy Grail was his desire to restore his reputation.

As a devout believer and patriot, he wanted to wash away the stigma of "Dracula the vampire" that had spread throughout the world.

Vlad III did not intend to deny the path he had taken.

However, he could not accept that his name was being smeared when it had nothing to do with him.

The Lancer's gamble on this Holy Grail War is probably second to none among all the Servants. Danic also admires his unwavering attitude.

Shirou sensed Lancer's anger, but still said calmly:

"To you, these stakes are an attack, a defense, a demonstration, and also a source of fear."

Your ideal state is to become the nation itself, without even needing subordinates.

While I agree that a king should be aloof and independent, what you did went too far—that's why you're seen as a monster by later generations.

"!"

Vlad III gritted his teeth.

He certainly understood the red-haired boy's unspoken meaning.

The two of them represent two extremes of being a king.

On one hand, he transformed himself into the king who protected the nation.

On the other side is the king, who leads the strongest superhuman army in history (the Knights of the Round Table).

Long ago, when Vlad III read that legend, he thought:

If King Arthur was the strongest being, why would he recruit those weaker than himself?

Doing so will only lower your purity.

After confronting him head-on, Lancer seems to have found some answers.

Vlad III continued to release stakes.

The two sides were evenly matched in firepower, but he was convinced that if they continued, he would be the one to win.

Okay, so let's use my own way of benevolence to overwhelm and negate your way of benevolence—

"Okay, that's enough for the warm-up."

You mean...warm-up?

The "Black" spearman revealed a smile, a chilling smile filled with anger, passion, hatred, and murderous intent.

"As expected of the strongest king, you are truly arrogant—"

I have already punished you three times for your arrogance, yet you remain completely unaware of it.

That's right... my stake just grazed your body—in other words, the conditions have been met.

In the previous battle, "Kazikli Bey" detonated inside Mordred, thus defeating her.

Now Vlad III is going to repeat the same victory.

Although the tip of his spear did not touch Shirou, the stake itself could still be etched with a curse—even the fragments after the stake was shattered could.

In that airtight barrage of fire, the "Black" swordsman was only grazed by shrapnel three times.

If this wasn't a coincidence brought about by "luck," then it's truly astonishing—

However, this small flaw was enough to decide the outcome.

The "Black" spearman resorted to his old trick, detonating stakes inside the enemy's body—

"Father!!"

Mordred shouted in a panic.

Having personally experienced having her heart pierced, she knew all too well how terrifying that treasure was.

Even my father...

No, Father is of course the strongest and invincible, but...

However, at this critical moment when the girl's left and right brains were struggling with each other, the atmosphere around Shirou changed.

"I am the bone of my sword."

He whispered softly.

As if it were only natural, a grand magic trick was accomplished in a single section (One Count).

The world under the cover of night has been eroded.

The earth was enveloped in a realm of flames.

In an instant, the plains in the dead of night were transformed, and everything around them collapsed like graffiti.

Incredibly quickly, this world was replaced by another world—

The plain, which was just moments ago swept by a cold night wind, has now transformed into a steaming iron foundry.

Flames surged, and giant gears spun in the air.

On the boundless wilderness, countless unclaimed swords were stuck in the ground, stretching all the way to the horizon.

These swords, the deadly weapons connected to the earth, are all famous swords.

Countless weapons were abandoned in this vast ironworks.

And at the very center of this ruined kingdom stands the proud "Nameless King".