Their commission was suspicious.

"...Speak, what else do you want?" Kiritsugu Emiya nodded after a moment of silence.

"The Lesser Grail?" Artoria frowned again.

This wasn't the first time Artoria had heard this word mentioned.

But those who know this term seem to be hiding it from themselves.

“I want her…” Chen Luo pointed to Artoria.

This time, everyone was smarter and waited quietly for Chen Luo to say what he was going to say next.

"Well, give me some feedback, are you going to give me any or not?" Chen Luo looked at Emiya Kiritsugu.

"You want Saber herself?" Kiritsugu Emiya couldn't help but ask.

“Of course, I could say I want every Servant from this Holy Grail War except Iskandar. And it’s hard to imagine what would happen if Artoria and Merlin fought together. Just thinking about it is exciting,” Chen Luo said, hugging his arms.

"You're hopeless." The Herald of Knowledge sighed.

So, Chen Luo's ability to randomly summon Merlin might really be due to compatibility, or rather, a heartless compatibility.

It remains to be seen whether Chen Luo or Merlin is more heartless.

Artoria and Kiritsugu Emiya exchanged a glance, and only after Artoria nodded solemnly did Kiritsugu agree to the request.

"I need a contract, a contract that isn't a magic contract, to witness the match between the two of us." Kiritsugu Emiya looked at Gilgamesh with a bitter expression.

Kiritsugu Emiya has to be filled with bitterness and hatred right now. If he really loses this match, there will be no chance of him turning the tables.

However... with Avalon, Artoria is at least second to none in defense.

If other people have a magical connection with Artoria, Avalon is essentially a Noble Phantasm that can extend life indefinitely; as long as the person doesn't die, they can recover from any kind of injury.

However, if it's Artoria, at the moment she activates her Noble Phantasm, no attack can harm her, and it can even be deflected.

"Sigh, can't I use a magic contract?"

“Saber once told me that you possess a dagger capable of severing all magical contracts,” Kiritsugu Emiya said coldly.

"..." Upon hearing this, Chen Luo turned to look at Gilgamesh.

Chen Luo was thinking of coaxing Artoria to stab him with the dagger, but Jill revealed the dagger's effects.

"It doesn't matter anyway, I didn't intend to go back on my word. Since you want to sign a contract to better ensure the validity of the competition, then sign my contract." Chen Luo said as he took out the Book of Contracts.

“I can give you a piece of paper so you can try it out yourself and verify its effectiveness. This is not a magic contract, but a rules contract based on it.” Chen Luo tore off a piece of paper from the beginning of the contract and handed it to Kiritsugu Emiya.

After Kiritsugu Emiya took it, he immediately designated Artoria as the test subject and signed a temporary contract with her that would last for 5 minutes.

Artoria will definitely lose if she plays rock-paper-scissors with Hisau Maiya.

That's right, Kiritsugu Emiya summoned Maiya Hisa, who had been hiding in the shadows.

With this contract, Hisayu Maiya and Artoria played rock-paper-scissors for a full two minutes, with Artoria losing every single time, to the point that Artoria was starting to question her existence.

However, Kiritsugu Emiya was still not at ease and demanded that Chen Luo use the dagger that could break the magic contract to stab Mai Kuu.

This is why Kiritsugu Emiya didn't personally make a contract with Artoria.

Because Kiritsugu Emiya possesses Command Seals and has a contract with Artoria.

Even after the Noble Phantasm was used, the contract remained unchanged.

Artoria continues to lose.

It wasn't until five minutes later that the rock-paper-scissors game ended with both sides winning and losing.

This made Kiritsugu Emiya temporarily believe Chen Luo.

To put Kiritsugu Emiya's mind at ease, Chen Luo had Kiritsugu write the formal contract himself, while Chen Luo simply watched from the sidelines.

"Don't try to fool me. I have an inherent skill that makes me impossible to deceive," Chen Luo muttered to himself from the side.

"..." After hesitating for a moment, Kiritsugu Emiya crossed out the two lines of the contract he had just written, and then asked Chen Luo for another sheet of the Book of Contracts.

Kiritsugu Emiya was extremely skilled at wordplay.

Kenneth has something to say about this.

In the original storyline, Kenneth signed a self-mandated pledge with Kiritsugu Emiya. Kenneth forced Lancer to commit suicide and withdrew from the Holy Grail War, while Kiritsugu Emiya would release Sora, who had been kidnapped, and promise never to harm Kenneth or Sora again.

The result was that Sora was killed by Mai Hisa's chaotic spear, while Kenneth was finished off by Saber with a single sword strike.

However, Saber did it so that Kenneth could rest in peace, which can be considered a good deed.

What does the contract I, Kiritsugu Emiya, signed with you have to do with Maiya Hisayu?

……

"This contract..." Chen Luo picked up the contract in his hand, looked at it for a long time, and then looked at Kiritsugu Emiya with some confusion, but then suddenly realized.

"Are you sure?" Chen Luo asked.

"I'm sure." Kiritsugu Emiya nodded after confirming that Chen Luo understood the meaning of the contract.

"Alright then, as you wish." Chen Luo glanced at Artoria and nodded.

With the two parties' confirmation, the contract was successfully concluded.

In order to fight better, Kiritsugu Emiya and Chen Luo found a relatively empty and deserted abandoned park nearby.

“Come on. You go first,” Chen Luo said to Artoria.

"By command of the Command Spell, Saber, fight with all your might." For this match, Kiritsugu Emiya used a Command Spell directly.

"Excalibur!" Artoria, amplified by a Command Seal, used her Noble Phantasm right from the start.

Since it's an abandoned park, there's no fear of being discovered.

At worst, it'll just explode with gas.

Anyway, the church will handle the aftermath.

After Artoria's Noble Phantasm dissipated, an extremely deep chasm appeared in front of Artoria. There was nothing in front of Artoria; everything had been blasted into nothingness by the anti-army Noble Phantasm.

Except for Chen Luo, who floated unharmed in front of Artoria.

"!!!" Seeing Chen Luo unharmed, Artoria subconsciously glanced at Kiritsugu Emiya.

"It's alright, at worst it'll be a draw. And we still have two more chances. Once we figure out his style, no one in the world is truly invincible," Kiritsugu Emiya said, puffing on his cigarette.

“Yes, I understand. Come, River God. I am ready,” Artoria said.

"Is that so?" Chen Luo looked at Artoria with some pity.

The contract between Chen Luo and Emiya Kiritsugu is definitely flawless; it's so rigorously detailed that no loopholes can be found. This is the result of both Chen Luo and Emiya Kiritsugu's mutual approval. If Chen Luo loses, he will truly have to give the Holy Grail to his opponent and ensure that the Holy Grail can grant wishes.

but……

[P.S.: If the score is tied after three rounds, both players will be considered winners.]

If it's a draw, Chen Luo will gain one hour of time from both Artoria and Kiritsugu Emiya.

Kiritsugu Emiya obtains the Holy Grail and the power to save Irisviel.

In other words, Kiritsugu Emiya betrayed Artoria...

They sold Artoria...

The text was so small that Artoria didn't see it at all, and was kept in the dark.

This is the unspoken understanding between Chen Luo and Emiya Kiritsugu.

Chapter 692 A Backstab from the Traitor Merlin

"Then it's my turn."

“Come on, I’m ready,” Artoria nodded.

Seeing Artoria's expression, which was both serious and confident, Chen Luo snapped his fingers lightly.

A blood-red spear was slowly constructed.

Upon seeing the blood-red spear, Artoria's eyes narrowed.

The Great God's Declaration—Gungnir, Artoria already knew about this gun.

However, Artoria was confident that she could withstand this one-time use Noble Phantasm.

"Don't think this is the end." Seeing that Artoria was somewhat relaxed, Chen Luo controlled Gungnir to cross an illusory river, and then three spears were thrust into front of Chen Luo.

Blood-red and gold/silver versions of Gungnir appeared before Chen Luo.

Upon seeing this, Artoria became slightly unsettled.

But only slightly.

Chen Luo's gaze lingered between the three spears, but in the end, he did not choose the golden Gungnir, which was beginning to fade into the ethereal, but instead chose the silver Gungnir in the middle.

The Gungnir created by Chen Luo using the Void Treasury is indeed similar to the normal blood-red Gungnir in terms of power during a single release.

The problem is that because it's a one-time event, the rank is indeed one level lower.

The silver disposable Gungnir is very close to the power of the real silver Gungnir when used at full strength, but it can only be used once.

After thinking about it again, Chen Luo put down the silver one and then raised the blood-red one.

"Are you underestimating me?" Artoria asked sternly.

"Be careful, I'm going to use Illusion Collapse this time. I've never tried it before, so I don't know how powerful it is."

After Chen Luo finished speaking, he waited two seconds to make sure the other party was ready before throwing the blood-red spear in his hand fiercely.

This blow pierced through the wallet!

The blood-red spear arrived in front of Artoria in an instant, like a meteor, and Artoria reacted instantly.

A golden and dark blue scabbard appeared in front of Artoria, which she then instantly unfolded.

"Avalon!"

The sword sheath, now freed from its true name, instantly transformed into countless tiny parts that surrounded Artoria.

Several golden ribbons encircled Artoria, isolating her from the rest of the world.

A tremendous roar resounded, and the terrifying force of the explosion directly created a small mushroom cloud, then whipped up a fierce wind throughout the abandoned park.

Kiritsugu Emiya, who had been hiding far away, calmly observed the scene unfolding before him.

Avalon can only protect one user.

As the smoke and dust cleared, a huge crater appeared around Artoria's body, with only a foothold remaining beneath her.

It truly lives up to its reputation as the strongest defensive Noble Phantasm in the Moon World.

The key point is that this Noble Phantasm is a physical Noble Phantasm, which can truly unleash its full power.

In the Holy Grail War, for a Servant to send out their Noble Phantasm, the giver must have a legend about the weapon being given, or the recipient must have a legend about receiving the gift.

Gilgamesh is different; he is somewhat special.

However, physical Noble Phantasms are different; they can be freely transferred without the approval of the Heroic Spirit.

"It actually managed to block Gungnir who used Illusion Break? And it was completely unharmed?" Chen Luo seemed quite surprised by this.

"Could this be the legendary strongest defensive artifact, Avalon? The scabbard that King Arthur lost in the Arthurian legend?"

“That’s right. This is indeed the scabbard.” Artoria nodded quite honestly.

In fact, Artoria took out her sword sheath before Gungnir exploded, so it's quite normal for people to see what the sheath looks like.

Artoria had no intention of hiding it, because it was simply impossible to hide.

The style and color scheme of the scabbard are so similar to Excalibur that there's no point in trying to hide it.

"Logically speaking, as a Servant with a legend about a lost scabbard, you shouldn't possess a scabbard, right? How did you obtain one?"

“That’s not something I need to tell you.” Artoria shook her head, not revealing the truth.

Meanwhile, Kiritsugu Emiya, who was watching from the side, breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Artoria was able to completely defend against Chen Luo's attack.

If possible, Kiritsugu Emiya would prefer to win rather than draw.

But now it seems that at least a draw is possible.