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

Then he pointed at Lancelot. "As for this Knight of the Yangtze River, he's essentially confessing his love to you, Artoria. He's been dead for so long he didn't even dare to tell the truth. Ever since he learned your true self, he's longed for you and developed a forbidden love for you. He became so twisted because he didn't receive the punishment he deserved for his betrayal, turning love into hate. That's why he's here, eager for you to execute him personally."

"?" The shocking fact made Artoria's brain freeze for a moment. She looked at Lancelot in surprise. "Lancelot, is what he said true?"

Lancelot felt that the atmosphere he had created was completely ruined by someone, turning the relationship between the king and his subjects into a twisted emotional dispute.

He cried out in despair, "Yes, King! I admire you, I love you! Such a fragile girl has carried the fate of the nation on her shoulders, holding up a clear sky for everyone. I cannot take my eyes off you. You are so shining, so beautiful, I long for your gaze! Even if your gaze is filled with anger and dissatisfaction with me, rather than reluctant forgiveness for the sake of justice!"

After the brief moment of shame and anger passed, Lancelot, who had completely let go, felt a sense of relief. He had basically no regrets about this Holy Grail War.

"You, I..." The pain and regret of the Battle of Camlann, and the impact of Lancelot's true feelings made Artoria confused and she had no idea how to answer.

"Aren't you disappointed in me?" She finally asked this question.

"Never, my king," Lancelot replied affirmatively. "As long as you follow your heart, no matter what choice you make, we will support you! So, please judge me, your shameless subject!"

"Are you going to take action, King Arthur?" During this time, Jiang You asked Sakura Matou to help repair Lancelot's blood line. Lancelot, with only 1600 LP left, had entered Artoria's killing line.

Altria looked at Jiang You and nodded.

"Well then, Artoria, make a direct attack on Lancelot, Excalibur!"

The golden torrent of magic simply collided and submerged Lancelot. In the brilliant golden light, Lancelot showed an expression of relief.

Lancelot LP1600→0

Chapter 21 Illya: The Nasty Caster

"Satisfied?" As the duel space vanished, Artoria and Matou Sakura returned to their original time and space. Lancelot also transformed back into his original Berserker spirit base.

Lancelot was unable to respond due to the frenzy, but his quiet appearance had already given the answer.

"You're satisfied, but this uncle is dying." Illya, who had been performing the entire healing magic, looked at Jiang You speechlessly. After the battle, Matou Kariya felt like he'd suffered a fatal blow, his already weakened body on the brink of death. If Illya hadn't continued performing the magic, he would have already passed away.

"It seems that duels between rival players in the Holy Grail War can cause effective damage even without engaging in dark games." Jiang You quickly understood why this result occurred.

"So, are you going to save him or not?" Seeing that her magic power was almost exhausted, Illya urged Jiang You to make a decision quickly, "If you don't save him, I'll give up!"

"I want to save her, but I don't know how." Jiang You spread his hands. As a relatively normal person among the Four Warriors, Matou Kariya has been trying to rescue Matou Sakura in his own way. Jiang You thinks it would be okay to help him if possible.

"Hand over the Soul Crystal... What's with that look in your eyes? I won't snatch it away. I have experience in the Heavenly Clothes state. It would be very easy to guide the magic power within the Soul Crystal and let him live for a few more years."

"Can this thing be used like this?" Jiang You realized that there were many ways to develop this game.

"Why else do you think we, the Einzberns, have been trying to recreate the Third Law?" Illya sighed deeply. "And you, Caster? How come you don't understand this? I can't understand why the Soul Crystal, the manifestation of the Third Law, would be associated with a wasteful person like you."

"Actually, I feel like I should be more of a Dueler than a Caster."

"This guy probably has 5 seconds left to live. 5-4-" Facing the funny Jiang You, Illya started the countdown with a cold face.

Time was running out, so Jiang You had to take out the soul crystal.

After obtaining the soul crystal, Illya channeled the magic power within the crystal to perform healing magic.

Matou Kariya's breathing had stabilized, but the magic circuits on his body, which were filled by the crest bugs, had mostly been destroyed. The remaining magic power was insufficient to replenish Lancelot's spiritual base, causing Lancelot's panel to drop several levels. But at least he survived.

After returning the Soul Crystal to Jiang You, Illya wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Alright, let me emphasize again that I'm not good at healing magic. You can think of it as simply using the Soul Crystal's immense magical power to forcibly heal the wound. He only has about four or five years left to live."

"Thank you for your hard work, Illya. As for Berserker, your Master, I'll leave him in your care. From now on, take him away from this Holy Grail War."

Hearing Jiang You's words, Lancelot pointed at himself, and Jiang You quickly understood what he meant. "I've already received your help, so don't try to steal my game."

After arranging Matou Kariya's group, Jiang You waved to Illya and said, "Let's go, Illya, let's go and bring Sakura out."

"Yes, yes, I don't even know who the Servant is anymore."

When the two men came in front of little Sakura Matou, Sakura Matou just looked at them with lifeless eyes, without any reaction, like a porcelain doll at the mercy of others.

At this time, Sakura had already suffered years of torture, and her young heart was extremely fragile. She was more numb and submissive than she would be ten years later.

Jiang You squatted down, lowered his head, and brought his eyes level with Xiaoying: "Xiaoying, everything is over. I kept my promise to you and came to take you away from here."

"Ying lives here. This is Ying's home. She doesn't need to leave." Ying didn't know Jiang You, and she had long been accustomed to this kind of life that felt like falling into the bottomless abyss. Naturally, she couldn't agree.

Jiang You knew that Sakura was afraid. According to the original storyline, when everything was nearing its end, Sakura would indifferently watch Matou Kariya, who had been trying to help her, die, and say, "How stupid! Who told you to rebel against Grandpa?"

Adopted into the Matou family, she was left helpless. Rather than becoming a member of the Matou family, she was abandoned by the Tōsaka family, left all alone. Therefore, she dared not rebel against Zouken Matou, nor did she dare to identify with Kariya, who rebelled against Zouken Matou. To avoid further harm, she built a thick shell around herself.

"Don't worry, that old man Matou Zouken is dead, and he died very completely." Combat drops don't lie.

"Grandpa, is he dead?" Sakura Matou finally looked at the young man in front of her, but the light that had just risen in her eyes quickly faded. She was adopted here by the Tohsaka family. Tohsaka was no longer her home, and her nominal head of household was dead. "So, I don't even have a home anymore."

"This isn't Sakura's home, there's no such thing as a home." Jiang You placed his large hand on Sakura's head, stroking it gently. "Home should be warm, where you can express your likes and dislikes without worry, confide your grievances to your family, and share your happiness."

Jiang You knelt on one knee and gave Xiaoying a knight's salute. He then extended his hand and slowly held it out to her. "Little princess, come with me. Tomorrow I will take you to see your mother, and then I will accompany you to beat up your unreasonable father!"

Xiaoying raised her little hand hesitantly, wanting to hold Jiang You's hand, but was afraid of suffering the same treatment again.

"Can I trust you?"

"Of course, I'm betting my knight's honor!" Jiang You continued his role-playing!

"You are a ghost knight." This time it was Illya's turn who couldn't bear it anymore. She grabbed Sakura Komatou's hand and put it into Jiang You's hand.

"Sakura, I'll call you that for now." Illya pointed at Jiang You and lectured little Matou Sakura in the manner of an elder, "Listen carefully, this is Caster, the guy who killed Matou Zouken, the head of the Matou family. Even Matou Zouken is no match for him. If he wants to do something, you have no right to refuse. His attitude now shows that he cares about you very much. Why are you hesitating? How foolish!"

Seeing Xiaoying's body relax slightly, Jiang You picked her up. "Why are you so fierce? Don't scare Xiaoying."

Jiang You's words made the veins on Illya's forehead jump. Jiang You was obviously a servant of the Einzbern family, and she should have a closer relationship with Jiang You. "Why don't you be gentler to me? I'm obviously not having a good life either!"

"So I'm here to help you. With me here, your father and mother will be safe and sound." If he fails, he can just try the second round. Jiang You said he didn't feel any pressure at all.

"And I promised you that I would help you whether it's here or ten years later. I will definitely come." The new expansion pack has already sent an invitation, how could I refuse.

Illya's mood improved visibly, while Jiang You showed a disappointed expression as he looked at the repeated rewards.

Chapter 22: Einzbern's maid is very smooth

"Eh! Brother Xiao Jiang, your eyes are so scary. Tell me, did you secretly kill your boss?"

Just as Jiang You was trying hard to eat noodles and thinking about which plot characters to kill in the five battles to get the soul crystals, Xiao He suddenly came up to Jiang You mysteriously and asked cautiously.

"What are you talking about? Even though that bald guy is a big talker, at least he has never deducted my salary. Stop slandering me." Jiang You replied to Xiao He with a puzzled look, only to find that she was indeed a little panicked.

Xiao He took out a small mirror and asked Jiang You to look at himself. "Why do you look like this, Brother Jiang?"

Oh my god, where did this fugitive suspect come from?

Jiang You quickly rubbed his brows, pushing his thoughts about the plot out of his head. Apparently, the game being too realistic has its drawbacks; it's even making him want to kill. This needs to be addressed to reduce the realism of the player feedback.

It was a bit absurd that a card game could generate murderous intent. Jiang You began to wonder if he was a natural killer.

You have to adjust your mindset and stop thinking about killing and robbing. You have to enjoy the game. After all, the limit of soul crystals is limited.

"It's because I stayed up too late these past two days and didn't sleep well." Jiang You said perfunctorily and finished the remaining noodles. The plot doesn't wait for anyone.

When Jiang You left the restaurant, time in the restaurant stopped again.

"This time, you were too hasty." The proprietress stared at Xiao He. "You spun a lie for him, and he accepted it. He treated what he thought was a fake human as an object to produce materials. It was very reasonable. You've already set a so-called upper limit for him, and you're weaving new lies here. Aren't you afraid of creating new loopholes?"

"If we don't strengthen this concept, he could break through our limitations at any time. Whether he discovers a flaw or devours all of humanity's souls, neither outcome is acceptable to us."

The landlady was neither happy nor sad. "He briefly expressed the desire to destroy humanity, and I've successfully captured that thought. You said he was absolutely human, right?"

"What do you want to do!" This so-called Xiao He showed such a rich expression in front of Jiang You for the first time.

"You used the power of the Crown to protect him, so I can naturally mobilize other powers as well. His consciousness limits him, but the evil he has unleashed will not constrain him. I don't want to miss this opportunity." The proprietress looked up at the sky. "I want to survive."

……

When Jiang You came online again, he found that the extremely lively little Illya was pulling little Sakura Matou to play. Little Sakura Matou obviously had not let go and was just passively following Illya.

"Why did you bring little Illya here? Aren't you worried that the Holy Grail War might hurt her?"

Emiya Kiritsugu, who was smoking impatiently, looked at Jiang You with a scrutinizing look, and exhaled a puff of smoke with a long sigh.

"Let me answer you, Lord Caster." The one who answered Jiang You was a maid from the Einzbern family who was bowing. As androids, they both had the obvious characteristics of the Einzbern family: white hair and red eyes, but their appearance was too similar for Jiang You to recognize who was who.

Perhaps sensing Jiang You's confusion, the maid introduced herself warmly, "My name is Lijielit, and I'm the maid responsible for taking care of Illya. Thanks to you, sir, the Einzbern family has now obtained the key to recreating the Third Law. Our head, Eubusta Kuhaid, knows you're interested in Miss Illya, so he specially arranged for us to bring her here. From now on, Miss Illya and all the androids here are yours. Please give your instructions, sir."

Jiang You's email also rang with a reminder to obtain [Lijelite]*1 [Sera]*1.

Neither card is given the Einzbern surname, but according to the rules they can be used as Einzbern cards, which does expand the corresponding card pool.

Too bad it's not full three.

Jiang You began to think about how to improve the favorability of the two maids.

"There are no instructions yet. Just do what you need to do now." In the original novel, these two maids were named NPCs, but they had almost no plot, making it difficult to address their specific needs. Furthermore, Jiang You had to take Sakura to the Tōsaka residence today, so these matters would have to be discussed later.

"Understood, Master Caster." Lizellet bowed again. "If there is anything you need, Master, you may command the Einzbern House at will. You may continue or withdraw from this Holy Grail War as you wish. The Einzbern House possesses the ability to manifest Heroic Spirits for extended periods of time, so you need not worry. No matter what, the Einzbern House will support you."

The Einzbern family, having obtained the Soul Crystal, no longer has any reason to continue participating in the Holy Grail War. In other words, the person supported by the Einzbern family has shifted from Emiya Kiritsugu to Jiang You.

So it's understandable that Kiritsugu is frustrated with both his family and career. He's going through a midlife crisis.

Jiang You patted Emiya Kiritsugu's shoulder and said, "Don't worry too much. I'm still on your side. To be honest, I've already shown you the true situation of the Holy Grail. I really admire you for not giving up. And there's no point in worrying. Your Command Spell won't have any effect on me anyway, right?"

"You really know how to comfort people." Emiya Kiritsugu looked helplessly at his Servant, his daughter's "Master". If it weren't for the high probability of being defeated and the fact that the battle rules had been rewritten, he would have definitely had a fight with Jiang You. "Your treasure is obvious to all. It connects the past and the future. It is truly very powerful. But your appearance has rewritten the future. I can't guarantee that the concept of the record is completely correct. I must witness the situation of the Holy Grail with my own eyes. If that is really the case, I can't let anyone else get it."

"You have a point." Jiang You nodded. His appearance had caused the Saber class to appear and then disappear, and Lancelot of the Berserker class had basically withdrawn from the fight. The plot had already been completely changed. The other Servants could not be guaranteed to be the original Heroic Spirits, so the Holy Grail's transformation was also reasonable. "There's no point in thinking about this now. I'm going to the Zenjo family today. Kiritsugu, you should get ready."

"Zenjo? The intelligence says it's the family of Tosaka Tokiomi's wife, Tosaka Aoi... Threatening family members is a good way to limit an opponent, but Caster, with your Noble Phantasm, that won't work at all, right? Are you planning to just attack without a duel?" Emiya Kiritsugu quietly distanced himself from Jiang You, considering the possibility that Jiang You was another Servant in disguise. Although Jiang You seemed a bit jumpy, he was essentially a Servant with a righteous streak.

"What are you thinking about? I was talking about the gift. I brought Sakura over to visit!" Jiang You angrily denounced Emiya Kiritsugu for judging others by his own standards.

Chapter 23: Tousaka Aoi, I am the guardian.

"Smash☆Die with honor☆Cheers☆!" Jiang You, who defeated the small magician in a duel, laughed wildly.

Because someone was completely ignorant of the knowledge of being a Heroic Spirit, he didn't restrain even a little bit of his magic power, and the extent of his spiritual base was exposed. As a result, he was regarded as an attack as soon as he set foot on the territory of the Zenjo family.

After defeating the head and heir of the Chancheng family in a duel, Jiang You determined that these characters that had little relevance to the plot could not generate any rewards.

Disappointed, Jiang You, with Illya's help, found Tōsaka Aoi in a dark room, along with Tōsaka Rin, who was protecting her. Illya's distinctive appearance convinced Tōsaka Aoi of her identity. Furthermore, since Illya was already preparing for the Fifth Holy Grail War and possessed a Command Seal, she assumed the ten-year-old girl was Jiang You's Master.

"Masters of the Einzbern family, have you now fallen to the point of resorting to such despicable means in order to win the Holy Grail War?" Tohsaka Aoi glared at the two of them. She had considered begging for mercy, but her current attitude represented the reputation of Zenjo and the Tohsaka family. If she begged for mercy here in a servile manner, she would make the two families and other magician families a laughing stock.

"Your legs are shaking, so stop trying." Jiang You bluntly exposed Toosaka Aoi's false strength. "And your Toosaka family has been secretly colluding with the church. How dare you say that others are mean?"

Tōsaka Aoi naturally knew why her husband accepted Kotomine Kirei as his apprentice, and she remained silent in awkward silence.

Jiang You took a step forward, raised the gift box in his hand and was about to explain his purpose when a childish voice came from behind Toosaka Aoi.

"Bad boy! Don't bully Mom!" Little Toosaka Rin jumped out, shielding her mother. Apparently, she and the Zenjo family thought the gift box was some kind of magic gift, a jewel acting as a medium that gathered magical power in her tiny hands.

Illya just waved her hand, and the silver thread whipped in the air like a whip, making a sound of breaking through the air, and the gem in Toosaka Rin's hand shattered.

"Are you kidding me?!" Seeing that Illya looked about the same age as herself, Toosaka Rin thought that Illya was the same age as herself, which dealt a great blow to her proud self-esteem.

"So I really came to visit this time." Jiang You reluctantly opened the gift box, which contained a dazzling array of gems. The light reflected by these gems under the illumination of the lights made the entire secret room dazzling. "Your Tohsaka family specializes in gem magic. For you, the sincerity of both monetary value and magical value should be sufficient."

"So it was all a misunderstanding?" Toosaka Aoi breathed a sigh of relief. Their Tosaka family and the Einzbern family were indeed old friends, so it was normal for these heirs to visit each other.

But Jiang You's tone suddenly changed, causing Tōsaka Aoi's breath to catch in her throat. "Oh no, not exactly. It's a visit, but it's also a call to question someone!"

"This is your family matter, Hisahi Maiya. Please send Sakura over here." Jiang You snapped his fingers, signaling Kiritsugu and his group waiting outside. Emiya Kiritsugu, for some reason, didn't intend to expose himself directly, so Hisahi Maiya was responsible for the connection.

"What... is going on?" "Ying?" Both mother and daughter reacted in surprise.

"Mom...Mom" When Sakura Matou appeared in front of her mother Tousaka Aoi, her eyes turned red instantly. The shell she had built to protect herself collapsed at this moment. She threw herself into her mother's arms. Her tear glands finally couldn't hold back and she burst into tears.

Toosaka Rin had not expected that the sisterly meeting would turn out like this and was completely at a loss.

"Sakura, dear girl, tell me what happened." Toosaka Aoi originally thought that Sakura had been wronged in the Matou family, but such a thing alone would not be enough to make the Einzbern family bring their servants to impose on them. She realized that things might not be that simple.

"I...I..." Matou Sakura wanted to talk, but she was worried that her experience would make her mother and sister dislike her. She carefully turned her gaze to Jiang You, her eyes full of help. She wanted this big brother who took her out of the Matou family to make the choice for her.

"Say it out." Jiang You gave an affirmative answer.

Then, amid Sakura Matou's sobs, the few of them listened to what happened to her in the year after she was adopted into the Matou family.

Rin Tohsaka covered her mouth in astonishment. In her eyes, the magician was elegant, the chanting of magic, and the drawing of each magic node were full of beauty. But for Sakura, magic brought her only suffering and wailing.

"How did the Matou family's insect magic become like this?" Tōsaka Aoi felt a little dizzy. Because magicians are very taboo about prying into the heritage of others, the Tōsaka family's understanding of the Matou family's magic is still stuck at the time of the three families' collaboration three hundred years ago. Back then, Matou Zouken, as Machiri Zorgen, was still a righteous partner, determined to eliminate human evil. So, even the same insect magic, three hundred years ago, was so legitimate.

"Appearances are determined by the mind. There is no right or wrong in power. The way it is used is what shapes the outcome." Jiang You gave his own conclusion.

"No, I have to find Tokito and ask her to take back custody of Sakura from the Matou family." Toosaka Aoi picked up Sakura and was eager to go back to the Toosaka family to find Tokito to resolve this matter.

But Jiang You stopped her: "Guess why I was able to bring Xiaoying here? And I have to remind you of something."

The silver thread pulled open Tohsaka Aoi's arms that were wrapped around Sakura, and Jiang You gently took Sakura into his arms.