Chapter 398: Roadblock

Chapter 398: Roadblock

Shinji and Chiron were the types who, once they got serious, acted with swift decisiveness. When they said they would start special training, they began preparations immediately.

"First, we need a sufficiently spacious area. I wonder if there's a suitable place inside the castle."

"I'll go ask Patriarch Darnic soon. If there's nothing inside, we'll find a place outside the castle. There should be a suitable area within the barrier."

"Alright, if there's no problem, let's meet at the training ground at six tomorrow morning to start training."

"Not starting tonight?"

"Balancing work and rest is important. You've already had a big fight today. Your body hasn't fully recovered, and you need some time to process the previous battle."

"Alright then."

Shinji wanted to say: These minor injuries are nothing. Over at Scáthach's, as long as you can move, the training doesn't stop.

But since the one across from him wasn't Scáthach but Chiron, he conceded: You're the teacher, you decide.

"What exactly will the training entail?"

"The first step is for you to dodge my arrows. Although I can't match Achilles' speed, my arrows can. You must..."

Seeing their exaggerated efficiency left the Forvedge siblings dumbfounded. They were still processing the whole Achilles and Hector situation.

"Sis, it seems like there's nothing for us to do."

"Indeed. Why don't we train our magecraft too?"

"Good idea—uh, wait, no."

"What's wrong?"

"I just promised Uncle Darnic to catch Rider and that runaway homunculus, but now—"

Watching the two Servants chatting enthusiastically, Caules sighed helplessly.

"I'll talk to Uncle Darnic. After all, it's an Assassin's request, and I can also help them apply for a training ground."

"Thanks, Sis." Caules's participation in the Holy Grail War was an accident, so he rarely interacted with the other Masters of the Yggdmillennia clan, including Patriarch Darnic. Going directly to Darnic, and then going back on his word, was quite difficult for him. Fortunately, Fiore took on this challenge willingly.

Everything that followed went smoothly. When Fiore mentioned that Assassin had requested Archer for special training against the Red Rider, Darnic immediately canceled Archer's task and reassigned it to the Saber team.

Gordes didn't put on airs and readily accepted Darnic's request, surprising the latter—had this egotist taken the wrong medicine today?

No, he hadn't taken the wrong medicine; his intelligence had merely returned to normal.

Just moments ago, Gordes had been inquiring about the details of Siegfried's battle, hoping to find a point of mutual understanding. But upon hearing it was Achilles, who was a perfect counter to Siegfried, Gordes didn't dare to be arrogant. Knowing that Chiron and the strange Assassin were training to deal with Achilles made him more than happy to comply rather than interfere.

This led to the Saber team's roadblock scene.

"Rider. That homunculus cannot escape. Stand down."

Despite being told this, the Black Rider wasn't about to obediently comply.

"What if I don't?"

He decisively dismissed Gordes' proposal without a second thought. This seemingly impulsive response irritated Gordes, but he chose not to argue with this irrational troublemaker and simply waved his hand.

Their compatibility was poor, to say the least. A defective product created using Einzbern alchemy faced with Gordes, who also studied alchemy, had fatally poor compatibility.

A small explosion occurred, causing Gordes to recoil slightly. However, this attempt to kill Gordes had pushed the homunculus to his physical limit, counting the earlier escape attempt.

"You... you bastard...!!"

Gordes trembled all over, burning with rage. His body was uninjured, and the pain quickly subsided. Such minor injuries wouldn't even take a day to heal; with healing magecraft, they could be completely cured in seconds.

The issue was that the one who had harmed him was not someone else but a mere magical energy battery, one that he had created with his own hands, and the previous attack had contained murderous intent.

This guy wanted to kill me!

This realization was accurate. The homunculus had cast the spell with the greatest killing intent he could muster. To launch such unimaginable rebellion against his creator, the one who had given him life, the prey meant to be consumed suddenly bared its fangs.

For Gordes, who regarded homunculi as consumables and his possessions, this was unimaginable.

"Are you kidding me!! A mere homunculus...! To think you could kill me! Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! Impossible!"

Driven by this rage, Gordes swung his iron-fisted punch toward the exhausted, defenseless homunculus. At this moment, Darnic's orders had completely vanished from his mind.

If this punch landed, the homunculus's fragile heart would shatter instantly.

Astolfo's eyes widened, struggling desperately to break free from Siegfried.

Siegfried, feeling a pang of sympathy, loosened his grip slightly.

At that moment, an unfamiliar burst of magical energy erupted less than three meters in front of Gordes, accompanied by a commanding shout.

"Stop!"

In an instant, a fierce wind howled, and Gordes's bulky body was blown backward.

Seeing this, Siegfried immediately abandoned Astolfo and quickly moved to catch his Master.

The two lying on the ground were spared due to their smaller surface area.

"Hey, hey, are you alright?"

Astolfo, not caring about what had happened, scrambled over to Sieg, shouting.

"Answer me!"

"I'm... okay..." Sieg lifted his head, forcing a weak smile.

"Thank goodness." Astolfo hugged the homunculus tightly, nearly in tears.

"I suggest you don't use so much force; he's very weak right now and can't handle it."

Astolfo and Sieg both looked up at the silver figure that had appeared before them, realizing that she had saved them.

"Who are you—?"

Gordes and Siegfried had the same question, but they quickly found out the answer.

The tall woman in silver armor did not hide her Servant aura. The emblem indicating she was part of the same faction clearly announced that she was their final Servant.

"Black Lancer!!!"