Because her left hand had sustained an unhealable wound, Saber was unable to exert her full strength in combat. She could only desperately parry with her invisible blade, struggling to maintain her defense.
Ludwig watched the eruption of yet another battle in silence, contemplating his next move. He was neither a Servant nor a Master. He had a passing interest in the Holy Grail, but he worried that if the cup couldn't actually grant his specific wish, all this effort would be for nothing. Still, rather than simply giving up, he figured it was better to see things through.
To that end, it would be best to acquire a Servant first, as that would better align with the rules of the Holy Grail War. After all, he wasn't sure if the Grail would even manifest for an outsider like him, even if he managed to eliminate every other Servant and Master. Merlin was currently hiding somewhere, likely enjoying the show, so he couldn't ask her for clarification.
If he were to seize a Servant, Archer was the first to be crossed off the list. Among the remaining known Servants, Berserker seemed difficult to communicate with, meaning Ludwig would have to find his Master first. Rider, Lancer, and the currently disadvantaged Saber were all viable options.
As he hesitated, Lancer suddenly struck, intercepting Berserker's assault on Saber and bringing the fight to a temporary halt.
"I have already promised this Saber a duel to the death... if you insist on being so tactless as to interfere, I will not stand idly by." Lancer stood before Saber, pointing his spear at Berserker.
"What are you doing, Lancer? If you want to defeat Saber, is this not the perfect opportunity?"
A voice Ludwig hadn't heard before rang out. It was difficult to judge the distance or direction; it felt as though it was coming from everywhere at once. It was likely masked by magecraft.
"I, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, swear upon my honor that I will kill Saber!" Lancer shouted toward the void. "If you command it, I can first defeat this mad dog before you! My Lord, I beg of you, at least allow Saber and me to face one another with—"
"I forbid it." Lancer's Master cut him off, his voice turning even colder as he issued an order. "Lancer, I command thee with a Command Spell: Assist Berserker and kill Saber."
"My Lord...!" Lancer pleaded loudly, but he could not stop the activation of the spell.
The Command Spell forced Lancer to turn his spear. He began to attack Saber, forcing her to beat a hasty retreat of several steps to escape his range. Ludwig raised his eyebrows. Tactically speaking, seizing an advantage to prune away enemies was indeed the most efficient approach. However, judging by Lancer's attitude, he likely wouldn't be willing to change Masters even if he were being coerced.
Now, Ludwig was left with a choice between Rider and Saber—provided, of course, that he actually had a choice.
Lancer's face was twisted with fury and humiliation. He was being forced to execute a command he found abhorrent, his very body no longer under his control.
"...Saber... I'm sor—"
Lancer forced the apology through gritted teeth, but before he could finish, a white shadow suddenly flickered into existence between him and Berserker.
"What?"
Saber, who had been in the middle of a desperate situation, suddenly saw the strange youth flash between her and Lancer, throwing a punch straight at the spearman.
The martial arts Lancer had mastered in life had followed him into his existence as a Heroic Spirit; even bound by a Command Spell, his reactions were not sluggish. He was internally grateful for someone jumping in to interfere. However, his gratitude didn't last long. He frantically pulled his arms back, crossing them in front of his face to block.
The impact of that single punch was staggering. Lancer was sent flying sideways, slamming into a shipping container. The metal buckled inward with a screeching groan of distorted steel. Because Ludwig was roughly the same size as him, Lancer had judged the boy by his own standards; the defense he had prepared was nowhere near enough to hold his ground.
The sheer force of the impact left Lancer's arms trembling, unable to find any strength. He couldn't even keep a grip on his twin spears. Are my arms even still intact? He struggled to his feet in shock, looking at the white-haired youth.
The boy had closed the distance in the blink of an eye, completely ignoring Berserker. Knowing Berserker alone couldn't kill Saber quickly, Ludwig had decided to deal with Lancer first.
"Lancer's Master, you really enjoy seizing opportunities to gang up on others and bully the weak to secure a victory, don't you?" Ludwig laughed as he raised his foot and stomped down toward Lancer.
Lancer hadn't even recovered from the previous blow when a foot slammed into his face. One stomp followed another; every strike felt as though it would crush his skull. In an instant, Lancer's face was a mask of blood, and a sense of terminal despair welled up in his heart. The last time he had felt this was during his final hunt in life, when he had been mortally wounded by the demonic boar. The youth before him was a thousand times more dangerous than that beast.
Lancer's Master, Kayneth, was so stunned he forgot to recall his Servant. He couldn't believe his Heroic Spirit was being stomped into the dirt like a stray dog by a boy who had appeared out of nowhere.
"Wait—!" Saber cried out, unable to bear the sight.
While Lancer's exit from the war would technically be a good thing, this death was too pathetic. He deserved a death filled with more honor. However, Berserker—wielding the treasure he had stolen from Archer—was relentlessly attacking her, leaving her no room to intervene.
So, Rider made his move.
A sudden bolt of lightning crashed into the battlefield, the blinding flash illuminating the night once more. A booming roar nearly drowned out the sound of the thunder.
"AAAAALaLaLaLaLaLa—!!"
The lightning streaking across the ground was trailing behind a speeding chariot. Rider let out a great shout as he drove his oxen straight toward Ludwig. The divine oxen pulling the chariot reared their front hooves high, looking to trample the boy into the earth, just as he had done to Lancer.
However, the turn of events shocked Saber, who was barely managing to watch. A split second before the chariot hit Ludwig, it suddenly lost balance and tilted to one side. After a sharp, violent swerve, it overturned and crashed into the ground.
Rider, who had been driving, vanished from the seat. Ludwig, who was about to be hit, stopped his assault on Lancer and turned to look at Rider, who had landed on the ground nearby, clutching his Master with his left arm.
Rider's right arm had been severed at the elbow. Blood gushed out, staining the ground crimson.
"Even for a Servant, an arm is still a precious thing," Ludwig said, holding a thick, severed arm in his hand. It was the one he had just taken from Rider. He tossed the limb at Rider's feet.
"You are a... monster..." Rider said, his expression grim and filled with killing intent.
He had been forced into that choice. If he hadn't sacrificed his arm, that blur of cold light—so fast it left almost no trace—would have taken Waver's head. Without a Master, Rider's actions would be severely restricted; if he couldn't find a new one, he would be forced out of the Holy Grail War early. It had been an incredibly sharp and ruthless counter-attack. Rider had lost his driving arm precisely because he moved to protect his Master, causing the chariot to lose balance and flip.
Saber broke into a cold sweat. She no longer knew what the boy's goal was, but she realized that the greatest enemy in the Holy Grail War had likely just revealed himself. Lancer had been powerless before him, and Rider's ambush had ended in a heavy loss. And with her currently injured...
BOOM!
Before she could process another thought, Berserker was slammed into the ground by the youth. A heavy blow struck the armored arm holding the sword, causing Berserker to instinctively drop the weapon. Then came a kick that sent Berserker flying, crashing into the containers on the opposite side from Lancer.
This time, however, Ludwig didn't follow up with a finishing blow.
"There. I'd say that's a decent enough wrap-up," he said, clapping his hands together. He turned to Saber with a relaxed, easy smile. "Now, can we talk about the future of this Holy Grail, Saber?"
Magic Sword [Knight Arm] The collective term for weapons held by Knights. Humans born in this world are inevitably influenced by SIN. Infants born with a high concentration of SIN in their bodies can cultivate it as part of their skeletal structure, which takes physical form outside the body upon reaching adulthood. These weapons, formed from as-yet-unexplained SIN, can induce various phenomena and possess enough power to be classified as weapons. Very few humans can manifest a Magic Sword, and those whose swords possess enough power for actual combat are called Knights. Each Knight possesses one Magic Sword.
Ludwig's Magic Sword is named "The World." He is the 79th registered Knight and a rare individual capable of manifesting his sword before reaching adulthood.
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