Chapter 18: Be Cunning
Matō Shinji, Gilgamesh, and Cú Chulainn appeared simultaneously because they were now in the same faction.
Cú Chulainn's Master was Kirei Kotomine. Although Kirei Kotomine had never shown himself, he was a force that could not be ignored in this Holy Grail War. He was both a Master and the overseer of this war.
Moreover, because Kirei Kotomine had participated in the previous Holy Grail War, his Servant at that time was Gilgamesh. During the final battle of that war, the Blood Gate Adventurers needed to corrupt the Holy Grail to carry out their plan for an artificial Holy Grail. Only by achieving this condition could they possibly create one.
For this reason, Stan had led a purge during the Fourth Holy Grail War. They killed all the rogue contractors, pushing the plot to its climax, which successfully led to the corruption of the Holy Grail.
It was also for this reason that Gilgamesh, originally a Servant, gained a physical form. He was now a being with demigod traits, part human and part Servant.
As for Kirei Kotomine himself, he was no longer sure whether he was dead or alive. His heart had stopped beating, yet his bodily functions remained intact.
After the Fifth Holy Grail War began, Kirei Kotomine summoned another Servant, the Lancer Cú Chulainn. As for Gilgamesh, he was no longer a complete Servant. Because Kirei Kotomine found him amusing, he continued to act alongside him.
Thus, Kirei Kotomine, Gilgamesh, and Cú Chulainn were on the same side. Cú Chulainn was controlled by Kirei Kotomine, while Gilgamesh cooperated with him as an equal, with no superior-subordinate relationship. However, most of the time, Kirei Kotomine still had to address Gilgamesh as the King of Heroes, since Gilgamesh had the power to kill him.
These three were undoubtedly a formidable force that could not be ignored. As for Matō Shinji, this third-generation magus, he was mediocre in talent, completely lacking in magical ability, but unwilling to accept his ordinariness.
When Matō Shinji approached Kirei Kotomine, he was nothing more than a small-time punk compared to the old schemer. Perhaps considering the complexity of this Holy Grail War, Kirei Kotomine gladly accepted Shinji's request for cooperation and even encouraged him, making him the proxy Master for Cú Chulainn and Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh, the Golden King, naturally didn't care about this proxy Master. He understood Kirei Kotomine's intention: to use Shinji as cannon fodder to divert the attention of others.
As for this combination of Gilgamesh, Cú Chulainn, and Matō Shinji, it stemmed from Su Xiao having taught Cú Chulainn a lesson that made him doubt his own existence. He had also extracted a large amount of Servant energy from him and directly stated that Cú Chulainn should go back and tell Kirei Kotomine that Su Xiao would find an opportunity to visit that father-killing bastard.
Kirei Kotomine naturally didn't know Su Xiao, but he sensed the threat Su Xiao posed. So he sought out Gilgamesh, asking him, along with Cú Chulainn and Matō Shinji, to deal with this mysterious Saber. That was how the current situation came about.
During the initial exchange, the weakened Cú Chulainn could no longer handle Amu and was even at risk of being worn down to death. Gilgamesh decisively intervened, but something unexpected happened: he too couldn't finish off Amu quickly.
Out of a king's pride, Gilgamesh clearly disdained to continue attacking Amu in his severely wounded state, especially since it had been a two-on-one fight earlier. This greatly displeased him.
Boom! Boom!
The Frost Warhammer clashed with the Blood Spear. Amu stood in front of Tōsaka Rin, blocking her, and though he was being pushed back step by step, he wouldn't be defeated anytime soon.
Cú Chulainn, who was fighting Amu, had a grim expression. In his eyes, Amu was a warrior worthy of respect. The opponent had been gravely wounded when they fought, and if not for the forced command of the Command Seal, he would never have continued this battle. He, Cú Chulainn, the Son of Light, was ashamed of such a fight.
"Amu, are you alright?"
Tōsaka Rin was also in bad shape. She had nearly been killed by Gilgamesh's sword, a close call. Against a top-tier Servant like Gilgamesh, a magus was utterly powerless.
"Moo!"
Amu let out a furious roar. White mist drifted around it, and as its hand clenched, the surrounding area of several dozen meters was instantly frozen solid.
Crack, crack, crack...
Ice encased Cú Chulainn. Seeing this, Matō Shinji, standing behind the iron fence in the distance, exclaimed in surprise.
"Gilgamesh, are we just going to watch? Not that I care much about that Lancer's life or death."
"Shut up. When Lancer falls, I'll naturally end this boring game. Kotomine actually had me do such a tedious task. He's getting more and more insolent."
Gilgamesh glanced at Matō Shinji, the implication clear: if he dared to speak again, he would kill this blue-haired fool.
Matō Shinji turned away sullenly and continued watching. His fists unconsciously clenched. Even a loser had ambitions. He wanted to obtain the Holy Grail, because then no one would dare look down on him—not his grandfather, nor the Servant beside him.
With a crisp crack, Cú Chulainn broke free from the ice. He swung his spear horizontally, forcing Amu back, then thrust it straight at Amu's head. Despite its bulky appearance, Amu was an agile Minotaur.
Amu leaned back with all its might. Just as it was about to fall flat on its back, three ice pillars burst from the ground behind it, propping up its leaning body.
'Amu, remember: when you're no match for an enemy, you have to be cunning.'
Su Xiao's voice seemed to echo in Amu's ear. With its body leaning back, it raised its arms as if to slam the ground and freeze the surrounding area.
Cú Chulainn was in a forward-thrusting stance, and his spear had missed. Seeing Amu's movement, he immediately guessed what it was about to do. He shifted his footing and leaped backward.
Amu's raised arms stopped mid-air. Its hand clenched, and an ice spear suddenly formed. Amu straightened up and hurled the ice spear with all its might.
With a bang, the ice spear broke the sound barrier. Mid-leap, Cú Chulainn spun his spear and shattered the ice spear with a clang, sending a cloud of blue dust exploding outward.
The moment the ice spear broke, Cú Chulainn's pupils rapidly contracted. This thing wasn't meant for piercing; the dense ice energy inside was the real killer.
Crack, crack, crack.
Ice crystals quickly spread over Cú Chulainn's body. Only then did Amu's hands slam down.
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
Five ice spikes burst from the ground, piercing Cú Chulainn's lower limbs and abdomen. The spikes formed a tent-like shape, leaving Cú Chulainn no way to escape.
A Frost Warhammer appeared in Amu's hands. This hammer was enormous, almost absurdly so, with a handle nearly ten meters long.
Amu gripped the handle with both hands and swung the house-sized hammerhead down at Cú Chulainn.
Boom!
Dust billowed high, and shattered ice crystals flew everywhere. Behind Amu, Tōsaka Rin raised a hand to shield her face, staring at the blue energy at the center of the impact with a dazed expression.
"S-so strong."
Tōsaka Rin had always thought Amu was just Su Xiao's lackey. Today, she learned what it meant to be a bull of few words but immense power.