After his initial joy, Balin immediately calmed down. After all, in his impression, the young man before him—let's just call him a young man for now, hmm—Aslan, shouldn't have had any regrets. He had no obsession with pursuing the Holy Grail. Especially after descending into this world and hearing the legends of the past, he didn't feel that Aslan's story and legends had anything regrettable about them.
Of course, the legends that have been passed down now do not contain any description of Aslan awakening his dragon blood. After all, so many years have passed, and those familiar with Aslan have either disappeared or died. So, although Aslan's legend has a considerable amount of space in the overall Arthurian legend, it is not that detailed. What's more, most of the legends are written and described by ordinary people. How could they possibly know about some situations unique to the world of dragon species or magi?
Aslan shrugged his shoulders. "If you want to talk about regrets, I still have some. Isn't it a very boring thing to stay in the Throne of Heroes all the time? If I could materialize my soul, I could take my dragon and continue traveling everywhere."
Balin was stunned for a moment, then a somewhat helpless expression appeared on his face. This really sounded like a reason the man before him would give. So willful, so individualistic, unlike himself...
"I say... Aslan, I still remember the words you said to me during our last meeting in the ruins of that city. I remember you said that my journey after that would be the end of my life. Since you made such a prophecy, it means you know what happened to me afterwards, right?"
The Servant Aslan nodded. This was not something that couldn't be admitted.
After seeing Aslan's action, Balin raised the sharp sword in his hand and got ready for battle again. "Since that's the case, Aslan, you should also understand what my regret is, right? So even if you are my student and my friend, I will absolutely not give up victory in this Holy Grail War!"
With that, Balin lunged forward directly. The two treasured swords in his hands, one aimed at Aslan's heart, the other at his throat. The Servant Aslan raised the Sword of Glorious Victory, using the sharp sword in his hand to clash with one of Balin's swords. He then raised his other hand and quickly drew the Faerie Letter for "Gravity" in the air.
As Balin's other treasured sword thrust forward, it directly collided with the Faerie Letter in mid-air. The next moment, the sword in his hand was slammed heavily onto the ground due to the gravity.
"Balin, although I did not descend as a Caster, that doesn't mean I can't use my specialty, Faerie Letters."
Balin quickly retreated. Fortunately, the Servant Aslan had not descended as a Caster, so the duration of the Faerie Letters he used was not very long. Soon, the abnormally heavy weapon returned to its original weight. Balin shook his hands, no surprise on his face, as if all of this was a matter of course.
In Balin's view, if his student were to be easily defeated by him, then the Aslan before him was either a fake or an illusion created by another enemy. How could the person who, in the legend of King Arthur, amidst the competition of so many heroes, had left such a rich and colorful mark in the annals of history over hundreds of years, be killed by him in a single sword strike? Balin was still aware of his own capabilities.
On the other side, Artoria, who was watching the situation on the battlefield, couldn't help but show a surprised expression on her face after hearing the Servant Aslan call out the name of the warrior opposite him. She knew of Sir Balin, though of course, she was not that familiar with him. But the great fame this warrior had achieved, as well as the monumental mistake he had inadvertently made, were renowned. She had never expected that though she had no opportunity to have a good spar with this knight in her life, she could realize such a grand event now. How magical the Holy Grail War was. But it had to be said, this knight was indeed an extremely strong opponent. The Holy Grail War was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Of course, Artoria had never thought that she could achieve her wish so easily.
The sound of swords clashing rang out continuously. The sparks from the colliding blades flew about this port, and the blades also left deep marks on the ground. On a large bridge not far away, a big man in battle attire, wearing a red cloak, with red hair and a beard, watched the battle at the port from afar. From time to time, he would even clap his hands and shout "Bravo!"
"What powerful warriors. If such warriors were to come under my command, my path of conquest would surely become much smoother. Such warriors cannot be lost at this time. Let's go! Even if the possibility is low, trying is still better than not trying. Trust me, the name of the King of Conquerors is still very resounding."
However, before the King of Conquerors could make a move, a new change had already occurred on the battlefield.
Just as the two were fighting intensely, a sword light suddenly slashed over from a distance. The golden sword light advanced rapidly along the ground. This was definitely not an attack that could be swung by someone who did not understand swordsmanship.
The two combatants quickly dodged to the sides, at the same time turning their gazes in the direction the attack had come from. There, an existence with silver hair and silver armor, holding a golden holy sword—let's just call him a swordsman for now—was rapidly rushing towards them.
After seeing the person rushing over, the expression on the Servant Aslan's face directly broke. Artoria, who was watching from the dark, also almost couldn't maintain her expression.
Most importantly, this swordsman who had suddenly rushed out was also shouting, "How could I miss this opening battle? Warriors, in the name of King Arthur, I will subjugate you!"
Merlin had a smile on his face. However, after seeing the person before him clearly, the composed expression on his face twitched. What a joke! Why would Aslan appear in this Holy Grail War!! If he weren't a magus who was more sensitive to magic and knew that the Aslan before him was definitely not the one who had summoned him, he would have almost subconsciously covered his own skull to prevent the forging hammer that Aslan might casually throw at him.
Merlin winked at the Servant Aslan before him. The Servant Aslan's mouth twitched. For a moment, the whole scene was a bit awkward. But it was also at this awkward moment that lightning flashed in the sky. At the same time, the sound of a chariot, accompanied by the bellowing of oxen, was rapidly approaching them.
Looking up, a big man holding a treasured sword, sitting on a chariot, was rapidly approaching the group.