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Tokiomi Tohsaka immediately bowed deeply. "I understand. Everything I've done is for my king—to ensure you obtain the Holy Grail!"
"Hmph." Gilgamesh only gave a cold snort in reply, saying nothing more. That was as close to approval as one could expect.
Everyone else let out a silent breath of relief.
At that moment, Iskandar, Rider of this war, suddenly spoke up. "That little girl, King Arthur—I'm interested in her. Hand her over to me!"
Tokiomi paused for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. But you'll need to activate your Reality Marble right from the start—trap everyone inside your world."
Iskandar grinned. "No problem. Easy."
"Good. Caster's forces will be handled by Rider's army of heroic spirits. Assassin will move quickly to eliminate all enemy Masters," Tokiomi continued, assigning every role like a commander before battle.
The reason he dared to launch an all-out offensive was simple—his side's line-up was absurd.
Rider's Noble Phantasm, Ionioi Hetairoi, wasn't just an EX-ranked Reality Marble—it contained tens of thousands of heroic warriors.
Assassin, on the other hand, was Hassan of the Hundred Faces—over a hundred separate entities working in unison.
Individually, they weren't as strong as most Servants, but against human Masters, they were overwhelming.
And as the final trump card—Gilgamesh's Ea, the Sword of Rupture.
With overwhelming numbers, superior Noble Phantasms, and the King of Heroes himself—how could they possibly lose?
This battle is ours, Tokiomi thought, confidence swelling in his chest. He could already see the Holy Grail glimmering before him.
Night fell.
Alex, thanks to the Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand technique, had also developed remarkable control over his hands and strikes.
Before the sky went completely dark, he'd finally mastered both the finger and claw forms.
Of course, the Tenfold Martial Path that Luo Hao had taught him was only the foundation.
To reach perfection, he would have to merge countless other martial arts into it.
For that reason, Luo Hao had spent the past few days not only training him but also writing down her own techniques.
When Alex finally finished learning the Tenfold Martial Path, she handed him everything she had written—
One hundred martial arts manuals.
Ten books each for the sword, blade, spear, axe, staff, fist, palm, kick, finger, and claw.
After giving them to him, Luo Hao said, "Once you've blended every external technique into the Tenfold Path and achieved complete mastery, you'll stand unmatched among mortals."
"I understand, Sister," Alex replied solemnly.
He now knew what she meant by unmatched among mortals—to reach the absolute peak of human martial ability, like Lancelot's Endless Training.
Beyond that realm lay divine martial arts—where Luo Hao herself now stood.
"I've shown you the road," Luo Hao said with a smile, patting his shoulder. "How far you go from here depends on you."
Alex hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "So… does this mean I've graduated?"
Luo Hao chuckled—a rare lightness in her usually stern tone. "Let's call it elementary school graduation."
Alex's face fell. "Wait, elementary? Seriously?"
Seeing his expression, Luo Hao tapped him on the forehead. "You'll graduate middle school when you reach the peak of the human realm. University… that's my level."
Alex sucked in a quiet breath. He still had a long, long way to go.
Luo Hao left the training hall in good spirits, while Alex carried the pile of manuals back to his room.
After a full day of training, he was drenched in sweat and feeling grimy.
He headed to the bath, washed off, and changed into fresh clothes. Instantly, he felt refreshed.
But looking at the crates full of martial manuals, he frowned.
He couldn't let anyone else see them. Yet he didn't have a magic storage space to hide them either—carrying them around was impossible.
There was only one solution: digitize everything.
Typing them out would take forever, so he used a camera—snapping photos page by page, uploading them to his computer, and saving them all onto a USB drive.
Once he was done, he deleted every file from the computer.
Then, he burned the physical manuals to ash.
Just as he finished, a soft knock came at the door.
"Mr. Alex, dinner is ready."
The voice was sweet and familiar.
Alex opened the door—and found Sella standing there.
"Got it. Let's go," he said with a nod.
Sella gestured politely and led the way.
Watching her walk ahead, Alex couldn't help wondering if he could somehow convince the Einzbern family to part with her.
Both Sella and Leysritt were artificial humans, granted personalities and even souls—much like Irisviel.
They weren't just capable magi, but also highly trained fighters.
Creating beings like them must've cost a fortune—even for the Einzberns. He doubted they'd easily let either of them go.
Before long, they arrived at the dining hall. The women were already seated.
Alex noticed two new faces at the table—a man and a woman.
Emiya Kiritsugu and Maiya Hisau.
Irisviel had given the head seat to Kiritsugu, taking the left side herself. Maiya sat across from her on the right.
Tch, tch… If Irisviel ever finds out that Maiya's Kiritsugu's little mistress, I wonder how she'd react, Alex thought with a mischievous grin.
Kiritsugu rose as Alex entered. "Mr. Alex, good evening. I'm Emiya Kiritsugu—Saber's true Master."
Alex nodded back. "Yeah, I know. The Magus Killer. So we finally meet."
Kiritsugu didn't flinch at hearing his notorious title spoken aloud, even though it was far from flattering in the Mage's Association.
He said evenly, "Mr. Alex, according to my latest intel, Archer, Rider, and Assassin are planning to attack us tonight."
That caught Alex's attention. "Oh? Interesting. Looks like Tokiomi's finally getting impatient."
Irisviel looked worried. "Should we make any preparations?"
Kiritsugu didn't answer—he turned his eyes toward Alex, silently asking for his judgment.
Alex shrugged. "If you're nervous, set a few traps, but they won't do much against Servants anyway. If you trust me, we'll just wait for them to come—and crush them head-on."
With Luo Hao and Hestia watching over the place, he honestly couldn't think of a way to lose.
Not to mention, Morgan, Merlin, and Artoria were all top-tier Servants, easily on par with the enemy's.
And with the addition of Roxy Migurdia, a King-ranked mage, and Esdeath, a general from the Empire—
Their total strength absolutely dwarfed the opposition.
"..."
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