Section 8: Three Castle Lords

Oho. So the third castle is finally open.

And you already went to pay your respects to its newest lord?

... ...

I'm sorry. Am I reminding you of someone again?

No, no, not at all! How could I even think about someone else in the presence of beauty such as yours?

Do I need to explain it yet again? My name is Tamamo Vitch Koyanskaya.

I never respond to normal summons. I'm an exception among exceptions that only exists thanks to Chaldea's...proclivities.

I've never appeared anywhere in human history. I only use it for my own personal reference.

So I think the reason I received a call this time has more to do with you, since we were both summoned together.

Perhaps there's something about this Spirit Origin that sparks some memories in you?

Hahaha... Good question.

I do have something of a soft spot for your face. That much is true.

Oh my. So you would mess with a woman's fate just because she happens to be your type? Terrible.

Tell me, Lord Taoist, are you fond of capital punishment?

Because I think the best thing we can do about those wandering eyes of yours is to gouge them out here and now.

Forgive me. I shouldn't have said that. So can we please refrain from recreating one of the old legends of chaos here?

You may be an irrepressible bastard, but I couldn't ask for a more qualified partner. Just look at how easily you whipped out the very highest level of Thought Key magecraft defense.

Once again, my apologies. Forgive me.

Oh, all right. I doubt I would let it go if I had materialized in a more divine form, but it seems luck is on your side.

Anyway, what are you going to do about that Master?

I don't believe we should leave Lord Ptolemaîos to his own devices, either.

...Of course not. If the legends are true, then he's one of the most formidable sages to ever live.

To say nothing of the fact that precious few Servants can claim to be both generals and sages.

Oh my. I can hardly believe my ears. Even while you're singing the enemy's praises, you slip in a verse about your own.

I have to hand it to you, Taigong Wang Jiang Ziya Lu Shang. I've never seen anyone toot their own horn better than you.

Tell me, are you always so loose-lipped? Would you mind if I had NFF look into your relationship history with the opposite sex?

...I didn't realize I'd touched a sore spot.

Taigong Wang. May I. Say something?

Oh, Nezha! Of course. What is it?

The gate you. Assigned me. Is still. Vulnerable. We need to. Fortify it. Before the enemy. Shows up.

Hmm, I see. Since the castles change between day and night here, we'll have to build additions for both versions.

I've been putting the gates off until later, since I wanted to save some of my magical energy for other things, but

Why rush to build reinforcements now? Won't Lord Ptolemaîos remain in his castle until he better understands the situation?

On the contrary. Were I in his position...

...I'd go on the offensive.

So yes, eleventh hour or not, we need to make sure our fortifications hold. Can I trust you to handle that, Nezha?

Don't worry. Huang Feihu is. Here, too.

Sure, I can take a look at them. But I'm sure we'll be fine. Lady Nezha has always had an eye for architecture.

That's great to hear! Thank you for helping out, Huang!

Don't be afraid to point out any weaknesses you would attack if you were the enemy.

Of course. That's all I've ever been able to do, after all.

Well, I think I'll be on my way. I would hate to intrude on your fun little moment with childhood friends.

...Sheesh. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to relax around her.

I suppose immaturity really isn't the kind of thing you can train yourself out of, no matter how long you work at it.

We know. You are. Immature. Taigong Wang.

Hahaha. Honestly, I'm relieved to see you haven't changed a bit.

I knew you had ascended to the position of sage, Chancellor, but honestly, I never could picture you as one.

Ahh, it's good to hear you two speaking your minds again! A lovely trip down memory lane!

Unfortunately, that means I have to ask this: Are you sure you want us to fight this war seriously, Chancellor?

Of course I do. Please, don't hold back.

Understood. I'm a warrior, so holding back isn't really an option for me in any case.

This Holy Grail thing may inspire fear, but I can't deny it has a certain allure as well.

And I do have a wish I would like to have granted now that I'm an empty shadow of humanity.

I have. A wish. Too! I want. To punch. My old self!

Haha, I see! So that's your greatest wish, is it?

It's not! Funny! Huang Feihu! Don't be! Rude!

Oh, sorry. Of course it's not. Every wish is equally valid.

That's why they're such valuable things.

And if you're going to lead us, Chancellor, then I don't see how we can possibly lose.

Well, I hope I don't let you down then! All right, would you two mind guarding the castle gate then?

Got it. Leave it. To me. You may. Be immature. But I. Am perfect.

Sure thing! Just say the word if you need anything.

...Hehehehe. What a positively ulcer-inducing combination those two make.

But never mind that. The real problem, as Huang said...

...is that the way things are going now, I may just end up winning this war.

Mo, mo, mo.

？！

Hey, Master. It's morning. I went ahead and made some living arrangements for you so you'd feel more at home.

No need to thank me. Not like Servants gotta sleep anyway.

I just picked up the trash scattered around and pushed a broom around the place real quick.

Oh, yeah. It shrunk while I was tidying the place up.

I'm betting it changed to suit your size now that you've got that Tear of the Holy Grail.

？！

Anyway, I'm guessing a lord like you's got something else on their mind. How about it, Ptolemaîos?

Hmm... I had a feeling this might be the case, but I'm still surprised to learn this castle was just one part of a greater whole.

And I never would have guessed that Taigong Wang would be one of the other lords of a castle.

？！

Ah, that's right. It seemed he was an acquaintance of yours, Master?

？！

Mo?

There, there, don't worry. We're not talking about YOUR owner.

Anyway, that's too bad. I was hoping he wouldn't live up to his reputation, but it sounds like he very much does.

That's gonna be a problem.

We could overwhelm one enemy with brute force, but not much chance of that working with two of 'em to deal with.

And on top of that, Taigong Wang's supposed to be one of the greatest tacticians ever. That fangshu of his has gotta be at least as strong as the Buddha's protection.

On the other hand, just holing up here and playing defense will see us with our backs against a wall real quick.

Especially since I'm pretty sure the enemy knows more about this Singularity than we do.

So, what's the plan, Lord Ptolemaîos?

Hmm. I already know what I'd like to do, but...

Oh, right. I have something to tell you first.

Now that you're the lord of this castle, we can use the throne to control some of this castle's abilities.

？！

I tested them earlier and this is the clearest example I could come up with.

？！

It's all right. They're on our side now.

...

？！

It seems the lord of the castle is able to summon these things and order them about as they like.

That giant must have been using them in place of foot soldiers.

Unfortunately, it also seems like they can't leave this castle. The ramparts are as far as they can go.

？！

That's right. So we won't be able to take them along with us to Taigong Wang's castle.

Conversely, we can also expect the enemy to use their own shadow knights against us when we attack their castle.

So the best we can do with them is have 'em defend the castle while we're away, huh?

Correct. I also learned that we can, at least to some extent, alter the structure of the castle itself.

Though doing so does require a substantial amount of magical energy.

Hmm... So does that mean the whole castle is made of magical energy?

Because I find it hard to believe anyone could make a building of this size with magical energy alone.

It might be hard to believe, but based on what Ptolemaîos has told us, along with our own analysis, that does seem to be the case.

Even if this is just that kind of Singularity, I agree that it's a lot to swallow.

At any rate, we can definitely say that being the lord of one of these castles is a very big deal.

？！

Oh, good timing. My eagle just returned.

？！

That's right. You can think of him as my familiar.

With the fog around, I couldn't use him. Since that's no longer a problem, I've been having him serve as our eye in the sky.

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？！

Oh, that's not normal language. It's compressed data.

Hmm, I knew it. It looks like Taigong Wang's familiar left all sorts of nasty traps in this castle before Sugitani shot him.

We've removed most of them, but now it looks like the northern castle has already started to reinforce their gate.

I'm sure they can also use their throne to manipulate their castle directly, but I guess they'd rather be safe than sorry!

Granted, I would do the same thing in their position, but I'm still surprised they're moving so quickly!

This is what I hate about a capable foe. Our only choice seems to be going on the offensive as soon as possible.

？！

Our environment IS well-suited to defense, and we could certainly take that route if we didn't need to win this war soon.

Unfortunately, we have a weakness our enemies do not. I am sure Taigong Wang is already well aware of it.

Yeah, I'm sure he is too. It's the fact that you're human, Fujimaru.

？！

Oh, even I know this one. Being human means you've gotta eat and sleep and stuff.

？！

Even with Sugitani keeping your food stores secure, that castle can't be the most comfortable environment.

Chaldea will do everything we can to support you, of course, but we still won't be able to count on you staying in good health forever.

I was once left to fend for myself in a castle during the winter as part of my own survival training, and let me tell you, that was not a good time.

Then again, without that experience, I may never have come up with my magecraft for transforming rotten meat into marbled beef.

Obviously, you've had lots of different experiences yourself, Fujimaru but that's not the same thing as being an expert survivalist.

And even if you were, we can't afford to take years to resolve a single Singularity.

So if we don't want all three castles to get stuck in a stalemate, we really do have no choice but to shake things up.

Precisely. Wonderfully succinct as well.

So yes, there you have it. If we go on the defensive now, it will only be a matter of time until we're out of resources.

When considered alongside the knowledge that Taigong Wang has already seen you and so knows our greatest weakness, we are left with no option but to go on the offensive.

Truth be told, I don't like to ignore the other castle either, but since we have nowhere near the forces to fight a war on two fronts, we can't afford to concern ourselves with it now.

I have no doubt Taigong Wang has reached the same conclusion, which is why he's already moving to fortify his own defenses.

I'm impressed both you and he are already thinking so far ahead.

Oh, this is just old habit by this point. It's what happens when you're always thinking about how best to get the jump on others.

All that said, the situation isn't as bad as it may sound. Now that we know what we have to do, we just have to steel ourselves to do it.

Besides, laying siege to a castle is a lot of fun!

I definitely agree with that!

？！

Trust me, this is one of those things that just gets more addictive the more you do it.

In fact, Perdikkas, Leonnatos, and I once almost came to blows over who would get to lead the engineering corps!

Which is why I need you to make another decision before we do anything else, Master.

The enemy's castle is almost certainly just like ours in that it changes between day and night.

In other words, it should have fewer enemies and favorable locations by day, and more of both by night.

Also, this time, we're going to need to fight two battles: one to infiltrate the castle, and one to lay siege to it.

All right, Master, now that you know what's in store for us, which version of me would you like to go with this time?