The peaceful and tranquil days of Fuyuki City are in stark contrast to the dangerous nights.
In the evening, Rider was satisfied and left the Assassin team's workshop with Weber, who was yawning profusely.
"Assassin, I have a question."
Before leaving, Rider asked seemingly casually: "Who is that little girl with black hair and twin tails? Your relationship with her seems to be quite unusual."
'Sure enough, it's here.'
Lu Xiao, who was well prepared, said calmly: "That is Daisuke (Kariya)'s daughter. She has been living with Daisuke's divorced wife. Today she was transferred to Fuyuki City to be taken care of by her father."
"Oh? Really."
The rider seemed to have just asked casually and dealt with it perfunctorily. His strong body turned his back to Lu Xiao and waved goodbye.
"I might be busy again tonight. Come on, don't take it lightly just because you have overcome the first difficulty. There are still many people watching you secretly."
After watching Rider and the swaying Weber disappear from sight with a smile on his face, Lu Xiao's face gradually darkened.
'Have you been suspected by him?'
A magic seal must be used when signing a self-imposed certificate. The Assassin team only has the Matou family's original seal. Rin has not yet obtained the Tosaka family's seal from the young and powerful Tokiomi.
Out of some other considerations, Lu Xiao forged her master to be Sakura. It wasn't that she had any bad intentions towards the Rider Team at the time, but she just took precautions out of habit.
After all, the two sides will have a battle sooner or later in the future, and it will never go wrong to make some preparations in advance.
Ying, who came out with Lu Xiao to see him off, pulled Lu Xiao's sleeves, raised her delicate face and asked, "Assassin, will Rider's suspicion affect our plan?"
"Not yet."
Lu Xiao bent down and picked up Ying Ying from the ground, letting her sit on his broad shoulders and looking into the distance: "According to the contract agreement, neither we nor Rider can start a war until the other servants are eliminated."
"However, considering what may happen in the future, it is best to make some preparations in advance."
"Sakura, you and Rin recently remembered to carry the portable magic tools made by Leonardo da Vinci with you. If you encounter special circumstances, those gadgets can delay the situation for a while."
"Um."
Sakura's soft little face rubbed Lu Xiao's face affectionately: "Being unable to provide you with sufficient magic power is already a big disadvantage. My sister and I will try our best not to hold you and Caster back."
When Lu Xiao turned around while holding Xiao Ying, what he saw was Lin standing in the workshop with a look of disdain and suspicion.
"Assassin, are you the legendary Luoli Controller?"
…
As night fell, Lu Xiao left Rin, whose forehead was red from the bullet, and left the workshop, opened the portal to the outskirts of Fuyuki City, and appeared directly in the forest near Einzbern Castle.
Lu Xiao, who arrived a year in advance, did not just wait for the plot to start. He visited all the important locations around Fuyuki City so that he could teleport around freely after the Holy Grail War began.
According to Lu Xiao's understanding of Emiya Kiritsugu, he is not a person who likes to defend, and he should also choose to take the initiative tonight.
Lu Xiao, who turned on the aura blocker, found a big tree and squatted down, using his eagle eyes to silently monitor the Einzbern Castle.
After 0 o'clock, the castle gate suddenly opened, and a dark car drove out.
With her powerful dynamic vision, Lu Xiao saw three people including Emiya Kiritsugu, Kuon Maiya and Lancer from inside the car as it passed by.
'So cooperative?'
Lu Xiao did not immediately take action because of the outpouring of the Einzbern team. With Emiya Kiritsugu's style, it was unlikely that he would leave Irisviel alone in the castle.
As an android, Irisviel possesses a far greater number of magic circuits than an ordinary magician, and her total amount of magic power is also considerable.
However, the Einzbern family has always studied non-combat magic such as alchemy. The Einzbern androids are really not very good at fighting. The failure of the first three Holy Grail Wars was precisely because of this reason.
That's why they recruited the magician-killer Emiya Kiritsugu from outside, hoping that he, who was good at fighting, would win the Holy Grail for Einzbern.
It's not that Lu Xiao looks down on Irisviel. This space warrior has powerful magic power. Facing other Masters participating in the Holy Grail War, I'm afraid he can only beat the underage Tohsaka sisters and Waver, whose magic circuit is too rubbish.
.
'Um?'
Just when Lu Xiao was filled with doubts, the eagle vision that had been turned on suddenly caught a figure in the forest.
Eagle Vision can see the blood-red hostile sign of this uninvited guest, but cannot clearly see the person's appearance hidden behind the tree.
‘He should be the only one who will come to the Einzbern family at this time.’
After confirming that Emiya Kiritsugu was driving away, a traveler with a different purpose than Lu Xiao finally came out from behind the tree. He was an ascetic man wearing a church vest with an expressionless face.
'As expected, it's you, Kotomine Kirei.'
The Einzbern family is not suitable for fighting. The barrier they placed near the castle is not a blocking barrier with offensive power. It can only be used for early warning and tracking.
"Um?"
Irisviel, who was sitting alone in the castle, suddenly received a message that someone broke into the castle's boundaries.
Through the magic eyes that were attuned to her own, she clearly saw the figure of the intruder.
"Kotomine Kirei, you are here just as Kiritsugu expected."
Irisviel asked the empty place beside her: "Guardian, please."
A pleasant male voice suddenly came from the quaint castle conference room: "Humph~ A promise is a promise. I will take action as promised. Madam, please stay in the castle and don't run around."
Kotomine Kirei, who once served as a practitioner, is very skilled. The Bajiquan he learned from his father, Kotomine Rimasa, has no health benefits in his hands. Every move is full of killing power. In terms of destructive power alone, it is more
Kotomine Rimasa is stronger and puts a greater burden on his body.
"Qiang!"
As he quickly approached the castle, the expressionless Kotomine Kirei took out several sword hilts from his robes. After infusing magic power, these sword hilts quickly extended into sharp sword blades.
The black key is the standard equipment of the agent. Compared with the physical lethality, the black key is more powerful against spiritual creatures. In theory, it can also have an effect on heroic spirits.
Of course, it's just a theory.
"Bah!"
The magic arrows shot from the castle roof made Kotomine Kirei immediately stop and at the same time throw the black keys held in both hands into the sky.
"Ding ding ding!"
The crisp sound of impact echoed above the peaceful Einzbern Castle. Faced with a large number of arrows falling from the sky, Kirei could only throw black keys to defend himself while quickly retreating in the direction in which he came.
"Emiya Kiritsugu has indeed taken Kuon Maiya and Lancer out. Who is the person who attacked me?"
Not only Kirei Kotomine was confused by this question, but Lu Xiao who was following him was also confused.
Lu Xiao touched his chin in confusion, 'It seems that Emiya Kiritsugu deliberately left the castle empty for fishing, but Lancer and Kuon Maiya are not here. Where did his fishhook come from?'
Kotomine Kirei left just as quickly as he came. Forced by the accurate arrows, even with the protection of bulletproof robes, Kotomine Kirei suffered some minor injuries.
But he still walked through the woods expressionlessly, using the dense obstacles in the forest to block the arrows fired by his pursuers.
Someone who was chasing Kotomine Kirei didn't seem to have any intention of killing him here. After driving him a certain distance, he stopped chasing and appeared on the branches of the forest.
Lu Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the white-haired heroic spirit holding a black bow and wearing a red coat.
'It turns out it's you. It seems that the restraint force is still not going to let me go after Martha's failure.'