On the Einzbern Family’s cruise ship.
The Knights of the Round Table and Irisviel stood on the deck, waiting.
Gilgamesh had originally wanted to get involved too, but for some reason, he suddenly glanced into the distance and then left.
After that, only a group of Knights of the Round Table remained on alert.
Emiya Kiritsugu had secretly contacted Irisviel, telling her to wait for them to relocate and take shelter at Einzbern Castle.
That place had numerous bounded fields and defensive mystic codes, far better than being on this broken ship.
But neither Emiya Kiritsugu nor Irisviel could command the Knights of the Round Table.
Unless the King personally gave the order, they would not relocate.
This made Emiya Kiritsugu inwardly curse their stubbornness, giving him a headache.
He couldn’t even command the Servants he summoned; it was like summoning a bunch of lords he had to serve and cater to.
In the end, he and Maiya Hisau could only return to their pre-prepared temporary operational base—a hotel room.
There, they would summarize all the intelligence gathered so far and formulate a new battle plan.
“Saber should be Lancelot. Judging from his fight with Gawain earlier, his close combat skills are extremely high, on par with Gawain under his Sun’s Blessing,” Emiya Kiritsugu said.
“If it is Lancelot, then his abilities should be related to the blessings he received from the Lady of the Lake. His Noble Phantasm is also highly likely to be the legendary ‘Arondight’,” Maiya Hisau speculated.
Being familiar with myths and histories from around the world is a basic requirement for a Mage.
Even though both of them were only half-baked Mages, even notorious Mage killers.
But for the sake of victory in the Holy Grail War, they wouldn’t hesitate to spend time learning about the world’s myths and history.
Besides, how could they kill Mages without understanding them?
As the saying goes, the person who knows you best isn’t necessarily an acquaintance, but your opponent.
“The Lady of the Lake and the holy sword Arondight…
that definitely won’t be weak…
“Plus, he took a hit from Lancer and didn’t die. His Endurance must be at least A, maybe even A+. After all, in the legends, Lancelot was the strongest among the Round Table, second only to King Arthur.”
Emiya Kiritsugu pondered.
With him unable to command the Servants, killing Lancelot would be a matter of luck.
“We can only target his Master.”
“The other Servants have also mostly shown themselves tonight.”
“The Servant who ambushed Iri earlier, I suspect it was Assassin. Whether that arm was her Noble Phantasm or not is unclear.”
“The third Servant is the one those Knights called ‘Mother’. Her true identity is most likely the infamous tyrant Morgan. As for her class…”
“It should be Berserker. Lancer said so, and it’s probably correct.”
Both of them recalled Artoria’s words at the time, saying Morgan was currently a Berserker, affected by Madness Enhancement.
They also had a communication device prepared on Irisviel, which was how they knew.
The monitors they left behind when they retreated had been damaged in the aftermath of the battle, so not much footage was transmitted.
The entire port was cleaved by Morgan.
The wind pressure alone crushed them!
“However, she seems to wield a vast array of magecraft.”
“Berserker, magecraft… that sounds very abnormal.”
“In any case, she’s undoubtedly a troublesome opponent. And since she’s the legendary tyrant Morgan, her strength is unquestionably not inferior to Lancer’s.”
“Another case where we can only look for an opening through the Master…” Maiya Hisau said.
Emiya Kiritsugu shook his head.
“I don’t think it’s that simple.”
“If she’s on the same level as Lancer, why would she disappear just by killing her Master?”
“Lancer doesn’t even need Irisviel to supply mana to exist. She can summon the Knights of the Round Table and support their actions with her own mana. Berserker most likely can do the same.”
Maiya Hisau’s pupils contracted slightly, feeling another headache.
“If that’s the case, then Berserker’s Master is practically just for show?”
“…” Emiya Kiritsugu fell silent.
He had realized this too.
“Let’s set that aside for now and look at the other Servants.”
“The fourth Servant, the one Morgan called ‘Teacher’… is there such a person in the myths?” Maiya Hisau wondered.
She didn’t remember reading about Morgan having a teacher in any myth books.
If it was the teacher of that great tyrant, they couldn’t be unknown.
The legends of King Arthur and Morgan are extremely famous worldwide, with many characters having numerous tales.
But then again, King Arthur being a woman has already happened, so perhaps Morgan having a lesser-known teacher isn’t so strange.
“In short, barring any surprises, this is probably another extraordinary existence.
“And since he’s Morgan’s teacher, given the hostile relationship between King Arthur and Morgan in the myths… he probably won’t get along well with Lancer.”
“No new information has come back from Irisviel’s side either. We don’t know how his fight with Lancer is going.”
“This Servant’s Master is probably also just for show. His class… is even harder to guess. The remaining possibilities are Caster, Archer, and Rider.”
“If he taught Morgan magecraft, he must have high proficiency in it. He might be the Caster class.”
“The fifth Servant, that golden-haired man sitting on a magecraft flying ship.
“It’s unclear whether he or Alexander is the Rider. He was observing the whole time, so it’s hard to deduce much.”
“On the other hand, we can gather a lot of information about the sixth Servant, Alexander.”
“Alexander the Great… that chariot pulled by two ox-like creatures might originate from the ‘Gordian Knot’, a chariot dedicated to the God-King Zeus.”
“Combined with his attack when he charged into the battlefield, it’s confirmed to possess thunderous power.”
“And since it’s Alexander, his legendary horse Bucephalus might also be sublimated into a Noble Phantasm or one of his abilities due to the legend’s influence, allowing him to summon it as a mount.”
“Besides that, we also know information about his Master. Bringing the Master directly onto the battlefield… was too reckless. Just based on appearance, we can learn a lot.”
“His interpersonal relationships at the Clock Tower aren’t something we can easily investigate. We don’t know who he’s close to.”
“And even if we did, students at the Clock Tower often have significant backgrounds. It probably wouldn’t be easy to capture someone to threaten Waver.”
“Another tough nut to crack.”
Emiya Kiritsugu sighed, subconsciously taking out a cigarette, lighting it, and smoking while deep in thought.
Maiya Hisau also fell silent, simply organizing the intelligence in her mind, trying to tear open a crack leading to victory with the information they currently had.
Besides the intelligence they just discussed, they also knew some information about other Masters, which they had already discussed earlier, so they didn’t bring it up again.
On the nightstand were several photos, showing Kotomine Kirei, Tokiomi, Tohsaka Aoi, Tohsaka Rin, Matou Kariya, and Matou Byakuya.
They had already discussed information about these people yesterday.
Kotomine Kirei has been confirmed as one of the Masters in this Holy Grail War.
He is a genius Executor of the Holy Church, said to have the makings of a saint.
His wife is deceased.
He has a daughter named Kallen, only four or five years old.
She originally lived abroad with her grandfather, Risei Kotomine, and is currently temporarily placed in the care of another priest’s family.
Furthermore, Kotomine Kirei is also Tokiomi’s disciple.
Emiya Kiritsugu felt this person was highly threatening.
It was an instinct; he didn’t know why.
Tokiomi, the current head of the Tohsaka Family.
While not exactly famous in the Mage world, he is somewhat well-known and quite capable.
He is most likely the Tohsaka Family’s Master this time.
Tohsaka Aoi is Tokiomi’s wife, just an ordinary person.
Tohsaka Rin is their daughter, seven years old this year.
Both she and her mother Aoi are currently missing, likely hidden away by Tokiomi.
Matou Byakuya is one of the few remaining members of the contemporary Matou Family.
He has a son named Matou Shinji, also only seven years old.
This branch consists entirely of ordinary people, living in the Matou residence.
Matou Kariya is Matou Byakuya’s younger brother.
He was childhood friends with Tohsaka Aoi, later went abroad, traveled overseas, and his whereabouts are currently unknown.
Who is the Matou Family’s Master?
If the Matou Family’s Servant isn’t one of Morgan or Morgan’s Teacher, then eliminating their Master would remove one set of opponents.
“Maiya, you continue to monitor the Matou Family. I’ll go gather more intelligence.”
After thinking for a long time, Emiya Kiritsugu finally made a decision, intending to target the Matou Family first.