You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Go first, and I will follow like a whirlwind, overtaking you from behind!

Even if the enemy gains the upper hand, you can still act first after confirming the enemy's intentions and come from behind to gain the upper hand.

• Skills that allow for counterattacks; a D-level rating means that it can be effective in most situations, but it cannot overturn an event when there is no chance of success.

Note: Additional effects

The right to propose to Atalanta was granted, but because it was not an officially held contest and no oath was made before the gods, it had no binding force.

Failure would incur Atalanta's disgust—or rather, it was destined from the moment you proposed.

Chapter 104: I've already booked a room (4K)

Mythological CGs are a new category. Iori had previously encountered some strange CGs and knew that this encyclopedia system still had some potential to be explored, so it wasn't too surprising.

Based on the relevant information, this type is different from bonds, storylines, and art styles, and it is also more difficult to obtain.

[Upon completing mythical adventures or trials, you will receive corresponding blessings, skills, or weapons, with random drops of art style points.]

This prerequisite is very strict; it requires a very deep connection with the original mythological text, or even contact with the character himself, to achieve this.

For example, if you want to achieve the achievement of "Siegfried defeating the evil dragon", you must actually kill the evil dragon Fafnir from the myth, instead of just picking any two-legged dragon and killing it to claim the great hero from the myth.

Even though they are both about "slaying dragons," there are still differences in their level of sophistication!

Fortunately, there is no requirement that it must be the "original" myth. It seems that as long as it meets the characteristics in various aspects, it is acceptable, even if there are some differences.

For example, a Heroic Spirit in the Type-Moon universe is characterized by "modification," but can still trigger a corresponding CG.

The story of "Atalanta and the Golden Apple" doesn't need much explanation; it's simply that the notoriously troublesome Aphrodite has once again tricked someone...

Iori first used the Rhine Gold instead of the Apple of Gold to play the role of "attracting attention" in the story, and then captured and defeated Atalanta. In all aspects, she has achieved or even surpassed the achievements of the original. It is only natural that she can get the mythological CG.

If this were ancient Greece, Iori at this point would already be able to call himself Atalanta's legitimate husband!

Unfortunately, this is a Holy Grail War, and the Servants summoned are merely reflections of Heroic Spirits. They will inherit the weaknesses of their previous lives, but they will not have to pay the price for the vows they have already fulfilled.

As for Iori himself, he is not like Hippomenes in the original text. If it were him, he would launch an offensive openly if he liked a woman, instead of seeking help from the wicked goddess of beauty.

Moreover, Atalanta used the race to reject suitors in order to escape marriage—she was a follower of the moon goddess and had vowed to remain pure and unmarried for life.

Rheinmetall's trap is just a tactic; Iori wouldn't go so far as to use it to blackmail Archer, that would be far too despicable.

"Hey! Did you hear me? Finish this fight and kill me!"

Atalanta, seeing that Iori remained silent for a long time, felt a bad premonition and struggled again: "This humiliating position is worse than death... What are you waiting for? Do it!"

"Don't be impatient, Atalanta of Arcadia."

Iori snapped out of her daze, a harmless smile on her face: "Please forgive my rudeness, but otherwise we wouldn't have been able to catch the world's fastest female hunter."

He emphasized her identity as a "hunter," which made Atalanta furious, just like "Furious."

"Are you looking down on me? Just because I'm a woman!"

"No, rather, it's precisely because I respect you so much that I'll use any dirty tricks I can think of, that's how I can say I'm going all out—isn't that right?"

"..."

The hunter's momentum faltered, her breathing became much calmer, and she stared at Iori for a long time. Realizing that he wasn't mocking or teasing her, she gradually calmed down.

"Stop talking nonsense... Losing is losing, but as a Servant, I will never surrender or betray my Master. Don't even think about getting any information or anything else from me."

"Kill me! Your only reward is eliminating the enemy's archers before the battle even begins!"

"Haha~"

"What are you laughing at?" Atalanta frowned. "I hate pretentious people!"

"I don't need to make you like me."

Iori pursed her lips, then looked at the hunter with amusement: "I'm just surprised that you can't even figure out the most basic friend-or-foe identification—we're on the same side, Archer."

“………………Eh?”

“I am the Berserker of the Red Team, and this is my Master, Serra von Einzbern.”

"The Red Berserker..."

Ta Miao's mind went blank for a moment, but she quickly realized that there was something fishy going on.

"Same faction... So your conflict with the priest is a personal matter? Does that have anything to do with my Master?"

She was clearly puzzled, because even if the goal was to vie for ownership of the Holy Grail, it should be done after winning the faction war, and then there should be an internal struggle. It seemed too early to start competing against each other now.

"It has nothing to do with your Master."

Iori scoffed, "I'd like to ask you, did you really receive any orders from your Master? Or were they all relayed by the priest?"

"..."

Atalanta's expression gradually turned serious; she had realized that Iori's words had a hidden meaning.

"Are you saying... my Master has been sidelined? Lost their autonomy in decision-making?"

"No, it's worse than that—your Master has long since become the priest's puppet."

With a wave of her hand, Iori caused the binding spells on Atalanta to disintegrate into countless spiritual particles. Even with a leg injury, the agile Archer landed nimbly on the ground and assumed a guarded stance.

—The fact that she didn't run away or launch an attack directly proves that she has understood Iori's meaning, but it's still impossible to confirm.

"The magic channel is maintained normally. Although there has been no direct communication, the Servant can vaguely sense the Master's state... There is nothing unusual."

Have you seen the priest's attendants?

Iori calmly explained, "As someone who participated in the Golden Fleece Expedition, you should be able to easily see how dangerous that woman is, right?"

Atalanta fell silent, for Iori's words had hit the nail on the head.

As a member of the legendary Argo, Atalanta possessed a wealth of knowledge, having been associated with many renowned heroes, from the greatest Greek hero to a sorceress of unparalleled beauty. Naturally, she also had the ability to distinguish between good and evil.

The red team's assassin... she is absolutely a once-in-a-millennium evil woman, a witch, without a doubt!

"I don't know if you know that her real name is Semiramis, the oldest poisoner, and a descendant of a god and a man, who has the means to overthrow a country."

To her, plotting against and controlling a few human magicians was a piece of cake; the magicians themselves were often unaware that they had become the witch's toys.

Iori smiled slightly: "Everything I said above is true."

“...Unbelievable.” Atalanta narrowed her eyes, still wary of Iori.

"There are too many puzzling aspects to this whole thing."

"I think the truth is quite clear."

"Even if that witch can control my Master, it's destined to be only a temporary measure and can't last forever. But if the priest were to usurp the Command Seals and Master's identity, it would also consume the magical energy of multiple Servants at the same time..."

Not to mention that such methods cannot convince Servants, the extra mana consumption alone is beyond what humans can bear!

"Yes! That makes a lot of sense." Iori nodded.

"Moreover, once exposed, the priest's actions will inevitably provoke the hostility of the other Masters—"

“That’s why we need to control all the Masters,” Iori interrupted her. “As long as he becomes the Master of all Servants, he can represent the entire Red Team.”

“…This is impossible!” Atalanta instinctively rejected the possibility. “Just a mere human!”

“Don’t underestimate the people of this era, Atalanta.”

"But how is that possible? Even if he can withstand such an exaggerated consumption of magic power, how can he guarantee that he can subdue all the Servants? And he has to fight against all the Masters of the Black Faction all by himself?"

"Compared to that priest's wish, these are trivial matters, not worth mentioning in terms of difficulty."

Iori smiled and shook her head: "Whether you believe it or not, I'm just giving you a heads-up."

"……what do you want from me?"

Atalanta gripped her longbow tightly: "Join forces against that priest?"

“You must have a lot of questions right now, and you can’t trust either the priest or me, so I won’t force you to make a choice right now.”

Moreover, Servants are bound by Command Spells; if you clash with the priest now, you could be reclassified as a Lancer at any time.

"Spearman?" Atalanta didn't quite understand what Iori meant.

"The common sense instilled by the Holy Grail is all useless stuff, while it doesn't reveal a single piece of truly valuable information."

Iori couldn't help but grin, but he managed his expression well and quickly returned to a faint smile.

"In short, you are being threatened by Command Seals and are currently unable to resist your Master... or more precisely, the priest who controls your Master."

“I can’t believe what you’re saying yet, but if you’re lying, there’s no need to make up such an outrageous lie. And you really can kill me… I’ll investigate myself. If it’s true, of course I won’t listen to such a despicable guy. I don’t care if I’m ordered to commit suicide.”

Atalanta's eyes were resolute. She was a person of faith, pure and strong on a spiritual level. As a hero, she would naturally not betray her Master, but if she were to be deceived and used in this way, that would be another matter.

"That won't do!"

Iori rejected Atalanta's statement: "It would be such a waste to give up a second life after all this hardship."

"Huh?!" Atalanta looked up in surprise, her gaze towards Iori filled with confusion.

"Command Seals are only three forced commands and cannot control the Servant's mind. Throughout the Holy Grail Wars, there have been countless people who suffered misfortune because of their incompatibility with their Servants."

Today I will spare your life and give you a chance to investigate the truth and rescue your Master. But if one day I need your help with something... I hope you will remember this favor.

After Iori finished speaking, she added, "After all, it is a confrontation between two major camps. I can't win by myself alone. I need more allies."

Strange guy... His way of thinking is more like a Master than a Servant.

Atalanta gave him a deep look with interest: "If you are telling the truth, then this is only to be expected."

"Oh, by the way, I have to remind you of something: never let the priests be misled."

"I am not a fragile human being."

"But sometimes the power of words is stronger than poison."

Iori said seriously, "That man always likes to use sweet words to seduce others, and he uses targeted rhetoric. The more naive a person is, the more likely they are to be deceived."

For example, he participated in the Holy Grail War to fulfill his personal ambitions, yet publicly stated that his wish was to 'save all of humanity'—doesn't that sound incredibly convincing?

It's perfectly normal for religious people to use such slogans to deceive others, and Atalanta remained calm and offered no objection.

"But in reality, this is a shameless theft!"

Iori pointed at her Master: "That wish was stolen from my Master!"

"what?"

Sera, who was standing to the side, had long been numb to what she was hearing. From the beginning, Iori had been saying things that she couldn't understand at all. The amount of information was so great that even the intelligent android couldn't keep up. When she was suddenly mentioned, the silver-haired girl suddenly came back to her senses.

"Sera, what is the Einzbern family's long-cherished wish?"

"...to save, to save all mankind..." The silver-haired girl spoke softer and softer. This was perfectly natural for her, but for some reason she felt a strange shyness at this moment.

"Don't be shy, say it out loud!" Iori encouraged. "You think you can get the Holy Grail by speaking so softly?"

"Complete the Third Law! Save all mankind!"

"Okay, very spirited!"

Iori patted Sera's shoulder, whose face was flushed: "Kōtei Shirō is a Faker. Our Einzbern has been thinking about saving the world for hundreds of years!"

Is that right, Sera?

The boy shook his master's shoulder.

"Um... um..."

"What a ridiculous show—"

"Complete the Third Law, so that all mankind may be freed from pain, strife, disease, and death, and all children may live happily surrounded by love."

Iori suddenly stopped smiling and looked calmly and seriously into the hunter's slightly trembling emerald eyes.

"Wouldn't that kind of world be wonderful, Atalanta?"

-

"You really did promise a wonderful future."

Watching Atalanta retreat as a spirit, Sera turned to look at Iori, suppressing her many doubts for the time being and choosing the most important question.

"How can you be so sure that those words would sway Archer?"

"Don't underestimate my intelligence."