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

Joan of Arc stood between the Servants of the two camps and solemnly declared, "Today's battle ends here. Although we have defeated Orochi and Ibuki-dōji, none of you are in your best condition. Considering that you all had different tasks in the battle just now and were affected to varying degrees, it is undoubtedly extremely unfair to fight now!"

Therefore, in the name of the arbiter of the Holy Grail War, I declare that the struggle on this land will be temporarily suspended, and will resume in three days!

"Three days?"

Vlad III strolled over leisurely, scoffing, "The Red Army is currently busy building its own military fortress to counter our main base. Delaying the process will only allow them to prepare more thoroughly."

“But Your Excellency should also consider the losses suffered by your own side,” Joan of Arc said earnestly. “Is the Black side truly prepared?”

Vlad III fell silent!

Completely? Of course not!

Shuten-dōji ambushed Siegfried and was then attacked by the combined forces of the others. Now, the Black Faction has lost two Servants, and Asterius is also healing... It's no exaggeration to say that they have suffered a severe blow!

Conversely, apart from Mordred being severely poisoned and Iori being weakened, the Red team suffered almost no losses.

If the two sides were to go to war now, Vlad III would be confident that he could defend the city and remain undefeated, thanks to his home advantage and the blessing of the Great Cup. However, winning in a full-scale confrontation would be almost impossible.

Of course, even if the situation is dire, the Grand Duke will not show weakness in front of the enemy.

For him, war is a life-or-death game where no one knows the outcome until the very last moment. If he shows the slightest weakness, he will be swallowed whole by the enemy!

Therefore, in order to fight against the powerful Ottoman Turks, Vlad III almost suppressed his humanity during his lifetime in order to win victory in one brutal defensive battle after another...

The same is true now; he is never afraid to fight against overwhelming odds!

“However, I believe the Red faction’s Servants don’t have the strength to continue the attack right now, do they?” Jeanne d’Arc turned to the Red faction and asked.

King Arthur nodded obediently, Mordred gritted her teeth, Iori watched coldly, while Achilles and Atalanta were eager to try... but after glancing at Joan of Arc, they gave up the idea.

Taking action now could very well push Joan of Arc to the other side, which would be a losing proposition.

Furthermore, Joan of Arc's "hardness" is evident to all, and there were very few people present who could ignore her opinion.

"Okay, since no one has any objections, then it's decided!"

Joan of Arc breathed a long sigh of relief, thankful that she had finally stopped the war. Although her intervention in the Holy Grail War seemed a bit irregular, special circumstances should be handled specially!

"Also, there is one more thing."

The Holy Maiden smiled and looked at everyone: "Putting aside our respective positions, the act of driving away the Yamata no Orochi is a great achievement in itself. You have protected this land and its inhabitants, and you deserve to be rewarded accordingly."

"award?"

Achilles was even more regretful. He had always been a brave warrior on the battlefield and always took the best share of the spoils, but this time he had played almost no role and was destined to be at the bottom of the list.

This was a great humiliation for the Greek hero.

Atalanta was more pragmatic: "What exactly is the reward?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have any treasures to give you. The only items I have that can be used as rewards are Command Seals."

Jeanne carefully scanned the crowd before saying, "The Servants and their Masters who entered the poisonous fog to attack Orochi will all receive a Command Seal... except for the Red Berserker."

Actually, the command seals sent out were used to cleanse the curse poison!

Jeanne d'Arc temporarily truced the two factions to ensure fairness. However, the curse poison is not something that can be eliminated in a day or two, and Command Seals are extremely precious strategic resources. Consuming one more Command Seal means losing one trump card, which is unfair to these Servants and Masters.

Therefore, Joan of Arc made this decision to use her Command Spell to offset the losses suffered by all parties.

Iori and Karna are exceptions; the former's two Command Seals are long gone, which goes without saying.

Karna, protected by his armor, was actually unaffected... but he still had to be given a Command Seal!

"Red Saber, Red Lancer, Black Rider, and... Black Lancer!"

Besides the three who faced the Yamata no Orochi directly, there was another person chosen by the "Butler" in this Holy Grail War, namely Vlad III, who single-handedly restrained the Yamata no Orochi!

"Hmm?" The Grand Duke was somewhat surprised, but he quickly understood.

Firstly, Joan of Arc may have been seeking relative fairness between the two factions, hence giving two Command Seals to each side.

Secondly, Vlad III did play a significant role. The Yamata no Orochi is like a dragon monster in a game; its head looks ferocious and menacing, but its tail is just as threatening!

“That’s wonderful! I must inform my Master of this good news.” Vlad III smiled and said casually—his Master had long been enslaved by him.

Of course, it's still quite necessary to have Chiron and Rider's Masters receive the Command Seals...

"what?"

"this?"

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, the Black Faction Servants froze, exchanging bewildered glances.

"Why... can't I contact my Master?"

Just as Chiron was having a terrible thought and was about to rush back to the main camp, the Black Faction Servant's expression suddenly changed drastically.

"The passage... the magic passage has been severed! Who did it?!"

"Oops!"

The centaur sage's expression was grave as he gazed towards the direction of the Yggdrasil Castle: "Could this be Caster... Master!"

Chapter 137: Medea's Thoughtful Little Advice (4K)

This is really awkward...

If a Servant cannot contact their Master, there are generally two possibilities.

First, the Master was killed, which is self-explanatory. Second, the Master voluntarily transferred their Command Seals to someone else, essentially relinquishing their status as Master.

The former is unlikely. The Black Masters are all staying in the Yggdrasil Castle. Even if they were invaded by the enemy, not to mention the numerous defensive measures, it should be noted that multiple Masters severed their connections at the same time. At the very least, someone should have issued a warning before dying.

The latter... the Servant should be able to sense the change in ownership of the Command Seals, and the magical energy channel will not be cut off.

There is another possibility—

"The contract has been forcibly terminated!"

Jeanne d'Arc, as the Ruler, seemed to sense something as well: "The Command Seals of the Black Faction have now returned to the Greater Grail... no, the Command Seals have been redistributed, and new Masters have been created!"

It was at this moment that Vlad III, King Arthur, and Chiron changed color once again:

Their magical energy channels with their Masters were reconnected, but the magical energy transmitted was completely different from before, both in terms of quantity and quality.

If we were to make a comparison, the magic power before was like a small stream, while now it is a wide canal!

"What exactly happened?" Black Rider frowned. Although she didn't particularly like her Master, as a Servant, she still didn't want anything to happen to her.

Although Vlad III did not care about Danic's life or death, he felt that he had been tricked and was in a very bad mood.

"Once again... this time it's betrayal of Yu?!"

"Caster!"

Chiron pondered for a moment and immediately gave his answer, saying in a heavy tone, "Almost all the Red Team Servants are here, so it's unlikely to be the work of an external enemy. And within the Yggdrasil headquarters, only Medea has the capability to do this!"

"Medea?"

Iori looked at Chiron in surprise. He hadn't known this information before; he had thought it was from some figure collector: "The Caster you summoned is Medea, that 'world-renowned' betrayer witch?"

"Yes."

"Oh...who usually looks after the Greater Grail?"

“It’s Caster, of course.”

"Only Medea and a wounded Berserker remained at the main camp?"

"..."

"Um~"

Iori asked sincerely, "Didn't you consider the possibility that this might cause problems?"

Of course I've thought about it!

Chiron felt utterly helpless.

As a fellow Greek follower, he was wary of Medea. But at the same time, he also knew that Medea was not an unreasonable woman; as long as there was no conflict of interest or she didn't touch on any sensitive issues, Medea had no reason to cause trouble.

"Witch of Betrayal" is a tragic title, and that is not Medea's true nature.

In this faction, there are many powerful Servants, and Medea is in a weak position. Chiron does not think there will be any problem with letting her come into contact with the Greater Grail.

Even in this war, Vlad III was left to guard the main camp. As long as this Shield of Christ was there, Medea would be suppressed even if she wanted to cause trouble.

...But who could have imagined that Shuten-dōji would suddenly go mad and betray Saber!

Vlad III, who detested betrayal the most, left the vicinity of the castle, and then came the war against Yamata no Orochi... Just when things seemed to be coming to a perfect end, Medea suddenly jumped out and stirred up trouble again!

—The twists and turns of this Holy Grail War were so numerous that even Chiron felt exhausted.

“Medea? That woman is incorrigible!” Vlad III said through gritted teeth.

Having memories of a parallel world, he replaced a large number of sacred relics in order to enhance his faction's combat power and prevent betrayal. However, he was still tricked by Shuten-dōji and Medea...

Was being betrayed his destiny as Vlad III?

Damn!

“Does that mean we all have to submit to Medea?” Black Rider glanced at the indignant Vlad III.

Although she was not convinced by the Grand Duke, she at least acknowledged that he was a competent "king" and could temporarily obey his commands. But what was Medea?

How can a king be subservient to a witch?

It should be noted that even Guinevere and Morgan were completely subjugated by her!

"The most important thing now is to confirm the Master's safety." Chiron said worriedly. Although his Master was highly capable, his physical condition prevented him from handling emergencies. What if something happened to him...?

However, he soon had nothing to worry about, because the traitor had already brazenly approached his "former comrades".

"Who?!"

Joan of Arc turned to look at the empty space and asked a question with a stern expression.

A seductive chuckle rang out, and purple magic gradually coalesced, eventually forming the shape of a cloaked witch—Medea, who had tricked everyone!

"You bastard, how dare you show your face in front of me!"

A red glint flashed in Vlad III's eyes, and he was about to make a move when he saw Medea raise her right hand and remove her glove—

The backs of his hands and forearms were covered with a dense array of Command Seals; a rough count would reveal at least ten!

"Your Majesty, it is best not to resort to force, otherwise I will have no choice but to take self-defense measures."

"Humph!"

Vlad III sneered, "I am not afraid of mere death!"

"Your Majesty is a solitary king with dignity and honor, and naturally you will not be coerced by anyone, but you do not want to lose this Holy Grail War, do you?"

Medea chuckled softly, “Although I have become your Master, I am not a harsh woman. This is just a means for a weak woman to protect herself. Perhaps it is a little extreme. Please forgive me.”

"If you call 'betrayal' 'self-preservation,' then it seems the title of 'witch' isn't entirely a slander," King Arthur said coldly. "So what if you usurped the Master's power? You don't actually think that will make us submit, do you?"

"Medea, how are the magicians?" Chiron didn't discuss who was right or wrong, but asked directly, "Where is my Master Fiore?"

"It's safe, please don't worry, Lord Chiron. I didn't harm them; at most, I felt a little pain when transferring the Command Seals."

Medea spoke casually, and Chiron frowned slightly, but still chose to believe her.

It wasn't that she trusted Medea's character, but rather that her Master's life was more useful to her—a principle the witch surely understood.

"Everyone... including those on the Red Team, there's absolutely no need to be so tense. I'm not here to disrupt this Holy Grail War, but to end it."

The red faction's followers, who were watching the show, and the black-haired girl, who was caught in a dilemma, both focused their attention on the long-robed witch.

"What do you mean?" Atalanta and Medea were very close, but she was also very dissatisfied with her actions. "You've only controlled the Black Faction Servants, yet you dare to talk about ending the war? Are you saying that you're ignoring us, the Red Faction?"

"Why must we fight and kill? The Greater Grail is far more powerful than we imagine. I have found a way to activate the Greater Grail and fulfill your wishes without having to perform those extremely inefficient rituals!"

"Varied--"

"impossible!"

"what are you talking about?"

Who do you think I am?

Medea said smugly, "The 'system' of the Holy Grail War is, in my opinion, completely without secrets. This method of having sacrifices kill each other is not only inefficient but also full of variables, no wonder it has never been successful."

Unlike incompetent human magicians, I will never waste a single bit of magic. This Greater Grail can become a wish-granting machine for all of you. Then, you won't have to fight over it; just happily reshape the world according to your own ideas.