On the road to Uruk, Merlin told Mash Kyrielight about the situation in Uruk. King Gilgamesh had summoned seven Servants to counter the alliance of the three goddesses, and he himself was one of them.
Although Merlin was not dead and could not become a Heroic Spirit, this was the most ancient era of humanity, the era before Merlin's birth, and Merlin did not exist as a person. Therefore, he could be considered a deceased person summoned as a Heroic Spirit.
Anna was a lone Servant without a Master, and by chance, Merlin encountered her. Thus, he formed a contract with Anna and they agreed to help Uruk resist the demon beasts. Speaking of which, Lixing and Anna were the same; both were summoned by the Counter Force, except one was summoned by Alaya, and the other was self-summoned as the Counter Force.
Meanwhile, Romanie at Chaldea was truly surprised. In less than a day, they had encountered two people with Clairvoyance. Although one of them was useless, he was still a Caster with qualifications for the Grand Order, and both of them knew their true identities.
Subsequently, Merlin revealed the identity of the Enkidu they had just encountered. That body was indeed Enkidu's body, and Enkidu had indeed died. However, the person inside was not the same. The current Enkidu should be called Kingu, who belonged to the demon beast goddess's side, but only Lixing knew about this.
"Mr. Lixing, does this mean you already knew the true identity of that Enkidu?" Mash asked Lixing, as Lixing had claimed to have Clairvoyance from the beginning, and should have known upon meeting him.
"Yes, I knew Enkidu's identity from the start. I didn't tell you because I wanted to meet Anna." As he spoke, Lixing even patted Anna's head. Anna looked up and glared fiercely at Lixing without speaking, which made Lixing feel too embarrassed to continue.
"My, my, this young man's Clairvoyance is truly remarkable, able to see both the present and the future. But I've never heard of the name Lixing," Merlin couldn't help but glance at Lixing again. This person was very mysterious, and even Merlin couldn't see through him.
"I told you I'm an nobody! Don't mind these details. I won't harm you, will I? Anna, do I look like a good person at first glance?"
"He looks very suspicious at first glance," Anna's faint words caused Lixing to freeze on the spot. This was too hurtful. Such a handsome face clearly belonged to a sunny young man.
"Alright, let's hurry on our way! We need to reach Uruk before dark," Merlin interrupted their cheerful conversation and led the way.
From behind, Lixing recalled the plot. At this timeline, Amakusa Shirou, Fuuma Kotaro, and Tomoe Gozen seemed to have already died. Although they were already dead, Ibaraki Doji had run off to the mountains to become a bandit. Currently, Uruk's fighting strength was indeed a bit low.
...
After traveling for most of the day, the Chaldea party finally arrived at Uruk. Seeing soldiers guarding the city gates, Fujimaru Ritsuka thought about whether they should infiltrate.
However, with Merlin present, there was no need to infiltrate. Moreover, the citizens and soldiers of Uruk were very good people at this time; there wasn't so much scheming and intrigue.
One of the uncles ran over and saw Anna's petite figure, feeling a pang of sympathy. He thought it must have been very hard for such a small body to travel this far. He then took out some pastries his daughter had made and offered them to Anna.
Anna felt a little embarrassed and wasn't accustomed to accepting human kindness. Lixing stepped forward, took the pastries, and fed them directly into Anna's mouth.
"Thank you, uncle! Anna really likes your pastries; they are very delicious." Lixing said that Anna liked them, but in reality, he had also put a piece in his own mouth. This made Fujimaru Ritsuka look very awkward. Lixing was perhaps a little too casual.
Fortunately, the uncle didn't mind, and the group entered this largest fortress city of humanity together. It was said that the city walls and houses were all made of clay, which almost made Lixing's hands itch to create some art.
However, Merlin suggested visiting Uruk later and meeting Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, at the temple first.
...
In the temple, Gilgamesh was handling various affairs. Siduri, the chief priest of Uruk and Gilgamesh's aide, stood below.
Gilgamesh had to manage everything from the frontline battles to the childbirth of his subjects. He didn't seem like the tyrannical ruler of legends at all.
Although it was not appropriate to disturb him at this moment, it was necessary to initiate a conversation with Gilgamesh. Merlin pulled Fujimaru Ritsuka forward: "My King, I have brought guests back."
Siduri stood by and asked Merlin if he had found the Tablet of Destinies and who these people were. Gilgamesh, however, slowly raised his head to look at the people below and then stood up, dismissing Siduri.
"I already know. I may be about to defile this throne."
Through his Clairvoyance of future sight, Gilgamesh saw the arrival of Chaldea but did not see Lixing. Such an unidentified individual naturally had to be punished first.
"Ritsuka, Mash, prepare for battle. Anna, lend me a hand." Lixing drew his Nichirin Blade, ready to fight Gilgamesh. It was quite interesting to have to fight two of the strongest individuals right at the start.
Anna sighed and drew her weapon, standing beside Lixing. Mash also raised her shield.
Gilgamesh used his Rule Breaker to open the Gate of Babylon and unleashed several weapons from behind, firing magical bullets from them.
Such an attack naturally could not harm them. Lixing swiftly swung his blade and appeared behind Gilgamesh, slashing down.
However, the Gate of Babylon appeared both in front and behind Lixing, seemingly preparing to deliver a fatal blow. Lixing shouted, "Mash!" Mash raised her shield and instantly appeared behind Lixing, blocking the attack for him. As for the weapon Lixing swung at Gilgamesh, it was like the Enkidu's chains, and Lixing could not cut through the weapon.
The next second, the weapon in front of him fired several magical bullets again. Lixing quickly used Heavenly Power to move with Mash. Anna swung her scythe and chain, forcing Gilgamesh to move. At the same time, the Gate of Babylon closed.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lixing and Anna swapped positions with their scythes, forcing Gilgamesh to move with their swordsmanship. Gilgamesh still wore a cold expression. As Lixing attacked, he blocked the Nichirin Blade with the Gate of Babylon. Then, Mash and Anna attacked Gilgamesh from both sides simultaneously. The Gate of Babylon instantly repelled all three of them, and Gilgamesh also put away his Rule Breaker.
"Utterly boring. Go back and be remade!" Gilgamesh returned to his throne, resting his chin on his hand.
Meanwhile, Lixing had fallen into deep thought. Since arriving here, his blade could only cut demon beasts; it couldn't even leave a scratch on divine weapons. This indicated that his Nichirin Blade had reached its limit, as it was a weapon forged from the products of the first world. However, this blade held special meaning for Lixing, and he couldn't reforge it; he could only forge a new one.
On the other side, Gilgamesh explained to Fujimaru Ritsuka that Uruk was his country, and he would naturally protect it himself, not needing Chaldea's strength.
Fujimaru Ritsuka still wanted to persuade Gilgamesh, explaining that if the Holy Grail was not retrieved, humanity would be incinerated. At that time, let alone Uruk, even human history would cease to exist.
However, Gilgamesh took out a Holy Grail from the Gate of Babylon: "Is this the Holy Grail you speak of? All the treasures in the world belong to me, and so does the Holy Grail. The alliance of the three goddesses likely desires this as well! Otherwise, they would have no reason to attack Uruk."
However, this was the Great Cup of Uruk, not the Holy Grail placed in this singularity by King Solomon, nor the one Chaldea needed to retrieve.
But Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't know that. Immediately, he proposed defeating the alliance of the three goddesses as a condition for exchanging Gilgamesh's Holy Grail. This made Gilgamesh laugh, his laughter echoing throughout the temple.
A half-baked magus, a Pseudo-Servant, and two Servants summoned by the Counter Force – with such combat power, they intended to defeat the alliance of the three goddesses? If it were that simple, Uruk wouldn't have resisted for half a year. However, that Lixing caught Gilgamesh's attention, though only for a brief moment.