Fate/Grand Order: the Path of a Sword

Chapter 26: S.P.Q.R. (Part 9)

The enemy was confused by their current situation, just as Rider expected things to go. Every warrior or army commander knew that it was good to exploit the enemy's disorganization and chaos to strike a decisive blow.

"Okay, I'd say it's about a thousand each. Can you do that?" Rider asked his daughter and friends.

Their answer was a wide excited smile.

"Okay, prove you're useful to the cause. Kick their asses," Rider said seriously. "You can do what you think is best."

Rider fell silent when two trails of dust darted to his sides.

"Should we help them?" Achilles asked annoyed.

"Who? Those two?" Rider grinned.

"Come on! I'm fired up!"

"And you call yourselves men? Grow a pair and fight me seriously!"

Rider laughed. There were few things beyond his abilities and stopping Natsu and Martha was among them, especially now that the others had joined them.

"Who the hell are these?" Illya looked passively at the scene in front of her.

"Well... they are battle maniacs," Rider replied comically.

Inhuman cries and explosions resounded powerfully. Dazzling flashes of magical energy darted between enemy lines. They could also watch the Roman legionaries blow up.

"What do we do?" Achilles asked.

"We're waiting for the big shot to show up." Yet Rider had that fucking feeling that their situation was even worse than they thought. He felt that annoying itch that suggested that there would be an escalation. "We depend on the master, our main task is to protect her."

"Even if it means endangering the lives of your daughter and your friends?" Achilles asked, observing Rider passively.

"They will not die." They had been trained by him to be able to survive the misdeeds of an Evil God and this was not even their first war. Rider had confidence that they could make it against mere soldiers. "Martha is Mordred's daughter. My sister's fighting spirit burns like a fire inside her."

Rider saw Martha's smile as she smashed the skulls of enemy soldiers. She swung without hesitation, causing them as little pain as possible.

"You seem to have foreseen everything," Illya said.

"Habits die hard," Rider said, lighting a cigarette. "I always try to identify with the enemy. I think about what they would do and how to fight back."

Rider poured out the smoke. He concentrated the magic energy in his fist and turned it upwards. The magical energy clashed with a lightning bolt that was falling on them.

"You really think you can take me by surprise." Rider slammed his fist on the ground.

A little further on, a steel pillar lifted from the ground under the running black horse. The horse fell, unseating his rider.

The rider was a boy with reddish-orange hair and red eyes. He wore black armour with gold trim and a cloak lined with white fur. He picked up the dagger that had fallen from his hand during the fall.

"Oh oh, this is a bit of a surprise." Rider looked at the man behind him with an amused grin. "We haven't seen each other for a long time, four-eyed El-Melloi."

The man had long black hair up to the belt, a whitish complexion and sunken black eyes. He wore a red robe with gold ornaments on his shoulders, over a black jacket. A pair of square glasses framed his face.