"So, you all want to overthrow the Lion King's rule? Then we're comrades. I'll lead the way in a bit to the village so you can meet everyone, and then we can discuss what to do next."
Arash was a very easygoing person, the kind of personality that could make friends anywhere. Simply put, he had an incredible social knack.
In less than half an hour, Arash was already good friends with everyone, sitting down to breakfast with them. He had a sandwich in one hand and a burger in the other, not even bothering to wipe the ketchup from his mouth.
"It's certainly best if Mr. Arash can lead the way. It will save us some detours. Thank you very much."
Fujimaru Ritsuka thanked him, and Arash, hearing himself thanked by a beautiful woman, felt a bit lightheaded.
"Hahaha~ Don't worry! I'll definitely lead the way. Once we get to the village, I'll introduce everyone to the villagers. The villagers will surely welcome you all. Everyone there is so talented, and they speak so nicely. I love that village the most."
"..."
Mo Shuying felt like those words sounded very familiar, as if they were a famous quote from some "powerful" individual.
Soon, breakfast concluded, and everyone packed up their things, ready to depart.
Arash devoured the last bite of his burger, crumpling the paper in his hand. Mana flowed, instantly igniting the wrapper, which he then casually tossed aside.
The area was full of rocks, and there was a water source nearby, so Arash wasn't worried about starting a mountain fire.
Afterward, Arash ran to the front of the group and led them toward the Eastern Village.
An hour later.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Lancelot led his team to the spot and discovered the wrapper, which hadn't completely burned away before extinguishing.
The wrapper was only thumb-sized, but the strange pattern on it indicated that it wasn't something from this Singularity.
"How did something like this get here?"
Lancelot was puzzled. From the burn marks on the paper, it had been burned recently, meaning the person who burned it couldn't be far from here.
Immediately, Lancelot raised his guard. With a wave of his hand, the Riders lined up and continued forward.
On the other side, a thousand meters away from Lancelot's group, Tristan followed from a distance with a large contingent of Archer Riders. He had been following Lancelot since he left the Holy City, and he was now convinced of Lancelot's betrayal. He had been told to go west to deal with the enemy, yet he was heading straight east! This was clearly deceiving the king! He deserved to die!
Watching Lancelot disappear into the distance, Tristan seemed to hear Agravain's words to him before he left.
"Tristan, follow Lancelot. If there's any problem, act first and report later!"
Tristan tightened his grip on his bow, but in the end, he held back.
After all, if he used his Noble Phantasm from such a great distance, it wouldn't inflict fatal damage on Lancelot.
"Let's go, keep up."
Finally, Tristan said coldly, leading the Archer Riders to follow stealthily.
The Eastern Village, described as a village, was actually just a dozen small mud houses.
The village was nestled on a mountaintop, and further up, there was an ancient shrine, rumored to be where the First Assassin slumbered.
Though the village was small, it housed many people.
Mordred had spared many villagers, and some of them had found their way here, eventually settling down under the protection of Arash and his group.
At this moment, Mo Shuying and the others had reached the foot of the mountain and could see the mountain path paved with the bones of magical beasts.
However, they had not yet started climbing.
"Oh? Someone's here to welcome us."
Child Gil looked up at both sides of the mountain wall. Sure enough, many heads wrapped in scarves immediately appeared from the mountain walls, armed with bows and arrows, even slingshots, aimed at the group.
"Wait, everyone! They're not bad people!"
Arash spoke, trying to defuse the hostility, but a dark figure leaped down from the mountain, landing lightly in front of them. It was a tall figure with a bone mask sewn onto its face, completely shrouded in a black robe.
"Arash, why did you bring so many Servants here?"
The tall figure's tone carried displeasure; it disliked Arash's act of exposing the village.
"Cursed Arm, they're not bad people. They're envoys from Chaldea, here to save this Singularity."
Arash explained. Cursed Arm Hassan was the village chief, and if he could be convinced, everything would be fine.
However, Cursed Arm Hassan clearly didn't care about any of that. He roared!
"I don't care if they're from Chaldea or not! Haven't you noticed there's a Knight of the Round Table among them?!"
Cursed Arm Hassan shouted, already pulling out his short knife, ready to fight! But suddenly!
"Ah! It's the blonde knight lady!"
"Oh! It really is! And the one next to her, why does she look so much like her? Are they sisters?"
"Knight Lady! Long time no see!"
"Big sister!"
Someone in the surrounding crowd recognized Mordred, and the crowd instantly erupted.
Many people put down their weapons and waved at Mordred. Mordred remembered that these were likely the villagers she had spared before. Seeing that they still remembered her and were so enthusiastic, she felt a little embarrassed.
"Hehehe~ How's everyone been doing?"
Mordred's question was met with immediate cheers from the villagers, and many children rushed down to surround her, shouting with joy.
"Uh..."
Cursed Arm Hassan was stunned, frozen in place, looking quite foolish in the current situation.
"Alright, put your knife away. Let's head up and talk."
Arash walked over to Cursed Arm Hassan and patted his shoulder. Cursed Arm Hassan hesitated for a few seconds, then, seeing Mordred already surrounded by children, he sighed and turned back.
And so.
Inside a small mud hut on the mountain, Cursed Arm Hassan sat cross-legged at the farthest end. In front of him,
Mo Shuying, Da Vinci, Artoria, and Fujimaru Ritsuka were seated. Little Sun leaned against the wall, dozing, and Li Shuwen had gone off for a stroll.
Outside, Mordred, Mash, and Child Gil were playing with the children.
Mash handed out some snacks to the children, and they immediately swarmed her, calling her "Big Sister."
"What... brings you here?"
Cursed Arm Hassan asked in a low voice.
Arash, standing nearby, frowned and looked at Mo Shuying, afraid he would launch into another hours-long explanation.
Fortunately, this time, the professional, Da Vinci, spoke up, quickly explaining their origins and purpose.
Cursed Arm Hassan was clearly not pleased to hear that Mo Shuying and the others wanted to meet the First Assassin.
He only spoke after she finished.
"I'm sorry, but Master First isn't someone you can just meet. Even I don't have that ability. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint everyone."
Cursed Arm Hassan refused, but this answer was largely what everyone had expected.
"Can't you make an exception? If a group isn't allowed, perhaps one person? I'm actually an Assassin myself, and if possible, I'd like to meet the First."
Mo Shuying spoke up. They had already come all this way; it would be a shame not to meet the "Old Man of the Mountain."
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