Chapter 688

Su Xiao looked around the basement. Just as he entered this derived world, a gaze full of malice stared at him, and after seeing the owner of that gaze, Su Xiao roughly guessed what was going on.

He had replaced the Berserker class this time, which was Lancelot, whom he had fought earlier.

Killing Lancelot, Su Xiao didn't get any rewards. That was a test. Killing Lancelot would allow him to replace the other party's class; failing to kill him would mean being trapped in the barrier forever.

The derived world Su Xiao entered this time was not small, but the battlefield was not large, just a city, and the main story was simple.

200 years ago, the three great magic families, in order to reach the "Root," which was the dream of all mages, joined forces to summon the Holy Grail, a "universal machine" that could realize any dream.

There were three magic families involved in this matter, but there was only one Holy Grail, so the contradictions between the three families intensified.

After a series of struggles, the three families agreed to decide the ownership of the Holy Grail through small-scale competition.

The First Holy Grail War officially unfolded. The rules at that time were not perfect, and the three magic families fought extremely fiercely, but in the end, they all ended in failure.

Just after the First Holy Grail War came to an end, 60 years passed, and another new Great Holy Grail was about to appear.

By the second time, the rules of the Holy Grail War became more and more perfect, and the impact on the world pattern became smaller.

But the three great families still didn't follow the rules. Although the "Command Spell system" had been completed, this Holy Grail War still ended in failure.

Just like that, every sixty years there was a Great Holy Grail War, and the rules became more and more perfect.

Time moved to the present, which was the Fourth Holy Grail War.

Today's Holy Grail War already had detailed rules, as follows.

1. Absorb mana from the ley lines (preliminary composition of the Great Holy Grail).

2. Select a master (after storing enough mana to summon seven servants, the Great Holy Grail would select mages suitable to become masters and grant them the mark of "omen." Candidates must quickly begin preparing for the ritual to summon a servant).

3. Summoning ritual (summoning a servant requires a complex magic ritual. The compatibility between the prototype Heroic Spirit and the summoner in spirit and body goes without saying. Most importantly, one must have a deep connection or medium with the Heroic Spirit. Summoning a servant is a ritual beyond human capability, but with the assistance of the Great Holy Grail, it makes the impossible possible).

4. Great Holy Grail link.

5. Engrave Command Spells on the master.

6. Summon servant.

Contract with servant.

8. War begins.

9. Recover the souls of fallen servants.

10. Open the path to the "Root."

Simply put, seven mages were selected by the Great Holy Grail, then they summoned servants (Heroic Spirits) to slaughter each other, and the final victorious mage obtained the Holy Grail.

As for the seven Heroic Spirits, in principle, all seven must die because the Holy Grail needs their souls to be filled.

Although Su Xiao appeared as a Heroic Spirit, he didn't have most of the characteristics of a Heroic Spirit. He was a pseudo-Heroic Spirit. Except for being strong enough, his soul had nothing to do with the Holy Grail, and his life or death had nothing to do with whether the Holy Grail appeared.

Compared to Reincarnation Paradise, the ability of the Great Holy Grail was not worth mentioning.

Su Xiao had his own physical body, so he didn't need mana supply to exist. But once Matou Kariya died, Su Xiao's stay in the Holy Grail world would be significantly reduced. He would be forcibly returned after staying for at most 2 days.

Now he didn't know what the main mission was, and the talent awakening mission was about to be activated. Once forcibly returned, the loss would be extremely heavy.

Now Su Xiao had replaced the Berserker class. If there were no contractors with strength similar to his, other Heroic Spirits would appear normally.

Moreover, if there were contractors with strength similar to Su Xiao, he wouldn't have become a pseudo-Heroic Spirit.

Thinking of this, Su Xiao roughly understood the current situation. Although he was a pseudo-Heroic Spirit, Matou Kariya couldn't cause him any influence. As for the three Command Spells on the other party's hand, they were used to control a dead Heroic Spirit.

If Su Xiao didn't like Matou Kariya, he could completely kill him, as long as he could find a new mana supplier. Considering there weren't many mages in the Holy Grail world, Su Xiao prepared to spare his life first.

Su Xiao withdrew his gaze from Matou Kariya. Matou Kariya's body relaxed, and he gasped heavily. Being stared at by Su Xiao was definitely not a pleasant experience.

"Then, let's deal with you first."

Su Xiao raised his left arm. In his hand, wrapped in a metal gauntlet, he was holding a strange worm. This thing wanted to burrow into his skin when he just walked out of the spatial rift.

Applying force with two fingers, with a squelch, the fat worm with a mouth full of sharp teeth was squeezed into meat paste.

Su Xiao looked at the old man who was gradually retreating in the basement. He knew the data of this old guy; his name was Matou Zouken, the patriarch of the "Matou family," one of the three great magic families, who had already lived for 500 years.

Although mages in the Holy Grail world could master some supernatural abilities, living for more than 500 years could be considered very astonishing.

The reason Matou Zouken could live for 500 years was that he abandoned his original physical body and manipulated magic-natured insects to form a body, which was transforming himself into a Crest Worm.

The Matou Zouken standing in the basement was in the appearance of an old man, but that was just a skin, a decaying and stinking skin that was about to be ruined by insects.

Matou Zouken's method of longevity was somewhat similar to Orochimaru in the Naruto world, but the method Orochimaru used was much more high-end.

Orochimaru separated his own soul to enter a new physical body container; when the container broke, he would change to a new one.

And Matou Zouken turned his own body into Crest Worms. These insects also needed to be parasitic in a human body, but this method would cause the soul to gradually wither.

Once, Matou Zouken only needed to change his body every few decades, but now he needed to change it every few months.

Matou Zouken longed to obtain the Great Holy Grail. The reason was simple: immortality.

In the basement.

Su Xiao walked up to Matou Kariya and wiped the insect corpse on his clothes. Matou Kariya's mouth twitched, but he didn't dare to move.

"I wonder which Heroic Spirit this is? Although the ritual seems to have gone wrong, our Matou family will help you win the Holy Grail War."

Discovering that the situation was wrong, Matou Zouken stopped retreating, intending to negotiate with Su Xiao.

"That bug... is yours, right?"

A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face, and Matou Zouken also smiled.

"This is caused by the Matou family's magic circuits. My son's magic talent is not good, so he can only..."

Boom!

Just as Matou Zouken wanted to shift the blame to Matou Kariya, a loud explosion came.

Zing.

A pale blue blade light flashed, and a withered head flew up.

With a thud, the head landed, and Matou Zouken's headless corpse fell to the ground.

"This..."

Matou Kariya on the side was full of disbelief because Matou Zouken died too simply.

"The speed is not bad, and the blade technique is sharp enough. Even compared to the Saber class, it is not inferior."

Matou Zouken's head on the ground spoke.

"Don't think that mages cannot fight against Heroic Spirits. Whether it's the Holy Grail or Heroic Spirits, in the final analysis, they are all summoned or composed by us mages."

Matou Zouken's head sneered, and cracks began to appear on that withered face.

With a buzz, a large number of winged Crest Worms rushed out from Matou Zouken's corpse, and the incomplete skin on the ground had long since withered and shattered.