Chapter 45

Both sides had made their positions clear, and a battle was inevitable.

"In that case, King of Conquerors, what wish do you intend to make to the Holy Grail?"

The First Emperor watched the interaction between the two like a play and asked.

"My wish is very simple: to obtain a physical body."

Iskandar stated it generously.

"What? Isn't your wish to conquer the world?"

Waver, on the Reverse Reverse Reverse Reverse Side, was dumbfounded.

Iskandar slapped Waver to the ground and said: "What kind of thing is it to have a cup help me conquer the world? Conquest must be realized by one's own hands."

Gilgamesh said with some dissatisfaction: "Mongrel, you want to challenge me for such a thing."

Artoria frowned: "This approach is not the way of a king."

"Oh, King of Knights, it seems your philosophy and mine are different."

Iskandar asked: "Then, can you tell me your wish?"

"..."

Artoria was silent for a long time and said slowly: "My wish is to save my homeland."

The Berserker Knight on the Reverse Reverse Reverse Reverse Side shuddered.

Iskandar frowned: "Save? How do you want to save it?"

Artoria: "Of course, by using the omnipotent wish-granting machine to wish to change the fate of Britain's destruction."

"..."

The surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Artoria frowned; what was wrong with her wish? Why was everyone silent?

"The change of fate you speak of, do you want to overturn past history?"

Iskandar put away his laughing expression and asked with a serious face.

"That is correct."

Artoria was also serious, indicating that she was not joking.

"Heh..."

Gilgamesh, on the opposite Reverse Reverse Reverse Reverse Side, could not help but laugh out loud.

Iskandar stared at Artoria quietly for a few seconds and said: "I remember that the country called Britain perished during your reign, right?"

"That is correct."

Artoria said in a deep voice: "That is why I cannot forgive myself and want to change all of this."

"Hahaha..."

Gilgamesh laughed louder and louder.

Artoria finally could not hold back and slapped the table, standing up: "What is so funny!"

"Sorry, I just heard an incredible joke."

Gilgamesh said with disdain: "As a king, you actually say words like regret; can one not laugh?"

"Regret is nothing big; everyone has things they regret."

The First Emperor said indifferently: "However, your act of wanting to change the past is not redemption in my eyes, but an out-and-out escape."

"What!"

Artoria was somewhat dumbfounded.

The First Emperor: "Everyone wants to change the past, but as a leader of a country, one must absolutely not have such thoughts."

Artoria: "Why?"

"Because we must be responsible for our own decisions."

The First Emperor said in a deep voice: "You want to change the past; do you feel that your decisions had problems? Do you want to deny the decisions you made during your lifetime?"

"No..."

Artoria said in a low voice: "Even if I had to do it again, I am afraid I would still make the same choice."

The First Emperor: "In that case, what is the point of this wish of yours?"

"The First Emperor is right."

Iskandar also said in a deep voice: "Saber, are you trying to deny your own history?"

"What is wrong with my thoughts!"

Artoria roared: "The motherland I dedicated myself to perished in my hands; I feel pained by this, what is wrong with wanting to save it!"

Gilgamesh sneered: "Dedication, hahaha..."

"What is there to laugh at!"

Artoria said furiously: "As a king, what is wrong with standing up when the country is in crisis!"

"Oh my, it's useless to talk to him about this."

Ishtar said indifferently: "This one never cared about the country and the people; his atrocities against Uruk were something even the gods could not bear to watch."

"Shut up, you stupid goddess."

Gilgamesh snorted coldly: "You gods are no better."

"As a king, standing up to protect one's country is of course no problem."

Iskandar broke in indifferently: "But you got one thing wrong: it is not the king who dedicates himself to the country, but the country and the people who dedicate themselves to the king."

The First Emperor praised: "Not bad, King of Conquerors; although you are a king, you deeply understand the way of the emperor."

"What are you all talking about!"

Artoria disagreed: "Wouldn't this behavior become the dictatorial rule of a tyrant!"

The First Emperor said indifferently: "The rule of an emperor is dictatorship."

Iskandar also said: "Your behavior of not recognizing your own mistakes and only thinking about going back for a second playthrough is no different from a muddled ruler."

"Don't you all have such thoughts!"

Artoria frowned: "Don't forget, weren't your countries all replaced after you died?"

"I can assure you that I have never had such thoughts."

Iskandar said solemnly: "I will mourn, I will shed tears, but I will never regret."

"I am the same; I will only reflect on what I did not do well during my lifetime."

The First Emperor said solemnly: "Only for soldiers is sacrifice glory."

Iskandar: "For a king, there is only one task, and that is to correctly guide the country."

Artoria, however, disagreed: "No, a king should sacrifice for ideals!"

"Ideals, heh..."

The First Emperor said in a deep voice: "Impractical ideals will only bring negative consequences."

"On this point, I have been there."

Iskandar: "King of Knights, are you a slave to the people?"

"Ruling a country naturally cannot be the same as an ordinary person."

Artoria said in a low voice: "You, who are overlords, will not understand..."

"A king without desire is just a vase to the country!"

Iskandar retorted: "Saber, you are a clean saint, but is everyone as selfless as this?"

"Who would really yearn for the path of martyrdom?"

"A so-called king should possess greed, laugh the loudest, and keep both the turbid and the clear equal; only then will the subjects envy the king and be fascinated by the king."

Hearing Iskandar's words, the First Emperor, Zhang Jiao, and other Chinese Heroic Spirits all looked at him with newfound respect.

They did not expect Iskandar to not only understand the way of the emperor but also the way of yin and yang balance.

As expected, someone who could conquer such a vast territory could not be a simple-minded brute.

"King of Knights, your justice and ideals may have truly saved the people, but what was the final outcome for those who were saved?"

Iskandar continued: "You have always been saving, but you do not know how to guide; you ignore the confusion of your subjects, and your seemingly noble performance is actually indulging in ideals."

"You are not a true king at all, just a person bound by the halo of an idol called a king!"

"What..."

Artoria was hit hard by Iskandar's words and sat on the ground unsteadily.

"Saber!"

Irisviel hurriedly supported her.

But at this moment, Artoria's eyes were vacant, and she had fallen into self-doubt.

"Awoo..."

Just at this moment, the Berserker Knight stood up and wanted to say something emotionally, but because of the Berserker's madness, he could not say a complete sentence at all.

"Oh, Berserker, it seems you have a different opinion."

Iskandar said somewhat helplessly: "I would like to hear your opinion, but it is a pity you cannot speak."

"What is difficult about this."

The First Emperor raised his hand and said: "Berserker, I command you to temporarily restore your sanity."

The First Emperor was indeed overbearing, using a Command Spell directly.

Subsequently, under the suppression of the Command Spell, the Berserker Knight finally calmed down.

"Arthur... King..."

The Berserker Knight made a hoarse sound and then took off his helmet.

That was a world-weary man with messy purple hair.

"You are, Sir Lancelot!"

Seeing the true face of the Berserker Knight, Artoria stood up abruptly.

The true name of the Berserker Knight was finally revealed.

Iskandar: "Lancelot, I remember he wasn't..."

Waver: "That's right, the famous Knight of the Lake in the Round Table Knights, and also the culprit who caused the collapse of the Round Table Knights."

"So that's it; is he a former subordinate of the King of Knights?"

Iskandar laughed: "But looking at him, he should still be loyal to his king."

"Sir Lancelot, I did not expect you to have become a Berserker."

Artoria was somewhat stunned.

She really could not imagine that the heroic knight from back then had now become a mad dog.

"Is it because of me..."

"No! This was my own choice."

Lancelot, who had finally regained his sanity, said painfully: "It was I who led Britain to destruction, and it was I who caused Gareth's death; I am no longer worthy of being a knight."

Artoria: "Sir Lancelot..."

"King, please do not fall into confusion because of someone else's words."

Lancelot knelt before Artoria and said loudly: "Your way of the king is not wrong; we knights who followed the king all identified with the king from the bottom of our hearts!"

"Don't forget, it was you who saved Britain; the people all supported you from the bottom of their hearts. If it weren't for you, Britain would have perished long ago."

"Sir Lancelot..."

Hearing Lancelot's words, Artoria finally recovered.

Yes, although she failed in the end, who could definitely say that her way of the king was wrong?

Iskandar frowned: "Berserker, are you trying to say that my way of thinking is wrong?"

"I am not denying your way of the king."

Lancelot said solemnly: "But everyone has their own way of living; my King's way of the king led Britain to glory and is absolutely not as worthless as you say."

"Hahaha, is that so? It seems I was too hasty."

Iskandar laughed: "King of Knights, you have good subordinates."

Artoria: "Thank you, Sir Lancelot."

"Please do not say that, King."

Lancelot bowed and said: "Maintaining your honor is our duty."

Iskandar: "Then that leaves you, First Emperor; what is your wish?"

The First Emperor: "Hmph, that is a waste of words; as a Ruler, I naturally have no wishes."