[FDJ]Chapter 134: Bluffing

The candlelight flickered. Eleanor no longer needed to rely on the darkness to increase Suzuki's fear; she took the initiative to reveal the intelligence she knew.

The so-called "trust" was essentially a mutual compromise. Suzuki "allowed" Eleanor to rebel when Richard's plan succeeded, and Eleanor would truly fulfill her duty as a servant before the rebellion.

Eleanor would not have agreed to such a compromise without any benefit, but given the urgency of the situation, she was desperate to throw herself into the battlefield. Suzuki was her master. Even if she seized the command spell, if Suzuki were to be captured by certain people, her situation would also be dire.

"So, what are the angels?"

Suzuki and Eleanor exchanged the information they had gathered over the past few days. Only then did Suzuki realize that this Holy Grail War was completely different from what he had previously glimpsed, and many doubts were thus resolved. He had thought that Richard's creation of the singularity was the ultimate goal, but it turned out to be only half of it.

The magical power of the Holy Grail was insufficient to support Richard's grand ideals. To this end, he needed to guide the angels to descend upon the forming singularity, to formally sever this singularity from human history, and to strip it away to form a parallel world.

The Chaldea Organization had mentioned angels briefly, mostly as common magical knowledge. The magical world roughly interpreted "angels" as vessels that carried power. The source of this power was speculated to be an unknown entity with the pseudonym YHWH. Many magus even believed that deciphering the truth of "YHWH" could lead indirectly to the Root. Additionally, some occultists speculated that "angels" were ancient misunderstandings of unidentified flying objects. In short, even within the Chaldea Organization, the true nature of angels remained unknown.

"Angels? Such entities are indescribable. You can only truly understand them by witnessing them with your own eyes. As for what revelations my son Richard received from those angels, through what means, and whether they are real or not, all of that is unknown," Eleanor said truthfully about her understanding of angels. Faith is faith, but to truly believe in the existence of mysterious powers like wheels or magic boxes that could evoke miracles, one would need to see the real thing.

The number of unknown things in the world is countless, and angels are just one of them.

Combining the real information provided by Eleanor, Suzuki reorganized the objectives and divisions of the various forces. First, naturally, was the strongest force, represented by Richard fighting for the Holy City. Richard had three remaining servants, possessed the Holy Grail, and had arranged a descent ritual set to activate within two days. For synchronization purposes, the singularity would officially form simultaneously with the angels' descent, isolating this region.

Next was Saladin and his subordinate Aphaf, who were forced into battle. They possessed the irregular servant Alterego Don Quixote, possibly aiming for the Holy Grail or merely participating passively. According to normal history, Saladin could have continued to win battles until he broke through Jerusalem.

The source that triggered Saladin's invasion was Duke Reynard, who, hated by various parties, recklessly attempted to summon evil gods multiple times and was likely the creator of the various unidentified monsters appearing in the Holy City region.

Lastly, there was Suzuki Yuki himself and his servant Eleanor, one aiming to protect humanity and the other for...

Suzuki could not understand the twisted maternal love driven by possessiveness, just as Eleanor could not comprehend Suzuki's determination to protect humanity at all costs. But now, both chose to tacitly accept each other's actions, maintaining cooperation until their relationship could no longer be reconciled.

Upon learning all this, Suzuki's first reaction was to utilize Duke Reynard, whom he had never met. No matter how insane the other party might be, as long as he opposed Richard, he could be used. For the sake of humanity, any price was acceptable.

Of course, an idea is just an idea. Suzuki found it difficult to contact Duke Reynard, who was suspected to be lurking in Tiberias, and equally hard to expect him to openly wage war against the strongest side, Richard's. Ordinary monsters could only harm humans; when they encountered servants, they were slaughtered in droves. The "bubble" type monster "Yog" that Suzuki had seen could cause disasters with its numerous avatars descending; they might be able to defeat servants, but that would be the result of indiscriminate attacks.

"You said Saladin gave Richard a fragment of a holy relic, which caused the sudden draining of the magical leyline beneath Tiberias tonight?" Suzuki had been wary of Saladin from the start, but he hadn't expected the old man to genuinely fool Richard while playing dumb. He felt there was a lot of known information that could be linked to this event.

Eleanor truly wanted to discuss only one last thing with Suzuki. Naturally, she did not mention that she had "personally" delivered the fragment to her son's hands, nor did she reveal her direct involvement in any of the previous events.

"Have you thought of anything?" Eleanor used simple magic to restore the candle to half its height. She didn't need the light, but Suzuki did. Humans have an instinctive fear of darkness, and sufficient illumination brings comfort. She enjoyed taking care of her Master, feeling great about controlling the weak and fragile human with her "generous" love. "Don't hide anything from me."

Eleanor's occasional displays of her pathological nature continued to instill enough fear in Suzuki.

"He seems to be using small dispatched units to gather the scattered underground leylines."

"I know, he's doing it on purpose. It's all interconnected, targeting my son Richard. I just don't know what his next step is." Eleanor couldn't suppress her disgust whenever Saladin was mentioned. If she weren't aware that he had already arranged the entire plan, she would have killed him regardless of her reputation, for the sake of her son, even if it meant violating humanity's principles first.

"After absorbing the magic from around Tiberias, if that's not enough, Richard will naturally leave the city to continue extracting magic."

"Indeed." Eleanor understood her son's character. He was like a bloodthirsty lion; no one could stop his desires. Rational yet mad, courageous yet reckless, her son was such a paradoxical and excellent king.

"Then, let's go to a place with plenty of magic." Suzuki directly suggested.

Eleanor was taken aback by Suzuki's straightforwardness. "I will certainly not disrupt my son's magic extraction. And if anyone dares to stop him, I'll kill them! Are you sure you want to allow me to go?"

"We'll go together. I'm worried that if I'm left alone now, Saladin will capture me as a hostage."

Suzuki was more concerned about the large number of soldier corpses he had previously found Saladin stockpiling, likely to be used as magical materials. Saladin's actions contradicted Islamic religious traditions; the king was different from his anticipated image, but facts outweighed historical records. Saladin might be a wise king unlike most feudal lords of this era, but his methods adhered to the principles of mystical magus, using any means necessary to achieve his goals. With the grand cause of humanity, he might still hesitate to kill the living as sacrifices, but he wouldn't hesitate to use the dead.

A king who cultivated a saintly image could be expected to show kindness and mercy daily but in crucial moments... Suzuki thought the local civilians detained in the valley should thank Archer for killing a large number of soldiers and helping Saladin gather enough corpses. If he left Eleanor's protection, given the current situation, he would likely meet a dire fate.

"Before, he might not have, but now, I can't leave you alone here anymore." Eleanor's urgency in questioning Suzuki tonight also had this consideration. If she couldn't persuade her Master, she had planned to eliminate him herself to avoid becoming a burden. Fortunately, Suzuki's respect and determination changed her mind.

Suzuki felt he was still missing something, but they were likely insignificant details. Time was pressing, and he couldn't figure out what he was overlooking.

Everything hinges on whether the "trap" Saladin set for Richard is weighty enough. As long as it can truly hinder Richard from creating a singularity, Suzuki will still have a chance to fan the flames. Currently, neither side is in a favorable position.

...

At this moment, the old Sultan, who was on everyone's mind, was forcing himself to drink an anti-fatigue potion despite his exhaustion.

"Tastes awful!"

He was like a cornered rat, torturing himself to stay awake and rational. He never showed anyone his side that succumbed to reality.

Everyone thought Saladin was unfathomable, but as he had publicly claimed, he only knew a bit of magecraft. Divination-type magecraft suited him better, so he had achieved some minor success, but his broad scholarly knowledge came more from the books he controlled.

He was extremely afraid of his bluff being called, which is why he was eager to reveal part of his plan to Eleanor, hoping she would make the "smart person's mistake." Lies work on ordinary people, but with smart people, you have to tell the truth. A few words of truth reassembled and over-interpreted by Eleanor, made her believe Saladin had set a deadly "deep trap" for Richard.

Of course, he wasn't just bluffing. The stockpiled corpses and the detained civilians could indeed be used in critical moments. However, with his level of magic, the threat was greater before showing his hand.

Sensing the arrival of his most important subordinate, Saladin quickly tidied up the potion bottles and mineral powder boxes on the velvet cloth, returning to his usual kind yet authoritative demeanor. Sitting on the carpet, he pretended to be resting. These days, he had relied entirely on potions to stay alert, not daring to truly sleep for even a day.

"Sultan, Your Majesty. As per your orders, we have forcefully engaged in battle with Archer and have firmly suppressed him," Aphaf briefly reported the information obtained in Tiberias a few hours ago, which Eleanor had mostly already relayed to Saladin.

"You've done well. Tomorrow, our allies will take the initiative to intercept the enemies leaving Tiberias. Assist them. As long as we are not at a disadvantage, engage the enemy. We must not let our enemies have their way. They are extracting the underground leyline's magic on a large scale; their intentions cannot be good."

In truth, Saladin was very resentful of Suzuki's guidance to Aphaf. He had shown a domesticated beast the true path of the wild, removing the leash from its neck. In the future, it would be difficult for Saladin to control Aphaf. But for the next few days, he didn't need to worry about this. The accumulated prestige of the past could still be relied upon. The girl kneeling before him had yet to realize she could turn Saladin into a puppet of magical control with just a flick of her finger.