Book 2: Chapter 9: A Show by Three Rulers
âWe can?â
âWe can add a few more flying swords.â
ââ¦â
Chen Heng took out three swords from his spatial storage. Then, he used his attraction ability to control the three swords and attack the two. One sword went for Jeanne dâArc, and the remaining two headed for Mash. This strange method of attacking caught the two off-guard, forcing them to defend hurriedly. Then, Chen Heng took out a deck chair and sat on it, controlling the flying swords from there.
Every time the twoâs defenses were about to crumble, Chen Heng slowed down his attacks.
As the two fought, their coordination with each other improved. Mash rushed at a flying sword heading for Jeanne dâArc. She took charge of defense while Jeanne dâArc focused on striking the middle of the blades with her flag. After about ten minutes, the two successfully broke the three flying swords. Then, they noticed Chen Heng and Fujimaru Ritsuka lying on deck chairs and drinking fruit juice while watching them train.
âVery good. You donât need guidance on your combat techniques now. Instead, you need more practical experience. As Servants, these combat techniques are all engraved deep within your bones, even for a Demi-Servant like Mash. Iâll take charge of drawing out these combat techniques from your bodies.â
Jeanne dâArc and Mashâs training increased from three swords to four swords, and soon five.
âAlright. We can stop now. Thatâs all for today. Tomorrow, you will fight three swords while in a gravity field. For now, come have supper.â
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The next day:
In the morning, after some discussion. Jeanne dâArc, the most familiar with France, decided to head to La Charité to see if they could get intel on Orléans. Orléans was currently Jeanne dâArc Alterâs stronghold. They would have to head deeper if they could not get any information from La Charité. The group wanted to avoid that for now. After all, their group currently had only three Servants.
[TL Note: La Charité and Orléans are locations in France. Here are their Wikipedia entries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Charit%C3%A9-sur-Loire and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orl%C3%A9ans.]
When the group was still far from La Charité, Chen Hengâs True Name Discernment picked up traces of Servants ahead. However, he did not say anything, as the city had already been massacred. Doctor Roman only detected signs of Servants when they approached La Charité.
âI detect signs of Servants in La Charité. However, they are currently far away⦠Ah! The signal disappeared; they move too fast.â
âThe city is burning!â Mash saw this scene when Fou tugged on her, prompting her to look up.
âWe should hurry.â Jeanne dâArc had a bad feeling, so she urged the rest to hurry.
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âThe city is already devoid of signs of life.â Doctor Roman told everyone the results of the scan.
Jeanne dâArcâs bad feeling came true. The entire city had been destroyed, leaving no survivors.
Chen Heng watched the disappointed Jeanne dâArc. He felt too embarrassed to get her to deal with the zombies and wyverns eating the corpses, so he used his ability to explode them all.
Jeanne dâArc only noticed the wyverns, which were eating the corpses earlier, when she heard the noise.
âThank you, Mister He Who Knows Fate. It was âmeâ who did this, right?â
âMiss Jeanne dâArcâ¦â Mash wanted to console Jeanne dâArc but did not know how to start.
âJeanne dâArc, donât be sad. That Jeanne dâArc Alter cannot be considered you. She is just a fake, a counterfeit created by Gilles de Rais.â Chen Heng revealed the information to console Jeanne dâArc. This was not an unspeakable secret, after all.
[TL Note: Here is Gilles de Raisâs profile: /wiki/Gilles_de_Rais_(Caster).]
âGilles? Is that soâ¦â
âAlright. Donât be sad. Prepare for battle. Those Servants are returning. Jeanne dâArc, you canât run away now. On the contrary, you should face that Jeanne dâArc Alter.â Chen Hengâs Ruler personal skill triggered, and he noticed the Servants rushing back.
âI implicated you all. If we cannot win later, you should go first. Iâll delay them.â
âHowever, they have six Servants. Oh no! They are moving so quickly! Theyâve arrived alreadyâ¦.â Before Doctor Roman finished, Chen Heng saw Jeanne dâArc Alterâs group rushing over on wyverns.
âRuler, I have finally found you. Have you thought of how you want to die yet? Do you prefer burning to death or getting bitten by a dragon?â Jeanne dâArc Alter and the other five Servants with her each stood on a wyvern.
Jeanne dâArc Alter did not look at Jeanne dâArc when she arrived but focused on Chen Heng.
âI say, you are not very intelligent with the Mad Enhancement added to you. Havenât you suffered enough? To think you dare to fly before me?â Chen Heng truly felt that these Berserk-Servants were not very smart. He had pressed them to the ground before, and they dare to fly now?
[TL Note: Mad Enhancement is a skill in Fate/Grand Order that characterizes a Berserker. Gilles added the Mad Enhancement when summoning Jeanne dâArc Alter. Servants summoned this way are known as Berserk-Servants. Here is more information: /wiki/Mad_Enhancement.]
âOh no! Hurryâ¦â The simple-minded Jeanne dâArc Alter was the first to react, butâ¦
âItâs too late. Star of Eden, First Power!â As Chen Heng said that, he increased the gravity on the wyverns and Servants from the opposing side tenfold. Why did he invoke the name of the Star of Eden? Isnât calling out an incredible-sounding move cool?
[TL Note: The Star of Eden is likely a reference to a Honkai Impact 3rd weapon, one of the God Keys like the Oath of Judah mentioned in Book 1 Chapter 22. Here is its profile: /wiki/God_Key#9th_God_Key_-_Key_of_Devouring_series.]
The Servants and wyverns in the sky fell to the ground. This happened so suddenly that they didnât have time to react. When they fell, Chen Heng dismissed the gravity field.
âRuler, you bastard!â Jeanne dâArc Alter felt thoroughly incensed. This makes twice! That darned Ruler has sneak-attacked me twice!
âHold on. There are three Rulers here right now. Is the bastard you are referring to me, the Ruler beside me, or yourself? You should clarify this before we fight.â Chen Heng did not retort with an insult. After all, Jeanne dâArc Alter was only a few days old, a child. She had to learn tolerance, so he planned on teaching her how profound language was before he beat her up.
âI⦠You⦠Why are you so full of nonsense? Iâll pull out all your teeth when I capture you!â Jeanne dâArc Alter did not want to argue with Chen Heng now. She just wanted to burn him to death after capturing him.
âPlease wait a moment. Permit me a few words. Jeanne dâArc Alterâermâ¦I feel that this address is rather strangeâwhy did you attack this city?â
ââ¦You ask meâ¦why? I thought you would understand, given that you are Jeanne dâArc too. To think that you have become so stupid after your nature changed? You ask me why I attacked the city? Isnât the answer obvious? I just want to destroy France. Iâ¦I am a Servant! Methods involving politics and the economy are too problematic. I can just destroy it physically. Isnât that simpler and more reliable? Alright. Cut the crap! Attack together!â Jeanne dâArc Alter had no patience to talk nonsense with the real version. She just wanted to capture Chen Heng.