154 Battle of Conquerors

"No, I can't owe you a favor."

Iskandar's gaze became clear as if the overflowing amount of alcohol he drank had vanished and had no effect on him.

"Because after obtaining a body, my next goal is to conquer your empire, King Artorius."

"..."

"Fuhahahaha..."

As Artorius looked at Iskandar strangely, Gilgamesh slapped his thigh and burst into hearty laughter.

"Is this really what you want, King of Conquerors?" Artorius remained remarkably calm.

"Of course!" Iskandar readily admitted, "To rule the entire world, dominate all of humanity. To establish a splendid, grand empire! That's a man's romance! Challenging such a great empire is the ultimate romance! It's even more romantic than my resolve to challenge Persia tenfold, hundredfold, thousandfold back in the day, guhahaha!"

"This is my ultimate, grand desire! It must be fulfilled no matter what! King Artorius, my friend, I will let you experience the joy of facing a conqueror in battle!" Iskandar exclaimed cheerfully.

"What a troublemaker you truly are..." Artorius shook his head in resignation.

"So, what's your plan? Are you going to just eliminate him right here, right now?" Gilgamesh looked at Artorius with interest. "After all, you aim to achieve great things."

When Gilgamesh mentioned 'great things', his tone was still tinged with irony.

"After finally managing to conquer the world. Your next goal is a new one, isn't it? First the solar system, then the universe. So many enemies waiting for you to deal with, so many planets waiting for your conquest. You don't have time to indulge in this childish war game, do you?"

"That's true. But just cutting him down like that would be such a waste."

After Artorius spoke in that manner, he released Mash and gently placed her on the couch. He then stood up and walked over to Iskandar, patting his shoulder.

"Hey..."

"Any more words to say? Trying to urge me not to act is impossible; I am the King of Conquerors. Destined to conquer everything!"

"Though you say that, I won't let you have it your way, King of Conquerors."

Artorius spoke to Iskandar with his hand still on Iskandar's shoulder. He gazed at Iskandar face-to-face and continued:

"Apart from romance and war, you're utterly lacking. You don't understand economics, you don't understand the people's livelihoods, you don't know how to govern a nation. You can't even properly command your own subordinates.

Under your rule, the Persian Empire was ravaged, and prices skyrocketed dozens of times. And after your death, your bunch of scoundrel subordinates sparked a massive war, turning the entire Near East and the Middle East into a mess. Civilization regressed, conflicts multiplied, and people suffered. The end result was nothing but legends of romance and conquest, and nothing else."

"Ahaha... it's not as bad as you put it..." Iskandar tried to defend himself somewhat sheepishly, scratching his head.

Iskandar was referring, of course, to the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Library of Alexandria. Cities in Egypt were also named after him, like Alexandria.

"But compared to me?"

"..." Iskandar was left speechless in an instant, just awkwardly messing with his hair.

"You shameless guy." Gilgamesh frowned. Watching Artorius flaunt himself, he almost wished he could pull out Ea and strike him with it.

"So, just as Gilgamesh said..." Artorius continued, "My empire has just resolved the issue of this world, this planet—no, even the planet issue isn't fully resolved yet. After all, the Counter Force still exists. The present Earth Federation can't afford to have internal opponents; they would interfere with our exploration of outer space."

"Well, about that..." Iskandar muttered.

"If you continue to challenge me, I won't hesitate to crush you."

Artorius said without hesitation as he gazed at Iskandar calmly.

"However, perhaps we can consider a different approach, King of Conquerors. How about joining my empire? You desire conquest, don't you? In this universe, there are countless planets for you to conquer and roam. Far more expansive than the lands you conquered in your lifetime. Think about it, is it more romantic to incite a war among humans on Earth, or to conquer in the boundless galaxies?"

"Do you want me to become your subordinate? That's..." Iskandar muttered, sounding quite unwilling.

"Am I not worthy of being your leader?" Artorius half-joked, half-seriously countered.

"...Well, I'm still not quite content after all—alright, I have to fight you before answering your question!"

After pondering Artorius's proposal, Iskandar decided to fight first and answer later.

"Very well." Artorius nodded.

"Guhahaha, then let's not discuss such matters. Let's drink, drink! Even though we'll be enemies tomorrow! But until then, we're still friends, right? Guhahaha!"

Iskandar burst into hearty laughter, eventually getting semi-drunk and starting to act dumb again.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I'm terribly sorry. I'll drag this guy away immediately."

Bow and apologize incessantly to Artorius, the one being terrified by Iskandar's antics is obviously Waver. Just a moment ago, when Iskandar insisted on challenging Artorius, he felt like he'd be ripped apart by the Knights of Punishment in the next second.

"It's alright. Take him away to rest, Sir Waver..." Artorius waved his hand. He then turned to Gilgamesh who was watching them.

As Waver struggled desperately to drag the muscular Iskandar away, Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Spare me your nonsense, King of Britain."

Gilgamesh appeared to anticipate Artorius's intent.

As expected of Gilgamesh, who possessed 'Sha Naqba Imuru—the Omniscient Omnipotent Star'. Much more reliable than a certain Mage of Flowers. {T/N: It can discern heavily concealed truths with a single glance.}

"Even that bandit wouldn't accept your offer, let alone me." Gilgamesh added.

"How about a wager then?" Artorius looked at him. "If I manage to convince Iskandar tomorrow—"

"That has nothing to do with me."

As if anticipating Artorius's next words, Gilgamesh interjected without hesitation.

"I'm a King, I won't be dominated by anyone."

"The King of Heroes of your living days might not submit, but what about the King of Heroes as a Servant?" Artorius continued, "Bound by a contract, can't we cooperate as Servants?"

"..."

"Hmph."

This time, Gilgamesh didn't respond. He merely grunted "I'm tired of this" and vanished.

"My~ my~ it seems he's been convinced. Truly impressive, Your Majesty~" Merlin, who was nearby, chuckled. "It would be quite an achievement to include both Gilgamesh and Iskandar in the 'Throne of Empire' wouldn't it?"

"Does the Throne of Empire stretch all the way to BC times, reaching back to the dawn of humanity or even the Age of Gods?"

Artorius turned to Merlin, asking as such.

"Are you not content with just ruling the modern Earth? Now you're aiming for the ancient Earth and even the Age of Gods, Your Majesty?"

"Time is a concept akin to space. But more importantly, I need the heroes of the past to serve me. The history of the empire is only fifteen hundred years, only a quarter of human civilization's length, or even less. Iskandar and Gilgamesh would make excellent test subjects."

"I see..." Merlin nodded thoughtfully. "But do you need to go to such lengths, Your Majesty? You'll be returning to your own timeline in a few days, won't you? How about considering how to have fun once you go back? You know, that kind of 'fun'~"

"..."

Artorius stared at Merlin with a somewhat absurd expression, then turned and walked towards his room.

"Hey, hey, Your Majesty, you're still holding onto that child!"

"Fou! Fou! Fou! Fou!"

Seeing Artorius walk away without a word, carrying Mash in his arms toward the direction of his sleeping chamber, Merlin shouted, and Fou protested loudly too.

However, their protests were all ignored by His Majesty the Emperor.

Indeed, he was just trying to take care of the poor child who got drunk. Why were their thoughts so indecent and dirty?

"Munya~ I can't eat anymore..."

Mash, who was drunk and dazed, muttered nonsensical words, completely unaware of how fortunate her situation was.

The maids of the Einzbern family around them all had smiles on their faces. They watched with blessing-filled eyes as Mash's hand unconsciously reached out and embraced Artorius, holding him close to her.

The war was over.

The vampires were defeated.

Meaning, that his joyful vacation time would continue, right?

That night, Artorius's room became lively once again.

===

The following day.

The echoes of the previous war hadn't entirely faded.

Despite Aoko's tireless efforts, Tokyo couldn't be fully restored overnight. There were still vast open spaces, convenient for battles.

Those gathered to witness the clash between Artorius and Iskandar included Gilgamesh, Merlin, and Scathach.

Excluding Shuten-douji, who had been blown apart by Crimson Moon, and the currently still-sleeping Mash due to last night's 'activity', all the remaining Servants from the Holy Grail War were present.

Both Merlin and Scathach were aligned with the Empire. After a brief registration, they integrated into the empire structure; no more issues would arise. They wouldn't vie for the Holy Grail.

Mash was similar in that regard. She only wished to return to Chaldea once the Holy Grail War was over.

Thus, the only true participants left in the Holy Grail War were Artorius, Iskandar, and Gilgamesh.

"Let's settle this one-on-one, no tricks, alright?" Iskandar said with excitement.

"Of course not." Artorius swung his sword and calmly replied. "Bring it on."

"Good, good, good!"

Iskandar repeated 'good' three times, his excitement reaching its peak.

In the next instant, the scorching sun and golden sands enveloped the world. The man known as Alexander the Great summoned forth his inner world, his Noble Phantasm.

A Reality Marble—Ionioi Hetairoi: Army of the King.

When the fervor of a king ignited, the Macedonians, Greeks, Persians, Scythians from the Pontic Steppe, Indians, and Egyptians would burn with all their might.

The valiant king's recklessness led to a decision—to undertake the greatest conquest in the world, the grandest adventure. To gallop from one end of the earth to the other, to reach the legendary Endless Sea.

This ultimate fervor and romanticism infected all those who followed along the way, driving them to follow the king on a futile expedition.

From the Greek peninsula to Anatolia, then Syria and Persia. The army marched swiftly, reaching India in a single sweep.

"In this expedition, what struck him the most was the desert, right? Marching under the scorching sun. I remember the legend of the serpent guiding his troops to water sources. And the act of sprinkling a bit of water from his helmet onto the soldiers to boost morale."

Artorius muttered to himself, observing the soldiers gathering around Iskandar.

These soldiers were nothing like the scattered rabble depicted in the anime of Fate/Zero. They were the legendary Macedonian phalanx.

Armed with long spears, short swords hanging from their waists, and small bronze shields on their arms, adorned with shining golden bronze chest plates, they stood in perfectly arranged rectangular formations.

Their long spears pointed forward, resembling a formation of porcupines.

The shields of the finest soldiers were silver-plated. They were Iskandar's elite, the renowned Silver Shield Legion.

Ahead of the infantry phalanx were the lightly-armed shield-bearers armed with javelins, archers from Crete, and slingers from Rhodes.

Though they were called slingers, in truth, to increase their effectiveness, they used cast lead.

Finally, it was time for the infantry phalanx's flanks.

This terrifying force had helped Iskandar conquer countless foes, the king's best allies and companions.

Mounted cavalry armed with long spears known as the Companions or Hetairoi—probably the most formidable cavalry group of their time.

Apart from the elite troops of Macedon and Greece, there were also forces consisting of people from various conquered regions.

Light cavalry from Bactria, heavily armored cavalry from Persia, scythed chariots from Egypt, mounted archers from the Steppe, and war elephants from India.

All served in King Alexander the Great's army.

A magnificent, splendid, elite, disciplined, high-spirited, worshipful army that followed Iskandar as if he were a deity, encompassing all the nations of the Near East and the Middle East.

Lysimachus, Seleucus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Cassander, Eurydice, and Antipater—those ambitious generals, audacious warlords, and the most skilled leaders of their time, all bowed beneath the wings of the King of Conquerors.

As subordinates, they fervently followed him.

"How? How is this?! This is my army! This is my determination!"

Iskandar shouted excitedly at Artorius.

"Let's compare, shall we? Whose authority is firmer, whose conquest is greater? O king and conqueror of a different era, bring forth your renowned skills, and let's have a match! Advance, my army! Our target—Dragon Emperor, Artorius Pendragon!"

As he shouted, Iskandar mounted his horse known as Bucephalus, and charged towards the Dragon Emperor fearlessly!