[FMMIKA] Chapter 318: Confused Lev

Under what circumstances do you find satisfaction and excitement in a woman?

Is it when you render her completely powerless, not able to move a finger?

Or is it when she reluctantly agrees to play around with you, attempting some challenging positions?

Or is it something else entirely?

It's none of those.

It's when a woman does something for you that she would never do under normal circumstances, akin to 'gap-moe'.

Like Scathach, proud, aloof, and strong to the point of almost being ruthless, blushing in front of you, revealing a soft and gentle expression—that's when Artorius feels the most satisfied and moved.

"Teacher..."

"Artorius..."

It would be even better if there were no interference from someone like Ritsuka at this moment.

"Your Majesty, Scathach, the ship has docked, but I think we still have some time. Should we have a threesome first?"

Looking at the grinning Ritsuka, Artorius and Scathach exchanged glances, understanding each other's thoughts.

"This girl hasn't had enough training."

"And needs more stamina. We have to intensify the training ahead."

After realizing this, Artorius and Scathach nodded in agreement.

"?" Ritsuka tilted her head in confusion.

She subconsciously felt that something was not right, after a moment, she turned around and said with a grin, "Ohh, I suddenly remembered that I left the gas stove on at home..." and tried to run away but was immediately grabbed by Scathach.

"The gas stove and such can be ignored. My disciple, your teacher suddenly thought of a special training method."

"Training method... E-eh, the training method you thought of must be an earth-shattering one that could make ghosts and gods weep in despair. But someone delicate and fragile like me doesn't need it, r-right? I think I can—"

"—It's not about what you think; it's about what I think." Saying this, Scathach grabbed Ritsuka by the back of her shirt and happily carried her away.

"Your Majesty, save me!"

Although she shouted like that, Artorius had absolutely no intention of helping her.

'Learn to speak properly and then try again, Gudako.' Artorius thought to himself and quickly dismissed her from his mind.

For now, Nero's matters were more important.

===

When the East fell into the hands of Artorius's empire, the news reached Rome, and Nero began to feel a sense of urgency.

After mobilizing her army and organizing legions with resources from the East, she launched an expedition into Gaul without hesitation. A fierce battle ensued against the self-proclaimed legitimate United Roman Empire.

As Artorius had mentioned earlier, Nero had assembled four Servants under her command.

What puzzled Artorius, however, was that among her four Servants were Boudica from ancient Britain (Britannia) and the renowned rebel Spartacus from classical times, both having ties to Rome. But the other two, the legendary assassin Jing Ke and the warlord Lu Bu from the Three Kingdoms era, had no apparent connection to Rome at all. Why were they chosen?

'Perhaps it was because ancient China refers to the Roman Empire as 'Daqin'? Is that the reason?'

'So, is Jing Ke here to assassinate Qin again?'

'And what about Lu Bu? Did he find betraying the Han Dynasty not thrilling enough, so he decided to seek a godfather in Daqin (Roman Empire), ending up in ancient Rome by some twist of fate?'

Thinking about this, Artorius felt a headache coming on.

Regardless of the logic and reasons behind their actions, whether Lu Bu turned into an incomprehensible berserker or Jing Ke became a woman, and the delicate relationship between Boudica and him due to the intricacies of Britain, Nero possessed four powerful Servants. In terms of Servant quantity alone, she was not inferior to Artorius.

However, despite her formidable strength, she still couldn't secure victory in the campaign to conquer Gaul.

Strategically and tactically, she was not a match for the opposition, which boasted one of the finest commanders of the late Roman Republic, Gaius Julius Caesar.

Though many believed Pompey had the superior military talent among the top three, it was Caesar who, in the decisive Battle of Pharsalus, with inferior forces of 25,000 against Pompey's 60,000, secured the final victory, ultimately breaking the power of the Senate's aristocratic faction and becoming dictator perpetuo (dictator in perpetuity).

Compared to Caesar, Nero lagged behind in both strategy and tactics.

In terms of high-end combat capabilities, the opposing side also had several Servants capable of contending with Nero's. Thus, in terms of strategy, tactics, high-end combat capabilities, and sheer numbers, Nero found herself at a disadvantage. The situation had reached a rare stalemate.

'That Lev guy is really just a simple mage, completely clueless about the ways of war.' Artorius commented inwardly after obtaining intelligence from the Western Empire.

Nero's current governing and military capabilities were nothing to write home about. If Lev handed all his power to Caesar, he might render her completely directionless. However, Lev seemed to treat Caesar merely as a 'Servant', sending him into the thick of battle.

Although Caesar, acting like a human battering ram, was undoubtedly strong, to those who truly understood warfare, it was a waste of talent.

Perhaps Caesar was unhappy about this? Or maybe, due to their Roman connection, Caesar was actually pleased to go along with it?

Either way, the current situation was at a standstill, and that suited Artorius's plans.

'Next up, it's my time to shine.' Artorius thought cheerfully.

Appearing as the Savior of Rome, he would then crush all enemies. After that, his virtuous mission would be complete.

In his newly crafted history of the New Human History, humanity was gradually abandoning vacuum tubes, happily moving towards integrated circuits and chips. The Age of Electricity was swiftly transitioning into the Age of Electronic—a phenomenon occurring in the early 16th century. By the 17th century, humans would establish the first colony on the moon.

Everything was going smoothly.

As soon as Artorius absorbed the burning power of Singularity, the New Human History would take shape.

Goetia probably never anticipated that the elaborate trap he set would ultimately become Artorius's stepping stone.

'Want to be a planet? Maybe in the next life, loser.' With this in mind, Artorius smirked, revealing a pleased expression. 'Next up, it's time to take down that guy.'

Of course, he was referring to Lev.

===

Meanwhile, Lev was currently causing headaches in the secret fortress nestled in the mountains of inland Spain, supposedly the capital of the United Roman Empire.

Although it belonged to the United Roman Empire, the Spanish region had yet to face Nero's attacks.

It seemed that Nero wanted to conquer the prosperous Gaul first, securing the wealthiest territory in Europe for economic advantage, and then sweep through other regions. This gave Lev the luxury of a carefree attitude.

Originally, that was indeed his mindset.

He possessed terrifying magecraft at the level of a Demon God and was able to summon Servants at will to enhance his own strength.

In theory, this battle should have been a sure thing. But why, why did it turn out like this? Why were there so many unexpected occurrences?

First was Alexander's betrayal—even though the King of Conquerors was in his hands, the second-biggest trump card after 'that person'.

And the summoned Alexander wasn't the ordinary one; it was the fantasy version, a sixty-year-old warrior even more powerful than the usual Alexander.

Lev thought he hit the jackpot.

Little did he know that this Alexander would break free from his magecraft restraints. It startled Lev at the time, thinking he was about to lose control. Fortunately, Alexander didn't attack him after breaking free; he simply turned around and left.

'Why in the world could he break free from my restraints?'

Lev didn't have the command spells, but as a Demon God, his magecraft restraints on Servants were far more potent than the command spells.

Command spells were, after all, an active skill, while his magecraft was a constantly active akin to passive skill.

This perplexed Lev, and no matter how much he pondered, he couldn't figure it out. In the end, he decided to ignore it.

'Anyway, this Singularity will collapse, and nothing will be left. Let that man wreak havoc in the east; shifting attention might not be a bad idea.'

Lev initially thought the incident with Alexander was just an accident. Little did he know, it was only the beginning, a start that rendered all his plans ineffective and got crushed.