"Phew... so... so close. Very good, Saber, you did a good job just now. I'll definitely reward you when we get back!"
Looking at the three-meter-high dark spikes slowly dissipating into magical energy, Gordes, whose fat body would have been impossible to dodge, couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. You see, just now he hadn't noticed any sign of this magic being cast at all. If it weren't for Saber, he might have been skewered like a kebab and nailed there.
And looking at this attack method, and the other party's boyish appearance, it was likely the Red side's Caster and her Master, right?
Heh! To have just sent a little Caster to attack the Ruler, and to have so despicably ambushed me. The other side clearly doesn't take me, Gordes, and the Yggdmillennia clan seriously!
Thinking of himself, who should have shown the elegance and confidence of a veteran magus in front of a junior, yet had just been so pathetic as to have to rely on a familiar like a Servant to dodge this blow, the naturally proud Gordes couldn't help but become angry. So he waved his big hand and pointed at Souya, shouting, "Damn brat! To have so shamelessly cheated and ambushed me, an old senior in the world of magic! If you have the guts, then come and fight me openly and honestly! And you even dared to attack the Ruler, who is the referee, right in front of me! As a Master participating in the Holy Grail War, I have the right to punish you!"
With that said, without waiting for his reaction, Gordes turned his head and shouted at Siegfried beside him, "Don't hesitate anymore, Saber! Quickly get rid of that Caster! While we have the chance, we will be the first group to kill an enemy Servant!"
"Yes, Master."
Having received his Master's order, the Heroic Spirit of the sword, Siegfried, no longer remained silent. After responding to him, he drew the silver-white greatsword on his back, and his plain yet with an inexplicable pressure gaze looked at her and him beside her.
"I'm sorry. Although according to my code of conduct, I will not make a move on a woman, but this is a Holy Grail War. Forced by my Master's order, I have been very offensive."
With that said, he no longer spoke, and holding the magic sword Balmung high, he attacked her. In just a few breaths, his figure had appeared in front of them, and then Balmung directly ignored him at the side, and slashed straight at her neck.
"Heh, I don't need your pity."
Faced with his words and attack, her expression did not change from beginning to end. Even though his attack was already right before her eyes, she still did not dodge or evade, her face incomparably cold. In fact, there was even a trace of disdain in her eyes.
"Hm?"
Sensing the emotion in her eyes, his eyes immediately sharpened, and he suddenly realized that something was wrong. But at this time, the magic sword Balmung had already been swung, and it was already too late for him to retract it.
The next moment, as the edge of the silver-white greatsword passed through the queen's snow-white neck, what was fed back to him was not the feeling of a sharp blade breaking through a body, but a feeling of powerlessness as if he had cut through air, and a sudden burst of scorching heat. In just an instant, his figure was swallowed by the black flame that had erupted from her phantom, and even the air was distorted by this scorching high temperature.
"Saber!"
Seeing this scene, the originally confident Gordes instantly became flustered. But just as he was anxiously about to rush forward to check, he saw Siegfried swing his greatsword, and the black flame that should have been burning like a maggot attached to a bone was dispersed by him. The burns and pathetic state he had imagined did not appear. In fact, not even a single strand of his hair had been damaged.
"Hm?"
Seeing this scene, both she and him as his Master were stunned for a moment.
"Th-this, could this be..."
Looking at Siegfried, who was standing in the black flame unscathed, Gordes couldn't help but mutter to himself. And he, who was on the side, seeing this scene, his heart was suddenly clear. "To make all damage and magic of B-rank and below ineffective, is this 'Armor of Fafnir'?"
The permanent Noble Phantasm that was sublimated from the mythical feat of Siegfried, the protagonist of the German epic Nibelungenlied, who had obtained an invulnerable body after being bathed in dragon's blood. It was a powerful defensive Noble Phantasm that acted on the surface of his body, and also the strongest armor belonging to this great hero who possessed both the characteristics of a spear and a shield.
"It seems that the black flame attack just now was just a casual blow from Morgan, so it didn't break through Siegfried's defense. Otherwise, according to her mana A++ panel, this blow, not to say that it could seriously injure him, but it would definitely have caused him considerable trouble." Thinking of this, he was not too worried, but through the spiritual sense between a Master and a Servant, he told her the setting of 'Armor of Fafnir' and the weakness related to his back.
As the Lady of the Isle, the master of the fairies, and the strongest magus in all of Britain, in just an instant, she had completely absorbed the information about him and the specific details he had provided, and had come up with a countermeasure in her mind in advance. Although she didn't quite understand why he would, like a prophet, know all the information and weaknesses of the other's Servant, in fact, she didn't care about these things. He was Lamorak, her man, Morgan le Fay's man. Even if his current identity was no longer that clear-as-water knight, it was also very normal for him to have some abilities that were difficult for ordinary people to understand, right?
And just as she had made a decisive decision and was planning to attack him with a higher-level magic, the latter, seeing her movements, mistakenly thought that she was not giving up, so he took the initiative to report his information. "It's useless, Caster of Red. Unless you release a Noble Phantasm and its rank reaches B-rank or above, you can't break through my armor and cause me damage. So, surrender or let go of the Ruler. You have no chance of winning, Caster of Red."
"Heh, are you looking down on me?"
Hearing this, her eyes instantly became cold. But before she could say much more, her words were instantly interrupted by a voice.
"Saber! What are you doing?!"
Gordes, who had originally been excitedly waving his fists on the side, hoping to see his own Servant show off his might, upon seeing him not taking advantage of the enemy's daze to launch an attack but instead taking the initiative to report the effect of his Noble Phantasm to the enemy, was instantly furious and shouted at him. "Why did you tell the other's Servant your Noble Phantasm's information! Are you an idiot?! You should have taken advantage of the fact that the other side didn't know your information and quickly gone up and defeated that Caster! As a Caster, no matter what, her close-quarters combat is no match for you! Saber, you idiot..."
"Compared to your Servant, you should consider yourself first."
Just as he was angrily rebuking him, his voice suddenly sounded not far from him. When he subconsciously looked over, what entered his eyes was him, who had already flashed in front of him, and his fist, which was wrapped in a golden magic circuit.
"Saint's Fist!"
"Damn brat! You're ambushing me again!"
Seeing his clearly not-simple punch coming at him, Gordes was suddenly shocked. He subconsciously raised his arm to block, and at the same time, circulated his magical energy and let out a low shout, "Transformation, Iron Arm!"
The next moment, the golden fist and the iron-gray arm collided. But before he could react, he felt a huge force mixed with a surging magical energy suddenly erupt from his wrist.
Boom—
Like being hit by a high-speed truck, under his attack, Gordes's fat body was instantly sent flying, crashing into the forest.
"Master!"
Sensing that his Master was in danger, out of instinct, Siegfried wanted to leave and go to check the situation. But she clearly would not give him this opportunity. "Did I allow you to leave?"
Danger! Danger! Danger!
With the words of Caster of Red, almost in an instant, he felt a threat. This did not come from his perception or skill, but was a warning from his Noble Phantasm, 'Armor of Fafnir'. The meaning was very clear. The other party had taken out an ability that had reached A-rank, enough to break through the defense of 'Armor of Fafnir'.
Suddenly turning his head, he was shocked to find that at some unknown point, a layer of brilliant golden light had enveloped the Caster of Red. Compared to a normal golden light, this gold was not dazzling. Enveloping her body, it was like being draped in a thin layer of golden gauze. But he did not underestimate this seemingly ordinary change, because through the perception between Servants, he keenly sensed that under that golden light, her aura had undergone a heaven-and-earth-shattering change compared to before. If one were to describe it specifically, it was a manifold increase in her panel data.
"Is it a Noble Phantasm?"
Staring at this scene, he couldn't help but guess. And the facts were indeed as he had thought. What she had activated was her Noble Phantasm: The Radiant City that Never Falls (Camelot). This Noble Phantasm, which should have been her most core one as a Caster, was now opened a little by her and was only acting on herself. Although this method of use couldn't even be considered a half-release, and even the effect of the 'Britain' barrier could not be deployed, it was enough just to increase her physical fitness and strength to a certain extent.
Without any hesitation, in front of him, she slowly extended her right hand. Seeing this, his eyes immediately changed. Thinking that the other was going to use magic again, he immediately raised his sword to block in front of him. But to his surprise, what appeared in her palm was not the fluctuation of a magic activation, but a magnificent longsword that was slowly forming in the golden light.
That is...
Sensing the faint and familiar aura coming from the longsword, a look of shock flashed in his eyes. "This aura... is it a holy sword?!"
Although the greatsword Balmung he held was called a magic sword, this was only because it was held by him. As a twilight sword that would switch between a holy sword and a magic sword according to its master's magical energy attribute, the one holding Balmung itself had a certain perception of the aura of holy swords and magic swords. And at this time, he was very sure that the longsword that had appeared in the hands of Caster of Red was a holy sword. Although the aura was a bit unstable, just looking at the aura and the momentum, it was undoubtedly a holy sword.
Then, a holy sword user, a magus Servant, and a woman. Who on earth was she? Subconsciously, he began to guess the identity of this Caster before him. But she clearly would not give him this opportunity.
"Saber of Black, right? Since you and your Master both looked down on me because you thought I was a woman and a Caster, then do you dare to have a sword fight with me?"
Gently swinging the 'Excalibur Galatine: Replica (A)' that had been created with the light of 'Britain' and supplemented by 'Item Construction (A+)', she cast her gaze towards the ready Siegfried.
"...I'm sorry, Caster. Although as a warrior, I should not refuse your request and fight with you, but a Servant's first duty is to protect their Master. So please allow me to refuse."
As if he had sensed the now-unconscious Gordes and the Souya who was gradually approaching, preparing to deliver the finishing blow, his face was extremely solemn.
"But, what does that have to do with me? My husband is stronger than your Master, so he should receive the treatment of a loser." As if to show off something, she said with a light laugh to him.
And the latter was just silent for a moment, then left a 'sorry', and then was about to turn and leave.
Seeing this scene, she, unexpectedly, did not stop him, but let him leave. This was of course not because she was kind-hearted, or had been moved by his words. The reason she let him go was purely because he had long anticipated that he would come back to save Gordes, so he had asked her beforehand to let him and him have a fight.
That's right. He, Souya, was going to fight Siegfried, one of the top-tier Servants, with his current human body.
At first, she had wanted to object to this request. After all, a Master was no match for a Servant. This was already common sense in a Holy Grail War. But he was clearly not this common sense, because he himself had once been a strong person comparable to a top-tier Servant.
After thinking for a while, he believed that although the Useless System had not given him a descent, this did not mean that his hard-earned simulation was completely useless. After all, those nine paths were always there, and the Lamorak at the end of the first path had also not disappeared.
Then, was it also as the Useless System had said, that it itself was a guide and had no use, and the true ability of his nine paths was actually in himself?
Thus, out of this consideration, he finally made a request to her. He wanted to fight him, to see if he could use his pressure to stimulate the power of Lamorak within that path. Thus, there was such a scene.
"You're here."
Sensing the dematerialized Siegfried coming at him from the shared perception with her, the corner of his mouth curved up slightly. The next moment, a golden light in his hand turned into a long spear made of light.
[Lance of the End: Replica (A)]
Without any hesitation, he fiercely swung the long spear and slashed behind him.
Clang!
In an instant, the long spear and the magic sword collided, making a crisp sound.
....
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