"Clang!" The clash of spear and sword continuously echoed in mid-air. Faced with Shirou's flaming greatsword, Achilles showed no fear on his face. Instead, he was filled with joy. The two, both possessing astonishing speed, moved and clashed incessantly in mid-air. Constantly shifting positions, they quickly entered a forest. But even so, the aftershocks of Karna's Noble Phantasm still entered their line of sight.
"Hahaha! It seems our Red Faction's plan succeeded!"
Wielding his throwing spear, Achilles laughed loudly.
Shirou had already understood the plan Achilles mentioned through his telepathic communication with Chiron. But he wasn't displeased by it. Because for Siegfried, such an outcome was undoubtedly the best. In the original story, Siegfried abandoned his oath to Karna to save the life of a homunculus. Ultimately, this oath was inherited and completed by Sieg. Perhaps that was the best outcome for him then, but his current outcome was clearly better. After all, this time, he not only saved a homunculus but also fulfilled his oath to Karna; that was enough for him.
"So what? As long as I'm here, you Red Faction can forget about achieving ultimate victory!"
"Don't talk big! I'll be the final victor!" The two, extremely agile, continuously dashed through the jungle, exchanging blows in an extremely fierce battle! But in this intense battle, neither of them suffered much damage. After all, they were both existences capable of both offense and defense.
After reaching LV.6, Shirou's Projection Magecraft had also undergone a sublimation. Now, for the projection of ordinary Noble Phantasms, there would no longer be a drop in rank. In other words, the Noble Phantasms Shirou now projected were true, genuine articles.
Therefore, the Armor of Fafnir he wore at this time also had the effect of a genuine article, capable of nullifying attacks below B-rank. And for attacks exceeding B-rank, it would reduce the power by an equivalent of B-rank.
This significantly reduced the damage Achilles' attacks dealt to Shirou. At the same time, although Achilles' Noble Phantasm, Andreias Amarantos (The Immortal Hero), had been broken after he gained divinity, it still had an effect. To completely ignore Achilles' defense, one had to have the same level of divinity as him. And Achilles' divinity was C-rank. And for every rank lower an opponent's divinity was compared to Achilles, the damage would be reduced by twenty-five percent.
Therefore, Shirou, with only E-rank divinity, could only deal fifty percent, or half, of the damage to Achilles.
This made it almost impossible for either side to inflict a fatal wound on the other. Moreover, both of them were constantly being healed, essentially regenerating health.
In this situation, the two had fallen into a protracted battle. This fierce battle was destined to last a long time!
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And while the great battle between Red and Black was raging, a graceful figure finally appeared at the edge of the battlefield. She was the Ruler of this Holy Grail War, Jeanne!
"Is that the place?" Guided by the Revelation, Jeanne instantly pinpointed the direction she needed to go. It was in the jungle at the edge of the grassland. There, lay the true purpose of her current manifestation. Jeanne had felt something was off from the very beginning of her manifestation. A large number of combatants, seven Servants against seven Servants.
This was indeed an extraordinary situation that necessitated the summoning of a Ruler. However, Jeanne had a conviction that "the purpose she was given was not this." Something deep within her seemed to be urging her. It was less a sense of mission and more a sense of crisis. Something irreversible was happening.
The moment she saw the giant floating fortress, Jeanne's anxiety reached its peak. The grand decisive battle between the Black and Red Factions was probably about to begin. Whichever side achieved victory, as long as the winner's wish entrusted to the Holy Grail was good, that would be enough for Jeanne. On this point, Jeanne had initially been quite at ease. Because the Masters of both factions were magi.
Magi, despite being beings detached from human ethics, at the same time, would not pray for the realization of evil wishes. All they desired was to reach the Root. Or perhaps, other wishes related to the magical path. In short, their wishes should all be relatively appropriate.
However, on the issue of the Red Faction launching an attack on her, Jeanne began to have doubts. The Black Faction's attempt to win over the Ruler was understandable, as it was merely an action taken to win the Holy Grail War. However, the Red Faction was a big problem. She couldn't think of any reason why they would want to kill her.
After all, the disadvantages of doing so far outweighed the advantages. And now, the Red Faction was attacking the Black Faction's main base, Millennia Fortress, with an aerial fortress. The grassland outside Millennia Fortress had become the center of the battlefield. Homunculi and golems clashed with Dragon Tooth Warriors, engaging in a tragic and brutal struggle.
Magic exploded like cannon fire everywhere, and the battles between Servants turned the surroundings into a desolate wasteland.
"I must get there as quickly as possible and find the true purpose I was given!" Saying this, Jeanne suddenly thought of Shirou, whom she had just befriended. "If he were willing to tell me, then I wouldn't need to rack my brains so much!"
"But if Shirou is unwilling to speak, then he must have his concerns!" The girl, unwilling to press the other party further, cast her gaze towards the distant forest, which was precisely the place foretold by the Revelation.
"Then, I should go too!" Jeanne rapidly charged onto the battlefield. The next moment, countless Dragon Tooth Warriors immediately surged around her. These Dragon Tooth Warriors even ignored the homunculi and golems they were fighting, directly locking onto Jeanne as their target.
"Just as I thought!" Jeanne brandished her battle flag, shattering the Dragon Tooth Warriors one by one. While Rulers generally adhere to the principle of "avoiding actions that directly affect the outcome of the Holy Grail War," if the other party acts hostilely towards her, there's nothing she can do. With a sharp roar that seemed to split the battlefield, Jeanne galloped towards her destination.
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Shirou Kotomine, who was fighting Frankenstein, suddenly stopped his movements. He clicked his tongue and leaped backward with a serious expression.
"Caster, we need to retreat. It seems her 'perception' is faster than expected. Perhaps she received some Revelation." Frankenstein was puzzled by Shirou Kotomine's sudden withdrawal and decided to observe the situation for a moment.
"To perform fair and impartial judgment, I've heard that most Rulers chosen are saints. Is she one of them?"
Shakespeare shrugged with a sarcastic attitude.
"It seems so. Now is a critical moment, Caster. If she attempts to impeach me, the situation will become very chaotic. No, in your words, it will become very uninteresting."
"Forcibly prolonging a plotless section is a characteristic of a bad work. In that case, the Master's story on the battlefield will temporarily end here."
"Hmm, let's retreat! Soon, things will develop to a point where even the Ruler is powerless. And it seems my decision was correct. Because I still narrowly avoided 'death'." Shirou Kotomine finished speaking, then, as if erecting a wall, plunged his Black Keys into the ground in front of Frankenstein, who was about to charge forward, and then began to withdraw from the battlefield with all his might.
"Master, the Ruler is charging straight towards you.
Hurry! Dragon Tooth Warriors alone can't stop her!"
"I know!" After hearing Semiramis' reminder, Shirou Kotomine quickly retreated. Now was not the time to meet the Ruler.
"However, since the opponent has already arrived on the battlefield, they probably won't give up easily!"
"In that case!"
"Atalanta, lead Spartacus to the Ruler and give her that bundle of dynamite!" After communicating with Atalanta via telepathy, Shirou Kotomine began to
retreat quickly.
"I wonder if you can survive Spartacus' self-destruction, Ruler!"
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