Assassin's Attack

Shuriken, the weapon is too famous, just like mentioning qipao and tang suit is China, and mentioning the Statue of Liberty is America. As soon as he saw shuriken, a word jumped into Tsukahara Meiji's mind uncontrollably…

Ninja.

As a Japanese and a manga enthusiast, Tsukahara Meiji naturally knew best about this mysterious special forces soldier from his own country!

Appearing without a shadow, disappearing without a trace, proficient in various ninjutsu, specializing in intelligence and assassination, and absolutely loyal to his lord. A brilliant color that will never be forgotten in Japanese history. Especially with the endless stream of animations, manga, novels, and historical dramas now, ninjas are very active on people's television screens.

No matter which country, [history] is a timeless and good theme. In fact, the classic Chinese novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has been remade seven times, and it is said that the eighth remake is being planned.

Tsukahara Meiji quickly turned his gaze towards the enemy. A shadowy figure was crouching among the branches, wearing the common night-walking clothes, with the silver gleam of chainmail faintly visible inside. Beneath the fluttering hood was a face-covering veil… a proper ninja outfit.

He had no intention of hiding himself, just squatting brazenly on the branch, his supple body like a hound perched on a branch. However, even though he was so blatant, Tsukahara Meiji couldn't sense his presence…

Although I'm a very weak Magus! But not sensing any presence at all? This is too exaggerated…

There was only one possibility…

"That guy… is a Servant! Quick, Servant summon! Humans cannot match Servants!"

Karl's brows were tightly furrowed, and panic climbed over every corner of his face. This was the first time Karl had shown such a flustered expression… At the Clock Tower, Karl always appeared calm and composed, as if he could handle anything, even if the sky fell…

However, this time it was far beyond Karl's prediction. Before this moment, he had made so many preparations precisely to prevent the other party from finding their location…

But they were found? Where did it go wrong?

(No… before that, there is an even more critical question…)

Karl's brain was working at full speed.

That is efficiency.

Command Spells are, after all, just qualifications for a Master. If the Master dies before summoning a Servant, what then? The Holy Grail War loses a participant? No, that's impossible. The Holy Grail isn't that stupid or easy to fool.

Moreover, according to the records, the Holy Grail will only appear when filled with the souls of 5 Servants. It will only be truly full when the 6th Servant is also integrated into the Holy Grail, satisfying the victor's wish.

If the Master dies before summoning a Servant, it's clear that the Holy Grail absolutely cannot gather seven Servants to fight. Therefore, if such an awkward situation occurs, the Holy Grail will choose someone and bestow Command Spells upon them. If the new Master continues to die, it will repeat until seven Servants are gathered.

In other words, assassinating the two before summoning Servants is inefficient. This not only fails to eliminate an enemy in the Holy Grail War but also carries the risk of their Assassin's whereabouts being discovered by other Masters.

The correct approach should be: watch the two finish summoning, then track them to their lodging, and finally strike. This is the logical course of action.

If the Master didn't think that far, then the Assassin wouldn't have just happened to run into the two, right? Karl didn't believe it. After taking so many precautions, the Assassin's attack must have been premeditated, and his Master must not be some clueless novice.

If the reason was that they felt the target Magus was too strong and wanted to eliminate them early, letting the Holy Grail choose a weaker Master, thereby weakening their enemy, but I'm not that excellent a Magus…

He couldn't understand. The more he thought about it, the more illogical the Assassin's sneak attack seemed.

Tsukahara Meiji was even more surprised, as this was not part of the original plan! In his panic, Karl casually threw two items, which drew slow arcs in the air. He quickly reached out to catch them…

The enemy wasn't foolish either. Since they had decided on a plan to assassinate the Master, naturally, they didn't intend to let their target live.

A shadowy figure, hidden movements, no need to say more, Karl already understood that this was an Assassin Servant. The only problem was…

"So strong…"

Karl's tightly knitted brows furrowed even more with anxiety.

Generally speaking, in the Holy Grail War, Assassin is a recognized weak class. In a formal Holy Grail War, only the assassin clan, the origin of the word, the Old Man of the Mountain, could be summoned as an Assassin.

Because there is no fame and no astonishing legends, this position has no highlights other than the skill [Presence Concealment].

It's no exaggeration to say that not to mention Servants, even many excellent Masters can fight Assassins head-on, and even kill them head-on.

However… the Assassin in front of him was not only dressed as a ninja, unrelated to the term Old Man of the Mountain, but his abilities were also…

It was data comparable to the level of the Three Knights.

Each Master is granted [Master Ability], such as summoning a Servant to appear as a Servant, which is one of them. Another is the ability to see through the opponent's Servant's abilities. Of course, their true name and Noble Phantasm are unknown.

The Assassin Servant has B-rank Strength and A+-rank Agility, which indicates that this Servant is extremely skilled in frontal offense. Especially Agility, reaching A-rank, is a level that completely crushes human capabilities.

Japanese ninjas are widely known for their stealth and agility, and Karl admitted this. It was barely acceptable for an Assassin to have such Agility…

But what about B-rank Strength!

What Karl didn't know was that, as rumored in the outside world, ninjas were an [Agility-based] profession. However, in true history, every ninja underwent extremely rigorous combat training. After all, they were [special forces]. Although their most common use was covert operations, there were not a few instances where ninjas clashed head-on with samurai.

Furthermore, the Master's magical energy can supplement the Servant's stats. This data fully demonstrates that he has a quite excellent Master.

And…

He was in trouble.

Facing the Holy Relics thrown by Karl, the Assassin casually waved his hand, and seven or eight silver cold lights shot out. The flickering cold light was like a downpour, pouring down on Tsukahara Meiji!

How could Karl allow him to do that!

The only way to win when targeted by an enemy Servant is to summon your own Servant… but chanting the incantation takes time, so someone needs to stall.

Let Tsukahara Meiji do it?

Don't be ridiculous. How could an outsider possibly match a Servant! He could only pray that he would summon quickly, and then use his Servant to buy time, and then he would summon.

Karl shifted his position, waved his left glove, and the azure magic patterns on it appeared like intricate circuit diagrams on the silver-white armor. As Karl moved, a semi-transparent magic wall intercepted his palm.

A flurry of hidden weapons all landed on it. Magic and magic collided, stirring up storm-like air currents! Trees swayed, leaves scattered, and the roaring wind let out a mournful cry.

With just one strike, it created such a thunderous momentum. This is... the Holy Grail War!

However, it wasn't over yet!

Discovering his hidden weapons had been blocked, the shadowy assassin pushed off the branches, his figure slowly yet swiftly charging forward!

Slowly, in the sense of his movements being light and elegant, like a graceful Kabuki actor performing a favorite dance at a banquet.

And swiftly, in the sense of speed.

Two words that should be unrelated, even contradictory, were appearing together on one person for the first time.

In the span of a single breath, he had gone from a branch thirty meters away to right in front of Karl!

As expected of A+ Agility! This speed was simply beyond human capture!

His retinas hadn't even registered afterimages. Even with Karl's reflexes, mutated by magic into something monstrous, he couldn't track the assassin's posture! If the assassin hadn't paused slightly in preparation to attack, Karl likely wouldn't have even known what he did before his head was severed from his body!

Karl's thoughts raced. The magic circuits on his back flared to life, scorching mana surging through every blood vessel in his body. The mana seeped in like poison, and with Karl's will, it intensified once more. The Winsted Family's magic was based on reinforcement; this was not just child's play, it was as easy as taking candy from a baby.

With no time to devise many countermeasures, he instinctively channeled mana into his body, flowing from his wrist into his bracer, activating the inscribed magic. In an instant, multiple reinforcements surged through Karl's body.

The very fibers of his muscles were covered in scorching mana, transforming into a structure as tough as steel wire. His bones felt as if burning iron rods had been inserted, hardening from the inside out. His skin, too, felt like stone, taking on a peculiar texture like keratin.

This was the secret of Karl's Mystic Code.

It was the same principle as Tsukahara Meiji's poker cards... or rather, Tsukahara Meiji's poker magic was a refinement of Karl's own magic that he had taught him.

Instantly reinforce his own body, and then...

Engage in close-quarters combat with the enemy Magus.

Strike before the opponent's magic can be cast, using the brief moment of incantation to launch a powerful assault and defeat them.

If the opponent's magic did activate, the anti-magic incantations on his bracers would act as a shield, intercepting the enemy's magic. He didn't need to block it completely; as long as he could rush forward and knock out the enemy Magus before their magic broke through his defenses, that was enough.

It was a brutal and unrefined fighting style, disdained by many Magus.

However, it was this very disdained fighting style that saved Karl's life in that moment.

His left hand moved to block the assassin's attack path, while his right arm thrust forward with a punch. His body, reinforced by multiple layers of mana, delivered a blow that even a Servant couldn't ignore. The roaring fist tore through the air, the violent gust of wind shaking the assassin. He pushed off the ground, his figure gracefully retreating, narrowly dodging Karl's surprise attack!

The first battle of the Holy Grail War had officially begun!