The Second Battle Begins!

Clang!

It was a violent clash that rivaled the roar of thunder.

Just as Assassin Hattori Hanzo's blade was about to fall upon Abner's throat, a short sword shot in from the side! The speeding blade carried a terrifying force that sent chills down one's spine, its spinning edge whipping up spiraling wind pressure. With an explosive crack, the short sword smashed Assassin's ninja blade cleanly in two!

That was not enough to vent the anger. Lancer's short sword continued onward, and with another thunderous boom, like the blast of a cannonball, it forcibly gouged a huge dent into the wall of ice!

Beneath the thin layer of ice armor flowed a gentle current. As the wall shattered, water slowly trickled down through the cracks, like the wall's blood.

It was a distinctly Greek-style short sword, now buried in the wall to its hilt like a stopper, creating an oddly comical sight.

But Assassin could not laugh. He reacted with astonishing speed, like a cheetah under attack. His feet tapped in rapid succession as his body twisted backward through the air in an impossible human posture, barely evading his opponent's charging spear.

At some point, a muscular Servant, built like a Greek statue and brimming with strength, had appeared before his Master. Behind the broad Great Shield stood a tough body like a moving chariot, along with a provocative expression.

I see. It wasn't that he had left himself unguarded against Assassin; he trusted his Heroic Spirit to stop my attack the instant I revealed my killing intent?

Assassin Hattori Hanzo narrowed his eyes and responded cautiously.

Unlike that Archer from before, whose entire body had been hidden beneath a green robe and impossible to make out, the Heroic Spirit before him seemed to have the very word "threat" carved into his bones, radiating it with every breath.

"Yo, Assassin... is that it? What a disappointing opponent for the opening match."

His voice was like rolling thunder, and his excitement was unmistakable.

The muscular man wore golden cuirass armor, while a blazing crimson cloak spilled from his shoulders like the red flowers said in Japanese legend to bloom along the banks of the Sanzu River, giving one the illusion that life was about to end. His proud, provocative expression was concealed beneath a golden helmet, exposing only a Y-shaped patch of skin within which his disdain was plain to see.

With those bold words, Leonidas stepped forward. His spear and shield stood imposingly before Abner, sealing off Assassin's path of attack. As though intimidated by that overwhelming pressure, Assassin involuntarily took a step back.

"What? Not coming at me? Then I'll come to you."

He sneered as if he had made a bad joke. Assassin did not understand what he meant, but he seemed rather pleased with himself. With a powerful push from his feet, the muscles of his unarmored calves instantly hardened like steel. Amid the crack of shattering ice armor, the gold-and-red Servant vanished, leaving only fractured ice beneath his feet. Spear tucked under his arm and shield raised for cover, he charged at Assassin like a tank!

And he was incredibly fast!

By estimation, his Agility was Rank B or higher!

Generally speaking, in games, anime, and films, when people saw a two-meter-tall character covered in muscle, their first impression was always, "A slow character who specializes in strength." Leonidas shattered that common sense.

One of the primary requirements for the Lancer class was sufficient Agility. Leonidas was a battle-hardened Spartan warrior, and having survived under those brutal laws of the jungle, he undoubtedly possessed combat ability second to none.

Strength, speed, technique, practical combat experience—without exception, he was a warrior of the highest caliber, a warrior among warriors.

Certainly, the scene in the movie where three hundred Spartans fought against hundreds of thousands of Persian soldiers was artistically embellished. Even so, it could not change the fact that the Greek coalition had been overwhelmingly outmatched at Thermopylae. And those three hundred Spartan warriors truly had been the core of the fighting force.

Having become the king of the military within that city-state that valued valor above all else, Leonidas was naturally the strongest warrior in all of Sparta.

The two rapidly closed the distance. Assassin Hattori Hanzo did not hesitate or retreat further. He drew a length of chain from his robes, with an iron weight attached to the left end and a sickle attached to the right. It was a weapon used by Japanese Ninja, known as the Ninja Sickle.

Japanese Ninja who valued concealment naturally could not go about their daily lives dressed in night raider garb. To hide their identities, most disguised themselves as farmers, disguising their weapons as farming tools and cleverly blending into castle towns. Only when needed would they transform into lurkers of the night, skillfully carrying out special missions.

Hattori Hanzo was known as the god of Ninja, so naturally he was well versed in many Ninja weapons.

This unusual armament combined three attack methods at once: a chain for entangling, a sickle for cutting and slashing, and a weight for throwing and smashing. It was a weapon specifically designed to counter a samurai's spear.

But... faced with Leonidas's ferocious advance, could such a conventional weapon truly handle this powerful Heroic Spirit?

Assassin's arms snapped backward like an eagle spreading its wings. As the weapons at both ends shifted, the chain in the center was driven by the force racing from either side and shot outward along an arc. Its gleaming silver links rushed toward the spear in Leonidas's hand.

With a sharp scraping screech, the chain links slithered around the spear shaft with the force of their momentum. Assassin rejoiced inwardly. It seemed this wild Servant did not understand the danger of his weapon!

As the two drew closer, Assassin quickly stepped to the side and rushed toward Leonidas's shield. Yet Leonidas reacted even faster, swinging his raised shield down and using it as an oversized warhammer!

Unfortunately, he was facing an Assassin famed for agility. Like a nimble blackfish swimming through this water-filled castle, Assassin took a great leaping stride and landed both feet atop Lancer's Great Shield!

This was the weakness of a shield. Though it was called a weapon, it was clearly more like armor in practice. Its broad curved surface and the large inverted V emblem upon it posed no threat at all to Assassin. With a foothold beneath his feet, he immediately grabbed the edges of the shield with both hands, clinging to it like a spider!

Then, using the shield as a springboard, he pushed off with both hands and nimbly vaulted over Leonidas's head like a gymnast on a vaulting horse! Midair, the black-clad Ninja transferred the iron weight and sickle into one hand, while his free left hand had already drawn three cross-shaped shuriken!

He was not worried in the slightest that Lancer would use that infinitely powerful spear to smash him to pieces...

Because...

Thanks to the chain's special structure, like a somewhat rough pulley system, Assassin's Rank B strength was fully transmitted onto Lancer's spear shaft, pulling it over Lancer's shoulder and driving it diagonally backward into the ground!

Indeed, if the two were simply wrestling for control, Rank B strength might not amount to much. And if a pulley system had only one pulley, it could not distribute the force either.

But it was different when the principle of leverage came into play.

Without question, empowered by Lancer's tremendous strength, his wrist had become the fulcrum of that spear. With only a little force, Assassin could easily knock the spear off course. He was not stopping the spear's attack; he was applying an unrelated force to deflect it, thereby neutralizing the attack indirectly.

As the god of Ninja, Hattori Hanzo had fought samurai more times than he could count. In actual combat, he had used the Ninja Sickle to defeat countless spear-wielding samurai.

Crack!

It was the sound of the spear shooting backward, its blade stabbing into the ground! It was not just the short sword anymore! Now Assassin had disarmed him of his handy spear as well!

No!

Yet in the next instant, Assassin felt a jolt like lightning race down his back! It was the signal that danger was imminent! He immediately realized something was wrong.

It had gone too smoothly!

Ordinarily, if someone tried to take away a person's weapon, that person would instinctively grip it more tightly. With his Rank B strength, he could only deflect Lancer's attack. Disarm him? How could that be possible? Judging by Lancer's heavily muscled build, his Strength could not possibly be below Rank B! Even if it was the same as Assassin's, Rank B, things should not have gone so smoothly. The two of them should have been locked in a contest of strength—that was what he had expected to see...

But... it had been far too easy!

Assassin instinctively sensed the danger!

There was only one possibility...

There was only one reason he could take the spear from this muscular brute's hands!

That was...

Lancer had let go of it willingly!

He had not intended to struggle with him! He had willingly given up that opportunity! This bastard!!

Of course! The chain... went both ways!

While his chain had bound the spear, the spear had also bound his chain!

A chill ran down Assassin's back. Heroic Spirits did not sweat, yet Assassin still felt as though he were alive, drenched in cold sweat! Being outmaneuvered was never pleasant, especially when he had been outmaneuvered by a muscular brute—and especially when that brute possessed enough strength to kill him in a single blow!

This musclebound brute was highly skilled in tactics as well!

He did not dare think any further and hurriedly threw his dart! Their target was the sleeping Abner!

However, he was still one step too late!

Before that, Lancer had voluntarily released his spear and shifted the shield to his other hand. Leonidas was thus naturally freed from his spear-and-shield stance. The muscles in his right leg bulged as he viciously kicked off the ground, halting his momentum. He spun around and reached his free right hand toward Assassin behind him!

A hand like iron pincers shot past Assassin's shoulder and clamped directly onto his elbow! With a furious roar from Lancer, his five fingers bored force into Assassin's arm like five drills. He twisted with all his strength, and Assassin felt an overwhelming force seize him. His forearm was forcibly twisted, his wrist went numb, and the three darts fell to the ground!

What terrifying strength!

Worthy of Sparta's king!

"Darkie, when you're fighting, don't keep staring at someone else!"

Having thrown away his spear, Lancer revealed a delighted yet bloodthirsty smile.