Instantaneous Judgment

Thump!

The dull sound of a spear blade piercing through.

Admittedly, the sound of a blade tearing through flesh could also be dull, but this dull feedback was just too strange.

Crack!

Immediately after, came the crisp sound of wood being snapped in half.

At some point, the black figure that Leonidas' spear had pierced had turned into a log!

This was the legendary Ninjutsu, the Substitution Technique, which ninjas were most skilled at. It was a technique that allowed one to swap positions with a wooden decoy, thereby taking a fatal blow in their stead.

Of course, this technique only existed in manga.

However, the legends of Servants were probably like this: no one knew the truth of the matter anymore. After being casually speculated about, casually scrutinized, and having gone through the long passage of time, Servants had probably been divided into two types.

One type was Servants with exceptionally powerful Spirit Origins, who would always appear in their true forms regardless of the legends that followed. The other type was Servants whose legends had been altered by thick narratives, ultimately transforming into the Servants that existed in "the imaginations of others."

The former type, for example, King Arthur, was known to the world in a male form, but her true identity was that of a girl. In the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars, she was summoned as Saber and still maintained her female form.

The latter type, for example, the Assassin Sasaki Kojiro in the Fifth Holy Grail War. That person wasn't Sasaki Kojiro at all; it was merely an unnamed individual who had been forcibly altered into Sasaki Kojiro because they had mastered the legendary Swallow's Return technique.

Hattori Hanzo was also like this.

The one who summoned him was not a "Catalyst."

A Catalyst was something intrinsically linked to a Servant, whereas his Master had used the Japanese ninja document, "Mansen Shūkai." Using this Catalyst would surely summon a ninja-type Servant, but it wouldn't specify a particular ninja. This was because it was a book that all ninjas practiced from, and it corresponded to far too many Servants.

Therefore, Hattori Hanzo was less of a "historical Servant" and more of a "fantasy that gained Servant Spirit Origin through being sung/narrated."

Rather than saying he was Hattori Hanzo, it would be more accurate to say he was a collective embodiment of the concept of "Ninja," who merely took on the persona of "Hattori Hanzo" to be born into this world. In this regard, he was quite similar to Sasaki Kojiro.

Consequently, no matter how unbelievable the Ninjutsu was, as long as it was widely known and fervently believed in by many young people, he could perform it.

And the Substitution Technique was one such widely deified Ninjutsu. It involved setting up a decoy of oneself somewhere, and using it to protect oneself instantly when facing a life-threatening danger. There was only one drawback: only one decoy could be placed. If the decoy was destroyed, another one had to be made. Clearly, in a fierce battle, the Assassin would not have the leisure to make a new one.

Leonidas grumbled in dissatisfaction as his spear missed, muttering, "As expected, all occultism is harmful!"

At the same time, he clearly felt Hattori Hanzo's presence behind him. If it were an ordinary person, they might have turned to face him, right? However, Leonidas did not.

He was well aware of the difference in their Agility. If he turned back, the opponent's鬼神莫測 (unpredictable as a god or demon) speed would strike him first.

Leonidas did not fear damage; in fact, the more damage he took, the stronger he became. However, this was merely forcibly ignoring the damage; the damage itself still existed.

In a prolonged battle, accumulating damage carelessly was fatal. The accumulation of minor injuries would surely erupt into a fatal wound at a critical moment!

It wouldn't matter if he himself got injured, but if the Assassin decided to escape when he turned back and launched a surprise attack on Abner, that would be disastrous. Abner didn't have the ability to grow stronger when attacked, and his Agility couldn't match the Assassin's.

Therefore, Leonidas chose to continue charging towards the wall with the momentum of his charge!

Had he gone mad? All that awaited him was the wall!

Then! The muscles in his right calf suddenly bulged, appearing like a rock entwined with a green snake, their formidable contours instantly visible beneath his skin!

Boom!

With a full-power stomp on the ground, his A-rank Strength shattered the floor. Force is reciprocal; such immense force would inevitably rebound upon the body with equal counterforce. Using this powerful force, Leonidas leaped high into the air like a hurdler!

(What is he trying to do?)

The Assassin didn't understand, but...

(This is an opportunity.)

He seized the chance to quickly turn around, his back to Leonidas.

Honor?

Ninjas didn't have such things.

What ninjas possessed was merely the conviction and loyalty to complete their missions.

What was his mission? Was it to eliminate the Lancer?

No, of course not. His target, from the very beginning, had been only one.

It was the man sleeping peacefully in bed, Abner Fergus Winifred.

He picked up a shuriken again. It would only take half a second, no, even less. With his practiced skill, in the flash of an instant, it would be enough to hit that sleeping fool with these projectiles.

And the poison coating the blades, if it even managed to scratch the skin, would inflict a devastating blow...

Thump!

However, before that could happen, the Assassin's back of the head, wrapped in a black night cloth, was struck by the enemy's attack! A heavy and sharp blow, causing excruciating pain as if sliced by a battle axe!

(How is this possible! He was charging towards the wall with his back to me... How?!)

The Assassin's mind was filled with such unbelievable astonishment.

The intense vibration from the back of his head, the force transmitted through flesh, bone, and marrow to his brain, directly caused the Assassin to lose his normal judgment. His shuriken trembled, and with just a slight deviation, the overall trajectory changed drastically. The shuriken grazed Abner's nose and embedded itself in the wall. Visibly, the water beneath the translucent ice wall quickly turned a rotting green...

The attack had arrived, and the Assassin quickly fell forward with the force, bracing himself with his hands on the ground, and swiftly performing a forward roll. Using the force of the Lancer's attack, he rolled forward to create distance. In the instant his body inverted, he finally understood what had hit him...

It was a shield!

As the military king of Sparta, Leonidas was naturally the strongest warrior in all of Sparta, deeply versed in the art of combat. Although he was startled by the Assassin's Substitution Technique, he quickly understood the situation and responded as swiftly as possible.

Previously, he had used his shield as a projectile, throwing it. Leonidas utilized this perfectly! As he leaped up with his right leg, he quickly kicked up with his left, his toes hooking the shield's grip from the inside! Then, in mid-air, he rapidly switched legs, using his foot like a hand, forcefully throwing the shield behind him with his foot!

What skillful technique!

If he hadn't mastered spear and shield combat, if he hadn't mastered the art of battle, if he hadn't been a Greek Servant, and if he hadn't always worn open-toed leather sandals, he absolutely could not have performed such a precise and unbelievable counterattack!

At the same time, Leonidas, while retracting his leg, forcibly twisted his waist and turned in mid-air, slamming his broad back against the wall, much like a wrestler in WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) crashing into the guardrail!

However, a wrestler crashes into the guardrail to use the rebound, while Leonidas did it to mitigate his own impact!

Thump!

The sound of the ice wall shattering and the sound of the golden shield hitting his head merged, creating a roaring noise. His broad back and rock-like muscles shattered the wall, also stopping Leonidas's momentum.

In a sea of shattered ice, facing the splashing water and broken ice shards, the man with firm muscles and a golden-red hue, wearing a cruel yet interested expression, revealed his fighting spirit towards the Assassin. A few strands of hair were stuck to his skin under his helmet by the flowing water, and his red robe was stained with water, its dark red color further accentuating his majestic aura.

"Come on, dark fellow. Let's fight!"

He held his spear in both hands, performing a magnificent flourish. The strong wind whipped up by the spearhead even sliced through the curtain of water pouring down from above! In the hazy mist of water, only Leonidas's heroic expression was exceptionally clear.