Splash!
The river let out a huge crashing sound as the ice slammed into it.
Using rapid rotation as its core, the ice block Leonidas had originally used as a shield instead became a slab that forced him into the freezing river!
"Heh..."
Lu Bu could not help but chuckle. Urging Red Hare onward, man and horse used their combined weight to pin the ice down, leaving Leonidas no chance to surface.
Indeed, Servants did not need to exchange gases; breathing was merely a habit. In other words, Servants could neither drown nor suffocate.
However, the freezing river water would rapidly steal a Servant's body heat. To maintain materialization, body temperature was a crucial condition. In other words...
"In freezing river water, someone like you will consume even more mana than usual!!"
That was Lu Bu's thinking.
Judging by his stats alone, Leonidas's strength was no longer an issue of the Heroic Spirit himself. His Master must have possessed an extraordinarily abundant supply of mana to give him such terrifying parameters.
In that regard, Lu Bu, whose Strength and Agility were both B-rank, could only sigh in frustration.
Naturally, Abner was the head of the Winifred Family. With a Magic Crest developed over eleven generations, it would be strange if he could not surpass Tohsaka Mina's child's-play Magic Circuits. To use Tsukahara Meiji's peculiar analogy, a comic drawn over eleven generations would of course contain far more than one Tohsaka Mina had been drawing for barely a decade or two!
Still, no matter how powerful a Magus was, commanding a Servant consumed a great deal of mana. The fiercer the battle, the greater the drain on the Master's mana. Especially with Leonidas's ability to grow stronger when injured, Lu Bu was certain that the Magus had not provided support because he lacked mana, with all of it being channeled into sustaining his Heroic Spirit.
At that thought, Lu Bu became proud again. His Noble Phantasm, Among Men, Lu Bu; Among Horses, Red Hare, belonged to the faith-based category. It required no power from its Master and was somewhat like a Mana Reactor. Thus, Tohsaka Mina had effectively summoned an exceptional Heroic Spirit with B-rank upkeep but A+++ combat power.
Its weakness was the lack of a one-hit-kill True Name Release. If it had something like that too, there would be no need to fight the Holy Grail War at all. Fast, vicious, and armed with a trump card as powerful as a nuclear bomb—how could anyone fight that?
But that was not much of a problem. Lu Bu and Red Hare were terrifying whether they confronted Servants head-on or targeted Masters for a single decisive strike.
If Leonidas had not been so outstanding at defensive tactics, the victor would have been decided long ago. Against anyone else, Lu Bu's unfathomable speed might have killed them with the very first blow. How could there have been a prolonged deadlock afterward?
Therefore, Lu Bu absolutely would not allow Leonidas to surface. He would keep him submerged in the icy water, forcing him to consume mana continuously to preserve his body temperature until his Master collapsed. That was Lu Bu's strategy.
There was another point. Water was a substance with enormous resistance. Anyone who had swum knew that when one swung a fist underwater, most of the force was absorbed by the current, causing the majority of the strike's power to dissipate. Therefore, he was not worried that Leonidas could launch a counterattack from the water. Even with A+++ arm strength, it would be difficult to throw a powerful blow underwater.
Watching scarlet spread across the water's surface, Lu Bu was overjoyed, though he also felt a faint hint of regret.
After all, enemies on Leonidas's level were truly rare.
His resilience, and his masterful martial skill...
If they could join forces, the strongest infantry and the strongest cavalry would surely be invincible beneath heaven.
What a pity...
Though he had ultimately lost to Lu Bu, it was not because he was too weak...
"Because I, Lu Fengxian, am invincible beneath heaven!"
The scarlet rider proudly puffed out his chest and made his bold declaration. Beneath the night sky, his hearty laughter rang through the heavens.
Thud!
A sudden change erupted!
Before Lu Bu could react, Red Hare had already leaped left to evade! Often, animals possessed sharper senses than humans. Before an earthquake struck, for example, animals were always the first to sense it. It was Red Hare's beastlike instincts that saved Lu Bu!
Because, at the very moment he laughed wildly, a cold iron spear violently pierced through the ice and stabbed toward Red Hare's unprotected belly!
If Red Hare died, Lu Bu's Holy Grail War would be over.
Without the Noble Phantasm's support, Tohsaka Mina's weak mana simply could not allow Lu Bu to contend with powerful enemies. Especially... Leonidas. With B-rank Strength, even an Assassin could confront him head-on. Then what need was there to keep fighting?
His wild delight instantly turned into shock. Stunned by the strike that had pierced the ice, Lu Bu watched the thick ice layer split apart. Leonidas's savage, provocative expression emerged—raised brows, wide eyes, dark brown curls flung loose and beaded with water, and... the mad smile at the corner of his lips.
He... was smiling!
Anger flared in Lu Bu's heart—You bastard! Were you setting me up?!
But... how was that possible!
Even A+++ strength would have most of its force absorbed by flowing water. At most, he should have been able to strike with B+ strength. Why was he...
Ah!
Catching sight of the shattered ice armor by chance, Lu Bu understood!
Why had Leonidas used the ice block as a shield?!
Why had he used it to obstruct Lu Bu's vision...
This bastard! From the beginning, he had expected Lu Bu to step on it!
He had never been waiting for Lu Bu to shatter the ice!
He had been waiting for Lu Bu to press it underwater!
Because the structure of this ice block was strange. The center of the ice, over sixty centimeters thick, was hollow!
Its cross-section was concave! Leonidas must have hidden himself inside it!
Yes...
Lu Bu had been wrong from the very beginning.
This was not a one-on-one battle.
Just as Lu Bu and Red Hare were one, as the Heroic Spirit Lu Fengxian and the Heroic Spirit Red Hare formed a pair, Leonidas was not fighting alone either!
It was Abner.
His Master, his friend, his partner was working with him!
One had to understand that even if northern China was cold, it was impossible for ice sixty centimeters thick to form in spring! From the start, this had been Abner's support.
The initial ice field, Leonidas shattering the ice, the flow of the river, even why Leonidas had been able to find such a suitable ice block afterward—all of it was Abner's assistance!! This Magus skilled in Precision Manipulation had been secretly creating terrain favorable to Leonidas through precise control over every current!
True support was not merely fighting with magecraft. Altering the terrain to let one's Servant unleash their greatest combat power was also a form of support!
Furthermore, the issue Lu Bu had considered—that freezing river water would intensify a Servant's mana consumption—did not exist either.
Abner had already devised a solution.
This was a simple piece of common knowledge, yet also knowledge that the overwhelming majority of Magi did not know.
When water froze into ice, it released heat.
To freeze, water had to release its excess heat.
When such a vast stretch of river froze, it naturally released a terrifying amount of heat.
Water's specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity were both higher than air's. Nearly three-quarters of the released heat had been absorbed into the water. It was no exaggeration to say that while the river water was not warm, it was absolutely not cold enough to rob someone of their body heat!
This was basic physics.
At the same time, it was an obscure fact that most Magi, who scorned science, never discovered in their entire lives.
But under special circumstances, this obscure knowledge had come in handy.
Thus, even if Leonidas truly fell into the water, he would not lose his body heat. He had hidden beneath the ice hollow, soaking in warm water as he waited for the moment Lu Bu became overjoyed and lowered his guard!
Caught off guard by the ambush, Lu Bu felt a chill run through his entire body, cold sweat pouring down his back. If Red Hare had not reacted so quickly, he might have lost his greatest trump card!
Even so, Leonidas's spear still sliced open Red Hare's flank! It was a bold upward strike, its ferocious force not only shattering the ice, but seeming as though it would punch a hole through the sky itself!
"You bastard!"
Seeing his beloved horse let out a pained neigh, Lu Bu flew into a rage. To a warrior, a fine horse and weapon were his very life!
Hurting Red Hare was the same as taking a blade directly to Lu Bu's body!
Red Hare's desperate evasion had not only avoided a fatal wound, but also... given Lu Bu the perfect attacking position. The intent of his partner reached Lu Bu's heart, undoubtedly like pouring boiling oil over his already furious mind.
Lu Bu forcibly suppressed his rage. He turned the Fangtian Halberd in his hands, gripped it with both hands, and aimed its tip directly at Leonidas's chest! Like striking a billiard ball, the halberd shot forth like an enraged dragon piercing through clouds, its violent attack driving straight through Leonidas's heart!
The fierce force pierced straight through the warrior's chest, then sent Leonidas flying once more!
I've won!
Lu Bu muttered inwardly.
Servants had weaknesses too. The heart, for example. To a Servant, the heart was the central point of mana. In other words, it was a vital point. Once struck directly, surely...
"What?!"
Along with Lu Bu's shocked cry, Leonidas, whose heart had been pierced, spun in midair and landed steadily on a block of ice. He held his spear in hand, mana around him almost condensing into shapeless, flame-like waves!
He had actually survived after having his heart pierced!?!
Could it be?!
"Battle Continuation?!"
Before you continue