Chapter 220

However, it's only when you're unprepared the first time that you might panic. Once you understand your opponent's attack patterns, it's only a matter of time before you catch them off guard...?

Wait! Why is there a "Death Prosperity" sign in mid-air? And why is it flying towards them?

Before they could react, the signboard had already smashed into their faces.

Thump—

As the sign fell, the figures of the crossbowmen disappeared from the spot.

"..."

Seeing such a brutal act, Shirou felt that he should have a serious talk with Rosemary if he had the chance later.

However, that was a later story. With Scout and Rosemary providing strong cover, Shirou successfully stormed into the building.

The Gan Jiang Mo Ye in his hands also grew to enormous size. When held by Shirou, they resembled a pair of black and white wings, which broke open the gate in an X-shape.

Once inside the building, Shirou was able to see the situation inside.

"It was definitely the right decision not to wait for them."

Seeing the explosives inside, Shirou's expression turned extremely ugly.

This isn't a trading venue at all; it's a complete trap!

"Back up! Everyone back up! It's a trap!"

Shirou shouted at the people behind him, while simultaneously channeling his magical energy.

Immediately following was a massive explosion and flames that engulfed Shirou's figure.

Rumble—

The enormous explosion pierced the eardrums of everyone present, and a massive surge of wind and flames erupted, engulfing the crossbowmen who had been stunned by the signboard, and then sweeping outwards in all directions.

"Huang!"

With his shield on his back, protecting Amiya and Rosemary, Ace shouted to Blaze, who had been running in the lead.

"!!!"

Seeing the flames rushing towards him, Huang immediately turned around and ran towards Ace and the others.

There's nothing else around to cover her; she's in real danger!

Although she is heat-resistant, she shouldn't be this heat-resistant! Getting burned by fire will hurt!

"Luckily I ran fast, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to catch you."

Just as Huang was running for her life, a voice suddenly appeared in her ear.

Then she felt her feet sink and someone picked her up.

"Shirou!? You're alright?"

Huang was surprised to see the person hugging him.

The other party was the first person to be swept away by the explosion, namely Shirou.

Although he was covered in dust and dirt, the other person did not have many injuries, and his clothes had been changed.

Compared to his Knights of the Round Table uniform, Shirou's current outfit is noticeably cooler.

If she really had to complain, it would probably be that the other person was holding her waist with one hand, and although she knew the situation was urgent, it was still a bit uncomfortable.

"Of course I'm fine. I wouldn't do something like that if I wasn't absolutely sure!"

"Shirou said irritably, while quickening his pace."

Upon reaching Ace, Shirou extended his left hand and swung it downwards, causing several massive swords to pierce the ground, their enormous blades serving as excellent cover.

"Ugh... I feel so awful."

"Illustrious, who has been put down by Shirou, is covering his stomach," said the man.

"This discomfort is much better than being caught in an explosion. Just bear with it."

AcKae breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the giant swords in front of him safely absorb the impact of the explosion.

Although he could withstand the shockwave of the explosion, it would definitely be very difficult at close range.

"Of course I know that, but it's still so frustrating!"

As the flames from the explosion gradually diminished, Huang sat down on the ground.

"Just as you said, Shirou, this is a trap. If we go there rashly, we'll definitely suffer a lot..."

Looking at the messy, even charred, ground around her caused by the explosion, Amiya pursed her lips and said.

The reason she said that was because they initially planned to come as a group of five.

Although we will definitely confirm everything before taking any further action, judging from this explosion... if it is significant enough to trigger a major explosion, someone will definitely be injured or even... killed.

Shirou's appearance saved them from this worst-case scenario.

"This is what I should do, don't overthink it."

Seeing Amiya's current state, Shirou responded.

The other person looked like a child who had done something wrong and was waiting to be scolded. She had just repeatedly assured everyone that everything would be alright, but in the end, it was only thanks to Shirou's help that everyone was able to get out of trouble safely.

In that situation, she, Rosemary, and Ace were definitely safe, but Huang might not be.

But for Shirou, this was nothing. He had received a lot of help from them along the way, and that's how a cooperative relationship should be.

Moreover, regardless of whether the Rhodes Island members were there or not, he would still eventually go to that building, and the final outcome wouldn't be much different.

After Shirou's words of comfort, Amiya's mood improved considerably.

But at this moment, Shirou was more worried about Chen's situation.

He had already deliberately quickened his pace and gone in ahead of everyone to scout the situation. He wondered if Chen and Hoshiguma were safe.

"Beep... We've been hit by an explosion. Hoshiguma and I are both fine. If you're okay, Shirou, could you please put your voice on the communicator so I can let you know your situation?"

Just as Shirou was worrying, Chen's voice came through the communicator.

This relieved Shirou, and at the same time, as Chen instructed, he connected the microphone and made some noise to show that nothing was wrong on his end.

"What should we do next? Go in and gather intelligence? But with that kind of explosion, everything inside should be burned to ashes, right?"

After Shirou finished the call, Ace asked.

If this deal never existed in the first Knights of the Round Table, and was merely a trap to capture someone, then after surviving these traps, it seems there's nothing left for them to do?

Perhaps by going back and getting the infected people who assisted these individuals to talk, we could obtain some useful information?

However, Ace understood that this wasn't realistic. After all, those people were already so hostile towards the infected, even going so far as to add something to the inhibitor; how could she possibly entrust her plans to them?

Those infected people were merely helping out by accepting gifts.

As for going in to gather intelligence, that's even more impossible; if they went in, they'd probably only find clumps of ashes.

"Those crossbowmen should know something, right? Why don't we try asking them?"

When faced with Ace's problem, Shirou's first thought was of those crossbowmen from earlier.

These people are stationed at the last line of defense and have access to a large number of drones, so they must have had contact with the mastermind behind it all, right?

Even without contact, you can still get some useful clues, more or less.

"They weren't killed by the explosion just now..."

Upon hearing Shirou's words, Huang spoke up.

She was right there at the front, watching those people get engulfed by the flames. Under those circumstances, it would be very difficult for any survivors, right?

But halfway through the conversation, Huang realized a possibility.

"Shirou, you didn't also save those people while you were at it, did you?"

Thinking about this possibility, Huang began to feel that Shirou was being a bit far-fetched.

Only a few seconds passed between the explosion and when he ran away with her. Where exactly did Shirou change his clothes, then go to save the others before running back to rescue her?

Is it true that True Magic girls' transformation time is invincible, or even that time can stop!?

"I just happened to be passing by and casually tossed some coverings over. It should be fine, right?"

In response to Huang's question, Shirou said...

He also saw Rosemary's relieved expression after hearing those words.

He had just changed into his Mystic Code and Reinforcement Magic before being caught in the explosion, and then flew out with the shock of the explosion. When he saw those people along the way, he casually threw a few swords at them.

Given the power of their Noble Phantasms, those people should be fine, right?

They might still be a little dizzy from the signature Rosemary scent.

206 Shirou, you're such a good person!

Shirou's Projection Noble Phantasms was quite sturdy; at least none of them were affected by the flames.

"Hmm... it seems like everything's alright."

Seeing that the crossbowmen didn't smell anything strange, Ace figured they should be fine.

They were simply stunned by the signboard thrown by Rosemary.

Fortunately, Shirou saved a few people, otherwise there would have been no point in Rosemary deliberately knocking them unconscious.

And this way they won't be able to extract any information.

Shirou wasn't familiar with gathering intelligence, so he had to leave that to the Rhodes Island team.

Shirou originally wanted to use this time to fix the communicator and get in touch with Chen, but Huang came over carrying a small white kitten.

"The kitten is in your care now! She just used Originium Arts quite a few times and needs to rest."

After putting down the Rosemary, the other person turned around and ran to find Ace and Amiya, leaving Shirou and Rosemary, still wearing their Mystic Code, staring at each other blankly.

"...Thanks for your hard work."

Shirou's mind flashed through many greetings, but in the Shirou could only utter these three words.

"Hmm... no, Huang and the others are worrying too much."

Seemingly oblivious to Shirou's embarrassment, or perhaps Rosemary simply didn't understand the expression on Shirou's face, she quietly found a place next to Shirou and prepared to sit down.

"It's good to rest for a bit, and don't sit on the ground like that, you'll get your clothes dirty."

Seeing that Rosemary was about to sit down, Shirou Projection a coat onto her for her to sit on. Then, the crimson Mystic Code on his body turned into blue magical light spots and disappeared, and he returned to his original clothes.

However, compared to before, Shirou's clothes and pants are now somewhat tattered.

However, it wasn't a big problem for Shirou; it was just a little worn, not to the point of being unwearable.

At least the areas that should be blocked are blocked?

Although he had arranged a nice place for Rosemary to sit, Shirou didn't pay much attention to it and simply sat down to the side and started fiddling with the communicator.

After all, the floor was probably cleaner than him.

"Thank you. Is that what you want to repair? It must be inconvenient without tools, right?"

Sitting on the coat provided by Shirou, Rosemary looked at Shirou, who was busy at work, and asked.

"Tools? That's not a problem."

After saying that, Shirou produced a small tool and began to disassemble it.

After analysis and testing, it turned out to be just a small part with poor contact due to impact. We didn't have time to repair it during the operation, so we need to fix it quickly now that we have some free time.

"... What a convenient ability."

Looking at the tool that suddenly appeared in the other party's hand, and thinking about the other party's combat method just now, Rosemary felt that this Originium Arts was quite convenient.

It's not just for destruction; it can also be used to protect others, and even to repair machinery.

Instead of her Originium Arts, which can only cause destruction.

"Hmm... it is indeed quite convenient, but it also consumes a lot of energy, so we have to carefully manage the pace of its use."

Shirou thought about this for a moment and simply pointed out his biggest problem.

The main point is to tell Rosemary not to have too high expectations of him.