Chapter 226

But for him now, it seems he should take a good day off.

This is not a good sign, considering that the mirror in his room hasn't even been installed yet.

"Shirou?"

Upon hearing Swire's voice from the other end of the communicator, Shirou immediately abandoned his previous thoughts and said:

"This is Shirou."

"Chen and Hoshiguma are in a standoff with the target. The other party seems to be escaping, and based on their movement trajectory, they are very likely heading towards your area. Make sure to block the entrance to the ditch cover."

Swire's voice was quick; he hung up the call immediately after speaking.

"...learn."

Even though the other party might not be able to hear him, Shirou still replied.

But... shouldn't we talk to Amiya and the others about this? Rhodes Island is the main force here, isn't it?

Well, I guess they're just too busy over there. Swire herself is probably a bit overwhelmed right now, isn't she?

Or perhaps she forgot about Rhodes Island's communication channels. Swire is quite careless in this regard; otherwise, she wouldn't always use drones with loudspeakers to give commands.

She only remembers the contact information of people who are worth remembering.

"Scout, I'll leave the reconnaissance to you. I'll go down and meet up with Amiya and the others."

Shirou quickly switched channels, explained the situation to Scout, and then jumped down from above.

The altitude wasn't high, so Shirou landed safely without even using his Mystic Code.

"What happened?"

Seeing that Shirou had suddenly taken action, the Rhodes Island team also perked up, with Ace and Rhine Lab International immediately inquiring about the situation.

"Sir Swire just contacted me and said that the prisoner is moving and is heading in our direction. He told us to get ready."

Once he got into work mode, Shirou didn't waste any time and relayed what Swire had just told him to the others.

"Understood. Miss Jessica and Miss Voucher, please return to the assembly point as soon as possible. The rest of you, be ready for battle at any time."

After assessing the situation, Amiya began to gather her team members to prepare for battle.

Meanwhile, Shirou wasn't idle either. He placed his right hand on the ground and used his Analysis Magic to sense the movements below.

The area below was very open, but there were faint tremors, suggesting that someone was running or fighting inside.

Seeing the unidentified markings flashing on Shirou's right hand, the others wisely refrained from disturbing Shirou, and even lowered their voices considerably.

The scene was very quiet, with only occasional buzzing sounds coming from Shirou's right hand.

"They're here, about five people. Be careful."

Sensing someone climbing up the ladder, Shirou gave a heads-up and also mentioned the number of people he had sensed.

"Little kitty, can you sense it?"

Upon hearing Shirou's words, Blaze immediately turned to look at Rosemary, who was standing behind the group.

"It's not very clear, but someone definitely came up."

A bead of cold sweat dripped from her forehead, Rosemary replied.

Even without engaging in combat, using Originium Arts in this way is still very taxing on stamina.

"... Working with Shirou is so convenient. Shirou almost single-handedly handles most of the work."

After listening to Rosemary's words, Huang sighed.

We need more teammates like this, so she can just focus on killing people.

"A person's energy is ultimately limited, so teamwork is essential unless absolutely necessary. Also, Rhine Lab International, step back a bit and let me engage the enemy first."

Raising his shield to his chest, Ace spoke as he stepped forward, shielding everyone behind him.

At the same time, the hammer in his right hand was already poised to strike.

As he said, one person's energy is limited, so teamwork is essential. He is the team's heavy armor, and he must shield himself from attacks and dangers so that others can attack and deal damage without worry.

Rhine Lab International quietly retreated to the side, forming a protective network with Ace, one in front and one behind, one on the left and one on the right.

Soon, the drain cover started to move.

The drain cover was pushed open, and a disheveled-looking person crawled out, panting and cursing.

"How the damned Knights of the Round Table knew we were trading here? Shouldn't they have all been silenced? Or is there a mole among them?"

As the man continued his rant, he realized something was wrong.

Why is it so dark around us? Wait... this looks like a person's shadow?

Slowly raising his head, the man saw a shield gradually enlarging until he heard a loud bang.

Then he couldn't see anything anymore.

When Huang saw Ace knock someone unconscious, he immediately stepped forward and pulled the person out without making a sound.

Ace had already crouched down beside someone.

"..."

With his right hand still using Analysis Magic to sense the movements below, Shirou watched as the two of them were so skilled, and the others seemed to be used to it as well. He began to wonder if he should send these people to the Knights of the Round Table first.

This is so smooth! How many times have you gone through this process? You can cooperate so seamlessly without even needing to talk!

Despite having a lot of questions in his mind, Shirou still didn't make any move.

"Hey? Where is everyone?... What's Old Zhang up to?"

After the person was dragged away, a man's voice came from the other side of the drain cover.

However, the slight pause in the middle made Shirou somewhat concerned.

The tone of the conversation didn't seem to match up... as if they were trying to mislead others.

There's no doubt that it's those present who are confused.

Therefore, there is only one answer.

"Notice!"

As if in response to Shirou's idea, a canned unidentified object was thrown up from the drain cover.

In that instant, Shirou felt as if time was slowing down.

The canned object was also slowly rotating in mid-air.

Even without analysis, Shirou knew what it was, since the Knights of the Round Table often used it during assaults.

That's a smoke bomb.

Although it's not very lethal, the smoke can still be quite uncomfortable if it spreads.

But Shirou didn't want to gamble; what if the other side had also added something to it?

If the poisonous fog spreads here...

Before Shirou could think further, his body had already begun to move.

"Shirou?"

Seeing Shirou suddenly rush forward, Rosemary called out his name in confusion.

However, Shirou did not respond. Instead, he leaped up and grabbed Ace's shoulder in front of the drain cover, using Ace as a leverage point to spin around in the air.

At the same time, he kicked the smoke grenade back with a powerful kick.

Releasing his grip, Shirou also fell down in the direction of the force exerted.

It wasn't a mistake, but rather something done intentionally.

Based on what he sensed earlier, they should all be on the stairs, so if he goes down like this, barring any unforeseen circumstances... he can wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

However, doing so is actually quite risky; having the Knights of the Round Table surround them from below would have the same effect.

Shirou simply didn't want to gamble on whether the other party had anything besides a smoke bomb.

After all, someone who can obtain large quantities of explosives would naturally carry some, right?

Taking decisive action is the safest approach.

A faint blue light emanated from his body, and Shirou's Knights of the Round Table combat uniform instantly transformed into Mystic Code.

Then, using all his strength, he stomped his right foot hard on the hand of the person at the top who was holding the ladder.

The strange sensation coming from the soles of his feet did not deter Shirou from stopping; he simply used his left foot to kick the other man away in the opposite direction of the ladder.

Since the opponent had lost their footing, Shirou didn't have to exert much effort to get them down.

At the same time, because the space here is not large, when the first person falls down, it naturally pushes the second, third and fourth people down as well.

"...?"

Below, Chen and Hoshiguma led a squad from the Knights of the Round Table in pursuit of these people.

The enemy chose this location because they had clearly studied the route carefully, which allowed them to shake off the pursuit of the Knights of the Round Table for a time.

With the help of the instruments, the Knights of the Round Table still managed to find the other party's trail and catch up with them.

It was supposed to be like this...

But the layers upon layers of screams were so loud that just hearing them told everyone where the person was.

After rounding a bend, Chen saw several people piled up below, along with a large amount of smoke. Then, a red figure jumped down from above, landing steadily on the bodies of the people below.

"Huh? Chen? I've already taken care of things here. There's still one more person upstairs who needs to be knocked out."

After landing, Shirou held his breath and retreated outside the smoke circle, where he saw Chen with a complicated expression and Hoshiguma.

"Hey Shirou... you didn't just throw them down from up there, did you?"

Thinking about the screams she had just heard, Hoshiguma felt like she could piece together the scene from what had just happened.

The Rhodes Island crew, along with Shirou, were throwing people off from above...

Did I not expect Shirou to be led astray like this?

It seems we can't let Shirou get any closer to that pharmaceutical company called Rhodes Island!

"Huh? Throw it down? I don't think so. I just kicked the one on top down."

Upon hearing Hoshiguma's words, Shirou pondered for a moment.

He definitely didn't throw these people off, he kicked them off, so there's no problem!

"Wouldn't that be even worse?"

Seeing Shirou's earnest explanation, Hoshiguma retorted.

It's not that I'm trying to be harsh on Shirou, but the screams and the pile of people on the ground were really unforgettable.

This is what these people deserve, but Hoshiguma doesn't want Shirou to get used to doing things this way.

Strictly speaking, this already constitutes vigilante justice.

"Shirou! Can't you at least tell me before you start doing something?! Cough cough cough..."

Just as the group was talking, another voice came from behind.

Then, Huang landed on the four of them again. Unlike Shirou's gentle landing, Huang's landing posture was obviously more violent.

If it landed like that on land, it would probably kick up a lot of dust, right?

But it landed here...

Shirou thought he just heard a sound of bones dislocating.

Okay, let's just pretend we didn't hear that.

"Isn't it because we're worried that the smoke grenade might be poisonous? In an emergency, we can't worry about that much."

Seeing that Huang had jumped down, Shirou gave an explanation.

At the same time, Chen and Hoshiguma roughly understood the cause of the matter.

These guys probably threw smoke bombs from the ditch opening, and then Shirou stopped them?

That's alright, it was just that he used a heavy hand in self-defense.