"Allow this humble monk to save you!"
The Nine-Ringed Vajra Staff in Sanzang's hand transformed, becoming a black iron staff capped with golden rings at both ends!
Is that the Golden Cudgel?!
Li Ye, still wary of his surroundings, raised a brow and instinctively mistook the black iron staff Sanzang had produced for the Ruyi Jingu Bang wielded by Sun Wukong.
As Sanzang skillfully spun the staff, the Dragon-headed Chimera had already closed in.
Its sharp claws seemed poised to cleave Sanzang apart where she stood, tearing her into several pieces!
"Haah!"
The Chimera was as swift as a cheetah, incomparably fast, but Sanzang was even faster!
Sanzang swung her staff in a wide arc. The black iron rod, barely two meters long, suddenly expanded against the wind, growing to six meters in the blink of an eye!
Bang!
A heavy, muffled impact exploded before Sanzang.
The claws about to reach Sanzang's face paused slightly before flying rapidly away!
Sanzang had sent the Chimera flying dozens of meters with a single strike!
The black iron staff in Sanzang's hand transformed again, turning into a Nine-Toothed Rake. Its massive teeth resembled dragon claws as they mercilessly tore into the Chimera's body!
Splurt!
Blood dyed the sky in an instant!
Sanzang's decisive, ferocious fighting style left Li Ye stunned.
Was this the power a top-tier Spirit Origin could bear?!
Li Ye knew that Servants varied in strength. It was not merely a matter of their power in life or their legends, but also the Spirit Origin serving as the vessel when they manifested. The higher the Spirit Origin, the greater the power they could unleash!
The level of Spirit Origin emanating from Sanzang was enough to rival the Knights of the Round Table who had received the Lion King's empowered blessing!
What truly surprised Li Ye, however, was the Chimera—
Though Sanzang had clearly been suppressing it, it forcibly twisted its body in midair and struck Sanzang away with one massive paw, turning the battle around!
That movement was not something a Chimera should have been capable of. It was as agile as a human!
Li Ye's lips curved upward. With Aleka as precedent, could he assume the Crusaders' remnants had a way to mass-produce Magi?
Magi who could enter and control the bodies of familiars, at that!
"So you're here!"
Bang!
Li Ye stomped his foot and shot forward like a cannonball!
Splurt—
Just as Li Ye finally made his move and was about to join Sanzang in taking down the Dragon-headed Chimera, an enormous radiance descended with Li Ye at its center.
A spell covering dozens of meters activated in an instant, yet Li Ye had not noticed the slightest sign of it beforehand!
"!"
Li Ye's intuition had failed again. Endless blazing white light filled his vision, while the yellow sand beneath him seemed to turn into quicksand, becoming so soft it threatened to swallow him whole!
Li Ye could clearly sense that the light was entirely harmless. It was even just ordinary sunlight, and its sole effect was to disrupt his vision.
What truly put Li Ye on guard was the change beneath his feet.
It was not merely the swallowing force of the quicksand. What Li Ye could not ignore was the curse permeating the sand!
An endless stream of curses seeped up from beneath the yellow sand, constantly eroding Li Ye's body!
Is it draining my life force?!
Li Ye had not expected the curse he encountered this time to be so powerful. Even his Magic Resistance could not dispel it. As his body sank, the curse continuously devoured both his life force and magical energy!
How many Magi are there?!
Li Ye, his eyes tightly shut, could not help clicking his tongue.
His senses had spread fully outward now. Li Ye could clearly feel the foreign curses saturating every direction. Within just a few breaths, they had covered dozens of meters around him!
And their source was not merely the yellow sand beneath Li Ye. They were seeping up from underground in every direction!
A large-scale curse spell had been inscribed into the sand beneath the earth, lying dormant until Li Ye made his move before activating all at once!
The curse spell was not the only thing activated. Li Ye discovered several Binding Magic spells taking effect, all aimed at a single target!
Li Ye himself!
Li Ye frowned deeply. As the curses continued eroding his magical energy, more and more spells activated, restricting his movements.
He could sense no fewer than seventeen spells affecting him, and the number was still increasing.
In only a few seconds, Li Ye felt as though his body weighed as much as a mountain, his movements sluggish!
It was as though they were using Li Ye's own magical energy to sustain the spells, making Li Ye restrain himself!
The burden on his body was secondary. The loss of magical energy was not a concern for Li Ye now. The nearly inexhaustible magical energy supplied by the Holy Grail had briefly granted him freedom from such limitations.
What truly concerned Li Ye was when these spells had been set up.
Before he arrived, only Sanzang and the Crusader knights had been fighting. There had been no sign of any other Magi, much less anyone setting up spells in front of Sanzang.
Sanzang...
Li Ye immediately recalled Sanzang's absentminded complaints into thin air and suddenly felt that setting up spells right in front of her had a high chance of succeeding.
But what about the target?
Li Ye could tell these spells had all been tailored to his body. Their effects would not even be as good if used on Sanzang.
This was a deliberate ambush!
When that conclusion surfaced in his mind, Li Ye felt no fear. Instead, he smiled.
If it truly was a planned ambush, then the Crusaders' remnants really did know his whereabouts. They had even used Sanzang as bait to lure him in.
As for whether Sanzang was actually the bait in this ambush, Li Ye did not know. Nor did it matter to him.
What mattered was whoever stood behind this ambush—
The true remnants of the Crusaders!
As time passed, half of Li Ye's body had been swallowed by the yellow sand, leaving him unable to move.
More than forty spells had been placed upon him, nearly causing Li Ye to lose all sensation in his limbs!
Three minutes...
Sanzang still hasn't dealt with the Chimera?
Choosing not to resist, Li Ye allowed the yellow sand to swallow him as he silently counted with his eyes closed.
The surrounding spells seemed to have entered a lull. For a full ten seconds, no new spells activated. The existing forty-plus spells alone maintained the restraints.
And that was with Li Ye offering no resistance.
Still not making a move...
As no attack came, Li Ye understood that those Magi had no intention of striking. These things truly were only meant to restrain him—
Or did the Crusaders' remnants think these tricks alone could take Li Ye down?
Li Ye did not know, and he had already run out of patience.
Crackle—
Li Ye moved his body, threads of crimson lightning constantly dancing across his skin.
As Li Ye released his magical energy, his body suddenly felt lighter. Every spell imposed upon him had been completely dispelled!
Boom!!
Starting from Li Ye, the suddenly erupting Crimson Lightning blasted away all the yellow sand within nearly ten meters!
The crimson pillar of light that shot into the sky was immensely imposing, and the terrifying heat it released melted all the sand within its range!
Crack.
When Li Ye landed, a gleaming sheet of glass lay beneath his feet. It was the yellow sand, completely melted by that horrifying heat!
As Li Ye surveyed his surroundings, he found a circular pit seven meters deep centered on himself!
Buried that deep?
Li Ye raised a brow. Only by destroying everything to this extent had he interrupted the curse spell and the other spells lying hidden in the sand.
Although he had destroyed every spell beneath the yellow sand, Li Ye felt that something was missing.
Before Li Ye could continue thinking—
"!"
Almost instinctively, Li Ye twisted aside to dodge.
Bang!
A black arrow silently pierced through the spot where Li Ye had just stood, leaving behind a hole as thick as a bowl.
Li Ye could even sense a potent curse within the hole.
"Who's there?"
Without even turning around, Li Ye detected the undisguised fluctuation of magical energy several dozen meters away—
A Servant?
Attacking at a time like this?
Crack!
The moment Li Ye realized the attacker's identity, his figure blurred as he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
In an instant, he charged out of the pit and headed straight for the attacker!
The moment Li Ye rushed from the pit, he also caught sight of Sanzang still tangled in battle with the Chimera.
The Chimera's body seemed different from before. It looked as though it had shrunk to half its size, becoming slimmer and much faster!
Li Ye had no time to concern himself with Sanzang's battle. He did not believe the Dragon-headed Chimera could defeat someone of Sanzang's strength.
"Don't leave me behind!!"
Ignoring Sanzang's shout, Li Ye sped straight past her.
Whoosh!
Black arrows flying toward him sealed off Li Ye's path forward.
Clang!
Holding his sword one-handed, Li Ye swept it sideways and intercepted every arrow—
Poof!
The instant his blade touched the arrows, they abruptly exploded. Billowing poisonous gas engulfed Li Ye in the blink of an eye!
Poison?!
That first arrow had already made Li Ye wary of what the arrows contained. Poisoned arrows were commonplace, after all, but he had not expected exploding arrows—
The poison nearly wrapped around Li Ye, seeming ready to seep into his body from every direction!
Before Li Ye could disperse the cloud of poison, the arrows that followed interrupted him!
At the instant the previous volley exploded and distracted Li Ye, sharp arrows shot toward his limbs and face, seeming intent on piercing him through completely and leaving him no chance to survive!
So fast?!
Warned by his intuition, Li Ye immediately noticed the nine arrows.
Their perfectly synchronized trajectories left him no room to choose!
One for the head, six for the limbs, and two for the torso!
Li Ye's earlier movements had left him wide open. Even if he defended, he would only have one chance!
Faced with such an extreme choice, Li Ye had only one answer—
Boom!!
The Crimson Lightning that suddenly blossomed was like brilliant heavenly thunder. Its absolute heat instantly vaporized the poisonous gas around Li Ye!
Those deadly arrows did not even touch Li Ye before his magical energy reduced them to dust!
Li Ye bent his legs, his entire body tilting forward—
Thunderclap Flash
The fleeting Crimson Lightning tore through the yellow sand. Waves of sand burst endlessly to both sides, as though a massive bulldozer had crushed through them!
Absolute Divine Speed—the power Li Ye could take pride in!
Clang!
A clear ring of steel tore through the sandstorm, clearing the sky in an instant!
"Since you are a Heroic Spirit, a renowned champion of history, may I ask who you are?"
Holding his sword one-handed, Li Ye steadily blocked the blade of the figure before him.
Li Ye had used Thunderclap Flash, his strongest move at present, and followed it with a sword strike. Yet this nameless Archer had received Li Ye's ferocious attack head-on with one hand!
If Li Ye's strike had landed on the Chimera fighting Sanzang, it would have sent the creature's nearly ten-ton body flying at least some distance!
In terms of raw strength alone, he can rival me—or even surpass me?
Li Ye felt no fear. Instead, he smiled as he examined the Servant before him.
White bandages wrapped around his dark skin, making the man's powerful muscles stand out even more. His sense of strength was almost visible to the naked eye.
He wore chainmail suited to the era, and its style reminded Li Ye of the Crusaders.
There was no answer.
The nameless Servant, whose face was also tightly wrapped in bandages, merely stared into Li Ye's eyes in silence.
The next moment, Li Ye felt an overwhelming force erupt, directly knocking his sword aside!
"!"
Li Ye pressed in again with a backhanded strike. "If you are one of the Crusaders, why do you not even dare reveal your name?"
Their blades began clashing, rapid clear rings echoing over the yellow sand like raindrops.
In less than a few seconds, Li Ye swung his sword nearly a hundred times, yet not once did he gain the upper hand.
Whenever Li Ye found an opening, he could not capitalize on it, because the Servant's even fiercer attacks forced him to defend and parry!
After this exchange, Li Ye could tell that this Servant was a battle-hardened hero. Both his swordsmanship and archery had reached masterful heights.
He's strong!
Based on Li Ye's impression of the one hundred and twenty-seven registered Heroic Spirits in the Grand Order of Fate, he could not find any Servant who matched him—
Where had this Archer come from?!
Not only were his archery skills superb, but he also possessed top-tier martial prowess that Li Ye could only look up to!
As Li Ye fought this Servant, he actually felt as though he were facing Lancelot!
Every move he made was seen through, and his immature swordsmanship was utterly useless before this Servant!
Li Ye simply could not match, let alone surpass, this Servant in technique. If he wanted a chance at victory, there was only—
Crackle—
Crimson Lightning flared, and Li Ye's movements changed accordingly.
He abandoned the versatility of swordsmanship and relied instead on absolute power to destroy everything!
Like an ordinary swing of his sword, the crimson feral light erupting from its edge was Dragon's Breath, devouring all things and burning the world away!
Boom!!
The crimson torrent swept across the desert, turning everything in its path into transparent crystals!
"Hand... over... the Holy Grail."
After the torrent dissipated, the unnamed Servant, completely unscathed, spoke one word at a time.
He's fine?!
Li Ye's expression hardened. This strike might not have contained everything he had, but its power rivaled the Mana Burst he had used in the battle at the Spirit Mausoleum. Yet it had not harmed this Servant in the slightest?
Does he have some special skill?!
Or is it the effect of Mystery?
Li Ye's mind raced, listing every ability he knew that could fit this situation.
Does he possess a passive skill like Siegfried's Armor of Fafnir, capable of blocking ordinary B-rank attacks and B+-rank Noble Phantasm attacks?
Or is he wearing a Noble Phantasm, a permanently defensive one like Karna's Golden Armor?
Or is he being bolstered by Mystery?
Though Li Ye was thinking, his mouth did not stop. "Sorry, but I'm only borrowing it too. I'll have to return it sooner or later."
With nothing more to say, the unnamed Servant seemed ready to attack again.
Li Ye, going all out, showed no weakness either. He gripped his sword hilt tightly with both hands and watched the unnamed Servant's every movement.
If Mana Burst doesn't work—
I can use Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, but I only have one chance—
Li Ye knew full well that his swordsmanship was inferior. If he missed when using Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, it would be difficult to find another opportunity once his opponent became wary!
"Unknown hero, are you still unwilling to reveal your name?!"