The Inevitable Battle

The Inevitable Battle

To defeat the Servant whose class was Berserker, Luo Zhen estimated that, given their current strength, they had less than a one-in-ten chance of victory.

(If I used that Summoning, perhaps our chances would increase by another one-tenth.)

Luo Zhen rapidly calculated the various possible battle situations in his mind.

(Fortunately, I anticipated a situation like this long ago.)

Luo Zhen had always been extremely self-aware, with a clear understanding of his own position. He knew that he was a Master, whose duty was to command and provide support—not fight on the front lines himself. Therefore, setting aside the magic that could only summon Low-Level Familiars, the three types of Mid-Level Familiars he could summon had all been carefully selected from among the many kinds of Familiars.

After all, unlike Low-Level Familiars, which could only rival ordinary beasts or ferocious animals, Mid-Level Familiars already possessed a certain degree of special ability.

For example, the magical ants summoned by Ant Summoning were as large as fierce hounds, and their defining trait was extraordinary strength. Even an elephant could be lifted by one of them alone. In terms of raw strength, even some High-Level Familiars could not match a single magical ant, making them useful in many situations.

Of course, aside from their astonishing strength, there was another reason Luo Zhen had taken a liking to these magical ants.

That was their extremely high cost-effectiveness.

This so-called cost-effectiveness was reflected in their consumption of magical energy.

After learning Ant Summoning, Luo Zhen discovered that magical ants were Familiars that won through sheer numbers.

If he summoned a Mid-Level Familiar of another type, the magical energy consumed would be enough to summon ten magical ants.

The reason Luo Zhen had taken a liking to Ant Summoning and learned it was that it allowed him to summon a very large number of them.

"People say that enough ants can bring down an elephant. If I exhausted all my magical energy to summon several hundred magical ants, then with some tactics and countermeasures, it wouldn't be impossible for them to chew an enemy at the level of a High-Level Familiar to death."

Thus, the first Mid-Level Familiar Luo Zhen learned to summon was the magical ant.

The second and third types of Mid-Level Familiars were different, however.

Aside from the magical ants, the other two types of Mid-Level Familiars Luo Zhen could summon did not possess combat abilities. Instead, they specialized in other areas.

One of them was used by Luo Zhen to protect himself.

"As a Summoning Arts mage, the first thing I need to consider is protecting myself."

After all, a mage skilled in Summoning Arts was a weakness in their own right.

If an enemy ignored the Familiars swarming toward them and attacked the summoner directly, then once the summoner was defeated, no matter how many Familiars there were or how powerful they were, it would all be useless.

Therefore, although the second Mid-Level Familiar Luo Zhen could summon had no combat ability, it possessed impressive defensive capabilities. In certain situations, it could even be more useful than Mashu.

As for the third Mid-Level Familiar, it was a Familiar that possessed a certain degree of suppression against Servants.

That was because Luo Zhen understood this very clearly.

"As a Master, I definitely won't have any shortage of dealings with Servants in the future."

On the journey to save the Human Order, humans were often insignificant. Only the Heroic Spirits existing in legends and fantasies were indispensable guardians of their eras.

The existence of Heroic Spirits was, in essence, the world's defense mechanism—the weapons used to protect the world.

Since that was the case, if he wanted to interfere with the Human Order and travel through every era, then dealing with Servants, even fighting them outright, would be unavoidable.

Therefore, the third Mid-Level Familiar Luo Zhen could summon possessed a certain degree of suppression against Servants.

More accurately, it would be better to say that it possessed a certain degree of suppression against spiritual bodies.

(If I used that Familiar, then even against a monster like that, I should still be able to increase our chances of victory by another one-tenth.)

(It's just that the magical energy required to summon "that" isn't ordinary.)

(Should I use it here?)

On the jolting back of the wolf, Luo Zhen did his best to steady himself while racking his brains.

At that very moment...

"Boom—!"

A tremendous explosion rang out from behind. The shock wave tore across the asphalt, shattering the windows of the buildings lining both sides of the road. Like a typhoon sweeping through, it raised a succession of explosive booms.

A figure shot out of the blast like a cannonball. In an instant, it caught up with Luo Zhen and Olga Marie, who were jolting along on the wolf's back. Carrying a powerful gust of wind, it crashed into the ground not far ahead of Luo Zhen, smashing the pavement while sending dust billowing upward like a mushroom cloud.

"Cough... cough, cough..."

Mashu staggered up from the dust, propping herself up with her shield. She appeared to have suffered considerable damage.

"Mashu!"

Olga Marie cried out instinctively.

Even Luo Zhen almost shouted, but he forcibly held it back.

Behind them, extreme violence was rapidly closing in.

The giant man leaped from midair like a meteor. In an instant, he crossed nearly a kilometer and descended before Luo Zhen and Olga Marie as they fled at full speed.

"Senpai...!"

Mashu called out.

But even before that, Luo Zhen had already ordered the Familiars under his control.

"Get out of the way!"

There was not the slightest hesitation.

Guided by Luo Zhen's magical energy, the two wolves each let out a furious howl and dodged toward opposite sides.

The burly giant landed heavily right where Luo Zhen and Olga Marie had split apart.

Then came the explosion.

With a resounding "Boom!" the force of the impact surged through the blast, sending rubble, broken stones, and chunks of concrete flying while making the ground tremble.

The impact blew both riders from the wolves, sending them tumbling across the ground and rolling a considerable distance.

"Ugh..."

Olga Marie seemed to have been dazed by the impact, unable to get up from the ground for quite some time.

Luo Zhen, on the other hand, had anticipated this situation beforehand. At the critical moment, he had ordered the Familiar to cushion his fall, avoiding the direct impact.

The poor wolf had not only sprinted for such a long time but had also been used by Luo Zhen as a crash mat. It had lost consciousness.

Only then did Luo Zhen climb to his feet. Panting, he stared ahead.

"Roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar—!"

Amid the waves of sound, the Servant whose class was Berserker threw back his head and roared.

His enormous figure stood precisely between Luo Zhen and Mashu.

Luo Zhen and Mashu simultaneously stared at the Berserker Servant, their gazes meeting across that hulking, fiendish figure.

In an instant, resolve appeared in their eyes.

"We have no choice..."

Luo Zhen wiped the sweat from his forehead, a fearless smile appearing on his face.

Mashu understood his meaning at once and likewise steeled her expression.

Then...

"Get ready! Mashu!"

"Yes!"

Magical energy surged through both of them, shooting straight into the sky.