Master vs. Servant

As Rider watched the ferocious creatures charging towards him, he couldn't help but recall the monsters he had vanquished in his previous life.

While the Harpy are already quite bizarre in appearance, the monsters before us are even uglier. They have the upper bodies of dragon-tooth soldiers and the lower bodies of birds. Cruel but cowardly, the Harpy are unsuitable as soldiers. However, if the "flying" trait is added to the dragon-tooth soldiers under Assassin's command, they will become watchdogs protecting the skies.

The swarm of demonic birds, obscuring the sky, attacked Rider, who was alone in mid-air. If it were anyone else, they would probably be torn to pieces.

But this time, they chose the wrong opponent.

They challenged Astolfo, one of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins. Having experienced numerous adventures, he possessed a variety of Noble Phantasm that worked under specific conditions: a spear specialized in knocking people down, a book that could break all Magecraft, and a phantom horse with special powers in certain areas.

And the bagpipes he's holding now are probably the most impressive item he owns.

"Alright, please line up properly—[LaBlackLuna, the Flute That Calls for Fear]!"

With his voice, the bagpipes at his waist instantly grew to the size of him.

"Explode!"

Rider took a deep breath and blew the magic flute with all his might.

The ultrasonic shockwave, which didn't produce a piercing sound, instantly pulverized the demon birds. Although Rider's Noble Phantasm was of a lower level, it was still the True Name Release of a Noble Phantasm, which mere familiars couldn't withstand at all.

"Now that the obstacles have been removed, then..."

Rider's gaze quickly settled on the woman in a black dress on the fortress's balcony.

The dark-haired woman, simply by standing there, exuded a captivating and alluring charm that made one want to immerse themselves in her beauty.

[Since she can summon familiars, then she must be--]

"You're the Caster from the Red Faction, aren't you? Prepare yourself!"

Based on the current situation, Rider quickly determined the other party's class.

"You're mistaken, lovely girl. I am the Semiramis... Although I shouldn't say that in front of Caster, I do know a little about Magecraft."

After saying that, she snapped her fingers. Instantly, immense magical power spread out around her.

"What!"

Rider was surprised by the magic surrounding Assassin.

Could it be Assassin, not Caster, who could use Magecraft of that level? Although I had considered that this might be a bluff, there was no point in lying in the current situation.

"Even so, defeating you would be enough, wouldn't it, Empress of Assyria!"

The Magecraft originated from this fortress. This means she is the master of this fortress, and her real name is definitely Semiramis.

Defeating the Semiramis will disable all the functions of this fortress.

The opponent has simply changed from Caster to Assassin. As long as the opponent uses Magecraft, there is no difference in the face of one's Noble Phantasm!

"Stop talking big, Rider."

Whether it was a pre-arranged spell or not, the magic power gathered around her instantly transformed into a deep purple True Magic circle after Semiramis finished speaking.

"It won't be that easy!"

As Rider shouted, he accelerated the speed of the Hippogriff, trying to use its aerial mobility to evade the opponent's attack.

"Oh--"

Upon witnessing Rider's actions, Assassin guessed his intentions, sneered, and raised his arm—

There were eleven True Magic circles unfolding behind Assassin, and all the Magecraft that had been filled was aimed at Rider and the Hippogriff.

This cheat-like fighting style left Rider speechless. If it were only one or two, he could use his speed to dodge them, but he could handle up to five.

But before them was a salvo of more than a handful of massive Magecraft spells—

"Just fall right here!"

The instant Assassin made that announcement, accompanied by a roar like that of a monster, a massive beam of light filled Rider's vision—

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

Rider's plan was sound; facing the Assassin's barrage, he might be able to grit his teeth and withstand it with his A-rank Magic Resistance. However, he overlooked one crucial issue—

Even a steed, Hippogriff in the realm of mythical beasts, could not possibly remain unscathed under such an attack!

The Hippogriff vanished amidst a scream, Astolfo, now without its mount, plummeted downwards.

Like Icarus, who fell because he got too close to the sun, the impudent one who intended to enter the Queen's temple deserved his doom in the same way.

"How boring."

He had thought the arrival of Astolfo would give him some time to kill, but it seemed he had been overthinking it. With a cold snort, Assassin turned his gaze back to the battlefield. If his senses were correct, his Master had met his first opponent...

"Um?"

With a puzzled look, Assassin turned his gaze in the direction where Wang Xiaoming and Caster had been, only to find that the place where the two had been standing was now deserted.

Because they are unstable factors, it is impossible to ignore them.

With this in mind, Assassin immediately used Magecraft to search for the two people's location, and the result was --

What does he want to do?

Assassin, having discovered Caster's group's actions through Magecraft, was stunned.

Chapter 227. Master VS Servant

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

The Astolfo, lying on the ground, clutched his head and rolled around on the floor. He was definitely not a physically robust Servant; his Rank D durability spoke for itself.

However, the fact that he survived Assassin's terrifying magic cannon should be attributed to the grimoire that Rider possessed, which could destroy any Magecraft.

In reality, he himself was not harmed much.

As for Rider's current condition, it's mostly due to the impact of falling from a great height.

"Oh dear, this is a really bad situation."

Gazing at the floating fortress in the sky, Rider couldn't help but sigh. The Hippogriff wasn't dead; although returning it hastily had injured him, he could recover given enough time.

However, it's unlikely to be usable in this battle.

However, reflecting on the previous battle, Rider had to admit that he had also made considerable mistakes. If he had been able to decisively unleash the power of the Hippogriff, he could have dodged that Magecraft attack.

However, this would violate the vow I once made in my heart...

"Ahhh, never mind! Let's find another way!" Anyway, there's more than just Semiramis on the battlefield this time. If Servant can't beat her, we'll just switch to another one!

With this thought in mind, Rider suddenly sat up. Then, two figures suddenly entered his field of vision—

"... Eh?!"

After a brief silence, a mournful cry came from the mouth of Astolfo.

Not far from Rider stood a man and a woman. Rider could clearly sense the aura of Servant from the girl, and since she was a face he had never seen before, it seemed that she should be the Caster from the Red Faction who had never shown herself before.

But none of these are important things.

"[Red] Caster?"

Rider asked tentatively.

In response, the girl nodded, her eyes revealing a smile that she could not hide.

Rider's unease grew stronger, but he gritted his teeth and forced a smile, "When did you arrive?"

"From the moment you landed."

The girl's smiling words utterly crushed Rider.

--The Knights, Astolfo's crushing defeat!

"I'm sorry you witnessed such a rude scene!"

With his hands clasped together, Rider apologized to the two.

Caster and his Master exchanged a glance, and finally the man spoke:

"Forget about the apology, Rider. May I ask what the name of your Archer is?"

"Hey, Archer never said his name, it seems like he has amnesia... You're trying to trick me!"

Rider, who had subconsciously answered the man's question, only belatedly glared at him after speaking halfway through her sentence.

The man was more surprised than angry at Rider. He had only asked Rider a question because he saw Rider's seemingly idiotic behavior, but it turned out Rider really was an idiot.

It's a pity--

Seeing Rider's wary demeanor, the man figured he wouldn't get any more information out of her. Little did he know—due to Rider's skill [Rationality Evaporation], this seemingly vigilant Servant was utterly incapable of keeping any secrets...

However, the information he had gathered was already enough for the man. The amnesia, coupled with that fighting style of someone who, despite being an archer, insisted on melee combat, led him to believe he knew the true name of [Black] Archer...

"Hey, what are you doing? This is a battlefield! A battlefield!"

Rider was very dissatisfied when he saw that the Master of the Red Faction Caster opposite him had fallen into deep thought after getting information out of him.

"Huh, you're still here?"

"(╯‵□′)╯┻━┻"

Seeing the genuine surprise on the other man's face, Rider decisively overturned his inner turmoil. However, the man's next words took Rider by surprise. "Since you haven't left yet, why don't we have a fight?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you so surprised? We are opposing sides, so there shouldn't be any problem with starting a war here, right?"

Perhaps sensing Rider's confusion, the man countered with a question.

He was right. Amidst the intense fighting all around, their own "harmonious" scene seemed utterly out of place.

"Okay, okay, I got it."

Rider heard his Master's urging voice in his ears and sighed helplessly. He reconstituted his magnificent spear in his hand, then looked up at the cute girl opposite him. Although he didn't know her real name yet, he knew that with his extremely high level of Magic Resistance, there was no way he could lose to Caster at this distance.

So--

"Well then, Caster from the Red Faction, I'm sorry, but could you please leave here?"

To Rider's surprise, Caster made no move after hearing her declaration of war. Instead, her Master stepped forward and stood in front of Caster.

"Perhaps I didn't explain clearly, but Rider, your opponent this time is me."

Beside this battlefield steeped in ancient atmosphere, a sports car sped across the grassland as if mocking this outdated battlefield.

That was the Chevrolet Corvette, a long-established American sports car. Although its exterior was covered with various dents, it still smashed through the Dragon Tooth soldiers and androids blocking its way at an extremely high speed under the high-speed rotation of its roaring engine.

Seated in the driver's seat of the sports car is Mordred, dressed in modern attire including a red jacket, short vest, and super short shorts.

"Damn it! How dare they start a war here without me? There's a limit to joking around, Master!"

Even with the accelerator floored, Saber continued to loudly express her dissatisfaction.

"It's obvious at a glance!"

Gripping tightly at the handrail above the car window, Shishigou nervously watched the road ahead, fearing he might be thrown out.

"Compared to that, do you actually have the [Riding] skill?"

"Of course! There's no horse I can't tame!"

Saber's answer was full of confidence.

With a B-rank "Riding" skill, Saber should be better at controlling mounts than anyone else... Shouldn't she be?

But Saber's handling was beyond what could be described as "brutal." Her acceleration and stopping were extremely sudden, and she used drifting to smash through androids, trampling golems, and so on, displaying driving skills that could only be seen in Hollywood movies.

Although it looks glamorous, there is no vehicle in reality that can withstand such driving.

"Hey, Master, didn't you say American cars are very sturdy?"

Sensing the "groaning" emanating from the car's frame, Saber asked her Master beside her.

"Don't be ridiculous! Nobody would design a sports car that could actually run on the battlefield in the first place!"

"Well, whatever, as long as we find an opponent before it's scrapped!"