Chapter 524: One Against Many, The Formidable Foe Tao Baibai (35k)

Saber, who was just about to Release her Noble Phantasm, saw the white-haired Emiya thrown over like a cannonball, and she had no choice but to abandon the Release.

While dodging to the side, she dragged her sword and sprinted toward Tao Baibai.

At this moment, the others finally reacted; this was an asymmetrical battle.

Sshhh-rip!

Suddenly, a terrifying thunderclap exploded; no one knew when the dark clouds had begun to gather in the sky, with lightning surging within.

Tao Baibai, simultaneously besieged by Saber and Emiya, still had energy to spare and had used some new ability.

Standing in the rear, Ilya frowned slightly; she was being continuously drained of massive amounts of Magic Power, and the Assassin's performance, which exceeded the norm, was accompanied by a massive consumption of Magic Power.

If Bai Cangshu did not have Ilya as his Master, the Class would instead be a shackle for him.

The other Heroic Spirits were the same; the Class would limit a Heroic Spirit's abilities.

The pitch-black giant Berserker watched Ilya standing behind Tao Baibai from afar, the red light in his eyes flickering constantly, like a malfunctioning robot.

As the most powerful Heroic Spirit in close-quarters combat here, he was the only one truly capable of fighting Bai Cangshu in close quarters.

But because of Ilya's presence, this pitch-black giant was constantly suppressing his own manic fighting spirit.

Tap, tap, tap...

Footsteps sounded rapidly; Sasaki Kojiro's pace could not be called swift, but his steps were light, his body tilted until it was almost parallel to the ground, treading on the ground as fast as if he were flying close to the surface.

Monohoshizao slashed horizontally in a sudden motion.

The sword light shone in an Instant.

Bai Cangshu turned his head, his left index finger held upright.

Clang!

The sword light vanished upon his left hand; he switched to curling his fingers into a palm, took a step forward, and his left palm, carrying a terrifying air wave, struck out directly from hundreds of meters away.

【Cloud-Plam: Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning】!

Boom!

The violent air wave was like a wall, the Force and the air, which had been swept up into a white-wave shape, crashing down toward Sasaki Kojiro with a roar.

Sasaki Kojiro's gaze was sharp; he did not dodge or evade. The moment the air wall reached his body, he took a heavy step down, his overly long Tachi swinging from top to bottom.

A streak of silver thread cut through the air wall.

Boom—!

The airflow and Force surged wildly in all directions; a wisp of Force struck Sasaki Kojiro's deep blue long hair, the hair tie snapped, and his hair scattered.

Yet he revealed a look of Man Zhi; while twisting his body, Monohoshizao changed its sword stance again. By now, he had reached within ten meters of Bai Cangshu, and with a twist of his body, he slashed with his sword.

The intense feeling of sharpness stimulated Dragon Scale to appear on Bai Cangshu's skin before the blade even touched him.

This was a duel between a Sword Grandmaster and a Martial Arts Grandmaster; at the same time, it was a duel between the true and false Assassin.

Bai Cangshu was also intrigued; after striking with one palm, he clapped his palms repeatedly.

【Cloud-Plam: Cloud-Turning and Rain-Covering】!

The palm wind was like giant, scorching-white palm prints, striking toward Sasaki Kojiro in succession from a distance.

Sasaki Kojiro's breathing hitched slightly; before he could move, a purple aurora had already shone.

It was a figure that could be called extreme speed, arriving with a boom in an Instant from a position about four thousand meters away.

The speed was so fast that it far exceeded any Heroic Spirit present.

Bai Cangshu's 【First of the First】 and 【Heart Net】 were both prepared, and in an Instant, his body became illusory like a bubble.

The galloping Rider Medusa had her eyes completely hidden under her blindfold, and the stake connected by a silver chain in her hand pierced into the bubble.

She was now completely certain that this Assassin not only possessed strength rivaling Berserker but also had speed and neural reflexes comparable to her own as a Rider.

Bang!

Rider Medusa planted her feet into the ground; amidst the exploding gravel, she dissipated her momentum in an instant and sped off in another direction.

Sasaki Kojiro's sword momentum was also interrupted by Rider Medusa's attack, and the hand gripping the sword hilt let go of the stance for 【Secret Sword: Swallow Reversal】.

Hum!

But a figure appeared before him once again; Sasaki Kojiro's expression changed, and he was about to raise his hand for a secret sword, but a sky full of leg shadows had already appeared.

【Wind God Leg: Gale and Rainstorm】!

Bang, bang, bang, bang...

Dense striking sounds emerged; Sasaki Kojiro held his Tachi horizontally, his body was blown away in an Instant, and after landing, he had no signs of life.

Emiya watched as the Servant, who was covered in wounds but whose fatal injury could not be determined, slowly vanished.

He frowned.

"Be careful, he might have some kind of special ability!"

Saber stood in front of Bai Cangshu once again, Excalibur swinging continuously, but Tao Baibai kept disappearing and reappearing like a phantom.

"It is a Sishuxing attack."

A female voice rang out, purple long hair dancing in the wind; Rider Medusa, having gained the reinforcement of her Master's Magic Power, displayed intense confidence.

Even under the effect of 【Self-Sealing: Dark Temple】, she still keenly sensed that several thick auras of death had appeared in that gale-and-rainstorm-like kicking technique just now.

That swordsman Servant had been directly erased by that aura of death, without any resistance.

【You have assimilated a new Soul, Heroic Spirit: Sasaki Kojiro】

As she spoke, the purple blindfold on Rider Medusa's face had already vanished, and her whole body began to bloom with a faint purple luster; Bai Cangshu was very familiar with that appearance—it was the posture of a Servant whose strength had been enhanced by the application of a Command Spell.

He raised his eyes and saw that several kilometers away, the young girl named Matou Sakura had already risen, standing atop the high, broken ground, her long dress fluttering in the wind, a strange smile actually appearing on her face.

"Ha~ so that's how it is, you have also obtained completion..."

Bai Cangshu guessed the development of events in almost an instant; the purple aurora flashed, and after receiving a full supply of Magic Power, the most powerful Servant here had changed.

Compared to Berserker, who was polluted by Black Mud and lacked rationality and a continuous supply of Magic Power, and Saber, who was always in a state of Magic Power deficiency.

This Medusa, possessing the essence of a divine spirit, had already become the strongest in substance.

Medusa's figure, like lightning, once again pierced through an afterimage of Tao Baibai with a kick; she stepped mid-air onto the chain behind the stake she had fired, appearing to freeze in place before Bai Cangshu as if out of thin air.

That pair of 【Mystic Eyes of Petrification: Cybele】, terrifying even in the age of mythology, opened in an instant.

But Tao Baibai seemed to have foreseen it, having already closed his eyes.

Hum!

Like Instant Movement, Medusa's highest-grade Mystic Eyes of Petrification easily captured Tao Baibai's movements as he stepped dozens of times in the air in an instant; the next moment, he appeared from the wind.

A terrifying force, accompanied by the whistling of air, saw a pitch-black fist smash toward her head.

Medusa instantly crouched, her body supple as if she were lying on the ground; amidst the sound of air exploding above her head, Medusa took a step and appeared behind Tao Baibai. The Nameless Dagger in her hand suddenly backhanded toward his temple.

Clang!

A fair finger appeared at his temple at that exact moment, steadily catching the sword.

Whoosh!

Medusa, like a purple ribbon, failed to land the strike and instantly retreated hundreds of meters.

She confirmed at this moment that this Tao Baibai was indeed tricky, actually possessing highly advanced blind-fighting techniques to avoid her Magic Eye in this way.

"I am the bone of my sword. (Mu is the bone of the sword I hold.)"

"Steel is my body, and fire is my blood. (Steel is body, and fire is blood.)"

The chanting reached Bai Cangshu's ears; Bai Cangshu turned his head and, sure enough, saw the Heroic Spirit Emiya holding one hand out toward him.

In the distance, Kuzuki Soichiro had his arms hanging behind him, his figure rushing toward Ilya like a sharp arrow, while Medea floated above Kuzuki Soichiro, holding a strangely shaped dagger in her hand.

Further away, a black-haired man lay prone in the shadow of a raised mound of earth, and within his scope, the crosshairs were once again aimed at that terrifying Tao Baibai.

Bai Cangshu felt that everyone had finally seriously started this war, and he was overjoyed.

No schemes, no human sentiment, a completely head-on slaughter—this was the Holy Grail War he wanted.

Bai Cangshu ignored the Heroic Spirit Emiya, who was deploying 【Unlimited Blade Works】, and raised his right index finger high.

In an instant, the rolling thunderclouds in the sky seemed to approach the ground in a flash; that kind of terrifying oppressive feeling made one feel physically uncomfortable.

【Fate Lightning Arrow】!

Perhaps it was because Bai Cangshu had just acted as a true "Savior" in this world, saving it and gaining the trust of Gaia and Alaya.

This 【Fate Lightning Arrow】 was incomparably terrifying.

The thunder in the sky roamed through the clouds like a giant dragon, then followed Bai Cangshu's finger and suddenly descended from the sky.

Crackle!

The sky first darkened, and the next moment, it suddenly turned extremely bright, the light devouring everything.

Only a miserable cry was heard; Medusa's expression changed, and she turned her head back to see that the high-raised rock where Matou Sakura had been standing had already turned into curling blue smoke.

Whether it was that nearly ten-thousand-meter-huge rock layer, Matou Sakura, or Tohsaka Rin, whom Archer had specifically brought over, all had disappeared.

"You... you bastard..."

Emiya Shirou's eyes were vacant, then his face instantly twisted; he scrambled up from the ground and rushed rapidly toward Bai Cangshu.

Faster than him was Medusa; a purple aurora passed by Bai Cangshu's side in an instant, and her dagger had already pierced his neck.

This time, she was certain the opponent had not closed his eyes; terrifying Magic Power, through the Mystic Eyes of Petrification, acted on the opponent instantly.

Hum!

Bai Cangshu's whole body shook; in his limbs, cellular activity vanished immediately—not just activity, but even his life force was being lost.

The smile on his lips grew increasingly greedy; his long white hair danced behind him, and he closed his eyes, beginning to try to understand the nature of that Magic Eye.

But by the time he opened his eyes, the world had disappeared, leaving only the final chant of the Heroic Spirit Emiya.

"So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works. (Thus as I pray, 'Unlimited Blade Works'.)"

Huge gears rolled in the sky; there was fire everywhere, and various weapons were stuck in the ground.

"Unlimited Blade Works, huh..."

Bai Cangshu raised his head; several streaks of light exploded, and instead of retreating, he advanced, rapidly closing in on the Heroic Spirit Emiya.

【Broken Phantasm】!

Boom!

The terrifying power of launching and detonating copied Noble Phantasms as one-time Consumables blasted the air in front of Bai Cangshu completely apart; that impact force interrupted Bai Cangshu's forward momentum.

The smoke cleared, and a figure rushed over rapidly; in his hands, a pitch-black Claymore was gripped, and he dragged the sword with both hands, slashing violently while charging.

At this instant, behind the Heroic Spirit Emiya, the figure of a muscular man covered in muscles seemed to appear.

This is... Guts's technique?!

The Heroic Spirit Emiya had seen himself clash with Heracles using the Black Sword Dragon Slayer; at this moment, he had copied this sword and possessed the martial techniques and strength of the sword's original owner...

"Ha... I didn't expect an ally of Justice to be able to perform such a technique..."

The Heroic Spirit Emiya couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense with Tao Baibai; he had already made his resolve, and at this moment, he felt his physical strength increase significantly.

Although he hadn't expected that the owner of this sword wasn't Tao Baibai, this original owner was equally powerful!

He slashed out with the sword, and a pitch-black shockwave radiated from the blade, tearing the air apart instantly.

The huge sword light crossed nearly a thousand meters in an instant, cutting the ground completely open.

This was the swordsmanship of the Pirate World; Bai Cangshu thus confirmed that Guts had indeed undergone some enhancements after becoming a Reincarnator.

A flash of light suddenly appeared in Bai Cangshu's hand, and a pitch-black Claymore appeared—it was the original Black Sword Dragon Slayer.

He grabbed this sword and smashed it violently toward the Heroic Spirit Emiya.

There was no swordsmanship to speak of, but the force was terrifyingly great.

Clang!

The twin swords collided, and a searing white shockwave erupted from between them; Bai Cangshu realized that the Heroic Spirit Emiya at this moment actually possessed strength no less than his own.

Heroic Spirit Emiya also realized this point, and once again used Projection Magecraft in his hands to replicate a Noble Phantasm, throwing it directly at Tao Baibai from close range.

Boom!

Flames exploded, but a man whose entire body was shrouded in pitch-black Haki smashed through the smoke and appeared brutishly in front of Heroic Spirit Emiya.

Heroic Spirit Emiya gripped his sword again, about to strike down, but locked eyes with the opponent a step earlier.

Within those purple eyes, it seemed as if a terrifying power instantly surged into his body.

"This is..."

In an Instant, Heroic Spirit Emiya felt his body stiffen and his limbs begin to petrify; the next moment, a pitch-black heavy sword swept across with a roar.

Pfft!

【You have defeated Servant Emiya Shirou, Main Mission: Flower of Evil, progress updated】

【You have accommodated a new Heroic Spirit】

【You have been affected by the special property: Lesser Grail, you now possess the ability to perceive the Greater Grail】

(End of this chapter)