Chapter 34: Driving the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf, Opening the Furnace to Refine Pills!

Backup Plan?

What backup plan? Where did this backup plan come from?

This was actually the first thought that flashed through Rin Tohsaka's mind, but she didn't dwell on these trivial details at this moment; instead, she decisively went along with the other person's suggestion and nodded vigorously.

Never mind where this backup plan came from; as long as there's such a plan, that's enough!

If it were normal times, perhaps the girl would have been a bit dissatisfied that no one had told her, as the Master, that there was another plan...

But the current situation was completely different; behind her came deafening explosions and roars, violent gales and shockwaves sweeping through the mountains and forests, causing the trees along the nearby mountain paths to emit mournful cries.

This commotion, like a hurricane passing through, might not be as exaggerated as the end of the world, but it indeed carried a sense of impending disaster.

Under such circumstances, she inevitably felt a sense of panic and despair, at a loss and helpless; facing a predicament that had suddenly become so perilous, she subconsciously wanted to seek help from someone she could rely on.

Having a Servant and a backup plan is a good thing...

How could she possibly have the mood to worry about other things at a time like this?

But even though the girl acted so decisively, she was still stunned by the other person's blunt plan—this person wanted her to use a Command Seal on him, ordering him to control the power of the Great Holy Grail?

"You... you..."

Rin Tohsaka subconsciously widened her eyes, looking at the other person somewhat speechlessly; immediately, a lightning-like thought pierced through her mind like a flash of stone and fire.

"Wait! Could it be that you remembered? Your trump card?!"

She subconsciously associated this with that, thinking this fellow had remembered his True Name and could use the Servant's ultimate move—the power known as a Noble Phantasm.

But to say he could directly control the power of the Great Holy Grail—that was a bit too outrageous, wasn't it?

Rin Tohsaka subconsciously wanted to question it.

However, the roar behind her was deafening and continuous, so much so that even the mountain body seemed to be shaken, and the surface trembled slightly.

This heralded that the foul-mouthed fellow's powerful Noble Phantasm offensive was still raging, wave after wave crashing down fiercely like a torrent, like an endless meteor shower of Noble Phantasm baptism; whether in terms of usage or the quantity squandered...

... it was undoubtedly a more absurd challenge to common sense.

—If this Holy Grail War were a game, then that gold-flashing fellow's stats in Noble Phantasms were definitely filled in with his feet.

Rin Tohsaka, relying on her basic understanding of Servant Noble Phantasms, deeply understood the absurdity and extreme impossibility of this scene. In fact, if it weren't for such an exaggerated degree, her side's original advantage wouldn't have been so easily shaken.

Facing the deafening explosions and impacts behind her, the girl bit her lower lip tightly and suddenly felt she had no doubts at all about her own Servant's Noble Phantasm.

—Something so outrageous had happened...

—But what was there to not accept about something just a bit outrageous...

"Yes, it's my trump card..."

Xia Zhi pulled the girl through the forest quickly, saying this without looking back.

Isn't that his trump card? But it definitely wasn't any Noble Phantasm, and strictly speaking, it wasn't even ready yet; otherwise, he wouldn't need the Master Lady's Command Seal to level the gap and make up for the necessary stats.

Mainly because he hadn't expected the enemy to be so exaggerated—it was like the creator god's father descending to earth just to show off; for normal Heroic Spirits, Noble Phantasms that should be very precious were thrown around as if they were free...

Fortunately, when he was drawn into this Holy Grail War, he had already made psychological preparations.

Facing unknown Servant concepts, considering that past Heroic Spirits had countless possibilities, he would rather overestimate the opponent to the maximum than make the mistake of carelessness and underestimating the enemy...

So just now was also like this; when he sensed that Gilgamesh was coming specifically to challenge them, Xia Zhi suddenly raised his vigilance to the highest level. After all, the other side looked at Liu Dong Si's roster and was still so arrogant...

Besides possibly having a bit of a brain problem, one couldn't rule out that the other side really had that composure, regardless of where that composure came from.

"Th-then that's good!"

Rin Tohsaka nodded repeatedly while panting, being pulled along the pitch-black mountain road, hearing her own Servant's affirmative answer, feeling somewhat reassured in her heart, as if she had grasped a life-saving straw.

Of course, more was an uncontrollable panic and bitterness.

If it weren't for this fellow being very cautious, she feared her side would have already met the fate of being wiped out at Liu Dong Si. Such a development was truly a rapid decline, like a roller coaster's great ups and downs, making her mindset a bit crumble.

Just now, she was still immersed in the grand ambition of possessing four Heroic Spirits and seemingly firmly controlling half of the Holy Grail War, even having the illusion of being able to wield freely and plan strategically...

But in an instant, all beautiful dreams shattered; the enemy attacked like a violent storm, crushing their positions with the force of destroying the dry and breaking the rotten, forcing her side into a desperate situation.

But Rin Tohsaka was still resilient enough; she took a deep breath, quickly regained her mindset, and even thought of something, subconsciously panting as she asked another question: "By the way, how is that Emiya fellow?"

"He should have also been directly transferred out, probably thrown to the other side of the mountain... depends on his luck."

Xia Zhi still answered without looking back; he could guess Medea's approach—perhaps the Witch Lady didn't care about Shirou Emiya's life or death, but in order to make Artoria willingly cooperate, she couldn't watch the other person die in Liu Dong Si.

Otherwise, just a second ago he said he would guarantee the safety of the other's former Master...

The next second, he would find the former Master in front of him pierced by ten thousand arrows and crushed into meat paste...

Even knowing the culprit was that Gilgamesh, Saber probably still couldn't accept such a thing... and since the vibrations and explosions behind them were still continuing, it showed the Witch Lady was still struggling to cope.

It could only be that Artoria was indeed cooperating with the Witch Lady's battle, making it possible to persist until now.

"That's good—"

Rin Tohsaka said while panting; even in such an urgent situation, she was still unwilling to let Sakura have any possibility of sadness.

However, at this very moment, she suddenly felt a great force come from the other person's hand, causing her to be caught off guard and swung half a circle, her body as if instantly ejected, heavily falling to the side!

It was a spear tip like lightning.

The tip of a spear shot out to pierce the heart; human eyes simply could not capture it.

Like a fierce beast hidden in the darkness waiting for an opportunity, just a little bit more, and it could precisely bite and crush the girl's heart.

But precisely because it was just a little bit off, it couldn't succeed; the blue-clad Spear Heroic Spirit could only helplessly watch his confident strike miss, while also unable to stop the youth's fist swinging backhand straight at his face.

He only had time to barely raise his long spear, and then a huge force of impact came!

Clang clang clang—!!

Like dense gold and iron clashing, this continuous impact sound erupted countless times within just one second, and within the same second seemed to be compressed and fused into one deafening sound, sharp enough to seem to pierce human eardrums.

Under the cover of this shocking huge sound, several rupture sounds, almost insignificant in comparison, quietly rang out.

On the other side, the black-haired pigtail girl cried out in pain, but her reaction was also extremely fast; she immediately clenched her teeth and chose to be strong without making a sound.

Using both hands, she stubbornly grabbed the dirt and scattered rocks on the mountain body, standing up again at an astonishing speed; while pulling away distance, she turned back to look, just seeing both sides end their first wave of exchange at the moment of separation.

Blood dripped onto the ground.

The air between the two sides seemed to freeze!

That youth, whom she had only just become familiar with not long ago, now stood there like a stranger; the expression on his face was no longer that habitual look of carefree indifference, but instead revealed a strange incongruity from inside out.

Rin Tohsaka opened her mouth, unable to describe that feeling, only vaguely sensing that the other party seemed to have torn off a shell-like disguise and changed into another person.

Or rather, not a person.

She was not the only one with this feeling; the blue Lancer on the opposite side also frowned in surprise and doubt, looking at the unfamiliar Servant opposite him. His left arm hung down unnaturally, at a distorted angle.

Because after missing with the first strike, he had to draw his spear back to deal with the attack from the opposite side, and precisely because of this, he ultimately could not perfectly defend against all of the other party's offensives.

Facing a strike like a city-smashing hammer, he could only raise his left arm to block, thus avoiding having the parts above his neck directly blown apart...

His gaze subconsciously swept over the opposite youth's two fists; seeing those bloody fists, the blue Lancer locked his brows, the other party's two fists were indeed not Noble Phantasms, but should have achieved such performance through some kind of Enhancement Magecraft.

That was undoubtedly extremely superb Enhancement Magecraft, even allowing the fists to possess power and hardness rivaling ordinary Noble Phantasms.

—Is this really an Assassin?

—Without even needing to reveal a Noble Phantasm, just in a single exchange, he almost sent his own head flying?!

The blue Lancer took a deep breath, feeling his face lose luster and even somewhat humiliated, yet inevitably felt his blood boiling; as a warrior, looking forward to fierce clashes with other heroes—was this not the way of survival for a martial man?

"Hahahahahaha, how rare..."

Having thought this far, he couldn't help but burst into loud laughter—

"I originally thought following orders to stand guard outside was a boring matter, never expected to meet such a skilled opponent, come again!"

Retreating two steps nimbly, the blue Lancer raised his long spear with his intact right hand, full of hot blood and heroic spirit!

"..."

"..."

This is troublesome...

Indeed, not a single Heroic Spirit is a simple character.

Xia Zhi coldly stared at the blue Lancer in front, thinking rapidly, just like every time in the past, the predator in the hunting ground of time, based on the intelligence obtained so far, breaking the situation, formulating a plan, and ultimately completing the capture of the target.

It's just that this time the situation was obviously more troublesome, with no more room for choice.

Just now, at that critical moment, he was certain he had accurately grasped the flaw caused by the other party reaching out to his Master, yet even so—

After this exchange, he could only cripple one of the other party's arms.

It seemed like a good result, but failing to completely break the other party's both arms and head already counted as a strategic failure.

Medea's Enhancement Magecraft was better than expected; after multiple enhancements, even allowing his own two fists to briefly rival Noble Phantasms, but this effect also had its limits; the hard clash just now had almost exhausted the effect of the Enhancement Magecraft...

His two fists becoming bloody was the evidence.

Unless next he uses Rin Tohsaka's Command Seal—

Heal the injuries, then recharge the Enhancement Magecraft...

But once the Command Seal is used, it's very likely that the Ultimate Plan cannot be implemented.

Thoughts turned like lightning; in an instant, Xia Zhi grasped the sliver of vitality currently available, resolved to forcibly kill the other party here first, then consider the matter of the Ultimate Plan; otherwise, if he couldn't even get past here, it had no meaning.

"Master..."

Calling out to the girl behind him, Xia Zhi slightly narrowed his eyes, staring at the blue Lancer in front, just about to speak the next words.

Boom boom boom—

The ground suddenly shook.

As if some heavy-tonnage Giant Beast was approaching this place.

"My, my, big brothers, what are you doing here... seems like it's very lively?" A clear, innocent laughter like a copper bell rang out; sitting on the shoulder of the Greek Hero, swinging her white and tender little feet, a white-haired, red-eyed Loli appeared from the shadows of the forest.

She also sensed the commotion on Yuan Cang Shan was so great, and had just rushed over.

She didn't expect that while huge explosions were constantly occurring on the mountain top, two parties of participants were also confronting each other on the mountain path outside.

This instantly made the Loli's eyes light up; could it be that her luck was so good today that she could take down multiple enemies in one go? —She didn't care what specifically happened, and firmly believed her Berserker was the strongest Heroic Spirit.

"What is this fellow's background..."

Facing the suddenly appearing huge Giant, the blue Lancer also subconsciously showed a look of apprehension, slightly turning his body, holding his long spear horizontally on guard.

Little did he know, this subconscious movement of his was fully seen by someone opposite.

—A Variable has appeared!

—The room for maneuver has also appeared all at once!

Xia Zhi raised his eyebrow, originally thinking the situation was very bad, this Giant was also an ally of the opposite side, and tonight would be a joint army attacking to destroy the Liu Dong Si faction... but now it seemed, not so.

Recalling seriously the first time he saw that white-haired, red-eyed Loli, her every word and deed, every move.

Whether it was disguise or acting, at least on the surface, she seemed very obsessed with that fellow called Shirou Emiya, as if there was some deep hatred... Yes, this was an entry point!

Making a resolution in an instant, Xia Zhi's expression changed rapidly, speaking in a seemingly helpless manner:

"I didn't expect you actually made so many preparations, secretly joining hands long ago; it seems we lost without complaint..."

Blue Lancer: "?"

This unlucky Lancer was still instinctively guarding against that terrifying Giant; hearing this, he turned back in some astonishment.

What was this person saying?

Was he speaking to me?

"Even the escape route was calculated; presumably Shirou Emiya was also caught by you just now..."

"No, what are you sa—" The blue Lancer frowned, but just as he opened his mouth, his words were directly cut off.

"I know!"

The youth tightly clenched his bloody fists, continuing with an angry face: "Seeing that glittering gold fellow being so concerned about Saber, looking like he's determined to win, surely he plans to use Shirou Emiya to coerce her into making concessions?!"

The acting was on point, plausible, and seemed very convincing.

At the same time, he casually made his previous plan into a Shit Basin, directly pinning it on the head of the opposite side.

"That disgusting fellow has indeed been drooling over Saber for a long time..." Hearing such a question, the blue Lancer frowned tightly and subconsciously answered with a sentence.

The other party spoke convincingly, making him a bit unconfident as well.

Could it be that there really is such a plan?

The next moment——

The blue Lancer, sensing some ominous premonition, abruptly turned his head back and saw that white-haired, red-eyed loli staring at him viciously.

Based on the scene before her eyes, she subconsciously brain-supplemented the truth, thinking that Shirou Emiya had come to Yuan Cang Shan and formed an alliance with the participants here after being saved by that mysterious Servant earlier.

However, the ally relationship didn't even last an hour before Yuan Cang Shan's position was breached by other enemies joining forces, and Shirou Emiya was also captured by the opposite side.

Such cognition made Ilya immediately transfer her hatred target!

She was indeed obsessed with Shirou Emiya, but not because she wanted to protect Shirou Emiya; rather, she was unwilling to let anyone else snatch away the right to personally kill that guy. No matter who dared to do so, they were her enemy!!

"Berserker——!!"

At her command, the terrifying giant also immediately let out a meaningless roar, waving a huge axe and charging at the target. The ground along the way was directly lifted up, and trees blocking the path were smashed in half at the waist!!

"Wait! What are you doing......"

The blue Lancer's eyes widened, almost immediately realizing he had been set up, but at this time there was absolutely no room for him to explain. That terrifying figure, like a tank, had already broken through to right in front of him in the blink of an eye.

He could only swallow his broken teeth into his stomach, hurriedly raising his long spear with one hand to meet the enemy.

Berserker's melee combat ability is a super-first-rate standard surpassing all Servants. The blue Lancer was already in poor condition and had temporarily crippled one arm in the surprise attack just now, so naturally he was even less of a match.

Although his martial arts were also superb, prolonged battle means certain loss. Without fighting for too long, he made a mistake and revealed a flaw.

The next moment——

The raging giant directly stretched out a palm the size of a cattail leaf fan, grabbed the blue Lancer's ankle with one hand, swung him up whole, whirled him around at high speed, and finally hurled him flying with a vicious throw!!

The Lancer's miserable cry reverberated in the mountain forest where the storm wind howled.

————

————

"This is the place, Master!"

Having played a Tiger Swallowing Wolf Strategy, Xia Zhi took advantage of when both sides started fighting, bypassed the Battlefield at the fastest speed, and brought Rin Tohsaka to finally arrive at that node on the mountain body.

The node belonging to the "Tumor".

It is also the convergence point of several Dragon Veins' Spiritual Power, one of the nodes of Yuan Cang Shan's Magic Power Hub.

"Understood......"

Rin Tohsaka also didn't delay. Having long since made up her Determination, she raised the back of her right hand, and those three tattoo-like Command Seals lit up with light.

"In the name of the Command Seal——"

"Assassin, wield the power of the Great Holy Grail to win me victory!"

One Command Seal vanished instantly, and at the same time, accompanied by a clear order, Xia Zhi felt a massive amount of Magic Power suddenly descend upon his body along the Contract's connection, causing his parameter values to instantly skyrocket by a large margin.

Perhaps it is only an extremely brief temporary Reinforcement, but the improvement exchanged for consuming one Absolute Command Right is very enormous in effectiveness during its duration.

Moreover, it's not just one Command Seal.

The black-haired twin-tailed girl didn't hesitate at all, immediately following the same steps again, consecutively using all three Command Seals in the form of the same command, stacking Reinforcement on the youth.

Using up all three Command Seals in one breath, the Momentum the girl had been forcing herself to maintain abruptly plummeted. She pursed her lips, stubbornly staring at this fellow before her, and repeated that sentence once more: "Assassin, wield the power of the Great Holy Grail to win me victory!"

"......"

"......"

"As you wish, Master!"

Xia Zhi sensed the powerful amplification inside his body, bowed directly to the girl in salute, then leaned down and reached out. Magic Power spread toward the deep underground, rapidly emitting along the Dragon Veins toward the surroundings like light.

The pre-arranged Magic Array was activated by his Magic Power, starting to operate powerfully and unscrupulously.

Rin Tohsaka tightly bit her lower lip, watching as light bloomed from the ground starting from the youth's palm. It was light that seemed to overflow.

Light roamed......

Lines connected......

Like undulating dragons and snakes, rapidly roaming toward the entire huge Mountain body!

In the immediately following next moment, it was as if the earth rumbled and shook, as if Heaven and Earth had flipped over. A storm of Magic Power rushed straight into the clouds. Both heaven and earth resounded, and Rin Tohsaka also seemed to be pulled into some kind of Illusion.

In her trance, she seemed to see——

That was an incomparably huge "Alchemical Furnace" rising from the ground, standing tall between Heaven and Earth......

Like burning scorching tribulation fire rumblingly emitting high temperature, behind the "Alchemical Furnace", faintly visible was a huge hazy figure, unreachably high......

(Chapter End)