Chapter 306

Even the Knight King couldn't help letting out a suppressed hum, his hand covering his nose pressing even harder, and his emerald eyes instantly widened!

Source… found!

It's the Salted Fish in A Xing's hand, the one that looks dry and its color strange (between dark green and ash black), emitting a barely visible, rippling, foul‑smelling aura that warps the air—Salted Fish?!

What on earth is that?!

Noble Phantasm?

Why bring such a thing to a place like this?!

And still holding it in your hand?!

Saber feels her brain is overloaded.

She looks at A Xing, and A Xing looks back at her; his golden eyes are calm and still, and he even gently shakes the Salted Fish in his hand toward her, as if indicating "this way".

(She… can't she sense it?! Or… is she used to it?!)

A Xing indeed shows no particular reaction.

To her, the stench of the Immortal Salted Fish is present, but she is immune—nothing more.

Seeing Saber approach, she merely confirms the ally is in place, then turns, hoists the Salted Fish emitting an A++ stench, and continues deeper down the passage.

Saber freezes in place, watching A Xing's unflinching back, while feeling that all‑pervasive, armor‑soaking terrible stench, and her heart sinks into an unprecedented, fierce struggle.

(If I follow… I'll die, right? Not in battle, but from the stench, right?)

(But… duty… requires eliminating the source of contamination…)

In the end, the knight's sense of duty and responsibility toward the citizens of Winterwood prevail.

Artoria Pendragon, with a death‑as‑home expression, draws a deep breath—then is instantly choked, nearly coughing—tightly covering her mouth and nose, stepping with a slightly heavy gait, and follows that "humanoid self‑moving stench source" and her "deterrent weapon".

Each step is a massive trial for body and mind.

(The caster's Master… truly is a… incredible warrior.)

Saber, amid the suffocating stench, drifts in thought.

Perspective shift.

In the ruins, two non‑human silhouettes collide violently at speeds far beyond normal.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The eight blade limbs behind the Insect‑Armor Assassin swirl into a vortex of death!

Two pairs of spear‑blade limbs, like venomous snakes spitting fangs, jab and slash, targeting the insect‑transformed Lancer's carapace joints and vital points; the curved sickle blades trace eerie arcs, sealing off evasion space; the segmented whip blades occasionally entwine and bind, striking like steel whips.

The robust hook‑claw arm armor handles the most brutal frontal impact, each smash reverberating like a muffled thunderclap!

The Insect‑Transformed Lancer's four arms dance in unison, twin spears flashing red‑yellow light, anti‑magic and curse traits attempting to tear through the opponent's defense; the two blade arms act like mantis sickles, angles sharp and ruthless!

It continuously screeches, surrounded by a swirling pale‑green glow; the cracks in its carapace slowly mend under some force, its movements grow wilder, occasionally trading injury for injury, attempting to wear down the opponent with its massive vitality.

The battle's aftershocks further ravage the already shattered hall.

New cuts and dents continually appear on the walls, and the floor's broken stones turn to dust under the impact.

"Wah!"

San Yue Qi, sitting nearby, had a splintered stone graze her cheek; the pain made her hunch her neck, and a tear welled up.

But she quickly wiped her face, and determination reignited in her eyes.

"No, no! Can't just watch!"

She fumbled, trying to reform the Ice Bow, but the recent Frenzy drained too much; the Mana Circuit was still erratic, and the Ice Bow cracked with a "crack" as soon as it formed, breaking in half.

"Oops! Dropped the chain at a critical moment!"

She stamps her foot impatiently, watching the fierce battle; the Insect‑Armor Assassin is sharp, yet the Insect‑Transformed Lancer's regeneration and wild counterattacks are extremely hard to handle.

Suddenly, she sees the Insect‑Transformed Lancer feint, deceiving the spear‑blade limbs, and the right blade arm thrusts at a bizarre angle toward the Insect‑Armor Assassin's relatively vulnerable waist joint!

"Watch the left… no, the right!"

San Yue Qi blurted out, and instinctively flung the residual Mana of the half‑drawn unstable Ice Bow—hastily gathered power—toward the Insect‑Transformed Lancer!

A crooked, ice‑blue arrow shot from the string, its speed decent, but its aim…

The Insect‑Transformed Lancer happened to be knocked sideways by a heavy punch from the Insect‑Armor Assassin at that moment; the ice projectile "whoosh" past, skimming the Lancer's shoulder plate, then…

Dead on, it struck the Insect‑Armor Assassin who had just completed a dodge, its back turned to this side…

Um, the hip area.

Pat.

The ice projectile hit the smooth, jet‑black carapace, leaving no white mark, shattering into a small puddle of ice shards that stuck to it.

The subtlety of the hit petrified San Yue Qi in an instant, her little face flushing bright red.

"Uh… sorry! I didn't mean to! I was trying to hit the green one!"

She clasped her hands, closed her eyes and apologized loudly, wishing she could crawl into a crack in the ground.

However, something surprising happened.

The ice shards stuck on the Insect‑Armor Assassin's hip carapace didn't slide off; instead, as if drawn by some force, they instantly melted into it!

Immediately, the Insect‑Armor Assassin's whole body jolted violently!

The dark‑red energy patterns on its surface suddenly flared, the hue shifting from dark red to a cold, eerie blue!

The previously matte black shell surface quickly formed a layer of crystal‑clear ice covering!

The eight rear blade limbs underwent obvious changes—spear and sickle edges now coated with sharp ice blades, the whip‑blade segments crystallized into ice spikes, and the hook‑claw arm armor became encased in heavy frost, as if wearing icy gauntlets!

A chilling cold aura radiated from it, causing the hall's temperature to drop sharply!

"Evolved?"

Chang Ye Yue's crimson eyes narrowed slightly, and the tip of the umbrella lifted a bit.

"Oh?"

Huan Long's smile deepened, interest sparkling in her fox-like eyes, "Absorbing external elements, self-adaptive evolution? This is no longer just a matter of breeding…… How interesting, little thing."

The Insect Armor Assassin seemed momentarily confused by its own changes, lowering its head to glance at its frost-covered hook claws, then feeling the blades on its back that had grown even colder.

Then it raised its head, that dark-red visual slit relocking onto the Insect-transformed Lancer.

The next second, it moved!

Its speed was even faster than before!

Its movements left behind shards of icy afterimages!

As the ice-blade-tipped spear and sickle slashed forth, the air froze into fine white trails!

The whip-blade swung, no longer a simple lash but scattering a wide area of ice spikes!

The Insect-transformed Lancer roared while blocking, but the frost not only brought sharper attacks and a low-temperature slowing effect, that icy carapace also made its strikes harder to land!

The rose thorns struck the ice armor, their anti-magic effect melting part of the ice but failing to pierce through instantly; the blade-arms slammed down, emitting a harsh screech as ice shards flew, yet the wounds were shallower.

The battle's balance began to tip!

The Ice Armor Assassin's attacks grew ever fiercer, its eight ice-blade limbs working in seamless unison; wounds on the Insect-transformed Lancer accumulated faster than it could regenerate, its eerie green insect blood mingling with ice shards in constant spray.

Huan Long narrowed her eyes slightly.

(This can't go on. Although watching the show is important, I don't want this unknown mutant to win so easily.)

She flicked her wrist ever so slightly, directing the fan's tip at the battling Insect-transformed Lancer; a strand of power almost imperceptible to the naked eye shot forth silently.

This was an attempt to further frenzy the insect within Lancer, driving it to abandon defense entirely and launch a suicidal counterstrike, ideally inflicting heavy damage or even taking the ice-armored monster down with it.

The disturbance reached the vicinity of the Insect-transformed Lancer without hindrance.

Then…

It vanished without a trace.

The Insect-transformed Lancer's movement showed no change, still being beaten down while suppressed by the Ice Armor Assassin.

Huan Long's alluring smile froze completely on her face for the first time.

She clearly sensed that the power she had emitted was blocked.

(How is that possible?! Who is it? That woman holding the umbrella?)

She whipped her head around, her sharp gaze shooting toward the ever-still observer, Chang Ye Yue.

Chang Ye Yue still held up her black umbrella; the face beneath it was calm, her crimson eyes fixed on the battlefield, seemingly oblivious to Huan Long's stare.

Huan Long stared at her for two seconds, then suddenly broke into a smile again—though this one lacked its former languid ease.

"Nice move."

She parted her red lips, her voice low yet clear as it reached Chang Ye Yue's ears, "Silent and unseen, you shattered my technique. It seems I underestimated you."

Chang Ye Yue: "……?"