Chapter 311: Cover

Saber remained Calm, the sword switched from a slash to a block, and the blade collided violently with Mother Insect's hard skull shell!

Clang!!!

Amid the booming sound, Saber was blasted backward by the massive force, but she adjusted her posture deftly in the air and landed steadily on a protruding rock nearby, her arm tingling slightly.

A Xing, facing the giant foot stepping down, felt the charge momentum not only unchanged but increased!

In the final instant under the giant foot's shadow, she slid sideways as if boneless, and at the same time swung the Metal Ball Club from below upward at a sharp angle, striking hard at the relatively vulnerable inner joint of the foot!

Boom!!!

Amid the muffled sound, Mother Insect's limb clearly stalled, and the shell at the joint showed spiderweb-like cracks!

Though not broken, it clearly felt pain, and its stepping lost accuracy and some force, heavily stamping the ground beside A Xing, creating a deep pit, with debris flying.

A Xing, using the recoil from the Metal Ball Club, lightly performed several backward flips, widening the distance, gray hair fluttering, golden eyes still Calm, as if the earlier deadly close‑call was merely routine training.

Rider's side is the most dangerous!

Facing the oncoming barrage of bone spikes, he let out a roar, the Divine Car Wheel abruptly halted and turned, the vehicle nearly standing on its side, using its heavy side to block most bone spikes!

Amid the crackling collision sounds, sparks flew from the vehicle, leaving countless white specks.

A few bone spikes still pierced the gaps, Rider swung his short sword to block fiercely, yet one grazed his shoulder plate, spraying a trail of blood!

"Sss—! Strong enough!"

Rider grinned, not angry but laughing, his eyes blazing with battle intent, "But to think you could stop the Conqueror King with this, you're still ten thousand years early!"

In the first round of clash, both sides sustained injuries, but Mother Insect was clearly enraged, especially by A Xing's strike, which, though not causing serious damage, made it feel the humiliation of being provoked by a tiny individual.

It ceased scattering attacks; its crimson compound eyes locked onto A Xing, who had caused joint pain, and Saber, who had wounded it earlier with a holy sword.

Its massive body began to writhe at a speed unbefitting its size, more limbs emerged from beneath, gripping the ground firmly, the torso lifted higher, its mouth reopened, this time gathering not only acid but also a heart‑pounding eerie green energy glow!

"It's about to unleash its ultimate!" Rider shouted, "Watch out!"

"A Xing! Cover me!"

Saber also sensed the danger; she needed time to reconsolidate her magic and launch a second powerful assault.

A Xing nodded, without words.

She positioned the Metal Ball Club horizontally before her, and with the other hand… pulled out the Immortal Salted Fish.

Saber and Rider's expressions changed simultaneously, especially Saber, whose emerald eyes instantly filled with terrifying recollection: "Wait! Are you about to—"

A Xing ignored it, her wrist twitched, and instead of unleashing the fish's dreadful "stink flood", she hurled it like a hammer toward the side‑upper head of Mother Insect, a dome area littered with glowing insect eggs and sticky webs, with force!

The Immortal Salted Fish traced an arc in the air.

Mother Insect's attention seemed briefly drawn to the flying little thing, and the energy gathering in its mouth slightly deflected.

This is the moment!

"Ha!"

Saber let out a delicate shout, her sword flared brilliant light again, and she became a golden meteor, thrusting straight at the relatively weak shell beneath Mother Insect's throat exposed by its raised head!

Rider also activated the war vehicle, Divine Ox roared, the vehicle transformed into purple lightning, striking from the side at a main supporting limb of Mother Insect, attempting to disrupt its balance!

Mother Insect hissed angrily, forced to divert its attention!

It violently swung its head, trying to intercept Saber with a strike, while raising another limb to smash Rider's war vehicle!

In that split‑second of lightning‑fast, three‑way action intertwining—

The Immortal Salted Fish flying into the dome collided precisely into a particularly dense cluster of glowing insect eggs.

Plop, plop…

A faint cracking sound.

Then—

Buzz~~~~

A stench, though not as fierce as when confronting the Insect Tide directly, still rich and thick enough to choke any normal‑scented creature instantly, like a punctured poison gas bomb, spread from that egg area!

This smell, for Mother Insect, which requires high concentration and keen perception, is tantamount to a heavy mental interference strike!

Its complex compound eye structure seemed unusually sensitive to certain gases, and its movement visibly froze for a Shana!

The energy it spat from its mouth also veered a few degrees, scraping Saber's side and blasting the rear wall of the cavity, corroding a large hole!

"This is it now!"

Saber's eyes flashed with brilliance, seizing the fleeting chance, the sword's light condensed to the extreme, and it plunged hard into the shell gap beneath Mother Insect's throat!

Sizzle—!!!

The sound of blade entering flesh accompanied Mother Insect's extreme wailing!

Ink‑green insect blood gushed like a fountain!

Rider's war vehicle also slammed hard onto that limb joint, the crack of bone shattering clearly audible!

Mother Insect's massive body lost balance, tilting to one side!

But Mother Insect's struggle far exceeded expectations!

Intense pain and near‑death fear made it unleash its final power!

Ignoring throat and limb injuries, its whole body spun like a gyroscope, its spiked and slime‑covered surface, broken limbs, wildly swinging mouth… instantly became a death blender!

Countless shell fragments, acid, severed limbs, and raging magical turbulence sprayed indiscriminately outward!

"Retreat!" Saber hurried back, her sword dancing into a light curtain, blocking the flying fragments and acid.

Rider also piloted the war vehicle to retreat rapidly, his face solemn.

A Xing moved quickly, using the Metal Ball Club to block and precise footwork to dodge the deadliest attacks, but a corner of her garment was still brushed by acid, corroding a small hole.

Perspective shift.

Insect‑Armor Assassin quietly stood at the alley entrance, its dark‑red visual slit slowly moved from the direction of the enraged departing Archer toward the still‑shaken Tohsaka Family.

Its silent towering figure, covered in non‑human shell, with eight fierce blade‑limbs spread behind, exuded oppression.

Especially having just witnessed it repel Archer with a single spear, it added further mystery and danger.

Yuanban Shichen forced their frail body, shielding their two daughters behind them, even though the action made a wound in one of their parts throb faintly and their complexion grew even paler.

They watched the black monster warily, and the traits of the Assassin class, along with its unsettling aura, flashed quickly through their mind.

(Enemy or ally? Saved us? Or… has another purpose?)

"Father, it…"

Rin tugged at her father's sleeve and whispered, "When Archer was about to act earlier, it appeared and blocked him, even attacking Archer…"

Her tone was uncertain, but at least it objectively showed that the black monster's actions had helped them.

Shi Chen gave a slight nod, but the vigilance remained.

In the Holy Grail War, Servant behavior is hard to gauge by ordinary logic, especially this clearly unorthodox presence before them.

The Insect Armor Assassin seemed to have heard Rin's words, but it gave no indication.

It took a step, its heavy footfall landed on the ground yet made almost no sound, moving toward the three… no, more precisely, moving toward Sakura Matou, who was being shielded behind by Rin and Shi Chen, and walked forward.