On how PhDs become human evil

Section 454, Chapter 11. I'm taking the English exam tomorrow, and I'm not worried at all... What a joke!

At the docks of Fuyuki City, just like ten years ago, Artoria set foot on this land. However, unlike ten years ago, her Master had changed.

"Hmm, did it hide it? It clearly released all its magic."

Following behind Artoria, Bai Jie felt a bit bored. He had originally hoped that Artoria would put on a good fight scene for him, but when he arrived here, he found that there was no one there.

"It seems my opponent isn't as upright as Diarmuid. A little disappointing—"

"is it?"

Before Bai Jie could finish complaining, a cold voice came down from high above, followed by a howling wind! A dark shadow plummeted from the sky!

"Master, be careful!"

Although she didn't want to admit that Bai Jie was her Master, that was the truth. Therefore, Artoria still came to Bai Jie's side immediately, and the invisible sword in her hand instantly slashed upwards!

"clang--!"

The sound of hammering metal echoed through the night sky, and the heavy impact made Artoria's knees sink involuntarily, her combat boots embedding themselves directly into the ground!

(So ​​heavy! What savage, monstrous strength—but it's still not enough!)

Artoria possesses a skill called "Magic Release," which allows her to use magic as fuel to enhance herself or her weapons, and can even grant a frail girl the power to overwhelm several adult men.

Magic instantly flowed into her arms, and as she gripped the hilt of the Holy Sword, Artoria swung it like a hammer, as if hitting a golf ball—

"boom!"

With a muffled thud, the falling shadow was blasted away by Artoria's brute force and then crashed heavily into the ground.

Brushing his wind-blown hair aside, Bai Jie nodded in satisfaction: "Hmm, good reaction, and the power is also good. As your Master, I can truly appreciate your power."

"But you're so strong, yet you performed so poorly ten years ago."

"Isn't that all your doing?!"

Artoria glared at him angrily.

With a wry smile, Bai Jie looked at the dark figure not far away. Because everything that had just happened was too fast, only two seconds had passed from when the dark figure fell to when it was launched away by Artoria. Bai Jie had only managed to catch a glimpse of the dark figure before he could see its full form.

It was a black snake.

It was over fifteen meters long, and its body was as thick as a giant rock. Even when it was knocked to the ground, its purple snake eyes remained locked on Bai Jie. Black flames covered its entire body, making it awe-inspiring.

"Ah, this is quite unexpected. It's certainly a unique gift for a meeting."

Bai Jie looked up at the sky as he spoke.

"How about we come down and talk? The air is quite thin up there, isn't it?"

"You've become quite frivolous, Godslayer."

The silver-haired goddess descended from the sky, and with a wave of her hand, the black snake immediately crawled back to her side.

Touching the spot where Artoria had injured her, Athena chuckled, "You've acquired some decent servants, haven't you? Godslayer, King of Knights of Britain, and the finest steel?"

"Yeah, it's not bad, is it?"

Like a foolish parent showing off their child, Bai Jie proudly raised his head and puffed out his chest.

Seeing Bai Jie and Athena chatting happily, as if they were old friends, Artoria couldn't help but look puzzled: "Master, do you know her?"

"Well, I guess so, although we're mortal enemies in terms of our positions," Bai Jie laughed. "You've probably heard of her, the famous goddess of wisdom, Athena."

"Which goddess from Greek mythology?!"

Upon hearing Artoria's exclamation, Athena's face immediately darkened. What she hated most was anyone associating her with Greek mythology, as it reminded her of the past when she was humiliated by those despicable gods.

Divine power converged, and a jet-black scythe appeared in her hand. Athena said coldly, "To openly point out my flaws is unacceptable. I am not a forgiving goddess; it is necessary to teach her a lesson—"

Before she finished speaking, Athena's figure disappeared from Artoria's sight in an instant, and almost in the next instant, Artoria instinctively held the Holy Sword to her side!

"clang!"

The scythe and the holy sword clashed violently, bursting forth with dazzling sparks. Incredibly, Artoria, who should have had the upper hand in terms of power, was gradually suppressed by Athena.

(How could this be? My power is actually... weakening?)

"Isn't it a bit much to use your powers on someone you've just met?"

As soon as Bai Jie finished speaking, Artoria felt a large hand press against her back, and then a massive amount of magical power surged into her body like a flood—

"Boom—!"

An excessive burst of magical energy erupted, and Artoria, disregarding the consumption of the vast amount of magic power injected into her body, directly confronted Athena's scythe with brute force—

"clang--!"

The holy sword knocked the scythe away with tremendous force.

"Boom!"

Magic erupted beneath Artoria's feet, propelling her into Athena's embrace like a rocket. Artoria swiftly unleashed her holy sword, and in an instant, countless sword lights bloomed before Athena's eyes!

While Magic Release is described as an enhancement skill, its essence is similar to a rocket booster. In addition to enhancing strength, it also increases Artoria's speed, such as movement speed and attack speed. In fact, Artoria's dash earlier utilized Magic Release. And now, Artoria is using Magic Release to increase her attack speed.

"Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding!"

The storm-like slashes tore through the atmosphere, carving deep trenches in the ground. Even dozens of steel plates would be instantly shattered upon contact with such a barrage of blows.

However, Athena showed no sign of tension in the face of such a fierce attack. With lightning speed, she wove an impenetrable net with her scythe, blocking every single strike without missing a single one. Her steps were as relaxed and leisurely as if she were strolling in a garden.

(Was she...was she deliberately taking my strike?)

After exchanging nearly a hundred sword blows, Artoria realized this.

For the first dozen or so sword strikes, Athena was indeed forced to defend, as Artoria's fierce onslaught had genuinely surprised her. However, after that, Athena gradually shifted from a passive to an active stance, even changing her defensive posture altogether and deliberately slashing her scythe at the holy sword, intentionally creating the illusion that she was exhausted from defending!

"Well--"

Suddenly, Artoria's sword strike faltered, and the ferocious burst of power was momentarily interrupted. Athena immediately switched from defense to offense, and her scythe transformed into a deadly blade, slashing towards Artoria's neck.

"Okay, come back, Saber. — By Command Spell."

Just as the scythe was about to strike Artoria, Bai Jie's voice rang out, and Artoria was immediately teleported back to his side.

After catching her breath, still shaken, Artoria looked at Bai Jie and said, "Thank you very much, Master."

"I thought you were going to say that I interrupted your battle as a knight again."

"This time, the enemy is not a knight, but a goddess. If you were facing a knight, I would certainly rebuke you, but not this time."

Oh ho? This ape king can misinterpret concepts now? Turns out he's not stupid after all.

"Well, thanks for your hard work. Leave the rest to me. It's rare to play against an old friend like this."

"Wait a minute, are you going to fight yourself?" Artoria hurriedly stopped Bai Jie. "The battle is our Servant's business. As your Master, you can just command from the rear. Although I don't like you, I swear on my holy sword that I will definitely bring you victory!"

Couldn't you just remove the phrase "you don't like me"?

Bai Jie gave a wry smile.

"Well, don't worry, I'm not going there to die. Besides, she's my defeated opponent. She's the one who should be panicking."

"You dare to say that, Godslayer. Although I am not a Trinity, I am not someone you can manipulate at will."

"Oh my, it seems my act of pretending to be weak back then was pretty convincing. Even you, the goddess of wisdom, didn't see through it. I guess I have a real talent for acting?"

As Bai Jie spoke, he raised his hand, and the pitch-black Holy Spear revealed its true form amidst a cloud of black mist.

"Well, let's just say that before I could only go toe-to-toe with you, but now what about adding this Holy Lance to the mix?"

The pitch-black holy spear—its name is the "Holy Lance of Twilight," the true instrument of divine destruction that pierced Jesus, the ultimate anti-god weapon!

Bai Jie gently rested the gun butt on his shoulder and smiled:

"Come, Athena."

P.S.: I have my English exam tomorrow, and I haven't studied at all—I'm taking it completely unprepared, and I'm incredibly nervous. But my classmate said that the English exam for college is easier than the CET-3 (College English Test Band 3)... so I'm not worried anymore.

Section 455, Chapter 12: Tomorrow is the last exam. After that, I'll go home.

"Come, Athena."

As if greeting Athena, Bai Jie's tone was extremely calm, so calm that it was impossible to tell whether he was taking the upcoming battle seriously.

However, the instant Bai Jie finished speaking, Athena's hair stood on end, her whole body convulsed violently as if in a spasm, and then the alarm bells in her heart started ringing wildly!

Danger! Very dangerous! Extremely dangerous!

Both Bai Jie himself and the gun he was holding instilled a deep sense of crisis in Athena, even making her feel that she might die.

This is not an exaggeration. As the Earth Goddess who governs life and death and the God of the Underworld, she should not have died—and even if she did, she would be resurrected—but she truly felt the threat of death from Bai Jie and that gun!

If you get stabbed by that gun... you really will die!

"That's really surprising."

Athena's expression was stern.

"I never expected you to acquire such a powerful divine artifact. Even I am genuinely terrified. You truly surprise me time and time again, Godslayer."

"So? Should we fight? Or not?" Bai Jie asked with a smile. "But even so—"

Boom-!

The earth cracked instantly! Spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly from Bai Jie's feet, and Bai Jie himself was like a bolt of lightning streaking across the earth, rushing towards Athena with incredible speed! The distance of tens of meters between the two suddenly shrank to zero in less than an instant!

Holy Lance, Thrust!

"Clang—!"

The spear tip and the blade collided abruptly in front of Athena's chest. Bai Jie immediately flicked his wrist, and the violent magic power was transmitted directly from the holy spear to the scythe. The powerful impact, like a bomb exploding, immediately struck Athena through the scythe!

"Boom--!"

With a muffled thud, Athena's delicate body flew backward.

"boom!"