I Am a Heroic Spirit

"Um……"

Lily's body swayed, then fell forward, revealing Gin Ichimaru standing behind her, holding a bloody dagger. A thrilling knife mark cut through the armor and appeared on Lily's back, and blood flowed out continuously.

"If you don't intend to admit defeat, I'll have no choice but to kill you. I hope you don't blame me. After all, you Heroic Spirits are just clones. Also, you're too slow. If you were faster, you might cause me some trouble."

Gin Ichimaru talked insincerely, and took out a towel from his body, wiped the blood off the dagger with it, then turned around and walked slowly towards the audience. The bloody towel that he threw away fluttered in the wind and fell on Lily's body. The only two scarlet spots on the white armor were particularly eye-catching.

"Killed?! Artoria!"

Souji Okita lunged forward, pressed himself against the railing at the edge of the auditorium, and stared in astonishment at Lily in the arena.

"Surprisingly, someone died."

Sasaki Kojiro said in disbelief. It was just a match, and the outcome wouldn't have had much of an impact on the current situation. There had been no casualties in the first five matches, so why were there sudden deaths? This wasn't a match where people would die. What was he supposed to do? He and the Shinigami had originally proposed the match, but it had killed their supporters.

"Ah, the Altria who looks exactly like you is dead." Elizabeth's tone was neither surprised nor sad, but just very calm.

"If she dies, she dies. We are just clones of our profession. Even if we die, what can we do? It will have no effect on the real body on the Throne of Heroes. Maybe she will come down again after a while." Nero also said.

】 -

Chapter 261 EX Skill plus EX Skill equals

The Grim Reapers were also stunned. Looking at Lily lying dead on the ground in the competition venue, their eyes were full of astonishment. They looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Although it was said before the game started that these heroic spirits were just job clones and it didn't matter if they were killed, but until now, there had been no real deaths in the five games, so the Death Gods subconsciously ignored that matter. Who would have thought that it happened so suddenly, and in just over ten minutes, Ichimaru Gin killed his opponent.

Both the God of Death and the Heroic Spirits cast their gazes towards the judges' bench not far away. Sitting there were witnesses such as Gilgamesh, Arthur, and Mary, as well as the magician's familiar, the Knight of the White Stork. However, to their disappointment, the Knight of the White Stork did not make any sound. Apart from the two elves who were somewhat shocked, the other witnesses did not show much emotion, as if only a small incident had occurred.

"Deputy Captain of the Sparrow Division..."

Byakuya Kuchiki looked at Chojiro Suzuki and frowned slightly. Although he only called out Chojiro Suzuki's name, Chojiro Suzuki already understood what Byakuya Kuchiki meant. He also frowned and looked a little embarrassed.

Although it was said so easily before, but in the current situation where the two sides are evenly matched, there was no casualty on their side, but one person was killed by their side. Moreover, it was not because they could not stop and killed the opponent out of helplessness, but because they completely crushed the opponent and killed him with one blow. Judging from this situation, they really have no reason.

"Don't worry, there shouldn't be any problems this time," Unohana Retsu said soothingly, his gaze casting towards the audience of the Heroic Spirits. "At least they didn't attack immediately, which means the information about the immortality of the Heroic Spirits is probably true."

Upon hearing this, Chojiro Suzuki, Soi Fong, Byakuya Kuchiki, Jushiro Ukitake and the others all looked to the other side. All the Heroic Spirits were very calm. At most, they were a little surprised at the death of Artoria, but they did not feel much sadness or grief. This also relaxed their originally tense spirits. After all, if a real fight broke out, they did not think that those witnesses would help them.

"But..." Unohana Retsu's gaze passed from Shuten Douji and Elizabeth to Nero. He looked directly into Nero's eyes that were filled with murderous intent and said slowly, "Be careful in the next match. The Roman Emperor is very dissatisfied with Altria's death."

Kyoraku Shunsui also noticed the murderous intent in Nero's eyes. He pressed his hat and said helplessly, "This is quite normal. After all, he is the emperor. Ichimaru Gin killed Altria, who looked exactly like her, in public. Even if she didn't actually die, we have lost face. We can tell what she will do by referring to the orders issued by the adults in the Central Forty-sixth Room."

The words of Unohana Retsu and Kyoraku Shunsui made Ukitake Jushiro and Kuchiki Byakuya look much more serious. They were the only ones left who had not participated in the competition. Nero, who would obviously kill in the next match, was a well-known first-class Heroic Spirit. The next match was likely to be a fierce battle between dragons and tigers.

"In the next game, let me..."

"Leave this game to me."

Ukitake Jushiro originally planned to accept this challenge which was bound to be very difficult, but he didn't expect Kuchiki Byakuya to express his decision before him.

"I……"

"Ukitake-senpai's health is too poor. If Emperor Nero really wants to fight to the death, I'm afraid Ukitake-senpai won't be able to hold out until the end."

Seeing that Ukitake Toshiro was about to speak, Kuchiki Byakuya told them his reasons, and everyone nodded in agreement. What happened to Okita Souji just now was a lesson for them, so they naturally would not let Ukitake Toshiro participate in a competition where he might die.

"Then it will be like this. Captain Kuchiki will deal with Emperor Nero, and Captain Ukitake will deal with the famous great monster Shuten-douji."

Suzuki Chojiro clapped his hands and immediately made the division and final decision for the next two games, and assigned Shuten Douji to Ukitake Jushiro to show fairness. After all, no matter how strong Nero was, he might not be stronger than Shuten Douji, the nightmare of countless humans in ancient RB.

Seeing Chojiro Suzuki's attitude, everyone stopped arguing about the next game. After all, Chojiro Suzuki represented Captain Yamamoto. When he was silent, they could discuss it freely, but once he made a decision, they could no longer object.

Suddenly, something strange happened. The expressions of Chojiro Suzuki, Byakuya Kuchiki, Kaname Tosen, Soi Fong, and even Unohana Retsu and Kenpachi Zaraki changed, and they looked towards the center of the competition venue in surprise and confusion.

Nero, Okita Souji, Miyamoto Musashi and others also turned their eyes to the place where Lily fell, with different expressions, some surprised, some happy.

The handsome man in white had a smug smile on his face, and a gleam of light had not yet dissipated from his fingertips.

Gin Ichimaru was standing slowly on his way back to the audience seats when the spiritual pressure rising from behind shocked him to the point where he could not move.

The spiritual pressure as surging as the ocean gushed out like a volcano, and the inexplicable panic-inducing pressure made Ichimaru Gin uneasy.

"Is her heart on the other side?"

Gin Ichimaru still had that cunning fox face, and he did not change even under the terrifying spiritual pressure and power. Instead, he pulled out the soul-slaying sword from his sleeve, lowered his head to look at the silver-white reflection on it, and muttered to himself.

Taking heavy steps, Gin Ichimaru turned around and looked towards the place where Lily fell. He saw that the place was shrouded in red light, with only an increasingly strong spiritual pressure emerging from it. The air also became a little dry, and the heat could be felt even from such a distance. As for other things, nothing could be seen.

"Oh my, looks like we're in trouble."

Gin Ichimaru smiled and raised the Soul-Slaying Sword. Although his body felt a little heavy, it was offset by his spiritual pressure in just a breath. Gin Ichimaru successfully lifted the Soul-Slaying Sword to his chest. The tip of the sword shone with a deep cold light and was aimed at Lily who was shrouded in red light.

"Forget it, never mind, let's just get started. If I interrupt, there shouldn't be any problems. But even if there are problems, it won't be my fault. After all, we're still in the ring."

Gin Ichimaru stared at the red light in front of him, and the spiritual pressure of the soul-slaying sword in his hand gathered.

"Qiang!"

Then, a flash of white light appeared, and a crisp clash echoed from within the crimson light. A slender blade connected Ichimaru Gin with the crimson light.

"He actually blocked it." Ichimaru Gin raised his eyebrows and said with interest, "Can you become stronger after dying once? What an interesting ability. If there is no limit on the number of times you can die, it will be more useful than the Twelve Trials of Hercules."

Although he said this, Gin Ichimaru understood that this resurrection was most likely just an accident, because if it was a Noble Phantasm, it had been interrupted once before. It was obviously an attack-type Noble Phantasm and had nothing to do with resurrection. As for whether it was a quick recovery skill, the complete disappearance of the spiritual pressure reaction just now had already proved Lily's death.

The red light gradually dissipated, and a tall figure emerged from the light.

"Wow! Evolved? Or is this your true form?"

Looking at the knight who emerged from the red light, Gin Ichimaru was stunned and began to wonder whether this knight was the same person as the previous knight.

"The taste of dragon is really strong." Shuten-doji took a sip of wine and said casually.

"He looks like Nero!" Miyamoto Musashi shouted.

"It's the same size as me." Nero pressed his chest and gestured in the air with an incredible look.

"It looks like Lily after she grows up. This form is probably her strongest state. It's completely different from me." Elizabeth said. After she grew up, she was much weaker than she is now, which was completely opposite to Lily and other heroic spirits.

Under everyone's astonished gaze, the knight who emerged from the crimson light bore no resemblance to Lily except for his appearance.

Flame-like red hair, a pair of ferocious dragon horns, red ancient armor, a golden sword that emits flames all the time, a mature face that is at least ten years older than the previous Lily, red vertical pupils that make people feel like a dragon is watching them, a perfect figure that is even more mature than Nero, but the ancient armor completely wraps up the plump and tall figure.

"What a strange transformation! An EX-level hero, combined with an EX-level Flower Journey, could actually undergo such a transformation. Even I didn't expect it. I originally thought it was Lancer or Saber. However, this king is much more mature than a king who grew up normally."

The white man in the most conspicuous position stood up swaggeringly, gesturing with his palms, with a bright smile on his face, and seemed very satisfied with the scene before him.

The red dragon Lily, who was being stared at, seemed to feel something, and felt a chill in her heart. She turned her head to look at the position of the white man, observed carefully for a few seconds, and met the eyes of the white man who deliberately looked at her, but found nothing, so she turned her head again and looked at Ichimaru Gin.

"I am the Red Dragon of Great Britain, Altria Pendragon. Let's fight again! Gin Ichimaru!"

The red dragon Saber, which had successfully evolved through two EX-level skills, issued a majestic declaration, and the pressure of the giant dragon rushed towards Gin Ichimaru.

"The red dragon of Great Britain scared me."

Gin Ichimaru was stunned for a moment, his face twitching, and he could no longer maintain his fake smile. The hilt of the knife in his hand almost fell.

The Red Dragon of Great Britain, no matter how little knowledge he has, will not forget the information he just learned a few days ago so quickly.

The red dragon Lily held the golden sword in one hand, firmly blocking Ichimaru Gin's soul-slaying sword. Feeling that the power on the sword was somewhat loosened, she seized the opportunity, swung the sword hard, and cut off a piece of Ichimaru Gin's soul-slaying sword with one blow.

The half-meter-long blade fell to the ground with a crisp sound, waking up all the shocked people in the barrier.

"??? Did I hear correctly? Who did she say she was?"

"Altria Pendragon."

"What was that sentence before? I think I missed it just now."

"The Red Dragon of Great Britain! This is a joke!"

"You're joking, aren't you? As far as I can remember, there's only one person known as the Red Dragon of Great Britain."

"King Arthur, the red dragon representing Wales in Merlin's prophecy, the king who protects Great Britain, is the one sitting in the audience."

"The problem is, the guy who claims to be the Red Dragon of Great Britain is in the ring!"

"Could it be a descendant of King Arthur? For example, Morgan and King Arthur's son Mordred?"

"Don't fool yourself. The only person who can call himself the Red Dragon of Great Britain is King Arthur. In other words, the true identity of that female knight is actually King Arthur."

"Impossible, King Arthur is sitting there."

"Those who say it's impossible, don't forget that King Arthur himself said that he is the King Arthur of a parallel world. The King Arthur of the main world has never appeared before."

"Even so, that woman cannot be King Arthur, and how can King Arthur

】 -

Chapter 262 The Battle Again

Despite this, some people quickly calmed down. The famous tyrant Emperor Nero and the boy-eater who ate people and lured young girls were all women, so it was not surprising that King Arthur was a woman. There might be some surprise, but it would not affect their judgment.

Of course, more people cannot accept this fact, especially the knights and British people who regard King Arthur as their faith. Unless there is definitive evidence, they cannot believe that King Arthur is an ignorant girl who was being beaten at will just a few minutes ago.

Kyoraku Shunsui looked at Arthur and saw that Arthur was talking to the two elves beside him.

Arthur maintained his gentle demeanor, and the two frightened elves were quickly calmed down by Arthur. Then, noticing the gaze cast upon him by Kyōraku Shunsui, Arthur turned his head and exchanged glances with Kyōraku Shunsui. Seeing Kyōraku Shunsui's doubts, he hesitated for a moment, then, considering everyone's feelings, nodded seriously and said aloud, "That Altria Pendragon was indeed the underage King Arthur of the Overworld a few minutes ago. There is no doubt about that."

Arthur's words were an official response to everyone's questions. In the name of King Arthur, he acknowledged Lily's legitimate identity. Arthur had spoken in person, so no matter how reluctant people were to believe it, they had to admit this terrible fact.

"It's actually true..."

Kyoraku Shunsui exclaimed in disbelief, the perfect King of Knights, the Prince Charming in countless people's minds, the ideal knight, a man more popular than himself, was actually a woman.

Kyoraku Shunsui thought shamelessly, and then a look of confusion appeared on his face.

But then again, if the King Arthur of this world was a woman, then why did she leave behind a legend that she was a man? It is impossible that all the Knights of the Round Table were blind. Moreover, with King Arthur's reputation, he should not be discredited, and no force would dare to discredit him. Moreover, with so many queens in the history of Britain, gender should not be a big problem. So what is going on?

And what about her queen, Guinevere, and the flower of chivalry, Lancelot? What's going on between them? King Arthur doesn't seem gay, so could Guinevere be a man? No, that's not right. If Guinevere is a man, then what about Lancelot? Except for King Arthur, everyone else should be of normal gender. So, could it be that Guinevere was attracted to Lancelot and knew that King Arthur was actually a woman, so she married him in Great Britain? Or maybe, unaware of King Arthur's true gender, she was left feeling lonely and dissatisfied with King Arthur's cold treatment and hooked up with Lancelot...

As a famous writer in Soul Society, Kyoraku Shunsui has always had a big imagination. Coupled with his somewhat eccentric personality, Kyoraku Shunsui quickly conceived the outline of a very melodramatic romance novel that interspersed love, magic, epic, love triangle, and all kinds of love, hate, and vengeance. Kyoraku Shunsui was confident that once this novel was finished, it would be a hit and would definitely not end up like the last time with the Rosy Path.

"Wait, what do you mean by a few minutes ago?"

Soi Feng didn't know much about foreign historical figures, nor was she impressed by King Arthur's fame. She was just a little surprised that the handsome Arthur was actually the beautiful Lily, so she was the first to discover the hidden meaning in Arthur's words.

"Have you discovered? Actually, it's nothing serious. It's just that for some reasons, Altria deviated from her original destiny."

Arthur glanced at Lily who was still fighting with Gin Ichimaru on the ring and spoke softly in a calm tone. Although his voice was not loud, it was enough to ensure that those who listened carefully could hear it clearly.

"You all know that Heroic Spirits have different forms: adult, old, and young. Generally, the Heroic Spirits that descend into the world are in their adult form at their strongest, but sometimes they are in their young form, like Altria, Gil-kun, Alexander, and Medea. If a Heroic Spirit has special skills or Noble Phantasms, they have the opportunity to evolve into their adult form. However, it's unknown at what stage of adulthood they will reach."

Listening to Arthur's words, the Shinigami looked thoughtful. Zaraki Kenpachi asked impatiently, "So what? Is what you said related to Soi Fong's question just now? Even if I haven't learned about the legend of King Arthur, I know that although King Arthur is called the Red Dragon of Great Britain, he is actually a human knight. I can tell that just by looking at you."

"It really doesn't matter much, it's just foreshadowing." Arthur's expression remained unchanged, not annoyed by Zaraki Kenpachi's casual interruption or impolite words. He simply continued, "Sometimes, evolution can go wrong. Just like now, Artoria, who was killed by Ichimaru Gin with her own eyes, desired to possess great power. The fear and anger brought by death affected her mind and also interfered with that unknown skill, causing the red dragon's bloodline to awaken in her body, changing her future. She went from being King Arthur to the Red Dragon of Great Britain, and now she is just the Red Dragon of Great Britain."

Kuchiki Byakuya understood Arthur's meaning. He gazed deeply into the empty air and said meaningfully, "A person's life presents countless crossroads and countless choices. Each choice has different consequences. If you choose to protect your country, that little girl will become King Arthur. If you choose to gain powerful abilities to defeat the enemy, that little girl will become the strongest red dragon."

The same is true for him. If he had not chosen that path at the beginning, he probably would not be faced with such a difficult choice now. However, if he were allowed to choose again, he would still choose that path, because in that way, he could meet the love of his life.

Byakuya Kuchiki's face became melancholy, and he looked inconspicuously towards the place where Rukia Kuchiki was in the distance, but he saw that Rukia Kuchiki was also looking at him. He quickly pretended to be indifferent and glanced away from Rukia Kuchiki.

Rukia Kuchiki showed a sad look and lowered her head silently. Their thoughts were not on the same line. One was struggling with whether to maintain the honor of the family or save his wife's only sister. The other felt sad that after committing a serious crime, his brother had to go out and arrest him personally.

Although the red dragon Lily's golden sword still maintained its original posture, it was obviously no longer the original sword of the chosen king. Red flames were wrapped around the sword, and every time it was swung, blazing flames would burst out. Even if it did not touch Ichimaru Gin's body, it could make Ichimaru Gin feel the annoying heat during the battle. Every time the Soul-Slaying Sword collided with the golden sword, a burning red color would appear on it.

It is obvious that the original Sword of the Chosen King became the embodiment of dragon breath after Lily evolved into Red Dragon Lily. Red Dragon Lily wielding the golden sword is like a red dragon spewing out breath of fire wantonly.

Lily's original Noble Phantasm, the Golden Sword of Victory, underwent some changes after she turned into Red Dragon Lily. Although it still had the shape of the Golden Sword of Victory on the outside, its essence had transformed into the breath of a red dragon, which could release the power of fire at maximum intensity. However, it lost the skill of the light cannon, but this was not a bad thing. After all, the original light cannon could only be released once. Replacing it with a permanent activation-type Noble Phantasm did not have much effect on Red Dragon Lily's combat power, but rather strengthened it.

Perhaps it was a side effect of the red dragon's bloodline, but Red Dragon Lily's attacks had nothing in common with her previous ones, and even her basic swordsmanship was incomplete. She attacked madly like a wild beast, waving her claws. Her pupils were as red as blood, filled with cruel and brutal killing intent. Her powerful and powerful strikes never stopped for a moment, and she didn't even defend herself.

This is the B-level Fire Dragon Blood, one of the skills of Red Dragon Lily. The Red Dragon is a fire dragon, and its blood is hot, the blood of fire that can melt steel. This heat will make Red Dragon Lily more irritable, and its aggressiveness can be said to be the strongest among all Altria. At the same time, it will also enhance the ability value to a certain extent. Although it is not as good as the berserk of the same level, this skill will not make people lose their minds. In this way, it seems to be better than the berserk of the same level.

Flames spread across the wide arena, and the destructive power and high temperature of the dragon's breath burned the ground red. Even white smoke rose from the ground, causing Ichimaru Gin's feet to be covered with a layer of spiritual pressure to resist the invasion of the dragon's breath. If it weren't for the Death God's Soul-Severing Sword that could use spiritual pressure to repair damage, the divine spear would have become full of holes by now.

This is becoming increasingly troublesome, or perhaps just surrender.

Gin Ichimaru was shocked and thought to himself.

Although the beast-like attacks cannot be said to be of much skill, they are often very deadly. This is the case with Red Dragon Lily now. Her original intuition has been upgraded to beast intuition. Although she has lost her sensitivity to emotions, her combat ability has been enhanced. Each attack is aimed at Ichimaru Gin's flaws, although she herself cannot explain how she knows where the flaws are.

Gin Ichimaru has already used all his strength. Of course, it is only the full strength he usually shows, and he has not used his Soul-Zanto's Bankai. In reality, he has not even used half of his strength. It is precisely because of this that Gin Ichimaru has been suppressed.

As the saying goes, an inch longer is an inch stronger, an inch shorter is an inch more dangerous. Although the situation was completely the opposite in the previous battle, now this saying has been fully demonstrated by the behavior of the Red Dragon Lily.

"Roar!"

There was no roar coming out of the Red Dragon Lily's mouth. The sound came from the golden sword in her hand. Every time she swung the sword, the golden sword would roar like a red dragon, followed by the hot dragon breath erupting from the sword.

Gin Ichimaru used his short sword to block the golden sword that was coming down at him, but the defensive spiritual pressure failed to completely block the dragon's breath. The flames of the dragon's breath singed Ichimaru's hair, making him look very embarrassed.

This was the third time that Gin Ichimaru had been hit. There were already many cracks on his Death Trophy. Although there were no serious injuries, he had burns in many places.

This is not because Gin Ichimaru is letting up, or because he suddenly does something stupid and keeps getting hit by the same attack, but because Gin Ichimaru cannot dodge. No matter how many ways of dodging he thinks of in his mind, no matter how accurate and useful they are, when Red Dragon Lily swings her sword, he can't use any of the methods he thought of.