Or, why don’t you find another savior?

However, Kiritsugu had miscalculated one thing: the extent of Kirei's physical training.

Although the bright light and noise of the flash bomb interfered with Kirei's vision and hearing, the sound of Kiritsugu's retreating footsteps was still mixed in with the noise and was captured by Kirei.

Then, Kirei caught up with him at a speed faster than Kiritsugu, and without being able to see or hear clearly, he smashed into Emiya Kiritsugu’s chest with an uppercut as hard as a rock.

Thanks to the magic still being activated, Kiritsugu barely avoided the vital heart, but he still heard the sound of broken ribs, and the whole person flew out under inertia and hit a tree.

The serious injury made Kiritsugu unable to raise his weapon to fight back. He watched Kirei approach him step by step, and vaguely saw Maiya in the darkness about to raise her gun to shoot. Kiritsugu had no way to stop Maiya from taking the risk.

However, Kirei, who gradually regained his sight and hearing, retreated violently.

Among the flock of crows that he was already familiar with, Xijian Tianxi appeared.

Chapter 31 Blockade

Lancer Master has retreated.

This was another thing confirmed after Shiomi Tenkei performed a great magic trick, which wiped out all the sea monsters summoned by Caster and indirectly dealt a heavy blow to the summoner, forcing Caster to retreat.

After telling Lancer about this, Shiomi returned to the Einzbern castle with Altria, taking the only surviving boy with her.

The hall was in a mess, even Xi Jian couldn't help but be shocked.

Morgan was quite merciless when he attacked Kenneth. Although Kenneth relied on the "Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid" to break out of the hall in a panic during Morgan's continuous magic attacks, he completely ignored the sense of honor when he declared that he had won the victory when he entered the room.

Seeing the serious damage at the scene, Shiomi regretted choosing the hall as his destination when he moved back.

Thankfully, Altria didn't say anything, but only showed a little distress at the extent of the damage.

But Xi Jian Tianxi really didn't want to pay for it. He did make money and could give his two children a good life, but that didn't mean he was willing to use it to compensate for the losses of other camps in the Holy Grail War.

It would be very annoying if I was blackmailed by Einzbern.

And rushing quickly to the next battlefield to support Irisviel's husband Emiya Kiritsugu became Shiomi's next job.

He wanted to do this favor to shut up the Einzberns who might ask for compensation.

“Shiomi…Tianxi…” Kirei regained his vision and saw clearly the familiar face that had appeared.

Shiomi didn't rush to take action, "Excuse me, Saber's Master wants me to save this person, is that all?"

“I see. I thought you had only agreed to a truce, but I didn’t expect you to form an alliance.” Kirei understood.

The judgment of this matter was not within the scope of his concern. Tokiomi believed that Shiomi just needed to stop the war and concentrate on dealing with the Lancer camp, and Kirei accepted this result.

"That's what war is like. Sometimes we form alliances, sometimes we become enemies." Xi Jian smiled faintly. "The last time we met was four years ago. After your wife passed away, you entrusted your child to me."

Kirei remained calm, "Now that things have come to this, are you going to use that child to threaten me?"

"Even if you wanted to, I wouldn't take Kallen as a hostage." Shiomi sneered, even though he adopted Kallen out of friendship as an old friend.

But the child was very good and he didn't regret having such a daughter at all.

"But you, you've been in Fuyuki for so long, and it's rare that we finally meet. Don't you plan to visit your children?" Shiomi was still greeting.

Kirei lowered his eyes, "No need."

Since Kallen had been entrusted to Shiomi for upbringing, Kirei felt that it was no longer his place to interfere, even though they were blood relatives.

As for the fact that Shiomi insisted on joining the Holy Grail War, it was no one else's fault.

"You are still as heartless as ever." Xi Jian narrowed his eyes, "Can't retreat?"

Kirei, who had taken a stance, stared at Shiomi silently, "I have something to do with that man, don't get in my way. Even if we are old friends, there is no room for negotiation."

“Oh, really?” Shiomi slightly turned sideways and slowly raised his right palm, placing it between himself and Kirei.

"Make your move." Kirei's voice was completely emotionless.

"Then give it a try!"

As soon as Shiomi finished speaking, Kirei suddenly rushed towards Shiomi.

The distance between the two sides was more than five steps, but the tall and strong agent could cross the distance in just one step.

This kind of footwork that seems to slide across the ground without moving at all is called "Living Step" and is the secret skill of Bajiquan.

Kirei, dressed in his cassock, slid into a safe distance from Shiomi like the god of death, and with both fists he exerted all his might, charging straight at Shiomi's shoulders, intending to cripple his arms.

“…No…Impossible…” Kiritsugu, who was still conscious, murmured in a voice that only he could hear.

He could see that the power of Kirei's attack was enough to kill any magus.

But Xijian just blocked it.

Use your right hand only.

Not only did he block it, but at the moment of contact, he moved sideways to grab Kirei's arm, eliminating the force of the attack, and moved sideways to let the opponent slide out.

"Bite your teeth!"

As if swinging a chain hammer, Shiomi grabbed Kirei's arm, spun around on the spot, and threw him out.

Kirei flipped in mid-air and landed on the ground, sliding backwards a little on the soil before finally coming to a stop when he hit a tree trunk.

The next second, Shiomi rushed towards Kirei at the same speed, right in front of Kirei.

A punch with the speed and power to break through the air was thrown straight out, colliding with Kirei's fist, and the sound barrier that erupted shook the surrounding branches.

After all, he had an extra arm, so Kirei took this opportunity to swing out with his left fist.

The agent who has trained his body to the extreme has a clear understanding of his own strength.

But even so, he felt that Shiomi's body was no longer strong enough to be described by being forged with fine steel.

Even though he hit the relatively weak arm, Kirei felt as if he had hit the hardest rock, and Shiomi did not move at all.

Have you ever used Rune to strengthen your body?

Kirei guessed in his heart.

His punches were as fast as cannonballs, and were all blocked by Shiomi at an even faster speed.

Then, Shiomi seized an opportunity, grasped Kirei's fist, and flew over to block the other fist with his knee.

This was exactly what Kirei intended.

But just as he was about to use his inch strength to break free from Shiomi's right hand, his clenched fist felt a sharp pain and the sound of bones breaking. The hardest part was broken, and the unexpected pain made Kirei grit his teeth several times, but he still squeezed out a low growl from his throat.

Xijian Tianxi forcibly broke the bones of Kirei's clenched fist.

He repeated the same trick, grabbing Kirei's hand again and pulling him into the air. As he was falling, he kicked him in the abdomen with a side kick.

Kirei, spitting blood, bent his body and flew deep into the forest. After a while, a loud crashing sound was heard.

"...I think I've gone too far. Am I just jealous?" Xijian secretly felt guilty.

He knew Kirei would not die, but he had accidentally acted too cruelly just now... Was it because of Kallen?

Was he angry because Kirei didn't want to see his child? Or was he angry because, as Kallen's current father, he had to prove that he was stronger than Kirei so that he could raise the child with peace of mind?

Shiomi was wondering if he was being a little unfair to Kallen, so he brushed off the speculation and turned to check on Emiya Kiritsugu.

When seeing the unconscious Kiritsugu being helped up by Maiya, Shiomi couldn't help but mutter.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier that you have help... Never mind."

Chapter 32 Strike While the Iron is Hot

"How is Kiritsugu's condition..."

Irisviel looked at her husband lying on the bed in a state of shock and asked Shiomi Tenkei who was checking on his condition.

“He managed to avoid being hit by Kirei, but his ribs and internal organs were damaged to varying degrees.” Shiomi placed his hand on Kiritsugu’s chest.

After taking his hand away, Rune, glowing with healing light, stayed.

"With this rune, he can recover to the point where he can get out of bed and walk after lying down for a day and a night." Shiomi said, "After all, he is a magus from a family. The magic imprint he inherited started healing the moment he was seriously injured."

But even so, the treatment is very harsh.

First, it depends on the magic power of the person being imprinted, and secondly, it depends on the quality and level of the imprint itself.

If he were fatally wounded, there would be basically no chance that Emiya Kiritsugu would survive.

At most, Shiomi's rune could provide continuous treatment on the premise that the man was not dead.

“Thank you very much.” Irisviel was speechless.

She knew that her husband was very wary of Shiomi, but that was completely different from his wariness towards Kotomine Kirei.

The opponent's strength is too unpredictable, so try to avoid a head-on conflict at the beginning.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just trying to do you a favor." Shiomi shrugged. "This way, I won't be responsible for any damage to the castle, right?"

Irisviel was stunned for a moment before she nodded with a wry smile, "Of course..."

That level of damage was not something that Einzbern needed to worry about given their financial resources.

But it was obvious that the Master in front of her had a way of thinking that was completely different from that of a magician, so she could only respond with a helpless smile and then accept the other party's instructions.

Afterwards, Irisviel left Maiya to take care of Kiritsugu while she and Shiomi went to the living room next door.

Both Altria and Morgan were there drinking tea.

"I heard that Caster has escaped. My husband is really sitting still and has the time to help treat people from other camps." Morgan said elegantly while holding a teacup. "Aren't you worried that Caster will be attacked by others?"

"It doesn't matter who attacks me. I don't need a Command Spell." Xi Jian put one hand on his waist. "Besides, you have the nerve to say that I'm leisurely. The legendary princes and nobles are all so leisurely, right?"

Morgan was not in a hurry and glanced at Xi Jian. "According to you, do you want me to wait outside and do nothing?"

"That's not what I meant." Shiomi couldn't argue with her, so she turned to look at Irisviel and Altria, "As you just heard, Caster has already escaped. He probably realized the situation was not good when I successfully launched a large-scale magic attack, so he retreated first."

Altria nodded. "It can't be helped. Caster said that he was fully prepared. I'm afraid that includes the part of getting out of this unscathed."

"He speaks with great ambition, but in the end he only has this little courage." Xijian couldn't help but sigh.

At this time, Irisviel asked, "So, what should we do next? If Caster fails in his crusade, there is a possibility that he will continue to do evil. Our alliance..."

Kiritsugu was seriously injured this time due to insufficient intelligence and his hasty response to the enemy. Even if he recovers and returns to the battlefield again, his combat effectiveness will be slightly reduced.

If possible, Irisviel wanted to maintain this alliance for a while until the other parties were defeated.

"I don't mind. After all, I let Kenneth go temporarily because of Lancer's help." Shiomi looked at Morgan, "It would be great if you could kill him on the spot."

"Wouldn't it be more fulfilling to solve this kind of thing yourself?" Morgan accepted the criticism calmly. "It seems that I misunderstood. My husband prefers to have others do it for him."

“…Forget it.” Xi Jian really couldn’t stand it anymore.

Morgan always called him "my husband", but when we were at home, we just ignored him and let it go.

Now, in front of Irisviel and Altria, every time Shiomi was called like this, goose bumps would fall all over his back.

Shiomi couldn't be that thick-skinned.

Especially since there is someone like Altria who is directly related to Morgan.

——Directly related?

Xi Jian was suddenly stunned. The dream from last night came to his mind again as he relaxed after the battle.

The end, the land of rain...what exactly is that place?

There shouldn't be any mention of such a place in Arthurian legend.

But legends are legends, and the records are full of contradictions and ambiguities, so Morgan...

"What are you thinking about?" Morgan asked while sipping his tea.

When Xi Jian came to his senses, he realized that he was standing there in deep thought and everyone was looking at him.

He glanced at the untouched cup of black tea in Altria's hand and thought, you were fighting fiercely yesterday, but today you can sit together and drink tea. Actually, your relationship is not that bad, right?

"Nothing, I just feel that the longer the night, the more dreams there are." Xi Jian turned around and said simply: "Why not get rid of Lancer's master before dawn."

"My husband is really belligerent."

Morgan said these slightly teasing words but stood up without any hesitation, which made others feel that the master and servant were too synchronized.

"But continuous fighting will inevitably lead to fatigue. After repelling Caster and the agent, do you still have enough energy left?" Morgan asked another key question.

Shiomi replied casually: "The same is true for Kenneth. If you hadn't shown mercy, he would have died in the hall. Everyone has suffered losses, it's fair."

Even if he managed to escape with his life, the various magic tricks Morgan performed in just one minute were enough to seriously exhaust Kenneth who was busy defending himself.