I really didn't want to burn it.

"Hmph!"*2

Scáthach and Ryougi Shiki, the two female warriors, simultaneously let out a cold snort and charged toward their opponent.

Scáthach's target was the Old Man of the Mountain, while Ryougi Shiki chose Araya Sōren.

"Naive!" Araya Souren activated the Command Spell again without hesitation, "Old Man of the Mountain, stand up! Attack your enemy!"

"Ughhhhh!"

The two Command Seals, which had opposing commands, were immediately canceled out, and black magic spread through the hall like flames.

“Oooooohh ...

The old man of the mountain let out a monstrous roar and stood once more atop the hall.

"Then continue!"

Karen got excited and once commanded, "By the name of the Command Spell, Assasn—stop!"

The red magic once again entangled the Old Man of the Mountain and restricted his movements.

"whispering sound."

Araya Sōren notes that he will directly use his third Command Seal.

This fake monk may seem reckless, but he is actually very calculating.

Although Rul, the judge of the Holy Grail War, has 28 Command Seals, at most only 2 Command Seals can be used on a single Servant.

If I use up these two opportunities to issue commands, then my servants will truly be invincible.

Anyway, since Kirei Kotomine's Command Seals will be used as a supplement later, there's no need to be too stingy with their use.

Araya Sōren had very beautiful ideas, but unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly as they hoped.

Because that person appeared in front of him.

The light from behind Ryougi Shiki made Araya Sōren only see a shadowy outline.

A white kimono, gorgeous black hair, and eyes that sparkle with iridescent light.

The girl leaned slightly forward, her right hand gripping the hilt of the knife tightly.

She drew the long sword from its sheath with a "whoosh".

With an aura of utter stillness and death, Ryougi Shiki arrived.

"Ah!"

Araya Sōren knew that every second counted, so he raised a magical barrier and pushed it towards Ryougi Shiki.

With a single slash, Ryougi Shiki tore through the barrier and arrived in front of Araya Sōren.

At almost the same moment, Scáthach also unleashed her Noble Phantasm.

“Gae Bolg—(through—)”

First, use a shot to immobilize the enemy's body.

"—Altnative! (—The Gun of Death!)"

The second shot was the decisive one!

Just as the second red spear fell, Araya Sōren suddenly heard a thunderous roar in his ears!

This attack, which was clearly not to be trifled with just by looking at it, instilled a sense of panic in Araya Sōren.

Fortunately, through the contract, Araya Sōren realized that the old man of the mountain was not in any serious condition.

Araya Souren abandoned the idea of ​​using the third Command Seal directly—in case it might be needed in the battle later—and instead focused his attention on Ryougi Shiki.

With the old man of the mountain standing between him and Ryougi Shiki's teammates, this should be his best chance to strike.

Unfortunately, the current "Ryougi Shiki" cannot meet his requirements.

“I don’t understand—what’s going on with you, Ryougi Shiki? You shouldn’t be like this in my plan.”

The magician, still looking troubled, asked the question.

Even with Leon's interference, Ryougi Shiki shouldn't be unable to awaken her Mystic Eyes and need a Servant to possess her to open them.

Such a Ryougi Shiki is clearly unable to meet Araya Sōren's demands, which is why he keeps trying to stimulate Ryougi Shiki's potential tonight.

Unfortunately, Araya Sōren's repeated attempts were disrupted by outsiders.

If everything goes well, maybe—

“Rune Master… Ah.”

Araya Sōren's words were filled with resentment.

However, Ryougi Shiki directly denied it.

“This has nothing to do with Ang. He is also pursuing my eyes. He wants me to awaken those eyes more than anyone else.”

Ryougi Shiki, who had been dormant deep within her body, surfaced on her own and said this to Araya Sōren.

"It was my own choice to avoid those eyes because I was afraid of them. I could sense that once I possessed those eyes, Ang would leave me."

Ryougi Shiki spoke quietly, the wind from the explosion behind her constantly blowing through her hair.

"But things are different now. Instead of constantly worrying and fearing loss, it's better to actively seek out what you have!"

Ryougi Shiki's words made the barrier master narrow his eyes.

"Don't joke around. Are you saying you've been suppressing your eyes all along, but now you're planning to unleash them and go straight to the root?!"

Araya Sōren directly denied it.

"How foolish... Ryougi Shiki, how could your selfish mind possibly win the favor of the Counter Force?"

Araya Souren retorted unwillingly, "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm clearly more..."

"Araya Sōren! You are indeed very loving, but because you love too much, you lack the courage to fight for someone! You try to make your plans perfect, as meticulous as a machine, which shows that you have lost the fighting spirit and greed of a human being."

"Well……"

The barrier master was speechless.

That's exactly what he was thinking.

but--

He believes himself to be the savior of humanity, destined to engage in dialogue with the root of all things to save humankind.

If we don't plan things out perfectly, what if something goes wrong and humanity is destroyed?

"Araya Sōren, this is your selfishness."

Ryougi Shiki said this.

"You think too highly of yourself. We are all just ordinary people!"

Then, she took a step forward.

The steps were so natural, yet the barrier master sensed that something had changed about the girl in the white kimono.

Ryougi Shiki's eyes snapped open.

"So, I'm going to kill you. Not because of Ang, nor because you want to attack me, but simply because I can't bear the thought of your continued existence in the future."

The sharp killing intent transformed into a sharp blade that pierced through the magician's entire body.

This is the signal that a battle of offense and defense is about to begin.

Chapter 156 Li Ang: So they came for me?!

The battle between Ryougi Shiki and Araya Souren has begun, while the war between Leon and his companions and the Old Man of the Mountain—

It's not over yet.

When the smoke cleared and the Old Man of the Mountain reappeared in everyone's sight, they realized that Scáthach's Noble Phantasm had only knocked off the opponent's black cloak.

At this moment, Scáthach and the others finally saw the appearance of the Mountain Elder under his cloak. On his body, which was even taller and more robust than Xiang Yu, he wore jet-black armor. The metal helmet, which was not covered by the cloak, looked even more ferocious. The eyes and mouth of the skull on his chest kept emitting ghostly blue flames, like a vengeful ghost from hell.

Honestly, with Grandpa's Ghost Rider-like appearance, if he stood on the highway without any special effects, Li Ang wouldn't believe that he wouldn't cause a major chain-reaction collision overnight.

"It seems you have already made your choice."

The old man of the mountain announced to Li Ang and the others, and the flame on his chest began to sway without wind.

Ding~~ Ding~~ Ding~~

The long, drawn-out chimes echoed in people's ears once more.

[Comes with its own speaker and hairdryer... Well, this old man from Huoshan has managed to acquire both of Steve Jobs's signature skills.]

Li Ang chimed in, "No wonder the Beggars' Sect is getting worse and worse; it turns out their treasure was stolen by Persian terrorists."

【…】

Seeing that the host didn't criticize him but instead joined in the teasing, the mourning system felt a faint sadness.

The others didn't have Li Ang's leisure time. Seeing that the old man of the mountain was resisting the command spell and was still charging forward with his sword even though his body was burning with red magic, everyone's expression suddenly changed.

Scáthach shouted, "Get ready to defend! This guy's normal attacks have the power of a Noble Phantasm!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the clanging sound of metal rubbing against the air as the greatsword was swung echoed throughout the hall.

The flash of sword light was exceptionally beautiful in the bright hall.

Li Ang knew that if he couldn't stop the Mountain Elder here, he wouldn't be able to fight the rest of the battle.

Now that Ryougi Shiki is facing Araya Sōren, I must believe that she can achieve the victory of the original work.

Li Ang himself also had to live up to Ryougi Shiki's trust in him and hold off the monster, the Mountain Elder.

Therefore, the moment the Mountain Elder could move, Li Ang took out all the runestones engraved with Frozen Runes from his pocket and smashed them down on the Mountain Elder.

The bone-chilling cold did not deter the Mountain Elder from stopping. He moved forward slowly, his azure flames forming a tight protective shield around him, much like the opponent's solidified killing intent, repelling Li Ang's freezing rune magic.

Upon seeing this, Li Ang's heart sank.

He had underestimated the situation; the old man's strength was far greater than he had imagined.

Li Ang had calculated that the Command Spells could slow down the Mountain Elder's actions, but he hadn't considered whether he could actually break through the Mountain Elder's defenses.

"Rid, can you exploit the flaw in your Noble Phantasm creation once again?"

“It is possible, but he has too little information, so the effect of the Noble Phantasm will probably be very poor,” Reines replied.

Sima Yi was not a strategist who could come up with ingenious plans. In his several encounters with his old nemesis Zhuge Liang, he always prioritized a cautious approach.

Regardless of whose military strategy was superior, the core of Sima Yi's command style after his transformation into a follower was the need for as much intelligence on the enemy as possible.

Even when sufficient conditions such as "opponents who have been defeated" or "opponents who have been gathered" are met, Sima Yi is even able to accomplish the feat of "creating weaknesses".

As the saying goes, if you have weaknesses, expose them and let your teammates take the hit; if you don't have weaknesses, create them and let your teammates take the hit.

This is the military-type Servant Sima Yi [Reines] – a level 2 support in the game, and a top-tier support in reality.

"Okay, we'll give you the opportunity to collect their data."

Seeing that Leon's freezing attack was ineffective, the other Servants on the Red side launched their own attacks, unleashing a skill called "Justice's Gang Up" on the Mountain Elder.

Irisviel was the first to launch an attack. With one hand, she used silver threads to bind the Old Man of the Mountain and restrict his movement, while with the other hand, she released magic bullets to attack.

Irisviel's goal was clear; she knew her attack was utterly insignificant against the Mountain Elder's B-rank [Magic Resistance].

But if it's just about stalling the enemy and gathering intelligence, Irisviel believes she can manage that.

But Mrs. Emiya's thinking was too simplistic.

"what……"

The old man of the mountain ignored him completely. He took a step forward, and the wall of flames directly blocked Irisviel's magic bullet.

"This guy feels even stronger than before... Could this be the second form of a boss in a game? Is that black cloak some kind of restricted item?"

Reines looked on incredulously.

For a moment, Reines was overwhelmed by the old man's imposing presence, and her body trembled involuntarily.

Don't get distracted.