Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Damn it, I forgot that all the contestants this time are gods. A Mosin-Nagant probably won't be enough to deal with them.

Realizing the situation was dire, Samael became even more frustrated, only able to watch helplessly as Artoria skillfully closed in, leaping onto the seat once more and aiming the fully loaded Dragunov SVD at him.

"Boom!"

"Dang Dang!"

The two fired several shots at the same time, the bullets colliding in mid-air and sparking intense flashes, but neither could gain the upper hand.

"Bang!"

Just as the situation was reaching a stalemate, a private car belching black smoke drove over the speed bump ahead, the car shaking violently. Caught off guard, Samael raised the muzzle of his Mosin-Nagant rifle diagonally upwards, and the bullets flew off into the distance.

good chance!

In an instant, Artoria seized the opening in her opponent's defenses. Her eyes flashed, a cold smile appeared on her lips, and she decisively raised the SVD and pulled the trigger.

"puff!"

The bullet, flying from the muzzle, took advantage of Samael's unsteady footing and, with a dull thud, successfully pierced the target's shoulder blade, reducing his health by more than 20 points.

More importantly, the wound was on the right side, which severely affected the accuracy of the opponent's subsequent shots.

I've finally caught you! Prepare to die, Arthur!

With the upper hand in her favor, Artoria felt a surge of satisfaction and once again aimed her crosshair at the target's ugly face.

However, looking through the scope, the Knight King suddenly saw the man within the crosshairs, and with a pleased smile, pointed to the top of her head.

In an instant, an ominous premonition made Artoria's heart pound wildly.

"Creak... Bang!"

The next moment, accompanied by a tooth-grinding metallic cracking sound, a huge billboard lying across the road fell heavily, precisely smashing the speeding Yamaha heavy motorcycle in half.

Chapter 167 Sergeant Major VS Imperial Stormtroopers (4.3k)

Finally, we got rid of them.

Samael glanced back at the billowing dust behind him and the Yamaha heavy cruiser tragically broken in two, and nodded in satisfaction.

“Arthur!!”

However, amidst the dull thumping, an angry roar resounded through the sky.

Unfortunately, the person next to him was unharmed.

Samael's gaze swept across the smoke and dust, landing on the dark figure that had risen from the ground and was now standing there in a helpless rage. He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

On the highway, as the private car, billowing black smoke, roared away, the angry shouts behind it gradually faded away.

After successfully entering the safe zone, led by Tokiomi Tohsaka, a native of Fuyuki City, the two quickly moved to a new hiding place—a culvert covered by withered grass beneath the banks of the Miwa River.

According to the layout of Fuyuki City, the new capital and the old capital are divided by the Miwa River, which is theoretically the core intersection of Fuyuki City.

Even if the safe zone shrinks, it will be the last one to be affected.

Moreover, regardless of whether the final battle takes place in the new capital or the old capital, the Miwon River Bridge is a necessary route for both sides.

Hiding nearby to ambush them is perfect.

The only downside is that the bridge is exposed and easily visible, while the culvert below, overgrown with withered grass, is in a blind spot and can create a surprise effect.

It must be said that this is an excellent hiding place.

After briefly confirming that the surrounding area was safe, Samael leaned against the stone wall, glanced at his Master who had almost gotten him killed, and complained in frustration.

"Tokiomi, tell me honestly, did you come here specifically to make the game more difficult for me?"

"Ahem, everyone has their own area of ​​expertise. This year's Holy Grail War... has exceeded my expectations..."

Realizing his own poor performance in both rounds, Tokiomi Tohsaka felt a surge of shame and coughed as he tried to explain.

"That's true. If you hadn't led the way, I might not have been able to find such a remote and safe place."

Samael smiled broadly, tapped the stone wall behind him, and gave a mocking look.

Upon hearing this, Tokiomi Tohsaka couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed.

At my age, I certainly wouldn't go crawling through culverts for fun.

To be honest, finding such a perfect hiding place is all thanks to my good daughter.

When Rin was little, she was not only brave but also loved adventure and often did unexpected things.

This is the place where he used to search for his daughter.

"It will take a while before the next circle shrinks, so let's rest for a bit and get back into shape."

After making a casual joke to lighten the mood, Samael rummaged through bandages and other first-aid supplies, steering the conversation back on track.

Tokiomi Tohsaka nodded, took the bandages, and restored the health he had lost to Artoria.

Once they were in full swing, the two of them held their breath and remained silent, continuing to practice the principle of "survival," hiding in the culvert and lying in wait.

Fortunately, after several shrinking zones, everything went as expected, and the famous Miwako Bridge in Fuyuki City successfully became a protected site at the end of the safe zone.

However, the once vast map has now shrunk to less than one-tenth of its original size.

As the safe zone continued to shrink, the contestants scattered in various places inevitably bumped into each other.

In the midst of the fierce battle, the second, third, and fourth victims also appeared one after another.

They are Marisbury, the Celestial Societies; Bazett, the designated seal executor; and Scáthach, the Queen of the Land of Shadows.

It seems that the Lancer team ran into the Caster team, and in the end, it was clear that King Solomon was more skilled. After sacrificing his Master, he successfully eliminated the two members of the Lancer team.

Samael wasn't too surprised by this.

After all, whether it was Marisbury, who was forced to commit suicide when he was close to success, or Bazett, whose right hand was cut off by an acquaintance and who was eliminated before the Fifth Holy Grail War even began, both of them had pitifully bad luck.

Scáthach herself, on the one hand, had to face the powerful Grand Magician Solomon, and on the other hand, perhaps due to the curse of Lancer's E-rank luck, she also suffered a defeat.

Such an outcome is not surprising.

As time ticked by, the culvert vibrated continuously, and dust fell from the ceiling.

Samael's originally leisurely expression slowly turned serious, and his brows gradually furrowed.

"What's wrong, Pretender?"

At this moment, after several people were eliminated in succession, Tokiomi Tohsaka, who had become increasingly confident in the judgment of his own servant, noticed the change in Samael's expression and couldn't help but get up from his leisurely reclining position and casually ask him.

"I have a feeling... something's not right outside..."

The ancient snake raised its hand and stroked its chin, muttering softly.

"What's wrong?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka looked puzzled and confused.

Samael spread his fingers and caught the small pieces of concrete that had peeled off from the ceiling and were falling. He narrowed his vertical pupils and looked up at the culvert above, where cracks had appeared out of nowhere. He spoke softly.

"Don't you think the explosions nearby were a bit too intense?"

"You mean..."

"How could sniper rifles, grenades, and submachine guns cause such a commotion?"

Gu She rolled her eyes at Tokiomi Tohsaka, who lacked common sense about firearms, and casually asked a question, while her brows furrowed more and more tightly.

Looking back now, I realize I was limited by my preconceived notions, thinking I was playing a game like PUBG on a computer.

In reality, however, this is a group of gods from different eras fighting each other in actual combat.

Is it too easy to win just by surviving to the end?

The growing unease in his heart made Samael ponder for a moment, then he suddenly stood up, preparing to change his strategy and go out to scout out the enemy's situation.

"No, I need to go out and see!"

"Okay, I'll go with you!"

Guided by his own Servant, Tokiomi Tohsaka, who also sensed something was amiss, decisively stepped forward and prepared to embark on an adventure together.

"Bang! Bang!"

However, before the two could even step out of the culvert, a dull thud of a heavy object falling to the ground came from the outside.

In the blink of an eye, two figures, covered in dust and with almost no health, darted into the culvert.

"who!"

The sudden turn of events startled Tokiomi Tohsaka, who instinctively let out a roar.

But what greeted him was the sound of a mechanism being pulled unconsciously on the other side.

"Get out of the way!"

Samael, who was crouching against the wall, cursed his teammate under his breath and kicked Tokiomi Tohsaka to the ground without any politeness. At the same time, he raised his Mosin-Nagant and decisively opened fire on the figure flashing outside the cave entrance.

"boom!"

"boom!"

Almost simultaneously, both sides dropped to the ground and pulled the triggers, firing at each other. A blast of air erupted, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Hey, didn't you say this place was safe? How come there are other people here?"

"how could I know?"

"Then why did you make such a solemn promise!"

"Maybe it was just an accident! How can you blame me?"

After a brief exchange, the two figures, lying prone in the low-lying area, stared at each other and argued.

"An accident? Using me as bait to expose the sniper, abandoning me before I could even get in the car and running away, and then driving the car into the river... are all these accidents?"

"Ahem, that was a mistake, I'll be more careful next time..."

"You still want a next time!"

Between the two, Samael could not help but detect a strong sense of resentment and shared misery.

Moreover, the voice sounded familiar to him.

"Is it... Team Archer?"

After pondering for a moment, the ancient serpent tentatively asked a question, then turned to look at the bowl-sized hole behind its master and spoke meaningfully.

“I am Pretender, and next to me is my Master, Tokiomi Tohsaka.”

"..."

Realizing they had almost blown their father's head off, the two unfilial daughters looked at each other and fell silent.

After a brief pause of a few seconds, Ai Lei, who had lived abroad for a long time, was clearly less burdened by psychological pressure. She snorted and stated her position.

"So what? This is the Holy Grail War. When two people meet, they have to rely on their own abilities to determine the winner!"

"War can also be divided into friend and foe; the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Samael's eyes flickered, and he spoke softly.

"Your health seems to be low. We have some medkits here. How about we talk about cooperation?"

As he spoke, the ancient snake cautiously shifted its body and changed position, lest the two women in front of it go mad and become indiscriminate, abandoning all martial ethics and shooting him dead.

"it is good!"

Rin Tohsaka, who was struggling with whether or not to betray her father and be a dutiful daughter, suddenly brightened up when she heard that there was a way to have the best of both worlds. She nodded in agreement without hesitation and, without waiting for Ereshkigal to stop her, took the lead in raising the heavy black gun in her arms and excitedly walked forward.

Samael was slightly taken aback when he saw Rin Tohsaka swaggering over, and subconsciously asked a question.

"Where's the other one?"

"Don't worry, she's out of bullets!"

A clever man who had defected betrayed his own sister without a second thought in front of his father.

I am XXXX...

At this moment, Ai Lei, who was lying in the low-lying area struggling with her thoughts, heard this and her face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. She almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

But what's done is done, and Ai Lei had no choice but to throw down the now-ineffective weapon in her arms, dejectedly walk out of her hiding place, and hand over the initiative to the other side.