Aside from Black Saber Siegfried and his master Gordes, all the other masters and servants had somewhat established a master-servant relationship. Fiore had great trust in Shinji. Darnic served Vlad III with respect. Chiron and Caules were like mentors and friends. Roche sincerely respected Avicebron. Though Celenike found Astolfo's free-spirited nature somewhat tricky, she was charmed by his purity and honesty, making it hard for her to find fault as long as nothing major happened.
Only Gordes had long given up on communicating with Saber. He made no effort to understand him and was simply afraid of revealing his true name.
Gordes had no idea what Saber was thinking.
What was hidden in that man who seemed like a machine? Was it discontent? Rebellion? Murderous intent? Contempt? Or was he thinking nothing at all? What were his goals, and his beliefs? These were things that should have been asked beforehand. But Gordes refused to do so. He wanted to treat his servant as mere equipment.
Perhaps it was out of vanity, or maybe he was obsessed with the idea that "a servant is ultimately just a familiar."
In any case, the fact that Saber was neither gaining nor losing ground in his battle with the Red Rider was causing an inappropriate sense of agitation to build up inside him.
Gordes was the most excellent mage on the Black side, and his servant was the strongest Saber. So why hadn't they achieved any notable feats? Lancer was an exception, as he was a hero not inferior to Siegfried, also possessing immortality, like Karna. But why was it that facing a Rider, who wasn't one of the three main knight classes, they were still in such a situation?
Berserker had successfully suppressed the opposing Berserker, yet they couldn't even deal with a Rider on their side. This was unacceptable. Saber needed to achieve notable accomplishments, not just let Assassin and Caster steal the spotlight.
Driven by this mindset, Gordes began to issue haphazard commands through the master-servant link—just as Shinji had feared.
Typically, masters did not give detailed commands during a servant battle. This was because they had absolute trust in their servants' experience and skills, which far surpassed those of modern mages. Most masters would only express their opinions on strategic matters. However, Gordes, overwhelmed by anxiety, had lost his composure.
"Saber! Use your Noble Phantasm! Use it!"
Seeing Siegfried ignore his command made Gordes even more anxious, pushing him to the brink of hysteria—a sign that his patience had reached its limit.
Naturally, Fiore could not remain indifferent to this: "Uncle, please don't rush. The battle has just begun, and it's not yet the decisive stage. There's no need to use the Noble Phantasm so soon."
"But so far, Saber hasn't inflicted any damage on the enemy."
Fiore's clear voice slightly alleviated Gordes' agitation and anger. It's human nature to get stuck in a rut when alone, but having someone to advise you can help significantly. Gordes also had to consider Fiore's status as the next head and Darnic's support for her.
"The enemy hasn't harmed Saber either. It's a stalemate. Based on the enemy's displayed attributes, he might be the top-tier—"
Before Fiore could finish her sentence, a green light swiftly approached from a tricky angle, striking Siegfried and piercing his dragon-blood armor, resulting in an injury.
The balance was broken!
Gordes slammed his fist on the armrest, roaring, "What are you doing, Saber? Why didn't you follow my command? If you had used your Noble Phantasm, Rider might already be defeated!"
Fiore's expression also turned unpleasant. She had just mentioned the stalemate, and now this happened. She quickly contacted her servant.
"What's going on?"
"It's not just Rider; there's also an Archer."
"What?" Fiore's heart leaped.
"Don't worry. The situation is still under control—but to be safe, it's best to have the Great Sage oversee things. You can't move, so send the fat man."
"Understood." Fiore suddenly looked up and spoke to Gordes, who had already started to touch his Command Seals. "Uncle, our enemy is not just Rider but also Red Archer. Please contact Caules and request support from our Archer."
"But, about Saber—" Gordes glanced at Fiore's legs, then at the fallen Saber, his expression conflicted. On one hand, he didn't want Chiron to steal the glory, but on the other, the fact that Red Archer could break through the Armor of Fafnir made him wary.
"Assassin said it's fine, and I believe him. I'll take full responsibility!" Fiore's resolute attitude and the sharp gleam in her azure eyes were something even Gordes' pride couldn't ignore.
"Alright, if you insist," Gordes reluctantly waved his hand and activated the castle's internal communication spell.
"I've done as you asked; the rest is up to you."
Fiore stared at the screen in front of her, her hands unconsciously clenched.
◇◇◇
The moment Siegfried was hit, he realized what had just happened.
The previous strike came from another servant positioned far behind Red Rider.
This was a long-range attack, and it used no magical energy, purely physical force. Without a doubt, the enemy was an Archer.
This strike was clearly above A-rank, causing him to temporarily lose control of his body. It seemed Red Archer had realized that ordinary attacks couldn't harm him, so they had increased the power of their shot.
What's even more terrifying was that he hadn't sensed the servant's presence, proving that Red Archer was far beyond his detection range. This wasn't an open grassland but a dense forest filled with trees in the night. Even with excellent night vision, he was just a moving point.
But Red Archer had managed it.
An ultra-precise shot with destructive power surpassing A-rank, accurate aiming in near-zero visibility, as if threading a needle.
The enemy was an elite marksman!!!
While rolling, Siegfried felt the danger.
On the other side, Red Rider's eyes gleamed as he pierced through the rolling dust and spotted the arrow embedded in Saber.
"So your immortality can be pierced if the attack is strong enough. That makes things easier—hmm?"
Suddenly, he looked towards the other side of the forest, his expression tightening.
"Damn, it seems our Berserker is done for, but we still have a Saber here. Trading Berserker for Saber, it seems we've come out ahead."
With a thoroughly joyful yet cruel smile, Red Rider tightened his grip on his spear, ready to deliver a strike that would pierce Black Saber's defenses.
"So, how long until you 'revive'? Ten seconds? Twenty seconds? Either way, it won't be faster than my strike—farewell, Black Saber."
Just as Red Rider raised his spear to strike, a stream of golden magical energy appeared above his head, accompanied by a dazzling flash and a deafening roar. The force, possessing greater destructive power than Red Rider's spear or Red Archer's arrow, descended from the sky, seemingly intent on obliterating Red Rider along with the surrounding ground.
In an instant, thunder and lightning struck.
Amidst the flashing golden lightning, two figures broke through, one after another.
The first figure held a shield, dragging it across the ground and leaving two nearly ten-meter-long grooves.
The second figure gripped a black-gold war spear with both hands, leaving a distinct footprint with each step.
Where the spear tip met the shield, terrifying magic surged, evoking the grandeur of collapsing mountains and raging seas.
The man wielding the black-gold war spear let out a roar, louder than thunder. Visible magic erupted from the spear tip, converting into physical explosive force that poured onto the large shield held by Red Rider.
The intricately decorated, magnificent shield wasn't swayed by the torrent of magic in the slightest, but Red Rider holding the shield couldn't ignore the sudden explosive force. He was sent flying, crashing through several large trees, mirroring what had happened to Saber just seconds earlier.
A green-glowing arrow streaked through the air as Red Archer, from a distance, began to support his ally.
The man with the black-gold war spear was prepared. The once-dimmed thunder roared back to life, shattering the arrow that could have pierced his skull.
This precious moment of respite gave Red Rider the time he needed to regroup. The proud man stood up, switching his grip from holding the shield with both hands to holding it with one. In his now free hand, the javelin reappeared.
"A good ambush, Black Assassin, but it's far from enough to take me down."
"No, I think it's quite close."
Black Assassin Shinji Matou pointed his spear at Red Rider's shoulder, where magic-condensed shoulder armor once was. Now, only charred, smoldering flesh remained. The supposed invulnerability to all slashes and strikes—had been breached.
"I've seen through your immortality!"