"Hey! Master, what are you doing here?"
Kairi Sisigou pulled out a cigarette box labeled Dragon Smoke the same brand as Touko Aozaki's, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag, slowly exhaling the smoke from his lungs.
"That priest gives me a very bad feeling for some reason."
"Oh~ So that's why you changed plans and decided to act alone?"
Mordred had a curious look on her face.
"I'm a mercenary by nature; I'm used to working solo," Sisigou responded nonchalantly.
"Fine, leaving isn't a bad idea. That black woman gives me the same feeling as my mother—like a venomous snake full of poison."
Mordred placed her hands behind her head, and with her cool attire and lean figure, she looked every bit the image of a handsome youth.
Boom!
At that moment, a deafening roar and the faint clash of metal came from afar, shattering the quiet of the small town's night.
"Master!"
Mordred immediately adopted a guarded posture and summoned her weapon.
"Looks like tonight's efforts weren't in vain!"
Sisigou tossed his half-smoked cigarette to the ground and stomped it out.
"Saber! Show me your strength!"
"No problem, Master! As the only heir of the Knight King, I won't let you down!"
A red magical aura enveloped Mordred.
When the light faded, the previously casually dressed Mordred was now clad in a full suit of silver armor.
Thud!
The ground where Mordred stood cracked under her immense strength, and using the force of the recoil, she shot off like a silver bolt of lightning towards the direction of Ryou's battle with Jack the Ripper.
This small town was only about a hundred miles across, a distance a Servant could cover in mere minutes.
Thus, Mordred quickly arrived at the battlefield between Ryou and Jack the Ripper.
Ryou recognized her identity; knowing Mordred wasn't the type to strategize, he quickly had an idea.
"Red Saber, you're just in time. She's the Black Assassin. Hurry and help me take her down!"
Ryou's eyes gleamed as he shouted.
"No problem!"
Mordred replied with a smile.
Then she raised the silver greatsword on her shoulder and struck at Ryou.
Fortunately, Ryou had been wary of her and hastily raised his iron sword to block the attack.
"What do you mean by this?"
Ryou's expression immediately turned icy.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm helping her take you down," Mordred responded matter-of-factly.
Ryou was speechless. He seemed to have forgotten that he currently had the appearance of Spartacus.
In the middle of the night, on one side was a large, muscular man whose face could give people nightmares. On the other side was a small, seemingly delicate (or not?) little girl.
Any normal-thinking person would unquestionably side with the little girl.
Moreover, even though Mordred outwardly disdained her father's old-fashioned knightly principles, the fact that she often referred to herself as the only legitimate heir of the Knight King showed that she took her knightly identity very seriously.
Regardless of her stance, a knight should ostensibly support the weak against the strong.
Of course, there was an even more important reason: Ryou had no interest in reasoning with a troublesome brat.
"Now it's two against one, big brother~," Jack the Ripper said with a wide smile.
"Is that so? Don't be happy too soon."
Ryou smirked.
"Are you alright?"
As he spoke, a melodious voice rang out.
Then, two figures emerged from the dense fog—it was Jeanne d'Arc and Siegfried.
To minimize the impact, Jeanne had not rushed in as aggressively as Mordred.
Thus, despite being closer, Jeanne arrived a step later than Mordred.
As for Siegfried, he followed behind Jeanne like a silent, steadfast machine.
"Look, now it's three against two."
Ryou spread his arms with a playful smile.
"Oh my!"
Jack's face immediately turned gloomy.
She had struggled to fight Ryou alone and had just gotten help, only for the other side to suddenly gain two more formidable-looking allies.
"You must be Jack the Ripper. I am Ruler Jeanne d'Arc. Your indiscriminate killing of ordinary people has severely violated the rules of the Holy Grail War. If you don't stop, I'll have to expel you from the proper Holy Grail War."
With her True Name Discernment skill, Jeanne instantly recognized most of Jack the Ripper's details.
She raised her Holy Flag, pointing it at Jack the Ripper, and warned sternly.
"No! We want to be with Mommy forever. Anyone who tries to stop us is our enemy!"
Perhaps Jeanne's words about expulsion touched a sensitive nerve. Jack screamed and suddenly used her Noble Phantasm, Maria the Ripper, against Jeanne.
This Noble Phantasm was particularly terrifying, especially against female Servants.
As long as the conditions of fog and a female target were met, it could deliver an unblockable strike.
Jack's eyes began to glow crimson. She leaped towards Jeanne.
Jeanne immediately took a defensive stance, gripping her Holy Flag tightly.
In the dense fog, a bright flash of a blade cut through the chill.
The blade did not touch Jeanne's body.
Yet, after Jack and Jeanne passed each other, Jeanne suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, clearly suffering internal injuries.
Jack the Ripper's strike was cursed, meeting the conditions to deliver a fatal blow without direct contact.
Unfortunately for Jack, her Noble Phantasm's rank was too low, and Jeanne had an EX-level Magic Resistance.
The strike that should have disemboweled Jeanne merely made her cough up blood.
Jeanne herself was not seriously harmed.
However, this infuriated Ryou, filling him with anger and frustration.
In hindsight, he should have immediately used the Descent card to kill Jack the Ripper on the spot before she activated her Noble Phantasm.
Once Jack initiated her Noble Phantasm, such a curse-like attack was unstoppable no matter how fast he was.
A bright light enveloped Ryou.
The next moment, before the light even dissipated, a figure appeared in front of Jack the Ripper as if by teleportation.
Bang!
With a loud crash, Jack's small body was sent flying, crashing into a nearby stone house without any resistance.
At this moment, Ryou's figure became visible.
The 300-kilogram hulk had transformed into a dashing and elegant swordsman.
With Ryou making his move, Mordred didn't remain idle. Perhaps guided by fate, she directly targeted Siegfried.
"Things are getting more interesting. Let's start as well, Saber boy over there!"
Mordred's face showed a fierce, beast-like expression.
The next second, clang! A heavy impact sparks flying everywhere.
A chaotic battle immediately ensued.
Mordred and Siegfried seemed to maintain a certain tacit understanding.
They turned into a red light and a blue light, continuously clashing yet gradually distancing themselves from the battlefield. Both refrained from using large-scale attacks, instead engaging purely in swordsmanship duels.
It's often said that one's preferred swordsmanship style reveals their personality. This statement holds some truth, at least until one's swordsmanship reaches a divine, authentic mastery.
Mordred's sword moves were bold and wild, full of a beastly ferocity, much like herself.
In contrast, Siegfried's sword moves were simple and straightforward, yet as rigid as a machine.
Their sword styles represented two extremes, and as they continued to clash, their differing life principles also fiercely collided.
Destined opponents.
This phrase aptly describes them.
Leaving aside the intense duel between the two Saber-class warriors from the Red and Black factions,
Ryou completely outmatched Jack in terms of speed.
After kicking her into the house, Ryou's figure followed like lightning, his large katana emitting flashes of sword light.
Though he transformed into an elegant, flower-loving wanderer, his actions showed no mercy.
The moon-like sword light flashed, and the rubble of the house Jack had crashed into was further pulverized by him.
A shadow burst out from the ruins—it was Jack the Ripper.
She clutched her left arm with her right hand, blood flowing from a long gash on her left arm.
Jack's lips were tightly pursed, her small face filled with pain, looking very pitiable.
Ryou, both furious at her for harming Jeanne and driven by his own rising aggression from the prolonged fight, showed no mercy.
With a cold smile, he mercilessly raised his large katana, aiming the dazzling, moonlit strikes at Jack's head and vital spots like her spirit core.
Jeanne, seeing Jack's pitiable state, wanted to intervene, but remembering her cruel actions, she gritted her teeth and regarded her as an evil spirit.
As an Assassin, Jack the Ripper was outstanding, especially against female opponents.
But Ryou seemed to be her nemesis.
Whether in the thick-skinned, muscular Spartacus mode or the swift Sasaki Kojiro mode, he had an absolute advantage over her.
Jack struggled to wield her dagger with one hand, trying to fend off the flashing sword light of the large katana.
Sasaki Kojirou's swordsmanship had a peculiar demonic allure; the moves appeared ornate, even somewhat flashy, yet concealed lethal intent at every turn.
In terms of martial prowess and attributes, Jack the Ripper was thoroughly suppressed by Ryou. Soon, while Ryou remained elegant and composed, Jack bore multiple wounds of varying depth, bleeding profusely.
At this moment, the cruel and innocent façade faded from Jack's face.
She glared at Ryou with a look of venomous hatred, her eyes betraying uncontrollable panic.
Another of Jack the Ripper's weaknesses became glaringly apparent. Her Master, Reika Rikudou, was not a magus, so she could neither supply Jack with mana nor heal her wounds with magic.
This flaw was less noticeable in hit-and-run assassination tactics, but in a prolonged battle, it became a fatal weakness.
In contrast, the more Ryou used Sasaki Kojirou's sword techniques, the more proficient he became. What was previously obscure now seemed as though Kojirou himself was imparting the essence of the Yanagi-ryu sword style directly to him.
Jack's condition continued to deteriorate, while the trajectory of Ryou's large katana became increasingly unpredictable.
Defending for too long inevitably leads to an opening.
Suddenly, Ryou seized an opportunity, his large katana delivering a ruthless stab aimed at Jack's throat.
Jack tried to evade, but her deteriorating condition made her move a half-step slower.
In that fleeting 0.01 second, Ryou seized the moment, using his Mana Burst skill.
Already lightning-fast, the katana's speed increased even further under the influence of mana.
"Eeek!"
Blood splattered.
Jack let out a painful scream as Ryou's katana pierced her right shoulder.
He showed no mercy, slamming her small body against the wall with the katana.
Bang!
With a loud crash, Jack was pinned against the wall, the heavy impact causing her to cough up more blood, further worsening her injuries.
Swish!
A blue magic circle suddenly appeared beneath Jack, and with its appearance, she turned from solid to ethereal, disappearing into the air.
It seemed Reika Rikudou, sensing Jack's danger, had used a Command Spell to summon her away.
"Trying to escape?"
Ryou smirked, quickly instructing Jeanne, "Jeanne, use a Command Spell to summon her back immediately. Even if she escapes, we need to exhaust their Command Spells!"
Jeanne hesitated briefly before nodding in agreement.
"I understand. By the Command Spell, I order you, Black Assassin Jack the Ripper, to appear before me immediately!"
As Jeanne spoke, a complex, angelic wing-like crimson pattern appeared behind her.
With Jeanne's command, the pattern vanished.
A bewildered Jack reappeared in front of them.
Just moments ago, Jack had been hugging Mommy Reika Rikudou, crying out in pain. No sooner did she feel the comforting warmth of Reika's chest than she was summoned back.
Had this mother-daughter pair known better, they might have been cursing inwardly.
Reika Rikudou had no choice but to use the Command Spell again.
Thus, the two sides engaged in a tug-of-war with their Command Spells.
In the end, although Reika Rikudou achieved victory, the Command Spells on her hand were reduced to a faint, indistinct mark.
On the other side of the battlefield:
Perhaps due to letting the vengeful spirit, Jack the Ripper, escape and fearing she would harm ordinary people again, Jeanne's face showed some worry.
Ryou quickly comforted her.
"Don't worry. Without the Command Spells, she won't escape next time. She likely harvested the hearts of magi to replenish her mana. For the next few days, let's keep a close watch over this small town from a high vantage point. This way, she won't be able to hunt magi or escape the town, and we can force her out."
Jeanne, having once been a leader, thought briefly and immediately agreed with Ryou's plan.
Fortunately, the town was very small. From the highest point of the grand cathedral, a Servant's keen eyesight could take in the entire town at a glance.
As their battle concluded, it seemed the fight between Siegfried and Mordred had also come to an end.
Logically speaking, Siegfried, a great hero with dragon-slaying attributes, should have the upper hand against Mordred, who possessed the blood of the Red Dragon. Even if it wasn't an easy win, it should have at least been evenly matched.
Who knew that the upper hand would belong to Mordred?
If it weren't for Siegfried's protection from the Armor of Fafnir, which grants immunity to B-rank attacks, he would have been defeated.
Meanwhile, outside Sighișoara, a green figure appeared.