After leaving the Far North, Skirk took Bai Xiuxiu toward Dragon City.
Dragon City was the nearest city to the Far North, and they needed to go there for supplies.
The journey to the Sun Moon Empire was long, requiring not only a detailed map but also various provisions for the trip.
As a Servant, Skirk could maintain her existence solely on negative energy, so these provisions were not necessary for her.
However, Bai Xiuxiu was different; she needed to eat normally to sustain her body.
Additionally, they needed to gather the latest news on the Holy Grail War in Dragon City to fully prepare for their next moves.
Despite being blanketed in thick snow, the city's flow of people was undiminished; it remained bustling and lively.
Skirk and Bai Xiuxiu slowly entered Dragon City with the crowd. Strangely, they were not questioned or stopped by any guards.
Skirk possessed mesmerizing, peerless beauty, like a fairy stepping out of a painting. Though Bai Xiuxiu was young, she was already a stunning beauty, her delicate features naturally endearing.
Walking together, the pair should have been extremely eye-catching. Yet, virtually no one paid them much attention, and the soldiers guarding the city gates completely ignored them.
This was all thanks to Skirk's secret technique for reducing presence.
This technique not only lowered others' attention toward them but also ensured that people would quickly forget them after a brief encounter.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Skirk maintained this technique whenever she was out, enveloping Bai Xiuxiu within it as well.
This secret technique truly saved her a lot of hassle.
After all, a devastatingly beautiful young woman traveling with a cute and alluring little girl would undoubtedly draw the gaze of many greedy people, leading to all sorts of unwanted trouble.
Upon arriving at Dragon City, Skirk exchanged the precious Soul Beast materials and rare metals she had acquired in the Far North for some Gold Soul Coins.
Though not a huge amount, it was enough to cover their upcoming journey.
The two traversed the Dragon City market, procuring various goods until their storage Soul Tool was packed full. Only then were they satisfied and ready to leave.
Just then, Bai Xiuxiu noticed a large crowd gathered outside a restaurant in the distance. People were chattering, seemingly drawn by something novel and interesting.
Bai Xiuxiu, who was naturally innocent and curious about the human world, had suppressed her true nature only because of the hatred in her heart and her obsession with growing stronger.
Now, in Skirk's company, a bit of that pure, innate nature began to emerge.
"Teacher!"
Bai Xiuxiu looked up, blinking her clear, innocent eyes at Skirk. Her eyes were full of anticipation, and her intent was clear: she wanted to join the fun and see what was happening there.
"Just this once!"
Skirk had no desire to join the crowd; she inherently disliked trouble, which was why she constantly kept her presence-reducing secret technique active.
A gathering like that clearly looked like a magnet for trouble.
But Bai Xiuxiu's pitiful expression made it impossible for her to refuse.
"Yay! Teacher is the best!"
Bai Xiuxiu cheered excitedly, instantly bolting toward the crowd like a Husky set loose.
Skirk shook her head helplessly but followed slowly behind, her gaze fixed on Bai Xiuxiu, constantly vigilant against any accidents.
Bai Xiuxiu struggled to push her way through the crowd. When she finally reached the front, the scene before her made her jaw drop in surprise.
On a dining table in the restaurant, several stacks of plates were piled high—a truly astonishing number.
And sitting before the table was a petite girl with skin as white as snow.
She had brilliant golden hair that shone like the sun, and her eyes were as clear and bright as blue jewels.
This golden-haired girl was utterly absorbed in "munching down." The table, covered with countless dishes, was clearly her sole "masterpiece."
It was no wonder the scene drew such a crowd: a beautiful girl with a gluttonous appetite. Such a stark contrast was truly unforgettable.
Bai Xiuxiu could clearly see the golden-haired girl savoring the food with an enraptured expression. Her movements were elegant and graceful, but her speed was surprisingly fast, as if she could never be full.
Whenever she tasted a particularly favored delicacy, the ahoge (cowlick) atop the girl's head would perk up playfully, as if alive and dancing with joy.
Standing beside the golden-haired girl was a pink-haired girl.
The pink-haired girl was standing with her mouth agape, staring at the golden-haired girl with an expression that suggested she was witnessing something unbelievable.
Just then, Skirk arrived next to Bai Xiuxiu.
However, her attention was not immediately drawn to the eye-catching golden-haired girl, but was instead acutely focused on the pink-haired girl.
To be precise, it was the noticeable blood-red Command Seal on the back of the pink-haired girl's right hand.
Although the design of the Command Seal was different from the one on Bai Xiuxiu's hand, Skirk instantly recognized it as the Command Seal granted by the Holy Grail.
It was not only proof of a Master's identity but also the medium used to establish a link between the Master and their Servant.
The moment Skirk drew near, the golden-haired girl, who had been immersed in her meal, instantly straightened her ahoge as if struck by electricity.
Her eyes, moments ago filled with bliss and contentment, instantly turned serious and sharp, shooting two icy beams of light directly at Skirk.
"Qiuqiu, watch out, it's a Servant!" The golden-haired girl reacted instantly, leaping to her feet.
With a flash of light, her simple dress was instantly replaced by a set of blue and white armor.
In the blink of an eye, she transformed from a sweet, beautiful girl into a king radiating an aura of majesty.
At the same time, the girl quickly clenched her hands in front of her, a stance suggesting she had grasped a weapon.
However, no one around, including Bai Xiuxiu, saw any weapon; it was as if the girl was merely clutching air.
"Eh!"
Nan Qiuqiu couldn't help but gasp, her body instinctively reacting as she subconsciously hid behind the golden-haired girl, Artoria.
She knew very well that her Servant was a king from another world with incredible power.
Even her mother, Nan Shuishui, who had broken through to the Title Douluo realm, and her super-Douluo grandfather, Tianlong (Heavenly Dragon), couldn't gain an advantage over Artoria.
Therefore, Nan Qiuqiu had a clear understanding of Artoria's formidable strength.
Her small body couldn't withstand any impact, so she didn't hesitate to let her powerful Servant shield her.
The surrounding crowd, who had been watching the spectacle, scattered instantly upon seeing this.
In the Douluo Continent, conflicts between Soul Masters were not uncommon, and ordinary citizens like them didn't dare to stick around.
Soul Skills were indiscriminate, especially powerful area-of-effect skills. Once unleashed, they could easily harm innocent people, and dying in the crossfire would be a meaningless death.
As the crowd quickly dispersed, the figures of Bai Xiuxiu and Skirk were completely exposed to Nan Qiuqiu's view.
Upon seeing Skirk and Bai Xiuxiu, Nan Qiuqiu was stunned.
She couldn't understand why, given a Soul Master's keen perception, people with such exceptional temperament and appearance as Skirk and Bai Xiuxiu weren't noticed in the crowd immediately.
Yet, the fact was that she only registered their presence when they were completely and clearly in her sight.
"Intuition?"
Skirk frowned slightly. On the Teyvat Continent, she had encountered some intellectual figures who, despite forgetting her, could use clues to deduce her existence.
But this was the first time she had met someone who discovered her purely by instinct.
"Presence Concealment? An Assassin?"
Artoria also frowned deeply, her eyes filled with vigilance as she stared intently at Skirk, tightly guarding Nan Qiuqiu behind her.
This Holy Grail War was already strange, and since this was another world, there wasn't the explicit Class division of her original world.
Had it not been for her Instinct sounding the alarm, she might not have detected the presence of this Master and Servant pair.
Thus, her first thought was a high-level Presence Concealment skill.
"Teacher, what do we do?"
Bai Xiuxiu was a little flustered. Having grown up under the protection of her clan, she had almost no experience living in the human world. Facing such a sudden situation, she could only rely on Skirk.
"An Invisible Sword, is it? Such strong fighting spirit. She is indeed an opponent worthy of a fight. What a pity...!"
Skirk couldn't see the invisible Holy Sword in Artoria's hand, but based on her own experience and perception, she could tell it was a sword. Moreover, the battle aura emanating from Artoria was incredibly intense, suggesting a powerful individual who had been through countless battles. She would have been happy to fight such an opponent.
Unfortunately, this was not a suitable place for a battle.
If the two were to engage in a life-and-death struggle here, the resulting destruction would be immense and far-reaching, potentially demolishing the entire Dragon City.
Skirk was inherently kind. She didn't want to involve innocent people or cause trouble for others, so she immediately decided to flee.
The moment Skirk made her decision, extreme coldness began to gather. The temperature of the surrounding air seemed to freeze instantly, and the sudden drop in temperature made the already cold Dragon City even worse.
Ice-blue sword energy tore through the ground, crisscrossing and howling towards Artoria.
"Strike of the Wind King!"
Seeing this, Artoria shouted, and the invisible Holy Sword in her hand slashed straight down.
With that fierce strike, a violent hurricane instantly swept up, drawing countless shattered stones into it to violently collide with the ice-blue sword energy.
In an instant, the entire street seemed to have been hit by a devastating storm. Sword energy and hurricane winds ravaged the area, and the restaurant that Artoria had been quite satisfied with was not spared, being utterly destroyed in the aftermath of the battle.
This sight caused Artoria's body to stiffen slightly; after all, she was one of the perpetrators.
Fortunately, both the restaurant owner and the onlookers had quickly fled before the fighting started, otherwise, given Skirk's kind nature, she wouldn't have attacked so decisively.
As the storm gradually subsided, the invisible sword in Artoria's hand finally revealed its true appearance.
It was a magnificent golden Holy Sword, its blade inlaid with dazzling gems, radiating a sacred and majestic aura that proclaimed its extraordinary nature.
Meanwhile, Skirk had taken advantage of the chaos to open a purple-black spatial vortex.
She acted quickly, lifting Bai Xiuxiu in one swift motion and, ignoring her squeals, throwing her into the spatial vortex.
"Don't even think about escaping!"
Artoria's eyes narrowed, and she instantly released her full internal energy.
With a loud thud as the ground shattered, her figure became a golden flash of lightning, instantly appearing before Skirk.
The golden Holy Sword in her hand, carrying incredibly sharp sword energy, slashed down with the force of thunder.
"Clang!" Sword and sword clashed fiercely, unleashing a violent wave of air.
In just a few seconds, the longswords in their hands became afterimages, trading dozens of blows back and forth.
The scattered sword energy, like razor-sharp blades, caused severe secondary damage to the street once again.
Nan Qiuqiu stood to the side, watching the scene dumbfounded. She couldn't even distinguish the sword shadows, seeing only the sparks constantly generated by the collision in the air and the rampant sword energy.
Sensing two rather powerful auras rapidly approaching, Skirk's heart stirred. A second sword, condensed from ice, appeared in her left hand.
Crisscrossing sword lights flashed like electricity. Frost began to climb up Artoria's armor, but guided by her Instinct, she dodged all the sword lights. However, the fierce attack briefly forced her to retreat.
Skirk seized the chance, leaning backward. The purple-black vortex instantly appeared on the ground, swallowing her whole. In the blink of an eye, she vanished without a trace.
"What happened?"
Just then, a flash of lightning and a pink light streaked by like meteors. A tall elderly man and a pink-haired beautiful woman appeared at the scene.
They were the two Title Douluo of the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Earth Dragon Sect: Heavenly Dragon Douluo and Nan Shuishui.
Dragon City was guarded by these two sects. Such a powerful fluctuation of Soul Master combat naturally brought them to the scene immediately.
After all, one of the fighting parties had an aura they were very familiar with: the king from another world who had defeated them after being summoned—Artoria Pendragon.
"Qiuqiu, are you alright!" Nan Shuishui was frantic, immediately turning her attention to her daughter, Nan Qiuqiu.
Only after seeing that her daughter was well-protected by Artoria and unharmed did she let out a sigh of relief.
"Mom, I'm fine. It seems it was another Master and Servant, but Saber drove them away!"
Although in this other world there was no saying that revealing one's true name would expose weaknesses, Artoria still habitually asked Nan Qiuqiu to call her Saber.
"Not driven away. The opponent retreated voluntarily!"
Artoria bent down and picked up a bag of Gold Soul Coins that Skirk had dropped upon leaving, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"Eh, she dropped money?"
Nan Qiuqiu stared blankly at the bag of Gold Soul Coins in Artoria's hand.
'It seems the opponent isn't a bad person!'
Nan Shuishui glanced at the surrounding scene of destruction, then revealed a pleasant smile.
The opponent had left compensation after causing damage. Most Soul Masters did not possess such high moral standards.
"Indeed. I was too quick to judge, and truthfully, I might not have won if we continued to fight."
Artoria also realized that the bag of Gold Soul Coins was left intentionally by the opponent. As for the opponent's purpose, it was self-evident.
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