Yae Sakura clearly hadn't anticipated such astonishing defense. Just as she frowned, Siegfried leveraged the recoil to retreat rapidly, putting dozens of meters between them.
The Holy Sword Balmung in his hand pointed diagonally to the ground, his gaze fixed on Huo Yuhao's direction. Green lightning crackled around him, ready to rush over and rescue Dai Huabin at any moment.
Yae Sakura didn't recognize Siegfried, nor did she know about the fatal weakness that was a constant flaw in Siegfried's existence as a Heroic Spirit.
Had she known this secret, given her speed and divine-speed slashes, a slight shift in those previous strikes might have hit the vital spot, killing him instantly.
Siegfried was gambling that Yae Sakura didn't know him. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to use his body to withstand the attacks of Yae Sakura, who could use divine-speed slashes.
And he had gambled correctly. This was another world; very few people knew him, let alone his weakness. Without knowing the weakness, ordinary attacks couldn't penetrate the defense of his Dragon-Slaying Armor.
Siegfried's martial arts were undoubtedly top-tier. His Holy Sword swings carried the power to cleave mountains and split stones, yet facing Yae Sakura, he felt a frustrating sense of having power he couldn't use.
Yae Sakura's figure was too agile, like willow catkins in the wind, always narrowly dodging his heavy sword.
Her speed and reaction time far surpassed an ordinary person's; every strike cunningly landed in the gaps of his power transition.
Furthermore, her swordsmanship was equally exquisite, the blade light dense and airtight, making it extremely difficult to break through her defense.
"I'm sorry, I can't let you pass."
Yae Sakura's figure was like a shadow, once again blocking Siegfried. Sakura-colored blade light flowed around her, forming an impenetrable shield.
There was a hint of genuine apology on her face, her fox ears slightly drooping. She clearly did not agree with her own actions—did she want to assist the villain? Did she want to watch Huo Yuhao indulge in reckless slaughter?
But she had no choice.
Tang Ya was still controlled by the Holy Spirit Church. The Command Seal engraved on Tang Ya's hand was like a sharp sword hanging over her head. As long as she didn't want to be eliminated, she couldn't disregard Tang Ya's safety.
More importantly, she hadn't seen the Holy Grail yet and hadn't confirmed whether the wish to see Kallen again could be fulfilled.
For this slim hope, she could only temporarily yield to the Holy Spirit Church and Huo Yuhao, whom she despised.
Yae Sakura had no intention of fighting desperately from the start.
In her fight with Siegfried, she focused entirely on containment, her Spirit Blade Sakura Fubuki dancing seamlessly, yet always holding back three parts of her strength.
She relied on her superior speed to maneuver and evade, constantly disrupting Siegfried's movements with exquisite swordsmanship, but deliberately avoided fatal killing blows.
She hadn't even used the power of Pardofelis—the other power sealed within her. Once released, her strength would significantly increase, but she was very reluctant to use it, as it was the power that had killed Kallen.
Siegfried was extremely perceptive and instantly saw through Yae Sakura's intent.
His brow furrowed, and his Holy Sword swings became more fierce, the twilight-colored sword energy pouring down like a waterfall, yet it could never break through Yae Sakura's defensive perimeter.
The opponent's speed was too fast—so fast that as soon as his sword move was delivered, Yae Sakura's figure was already on the other side, the blade light like a maggot in the bone, always precisely landing in the transitions of his force.
"Move aside!"
Siegfried commanded in a deep voice, the green lightning around him becoming increasingly violent, clearly showing his genuine anger.
He could feel Dai Huabin's aura rapidly weakening. Any further delay, and it might truly be too late to save him.
Yae Sakura did not reply, only shook her head gently, and the blade light suddenly accelerated.
The sakura-colored blade shadow and the twilight-colored sword energy clashed again, forming a spinning energy storm that swept up all the surrounding debris.
Siegfried looked at the blade light, close but insurmountable, then gazed at the ice sculpture covered in frost in the distance. His eyes narrowed, and he decided to unleash his trump card.
Siegfried abruptly raised his Holy Sword Balmung. Green lightning coiled and surged around the blade like mad pythons, emitting deafening snarls.
Terrifying energy gathered on the blade at a visible speed, the twilight-colored aura surging like boiling magma, staining the air around him a magnificent golden-red.
"The evil dragon shall fall—"
His voice was deep and majestic, as if an ancient epic resonated in his ears, every word carrying unquestionable power.
"The world, it is now the moment of sunset—"
The light on the Holy Sword grew increasingly fierce, even suppressing the crimson full moon high above, making it dim somewhat.
The surrounding space began to distort, and countless tiny electric arcs shot out from the blade, striking the ground and stirring up plumes of smoke.
"Striking you down—"
Siegfried's gaze became sharp as an eagle's, locked onto Yae Sakura ahead. The green lightning around him suddenly erupted, forming a giant, coiling dragon phantom that merged with the Holy Sword's light.
"Fantasm Sword - Balin Fall! !!"
With the final roar, the supremely condensed twilight-colored sword energy instantly transformed into a beam of light that connected heaven and earth, tearing through the dark night sky.
Within the light beam, countless sword shadows were vaguely visible, carrying the might to cleave the stars, particularly blinding in the darkness of Mingdu.
Whether it was the Soul Masters and Servants fighting fiercely or the mechanically advancing Anti-Matter Legion, all were drawn to this beam of twilight-colored light.
It wasn't just because of its blinding radiance that was impossible to look at directly, but also because of the energy fluctuation that made the heavens and earth tremble—a power that had touched the Demigod realm, capable of shattering the entire city's defense in one blow and turning the surrounding area into scorched earth.
Feeling this destructive power, Yae Sakura's pupils instantly contracted, her fox ears pressed tightly against her head.
She knew that if she held back any further, she would have absolutely no chance of stopping this sword.
"Big Sis!"
Pardofelis's panicked voice rang out in Yae Sakura's mind, carrying a trace of fear.
Yae Sakura clenched her teeth, her heart no longer wavering.
She couldn't die here, absolutely not! For the slim hope of seeing Kallen again, she had to survive!
"Weng—"
Furious flames suddenly surged from within Yae Sakura. The flames were not the usual crimson but had strange purple patterns. Wherever they passed, the solid ground instantly melted, turning into gurgling, flowing magma.
A colossal Fox of Fire phantom, blocking out the sky, slowly appeared behind her. As its tails swayed, a heatwave that incinerated everything swept across the area, instantly burning the surrounding matter into ashes.
Yae Sakura also raised her Spirit Blade Sakura Fubuki high. The violent flames, as if guided, fiercely coiled around the blade, converging into a crimson pillar of fire at the tip.
Within that pillar, countless burning cherry blossoms were vaguely visible, beautiful yet fatal.
With a cold, low shout from Yae Sakura, the enormous pillar of fire violently slashed down, colliding fiercely with Siegfried's twilight-colored beam!
"Boom—!!!"
An ear-splitting explosion echoed throughout Mingdu. The dazzling light was like a newborn sun, instantly dispelling all darkness and illuminating the scarred city.
Whether it was the ruins or the flowing blood, nothing could hide in that light.
The shockwave, like a nuclear blast, swept outwards in a circle from the collision point.
Where it passed, skyscrapers were leveled like building blocks, the sturdy ground was ripped up in layers several meters thick, and even the clouds in the sky were scattered.
The surrounding Anti-Matter Legion seemed so small in the face of this power, all being sent flying.
The two giant beams of light fiercely collided and wrestled in the center of Mingdu, tearing a huge gap in the sky, even causing space to twist and flicker unstably.
This ultimate duel between top-tier Servants instantly became the focus of the entire battlefield, plunging the already chaotic Mingdu toward an even more violent edge of destruction.
"That's Siegfried's aura."
The scarlet demonic spear, like a viper striking out of its hole, accurately pierced the skull of a Trampler, and the black energy core shattered into scattered light at the spear tip.
Cú Chulainn stood on the still-twitching giant corpse, his blue bodysuit gleaming coldly in the firelight.
He looked toward the energy field that enveloped the sky several kilometers away, the scarlet demonic spear gently twirling in his palm. A trace of battle lust flashed in his eyes: "To force the Dragon-Slaying Hero to use his ultimate Noble Phantasm, the opponent is no simple matter."
"It looks like something happened on Dai Huabin's side."
Xu Sanshi held up his heavy Black Tortoise Shield, the surface humming under the impact of the Erasing Unit's energy cannon.
He and Bei Bei stood back-to-back in a half-collapsed building, the chairs around them long ago shattered by the fighting.
Bei Bei had his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Avatar active, his dragon claws tearing open the chest of a Plunderer. He simultaneously turned his head toward the energy burst: "Should we go help?"
Bei Bei's Servant, Jing Yuan, was being tied down by Hoolay. The group had already been scattered in the chaos.
Fortunately, Han Ruoruo's Servant, Aglaea, was incredibly resourceful. That romantic demigod had woven a city-wide information network of golden threads. Any nearby comrades could immediately find and regroup with others.
When Xu Sanshi found Bei Bei with his own Servant, the inheritor of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was being besieged by three Reavers and was in peril.
"Help?"
Xu Sanshi sneered, his Black Tortoise Shield slamming, sending a pouncing Plunderer flying.
"That guy usually looks down on everyone; he deserves this bad luck."
As he spoke, he didn't stop moving. The sharp edge of his shield glowed with a dark light, instantly splitting a Plunderer in half.
Bei Bei backhanded a sneak-attacking Plunderer, shattering it. A look of complexity flashed across his dragon-scaled face: "Even so, he's still a Shrek person."
He hated Dai Huabin as much as anyone and knew the guy had once hired assassins to kill Huo Yuhao, but the man was a Shrek Academy disciple, their teammate this time. To leave him to die would be a moral hurdle he couldn't pass.
"Conflict is conflict, but we can't be dismantling our own foundation when surrounded by external enemies."
Xu Sanshi pursed his lips and didn't argue further.
The runes on the Black Tortoise Shield lit up, forming a black shield wall that temporarily blocked the surging Void Soldiers : "Fine, but let's be clear, this is only for the sake of the Academy. I won't risk my life."
On the other side, Xiao Xiao hid behind Qing Que, her face pale with fright as she looked at the towering beam of light in the distance.
Jiang Nannan'sSoft Bone Rabbit Soul Avatar was already active, ready to deal with any sudden situations.
The four of them managed to regroup thanks entirely to Song Que'sAuthority of Shadows—the seemingly unreliable girl had summoned the shadows of other Servants, carving out a path of survival.
"Sister Nannan, should we go help?" Xiao Xiao asked softly.
She had no fondness for Dai Huabin, having witnessed the grievances Huo Yuhao suffered in the Academy. Yet, as a former classmate, leaving him to die made her uneasy.
Jiang Nannan shook her head, saying grimly, "We'd just be in the way if we went."
She clearly understood the current situation. Even Siegfried was forced to use his Noble Phantasm, which showed how terrifying the enemy over there was.
Their group only had two Servants, Qing Que and Song Que. In terms of combat strength, they were far inferior to Siegfried. Rushing over rashly would likely just make them a burden that needed protection.
Xiao Xiao nodded, secretly letting out a breath of relief.
She didn't really want to go, but felt conflicted about thinking that way.
"Good thing you guys didn't plan on going!"
Song Que patted her considerably sized chest, letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief, her golden hair swaying with the movement.
"That commotion just now was like a mini-sun exploding! Going there is just asking to be fodder! I don't want to be turned to ashes!"
Even as a memory construct, her fear of death was undiminished. That nuclear-blast-like shockwave, even from blocks away, made her ears ring.
Qing Que also quietly put away the bamboo fortune slips at her fingertips. She had instinctively cast a divination just now, and the hexagram showed "Go means ill-omen, stop means auspiciousness." Seeing that everyone had decided not to go, the worry in her heart finally subsided.
She had relied on this divination skill to lead Xiao Xiao away from the Anti-Matter Legion, always managing to bypass the most troublesome Tramplers at the most dangerous moments. Naturally, she wouldn't go against the guidance of the hexagram now.
"Oh, it's you all."
A slightly surprised voice suddenly sounded from the alley entrance, scaring Xiao Xiao into immediately hugging Qing Que's arm. Jiang Nannan's body also instantly tensed up.
They turned back abruptly to see a slender figure standing on a crumbling wall nearby.
Lu Jingming wore a black trench coat, the hem swaying gently in the night wind. He looked at them with a detached expression, as if merely enjoying the scenery rather than being on this bloody battlefield.
"Lu Jingming?"
Xiao Xiao's eyes widened in surprise, her voice tinged with unexpectedness.
She had a deep impression of this young man who had shone brilliantly in the Soul Master Tournament—not only because of his overwhelming strength but also because of his composure that was mismatched with his age, too dazzling to forget.
A flash of joy instantly crossed Jiang Nannan's eyes, and her tense body relaxed slightly.
Strictly speaking, she was Ningguang's person, and Ningguang was Lu Jingming's person. By that logic, she and Lu Jingming were allies.
In this dangerous Mingdu, meeting a powerful ally was undoubtedly great news.
Lu Jingming lightly leaped down from the wall, landing in front of Jiang Nannan and Qing Que.
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