「Side Quest: Rider's Challenge」
「Quest Requirement: Survive and leave 'Flying Star's Lance Tip'」
「Quest Reward: 'Noble Phantasm · Meteor Spear'」
Achilles's Noble Phantasm 'Flying Star's Lance Tip' was an extremely special Noble Phantasm. After it was released, it would seal Achilles and the target in a special space, and this space could only be exited by one person who was alive. Even he himself could not release it.
It sounded like a BUG, but in reality, it had many limitations.
Cannot be used on women.
The reason for this was that Achilles had once used it to kill the Amazonian Queen Penthesilea.
Must have the opponent's consent to be activated.
Although Achilles was very unrestrained in battle and his roar alone was enough to make the enemy's soldiers fear and retreat on the battlefield, he was actually not an 'evil person'. In fact, it was the opposite. He was just a pure warrior. Once he stepped onto the battlefield, he would never show mercy, no matter who or what he was facing.
And as a warrior, he valued his 'honor' even more!
The huge limitations were in exchange for an extremely BUG ability. The battle between the two at this time could not even be broken by Li Shuwen.
As the two were completely isolated from the outside world, Lancer also received an 'unexpected' quest. The quest reward sounded a bit strange, but if a Servant was killed, their weapon would also disappear with them. However, at this time, instead of caring about the 'reward', he should consider how to defeat the opponent in front of him.
Achilles, who had retrieved his long spear, did not directly attack Lancer. Instead, he gave him a strange bow. It seemed to be the etiquette of a duel for the other party. And Lancer, after much hesitation, also gave a cupped-fist salute, but unlike the usual one, he used his right palm and left fist.
There was no doubt that the previous Lancer did not know these things, but according to Li Shuwen, this meant that the upcoming match was not a friendly spar but a life-or-death battle!
Neither side said anything more. After they finished the salute, they both took their stances.
There was no referee. Achilles charged at him without hesitation almost at the same time Lancer took his stance.
Although he had lost the blessing of his 'Noble Phantasm', Achilles's speed was still incredibly fast. Even with all his strength, Lancer could only see a silhouette, and at this time, Lancer remembered one thing.
The reason why the other party had been so fast before did not seem to be just because of his Noble Phantasm.
The 'big spear's' attack style was suitable for mid-range combat, but when faced with a flexible opponent, it seemed a bit restricted. So Lancer decisively gave up and adopted the fighting style he was most used to.
Achilles, who was wearing silver armor, was like a lightning bolt, constantly running around Lancer, and in Lancer blind spots, the long spear in his hand would bite at him like a poisonous snake.
There was no doubt that Achilles was planning to constantly bleed Lancer and then look for an opportunity to kill him with one blow. This kind of tactic was generally used by high-agility warriors to deal with opponents with thick skin and flesh. From this, it could also be seen that Lancer was indeed doing a good job in terms of defense.
But this was not strange. Strength needed to be obtained through one's own training, and even his so-called 'skills' did not have the convenience of being a one-click release. More often, they told him in his mind how to use them, and he had to learn them himself.
And during this process, Lancer specialty was defense, especially against opponents who used spears!
After all, the two teachers in Lancer apprenticeship both adopted a 'simple and crude' teaching method due to time constraints, and the simplest was naturally feeding him moves.
Whether it was the 'Demon Spear' in Scáthach's hand or Li Shuwen's 'Baji Six Harmony Spear', they were both extremely offensive spear techniques. And Lancer, as the one being fed moves, naturally had to learn how to defend and evade in order to resist (although he was still brutally beaten in the end).
This also led to the fact that even though both of his teachers were extremely aggressive spear masters, Lancer was good at defense, or rather—survival.
But no matter how good he was at defense, being constantly attacked was not a solution. He understood the logic that constant defense would inevitably lead to a mistake, but what should he do?
The opponent was superior to him in both strength and experience. At the same time, he was also incredibly glad. After all, his so-called 'Noble Phantasm' was nothing more than a brief change brought by the 'Heroic Spirit Template', while the opponent had long since become accustomed to their existence as if they were a part of his arm. If they were to have a Noble Phantasm battle, he might have already been decapitated.
'Where is the way to reverse the situation?'
Perhaps because his attention was completely focused on his opponent, Lancer pupils involuntarily contracted, but no matter how hard he looked, he could not find a flaw in the opponent. The timing of the opponent's attacks in battle was very skilled. Even if it couldn't cause him damage, it would definitely not give him an opportunity!
The two fell into a stalemate just like that, and as the opponent's attacks became more and more frequent, Lancer felt a sense of 'déjà vu' from the other party's attacks.
If it were someone else, they might have thought that they were just hallucinating from being attacked so much, but Lancer could be certain that what he felt just now was not an illusion at all.
But at this moment, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed. He raised his hands to block the side of the opponent's cross spear, but the opponent did not retract his weapon. Instead, he suddenly let go of both hands and fiercely grabbed Lancer right hand that was holding the spear, and Lancer, whose right hand was held, also let go of that hand without hesitation. At the same time, he stabbed his other hand, which was holding the long spear, fiercely towards the other party.
"Hah!!"
With a low shout, he was fiercely thrown away.
"Pfft~!"
He spit out a mouthful of blood, but a smile appeared on Lancer face instead.
And Lancer strange expression made Achilles keenly sense that something was wrong. He picked up the cross spear beside him without hesitation and charged at Lancer.
"Chiron!"
Just one name made Achilles go blank for a moment, and in a battle, that momentary daze was enough to change many things!
Lancer, who had been suppressed by Achilles all along, had made an effective counterattack for the first time. Gáe Bolg took with it a tuft of green hair. There was no doubt that if he had dodged in time just now, Lancer spear would have already pierced his eye.
And seeing the opponent's reaction, Lancer knew that he had guessed correctly!
"It seems you are indeed Chiron's disciple. I remember he was the teacher of several heroes in the legends of Athens, such as Heracles and..."
Lancer forgot what to say halfway through, because he had indeed forgotten who Chiron's disciples were. After all, he only knew about Chiron because of his love for Illya, which led him to get to know Berserker and then Chiron. As for the other disciples... Lancer really had no idea.
And he did not notice that his words made Achilles's face gradually turn darker from the initial surprise...