Mordred felt very irritated.
She had roughly sensed it when she arrived in this block: someone was hiding nearby.
She could find the general direction using her intuition, but she just couldn't pinpoint the exact location.
Furthermore, this was a residential area. Using violence would not only wake the nearby residents but might also cause loopholes in the Bounded Field her master was currently maintaining.
So now she could only use verbal provocations.
How could she not feel frustrated?
But after shouting a few times and getting no response, the level of anger in her heart began to grow rapidly.
"Do you find it that fun to play with me!" Mordred stomped her foot suddenly; cracks appeared in the pavement of the street and quickly began to spread outward from beneath her feet.
Watching the crack spread to his feet, Caules couldn't help but swallow hard.
Perhaps because his nervousness affected Frankenstein, she finally couldn't hold back and leaped out before Caules could react and stop her.
Mordred immediately sensed Frankenstein's somewhat violent spiritual particle reaction.
Turning around abruptly, Mordred stared at Frankenstein, the corners of her mouth beginning to curl up slightly.
"Well, look at that, there is a courageous Servant after all."
"Ugh-n!" As soon as Frankenstein landed, she raised her war hammer and swung it at Mordred.
Golden electricity flickered at the head of the war hammer.
"Heh!" Mordred grinned and raised her kings sword to meet the attack.
When the kings sword and war hammer collided, thin bolts of electricity sparked between them and began to dance across the ground around the two Servants.
"Interesting electricity!" As if she had found a new toy, Mordred suddenly raised her leg and kicked toward Frankenstein's abdomen.
"Ugh-ah!" Suffering an unexpected blow threw Frankenstein into a temporary state of disarray.
This was completely different from the knights she knew!
"Ugh-aaaaah—!" Under Frankenstein's roar, the electricity began to grow thick and violent.
"The type that can't communicate—a Berserker," Mordred judged the opponent's class through this trait. "However, you seem to have retained some rationality. Or is it just that you simply can't speak human language?"
In the shadows, Caules nervously leaned his back against the wall, silently watching his Servant's battle.
Beside him, Fiore also began to check her equipment nervously, preparing to join the battle at any moment.
"I hope this doesn't escalate our conflict with the Ruler Faction."
"Archer, please be ready to support Berserker at any time."
"Yes." Chiron nodded and materialized his bow.
"Sister, I'm sorry, I couldn't control Berserker well," Caules said to Fiore with some guilt.
"No, it's not your fault. After all, she is a Berserker; the possibility of them obediently following a master's orders isn't high to begin with," Fiore began to comfort her brother. "But don't let it happen again."
"Yes!" Caules nodded heavily and then slowly stood up. "So, what do we do next? Retreat? Or continue to stay here and observe the Ruler Faction's actions?"
"Stay," Fiore replied without much thought. "This town is our territory. We have the duty to protect the stability and safety of this land."
"Figuring out the Ruler Faction's attitude toward Jack the Ripper will be the key factor in deciding whether we break with them."
"If it's just about salvation, then we can just act like we saw nothing."
"But if there are other schemes, and those schemes touch upon our clan's interests, then despite our reluctance, we will have no choice but to break with the Ruler Faction," Fiore replied, biting her lip slightly.
"master, Berserker is starting to struggle. Do you need me to step in?" Chiron suddenly interrupted.
Nearby, Frankenstein had been provoked by Mordred to the point of going all out, but she still couldn't do anything to her. Instead, she was being toyed with like a plaything.
"Archer, please," Fiore nodded and replied. "Please support Berserker while trying to avoid killing the opponent if possible."
Chiron couldn't help but glance at her.
Is the master overestimating me?
Or perhaps underestimating that Saber of the Red Faction?
Although it hasn't reached the stage of using a Noble Phantasm, it's clear from the battle just now that the opponent is an outstanding warrior.
Even he didn't have the confidence to overcome the opponent without the resolve to 'kill' them.
Not to mention he had a teammate whose coordination wasn't exactly seamless.
But since it was the master's order, as a Servant, all he could do was obey.
Chiron deliberately avoided Mordred's vital spots, specifically targeting the gaps in her armor joints with his arrows.
Or he would use powerful arrows aimed at the sword in Mordred's hand to deflect her attacks against Frankenstein.
"Tsk." With her attacks interrupted several times, Mordred's frustration grew even stronger.
If she hadn't retained her sanity, she would have loved to unleash her Noble Phantasm on the spot and cleave everything around her with one sword stroke.
Later, she simply gave up her restraint, planning to cut off Frankenstein's arms and use her as a shield to block the arrows from that Black Faction Archer in the shadows.
But the opponent seemed to have seen through her plan. Every time she swung her sword at Berserker's arms, the Archer would find the right moment to knock her sword away.
As expected of a Servant with the Archer class, his marksmanship is extremely superb.
While Mordred secretly admired him, her strikes also became increasingly ruthless.
Chiron maintained a calm expression throughout, obstructing Mordred with a cool-headed attitude.
"Seriously, this is annoying!" Red and dark-purple light began to overflow from Mordred's kings sword.
This was a manifestation of Mana Burst.
The opponent was planning to get even more serious.
Chiron immediately heightened his vigilance, focusing all his attention on Mordred to ensure that any incoming attacks wouldn't go unblocked.
At the same time, he was also worried whether Mordred would break through Frankenstein's defense and launch an attack directly at him.
One must know that to support Frankenstein, he had already jumped out from where Caules and Fiore were hiding after firing the first arrow, and he was constantly moving his shooting position to avoid the danger of being seen through.
Though it was frustrating, the distance was too short. Not only could the power of his arrows not be fully utilized, but he also had to worry about whether the opponent would close in on him.
He wasn't afraid of close-quarters combat, but he was mainly concerned about his True Name being guessed by the opponent.
Even without his horse's body, if the horse tail behind him were exposed, his True Name would still be at risk of being revealed.
After all, a horse tail, superb marksmanship, and good close-combat skills... as long as one's power of association was high enough, guessing his True Name wouldn't be difficult.
Moreover, there was an old acquaintance of his in the Red Faction.
Just as Chiron was considering whether to advise his master to withdraw from the town first, a familiar spiritual particle reaction suddenly approached from the distance.
"Is it Saber?" Archer's attention drifted for a moment, and the arrow on his bowstring lost its chance to be fired.
Because just as he had feared, the reason Mordred began her Mana Burst was to forcefully break through Frankenstein's line of defense and close in on him, the long-range Archer.
Fortunately, Chiron was not someone who lived on a hollow reputation.
The arrow lost its chance to be fired, but he still had the chance to use his bow for close-quarters parrying.
Then, using the force of Mordred's angry strike, he performed several backflips to distance himself from her again.
"Ugh? Ugh-n-n-aaaaah—!" Suddenly losing sight of her enemy, Frankenstein was stunned for a moment, but she quickly reacted and roared angrily at Mordred, who had bypassed her.
The electrical light on the war hammer became increasingly dazzling.
Frankenstein was planning to use her Noble Phantasm.
"No! Berserker, this isn't a place where you can use your Noble Phantasm as you please!" Caules immediately stopped her. "It will involve the ordinary people around us!"
"It might provoke the people of the Ruler Faction!"
They could use the excuse of the Red and Black Factions being enemies to gloss over fighting Mordred, but if ordinary people were involved, they would likely end up on the Ruler Faction's blacklist.
After all, that Mr. Li Lin has always referred to himself as an 'ordinary person.'
Frankenstein's rationality was called back by Caules.
Glarring somewhat angrily at her war hammer, Frankenstein condensed the accumulated electricity on it and then smashed it toward Mordred, who had her back turned.
"Hold on a little longer, Saber will be here soon!" In the Black Faction's private communication, Chiron's reminder was very timely.
At the very least, the anxious Caules felt slightly more at ease.
But Fiore's mood was not so good.
If Saber arrived and the Sabers of the Black and Red Factions fought in the town, it would likely bring about irreversible consequences.
"Archer, find a way to lure the Red Faction's Saber out of the town. I'll have Caules order Berserker to cooperate with you," Fiore reminded. "We absolutely cannot continue fighting in the town. Otherwise, if we truly can't hold back and involve the nearby civilians, there might really be no possibility of peace talks with the Ruler Faction."
"Understood," Chiron replied simply and then began to plan the next combat route in his head.
He had to ensure that the next route could both lure Red Saber out and avoid involving ordinary citizens.
On the other side, Frankenstein, whose attack had missed once again, also received Caules's instructions.
She looked left and right, noticing that the street and the walls of the adjacent buildings had uneven cracks due to the battle. She nodded with some understanding and began to withdraw the electricity.
Who knows if the jumping electricity would hit something conductive and then enter a residence to shock a normal person.
Recalling the battle with Mordred just now and confirming that the opponent had an unfriendly and even violent personality, Frankenstein suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
After bypassing Mordred, she suddenly pulled down one eyelid with one hand, stuck out her tongue, made a face at Mordred, and then turned around and started running toward the outskirts of the town.
This grimace directly stunned the other two Servants present.
Chiron felt that this idea of Frankenstein's was quite absurd.
But what was even more absurd was that he noticed the opponent seemed to have actually taken Frankenstein's bait.
Because she had actually abandoned herself and chased after Frankenstein.
For this, she didn't even hesitate to expose her back to him, the Archer.
"master, Berserker has already begun luring Red Saber out of the town. Should I follow, or should I stay behind to protect you and Lord Caules?"
"Go support Berserker first," Fiore replied. "Now, the only person left in this town who might hold hostility toward us is Shishigou Kairi. If it's just him, the homunculus and I are enough to handle it. Besides, with the Ruler Faction here, we might not even end up fighting him."
"Understood!" Upon hearing this, Chiron didn't say another word and immediately gave chase.
Meanwhile, in their hiding spot, Caules looked up at Fiore, feeling a bit aggrieved.
Just now, his sister had mentioned the homunculus, but not him.
Sure enough, he was too weak and could only hold his sister back. When it came to being useful, he wasn't even as good as the homunculus.
"Shishigou Kairi is a first-class Magus; he is not an enemy to be underestimated," Fiore explained, glancing at Caules. "If it were you, Caules, who faced him, you probably wouldn't last half a minute before being killed."
"I'm sorry, I'm holding you back, sister," Caules said, sounding dejected.
"No, Caules, you are not holding me back," Fiore replied. "Your existence is very important to me; it's just that you aren't suited for this kind of situation."
Because as long as you are here, sister can maintain the balance deep within her heart.
She won't let herself fall completely into the abyss of the Magus world.
Therefore, you are very important to sister, Caules.
Fiore muttered silently in her heart.
But she would absolutely never say these words to Caules.
Because that did not align with the 'common sense' of a Magus.
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