NOVEL NEXT Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Stalemate
"It seems we are doomed to fight," Sigurd sighed, gripping his blade tightly. "We have met, but we each serve our own masters."
"Perhaps this is our fate," Brynhildr replied coldly, her blue-flamed lance raised.
The two Servants clashed, the air between them filled with the sound of steel meeting steel. However, despite her relentless assault, Sigurd focused solely on defense, his movements deliberate and restrained.
It was evident, he still couldn't bring himself to fight her seriously.
---
"Kill!"
On the other side of the battlefield, Iskandar masterfully maneuvered the Gordius Wheel, evading coordinated attacks from Chihiro and Zhang Jiao, while simultaneously pushing toward Darius III.
Seeing the King of Conquerors approach, Darius III roared furiously.
"Ouuuugh!!!"
The Dead War Elephant beneath him bellowed in response, its massive trunk sweeping toward the chariot with terrifying force.
Iskandar expertly dodged the attack, his chariot rolling through the battlefield like a bolt of lightning. But the motion was so sudden and violent that Waver, sitting inside the chariot, clung to the edge for dear life, his face pale as he struggled to keep his composure.
Circling around the massive beast, Iskandar jumped onto the back of the Dead War Elephant, sword drawn, ready to confront Darius III directly.
The two warriors clashed atop the colossal creature, their weapons colliding with brutal force.
The War Elephant of Death, sensing danger, thrashed wildly, its trunk flailing and its massive body twisting in an attempt to shake Iskandar off.
Though Iskandar's strength and determination kept him steady for a moment, the violent movements of the beast nearly caused him to lose his footing. He stumbled briefly, giving Darius III the chance to strike a heavy blow.
Unlike Iskandar, Darius III seemed to have a symbiotic connection with the Dead War Elephant. He remained perfectly balanced, as if the beast's chaos couldn't touch him.
---
At that moment, Artoria finally entered the fray, her golden blade cloaked in invisible winds.
She directed her efforts toward aiding Iskandar.
After witnessing the seemingly immortal nature of the Undead Legion, she concluded that the greater threat was Chihiro's group. With Emiya Kiritsugu absent, she made her own decisions.
Artoria charged onto the battlefield, her blade slicing through swathes of undead soldiers, and Lancelot instinctively followed behind her.
Though his sanity was consumed by madness, Lancelot's unwavering loyalty to his king shone through. Like a silent shadow, he covered Artoria's blind spots, ensuring no harm would come to her.
Meanwhile Heroic Spirit Kiritsugu kept his distance, clearly uncomfortable with the open battlefield. Instead, he opted to lurk, waiting for the perfect moment to act.
---
"Tokiomi!!!"
On another part of the battlefield, Kariya found himself face-to-face with Tokiomi.
Even though he knew he was no match for the seasoned magus, Kariya stepped forward with gritted teeth.
Surpassing Tokiomi had become a personal demon he couldn't ignore.
Kariya waved his hand, uncorking the kettle strapped to his waist. A stream of water shot out, forming into a sharp arrow that sped toward Tokiomi.
This was water magecraft, the true inheritance of the Matou family.
Though Zouken had twisted and corrupted Kariya, the old bug hadn't entirely neglected his training. Under threat of his survival, Zouken had forced Kariya to learn the long-lost magecraft of the Matou family.
The core of water magecraft was "absorption." It could return power to the caster's body, entangle enemies, or even serve as a conduit for binding techniques.
Unfortunately, Kariya was still a novice. For now, he could only use it for basic water manipulation.
"Hmph, how pathetic."
Tokiomi barely regarded Kariya's attack as a threat.
With a casual gesture, he summoned fire magic. A burst of flames collided with the water arrow, evaporating it instantly. The flames then surged forward, engulfing Kariya.
"Ughhh!!!"
Kariya screamed as the fire consumed him.
Tokiomi paused for a moment, conflicted. He hadn't intended to use such overwhelming force, but the earlier video of Kariya nearly killing Aoi still lingered in his mind.
After a brief hesitation, he allowed the flames to recede.
The scorched earth revealed Kariya lying motionless on the ground, his clothes charred and his body covered in severe burns.
---
"Gulp, gulp…"
Kariya, still conscious despite his injuries, shakily retrieved a healing potion from his pack.
The liquid's effects were immediate. Heat radiated from his body as the burns healed in seconds.
Though his physical wounds were gone, the trauma of nearly being burned alive remained. Kariya lay on the ground, trembling as the memories replayed in his mind.
If he couldn't overcome this fear, he knew he'd never be able to surpass Tokiomi.
---
"Ouuuugh!!!"
On the central battlefield, the battle between Iskandar and Darius III continued.
Despite Iskandar's determination, the Dead War Elephant thrashed violently, eventually flinging him off its back.
The King of Conquerors managed to grab hold of the reins of the flying-hoofed thunder bulls pulling his chariot, narrowly avoiding being trampled.
Now unable to engage Darius III directly, Iskandar resorted to a hit-and-run strategy, using his chariot to keep the war elephant occupied.
But this tactic couldn't last forever.
Iskandar's forces were dwindling, while Darius III's Undead Legion remained as strong as ever.
Even with Artoria and Lancelot assisting, it was clear that the tide of battle favored Darius III.
As long as Darius III remained, his magic supply ensured the Undead Legion's immortality.
---
Yet not everyone shared Iskandar's honorable approach.
"Bang!"
A gunshot echoed across the battlefield.
Heroic Spirit Kiritsugu, who had been lying in wait beneath the sand, finally made his move.
This was a desert battlefield, after all, and sand provided perfect cover for his stealth.
Kiritsugu's first attack was precise—a deadly Origin Bullet aimed at Tohsaka Tokiomi.
Had it landed, Tokiomi's magic circuits would have been shattered, leaving him crippled at best, dead at worst.
But Chihiro's forces had anticipated this.
"Whoosh!"
Several clones of Hassan of the Hundred Faces emerged from beneath the sand, intercepting Tohsaka Tokiomi and pulling him out of harm's way.
The remaining clones formed a protective barrier around Tokiomi, ensuring no further attacks could reach him.
"Emiya Kiritsugu…" Tokiomi muttered, his face pale.
The near-death experience reminded him of the earlier video where Kayneth had been ambushed in similar fashion.
For a moment, Tokiomi shuddered at the thought of what could have been.
---
"EX—CALIBUR!"
A sudden beam of golden light tore through the battlefield.
It was Artoria, unleashing her Noble Phantasm against the Dead War Elephant.
The radiant explosion reduced the beast to ashes in an instant.
Darius III had jumped clear just in time, landing on the battlefield unscathed.
But his face twisted in fury as the War Elephant of Death reemerged from the ground, fully restored.
"This thing is immortal too?" Artoria growled, her frustration evident.
---
The battlefield descended further into chaos as both armies clashed.
Iskandar, seeing no other choice, tightened his grip on the reins. "If brute strength is what it takes, then so be it!"
He spurred the Gordius Wheel forward, charging toward the War Elephant of Death with all his might.
The sacred beast pulling his chariot, the flying-hoofed thunder bull, bristled with lightning and lunged at the undead beast.
The two massive creatures collided, each struggling to overpower the other.
The thunder bull held its ground, its hooves sparking with energy as it absorbed the War Elephant's immense force.
But Iskandar didn't stop there.
Swinging his sword with all his might, he struck at the War Elephant's trunk.
"Puff…"
***
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