They've already fought their way through the Holy Grail War, and you still call them dragons?

Emiya raised his blade, "Be careful, it saw us."

The dragon descended from the sky, its broad membrane wings spreading out, stirring up a hurricane. This dragon gave Emiya a completely different feeling from the water dragon (Leviathan) he had slain in Shenzhou last time. The reason for this was because—

Boom!

The dragon claws wrapped with what seemed to be divine auras slapped down lightly, and the flat ground instantly sank into a huge crater. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that this aura amplified the power of each attack of the dragon to an extreme degree in a way that did not conform to the laws of physics. It was almost like... divinity!

Emiya moved quickly. Before the dragon claw landed on the ground, he and Mochizuki Chiyome each pulled Eri and Aso Makoto and quickly retreated.

But the dragon's attack wasn't over yet. Its massive, neatly arranged fangs gaped, and crimson demonic flames coalesced deep within its throat. Emiya, sensing this in advance, grabbed Eri's waist and leaped into the air, warning Chiyome, "Run to the right!"

"—!"

The loud noise shook the eardrums and made the sky and the earth pale in comparison. A thick crimson jet of magic swept across a long row of blocks in a straight line. Buildings were destroyed wherever it passed, and rubble was swept away like dust. The raging fire stretched for who knows how many kilometers, as if it was going to burn the whole world to ashes.

"…Is this really something we can deal with?"

Masahiro stared blankly at the scene before her, biting her trembling lips tightly. If Emiya hadn't previously destroyed the Hundred Demons Night Parade with a single blow using his Noble Phantasm, "Six Paths, Five Wheels, Kurikara Tensei," she doubted she would have had the courage to act before such a creature.

"What is the origin of this dragon?" Emiya was not afraid. He mainly felt that the dragon had divinity, which was also an extremely strange phenomenon.

"Let me try." Eri wrote a sentence in her notebook, then walked forward and picked up her sword.

She softly chanted a melodious ballad, and her long sword drew a crescent-like trajectory. The power of judgment gushed out from the tip of the sword and went with the wind, like a terrifying god of death rushing towards her.

The dragon's claws began to wither and die in an instant, but the next second, after the realm of judgment disappeared, the dragon claws that were about to rot began to revive again, with broken bones connected, flesh and blood regenerated, and covered with new scales.

The judgment of death has no effect on it!

Chapter 195: Master Emiya, try to cut it in the middle

Xia Mi has switched to Attila mode, and with a colorful sword in hand, she sneaked into the magnificent ancient city of Night Food Plain. Her exploration progress in Night Food Plain is much faster than that of the other parties.

Outside the towering city walls, the roar of an ancient dragon was deafening, its fiery breath rising and spewing towards the sky, forming a burst of fire rain. However, within the city walls, there was complete silence, as if time had stood still.

Her toes tapped across the sacred path paved with emerald green stone, and she sped along the broad streets of the vast divine city. The buildings she saw along the way were all as majestic as endless mountain ranges, their roofs decorated with iron spikes pointing straight up to the sky, like pinnacles slicing through the heavens. These buildings clearly utilized alchemical techniques, allowing them to stand for thousands of years, their majestic grandeur unchanging.

"Such a spacious place is a city built by the descendants of the White King? The White King used to live in a rather luxurious place."

Xia Mi secretly complained in her heart, but there was nothing she could do about this kind of thing. In terms of status, the White King was higher than the monarch who controlled the four elements. To use an inappropriate term, she was a "zero-generation species" that was more advanced than the first-generation species. If she wanted to find a more magnificent palace, she could only look for the Black King's.

"This isn't her palace, it's just her memory."

Norton's voice came from the void beside him, and he was communicating in real time through the alchemical equipment.

"The White King controls spiritual elements. Although the Nibelungen is maintained by an alchemical matrix, it is essentially constructed around her. Her memories will significantly influence the structure and layout of the Nibelungen, even developing labyrinthine spatial structures that are completely impossible in the real world. You must be careful and vigilant."

"I remember that in human geometry there are structures called 'Penrose steps,' 'Mobius strips,' and 'Klein bottles.' These are structures that are impossible to realize in low-dimensional space, but can be easily realized in high-dimensional space. They all have similar functions."

As Norton spoke, he turned to the topic of education.

"Humans are adept at using simplified units like dimensions and formulas to reduce the difficulty of understanding complex, large systems. I suggest that if you're having trouble with alchemy, you might consider referring to human science to help you learn."

Xia Mi was so absorbed in exploring the ancient city that she turned a deaf ear to the mantra-like nagging. Even when Norton openly mocked her slow progress in alchemy, she didn't bother to say anything. Xia Mi thought to herself that she had worked so hard for so long, and now she couldn't even enjoy herself, and now she had to go out and search for the White King herself. How easy was it for her?

"Norton, have you figured out what those shadowy creatures and the dragon at the end are?"

"In fact, it's obvious, White King, she is using this Nibelungen as her home ground to conduct some kind of imitation experiment."

Norton narrated slowly, "From the 'Shadow Servants' discovered on the outskirts, to the 'Hundred Demons' that infested the city, and finally to the dragon with special properties, it's not difficult to see that the White King deliberately dragged the Servants of the Holy Grail War into this Nibelungen to collect data, conduct a continuous deep learning simulation experiment, and complete reverse engineering to steal our technology."

"Hey? What's that saying? Can you explain it in detail?"

"How come you, who were there in person, didn't see it as clearly as I did, who was observing from a distance?" Norton sighed and held his forehead.

"Those Shadow Servants aren't complex. They simply possess the basic structure of a Servant, lacking any skills or Noble Phantasms. They're clearly just products of the early stages. With just a little observation of the Servants and the use of her authority, she can transform them using the materials of the deceased within the Nibelungen."

"But by the 'Hundred Demons' stage, she had clearly begun to utilize alchemical techniques like 'Spirit Recasting'. The images of demons from Japanese human legends were attached to the Servant, forming a monster similar to the Hundred Demons."

"As for that dragon, it seems to be emulating a deeper level of 'divinity'... perhaps the divine qualities of the Heroic Spirit Hercules. It seems the Hercules we chose has made the White King feel threatened."

"So-called divinity is a characteristic refined through more advanced spiritual recasting methods, drawing on widely sung myths, particularly those concerning gods. However, judging by my most successful work to date, 'Hercules,' it can only grant divine qualities to a Heroic Spirit, but cannot create a complete god."

"The White King's dragon is the same. It seems to have been directly transformed from the dragon-like corpse guardian within the Nibelungen, stripped of its dragon-like nature, and transformed into a fantasy lifeform armed with conceptual means mixed with 'disaster'... In the mythology of this island nation, it should correspond to the so-called 'God of Misfortune', right? However, she can only create an empty shell of divinity."

Therefore, the divinity nowadays is more like water without a source, just a powerful attack and defense buff, which cannot promote the heroic spirit to a true god. In the eyes of Norton, who has a very conservative attitude, this level of combat power is still only worthy of delivering food to the Black King.

Xia Mi stopped and swiftly landed on a wide circular square. She scanned the surroundings and thrust her sword downwards, probing the ground. There seemed to be a hidden alchemy array in the square. As she explored, she said:

"...So why can't it be made? Hercules's godhood seems pretty high to me. Aren't you just one step away from that?"

Norton immediately raised his voice. "It is precisely the prerequisites for taking the next step that make this seemingly simple step seem so far-fetched. Have you forgotten the issue of the 'Throne of God' that we argued about last time? Simply bestowing divinity and summoning an independent individual god are two completely different things..."

"Unless the structure of this 'world' undergoes a fundamental change, just like last time (what Lu Mingze did), the advent of myth will be impossible!"

"Forget it, let's get back to the question about the White King. If you say that, wouldn't our technology be completely leaked?"

"Of course it leaked. She's the White King, the king of the soul realm. Furthermore, the various aspects of our Heroic Spirit technology were processed with the help of the White King's authority to expedite completion. It would be strange if we could keep it completely secret from the White King, right? That's why I told you to be on high alert against the White King's actions, and yet you actually failed to follow through on such a crucial issue..."

Xia Mi avoided talking about her own mistakes and instead said confidently, "If that's the case, then there's nothing to worry about!"

"what?"

"Find a way to kill the White King, and then pretend the technology leak never happened!"

----

The crimson flames scorched the road within a five-kilometer radius to a crisp black, and the flames illuminated the dark sky like daylight. A massive dragon, imbued with the divine power of the "Eighty Misfortunes Sun God," roared and howled. Like an active volcano in the shape of a dragon, it continuously spewed a fierce, scorching breath from its flaming mouth.

The surrounding neighborhood had been reduced to a blaze, and even the remaining black ashes from the houses had been blown away by the fierce, scorching wind. The billowing heat continued to radiate outward, and the air was filled with a burning smell, making it difficult to even breathe.

Emiya leaped forward, crossing paths with Eiry. As Eiry spun around with Judgment, slicing off a dragon claw and a membrane wing, he switched offense and defense, wielding his dual swords and unleashing his Noble Phantasm, shouting:

"Namo, the god of heaven, Daimang, the god of freedom—Ergyasanga, the little Tianchong!"

The shadow of the massive statue of Acala suddenly expanded, and the oversized sword of Kurikara seemed capable of blasting apart mountains. As the sword struck the dragon's head, the dragon momentarily turned its head, allowing Kurikara's next strike to penetrate the dragon's right shoulder and directly into its heart!

Suddenly, the dragon's scales were sliced ​​open, and blood gushed out like a fountain. The dragon roared, and a giant ball of fiery magic rapidly formed, larger than a house, and swiftly slammed down upon the tiny human. However, Acala struck a second time, and the ball exploded, rendering the dragon's counterattack useless once again.

Beads of sweat streamed down Emiya's cheeks, and his breathing quickened slightly. He knew that even though he seemed to have the upper hand, this wouldn't work.

A careful observation reveals that no matter how much damage this dragon sustains, it always strikes with vigor. Even seemingly fatal wounds—broken claws, broken wings, even a pierced heart or split open skull—cannot suffocate the dragon. In a fraction of a second, it regenerates.

This level of immortality is simply beyond belief.

At this moment, to avoid being a burden to their ordinary teammates, Chiyome had already taken Aso Shin away from them. Emiya and Eri had no choice but to constantly take turns attacking to suppress the dragon's offensive.

Perhaps because of the rich divine aura entwined with the dragon, ordinary attacks or the special attacks of the Dragon Slaying Platform are almost ineffective against it. Only Eri's authority and the various treasures released by Emiya himself with all his strength can cause significant damage.

But even so, it is far from enough. Its ability to regenerate is equivalent to the two of them doing nothing, and their physical strength and magic power are still being consumed in vain!

At this moment, a small black and red snake emerged from the soil and spoke in human language. Listening carefully, it turned out to be the voice of Chiyome Mochizuki:

"Mr. Emiya, there's something strange about that dragon. I've sensed the presence of a 'great snake' within it. After careful analysis, I've located it roughly in the middle of the dragon's body, in its abdominal cavity. If normal attacks aren't enough to cause damage, I suggest attacking that area."

Emiya's eyes lit up at this. The great snake Chiyome was referring to was none other than the Yamata-no-Orochi. If this dragon contained elements of the Yamata-no-Orochi, it seemed that this could explain its abnormality.

"Got it... Anyway, try to cut it in the middle! Eri!"

The wind of death of judgment arrived immediately, causing the dragon's wings, which had just regenerated, to break and die. At the same time, Emiya adjusted his body shape, and the Dharma image of Acala immediately raised the giant swords in both hands and slashed at the latter's abdomen.

Of course, the dragon refused to surrender. Having repeatedly experienced the power of its Noble Phantasm, it decisively chose to flee, sprinting away. Its feet blew like the wind as it sprinted through the charred streets, crushing protruding structures along its path, including the wreckage of buildings, like biscuits. The dragon's speed was almost indistinguishable from flying, and it seemed on the verge of escaping.

At that moment, an arrow suddenly flew from ten kilometers away, swept by the hot wind, and shot towards the dragon's head with a fierce momentum. The hard dragon bone was like a fragile foam board, tearing and exploding!

Chapter 196 The so-called men, just give them this kind of thing

Wow, who is this expert who is taking action now?

This beyond-visual-range shooting distance of more than 10 kilometers is completely beyond Emiya's perception, so his first reaction was that a high-level Archer had intervened in the battle?

But Emiya didn't have time to think about who this Archer was who joined the battle without saying hello.

The arrows flying over from more than ten kilometers away were like thunderbolts of divine punishment piercing through the sky and earth. The sound of them breaking through the air made the eardrums vibrate slightly. The huge head of the dragon exploded in front of Shirou, shattering into blood foam and bone fragments. The rapidly crawling headless dragon body lost its balance in an instant, stumbled and fell to the ground.

Good opportunity, Eri!

"It's now!"

Emiya shouted a warning and the girl reacted immediately.

Eri's scarlet hakama fluttered in the heat wave, and her katana slashed twice, creating a crescent arc of light, and the judgment of death came again.

The withered realm spread and rapidly expanded along with the hot wind and flying dust, engulfing the dragon's figure like a moon tide, accurately severing its thick tentacles, leaving its scales charred everywhere, its dragon bones broken, and its flesh withered, once again competing with the dragon's regenerative power.

Emiya did not just stand by and watch. He also raised his last two swords. Kurikara's mountain-splitting blade stirred up a torrent of air. The solemn majesty and wrathful expression of Acala's Dharma image appeared at the same time. He swung the two huge swords quickly and slashed sideways.

The next moment, the sword blade fiercely pierced into the dragon's flesh, completely cutting open the chest and abdominal cavities, and the middle part of the dragon's body was finally split into four sections, exposing its bloody internal organs and the spinal skeleton rich in huge nerve ganglia.

A large heterogeneous structure similar to the "spiritual core" of a heroic spirit clings to the spinal ganglion near the lumbar disc like a parasite.

"Sure enough, that's it!"

Emiya no longer hesitated and immediately launched the final blow. The image of the Mingwang disintegrated and condensed into a white giant sword that could hold up the sky, causing the atmosphere to shake. Then, the white light that could not be controlled by Pei Mo came down like a punishment from heaven, completely submerging and destroying the core in the dragon's abdomen.

The mighty torrent of white light, still lingering after its judgment, continued to pour forward, finally piercing through the towering ramparts of the ancient city a thousand meters behind the dragon, creating a linear breach. The towering Age of Gods city finally revealed its vulnerable corner.

Seeing that the dragon was finally slain, Emiya put down his sword breathlessly.

Sweat dripped from the muscles of his dragon-like arms, evaporating quickly on the steaming earth. The prolonged overload caused magic power to surge through the magic circuits, like the heart of a magic furnace beating furiously.

Eri came running over, reached out and lifted the gray outer garment of the shrine maiden costume from the side, revealing her slightly wet right arm and a fairly white undergarment. She blinked her eyelashes and looked gentle, as if saying: You can just use this to wipe the sweat off your face.

Emiya smiled and was about to say, "No, no, it's just a small matter." But Eri didn't care at all. She tore off the corner of her moon-white undergarment and handed it to him.

"..." Emiya stared blankly at Eri putting on her clothes again, and subconsciously took a piece of clothing that looked like a white rag. There were still jagged tears on the edge. It felt moist, soaked with the girl's sweat and breath, and probably exuded the fragrance of toiletries brought by years of aromatic bathing.

This is actually not suitable for use as a sweat towel, but is more in line with the strike zone of some perverted enthusiasts.

Moreover, this undergarment, as the innermost basic clothing of a Japanese shrine maiden's uniform, is actually a kind of underwear. In other words, what he holds in his hand is no different from a girl's private items.

That's not all. She even stood on tiptoe and used her sleeves to wipe off the occasional dust stains on Emiya's eyebrows and cheeks. This action caused the loose collar of the shrine maiden's uniform to droop slightly, revealing her delicate collarbone and a small piece of pink and white fluffy cream cake.

"Wait! I can do it myself..."

Emiya's fingertips felt hot as he gripped the cloth. He didn't understand Eri's motives. Eri had also taken off her clothes in public without hesitation in the past to bathe.

But that has been significantly improved after several corrections for normal people like Emiya and Xia Mi. As for giving underwear as a "winning style" to seduce men, that is even more impossible.

However, Eri had already pulled out a notebook from her bosom and gave him the answer: "As the cartoon says, 'So-called men will be happy if you give them something like this.'"

Then the girl turned another page, "Emiya has looked a little down since the battle, and I wanted to cheer you up."

The hot wind blew across the scorching earth, its irregular currents taking advantage of Eri's inadvertent loosening of her fingers to flip the notebook forward, allowing Emiya to glimpse the girl's densely written notes on the inside. It would have been fine if he hadn't read it, but after reading it, he couldn't take his eyes off it for a moment:

Learning about boyfriend power in "Tokimeki Memorial" (?), a guide to feeding correctly in "Spice and Wolf", and an excerpt about friendship bonds in "Higurashi When They Cry"...

Hey, what's this hodgepodge of 2D trivia? It seems like you're glued to the TV and reading comics all day, and you've even secretly learned all this random shit!

“…You win.”

Emiya really wanted to hold his forehead and sigh. In the past, Eiry's daily eccentricities and strange common sense made him feel a little upset from time to time even though he had to correct them repeatedly. But now, Eiry seemed to be trying to find a balance. While retaining the anime knowledge she had learned over the years, she was also looking for a behavior pattern that would not cause so much trouble to others.

At least Emiya had no intention of stopping Eri from doing what she did just now.

It’s just a bit weird, what the hell are those boyfriend learning notes…is he the one being favorably influenced?

"Hey--"

Chiyome's call came from afar, interrupting their scattered thoughts. They turned their heads and looked into the distance. Aso Makoto, an ordinary person, stayed beside Chiyome, a mournful look on her face, not daring to come over. It wasn't because she was afraid of ruining the romantic atmosphere between Emiya and Eri, but because the battlefield was so sweltering that it burned her feet.

Emiya put away his sword and said, "Let's go. Let's go around this area first and then meet up at the broken part below the city wall."

----

"Incredible... Is this really a city built by humans? It's so huge. And it clearly feels like a historical accumulation, but there's no sign of erosion..."

The sides of the bronze battlements reflected a mercury-like luster in the dim sky. Aso was really moved by the wonder. He felt that he had experienced a sight that he might never see in his lifetime. Those "Seven Wonders of the World" promoted by tourist attractions were unlikely to compare to the city before him.

After the few of them gathered beneath the towering ancient city, the gaping hole carved by Emiya's Noble Phantasm opened its mouth like a mythical gluttonous beast, revealing a strange and bizarre landscape hidden within.

All you can see are magnificent and gorgeous buildings lined up in neat rows. These buildings that soar into the sky do not seem to be built for humans, but rather for worshiping and venerating great beings, demonstrating the spectacular city that radiates supreme majesty and glory.

"Who knows? In the distant Age of Gods, there was also advanced technology and civilization. It's not impossible that something like this could have been built back then."

Emiya answered casually, and Aso Shin, who had almost no knowledge in this area, could only nod in confusion.

"What are you looking at, Mr. Emiya?" She felt that Emiya was staring into the distance and didn't seem to have much interest in the city in front of him.

"Oh, just now when we were dealing with the enemy, someone helped shoot an arrow."

"Shot an arrow?"

"Yes, if it weren't for the distraction provided by that arrow, the dragon might have avoided taking damage to its vital parts and come back again. They helped us after all, and I thought they would come looking for us."