My fiancée Yukino

Ishtar approached Rin, looked at Artoria below who was smiling, and said thoughtfully, "Hmm...it feels a little different."

"no the same?"

Rin looked at Ishtar in confusion, then at Artoria.

"Why can't I see it?"

Ishtar shrugged and turned to walk towards the door.

"If you don't know, then let's go. Go downstairs and wash up, I'm a little hungry."

The moment Ishtar saw Artoria, she knew that this girl had just been intimate with a man the night before.

Ishtar would never mistake that subtle change in expression.

As for who that man is, it goes without saying; it could only be Luo Bai.

Of course, these things are not easy to tell Rin. It's too easy to guess what's on her mind. Ishtar has already figured it all out after only knowing her for a few days.

Furthermore, the slight magical fluctuations emanating from Luo Bai's room last night, along with the barrier that isolated perception and sound, further convinced Ishtar of her suspicions.

If Rin knew about these things, that girl would be extremely worried, which would be detrimental to their future actions.

Since they all came together, let them handle these personal matters when they get back.

Twenty minutes later, Luo Bai had prepared breakfast. He then called in Artoria and Mash, who were training, and went next door to call in Gudako and Anna, who had just gotten up. They all ate breakfast together.

Just as they finished eating, Siduri arrived, conveying King Gilgamesh's summons. Finally, there was something serious to do.

"Go to Ur to investigate what happened there, shall we?"

After listening to Gilgamesh's words, Luo Bai pondered for a moment and then said, "Do we need to come along too? How much of your clairvoyance have you seen?"

Gilgamesh snorted and looked at Luo Bai, saying, "It's a small matter. I don't think it's necessary to tell you. Just go. With you and the Knight King involved, we should be able to handle it. Hurry up, or we won't be able to deal with the upcoming crisis."

It was clear that Gilgamesh, though his expression was calm, was actually quite anxious inside.

Luo Bai shrugged and said with a smile, "Alright, I understand. Artoria and I will set off with Gudako and the others."

Gilgamesh nodded and looked at Shirou Emiya, saying, "Shirou Emiya, the Beast Front needs your support. As an archer, your abilities are well-suited for long-term defense."

Shirou Emiya hesitated for a moment, then pointed to himself and said, "Me? It's not impossible, but if I go there, then what about here..."

"I will send Niu Ruowan over. Hasn't she been training with the Knight King these past few days? That should be enough."

That works too.

Gudako nodded and did not refuse Gilgamesh's order. As an archer, Shirou Emiya did indeed have strong long-range sniping capabilities and could also carry out wide-range attacks. Going to reinforce the defenses with the army was a good choice.

Looking at Shirou Emiya, Gudako said, "Then, Emiya, I'll leave the rest to you!"

After the arrangements were made, everyone left the palace.

As soon as I came out, I saw Ushiwakamaru waiting there.

Niu Ruowan happily approached Luo Bai and said, "Lord Luo Bai, we'll be working together today, so please take good care of me!"

Luo Bai smiled and nodded: "Then let's work hard together, Niu Ruowan."

Shirou Emiya, on the other hand, went to join the army and set off for the Monster Front.

Led by Merlin, Luo Bai and his companions left Uruk and headed towards Ur.

Medea did not follow; she needed to continue consolidating the position of Uruk. Gilgamesh was not satisfied with the offensive power of the position, and after understanding the situation, he allocated a large amount of top-grade magical materials for Medea to enhance it.

After emerging, Ishtar didn't need Rin's orders; she directly summoned her Skyship, Maana, boarded it, and flew into the sky to take on the task of reconnaissance.

"Ul City..." Flying in the sky, Ishtar looked at the city of Ul City with a sense of unease. "I betrayed them so quickly. Will I be besieged later? Hmm, probably not. There are still powerful Servants here. In terms of numbers, we have the upper hand."

After muttering a few words to herself, Ishtar noticed that there were guys blocking her way.

Looking at the group on the ground, Ishtar shouted, "Watch out, there's a large monster ahead!"

Even without Ishtar's reminder, the perceptive Lobe and Artoria noticed it as well.

They walked forward a few hundred meters on high alert, and when they reached the mountainside, they saw a large monster blocking their way.

It is a large monster nearly four meters long with a blue carapace, thick limbs, a long, thin tail with a green poison hook, and a huge, forward-pointing horn on its head.

Upon seeing the monster, Ushiwakamaru stepped forward first and drew his katana from his waist.

"Leave this enemy to me!"

After thinking for a moment, Luo Bai looked at Anna and said, "While Ushiwakamaru's strength is definitely not a problem, efficiency comes first. Anna, why don't you go and help too?"

Anna did not refuse, took out her huge scythe, and came to Ushiwakamaru's side.

Niu Ruowan wasn't angry about Luo Bai's arrangements, and he understood that efficiency was indeed the priority, and everyone's goal was to get to Ur City.

“Then, Lady Anna, I will face it head-on. I'll trouble you to cut off this monster's tail. Such a long tail looks very agile.”

"Okay, leave it to me."

After exchanging a brief word, the two rushed forward.

Volume 1: Chapter 641 The Leopard Man (1/2)

Under the combined attack of the two, the monster did not last long. Anna quickly severed its tail, and then Ushiwakamaru accurately struck its neck with a slash, severing its head.

The enormous body crashed to the ground. Luo Bai went over to examine it and said, "Sure enough, there are a lot of toxins inside, and the flesh doesn't look good either."

Artoria squatted down to the side, poked the monster with her hand, and asked, "So, we can't eat it? What a pity."

Merlin walked over and said helplessly, "This is, after all, one of the eleven magical beasts born from Muxiu Huxiu, the goddess of origin Tiamat. How come you've turned it into a discussion about whether it's edible?"

"It's so big, we definitely need to study it. Wouldn't it be a shame to miss out on something edible?"

Artoria nodded repeatedly at Luo Bai's words.

Unfortunately, this Muxiuhuxiu was inedible, so we had to leave it here and move on.

The destination, Ur, is already faintly visible. We just need to go down the mountain, cross the river, and then walk through a rainforest to reach it.

After crossing the frozen river, the group entered the dense rainforest.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Gudako looked around and said, "It's so hot, and everything around here looks the same. Are you sure we should go this way?"

Luo Bai pointed to the sky and said, "With Ishtar here, don't worry, you won't get lost. As for the heat... do you want me to cool you down? I know a few tricks for cooling you down."

"Really? Then I'll have to trouble you!"

Luo Bai smiled, then raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. A chill spread out, enveloping the group and instantly making them feel cold.

"Oh!! Ah! It feels just like being in air conditioning!"

Gudako took a happy breath and looked at Luo Bai, asking, "Can I learn this?"

Luo Bai nodded: "Although what I used wasn't magic, it's still possible to perform it in a magic-like manner. I'll study it later and then teach you. Alright, now that it's not hot anymore, let's speed things up and get to Ur City quickly."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Artoria grabbed his sleeve.

"Someone is targeting us."

Her words alerted everyone, including Ishtar, who had been flying above, and she looked around warily, saying, "Indeed, this kind of place is easy to be monitored."

Luo Bai suddenly remembered that he might run into that person here.

Sure enough, after walking forward cautiously for a while, they heard faint laughter coming from all around them, and could vaguely see a figure quickly moving back and forth in the woods.

After looking for two seconds, Luo Bai stretched out his hand, condensed a ball of electricity at his fingertips, and launched it in a predicted direction.

"Ah!!! It's numb, it's numb!"

"Oh!"

In mid-air, a figure dressed in a mascot costume was precisely shot down by Luo Bai while moving around, landing in front of everyone.

Ushiwakamaru took a step forward, drew his katana, and said with a serious expression, "Everyone be careful, the opponent is a Servant!"

"Oh dear! They've been discovered. They've got some skill!"

While scratching her head, the woman dressed in a brown and yellow tiger mascot costume stood up and revealed her presence.

Upon seeing the other person's face and hearing that familiar voice, Gudako and Mashu exclaimed in unison, "Taiga?"

As people who came to Chaldea with Shirou Emiya, Gudako and Mash naturally knew Taiga Fujimura, but they didn't expect to see another Taiga Fujimura here.

Ishtar, who landed next to Rin, analyzed, "Hmm, it seems she's a Servant who, like me, descended through possession."

Rin looked at the Servant opposite her in disbelief: "It really is Fujimura-sensei! Why can't you Heroic Spirits descend on your own? Why do you have to choose someone to possess?"

"I can't help it, I'm a god, I can't be summoned normally!"

"Then just refuse the summon!"

"I want you to take care of it!"

Rin and Ishtar were arguing, while the Servant possessing Fujimura Taiga, leaning on a long staff with a large cat claw at one end, smiled and said, "Hmph, I don't know who this Taiga you're talking about is, but as for me, I am the embodiment of the jungle, the leopard man!"

"..."

Luo Bai, chin in hand, discussed with Artoria beside him, "Her clothes, they're definitely tiger-themed, right? There's not even a hint of a leopard, but these stripes and orange skin, it's definitely a tiger."

Artoria agreed, saying, "That's right, I also think it's a tiger. I'm never wrong about that!"

"No, I'm not a tiger, I'm a leopard man, remember that!"

After retorting, Fujimura Taiga—no, the leopard man—immediately leaped up, dodging the attacks from Anna and Ushiwakamaru, and once again disappeared into the jungle.

The sound came from a distance.

"Hmm, I think I understand. Well then, we'll meet again someday~~ Also, I'm really not a tiger, I'm a leopard-man~~~~"

Anna finally breathed a sigh of relief after the leopard man left.

"Fortunately, the other party left."

Rin asked curiously, "Anna, you seem very nervous. There are so many of us here, we can't possibly lose, can we?"

“It’s not that bad, but we can’t underestimate her.” Luo Bai stepped forward, gently patted Anna’s head, and said, “Anna seems to have realized that the other party is a god-level Servant, probably a totem worship from Mesoamerican mythology. Given the god-level nature of the Servant, plus Fujimura Taiga’s own aptitude, Servants of lower level or without local advantages are just easy prey in front of her.”

Rin asked in surprise, "Really? Is he that good? He looks like a comedic character at first glance."

Luo Bai shook his finger and said, "No, no, no, the more comical the character, the more careful we need to be. You know, Fujimura Taiga is the kind of person who can reach the fifth dan in swordsmanship while laughing and joking. Moreover, she has incredible luck, which, numerically speaking, is probably at the EX level. That's enough to pull the average luck of the spearmen, who are usually at the E level, above average. But as strong as she is, it's still beneficial for us that the leopard man possesses Fujimura Taiga. It's clear that a large part of the leopard man's personality has been assimilated by Fujimura Taiga. Otherwise, if it were the original divine leopard man, we would already be in the middle of a great battle."

With Luo Bai's explanation, Rin finally understood completely.

"Hmm... So, it turns out that the leopard people can actually be won over, right?"

"It should be possible, but before that, let's go to Ur first."

Volume 1: Chapter 642 The Situation in Ur, The Battle with the Leopard People (2/2)

After leaving the dense forest, the group finally arrived at their destination, Ur City.

As you enter the city gate, you will see that plants have spread from outside the city into the city and have attached themselves to the exterior walls of many houses.

Seeing that there were still people in the city and that they were living peacefully, Mashu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great, everyone in Ur is alright!"

However, Gudako's expression was quite different.

"That might not be the case, Mashu. Haven't you noticed how few men there are on the streets? It's mostly women, children, and the elderly. I haven't seen a single young or middle-aged man yet!"

"Huh? It seems that's really the case!"

Thanks to Gudako's reminder, Mashu also noticed something amiss beneath the city's tranquility.

Luo Bai gave Gudako an approving look: "Good observation skills. Let's go and ask someone in charge."

Along the way, Gudako also asked a few women, and from them she was told that no rescue was needed, thus confirming the problem in the city.

Soon, people gathered in the square in the center of Ur City, where Luo Bai and his group met the middle-aged woman who was currently in charge.

"Greetings, messengers of King Gilgamesh. What brings you here?"

Merlin stepped forward, looked at her, and asked, "I would like to say that you do not need rescue, but we must hear your reasons."

Another woman explained, "Ur City is safe. As long as there's a dense forest, monsters can't get in here!"

"That's right, as long as we obey the Forest Goddess's orders, everything will be fine!"

After hearing the explanation, Gudako looked around and asked...

"I understand roughly. So, where have all the able-bodied men in your city gone? Since Ur City hasn't gone to support other cities or been harassed by magical beasts, it's impossible that you only have this many people, right?"