You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

If Shuten dares to appear on the battlefield, Iori, who has already fought her once and knows her methods quite well, is confident that she can use ruthless methods to kill her directly!

He could do it even in front of Vlad III!

After all, Vlad III is a combat-type Servant who lacks support abilities, and he cannot protect Shuten-dōji in critical moments.

However, the Black faction may have also noticed the special connection between Shuten-dōji and Iori, and chose to send Asterius into battle.

"Things in this world are mostly unsatisfactory."

Facing the bull demon's charge, Iori's longsword rippled with flowing magical light, and at the moment the giant axe of the abyss fell, she swung her divine sword—

call! ! !

The surging sword pressure not only blocked the giant axe's slash, but the sword blade hidden in the light suddenly exerted its power. The powerful force instantly changed, like an upward headwind, deflecting the two giant axes and forcibly blowing away Asterius's burly upper body, causing him to lose his balance.

The attribute accumulation from daily training, the [Berserk] bonus from the class, and the improved stats after completing the Spirit Origin!

The combination of these three attributes gives Iori top-tier stats among the three knights. Although her arm strength alone is not as good as Asterius's (strength A++), if you take her technique and magic cannon into account, the result is completely different.

"Aww, I'm so tired!!"

The bull demon roared in impotent rage. Although its movements were hindered, Iori, who had borne most of the impact, was also forcibly pushed several meters.

But in that brief moment, immense magical power surged within Iori's body, maximizing its output!

He held the sword with one hand to maintain its pressure, while using the other hand to form a peculiar hand seal—

"The Sixty-Three Ways of Binding: Binding with Chain Bars!"

Wow~

Thick, serpentine chains flew out from the void and wrapped around the upper body of the Bull Demon.

"Binding Spell Sixty-One: The Six Pillars of Light Prison!"

Six beams of light, condensed from magic, shot in from all directions, entered the target's waist, and fixed his position.

"Binding Spell Number Sixty-Two: Hundred-Step Railing!"

Without giving the opponent any chance to breathe, one after another, short spears shining with pure white light fell from the sky, continuously piercing Asterius's body, trying to jam all the joints of this ferocious beast!

—If the people of Soul Society were to see this scene, they would surely gasp in shock.

Not only did they abandon chanting, but they also used mid-to-high-level binding spells consecutively without any interval. They started almost simultaneously without interfering with each other, and instead, the effects were superimposed on each other... This is an extremely high level of skill that even professional ghost path practitioners can only dream of, and only the "chief and deputy ghost path masters" can surpass!

Chapter 126: No Time for Mourning, the Next One Arrives at the Battlefield—

With the triple binding spells applied, even a born demon king was firmly controlled. His strong body trembled and struggled constantly, and the chains and light bands manifested by the demonic path made a taut sound, but in the end, he still managed to hold on.

Upon seeing this, Iori's eyes revealed a look of amazement:

Binding spells are specifically designed to deal with spirits. They possess extremely powerful sealing abilities. In addition to their own strength, they can also interfere with the spiritual particle sequence of the bound object, which means they indirectly weaken its spiritual pressure.

The same applies to Servants; at most, due to the characteristics of their Spirit Origin, they have slightly more resistance than ordinary spirits.

However, Asterius still had the strength to resist even at this point. The seemingly indestructible bindings were now like a rubber band stretched to its limit, ready to snap at any moment!

What a terrifying physique! Iori was utterly humbled!

With A++ strength, A++ stamina, and the inherent skills of [Natural Demon] and [Monstrous Strength], once activated, it transforms into a tireless war machine on the battlefield, crushing everything in its path. This is no Servant; it's a perfect killing machine!

Throughout the entire Greek pantheon, among human or demigod heroes, perhaps only Heracles, who perfectly integrated "mind," "body," and "skill," could defeat him in hand-to-hand combat.

Any other hero who was even slightly weaker would have been crushed by Asterius's terrifying physical body!

Furthermore, according to the information Iori learned in her previous life, the calf was actually kind-hearted, but it was only because it was regarded as a monster and raised and treated like a monster that it became a "Minotaur".

In other words, this person's stats are purely due to talent; they naturally developed into a monster with amazing stats...

"Ang ang ang ang!"

As expected, it only lasted for a moment. When the demonic nature hidden deep within Asterius's body was aroused, his skin turned crimson, and his thick blood vessels and veins writhed as if they were alive.

This massive body unleashed a terrifyingly powerful force, which directly shattered the triple restraints on its body!

The bull demon, freed from its confinement, let out a deafening roar of triumph. But before he could swing his battle axe and cut Iori in two, the handsome black-haired youth not only did not flee or defend himself, but instead took a step forward.

Before the Bull Demon could raise his battle axe, the sword had already pressed down and blocked at a crucial position, making it extremely difficult for the berserker to exert his strength.

With this pause, Iori, with the help of Asterius's brute force, lightly spun and flipped over his burly body. When he landed, the bull demon's neck was ripped open again with a wound nearly 20 centimeters long!

--call!

The battle axe swept across, and Iori parried with her sword, only to be sent flying by the force of a volcanic eruption.

But this didn't injure him; instead, a smirk appeared on his lips as he began preparing a powerful, unrestricted demonic technique:

The faint, murky patterns reveal an unruly and arrogant talent;

Tide surges, denial, paralysis, a fleeting moment, hindering eternal sleep.

The crawling Iron Princess, the self-mutilating clay doll, combines, rebounds, and extends towards the ground—know your own powerlessness!

Asterius roared and charged forward, but Iori remained fearless and clashed repeatedly with his thin longsword and terrifying double axes. Although he had to dodge and retreat many times, he did not seem to be at a disadvantage overall.

In a brief moment, he had skillfully and quickly finished chanting.

A complete incantation is extremely rare for Iori; he prefers to use rapid-fire Kido attacks to assist in fast-paced battles.

However, this Kido is different. With Iori's current spiritual pressure, he can naturally break the incantation, but he cannot unleash its strongest power, which would be a waste.

This is a high-level demonic path that can directly determine the winner!

"hold head high!!!"

It's hard for ordinary people to imagine how someone with such a broken body could fight, and even a Servant would probably find it difficult. But Asterius fought on and on, becoming stronger with each battle. Despite not having [Battle Continuation], he relied on the mystery and demonic nature inherited from his bloodline to sustain him through this fierce battle.

But he can't touch Iori!

Compared to her brute strength that could split mountains and shatter rocks, her agility was only average. She couldn't be as nimble as Hercules, so she was often injured by Iori's varied tricks.

But when his perfect body finally felt exhausted and the forcibly suppressed injuries began to flare up, Iori suddenly moved—

It's unclear how he took that step, but with one stride he found himself almost touching Asterius.

Raise your hand and gently place it on the hot, rough skin with almost tender force—

"The Ninety of the Broken Dao: Black Coffin!"

Dark magic emerged from beneath Asterius's feet, spreading upwards like ever-growing tombstones and spirit tablets, engulfing the nearly three-meter-tall bull demon in the blink of an eye!

hum!

Just as its name suggests, the pitch-black rectangular coffin exuded an unusually cold aura, followed by swift and sharp fluctuations of magical energy that swept through its interior.

boom! ! !

The black coffin shattered automatically, countless black fragments dissipating into basic particles, while Asterius, standing within it, remained motionless like a statue, his muscles taut and his hands gripping two abyssal battle axes tightly.

Finally, after a two-breath interval, as if by prior arrangement, thin, blood-red lines appeared on the Bull Demon's body and rapidly expanded and spread, spraying out large amounts of blood, instantly staining his entire body and the surrounding area crimson...

The metal mask shattered and fell off, revealing a face covered in blood... but upon closer inspection, it was surprisingly delicate-looking, a face that didn't match the extremely burly body at all.

Even though he was severely injured, he did not fall down, his scarlet eyes staring straight at Iori!

"Aww... Ahhh!"

Each muscle writhed wildly as if it had its own life, the spurting of blood stopped almost instantly, and the Bull Demon drove its battered body. Iori only caught a glimpse of crimson in the corner of her eye, and without thinking, she instantly left the spot.

--call!

The Abyss Axe swept across the area in the next instant, followed by a terrifying, sharp sonic boom.

In that situation, without any prior warm-up or acceleration, simply swinging the double-edged axe with all one's might actually made it exceed the speed of sound!

This can no longer be explained by simple wrist strength, right?

“How could this be…” Iori flashed ten meters away, still able to feel the chilling wind, a hint of realization flashing in his eyes.

The Bull Demon King, with its incredible durability, could withstand a single "Black Coffin" attack and remain standing.

Of course, this doesn't mean he's alright. On the contrary, it should be said that he was so badly injured that he fought desperately in his final moments, hoping to take his enemy with him.

But if this attack misses, the Bull Demon's situation will be extremely dangerous.

"The first Servant to withdraw from this Holy Grail War was the Berserker."

Iori narrowed his eyes, slowly raised his sword and aimed it at Asterius, confident that he could finish the battle within ten breaths.

Suddenly, his face turned cold, and he vanished from his spot:

bass!bass!bass!

One after another, sharp, huge wooden spikes suddenly emerged from under Iori's feet and nearby. If Iori hadn't used Shunpo, his thigh would probably have been pinned there like an insect specimen!

"The mighty king of Romania, resorting to sneak attacks?" Iori looked up at the castle and sneered. "If he wanted to fight me, he could have come out from the start. Why bother sending Berserker to test me? He just wanted to learn more about my fighting style... Using your comrades as stepping stones, how outrageous!"

"There is no justice in war!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Iori heard a chilling snort. The sound of hooves came from the dark doorway. A general dressed in a magnificent black robe and holding a silver spear rode a specially modified dragon tooth warhorse and calmly came to the front of the battle.

The androids consciously made way and bowed slightly to show their respect.

Berserker's defeat was expected, but the Black faction did not anticipate being forced into a desperate situation so quickly. If left unchecked, Asterius might be killed by an enemy Servant, forcing Yggdrasil to change its strategy.

Normally, Vlad III shouldn't have made a move unless he was truly unable to spare any troops. But since he was near the castle, he could both eliminate the enemy and fulfill his mission of protecting the Greater Grail.

After Vlad III appeared, the bull demon glaring at Iori reluctantly retreated as a spirit under his master's command—with the Greater Grail as a guarantee, as long as the Servant didn't die directly, their injuries could be quickly healed and wouldn't affect subsequent battles.

"Arrogant fellow, your provocation was clumsy and crude, but I must admit it was very effective, successfully arousing my murderous intent!"

"Yearning for a death of honor? If so, then I'll grant your wish!"

—Lancer Vlad III, join the war!

Upon recognizing the person approaching, Iori's expression turned solemn, though deep down she felt somewhat disappointed.

They preferred to send Vlad III as commander-in-chief rather than let Shuten-dōji show his face.

It should be noted that Iori has not revealed her true name, but is only speculated to be "Martial Venerable". Although she restrains Shuten-dōji, she is not actually his natural enemy. If Shuten-dōji were stronger, he could very well devour "Martial Venerable" and the Ama-no-Murakumo sword.

Logically, since it's right on their own doorstep, they should at least give it a try. Why is the Black Master being so cautious...?

No, could it be that Shuten-dōji isn't in the castle at all, but on the battlefield at the manor?

But given her damaged spiritual foundation, why would she actively participate in that chaotic battle...?

Iori's eyes lit up as she suddenly realized a possibility:

Rhine Gold!

Before he could think it through, Vlad III spurred his horse and brandished his spear, and a swarm of thin wooden stakes came rushing toward him!

call!

Instant teleportation!

call!

Instant teleportation!

call!

—Every time it appeared, a tide of wooden stakes, like a rain of arrows but many times more terrifying, would immediately sweep over it, giving Iori no chance to catch her breath.

"What are you thinking?" Vlad III thrust his spear forward, the two weapons clashing crisply against Iori's Ama-no-Kurakumo sword.

"Focus on the battle. You have only one mission now, and that is to let Yu Neng fight to his heart's content!"

Chapter 127: I'll accept your heart, Saber! (5K)

"Stop! I cannot hand over this sacred relic to you!"

Inside the manor, Jeanne d'Arc had transformed into her battle stance, her silver armor covering her school uniform. She gripped the battle flag tightly in one hand and held her briefcase behind her back with the other, while three Servants from both the Red and Black factions stood in front of her.

Karna, Atalanta, and Siegfried.

The Son of the Sun was the first to arrive here. He was ordered by Amakusa to seize the Rhine Gold and use it as a core component in the construction of the Hanging Gardens.

If they can obtain this relic, leveraging its symbolic concept of wealth, they can upgrade their garden to the highest level even with insufficient resources, breaking the current stalemate. Therefore, the Red team is determined to obtain it and has dispatched the great hero Karna, whose mobility and combat prowess are impeccable.

Red Lancer lived up to expectations. Although he was sniped from a distance by the Black faction along the way, he simply ignored the harassment while wearing golden armor and went straight to the heart of the enemy, blocking Joan of Arc's attempt to leave.

But when he asked Rheinmetall for the money, he was firmly refused!