Receiving the order, Jeanne couldn't help but smile at the corner of her mouth, then looked up and said to Artoria:
"Saber, my Master has just permitted my battle with you. If you are truly filled with rage towards me, then follow my steps and let's find a place to have a good fight."
After speaking, she turned and left decisively, running quickly towards Miyama Town at a speed that didn't seem out of place in the crowd.
"Irisviel!"
Artoria looked back at her acting Master, asking for guidance. Irisviel knew that at this moment, regardless of whether it was rational or if there was a trap ahead, not doing so would dishonor the king of knights!
"Go, Saber, repay her insults and mockery twofold!"
"As you command!"
Then, carrying Irisviel, she quickly followed Jeanne's footsteps.
Jeanne had activated her A-rank Revelation skill. This sixth sense, applicable to all events related to achieving her goal, could guide her to the most ideal battleground.
Upon reaching the uninhabited mountain forest, Jeanne's steps became faster and faster, surpassing human common sense, surpassing a galloping cheetah! Irisviel, behind her, could no longer keep up and was carried by Artoria as she traversed through the trees.
The moment she stepped into the deep mountains, Artoria realized they had reached the location. With extremely precise force control, she canceled her dashing inertia and tossed Irisviel down.
The brilliant light of Mana Burst erupted, a sapphire blue dress like a vast ocean, covered by resplendent silver-white armor, instantly enveloped Artoria's entire body. The Holy Sword, invisible due to the Wind King Barrier, was tightly held in her hand, and the A+ rank Mana Burst skill instantly exploded! In an instant, the wind spirits in the air raged along with Artoria's Holy Sword, and a fierce wind swept through the uninhabited mountain forest! Artoria instantly accelerated and charged towards Jeanne, who was ahead.
"Here I come!"
As if deliberately reminding Jeanne, who had already sensed the Holy Sword approaching from behind, Jeanne, dressed in plain clothes, merely smiled with her back turned, as if she didn't put this Holy Sword, renowned in human history for a thousand years, in her eyes at all. Just as the Holy Sword was about to cleave Jeanne in two in the next second—
"Boom!"
Soaring black demonic flames instantly enveloped Jeanne! The roaring black flames blocked the path between Jeanne and Artoria. The sudden change was difficult even for the battle-hardened King Arthur to handle. Relying on her perfect skill, she forcibly stopped her forward momentum, avoiding crashing into the black flames.
Just as Artoria had stopped and before she had fully stabilized, a long pole-like object from the dense black flames instantly struck down towards Artoria!
There was a crisp clang of metal. Artoria only felt a surge of overwhelming force, difficult to parry, transmitted from the struck sword spine! Artoria slid back ten steps, her feet stiff and unmoving.
Even with her hurried block due to insufficient strength, this force was simply too exaggerated.
Artoria was secretly alarmed, and she looked up to clearly see her opponent at this moment.
The previously casual black witch had now donned armor that matched her color. Unlike Saber's full-body armor, this only covered and protected critical vital points. Large expanses of snow-white skin were exposed to the air. The upper body armor, which merely covered her chest, was wrapped around her with fine chains. Her hands were encased in elbow-length iron gauntlets, revealing her snow-white upper arms and shoulders. Her waist was encircled by hip armor and a wide skirt. She wore a pair of knee-high jet-black war boots, with the area from above her knees to near her upper thighs completely exposed. Her head had no helmet, only a three-pronged iron headpiece.
This, this, this, this… Can this really be called armor?! In Artoria's view, Jeanne's armed appearance was simply too avant-garde, almost… "Shameless! Witch, are you toying with me? How can you wear such armor to the battlefield! This is not a place for you to flaunt your charms! You are desecrating a duel where honor is exchanged for life!"
Artoria, with her sword pointed, shouted at Jeanne, her face red with shame and anger.
"Hmph, even if I flaunt my charms, it's not for you to see. Are you merely a pure little virgin who blushes at the sight of another woman's body?"
"You!…" The upright Artoria was no match for the unrestrained witch Jeanne in a war of words, but she quickly shifted her attention to the weapon she had just clashed with—
A battle flag!
Artoria looked somewhat bewildered at the three-meter-plus Evil Dragon Battle Flag in Jeanne's hand. The flag surface fluttered freely without wind, and the lifelike black evil dragon seemed to be on the verge of tearing through the flag, so vivid it was.
Artoria, who had spent her entire life in battle, was of course no stranger to battle flags; in fact, she was intimately familiar with them. On the battlefield, the importance of a battle flag was paramount, serving as the spiritual pillar for all soldiers. As the saying goes: 'Shoot the horse before the rider, cut down the flag before the general.' When a flag falls, it usually determines the outcome of a war.
However, throughout her life campaigning on battlefields, Artoria had never seen anyone use a battle flag as a weapon, because, it simply couldn't be considered a weapon!
"Is she using the battle flag as a spear, is she a Lancer? No! If she were the most agile Lancer, that immense force from her strike would be inexplicable. Is she a Berserker? But her rationality is clearly intact, without the slightest hint of madness, coupled with her hidden presence before our encounter…"
Artoria now felt that this Servant, who claimed to be a witch, was bizarre in every way, surrounded by layers of mist, making it impossible to discern her class. Without even the most basic information, even King Arthur, famed for her bravery and wisdom throughout human history, fell into hesitation.
"What's wrong? You, who kept shouting for a duel, why aren't you attacking? Is it because you can't discern my class, and with my background unclear, you dare not act rashly? Since you're not attacking, then it's my turn."
As soon as the words fell, Jeanne held the flag in her right hand, her body slightly bent forward, watching Saber's serious and fully alert expression, and her proper posture of holding the invisible sword tightly with both hands, a wicked smile slightly appeared on her face, and then—
She suddenly disappeared...
"Boom!"
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