"Servants protect Masters, knights protect their lieges; this is only natural."
Regarding Artoria's righteous declaration, Jalter merely looked at her with pity.
"So, a knight goes to the battlefield but still has to worry about the delicate princess behind her, is that it? Artoria, I truly feel sorry for you to be saddled with such a Master. You say..." Jalter's ill-intentioned gaze drifted towards Irisviel in the distance, like a malicious black cat watching a canary in a cage.
Irisviel instantly felt a chill that struck deep into her soul, even finding it difficult to move her limbs.
"Judging from that last sword strike, you're not a pedant. You also know to use appropriate strategies when your strength is lacking."
"Of course, relying solely on bravery and swords will not win a war!"
"That's right. Now I'm going to use my strategy, Saber. Tell me, if I were to attack your Master right now, could you stop me?"
Jalter's wicked smile was as mysterious and enchanting as the crimson spider lilies blooming on the other side of the Yellow Springs, her sexy and graceful pitch-black battle attire making her look like the most beautiful black rose blossoming on the battlefield.
But Saber only felt the cruel thorns of that rose!
Upon hearing Jalter's words, Saber trembled all over, her hands gripping the sword hilt so tightly it seemed she wanted to embed the sword into her flesh, raising her guard to the highest level, intently watching Jalter's every move. Jalter, however, merely stood there, propping her battle standard beside her, standing loosely as if completely enjoying Saber's predicament.
"The sword is four feet one inch long and one inch one fen wide. In our terms, that's roughly 123 centimeters long and 12.3 centimeters wide, isn't that right, King Arthur? Because I knew the appearance of your sword from the very beginning. That invisible barrier of yours that dulls it has no effect on me at all. You might as well remove it, or use it directly on yourself to become invisible, like you did just now. The effect would be better."
Saber was in no mood to deal with Jalter's sarcasm; at this moment, she was in a dilemma. With Jalter's speed and strength, if she suddenly attacked Irisviel, Saber would find it very difficult to stop her, and Jalter might even reach Irisviel before her. However, Saber couldn't just walk in front of Irisviel, because if Jalter directly started a fight with her, the collateral damage from the battle would absolutely pulverize her proxy Master!
She dared not relax for a moment, keeping a close eye on Jalter's every movement, including that ill-timed gesture of covering her mouth with her left hand to yawn, fearing that in the next second, she might throw the battle standard in her hand like a javelin towards Irisviel.
Just as Jalter said, her Master was too weak and had to be protected like a princess; any slight misstep or accident would lead to irreversible consequences.
At this moment, Jalter suddenly paused slightly, because she had just received a mental communication from Rin:
Rin: Jalter, that's enough. As a display of power, this much is sufficient. If you really exhaust Saber and deplete her magical energy, it wouldn't be good if another Servant group took advantage. Compared to others, Saber's importance to us is higher, after all, it's also related to Berserker's wish.
And Jalter, upon receiving the communication, deliberately shouted out to Saber, holding her temple as if using a wireless radio:
"Master, you're really something. I was having so much fun with this little girl, and you just had to call me back. Honestly, I haven't even gotten serious, haven't even used my noble phantasm, so how can it be considered serious? Mm-hmm, I know, I'll retreat now. Oh dear, although I wasn't planning to get serious, that Little Knight King seems to be planning to get serious with me, sigh…"
Rin, sitting in the car seat and sharing senses with Jalter, heard the last shout through Jalter's hearing—
"Ex—calibur (sword of promised victory)!!!"
Rin was immediately startled and quickly looked out the opposite car window towards the direction of Fuyuki Miyama Town, only to see a pale golden pillar of light, dazzling even in broad daylight, shooting up into the sky from that direction!
This was merely the prelude, the gathering and preheating, followed immediately by—
Light was flowing!
Light was roaring!
From amidst the mountains, forests, and ridges, an ultimate light erupted, illuminating the heavens and earth! Like an erupting volcano, it instantly burst forth, lighting up the entire world! It pierced through the clouds and soared into the sky!
Boom—!!!
A distant, muffled roar shook the entire Fuyuki area, and an explosive cloud, like a nuclear weapon, rose in the direction of Miyama Town.
The entire Fuyuki area trembled uncontrollably under this single strike! The bus Rin was on was just nearing a mountain road turn and almost overturned down the mountainside.
After stabilizing the vehicle, Rin reconnected with Jalter: "Jalter! Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine, that move was really something. I didn't expect this Little Knight King to have such decisiveness and ruthlessness, daring to gather magical energy to release a city-destroying noble phantasm while I was talking to you."
"No, I estimate that noble phantasm wasn't something she wanted to release at all. It must have been her Master using a command spell, combined with the miracle of a grand magic crystal, to make her instantly release the noble phantasm."
"That Little Knight King's Master…"
After receiving Rin's message, Jalter's gaze drifted towards the direction of another distant mountain peak behind her. Jalter had already sensed a malevolent gaze from that direction not long after the battle began. From the information she received from Rin, she already knew who Saber's true Master was and what kind of person he was.
Indeed, Kiritsugu Emiya was currently holding a heavy sniper rifle, observing Jalter and Saber's battlefield through a scope from a mountain peak a kilometer away.
In fact, Kiritsugu Emiya had already prepared for an attack on Irisviel before leaving Germany. When a Servant engaged in battle with Saber, Irisviel was to press the alarm he gave her, and he would know the location of the battle and rush there. Saber could not act alone and could not fight too far from her Master.
Kiritsugu Emiya's former female assistant, Maiya Hisau, had been searching the mountains for Jalter's Master, but had found nothing. In the end, she could only conclude that the Servant before them also possessed extremely strong independent action capabilities.
Just as the situation reached a critical deadlock, the strange Servant suddenly began an unguarded mental communication with her Master. The Magus Killer, who never missed a single opportunity, directly and decisively used a command spell! He simultaneously conveyed the magical energy of the grand magic crystal and the command to release the noble phantasm to the ever-ready Saber!
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