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IBHJ Chapter 520
🕑 Added 2023-10-14 03:18:46 +0000 UTCDeep beneath the battleground, 200 meters down, lies a hidden cavern.
It's so dark in here that you can't even see your own hand, and there's a rich smell of damp earth hanging in the air.
This dark space was created by the petite knight with her unique Noble Phantasm.
It began as a concealment spell she used to vanish from sight. However, due to the special quirks of her own legend, it transformed into a Bounded Field Noble Phantasm, symbolizing one of her significant acts.
The Noble Phantasm allowed the petite knight to disappear into any medium and reappear for sneak attacks. When combined with the Assassin skill [Presence Concealment], she became nearly invisible. It was no wonder she considered Assassin her most suitable class.
Sure, the Red Faction's plan had changed, but she was nothing if not flexible. She quickly activated her Noble Phantasm, creating a hollow underground, and hid there.
Charging straight into battle is what a naive youth would do.
Despite the petite knight burning with the desire to defeat Eternal King with her own hands and drive him from the battlefield, she could still estimate his strength.
Going head-to-head with him? She knew she'd be outclassed.
But if the Reds were targeting Eternal King, having them lead the charge and distract the Blacks wasn't a bad strategy.
In the end, the Holy Grail War was a mix of personalities—some naive, some kind. These were human traits, and one couldn't expect everyone to be the same.
On the other hand, the petite knight considered herself to be quite crafty.
So her goal was to assist the Red side in infiltrating the Black camp and targeting Eternal King. That would be enough. Thus, when Atalanta was about to be intercepted by Saber, she took action.
The petite knight quickly grabbed Saber's ankle and yanked her into the underground.
She didn't know who Saber was, hadn't seen her face clearly, and didn't really care about these details.
All she wanted was to achieve victory and win the Holy Grail.
Beneath the surface, the darkness was absolute, making even the petite knight strain to see.
However, it didn't matter, she had the [Intuition] she inherited from her mother.
Moreover, it was an A-rank [Intuition]. Even in this darkness, she could still launch her attacks.
With a muted impact, Saber, unprepared, found herself falling onto her back, letting out a soft gasp of surprise.
Quick on her feet, the petite knight unsheathed her blade and, without a second thought, lunged it towards Saber's midsection.
Despite being cloaked in utter darkness, her [Intuition A] pinpointed exactly where she should strike.
Her attack was silent, like a whisper. In this kind of darkness, you'd never see it coming, that deadly flash of steel lunging from the shadows.
But then—
A metallic flash cut through the dark.
The clear sound of metal on metal rang out. The sword she'd aimed was knocked away by another.
The petite knight blinked in surprise. She was sure her attack had been silent, perfectly hidden. Did the person she was up against have something like a [Mind's Eye] skill?
"You treacherous scoundrel!" Saber loudly rebuked.
The petite knight was as blind as Saber in the pitch-black underground. But Saber also had the same A-rank [Intuition]!
That's how she caught the petite knight's sneak attack.
After her failed attempt, the petite knight quickly retreated to create distance.
But as she retreated, something struck her. Was it her imagination or did Saber's voice sound... familiar?
It sounded like someone she had met before.
And the only people she might recognize...
Were members of the Knights of the Round Table.
Right from the beginning, the petite knight had figured that Servants she had a deep connection with might show up in this Holy Grail War. Eternal King was one, and it wouldn't be surprising if another member of the Round Table appeared.
However, she had no intention of holding back. Even if it was a member of the Round Table, she wouldn't give up the Holy Grail!
She didn't bother with chit-chat. Slipping into the shadows, she became almost invisible.
Her breathing was so soft it almost felt like she was one with the darkness. This could be considered a physical form of [Presence Concealment].
Under these conditions, who could possibly detect her?
But then, a chilling cold slowly crept up her body. The icy blade drew a beautiful arc in the air as Saber thrust unhesitatingly toward the petite knight's chest.
The knight acted fast, tilting her wrist and bringing her own sword to meet the incoming blade.
The sharp "clang" echoed as steel clashed with steel.
The moment she deflected that strike, the smaller knight had a realization.
This Saber must have something similar to her [Intuition A]!
The darkness couldn't hold Saber back!
"Who are you?!" Saber's voice rang out, demanding an answer.
But the petite knight wasn't in a sharing mood. Her eyes tightened, giving off a dangerous and icy glint.
Her Noble Phantasm allowed her to vanish into anything by setting up a concealment Bounded Field that spread out for a hundred meters. If she moved outside that range, the Bounded Field she was hiding in would snap back to normal.
So, imagine dragging someone underground and then sprinting out of the hundred-meter radius Bounded Field. That person would get trapped and suffocate, buried alive.
Such a technique would be deadly against ordinary humans, magi, and even typical Heroic Spirits. However, powerful Heroic Spirits could use their Noble Phantasms to break through the ground and escape.
Like that time Luvia thought she had Gilgamesh trapped underground, but he came gunning for her in his Vimana.
The primary use of this Noble Phantasm was the element of surprise.
Probably no one would expect that right beneath where they stood lurked an attacker with murderous intention.
And Saber had fallen for this trap!
That said, having to go up against Saber who also had [Intuition A] won't be easy for the petite knight.
As she had pointed out before, she wasn't particularly strong when it came to close combat, at least not when compared to someone like Saber or Karna. However, if she was up against Astolfo, she wouldn't consider herself weak.
Furthermore, what she excelled at wasn't close combat but rather strikes from the shadows.
She wasn't all about the weapons. It was her intellect that set her apart in a fight.
Sure, Saber's [Intuition] threw the petite knight for a loop. However, it didn't matter. When she had chosen to fight underground, she had already taken this into account.
"Come out and face me, you coward in the shadows!"
Saber yelled, taking a quick step and drawing her holy sword in a beautiful arc through the air as she swung it toward her enemy.
Having [Intuition] meant the dark didn't faze either of them. Sight wasn't an issue here.
But as Saber's blade approached, the smaller knight just smirked, her grip tightening.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"
Explosions erupted near Saber's location.
"What the..."
A hint of surprise flashed across Saber's face.
Then the roaring blasts swallowed her up.
The ground trembled beneath Saber's feet, throwing her off balance. The aftermath of the explosion cracked the earth open, and massive boulders, resembling shooting stars, raced towards Saber.
Although she had [Intuition], in the midst of such a widespread assault, it couldn't provide much help.
She slashed at the falling rocks, but with her limited sight, she missed what was lurking inside.
Then—
"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"
One of the rocks detonated right in her face, sending shards flying onto her.
"Ugh..."
Caught off guard, a hefty boulder slammed into her, eliciting a sharp yelp of pain. Even her usually unflappable expression faltered, showing a glimpse of the pain she felt.
Hearing Saber's painful cry, a pleased smile appeared on the petite knight's face beneath her helmet.
Always thinking a few steps ahead, she'd anticipated the possibility of facing an opponent with skills like [Intuition] and [Mind's Eye]. So she'd gotten her hands on some explosives, courtesy of her Master — Sisigou Kairi.
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
Mordred is certainly doing a good job at showing just why she would make a good assassin.
