Chapter 155: The Knights About to Be Awakened

"What about that guy, Dutian? To think he'd actually trust you to go off alone, aren't you afraid he's worried you'd trigger another World War?" Inadvertently, someone seemed to let slip something incredible. However, Dutian, whose face had initially worn a roguish expression, flashed a trace of struggle before replying, "Don't talk to me about such useless nonsense. You've already let me out, haven't you? Besides, I'm just here to inform you that you can go watch the show now. Are you coming?" Without waiting for a reply, he stepped directly onto a street lamp, vaulted onto the opposite rooftop, and hurried forward.

"Well, excuse me, but this has to end early." Picking up a cloak that appeared from nowhere, he draped it over himself and silently vanished.

"What just happened?" This was the most genuine thought in the minds of both Sakura and Medusa. An inexplicable battle had broken out, only to end just as inexplicably. However—

"Bang!"

The sound of a heavy impact snapped the two of them back to reality. Exchanging a glance, Medusa scooped up Sakura and hurried toward their original destination.

...

"Yo, little girl, your sword lacks bite." Using only his bare fists, he blocked the slash of Saber's blade, which was wrapped in the barrier of the Wind King. He even found time to taunt her. Yet, how could the King of Knights react to such provocation? She simply countered by pulling back her weapon and temporarily retreating out of his attack range.

"You're quite the noisy nuisance, hovering around here," a voice suddenly emerged from the shadows just as the two were locked in entanglement.

"Who's there?" she asked by reflex.

"Take a guess~" Beneath the frivolous tease lay a hidden murderous intent. Shards wreathed in a bloody aura launched from the shadows in all directions toward him.

"An Assassin?" Although the momentum looked impressive, it couldn't conceal the tentative nature of these attacks. He didn't care at all that his assault had been deflected, slowly materializing his form from the shadows.

"It seems those two good-for-nothings failed to stop you," he muttered with a strange sigh, before continuing, "According to the intel obtained by that madman, you seem to be just like us."

"Intel? Would you believe something like that? At least I never trust any information provided by an enemy." Lancer shrugged indifferently and continued with a smile, "Right now, I'm only interested in your head. I wonder if you might lend it to me for a while?" Lancer wore a dangerous smile.

"Want it? Then come and take it yourself." Wearing an equally dangerous smile, the man assumed a boxing stance to welcome his challenger.

"I will." Clasping two formless swords, Lancer sneered.

"Lancer—" However, it was quite clear that Saber did not wish for Lancer to steal her opponent. Yet, Lancer's next words caused her to change her mind.

"My King, have you forgotten your vow of old? As the shadow of the kingdom, I shall eliminate all threats for you. Even if it violates chivalry, this is my steadfast conviction, and you have already promised to support me." Lancer's words left her unable to refuse; after all, this was indeed something she had promised him.

"Very well, then." With a sigh, she crossed her hands over the hilt of her sword behind Lancer, gazing at the back of the man wielding dual swords, and couldn't help letting out another sigh.

"My thanks, My King." Placing a hand over his chest in a knightly salute, Lancer smiled once more. But this time, the smile was different from the previous one; it revealed a genuine, joyful expression. "Please watch closely. Allow me to offer you the most magnificent drama amidst a purgatory of blood." The twin swords in his hands seemed to respond to their master, emitting an intimidating chill even though they remained invisible.

"Truly two beautiful weapons! After this battle, they shall belong to me!" Though it should have been phrased as a question, he spoke in the tone of a declarative statement, overflowing with absolute confidence.

"Then let the music play." Lancer adopted a standard dual-wielding stance, planting his feet apart with his two swords crossed before him. Meanwhile, his opponent slipped on a pair of fighting gloves and remarked, "How can such beautiful weapons be allowed to just appear like this? They truly belong in a room to be admired every single day."

He paid no attention to Lancer's knightly demeanor, continuing instead to gaze with a fanatical fascination at the two invisible swords. Lancer, equally unbothered, simply searched for that split-second opportunity. Amidst countless fierce battles on the battlefield and countless assassinations for the empire, facing innumerable curses and all manner of expressions from his targets, he had never once wavered. Naturally, the present was no exception.

...

"Clang!" Although it was a clash between blades and boxing gloves, it produced the sound of colliding metal. Then, amidst the opponent's confident gaze, Lancer was struck hard in the abdomen by a ferocious punch and sent flying backward. He only managed to stop himself by grabbing onto a roadside street lamp, which, having faithfully performed its duty, was simultaneously wrecked beyond repair.

"Tch—" Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Lancer demanded, "Just how do you know this set of combat techniques?"

"This set? Nothing much. Don't you know that while that world is cruel, it is equally full of wonders? This is simply a set of military assassination techniques I happened to discover while browsing around," the opponent replied nonchalantly.

"To think that the assassination arts I excel at the most could actually be mastered by someone else. I taught those fools so many times, yet not a single one of them could learn it. And now, I see it wielded by my own opponent. How ironic." Lancer couldn't help voicing his thoughts. Even so, the look in his eyes clearly signaled to his opponent that he had not given up yet. Nevertheless, facing an adversary who was familiar with his attack patterns and possessed a physique not inferior to—or perhaps even stronger than—his own, he felt a flicker of powerlessness.

"A-se-ke!" Just as the two remained deadlocked, a voice abruptly interrupted them. All three turned involuntarily toward the source to see Kayneth, holding a box, staring at the two figures on the scene in utter astonishment.

"Why are you here? Get away quickly!" Though in Lancer's eyes the man was merely an ordinary human, the sheer willingness to step into hell for the sake of something he cherished made Lancer naturally inclined to befriend him. Right now, on this battlefield filled with inhuman monsters, he still didn't wish to see his friend come to harm.

"It seems my timing is truly fortuitous. The only reason I've come is because I've found the key to victory." At that moment, Saber had already stepped in front of Kayneth, shielding him from the man on the field.