Jeanne is a neutral Ruler and will not provide help to either the red or black side, but if the holy relic is handed over through her hands, that would be equal to breaking this principle.
And if she were to throw Rhein Gold here and pretend she never saw it… that would also be fooling herself, no different from directly handing it to Karna.
It can only be said that the moment she came into contact with Rhein Gold, she was already bound by invisible shackles and took on extra responsibility, she must seriously guard this holy relic and cannot show any leniency.
So she proposed that she would take Rhein Gold away herself, properly store it somewhere, and then let the two factions compete for it fairly. Of course, Karna would not agree.
What followed needed no explanation. Karna used force to pressure her, and Jeanne stood firm. The two began a fierce exchange of offense and defense in this desolate manor.
Well, calling it "fierce" might not be completely accurate. It was indeed a high level battle, but Jeanne needed to protect Rhein Gold, so she could not fight freely.
Likewise, Karna perhaps did not want to damage the holy relic, or felt that winning that way would be dishonorable, so he simply used his spear techniques without adding the scorching sun flames to his weapon.
It must be said that Karna truly lives up to the name of a great hero.
Even without using "Mana Burst," he could rely on skill alone to suppress Jeanne, making even the defense-oriented holy maiden find it difficult.
She could only endure through her outstanding stamina and willpower.
If nothing unexpected happened, Karna would sooner or later achieve victory at this rate. But things in this world are always so strange.
At a critical moment, Siegfried and Atalanta, who had been chasing and fighting each other, also entered the manor grounds.
The dragon-slaying swordsman immediately understood the current situation and chose to step forward with his sword, standing in front of Jeanne and taking over Karna from her.
If Jeanne were defeated and handed over Rhein Gold, then it would be very hard for Siegfried to take it back from the combination of Karna and Atalanta.
It would be better to cover Jeanne's retreat and make plans later.
When the Son of the Sun saw that his opponent had changed to Siegfried, he immediately lifted his spirits.
Fierce flames burst out violently, instantly destroying the weed-filled courtyard and turning the place into red and black scorched earth.
Jeanne gave Siegfried a grateful look and turned to leave the battle. What followed would be the great clash between red and black.
She only had the duty to witness, not the right to interfere. By doing this, Siegfried had freed her from an awkward situation.
But Atalanta did not let her leave so easily. The huntress who had once touched Rhein Gold, relying on her wild senses, could determine that the holy relic was inside Jeanne's suitcase.
After the earlier exchange, she had already understood that Siegfried was not an opponent who could be easily defeated.
His swordsmanship and Noble Phantasm worked together perfectly, with no weaknesses. Against any top Servant, he could at least maintain a balance.
Even if multiple Servants joined forces and surpassed him in combat power, making him submit would still be impossible.
If Atalanta joined forces with Karna, they could indeed make Siegfried lose.
But the dragon-slaying hero with his firm body would probably cling to them like a swamp, dragging them down desperately.
The option of quickly killing Siegfried could be ruled out.
In theory, he has a weakness on his back, but with his martial skill, he would never allow an enemy to attack his back.
Then the only choice was for Atalanta to take the lead and keep the Ruler here.
It sounds long, but the huntress judged the situation in just a moment and decisively set Jeanne as her next hunting target.
Almost at the moment the holy maiden began to step forward, Atalanta had already drawn her bow and shot out a powerful arrow.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Jeanne dodged and blocked, trying to escape Atalanta's hunting range. However, her speed could not match the huntress who could move later but arrive first. She was quickly caught up to.
"Complaint Message on the Arrow (Phoibos Catastrophe)!"
An ordinary-looking arrow did not shoot toward Jeanne. Instead, it rushed into the sky and disappeared into the night. Then countless starlights shone… no.
Those were not stars, but light arrows falling like heavy rain.
The rain of arrows was originally going to cover the entire manor, but as if drawn by some force, it was restricted to a radius of ten meters, all concentrating on Jeanne.
Atalanta narrowed her eyes and seriously watched the center of the light rain. Her Noble Phantasm is a wide-area annihilation type.
The power of a single arrow is not very great, but it can adjust its range on its own. The more concentrated it is, the stronger the destructive power becomes.
In addition, under the protection of Apollo and Artemis, this Noble Phantasm also carries a certain target-seeking ability.
Even with excellent parameters like Jeanne, taking this Noble Phantasm head-on would absolutely not leave her unharmed.
Sure enough, a battered figure flew out from the smoke. At the same time, Atalanta continued to shoot arrows to seal her movements.
Whoosh!
That person suddenly turned back, not only dodging the deadly arrows but also rushing toward Atalanta.
"Oh my~" The huntress curled her lips.
Although she is an archer, she also has records of defeating male heroes in close combat. If Jeanne thought she feared melee combat, she was completely wrong.
She continued shooting three arrows, guiding Jeanne to dodge according to her plan.
Agile and sharp, Atalanta moved like a beautiful female leopard, quickly drawing an arc to circle around and approach the Ruler from a blind spot at the side.
She gripped an arrow in her hand and thrust it out like a short blade.
Thud!
The arrowhead slipped through a gap in the armor and successfully stabbed into Jeanne's ribs.
However, before Atalanta could expand her advantage, the feeling from the arrow made her freeze.
'Is this flesh? It feels as solid as rock!'
"Haah!"
Jeanne did not cry out in pain or hesitate. It seemed she had planned from the beginning to trade injury for injury.
The flagpole wrapped with the holy banner smashed hard between Atalanta's shoulder and neck.
Crack!
The sound of bone breaking rang out. Archer, her face full of shock, was sent flying directly.
"Cough!"
Landing on all fours to stop her momentum, Atalanta coughed up a mouthful of blood. When she looked up at Jeanne again, her gaze had become strange.
Since childhood, she had been competitive and unwilling to lose.
Even though women were discriminated against on the battlefield, she still relied on her outstanding hunting skills to earn the name of hero and was unwilling to lose to men at every turn.
Such an Atalanta was called a tomboy by many people, including relatives, who believed she should have been born on Amazon Island instead of in the forests of Arcadia.
She did not feel ashamed of this and was even proud.
But honestly, after seeing Jeanne today, she suddenly lost confidence in her well-trained body.
Jeanne should not have divine attributes or similar bonuses. She was also born as a farmer's daughter. So what exactly is this physical quality… is it protection from faith?
But I also have faith. Atalanta's lips twitched slightly. She truly could not understand Jeanne's strength.
The huntress quickly adjusted her mindset. She had seen many physically strong prey. The Calydonian beast even left many Greek heroes helpless, but in the end it was successfully killed by hunters including Atalanta.
Victory or defeat is not decided only by strength.
"Hmph!"
Her strong, full thighs suddenly exerted force. Atalanta pulled away from Jeanne. While retreating, she kept shooting arrows, aiming at vital points such as the holy maiden's eyes and throat.
Jeanne did not dare be careless. The battle flag in her hand swung like wind. While blocking arrows, she rushed toward Atalanta.
She wanted to make the huntress lose the ability to pursue and then retreat calmly.
Perhaps she had been holding back frustration these past few days. When the holy maiden fought, she used especially great force.
Although the battle flag was only meant to inspire morale, in her hands its power was no less than a true Lancer's Noble Phantasm.
Atalanta faced her head-on. Although one arm was injured and she could not use her full strength, her agile and nimble figure was not affected. She used her speed advantage to entangle Jeanne.
As long as she avoided close combat, defense-oriented Jeanne had no particularly good method to deal with Atalanta.
Thus, the four Servants split into two groups and fought in pairs. On Siegfried and Karna's side, waves of air surged violently.
Not to mention ordinary people, even slightly weaker Servants would find it hard to survive if caught in it.
On Jeanne and Atalanta's side, it was a constant exchange of moves. Neither side had the confidence or intention to kill the other.
Suddenly, the Son of the Sun burst out with astonishing heat. A large-scale Mana Burst swept everything around him.
The already scorched earth even showed signs of melting. Siegfried took a stance and held the demonic sword of dusk before him, splitting apart the layers of heat waves.
This attack was extremely powerful. Even Atalanta and Jeanne were affected. Amid the wind pressure, the holy maiden struggled to protect the suitcase in her left hand.
At that moment, alarm bells rang in Jeanne's heart. She instinctively pulled back her arm to turn around, but it was too late.
A ghost-like figure quietly emerged from the shadows and flashed past her like a bullet.
Rip!
The suitcase was torn apart by sharp fingertips. A large amount of miscellaneous items were blown away by the wind pressure. In the chaos, the other party accurately grabbed that dazzling piece of gold.
"What..."
Jeanne's pupils shrank. The moment she lost the gold, her sharp perception instantly returned. With one glance, she saw the true identity of the attacker.
"Assassin!"
"Yoo-hoo~ I'll gladly accept this piece of gold~"
Wearing a loose and revealing kimono, the small figure who snatched the holy relic and flashed to the side was Shuten Douji.
Although she is an Assassin, the level of Presence Concealment is not high.
She relied on demonic arts to hide her presence and sneak here, using the magical fluctuations released during the fierce battle between the two great heroes to approach to within just over ten meters of Jeanne.
For a Servant's speed, that distance is almost within reach.
Even though Jeanne's judgment and perception were hindered because of the holy relic, being able to do this is something Shuten Douji can absolutely be proud of.
"The Assassin of the black side?" Atalanta was also somewhat surprised. She did not expect someone to suddenly jump in halfway.
Jeanne gripped her battle flag tightly. "Assassin, how dare you..."
"Mind your identity, Ruler."
Shuten Douji's attitude was relaxed, even somewhat looking down on her.
"Have you been dazzled by the light of gold and forgotten your original duty?
If the holy relic is in your hands, you naturally cannot hand it over to anyone. Otherwise, that would mean favoring one faction. Likewise, now that the holy relic is in my hands, you also have no reason to take it back. Otherwise, you would be weakening us.
Isn't that right?"
"…"
Jeanne frowned tightly. She instinctively felt that Shuten was twisting words, but when she thought about it carefully, it seemed to make sense.
After all, she had already tried her best to protect the holy relic. As long as she did not consciously give it to someone, it would not count as favoring either side. Theoretically, there was indeed no problem.
'It is just… tsk! This situation is really unpleasant!'
'It is all that luggage thief's fault. Who told him to put the holy relic with me!'
The rules infused by the Holy Grail never mentioned how to deal with this kind of event.
The black side occupying the Greater Grail, the red side trying to assassinate the referee, and that unidentified luggage thief… one by one, all of them are exploiting loopholes in the rules.
'I am not someone easy to bully. This is no longer a normal Holy Grail War. It needs a heavy response!'
Even though she was fierce in her heart, Jeanne really could not go and snatch Rhein Gold again. She could only swallow her anger.
She stopped, but Atalanta would not just stand and watch. She immediately changed direction and targeted Shuten Douji.
However, the holy relic was already in the black side's hands. For the red side to snatch it back would be extremely difficult.
Buzz!!!
The dusk-colored sword light tore through the night, forcing Atalanta to dodge.
Siegfried took Karna's blow head-on. At the cost of a ten-centimeter bloody wound appearing on his body, he completed his support for Shuten Douji.
Immediately afterward, pure magical power from the Greater Grail began to heal his wound, recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Saber of the black side, Siegfried, is a great hero from Norse mythology. His steel-surpassing immortal body is famous throughout world mythology.
Not to mention he also possesses unmatched swordsmanship and the ability to quickly escape disadvantage with Reposition.
The dragon attribute inherent in his body gives him extremely strong endurance and recovery.
As long as magical power supply does not stop, this hero is a human fortress. No one can break through his defense.
If they are held here by him, once Assassin Shuten Douji enters the night, the red side will forever lose Rhein Gold.
The wise Karna realized this. Flames flickered in his eyes, and he actually shot out a golden-red beam of fire, determined to kill Shuten Douji.
"Balmung, Phantasmal Great Sword, Demonic Fall!"
The dusk demon sword Balmung raised a curved sword pressure to collide with the beam of fire.
The two burst into a violent clash, and the magical shock waves swallowed the manor's main building.
Just this is not enough. Karna clearly knows how tough this opponent is.
He once studied under Parashurama, the axe-wielding Rama, and learned the divine skill called "Brahmastra," which was written into his Spirit Origin as a Noble Phantasm.
Those who do not know the inside story might treat the golden divine spear in his hand as the Noble Phantasm, but in fact the spear is only a carrier. Brahmastra can be released in any form, like the "eye beam" just now.
Its nature is somewhat similar to Heracles' "Nine Lives."
But that alone cannot shake Siegfried's defense. To take back Rhein Gold, no, to defeat this man, Karna must go all out.
"O Brahman, curse my body!"
The golden divine spear, which humans cannot control, ignited with crimson flames. The originally Anti-Army Noble Phantasm was instantly raised one rank.
That is the hidden ultimate move that adds Karna's attribute of flame as the Son of the Sun onto the weapon before projecting it, greatly enhancing destructive power and range. It is also the ultimate display of his personal martial might.
The moment the divine spear was fired, regardless of faction, all Servants felt a tremor from their souls, 'If you do not dodge, you will die!'
Whether it was the top huntress of Greece or the holy maiden who saved France, at that moment both chose to quickly move away from the battlefield.
Only one body stood under the intense sunlight, casting a long shadow on the ground. Siegfried.
Brahmastra is not simply a straight-line shot. Once locked on, it is difficult to dodge. Whether it is him or Shuten Douji, they must cross this obstacle.
Not for the sake of seizing Rhein Gold. He has no desire for that thing, neither in life nor now.
The reason he stands here is simply to obey orders as a Servant and protect his companion as a warrior.
"Phantasmal Great Sword..."
The jewel at the hilt released a blue light. That is true ether from the Age of Gods, pouring into the blade and shining brilliantly.
"Demonic Fall!"
BOOM!!!
The light of dusk and the flames of the sun collided. Heat waves swept everything, turning the surrounding land into flowing lava. Only the place where Siegfried and Shuten stood remained temporarily unharmed.