Diarmuid felt extremely stifled.
Having manifested as a Lancer in this era, he was already greatly weakened.
However, to fulfill his loyalty to his lord, he was willing to employ any strategy to achieve victory.
Does the opponent know my Noble Phantasm?
No, it's impossible. Aside from the tear mole on his face, there's no way he could have been exposed.
After dropping one spear, Diarmuid's speed increased significantly, but he noticed that Durandal was deliberately guiding the battle away from the location of his short spear.
A coincidence? Or just caution?
Since the Gae Buidhe couldn't be used, he would rely solely on the long spear in his hand to achieve victory!
"You're very curious about it, aren't you?"
After blocking a thrust from the long spear with Pandora, Durandal suddenly spoke.
Durandal's sudden utterance made Diarmuid instinctively raise an eyebrow, because in his impression, Durandal was the type of person who rarely smiled, especially during battle. He had tried to harass her with words multiple times, but to no avail.
So, this abrupt opening must signify something.
Diarmuid immediately retracted his long spear and moved away from Durandal.
In terms of weapon range, a long spear has an advantage over a sword. If he just maintains distance, with his agility and speed, he can still maintain the advantage.
Diarmuid thought so.
But in his eyes, the briefcase quickly changed, transforming, and a dark opening pointed in his direction.
When the scorching blast instantly hit him, Diarmuid realized where this supposed future Heroic Spirit came from.
Diarmuid was not unfamiliar with firearms; after arriving in this era, every Servant's mind was equipped with basic knowledge, so he naturally knew about thermal weapons.
However, for Servants, these thermal weapons, apart from heavy weaponry, were generally difficult to pose a threat to them.
But… Noble Phantasm level is different.
Thermal weapons elevated to Noble Phantasm status can also pose a threat to Servants, even more exaggerated than ordinary cold weapons.
But…
Since it's a Noble Phantasm, then it can be… by my Gae Dearg…
Diarmuid made a judgment in an instant. Facing the bombardment directly was indeed dangerous, but a Servant's bombardment was nothing more than a manifestation of magical energy. So, since it was magical energy, it could be severed by Gae Dearg. Moreover, while emitting such a bombardment was a powerful attack, it itself was also a huge weakness.
Diarmuid already envisioned his long spear tearing through Durandal's bombardment and piercing her.
But as the long spear was about to make contact with the bombardment, his instincts, honed by years of warfare, continuously sounded an alarm, and at this distance, even with his A+ agility, he couldn't dodge it.
…
From a distance, Emiya Kiritsugu looked up at the scene.
"It's actually… a thermal weapon. Can that Noble Phantasm transform freely? Or does it only have a portable briefcase form?"
Although he didn't know why Lancer suddenly went crazy and charged towards the bombardment, the battle was basically decided. So, the next step was just to deal with Berserker's Master.
But…
Emiya Kiritsugu glanced at the Assassin in the distance who seemed not to have noticed him.
He had discovered when looking for Lancer's Master that the Assassin, who should have been dead, was actually alive. From this, he guessed that the Church, which had protected Assassin's Master, also had problems.
This also made him hesitant to act rashly now. He had no Servant by his side, and if he were attacked by Assassin, it would be difficult to protect himself, unless…
He used a Command Seal.
What should I do, should I launch a sneak attack…
While Emiya Kiritsugu was agonizing, on the other side of the Fuyuki Bridge.
"This isn't good, this isn't good…"
The Conqueror frowned. Waver, who had been too afraid to move the entire time, naturally didn't know what was happening. Hearing the Conqueror's words, he spoke tremblingly.
"What is it?"
"Lancer, that guy, made a mistake, and Berserker also used a trump card. The battle might end very soon."
Waver didn't understand the Conqueror's meaning: "No, this is beneficial to us, isn't it?"
The Conqueror stomped hard on the bridge, scaring Waver into clinging tightly to it.
"Idiot, what are you talking about? I originally planned to wait for a few more people before acting, but if this continues, Lancer might be eliminated."
"In that case, it will be too late!"
"Too… too late?" Waver didn't understand the Conqueror's meaning: "Wasn't your original plan to wait for them to fight and then reap the benefits?"
"I did expect whether other Servants would accept Lancer's provocation and appear. That's natural, isn't it?" Iskandar said with a matter-of-fact tone: "Compared to finding them one by one, solving them all at once is the optimal solution, isn't it?"
"Solve them… all at once?"
Waver didn't understand Iskandar's thought process. Are you that strong of a Servant?
"That's right, the opportunity to fight heroes and valiant figures from different eras is rare, and there are six of them at once. Not a single one can be let go. Just Berserker and Lancer alone, both of them are towering heroes; it would be too regrettable for them to die like this!"
Waver finally understood Iskandar's peculiar thought process.
"Then what do you want them to do if they don't die?! The Holy Grail War is inherently about mutual killing!"
Waver said with a touch of frustration, and Iskandar responded by crouching down and flicking his forehead, sending him flying and almost off the bridge.
"To conquer without destroying, to rule without humiliating—that is true conquest."
Iskandar grinned, drew the Royal Sword from his waist, and swung it into the air. With a flash of lightning and thunder, a war chariot appeared from the sky.
"Watching is over. Let's go too, boy!"
Waver, clinging to the bridge pillar to keep himself from falling, could only let out a frustrated cry: "Idiot, idiot, idiot! You do things completely haphazardly!"
"If you don't like it, how about staying here and watching?"
Hearing Iskandar's words, Waver could only reluctantly accept Iskandar's invitation.
As the Rider pair drove the Gordius Wheel towards the battlefield, Takatsuki on the battlefield was also making his own preparations.
It wasn't preparation for an active assault, but rather, on one hand, guarding against Emiya Kiritsugu's attack, and even Artoria's Noble Phantasm, and on the other hand, observing Durandal.
Durandal's growth rate was rapid. Just one day ago, she was merely fighting by relying on her powerful physical abilities, but after half a day of sparring with Lancelot, she had grown to such an extent.
Furthermore, in the mere ten-odd minutes of fighting Lancer, she continuously absorbed and grew like a sponge.
As expected of one of the beloved characters from the Honkai Impact 3rd world…
Takatsuki did not recognize the form of the cannon blast that Durandal finally unleashed with Pandora.
Pandora inherently replicates forms from the user's memories. If it's merely a fantasy, it will try its best to approach that direction, but if it actually exists, it can be fully replicated.
Durandal isn't someone who enjoys reading science fiction novels, so the hand cannon in her hand, which wasn't much larger than a briefcase, was clearly… a product of Schicksal technology.
Putting down the hand cannon and transforming it into a lance, Durandal looked at Diarmuid, whose shoulder had been torn by the cannon blast.
"It was truly fortunate that you were the first one I fought in this battle, Lancer…"