"How is it? Have you composed yourself?"
"No need for your concern. How could a knight be discouraged by such a trivial matter?"
Saber reset her stance and launched an offensive toward Jean.
Her longsword swung; while it couldn't be called exquisite, it was heavy and powerful. Coupled with that area-of-effect Mana Burst, it could be said to be extremely troublesome.
Even though it was a sword fight, she could only dodge backward; both sides were within the attack range. Although Jean's speed, boosted by the wind, was higher than Saber's, their mobility was actually quite similar, both relying on explosive propulsion.
"It's time to try something new."
Drawing from the body reinforcement magecraft learned from books, she created a Mana Enhancement for her physique, significantly increasing her explosive power and mobility.
Then, she stepped onto the ground, and almost in the next instant, she arrived in front of Saber. Leveraging the momentum, she delivered a flying kick, sending Saber flying directly.
However, Jean did not pursue. Instead, she looked down at her own bloodied legs. She had injected too much mana just now; although it looked like teleportation, she had also absorbed a massive amount of impact.
Then, a large amount of life force surged into her legs. The burst blood vessels and torn tendons were recovering at high speed. By the time Saber stood up from the large crater in the distance, Jean had already finished regenerating.
This time, she tried injecting a little less mana, repeating the same action, flying behind Saber, and delivering another flying kick at her.
Unfortunately, because the speed was slightly lower this time, it gave Saber time to react. The blow was blocked head-on. Although she still retreated a significant distance due to the recoil, she did not fall, let alone get sent flying.
However, also because the amount of mana was reduced, Jean's injuries were not as severe as before; she had recovered almost completely just by stomping her feet.
"What astonishing vitality. Are you really human?"
"We're fighting, so just fight properly. Why are you resorting to insults?"
"Ah, I apologize; I did not mean it that way." Saber apologized to Jean with a serious expression.
"Oh my, how earnest. It's not great to keep apologizing to an enemy like me, is it?"
At this moment, Illya's cheering voice rang out: "Go, Saber! Take that woman down!"
Saber nodded toward that direction, then began to infuse mana. The wind swirling around the Holy Sword howled, and then, with an acceleration, she dashed straight toward Jean.
Jean did not shrink back at all, holding the scabbard as she went to meet her.
As they clashed at close quarters, Jean was the first to be injured. Although she parried Saber's sword, the shotgun-like effect brought about by the Mana Burst bypassed the blade of White Wind and directly struck Jean's body.
However, this minor injury could not stop Jean's movements. She forcibly pushed Saber's sword away, then executed an upward reverse-kesa slash, but it was dodged by Saber retreating in advance, only grazing the armor and sending sparks flying.
And the opening left by Jean at the end of her attack naturally would not be missed by Saber. A slash struck again; although it was not difficult for someone of Jean's agility to block, the AOE from the Mana Burst still hit Jean's body.
Being injured twice in a row had already stained Jean's clothes red, yet Jean revealed a smile.
Then, for the third time, Saber's attack was blocked again, but this time it made her eyes widen in shock.
The aftermath brought about by the Mana Burst was completely blocked, and what Jean used was the exact same Mana Burst.
"This thing looks simple, but it's really troublesome to use. I actually had to get hit twice before I learned it."
"Learned... is that so."
Next came the fourth, fifth, and sixth times... The range and power of the Mana Burst Jean manipulated gradually exceeded Saber's, and the diffused mana clattered against her armor.
'Does she have more mana than me... Plus that learning ability and exaggerated vitality; if this drags on, defeat is inevitable,' Saber thought to herself.
Then, taking advantage of the next attack, Saber did not release the mana outward, but instead poured it all into the sword, and then released a massive wind sphere directly at Jean.
[Strike Air]
The wind sphere instantly engulfed Jean. On this side, Saber was preparing to take this opportunity to continue releasing her Noble Phantasm, but suddenly received a warning from Instinct and hurriedly retreated.
However, her speed was unable to outpace a bullet. Accompanied by a bang, Jean's bullet had already arrived beside her.
Although relying on Instinct and martial arts, the blade precisely cut through the bullet, it directly triggered an explosion. Accompanied by a 'boom,' flames erupted, directly engulfing Saber.
On the other side, the green wind sphere was still intact, but looking closely, it hadn't attacked Jean at all; instead, it was being casually toyed with by Jean.
"Wind cannot hurt me. Besides, since the blade is already exposed, there's no need to hide it, right, King Arthur—Artoria Pendragon."
"So you really do know me?" The bursting mana blew away the black smoke, and Lia stood, looking slightly disheveled, supporting her body with the golden Holy Sword.
"Of course. I have one, uh, now two friends who look very similar to you."
"Are you related to Sir Mordred?" Lia instantly thought of that dutiful daughter of hers who had stabbed her to death.
"Uh, no, not really. Forget it, you wouldn't know even if I told you. Let's continue."
On Jean's side, she also began to get serious, wanting to end the battle. Just now, controlling the Strike Air and using the 'overture' all counted as mana consumption. If Rin's mana couldn't support it, Jean would have to use her own power.
But that would have a huge drawback, which was—losing the justification for mana replenishment.
Coming to FATE, coming to Fuyuki, participating in the Holy Grail War, having a beautiful girl as a master—if she didn't experience mana replenishment now, wouldn't it all be for nothing?
Perhaps because Lia didn't have any decent long-range abilities, or perhaps she feared the power of the 'overture,' in the close-quarters combat that started again, Lia stayed extremely close, with no intention of backing away.
The two of them grappled at super close range like this. However, Lia controlled this distance very well; it was a bit too far for the White Wind in Jean's hand, but just right for Lia's Holy Sword.
After fighting for a few rounds, Jean, who had only just realized this, couldn't help but sigh. This was the wisdom brought by true experience; her own understanding of combat was still far from enough.
However, although she was somewhat behind in terms of pure experience and tactics, this situation actually played right into Jean's hands. Although the opponent held the Holy Sword of Holy Swords, in terms of weapon performance, the White Wind in her hand was not inferior at all.
"Shoot her down, White Wind!"
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