Skill vs. Stats

The clash of blades echoed through the rain and mist. Sasaki Kojirō moved with nimble agility, his footwork advancing and retreating freely as the extraordinarily long nodachi forced Saber back again and again from impossible angles.

Saber frowned. She found it difficult to adapt to his swordsmanship.

Logically, after seeing such sword techniques performed once or twice, she should have been able to see through them. Yet this nameless swordsman made her feel danger every single time.

Buzz!

A flash of blade light burst forth, scattering the rain and mist. Sasaki Kojirō took several steps back with the momentum, widening the distance as he slowly drew his two-handed sword back. A concentrated aura began to gather around him.

His eyes slowly closed.

"Saber, you cannot use your Noble Phantasm, can you?"

"What a pity…"

Sasaki Kojirō sighed. The next moment, his sword quivered slightly, and Artoria suddenly shuddered all over. Her throat turned icy as she saw an image of herself having her throat severed by a single stroke.

Crack, crack.

Saber instinctively retreated several steps.

Sasaki Kojirō did not open his eyes, but a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"As expected of Saber. Even in an incomplete state, you are still so sharp."

Shirou Emiya did not understand what had happened, but Qiu Luo understood clearly. Sasaki Kojirō was not a normal Heroic Spirit, merely a pseudo-Assassin summoned by Medea, who was Caster.

Yet he was a swordsman who had cultivated his skill to its pinnacle. Through technique alone, he could exert a certain degree of suppression over Saber, who currently had difficulty using powers such as her Noble Phantasm.

If Saber had not been clad head to toe in armor, she would likely have already suffered quite a few injuries.

At a time like this, Qiu Luo knew it was time for him to act. A purely technical swordsman Servant like this was the most compatible opponent for an ice mage such as himself.

Crack, crack~

A chill spread from beneath his feet. Qiu Luo temporarily set aside his inner conflict and was about to step forward when he suddenly felt an intense palpitation.

It was as if his heart had suddenly begun sinking beyond his control. The suffocating, oppressive feeling made it seem as though he would die the very next second.

He clutched his chest and began gasping for breath unconsciously.

The world before his eyes had turned black and white, as though countless lines were descending.

This feeling was… Spiritual Pressure?!

Qiu Luo had dealt with the Black Man-eating Flower team many times, and he had naturally fought Chizha, who had received the enhancement of a rare Zanpakutō. He had experienced the oppression Spiritual Pressure imposed upon ordinary people.

But even when Chizha released his Zanpakutō, he had never given Qiu Luo such a terrifying feeling.

Heroic Spirit Emiya already had Gānjiāng and Mòyé in hand. Every muscle in his body was taut as he stood with his back to Rin Tohsaka and the others, shielding them in front of him.

His stern gaze was fixed on the dangerous man at the very rear of their group.

The power that had erupted for that instant just now… was the oppressive sensation of a soul!

"What… exactly are you?!"

Sasaki Kojirō opened his eyes as well. He did not unleash the Secret Sword: Swallow Reversal, and neither did Saber make another move. Everyone looked behind them.

Bai Cangshu opened his eyes, his consciousness returning from that space. The silvery-white gleam lingering in his eyes gradually faded, and he could now clearly feel the restraint and suppression his flesh imposed upon his soul.

Like a prison, it tightly confined the power of his spirit.

Bai Cangshu was in no good mood after briefly gaining power only to lose it again. Thus, when Heroic Spirit Emiya guarded against him and questioned him, he could not even be bothered to respond.

He merely looked indifferently at Sasaki Kojirō, who still stood before the mountain gate, and Saber, who could not even display her full capabilities because she lacked her Master’s supply of magical energy. Then he took a step forward.

Crack.

The stone slab beneath Bai Cangshu’s foot instantly cracked. The fissure writhed swiftly forward like a gray-black snake, passing beneath everyone’s feet in an instant.

Qiu Luo instinctively took several steps back.

The next moment—

Boom!

Violent force erupted beneath the ground. The stone slabs exploded apart, leaving behind a trench more than ten meters long, its end reaching the spot where Sasaki Kojirō stood.

Heroic Spirit Emiya instantly pulled Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya away. In his eyes, the danger posed by this Assassin, Mercenary Tao, was rapidly increasing.

Temperamental and incomparably violent—someone like this was extremely dangerous!

Bai Cangshu’s indifferent gaze swept over Shirou Emiya, who could not provide magical energy, and Saber, who could not fight at full strength. It then settled upon the swordsman in purple samurai robes.

"Come. Let me see your secret sword."

A powerful aura continuously radiated from him. As Bai Cangshu walked forward step by step, he wondered whether Sasaki Kojirō, as a pseudo-Heroic Spirit, would enter the Lesser Grail if he were killed.

A faint killing intent brushed past Sasaki Kojirō’s cheek. He felt a stimulation completely unlike anything before.

Saber still wanted to fight, but Qiu Luo and Shirou Emiya both stopped her. Both of them were uneasy about Mercenary Tao and did not want a conflict to break out.

Bai Cangshu let his hands hang at his sides, his black hair dancing in the air. His eyes were half-open and half-closed, while his figure seemed to merge into the rain and mist.

Sasaki Kojirō focused his mind. Knowing that the newcomer had to be a Martial Arts Grandmaster, he slid one foot forward by half a step and raised his hands.

The next moment, an intense sword aura suddenly rose.

His body, which was not particularly powerful at all, seemed to merge in an instant with a certain image and rhythm.

His blade rose, and Monohoshizao moved naturally with it. Its trajectory was mysterious, its arc like a swallow returning to its nest.

Ring!

With a sword cry, three flashes of sword light lit up simultaneously.

One came down from above, while two slashed diagonally from either side. The three strikes were unleashed at once, yet with the passive activation of Vortex of the Heart, Bai Cangshu saw everything with absolute clarity.

There was no magecraft mixed into this, no special ability such as duplicates, and no effect that accelerated or slowed time.

This was pure technique, the understanding of the path of the sword held by a swordsmanship grandmaster.

It was a secret sword refined through skill.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three exceptionally rapid metallic clashes rang out. Bai Cangshu’s figure seemed to flicker like an afterimage.

The next moment, Sasaki Kojirō’s stance was broken. He staggered back two steps, the webbing between the thumbs and forefingers of both hands gripping Monohoshizao already split open.

He stared at Bai Cangshu, shock and fury mingling in his eyes.

If what he relied upon was perfected technique, then what Bai Cangshu had used to break this exquisite sword technique was the simplest and most unadorned thing of all: "stats."

He activated Instant, then used speed pushed to its absolute limit to strike after yet arrive before, blocking all three sword strikes completely.

"It truly is a beautiful sword technique. Unfortunately, you are too weak."

Buzz!

Bai Cangshu took a step forward, leaving an afterimage behind where he had stood. His body had already emerged from the wind before Sasaki Kojirō.

His right hand slowly drew back like a longsword, his intense aura Refined as One.

In that instant, Sasaki Kojirō’s pupils dilated. He saw a familiar image emerge.

The next moment—

Ring!

It was clearly an arm black as ink, yet it gave off a piercing sword cry.

One strike came down from above, while two slashed diagonally down from the left and right.

It was precisely the Secret Sword: Swallow Reversal that he had cultivated with the talent of his entire life!

Pfft!

The sound of flesh being cut open rang out, but three wounds appeared across Sasaki Kojirō’s front at the same time.

Sasaki Kojirō seemed unable to feel the pain of being cut. He merely stared blankly at Bai Cangshu’s right arm.

How could someone master my secret sword after seeing it only once…?

As Sasaki Kojirō fell backward, Bai Cangshu had already passed by his side.

"Qiu Luo, take him with you. Do not let him die."

The moment Bai Cangshu crossed the mountain gate, he immediately felt himself pass through a Magic Barrier.

He looked up and, as expected, saw the Witch in purple mage robes already waiting before the stone-paved square of Ryūdō Temple. Meanwhile, a man in a black suit had silently appeared more than ten meters to Bai Cangshu’s side.