The three-way battle remained entirely unaffected by the arrival of Lin Luo and Hei Ji. While their senses made discovering the two newcomers far from difficult, the fight had already reached its most critical juncture. All opponents were of the same caliber, and a moment’s lapse in concentration could lead to immediate defeat; no one dared to let their gaze wander.

Everyone had unleashed their full might; every strike was delivered with absolute power, every movement a clash of Noble Phantasm-level confrontation.

Although the destructive power of Anti-Army Noble Phantasms seemed commonplace here, even the seven Heroic Spirits in the Holy Grail War did not each possess one. This did not imply that a 'Zu' was stronger than a Heroic Spirit; in fact, outside of the top ten ranked Zus, most were no match for a Heroic Spirit, given that Heroic Spirits were beings of both god and spirit.

The fundamental reason for the illusion that some Zus surpassed Heroic Spirits was that every Heroic Spirit who descended was incomplete. The seven spirits summoned by the Grail, every single one, lacked their full essence.

Their very existence depended on the Master's magical energy for sustenance, and much of their fighting strength relied on the Master's reserves. Consider this: how much mana could an ordinary, low-tier magus possess, even a genius? How could that suffice to allow a Heroic Spirit to exert maximum power?

This point becomes strikingly clear when looking at SABER in the original work. When Emiya Shirou served as SABER's Master, even at his peak potential, he was easily suppressed in close combat by a renegade from an exorcist lineage. The reason was Emiya Shirou’s appallingly low reserves of magical energy.

However, when Tohsaka Rin became SABER's Master, even before reaching her peak state immediately after forming the contract, SABER’s strength surpassed her previous level by more than tenfold, and this was still far from SABER’s true maximum.

A complete Heroic Spirit would possess nearly infinite mana; a single major spell could shatter the earth or obliterate a city. A Heroic Spirit manifesting in the present world via the Grail might be fortunate to possess even one percent of their original power, and even the strength released upon true name invocation could not exceed one-tenth of their original might.

The Heroic Spirit-level capabilities discussed here are all in their incomplete states. Even an incomplete Heroic Spirit’s combat power can suppress weaker Zus. One can only imagine how few could withstand a fully unleashed, high-tier Heroic Spirit operating at full capacity.

Speaking of which, to think that the supreme Heroic Spirits standing at the pinnacle of the world could be weakened to this extent—slandered time and again—it truly left the Heroic Spirits with no dignity. It wasn't the fault of the Heroic Spirits; it was the fault of the magi.

Therefore, watching the battle among these peak-level 'Zus,' Lin Luo harbored a singular desire: whether it was Red SABER, White SABER, or Little SABER, he absolutely had to reach a level where he could allow them to unleash their full power, and then, leading his own SABER squadron, sweep through the Nasuverse and re-establish the might of the Heroic Spirits.

Of course, it was still too early to dwell on such matters.

Currently, within this grand barrier, aside from the three locked-in duels, there were quite a few other individuals: the Church's Exorcist Squad. They were arrayed in pairs, each pair positioned nearly a thousand meters apart, maintaining the stability of the barrier from its edges.

This was a conflict between Zus, a battle that could be called the absolute apex of the Type-Moon world. Under their full-force attacks, the mere residual shockwaves were enough to inflict immense devastation. While this barrier was robust and thick, it could not endure prolonged stress. Without constant reinforcement of its integrity, it would likely be completely shattered in less than an hour.

If the barrier broke, Hei Ji’s three powerful bodyguards would immediately gain freedom of movement. Even if their combat prowess was slightly superior to the Exorcists, escaping would be simple with their abilities. In that scenario, not only would the plan to eliminate Hei Ji fail utterly, but the resulting losses would be incalculable.

Consequently, the Church needed personnel dedicated to reinforcing the barrier. While Hei Ji’s three bodyguards were tying up the opposing force, the Church was also attempting to stall them. If they could locate Hei Ji while her three main protectors were absent and catch her during her period of weakness, eliminating her would be child’s play.

Originally, the Church’s plan was excellent, boasting a success rate of at least eighty percent.

Hei Ji’s weakness phase was a secret tied directly to her life and survival. Apart from herself, the White Knight, the Black Knight, and the Big White Dog, absolutely no fifth person should know of it. She certainly wouldn't reveal it, and the other three would never betray her. However, since the Church had managed to detect the existence of Hei Ji’s weakness, it wasn't surprising that, given their vast capabilities, they had managed to locate the shared territory.

And at that point, Hei Ji would be vulnerable enough for any man to take her down…

But a variable had appeared in this otherwise perfect plan: Lin Luo. Although this variable had initially placed Hei Ji in greater danger, in the end, the benefits she received far outweighed the risks. At the very least, she was no longer tormented by her old injuries and had fully recovered to her peak condition.

How strong was a perfect-state Hei Ji?

Other than Arcueid Brunestud and her three bodyguards, perhaps no one could answer that question. But now, Hei Ji was proving her might through her actions.

It was like teleportation; in the blink of an eye, Hei Ji vanished from Lin Luo’s side. The next moment, she materialized next to the nearest two members of the Exorcist Squad. Before they could react, she swept her right hand lightly—heads flew, and a torrent of crimson blood stained the air.

Then, she vanished again.

With the same lightning speed as before, she completely caught the Exorcist Squad off guard. In an instant, four members of the squad were dead.

It was only then that the remaining members reacted. After all, the stability of the barrier relied on all of them. A sudden loss of four people was like a strand in a thread snapping; if they couldn't react to this, they shouldn't be with the Church, nor should they be Exorcist elites.

Because Hei Ji’s speed was too immense, appearing as mere streaks of lightning while moving, the Church personnel, even after reacting, could not discern who was launching the surprise attack. Though Hei Ji’s stamina was limited, her burst power was terrifying.

“Number thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, attack!”

There seemed to be a commander among the Exorcist Squad. Seeing the situation, he shouted orders without hesitation: “Number thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, attack!” As his voice fell, four massive impacts—boom, boom, boom, boom—erupted, and four colossal figures burst from the earth... Cold shells, mechanical skeletons, and multi-structured weaponry—they were humanoid weapons.

Seeing this, Lin Luo was somewhat surprised. In such a peak war, the Church had hidden four humanoid weapons, intending them as a final trump card?

The four humanoid weapons immediately charged toward Hei Ji upon appearance, surrounding her within seconds. Hei Ji, however, seemed to regard them with disdain. With a cold sneer, she leaped into the air. Mid-flight, she performed an incredible maneuver: seemingly ignoring the laws of inertia, she suddenly flipped her body, changing from an ascent to a steep dive, leaving only a black diagonal line etched in the air…

Immediately afterward, Hei Ji was behind one of the humanoid weapons. Her jade-like hands plunged deep into the machine’s back, and then… Crack!

The powerful humanoid weapon, forged from the hardest metal, advanced sorcery, and various mystic powers—a weapon equivalent in combat strength to a Zu—was torn to shreds in a single move.

How dominant, how violent, how cruel!

This was the true strength of the Crimson Red Vampire, Altrouge.

But it wasn't over. The battle had only just begun. After shattering that first humanoid weapon, Hei Ji evaded the attacks of the remaining three with impossibly graceful movements. A black afterimage flashed, and she instantly closed the distance to another humanoid weapon…

“Bye-bye.”

Her lips parted slightly, Hei Ji flashed a bewitching smile, and lashed out with a swift hand-chop.

Swish.

Snap.

The metallic head flew skyward, and the massive body immediately lost all function, crashing heavily to the ground… Less than three seconds later, another humanoid weapon was destroyed.

From the appearance of the four weapons to the destruction of two, the entire span could not have exceeded thirty seconds. In this brief window, Hei Ji exploded forth like a fired seed, displaying terrifyingly immense power.

At this moment, the air was filled with an unusual battle fluctuation, immediately drawing the attention of the others. When gazes turned their way, gasps of astonishment echoed simultaneously.

“Hime-sama!”

“Altrouge!”

“Woof woof woof!”

“The Crimson Red Vampire!”

The Black Knight and the Big White Dog’s voices were filled with delight. They had assumed Hei Ji would require at least several more hours to recover, but she had returned far earlier than expected, making such a powerful debut a joyous surprise that even boosted their own fighting spirit. The Big White Dog, for one, let out a few barks before immediately crushing one of the humanoid weapons between its jaws… ~~o(》_《)o ~~

Meanwhile, Melaine and the Church personnel were utterly stunned. Melaine was relatively composed; given her own strength, killing Hei Ji was merely compliance with the Church’s request, not an absolute necessity. So, beyond slight surprise, she remained calm. The Church members, however, were filled with shock mixed with profound fear.

Additionally, the humanoid weapons could not speak, and the Black Knight was stoic; though happy to see Hei Ji recovered, his face betrayed no emotion, and he remained silent.

But the most unexpected reaction came from the young woman engaged with the Black Knight. Upon seeing Hei Ji, she merely frowned slightly, her eyes sweeping subconsciously around the area. When her gaze landed on a specific individual, her cold expression instantly erupted into unparalleled fury:

“Lin Luo, you bastard, I finally found you! Get over here!”

PS: Ahhh… Ten thousand characters a day is truly the limit. I’ll have to temporarily cancel the bonus chapters for monthly tickets. Luckily, I didn't receive many, otherwise I might actually die…

PS: Can anyone guess who this girl is? V