"Are you still not done?"
Bai Ye felt the fierce wind beside him and suddenly raised his foot, stomping heavily on the ground.
With a roar!
A large area of flames erupted from beneath Bai Ye's feet, rising up and rolling outwards in all directions.
Illuminated by the flames, the figure of Fuma Kotaro appeared.
Bai Ye curled his lips and said, "Found you!"
It was merely concealment, not disappearance. It wasn't even a high-level concealment like invisibility. He was just using the surrounding shadows to hide his presence.
Since that was the case, illuminating the surroundings would suffice.
Bai Ye sharply turned his body, dodging the shuriken thrown by Fuma Kotaro, then stomped his feet on the ground.
Bang!
The ground shattered with a resounding crash!
Bai Ye lunged forward, instantly arriving before Fuma Kotaro. The renowned sword, Bloodlust, was swung downwards.
Clang!
A crisp clash of metal echoed.
Fuma Kotaro swiftly parried Bai Ye's strike with his short sword and rapidly retreated.
But in that instant...
Bai Ye reached out his hand. The Steel Slime quickly wriggled, forming the Shadow Axe in Bai Ye's left hand, which he then hurled forward with all his might.
Fuma Kotaro clearly hadn't expected Bai Ye to suddenly conjure a weapon. However, his reaction was incredibly swift, and he immediately executed a backward somersault to dodge.
Shhh!
Fuma Kotaro's clothes were slashed open by a long gash, but fortunately, he avoided the rapidly spinning Shadow Axe.
Fuma Kotaro quickly turned, intending to continue his evasive maneuvers, but...
His speed had become so slow!
Fuma Kotaro's eyes widened in surprise, completely unable to comprehend what was happening.
The reason was simple, because...
Crippled (For the first target hit, reduce the opponent's movement speed by 50% for 7 seconds)
The effect of the Shadow Axe had taken hold!
Bang!
Bai Ye leaped forward, once again appearing beside Fuma Kotaro.
In terms of pure speed, Bai Ye himself admitted he was likely no match for Fuma Kotaro. The guy's movement speed was unimaginably fast.
However, after a 50% reduction, it was a different story.
Bang!
Bai Ye surged forward, directly delivering a knee strike to Fuma Kotaro's abdomen, and then grabbed Fuma Kotaro by the neck.
"Flame Burst!"
Flames surged from Bai Ye's hand, followed by a massive explosion.
A huge fireball detonated in Bai Ye's hand, engulfing Fuma Kotaro, but...
Bai Ye frowned slightly.
A close-range Flame Burst, even if it didn't blow his head to smithereens, would undoubtedly cause significant damage.
Yet, Bai Ye felt something was amiss. To be precise, the sensation was wrong.
Bai Ye forcefully swung his arm, dispersing the flames, and then looked ahead.
What he was grabbing was not Fuma Kotaro's neck, but a wooden stake.
The next instant...
A shadow in the silhouette of a human form swiftly slithered along the ground, creating distance between himself and Bai Ye. Fuma Kotaro then burst from underground, leaped into the air, and landed on a utility pole to the side.
"This visit concludes today. I shall take my leave."
Fuma Kotaro knew he had stumbled upon a tough opponent. Even if Gilgamesh hadn't intervened, a direct confrontation...
He didn't seem to be Bai Ye's match!
Since that was the case, a strategic retreat was in order!
After speaking, Fuma Kotaro quickly leaped onto the roof of a nearby building.
Bai Ye swiftly moved forward. As he pursued, he formed a sword seal, conjuring the Frost Sword, which shot forward, transforming into a streak of sword light.
But he was still a fraction too slow. By the time the Frost Sword arrived, Fuma Kotaro had already leaped down the other side of the roof.
With a roar!
Bai Ye's sword sliced through the roof, leaving a large hole.
...
Night descended, and lights flickered in the distance.
Li Jia Yi sat by a riverside bridge, playing a melodious tune on a leaf.
Suddenly, a figure flashed behind Li Jia Yi.
Fuma Kotaro knelt on one knee, bowing his head, "Apologies, I was unsuccessful."
Li Jia Yi was not surprised. He put down the leaf and said, "The surprise attack failed?"
Fuma Kotaro replied, "Yes, the opponent was extremely vigilant."
Li Jia Yi asked, "Did you engage in a direct confrontation?"
Fuma Kotaro was silent for a moment, a look of apology on his face as he said, "We did, but I was not the opponent's match."
Li Jia Yi said, "It's alright. Your forte has always been assassination. Forcing you into a direct confrontation was indeed asking too much."
Fuma Kotaro lowered his head even further, "No, I failed to accomplish the task you assigned."
Li Jia Yi turned around and said, "Oh?"
Fuma Kotaro continued, "The opponent's Servant did not intervene. I only engaged briefly with the opponent's Master, and I was not their match. Therefore, I failed to complete your mission of discerning the identity of their Heroic Spirit."
"Is that so..." Li Jia Yi pondered for a moment. "At least you saw their Heroic Spirit. Are there any clues?"
Fuma Kotaro said, "He wore golden armor. I surmise he is likely a swordsman or a knight. Due to the heavy armor, he wasn't very agile. He shouldn't be a Lancer, but that possibility cannot be entirely ruled out."
Fuma Kotaro paused and added, "Berserker is also unlikely. He didn't have that kind of frenzied aura."
Li Jia Yi nodded. "You've worked hard. You did well."
Li Jia Yi sighed inwardly. Among the seven Servant classes, the ones he least desired were Assassin and Archer.
These two, as their names suggest, were adept at stealth and ranged combat, respectively.
It wasn't about strength, but rather the clear limitations in their combat styles and obvious weaknesses.
Next was Caster, whose limitations were also evident, but compared to them, magic had a greater potential to create miracles, making them slightly better.
What Li Jia Yi most desired were Saber and Berserker, and it seemed very likely that these had fallen into Bai Ye's hands.
But since the Heroic Spirits had already been summoned, what could Li Jia Yi do?
Glancing at Fuma Kotaro, Li Jia Yi felt they would have to make do. At least the man was loyal. They could simply swap roles; the Servant would be the support, and he, the Master, would have to work harder and fight personally.
"Let's go!" Li Jia Yi said. "Let's find a place to settle down first."
Meanwhile...
Bai Ye and Gilgamesh were discussing the same issue.
"Archer?" Bai Ye looked at Gilgamesh in disbelief. "Is there even a single part of you that resembles an Archer?"
Bai Ye found it utterly incomprehensible that Gilgamesh was classified as an Archer. What kind of Archer wore dazzling golden heavy armor?
On the battlefield, wouldn't that just make him a target?
Both conspicuous and lacking in agility!
...