Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

The incredibly fierce battle left nothing intact around them.

Wherever the two went, everything was destroyed.

Whether it's trees, rocks, or the ground.

Dust and gravel flew everywhere.

In that instant of exchange, the two seemed to understand each other implicitly, without using any special abilities, relying solely on their sword skills to continuously clash.

A burst of wild laughter erupted from Esdeath's mouth; the intense pain emanating from her body could not mask her current excitement.

Since that time, she hadn't been able to fight against a strong opponent like that for a long time.

Here, she is invincible in the world; even all the Teigu users cannot match Esdeath.

Shirou Emiya's eyes narrowed slightly, and his swordplay suddenly changed.

"clang!"

A violent collision suddenly erupted, and a storm-like shockwave exploded from Esdeath's rapier.

The terrifying impact caused Esdeath's hand to go numb, and the powerful force sent her flying backward, her body sliding backward continuously.

When Shirou Emiya only had one arm left, he spent dozens of days studying and analyzing Esdeath's sword techniques to develop counter-sword skills. He launched a counterattack, even at the cost of a large portion of his life force and soul, and could be said to have killed her.

Now, Shirou Emiya is not only familiar with Esdeath's sword techniques and knows how to easily counterattack, but he has also reached the same level as Esdeath in terms of physical abilities.

He had no reason to lose in the sword fight; after only a few rounds, Shirou Emiya easily dodged Esdeath's rapier.

Gripping the reverse blade tightly in his hand, without any mercy or pity, he viciously stabbed it towards Esdeath's heart.

However, after three months, Esdeath did not gain the ability to read other people's sword techniques like Shirou Emiya, nor could she see any beings stronger than herself.

She could only keep practicing, but the sword skills and attack habits that a person has spent decades learning cannot be changed in a short time.

Moreover, kendo requires constant accumulation, not only in training but also by facing various swordsmen and adjusting one's kendo accordingly.

In just three months, even though Esdeath's swordsmanship improved further, it was only a further improvement. This level of improvement was nothing compared to Esdeath's decades of arduous training.

Not everyone can match the effort of others, which takes only a few months or days, but can match the effort of others over decades, thirty years, forty years, or even a lifetime, like Shirou Emiya.

As expected, Esdeath was defeated once again when facing Shirou Emiya in a swordsmanship contest.

"!"

Faced with Shirou Emiya's lightning-fast attack, Esdeath's pupils suddenly contracted, but she couldn't help but smile, her expression revealing undisguised excitement.

This is the kind of battle she wants; it's been far too long since Shirou Emiya left that anyone has been able to arouse her interest.

Esdeath stood at the pinnacle of this world for only a few months before feeling an endless loneliness.

Unlike before, when he became the strongest empire.

At that time, he looked forward to a battle with another of the strongest generals, Brand, with night raids and the Revolutionary Army providing him with entertainment.

Further ahead, they could even lead their troops to fight against the northern barbarians.

He even looked forward to the battle against the Empire's strongest Imperial Arm, which he had only heard of.

But ever since she became stronger again, Esdeath has felt bored. Besides boredom, she can't find any words to describe her emotions.

He became the true strongest in the empire, and Brand couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes before being defeated by him.

If he had been willing, if he hadn't held back and thought that Night Raid might bring him a surprise, Night Raid would never have been able to escape Esdeath's clutches alive.

Nothing in the world could pose a danger to him anymore, and no powerful figure could excite him like before.

She began to reminisce, reminiscing about that last battle that had stirred her blood.

Esdeath wants to face Shirou Emiya once again and recreate that unfinished battle.

She firmly believed that Shirou Emiya was not dead.

It wasn't just because of Shirou Emiya's terrifying rate of growth, but also because of his twisted yet lofty ideals that attracted Esdeath.

Facing Shirou Emiya once again has become an obsession for Esdeath.

At that very moment, an utterly unfamiliar voice appeared in her mind.

"Do you want to become a worker ant?"

Chapter 373 The True Mahapadma

"laugh----!"

The reverse blade pierced through the air, aiming for Esdeath's heart, and thrust forward.

The surrounding grass seemed to be pressed down by some powerful force, and a terrifying aura erupted from the reverse blade.

The fatal blow is imminent.

"The battle has only just begun!"

She seemed completely unconcerned about her own life, and an excited, chaotic smile appeared on Esdeath's lips.

It's been so long since I've felt this threat of death.

"Zheng—!"

An extreme chill erupted from Esdeath at that moment.

It was a chilling cold that seemed to come from the abyss, and the icy blue markings on Esdeath's right forehead spread wildly across her face at that moment.

“Crack—!”

A cracking sound came from in front of Shirou Emiya, and an extreme chill spread from the reverse blade to his fingers in that instant.

Without any hesitation, Shirou Emiya made a swift judgment and, gripping his crimson knight's sword, flashed out from the icy storm.

"Bang bang bang bang—!"

At the very moment Shirou Emiya retreated, countless ice spikes appeared around him.

Countless ice spikes rained down on Shirou Emiya in an instant, like a torrential downpour.

"laugh----!"

Almost at the same time, Esdeath, whose entire body was covered in icy blue aura, also charged forward, transforming into an icy blue ray of light and shooting towards Shirou Emiya's position.

"Possessed by evil spirits—!"

It was armor that resembled a dragon's form, completely covering Shirou Emiya the instant the ice spikes were about to fall.

"Clang clang clang clang clang clang—!"

The sound of impact filled the entire battlefield in an instant.

"drink----!"

A loud shout rang out, filled with intense fighting spirit and radiating extreme cold. Suddenly, Esdeath produced a spear as huge as a city wall pillar, aimed at Shirou Emiya, and thrust it forward.

The immense force even caused the air to vibrate repeatedly.

Shirou Emiya could clearly sense that Esdeath's power was stronger than before.

Esdeath had made ample preparations for today's battle, and a biting cold emanated from her body.

A pallor kept appearing at the tips of her icy blue hair.

"—!"

The attacks, one after another without any pause, were almost all completed in an instant.

Shirou Emiya was almost caught off guard by Esdeath's sudden thrust.

Crimson flames erupted from the knight's sword in Shirou Emiya's hand, which he braced against without hesitation.

"clang----!"

Amidst the deafening clash, a powerful gust of wind exploded outwards like a blast wave.

The spear, upon contact with Fei Long's Sin Sword, began to rapidly dissolve into liquid and fall to the ground.

Esdeath, however, did not stop at all.

Huge ice spears rained down from the sky, hurtling towards Shirou Emiya.

A massive ice sword appeared and swung around Shirou Emiya, tearing through the air.

Without any warning, a huge ice spike suddenly rose from beneath Shirou Emiya's feet.

Dozens of them?

Hundreds of them!

These attacks were launched at Shirou Emiya almost instantly.

It's even comparable in terms of speed.

"Clang clang clang clang clang—!"

A deafening, violent collision of air resounded throughout the room.

Because she was possessed by a demon, Esdeath was unable to directly manipulate the fluids within Shirou Emiya's body to freeze them into ice and penetrate him.

Esdeath relentlessly unleashed her power on Shirou Emiya from every angle, causing ice to shatter and winds to spread, as if the sky were collapsing and the earth was being torn apart by a torrential downpour.

Meanwhile, Shirou Emiya wielded the Sin Sword of the Fierce Dragon, blocking the incoming attacks one by one. Most of the ice blocks were engulfed by flames almost the instant they were formed.

Even so, a large number of attacks followed.

Shirou Emiya was unable to free up his hands to launch a direct attack on Esdeath.

Although the demonic possession ability can withstand such an attack and will hardly cause any harm to Shirou Emiya, it cannot completely negate the powerful force of Esdeath's attack.

Being hit by such force can easily put you in a passive state.

Esdeath already understood that she was far inferior to Shirou Emiya in swordsmanship, so she naturally wouldn't choose to humiliate herself by continuing to fight with swordsmanship that she had already completely lost to Shirou Emiya with.

The moment Esdeath realized she had lost, she abandoned her sword skills and chose to use her abilities to suppress Shirou Emiya.

However, if things get into a prolonged battle like this, it's obvious that Esdeath will die from exhaustion at the hands of Shirou Emiya.

This attack method, which creates hundreds of ice artifacts in an instant, cannot be sustained.