FATE: Target of Grand Master

In a contest of sheer strength, Morgan, with a C-level strength, was no match for Vlad III, with an A-level strength.

After Vlad III deflected Morgan's giant axe with his spear, he immediately aimed the spearhead at the very center of Morgan's black mist figure and thrust it forward at an extremely fast speed.

Morgan had no time to dodge and could only use a displacement spell to instantly retreat five meters.

"How was it? Did you hit him?"

After the previous battles, Camilla no longer underestimated her enemies.

"Tsk. It feels like it hit the mark, but not quite," Vlad III replied ambiguously.

Although the two were talking, their eyes were fixed on the black mist figure five meters away.

Click!

Suddenly, the black mist shattered like a broken mirror, revealing the figure of a silver-haired girl hidden within.

Morgan stared coldly at Vlad III and said calmly, "As expected of the King of Romania, you shattered my disguise with a single shot. You deserve praise."

Vlad III looked at the silver-haired girl opposite him and pondered: Has there ever been a woman in history who became king at such a young age?

"Ah, what a beautiful face this is! Your blood will surely help me stay young forever."

Just as Vlad III was cautiously speculating about the other party's identity, Camilla, who was standing to the side, was captivated by Morgan's beauty and activated her Noble Phantasm without hesitation.

"Fantasy Iron Maiden"

The torture device known as the Iron Maiden appeared behind Morgan, its powerful suction drawing him inside. Then, the door, covered in spikes on the inside, closed inward, trapping Morgan completely inside.

"Hahaha... Your blood is mine now."

Camilla laughed wildly, but gradually, she realized something was wrong.

Not a single drop of blood flowed from the Iron Maiden.

Not only that, the door that the Iron Maiden should have closed was slowly pushed open from the inside by a force.

Vlad III, who also sensed something was wrong, immediately drew his spear and thrust it at the Iron Maiden, but it was too late.

The surface of the Iron Maiden bulged up with bumps, and then the entire Iron Maiden was pierced from the inside, from which more than a dozen black spears shot out, all of which flew toward Vlad III and Camilla.

Vlad III reacted quickly, wielding his silver spear to deflect several black spears that were being fired at him.

Camilla, who was standing nearby, was not so lucky. With one hand missing, she barely managed to dodge two spears before being pierced through the body by a black spear that followed closely behind.

Camilla coughed up a mouthful of blood, collapsed to her knees, and began to emit the light of a Servant disappearing.

In just three rounds, the opponent defeated a Servant, and did so by destroying the opponent's Noble Phantasm. Vlad III, who witnessed the whole process, dared not be careless.

He gripped his silver spear tightly, preparing for a desperate fight with Morgan, when he heard Jeanne Alter, as their Master, give them an order.

"Everyone, retreat!"

Vlad III was granted a pardon and immediately vanished in spirit form.

Morgan did not pursue. Although her battle was very impressive, it had consumed a lot of magic power. In particular, Morgan used more than ten of the best Rungomminiad replicas to forcibly break through Camilla's Noble Phantasm when she withstood Camilla's Iron Maiden.

Although Morgan has optimized the efficiency of the mana supply between himself and Xia Yan, fundamentally, the mana of a Servant still depends on the Master.

Morgan, as a top-tier Servant, can overwhelm ordinary Servants, but Xia Yan, as the Master, is just an ordinary person. Excessive mana consumption would put too much pressure on Xia Yan as the Master, and would also give other Masters an opportunity to take advantage of him.

Why did they suddenly retreat?

Watching the black dragon's departing figure, Xia Yan emerged from the nearby building's broken walls and ran to Morgan's side.

"I don't know. But thankfully they retreated, otherwise, given your current magical abilities, Master, you would have to use a Command Spell to replenish my depleted mana so that I could fight two Servants at the same time."

"I'm sorry, I held you back. I'll use Command Seals more effectively in the future."

This battle was Xia Yan's first encounter with a Servant as a Master, and his experience still needs improvement.

I was so focused on finding suitable cover and observing the progress of the battlefield that I completely forgot I still had Command Seals to use.

"Ah, I am not criticizing you, you do not need to apologize to me."

Morgan seemed to realize that his tone had been a bit harsh, and immediately softened it considerably.

"Yes, I understand, but it is indeed an objective fact."

Xia Yan is not someone who can't take criticism. On the contrary, he thinks that people who are willing to point out his shortcomings are the ones who truly care about him. Of course, this doesn't include sarcasm or malicious attacks.

"Xia Yan, Hu Qiu, where are you?"

Joan of Arc's voice came from not far away. Morgan immediately materialized into a spirit, while Xia Yan ran to meet Joan of Arc.

After meeting, the two immediately found Hu Qiu, and the three of them moved together to a nearby house that was still relatively intact.

Xia Yan started the conversation.

"Do you know why Jeanne Alter and the others suddenly left just now?"

"I don't know. I was fighting her earlier, and from a purely strategic point of view, she had a slight advantage. But after a feint, she suddenly created distance, then immediately jumped onto the dragon and left without looking back."

Jeanne d'Arc was closest to Jeanne Alter, so she was naturally the first to answer, but Xia Yan couldn't discern the reason from her words.

"I'm even more confused about things on my end. My opponent called herself Martha, and her class was Rider. After introducing herself, she launched an attack without saying a word. Assassin was at a disadvantage in the fight against her. If they hadn't suddenly retreated, it's uncertain whether Assassin and I would have survived."

Hu Qiu's face was still a little pale when he talked about the battle he had just fought.

Xia Yan thought about it and realized that it was indeed a bit difficult for them.

Hassan the Hundred Faces is a pure assassin; direct combat is not her forte. Unfortunately, she encountered the Iron Fist Saintess. With all of Hassan's clones, they were basically treated like children, one punch each by Martha.

Finally, Xia Yan briefly described the battle situation on his side. When Jeanne d'Arc and Hu Qiu heard that Xia Yan's Servant had actually killed one of the enemy's Servants in a one-on-two situation, they were both very surprised.

Hu Qiu spared no praise.

"Young Brother Xia Yan's strength is indeed extraordinary. I'm going to stick to you as my main support."

Xia Yan smiled but didn't say anything.

The previous battle started suddenly and ended even more suddenly, which caused Xia Yan to overlook a problem.

According to the game's storyline, they should have encountered two Servants, Marie and Mozart, here, but they haven't seen them since the battle just started.

This indicates that the situation at this singularity has deviated from the original plot.

Furthermore, D'Eon, who was supposed to be here with Jeanne Alter and the others, was also absent, leading Xia Yan to three possible interpretations.

1. Marie and Mozart have appeared in the world and are fighting elsewhere with D'Eon and other Servants from Jeanne d'Arc Alter's side.

Second, Marie and Mozart appeared in the world, but were eliminated by Jeanne d'Arc Alter's side. As for D'Eon, he may have been defeated or is fighting other Servants elsewhere.

Third, Marie and Mozart did not manifest in the mortal realm; D'Eon was elsewhere fighting other Servants.

At first glance, the second and third situations seem to be the same, but there is a fundamental difference between them.

If the third scenario applies, it means that Siegfried, Kiyohime, the Dragon Girl, and Saint George, who were originally summoned by the Counter Force in the later storyline, may not have actually appeared in the real world.

If that's the case, then this singularity is going to be in trouble.