FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Lu Bu, how could you possibly escape from my treasure weapon!"

Black Mary had lost her previous composure and stared at Lu Bu in disbelief.

"That illusion was indeed your treasure. I knew you were just standing there without doing anything good."

Lu Bu flicked the object out of his ear, looking nonchalant.

"Answer my question!" Black Mary shouted.

"Tsk. Why are you yelling so loudly? It's just that you broke a Noble Phantasm, acting like it's your first time letting a man stay overnight."

Black Mary blushed deeply after being humiliated by Lu Bu, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond.

"You are not allowed to insult the Queen!"

Dion immediately launched an attack on Lü Bu, but Lü Bu repelled him without even turning his head.

Dion stared at Lu Bu in shock. Although he knew he was no match for Lu Bu, his swordsmanship was the result of rigorous training day and night. He was sure he could still make Lu Bu turn around without even having to use his skills.

Moreover, when I used my swordsmanship before, Lu Bu was very cautious in his confrontation. However, as the battle went on, Lu Bu seemed to become more and more accustomed to my moves.

Habits are inertial behaviors that everyone develops consciously or unconsciously. In combat, every warrior has their own combat habits, whether it's their starting moves, attack angles, attack speed, or connecting actions.

This has nothing to do with skill level; it's a characteristic that every martial artist possesses. However, a martial artist with exceptional combat talent can discover and utilize this pattern through continuous battles.

However, even with such innate combat talent, it is impossible to completely counter one's moves in just two battles, unless the opponent possesses an inherent skill similar to discerning the enemy's moves.

Suddenly, D'Eon seemed to have grasped the key point, and he said to Lü Bu, "Lü Bu, do you possess the ability to become more familiar with an enemy's moves the more you see them?"

This time, Lü Bu turned his head and smiled at D'Eon, "Your name is D'Eon, right? I'll remember you. I didn't expect that someone with mediocre martial arts skills like you would be so clever. That's right, I have an inherent skill called Peerless, which is A++ in martial arts. Not only can I unleash my peak martial arts skills in any mental state, but I can also accumulate knowledge of all of the enemy's combat techniques except for their Noble Phantasms over time."

"Hey, Lü Bu, why did you tell the enemy your own information?" Diao Yunshang complained in a low voice.

"Since the other party has already noticed, there's no difference between saying anything and not saying anything. Therefore, to show respect for the other party, the winner has an obligation to explain the reasons to the loser."

"You dare to call yourself the winner? That's incredibly arrogant!"

Sanson, who had been silent all along, suddenly shouted, "Noble Phantasm! Death will be the hope for tomorrow!"

Lu Bu suddenly felt himself being suppressed by a powerful gravity, and his body bent over uncontrollably.

Above Lü Bu's head, a huge guillotine appeared out of nowhere, with a blade seven or eight meters wide falling straight down toward Lü Bu's neck.

clang!

The massive guillotine was held in place by the halberd in mid-air, unable to move any further. What chilled Sang Song even more was that Lü Bu had actually adapted to the gravity exerted on him by his own weapon, and his body, which had been bent by gravity, was gradually straightening up.

Dion immediately seized the opportunity and circled around to Lu Bu's back to launch a sneak attack.

Lu Bu's body was still suppressed by gravity and he could not dodge. His halberd was also about to block the guillotine of Sang Song's treasure, so he could not defend against it.

So Lu Bu did something crazy: he raised his left hand and aimed it directly at the tip of D'Angelo's sword.

Pfft!

Dion's rapier pierced through Lu Bu's palm, the blade almost entirely embedded in Lu Bu's arm.

"Um!"

Lu Bu let out a muffled groan, managing to suppress the excruciating pain.

"Lu Bu, you are indeed very strong, but your arrogance in a three-on-one fight is the reason for your defeat."

Dion wanted to draw his rapier to deliver a fatal blow to Lü Bu, but found that he couldn't pull it out.

"You're the ones who should be losing."

Lu Bu pulled Deon, who was holding a sword, toward himself, then turned around and drew his halberd, which was holding the guillotine.

The massive guillotine fell straight down on Dion's head, cleaving the beautiful French knight in two.

"Dion!"

Before Sanson could finish shouting, he noticed a bright red stain on his chest.

Lu Bu kicked the halberd, piercing directly through his spiritual core.

In just a few breaths, Lü Bu had dealt with two followers.

Just as Lü Bu was about to deal with the last remaining Black Mary, he heard her shout, "Don't move! I'll kill her if you move again!"

Lu Bu looked over and found that Diao Yunshang had been kidnapped by Black Mary at some point. Judging from her lack of resistance and her closed eyes, she had most likely been knocked unconscious by Black Mary.

In a typical Holy Grail War, battles between Masters don't highlight the weaknesses of a Master as a human. However, in battles like these that repair singularities, the weaknesses of human Masters are magnified when facing Servants who don't have a Master or whose Master is a Servant themselves.

This is one of the reasons why Fujimaru Ritsuka's journey to repair the Singularity and remove the Lostbelt, as a human being, can be considered a great achievement.

Once the Master dies, everything will end!

Lu Bu, his face ashen, said, "I advise you not to do this. I have the authority to act alone. If you kill my master, I will never let you leave!"

"Hahaha. Now that things have come to this, do you think I'd be afraid of death?"

Black Mary revealed a maniacal smile.

"You may not be afraid of death, but the fire of revenge in your heart must be burning ever unquenchable."

Black Mary stopped smiling.

"Are you really Lü Bu? I don't think you're the reckless and brave person historically portrayed you to be."

Lu Bu smiled.

"Isn't history always written by the victors? I just lost."

Black Mary thought of the labels that had been used to smear her, and suddenly felt a sense of empathy for the man in front of her.

"Alright, tell me how you escaped from my Noble Phantasm, and I'll return your Master to you."

Lu Bu was somewhat surprised; the condition seemed far too simple, making one suspect a trap.

"If you don't believe me, you can kill me and your Master with one strike. In any case, the outcome is already decided for me."

Lu Bu gripped his halberd tightly, but dared not make any unnecessary movements.

"To be honest, I have to thank you. Although it was just an illusion, it allowed me to express the apology I had always kept in my heart to Diao Chan."

Lu Bu slowly recounted his experiences in the illusion.

When Diao Chan clung to Lü Bu, trying to drag him into the darkness, Lü Bu said, "I'm sorry, Diao Chan, I failed to protect you."

Although Lü Bu knew that Diao Chan was just a figment of his imagination, he still sincerely apologized to her.

"But now, I have to leave."

Upon hearing Lü Bu's words, Diao Chan, who had been gently holding Lü Bu's neck, immediately increased her strength, using a force completely unlike that of a woman to strangle Lü Bu.

"Lord Fengxian, you can't go anywhere. You can only stay with me and wallow in this endless darkness to repay everything you owe me."

Lu Bu was immediately squeezed by the immense force and found it difficult to breathe.

He gripped Diao Chan's arms tightly with both hands, trying to loosen them, but her two fair and slender arms remained unmoved, like iron clamps.

"Diao Chan, I know you harbor resentment, but your descendant is out there and needs my protection. I'm sorry, but I can't let you drag me into darkness right now."

Seemingly wanting to atone for his sins by protecting Diao Chan's descendants, Lü Bu shed two lines of tears as he spoke.

"You can't go anywhere! You can only stay with me!"

"You can't go anywhere! You can only stay with me!"

"You can't go anywhere! You can only stay with me!"

Diao Chan was like a resentful repeating machine, constantly repeating the same words.

Just as Lü Bu's consciousness began to fade from being strangled, the pressure on his neck suddenly disappeared.

"Lord Fengxian, I have never blamed you. No matter what others say, you are the great hero who saved me from Dong Zhuo and gave me happiness in this chaotic world."

Lu Bu suddenly turned around, trying to grab Diao Chan who was disappearing into the darkness, but Diao Chan gently pushed him away.

"So go ahead, Lord Fengxian. You only need to do what you truly want to do. That is my wish."

Diao Chan vanished completely into the darkness, while Lü Bu wept bitterly.

After an unknown amount of time, a little boy's voice suddenly reached Lü Bu's ears.

"I never thought that someone could break free from my mother's curse. It seems that my long wait was not in vain."