FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Haa... Haa... Haa..."

Nero was panting heavily, her red dress torn by more than a dozen fine wounds, yet the shadow followers around her seemed endless.

"Ah, I didn't expect you to be able to kill over a hundred Shadow Servants. It seems I underestimated you. Speaking of which, I haven't asked your real name yet."

The mysterious female voice came again.

Do you think Yu will tell you?

Nero continued the conversation while observing his surroundings.

I thought that even if I couldn't defeat the opponent, I could at least use my perseverance to find out some useful information. I didn't expect that the opponent not only hasn't revealed their true form yet, but can also summon so many shadow servants.

No, I've already been forced to use my willpower once. If this continues, I'll be worn down sooner or later.

Seizing the opportunity, Nero charged and killed a Shadow Servant, then ran towards the outskirts of Kusa City.

"Hehehe, trying to run now? Too late."

Just as Nero was advancing, seven Shadow Servants suddenly appeared, each representing a regular class.

"Get out of the way!"

Nero unleashed a fire dragon that pierced through all seven Shadow Servants who were almost in a straight line.

However, just as she unleashed the fire dragon...

Puff-!

Blood trickled from the corner of Nero's mouth. She looked down at her abdomen, where a fair, slender arm was wrapped in an unknown black net-like substance, and blood was flowing down the arm.

"Haaah—!"

Nero, enduring the pain, swung his sword and turned, but still failed to strike his opponent.

No, to be precise, there was indeed a tactile sensation of cutting something, but the feeling was too soft, as if it were liquid rather than a solid.

Nero didn't have time to see the other person's face clearly; he only saw a puddle of something resembling black mud fall to the ground.

"I never expected you could launch a counterattack even with your stomach pierced. You wouldn't happen to be one of those incredibly strong-willed heroes, would you? I absolutely despise these creatures called 'heroes' because they always follow desires and ideals, but in the end, they're nothing more than pawns manipulated by the gods. But compared to heroes, I loathe gods even more."

clang!

Nero barely managed to keep his body afloat with the "Primordial Flame," and if he collapsed now, there would be no hope of ever getting back up.

The Guts effect activated again, and Nero's abdominal wound began to heal at a visible rate.

"Hmm? I knew I wasn't wrong. You do have some interesting abilities."

Suddenly, a magical fluctuation of spatial teleportation appeared in the sky above Kusa City.

"A troublesome guy is coming."

The surrounding Shadow Servants all swarmed Nero, taking advantage of his still-healing injuries to plunge their weapons into his body once more.

After the displacement spell was completed, Morgan appeared in the sky above Kusa City.

She had sensed a faint aura belonging to Nero, and considering Xia Yan's high regard for each Servant, she immediately teleported over to check the situation.

After unleashing the illumination magic, a giant ring composed of countless luminous orbs appeared in the sky above the entire city of Kusa, illuminating the city as if it were daytime, leaving no detail unseen.

Looking at the collapsed low houses and the broken ground, it was clear that a battle had taken place here, but Nero was nowhere to be found.

A hint of worry appeared on Morgan's beautiful face.

"Why didn't you tell me immediately!"

Xia Yan's roar echoed across the north wall.

It was nearly noon, and Xia Yan had taken a long nap, but upon waking, he learned that Nero had disappeared.

According to Morgan's description, Nero disappeared before dawn, but Morgan did not wake him in order to allow Xia Yan to get enough rest, which led to the roar just now.

This was the first time Xia Yan had truly felt anger towards Morgan since they met.

Morgan replied coldly, "What good would waking you do? Can you find Nero on your own? Even I, who conducted a large-scale search immediately, couldn't find her. What can you do?"

After being doused with cold water by Morgan, Xia Yan finally regained some of his rationality.

Yes, even if I wake myself up, what difference does it make? In the end, I still have to rely on Morgan to investigate. Since Morgan has already done it and found no clues, what difference does it make whether I wake up or not?

"sorry."

Xia Yan immediately apologized to Morgan.

Morgan's gaze softened: "At least after you've rested, you'll have plenty of energy to vent your anger, won't you? As a Master, maintaining your own condition is a required course for you."

"Um."

Xia Yan humbly accepted the offer.

Oh right, I am the Master!

Xia Yan immediately sensed the contractual connection between himself and Nero. It was very weak, so weak that it was almost imperceptible, but it still existed and had not disappeared. That at least meant that Nero's spiritual foundation was still intact.

From Xia Yan's closed eyes and the changes in his facial expressions, Morgan had already guessed what Xia Yan was doing and what kind of answer he had received.

"I have already notified the other three Masters, and they will keep an eye out for Nero's information during their investigation."

Xia Yan opened his eyes and looked at Morgan. To be fair, Morgan had done everything he could and should have done, while he was still here, helplessly furious.

"Morgan, I'm sorry."

Xia Yan apologized again.

"It's okay, I understand how you feel. If I were the one who went missing, I would definitely be glad that you were so angry."

Morgan gently pulled Xia Yan into his arms.

"Whether you're angry or sad, it's always better to let it out than to keep it inside."

"Thanks."

Xia Yan also hugged Morgan. At this moment, he didn't want to think about anything else, he just wanted to feel the warmth from Morgan.

Meanwhile, Feng Yan, Lan Muyan, and Diao Yunshang have each moved toward their own goals.

Of the three, Diao Yunshang's group was the fastest in terms of speed.

Lu Bu summoned his purebred Red Hare and led Chen Gong forward, while Red Hare carried Diao Yunshang and Musashi's attendants beside him.

The two horses and four people crossed the vast plain in less than half a day and arrived at the plateau where the terrain began to gradually steepen.

However, thanks to the superior performance of the two Red Hare horses, Diao Yunshang and her party were still able to climb to higher ground as if walking on flat ground.

As the altitude gradually increased, Diao Yunshang naturally began to experience some symptoms of altitude sickness. Fortunately, Chen Gong was nearby and cast a magic spell to enhance her physical condition. After resting for a while, Diao Yunshang's altitude sickness gradually disappeared.

"Strategist, approximately what is our current altitude?"

Chen Gong adjusted his glasses and replied, "We're almost at 3000 meters."

Diao Yunshang looked up at the mountain range shrouded in clouds, unsure whether to continue forward. After all, they were going straight up, and they might have already missed the location of the "Goddess of Destruction."

"Don't worry, Princess, we haven't gone the wrong way. I can sense an extremely majestic aura from higher up."