Thanks for the invitation. I'm in Type-Moon, inheriting the legacy of Zi-O.

The third strike hit the side of the abdomen and was successful.

The fourth blow was to the jaw; he blocked it.

…………

With each strike, Zhuo's speed would continuously increase, and red stardust would erupt in the air. Zhuo's speed even exceeded the reaction speed of the Servants.

Only Martha, who could feel it most directly, felt a slight bitterness in her heart. "My agility is B... even so, I can't block it all. His agility is at least B+ or A..." With her hands protecting her vital points, Martha's body struggled to hold on like a small boat in a storm under the constant attacks of Zhuo.

Unfortunately—time was up. Zhuo's speed suddenly decreased sharply, quickly widening the gap between him and Marda.

Kneeling on one knee, only Nianzhuo knew just how much burden he had just carried.

His legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and he could even feel the muscle strain. He groaned inwardly as he looked at Marda, who was covered in wounds but had few vital injuries.

"As expected of a saintess..." Nian Zhuo chuckled bitterly, focusing on recovering his stamina for the time being. "With the A-level skill 'Blessing of Faith,' the absolute power of your body and spirit, even in my accelerated state, I couldn't break through your vitals. I must say, you are truly strong."

"Is that so?" Martha paused for a second, then moved her sluggish body. "Your accelerated state really gave me a hard time. I didn't realize I underestimated you... Heh~"

The two men stared at each other, and the two who had been fighting most fiercely since the beginning fell into a brief silence.

They were waiting for an opportunity—an opportunity where the other party couldn't recover as quickly as they did.

Then, at the same time, both of them moved.

"Tarask! Come back!" With a surge of magical light emanating from her body and an infinite supply of magic, Martha decided to summon back the evil dragon that was fighting nearby.

Zhuo briefly observed Tarask's condition. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Tarasque's massive body instantly returned to Marda's front, its scales covered in black, but without any particularly obvious or fatal wounds.

On the other hand, Mash and Jeanne had varying degrees of injuries, and even Amadeus's black robe had its hem burned.

"I was thinking of just testing you, and if you were prepared to give up with your last shred of reason..." Martha's expression showed distress, but it was quickly replaced by sharpness and excitement. "But now I only want to defeat you! My heart is churning with competitive blood!"

"Ah, if we were on the same side, we would probably get along very well..." He nodded, his face also radiating fighting spirit.

“I don’t deny that~” Martha patted Tarask’s head beside her, and looked at the calamity dragon’s obedient appearance in front of her, her smile widening.

However, Zhuo noticed a sizable crack on Tarask's back, where the scales stood erect like spikes.

—That was the opportunity that Mash and Jeanne created for themselves.

Forced to stand up, the two men and the beast faced each other.

"Here we go, Tarask!" A kick sent Tarask, who had curled into a ball, soaring into the air. Martha and Tarask floated together.

Tarask rolled continuously, its breath coiling around its scaly body, forming destructive fire wheels that spun rapidly, obscuring its form from view. With its relatively soft belly facing the saintess who had tamed it, Martha took a deep breath and punched Tarask the Great Armored Dragon, Scorching Great Whirlwind.

"Mr. Nianzhuo!" Needless to say, it was Mash and the others who had returned after discovering the dragon was missing.

But it was too late for Mash to unleash her Noble Phantasm. Zhuo smiled slightly and gave a thumbs-up to Mash and the others who were walking towards them.

"Come on, Shinnosuke, let's start speeding again." Pressing the special attack gauge on the dial, a huge tire appeared out of thin air.

With its enormous head, armor covered in sharp spikes, six limbs, and a long tail with venomous barbs, this monster is none other than Tarask, the son of Leviathan, the sea monster described in the Old Testament.

The dragon Tarask, capable of moving freely on both land and water, lurks at the bottom of the Rhône River, causing passing ships to sink and devouring people. Warriors who come to defeat it are repelled by its massive iron armor no matter what they use, and are eventually burned to ashes by the flames it spews.

Only the saintess Martha could subdue this invincible monster.

"Self-defense, established!" Shinnosuke and Tsuru looked up at the same time, and the red Drive armor once again spewed out stardust.

"Flish Time!"

"Spee Drop Time Breake!"

"Tarasque, the sorrowful dragon who does not understand love!"

The turbid energy, shaped like tires, enveloped Taras and Marda, while more and more stardust spewed from behind, kicking them alternately with the flying Setron-type vehicles.

While reflecting, it continuously initiates an acceleration state.

The first kick landed on Tarask's scorching scales.

The second kick landed on Tarask's hard back.

The third kick landed on Tarasque's twisted dragon horns.

...The scenes kept changing rapidly in Zhuo's eyes, and the burden on his feet grew heavier and heavier. He could even feel the blood vessels in his legs rupturing.

But he couldn't stop. If he stopped, he would be crushed to pieces by that scorching armored dragon. Whether for Mash and the others, or for himself, he couldn't stop!

"Ha!!!!!" In Zhuo's eyes, Tarasque's figure reappeared. His hard back was covered with black scales, but only the wound left by Mashu and the others was deeply etched into Zhuo's eyes.

It was the final kick. Both Nianzhuo and Tarask knew that this strike would decide the outcome.

He leaped up again on the saddle, kicking Tarask in the back with his right foot.

—The place where that scar is!

Red stardust sprayed out like never before, and Zhuo slammed into Tarasque, the hard dragon scales causing his feet to ache. The scorching flames caused Zhuo's power to continuously diminish.

Nianzhuo simply kept the scar etched on his face, remaining motionless.

"Crack—" The sound of dragon scales shattering rang out, and finally, in Nian Zhuo's eyes, the scar was magnified!

The embankment of a thousand miles collapsed in the ant nest.

The turbidity continued to exert its power, causing the cracks on Tarask's back to widen further. The dragon beneath him seemed to sense impending doom and tried to escape.

But you can't escape it at all—

Finally, the red figure pierced through the dragon's body and emerged from its abdomen.

The enormous body landed with a mournful cry, blood gushing from the huge wound in its abdomen, and the young dragon continued to wail.

But Zhuo couldn't worry about that now. He walked up to Martha, who was already powerless to resist. An axe appeared out of thin air in his hand.

—The Signal Axe, after being optimized by the system, can activate its ultimate attack without needing to insert a small vehicle.

He raised the axe in his hand—

"Wait a minute—" "Wait a minute—" came the standby tone.

"Goodbye, Martha." Looking at the saintess who was smiling weakly, his turbid face was hidden behind a mask, so his expression could not be seen. "Next time, let's fight side by side again."

"Hmm. Next time, I'll definitely beat you..." Closing her eyes, the saintess finally released her berserk state at the last moment, a satisfied smile on her face.

"You can go now!" The red light on the axe turned green.

"Across Breaker!"

A purple phantom swung down—

How does flying dragon riding face lose?

By the time Mashu and the others arrived at Nianzhuo's place, everything had already been settled.

With a swing of his signal axe, he ended the life of the saint who had betrayed her beliefs in her madness. She smiled contentedly, her face radiating with the satisfaction of battle, and vanished into golden particles.

"Ah... what a thrilling battle!" Ignoring her own disappearing form as light, Martha's gaze swept over the faces of everyone before her, finally settling on Jeanne's face for a long, long time. "I see... this is the end. But in the very last moment, I must tell you one more thing: you absolutely cannot defeat the dragon controlled by the 'Dragon Witch,' not even Nian Zhuo. There is only one way to defeat that dragon. Go to Lyon, to the city once known as Lyon. Those who can defeat the dragon are neither saints nor princesses. Since ancient times, those who can defeat dragons have been 'dragon slayers,' that is the established rule. Even you, Nian Zhuo, have no legends of slaying dragons, do you?" Receiving a shake of the head from Zhuo, Martha gently touched the heavily injured Tarasque beside her. Her eyes shone with wisdom.

"Tarask, I'm sorry. Next time, I really hope I can be summoned in a normal way..." With a helpless sigh, Martha's figure finally dissipated into golden particles and returned to the Throne of Heroes.

"I never imagined that even the legendary Saint Martha could not defy me..." Joan of Arc murmured in surprise.

“She was, after all, a summoned Servant, and then she went berserk. There was nothing that could be done about it.” Mash also seemed uninterested. “She wouldn’t even have been able to speak normally like that…”

“So, thanks to Mr. Nianzhuo’s help, we were able to get through this difficult time so smoothly.” Ritsuka walked to Nianzhuo’s side and patted Nianzhuo’s shoulder, who had been standing still since the beginning.

His armor transformed into silver particles, his eyes were tightly closed, and bright red blood dripped from both arms onto the ground. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and finally, he collapsed to the ground once more.

"Mr. Nianzhuo!" Ritsuka cried out in fright, attracting the attention of those around her. Mashu also ran over and helped him up.

The man in front of me was not in good physical condition. Although his most important spiritual core was not damaged, the tiger's mouth of both hands was badly injured, as were his legs, which were even more severely injured.

Before Martha disappeared, the turbid spirit could not withstand the burden brought on by the ever-accelerating pace and fell into a coma.

"In any case, let him rest for a while." The clapper drew calming notes in the air, and Mozart also came to help Zhuo calm down.

When Zhuo finally managed to open his eyes, the sky was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn. Just as he was about to raise his hand to support himself as he sat up, a sharp, electric-like pain shot through his hand, making him wince.

The same goes for his legs; muscle strains are generally minor issues, but Zhuo's current condition is far from ideal.

Just then, a hand reached behind him, helping him sit up—it was Mashu, who had been sitting beside him, waiting for him to wake up.

“Mr. Nianzhuo, you’re finally awake—” Before she could finish speaking, she was met with a big hug from Nianzhuo.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mashu." "No, not at all. On the contrary, it's Mr. Nianzhuo who..." He raised his hand and touched Mashu's head, although the stinging pain in his hands made Nianzhuo grit his teeth incessantly where Mashu couldn't see.

But how could his grand scheme of flirting with girls be stopped by a small injury?

"Cough cough," came Ritsuka's cough from the side. She was squatting down and saw the whole thing perfectly.

Mashu blushed immediately, and Zhuo naturally let go of her hand as well, and the two of them suddenly stood up.

"Heh...hehe, the weather is so nice today~ Hiss—" He tried to fan himself with his hand to pretend nothing had happened, but the stinging pain made his face suddenly freeze.

"Yes...yes. It's a beautiful day." Mashu chuckled in agreement. "Speaking of which, Senpai, Mr. Nianzhuo is awake, so we can set off now, right? Hey!"

"Hmph~" Ritsuka patted the wrinkles on her skirt and stood up after glancing at the two nervous people. "Yes, thanks to Martha's information, we can basically determine our next destination."

“Now that you’re awake, let’s get going.” Amadeus, who was playing a calming melody, stopped. “Isn’t it said that you should set off as early as possible? Come on, let’s head to Lyon!”

“…That’s really unexpected,” Mashu said, looking at Amadeus’ unusual behavior. “I thought Mr. Amadeus was the kind of person who hated hiking.”

“Oh dear, Amadeus is quite the avid traveler! He’s been traveling the world since he was a child,” Mary recounted Amadeus’s childhood with practiced ease. “Hehe~ How exciting! What will we find in Lyon? Who will we find?”

The group quietly set off towards Lyon in the early morning light.

However, not far away, the Another Rider Exaid peeked out and caught up with them.

Having been enhanced by the Dragon Slayer Card, he now has a special attack against dragon-attribute enemies. He is protected by black dragon armor, which can even grant him immunity to attacks below C-rank Noble Phantasm.

Wuhu~ Take off~

Meanwhile, in Orleans, Jeanne d'Arc Alter also received news of Rider's departure.

"The cavalry have also withdrawn... It's probably that man's doing again..." She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I didn't expect the Saintess to still have some rationality left after being berserk. It's really a headache. But then again, she should have fought with all her might, yet she still failed. It seems that man's strength is not to be underestimated." Black Jeanne's expression gradually turned serious. "Next time, 'he' and I will go together, along with the remaining Servants. Gilles, you also need to inform our newly summoned berserk Dark Ones."

Bluebeard, standing to the side, clearly showed an expression of acceptance. "Yes, sir! If it were the old me, I would probably have stopped you. But you are now a perfect being! Joan of Arc! Military fortune is no longer necessary for you! Please feel free to crush those rebels." The man roared like a fanatical believer.

Jeanne Alter suddenly spoke up, "Gil, between me and her, who do you think is the real Jeanne d'Arc?"