That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

On the ground, Agarius and Jeanne Alter both stopped fighting, assessing the position of the Servant who had suddenly joined the battle.

Agarius chuckled with interest, “It’s quite interesting that a black servant would join in when the battle is over.”

He was originally a berserker, and the stronger the enemy, the more excited he became.

“The Black Caster, huh? What’s going on…” Jeanne Alter looked up at Hall in the sky and activated [True Name Detection] but could not find any useful information. All she could see was an unnamed spirit origin with no login information.

Jeanne Alter, exercising the power of Ruler, quickly arrived at an incredible conclusion: the Caster of the Black faction was not a Servant at all, but a magician who used the Holy Grail's spirit origin to unleash the power of a Servant.

Jeanne Alter's face showed doubt. Was this even possible? Could a human being control the spirit origin of a Servant?

Regardless of the circumstances, this is undoubtedly a violation of the rules.

"Beautiful Saintess, given that the Red Party's Servant has committed the violation of attacking a Holy Grail Servant, please allow me to assist you in dealing with the Red Party's Servant." Hall bowed respectfully, his manner gentle and polite, and his handsome appearance as a homunculus made him 200% effective against the naive girl.

Joan of Arc was originally a village girl. Even after her personality was reversed and she became Black Joan of Arc, she still maintained this simple and honest nature. While possessing a strong identity similar to that of the King of Knights, she was a pure and innocent girl in private.

Jeanne Alter was particularly wicked; deep down, she still longed to live a life surrounded by handsome men she admired.

Jeanne Alter, with one hand on her hip, said in a very casual tone, "It doesn't matter. I can handle them even if you don't come. But that Caster from the Black faction is as annoying as an insect."

Hall understood immediately: "Leave the Son of Light of Ireland to me."

Cú Chulainn scoffed, "Rider, Ruler is yours. Come with me, Caster of the Black Faction, let's find a suitable place to have some fun."

"I'd be happy to oblige."

······

Hall and Cú Chulainn landed on the other side of the deserted wilderness.

Cú Chulainn, holding his wooden staff, looked at Hall and said first, "Well then, let me formally introduce myself. I am Cú Chulainn, the Son of Light of Ireland. When you return to the Throne of Heroes, don't forget to tell the other Heroic Spirits the name of the one who killed you."

Hall shrugged and drawled, "Woof woof woof."

The atmosphere fell silent instantly. Cú Chulainn grinned, his expression ferocious.

“If your goal was to provoke me, I admit you succeeded.” Cú Chulainn clenched his fist, spun around, and slammed it into the ground.

Boom!

With a muffled sound like striking a bell, the ground struck by the wooden staff lit up with runes, and a dazzling path of flames was created, scorching the earth. Rolling heat waves, mixed with a sweltering atmosphere, surged towards Hall like waves.

Hall stood still, unmoved, as the intense heat waves of flame were parted by an invisible force less than three meters away from him.

Runes of runes.

Hall also inherited the original knowledge of runes from Scáthach and understood the principles, so his power was within the control range of "Knights Don't Die Barehanded".

"Anti-magic power!? It's a Noble Phantasm!" Cú Chulainn's expression turned grave.

Caster should be best at positional warfare, building fortifications and waiting for enemy Servants to come to them, so that even when facing the Three Knights with high-level magic resistance, they will have room to fight back.

Cú Chulainn could not sense any influence on Hall's magic. He had lost control of his magic the moment he unleashed his runes to attack Hall. This kind of attack was much harder to deal with than magic.

"Interesting. So what about this move?"

Cú Chulainn grinned, his right hand sweeping across to draw runes, instantly releasing more than a dozen fire rune missiles, each possessing power comparable to cannonballs.

Hall raised his right hand, creating an elemental fire barrier. The moment the rune projectile hit the barrier, Hall assimilated its magical concept and devoured its magic.

The fire missiles struck the fire elemental barrier like raindrops splashing on a lake. The barrier absorbed all the magic power of the rune missiles in one go, revealing the F rune symbolizing fire, and spewing out an even more violent firestorm that swept towards Cu Chulainn.

"what!"

Cú Chulainn was caught off guard, but his experience as a warrior from his previous life allowed him to react quickly. He picked up his staff, held it up, and chanted an incantation, causing the staff to absorb the flames like an elemental barrier, and then burst into flames.

"If magic doesn't work, then melee combat!" Cú Chulainn quickly drew runes, instantly boosting his speed to A-rank, and charged towards Hall, slamming his burning wooden staff down heavily.

In this day and age, it's not uncommon for magicians to allocate points to strength and agility for melee combat.

Hall's five elements converged, evolving into true aether and materializing it, forging a transparent true aether rapier, which he held in front of the wooden staff.

Boom!

The power of the runes clashed with the true ethereal element, erupting in flames that engulfed the two figures. The wooden staff and the rapier clashed, their magical concepts enhancing their weapons.

While not as fast or powerful as other class Servants in melee combat, it is far more complex, with surging elemental torrents and the power of runes locked in a fierce struggle.

Chapter 174 The Primordial Runes (Part 2)

The burning wooden staff, imbued with the power of runes, is used as a spear.

Although summoned as a Caster, Cú Chulainn retains his combat experience from his previous life and is a formidable warrior in his own right.

Cú Chulainn is Scáthach's proud disciple, excelling in both spearmanship and runes. When summoned as a Lancer, he can use runes as well, and when summoned as a Caster, he can use the abilities of runes to enhance his attributes and status, displaying combat power no less than that of a Lancer.

As a Servant, Cú Chulainn of the Caster class has a reputation bonus, making him no less powerful than top-tier Servants.

For ordinary Servants, whether they are martial arts practitioners or Casters who are skilled in magic, facing Cú Chulainn would be quite troublesome. Cú Chulainn has too many tricks up his sleeve. He is a martial arts practitioner who is also skilled in runes and has the identity of a Celtic Druid.

Unfortunately, Cú Chulainn's opponent was Hoare. Whether in close combat or magic, Hoare was no less skilled than Cú Chulainn, and his Noble Phantasm and compatibility completely countered Cú Chulainn's. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Hoare was Cú Chulainn's natural enemy.

If it weren't for the large amount of magic he expended dealing with Lancelot on the way, Hall could have easily crushed Cú Chulainn in just a few moves.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Hall fought and retreated, wielding his rapier to deflect the fierce attacks of the burning wooden staff.

Cú Chulainn was incredibly fast, his lack of strength offset by the power of his runes. He moved with ease and composure, wielding his staff like a spear, the intertwined flames sealing off Hall's escape routes.

However, Cú Chulainn's meticulously crafted offensive trap was shattered by Hall's single sword strike; in the face of overwhelming power, skill was utterly useless.

The rapier clashed with the burning wooden staff time and again. Hall's magic eye saw through Cú Chulainn's movements, and the power of the runes was added to Cú Chulainn's body, making the flow of magic even more obvious.

Don't miss out.

Hall's body was covered in light patterns. He controlled the True Aether Longsword, [Knights Never Die Barehanded], severing his thoughts and manipulating magic to strengthen his body before kicking Cú Chulainn in the chest.

Cú Chulainn, whose entire attention was focused on the True Aether Rapier, was caught off guard.

boom!

With a cracking sound, Cú Chulainn's body was sent flying backward.

A magician actually managed to suppress me in close combat!?

Cú Chulainn was startled and adjusted his balance in mid-air.

Swish swish swish~

Cú Chulainn glided for more than ten meters using his wooden staff as support, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He never expected that Hall's close combat ability was also superior to his. He stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said with a solemn expression: "This guy is no ordinary Caster."

"If you were a Lancer, you might be able to compete with me in martial arts."

Hall's body was quickly covered with enhanced light patterns, and he looked at Cú Chulainn and said calmly, "It's my turn next."

Cú Chulainn, undeterred, growled, "Come on!"

Flames from the burning wooden staff spilled out, drawing a row of runes in the air.

Hall chanted a spell: "Gravity returns to the earth."

"strengthen."

"accelerate."

In less than a second, Hall applied multiple magical enhancements to his body, drew the True Aether Rapier and held it upright in front of him, then suddenly exerted force with his feet, shattering the earth, and his body disappeared at the same time.

So fast!

Cú Chulainn, who was already mentally prepared, froze, startled by the speed of Hall's sudden burst of speed. Seeing the rapier gleaming as it came, a chilling sense of crisis surged within him, and without thinking, he immediately withdrew and retreated.

Is this guy really a Caster and not a Lancer?!

The runes arranged in front of Cú Chulainn immediately took effect, transforming into high-temperature fireballs that shot out like a barrage of cannonballs.

boom! boom! boom!

The earth was blasted open with deep craters. Hall's rapier ignited with colorless ethereal flames, increasing his speed dramatically. He dodged the fireballs and approached Cú Chulainn with lightning speed using a zigzag running technique.

The rapier rose from below, its blade pointing at Cú Chulainn's neck.

Cú Chulainn had anticipated this, and relying on his extensive combat experience, he gripped both ends of the staff, gritted his teeth, and forcefully pressed down to block the rapier.

Clang!

Cú Chulainn's hands went numb, and his feet left the ground, giving him a lightheaded feeling. He immediately thought, "Oh no!"

"He's a Caster-class character, possessing A-rank speed and also strength of the same rank!?"

Cú Chulainn was sent flying by the rapier, with nowhere to brace himself in mid-air. Seeing the sword light coming, it was too late to use runes to retaliate. Helpless, he swung his wooden staff horizontally to block.

Clang!

Another spark flew as Cú Chulainn's wooden staff was knocked away by the rapier.

In stark contrast to Cú Chulainn's disheveled state, Hall remained composed, maintaining calm in both dealing with runes and the battle, coldly observing Cú Chulainn's desperate attempts to escape, who had lost all means of retaliation.

"ended."

The rapier pierced Cú Chulainn's heart without mercy, as swiftly as lightning.

Huh?

Hall's eyelids twitched. The moment the rapier pierced Cú Chulainn's body, he sensed something was wrong. His Demon Eyes saw through Cú Chulainn's body, discerning the flow of magical energy within, and he immediately understood what had happened.

Cú Chulainn's corpse turned into a withered tree, firmly gripping the rapier. Vines spread up from the blade, binding Hall's body and rooting him firmly in place, unable to move.

"Don't underestimate the sage of the forest!" Cú Chulainn, in his spirit form, broke free from the dead tree and leaped out, sneering at Hall who was entangled by vines. He caught a wooden staff falling from the sky, which flashed with light and controlled a large amount of magic power.

"Underestimating your enemy on the battlefield comes at a price. I'm sorry, I don't want to get entangled with you. I'll end your life with this move!" Cú Chulainn waved his wooden staff and quickly chanted the true name of his Noble Phantasm: "My magic is a fiery cage, a green giant like thorns."

The shrine purifies the calamities of human affairs through the principles of cause and effect and karmic retribution.

Destroy it!

Wicker Man! [The Burning Cage]

Weng~

Flames erupted around Hall, and a gigantic arm woven from vines emerged from the flames, grabbing Hall's body. The flames spread upwards, the vines transforming into a cage of burning fire, the flames illuminating the wilderness.

In Celtic mythology, only by sacrificing one's life can one gain the favor of the gods. Therefore, whenever there is a natural disaster or man-made calamity, the Celtic druids would perform sacrifices.

Giant human figures made of wicker were filled with living people and set on fire until the offerings and the wicker figures turned to ashes.