Chapter 841: Throwing a Woman 

Shinji's movements suddenly stopped, as if he had lost all momentum, standing frozen in place. The compelling power of the gold and silver mystic eyes was akin to a Command Spell—the simpler the command and the clearer the target, the stronger its force. The order from the Shadow Servant to "stop" was as simple and direct as it could get.

Originating from humanity's primordial senses, the mystic power from the gold and silver eyes, an elevated form of sight and being seen, bound Shinji's body. He couldn't move forward or backward, immobilized in place.

High-level mystic eyes possess such overwhelming power that many desire them. The Shadow Servant's timing in using these eyes was masterful, striking at the critical moment when Waver was dissecting the situation. Just as everyone assumed she was merely enraged and had lost her mind, the command was subtly slipped into her furious shout, catching even those previously duped, like Gray and Waver, off guard—not to mention everyone else.

By the time they realized what had happened, it was too late. The Shadow Servant's sword was less than three centimeters from Shinji's neck, and all the powerful onlookers could only watch, unable even to shout a warning.

The sword drew closer.

0.1 seconds? 0.01 seconds? Or perhaps even less—within a fraction of a second, the straight sword, wielded with the full force of the female servant, would cut his throat and sever his head.

But at the last possible moment, Shinji's body suddenly leaned backward, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike, almost grazing the sword's edge.

The Shadow Servant's heterochromatic eyes contracted sharply, her instinct urging her to stop, but it was too late.

To ensure the enemy's death and immediately take down that detestable jester afterward, she had put her full strength into that strike.

Her target had always been Waver, whom she despised the most.

Stingy. Petty. Gloomy and eccentric. Unable to wake up early. Spending all day with musty old books. Always subservient yet somehow arrogant.

With a face that seemed destined for hardship, yet when she looked back, he was the most disruptive one.

At first glance at Waver, she made this judgment, because during her lifetime, or rather, in Iskandar's company, there was someone just like that.

That person was Omenes, who once served as Iskandar's secretary and was one of the Shadow Servant's most frequent contacts.

In her words—

"So annoying. It's infuriating. Just looking at Omenes was tiresome enough, and now, in this era, I have to keep seeing that face."

But she wasn't unreasonable. As the Shadow Servant of a king, she often handled state affairs and met with vassals, not neglecting talents out of mere whim. Although she disliked Waver, if he had shown enough strength, she would have acknowledged him.

Unfortunately, Waver had not. His performance during their first meeting was utterly disappointing, filling her with rage.

"He's supposed to be someone who follows the king, so I thought he'd be some kind of impressive magus. But he's nothing more than a useless nobody. Not even close to Omenes. Not by a long shot. Although I didn't expect him to have the wisdom of an Amun priest or Aristotle, this kind of brain isn't even fit to be fed to monkeys."

Her anger led her to attack Waver, as she did now.

After only spending about half a month with the king, this fool dared to shamelessly and arrogantly claim to follow him. The audacity had limits!

Kill him! She had to kill him!

Even though the enemies had the advantage in numbers, even with powerful figures like Lorelei, Matou Shinji, and even an unfathomable presence she couldn't understand, she wasn't afraid.

She was a warrior who had fought countless battles alongside the greatest Conqueror King, Iskandar, and had slain too many formidable enemies to count. She wouldn't fear these fragile flowers of peace.

This was the confidence of a warrior who had walked through mountains of corpses, but it was also her downfall.

Indeed, there is no comparison between the people of wartime and peacetime. The former has experienced trials far beyond the latter's imagination. However, there are always exceptions. Every era produces its share of outliers. In wartime, some well-protected noble ladies know nothing, and in peacetime, there are freaks like Matou Shinji, who specializes in battling Servants and old monsters, with a wealth of combat experience that's absurd.

The moment Shinji felt the compelling force, he found a way to resist—by using his magic resistance and willpower. Servants with strong enough magic resistance can resist a Command Spell, and heroes with enough willpower can delay its effects. Astolfo endured several days of torture under Celenike by relying on magic resistance and willpower, eventually holding out until Shinji's rescue.

Although Shinji's magic resistance wasn't as strong as Astolfo's, his willpower, honed by stepping into the realm of the Third Magic and helping Arcueid resist her vampiric impulses, was unparalleled.

The pause lasted only a moment; everything that followed was a feint to deceive the enemy. The goal was to exploit the moment when the Shadow Servant's attack missed, leaving her defenseless.

With a sudden twist of his wrist, Shinji hurled the Scythe in his hand, striking the female warrior in the abdomen. Immediately afterward, he reached out with both hands, one gripping her arm and the other seizing her belt, slamming her hard into the ground, dazing her.

Without giving her time to recover, Shinji lifted her off the ground, slammed her down on the other side, then lifted and slammed her repeatedly, continuing until he heard the sound of several bones breaking. Only then did he toss her toward Heartless, standing opposite, like a discarded rag doll.

Heartless quickly stepped aside, his overly handsome face now wearing only a wry smile.

"Don't you think you were a bit too harsh? That's not how you win over girls."

"She's not a girl; she's a warrior," Shinji shook his head.

"A warrior on the battlefield faces only life or death, victory or defeat. Just like how she tried to trap me with her mystic eyes—if I didn't have a way to counter it, I would die. The same applies to her."

Of course, despite his words, Shinji secretly glanced back at the women behind him.

Arcueid was still as carefree as ever; Lorelei remained stoic; Adashino looked thoughtful, with her arms crossed; Luvia and Fiore whispered to each other, their expressions strange; however, Yvette and Olga Marie's faces had turned a bit pale, seemingly frightened.

The closest ones showed calmness, those with some connection reacted decently, and the irrelevant ones could be ignored—good, it seemed he hadn't made a bad impression. As for the men? They didn't matter at all.

As for the thrown Shadow Servant, her reaction fully demonstrated her maturity as a warrior. She leaned against the wall, using her sword for support, standing up and honestly admitting her defeat.

"I was careless, outmatched. I didn't expect anyone would still use Pankration—a move that once it grabs hold, will destroy completely. Its reputation is well-deserved."

"You flatter me. I'm far from a true master," Shinji said, bumping his fists together. His standard for mastery was Chiron and Achilles, and compared to those divine-level experts, he was indeed far behind.

"I'm sorry, Master, I've lost."

The Shadow Servant then apologized to Heartless, who shook his head.

"It's not your fault. It was my insistence on staying here."

Shinji ignored the mutual reassurances between master and servant, turning his head to look at Waver.

"You can continue now."

Waver didn't hesitate, nodding before speaking, "You're not in the Ionioi Hetairoi because you refused the King's call. You loathe the Ionioi Hetairoi!"