Chapter 41: First Battle!
'It's your turn to perform, System-san!'
Although Shirou wanted to experience the intense and unrestrained battle between Servants as soon as possible, he had already made enough mistakes and should not continue acting foolishly.
Sure enough, after the system took over, it didn't exchange meaningless banter with Cu Chulainn.
Instead, it immediately contacted Illya, asked her to stay safe, and simultaneously strengthen the castle's defenses.
Illya also responded right away, asking if he wanted to use a Command Seal to return.
Shirou's answer was quite domineering. Not only saying NO, but even planning to eliminate both Lancer and his Master here.
At this time, they had just arrived in Fuyuki. Based on the information from just two sentences, System Shirou deduced that Cu Chulainn's Master was still Bazett Fraga McRemitz.
And since he hadn't received an order from Kirei Kotomine, Cu Chulainn would be in full-power mode.
This was System-controlled Shirou, his thinking was swift, instantly seeing through things that the usual Shirou hadn't thought about.
'In that case, if it says it can eliminate Cu Chulainn here, it must be extremely confident.'
["Twenty percent."]
"?"
'That means there's an eighty percent chance I'll get eliminated?'
["..."]
["The opponent specializes in defense; surviving in battle is his true specialty... Using the Pseudo Emperor Armor is a different story."]
Alright then, as long as it's not himself getting eliminated, he could barely accept it.
As for combining with the armor, with Illya's mana feedback backlash issue still unresolved, he'd avoid using it if possible.
All these arrangements were completed almost in an instant. When Shirou came back to his senses, he had already projected an ordinary knight sword and applied enhancement magic.
At present, this was the only weapon he had.
"Hoh~"
Sensing that the target was releasing killing intent without holding back, with movements and stance totally unlike that naive one just now, Cu Chulainn curved his mouth into a smirk.
"Looks like he's doing it on purpose."
He slowly stood up, listening to Bazett's voice transmitted through magic, ["Be careful, Lancer! This guy should be the first-ranked Servant in the lineup, Saber. If possible, try to induce him to use his Noble Phantasm. I have a surefire counter."]
"You mean using that thing (Fragarach)?", Cu Chulainn didn't like others interfering in his battles. It made him quite unhappy.
But since he was fairly loyal, he responded in a lazy tone:
"Alright then, but…", his smile turned bloodthirsty, "If I finish him before he uses his Noble Phantasm, sorry about that."
["If it can be done…"], If the situation allowed, Bazett hoped Cu Chulainn could enjoy the battle to his heart's content.
She had always felt sorrow for Cu Chulainn's past and had long wanted to save him. Therefore, as long as victory was assured, entrusting the battle entirely to her Servant was not a problem.
One could say she had unconditional trust in Cu Chulainn, believing his spear would bring her victory.
His spear stance shifted.
At the spear tip, crimson magical energy surged, as if even the air was being pierced.
"At first, I thought you were a Berserker. Should say, on a whim, it's lucky I didn't run into the real Berserker," Cu Chulainn smiled, his muscles already tensed and strained, his expression twisted.
"After all, if it were a brainless guy like Berserker, the fun in the fight would be cut in half."
"Having confidence in yourself is a good thing, Child of Light from Ireland," Other than Shirou, the system never wasted words on anyone.
It always struck to kill and crush hearts.
"What?" ×2
Both Cu Chulainn and the spying Bazett were suddenly shocked.
"You…", just halfway through his sentence, a leaf swayed by magical power in front of him was split in two.
There was no time to react, or rather, even before the body or nerves could send signals, the move was already made.
Block!
The long spear crossed in front of his chest.
Clang!
Killing intent swirled, and the slash that tore through air transmitted through the spear shaft into Cu Chulainn's hands.
Just that one strike made him realize the opponent's physical strength surpassed his own.
The branch he was using as footing broke, and his body involuntarily crashed backward.
Just before hitting the ground, he quickly adjusted. A flash of heroic agility, flowing muscular lines.
He slid along the ground for three to four meters in a half-squat before barely coming to a stop.
"You bastard!"
Looking up, Shirou's figure was right in front of him.
Arm slightly bent, energy focused to one point, he thrust.
This sword, an apex of perfection.
Too late to swing his spear to block, Cu Chulainn leaned back, twisted his magic spear, and stabbed it into the ground to gain leverage.
The spear shaft bent into a crescent shape, then straightened, kicking up fallen leaves.
It wasn't an attack, but a tactic to find a sliver of gap and create distance. At the same time, his figure quickly leapt back from his original position.
His A-ranked agility burst forth in this moment, fully displayed.
The opponent's combat skill was no joke, he couldn't fall into a passive state. He had to create at least a two-meter gap.
System Shirou saw through his intention. The sword released magical energy, crushing the falling leaves that obstructed vision, stepping forward, thrusting straight.
The sword tip remained extremely close to Cu Chulainn's throat.
Cu Chulainn could only retreat passively.
"Don't underestimate me too much, Saber!", Cu Chulainn's blood-red eyes glared with fury. When he had no more room to retreat, he stomped the ground hard and raised his spear to block.
System Shirou suddenly changed stance, slashing with his sword in his right hand.
Cu Chulainn immediately adjusted his spear. The two clashed, sparks flying fiercely.
The trembling of the spear once again passed into his hands. Fortunately, Cu Chulainn was a battle-hardened veteran, otherwise, he might've dropped the weapon.
This time, he finally managed to gain some distance.
System Shirou did not pursue further.
After four consecutive attacks were blocked, blindly charging ahead was meaningless.
The battle between the two happened and ended in an instant, so fast that even Illya and Bazett couldn't react.
"So strong… this is the battle between Servants?", Bazett was utterly shocked.
Illya: "Berserker is the strongest!"
"Hmph!", Touching the red liquid flowing on his neck, Cu Chulainn gave a bloodthirsty smile.
"Interesting. I thought you'd be a more berserk type of swordsman. Didn't expect you to rely on skill. So, you really are Saber," As he spoke, Cu Chulainn let out a dry laugh.
"I've never had confidence in my luck anyway. To encounter such a troublesome opponent right from the start… Even my true name was seen through. You bastard, where the hell did you come from, Heroic Spirit?", Facing Cu Chulainn's question, System Shirou determined there was no need to answer, remaining cold-faced and silent.
A proper image of a cool, aloof guy who failed at chasing girls.
Cu Chulainn didn't mind. He raised his spear into a flat position, also called compass stance, spear tip and shaft aligned, not a hint of wobble, aimed directly at Shirou, his footwork solid.
Doing this meant he was now completely serious. His aura shifted from lazy digestion mode to wild hunting mode.
Shirou remained unmoved, standing tall, sword held behind his back.
One red, one blue, an invisible force clashed in the air between them.
The tension was so thick Bazett didn't dare breathe, didn't dare swallow. She could only concentrate fully, staring unblinkingly as the scene spiraled into an unstoppable death match.
This was the system's deliberate move. Revealing the true name wasn't just to catch the opponent off guard. It was also to force the opponent to make a choice.
Once your true name was exposed, all that was left was to either fight to the death or retreat.
Unfortunately for him, Cu Chulainn had no intention of retreating, and Bazett was not some joyful freak like the priest, she chose to support her Servant.
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