"Are you not done yet?"
Bai Ye felt the strong wind beside him and stomped his foot hard on the ground.
With a boom!
A large area of flames erupted from under Bai Ye's feet, then rose and rolled, pushing outwards.
In the glow of the fire, the figure of Kazama Kotaro was revealed.
Bai Ye curled his lips and said, "Found you!"
It was just concealment, not disappearance. It wasn't even a high-level concealment like invisibility. He was merely using the surrounding shadows to hide his figure.
Since that was the case, illuminating the surroundings was all it took.
Bai Ye suddenly sidestepped, dodging the kunai thrown by Kazama Kotaro, then pushed off the ground with his feet.
Bang!
The ground shattered with a roar!
Bai Ye dashed forward, instantly appearing before Kazama Kotaro, and slashed down with his famous sword, Bloodlust.
Clang!
A crisp clash of metal rang out.
Kazama Kotaro swiftly blocked Bai Ye's attack with his short sword, then rapidly retreated.
But in that instant...
Bai Ye reached out, and the Steel Slime quickly wriggled, solidifying into the Shadow Axe in Bai Ye's left hand, which he then threw forward with force.
Kazama Kotaro obviously hadn't expected Bai Ye to suddenly produce a weapon. However, his reaction was indeed incredibly fast, and he immediately performed a backward dodge.
Screech!
Kazama Kotaro's clothes were torn, but fortunately, he avoided the rapidly spinning Shadow Axe.
Kazama Kotaro quickly turned, intending to continue his hit-and-run tactics, but...
His speed had become so slow!
Kazama Kotaro looked surprised, completely unable to understand what was happening.
The reason was simple, because...
Crippled (For the first target hit, reduce their movement speed by 50% for 7 seconds)
The effect of the Shadow Axe had taken hold!
Bang!
Bai Ye leaped forward, once again appearing beside Kazama Kotaro.
In terms of pure speed, Bai Ye admitted he was likely no match for Kazama Kotaro; the guy's movement speed was unimaginably fast.
However, with a 50% reduction, it was a different story.
Bang!
Bai Ye closed in on Kazama Kotaro, delivering a knee strike directly to his abdomen, then grabbed him by the neck.
"Flame Burst!"
Flames surged in Bai Ye's hand and then exploded.
A massive fireball erupted in Bai Ye's hand, engulfing Kazama Kotaro, but...
Bai Ye frowned slightly.
A point-blank Flame Burst, even if it didn't blow his head to smithereens, would definitely inflict considerable damage.
But Bai Ye felt something was off; more accurately, the sensation felt wrong.
Bai Ye swung his arm with force, dispelling the flames, and then looked forward.
What he was gripping was not Kazama Kotaro's neck, but a wooden post.
The next moment...
A shadowy silhouette of a human figure darted rapidly along the ground. After creating distance from Bai Ye, Kazama Kotaro suddenly emerged from the ground, leaped up, and landed on a utility pole to the side.
"My visit ends here for today. I shall take my leave."
Kazama Kotaro knew he had stumbled upon a tough opponent. Even if Gilgamesh didn't intervene, facing him head-on...
He didn't seem to be Bai Ye's match!
If that was the case, then a strategic retreat was the only option!
After speaking, Kazama Kotaro quickly leaped onto the rooftop to the side.
Bai Ye quickly advanced. As he pursued, he formed a sword incantation, and the Frost Sword materialized, shooting forward and transforming into a beam of light.
But he was still a moment too late. By the time the Frost Sword arrived, Kazama Kotaro had already leaped down the other side of the roof.
With a crash!
Bai Ye's sword sliced through the rooftop, creating a large hole.
...
Night fell, and lights twinkled in the distance.
Li Jiayi sat by a riverside bridge, playing a melancholic tune on a leaf.
Suddenly, a figure flashed behind Li Jiayi.
Kazama Kotaro knelt down, bowing his head, "Forgive me, I was unsuccessful."
Li Jiayi was not surprised. He put down the leaf and said, "Your surprise attack failed?"
Kazama Kotaro replied, "Yes, the opponent was extremely vigilant."
Li Jiayi asked, "Did you engage him head-on?"
Kazama Kotaro fell silent for a moment, a look of apology on his face, "We did, but I am not the opponent's match."
Li Jiayi said, "It's alright. Your specialty has always been assassination. It was indeed asking too much for you to engage him directly."
Kazama Kotaro's head drooped even lower, "No, I failed to accomplish the task you assigned."
Li Jiayi turned around, "Oh?"
Kazama Kotaro continued, "The opponent's Servant did not make a move. I only briefly engaged the opponent's Master, and I was not their match, therefore, I did not complete the mission you gave me, which was to ascertain the identity of their Heroic Spirit."
"Is that so..." Li Jiayi pondered for a moment, "At least you saw his Heroic Spirit. Were there any clues?"
Kazama Kotaro replied, "He wore golden armor. I deduced he is likely a swordsman or a knight. Due to the heavy armor, he is not very agile, so he should not be a Lancer, but that possibility cannot be entirely ruled out."
Kazama Kotaro mused, adding, "The probability of him being a Berserker is also low; he did not possess that kind of berserk aura."
Li Jiayi nodded, "You've worked hard. You did very well."
Li Jiayi sighed inwardly. Among the seven Servant classes, the ones he least wanted were Assassin and Archer.
These two could be inferred from their names alone: skilled in assassination and ranged combat.
It wasn't about power, but about obvious limitations and clear weaknesses in their fighting styles.
Next came Caster, whose limitations were also apparent, but comparatively, magic could still create miracles, making them somewhat better.
What Li Jiayi most desired were Swordsman and Berserker, and it now seemed highly probable that they had fallen into Bai Ye's hands.
But the Heroic Spirits had already been summoned; what could Li Jiayi do?
Glancing at Kazama Kotaro, Li Jiayi felt he would have to make do. After all, he was loyal. At worst, they could switch roles: the Servant would assist, and he, the Master, would have to work harder and fight on the front lines.
"Let's go!" Li Jiayi said, "We'll find a place to stay first."
Meanwhile...
Bai Ye and Gilgamesh were discussing the same issue.
"Archer?" Bai Ye looked at Gilgamesh incredulously, "Is there even a single part of you that resembles an Archer?"
Bai Ye found it completely incomprehensible that Gilgamesh was an Archer. What kind of Archer wore heavy, gleaming golden armor?
That would be a walking target on the battlefield!
Too conspicuous and not agile enough!
...