Among the six remaining groups, the worst off was none other than Emiya Kiritsugu's team. Not only were all their points stolen, but their important strategic resource, the Command Spells, was also exhausted. Moreover, their guardian, Kiritsugu, had been hit by a Command Spell and was currently in a penalty stance, almost equivalent to being offline.
This forced Emiya Kiritsugu to break free from the ropes and regain his freedom, but he was unable to move for a while and could only wait for the effect of the Command Spell to end.
The situation of Waver's team, which currently ranks first, is not much better either. In the battle with Flora's group, their magical power was severely consumed, their Command Spells were also exhausted, and Iskandar also lost his Noble Phantasm, the chariot. Therefore, despite knocking out the final Flora team after this battle and gaining a lot, Waver and Iskandar are not very optimistic about the upcoming schedule.
"It's over, the game has just begun, our losses have been so great, what should we do next?" Waver assessed the situation and couldn't help but look discouraged.
"What to do? Let's just deal with it. I'm satisfied anyway." Iskandar shrugged and didn't care much. After fighting against the strongest Flora team, he was almost satisfied. Even if he won first place, he wouldn't get what he wanted. His goal had long since changed to fighting to the fullest. Although the results were somewhat different from what he expected, it could be regarded as conquering the strongest enemy, so he was basically satisfied.
"Moreover, we have a lot of points now. As long as we hold on until the end of the game, we should be able to get a good ranking." Iskandar's mood was relatively optimistic, at least not as depressed as Waver. After all, despite the heavy losses, his magical power had also been replenished significantly because of the elixir Flora paid out in the end.
Even if the chariot cannot be used, there is still the King's Army available. His current status allows him to use it two more times, so he is not without the ability to protect himself and counterattack. Even if they encounter another battle, they can still hold on.
"Well, in our current state, we can't get any benefits from continuing to fight with other players, so let's hide." Waver also accepted the result.
Then they entered the construction area and prepared to find a place to hide until the end of the game. However, as soon as they arrived at the construction area, they immediately met Megumin and Arash, who were walking out.
"..."
Both sides looked at each other in silence, staring with big eyes and small eyes. Iskandar was on guard, while Megumin and Arash were sizing up the opponent's situation. At first glance, they discovered that Waver and Iskandar were not in very good condition, so Arash and Megumin attacked directly. Their powerful long-range firepower instantly poured out towards Waver and Iskandar.
Iskandar, who had been on alert for a long time, immediately grabbed Waver and wanted to run away without hesitation. But without the chariot, it was impossible for him to escape the range of Megumin and Arash.
"Ionioi Hetairoi!"
Reluctantly, Iskandar had no choice but to play one of the only two trump cards left. The battle started again.
At the same time, on the other side, a similar encounter occurred. Asuna Yuuki was looking for her target. The group of four, including Nero and Nakiri Alice, met Kayneth and Diarmuid, who were looking for a new location to set up their position.
When they saw that there were four people on the opposite side, it was obvious that they had formed an alliance. Kayneth and Diarmuid did not dare to be careless in the slightest and were on high alert. Looking at the eager expressions of the four people across from them, Kayneth, understanding that this battle was inevitable, immediately struck first.
"Lancer! Deal with Caster first!" Kayneth ordered Diarmuid.
In the previous battle with Megumin's group, Kayneth suffered the disadvantage of being short-handed, so he ordered Diarmuid to target Nero first. After receiving the order, Diarmuid dodged and rushed in front of Nero, who was beside Nakiri Alice. Two points of cold light arrived first, and then the two spears pierced straight forward like dragons.
However, what neither he nor Kayneth expected happened. Nero actually took out a red, strange-shaped sword, swung it left and right, and blocked Diarmuid's thrust. Then, Nero quickly counterattacked, taking a step forward to close the distance to Diarmuid, and slashed with the sword.
Diarmuid had no time to retract his two spears to block, so he could only duck and retreat. But Nero was unyielding and caught up with him, continuing to attack Diarmuid with a violent assault like a rainstorm. Amidst the flash of swords and the clanging of metal, the two had already fought for several rounds.
"What happened?" When Kayneth saw this unexpected scene, he couldn't help but lose his composure. A Caster actually picked up a big sword and fought with Lancer back and forth? Is this reasonable?
If Takumi heard this question, he would answer without hesitation: this is very reasonable. Do you know the Sword Master of Avalon, the Israeli Boxing Champion, and the Uruk Ax King? But the current situation is obviously different from those three.
At the same time, Kayneth soon had no doubts left. Because Okita Souji also joined the battle. However, she did not draw her sword, but instead used magic. Magic circles were constructed out of thin air, shooting at Diarmuid one after another.
Diarmuid never expected that Okita Souji would actually use magic cannons to attack him. He was hit directly without any precautions. He ate several rounds of magic cannons and was blown away.
"Damn it! Lancer, they swapped!" When Kayneth saw this, he reacted instantly. He understood what was going on and shouted to Diarmuid. Unfortunately, they realized it a little too late, and Diarmuid was already injured.
"Hmm, have you noticed it? Then there is no need to pretend anymore." After hearing this, Okita Souji smiled and nodded, then waved her hand to remove the camouflage magic effect on her body. Her hair and eye color changed, returning to her original appearance.
Just as Kayneth suspected, she was Nero. The one holding the big sword was Okita Souji pretending to be her.
This was the idea put forward by Asuna Yuuki, and they named it: Substitute Battle. The content of the plan was very simple: exchange identities and fight to deceive the enemy. The advantage of this is that if the enemy targets Nero first, they will be unexpectedly beaten by Okita Souji. If they target Okita Souji first, they will be hit by Nero's magic cannon.
At the same time, like now, the two can cooperate to launch a combo to directly damage the opponent. Even if they encounter multiple enemies, they can quickly make adjustments after deceiving the enemy initially. This creates an information gap from the start. No matter how the enemy moves, they can take the advantage of the first move.
I have to say, this is really an excellent tactic. Of course, they like to execute these tactics not just for practicality, but for fun. Similarly, others cannot imitate this kind of operation. After all, not all Masters can have the mutual trust of Asuna Yuuki and Nakiri Alice.
The biggest difficulty in this tactic is not having two Servants who look alike, but having two Masters who can completely trust each other. Otherwise, handing over your Servant and replacing them with someone else's is almost equivalent to having a time bomb tied to you. Very few people can accept it, because it is too dangerous. As long as one of them has evil thoughts, the other person will die without knowing what happened. Only the current relaxed competitive environment and the relationship between Asuna and Alice made this operation possible. If it were a normal Holy Grail War, it would not be possible at all.
Let's get back to the topic. After Nero returned to her original appearance, she did not stop casting spells. The magic cannons fired one after another at Diarmuid. Okita Souji, who still looked like Nero, would also see the opportunity from time to time and go up to chop a few times. Under the output of the two, Diarmuid was miserable and in danger, accumulating more and more injuries.
"Use the Command Spell to order Lancer to recover from his injuries." When Kayneth saw this situation, he couldn't sit still. He quickly provided support to Diarmuid. Several recovery spells fell on Diarmuid, and fearing that wasn't safe enough, he added a Command Spell.
However, when Kayneth was about to go up to help Diarmuid further, Nakiri Alice and Asuna Yuuki stopped him.
"Your opponent is us. Asuna, let's go." Nakiri Alice held a sword in her right hand and magic in her left, calling for Asuna Yuuki to start attacking.
"Damn it!" Kayneth had no choice but to accept the challenge, controlling his Volumen Hydrargyrum and performing magic.
The three of them also started a fierce battle. Kayneth originally wanted to focus on Asuna Yuuki first, deal with this weak one, and then seriously deal with Nakiri Alice so that the battle could be resolved quickly, allowing him to support Diarmuid. But to his surprise, Asuna Yuuki only looked weak compared to Nakiri Alice; her real fighting power was not much different.
With his magic tools and demon-breaking rapier, as well as his physical strength and swordsmanship, she is more like a Magus Killer than Emiya Kiritsugu! Under the protection of magic items, Kayneth's magic attacks were useless against Asuna Yuuki. However, the sharp sword in Asuna Yuuki's hand could easily cut through the Volumen Hydrargyrum, coupled with her powerful swordsmanship and combat awareness, making Kayneth feel extremely troubled.
Not to mention Nakiri Alice. Nakiri Alice can also defend against magic attacks. Although her swordsmanship skills are a bit worse than Asuna Yuuki's, her physical strength is stronger. In addition, she can also use magic attacks, which makes it even more difficult.
As a result, in the end, Kayneth failed to support Diarmuid. Instead, he and Diarmuid were beaten by mixed doubles respectively. They were defeated one after another and both were captured alive.
"Yeah! Success!" After sealing Kayneth's magic circuits and Diarmuid's mobility, the four girls excitedly high-fived each other. Then it was time to collect the loot.
"Oh? Professor Kayneth, you are quite rich. It's been a great harvest this time." Nakiri Alice took off Kayneth's straps, and after counting the points, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.
"Well, twenty-two points is exactly a whole number that can be divided equally. Each of us has eleven points." Asuna Yuuki also nodded with satisfaction and began to divide the points into two parts.
"Could you please stop doing this in front of us?" When Kayneth, who had his hands tied behind his back, heard this, his face suddenly turned dark.
Damn it! At least you can save some face for me! Are you saying I'm quite rich? Are you just mocking me? Did I just deliver a courier?! And you two stinky girls, so ignorant of martial ethics, playing tricks, cheating, and sneak attacking me, an old comrade in his twenties. I advise you to watch your step!
Kayneth, a millionaire, never imagined that he would fall into trouble in this way, and at the hands of two teenage girls. Winning or losing the game was secondary; the main reason was that he felt too embarrassed, which made Kayneth feel ashamed. But these two stinky girls actually teased him right in front of him! A scholar can be killed but not humiliated, you bastards!
"Well, don't be so angry, this is just an entertainment game, just for fun, don't take it too seriously." Nakiri Alice smiled and waved her hand, returning the empty strap to Kayneth.
Kayneth: "..."
It's okay to play around! You call that level of fighting fun?!
He snapped! Kayneth really had an emotional breakdown this time. You know, he had risked his life in the battle just now, but even so, he still lost. But for Nakiri Alice, this was just for fun?!
My DN%*...
As a person who has always been proud of his own talents, he is now being told that his full strength is not even as good as the casual play of two little girls who are ten years younger than him. Kayneth's spirit broke on the spot.
"When you are tired, destroy it quickly." Kayneth, who was beginning to question his life, lay down directly like a salty fish and didn't bother to care about anything anymore.
"Uh... what's wrong with him?"
"I don't know, maybe it was a shock."
Looking at Kayneth, who suddenly gave up completely, the four girls couldn't help but look at each other.
"Why do you care so much? The game is not over yet. Let's continue quickly."
"Hmm, I can't wait to see other people's surprised expressions, it's so interesting."
The four women quickly divided up the loot and re-disguised themselves, leaving Kayneth and Diarmuid to fend for themselves as they continued looking for the next victim. At this time, on the other side, the battle between the Megumin Group and the Waver Group was almost time to decide the result.