usenovelonline Chapter 189 The Chase in the Forest
Chapter 189 The Chase in the Forest
Chapter 190 The Chase in the Forest
As an Archer-class Servant, Atalanta's archery skills are undoubtedly superb.
But this posed no threat to Shirou Kotomine.
This is precisely the effect of the pseudo-magic eye.
Through the simulated magic eye, Shirou Kotomine gained a 360-degree field of vision, as well as the ability to see through things.
Therefore, before Atalanta even shot the arrow, Shirou Kotomine had already clearly seen the spot Atalanta was aiming at.
In this situation, dodging Atalanta's arrows would be incredibly easy for Shirou Kotomine.
Moreover, he himself is a master archer.
Kotomine Shirou knew all too well how to deal with archers.
Therefore, when faced with Atalanta's arrow, Shirou Kotomine simply tilted his head slightly and dodged the deadly arrow.
And this is just the beginning.
"Bang!"
Kotomine Shirou's figure immediately shot out, leaving an astonishing sound of air being torn apart in mid-air.
Since learning Black Flash, Shirou Kotomine, who has grown increasingly fond of using his fists, charged at Atalanta once again, but this time Atalanta was not as easy to catch as before.
The instant the arrow was released and landed, Atalanta quickly ran backward.
She had already realized the threat posed by Shirou Kotomine.
Under these circumstances, she didn't want to stay in this fog for even a second longer.
As an archer, she must compete in her area of expertise.
That was definitely not this fog.
Running in one direction, Atalanta quickly left the fog.
As a Servant known for his speed in mythology.
Her speed was astonishing.
Even though Shirou Kotomine ran at full speed, he couldn't catch up with her for a while.
Clearly, besides pure speed, Atalanta must also possess some related skill bonuses.
Shirou Kotomine, who was following closely behind Atalanta, thought to himself.
At this point, the dense fog released by Jack the Ripper had been dispelled.
Next, he will face high-speed combat.
The fog, which was originally intended for positional warfare, has become completely ineffective.
"So, it turns out we're the only ones left here now?"
Following closely behind Atalanta's retreating figure, Shirou Kotomine rushed into the forest, and during this process, he couldn't help but look up at the floating fortress in the sky.
Far away from them, above the Yggdrasil family.
Through the power of magic, the Greater Grail, which was stored beneath the castle of the Thousand Worlds, has been seized by the Hanging Gardens controlled by Semiramis.
Looking at it now, Shirou Kotomine can only see the bottom of the Greater Grail.
The rest of the Greater Grail has already entered the Hanging Gardens, so Shirou Kotomine naturally can't see it.
With the Greater Grail being taken, the Servants' battlefield shifted.
Clearly, the next battlefield has been moved to that sky garden.
As a tool to fulfill his long-cherished wish, Darnic, the Master leader of the Black Faction, naturally would not allow the Holy Grail to be taken away.
Therefore, at the very beginning of the theme's theft, he had already ordered the Masters to notify the Servants to return and go together to the Hanging Gardens to reclaim the theme.
As the Black faction's Servants changed their targets, the Red faction's Servants followed suit and headed to the Hanging Gardens.
After all, that area was originally their territory.
Thus, the Servant battlefields that were originally scattered in various places were brought together.
That is the Hanging Gardens.
But that's how it is for the other Servants. At this moment, there are two Servants on the ground who are not on the stage in the sky, but are engaged in a high-speed chase on the ground.
That is Atalanta and Astolfo.
Atalanta was running swiftly through the forest, just as she was doing at that moment.
She seemed to move even faster here.
But that's not the case.
The truth is that Shirou Kotomine's speed has slowed down.
This is forest terrain, after all, so it's impossible to maintain maximum speed here.
The obstacles everywhere severely hampered Kotomine Shirou's speed.
But none of this had any effect on Atalanta.
Shirou Komine was not surprised by this.
This is clearly an ability provided by her inherent skills.
When facing these Servants, any phenomenon that defies common sense can actually be attributed to their inherent skills.
After all, the inherent skills of Servants are indeed quite diverse.
Atalanta stayed here because of Shirou Kotomine's pursuit.
This is the most direct reason.
There are actually some other reasons for this.
For example, she didn't actually have a mission to return to the Hanging Gardens to fight.
The other red team Servants were also following the black team Servants to that location.
Atalanta, on the other hand, was facing a pseudo-Servant like Shirou Kotomine.
And Astolfo, who completely disobeyed orders.
That's right, Astolfo refused his Master's order.
While it was still shrouded in mist, Astolfo received orders from his Master to quickly proceed to the Hanging Gardens to assist in the operation and reclaim the Greater Grail.
But he was being beaten up at the time.
He then used this as an excuse to refuse his Master's order.
Even now, having ended his battle with Shirou Kotomine, he still hasn't gone to the Hanging Gardens.
At this moment, he was riding his Noble Phantasm, the Falcon, closely following behind Kotomine Shirou.
Thus, Shirou Kotomine became the one who was surrounded.
"You really do always go where it's dangerous!"
While relentlessly pursuing Atalanta, Shirou Kotomine couldn't help but turn his head to look at the location of Astolfo.
With a 360-degree field of vision, no matter where he looks, it does not affect his progress.
"I was just doing my duty. After all, I invited the guy in front to fight you together, how could I run away?"
Astolfo said with a smile.
He always seemed so happy.
Even if this is a battlefield.
Even if he were to die at any moment.
"Hmph, when did I accept your invitation? Don't pretend that something that never happened has already happened."
Atalanta's voice suddenly came from ahead.
Although she was at the very front, she could hear Astolfo's words clearly.
But clearly, she didn't appreciate it.
Seeing this, Shirou Kotomine couldn't help but smile and say, "See, they don't appreciate your kindness at all!"
"Haha, that seems to be the case!"
Astolfo, riding on the eagle, couldn't help but scratch his head.
Atalanta's rejection did make him somewhat embarrassed.
But his expression quickly turned serious.
"But since I invited her, I won't abandon her."
Astolfo shouted loudly.
Although his words sounded completely illogical, they were consistent with his characteristic of losing all reason.
But his heroic spirit impressed Shirou Kotomine.
After all, he hadn't shown Shirou Kotomine anything that could make him a hero.
"How interesting!"
Kotomine Shirou couldn't help but smile.
At this point, Shirou Kotomine could have easily abandoned Atalanta and dealt with Astolfo, who was right behind him.
Then, he received his power and summoned a hawk to attack Atalanta from the air.
If you can't outrun someone, can't you at least fly?
This is indeed a relatively convenient path for Shirou Kotomine.
But Shirou Kotomine did not intend to do that.
Although he didn't make a personal promise, Shirou Kotomine had already decided in the thick fog to deal with Atalanta first and then Astolfo.
Although he did not promise Astolfo this.
But he made a promise to himself.
Shirou Kotomine is not prepared to break his promise.
Shirou Kotomine shifted his gaze from Astolfo and refocused it on Atalanta.
By this time, there was already some distance between him and Atalanta.
This distance is easily traversable by Shirou Kotomine using teleportation.
But he had already used this tactic before, so Atalanta was bound to be wary of it.
No, she will definitely be on guard against it.
To begin with, Shirou Kotomine was not as fast as Atalanta, and his speed slowed down even further after entering the jungle.
Logically speaking, under these circumstances, he should have already been left behind by Atalanta.
But he was still chasing Atalanta.
This indicates that the other party has slowed down.
She was on guard against a sudden attack from Shirou Kotomine.
As a Servant skilled in high-speed combat, Atalanta was clearly confident that she could evade Shirou Kotomine's surprise attack.
Even when she slows down, she can accelerate at any time.
"This is getting more and more interesting."
A smile involuntarily crept onto Shirou Kotomine's lips.
Although there are still many battles waiting for him in the floating fortress in the sky.
But he was still enjoying the battle.
"Indeed, the joy of competing with others is boundless!"
Kotomine Shirou stared intently at Atalanta's retreating figure, pondering where he should launch his attack.
And soon, Shirou Kotomine came to a conclusion.
"Let's change players!"
During his rapid run, Shirou Kotomine suddenly paused for a moment.
In that instant, Shirou Kotomine's inner self changed.
The power of Jack the Ripper that he had previously received has disappeared.
At this moment, what filled Kotomine Shirou to the brim was Tomoe Gozen's power.
As Shirou Kotomine's earliest cursed spirit servant, Tomoe Gozen's strength is undoubtedly extremely powerful.
After her power was absorbed by Shirou Kotomine, it also greatly enhanced Shirou Kotomine's power.
Noble Phantasm activated.
The magic within his body began to transform into flames.
The longbow belonging to Tomoe Gozen was held in Kotomine Shirou's hand.
Draw your bow and aim.
Everything happened in an instant; a crimson arrow pierced through the void, aimed directly at Atalanta's back.
But how could Atalanta be defeated so easily?
She didn't increase her speed to its maximum, and having been on guard against Kotomine Shirou the whole time, she easily dodged the arrow.
The crimson arrow swiftly sank into the ground.
The next moment, a massive explosion erupted.
And it rose right in front of Atalanta.
Affected by the sudden explosion, Atalanta's speed decreased sharply.
This is her way of avoiding danger.
At that very moment, teleportation occurred again.
Kotomine Shirou leaped behind Atalanta once more, his longbow now transformed into a naginata, which he swung directly at her.
Although Shirou Kotomine seized the opportunity very well.
This was indeed the moment when Atalanta was at her worst, but she still managed to react.
She quickly crouched down, and the naginata slashed across her head.
Without the slightest hesitation, Atalanta immediately rolled to the side to quickly increase the distance between herself and Shirou Kotomine.
However, Shirou Kotomine's reaction was also incredibly swift.
Even after his first attack missed, he changed his movements and charged toward where Atalanta was rolling, trying not to give her any chance to catch her breath.
But at that very moment, Astolfo arrived.
He had always been by Kotomine Shirou's side.
Even though Shirou Kotomine jumped a certain distance, Astolfo quickly crossed that distance the instant he clashed with Atalanta in place.
The sharp lance thrust towards Kotomine Shirou.
He dodged Astolfo's attack by sidestepping and then casually flicked him away with the end of his naginata.
Kotomine Shirou continued his attack on Atalanta.
Taking advantage of the moment Astolfo tried to stop her, Atalanta quickly retreated.
But this time she did not choose to run away.
Instead, they chose to attack.
After creating distance, Atalanta continued to fire.
Sharp arrows shot towards Kotomine Shirou.
But as mentioned before.
With the aid of the pseudo-Mystic Eyes, arrows, which have a delayed effect, no longer pose any threat to Shirou Kotomine.
This is actually quite normal.
As the strength of both sides continued to increase, bows and arrows gradually became less effective.
Because the strong react extremely quickly.
Compared to melee weapons, the effectiveness of bows and arrows, which have an attack delay, will naturally decrease over time.
Unless you're not shooting an arrow.
It's a cannon!
For example, the Heroic Spirit Emiya, who is known as the "Nuclear Bomb Sword Immortal".
Or Gilgamesh who directly uses his Noble Phantasm.
In short, on the battlefield where high-level combat power is competed, it is difficult for a pure archer to stand out.
Unless you fight without a bow and arrow.
And those powerful archers each had their own unique skills.
For example, Atalanta, with her speed and agility, can easily kite her opponent, and she also possesses a Noble Phantasm of military strength.
But as long as Atalanta doesn't use her Noble Phantasm.
Therefore, she posed no danger whatsoever in Kotomine Shirou's eyes.
At most, they're just a bit faster and harder to catch.
Therefore, facing Atalanta's arrows, Shirou Kotomine did not hesitate at all and rushed forward quickly.
"Choosing to fight back instead of continuing to run away is the worst choice for you."
Another instantaneous teleportation.
Shirou Kotomine, who reappeared before Atalanta, also swung his iron fist.
Atalanta was prepared once again.
She has already adopted a defensive stance.
Atalanta was preparing to use Shirou Kotomine's punch to widen the distance between them again.
This is the best course of action for her at this moment.
But this time, she couldn't get her wish.
Black lightning crackled around Shirou Kotomine's fist as Black Flash was activated.
In other words, it was a critical hit.
The punch broke through Atalanta's defenses and struck her in the abdomen.
Kotomine Shirou's fist pierced right through her body.
In the blink of an eye, Atalanta was on the verge of death.