Chapter 287: Persuasion Successful

Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Persuasion Successful

However, Aglaea was by no means unprepared.

At the very instant Sakura activated her "Moment," the Golden Threads filling the space surged wildly as if possessing a will of their own, coiling layer upon layer around Sakura’s entire body in an attempt to hinder her movements.

Simultaneously, the headless Tailor and two other silver rapiers of similar design, appearing from nowhere, materialized as if by teleportation at Sakura’s vital points—her temple, heart, and throat—with their tips mere millimeters from her body!

This was the web of certain death woven by Aglaea!

Using offense as defense; before you can strike me, my blade will have already reached your fatal point!

But Sakura’s blade was faster than she had anticipated.

It was not the movement speed, but the moment of eruption.

"At this moment, the Moment."

The moment the whisper fell, the deep blue Frozen Domain took form.

Those coiling Golden Threads and those lethal blade tips were forcibly halted by the absolute-zero chill and stagnant space just before they could touch Sakura’s body, unable to advance even a fraction further!

And the blade in Sakura’s hand, like a bolt of cold lightning tearing through frozen earth, precisely pierced through that brief gap in defense and thrust into the chest of Aglaea, who sat upon her wheelchair.

There was no spray of blood.

The moment the blade entered her body, an extreme chill erupted from the inside out!

Magnificent frost patterns rapidly spread across Aglaea’s pale gold dress, starting from the wound on her chest, quickly freezing her body, the wheelchair beneath her, and even the parts of the Golden Threads around her that had not yet been covered by the "Frozen Domain."

Sakura’s gray eyes were calm and waveless, her wrist as steady as a rock.

She slowly thrust the katana in completely until the hilt, then pulled it out cleanly and decisively.

"Clang—"

A soft ring sounded as the blade left her body.

As the blade was extracted, there was no blood from the frozen wound on Aglaea’s chest, only glittering shards of ice drifting away.

She herself, along with the wheelchair, had turned into an exquisite yet cold pale gold ice sculpture, frozen in the posture of a counterattack that had failed to fully execute.

The deep blue Frozen Domain quietly dissipated, the light of the Golden Threads dimmed, and the Tailor and the other two rapiers fell to the ground as if losing their support, turning into specks of golden light and vanishing.

[System Prompt: Target ’Aglaea’ has lost combat capability. ’Persuasion’ successful. Status resetting.]

Sakura sheathed her blade, the chill surrounding her body slowly receding.

She quietly glanced at the ice-sculpted Aglaea, then her figure faded from the beach scene, returning to the Elysian Realm.

Elysian Realm · Central Hall

The hall was silent.

The split-second, lightning-fast moment of victory just now had caused all the spectators—whether they were the battle-hardened Flame-Chasers or the Golden Descendants who were unfamiliar with combat—to hold their breath.

Not until the system prompt sounded, the image of Aglaea turning into an ice sculpture appeared, and Sakura’s figure vanished, did the crowd seem to be released from a paralysis spell.

[Pardofelis:...Is, is it over?]

[Elysia: Wow... that was really fast! From Sakura suddenly turning back and accelerating, to the appearance of the Frozen Domain, and then the one-blade victory... it felt like less than a second!]

[Kevin: Hm. The extremity of the Moment.]

[Fu Hua: She grasped the absolute gap between the Golden Threads’ perception and the counterattack. Her grasp of timing and distance was perfect.]

[Su: A strike where both heart and technique reached their peak.]

[Vill-V: Recording complete! Instantaneous peak speed broke the theoretical limit! Frozen Domain deployment time: 0.0003 seconds! Error between attack trajectory and Golden Threads interception net is less than 0.01 millimeters! Perfect! Too perfect! Sakura! You are the embodiment of speed! (Dancing with excitement)]

[Cyrene: (Patting her chest, letting out a long sigh of relief) Great! Miss Sakura won! That was really nerve-wracking just now!]

[Big Tribbie: (Eyes sparkling) So cool! Whoosh! And then crack! She won!]

Anaxa also clapped lightly, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, but deep in his eyes, a trace of... regret, which perhaps even he hadn’t clearly realized, flashed by.

(What a pity... I didn’t get to see that girl look deflated... With her arrogant nature, if she had been defeated while conscious, her expression would have been very interesting...)

He immediately suppressed this unkind thought and coughed lightly.

Everyone’s gaze refocused on the light screen.

In the beach scene, the ice sculpture freezing Aglaea was slowly melting, turning into specks of light.

And the data of Aglaea’s main body seemed to be undergoing some kind of connection by the system.

[System Prompt: Synchronization rate of Chrysos Heir ’Aglaea’ increased. Imprisonment being lifted... Consciousness link established... Estimated time to full awakening: 12 hours.]

"Success!"

Cyrene cheered softly and happily.

Elysia also smiled: "That’s great~ In this way, we have one more ’wisdom representative’ on our side! I wonder what Miss Aglaea will be like after she wakes up?"

The atmosphere in the hall became relaxed and pleasant.

The first victory is always exhilarating.

Fuyuki City · Port Warehouse District

The tense duel in the Paradise had come to an end, but the atmosphere at the port was sprinting towards an even more chaotic direction.

Ms. Herta’s impatient self-introduction was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples in the empty wharf.

Saber’s emerald eyes flashed with a hint of doubt; she quickly searched her vast royal knowledge base but did not find any Heroic Spirit or historical figure named "Herta."

Irisviel tilted her head slightly and whispered to Saber: "Is it a pseudonym? Or some kind of code name?"

Only Rider, the King of Conquerors Iskandar, after a brief moment of stunned silence, not only did not question it, but erupted into even louder laughter, his bell-like eyes filled with even greater interest:

"Hahaha! Herta? Good! This King has noted this name! Whether it is a real name or a code name, a lady possessing such spirit and power is worthy of respect in her own right!"

He waved his hand and issued another confident invitation: "Then, Ms. Herta! Since we are both people competing for the Holy Grail, why not join my ranks? Share the joy and glory of conquering the world with this King! Your power, combined with this King’s army, will surely sweep away all obstacles!"

Ms. Herta, upon hearing this, couldn’t even be bothered to lift an eyelid.

Her purple-black eyes swept over Rider’s passionate face, emitting a very faint sneer.

She had no interest whatsoever in so-called "kingly aura," "knightly honor," or "ambition of conquest."

"Join you? Share the joy of conquest?"

Ms. Herta finally spoke, her voice cold and aloof, carrying a condescending indifference, "Heh. I don’t care if you are self-proclaimed kings or sung-about emperors; in my eyes, your value is limited to your very form of existence, and those things called ’Noble Phantasms’ which are barely worth a look."

She paused, looking at Rider’s still thick-skinned smile, and the displeasure appearing on the faces of Saber and Lancer, and continued in her flat yet stinging tone:

"As for the rest? Your ambition, honor, grudges, and this game of house playing to compete for a so-called ’omnipotent wish-granting machine’..."

Ms. Herta tilted her head slightly, a flicker of undisguised boredom flashing in her purple-black eyes:

"...Boring to death."

Rider’s smile stiffened for a moment, but quickly recovered, only with a bit more regret: "What a pity, Ms. Herta. It seems you are a maverick powerhouse. However, this King will not give up! One day, you will understand the joy of fighting side by side with this King!"

Ms. Herta couldn’t be bothered to respond further.

She seemed to have lost patience with the conversation at hand, turning her gaze elsewhere, as if looking for something more interesting.

At the same time, dozens of diamond-shaped light mirrors of varying sizes, with complex purple runes flowing along their edges, appeared around her without warning.

These light mirrors emitted dangerous magical fluctuations; the mirror surfaces slightly adjusted their angles, locking onto Saber, Lancer, and Rider present, and even including Irisviel in the distance and the trembling Waver!

At the center of each light mirror, blinding purple energy began to coalesce.

"!"

Saber immediately blocked in front of Irisviel with her sword held horizontally, the Invisible Air slightly surging.

Rider also restrained his smile, and the bulls on the gordius wheel let out a low roar.

And Waver, hiding behind Rider’s massive frame, was already pale with fright.

His instinct as a Magus, combined with his sensitivity to Servant data, made him subconsciously activate his detection magic, wanting to peek at the stats of this "Caster" who had such terrifyingly big talk and mysterious methods.

Magical perception extended carefully like tentacles...

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