Chapter 328: Operation

Chapter 328: Chapter 328: Operation

"Eh...?"

March 7th was completely stunned.

Her berserk state was interrupted so abruptly that it sputtered, her crimson eyes rapidly fading back to their original clear pinkish-blue.

Immediately after, intense pain erupted from all over her body—her forehead, waist, arms, calves... "Ugh... it hurts so much..."

She whimpered softly, tears uncontrollably welling up in her eyes.

All the injuries she had ignored during her berserk state now resurfaced, reminding her how brutal the battle had been.

Her legs gave out, and she plopped down onto the cold debris. Her small mouth was pouting, her pink hair was messy and dusted with ash, and there was a black mark on her face. With her teary eyes, she looked like a wronged kitten whose dried fish had been stolen and had also been beaten.

The Insectified Lancer stabilized its stance, its four arms spread out, its empty gaze locked onto the newly appeared shadowy figure, letting out a threatening hiss.

The shadowy figure—the Bug Armor Assassin—tilted its head slightly, glancing at March 7th, who was sitting on the ground shedding tears, through its dark red visual slits. A faint whoosh of air seemed to come from beneath its faceplate, and then it refocused on its opponent, assuming a combat stance.

"Ms. Herta?"

Star’s voice pulled Black Herta back from her subtle daze.

Star was still holding a skewer of glistening, sugar-coated Qiongshi birds, her golden eyes curiously looking at her: "You don’t like this? I saw you shake your head just now."

Black Herta then realized that her subconscious head shake had been noticed by Star.

She glanced at the bright red Tanghulu in Star’s hand, then at the skewer she had taken a small bite from, its sugar shell shimmering enticingly under the artificial light of the Xianzhou Loufu.

"No,"

She curved her lips slightly, a perfectly measured smile, "I just feel... pity."

"Pity?" Star blinked, not understanding.

Welt glanced at Black Herta, his gaze thoughtful behind his glasses, but he didn’t press the matter.

Black Herta, meanwhile, chewed on the sweet and sour fruit while pleasantly enjoying the real-time footage transmitted through the Bug Armor Assassin’s perspective deep within her consciousness—the pink-haired girl sitting on the ground, teary-eyed, covered in dust, looking bewildered and wronged.

(Hmm, March 7th all dusty and disheveled... her tears are like little pearls.)

(I really do have a dark sense of humor.)

She thought, in a good mood.

Long Night Moon slowly lowered the slightly raised tip of her umbrella. The vigilance in her crimson eyes had not faded, but was replaced by a hint of surprise and doubt.

She scrutinized the dark figure that had suddenly appeared, blocked the Lancer’s attack, and was now confronting the Insectified Lancer.

(This aura... it’s not a Servant, at least not entirely. It’s mixed with insect characteristics, but the structure is stable, the energy is contained, and its actions are clear...)

(It came from the side corridor... could it be related to the anomaly on Yae Sakura’s side just now?)

A thought flashed like lightning through her mind—Madam Herta’s operation.

(Using the enemy’s soldiers against the enemy? Or modifying them on the spot? As expected of the Lady...)

Long Night Moon’s heart settled slightly, but she did not relax.

She subtly adjusted her stance, her black umbrella still open, its surface slightly angled towards Phantylia, guarding against the Lord Ravager’s possible reactions.

Phantylia’s reaction was indeed worth guarding against.

The charming smile on her face, as if everything was under her control, had faded slightly.

Her fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze carefully scrutinizing the Bug Armor Assassin, and her fan stopped swaying.

"Oh my?"

She murmured softly, a hint of genuine surprise in her voice, "Where did this little cutie come from? The aura is a bit familiar... yet also a bit strange."

She could naturally sense the strong Propagation aura on the Bug Armor Assassin, but this mutated entity was certainly not naturally born.

(Someone interfered. Right under my nose?)

(The two little girls from the Tohsaka Family and Tokiomi escaped... Kirei Kotomine is also nowhere to be seen. Or... have others entered the arena?)

Phantylia’s thoughts raced, her gaze subtly sweeping across the hall, especially at Long Night Moon and her seemingly unremarkable black umbrella.

She didn’t sense any obvious power, but this only made her more wary.

Being able to act under her nose without her sensing it was itself a problem.

(Interesting... increasingly interesting.)

Her smile reappeared, deeper than before, but also colder.

The fan began to sway gently again, and her gaze returned to the center of the battlefield.

There, the Bug Armor Assassin had already made the first move!

Its hunched figure suddenly shot forward, moving so fast that it left a faint black afterimage!

Two slender rapier-like blade limbs from its front right extended like venomous dragons emerging from their lairs, one high and one low, thrusting towards the Lancer’s face and the spiritual core in its chest!

At the same time, the curved scythe blade on its left silently traced an arc, blocking the Lancer’s possible evasion route to the right!

The Insectified Lancer roared, all four arms moving in unison!

Its twin spears precisely parried the incoming blades, emitting two sharp ’clangs’!

Simultaneously, its right blade-arm struck at the incoming scythe, while its left blade-arm seized the opportunity to thrust, attempting to counterattack the Bug Armor Assassin’s relatively unprotected waist and abdomen!

However, the Bug Armor Assassin’s other blade limbs on its back seemed to possess independent consciousness!

The segmented whip-blades arrived first, wrapping around the Lancer’s thrusting blade-arm like spiritual snakes, twisting and pulling sharply!

Meanwhile, the relatively thicker heavy armored hook-claw arm delivered a fierce punch to the Lancer’s right shoulder blade, which was slightly exposed due to blocking the rapier blades!

The battle instantly escalated to a fever pitch!

Outside the Matou Residence, the night deepened.

Herta still stood before the tightly closed gate, a purple light screen floating before her, split into two clear views.

The left screen showed a first-person perspective, steadily advancing through a dark, damp underground passage filled with insect shells and mucus. Occasionally, the huge, abnormal shadows of arthropods would rapidly dart across the edge of the vision—that was Stelle’s view.

The right screen showed a third-person follow-view, with Iskandar’s robust figure exploring down another, narrower stone staircase. He had even pulled out a wine flask from somewhere, drinking as he walked, as boisterous as if he were strolling through his own cellar.

Just now, Herta discovered that there was more than one underground entrance.

The main passage Stelle was exploring was wide but showed clear signs of insects, while another side had a relatively hidden small passage.

After a very brief discussion, Saber went to the main passage to rendezvous with and support Stelle, while Rider explored the small passage alone to see if he could outflank or discover other clues.

Waver and Irisviel were left outside—the former lacked sufficient strength, and the latter needed protection.

"Caster’s master is truly impressive."

Irisviel gazed at the dark entrance of the mansion, sighing softly, "Exploring such a place alone..."

"She’s special."

Herta replied without turning her head.

Waver, listening nearby, subconsciously imagined the grey-haired, golden-eyed, rarely expressive girl advancing unflinchingly through such a bug-infested place, and couldn’t help but shiver, his awe for her deepening.

In the brief silence, Irisviel seemed to want to find a topic of conversation. She looked at Herta’s gracefully sculpted profile, hesitated, and then asked, "Ms. Herta... do you have any wishes for the Holy Grail? A powerful Heroic Spirit like you must have extraordinary aspirations, right?"

Herta’s gaze did not leave the light screen.

Upon hearing this, she simply replied casually, "Wishes? Wishing to that cup? Don’t make me laugh."

"Eh?" Irisviel was startled, and Waver also perked up his ears.

"The principle of that thing is probably just a high-concentration energy aggregate plus a half-baked acceptance mechanism,"

Herta’s tone was like evaluating a poorly designed experimental instrument. "Wishing? And the kind that can grant anything? If there were really such a convenient thing in the universe, the Machine Head would probably be the first to dismantle it."

She shrugged, "What about energy conservation? What about logical consistency? What about the cost of granting wishes and the specific execution method? It claims to be omnipotent without explaining anything clearly. It sounds like more marketing gimmick than actual function."

Her wording was very direct.

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