Chapter 1619: Lancers Have Always Been Weaklings

The night wind swept up dead leaves, and a deathly silence fell over the courtyard. Shiro Emiya glanced at the command seal on his hand, then towards Su Xiao; the magic circuits within his body were already connected with the command seal, and the command seal, in turn, was linked to the man who emerged from the summoning circle.

Shiro Emiya was evidently not stupid, quickly realizing some of the implications. Could this man who appeared later, dressed in a long leather coat and with a long knife at his waist, be an ally?

Clueless as he was, Shiro Emiya might not yet know what his assumed ally would do in the near future. It was clear that the compatibility between Su Xiao and Shiro Emiya was severely mismatched, completely at two extremes. However, Su Xiao didn’t have the habit of wanton killing of civilians, and he had an irreconcilably adversarial relationship with the Blood Gate.

“Kid, so you are the seventh Master, I really underestimated you.”

The Lancer, holding a Blood Spear, spoke. He was the Lancer class in this Holy Grail War, one of the seven Servants, named Cu Chulainn, the renowned hero ‘Child of Light’ from the Northern Ireland Ulster region. However, compared to the title ‘Child of Light,’ more people referred to him as the ‘Hound of Culann,’ and some affectionately called him Dog Brother. Cu Chulainn himself had once said that he would not harm any canine life forms.

Cu Chulainn’s looks would undoubtedly rank among the top few of the Servants in this war. Though the prowess of Lancers was generally nothing exceptional, they were often rather handsome. The last Lancer to die at Su Xiao’s hands had been embroiled in a complicated affair with his Master’s fiancée, resulting in his Master’s ordering him to confront Su Xiao, leading to his tragic demise.

Cu Chulainn glanced at Su Xiao, unable to immediately discern what legend Su Xiao might have come from. Judging by his weapon, Su Xiao was undoubtedly a close-combat fighter, leading Cu Chulainn to instinctively think Su Xiao might be an Assassin.

As an Assassin’s close combat ability was something Lancer Cu Chulainn would not fear, he twirled the long spear in his hand, taking a single step forward, gesturing for Su Xiao to come at him.

Su Xiao took a deep breath. The air in the anomalous space was very murky, and the environment dimly lit. As for Lancer Cu Chulainn, he could probably handle 2-3 of them simultaneously, but since Cu Chulainn’s Master was a cunning old fox, and the Blood Gate Adventure Group hadn’t yet shown up, causing too big a commotion wouldn’t be wise. Otherwise, he would have already used the Core of Devour to convert the opponents into energy.

Indeed, Su Xiao’s entry into the Holy Grail World had another benefit: he could elevate the level of his Blue Steel Shadow ability. Heroic Spirits were composed of high purity life energy. He had devoured many before, with the most exquisite flavor, of course, being Artoria Pendragon. Unfortunately, he never had the chance to devour that King of Knights.

“Lancer, go back and tell Kirei Kotomine that I will ‘visit’ him sometime. Although he no longer remembers who I am, his father was an old acquaintance of mine, that patricidal bastard.”

Su Xiao’s words caught Cu Chulainn off guard; he instinctively thought that Su Xiao could very well have been a Heroic Spirit who participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War.

“Are you… looking down on me?”

Just as Cu Chulainn finished speaking, he suddenly heard the crisp ringing of a blade. Su Xiao had somehow already appeared behind him.

Bang, clang, boom!

Cu Chulainn smashed through the courtyard wall, rolling a couple of times on the road before standing up. The speed… was simply on a different level.

Countless blade auras cleaved through the courtyard walls, advancing straight towards Cu Chulainn. As a Heroic Spirit, he wasn’t a pushover either. With a flick of his long spear, he leapt to his feet, turning the long spear with both hands to form a blood wheel in front of him.

Cling, cling, cling…

Sparks flew as all the blade auras slashed by Su Xiao were blocked. Before Cu Chulainn could replenish his energy, Su Xiao’s ghostly figure appeared before him.

With a swish, the long knife slashed across Cu Chulainn’s cheek, leaving a blood streak. He shifted his spear, aiming to pierce Su Xiao’s jaw, obviously intent on skewering Su Xiao’s head.

Su Xiao slightly tilted his head, astonishingly letting go of the Dragon Slash in his hand, dodging the spear while kicking Cu Chulainn in the shin.

With a thud, Cu Chulainn was kicked back a step, his right leg completely numb from the knee down. Before he could retract his spear for defense, Su Xiao hooked his fingers, and the Dragon Slash flew back into his hand, having only let go of the knife to divert Cu Chulainn’s attention.

The knife blade cut through the air, leaving three intersecting slash marks on Cu Chulainn’s chest. Before he could scream in pain, a hand enveloped in blue smoke seized his throat.

The blue smoke enwrapped Cu Chulainn’s entire torso, filling him with weakness, immediately followed by sharp pain, as if his soul was gradually being stripped away.

Cu Chulainn, the famed ‘Child of Light’ on the battlefield, naturally wouldn’t let out any cries, merely grunting in response.

The Core of Devour instantly activated to its fullest, rapidly dimming Cu Chulainn’s form within the blue haze. Seconds later, Su Xiao flung the Lancer in his hand away.

With a thunderous crash, Cu Chulainn broke a street lamp, crouching on the ground, coughing dryly. He was utterly bewildered that a monster like this could be summoned by that youth’s level of magic?

The Heroic Spirit energy flowed through Su Xiao’s arms into the Core of Devour, ultimately transforming into a colorless energy absorbed by the Blue Steel Shadow energy. Due to the high level of the Blue Steel Shadow ability and not having fully devoured Cu Chulainn, the level did not increase.

“What a pity.”

Su Xiao sighed with some regret. If it were his usual method, he would have completely converted Cu Chulainn into Heroic Spirit energy earlier to ensure silence, but compared to settling old scores with the Blood Gate Adventure Group, the remaining Heroic Spirit energy within Cu Chulainn wasn’t worth the risk. With a Heroic Spirit dead right after the start of the battle, if the people of Blood Gate weren’t complete fools, they would definitely investigate fully, thus eliminating unknown risks.

Cu Chulainn’s figure, somewhat translucent, stood up. In that brief moment earlier, he had felt close to being completely devoured.

Cu Chulainn said no more, leaping smartly away, vanishing into the night with a few bounds. He could accept defeat, but losing face was unacceptable, even if he’d been beaten to the ground earlier.

In the courtyard, Shiro Emiya, through the large hole in the wall, stared blankly at Cu Chulainn’s departing figure. This Lancer had previously pursued him relentlessly, gritting his teeth with nowhere to escape, only to now retreat so disheveled.

“Thank you… for saving me.”

Although Shiro Emiya vaguely sensed that Su Xiao wasn’t someone from the Order Faction, the fact that he had just saved his life meant that a face-to-face token of gratitude was still warranted.

“If you don’t mind, come inside please.”

Shiro Emiya glanced at the holes in the house and wall, feeling somewhat pained. He was just a student, and his funds came solely from his adoptive father’s inheritance and part-time jobs.

“If I’m not mistaken, are you Shiro Emiya?”

Seated on the wall, Su Xiao lit a cigarette with a click.

“You know me?”

Shiro Emiya was clearly puzzled, not entirely sure what was happening.

“I knew your adoptive father.”

“Really?”

Shiro Emiya’s impression of Su Xiao slightly improved.

“Indeed.”

Is that really the case? Of course not. In the last Holy Grail War, Su Xiao had used the Spider Queen to shoot Kiritugu Emiya to shatter through the walls. However, in this Holy Grail World, there was no such history now.