"Are you not done yet?"
Bai Ye felt the strong wind beside him and suddenly raised his foot, stomping heavily on the ground.
With a *boom*!
A large expanse of flames appeared from beneath Bai Ye's feet, then rose and tumbled, pushing outwards in all directions.
In the glow of the firelight, the figure of Fuma Kotaro was revealed.
Bai Ye curled the corner of his mouth and said, "Found you!"
It was just concealment, not disappearance, and certainly not a higher-level stealth like invisibility. He was merely using the surrounding shadows to hide his form.
Since that was the case, all he needed to do was illuminate the surroundings.
Bai Ye suddenly shifted his body, dodging the shuriken thrown by Fuma Kotaro, and then his feet stomped hard on the ground.
*Bang*!
The ground shattered!
Bai Ye shot forward, instantly appearing before Fuma Kotaro, his renowned sword Bloodthirst slashing forward.
*Clang*!
A crisp clashing sound rang out.
Fuma Kotaro quickly parried Bai Ye's attack with his short sword and then retreated rapidly.
But in that instant...
Bai Ye reached out, and the Steel Slime rapidly writhed, forming the Shadow Axe in Bai Ye's left hand. He then hurled it forward with great force.
Fuma Kotaro clearly hadn't expected Bai Ye to suddenly produce a weapon. However, Fuma Kotaro's reaction was incredibly fast, and he immediately performed an evasive maneuver, arching backward.
*Screech*!
Fuma Kotaro's clothing was torn by a slit, but fortunately, he avoided the rapidly spinning Shadow Axe.
Fuma Kotaro quickly turned, attempting to continue his evasive maneuvers, but...
His speed had become so slow!
Fuma Kotaro showed surprise, completely bewildered by what was happening.
The reason was simple, because...
Crippled (For the first target hit, reduce their movement speed by 50% for 7 seconds)
The effect of the Shadow Axe had taken hold!
*Bang*!
Bai Ye leaped forward, once again appearing beside Fuma Kotaro.
In terms of pure speed, Bai Ye admitted he was likely no match for Fuma Kotaro; this guy's movement speed was unimaginably fast.
However, with a 50% reduction, it was a different story.
*Bang*!
Bai Ye closed in on Fuma Kotaro, directly delivering a knee strike to his abdomen, and then grabbed Fuma Kotaro by the neck.
"Flame Burst!"
Flames surged from Bai Ye's hand, followed by a massive explosion.
A huge fireball erupted from Bai Ye's hand, engulfing Fuma Kotaro, but...
Bai Ye frowned slightly.
A Flame Burst at such close range, even if his head wasn't blown to smithereens, would undoubtedly cause significant injury.
Yet, Bai Ye felt something was off, or rather, the sensation was wrong.
Bai Ye swung his arm forcefully, dispersing the flames, and then looked ahead.
What he was holding by the neck wasn't Fuma Kotaro, but a wooden stump.
The next instant...
A shadowy silhouette of a human figure rapidly glided along the ground. After creating distance from Bai Ye, Fuma Kotaro suddenly emerged from beneath the ground and leaped into the air, landing on a utility pole to the side.
"This visit concludes for today. I shall take my leave."
Fuma Kotaro knew he had kicked a steel plate. Even if Gilgamesh didn't intervene, facing him head-on...
He didn't seem to be Bai Ye's match!
Since that was the case, a strategic retreat was the only option!
After speaking, Fuma Kotaro quickly jumped onto a nearby rooftop.
Bai Ye rapidly advanced, and as he pursued, he formed a sword incantation, materializing the Frost Sword, which shot forward, transforming into a streak of light.
But he was still a step too slow. By the time the Frost Sword arrived, Fuma Kotaro had already leaped down the other side of the rooftop.
With a *boom*!
Bai Ye's sword sliced through the rooftop, leaving a large hole.
...
Night descended, and lights twinkled in the distance.
Li Jiayi sat by a riverside bridge, playing a melodious tune on a leaf.
Suddenly, a figure flashed behind Li Jiayi.
Fuma Kotaro knelt, head bowed, and said, "Apologies, I was unsuccessful."
Li Jiayi was not surprised. He put down the leaf and asked, "Your assassination attempt failed?"
Fuma Kotaro replied, "Yes, the opponent was extremely vigilant."
Li Jiayi asked, "Did you engage in direct combat with the opponent?"
Fuma Kotaro was silent for a moment, a look of apology on his face. "We did engage, but I am no match for the opponent."
Li Jiayi said, "It's alright. Your specialty is assassination, after all. Forcing you into direct combat was indeed asking too much."
Fuma Kotaro lowered his head further and said, "No, I failed to accomplish what you instructed."
Li Jiayi turned around and asked, "Hmm?"
Fuma Kotaro continued, "The opponent's Servant did not intervene. I only briefly engaged with the opponent's Master, and I was not their match. Therefore, I could not complete your mission to ascertain the identity of the opponent's Heroic Spirit."
"Is that so..." Li Jiayi pondered for a moment. "At least you saw his Heroic Spirit. Are there any clues?"
Fuma Kotaro replied, "They wore golden armor. I surmise they are likely a swordsman or a knight. Due to the heavy armor, they were not very agile. It's unlikely to be a Lancer, but that possibility cannot be entirely ruled out."
Fuma Kotaro pondered further and added, "The probability of Berserker is also low. They did not exhibit that kind of frenzied aura."
Li Jiayi nodded and said, "Thank you for your efforts. You did very well."
Li Jiayi inwardly sighed. Among the seven classes of Heroic Spirits, the ones he least wanted were Assassin and Archer.
These two could be inferred from their names alone: skilled in assassination and ranged combat.
It wasn't a question of strength, but rather that their combat styles had obvious limitations and equally obvious weaknesses.
Next came Caster, whose limitations were also apparent, but comparatively, magic could create more miracles, so they were still somewhat acceptable.
What Li Jiayi desired most were Swordsman and Berserker, and it seemed highly probable that these had fallen into Bai Ye's hands.
But since the Heroic Spirits had already been summoned, what could Li Jiayi do?
Glancing at Fuma Kotaro, Li Jiayi felt he might as well make do. At least the man was loyal. At worst, they could swap roles, with the Servant playing support and Li Jiayi, the Master, working harder and taking the front lines himself.
"Let's go!" Li Jiayi said. "We'll find a place to settle down first."
Meanwhile...
Bai Ye and Gilgamesh were also discussing the same issue.
"Archer?" Bai Ye looked at Gilgamesh incredulously. "Is there even a single part of you that resembles an Archer?"
Bai Ye found it utterly incomprehensible that Gilgamesh was an Archer. What kind of Archer wore heavy, dazzling golden armor?
On the battlefield, wouldn't that make him a target?
Both conspicuous and lacking in agility!