Fate: The Forged Arthur Pendragon

Merlin's urgent cries rang in his ears.

Suya also realized the gravity of the situation.

Their worst fear—that killing two scout cavalrymen would lead to the scout cavalry captain hunting them down—had finally come to pass!

The enemy was a professional assassin, according to Merlin.

Suya had no direct concept of what that term meant, but from what he'd seen so far, the opponent's martial arts were leagues beyond the two scout cavalrymen he'd killed earlier.

In just one exchange, he was almost stabbed to death, and he'd even lost his weapon.

Facing such a formidable opponent,

What should he do?!

Thoughts raced through his mind, but before Suya could make his next move,

Behind him,

A thunderous hoofbeat, like a rapid alarm, echoed closer—

Like a straight black line, the black warhorse slammed into the flank of the warhorse Suya and Merlin had just dismounted from!

Facing the black horse charging at nearly a hundred kilometers per hour, Merlin's brown warhorse was instantly flipped over, flying far past Suya's head as he semi-crouched on the ground. It crashed to the ground like a doll with dislocated joints, its hooves trying to bend and struggle a few times before it gradually choked and lost its life.

Suya's mind went blank for a moment.

Meanwhile,

The short spear aimed at Suya's throat was sharply pulled back, its shaft blocking the magical flower petal shot towards his face.

Bang!

Crack!

The short spear's shaft snapped in two!

"Hurry! What are you gaping at?!"

Merlin grabbed Suya's collar from behind, pulling the stunned Suya up. Her crimson eyes stared directly into his, biting her lip slightly.

"Just one last step!"

"Just one last step, and we can leave this place and embrace the life we dream of!"

"Don't you dare stop here!"

"Use the magic you've inherited, use the Noble Phantasm you've just gained, use every means at your disposal—"

"Didn't you say you'd let me use you!?"

"Then get up!"

"Suya—"

"Fight!"

The red-haired, sinister man, Shugus, narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping across the ground and surroundings before settling on the bouquet of white roses in Suya's hand. He twitched his nose slightly.

"Oh~, so there's a mage too!"

"Then let's kill them both."

He spread his hands, glanced at the broken short spear, stepped forward, gripping both broken shafts. With his arms raised and legs slightly bent, he spun his whole body, swinging his arms!

The broken short spears were thrown by Shugus, one after another!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Suya's pupils abruptly constricted.

However, at this moment,

Suya felt the wisp of silver-white hair he had been clutching in his left hand slip from his palm.

Then,

"Immaculate Illusionary Formula, unfold!"

A clear, cold chant rang out!

A white rose bloomed in Merlin's palm, disintegrated, and instantly transformed into sixteen petals that scattered, circling Merlin's body.

"Cambion Flower Ward!"

As Merlin intertwined her slender fingers, closed her thumbs, separated her little fingers and raised them upward, forming a hand seal, she pressed her fair palm forward.

The petals circling her as a ward instantly shot out like blades!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Using eight petals, she finally deflected the two short spears that had been thrown with great force.

However, at this moment,

Shugus had already drawn the curved dagger from his waist. His feet touched the ground, and his figure flickered like a ghost, rapidly closing in.

During this process, Merlin continuously manipulated petals to attack him.

However,

Under a very strange footwork used by the opponent, the hit rate of the shot petals was less than ten percent.

The petals around Merlin only held out for less than half a minute against him, leaving only six.

At this moment,

Suya finally regained his senses.

This sudden, utterly ruthless battle, which allowed no time for preparation, was difficult for him, who had suddenly transitioned from a peaceful modern world, to adapt to.

Fortunately, Suya wasn't without gains during this process.

He instinctively observed, analyzed, and calculated—

Merlin had already used Suggestion Magic once, Illusion Magic once, and now this was what she called Flower Magic.

Her only remaining ability was to cast Reinforcement Magic once more.

This meant that before the remaining six petals were exhausted, he had to take over the fight and face this professional assassin directly.

And Suya had lost his weapon and didn't understand how to use the magic and Noble Phantasm Merlin mentioned.

However,

This world was like this:

Crises and unexpected events wouldn't wait for you to be fully prepared before knocking on your door!

So, what needed to be done now was—

Suya rolled to the left, where his sword had been knocked away!

As he rolled to avoid a surprise horizontal slash from Shugus, he scrambled to his feet, sprinting frantically, and shouted:

"Merlin, how do I use the magic and Noble Phantasm you mentioned!?"

Merlin looked somewhat startled at Suya, who was dashing towards where his sword had fallen. She didn't understand why Suya, as a direct royal descendant, didn't even know such basic common sense.

However, she immediately replied:

"That thing is like an organ!"

"Would you ask how to use your hands and feet? Just like trying to raise your hand, give commands to your magic and Noble Phantasm with your mind!"

At this moment, Shugus coldly raised an eyebrow, recognizing the intent behind Suya's actions.

"Trying to get your sword back?"

His gaze turned cold.

Although, theoretically, the greater threat in front of him was this pitifully weak mage—judging by the rank of her magic, her professional rank was even higher than his own—

However, without a fortified position and pre-prepared magical tools, such a mage facing a professional adept at close-quarters combat on an open plain was simply a lamb to the slaughter.

Compared to the mage, Suya, who had killed two of his subordinates and escaped from an army of ten thousand with trickery, seemed more threatening to him!

Even if he wasn't even a professional!

With that thought,

Shugus immediately spun around twice, avoiding two petal-bullets fired by Merlin to distract him with his strange footwork.

He bent his legs, did a forward somersault with his head tucked in, like a swimming fish, darting through the barrage of six petal-bullets, landing steadily.

Then, his toes subtly tapped the ground, and his entire body suddenly approached Suya with an almost gliding motion!

And then, he saw—

The brat he was pursuing had suddenly turned around!

And,

Unbeknownst to him, the golden-haired brat's hand now held a silver-white rein with a rose pattern!

He instinctively looped the rein around his neck, then pulled it tight, so much so that the veins on his neck bulged!

And then,

"The rest, leave it to me!"

Suya bared his teeth, staring fixedly at the assassin about to charge forward and kill him. He offered a mocking smile, and beckoned with his finger,

"Come on, assassin!!"