Chapter 254: Head-on Clash
"Moo!"
The Air Cannon precisely struck the bull's back. Although the blow did not severely injure the bull due to its high defense, the sudden attack instinctively caused the bull to rear up its front hooves in mid-air!
The chariot began to tilt backward. Artoria took advantage of the momentum, rushing out from the corner, dodging Iskandar's attempted slash, then grabbing the chariot's handle with her left hand, spinning her body, and fiercely kicking Iskandar!
A tremendous force, disproportionate to her petite size, erupted from her small body. On the tilting bull chariot, Iskandar staggered backward.
But before he could steady himself, Artoria charged forward again.
The golden sword and the short sword clashed. Iskandar balled his free left hand into a fist and swung it toward Artoria, but Artoria unexpectedly abandoned the usual tactics, simply jumping up on the spot, causing their foreheads to instantly collide.
"Ah..."
With a pained head, Iskandar looked at Artoria in front of him, both surprised and slightly amused.
He truly had not expected the Saber, whom he considered quite rigid in his impression, to use a headbutt.
However, his surprise lasted only for a moment before he refocused on Artoria's follow-up attack.
Clearly, Artoria was intent on knocking him off the bull chariot. Unfortunately, Iskandar had already been forced to the edge of the chariot in the previous series of skirmishes by Artoria. Artoria needed only one more attack to make him fall...
But...
"This is my turf, Saber! Don't get too arrogant!"
Iskandar would absolutely not tolerate the disgrace of being knocked off his own ride by an enemy.
Especially since he had confidently promised Waver earlier that he would make Hikigaya Hachiman pay.
If he were knocked off, the King's dignity would be completely gone!
"Drop!"
A loud shout burst from Iskandar's mouth, and the bull, which had been startled, instantly regained its stability.
"Descend!"
Iskandar immediately followed up with a command for the bull chariot to rush downward.
Suddenly, the entire bull chariot rapidly dove toward the ground at an angle of about 60 degrees.
Artoria was preparing to swing her sword, but her center of gravity instantly became unstable, causing her to fall toward the front of the bull chariot.
At the same time, Iskandar seized this rare opportunity, swinging his sword and thrusting it toward Artoria...
With her body mid-air and temporarily unable to exert force, Artoria could only watch Iskandar's short sword getting closer and closer...
"Clang!"
Just as the short sword was about to strike Artoria's body, Artoria moved her long sword over the point of Iskandar's attack, blocking the short sword's advance.
But immediately afterward, Iskandar swung his fist and delivered a heavy blow to her abdomen!
"Ngh..."
Even with the protection of the armor materialized by prana, being struck in the soft abdomen made Artoria feel as if all the strength had been instantly drained from her body.
Fortunately, this feeling of powerlessness only lasted for less than two seconds.
Feeling strength returning to her limbs, Artoria immediately used the momentum of Iskandar's attack to fall downward even faster. She leveraged the bull chariot to jump, and once again initiated a new round of offense against Iskandar...
"They're really fighting fiercely..."
Hikigaya Hachiman stood at the bridgehead, quietly watching the spectacular duel between the two in mid-air.
After the two in the air exchanged dozens more blows, perhaps realizing she couldn't gain an advantage on the bull chariot, Artoria actively leaped from the chariot onto the bridge surface after forcing Iskandar back one more time, and began channeling her Noble Phantasm.
"Hey, don't just use your ultimate move without a word!"
Noticing that her prana was being rapidly drained by Artoria, Hikigaya Hachiman's expression instantly darkened.
Admittedly, after a day of rest, both his Spiritual Power and Inari Divinity had largely recovered.
But Artoria's Noble Phantasm also consumed an equally massive amount of energy.
Especially if she used the Noble Phantasm now, it wouldn't be able to inflict a fatal wound on Rider; it would only temporarily gain an advantage, wouldn't it?
"Oh? Is it time to use your Noble Phantasm already?"
In mid-air, Iskandar watched Artoria jump back onto the bridge and unleash a massive prana fluctuation.
A hint of solemnity appeared on his face, but it was mostly excitement!
He raised his sword high, and a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking directly onto the tip of the sword. Immediately, countless bolts of lightning began to spread around the bull chariot.
"Then here I come, Saber!"
Sensing that Artoria's channeling was nearing completion, Iskandar drove the bull chariot, carrying the lightning, and fiercely charged toward her.
"Ex....calibur!"
Artoria did not reply to Iskandar. She dedicated herself entirely to the release of her sword. Once the Noble Phantasm reached its maximum power, she abruptly opened her eyes, guiding the massive beam of light to descend upon Iskandar.
The imposing lightning and the golden column of light collided, and immense energy began to intertwine.
However, this situation lasted for only a few seconds before the golden light completely engulfed the lightning, taking the bull chariot and Iskandar himself with it...
"Rider!"
Waver watched helplessly as Iskandar was swallowed by the golden light, and he anxiously called out to Iskandar.
"He really went for a head-on clash..."
Unlike Waver's anxiety, Hikigaya Hachiman, who personally witnessed Iskandar foolishly take Artoria's ultimate move head-on, expressed considerable helplessness.
It should be known that the Sword of Promised Victory is an Anti-Fortress class Noble Phantasm fueled by the beautiful ideals of humanity. Even Karna's Golden Armor was nearly dried up and turned into a husk just to barely block it.
Iskandar actually chose to clash directly...
He could only express admiration for the other party's courage.
"But in that case, the battle should be won, right?"
Having personally seen Iskandar vanish into the pillar of light, not only Hikigaya Hachiman but also Artoria believed that Rider had been defeated and withdrawn.
However, this assumption was quickly proven wrong by Iskandar's reappearance.
"That is truly a formidable Noble Phantasm..."
Dusty all over, with only half of his cloak remaining, Iskandar, now looking like a vagrant, reappeared in everyone's sight.
First, he solemnly complimented Artoria's Noble Phantasm, then sighed lightly at the bull chariot that was reduced to nothing, and finally, Iskandar pointed his sword back at Artoria.
"Since you brought out such a powerful Noble Phantasm, I naturally must respond in kind!"
As his voice faded, Hikigaya Hachiman, Artoria, and Waver were all astonished to find themselves transported to a world of endless yellow sand...
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting