[FDJ]Chapter 30: The Holy Maiden

The clash of sword and spear sent both Servants staggering back, with Berserker adjusting faster. As Lancer landed, Berserker launched a second attack.

The surrounding trees were all shattered by the collision of their weapons, creating an open space forcefully created by Berserker.

The massive sword struck the ground, and the female Lancer reacted quickly. She dragged her spear back, taking advantage of Berserker's sword-retraction moment, and swung her long spear to strike Berserker, who was holding the sword.

Saber didn't have a chance to help Berserker. Another Servant who had pursued from a different direction didn't continue chasing Archer; instead, she immediately focused on Saber, stopping in her tracks and launching several light projectiles at her in an attempt to disrupt her.

"Magic? Caster?" Saber relied on her complete magic resistance to nullify the opponent's weaker magical attacks, leaving no traces even on her armor. If Caster's abilities were only at this level, she wouldn't dare to boldly approach the forefront of the battlefield.

Saber saw Archer starting to turn back and take a detour, so she decided to engage the suspected Caster-class enemy. If the opponent was truly weak, she would defeat and eliminate them on the spot. If it was a ruse, she would buy time and wait for Archer to return. Saber had full confidence in dealing with enemies of the Caster class. Her anti-magic abilities were sufficient to counter mid-to-low-level magic.

"You won't catch up to Archer. Your opponent is me," Saber quickly closed the distance, swinging her sword and remaining vigilant of her surroundings.

"Is that so?"

With the same aura and the same devotion to their respective masters, Saber only realized who her opponent was when she got closer.

The staff forcefully struck the sword, interrupting Saber's follow-up attacks. The opponent didn't use her immature magic anymore. Before Saber could react, the left hand was raised from under the robe, and a fist was thrown directly towards Saber's face.

Sidestepping to dodge the dangerous punch, Saber had been on guard against the opponent's potential magical tricks, but she never expected that the staff, resembling a magical artifact, could match the strength of her own Saint Catherine sword. The punch thrown was more powerful than the previous magic attack by over tenfold.

"Is she really Caster?"

Saber quickly stepped back, creating distance between herself and the enemy. No matter how she thought about it, a Caster-class Servant wouldn't possess top-tier melee combat abilities. The sounds of the intense battle between Berserker and Lancer grew distant, leaving Saber and the suspected Caster-class enemy in a one-on-one situation.

"Who exactly are you?"

"Before asking others, could you voluntarily disclose your own identity, Holy Knight?"

Saber didn't particularly feel that the term "holy" described herself accurately, but considering her position in the French army during her lifetime, being referred to as a knight was not entirely inappropriate.

"I am Saber."

"Indeed, two Saber-class Servants are appearing in this Holy Grail War. You seem slightly stronger than the male Saber who appeared in Orleans." The Servant, draped in a robe, unfastened a strap and dropped the magic attire with a concealed face effect to the ground. Initially, she was concerned that the fierce Berserker was fiercely engaged with Lancer, while she had an opponent who didn't match her preferences. However, she still needed to assess the opponent's strength to avoid ending the enjoyable combat too quickly. "Judging by the vigilance you displayed just now, you must have thought I was a Caster-class Servant, right? Unfortunately, I am Rider. The servant who once tamed a dragon."

Apart from the golden cross staff used earlier, Rider wore conspicuous chainmail and a Christian-style short robe. Like Saber, she was a beautiful woman with long hair. "Saber, may I ask if you are more experienced in combat than dragons?"

"Well, it seems we have a topic for a lengthy conversation. Although I dislike such immortal creatures, I have some experience in controlling them," Saber replied. She never expected that the walking Servant who had concealed her identity and used magic as a feint would turn out to be Rider. However, in the face of the provocation, she wouldn't back down. A holy maiden didn't need two, or even one, for that matter.

Both of them wielded weapons imbued with sacred properties, yet neither could overwhelm the other through sheer strength. Saber and Rider were not servants who relied heavily on technical skills. In terms of close combat, they both relied more on their superhuman strength.

The clash between their weapons couldn't satisfy the excitement for the battle that burned within them. After their third exchange, both of them simultaneously threw punches at each other. There were no flashy moves, just ordinary straight punches intersecting, and both of them were forced back several steps by the incredible strength of their opponent.

"Are you really Saber-class?" Rider, compared to Saber, was more injured. After creating distance, she immediately used her holy art on herself. It was a blessing brought by her skills as a saint, much more reliable than relying on her own Master to come and heal her.

Saber possessed the same ability. Both of their inherent skills had a relatively low level of "saint" in them.

"Likewise, Rider. You hit hard!"

"Originally, I thought that with your physique, you would obediently lie on the ground after taking a punch. It's quite a coincidence that our skills are similar." At this moment, Rider sought permission from her own Master to use her Noble Phantasm. She couldn't wait to defeat the Saber in front of her, who had abilities similar to her own. She completely disregarded the tactical discussions they had before.

Having obtained her Master's permission, Rider approached Saber once again. Her attacks appeared more cautious, but each strike was more ferocious than before.

Saber responded in the same manner, gripping her holy sword with one hand. She used slashing sword techniques and, when the distance was suitable, combined them with kicks and punches, not allowing Rider to find any openings.

"Aren't you going to use your Noble Phantasm?" Rider made no progress within a hundred moves. They were too similar to each other, to the extent that Rider's confident plan to defeat Berserker was unexpectedly met with a draw against Saber. Saber held the same mindset, not relying on her holy sword and hoping to knock down the imposter Caster in front of her with a single punch.

"Noble Phantasm, do I need to use it against you? Since you mentioned Orleans just now, I assume you've been to the city in that era?"

"Of course, it's a city that was almost overrun by the army of the Hungarians. It only takes a day to reach there on a fast horse."

"Strictly speaking, it's 75 kilometers."

Suddenly, Saber's strength surged, and her speed increased significantly. Rider evaded the fierce kicks and used her staff to block Saber's subsequent slashes. However, Saber unexpectedly swung her holy sword down like a club this time, forcefully suppressing Rider.

The fist enlarged in Rider's eyes, and she couldn't dodge in time. She was struck in the chest by Saber's punch, and her whole body flew more than ten meters away, smashing through several large trees before landing in a pile of fallen leaves.

"Still too close." Saber was quite satisfied with the power amplified by her skills. When dealing with a fellow adept at close-quarters combat, it was proper to respond with sincere punches.

"Place of... origin... bonus?" Rider spat out blood as she climbed up from the heap of tree branches. That was the only possibility she could think of, but she also felt that it wasn't entirely accurate. "I underestimated you before, Saber. I apologize for my previous disdain."

"Do you want to run away?" Saber had already informed Yumikuri of Rider's appearance, but Suzuki had not yet analyzed Rider's true name. Suzuki didn't personally come to the scene and had to rely on Saber's vague description to deduce the enemy's true name while also ensuring that the opponent had been recorded by the Chaldea organization.

"No, you misunderstand."

Rider quickly retreated, putting about 100 meters of distance between herself and Saber. While Saber was taking a step forward to pursue, Rider held her staff and hammered it into the ground, chanting the true name of her Noble Phantasm.

"O dragon, ignorant of the sorrow of love, I summon you here. Shine like a shooting star! (Tarasque)"

As a halo appeared, a massive object flew out from it. Before Saber could see what kind of familiar Rider had summoned, she was knocked down by the gigantic monster.

In an instant, Saber felt injuries appearing all over her body. The high-speed rotating monster continued to crush her body and pushed her towards the edge of the forest.

"In the name of the Command Spells, Saber counterattacks the enemy!"

Through the connection of the Command Spells, Suzuki sensed that Saber had sustained consecutive injuries. He decisively used the first Command Spell. Due to his haste, he did not follow the recommended usage he had learned from his memories but instead used it to alleviate the crisis.

Originally, there was a high chance that Suzuki's Command Spell usage would not have a significant effect, but with the compulsory effect of the Command Spell, Saber unconsciously followed the commands and fought the giant monster that was crushing her.

As a Command Spell, it was a compulsory order with a sufficient amount of magical energy, primarily aimed at quickly fulfilling the Master's request. Saber had not yet realized what creature had sent her flying, but it didn't hinder her from following commands to attack the monster under the influence of the Command Spell.

"Go back!"

The Noble Phantasm abruptly halted, and although the dragon Rider had summoned wouldn't obey commands from anyone other than the summoner, its body uncontrollably moved backward, causing it to come to a halt in a pit.

Enduring the pain, Saber looked up and finally saw the true form of the summoned creature—a fierce dragon.

"A dragon?"

"Tarasque! Attack the Saber in front of you! Why did you stop?" Rider followed closely, her words lashing at the dragon. Under Rider's shout, the dragon reevaluated the female swordsman before it, regardless of whether she resembled its master, and deemed her an enemy.

The influence of the Command Spell hadn't immediately ended. Saber instinctively issued another command to the dragon, ordering it to turn around and counterattack. The conflicting commands caused the dragon to bite down on its beak, unable to move. Naturally, it wouldn't attack its summoner, Rider, and it forced itself to strike out with its forelimbs against the enemy that was affecting it, but its body inclined towards attacking its master from behind.

"Tarasque! What are you hesitating for?"

Rider's continuous shouts only made Tarasque more perplexed. After much hesitation, it chose to actively retreat and disappeared between the two of them.

"What did you do to my dragon?!"

"I don't want to use the power of a servant dragon! Besides, isn't your dragon a subspecies of a pseudo-dragon?! I can't enslave a true dragon!" Saber was heavily injured, and she hadn't had a chance to heal herself yet. Rider had approached within a distance of less than 30 meters.

"You despicable woman!" Rider didn't listen to Saber's explanation. She didn't care about the species of her dragon; all she knew was that the other side had harmed her pet, and she would never forgive such a transgression!

"Saber, I know the enemy's true name. Rider who can summon the Tarasque dragon, possessing the qualities of a saint. There is only one who fits this description. The legendary saint from the 1st century AD, Martha." Suzuki hadn't come across any information about Martha in Chaldea's database. He only knew that the Tarasque was said to have been defeated by Martha.

Saber had no strength to complain to Suzuki. She had already taken the opponent's Noble Phantasm head-on and was injured. She was at a disadvantage, and knowing the enemy's true name now was of no use.

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