Shinji Matou At Your Service

Chapter 289: Stalling for Time

The King of the Dead Apostles, who resembled an angel, loomed above, like a divine judge of reckoning, soaring through the sky like a mighty eagle. With an unmatched presence, he descended decisively, inspiring dread in all who beheld him.

If this situation continued, even if Shinji could withstand the third or fourth claw, he would ultimately be defeated. This was because, with each attack, Ortenrosse might grow stronger, while Shinji, under assault, had his strength diminished and his body gradually damaged, though the injuries were light, the cumulative effect could not be ignored. Shinji's power was weaker than Ortenrosse, to begin with, so he could only prevail through meticulous calculation.

Facing this crisis, Shinji hesitated no longer. In a battle against the mightiest in the world, holding anything back was tantamount to forfeiting his life.

"By the power of my Command Seal, I order: Strengthening of the body!"

The dormant crimson markings on Shinji's right arm, extending to his shoulder, were ignited. The seal closest to his wrist glowed with a scarlet light even more vivid than blood.

Though this light was not intense, the power it unleashed was no less than the Buddha's aura enveloping his entire body. This was the quintessence of the Matou family's magecraft, the greatest achievement of the Magus Makiri Zolgen - the Command Seals, creations of the Holy Grail system capable of feats exceeding the limits of magecraft.

Though few in number and irreplaceable, they possessed the potential to turn the tides of battle. Shinji had once used them to stabilize Justeaze's wavering spiritual foundation, and now he would wield them against this invading raid boss.

The concentrated magical energy diffused through his body, filling every cell with power, and intoxicating Shinji. Alas, this strength was temporary, to be used sparingly, not to be squandered.

The gray cloak billowed without wind, the surging magical energy creating a small tempest. No longer on the defensive, Shinji would meet the mighty Dead Apostle King head-on, empowered by the Command Seal.

Raging winds swirled as Ortenrosse descended against the wind, and Shinji rose with the wind.

The Vajra's Left Arm against the Sharp Claws of the King of the Dead Apostles.

Suddenly, a solemn and majestic sound, like the tolling of evening and morning bells, rang out across the heavens.

Centered on the point where their fists and claws met, the air rippled like the surface of the Yangtze River stirred by a spring breeze, generating a fine series of wavelets. As the ripples passed, the Hades cloak violently billowed, and the youthful face of Ortenrosse simultaneously revealed a series of subtle undulations before gradually settling back into calmness.

The two striking arms swung back in unison, then switched hands to strike again.

The Harpe gleamed with icy coldness, its trajectory like a crescent moon.

The sharp claws curved like hooks, their invisible blades howling.

Ortenrosse furrowed his brow slightly and retracted his hand gently.

Shinji shook his arm and let out a light hum.

Neither made any further move, but the distance between them was steadily increasing.

Since Ortenrosse had set aside his white glow and become serious, this was the first time Shinji had achieved parity.

The confidence and momentum of Ortenrosse, who had thought victory was assured, were inevitable, albeit slightly, affected.

Meanwhile, the freed Shinji had gained a lot more self-assurance - he saw hope, the hope to keep fighting.

As the distance between them no longer continued to widen, the grounded Shinji paused briefly before launching a new round of attack.

Only a few minutes had passed since the retreat of Brigade, and Shinji had to keep this terrifying enemy detained here to ensure they would not be pursued.

Shinji's steps were initially extremely slow.

The first step taken was less than half the normal person's stride;

The second step was slightly quicker, on par with a normal person;

The third step was already twice the normal person's stride.

And so on.

The Bajiquan has "active steps", and Japanese swordsmanship has something similar to "shrinking the earth" steps, so Shinji naturally also learned a similar moving method from Scathach.

After a few steps, the speed Shinji burst out with even surprised Ortenrosse, and what surprised him, even more, was the enemy's tactics.

Knowing he was the White Wing Lord, yet daring to engage in close combat with him, how long has it been since he encountered someone like this? Decades or even centuries?

But thinking about the behavior of the man codenamed "Death" repeatedly challenging him, Ortenrosse resigned himself to it - such people cannot be judged by normal logic.

The two slightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, the pure white wings behind Ortenrosse spread out and flapped, lifting him off the ground, out of Shinji's charging path.

That's right, he evaded, not engaging Shinji head-on again.

It's not that he couldn't block it, nor was it out of fear, but because there was no need.

With Ortenrosse's eyesight, even if he couldn't see through Hades' cloak's disguise, seeing through Shinji's current state was no problem at all.

Although Shinji's momentum is now fierce and intense, all of this is like wood without roots and water without a source, unable to last. As long as it's left alone, Shinji will soon exhaust this power that does not belong to him.

Being the case, why bother directly confronting him? After all, that sickle capable of suppressing regenerative ability and the unknown artifact that can release golden lightning are effective against the dead apostles, and even Ortenrosse doesn't want to get involved with them.

Generally speaking, when the two sides are not too far apart in strength, it's not easy for one side to avoid battle, because the other side will try their best to keep the pressure on.

But Ortenrosse doesn't have this concern, because the gap in experience between the two is too great. Even though Shinji has been through many battles and inherited the Wisdom of Dún Scáith, it's still no match for the accumulation of the former over a thousand years.

Previously, Ortenrosse had to fight Shinji head-on, and Shinji couldn't evade;

Now, Ortenrosse is willing to lure him, but Shinji is powerless to do anything.

It's worth mentioning that although the feeling of being powerless is unpleasant, Shinji doesn't feel the least bit frustrated. His goal is not to defeat Ortenrosse at all, just to buy time. No matter what means are used, as long as the goal is achieved, it's fine. Ortenrosse doesn't want to waste energy, and Shinji doesn't either - the more energy he has left, the easier it will be to escape.

The only thing he doesn't understand is, what benefit this brings to Ortenrosse? Shinji doesn't believe Ortenrosse can't see through his intentions, the longer he dawdles with him, the more hopeless it is to catch up with the Brigade. Normally, shouldn't he just kill him as quickly as possible and then start the pursuit?

This thought had just arisen when Shinji rejected it. Even setting aside how to sneak past Barthomeloi's intelligence network and send enough force to wipe out the Brigade into the Po River Plain. Even if they are sent in, there's no need to split up from Ortenrosse, directly ambushing the town would be more effective.

So what is the reason then?

Taking advantage of the gaps in Ortenrosse movements, Shinji began to ponder.