章 391: Chapter 391: Paralyzing Strike (Part 1)
The speed of this thrust was incredibly fast, so fast that it exceeded Shinji's visual limits and was completely untrackable. The only thing he could be certain of was that if he got hit by this thrust, even if it wasn't a vital spot, the outcome wouldn't be much better than Siegfried getting hit by an arrow.
Fortunately, Shinji had already experienced such super-speed attacks in his previous battle with Karna and had figured out some countermeasures.
Method One: Preemptive Prediction, 90-degree Evasion.
The faster the speed, the harder it is to control oneself. If you can predict the trajectory in advance, even if you can't track it, you can evade it. The 90-degree route perpendicular to the enemy's trajectory is the hardest to chase and can buy the most time for reorganizing or counterattacking.
The moment Red Rider gripped his spear with both hands, Shinji locked his eyes firmly on Rider's feet. Whichever foot he stepped forward with would determine Shinji's direction of evasion.
When Rider stepped forward with his right foot, Shinji dodged in the opposite direction, narrowly avoiding Rider's path.
After charging forward for a few more meters, Rider halted, his voice tinged with a hint of surprise.
"Oh? Your strength isn't impressive, but your reflexes are quite fast. You dodged a direct hit. However, my attacks aren't that simple."
As Red Rider said, although Shinji dodged the direct hit, he didn't avoid the turbulent airflow caused by the high-speed thrust. Under Red Rider's deliberate manipulation, the airflow around the spearhead exploded like a fragmentation grenade, leaving Shinji drenched in blood.
Wiping away the blood that blurred his vision, the assassin murmured to himself, "As expected of a top-tier Servant known for unparalleled speed. Even Karna can't compare in terms of high-speed combat."
Opposite him, Red Rider raised his spear again, assuming a thrusting stance. His sharp eyes moved from Shinji's heart to his head. "Heh~ That expression is much better than Saber's boring face. But smiles alone aren't enough on the battlefield; you need strength. My next thrust will be even faster. I hope you can dodge it."
"Even faster? Are you planning to break the sound barrier?" Shinji's mouth twitched. He did not doubt Red Rider's declaration. With his pride, he wouldn't lie about such things.
As expected, top-tier Servants aren't to be trifled with.
What's even more troublesome is that with Chiron overseeing the battlefield, using his Greek Noble Phantasm was out of the question. It would be recognized immediately.
No choice, he had to use that.
The moment he made his decision, Shinji lowered his center of gravity and placed his hand on the ground.
At the same time, Rider leaned forward, channeling power into his legs, causing the ground around him to crack densely.
The next second, Rider disappeared from his position, the air tearing apart with two ear-piercing explosions.
Two explosions?
Yes, two.
One was the sound of the high-speed thrust.
The other was thunder! Indra's thunder!
A golden divine thunderbolt cut across horizontally like a golden serpent blocking the space between them.
Accelerating, Rider didn't expect this move, crashing straight into the lightning, causing him to roll continuously.
Yes, continuously rolling. No mistake in the description.
Rider's body was resilient; a single lightning strike couldn't kill him, at most leaving some burn marks and causing some paralysis.
It was this paralysis that was deadly. Red Rider was sprinting at high speed, and anyone with common sense knows the demands intense exercise places on the body. Even a slight stitch or cramp can lead to disastrous results, let alone paralysis.
This was Shinji's second method for dealing with super-speed attacks—paralysis.
As long as the opponent wasn't someone like Karna, who used "Mana Burst" for propulsion, anyone relying on their physical speed would succumb to this technique—except perhaps those with high lightning resistance, like the son of the Thunder God.
You run fast, don't you? You have quick feet, right? But if your body doesn't obey you, I doubt you can run. Can you move faster than lightning? Can you defy inertia? Do you think physical laws don't apply to you? Do you fancy yourself capable of overturning Isaac Newton's principles?
Unfortunately for Red Rider, no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't outrun lightning. Although Shinji couldn't track Rider's movements, he could predict his trajectory and intercept lightning in advance. Once Rider focused on high-speed thrusting, decelerating or changing direction required some distance.
Thus, the confident Rider, ready to take down Shinji, met with disaster. His legs, sprinting at high speed, suddenly stopped obeying, causing him to lose balance and roll across the ground like a tumbling gourd.
Of course, even tumbling, Rider was not easily dealt with. After falling, he curled into a ball, using inertia to roll forward, his relentless momentum akin to a charging chariot, giving Shinji a surreal sense of déjà vu.
"No wonder this looks so familiar! Isn't this the 'Human Bullet Tank'? Where did you learn this ultimate move from the Akimichi Clan? This is the Fate set, not the Naruto set."
Speechless, Shinji continued to channel his mana, summoning two more bolts of lightning to strike at the lean "Human Bullet Tank."
Of course, unless he fully unleashed the lightning with the support of the Vajra, the damage to Rider would be limited. Even so, Shinji didn't want to miss the chance to pursue—given the vast difference in their raw power, he couldn't afford any slack if he didn't want to be defeated.
After the second lightning bolt, Red Rider finally stopped rolling and sprang to his feet. He glanced at the ground where Shinji had summoned Indra's thunder, which still radiated unabashed magical energy.
"So that lightning Noble Phantasm can be controlled from a distance... But to stop me, this alone isn't enough."
Red Rider began to run again. He had discarded his spear during the tumble and made no move to retrieve it, confident in his fists.
Shinji didn't dare be careless, his eyes enhanced with reinforcement magic never leaving Rider's figure. Even if he couldn't keep up, he had to predict Rider's movements based on the afterimages on his retina.
There!
Golden lightning burst from the ground, cutting across Red Rider's path.
To Shinji's surprise, Rider didn't charge headlong into the lightning as expected. Instead, he made a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding the thunder.
Frowning, Shinji adjusted his trajectory, summoning a second and third bolt, but Rider continued to evade them.
The warrior, dashing through the forest, laughed heartily, "My steps won't be stopped by obstacles. If you can stop me, then try your best."
As he spoke, the fourth and fifth lightning bolts whistled out, yet Rider dodged them with increasing ease.
"Let me tell you something else—I can run like this all night. How long can your lightning Noble Phantasm last?"
"Don't worry, certainly longer than you can," Shinji replied, continuing to summon lightning, while Rider kept evading.
"Is that so? Although I'm curious to see if you're telling the truth, such a war of attrition doesn't suit my style. Let me cross your lightning!"
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