As Mulan raised her fist to smash it down on the mage, the mage instinctively transformed into a cloud of red mist to dodge.
Just as Mulan's previous heavy slash had failed to hit the mage, her fist also failed to touch him.
But…
This was clearly a mistake!
As the mage's body turned into red mist, his control over the Heart of Dawn weakened.
Almost instantly, arcs of electricity appeared around the Heart of Dawn. Affected by the magnetic field vortex, the Heart of Dawn shot up, spinning continuously with the airflow vortex, heading towards Bai Ye.
The mage roared, "Stop him!"
Almost at the same moment, everyone abandoned their struggle against the magnetic field's suction and instead used the pull to rapidly approach Bai Ye.
But it was too late!
The instant Bai Ye saw the Heart of Dawn flying towards him, his eyes lit up, and he punched the ground.
With a boom!
Bai Ye's fist struck the ground, and an explosion followed.
Amidst the explosion, a large amount of flames erupted from Bai Ye's fist, spreading outwards along the ground, then surging upwards to form a ring of fire, blocking everyone.
Then…
Bai Ye leaped up, grabbed Mulan's greatsword which was floating in the magnetic field, raised it high, and swung it forcefully at the Heart of Dawn.
"Break for me!"
With a clang!
Bai Ye's sword struck the Heart of Dawn, directly slicing it downwards towards the ground.
The moment the Heart of Dawn hit the ground…
Crack!
A fissure appeared on the Heart of Dawn, and then…
The sound of shattering echoed!
The Heart of Dawn didn't crack; it shattered into crystalline powder under that single strike, scattering in all directions.
And as the Heart of Dawn was destroyed…
The ancient mechanical giant suddenly froze.
Its scarlet eyes lost their luster, its body remained in a forward-leaning posture, its right arm raised high, clenched into a fist, poised to strike.
Except, that fist would never fall.
And…
The ancient mechanical giant's body began to decompose. The massive stones floating around, as if suddenly losing their anchor, gradually drifted away from the altar.
"You have successfully prevented the activation of the ancient mechanical giant. Reward obtained: Shard of the Heart of Dawn x1, Entrance Qualification for Hero's Tomb First Layer x1"
The mission was complete!
As the ancient mechanical giant fell silent once more, it signified the failure of the enemy's plan.
The mage's gaze darkened. After looking at the others, he retreated to the edge of the altar.
Seeing this, the rest immediately moved closer to the mage.
"We will meet again!"
The mage hooked the corner of his mouth. Then, a gust of wind blew, carrying countless peony petals from who knows where.
Red mist also began to appear, engulfing everyone, and then…
The red mist dispersed and converged, and the mage, along with the others, quickly vanished into the mist.
Mulan picked up her greatsword from the ground and stood at the altar's edge, looking down, but she could not see them depart.
The mysterious swordsman holding a wine pot approached Mulan and said, "It seems we won."
Mulan said gravely, "But he said they would return."
The mysterious swordsman laughed, with a hint of carefree abandon, and said dismissively, "Then let them come."
Mulan couldn't help but smile, then turned to the others, "Since this matter is settled, let's head back… Huh… Bai Ye, why are you glowing?"
Mulan's words trailed off, and she looked at Bai Ye in surprise.
At this moment, a golden radiance emanated from Bai Ye's body, his form becoming indistinct and gradually ethereal.
Bai Ye was also astonished, looking at his own body. Then, a luminous screen suddenly appeared before his eyes.
"You will be teleported in ten seconds…"
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6…"
Bai Ye almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Could it be as he suspected?
In the next instant…
Bathed in golden light, Bai Ye suddenly vanished without a trace, leaving Mulan and the others stunned.
Meanwhile…
As the golden radiance faded, Bai Ye found himself at an intersection. The traffic light in front turned green, cars on both sides stopped, and pedestrians began to walk across the crosswalk.
It looked like a prosperous city…
Then…
Bai Ye patted his forehead. It was indeed as he had suspected.
"A participant has triggered a Wish Task. The first Holy Grail War is about to begin."
"Within the world battlefield, the seven chosen ones with the highest kill count will participate in the Holy Grail War."
"Your kill count ranks sixth."
…
Bai Ye sighed. This kind of sudden, forced teleportation could only be a Wish Task.
Of course, under normal circumstances, being able to participate in a Wish Task was a good thing. However, often, the timing of Wish Tasks felt incredibly frustrating.
For instance, the battle with the ancient mechanical giant wasn't over, and suddenly a Wish Task was triggered…
Wouldn't his hidden mission be wasted?
Fortunately, this Wish Task came at just the right time; Bai Ye had just completed his hidden mission before it appeared.
And unlike the previous time when participants for the Twelve Great Battles were selected through a restricted zone mission, this time the selection was based on kill counts. Simply put, it was the seven individuals with the most kills among the chosen ones.
This displeased Bai Ye. How could his kill count only be sixth?
He was clearly approachable, kind, benevolent, and a ruthless killer…
Wait?
Did some strange idiom slip in there?
Bai Ye scratched his head and continued to look at the luminous screen.
The rules of the Holy Grail War are as follows:
"Rule 1: Seven participants will receive a magical imprint and summon a Servant of their own through a summoning ritual. If the Servant refuses orders, the participant can consume the magical imprint to force the Servant to obey. Each magical imprint can be used three times."
"Servants are divided into seven classes: Saber (Swordsman), Archer (Bowman), Rider (Cavalry), Berserker (Warrior), Lancer (Spearman), Caster (Magician), and Assassin (Killer)."
"Rule 2: The seven participants must find and seize the Holy Grail. The one who ultimately obtains the Holy Grail will be the winner of this Holy Grail War and receive a reward."
"Rule 3: The trigger for this Wish Task has already fully granted the wish. The winner's reward will be: randomly obtaining one Noble Phantasm of their summoned Servant."
"Gentlemen, for the Holy Grail, for the desires of your hearts, for the wish."
"Let the city of Fuyuki…"
"Run with blood!"
…