Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 918 - : Changing Class to Archer

Regardless of possessing the skill, of Brahmastra, the back is a vulnerable spot that humans find difficult to defend. This is an inherent limitation of human vision and anatomy, with no way around it. Even with enhanced senses or special magic and abilities, it is incredibly difficult to counter an attack from behind. Scathach's strategy is the best possible option in this situation.

However, just as she broke through the warehouse wall and was about to strike, a new wall suddenly appeared behind Shinji. This wasn't a regular concrete wall but a true iron wall made of black iron stakes.

This was the Noble Phantasm, Kazikli Bey.

Since his body couldn't defend against attacks from behind, Shinji simply sealed off his back with a Noble Phantasm.

The stakes were not particularly durable, just ordinary iron. Scathach could destroy them with a single thrust. However, this moment gave Shinji enough time to turn around and fire Brahmastra from his eyes once again.

Having ingested Arcueid's blood and received support from her, Shinji's magical energy recovery had reached an astonishing rate. He could easily support a Servant's energy consumption while also unleashing repeated Noble Phantasm attacks.

Scathach, realizing this, crouched down again, using the lower, undamaged part of the iron wall to avoid Shinji's gaze.

This played directly into Shinji's hands.

The Kazikli Bey was not merely a defensive tool; it was the legend of Vlad III, who impaled 20,000 Turkish soldiers and elevated into a Noble Phantasm. Its true function was, of course, impalement!

At the moment Scathach crouched, a row of stakes burst from the ground.

From top to bottom, head to toe.

There were so many that it could turn a person into a sieve!

—That is, if they hit.

Scathach, the Queen of the Land of Shadows, had not slackened her training for thousands of years and was the strongest warrior of her era. Even with the Brahma blast from above and stakes rising from below, she was not cornered.

A shadow flickered across her crimson spear as her already terrifyingly fast spear movements reached a new level. In a split second, she withdrew and thrust her spear again.

The spear tip struck one of the stakes, shattering it instantly. Using the momentum from the strike, she glided backward, narrowly escaping the deadly trap Shinji had painstakingly set.

From having his spear taken by Scathach, to sarcastically claiming it didn't suit him, to showing off his Undying Blade and dueling her only to be kicked away—all of it was calculated by Shinji. Everything was leading up to his surprise attack with the Brahmastra and Kazikli Bey.

Since ten years ago, Shinji had been devising and refining this plan, continuously adjusting it to achieve the perfect killing blow. Yet, despite all that, Scathach still managed to escape.

"I wanted to at least wound her, but it seems like that's still out of reach."

With his eyes no longer glowing with Brahma's power, Shinji walked out of the warehouse, half disappointed, half admiring.

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"Now that is my Shishou. Her power, speed, technique, reflexes, and experience all surpass human limits. Given that, I suppose I'll have to go all out and use every trick I've got!"

Saying this, Shinji stomped the ground. Visible waves of magical energy rippled outward, and as they spread, countless black iron stakes sprouted from the ground like bamboo shoots after rain.

Horizontal, vertical, and diagonal.

Single stakes, groups of stakes, and blended formations.

Some are as thick as a grown man's arm, others thicker than roadside utility poles. The sheer scale and speed of growth surpassed his previous attack on the Forest of Einnashe by a significant margin.

This wasn't because of new revelations from the past few days but rather due to location.

Where was this place?

This was Fuyuki! This was Shinji's hometown! His turf!

Here, he was intimately familiar with the spiritual ley lines. He could gain maximum support from them, allowing him to unleash the full potential of the Kazikli Bey, making the stakes faster and more powerful.

Just as Scathach had retreated, the entire field turned into a forest of stakes, fully under Shinji's control.

In this forest, intruders would face an omnidirectional assault at all times.

On the ground, they'd be impaled. Jumping onto the stakes, they'd be impaled again. Even breaking through the stakes wouldn't help, as new ones would grow in their place.

Even taking to the sky was useless, as stakes would fly up to meet them and continue impaling.

The entire forest was a manifestation of the concept of impalement.

And this was just part of Shinji's full power. While the forest of stakes continued its relentless attack, Shinji was far from idle. He once again drew the Undying Blade, returning it to its true form—Brahma's Divine Bow.

He aimed with his eyes, locked on with his soul.

Powered by magical energy, the stakes became his arrows.

Wind direction read, angles calculated, movements predicted, trajectory plotted.

Finally, he added the flames of the sun!

Long-range sniping at the crimson figure within the black forest.

It's important to remember that Shinji had more than just Scathach as a teacher. He had another mentor, one of ancient Greece's most renowned sages and archers. Even after his death, he continued to shoot arrows from the stars.

His name was Chiron, a legendary teacher with wisdom granted by the gods, a mentor whose fame rivaled even Scathach's. Although Shinji only trained under him for half a month, Chiron had imparted many crucial lessons.

Shinji learned precise control over his environment, situational awareness, the mixed martial art Pankration, and, of course, archery, Chiron's divine specialty.

Shinji valued archery as much as his spear skills. Combat is not just close-range; long-range plays a major role, too. That's why he could easily overpower Ayako Mitsuzuri with archery—how could a normal human compare to what Chiron taught him?

Hitting stationary targets with 100% accuracy was basic; in real combat, archery is all about hitting fast-moving targets.

Unfortunately, even with the Undying Bow and arrows as powerful as anti-materiel sniper rounds, Shinji couldn't land a hit on the only streak of red amidst the black forest, that alluring, demonic glow!

No matter how dense the stakes, no matter how overwhelming, no matter how sharp and precise his arrows, that crimson figure remained unscathed.

This was not just because of her exceptional spear technique, but because Scathach had turned her entire body into a deadly weapon. Every joint, every muscle was honed to combat the stakes and arrows, either through sheer force or by inscribing runes—after all, even modern magus like Bazett knew how to reinforce themselves with Runes. As the highest-level Rune user, Scathach's abilities were even greater.

Seeing that these tactics weren't working, Shinji grabbed another arrow.

This time, it wasn't an iron arrow forged from stakes, but a new one—a golden arrow perfectly matched to the divine golden bow.