With a sharp fsh of steel, Iskandar's sword cleaved through the War Elephant of Death's thick trunk.

  "Moo!!!"

  Taking advantage of the opportunity, the flying-hoofed thunder bull surged forward with all its might, smming into the War Elephant's forehead.

  Darius III, caught off guard, was thrown off his mount a hurtling through the air. The se was eerily remi of the events shown in the earlier video.

  Iskandar swiftly urged his chariot to press the advantage, ensuring that Darius III was flung far from the Death War Elephant.

  "Boom!!!"

  Darius III's massive form hit the ground with a resounding crash, sending clouds of sand flying. He quickly rose, gripping his dual axes tightly, and charged toward Iskandar once more.

  Not oo shy away, Iskandar leapt off the Gordius Wheel, brandishing his sword as he met Darius III in direbat.

  The two kings engaged i another fierce duel, their ons g with ferocious iy.

  Though Iskandar's strength was bolstered within the fines of his Ionioi Hetairoi, Darius III's wild aless fighting style left him at a disadvantage.

  ---

  Seeing the situation unfold, Chihiro tried to move to Darius III's aid, but his path was blocked by La.

  The two immediately eheir blows swift and uing.

  Though Chihiro's martial arts skills had improved signifitly, thanks to the bat teiques ied from the Rider css, he struggled against La's unmatched mastery.

  Every move of La's bde recise, calcuted, and merciless. Even with the God Force, Chihiro found himself sistently forced on the defensive.

  "Tch," Chihiro gritted his teeth. It wasn't just about possessing skills, it was about mastery through experience, something La had in abundanbsp;

  Realizing that le onry wasn't effective, Chihiro dismissed the spear form of his God Force, transf them intuards.

  Hand-to-hand bat was his forte, aeo make the most of it.

  When La swung his cursed bde, Arondight, Chihiro deflected it with his right arm guard. Using the opening, he darted in close and delivered a precise strike to La's chest with his left hand, sending the knight stumbling babsp;

  La, however, was not oo take such a blow lightly. His frenzy fred up as he let out a guttural roar, rushing forward with renewed aggression.

  But Chihiro had anticipated the attack. He leaned baarrowly dodging the ining strike, and immediately retaliated with an upalm strike aimed at La's jaw.

  La reeled momentarily but regained his footing quickly. Yet before he could mount a terattack, Chihiro advanced once more. He thrust his fists outward, striking both sides of La's head with the backs of his hands, aiming for the temples.

  The blow caused La to stagger. Most warriors would have been incapacitated by now, but La's Berserker css advantage rendered him more beast than man.

  Instead of faltering, his wild instincts surged.

  "Ahhhhhh"

  With a feral roar, La lu Chihiro, his attaow uable and savage.

  Chihiro, caught off guard by the sheer ferocity of the strikes, was forced to retreat. Though his arm guards absorbed the brunt of La's assault, each blow reverberated through his body like the force of a hammer.

  "What monstrous strength…" Chihiro muttered, his arms throbbing from the impabsp;

  Before he could recover, La charged again.

  "Alright the's see who's the real mad dog here!" Chihiro growled.

  Abandoning his earlier precision, Chihiro switched to an unorthodox, improvisational style of bat.

  When La swung his bde, Chihiro deflected it once more. But instead of pushing the knight away, he grabbed La's arm and pulled him close.

  Chihiro's knee shot upward, aiming for the inside of La's elbow joint, elig a pained grunt from the knight.

  La retaliated with a left hook, but Chihiro caught the ining fist, log both of La's arms in his grip.

  And then—

  A sharp krike ected with La's midse.

  "ARGHH!!!"

  The strike forced La to recoil. He broke free from Chihiro's hold and stumbled backward, putting some distaween them.

  As La retreated, Chihiro wasn't about to let him regroup.

  eling his power through the God Force, he transformed them into twin whips and charged forward.

  The knight swung his bde in an attempt to ter, but the moment his sword cshed with the whips, he was thrown off bance by their unique rebound effebsp;

  Chihiro pressed the advantage, shing at La's exposed joints—the knees, elbows, and temples. Each strike recise aless, f the knight to retreat further.

  In mere moments, the oninant La was reduced to running in circles, c his head as Chihiro pummeled him with the whips.

  "I told you not to get in my way!" Chihiro shouted, his strikes punctuating each word. "I told you to stay down! And for the record, I don't lend money, so don't even ask!"

  It was a ical se—a far cry from the elegant image of a duel between warriors.

  ---

  From across the battlefield, Artoria watched the spectacle unfold, her face a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment.

  "This… This is La?" she whispered, her hands tightening around the hilt of her sword. "The stro knight of the Round Table? Reduced to… this?"

  Though her pride urged her to intervene sooner, it wasn't until La let out a guttural cry of frustration that she stepped forward.

  "Enough!"

  Artoria's voice rang out like a and, her tone carrying both authority and urgenbsp;

  She sprinted into the fray, her Excalibur raised high.

  With a single, decisive swing, she struck Chihiro's whips, their rebound effect causing a brief shockwave.

  Uerred, she unleashed the Wind King's Barrier, f Chihiro back with a gust of trated air.

  "Hoo, so the King of Knights finally steps in," Chihiro muttered, steadying himself.

  Though he maintained a fident facade, his mind raced. This was Artoria Pendragon, he couldn't afford to uimate her.

  Artoria wasted no time, charging toward Chihiro with her sword at the ready.

  Chihiro responded by shifting his God Forto a sickle-like form, expertly wielding it to parry her strikes.

  The two cshed, her willing to give an inch. Artoria's precision was matched by Chihiro's versatility, and their duel quickly became the terpiece of the battlefield.

  ---

  As their bdes collided, Zhang Jiao seized the opportunity to unleash his Noble Phantasm.

  "The heavens darken, the winds howl, and the storm desds!"

  Dark clouds rapidly gathered overhead, and within moments, torrential rain began to pour over the desert battlefield.

  The sudden deluge disrupted visibility and made footing treacherous. To make matters worse, hailstohe size of fists begaing down, targeting Artoria and her allies.

  The massive hailstones rained down from the sky, striking Iskandar's army and causing cries of pain to erupt from the soldiers.

  However, the Undead Legio no pain at all.

  What's more, under Zhang Jue's trol, most of the hailstones were deliberately aimed at the emperor and his forces.

  "Damn it!" Artritted her teeth, struggling to maintain her focus amidst the chaos.

  Though her armor shielded her from the worst of the storm, the relentless hail left her looking battered and disheveled.

  As for La, this was when the effectiveness of his armor truly shone.

  The hailstones were pletely deflected by the armor, leaving La unharmed.

  But Zhang Jue wasn't about to let La remain unscathed.

  "Thunder god, lend me your power!"

  La found himself struck by a sudden bolt of lightning. The impact sent him crashing to the ground, his body twitg from the shobsp;

  The Knight of the Lake y motionless.

  ***

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