The so-called Lantern Fish is a common name for deep-sea anglerfish. The name comes from the fleshy protrusion on the head of the anglerfish, which resembles a small lantern. This organ is formed by the first dorsal fin of the anglerfish gradually extending upwards and is said to be able to emit light.
As for why it's "said to," it's because Zhang Zhiwei had never seen an anglerfish with his own eyes and couldn't confirm whether the knowledge he'd heard was accurate.
But…
At this moment, he confirmed that the knowledge he possessed was absolutely correct.
Because… a Lantern Fish emitting light, baring its Tusks, with a huge mouth, spewing a foul stench, and with two blood-red eyes, lunged at him.
By the way, anglerfish are really ugly!
"Woah!!!"
Zhang Zhiwei exclaimed in surprise, dodging the Lantern Fish's attack with a nimble movement that belied his age, and sidestepped.
"What the hell is this thing?"
The Jewel Master, equally startled, dodged the Lantern Fish's bite. He stared at the creature, which had sunk its teeth into the ground and was thrashing wildly, its tail slapping the earth with a "thwack, thwack, thwack."
"A Lantern Fish! You've never seen one?"
Zhang Zhiwei immediately gave the Jewel Master a surprised look, his expression saying, "Seriously? You've never seen a Lantern Fish?"
The Jewel Master: (╬￣皿￣)
Seeing that look, an irrepressible surge of anger welled up within me!
I want to punch someone!!!
Fortunately, the Jewel Master was an experienced adult, and such a small amount of anger couldn't disrupt his thinking. He took a deep breath to regulate his emotions and said with a blank expression.
"Of course I know what a Lantern Fish is, but can this thing even be considered a Lantern Fish? I've never heard of a Lantern Fish that can get this big!"
After a moment of silence, Zhang Zhiwei agreed, "…You have a point."
Normally, it's impossible for any ordinary creature to enlarge its body by dozens of times in a matter of seconds. In other words…
The fish in front of them, which resembled a Lantern Fish, was an extraordinary being.
Crack, crack, crack…
While the two were chatting amicably, after struggling, the Lantern Fish's jaws slowly closed, shoveling the mud and grass into its mouth bit by bit, giving off a bit of a backhoe vibe.
The Lantern Fish did a flip, and the giant fish, six to seven meters long, landed with a "boom" into the hole it had dug, its mouth opening and closing as it chewed on its special fish food – grass mixed with soil, its crimson eyes glancing at Zhang Zhiwei and the Jewel Master.
It contained a strong killing intent and appetite…
"Interesting!"
The Jewel Master and Zhang Zhiwei, targeted by the killing intent, both curled their lips into smiles.
Dense golden light enveloped Zhang Zhiwei's entire body, transforming him into a small golden statue.
The Jewel Master raised his right hand, three gems held between his fingers. As the Magic Dao Marshal, the Jewel Master possessed not only the Second Magic but also other magecraft, such as Jewel magecraft.
The fishing activity paused, and the hunting activity began...
The Lantern Fish, having swallowed all the grass and dirt into its belly, suddenly flicked its tail, fiercely slapping the ground.
Amidst the flying blades of grass, the enormous Lantern Fish leaped into the air, its Tusks bared in a giant maw, lunging towards Zhang Zhiwei, as if wanting to swallow him whole.
"Cut!"
Staring at the Lantern Fish's ugly and ferocious fish face, Zhang Zhiwei swung his left arm.
The Golden Thread, capable of severing steel, struck the Lantern Fish's cheek accurately with the swing of his arm.
Bang—!
The two collided, and a hollow, muffled sound immediately rang out. The Lantern Fish was sent flying, smashing into the grass nearby, sending grass and debris flying.
"Roar—!"
The unharmed Lantern Fish hopped a few times, roaring at Zhang Zhiwei. The roar was extremely loud, and a large amount of saliva sprayed out with the sound.
"..."
Zhang Zhiwei's eyes widened, and he immediately leaped backward three times in a row, dodging far away to avoid getting sprayed by the saliva.
Jewel Master didn't hesitate either, and with a flash, moved ten meters away.
That's not sporting! Spitting, of all things!
The two centenarians cursed in their hearts simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Mu Yang stared at the grass where the Lantern Fish had wreaked havoc, a slightly dazed expression on his face.
The grass, stained with the Lantern Fish's bodily fluids and saliva, emitted a strong stench.
He'd wanted to trick Zhang Zhiwei and Jewel Master, but ended up getting himself involved.
"Speechless!"
Mu Yang withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the other side of the lake.
To prevent the two people and the Lantern Fish from causing a ruckus and ruining the entire banquet, Mu Yang used a Barrier to isolate the two sides of the lake, preventing them from accidentally entering the banquet area.
"What are those two doing?"
White Yaksha, passing by, asked while looking at the other side of the lake.
Mu Yang replied casually, "Playing a game."
"What a boring game." White Yaksha commented casually and walked towards the cherry blossom forest.
"...It is pretty boring," Mu Yang shrugged, then began to set up the venue.
He built a platform with wooden boards, located at the edge of the cherry blossom forest. A large square table was placed in the center, and nothing else.
At the same time…
In the town, a blonde girl in a lady's suit, a white shirt, black shorts, and black stockings stared blankly at the falling cherry blossoms.
She looked away and gazed at the ruins near the cherry blossom forest. There were no plants like moss on the remains of those buildings, nor were there any signs of weathering.
Their freshness suggested they had collapsed recently.
Then she turned her gaze to the cherry blossom forest. The cherry trees were lush and their roots were intertwined. The trees were at least several decades old.
She then shifted her gaze to the edge of the cherry blossom forest, where it met the ruins.
Between the two, in an area about three or four meters wide, there were neither building remains such as concrete blocks, glass, or steel bars, nor were there deep brown tree roots.
It wouldn't be strange if only a small area was like that, but what if the entire area she could see was like that?
"There's a problem."
The golden-haired girl's gaze swept over the cherry blossom grove. A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, making the branches sway as pink petals drifted away on the wind.
After a moment of thought, the golden-haired girl's expression became resolute. With a decisive air, she walked into the cherry blossom grove.
At the same time, on the other side of the town.
Four Lords from the Clock Tower were watching the cherry blossom grove with grave expressions.
After yesterday's battle, the Clock Tower team had lost four Masters. This was because they had fallen into the battlefield of the Servants' melee while escaping the Reality Marble. Caught off guard, they were severely injured by the aftershocks.
Unable to recover in a short time, the four of them couldn't continue participating in the Holy Grail War. After handing their Servants over to their teammates, they had withdrawn.
"Is it an illusion?" Lorelei asked.
Mordred walked to a cherry blossom tree and snapped off a branch, saying, "It's real, not an illusion."
"Could it be a Reality Marble?" Kairi Sisigou speculated.
"It's not a Reality Marble." As a Servant who possessed a Reality Marble, Iskandar's words were convincing.
Marisbury didn't participate in the discussion, instead pointing at the cherry blossom forest and asking, "Shall we go in?"
Hearing this, Waver, Lorelei, and Kairi Sisigou exchanged glances.
"Let's go in," Lorelei, as the leader, announced.
With a full eight Servants present, they had no fear, even if the cherry blossom forest before them was the enemy's main base.
"Then let's go," Marisbury nodded slightly and walked straight into the cherry blossom forest, with two Servants guarding him.
The other three followed closely behind, with six Servants flanking them.
As they say, two flowers bloom, each on its own branch.
The eleven of them advanced along the highway, slowly approaching the town.
Five of them were Tanjiro Kamado, Nezuko Kamado, Shinobu Kocho, Giyu Tomioka, and Sanemi Shinazugawa.
Originally, there were six, but one of them had wrestled with a magical beast boar and was forced to withdraw due to injury.
The money earned from selling the blood and flesh of the demons captured by the Demon Slayer Corps was all used to purchase resurrection items, to revive those who had been killed by demons but had not yet been reincarnated.
After all, it was a good deed, and if someone didn't want to return to the human world, they wouldn't be forced to.
Even with some rejecting the chance to return to the world, there were still many who remained.
Thus, in order to see their loved ones sooner, some Demon Slayers with the necessary conditions decided to take action themselves.
This Holy Grail War attracted five Demon Slayers.
"Master, something's not right here," Artoria observed her surroundings warily. The empty field made her feel uneasy.
"It's more than just not right, it's very wrong," Cu Chulainn shouldered his magic staff, looking at the distant figure resembling a farmer carrying a shoulder pole.
"A hundred meters away, a group of magical beasts."
"A hundred meters beyond that, not a single beast."
"If you ask me, there's definitely a very strong magical beast lurking in that town ahead."
"Ho~" Gilgamesh's crimson eyes glanced at Cu Chulainn, a hint of amusement within. "The dog is scared, huh!"
"You bastard, who are you calling a dog?!" Cu Chulainn immediately bared his Tusks at Gilgamesh.
"Isn't denying it the same as being a dog?" Elizabeth Bathory quipped.
Kiyohime raised her folding fan to cover her mouth and said softly, "Stupid lizard, his title passed down through the ages is the Hound of Culann, he's a dog by nature, why would he deny it?"
Cu Chulainn: "..."
You two are taking turns stabbing me in the heart here!
"Who are you calling a stupid lizard?!" Elizabeth glared.
"Hehe~"
Kiyohime chuckled softly, her voice dripping with mockery. "Of course, whoever answers is the one! Stupid~ lizard"
"I, Elizabeth, will smash your stupid snake head today!!!"
Elizabeth raised the spear, which had a microphone, speaker, and lights. She swung the long spear like a baseball player swinging a bat, aiming for Kiyohime's head.
"Coincidentally, I was thinking the same thing."
Kiyohime grinned, wisps of flame leaking out. Her golden eyes seemed to be burning with fire.
"Calm down! Both of you, please calm down! Ugh…"
Soji Okita waved her hands frantically, trying to mediate. She looked at Kiyohime, then at Elizabeth. Perhaps she was too agitated; she immediately coughed up a mouthful of hot, fresh blood.
"(⊙o⊙) Wow!!!"
Following that, two panicked female voices rang out, "O… Okita-san, are you alright?!"
Looking at Kiyohime and Elizabeth, whose eyes were filled with concern, Soji Okita's lips were stained with a trace of blood, and she smiled, saying, "I'm… fine!"
Being frail was her inherent skill, and it would occasionally flare up, lowering her stats.
"No matter how you look at it, you don't seem fine."
Kiyohime couldn't help but complain, and Elizabeth nodded vigorously.
"How about… we take a break!" Tanjiro Kamado stopped and turned around, looking at everyone and saying, "We also need to discuss whether or not to take a detour."
As Cu Chulainn had said, in a region teeming with magical beasts, if there was an area where there wasn't a single magical beast, then there must be some kind of danger there, preventing the magical beasts from approaching.
Hearing this, everyone stopped in their tracks.
"No need for discussion," Gilgamesh waved his hand, his words brimming with confidence. "No matter the danger, this King can handle it."
Cu Chulainn smirked, "Anyone can talk big. Show me you can actually handle the danger!"
"You dare question me, mongrel? Question the King?" Gilgamesh glared at Cu Chulainn, his eyes blazing with fury.
"No, no, no, how can I question you?" Cu Chulainn laughed wickedly. "You said it yourself, you can handle any danger. I'm just asking you to get rid of the danger in the city!"
"Hmph! ╭(╯^╰)╮"
Gilgamesh snorted coldly, the fire in his eyes undiminished, as he stared at Cu Chulainn.
This Gilgamesh who had descended was Archer, his personality somewhere between the chuuni Gilgamesh and the wise king, neither too bad nor too good.
"Sigh..." Shinobu Kocho sighed.
A team full of problem children, what a pain!
It feels like a civil war could break out at any moment.
In the silence, Giyu Tomioka suddenly said, "...Should we take a detour?"
Immediately, everyone's attention was drawn to him. Gilgamesh's face darkened, "What do you mean? You don't trust this King?"
Giyu Tomioka kept his expressionless face, stared at Gilgamesh for a moment, and slowly looked away, saying, "No."
Although he said "no," Giyu Tomioka's face didn't show any sign of belief. At first glance, he seemed to be speaking insincerely.
"Excellent, very excellent!"
Gilgamesh laughed in anger, jumped up, and flew towards the town on the Golden Ship, Vimana.
Seeing the flying Golden Thread ship, Giyu Tomioka immediately looked puzzled and asked, "What's wrong with him?"
"As expected of you!" Sanemi Shinazugawa patted Giyu Tomioka on the shoulder.
After all these years, you haven't changed. You're still the Water Hashira who can infuriate people with his words.
After praising Giyu Tomioka, Sanemi Shinazugawa continued, "Should we wait here for news, or keep going?"
"Let's keep going," Cu Chulainn said. "Although that guy is arrogant, he does have real skills. He should be able to deal with the magical beasts that are entrenched in the city..."
After a pause, Cu Chulainn continued, "If the magical beasts entrenched in the city are those particularly powerful ones that even Gilgamesh can't handle, being closer will make it easier to help, whether it's rescuing people or lending a hand."
"Mm." Sanemi Shinazugawa nodded slightly in agreement, then directed, "Berserker and Lancer, help Assassin. We'll walk slowly."
The group of ten set off again, slowly approaching the ruined town.
The other person, Gilgamesh, riding the golden Vimana, arrived above the town in an instant.
"…Cherry blossom forest?"
Looking at the cherry blossom forest that occupied one-fifth of the town's area, Gilgamesh frowned.
"…What about the magic beasts?"
-----------------------
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