While Lancer and Berserker were fighting, what was Li Zihan doing?

The answer is: launching a surprise attack on Berserker's Master.

"You even dared to summon a mad dog. You really want the Holy Grail more than your own life, don't you?"

After Berserker was drawn away by Lancer, the young man with crimson eyes appeared behind Kotomine Kirei without any warning, his red blade striking out.

"Kirei, watch out!!"

The supervisor, Risei Kotomine—who had so deeply inherited the true teachings of 'fairness' he might as well be possessed by a Saint and become 'Saintly Sir'—roared.

"Enemy attack!!"

The moment he shouted, a scorching bullet flew out, its target the very center of Risei Kotomine's forehead.

Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of both Kotomine Kirei and Risei.

Kotomine Kirei, who had once served as an Executor, activated all of his magic circuits, using reinforcement magecraft to strengthen himself. Several Black Keys shot out from his sleeves, lashing viciously towards the terrifying blade.

At the same time, the old Ba Ji Quan master sensed the change in the air. His expression shifted, and power was once again injected into his old, slack muscles as he leaped towards cover.

The scorching bullet struck the ground, and a wisp of white smoke rose from the spot. The alert referee had dodged the assassination attempt from Emiya Kiritsugu.

However, his son's luck was not as good.

The crimson blade danced like a butterfly, its bloody light streaking through the air, easily swatting aside the Black Keys Kirei had thrown.

And then—

A simple clenching of a fist, a release of power.

A straight punch tore through the air, smashing towards Kotomine Kirei's left chest.

Kirei desperately tried to control his body and retreat.

But it was of little use.

That fist, though not comparable to the one Berserker had used to beat down Assassin, still possessed a divine speed and immense force that no normal human could withstand. Kirei's speed was far inferior to the man who had undergone Stigmata modification. His struggle only managed to slightly divert the fist's trajectory.

The straight punch missed his heart but still slammed into his chest.

He took the full force of that punch.

Kotomine Kirei's body tumbled across the ground, bouncing like a skipping stone, before crashing into the church wall. He began to cough violently. He felt as if he had been struck in the chest by a giant battering ram. From his sternum to his ribs, a sound of near-shattering echoed. For an instant, it felt as if his very soul had been blasted from his body.

Crimson blood sprayed from his mouth, dripping to the ground and staining a small patch of earth red.

Just like when Berserker had beaten Assassin, he was completely powerless before the attacking Master. And this was after he had used reinforcement magecraft to bolster his own defense. If he hadn't used magical defense, he would have been pierced through the chest by that one punch and died on the spot!

What kind of monster is this?!

Any trace of optimism Kotomine Kirei had felt from his side summoning two top-tier Servants in a row vanished. His sweat glands opened like a floodgate, and his entire body was soaked through with sweat, from the inside out.

"Kirei!!"

Risei Kotomine, his heart aching for his beloved son, wanted to leap out from cover to help him, but the moment he poked his head out, a hail of bullets sprayed out like a torrential downpour, forcing the highly skilled old man back.

The worst, most unforeseen thing had happened.

Just as his side had allied with his teacher's, two of the enemy factions had also formed an alliance. And they had somehow seen through their own alliance, launching a surprise attack on the very first night of the war!

The most fatal part was, with Berserker being held up, the members of his own side were nothing more than mooks to be mopped up by the enemy.

Should I recall Berserker?

"I am the Berserker who answered your summons. I will gladly be your sword and spear. But I am only your sword and spear."

The words Berserker had spoken when he emerged from the summoning circle echoed in Kirei's ears, and he gave a bitter smile. He had thought the Cú Chulainn he summoned would be a warrior who had completely lost his reason, one who would be easy to control.

As it turned out, he was wrong.

Berserker was perfectly rational, not at all the type he could control. If that Wild Dad were to be recalled, the first thing he would do is kill both him and his father for interrupting his fight.

But if he didn't recall him, he would be killed right here.

The choice before him now was to be beaten to death on the spot, or to summon Berserker and then be beaten to death by Berserker.

In that case, can I only use one stroke of a Command Spell to make him calm down?

Kotomine Kirei, who had a decent understanding of how to use Command Spells, thought to himself and then held out the arm bearing his sigil. To use up two strokes of a Command Spell on the very first day was an incredibly foolish thing to do, but he had no other choice.

"Hey, are you ignoring me?"

Li Zihan appeared before him without any warning, swinging his long sword.

Blood splattered.

A severed arm flew through the air and was caught by the sword-wielding Master.

Then, a straight punch smashed viciously into Kotomine Kirei's jaw, sending him flying and knocking him unconscious.

The gap in mobility and attack power was too great. With such an overwhelming disparity, he didn't even have the ability to recall Berserker.

"You're out."

The young man, having acquired Berserker's Command Spells, smiled at the unconscious Kirei and then issued a command to Lancer.

Lead that mad dog to the Tohsaka residence.

Cú Chulainn, descended as a Berserker, was not as easy to talk to as his Lancer or Caster versions. And Archer Gilgamesh's mouth was not just ordinarily foul. If they were to meet, the scene would surely be spectacular.

After obtaining the Matou family's Magic Crest, the young man had been studying the lore of Command Spells and was thus quite skilled at transplanting them and creating a Book of the False Attendant. He now turned his gaze to the old referee beside him.

To be precise, he was looking at his arm.

"What in the world are you trying to do, magus?!"

The old man, his arm now targeted by the magus, looked at his son lying before him and the half-collapsed church beside him, his expression one of utter despair.

"To bribe the referee, of course," the young man said with a light chuckle.

"Bribe the referee?"

Risei Kotomine looked as if he had just heard the greatest joke in the world.

Your way of bribing the referee is to lead a beatdown on him and cut off his son's arm in the process?

"Are you joking?" Risei's voice was incomparably hoarse.

"Of course."

The young man, who was indeed not here to bribe the referee, smiled.

On the long sword held in his hand, a crimson light pulsed.