The pale blue smoke wrapped around Di Lu Mu Duo, and at this moment, Di Lu Mu Duo had begun to become energy.
Di Lu Mu Duo had turned into a ball of golden energy in just a few seconds. This ball of Heroic Spirit energy swam in Su Xiao's palm while Di Lu Mu Duo's soul drifted away.
"Less substantial than imagined."
Due to the consumption during the battle earlier, the Heroic Spirit energy Su Xiao obtained wasn't much. Although it wasn't much, it was still much more abundant than a single arm's energy.
The golden Heroic Spirit energy entered Su Xiao's palm and, using his arm as a channel, entered the Core of Devouring near his heart.
The precisely constructed Core of Devouring immediately started running, beginning to purify and transform this Heroic Spirit energy into a colourless energy.
When the first wisp of colourless energy drifted out of the Core of Devouring, the Azure Steel Shadow energy within Su Xiao's body had become extremely active, surging up instantly and absorbing all of that colourless energy.
As the Heroic Spirit energy within the Core of Devouring decreased, more and more colourless energy drifted out. Several minutes later, all the Heroic Spirit energy had been transformed.
Su Xiao stood in place, with a faint blue light flashing in his eyes, and the blue smoke that had been floating around his arm disappeared.
"Phew~"
Su Xiao exhaled deeply. Each time he absorbed energy from higher-level creatures, it tested his mental strength.
He turned his head to look outside the ruined building. Because he had just absorbed Heroic Spirit energy, he was now susceptible to this kind of energy.
"Have they gone far? Compared to Di Lu Mu Duo, your energy is so rich that it makes one drool."
The direction Su Xiao was looking at was where Saber and the others had strategically retreated to.
In the distance, Saber, dressed in a black suit, suddenly stopped in his tracks and instinctively turned his head towards a specific direction.
"What's wrong, Saber?"
Alice Phil, Emiya Kiritsugu's wife, looked at Saber in confusion. She was a beautiful white-haired woman.
Alice Phil's identity was not simple. She wasn't human but an artificial human created by the "Einzbern family." More importantly, she was the vessel prepared by the "Einzenbern family" for the arrival of the Holy Grail.
As the Holy Grail War continued, Alice Phil became increasingly weakened whenever a Heroic Spirit fell. The weaker she became, the closer the Holy Grail's arrival came.
Tragedy was destined from her birth; this was the life of the beautiful woman Alice Phil.
Alice Phil wasn't too weak at the moment; after all, only two Heroic Spirits had fallen (Di Lu Mu Duo + Lancelot).
Hearing Alice Phil's question, Saber shook his head.
"Nothing, just a vague sense of foreboding. The combination of that Heroic Spirit and the Master is too strange, as if..."
"As if their roles were swapped."
Emiya Kiritsugu picked up where Saber left off, also noticing the oddity.
"That's right, roles swapped!"
Saber agreed wholeheartedly.
"The Command Spells on that 'Master's' hand... they're drawn on."
Emiya Kiritsugu's words left Saber and the others stunned.
"Drawn on?"
Saber was surprised and clearly found it difficult to accept such a method.
"Yes, drawn on. Although no Master in previous Holy Grail Wars has done this, it's not a bad idea."
"What about us..."
Alice Phil raised her fair hand, seemingly considering drawing a Command Spell on her hand as well.
"No."
Emiya Kiritsugu decisively rejected the idea.
"While drawing a Command Spell on your hand can deceive enemies from a distance, it requires corresponding combat strength and various conditions. You can't do it, but Saber can consider it."
Hearing Emiya Kiritsugu's words, Saber fell silent. Evidently, she didn't want to draw a Command Spell on her hand to deceive others. Her knightly character of 'honesty' wouldn't allow her to do so.
The group fell silent. After a while, Emiya Kiritsugu suddenly spoke.
"Saber, how much chance do you have if you were to face that Heroic Spirit?"
"Sixty per cent... no, at most fifty per cent. I have the upper hand with Noble Phantasms, and I can deal with that Heroic Spirit's swordsmanship, but the blue smoke drifting around them, that smoke seems to be able to... devour me!"
Saber's swordsmanship was not weak, but it was somewhat lacking compared to Su Xiao's swordsmanship. However, Saber possessed the A-rank ability "Instinct," which allowed her to foresee the future quickly. For example, she could anticipate the angle of Su Xiao's strikes in advance.
"I see. In that case, the best strategy is to avoid their strengths."
Emiya Kiritsugu began pondering the following strategy. He was currently retreating to allow Su Xiao to eliminate several Heroic Spirits, thereby reducing the competition.
Unfortunately, Su Xiao wouldn't reappear in Fuyuki City in the short term.
...
Inside the ruined building, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground, faintly hearing the roaring of Yang Ye from the empty lot downstairs.
The Azure Steel Shadow energy within his body gradually stabilised. Su Xiao opened his eyes, and the notification from the Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Due to the converted energy absorbed from the Devouring Core, the level of Azure Steel Shadow has increased.]
[Azure Steel Shadow has been raised to LV.27.]
[Azure Steel Shadow has been raised to LV.28.]
Azure Steel Shadow had increased by two levels, or more accurately, by one and a half levels. This skill would gradually improve with Su Xiao's continuous use of the Azure Steel Shadow ability.
Raising a Heroic Spirit's level by about one and a half levels was far less than what a Tailed Beast could achieve. After all, the energy bases of the two were vastly different.
The combat power of Heroic Spirits was different from Tailed Beasts. Moreover, the power systems of the Naruto world and the Holy Grail world were also different.
Compared to chakra, the magical energy of the Holy Grail world was lower by several orders of magnitude, not in terms of power, but in terms of various aspects, such as the functionality and nature of energy.
"Electric Arc" flickered at Su Xiao's fingertips. The manifested Azure Steel Shadow energy resembled lightning, but the nature of the two was different.
Although he had only raised it by two levels, Su Xiao felt that the density of the Azure Steel Shadow energy had increased significantly. He opened the skill list to check the detailed information on the upgraded Azure Steel Shadow skill.
[Azure Steel Shadow: LV.28 (Active Skill)]
Usage Conditions: After activating (Azure Steel Shadow), the Devourer consumes 66 mana per minute (increases mana consumption by 4 points), automatically deactivating when mana drops below 1%.
Skill Effects: After activating (Azure Steel Shadow), each melee attack will burn the enemy's mana by 140 points (increases by 10 points), and deal true damage equal to the burned mana value + 10% of the enemy's consumed mana (increases by 1%). The enemy will suffer intense pain after experiencing mana burn.
Lv.20 Additional Ability
Master of the Shadows: Can highly solidify the Azure Steel Shadow energy into three forms.
Form One, Demon Hunter: This is the basic form of Azure Steel Shadow, which burns the enemy's mana and inflicts actual damage.
Form Two, Proud Song: This defensive form can create an energy shield of any shape to defend against enemy attacks. The strength of the energy shield is related to the mana consumed, with a maximum single consumption limit of 400 points.
Form Three, Azure Shadow King (Awakened by 2%).
...
All attributes of the Azure Steel Shadow skill have been upgraded. When he saw the description at the bottom, he suddenly noticed that the 'Azure Shadow King' ability had awakened by 2%.
This left Su Xiao both surprised and puzzled. He hadn't done anything, so could it be because he had raised the level of Azure Steel Shadow?
Perhaps not for this reason. Previously, when he was in the Naruto world, despite raising Azure Steel Shadow from LV.20 to LV.26, there had been no sign of the 'Azure Shadow King' awakening.
Could it be a natural awakening? This possibility was also relatively low.
Su Xiao was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Without a doubt, the 'Azure Shadow King' ability was one of the significant moves of the Shadow of Annihilation, but now he couldn't use it, and the method of awakening was unclear.
