Out of anger, Cranky tried to smack Arthur away, but the old man summoned his shield and tanked Cranky’s attack.
Before things escalated any further, Thirteen stood in between the two to stop them from fighting.
“Cranky, there are still many Cores here to be eaten,” Thirteen stated. “The more you waste your time here, the fewer Cores you’ll get.”
Cranky glanced at the Artemians, who were dying by the dozens with each passing second.
Camazotz’s and Kamrusepa’s commanders were doing a one-sided massacre, mass killing their enemies like they were trash mobs.
The Barbarians, Tigerkins, Ogres, and Trolls were also busy killing and collecting the Cores of the monsters whom they had killed.
Cranky no longer hesitated and dug underground in order to get his share of the buffet consisting of Artemians, who couldn’t muster any resistance against their opponents.
To make matters worse for the Artemians, the Order of Raziel who escaped earlier returned after realizing that the monsters that came out of nowhere were on their side.
They were the epitome of opportunistic bastards, and they fought tooth and nail to make sure that they would gain a profit from this expedition.
Meanwhile, in the distance, a loud booming sound was heard as Camazotz’s body crashed into the ground, forming a crater.
Zazriel, who was the strongest High Archon on the island, stood like an invincible pillar that no one could break.
Camazotz wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and propped himself up from the ground.
‘I think I’m biting off more than I can chew right now,’ Camazotz narrowed his eyes because none of his attacks worked on his opponent.
He was confident in his speed, and he had decent strength, which made him believe that he could overcome the difference in ranks.
However, his opponent was no ordinary opponent.
Zazriel was covered from head to toe with Legendary Ranked Equipment, which was made by the best blacksmiths of Artem.
“Is that all that you got, you puny little bat?” Zazriel asked in disdain. “You were spouting a bunch of nonsense about defeating me a while ago, but you can’t even land a blow on my body.”
“Shut up, you cheater!” Camazotz replied. “Take off that armor if you dare. Let’s see if this puny little bat can’t hurt you!”
Zazriel snorted before launching two rotating discs at the Death Bat, who didn’t hesitate to fly away to avoid the spinning discs that could easily cut off his body parts if he wasn’t careful.
Camazotz was tempted to ask his allies for help, but since he didn’t want them to look down at him, he gritted his teeth and unleashed a supersonic attack at his opponent.
The ground under Zazriel’s feet shattered, but he remained unscathed.
‘Even sound wave attacks don’t work on his armor,’ Camazotz thought. ‘What a cheater!’
Zazriel was the second strongest being in Artem, next only to his King.
His fighting prowess, which had been refined through countless battles against the people of Chandrea, was the real deal.
But it doesn’t change the fact that the main reason why he could move unhindered on the battlefield was all thanks to his Legendary Ranked Armor, which many believed to be Pseudo-Divine Equipment.
Any attacks that were aimed at Zazriel would bounce off on the armor, negating their effects.
Using his extreme speed, Camazotz had tried to attack Zazriel in his blind spots, but even when his attacks landed, the armor his opponent was equipped with repelled his blows.
It was as if Camazotz was trying to punch the hardest diamond, and was only getting hurt in the process.
Because of this, he tried to use other attacks in his arsenal, but none of them worked against Zazriel.
Even his sonic attacks, which could cause serious internal injuries to his opponents, while wearing their armor, were negated by the ability of the High Archon’s defensive equipment.
“Feel free to run away, weakling,” Zazriel taunted the Death Bat as he walked in Camazotz’s direction. “I admit that I cannot catch you because you are extremely fast. But, that’s your only merit. You’re just fast.”
Zazriel then scanned the battlefield and saw Kamrusepa’s battle against his comrade, Kalaziel.
Currently, Kalaziel had the upper hand and seemed to be overpowering the Majin Princess during their exchanges.
Kamrusepa was an all-rounder.
She had average strength, defense, speed, and fighting abilities.
The Majin Princess didn’t excel at anything, which was why she was currently being pushed back every time she exchanged a blow with her opponent.
Seeing this, Zazriel decided to assist Kalaziel in dealing with his opponent so that both of them could work together to reverse their Army’s current situation.
Opening his wings, the High Archon flew toward Kamrusepa from her blind spot.
Since the Majin Princess was busy fighting against Kalaziel, she didn’t have time to spare for Zazriel, who was planning to go for the kill.
“I won’t let you!” Camazotz roared as he dove down from the sky and attacked Zazriel repeatedly.
However, the invisible barrier that emanated from the High Archon’s body repelled his attacks easily.
Zazriel didn’t even bother to look in his direction because his gaze had locked on the Majin Princess.
Camazotz knew that if Kamrusepa was killed, it would be entirely his fault.
Although he didn’t care about her much in the past, she was now part of the Trinity of the Apocalypse, which he had founded.
Also, the artifact that allowed the Death Bat to form a portal that led to the Treasury of the Apocalypse belonged to Kamrusepa.
She had lent it to Camazotz so that the latter could gain some Rank 9 Subordinates, which he was seriously lacking.
Kamrusepa decided to invest in the Death Bat because the stronger Camazotz became, the better it would be for their alliance.
He had crawled his way to reach his current Rank, so he never thought that he would need the help of others.
But despite his arrogance, Camazotz understood that there were some things that he couldn’t do on his own.
This was why he decided to cease all hostilities towards Thirteen and, instead, formed an alliance with him.
The original plan was for only the two of them to form a team, but for some reason, Kamrusepa wanted to join as well.
Since having her was a great boost in their strength and flexibility, Camazotz agreed and discussed many forms of cooperation with the Majin Princess, who had unlocked the most treasures in the Treasury of the Apocalypse.
“Kamrusepa, behind you!” Camazotz roared as he continued to attack Zazriel from any direction, not caring that his fists had already turned bloody from his repeated attacks.
The Majin Princess glanced behind her back and hastily covered her body in what seemed like full crimson plate armor.
Zazriel’s speed suddenly increased, as he and Kalaziel exchanged glances with each other.
The two of them were going to pincer attack the Majin Princess so that one of their opponents would be eliminated faster.
Just when the two of them thought that their target would be unable to escape no matter what, a high-pressure water cannon slammed on Kalaziel’s body and pushed him away from the Majin Princess.
Kamrusepa then crossed both of her arms over her chest and activated her armor’s ability, which had the power to create a crimson dome to protect her from any attacks.
Zazriel clicked his tongue because Kalaziel was unable to push through with their synchronized attack.
But he decided to go through with it and punched forward, breaking Kamrusepa’s defensive dome, which sent her flying thousands of meters away, only stopping when her body smashed into the mountain in the distance.
Camazotz anxiously looked in his comrade’s direction. He was only able to sigh in relief after Kamrusepa emerged from the hole in the mountain, looking unscathed.
Truth be told, Kamrusepa didn’t have any blind spots.
Everything that happened was just part of her act.
She allowed Zazriel to send her flying because she deemed that this was the optimal way to overcome the difference in power.
Also, she was able to get a brief glance at the future, allowing her to see an opportunity to overcome Zazriel’s cheat-like armor, which couldn’t be bypassed using normal means.
Kamrusepa didn’t mind if they failed to defeat the two High Archons in this battle.
She and Thirteen both agreed that as long as the lower-ranking Artemians were all killed, this mission was a success.
All they wanted to do was make sure the Artemian Army would suffer as many losses as possible so that the number of Apocalypse Points they had would increase by leaps and bounds.
But Camazotz was different.
He hated losing.
He was a loser in the past, so he always strived to not feel the same feeling of helplessness again.
‘There’s a small chance that you will be able to overcome this hurdle, Camazotz,’ Kamrusepa mused. ‘And once you do, you will become stronger than ever before.’
Before the battle started, Kamrusepa had done a divination session.
She had seen that in this battle, Thirteen and Camazotz would grow more powerful, but there were several risks involved.
The Majin Princess liked to take calculated risks, and this was one of them.
As to whether her two allies would be able to grow in this battle, it all depended on their conviction.
——————————
Meanwhile, in the Royal Palace of Artem…
The Artemian King crushed the wine cup in his hand out of anger after seeing the outcome of the ceremony.
Seething in anger, he left the throne room and headed toward the portal that would lead him to the Purple Gate in the Arcadian Archipelago.
He had spent decades trying to gain the power he wished to possess, yet at the very last minute, a lowly human boy flipped the table and destroyed all the preparations he had made.
“I won’t forgive you!” the Artemian King growled. “I will kill you!”
The Royal Guards protecting the King followed behind him.
Although they were only Rank 8 Sovereigns, they numbered over twenty, making them an elite force that could change the outcome of the battle if they were to go to Solterra.
Their King was also a Pseudo-Celestial, having incredible powers at his disposal.
Although the Purple Gate would be strained to its limit sending the Artemian King and his cohort to Solterra, it was not impossible.
However, when they were only dozens of meters away from the Purple Gate, a golden streak of light descended from the sky, creating a trail of fiery blaze in its wake.
It shot towards the Purple Gate like a Railgun, making the Artemian King’s face contort in anger.
“Nooooo!” the King roared, but it was already too late.
A loud explosion erupted, and gusts of powerful wind expanded outwards.
When the blinding light receded, the Artemian King’s gaze landed on a wooden staff that destroyed his only pathway to the Arcadian Archipelago.