“A-Are those Mythical Armaments?!” Tristan’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at the Greatsword, Shield, and Armor that Arthur equipped.
Lawrence, who owned one of the supposed only six Mythical Armaments in the world, was just as shocked as his son. He had thought of countless possibilities, but this was something that he didn’t think he’d see when he decided to accompany Zion in his Night Raid.
The Six Monarchs were not only powerful because of their Ranks. It was also because they possessed Mythical-Ranked Gears, which greatly boosted their fighting prowess.
And now, Arthur Leventis was holding not just one, not just two, but three of them, which would make the Five Monarch Clans mad with greed.
“They are,” Thirteen replied, which made Tristan’s body stiffen.
Of course, he didn’t bother correcting them. There was no point telling them that the armor wasn’t a Mythical Ranked Equipment but a Pseudo-Divine Armor, which was two levels higher than the gears owned by the Monarchs.
“How?” Lawrence, who finally regained his composure, asked.
“It was during the battle in the Arcadia Archipelago,” Thirteen stated. “The leaders of the Artemians were carrying those items, so my Grandpa just picked them up after they dropped them.”
“You make it sound like your Grandfather just casually picked them up from the ground,” Tristan said in disbelief.
Thirteen smiled faintly because his excuse was fail-proof. There was no way that he would tell his two superiors that the Greatsword and Shield in Arthur’s possession were crafted by his father, Gerald, and further enhanced with his Rune Magic.
The Artemians were the perfect scapegoat for his explanation. After all, no one could prove otherwise that he wasn’t telling the truth.
“I’d appreciate it if the Grand Marshal and Field Marshal can keep this as a secret,” Thirteen commented. “Right now, the status quo must be maintained. Humanity must unite as one, so we can’t have conflicts at this point in time because of greed.”
Lawrence and Tristan both nodded in understanding and shifted their focus back to the battle that was happening in front of them.
Every time Arthur and the Manticore King clashed, a powerful shockwave would be generated, sending gusts of wind flying in every direction.
Because of the battle’s high intensity, Thirteen was forced to move behind Lawrence, using the Monarch as a shield to prevent himself from getting blown away by the aftermath of the battle between the two powerhouses.
Judging by the exchange between the two, Lawrence and Tristan could tell that Arthur and the Manticore King were almost evenly matched.
Almost was the most accurate term, given that Arthur had a small advantage over his opponent. He was even able to push the Majin back a few times during their clashes.
Two minutes later, Arthur and the Manticore King distanced themselves from each other.
“That armor of yours is interesting,” Amos said. “I managed to hit you five times, and during those times, I felt that my attack had been completely nullified. It seems that you came prepared to fight me.”
The Manticore sneered. It already deemed that as long as Arthur was wearing the silver armor, its attacks would not deal any damage to its opponent.
“You’re right,” Arthur replied calmly.
But to Thirteen’s and the Manticore King’s surprise, Arthur unequipped the silver armor from his body and replaced it with a red one.
“I don’t need it to defeat you,” Arthur declared before charging at the Manticore King with his sword and shield glowing in a golden light.
Amos snorted and sprinted toward the Old Man, facing him head-on.
This time, the outcome of the clash was quite different from the first.
Arthur was now the one who was being pushed back, which made Lawrence and Tristan frown.
Thirteen, on the other hand, remained calm as he observed the battle from behind the Monarch.
‘I knew that this would happen,’ Thirteen sighed in his heart. ‘Gramps can be too stubborn at times.’
There was no mistake that if Arthur fought normally wearing the Artemian Armor, the Manticore King wouldn’t be able to deal damage to him as long as he supplied it with a bit of his life force.
The main reason why he chose to challenge the Manticore King was due to the fact that the conditions to emerge victorious were already set in stone.
Now that Arthur had chosen to stop using the silver armor, his chances of winning had decreased drastically, making it a fifty-fifty between him and the Manticore King.
A loud explosion spread in the surroundings as Arthur slammed at the wall that prevented anyone from escaping the battleground, where the Manticore King rested.
“You know now, don’t you?” Amos asked in a teasing tone. “If you don’t use that armor, your chance of defeating me is very small.”
Arthur propped himself up from the ground before spitting a mouthful of blood to his right side.
“Using that armor will not make me strong,” Arthur replied. “It will only make me weak because I will subconsciously rely on it. Also, let me correct that misunderstanding of yours. My chance of defeating you is not small.”
The Manticore King laughed because he liked Arthur’s answer.
“Good,” Amos said. “Only weaklings need to rely on cheap tricks to win. The only thing we can believe in is our own power!”
The Manticore then brandished its scorpion-like tail, sending sharp projectiles in Arthur’s direction.
The Patriarch of the Leventis Family blocked and deflected these sharp spikes then took a step forward, charging with his shield raised in front of him.
Amos opened its mouth and unleashed a breath attack, similar to a Dragon’s breath.
Arthur didn’t bat an eye and charged at the Manticore King’s attack.
When the shield and the breath attack collided, Arthurs’ charge stopped completely in his tracks.
The ground under his feet shattered as he did his best to tank the attack that was making his feet skid slowly on the ground.
A moment later, Arthur roared as he forced himself to take a step forward, fighting against the momentum of the Manticore King’s breath attack.
Amos, who also understood what Arthur was trying to do, increased the output of his attack, resulting in an explosion.
A mushroom-shaped dust cloud rose up from the point of impact, making Lawrence’s, and Tristan’s expressions turn grim.
Suddenly, the two heard a crisp, crackling sound behind them, which made them look at the teenage boy, who was casually eating some potato chips as if he was just watching a TV Show.
But just as Tristan was about to ask the boy what he was doing, he sensed a movement from the center of the dust cloud.
From within that place, two glowing objects could be seen, making the Manticore King narrow its eyes.
Wanting to take a better look, Amos flapped its wings to blow the dust clouds away, allowing him to see the aftermath of his attack.
At the center of a crater, a bloodied Arthur Leventis knelt while panting for breath.
His red armor had been reduced to almost nothing, revealing his toned body, which would make any bodybuilder look at him in envy.
He was bleeding all over and was using his sword and shield to keep his body from collapsing completely.
Although he looked injured and battered, a fearless smile could be seen on his face as he forced himself to stand.
“It’s hard to fight when I’m giving a strong opponent a handicap,” Arthur said after he regained his breath. “Zion, I think it’s fine if I unseal it, right?”
“No,” Thirteen replied in a heartbeat. “But, if you want to be second-rate for the rest of your life, Gramps, go ahead and do it.”
Arthur clicked his tongue before wiping the blood that was seeping at the corner of his lips.
“Fine,” Arthur commented as he raised his sword and pointed it at the Manticore King, who was looking at him with a solemn gaze. “I’ll end this fight with my next attack. So, if you have any trump cards, make sure to use them now.”
Amos smirked. “Very well. Let’s end this battle with a bang.”
Arthur grinned as he took a fighting stance.
Suddenly, the crater where he stood expanded as the ground around him shattered.
Thirteen had given him the Divine Martial Technique, Heaven’s Blade, and it had two special moves.
The first one was Overdrive.
This was the Heaven’s Blade berserk ability that raised its user’s strength and speed multiple times for a short period of time.
It was a move that should be used as a last resort because once it was used, there was no turning back.
Arthur would have to defeat his opponent or die trying because the moment the effect of Overdrive disappears, he would no longer have the strength to lift even a finger on his body.
The Manticore King soon realized that Arthur wasn’t just all talk, so it decided to also unleash its Berserk Ability, Berserker Rage, shattering the ground under its feet as well.
“Um, I think we should get out of here,” Thirteen proposed.
Lawrence didn’t hesitate to grab the boy and jump toward one of the cliffs, where a few monsters were cheering on their leader.
Tristan followed behind his father, ready to attack the monsters if they made any move against them.
Fortunately, none of the monsters attacked them.
They even moved back a bit to create a space where Lawrence and Tristan could land.
After sensing that the monsters weren’t hostile to them, the three shifted their attention back to the battlefield and waited for the final clash between Arthur and the Manticore King.