Chapter 623: The Fighting Style of the Weak
“…Arthur?”
Eivass hesitated for a moment before finally asking.
It wasn’t that he didn’t recognize the person. Rather, the title “Crown Lord” had been stuck in Eivass’s throat for a long time before he finally managed to suppress it.
“Have you thought about it?”
Arthur casually asked while attentively feeding the Pegasus, “The answer to that question.”
— *I can offer these things for my Great Deed, what are you willing to give up?*
This was the question Arthur had posed to Eivass before they parted ways.
“…It was too fast.”
Eivass shook his head. “I haven’t had time to think.”
Although he had returned to the past and then come back again, the total time spent was less than ten minutes. The vast majority of that time was spent watching the fight between the warrior Origen, wielding the Thunderclap Halberd, and Utgarðar-Loki, afflicted by a curse.
The pace was so intense that Eivass hadn’t had a moment to overthink.
To Eivass, those moments felt as if they had been skipped entirely.
Arthur turned his head, looking somewhat surprised. “Too fast?”
“It was less than ten minutes,” Eivass complained.
“Is that so…”
Arthur murmured.
He completely dropped the pretense of feeding the horse, clapping his hands and then caressing the Pegasus’s head.
He narrowed his eyes and openly criticized, “Then this is undoubtedly the problem of a Dream Weaver. A battle that lasts until one is completely out of resources has no practical meaning other than training the will.
“It’s like posing a difficult problem to a gunman: to defeat a formidable enemy with his bare hands— regardless of whether he ultimately defeats the enemy, or how difficult the problem is, what does it have to do with his skill as a gunman?
“To test a warrior’s martial skills, one must provide him with a suitable weapon and have him face an enemy of appropriate strength. Neither too strong nor too weak is meaningful—both extremes fail to showcase one’s true abilities.
“That guy should have prepared adequate rest time for you. Between two major battles, you should have at least had an overnight rest to recover your condition. Arranging the transition between scenes so tightly is typical thinking for Path Adaptation.
“In that guy’s eyes, ‘survival is meaning.’ Therefore, he tends to test the survival ability of Ascenders—but I say that the vast majority of Extraordinary beings in this world do not live in harsh, survival-challenging environments, and many might never encounter a life-threatening crisis in their lives.
“Ultimately, how much does survival ability have to do with personal cultivation? Or, is an Extraordinary being who is good at adapting to situations, capable of completing difficult missions, and possesses extreme survival skills, an excellent Extraordinary being on this Path? Is a Devotee who lacks the ability to cope with life-threatening crises, or a Transcendent who is not good at completing sudden, tricky missions, not an excellent Devotee and Transcendent? Adding pressure to Ascenders based on one’s own Path tendency is the same in nature as that of the Great Philosopher, and it is unjust.
“Your personal abilities are probably still on cooldown, aren’t they? In this situation, if a surprise encounter occurred, what could you do besides stand by and watch, or summon your Demon and watch from the side? He’s not testing your true strength at all; rather, he’s testing your Demon’s abilities.
“—Hmph. To expect someone who cannot even participate in a battle to display any dazzling radiance from it would be laughable.”
The usually taciturn Arthur suddenly launched into a lengthy, sharp critique of the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
His words conveyed nothing but disdain for the Lord of Scales and Feathers’s scriptwriting skills.
…But Eivass inexplicably felt that the relationship between these two Pillar Gods wasn’t as bad as Arthur portrayed. It wasn’t hatred, more like a mutual annoyance.
Arthur spoke at length to Eivass, saying malicious things about the Lord of Scales and Feathers that he was absolutely sure could be heard— Eivass’s experience and intuition told him it was best not to agree or disagree.
—Although, in terms of content, Eivass felt that Arthur’s points were entirely valid and even fair.
It was like giving homework or difficult problems to children in kindergarten or primary school; it tested the parents, not the children… The ritual of the Lord of Scales and Feathers felt like this. Eivass felt he couldn’t participate in battles of that magnitude.
But this was, after all, a ceremonial assessment by the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
So Eivass merely gave a wry smile and said nothing.
At this moment, Eivass suddenly felt a lightness on his body— as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
He subconsciously raised his left hand and summoned the [Equipment Card: Thunderclap Halberd] he had just used.
It hovered in Eivass’s palm, existing as a physical entity rather than a phantom. This indicated that Eivass’s usage count for this Illusion Card had been reset.
If he were to use this Illusion Card again, it would be to summon the halberd anew, not to use its echo effect.
—In other words, all of Eivass’s Illusion Cards had been reset. It was as if time had passed midnight… Not only were the usage counts for his Illusion Cards replenished, but even his Mana Pool had been restored to its initial state.
But Eivass could see clearly… The sunset in the distance had not yet fallen; it was clearly dusk.
This meant someone had suddenly cleared Eivass’s internal cooldown.
It was unnecessary to ask who it was.
It was undoubtedly the Lord of Scales and Feathers, who was watching Eivass.
“…Hmph.”
Arthur had clearly noticed this as well.
He nodded in satisfaction. “That’s more like it.”
“Have you…known each other for a long time?”
Eivass couldn’t help but ask.
Although Arthur, with his taciturn and cold personality, would likely answer if asked directly, Eivass was more interested in hearing him speak so volubly.
To be able to engage the uncommunicative Silver Crown Dragon in conversation – how much face did that require!
“We fought side by side,” Arthur replied. “For the greatest justice in the world.”
He raised his head and gazed at the twilight sky. “Not in the distant future.”
“You mean…”
Eivass vaguely guessed what Arthur was implying.
He also guessed why the Lord of Scales and Feathers’s assessment was this solo dungeon. And why Arthur himself had descended before him.
But he dared not utter that name here.
In an era when the Supreme Heaven had not yet fallen, directly speaking its true name could attract attention.
Arthur, however, did not hesitate to name his defeated foe. “Yes, it was the battle to depose the Supreme Heaven.”
“…Did the Lord of Scales and Feathers participate?”
“More than that. In this era… excluding Amber, the Supreme Heaven was one of the strongest. His self-proclaimed title of ‘Supreme God’ was not unfounded. Even Father Snake could not surpass him; the Beast Lord, who also ascended in the same era, was a defeated opponent of the Supreme Heaven. Even Candlemaster, the creator of the Nine Origin Rivers, could at most be on par with the Supreme Heaven.”
Arthur did not shy away from admitting his inferiority to the Supreme Heaven. “Now, even at my strongest moment… I am not as strong as he was at his weakest.”
“Then you are truly…”
“The weak have their own ways of fighting.”
Arthur looked deeply at Eivass, hinting, “Isn’t this your way of fighting as well? You should understand.”
“Which means…”
Eivass suddenly understood.
…Are you calling for reinforcements?
