Chapter 623 The Fighting Style of the Weak

"...Arthur?"

Aiwass hesitated for a moment before finally asking.

It’s not that he didn’t recognize the other person, but the name of “Crown Master” was stuck in Aiwass’ throat for a long time before he finally forced himself to hold it in.

"Have you thought about it?"

Arthur, while concentrating on feeding the Pegasus, casually said, "The answer to that question."

—I can offer so much to my great cause, what are you willing to give up?

This was the question Arthur asked Aiwass before they parted ways.

“…Too fast.”

Aiwass shook his head: "I haven't had time to think about it."

Although he had traveled back in time and returned again, the total time was less than ten minutes. The vast majority of that time was spent battling the warrior Origen, wielding the Thunder Halberd, and the cursed wildfire giant Utgarochi.

The pace was too tight, leaving no time for Aiwass to think about anything else.

For Aiwass, these times were no different from being skipped directly.

Arthur looked back in surprise: "Too fast?"

"It's less than ten minutes." Aiwass complained.

"Is that so..."

Arthur muttered.

He stopped acting altogether—instead of feeding the horse, he clapped his hands and then stroked the Pegasus's head.

He narrowed his eyes and commented sharply, "Then this is undoubtedly the Dream Weaver's fault. Continuing to fight until ammunition and food are exhausted has no real meaning other than strengthening one's will."

"It's like giving a gunfighter a difficult task, asking him to fight a powerful enemy with his bare hands. Regardless of whether he can ultimately defeat the enemy or whether the task is difficult or not, what does this have to do with his quality as a gunfighter?

"To test a warrior's skill, you must always give him a weapon that suits him and have him face an enemy that's neither too strong nor too weak. Being too strong or too weak is meaningless—an enemy that's too strong or too weak doesn't demonstrate one's true strength.

"That guy really should have given you plenty of rest time. Between the two battles, he should have at least let you rest for a night to recover. Scheduling the transitions between scenes so tightly is a typical example of adapting to the Tao.

"In that guy's view, 'survival is meaning.' Therefore, he prefers to test the survival ability of those who have ascended—but let me tell you, the vast majority of extraordinary people in this world don't live in difficult environments where survival is impossible. In fact, many people may never encounter a fatal crisis in their lifetime.

"In the final analysis, how much does survival ability have to do with personal qualities? In other words, is a Transcendent who is adept at adapting to changing circumstances, capable of completing difficult tasks, and possessing strong survival abilities, an excellent Transcendent on this path? A Contributor who lacks the ability to adapt to mortal crises, a Transcendent who is inadequate to completing sudden and difficult tasks, is he not also an excellent Contributor and Transcendent? Adding pressure to those who ascend based on one's own path inclinations is the same kind of behavior as Wei Zhe's, and it is unfair.

"Your personal abilities shouldn't have recovered by now, right? In that case, if a battle ensued, what else could you do besides stand by and watch, or summon your demon and watch from the sidelines? This isn't a test of your true strength; it's more a test of your demonic abilities.

"—Humph. To think that someone who can't even participate in a battle can shine so brilliantly in it is simply laughable."

Arthur, who was usually taciturn, suddenly burst out with a long list of sharp comments against the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

His words were full of disdain for the writing skills of Lord of Scales and Feathers.

...But Aiwass had an inexplicable feeling that the relationship between the two Pillar Gods wasn't as bad as Arthur let on. Those words couldn't be described as dislike, more as "mutual dislike."

Arthur kept talking bad things in front of Aiwass, which the Lord of Scales and Feathers could definitely hear clearly... Aiwass's experience and intuition told him that at this time, he'd better not agree or sing a different tune.

——Although in terms of content, Aiwass thought that what Arthur said was indeed correct and could even be said to be very fair and reasonable.

It was like assigning homework and difficult questions to kindergarten or elementary school children, where the test wasn't on the children themselves, but on the parents... The ritual of the Scaled and Feathered Lord felt that way. Aiwass felt like he couldn't possibly participate in a battle of that magnitude.

But this is ultimately the assessment ceremony of the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

So Aiwass just smiled awkwardly and said nothing.

At this moment, Aiwass suddenly felt his body lighten - as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

He subconsciously raised his left hand and summoned the [Equipment Card: Thunder Halberd] that he had just used.

It was suspended in the palm of Aiwas's left hand, existing in a physical form rather than an intangible form. This meant that the number of times Aiwas's Phantom Magic Card had been used had been reset.

If he uses this Phantom Card again, he will summon the halberd again instead of using its repeat effect.

In other words, all of Aiwas's Phantom Cards were reset. It was as if time had passed midnight... Not only were the Phantom Cards' charges replenished, but even his mana pool was restored to its original state.

But Aiwass could see it clearly... the sunset in the distance had not yet set, it was obviously dusk.

In other words, someone suddenly helped Aiwass clear the built-in CD.

There is no need to say who that is.

It must be the Lord of Scales and Feathers who is looking at Aiwass.

"……snort."

Arthur obviously noticed this as well.

He nodded with satisfaction: "That's pretty good."

"Have you... known each other for a long time?"

Aiwass couldn't help but ask.

Although the Scaled Lord would probably answer if he asked him directly, Aiwass would rather see a quiet and aloof guy like Arthur talk nonstop.

What an honor it is to be able to talk to the taciturn Silver Crown Dragon!

"We fought side by side."

Arthur replied: "Fight for the greatest justice in the world."

He raised his head and looked at the dusk sky: "In the near future."

"You mean..."

Aiwass vaguely guessed what Arthur wanted to say.

He also guessed why the Scale-Feather Lord's test was this single-player dungeon, and why Arthur appeared before him in person.

But he didn't dare pronounce the name here.

In the days before the fall of the Most High, simply addressing His name would likely attract attention.

Arthur spoke the name of his defeated general without hesitation: "Yes, it was the battle against the High Heaven."

"...Is the Lord of Scales and Feathers also involved?"

"More than that. In this era... excluding Amber, Supreme Heaven is one of the strongest. He calls himself the 'Supreme God' and it's not wrong. Not even the Snake Father can surpass him; the Beast Lord, who ascended to godhood in the same era, was defeated by Supreme Heaven; even as the founder of the Nine Source Rivers, Sizhu's brilliance can only be on par with Supreme Heaven at best."

Arthur openly admitted that he was inferior to the Supreme Heaven: "Even at my strongest moment now... I am still not as good as Him at His weakest moment."

"Then who are you..."

"The weak have their own way of fighting."

Arthur looked at Aiwass deeply and said meaningfully, "Isn't this also the fighting style of a weakling? You should be able to understand."

"In other words..."

Aiwass suddenly realized.

...Are you calling someone?

(End of this chapter)