Just like King Gilgamesh, the history recorded about him differed from the true history.
"Mm."
Brunhilde replied in good spirits.
She truly had not expected so-called artificial humans to be this powerful.
If artificial humans like this could be mass-produced, then perhaps it would not be the gods judging humanity, but humanity judging the gods.
Of course, she did not believe artificial humans of this level could be manufactured in bulk.
As for the truth behind Xiang Yu's current body, most gods seemingly could not make anything out. But Main Gods on Zeus's level had probably noticed something.
"Oh?"
Zeus of Greek Mythology suddenly raised his right eyebrow.
The human called Xiang Yu no longer possessed a human body.
Through his eyes, Zeus saw something resembling a Cybernetic Eye made by humans.
In that case, was his entire body an artificial construct?
Could such a body have been created in that era?
Hmm, it seemed that so-called puppets could be made, but could they really be this powerful?
Had the gods over there provided support?
Come to think of it, it was rather strange. Not a single heavyweight god from that side had appeared.
Forget it. There was no need to think so much. Whether gods from that side had helped or whether there had been some kind of cheating, the one who had appeared was still human.
After all, the rules that had been established were certified by the Cosmic Origin. The thirteen representatives summoned for humanity could only be humans.
If someone had been born a god, stepping into the arena would only trigger the rules and reveal to everyone that they were a god.
At that moment, the heated battle in the arena underwent a new change, making everyone hold their breath as they watched.
It looked like the victor would soon be decided.
The Final One Standing Was...
One side wielded an enormous Mjolnir that looked incredibly heavy, while the other's halberd appeared much lighter.
As the two swung their weapons and attacked each other, their speeds were identical, making them seem evenly matched.
But that only showed that the one wielding the massive hammer possessed slightly greater strength than his opponent.
If the massive hammer were replaced with a lighter weapon, his speed would definitely increase. In that case, his opponent would likely be unable to defend himself.
Thus, some spectators on the gods' side claimed that if the giant hammer were not so heavy, and Thor used a lighter weapon instead, that human would definitely be unable to withstand him.
In other words, a few gods felt this was somewhat unfair.
However, only Mjolnir could withstand Thor's power. It was also highly compatible with his strength, allowing him to unleash his power more effectively.
Any other weapon would simply be crushed in his grip.
Therefore, there was no such thing as unfairness. There was no absolute fairness in the world.
Thor was also thoroughly delighted right now. It had been far too long since he had encountered an opponent who could let him release his strength to his heart's content and fully enjoy battle.
So Thor gripped Mjolnir even tighter, as if he could hear it letting out a dull cry of pain under the unbearable force of his grasp.
"Make this more enjoyable for me."
As he spoke fiercely, he increased his speed further, veins bulging across his arms.
"I'll make it even more enjoyable!"
The wielder of the halberd responded just as fiercely and matched his speed.
As their weapons collided at even greater speeds, the heat generated had already turned the ground red-hot, nearly melting it.
In the blink of an eye, the weapon known as a halberd seemed as though it would be the first to fail.
The weapon had already become abnormally red. If its temperature continued rising without dropping, it would likely melt or shatter.
Even so, he could not stop. His speed could not slow by even the slightest bit.
The moment he failed to keep up, Mjolnir would smash him to pieces like porcelain.
"I see."
"You noticed?"
"Yes!"
As Thor's opponent in the guise of Hegemon King Xiang Yu, he had discovered why Thor's swings were becoming faster and faster.
Thor swung Mjolnir in something like a circular motion, gradually accelerating little by little.
At this rate, he would be unable to keep up.
Then it was time to begin predictive calculations.
By calculating every movement in front of Thor—including every minute twitch of his muscles, as well as every surrounding factor—he calculated how many degrees each swing deviated, how much faster it would become, how much more force it would gain, and so on.
Once he calculated it, he could see through Thor's attack patterns as though he had predicted the future.
The time squeezed out through prediction was not enough for him to completely evade, but it was enough to disrupt his opponent's swinging rhythm and interrupt the acceleration generated by centrifugal force.
However, the high-speed calculations further increased his burden.
But this feeling was incredible. This battle was incredible.
This was Bai Yue's first truly uninhibited battle since coming to this world.
So he raised all of his sensory systems even further to react better.
Naturally, this would increase his burden even more, but only such a burden gave him that exhilarating sense of excitement.
After all, his current body was not human flesh and had no nerves to secrete stimulating hormones.
Bang!
"Oh?"
Thor narrowed his eyes slightly. He had not expected his move to be disrupted the very instant it was seen through.
"Then how about this!!!"
One end of Mjolnir erupted with lightning, and the thrust it generated increased the speed of Thor's strike.
"Not enough!!!"
The two of them were no longer fighting for their respective sides. They were fighting solely for themselves.
They were simply savoring the rare opponent before them, reveling in the slaughter.
It was fortunate that they were fighting on a specially reinforced arena. Otherwise, if this were in the mortal world, in a human city, every collision between them would create a terrifying disaster.
"Sister Brunhilde, things seem to be getting bad."
Goll, who had initially been somewhat expectant, now had anxiety appear on her face again.
Hegemon King Xiang Yu's halberd was clearly inferior to Lord Thor's Mjolnir.
If they continued clashing like this, the halberd would likely break first.
And the instant he lost his weapon, Xiang Yu would surely suffer one of Lord Thor's thunderous strikes capable of shattering the earth.
Thus, Goll nervously shifted her gaze back and forth between a screen and the arena.
The screen displayed the battle projected into the air.
Why not just watch the arena directly? Why was there a need to watch the screen?
Because Goll's eyesight could not keep up with the speed of the two fighters in the arena.
She could only watch the delayed slow-motion screen projected in the air. That screen allowed people to better understand the collisions between their weapons and see which side was gradually falling into a disadvantage.
Seeing the changes in the Hegemon King's halberd made Goll's palms sweat.
Ah, and the spectators closest to the arena were also the most terrified.
They were not worried about either fighter in the arena. They were more worried about themselves, because the clashes between the two occasionally reached them.
Either wind blades created by the halberd's swings came flying over, or arcs of lightning discharged from Mjolnir leapt toward them.
They were truly afraid of either being sliced apart or charred by electricity.
"Mm, it looks like Hegemon King Xiang Yu is gradually falling into danger. His weapon—cracks have appeared on it!!!"
Heimdallr's voice involuntarily became shrill.
Those words instantly caused the cheers from the gods' side to overwhelm those from Humanity's side.
"It's coming!!!"
Heimdallr noticed the change in Thor's gaze. He was about to deliver his strongest strike.
Mjolnir released even more terrifying lightning. Even its color changed, no longer white but black.
Boom!
Along with the deafening roar, a terrifying shockwave swept through the surroundings, making the spectators scream.
It was not that they had been injured. Rather, the tremor caused by that strike was simply too violent, like a massive earthquake that shook heaven and earth.
Even Heimdallr himself panicked. He had no idea what had happened to the arena, because the shockwave distorted the air and light while throwing up enormous amounts of dust, making it impossible to see how badly the arena had been damaged.
Yet even where he stood after leaping outside the arena's boundary, he felt as if the ground beneath him might collapse.
One had to know that the land on which the arena stood was actually a gigantic island floating in the sky. He truly feared that strike might pierce through it or sink it.
After that strike, the center of the arena seemed to have fallen silent.
Had the victor been decided? Who had won, and who had lost?
One after another, they swallowed hard and stared fixedly at the slowly dispersing smoke and dust.
Who would be left standing?
The Limb Beneath the Peeling Charred Skin Was...
The smoke gradually dispersed, revealing a figure.
Then a tsunami of cheers erupted—from the spectators on the gods' side.
There was no need to see the figure clearly. From the image of the massive hammer in his hand, it was obvious who remained standing.
That was the strongest Berserker of Thunder in Norse Mythology—Thor.
"I told you, Lord Thor was definitely going to win!"
"No matter how strong humans are, they can never defeat Lord Thor!"
"Under that strike, he must have been reduced to ashes!"
The spectators on the gods' side became arrogant again.
"Has the first battle of Ragnarok finally been decided? The victor is—"
His voice abruptly stopped. Heimdallr narrowed his eyes and carefully watched the smoke that was still dissipating.
He saw another figure—another figure that was still standing.
In other words, Humanity's representative, Xiang Yu, was still alive.
To survive Thor's terrifying strike and even remain standing was simply beyond his expectations.
One had to know that even Main Gods dared not take Thor's strike head-on.
Yet a human had survived? Did he possess power comparable to a Main God?
Wait, perhaps he had not been hit.
But even if he had not been hit, that only proved how formidable he was. He had actually evaded it.
There were very few gods who could evade such a terrifying strike.
"Wha—!"
Before you continue