The Weak Have Their Own Way of Fighting

After a moment's hesitation, Iver finally asked the question.

It wasn't that he didn't recognize the other person; rather, the name "Crown Lord" had been stuck in Iver's throat for a long time before he finally forced himself to swallow it.

Have you thought it through?

While intently feeding the Pegasus, Arthur casually remarked, "The answer to that question."

—I can offer all this for my great cause, what are you willing to give up?

This was the question Arthur asked Iver before Iver parted ways.

"... Too fast."

Iver shook his head. "I haven't had time to think about it yet."

Although he had traveled back and forth between the past and the present, the total time he spent there was less than ten minutes. The vast majority of that time was spent fighting between the Oligan, wielding the Thunder Strike Halberd, and the cursed Wildfire Giant Utgarda-Loki.

The pace was so fast that it didn't give Iver any time to overthink.

For Iver, this time was no different from simply skipping it.

Arthur turned around in surprise. "Too fast?"

"It's only been less than ten minutes," Iver complained.

"Is that so..."

Arthur murmured.

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

He narrowed his eyes and sharply commented, "Then this is undoubtedly a problem with the Dream Realm Weaver. A battle that continues until all ammunition and supplies are exhausted has no real meaning other than training one's will."

"It's like giving a gunman a difficult problem, asking him to fight a powerful enemy with his bare hands—regardless of whether he can ultimately defeat the enemy, regardless of how difficult the problem is, what does that have to do with his qualities as a gunman?"

"To test a warrior's skills, you must give him a suitable weapon and let him face an enemy that is neither too strong nor too weak. It is meaningless whether the enemy is too strong or too weak - neither too strong nor too weak enemies can demonstrate one's strength."

"That guy really should have given you plenty of rest time. Between two major wars, you should at least have had one night to rest and recover. Scheduling the transition between scenes so tightly is typical of the mindset of Path of Adaptation."

"In that guy's view, 'survival is meaning.' Therefore, he tends to test the survival skills of those who are promoted—but in my opinion, the vast majority of extraordinary people in this world have never lived in difficult environments where survival is difficult, and many of them may never even encounter a fatal crisis in their entire lives."

"In the end, how much does survival ability have to do with personal qualities? Or rather, is a superhuman who is good at adapting to changing circumstances, can complete difficult tasks, and has extremely strong survival ability necessarily an outstanding superhuman on this path? Is a contributor who lacks the ability to adapt to deadly crises, or a Transcender is not good at completing sudden and tricky tasks, not an outstanding contributor or Transcender? Adding pressure to those who are promoted based on one's own path inclination is the same as what Weizhe did, and it is unfair."

"Your personal abilities are probably still not fully recovered, right? So in this situation, if an encounter occurs, what can you do besides stand by and watch, or summon your demons and watch from the sidelines? This isn't testing your true strength at all; it's more like testing your demons' abilities."

"Hmph. To say that someone who can't even participate in a battle can display any dazzling brilliance in a fight is just laughable."

The usually taciturn Arthur suddenly uttered a long string of sharp criticisms of the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

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

... But Iver inexplicably felt that the relationship between the two Pillar God wasn't as bad as Arthur had made it out to be. His words weren't exactly expressions of disgust, but rather a case of "mutual loathing."

Arthur was speaking vehemently to Iver, saying things that the Lord of Scales and Feathers could hear perfectly clearly... Iver's experience and intuition told him that it was best not to agree or disagree at this time.

—Although in terms of content, Iver believed that what Arthur said was absolutely correct, and could even be described as very fair and reasonable.

It's like assigning homework or difficult problems to kindergarten or elementary school children; it's not testing the children, it's testing the parents... The ritual of the Lord of Scales and Feathers has that feeling. Iver felt that he was completely unable to participate in that level of battle.

But this was ultimately a trial ceremony for the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

So Iver just gave an awkward smile and said nothing.

At that moment, Iver suddenly felt a lightness in his body—as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

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

It hovered in Iver's left palm, existing as a physical entity rather than an ethereal one. This indicates that the usage count of Iver's Phantom Demon Card has been reset.

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

In other words, all of Iver's Phantom Demon Card were reset. It was as if time had passed midnight... Not only were the uses of the Phantom Demon Card replenished, but even the mana pool was restored to its initial state.

But Iver could see it clearly... the sun had not yet set in the distance, it was clearly dusk.

In other words, someone suddenly Iver.

There's no need to say who it is.

It must be the Lord of Scales and Feathers watching Iver.

"...snort."

Arthur clearly noticed this as well.

He nodded in satisfaction. "That's more like it."

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

Iver couldn't help but ask.

Although the boss would probably answer if I asked the Lord of Scales and Feathers directly, Iver would rather see Arthur, a taciturn and aloof guy, talking non-stop.

To be able to get the taciturn Silver Crowned Dragon to talk, that must be a huge honor!

"We fought side by side."

Arthur replied, "To fight for the greatest justice in the world."

He raised his head and looked at the twilight sky. "In the not-too-distant future."

"You mean..."

Iver vaguely guessed what Arthur wanted to say.

He also guessed why the Lord of Scales and Feathers' test was this single-player instance, and why Arthur had personally descended before him.

But he dared not utter that name here.

In the time before the fall of the Supreme Heaven, calling upon His name could attract attention.

Arthur, without hesitation, named his defeated opponent. "Yes, it was the battle against the Supreme Heaven."

"... Did the Lord of Scales and Feathers also participate?"

"More than that. In this era... not counting Amber, the Supreme Heaven is one of the strongest. It's not wrong for Him to call Him the 'Supreme God.' Even the Serpent Father cannot surpass Him; the Beast Lord who ascended to godhood in the same era was also defeated by the Supreme Heaven; even as the creator of the Nine Great Source Rivers, the brilliance of the Candle can only be considered to be on par with the Supreme Heaven at most."

Arthur made no attempt to deny that he was inferior to the Supreme Heaven Being: "Even now, at my strongest... I am not as strong as He was at his weakest."

"So who exactly are you...?"

"The weak have their own way of fighting."

Arthur gave Iver a deep look and said meaningfully, "Isn't this also the way a weak person fights? You should be able to understand."

"In other words..."

Iver suddenly realized.

... Are you calling for reinforcements?