CHAPTER 129: BRAWL OF HONOR

"Disrespectful?"

Achilles sent a sidelong glance at Arthur, speaking in a low and intimidating voice. "Just being addressed by me, a demigod, should be honor enough. What else do they expect?"

"You...!"

Arthur gritted his teeth, glaring like he was about to kill someone.

"As a gentleman, you should treat all women with respect! From where I’m standing, you treat them like trophies—items to sate your lust!"

"And what’s wrong with that?" he replied, grinning. "They should be thankful instead. I’m doing them a favor by choosing and sleeping with them!"

SHING!

A golden sword flew and slammed into the shield Achilles raised in a hurry. Though the attack aimed more to intimidate than to injure, it was still an attack.

"You... disgust me!" Arthur howled. "I challenge you to a duel! If you lose, you will apologize to these girls and treat them with respect from here on out!"

Achilles frowned, eyeing his shield.

It was an item specially forged by Hephaestus, God of Smithing, capable of withstanding even a blow from the god of war, Ares. But now, a crack had appeared on its surface. That alone spoke volumes about the power behind Excalibur’s strike!

"You dare challenge me, a demigod, to a duel?" Achilles asked, voice thick with offense. "Don’t ask for something you can’t handle, mortal!"

"What? Are you scared of losing?" Arthur shot back, unyielding. "Then apologize to these girls now, while I’m still being nice!"

"Heh!"

Achilles raised his spear and positioned his shield in front of his body. The spear’s shaft rested snugly in the hemispherical recess built into the shield itself. "Then die with no regrets...!"

The fight broke out abruptly—no one present dared to stop it.

With a powerful dash, Achilles reached Arthur in an instant and thrust his spear forward. The sharp tip lunged toward Arthur’s face, slicing through the air with a vicious whoosh.

CLANG!

But Arthur didn’t back down. He deflected the spear with a casual swing of his sword, using the impact to shift his stance and launch a counterattack.

"...!"

Achilles calmly raised his shield, letting the blade slide off, leaving sparks and a shallow groove across its surface. At the same time, he pulled the spear back, readjusted his aim, and thrust again—under the cover of the shield, swift and subtle!

Surprised by the sudden follow-up, Arthur flicked the spear aside in a panic. "Ugh!" he groaned as he lost his balance for a moment.

He was left vulnerable—a brief opening Achilles didn’t miss.

"You’re all talk with no strength to back it up!" Achilles roared, launching another spear thrust.

But... the finishing blow never landed.

"What?!"

Instead of striking the off-balance Arthur, the spear clashed against Excalibur, which moved on its own. The impact forced Arthur backward but gave him just enough time to recover his footing.

Achilles didn’t relent. He pressed forward, charging with his shield raised high. His defense was airtight—finding an opening felt impossible!

’I need to limit his mobility and wait for an opportunity...!’ Arthur thought.

With the shield covering his opponent’s upper body, the lower half was the only viable target. Everything below the knee was covered in greaves, leaving only the thigh exposed. Arthur didn’t miss this opening—he struck at the thigh, expecting Achilles to dodge or slow down, but...

CLANK!

The attack connected cleanly!

But instead of drawing blood, Arthur was stunned. Excalibur bounced off Achilles’ skin like it had struck solid iron! The jarring contrast between expectation and reality created a fatal opening.

STAB!

"Ack...!"

Achilles’ spear pierced Arthur’s left shoulder. It had originally aimed for his heart, but Arthur managed to shift just in time to avoid a fatal blow!

THUD!

Without missing a beat, Achilles followed up with a brutal kick, sending Arthur flying and yanking the spear out in one fluid motion.

Caught off-guard, Arthur tumbled across the ground. The pain in his shoulder, coupled with the gut-wrenching blow to his stomach, left him breathless and sluggish.

"...!"

By the time he managed to lift his head, Achilles’ spear was already inches from his face. Death had never felt closer.

"Enough."

But before the spear made contact, an angry voice cut through the tension.

A slender hand suddenly appeared in front of Achilles, grabbing him by the face like an iron claw. With his "constitution," it shouldn’t have hurt. It was uncomfortable, sure, but he should have been able to break free—should being the key word.

"...!"

The next moment, Achilles felt his strength drain away. A mysterious force sapped his vitality, making his limbs convulse uncontrollably. In seconds, he lost all ability to move—his body now little more than a lifeless husk.

Even breathing became so taxing that he briefly considered stopping altogether.

"C-Coward...!" he groaned, summoning the last of his strength. "How dare you... interrupt our duel...!"

He was beyond shocked. With his special constitution, he should have been near-invincible. Yet a single touch had left him completely helpless.

It felt like he had reverted to being Ligyron—back when he was just a boy under the training of the wise centaur Chiron, utterly incapable of fighting back.

Unfortunately for him, the one he was speaking to didn’t entertain nonsense.

"Coward?"

The interloper, Wu Zetian, glared down at the fallen Achilles with cold disdain.

"You should be grateful you’re still alive after disturbing my cultivation. If my Emperor weren’t here, I’d have turned you into a pill in my furnace already!"

"...!"

Pills? Furnace? Achilles had no idea what she was talking about. But the intense bloodlust she radiated for just a moment was enough to trigger every survival instinct in his body: ’Do not mess with this woman!’

Seeing him go quiet, Zetian nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Stay that way and don’t disturb us again."

She turned and returned to her meditation in front of the Small World Tree’s sapling.

Soon after, a new figure approached, shaking his head.

"You two are too hot-blooded," said the man—Xu Tao—with a wry smile. "Starting a fight before I even had the chance to explain things."

He tapped Achilles’ forehead—not to heal, but to finish the job. Like Zetian, Xu Tao absorbed the last remnants of vitality from Achilles, leaving him unconscious.

’Monsters...’ Achilles thought as the last thread of consciousness left him.

"And Arthur..." he said after confirming Achilles was down, turning to the other figure still sprawled on the ground. "You... overreacted."

He didn’t say anything more. Arthur was already reflecting—on his temper, his impulsiveness, and his lack of strength.

"...It won’t happen again," Arthur muttered, covering his eyes with one arm.

His voice was heavy with defeat.

Indeed, the duel may have been interrupted—but it would’ve ended in his loss either way. He wasn’t blind. He could admit that much.

"As expected... I’m too weak..."

"..."

Xu Tao could sense the weight of his depression, but helping him wasn’t so simple. Or... maybe it was.

"Arthur," Xu Tao said. "Gather the best fighters among the refugees. The top 34 of them."

"Huh?" Arthur lifted his head, staring at him in confusion.

Xu Tao didn’t bother explaining much, and just went straight to the point.

"We... will be riding the bus!"

And even after hearing that, Arthur remained just as confused about what he meant.