The members of Blue Rose watched as Arthur battled the unknown attacker, with a viciousness that they'd never witnessed before.
"Should we help him?"
Evileye questioned as she witnessed the battle, gusts of wind kicking up dust in the air due to the shockwave of each attack from both individuals.
"I don't think he needs it,"
Gagaran answered as she grasped her chin, paying careful attention to the battle. She wasn't a professional brawler by any means, but she could tell the way Arthur was fighting was brutish and undisciplined; the man wasn't using any martial arts.
"He doesn't. Let's try and get out of his way."
Lakyus advised, recognizing that it would be a useless try to help Arthur.
The battle between the two continued uninterrupted, Zesshi finally being proactive and counter-attacking.
The half-elf dodged Arthur's fist aimed at her face by twirling to his left flank, which was open due to the swing of his fist, and using the moment of her spin to swing her scythe full force, planning to pierce through his waist.
However, Arthur expertly dodged by bending his knees forward as well as the top half of his body, evading the attack before he kicked her back multiple meters, opening the distance between them.
"I knew you would come for me eventually"
He uttered those words as he turned around to face her and use [Ruler's Authority] to call forth Excalibur back into his hand.
Zesshi dusted the dirt off her clothing and wiped the small amount of blood off her lip before she responded to his words.
"So you were expecting my Ambush?"
"No, you're just predictable, Now I get to beat your ass to my heart's content"
He said before he launched himself at her, Hearing his words as he rushed towards her caused her to scoff, welcoming the challenge.
Arthur swung a Excalibur at her neck, the wind whistling at the blade cut through the air. However, Zesshi was not so easy to kill. Her scythe intercepted the attack, blocking it, and the clash of steel against steel reverberated throughout the battlefield.
With the two weapons having clashed and sparks flying in the air, Zesshi pushed down against Excalibur, using her scythe, forcing the blade to touch the ground before.
This opened Arthur's front for Attack, and she took the chance; she pulled at the bottom of her scythe's handle and then used the other hand to push, that the head of the scythe swung forward, its bladed bottom edge going for Arthur's neck.
However, Arthur didn't jump back or dodge. Instead, he utilized [Blut vene] on his hands before he removed one hand from the grip of Excalibur and halted the swing scythe.
The battle halted, both fighters remaining in the position they were in.
"Thought this was going to be easy?"
Arthur asked mockingly, his face still portraying an angry frown. He wasn't satisfied yet, not in the least. He wanted to beat her down thoroughly and completely.
"I've always wanted it to be hard"
She responded, and his expression faltered, holding in a chuckle; he was sure she didn't mean it in that way.
"Alright then, I'll show you how hard this can be"
He responded, and they separated by jumping back several meters away from each other.
"This didn't end well for you last time. I don't think that will change"
She uttered and took a more relaxed fighting stance. Everything had been going well so far; in terms of power, he was more than adequate, and now she just needed to see if he could survive her strongest attacks.
However, as she was scrutinizing Arthur's form, something occurred to her.
All this was so she could kill the Elf king, her father. The goal was to find someone stronger than her, have his child, and have that child defeat the Elf king. It was a simple plan, not the best plan but one that she could come up with.
However, there were a few problems, the first being that if this man truly is stronger than her, how exactly is he going to convince him to give her an offspring? He certainly isn't thinking about such things considering their last encounter.
The second problem was, is it truly fair to birth a child for the purpose of completing a single objective? Zesshi herself has only ever been taught to fight; she was born and bred for the sake of war, and the training her mother put her through was so she could awaken as Godkin.
Her existence was only ever about the strength she possessed and what that could do for the Slane theocracy. Can she truly put her own child through that, despite knowing how terrible such a life would be?
'No, it's fine, my plan is fine, and it will work'
She denied such thoughts and reaffirmed her beliefs. There was no need for her to overthink anything, and everything was fine as it was; the Elf king needed to die.
"If you think this will go exactly like last time, then you're mistaken"
Arthur said, his face showing a smile; his anger had subsided; however, now he was looking forward to defeating her.
'Should I kill her?'
He asked himself inwardly; he wanted to kill; he wanted his revenge; however, at the same time, he couldn't help but think about his kingdom; Zesshi would be an excellent servant.
'I'm so jealous of you, Sung Jinwoo'
He thought to himself that if he had the ability of the shadow monarch, he could kill Zesshi, get his revenge, and get a powerful soldier.
Thinking about it, why didn't he just ask for the Shadow Monarch's abilities? Did his past self think they would be too edgy?
'Am I being greedy?'
He questioned himself; however, before he could think further about it, he realized something.
'Ah that might work, although I hope her mental resilience isn't too strong'
He thought before he smiled wickedly. It seemed that he could get his revenge and get a new loyal servant.
"Oh is that so? Then I guess you're telling me to go all out then"
Zesshi Responded as she smiled and began to prepare for her next attack; since Arthur survived the instant death spell last time, she chose not to even use it and instead chose to use one of her most powerful skills.
"Don't you dare regret it!"
...
A/N: Sorry for the delay, I have no excuse. next chapter Arthur's Domain Expansion will be revealed