"Nonsense!"
"The myths and legends of Earth are just human fabrications!"
"Even if an Arthur existed, he was merely mortal!"
Hinata's words were sound.
On the Cardinal World's Earth, mystery had all but vanished.
Any remnants were left by otherworlders.
As for gods and myth, they were mere figments of human imagination.
"You still won't draw your sword?"
Seeing Artoria's reluctance to unsheathe her blade, Hinata felt insulted. "Or do you think you don't need it to deal with me?"
"…"
Artoria pondered briefly, then nodded slightly. "Fair point."
"Facing a valiant warrior, my earlier actions were indeed disrespectful."
This was a proper duel, and holding back would be an affront to Hinata.
Clang!
As Artoria drew the Sword of Promised Victory, its golden radiance and shimmering starlight instantly captivated everyone present.
"The Holy Sword Excalibur…"
Hinata had never seen the true holy sword.
But the moment she saw that golden blade, she instinctively knew it was the sword.
"How is this possible?"
Hinata dismissed thoughts of whether Artoria was truly King Arthur.
It was irrelevant to their battle.
"No matter what, I'll eradicate the mastermind behind the Jura Forest calamity!"
Hinata charged at Artoria with her sword, joined by Leonard and Bacchus, two top-tier fighters comparable to Demon Lord Seeds.
"Average magicule count over 400,000... impressive strength."
Artoria parried Hinata's swordplay while casually assessing Leonard and Bacchus.
Boom!
As the four clashed, a sudden surge of cavalry emerged from the distant forest... Hinata's 3,000 Crusaders.
"The plan worked…"
Far from panicking, Artoria gave a faint smile.
'Treyni, Souka.'
'Proceed as planned!'
Artoria issued the mental command.
Treyni manipulated the forest's mist again, severing communication between Hinata's group and the Falmuth army.
Without Hinata and other powerhouses interfering, Treyni's task went smoothly.
The 50,000 Falmuth troops had been redirected.
Awaiting them was a coalition of nearly 40,000 dragonewt, wolves, and lycanthropes.
"Not good!"
Hinata sensed the shift, wanting to order the knights to fall back and protect the Falmuth army.
"Too late."
Artoria wouldn't give her the chance.
Switching from defense, her swordplay turned sharp and cunning, forcing the trio into a steady retreat despite their combined assault.
"What power!"
Bacchus was stunned by Artoria's strength.
Her swordsmanship and physical prowess were unfathomable.
Each time they thought they'd read her, she revealed new, unseen power.
'At this rate, we won't gather any intel on her.'
Leonard realized, 'Instead, she'll have all of ours!'
Buzz!
Seeing the dire situation, Hinata could no longer hold back.
With her millions magicules, she activated her Unique Skill, Usurper.
The Usurper skill had two main effects.
First, it could seize the power of defeated foes, absorbing it to fuel her growth.
Second, during combat, it could steal a portion of an enemy's skills, putting them at a disadvantage.
Now, Hinata aimed to use the latter.
She planned to siphon Artoria's power to disrupt her rhythm!
"Hm?"
Meanwhile, Artoria, fending off Leonard and Bacchus, suddenly froze.
"This feeling…"
Clang! Clang!
Artoria's gaze sharpened, and with no further restraint, her Sword of Promised Victory cleaved through Leonard and Bacchus's knightly blades.
The devastating strike silently underscored the gap between them.
After all this fighting, Artoria hadn't even been serious.
"A Unique Skill?"
Artoria looked at Hinata, aware she was deploying some unknown skill against her.
"Pity…"
The golden-haired knight shook her head. "Your Unique Skill can't shake me!"
"What?!"
Hinata didn't need to voice her disbelief.
The result soon spoke for itself.
Crack!
With a crisp sound, Hinata heard the Usurper skill fail. "How is that possible?"
By magicule comparison, Artoria's count was roughly 8 to 9 million.
Though a six- or seven-fold gap compared to Hinata, they were both in the Demon Lord domain.
"That surprises you?"
"What?"
"Your perspective is too narrow."
From the start, Artoria held an invincible edge in this fight.
Before becoming a True Demon Lord, she had Avalon, which negated non-Ultimate Skills.
Now, as a True Demon Lord, all her skills were integrated by Uriel, the Lord of Oaths.
Her power had soared.
Especially in defense... she was unmatched among Damien's subordinates.
A mere Unique Skill? Even an Ultimate Skill below the level of the Seven Virtues or Seven Sins couldn't touch her.
"Damn it!"
Mocked by Artoria, Hinata felt utterly stifled.
"You're too arrogant, King Arthur!"
Hinata swung her sword.
Instantly, countless multicolored magic circles formed above Artoria, stacking into a towering array.
"Oh?"
Artoria's brow furrowed, sensing a hint of threat in the attack.
"You're not escaping!"
Before Artoria could evade, hundreds of Crusaders unleashed barriers and holy binding spells, locking her in place.
***
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