Some of the more perceptive individuals turned their gaze to the one present who was most skilled in the art of defense – Petr, the Maginot Line of the Rooster Kingdom.
"Do you think you can withstand an assault from Lin Ran's dimensional gates?"
"Or perhaps I should ask, can you counter-attack while enduring it?"
Dinu, the Blue Restraint of the Rhine Federation, looked at Petr with a slightly stiff expression.
Petr took a deep breath:
"What a terrifying human mobile artillery piece..."
"Firstly, I have to admit, his sustained output firepower, below the eighth tier, is the most monstrous I've ever witnessed in my life..."
"But don't you forget what my Maginot Line truly represents!"
"As long as it's not someone who surpasses my tier, they will never, ever be able to defeat me head-on! Absolutely, positively impossible!"
"In all the matches I've lost before, it was almost every single time due to being bypassed by despicable means or forcibly driven out of my shield and fortress..."
"Otherwise, they would never have been able to defeat me!"
Arthur, standing beside him, burst into laughter upon hearing Petr's words:
"Oh, old Petr, why do you sound so proud?"
"If I had something called an invincible defense that people constantly bypassed like an idiot, I wouldn't even use such embarrassing experiences as conversation topics..."
"But you, you bring it up with such smugness."
"Do you actually believe a cumbersome defensive fortification system provides a sense of security and accomplishment?"
"This kind of old turtle shell that's always outsmarted is utterly useless! I'd hate it even if it were given to me!"
Petr's old face immediately flushed crimson, nearly spewing blood from Arthur's venomous tongue.
He and Arthur, both renowned nobles from the Sunset Federation and the Rooster Kingdom respectively, were old adversaries who constantly bickered, mirroring the subtle relationship between their nations.
However, because Arthur was a frivolous and undisciplined playboy, while Petr enjoyed adopting a facade of seriousness, Petr often found himself on the losing end of their verbal spar.
This time was no exception.
After stammering for a long time, Petr couldn't come up with any suitable retort. He could only flush red, veins bulging on his forehead, and argue, "Defense isn't being a turtle... Defense! ...Can a defender be called a turtle?"
He then uttered a string of incomprehensible words, such as "Never to fall," "Invincible defense," and "Surrender but not decay," drawing laughter from everyone, filling the arena and the stands with a cheerful atmosphere.
By the time Petr finally recovered his senses, the sixth match on the stage had already completed its final countdown.
"It's the Holy Knight!"
Someone shouted first.
Oh?
Upon hearing this news, Arthur's spirits immediately lifted. He abandoned his teasing of Petr and turned his attention to the arena.
After all, as the wielder of Excalibur, he was a branch of the Holy Knights himself,
though his level was much higher than that of ordinary Holy Knights...
Even the twelve Knights of the Round Table under him were paragons among Holy Knights, each capable of fighting seven opponents.
But they were all of the same lineage, so a little attention was deserved.
It would also be an opportunity to observe how Lin Ran, his greatest potential rival, would perform against an opponent of the Holy Knight type.
Caesar, too, began to show interest.
As a direct descendant of the Holy Empire's royal family, he was naturally well-versed in this matter.
Although his specialty, the Power of Judgment, was fundamentally different from the grand, sweeping chivalry and Holy Light of the Holy Knights,
it still held some reference value...
After all, Lin Ran was currently a greater threat to his championship aspirations than Adam Hammerfall!
Looking back at the stage,
Lin Ran was somewhat surprised to face this opponent named Lucas.
Sensing the holy aura pervading the air, Lin Ran could only lament how utterly useless Vasily's last team member was...
Facing an enemy imbued with divinity, especially in a one-on-one duel, Lin Ran couldn't imagine how he could lose!
After all, he had tested it on the table last night, and the binding effect of Heaven's Chain on divine beings was something even Luo Qingyan, with her purest Holy Power, couldn't break free from, even at the cost of her life.
If she couldn't, how could others?
After glancing one last time at Lucas, who had finished his pre-battle prayer and was bowing to him, Lin Ran narrowed his eyes:
"You are quite good..."
"Low-key, humble, polite, and genuinely devout..."
"Completely out of place in this entire team!"
"In that case, I won't torture you. I'll send you down directly..."
"To face a true warrior, give him the purest test!"
Divine Armament - Heaven's Chain!
Come out, my old friend!
With a mere thought, an dark golden chain flashed out of the void, instantly wrapping around Lucas's agile form.
Startled, Lucas intended to struggle and counter-attack by wielding his giant knight's sword.
But to his surprise, this chain seemed to be imbued with a paralytic agent...
The moment it bound him, he felt as if all his strength had been drained, rendering him unable to channel his internal Holy Light.
What was even more terrifying was that the chain could seal his hard-earned Divine Power within his body.
Now bound, he was essentially no different from an ordinary person, save for his body's innate resistance!
What kind of bizarre artifact was this?!
Of course, he wasn't the only one...
The moment Heaven's Chain entangled Lucas, some others also changed their expressions.
Among them were, naturally, Caesar and Arthur, wielders of different branches of Divine Power.
One stared blankly, mouth agape, at Heaven's Chain; the other was dumbfounded, clutching his throat and gasping for breath.
Because these two realized that when the chain appeared, an indescribable sense of fear and dread flashed through their hearts.
This innate, inborn sense of suppression was akin to a Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus encountering Lin Ran's Golden Dragon, a complete overwhelming pressure!
It was as if an invisible hand had gripped their throats, making it difficult to breathe...