Alas, the quality of imitations is often incomparable to the genuine article.
Though this divine blade, formed in post-natal stages, bore a divine name, it was utterly outmatched in terms of magic, material, and spirit.
What’s more, the disparity in skill between the wielders of these two weapons was also considerable, making the outcome of their clash self-evident.
*Crack!*
The Spear of Destiny pierced the blade of the divine sword in Yuan's hand without mercy, snapping it into two. It did not halt its advance.
*Pfft!*
Under Yuan's astonished and disbelieving gaze, the Spear of Destiny, having overcome the sword's resistance, effortlessly sliced through his chest as if it were tofu, creating a gaping hole.
Still impaling him like cured meat on its tip, the Spear of Destiny did not stop there. It carried him, continuing to fly at full speed until it reached the edge of the arena. There, it slammed forcefully into the arena's protective shield before slowly coming to a halt.
*Clang!*
This final, seemingly spent thrust of the Spear of Destiny caused the entire protective shield of the arena to shake violently. Many Sakura officials and nobles, gripped by anxiety, thought it was about to be shattered.
"What impossibly monstrous power! Is he even human?!"
"Such a gentle throw, yet it produced such a potent piercing attack?"
Catherine’s mouth hung agape as she sat stunned in her chair, eyes wide.
Caesar first let out a soft sigh, then leaned back in his seat, stroking the stubble on his chin.
"While that may be true, Lin Ran can hardly be considered human, can he..."
"Just his never-before-seen golden dragon bloodline alone grants him such immense physical enhancements."
"Not to mention the inexhaustible supply of various divine artifacts he possesses; my eyes are practically dazzled by them..."
"However, this Shimada Yuan is truly a stubborn fool."
"Knowing that a direct confrontation would be disadvantageous, he still chose to engage head-on rather than evade. It was utterly idiotic."
"Of course, if he *didn't* know a head-on clash would be disadvantageous..."
"Then calling him foolish would be an insult to the very word 'foolish'."
Arthur nodded his head repeatedly, shaking it back and forth.
"Indeed, it's like that..."
"Who knows why Yuan acted that way? The spear seemed to be flying quite slowly; with a bit more care, it shouldn't have been difficult to dodge."
"And now, his summoned creatures are still fighting on the field, but their master has fallen first..."
"What a waste of those twelve imposing green dragon souls and twelve composed and capable ninja heroic spirits."
"Truly, 'Your loyal subjects were ready to fight to the death, why did Your Majesty surrender first!'"
Petrey, however, interjected with an extremely abrupt statement.
"Then... what if Lin Ran's strike was simply impossible to evade?"
"Perhaps Yuan's block was a desperate measure born of sheer necessity?"
Petrey's words stunned everyone present.
Anfia looked at Petrey's earnest expression and hesitantly asked,
"That shouldn't be possible..."
"Everyone clearly saw the speed and trajectory of the spear just now. While it wasn't slow, it certainly wasn't to the point of being un-evadable..."
"If Yuan himself was a lumbering strength-based fighter, or an immobile mage-type, that would be one thing."
"But from his performance just now, this fellow was clearly a speed-based burst assassin. How could his speed be insufficient?"
"The only plausible explanation is that he was simply too arrogant."
Petrey shook his head.
"You haven't faced Lin Ran head-on, so you have no idea how terrifying it is..."
"Remember? In the final moments of my battle with Lin Ran, he unleashed what he called his 'normal' strongest state."
"With an aura that terrifying, I don't need to tell you how earth-shattering his full-power strike was, do I?"
"Yet, facing an attack of that magnitude, I didn't even consider evading..."
Catherine glanced at Petrey.
"Wasn't that because you were confident in your defenses? Or perhaps because your movement speed is too sluggish?"
Petrey helplessly rolled his eyes.
"Big sister, I'm not an idiot. How could I possibly remain confident at a time like that?"
"As for being sluggish... have you all forgotten? Lin Ran's strike back then wasn't so fast that it left no room for reaction..."
"In fact, this attack, arguably his strongest to date, was considerably slower than many of his previous minor maneuvers, yet I still didn't choose to dodge."
Catherine was extremely displeased with Petrey's use of the term "big sister" and immediately shot him a look, her voice growing considerably less amiable.
"Oh? So? Why didn't you dodge?"
"It couldn't be that your brain short-circuited for a moment and you were too scared to know what to do, could it?"
Petrey, however, did not get angry at Catherine's sarcasm. Instead, he let out a long sigh to the heavens.
"Uh... something like that... the situation back then was probably just like that..."
Looking at Petrey's weathered expression, Catherine almost thought she had misheard him.
Good grief, she'd only made a couple of joking remarks, and Petrey actually admitted it!
This is just ridiculous; even if a donkey was stuck on a mountain, it wouldn't go sliding down every slope...
But before Catherine and the others could press further, Petrey spoke up himself.
"Or rather, the moment Lin Ran fired that arrow, my brain, consciousness, divine sense, and everything else that could make a judgment told me that I was incapable of evading this strike."
"Rather than wasting effort on an impossible evasion, it was better to fortify my defenses as much as possible..."
"So that when I took the hit later, the injuries I sustained would be slightly less severe."
Upon hearing Petrey's words, the others were even more dumbfounded.
Caesar frowned in confusion.
"What kind of bizarre effect is that... Are you sure your judgment wasn't mistaken?"
Petrey nodded firmly.
"I've relied on them to survive life and death situations for many years; their judgment has saved me countless times."
"So, no matter what, I will unequivocally trust them."
"Even if I were to repeat the process a million times, I would still unswervingly make this choice!"
This...
The few of them were even more bewildered, looking at each other, unsure of what to say.
Just then, Isaac, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly slapped his thigh.
"Right! I remember now!"