He rolled his eyes because of Roar's unenthusiastic but uninformed reply. The he began preparing for the upcoming fight.
He had two options now. He can either wait here out in the open for the fight or venture down the tunnels into a cramped space to fight the ants on their home ground.
He chose the former option. He picked this choice for safety and because he believed that he wouldn't be able to prepare for the battle quickly enough if he went down the tunnel.
The reason he believed that he wouldn't have enough time to fight in the tunnels was because he could already hear the loud thumping sound of a many-footed giant rushing towards him.
This loud sound of a giant with more than two feet in a hurry was coming from the ground. It indicated that he was running out of time to prepare for the battle.
So rather than go down, he began preparing for the fight. His main preparation was to bring out his new Blade Swarm hybrid shield and the golden bow.
The hybrid shield was a large silver artifact in the shape of a tower shield. It was large and heavy, but it could be held with one arm and would offer full frontal protection.
He didn't hold the hybrid shield, though. Instead of doing that, he decided to activate its second form.
He willed it, and the large silver shield broke apart into small flying blades. The blades were ten in number and could be controlled to fly around him with his divine sense.
The ten small silver blades fly around him like a swarm of insects. This was why the artifact was called a blade swarm.
The blade swarm even began buzzing after he used a lightning spell on them. His lightning energy jumped from one blade to another, turning them blue and making them glow.
As the lightning jumped from one blade to another, the blades vibrated and buzzed like flies. This signified that they were truly ready to be used.
With this done, he grabbed the golden bow with his hands and drew it. As he drew it, he put his lightning internal energy into it too.
After it was drawn, four blue lightning arrows formed within the bow. This was different from the past when he could only form one arrow.
This upgrade was because he now had more than one life seed and a divine sense that could control his energy even better.
Two life seeds produced two arrows each. This didn't increase the power of each arrow, but it increased the utility and usefulness of the Golden Bow.
The Golden Bow was still the same one that he received when he was in the first mortal coil. It hadn't changed. The reason it could do more now was because he had changed. He had finally grown to become capable of utilizing the Golden Bow to its full capabilities.
After doing all of these, he decided to wait for his enemy. He also said to Roar, "Don't let the ant get close no matter what. Also avoid any danger."
He was taking this fight seriously, so he warned Roar seriously. His tone of voice was grave without any brevity.
But Roar didn't notice the seriousness much. He only knew that something fun was about to happen, and he was anxious to enjoy the fun thing.
So Roar was absentminded as he listened to Arthur's orders and replied, "Yes, yes. Don't let any ant get close, and avoid any danger. Got it."
Just as Roar gave the confirmation that he had acknowledged the order, the champion arrived. It would be the first of many. If it doesn't manage to kill Arthur or rebuff him, more champions will join the fight.
The champion was the size of a house. But it was armored and more durable than a house. To top it off, it could also fly.
The fire ant had six red wings. They were large and powerful, but they were not the only thing that the champion was using to fly.
The champion also had the help of its beast core, or its foundation. This is a piece of the core of the ant queen. So it is a minute golden core.
The power of this minute golden core was such that the fire ant would be able to fly even without wings. Arthur could also sense that the champion could do more than just fly.
In his mana sense, the fire ant was glowing a red violent energy. He couldn't tell what the ant was capable of in terms of spells, techniques, and skills, but he could estimate its power by observing the quantity and quality of mana in its body.
What he sensed put the ant at an energy level of 5E. He is currently at an energy level of 10E. So barring any surprises, he should win this fight.
But their energy levels were too close, so he couldn't make any mistakes or do anything stupid. If he did, he might be the one to lose and die. Besides, energy levels weren't the only determinant of strength, so he made up his mind to be careful in the fight.
Just as the champion poked its head out, four large blue arrows flew towards it. Arthur had released all four of his prepared arrows because he was taking the fight seriously.
The four arrows spread away from the Golden Bow and scattered into the sky as they flew towards their target. They each picked a direction to fly in. There was one arrow for each cardinal direction.
This behavior of the arrows was all due to the control of his divine sense. He can now control his arrows to fly in whatever way he wishes. This is as long as they remain within the range of his divine sense.
Just before the arrows left the range of his divine sense, he controlled them to converge on the position of the fire ant as they got close to it. This way they attacked it from every direction.