Arthur felt the chains digging into his muscles through his tough stone skin... it was painful and forceful, making him realize that Fang’s physical strength shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Still... physical combat was his forte.
Arthur deactivated Vaelith’s Petrifying Gaze, understanding that it would be impossible to hit Fang when his arms were chained like this.
"Chaining me? Bad choice!"
Arthur gritted his teeth as he rolled the chains beneath his armpits and pulled with all his might. Muscles swelled beneath the stone-like layer encasing his arms, veins rising sharply as he poured every ounce of his physical strength into the effort.
He took pride in that strength. Yet, to his dismay, Fang didn’t budge an inch.
Fang’s clawed feet dug into the rope’s surface, his toenails biting deep into the rugged fibers like hooked anchors driven into bedrock... the spinning momentum howled around them. Yet, Fang remained unmoved... an immovable beast rooted in his place, the chains drawn to their limit between them as if Arthur were pulling against the abyss itself!
"How is he so strong..."
Arthur was left stunned, feeling like his most prized gift meant absolutely nothing before Fang. Although he wasn’t using his peak strength from Brag’s Gemheart, still...
"How cute." Fang grinned. "If you want to get me close, all you had to do was... ask."
As the last word left his mouth, Arthur found himself snatched against his will, dragged by his chained arms...
Without hesitation, Arthur dropped his center of gravity, lowering himself as much as his partially petrified body allowed. His artifact boots scraped hard against the rope’s rugged fibers!
The chains rattled nonstop as Fang reeled him in with brutal dominance... Arthur growled through clenched teeth, muscles trembling as he fought to slow the drag by a fraction, refusing to bow down like this in a rivalry of physicality.
"Hmmm... not bad for a human."
Fang raised a brow slightly in surprise, not expecting Arthur to put up such a fight... although he was using an unstable clone and this wasn’t his true strength, still... it mirrored his genuine strength when he was at Tier 4. At that time, his physicality as a whole was on a different realm than that of his peers.
He genuinely didn’t expect anyone to be able to resist him at this rank.
’As expected of a Half-Radian... even though his bloodline isn’t awakened, he is no ordinary human.’ Fang licked his lips in anticipation. ’This game might give me a little excitement after all.’
Without warning, Fang let go of the chains in an instant, catching Arthur by surprise, who was still putting everything he had into resisting the pull... With such a curveball, Arthur lost his balance and fell backward while Fang was sent flying in his direction!
Before Arthur could even roll twice, Fang appeared right in front of him with his leg fully extended.
Baaang!
He kicked him in the face with his right foot; the sound of contact resembled a gunshot! The petrified skin shattered instantly, showing Arthur’s busted, bleeding nose to everyone for a split second before he got sent flying backward again.
"Is this all you’ve got? Tsk, getting my hopes up for nothing."
Fang showed an irritated expression as he pulled Arthur toward him... only this time, he had his fist tightened and was ready to smash Arthur’s face into smithereens.
Before anyone could gasp at such a sudden turn of events, Arthur summoned his shield at the last second and held it in front of his face!
Ka-boooooom!!
Fang’s punch smashed into the central black gemstone until a miniature bright sun was born between them, catching him and the viewers by surprise.
This time, Arthur wasn’t launched backward by the momentum... neither was Fang. Brag’s Gemheart absorbed all of the kinetic force until it turned into a blinding crystal!
Arthur showed a sinister smile, his face covered in blood... and yet, his eyes were as clear as ever.
"Absorb."
The illuminating gemstone died off rapidly while Arthur’s muscles tightened and quivered nonstop... his veins and hair shimmered as he stood back up in front of Fang.
With a cold, narrowed gaze, Arthur uttered, "It’s my turn."
Before Fang could react, Arthur stepped in and snapped the chains in the opposite direction with immense force!
The sudden reversal of force erupted outward like a detonating volcano, catching Fang off guard. His eyes widened as his massive frame lurched forward for the first time... but Arthur wasn’t finished.
He twisted his hips and pivoted hard, using the spinning rope’s momentum in perfect sync with the kinetic energy he had absorbed... he yanked the chains across his body while roaring at the top of his lungs.
"I AM STRONGER!!"
Everyone was left stunned to see Fang’s giant frame lifted clean off the rope before Arthur slammed him into the rope’s surface on his right!
BOOOOOM!
The impact thundered across the sky while the rope dipped slightly under Fang’s monstrous weight!
Before Fang could realize what had happened, Arthur rotated his body and whipped the chains to the other side!
BOOOOOM!
Dust and torn fibers erupted as Fang’s body smashed into the opposite side, sending shockwaves everywhere!
Arthur roared and continued the motion, his body moving like a perfectly engineered machine, releasing stored devastation left, right, left, and right again!!
Each slam came faster than the last, turning Fang’s enormous body into a projectile... the sound of flesh and bone colliding with the reinforced fibers echoed across the abyss... Even the nightcrawlers and viewers fell silent at the sight.
"NOW STAY DOWN!!"
With one final roar, Arthur planted both feet and channeled whatever remained of the absorbed kinetic force to hurl Fang downward one last time.
Huff..huff...
-...-
-...-
-...-
The viewers watched speechlessly as Arthur stood above Fang’s laid-out body, huffing and puffing with a face dripping with blood, his muscles jerking nonstop from the exertion.
Whooooaaaaaah!!
A split second later, half of the crowd exploded in a wave of cheers led by Rayan, Sergio, Jamal, and the rest of the Raiders’ supporters!
Even Gamemaster Envy got caught up in the hype and praised Arthur back and forth for his immense displayed prowess!
"A human dominating a werewolf at the same rank?! What have they been feeding this boy?!"
Jojo, Jasmine, Evangeline, and the rest of the Daywalkers behind Levi showed delighted looks, not expecting Arthur to defeat Fang so fast without anyone’s help... especially not when Levi had specifically warned them to avoid him.
’Haha, see, Captain... Ponytail was more than enough to get rid of that mercenary.’
Tyrese smiled faintly as he stood next to Shia and the others outside of Arthur’s vermilion fortress... they were just about to make a move and jump Fang together after seeing Arthur struggling against him.
Fortunately, Arthur was capable of handling his business alone. Or so they thought...
’It isn’t over yet...’
Instead of an apology, Levi’s voice cut through sharply, unwavering. Their spiritual vision paled in comparison to his... he could see with unmatched clarity. Fang’s aura remained untamed, wild as ever, as if the brutal beating he had just endured hadn’t even left a mark.
It was a known fact that spiritual auras corresponded with the state of their owner.
’Hmmm... what are you sayi... ’
Before Tyrese and the others could finish the thought in their minds, out of nowhere, a maddening laugh resounded across the sky.
"Ha... haha... haha! Now that’s what I am talking about!"