System's POV

Chapter 1410: Fated Battle [Part 1]

William unleashed his power with a flick of a finger, not planning to stop until he forced the audacious young man into submission.

Just as the attacks were about to reach Zion, Maple and Cinnamon stood in front of their big brother and opened their mouths, absorbing the power meant to harm him.

Seeing his own daughters protect the outsider trying to steal his daughter, the Half-Elf gaped in shock. Shouldn’t the twins be on his side since the young man wanted to take their big sister away?

"Hey, are you done?" Thirteen tugged the tie of his suit. "You’re already old, but you’re still acting like a kid throwing a tantrum. Aren’t you embarrassed?"

"You talk big for someone hiding behind two little girls," William replied with a sneer. "I can send you flying with a flick of my fingers. What makes you think that you have the right to stand before me?"

"You’re right." Thirteen nodded. "You’re certainly one of the strongest mortals I’ve met since my creation. But I don’t see myself losing to you."

"Excuse me?" William didn’t know if Zion was being delusional or not. "Are you trying to make me laugh?"

"No." Thirteen replied before handing his necktie to Giga, who had come to his Master’s side in order to protect him. "If you’re as strong as you say, then I challenge you in the Trial of Valhalla. You’ll agree, right? Unless... you’re scared, of course."

William narrowed his eyes, finding this term very familiar. On the other hand, James’ expression turned serious the moment the teenage boy said the words, "Trial of Valhalla."

The Einherjars, the warriors of Valhalla, didn’t always get along. To solve this, Odin thought of a way to handle these disputes.

Einherjars were the warriors the Valkyries had chosen for their bravery at the battlefield. With that in consideration, Odin came up with the Trial of Valhalla. There, these warriors could freely clash against each other to settle any grievances between them.

But there was a catch.

To keep the duel as fair as possible, both warriors’ rank and strength would be leveled to match each other. In other words, the stronger party would have their power sealed until their strength was equal to their opponent’s.

Thor had participated in such battles in the past, earning him great respect among the Einherjars. Not only did he win, but he also had no hesitation weakening himself to match his opponent to prevent them from coming up with all sorts of excuses.

"What’s wrong?" Thirteen asked after two minutes had passed, and William still hadn’t said anything. "Are you scared?"

Thirteen moved his arms like the wings of a chicken and taunted the Half-Elf by saying, "Bok! Bok! Bok!" imitating the clucking of a chicken.

William’s wives, as well as his children, looked at Zion in disbelief.

"Wow! Your boyfriend is very fiery huh?" Raizel smirked. "I like him!"

"He’s going to challenge Papa?" Ciel blinked. "Either he’s very confident with his skills, or he just can’t spell the word Fear."

Stella didn’t say anything, recalling what had happened in the Temple of Courage.

Thirteen had fought against dozens of Wanderers on his own, and she had also been there to fight against him.

For some reason, a part of her felt anxious and excited at the same time.

Anxious, aware of her father’s incredible strength. Even if his rank was lowered to match Zion’s, his fighting experience still put him at an advantage.

Excited, curious if Zion could last long enough against his father to perhaps gain his approval.

"Very well," William finally spoke. "That way, you won’t have any excuse when I crush you."

"I’m not done yet," Thirteen stated. "Fighting without a wager is boring. How about we put something on the line? If I win, you will not interfere with Stella’s relationship with me.

"Whether she becomes my girlfriend or not, you won’t move a hand, foot, nose, or lips to stop her from being with me."

"You’re really pushing your luck, huh?" William sneered. "Very well. If I win, you will never show yourself in front of my daughter again. Is that clear?"

"Sure. If you win, that is."

"Hah... at least you have a spunk, little boy."

William then waved his hand and summoned a wind to carry Zion onto the air with him. He then headed to the Colosseum, which was normally used for tournaments within the capital city.

Since this was a special duel, they would need to ask the Goddess Themis, who ruled over Divine Law, Order, and Fairness.

The Half-Elf had a special relationship with the Gods of the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods, so the moment he arrived at the colosseum, he immediately convened with them.

To his surprise, Themis readily agreed to his request for a fair and just duel between him and Zion.

Actually, Themis was one of the Gods who had been observing Thirteen for quite some time. Although the teenage boy was far from being ’fair and just,’ she was still awed by his scheming personality.

Also, she was very curious about who would win between the God Slayer and the Ex-System of Cannon Fodders, who had been noticed by many Gods in the Celestial Realm.

"I’ve been itching to watch a good fight," Themis said as she descended from the heavens.

Themis was actually a Titan older than most of the Greek Gods in their Pantheon.

She had her fair share of fights, but she had always fought in an upright and righteous manner. Even if her opponent played dirty, she would still stick to her belief.

The Goddess clapped her hands, and William felt that his superhuman strength and abilities slowly regress to match Zion’s.

The Half-Elf glanced at his opponent, who was doing some light stretches. Until now, the young man had not changed out of his black suit.

"Don’t you have plans to change into appropriate clothes for battle?" William asked.

"I’ve always wanted to fight a duel wearing a suit," Thirteen replied. "Just treat this as me giving you a handicap."

Themis grinned after hearing Thirteen’s words. She then glanced at the audience stands, which were slowly being filled by William’s people.

Most of them were his family members, as well as some close friends, like Kazogonaga and Psoglav.

It had been a while since they watched William fight against someone, and they were treating this battle as a form of entertainment.

"Zion! Beat William!" Psoglav shouted. "He has grown very cocky as of late. Put him in place!"

"Wow, shouldn’t you be supporting Will?" Kazogonaga blinked. "Aren’t you afraid he will smack you after this battle ends?"

Psoglav chuckled. "Come on. I’m sure you also want to see a good fight. It will be boring if it’s too one-sided."

Almost everyone in the audience stands believed that William would overpower Zion in their duel.

But there were a handful of beings who had a different opinion.

Sun Wukong, who both treated William and Thirteen as his allies, poured some wine onto his cup and took a sip.

"This will be an interesting fight," Sun Wukong muttered.

"Who do you think will win?" asked the Jade Emperor, who sat down beside the Monkey King.

Sun Wukong smiled faintly. He didn’t give any answer, but he already had a biased opinion on who would win.

Suddenly, a beautiful Goddess landed a few meters beside the Monkey King and the Jade Emperor.

’She came, huh?’ Sun Wukong mused before taking another sip of his wine.

The Goddess of Fate, who rarely made her appearance, was now watching the two combatants fight in the arena.

Her gaze was calm, and yet, her eyes were locked on the teenage boy, who wished to challenge her and the System God in a battle where they had the upper hand.