System's POV

Chapter 1411: Fated Battle [Part 2]

Just before the Goddess Themis gave the signal to fight, rows of text appeared in front of William.

[William, don’t underestimate your opponent.]

The Half-Elf paused for a bit after reading the warning from his friend, Optimus.

His powerhouse status now could mainly be attributed to his "System".

Optimus was hailed as the Strongest System. Even Thirteen acknowledged that he was the strongest among them.

When the System of Cannon Fodders had rampaged in their homeworld, Optimus had received the SOS signal from his siblings.

However, he didn’t do anything.

He had been ready to intervene but decided against it when he noticed that Thirteen only destroyed the vessel of the other Systems, leaving their Soul Cores intact.

As long as a system’s Soul Core was unharmed, they would suffer no significant damage. Reconstructing a new vessel was also just a matter of time.

Of course, Optimus had more than one reason to stay back and just watch the System of Cannon Fodders.

He simply sympathized with Thirteen, so he didn’t bother opposing his sibling. But he also just watched silently when their father, the System God, finally put a stop to Thirteen’s rebellion.

And now that the teenage boy was facing the Half-Elf, Optimus still had no intention of interfering.

But the least he could do was give his Host a warning. To keep things fair, William must not underestimate his opponent.

Especially NOT this opponent.

’Understood. I will be careful,’ William replied through his mind.

Optimus no longer said anything and simply waited for the battle to start.

Themis glanced at both combatants before waving her hand.

"Choose your weapons!" Themis ordered.

Countless weapons materialized around the two combatants.

The Trial of Valhalla was a fair battle. They were not allowed to use their own weapons to keep the battle all about pure skill and ability.

Thirteen casually took two daggers from the weapons around him, while William took a staff and gave it a twirl.

"Are both of you fine with your weapons?" Themis inquired.

"Yes," Thirteen replied.

William nodded. "Yes."

"Good." Themis clapped her hands and the weapons flew several meters above the arena. "Should you need more weapons, feel free to take your pick. Since both of you are ready, I hereby declare the start of the Trial of Valhalla.

"This battle will only end when one of you surrenders, is knocked unconscious, or dies. Worry not. Dying in this battle isn’t true death. So, fight to your heart’s content and don’t hold back!"

The Goddess then raised her right hand before making a slashing gesture with it.

"Battle Start!"

As soon as the signal landed, William charged at Zion with his weapon ready to strike.

The teenage boy stood calmly and shifted to a fighting stance with his two daggers.

Everyone watched with great interest as the Half-Elf clashed with Stella’s boyfriend for the first time.

"This is what you call the Father-in-law’s test for their future son-in-law," Sidonie commented. "How exciting! This will definitely be the norm for our daughters in the future."

"Definitely." Titania nodded in agreement. "If they wish to marry our daughters, they must defeat Will first."

With a strike filled with killing intent, William unleashed a thrust akin to a lightning strike.

To his surprise, Thirteen calmly deflected his attack with the dagger in his hand before lunging in to close the distance between them.

A sneer appeared on the Half-Elf’s face as he swung the staff sideways to send the arrogant prick flying.

However, Zion crouched and lashed his leg out in a sweeping kick, knocking William’s footing out from beneath him.

He then prepared for a follow up palm strike, but the Half-Elf dexterously used his staff and slammed it on the ground, propelling him upward.

After somersaulting in the air, William deftly landed on the ground, and took a fighting stance.

’You’re right, Optimus,’ William said. ’This brat is a very slippery one.’

[He’s very stubborn too. Don’t let your guard down. It will take more than killing him, to kill him.]

Thirteen calmly stood up and took a stance. He even had enough leeway to make the come over here gesture to the Half-Elf, making the ladies whistle and cheer for him.

’Damn, even my wives are on his side now. I’m beating this kid even if it’s the last thing I do.’

[Good luck.]

It wasn’t only William’s wives who were openly supporting Thirteen. Even Stella’s siblings, especially the Amazon Princess, Raizel, found the teenage boy very pleasing to the eyes.

Everyone in their family looked up to their father, so seeing someone fearlessly provoking him like this made the Amazon Princess’ grin from ear to ear.

"He really has guts," Raizel said. "Stella, if you don’t like him, can I have him instead?"

"Of course not!" Stella replied in a heartbeat.

However, she was shocked when she realized what she just did. The thought of her sister taking Zion away from her made her feel threatened, so she immediately opposed her statement.

Ciel glanced at his two sisters before shifting his attention back to the two combatants in the arena.

He paid close attention to Thirteen’s movements and was very surprised about how accurately the young man predicted his father’s next moves.

Ciel wasn’t the only one who noticed this. After several exchanges, William’s wives also realized how easily the teenage boy dodged their husband’s attacks, occasionally even using counters that almost connected fully.

While it was still too early to tell who would win between the two, they had come to the conclusion that the Half-Elf would struggle to knock out his potential son-in-law.

William unleashed a flurry of thrusts, but none of them connected.

Thirteen either dodged or deflected the Half-Elf’s attacks with his daggers, using minimal movements to conserve stamina and strength.

"Do you know why the Half-Elf crossed the road?" Thirteen asked.

"To kill a bastard like you," William replied as the ferocity and speed of his thrusts increased drastically.

Thirteen took several steps back in order to distance himself from the powerful strikes, understanding he wouldn’t be able to dodge or parry them like he did earlier.

"What’s wrong?" William sneered. "You can no longer take a beating?"

"No," Thirteen replied. "I just backed away because I realized something."

"And that is?" William asked.

"Your fly is open."

"... What nonsense are you talking about?"

William glanced at his pants to check if his fly was indeed open. However, he realized that his pants didn’t have any zippers.

He only glanced at it briefly, but when he shifted his attention back to Zion, the young man was only a few meters away from him.

The Half-Elf almost smacked himself for falling for such an obvious trick.

William barely managed to block the sneak attack from the teenage boy, who had a sneer plastered on his face.