Chapter 19
The Duty of a King
As soon as Heimdall began the match , Nezha's Wind and Fire wheel came to life , bursting into flames and beginning to spin with incredible speed as they propelled the Third Lotus Prince straight towards his opponent with his spear outstretched , leaving the ground behind him scorched and blackened .
In response to this , Arthur raised his shield in front of himself and skillfully blocked Nezha's attack with a mighty resounding , " CLANG ! " that echoed throughout the arena .
" So you're THE King Arthur huh ? " Nezha said as the two were momentarily at a standstill , " I always imagined that you'd look much older than this . "
Arthur grinned in response as he forcibly pushed his shield forwards , forcing Nezha's spear point of it and causing the Third Lotus Prince to leap backwards and land gracefully on the ground .
" Haha ! And why is that so , Third Lotus Prince ? " The King of Camelot replied brightly , " Did you think that perhaps you would stand a better chance against a decrepit old man ? Because even so , I SHAN'T lose this match ! "
" Funny , " Nezha said with a cocky smirk , " That's what countless other opponents I've fought over the years said to me as well . They all still got absolutely CURB STOMPED in the end though . " As he said this , Nezha's spear head ignited into flames and the Third Lotus Prince resumed his attack .
The Third Lotus Prince fought in an unorthodox way Arthur had never seen before . Rather than simply thrusting his spear forward to pierce him , the Third Lotus Prince fighting style consisted of him swinging , jumping and jabbing with his spear at Arthur . Creating an impressive display of fiery circles in the air with his flaming speartip , as he expertly spun his own body around to deliver more powerful strikes at his enemy .
Nezha's erratic , yet still somehow coordinated swift footwork , made it extremely hard for Arthur to block or dodge his attacks . Lifting his shield or parrying with Excalibur simply wasn't enough to keep up with the Third Lotus Prince , and Arthur found himself being dangerously grazed by Nezha's spear on his sides every now and then .
" Interesting battle style , " Huitzilopochtli commented from the god's VIP section whilst chewing loudly on a tortilla he was having as a snack , " Though all that twisting and turning Nezha's doing seems very unnecessary , no ? "
" It's a staple of the Chinese Pantheon , " Amaterasu explained to her colleague , " the swift turns and jabs make it hard for their opponents to properly block their attacks , and the momentum produced each time they spin around creates more kinetic energy for them to deliver stronger blows . "
" Huh , I see . " The Aztec God replied as he shoved another tortilla in his mouth , " Though that Arthur guy …. He doesn't seem like much despite Heimdall's introduction for him , so far Nezha got him on the defensive and he hasn't been able to carry out a counterattack . "
" True enough I suppose , also Huitzy ? " The Sun Goddess tone suddenly shifted to something much sweeter and polite .
" Yeah ? "
" Please stop with all those vulgar noises whilst chewing with your mouth open , or I will SHOVE those stupid tacos down your throat , and make you choke on them . '' Amaterasu said with a smile on her face that did not at all match the threat that had just come out from her mouth .
Unshaken by the Shinto Chief God's threat , Huitzilopochtli simply flipped Amaterasu off in return , though he did start chewing his food less loudly than he had done before .
By their side , Ra let out a cold laugh , " If you presume that human is already struggling against Nezha's spear NOW , Huitzilopochtli . I hope you won't be disappointed with how quickly the match will end once the Third Lotus Prince brings out the REST of his toys . "
Arthur grunted as he blocked another of Nezha's attacks with his shield , before pushing it forward and forcing the Third Lotus Prince back , " IMPRESSIVE ! " He said with a wide grin plastered on his face , " Such skillfulness and speed for one so young as you ! Quite a show you've put on there , Prince Nezha ! Truly worthy of a god "
The Third Lotus Prince gave a cocky grin in return to Arthur's praise , " The salt I have eaten is more than the rice you have ever eaten , King of Camelot ! So don't you dare underestimate me ! " As he said this , Nezha couldn't help but laugh at his own words , " DAMN ! Always wanted to say that ! Now I see why that old codger always kept using that same stupid phrase ! "
On the gods' side of the arena , the Jade Emperor and Nezha's entire family were seated amongst other Chinese Gods , all spectating and rooting for Nezha in the third round .
" YEAH ! SHOW HIM WHAT YOU GOT BRO ! " yelled Nezha's two brothers , the deities Muzha and Jinzha .
" Now , now , boys . " Chided their mother Lady Yi , a beautiful middle aged woman with long wavy black hair tied into a ponytail , " I know we all want to show Nezha our support , but let's avoid making too much of a ruckus alright ? "
" Sorry mother . " The two gods replied sheepishly to Lady Yi , who now glanced at the other son that was currently in the battlefield with a worried look .
" Oh Nezha my son , " She whispered sadly under her breath , " Please win and return home to us , I beg of you . "
Meanwhile , the Jade Emperor nudged Li Jing with his elbow with a hearty laugh at Nezha's words , " Good to see you have been teaching your son his Chengyu ( Idiom ) , Li Jing ! Though it seems to have done little to quell his rebellious spirit , HAHA ! "
Li gave a weary chuckle , " True indeed Yu Huang , that boy will be the death of me I tell you , he needs to stop fooling around and take this seriously ! "
" Calm down , Li Jing ! " Replied another spectator seated next to the two deities , the Warrior God Erlang Shen was a young Chinese man dressed in white and gold armor and a cape . He had long hair that was tied into a man bun and a third vertical eye on his forehead , " Have more faith in your son's skills ! Don't get your beard in a twist , Nezha will wipe the floor with his opponent ! "
Li Jing growled at Erlang's relaxed response , " Perhaps so Erlang , but this is Ragnarok we are talking about , and Nezha cannot risk any sort of slip up . It could very well mean the END of him if he doesn't start taking things seriously ! Maybe if he listened to me for ONCE , he wouldn't be in this mess ! "
Erlang rolled his eyes , like Nezha , he had a rather strained relationship with his own uncle , the Jade Emperor . Thus the two had bonded over not only their love for battle , but also their disdain for figures of authority in their lives
" And just maybe , Li Jing . The reason for your strained relationship with your own son has LESS to do with Nezha's behavior , and MORE to do with YOUR overbearing personality pressuring him every step of the way . Ever given THAT a thought ? " The Warrior God retorted at the Pagoda-Bearing King .
" You dare insult me ? " Li snarled angrily as he rose from his seat , while Erlang simply glared back at the Pagoda-Bearing King .
" That's enough , all of you . " The Jade Emperor said in a commanding voice , " We are here to support the Third Lotus Prince in his match , not argue pointlessly over past feuds . "
" Please husband , " Lady Yi said gently as she tugged on her husband's arm , " Let us not make a scene here , what would our son think if he saw us arguing amongst ourselves during his match ? "
" Yes of course , dearest , " Li said to his wife before addressing the Jade Emperor , " Apologies my emperor , I forgot myself in the heat of the moment. " Li said with a solemn bow as he sat back on his seat .
" My apologies as well , uncle . " Erlang said , though his tone felt less apologetic than Li's as they all turned their attention back to the match .
In the battlefield , Arthur inspected the small cuts and tears on his clothes created from Nezha's and chuckled , " Well then ! " He said as he took on a new stance , placing his shield in front of himself , and holding Excalibur parallel to the ground as though it were a lance , " I believe now it is MY turn to initiate combat between the two of us ! En Garde ! "
With that , the King of Camelot charged full steam ahead towards Nezha , his sword raised and his eyes filled with determination .
" Wha-what this ? " Heimdall yelled , " It seems like Arthur is now the one INITIATING the battle ! Charging STRAIGHT towards Nezha , despite ALL the risk in store ! Has the King of Camelot gone mad ? "
Arthur smiled at the Watchman of the Apocalypse's words , " No , not mad , rather I am merely setting an example ! " He proclaimed as he continued his rapid advance , " As KING , it is my DUTY to lead the PEOPLE , even if they aren't my own , into a brighter tomorrow ! By forging a path towards the FUTURE ! And THAT is exactly what I intend to do now ! "
Nezha smirked at the king's words , " Cool speech dude . I can see why your loyal subjects look up to you so much . HOWEVER ! " He said as he spun his spear around and pointed it towards his advancing foe , " When all is said and done , there's only gonna be ONE of us left standing , and that persons gonna be ME ! "
As he said this , the Third Lotus Prince shifted his body towards Arthur's left where the King of Camelot was less protected , preparing to flank him from the side . However , as Nezha tried to move he suddenly found himself crashing straight into an invisible wall of sorts !
" Whoa , WHOA ! What the hell is this ! " Nezha exclaimed as two massive rectangular blue force fields materialized on his left and right . Leaving him trapped in a small lane , completely blocking off from moving anywhere but straight towards his opponent who was quickly getting closer and closer !
" It seems like Arthur's shield has created some kind of BARRIER ! " Heimdall commented , " With Nezha trapped inside with nowhere else to go but TOWARDS his charging foe ! Things aren't looking good for the Third Lotus Prince ! "
" Looks like Arthur is using his Divine Weapon's special ability ! " Göll said excitedly to Pandora and Prometheus as the inevitable clash between the two fighters became more imminent by the second .
" Tremble before the Shield of Avalon's mighty technique , Third Lotus Prince ! " Arthur yelled as he charged faster and faster towards Nezha , " As I said , a king forges a path forward for his people ! And I shall cut down any obstacles that stand in humanity's way ! Even if that obstacle is a GOD ! SO PREPARE YOURSELF ! HI-YAH ! "
" CAMELOT CHARGE ! "
Due to his confusion , Nezha barely had time to defend himself as Arthur thrusted the tip of Excalibur straight towards his chest , smashing into his breastplate and sending him flying backwards into the arena wall with a , " BANG ! "
" NEZHA ! " His family cried out in horror as they saw the Third Lotus Prince crashing into the wall . Muzha and Jinzha couldn't believe their brother would be so easily beaten , Lady Yi broke into tears , fearing the worse for her son . However it was Li Jing who kept his composure , though he and Nezha argued a lot , the Pagoda-Bearing King knew his son would not be so easily defeated .
Meanwhile humanity rose to their feet with a loud cheer , surely this would be the match where they finally secured their first victory against the gods !
" YES ! " Cried one of the Knights of the Round Table seated next to Merlin excitedly . Sir Gawain had the same brown hair as Arthur , but lacked the scar and beard his uncle possessed , " Keep it up my king ! Humanity won't lose this round with YOU in the fray ! "
" You can say that again Gawain ! " Another knight , Sir Percival seated beside him exclaimed , " That technique Arthur's mastered is sure to knock down any foe foolish enough who stands in his way ! "
Merlin chuckled at the knights' confidence in their king , " Quite true Percival , the Shield of Avalon's ' WALLS OF CAMELOT ' ability is quite the game changer ! " The wizard said , " However I highly doubt the fight is already over , from my research that Nezha fellow is hardly a pushover , you'd be quite mistaken if you think the battle is already over . "
True to his words , as soon as Merlin said that , out from the rubble and debris of the broken wall , flew Nezha's Qiankun Ring , not the small bracelet the Third Lotus Prince wore on his wrist . But rather a much larger form of it , around the size of a large frisbee and perfect to use as a throwing weapon against foes .
With a , " THUD ! " The ring hit Arthur straight on the forehead , causing the crowd to gasp in shock , and sending the King of Camelot to let out a sharp yell as he stumbled backwards from the impact .
After hitting its target , the ring curved backwards and flew back into the hands of Nezha , the Third Lotus Prince had recovered quickly from the impact of Arthur's attack , though the front of his chestplate now had a huge dent and cracks in it .
Seeing Nezha back on his feet , Lady Yi let out a sob of relief that her son was still alive , while Muzha and Jinzha cheered even louder for their brother , hoping that their support would somehow help him in battle .
Li simply nodded seeing his son was back on his feet , the small seed of doubt and fear that he had after seeing Nezha taking the full force of Arthur's attack banished once more to the back of his mind .
Nezha panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath , " Hah , hah , what the fuck dude , " He said looking up still with a grin on his face , though this one was more impressed than it was cocky , " Was that a fucking WALL your shield just produced ? " He asked incredulously .
On the other side , Arthur rubbed the side of his forehead where he was struck by Nezha's ring , " Your eyes do not deceive you , my dear Prince Nezha ! " The King of Camelot proclaimed loudly with a smile on his face , " The mighty Walls of Camelot are capable of keeping even the most stubborn and tenacious gods within its hold , ready to be pierce by Excalibur's mighty blade ! "
Nezha's grin widened , " Well shit me , guess I'm gonna have to take this a bit more seriously now eh ? "
With that , Nezha threw his ring straight at Arthur once more , the ring spun at dizzyingly fast speed towards the king . However this time , Arthur was more prepared for the attack , and had already planning a counterattack to it .
With his right hand that held his shield , Arthur moved his arm in a wide sweeping arc , deflecting the incoming projectile with a loud , " CLANG ! " And send it flying straight back to Nezha .
However , instead of simply grabbing hold of his returning weapon with his hand , Nezha chose to extend his arm forward , expertly catching his ring around the spear point .
Arthur raised an eyebrow as Nezha sneered back at him , " Are you ready for this , King of Camelot ? " He taunted before using all his might to throw the ring right back towards Arthur once again !
Just having blocked Nezha's previous blow , Arthur was caught off guard by the quick follow up attack . He just barely lifted his shield before the heavy impact occurred , which sent him staggering backwards across the field , struggling to regain his footing .
However that was not the end of Nezha's attack , speeding along the outer rim of the arena with his Fire and Wind Wheels , the Third Lotus Prince followed his ring which had bounced off Arthur's shield and was now flying off in a random direction .
With incredible precision , Nezha held his spear like a bat , and with one swing , sent the ring flying once again towards the King of Camelot's direction much faster than it was before !
Arthur's eyes widened in shock as he just barely managed to deflect the ring off his shield once again , but just as before , Nezha simply dashed over to where his ring was heading towards and knocked it back towards Arthur again , with the speed and strength of the ring increasing each time it was struck .
Soon enough , Arthur was under fire from a seemingly endless barrage of projectiles , while he was able to shield himself from most of the strikes . That only made the situation even worse for himself , for the ring had become so fast now that to the audience , it now resembled a blurry line zipping all across the arena .
" Uh oh folks ! " Heimdall said as the gods began to cheer louder and louder for their fighter , " Looks like Arthur is in DEEP trouble now ! It seems like Nezha is executing THAT move ! "
Just like how the Walls of Camelot had trapped Nezha in before , now the Third Lotus Prince was responding with a move of his own that trapped opponent in the center stage , forcing them into a corner till the attack inevitably striked them in the end . It was called …
" CELESTIAL RICOCHET ! "
As Arthur just barely managed to deflect Nezha's ring once more , the Third Lotus Prince once again positioned himself right where his ring was headed to . But this time , rather than bat it with his spear , Nezha extended his arm and swiftly caught the ring in his clenched fist . And with one mighty swing of his arm , he sent the ring hurtling right back at Arthur at such high speeds , there was no time for the king to even blink !
" CRACK ! " was the sound heard by the audience as the Qiankun Ring landed heavily on the right side of his lower chest . Sending the king tumbling to the ground as it flew back into its owner's hand .
" NO ! " Percival yelled seeing Arthur's fall, " MY KING GET UP ! " His panicked call was echoed by numerous other knights and audience members all worrying for Arthur's current condition .
" Merlin , why didn't Arthur use the Shield of Avalon's ability again ? It could have protected him from Nezha's attack ! " Gawain questioned as he turned to the wizard in a panic .
Merlin grimaced in response , " Because the Walls of Camelot isn't MEANT to act as a shield Gawain , rather it's meant to TRAP Arthur's opponents in , forcing them to fight on HIS terms . Flesh and bones cannot pass through its barriers , but weapons CAN . I didn't think that would be that big of a problem in battle , but it seems I have SEVERELY misjudged Nezha's prowess in the battlefield . "
On the other side of the arena , Erlang roared with laughter , " YEAH ! You showed him what for Nezha ! Turn up the heat and keep the pressure on him ! " Other gods quickly began to follow suit , cheering and whooping loudly for their fighter .
In the arena , Arthur struggled to his feet , wincing as he touched the area where he was struck . One of his ribs was broken , he could feel it .
However , despite his injury , the king still wore a confident smile on his face , his eyes burning bright , " bravo , " He said in a soft whisper at first , before getting louder and louder , " Bravo ! BRAVO INDEED ! Wonderful stuff right there , Third Lotus Prince ! You really gave me a run for my money ! "
Nezha wore a look of surprise seeing Arthur still able to laugh despite getting knocked down . Before his face split into a grin as well .
" Fucking hell dude , how are you still able to laugh so much ? I just broke your rib ! "
Arthur smiled in return before loudly proclaiming , " Did you not hear me before , Prince Nezha ? I am a KING ! And it is my duty to pave the way for my people , no matter the severity of the pain and hardships I must endure along the way ! In my quest for a brighter tomorrow , a mere fractured rib is NOTHING to me ! "
Nezha chuckled weakly at the king's words , " Gotta admit you got a penchant for making rad speeches dude , almost makes me feel bad for what I'm about to do . "
As soon as those words left his mouth , Nezha flung his ring towards Arthur once again , the projectile hurtling at breakneck speed straight towards the King of Camelot's head this time , aimed to finish the fight .
" ARTHUR , LOOK OUT ! " Merlin shouted in horror as knights and audience members held their breath .
Their worries though were for naught , for this time Arthur was prepared . Rather than shield himself from the attack , Arthur raised Excalibur high above his head . And as the Qiankun Ring drew closer and closer , he swung it down hard with incredible accuracy and skill , striking the ring with his blade and sending it hurtling back to its sender .
" VALOR SLASH ! "
Seeing this Nezha immediately raised his hand to catch his weapon once more , but this time the immense force that Arthur had used to send the ring back was too much . And instead of landing into Nezha's palm , the ring slammed into the Third Lotus Prince's wrist , causing him to yelp in pain as he let it fall to the ground .
The Crowd gasped in shock before the humans started cheering again , how was Arthur able to deal such a powerful blow after being injured himself ! Such tenacity and perseverance was amazing !
" That's my boy for you ! " Merlin cheered , beaming for pride as Gawain and Percival leapt for joy at their King's amazing comeback .
As Nezha rubbed his bruised wrist , he glanced down at the ground to look at his ring . And to his shock , he saw that Arthur's attack had somehow managed to cause a sizable chip in the rings outer layer , the amount of power to do that sort of damage to a Divine Weapon must have been immense !
Arthur then stood upright , revealing to Nezha that Excalibur had also suffered a chip on its blade , though it was more minor in comparison to his .
" What the ... " Nezha muttered in amazement as he picked up his ring to inspect the damages closer , " What the heck is this guy MADE of ? "
" King Arthur is so cool ! " Pandora gushed from above , " This one , THIS ROUND ! Please let it FINALLY be this round ! " She begged to no one in particular as she clasped her hands tightly together
By her side , Göll giggled , Pandora's constantly changing from enthusiastic to worried reminded her of how she herself was like 1000 years ago , constantly worried about their prospect for victory , no wonder Brunhilde couldn't stand her crying at times ! But although Arthur was doing well so far , there still was a small part of her that felt uneasy , Nezha had proved himself to be a formidable opponent , but time would tell who the victor would be .
Meanwhile , Prometheus , sensing his companions nervousness , laid a hand on Göll's shoulder to ease the Valkryie's worries , " Worry not so soon , Göll , the battle has not even reached its climax yet . This will be the one , I'm sure of it . "
Arthur breathed heavily trying to catch his breath , " I see that your friends have a lot of faith in you , Third Lotus Prince . " He commented , gesturing to the crowds of cheering gods .
" Who , them ? " Nezha said with a look of confusion as he turned his head backwards to look at the crowd , " Oh nah , those are just my supporters , not my friends . "
Now it was Arthur's turn to look confused , " Is there a difference between the two ? If so please do enlighten me then . " The King asked curiously .
" Uh , yeah ? , " Nezha spoke in a tone that suggested that Arthur had just asked him if the earth was flat .
" If all those guys were my FRIENDS , it would mean that I have opened myself up to them , and allowed them the chance to get close to me , they would potentially backstab me when I least expect it , so that's definitely a no-go . But since these guys are my SUPPORTERS , it means all I expect of them is to just show up for whatever dumb party I throw , or to cheer me on in fights like this . Doesn't even have to be genuine , no ' bond ' or ' relationship ' is formed , so even if they betray me , it's nothing that I wouldn't have expect . So that's all that they are , supporters , nothing more nothing less . "
" So you have no one genuinely supporting you ? " Arthur asked with a look of pity .
" Pfft ! What ? Of course not silly ! I mean I do have SOME people I actually consider friends , like my buddy Erlang over there , " Nezha said pointing to the warrior god , " And of course there's my mom and my two brothers , " Nezha now pointed to his family members , save for his father , " And finally Yu Huang , the big man himself , although he's more of a boss to me . "
" Hm , I see . " Arthur said thoughtfully , " Very well then . Nice chatting with you , but I believe we should get back to the fighting wouldn't you say my good fellow ? " As the king said this , he held his shield in front of himself with his sword outstretched , ready to strike once more .
Nezha grinned as he prepared to engage in combat as well , shrinking the Qiankun Ring back to its original size and slipped it onto his wrist , his spear bursting into flames once again as his wheels spun to life .
" Thought you'd never ask , hope you're ready for round 2 , King of Camelot ! Cause this battle is gonna get RED HOT ! "
This chapter is a bit shorter as it is the start of the round , and also because I want to try and cut down the amount of content in each chapter by a bit so as to not over clutter it .
Arthur is one of the fighter whose attacks I couldn't come up with any cooler names , if anyone wants to have a go creating more suitable names for the current two , feel free to post it in the reviews , if I find any that I think would work great , I will change the names accordingly with credits to the person who originally came up with it of course . Thanks , and until the next chapter !