Chapter 80: Having One More Child Isn’t a Bad Thing
On the grandstands, the moment Uber’s sword shattered in his hands, many eyes turned to the sword held by Arthur.
At that instant, even a fool could see that Arthur’s sword was anything but ordinary.
No, it wasn’t just “not ordinary,” it was exceptionally unique.
Being here for the selection tournament, Uber’s strength and status were unquestionable.
With that kind of strength and status, the weapon in his hands couldn’t be subpar.
Yet, that very weapon was severed by Arthur in a single stroke.
As for brute strength, judging by Arthur’s current performance, while he was indeed powerful, sheer force alone couldn’t explain how he so easily obliterated quality weaponry.
Crown’s expression was thoughtful.
There had been rumors before that Arthur defeated the Dwarf King by slicing through the Dwarf King’s weapon with his sword.
But that rumor never got confirmed and was eventually forgotten.
As one of the parties involved, the Dwarf King would never willingly admit to it.
Admitting it would be like smashing the Dwarves’ reputation, and while they were objectively already losing face, the Dwarf King remained skeptical about the weapon in Arthur’s grasp.
Because this weapon might very well be forged by the Dwarves.
This wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
Over the years, many humans sought Dwarven master blacksmiths to craft weapons for them.
As another party involved, Arthur understood the principle of keeping wealth under wraps, especially when it came to a coveted item like the Sword of the King.
As long as he didn’t acknowledge it, others might suspect but wouldn’t dare say more without confirmation, out of fear of losing face.
After all, as members of the upper class, everyone cares about their reputation.
This was an unspoken rule of high society.
The focus returned to the battle.
Facing Uber, who was now unarmed, Arthur didn’t pursue him.
“You’re weaponless now; continuing this fight won’t benefit you,” he said, looking at Uber.
“Axi, even without a weapon, I might not necessarily lose,” Uber responded.
Since he was in the arena, it was either win and walk away or lose and be carried out.
With that statement, Arthur had nothing more to say.
His earlier words were out of goodwill.
Since the other party wasn’t willing, he wouldn’t feel bad about being ruthless.
As for the idea of also fighting without a weapon, that thought never crossed Arthur’s mind.
There are fair fights in the world, but the vast majority of battles are definitely unfair.
In an instant, Arthur raised his sword and charged at Uber.
Uber’s expression turned serious as he stared at Arthur.
At the very moment Arthur’s sword came crashing down, he sidestepped to dodge and lunged forward, aiming an elbow at Arthur’s chest.
With some room to spare, Arthur also sidestepped and swung his sword again toward Uber.
With the attack missing, Uber had no choice but to retreat.
Arthur’s sword brushed dangerously close past him.
Having escaped disaster, Uber’s heart raced.
Though he dodged this time, had he not, the sharp sword in Arthur’s hand would have cut through his armor.
While he wouldn’t have been injured, it would have definitely cost him a chance to make a mistake.
Next time, Arthur would surely land a hit.
This situation left Uber feeling quite frustrated.
Although he was somewhat inferior to Arthur in strength, the weapon gap allowed Arthur to dominate him.
Now, he was being thoroughly oppressed by Arthur.
Uber had to respond to Arthur’s attacks with absolute caution.
In contrast, while attacking Arthur, he also had to remain wary of Arthur’s counterattacks, making absolutely sure not to make even the tiniest mistake, or he’d suffer the fate of retreating in shame.
This created immense psychological pressure on Uber.
Simply put, while Arthur was calm and contained, looking like he had everything under control.
The outcome of Arthur’s victory in this battle was already a foregone conclusion; what he needed to do next was prevent any unforeseen circumstances.
Watching Arthur’s performance from the stands, Airael nodded.
With a determined Arthur like this, there was no way he could lose!
And the facts proved this point.
In the end, Uber indeed couldn’t find an opportunity to turn the tide.
Most of his attempts to counter were almost blunders, and the last one led him to a complete defeat.
After Arthur won, he returned to the stands to rest.
The next competitors entering the arena were two individuals from desert kingdoms.
Dressed in exotic attire, they seemed a bit out of place.
However, others wouldn’t underestimate them for that reason.
Despite being relatively closed off due to geographical factors and having limited interaction with the outside world, nations that had lasted until now certainly had some strength, with all sorts of talents available internally.
In the end, the two desert kingdoms were represented by Hannah from Musler Kingdom, who claimed victory.
With the battle reaching this point, the first round of matches concluded, and the remaining competitor Moro from Agia Kingdom directly advanced to the next round.
The second round would take place tomorrow.
Today’s contests were quite grueling; aside from Moro and Arthur who didn’t face off, Hannah and Crown had both faced tough challenges to secure their victories.
After the matches ended, Airael didn’t seek out Arthur; instead, she returned to the Avalon Royal Palace with Celia and Aurora.
Although Arthur seemed to have a clear advantage, being too close might place Arthur at a disadvantage.
After all, too much intimacy can be taxing, especially for someone like Arthur.
Moreover, Airael needed to return to the palace to handle administrative duties.
If she didn’t take care of things for a day, they would pile up for the next.
By the time Airael finished her duties in the palace, it was already afternoon.
Staring at the stack of documents she had just managed, Airael suddenly found herself having a thought she shouldn’t entertain.
She wanted to delegate some of her power.
Of course, the actual control of power still lay in her hands.
She merely felt that some matters didn’t require her direct involvement.
She could easily hire an excellent elf to handle those tasks, reserving her personal attention for critical issues like foreign warfare.
Other matters just needed to be documented, so she could review them whenever she wished.
Right now, the Elven Race’s real authority lay in her hands; Airael was more than capable of doing this without worrying about losing power.
Because any hired elf would act in Airael’s name, and she could dismiss them anytime or directly take charge again whenever she wanted.
This way, she would have considerably more free time to do other things.
Like having another child.
After Arthur proposed this idea, Airael not only considered it then but also found it quite appealing upon deeper reflection.
As the Elven Queen, she indeed should lead by example in this regard.
At the same time, having one more offspring would also be a personal boon for her.
