Chapter 138: Failure

"David's Tier 2 weapon wasn't a gift from me. It was a trophy he claimed by killing his enemy with his own hands!" Galen said with a laugh as he looked at Darryl.

"Galen, let's just begin according to the rules," Darryl said in a deep voice, having lost interest in idle chatter.

At the same time, he cast a suspicious glance at David. He was certain that David’s strength was merely that of a novice armored warrior, whereas Tier 2 weapons were typically only suitable for peak armored warriors. However, he did not doubt Galen’s word; given Galen’s status, he would not lie about such a matter.

"Alvin, I must trouble you to act as an arbiter," Galen said with a smile.

As he spoke, a holographic figure was projected into the combat room. The man wore a general’s uniform, and his mere appearance exuded an aura of stern authority.

"Galen, I am ready," General Alvin’s hologram nodded at Galen before turning to Darryl. "You have no objections to me acting as an arbiter, do you?"

"Of course not," Darryl replied, nodding at General Alvin. He turned back to Galen and added, "It seems you don't trust my integrity, fearing I might renege on our deal!"

"Not at all. I was simply taking the opportunity to introduce my new disciple to Alvin," Galen replied with a laugh.

"Not a bad kid. Any interest in joining the military?" General Alvin looked at David and nodded.

"I am a high school student; I still have to go to university," David replied vaguely, unsure of how to address General Alvin.

"A high schooler who has already become an armored warrior? Whose family does he belong to?" General Alvin asked, looking toward Galen.

"This is my newly accepted disciple, David, the son of my brother, Hans," Galen introduced him with a smile.

"Galen, you’ve gone too far. I’ve heard of this boy. The military holds him in high regard and intended to cultivate him in the future. You’ve snatched him right from under us!" Hearing the introduction, General Alvin immediately recognized who David was and could not help but sound reproachful.

Hans was famous on Rocky Star, and David’s recent series of battles had also drawn the military’s attention. The military on Rocky Star had long since considered David one of their own.

"Given my relationship with Hans, it is only fitting that I take his son as a disciple," Galen countered.

"Ahem, I have also invited an arbiter," Darryl interrupted their conversation, not knowing how long they would have gone on otherwise.

"So, you don't trust me either, then," Galen shook his head.

"The feeling is mutual," Darryl said in a deep voice. He then turned and said, "Brother Mervin, I must trouble you."

Another holographic projection appeared—a tall, elderly man with a smile on his face as he looked at the group.

"Mervin, it’s been a while. When shall we find a quiet place to spar?" General Alvin said in a deep voice.

"Alvin, I simply happened to be busy and didn't participate in the Zerg clearing mission. Is it really necessary to hold such a grudge?" Mervin said, looking at General Alvin with helpless resignation.

"Your Armored Warrior Association has so many experts, yet everyone makes excuses when they are needed!" General Alvin clearly harbored significant resentment toward Mervin.

"Alvin, the next time the military needs me, I will definitely participate," Mervin said, shaking his head.

In truth, he had regretted his decision long ago. He had been in seclusion at the time and missed out on all the benefits of the Zerg invasion. Furthermore, he had incurred the military's displeasure by failing to answer their summons. Looking at the other transcendent beings, all who had participated in the battles against the Zerg had gained spoils of war, to varying degrees.

"You said it yourself!" General Alvin nodded with satisfaction; this was exactly the pledge he wanted.

"Today, Darryl and I are resolving a dispute over the ownership of a Void Ripper core. Darryl has put up a bottle of Void Ripper bone marrow essence as the wager for the combat. My disciples, Furness and David, will fight Darryl’s disciples, Arlo and Jeffrey. I ask both transcendent arbiters to witness this," Galen said formally.

"I, Alvin, agree to act as an arbiter."
"I, Mervin, agree to act as an arbiter."
The two transcendent beings spoke in deep voices.

"Furness, you go first," Galen gestured to Furness.

Furness took a practice warhammer from the rack and walked to the center of the arena. On the other side, Arlo walked into the arena carrying a heavy axe. They stood five meters apart. Galen and Darryl both retreated to a distance of ten meters; at this range, they could intervene in time if any danger arose.

"Kill!" Furness let out a shout first. His muscles bulged, stretching his tight-fitting clothing, as he swung his warhammer in a wide arc toward Arlo.

As the hammer swung, there was a distinct whistling sound in the air. Just from this strike, David could tell that Furness was also trained in the Storm Warhammer technique, and had reached the peak of the proficient level—nearly breaking through to the master level. Looking at Furness’s age—at most twenty-three or twenty-four—it was clear how talented he was to have attained such mastery over the warhammer.

The Storm Warhammer technique was much more difficult to master than the basic warhammer techniques. David could not help but marvel at Furness’s genius. David was self-aware; had it not been for his shadow servant absorbing souls and providing him with knowledge orbs, he might never have reached the peak of the proficient level in his lifetime, given his original body's natural talent. Of course, now that his mental attribute had exceeded 5 points, his learning ability had become astonishing. He felt confident that even without the help of knowledge orbs, he would not be inferior to any genius in his studies.

Unexpectedly, Arlo’s mastery of the heavy axe was no lower than Furness’s. He also possessed a specialized heavy axe technique, which made each of his swings faster than Furness’s warhammer.

With a loud boom, their weapons collided. Both men retreated, then rushed forward to clash again. Watching from the side, David saw clearly that because Arlo was a fraction faster, the advantage was shifting in his favor. If Furness had maintained the rhythm of the Storm Warhammer technique, he wouldn't have been defeated quickly, even with the speed disadvantage, as Arlo’s edge was not decisive. If they had continued to fight this way, they would likely have exhausted each other, making the outcome difficult to predict.

However, with four transcendent beings present—even if two were only holograms—Furness felt immense pressure. Because he sensed his speed was a fraction slower, he became anxious and tried to force a change.

"He's lost," Galen said to himself, shaking his head. It wasn't just him; all the transcendent beings present had keen eyes. How could they fail to see that Furness lacked experience and had made the wrong choice?

Furness increased the force applied to his hammer, forcibly trying to boost its speed, which caused the weapon to slip beyond his control. No matter how well one practices a technique or how flexibly one uses it in daily sparring, without actual combat experience, unforeseen problems will inevitably arise.

Across from him, Arlo was clearly a veteran of many battles with rich experience. Once Furness revealed an opening, Arlo immediately pressed his advantage. There was a reason Darryl could bring these two disciples with him. Although young, they had spent years taking on numerous missions within the Armored Warrior Association. It was their outstanding performance that had prompted Darryl to take them as disciples. Under Darryl’s tutelage, their combat mastery had greatly improved, and combined with their rich battle experience, this was the confidence Darryl had in his challenge.

The Armored Warrior Association was the easiest place to discover talent. Aside from armored warriors cultivated by the military and large consortiums, most would join the association after obtaining their qualifications, hoping to complete tasks in exchange for knowledge and resources. It was because of this unique condition that the association possessed such a large number of armored warriors. Of course, these warriors were not mere thugs for the association and could not be summoned at a moment's notice, but the association could indirectly command them by posting missions.

"Furness loses!" Galen announced in a deep voice immediately after Arlo unleashed a flurry of consecutive attacks.

"Teacher," Furness said, lowering his head as he walked off the floor.

"Raise your head. Go back and reflect properly. Your combat power was equivalent, so why did you lose?" Galen patted Furness heavily on the shoulder and said in a stern voice.