Arther staggered back with wide eyes. He couldn't believe someone could shatter his Sphere of Aegis. Normally, opponents would have to wait until the skill ran out of its duration.
Jack was honestly also surprised, but he didn't waste time wondering about it. Once the protective sphere around Arther was gone, he shouted, "Now!"
Jack didn't truly need to shout the signal, he just did it out of instinct. He used his mind to synchronize with his spirit weapon and Therras.
Therras used its Imperious Pressure to slow Arther's combat clone down as earth mana accumulated in his mouth. Jack used Mirage Beast to create a copy of Therras and have it keep the combat clone busy. The spirit weapon meanwhile rushed to Arther and activated its finishing mode.
Jack used Gold Dragon Breath when Arther was still shocked about Jack breaking his Sphere of Aegis. The breath triggered Blind as well as reduced the durability of Arther's armor.
Jack was also casting a spell when he used the breath. Fifteen venomous vipers burst out of the ground and entangled Arther while he was still blinded. Using his mana sense, Arther slashed left and right to free himself from the vipers.
Jack also cast his new spell, Orb of Storm, near Arther when he was busy with the vipers.
The vipers were easily cut as they couldn't resist Arther's greatsword, but their interference served its purpose. It was too late by the time the blind effect was over and Arther saw twenty large lightning balls come at him while Jack's spirit weapon sneaked from behind. The nearby Orb of Storm shot lightning snakes at the twenty lightning balls, seemingly empowering them.
Jack activated his Storm Breaker's Overlimit and fired his Soul Breath at the same time Therras fired his earth core bomb.
Jack briefly saw Arther's armor glow just before the combination attack hit. The explosion created a huge dust cloud. Jack recognized Arther's skill just now as Paladin's Divine Armor.
"Damn it! He still has a defensive skill," Jack cursed.
Jack had been waiting for Arther to use up his Sphere of Aegis before he delivered his strongest attack. The sphere had been able to nullify the water serpent's attack easily, so Jack didn't want to waste his combination attacks from getting blocked by the sphere, but it turned out Arther still had more skills.
Jack decided he should just continue. Divine Armor lasted three minutes. He didn't want to waste the time when his Overlimit was active. He executed Wind Slash while casting Perpetual Lightning Judgement into the dust cloud, pinpointing Arther's position using his mana sense.
"I will slay you, you pretender king…!!" Arther roared as he burst out of the dust cloud.
Jack used Flame Strike. Claw and greatsword clashed again. The knockback force from Flame Strike stopped Arther's advance while Jack flew back to create a distance.
"Then meet your past kings!" Jack bellowed and used Judgement of Past Kings.
The sight of Thenodeep caused Arther to pause. He believed he was still a loyal servant to Themisphere and that what he did now was for the sake of his kingdom. So, the sight of one of Themisphere's rightful kings assaulting him demoralized his spirit.
After enduring the great flood from Thenodeep, Arther was ready to pursue Jack again. However, he found Jack rushing at him just as the tenth king, Thewolden, appeared.
Thewolden split into countless shadows striking Arther from every angle. Jack joined in the attack. He then retreated again when it was the ninth king's turn.
Some of the attacks from Judgement of Past Kings dealt AOE attacks that hit both foes and allies, while some dealt more pinpoint assaults that spared allies. Jack was already familiar with all the attacks from the eleven kings. He swooped in and joined the attack when it was the latter, and retreated when it was the former. Arther was confused by these constant changes and was forced into a passive state where he could only defend himself.
When the last attack from Themisphere kings ended, Arther was shocked to see the familiar Orb of Storm and the twenty lightning balls again.
"What…?!" Arther knew about Jack possessing Lightning God Blessing. It was public knowledge by now. But he was certain this divine skill had a very long cooldown.
Jack had used Reset when Arther was getting blasted by Themisphere's kings. He resummoned his spirit weapon which again sneaked to Arther's back when Arther was occupied. The spirit weapon activated its finishing mode while Jack unleashed Lightning God Barrage and Soul Breath which cooldown had been reset.
The reset only affected Jack's skills, so Therras' earth core bomb was not reset. As for the spirit weapon's finishing mode, the previous spirit weapon that self-destructed was considered a different entity. Thus, the newly summoned one could use its finishing mode.
The combined elemental attacks again exploded on Arther's body. Jack repeated all these high-powered attacks while his Overlimit was still active. Thus, dealing massive damage.
Even though Arther was protected by divine armor, his HP still fell rapidly. The soldiers on the wall watched the scene in disbelief.
By the time Jack's combination attacks ended, Arther's HP had fallen to less than thirty percent.
Jack again used Gold Dragon Breath. Arther was not blinded this time, but two times of the breath caused his armor's durability to plunge. He even lost his shoulder piece. The armor crumbled and turned to dust after its durability hit zero.
Arther's combat clone lost after getting ganged up on by Therras and its copies. Jack had used Mirage Beast again after using Reset. Using another mirage beast didn't cause the previous copy to disappear. Thus, there were now three Therras.
After the combat clone was gone, Therras and its two copies joined Jack and they ganged up on Arther.
Castus could finally stand no longer. He shouted, "Save our lord marshall…!"
Several soldiers jumped down from the wall and ran over to rescue Arther.
Jack saw them. He called his wolf pack again since the skill was also reset. Ten golden wolves rushed at the incoming soldiers.
John, who was watching through his binoculars, sent Jack a message, "Hey, the soldiers are attacking. Want us to move?"
"No. Stay back!" Jack replied.
The gate to the city started opening, more soldiers poured out. Jack sent the three Therras to go slow them, while he used Dances of the Brave and Asura again. He repeated his assault using his sword art.
Fighting till this state, Arther had exhausted most of his skills. His Holy Incarnation and Ki Weapon had also long ended. He was unable to defend himself against Jack with just raw power.
During an opportunity, Jack again used Brave Slash powered by mana manipulation. After the last execution, he felt the mana flowed naturally during this skill. He could now use mana manipulation on Brave Slash freely.
The intensified golden light sliced through Arther's unprotected shoulder. That right arm was sliced clean off. That arm was also Arther's main arm. His greatsword fell following his arm.
The lord marshall fell to his knees, weaponless. His HP was less than ten percent.
