A bit earlier in time, just as Ryuga had defeated Athena and, due to Jibril's challenge, set the battlefield on the moon.
Rome, Red Copper Black Cross headquarters, underground prison.
"Marquis Voban, do you really not plan to come out?"
A man in a dark suit who looked very young questioned the old man inside the cell.
"Although I have no means here, if we unite with other Campione, we might be able to remove the shackles on you."
"Hah, lightning boy, put away your useless thoughts! As a loser, I haven't lost enough dignity to want to escape!"
Marquis Voban snorted coldly, not even looking at him.
Though his attitude could be called cold, in this world, there were only a few people qualified to be treated as equals by him.
And as he called him, the young man outside the cell was indeed the Campione known as the God-Speed Noble - Black Prince Alec.
As the odd one among Campione who liked using his brain, hearing Marquis Voban's words, he wasn't angry but continued persuading.
"If you want to restore dignity, shouldn't the most important thing be to unite and defeat the new king who wants to dominate?"
In the situation where most Campione only wanted to fight solo, he was rare in holding the opinion that everyone should unite to defeat Ryuga.
By general reasoning, this was also the most normal response.
A mere newcomer daring to make all other Campione submit - shouldn't he get a lesson from his seniors?
But facts proved that Campione's thought processes weren't normal.
Even Marquis Voban, who had already suffered losses, didn't change his thinking as Alec expected.
On the contrary, he completely scorned Alec's proposal.
"Unite? Have you seen pack-hunting beasts?"
His attitude remained very rejecting.
"..."
The Black Prince felt somewhat troubled.
Just then, Tony from the opposite cell suddenly chimed in.
"I have, wolves hunt in packs. Are you getting senile, old man?"
As a fellow prisoner, he was becoming increasingly uninhibited.
"...Shut up, sword boy, it's not your turn to speak!"
Marquis Voban glared at Tony, who perfectly ignored him.
"The Sword King makes a good point. Even beasts sometimes travel together."
Alec seized this opportunity to continue persuading.
"Besides, one defeat doesn't represent everything. You don't really plan to stay in the new king's prison for life, do you?"
As far as he knew, Marquis Voban wasn't the type to be so contractually honorable.
"Whether imprisoned for life or uniting with us to defeat the new king, this shouldn't be a difficult choice, right?"
He extended his hand, making an extremely sincere invitation.
However—
"No need to say more."
Marquis Voban still shook his head, rejecting his proposal.
Just as Alec found this strange, Tony beside him sneered.
"Don't bother asking. No matter how much you say, he won't agree. This old man has been scared!"
Hearing this, Alec couldn't help but feel moved.
This sword fool was really good at stirring things up. With Marquis Voban's temper, he definitely couldn't tolerate such contempt, right?
If provocation could work...
Eh, wait? Why isn't Marquis Voban saying anything?
Noticing something wrong, he turned to look and saw Marquis Voban's deeply darkened face.
Facing Tony's mockery, he unusually didn't retort.
What was going on? Could Tony be telling the truth - had Marquis Voban really been beaten into submission?
How was this possible!
Before Alec could ask further, Marquis Voban spoke first.
"You can't win against him."
Not an exclamation or question, but a statement as if describing an objective fact.
Such a tone undoubtedly confirmed Tony's words.
"But Marquis, didn't you already analyze part of the new king's technique effects? With your intelligence, plus our other Campione uniting, how could we possibly lose to the lone new king?"
Alec still couldn't understand.
Five against one - how could they lose with such overwhelming odds?
Regarding such naive words, Marquis Voban had no intention of explaining.
"It's useless. You're bound to lose, whether you know the technique's effects or not."
Seeing his certain attitude, Alec realized this old man wouldn't cooperate with him.
So he turned to look at Tony.
"Since the Sword King said that just now, then you—"
The invitation had barely begun when he saw the other party immediately wave his hand.
"Don't bother. I think this place is pretty good. I won't go out with you."
Seeing both of them treating the prison like home, Alec was confused.
"What's your reason?"
"I've been beaten into submission!"
Tony puffed out his chest shamelessly.
"Anyway, my friend's strength isn't something you can imagine. No matter how many Campione you gather, it's the same. I have no intention of participating in a doomed action."
"Rather, when Erica comes back later, I'll actively report your attempt to incite us to break out. Hehehe, with this merit, she should be willing to arrange better pizza for me, right!"
Saying he'd report him right to his face - this thickness of skin was astounding.
Even Alec felt a bit overwhelmed hearing this, his face turning somewhat green.
He came here to find allies to resist Ryuga, never expecting not only to find no allies but to be reported.
If the new king found out he had tried to raid his home while he was away, wouldn't the new king hunt him down afterward?
Seeing the plan backfire completely, and not knowing when the new king would return, Alec couldn't help but want to retreat.
No matter what, knowing part of the new king's technique effects was still a decent gain.
Since his God-Speed authority was key to dealing with the new king, no matter how he cooperated with other Campione, he could maintain the initiative.
If they really couldn't win, he could just run away.
Before leaving, Alec suddenly had a thought and asked Marquis Voban one more question.
"Marquis, do you mean that even if I brought Cult Leader Luo Hao, we absolutely couldn't be the new king's match?"
"..."
Marquis Voban glanced at Alec, guessing his intentions.
But he still said what the other expected to hear.
"Of course. That's an opponent you can't possibly win against."
Dozens of minutes later, on the other side of Earth.
Mount Lu.
"Outrageous! How dare the Marquis look down on me so! Such insult to my Luo Hao's reputation!"
After hearing Alec's description, Luo Hao was indeed furious.
Whether she was angry at being looked down on by Marquis Voban or being woken up by a guest was unclear.
Seeing the provocation work, Alec felt relieved and continued.
"The new king's strength is indeed extraordinary, otherwise Marquis Voban and the Sword King wouldn't have been so easily defeated."
"If the Cult Leader is willing, we can unite. The Hades King and I have already made contact. We can make the Cult Leader the leader and jointly oppose the new king!"
He couldn't help being so active - Tony really wasn't human.
Originally Alec wasn't too afraid of the new king - even if he couldn't win, couldn't he run?
But after witnessing Tony and Marquis Voban's attitudes, he immediately abandoned such casual thinking.
Someone who could beat Marquis Voban into submission must be ruthless. Facing such a person, going alone definitely wasn't enough.
Especially now that he'd been reported by Tony, he would surely face focused attacks from the new king.
Therefore, to maximize his safety, he had to establish a defense line capable of opposing the new king.
Defensive counterattacks had always been his specialty.
So after failing to communicate with Marquis Voban, he found Luo Hao, attempting to use provocation to establish a Campione alliance capable of opposing the new king.
As he expected, hearing his retelling, Cult Leader Luo Hao was angry.
As Marquis Voban's mortal enemy, how could she tolerate such contempt?
Unfortunately, unlike Alec's expectations, Luo Hao was also stubborn.
"Joint opposition to the new king? Unnecessary! Otherwise, people might think I fear the new king!"
She waved her hand grandly, rejecting Alec's proposal.
"The new king seems to also be our Chinese compatriot. Even without this matter, I planned to see what the new king is made of. To see what kind of person dares challenge me, the pinnacle of martial arts!"
Seeing her battle-ready appearance, seemingly wanting to challenge the new king immediately, Alec got anxious.
"Cult Leader, calm down! Marquis Voban was also so confident before, and ended up captured in one battle, completely losing his fighting spirit!"
His intent was to use this to dissuade Luo Hao from solo combat.
However.
"Oh?"
After drawing out her tone, Luo Hao's eyes sparkled.
"Doesn't this mean that if I can defeat the new king alone, then the Marquis is merely the defeated subordinate of my defeated subordinate?"
"..."
Faced with such a narcissist, Alec was completely speechless.
"The new king's authorities are extremely strange and hard to guard against. Hasn't the Cult Leader considered that you might lose?"
"Hah!"
Hearing this, Luo Hao showed displeasure but didn't get angry, instead confidently raising her head.
"I, Luo Hao, am the strongest Campione ruling at the pinnacle of martial arts. Facing a mere new king, what need is there to ally with others?"
"As a senior among Campione, being so wary of juniors would make me a laughingstock. I, Luo Hao, disdain such behavior!"
"So stop mentioning alliances. I'll let the new king know what true power is!"
Faced with such passionate and narcissistic words, Alec had no response.
Only now did he deeply realize a fact - Campione couldn't unite.
Realizing this, he completely abandoned the unrealistic notion of establishing a Campione alliance.
Fine, worst case he'd just run faster later.
Thinking this, he shook his head and bid farewell to Luo Hao.
"Then I wish the Cult Leader victory in battle!"
If Luo Hao could really defeat the new king, that would be good too - at least he wouldn't need to worry anymore.
Thinking this, after saying goodbye, he hadn't taken two steps outside when the moon overhead suddenly blazed like daylight - a celestial phenomenon occurred.
"Is this a Heretic God or Campione?"
Luo Hao also noticed the celestial phenomenon and immediately looked toward the moon.
"At this time... could it be the new king?"
Having only dared enter the underground prison after Ryuga left Italy, Alec calculated the timing and confirmed this.
"How did the new king get to the moon? Is he fighting a Heretic God?"
Alec was puzzled.
Wasn't the new king's luck a bit too good? How did he encounter another Heretic God so quickly?
"Going to the moon to fight - our new compatriot has good courage!"
Luo Hao evaluated with a senior's attitude.
"After he returns from the moon and recovers his cursed power, I'll respond to his challenge and let him taste defeat!"
Tens of seconds later, another light torrent appeared.
"This scale of energy..."
Alec's expression suddenly became grave, looking very worried.
And the next instant.
"Crack——!"
Though no sound came, the scene before them made one think of this sound.
Under the gaze of two Campione, the full moon overhead was directly shattered by Ryuga's strike, losing a corner.
"—"
"—"
Looking at the broken satellite overhead, the two Campione on the ground stared at each other, completely dumbfounded.
Even Alec, who was most wary of the new king, hadn't expected such a situation.
What had they just witnessed?
The new king shattered the moon?
Though only a corner, this absolutely wasn't something Campione could do!
What was going on?!
Martial arts king Luo Hao fell completely silent.
As the pinnacle of martial arts, as one of the formerly strongest Campione, she understood perfectly how difficult it was to destroy a country, continent, or planet in one go.
She naturally understood deeply what the scene before her represented.
No wonder even Marquis Voban had been defeated - facing this level of enemy, victory was impossible.
After long silence, she spoke with a trembling voice.
"Black Prince, what did you say earlier about a Campione alliance?"
The one who had just declared she would show the new king true power immediately went back on her word, no longer caring about becoming others' laughingstock.
Facing a moon-shattering level demon lord, solo combat was pure suicide!
Only now did they understand the deep meaning in Marquis Voban's words.
The new king Ryuga was indeed an unwinnable opponent.
To be continued...
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