Third Encounter

As Kama passed by his body, Karna's gaze lingered on her for a moment, his eyes showing a rare hint of confusion.

As a fellow Indian Heroic Spirit with 'Divinity', Karna was naturally familiar with this pitiful god of love. However, apart from the familiar aura, he faintly felt that there was some kind of quite dangerous power lurking within her.

However, due to the short time of contact, before he could carefully sense it, Kama quickly distanced herself from him and engaged in battle with Vlad who was pursuing from behind.

"Choosing to switch opponents? That's indeed a good decision." Arkhan casually twirled Black Abyss. "This should be our third encounter, no? I had the upper hand in the previous two, so this time, do you really have the confidence to defeat me?"

Indeed, looking at their battle records, Karna hadn't achieved much in his two battles against Arkhan.

The first time, he was directly injured, and even his golden armor suffered considerable damage because of Nidhogg's dragon breath. The second time, despite having already joined hands with Medea to defeat Arkhan in what was clearly a two-on-one situation, he not only failed to defeat Arkhan but also let him kill Medea in front of his eyes.

For a warrior, suffering two defeats in a row at the hands of the same person was a considerable blow to morale and confidence. It could even leave a lasting shadow on someone with a poor mentality, causing them to falter easily.

However, Karna was different.

He didn't falter and never would.

His gaze remained as calm as still water, his fighting spirit still burning fiercely, unaffected by Arkhan's provocation.

"That kind of psychological tactic won't work on me, Rider of Black..." Karna raised his god-slaying spear toward Arkhan. "I'm not afraid of failure because what I seek is nothing but a fair and honorable battle without anyone else intervening."

"Is that so? In that case, I won't hold back." Arkhan also raised his black spear of death, the black spear tip flickering with a chilling light in the endless darkness.

"Thank you."

*BOOM!*

After thanking Arkhan, a blazing fire erupted behind Karna, propelling him forward as if a sword slicing through the air. Enveloped in roaring flames, his spear stabbed straight toward Arkhan's head.

Observing this, Arkhan didn't retreat but advanced. He thrust out the black spear in his hand like an angry dragon, carrying sharp killing intent as it met Karna's spear head-on.

*DING!*

The two spearheads collided without deviation, emitting a crisp sound of metal clashing.

The flames that burned all things passed along Black Abyss's spear shaft, bringing with them twisted space and scorching heat.

Seeing this, Arkhan narrowed his eyes slightly, decisively released Black Abyss, and retreated backward, avoiding the divine fire that came rushing toward him.

This was the flame of the sun god, capable of burning down an entire city with just a wisp. Even he couldn't afford to directly confront it.

"Weapons are a warrior's second life. Lose it, and your defeat is already sealed."

*Swish!*

Karna's voice pierced through the flames, followed by the sharp spearhead of his god-slaying spear.

This was a battle of powerful Servants, where any mistake would be magnified infinitely, and any negligence could determine the outcome. Once an opportunity was seized, life and death hung on a single moment!

'This time, I won!' Karna exclaimed in his heart.

Suddenly, his forward steps were forcibly halted as if crashing into an insurmountable wall. He widened his eyes and looked ahead, noticing that Arkhan's arm was now clad in a black-gold gauntlet, firmly grasping his god-slaying spear!

"You're right, weapons are indeed crucial for warriors..." Arkhan smiled. "But when it comes to weapons, I'm afraid they mean a bit more to me than you think."

As soon as he finished speaking, Arkhan abruptly yanked his arm, relying on his 'A+ Strength' to forcefully pull Karna toward him. At the same time, he lifted his other arm, also wrapped in a black-gold gauntlet, and mercilessly aimed it like a cannonball toward Karna's head.

*Whoosh—!*

Listening to the howling wind approaching his ears, Karna could almost foresee his head exploding like a watermelon the moment he took this punch. At such close range, he had completely lost all space for evasion.

Therefore—

"Brahmastra Kundala!"

Karna shook his spear, and like a sun striking the ground, a sea of fire burst out from his spear, forcing Arkhan to temporarily halt his attack and retreat from Karna.

However, though Arkhan dodged in time, his silver armor suffered some damage from the divine fire, but soon after, a faint light flashed over his body, and the silver armor returned to its original state.

This wasn't a repair as the silver armor on his body was created from the Key of Domination, so it was simply swapped out for a new set.

"Even though your magical energy is not enough, you still unleashed your Noble Phantasm without hesitation. I have to admit, your battle intuition is indeed sharp."

Arkhan spoke calmly as he looked toward Karna ahead.

"But, how much longer can you continue?"

"I will fight until the very end." Karna stated firmly.

"With this command spell, Lancer, defeat Rider of Black!"

"With this command spell, Lancer, defeat Rider of Black!"

Suddenly, two massive waves of magical energy surged from Karna's body, instantly replenishing his almost depleted magical energy and propelling his aura to new heights like a rocket!

"Command spells, huh..."

Sensing Karna's change, Arkhan furrowed his brows slightly and glanced at the floating fortress in the sky.

"Rider of Black, you are indeed a powerful opponent. Only by fighting against you can I feel the long-lost thrill of battle."

Karna slowly ascended into the air, pieces of his golden armor falling off, merging with the spear in his hand, exuding an ancient and powerful aura.

The true divine and god-slaying spear was about to awaken.

"Now, let me end this battle with this one spear thrust!"