My Goddess is Good at Pretending

Chapter 573: Learning From Defeat

The Imperial Arena trembled under the weight of anticipation as the Earth Smasher, Ash Simpson, the berserker-type martial artist, raised his fists with a thunderous roar.

Towering and broad-shouldered, his muscular frame glistened with sweat, veins pulsing with profound energy and raw power. His wild, untamed eyes gleamed with battle lust, ready to face the strong opponent.

On the opposite side, Michael used the title of the Godly Warrior. He was calm and composed, and stood in stark contrast. He gleamed in a paragon of grace and might. Clad in ornate silver armor engraved with holy runes, he exuded a serene confidence. His holy sword and shield shone with an ethereal glow, adding a godly impression to his presence.

The crowd fell silent for a moment as the tension was thick. The emcee announced the start of the match, and the battle erupted with sudden violence.

"Uraa! Beware of my mighty fist, Godly Warrior!" With a mighty roar, Ash charged forward with nothing but his raw fists and berserker body as his weapons.

The ground was quaking beneath him. As he swung down his fist with devastating force, the air rippled from the sheer strength behind his blow.

Michael sidestepped the attack, leaving the opponent’s mighty fist to slam into the ground.

The impact created a shockwave that cracked the arena floor, sending chunks of stone flying into the air.

The audience gasped as dust filled the battlefield. The Godly Warrior remained calm and precise in his follow-up attack. He channeled his saintly energy into his shield and threw the opponent into the air.

With a flash of light, Michael unleashed his counterattack. His sword tinkled as it arced toward the opponent.

Ash barely blocked the strike with his forearm. Sparks flew everywhere as the two warriors collided with a resounding clang.

"So tough." Michael was impressed by his opponent’s defense.

"Not bad, Godly Warrior! But, I’ll be more serious now!" Fueled by rage, Ash pushed back with brute strength, attempting to overpower his opponent with rapid, bone-crushing strikes.

Each swing of his fists and kicks sent tremors through the ground. Still, the Godly Warrior met him at every turn, parrying and dodging with supernatural precision.

The battle intensified, and the arena shook under the relentless force of their combat. Ash unleashed his ultimate technique, slamming his fists into the ground, summoning jagged pillars of stone that erupted from the earth.

Michael remained unfazed. He activated his godlike shield, a radiant barrier that shattered the stone pillars on contact. With a burst of speed, he closed the distance, his sword glowing with radiant energy as he delivered a powerful upward slash that cleaved through the opponent’s defense, sending Ash staggering backward.

The crowd erupted in cheers as the two warriors stood face to face, neither willing to back down in this epic clash of strength and skill.

"..." Ash panted. Both his hands were shaking and blood was dripping from both his arms to block that sword slash.

He knew his raw strength was superior to his opponent, but he couldn’t land any proper hit. The best he accomplished was smashing that shield and pushing the opponent back, inflicting almost no damage.

Despite knowing the chance of winning was slimmer, Ash’s grin grew wider. He put his fists together, releasing his limits to berserk mode.

Seeing that, Michael switched his strategy from the all-rounder with perfect balance to full defense. He sheathed his sword and held his shield with both hands.

*Boom!*

Ash exploded with superhuman strength, far exceeding his previous might. He sent his opponent several meters back, and he immediately unleashed dozens of attacks non-stop, without giving his opponent even a moment to catch his breath.

As the opponent’s speed increased and was difficult to follow, Michael activated his skills to empower his shield barrier with life steal and damage reflection effects, slowly eating away at the opponent’s stamina and simultaneously dealing damage over time in each strike received.

The attacker went berserk and destroyed everything in his surroundings during the clashes, and the defender stood his ground to defend flawlessly. The two warriors were filled with vigor, but the arena couldn’t withstand the impact. The arena crumbled into rubble and it soon became a contest of endurance between two warriors, unfortunately, Ash soon fell to a disadvantage.

After ten minutes of relentless assault, the Earth Smasher, the fighter with a tank build, lost his fighting strength and fell to the crushed ground.

"Your defense is insane. This is my loss, huh..." Ash stared at the clear sky. Despite his defeat, his smile was still broad as if he was satisfied with the result.

"You’re not half-bad as a hero. If you had more time to refine your techniques and skills, the result would have been different." Michael deactivated his defense skill and extended his hand.

"It’s alright. After falling, the true warrior must stand on his own. That way, I can face the future by remembering this defeat to boost my progress." Ash slowly returned to his feet, though his posture was unsteady.

"Wow! What an incredible match! Both fighters gave it their all and truly left everything in the arena. But now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for... the winner of this intense battle. Congratulations to The Godly Warrior for a well-deserved win! You’ve fought with heart and skill, and you move forward in the competition!" The emcee flew down and stood near the Godly Warrior Micka to announce the winner of this match.

Michael raised his hand as he received the thunderous cheers and applause from thousands of spectators. He managed to win this round with a stunning display without using his true power. As he looked out over the Elysion Church’s seats, he was proud and happy to see his master give him a round of applause as well. He returned with pride and honor.

---

"..." Rhykdohr was at a loss for words.

Just when he thought the Earth Smasher would gain the upper hand, when the shield barrier looked like it would be destroyed, the Godly Warrior pulled the outstanding move by imbuing the shield barrier with negative effects. Unaware of the accumulated setbacks, the berserk fighter lost power as time passed.

Rhykdohr had to admit that one of his heroes lost the battle, but he was curious about Lady Kitsune’s method. "Your chosen hero is good. What kind of guidance and blessing you bestowed upon him, Lady Kitsune?"

"Experience cultivates the person. They shouldn’t rely solely on their blessings. My heroes have already experienced several extreme situations and environments against the powerful great evils." Megami closed her eyes, feeling proud to say so.

"Is that so..." Rhykdohr nodded in understanding as he believed his summoned heroes would get stronger during the expedition.

"Sometimes, people need setbacks in life so they won’t be too arrogant. Defeat is also a virtue if they can accept their loss and improve for the better before the world hits them real hard." Megami added a little, remembering that the Earth Smasher Hero was too full of himself just a moment ago.

She then went silent as she had to join the girls’ conversation on the Elysium Channel.

---

Meanwhile, Elysia was sailing above a sea of ????snow in the extreme north, the region where sunlight rarely touched the land. It was dusk, twilight, dawn, night, and the situation repeated so this region never felt the warmth of the sun.

Four gallant winged horses pulled the carriage, and an old gentleman with a cloud-like beard sat in the coachman’s seat. He wore the red jacket and pants with white fur trim, a matching hat, a buckled belt, and black boots, occasionally laughing "Ho-ho-ho!~" as if to announce his arrival to anyone who could hear him.

Everything was created by Elysia’s imaginary creation divinity, but everything was as good as the real deal.

"..." Elysia looked out the window. Although the temperature outside was so cold, lower than -30 degrees Celsius, the warmth inside the carriage was still comfortably maintained.

At the moment, Elysia was fortifying and empowering Yuuki’s foundation in preparation for Yuuki’s divine ascension.

During this period, Yuuki had to remain within her arms as she had to channel a fragment of her divine power into Yuuki’s dantian and spiritual sea. Yuuki had already fallen asleep, leaning on her shoulder with a faint sweet smile adorned one’s beautiful face.

"Do you think there will be a cursed monster sealed in the forbidden region over there?" Elena made a circle with her fingers and used it like a telescope, staring into the distance with sacred vision.

Yet, she could see nothing within 200 kilometers. It was just a dead terrain filled with ice and snow. She expected to find some mythical creatures of winter ice and snow, but she found none, not even a random little animal.

"We can’t rule out the possibility. The last thing we encountered was a lost penguin..." Ai replied, but she kept her eyes closed.

"An hour has passed, and we have traveled more than five hundred kilometers since then. Do you want me to check out farther ahead?" Zera volunteered.

"No need. Just stay with us here. On this trip, we should enjoy the ride." Elysia tenderly stroked Yuuki’s head. It would be a bit lonely if Elena, Zera, and Ai went to check the forbidden region ahead of time.

"Ely, a giant arrow is shooting at the speed of sound towards us. If we go at this speed, we’ll be hit in half a minute." Elena detected a foreign projectile from the northeast.

The arrow could be easily seen from afar because it was as big as a whole pine tree trunk. A sudden attack came from the distance, so someone was obviously there, and that person didn’t want them to get any closer!

"Leave it to me." Ai stared at the approaching giant arrow. When it entered her attack range, it vanished into the void. She amplified the giant arrow’s kinetic energy before releasing it with tremendous force in the direction where it came from.