The fireworks were spectacular, and almost everyone witnessed this awe-inspiring moment. Just a second ago, everyone thought the world was about to end, but the next second, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
After all, that heavy burden had been shattered by Rope.
Cynthia and the others were amazed by Rope's immense power. After all, even those who had been with him day and night didn't know just how strong he had become. Now they finally had a basic understanding.
It turned out they had been dealing with such a formidable opponent all along…
Some who had previously had conflicts with Rope, such as Giovanni, who had once caused trouble for Rope before reforming, immediately began to reflect on whether the things he had done in the past might prompt Rope to suddenly remember and take harsh action against him.
After thinking for a while, he shook his head silently. His behavior afterward had been quite good. Even if someone tried to lure him over, he had never stood against Rope. This shouldn't be enough for Rope to hold a grudge... right?
Giovanni could only sigh helplessly. He thought he hadn't offended anyone. But maybe some offhand remark had unintentionally hurt someone's feelings, and they were silently holding a grudge against him.
The most exaggerated reaction came from Gold, who sucked in a sharp breath and slapped his thigh hard.
"Huh? Why doesn't it hurt?"
Gold asked, sounding a bit confused.
"Because you slapped my leg…"
Crystal's slightly resentful voice drifted over from the side.
Gold shivered and then gave an awkward smile.
"Why are you so worked up?"
Crystal hid her reddened white leg under a pillow and asked with a puzzled expression.
"I was wondering if I had offended Rope before." Gold said casually.
"Although I did look down on him at first and even had a wild battle with him, after that wild battle, I started to respect him greatly."
Gold laughed as he revealed his past mistakes. But now, it didn't really count as a mistake anymore.
After all, when he lost to Rope back then, Rope was just a rookie trainer who hadn't even collected all his badges yet. But now things were different...
Everyone else couldn't beat Rope, so there was nothing to be ashamed of if I couldn't beat him either.
Thinking this, Gold even whistled to express his excitement.
Crystal could only roll her eyes at him.
Of course, the one most shocked by the scene before him was Arceus.
He looked at the young man with flaming wings and a handsome face amidst the scattered stones, already wearing an expression as if facing a formidable enemy.
To be honest, he now truly felt that the guy before him had a real chance of putting him in the ball.
Rope wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then looked at Arceus and licked his lips.
He swung his long spear, flapped his fiery wings, and charged toward Arceus. Arceus's heart sank instantly. He activated his shield, drew his light sword, and fired his light cannon in one fluid motion, preparing to take Rope's charge head-on.
As mentioned earlier, Arceus' physique made him unsuited for close combat. As for his extremely high physical attack... well, there's the light sword.
However, Rope didn't just come in to swing a few blows this time; he had no intention of being greedy. This time, he was here to end the battle.
So the spear stabbed at Arceus' shield fiercely. Although Arceus had strengthened the shield, he did not expect that the shield, which was originally quite strong and Rope could only barely break, would be vulnerable at this time.
The long spear pierced through the shield as easily as piercing a sheet of paper, cleanly penetrating it and plunging toward Arceus's chest.
Arceus was startled. However, his reaction was still quick. The four light swords that had been aimed at Rope had three of them urgently retreating, spinning around Arceus's statue and struggling with Rope.
The remaining light sword, however, charged straight toward Rope's back.
It moved swiftly, as if intent on taking Rope's life.
Yet Rope showed no intention of dodging, as if oblivious to the sharp sword's aura, fixated on delivering a decisive blow to Arceus.
Just as the light sword neared Rope, the dragon patterns on his body had somehow shifted to his back.
When the lightsaber was just an inch away from Rope, the dragon patterns suddenly expanded, and a dragon's head emerged from Rope's back, clamping down on the lightsaber. With a snap of its jaws, the lightsaber shattered into particles of light.
The other three swords also lost their force, nearly allowing Rope to break through the defense.
These four swords functioned as a unified whole, capable of being deployed or retracted simultaneously. Destroying one would affect the others—a fact Rope had already discerned during previous tests.
To be honest, Arceus's hidden trump card was merely recalling Plate and Judgment, while Rope's was a far greater power and even more bizarre tactics.
Just like now.
Arceus certainly wasn't going to sit around and wait for death. A golden light shone from his body, and an even larger spear of light gathered above him. In a moment, it fiercely thrust down at Rope.
Rope, however, remained unfazed. Holding the gun in one hand, he continued to thrust forward, while the other hand had small birds continuously emerging from it.
One, two... a hundred, a thousand...
In almost an instant, Rope was surrounded by a dense flock of birds.
Those white little birds flew upward, straight toward the golden giant gun.
Visibly, the spear was being pecked away by the birds, gradually eroded, and before long, it was completely destroyed.
However, at that moment, Arceus took advantage of Rope releasing one hand and exerted full control, forcefully pushing Rope's spear aside.
Rope was sent flying backward, his fiery wings flapping wildly as he struggled to regain balance.
Arceus, having gained the upper hand, recalled his flying sword, but in the next instant, four light swords reappeared, piercing toward Rope.
Just as Rope raised his spear to defend himself, the four light swords suddenly stopped, forming a square shape.
Rope froze for an instant. But in the next moment, he immediately retreated.
At the same time, golden light surged from Arceus' eyes.
The four light swords began to spin, forming a golden light wheel.
Within that light wheel, immense energy surged forth, shooting toward Rope.
After all, Arceus excels at long-range combat.
Why bother competing with Rope in swordplay?