Chapter 44: He Who treads the Threshing Floor

Arthur stood on the sandy beach as he gazed at the mountain range. Three Gargantuants could be seen hovering over the mountain range. The array of ships that floated in the sky as well as the enemy soldiers that rode huge mechs by the cliffs of the mountains seemed to blot out the light of the setting sun.

"You sure about this?" Seeker solemnly spoke.

"Yes. Thank you for not telling her." Arthur replied with a smile.

"I'm not used to seeing you smile."

"This will be the last time. I assure you." Arthur continued smiling.

Seeker gave a sad glance at Arthur.

"You know, I never liked you."

"The pleasure is mine Seeker. It's funny how you get to love someone because you need them."

The two silently stared at the army that could be their doom.

"There's got to be another way. Your father said that-"

"My father knows that there is no time. If this army manages to break through then not even three World Champions can pull back the wave without getting killed. It's still too early. We can't afford to lose all our Queens."

"So we sacrifice one Bishop?" Seeker asked slowly.

"Yes. You and I both know that we stand at the bottom among the Heroes. And of the two of us, only I can pull off this task." Arthur smiled once more.

"At the bottom? Come on. At least you rank second to the bottom." Seeker laughed.

"Well don't beat yourself up. I always thought you didn't belong among the Heroes. But seeing you that day, as you dove fearlessly into the fray risking your own life proved that you were better than me. If it was me, I wouldn't have done it."

"Really?" Seeker asked in confusion.

"Yes. You see on your debut as the Death Tide, there were too many factors in that little dive of yours. I've watched the video countless times."

"Countless? Was the math that hard?"

"It wasn't. Over ninety percent chance that you'd die. It was a stupid move."

"I appreciate your calculations." Seeker laughed sarcastically.

"And that's why I wouldn't have done it. It's also the reason why I have confidence in taking this dive. It's a twenty percent success rate by the way."

Seeker's eyes went wide open.

"Only twenty percent? Then why are you doing this anyway?"

"The same reason why you did what you did. You were confident. You were determined. You had to win." Arthur smiled as he recalled Seeker's attack.

"Trust me, Zeek. I will succeed." A bright smile was displayed on Arthur's face as he said that.

Seeker sighed. Tears started to roll down his eyes.

"What will your precious team think? Their Commander, the Death Tide shedding tears." Arthur mocked.

Seeker took a deep breath. He calmed down and controlled his emotions.

"You know; you never did tell me why you used a mace as your weapon." Seeker smiled.

"The mace seemed to be the most convenient. You see, I don't want to use a sword or any blade. It cuts. I can't determine the theoretical hit point of an enemy. If I cut off an arm or slice of a part, the calculations I need to make are frustrating." Arthur laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"It's another one of my math habits. You see if I cut off a part of a limb, I have to change the theoretical 100% of the enemy."

"Because it's no longer attached to the enemy you have to reevaluate the theoretical 100%?"

"Yes. Hahaha." Arthur laughed with a carefree expression. While Seeker had a bewildered look.

"Don't tell anyone. You see, unlike the sword that cuts off the parts, the mace damages the enemy I can feel its vibrations and it can tell me how much damage I inflicted. Cutting off a limb or a part causes a lot of potentially unbalanced calculations. What if the users dominant arm was the other arm? How does he adjust to the circumstance? In the end, it's easier for me to deduct the theoretical hit points rather than recalculate the theoretical 100%."

"But that's- I mean-you still damaged-" Seeker who could easily memorize and mentally read a 200-word essay within 5 seconds was fumbling in his words.

"Leave it, Zeek!" Arthur laughed once more.

"It's just a part of my obsessive-compulsive behavior. When I used the sword it was so frustrating and annoying that I almost got hit. I switched to a mace and life was easy."

Seeker was shaking his head out of disbelief. So this was why the most calculative Hero used the most inefficient of weapons.

"Sir." A soldier suddenly arrived.

"They are ready."

Seeker and Arthur's expression returned to a solemn one.

"Get into position Commander. The war will begin on my first attack. Stick to the plan." Arthur ordered as he walked out.

Seeker stared at the departing figure.

"Tell her I'm sorry," Arthur spoke calmly.

"Are you?" Seeker asked.

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"Not really. The tears on her eyes wouldn't be enough to sway me. As long as she can smile long after we win, it would all be worth it." Arthur smiled. The four cylinders attached on his back started to glow.

The next second he was gone.

Arthur sped as low as he could go and approached the guarding forces. But before they could even react at the sudden bleep that appeared on their radar, the attack had already begun.

A mini- nuclear blast exploded on the East side of the mountain. The nuclear explosion itself looked contained. As if an invisible barrier prevented it from spreading out. The shockwaves of the blast, however, was as strong as ever.

A battle immediately began. The enemy soldiers started moving and the Three Gargantuants that had long look to be on hibernation started to move towards the army. Several ports were opened and more ships started swarming out of the Gargantuant.

Huge electric sparks could be seen arcing all over the ship. Then suddenly the arc of lightning danced through the sky zipping through the swarm of flying allies and thundered on the UN Armies base.

"LIGHT SPEED ATTACKS!" A soldier warned as the three Gargantuants started sending out rains of thunder. It was blindingly fast. Even Inhumans would die without being able to make attempts of evading.

The swarm of enemies that descended on the U.N Armies arrived near the base and a chaotic battle began. People were dying left and right and the U.N Armies slowly dwindled in numbers.

Every now and then, a light-speed attack would shoot through the gaps of the battlefield. Though the African forces were as many as a locust swarm, the beams could still zip through the swarm and kill UN soldiers.

It was a massacre. The UN Armies took a lot of hits and its army was dwindling by the second.

Several attacks from the Champions and other Ranked Heroes were executed to damage the Gargantuants but it was no avail as they could not zip through the swarm and evade the light-speed attacks.

Three Gargantuants, when positioned in the right way, could create a gravity field. With this, light speed auto-attacks could be made as it used gravity to map the area and ascertain the possibilities of attacking without causing friendly fire. Anything deemed as an enemy within this zone would automatically be shot at if the system determines that no friendly fire would be incurred. When three Gargantuants would form this formation, it would be something that even a World Champion would not recklessly dive into.

The light-speed attacks continued to rain down whenever a gap was made in the midst of the swarm. This shower of protection maximized the attacking potentials of the African army with the Aragarian fleet behind them.

A soldier was using his Force Boosters to retreat when a light-speed attack struck the location in front of him, killing his ally. A huge Titan immediately reached down to cleave the soldier in half. But before the sharp strike reached the soldier was pulled to safety.

"Commander!" The soldier cried in relief as he was saved from the clutches of the huge Titan.

Seeker took him by the hand and was zooming to the north side of the battle.

"We can't hold on!"

"Relax. Trust in your General. He's just about to set the stage." Seeker frowned.

Immediately after Seeker finished his sentence, several nuclear blasts exploded in various areas of the battlefield. The sudden blast killed enemies and left several others disoriented by the shockwave. As the ring of explosions began, the enemy troops were thrown into disarray. Chaos ensued as the ships and mechs shuffled to regain their formation. Amidst this chaos was an arising order.

This order was achieved through the application of various mathematical variables. It took into account the possible behaviors, reactions, and the very psychology of the enemy. In the midst of the swarm of enemies, a path was made leading to the three Gargantuants.

The 'path' which was about four miles long, had a lot of enemy ships and mechs. In fact, it didn't look like a path. But for Arthur it was.

The path would exist barely a second long. If there were any more enemies in this path, Arthur would be unable to thread this path. But despite the long length and the short time that this path would remain open, it was enough. Especially since Arthur has Selective Unlocking.

Unlike all Ranked Heroes who used the Four Force Accelerator, Arthur used the gear that was granted only to World Champions. The Four Stellar Threads. Through Arthur's amazing calculation skills, he could navigate through the skies with speeds that far surpass what the Four Force Accelerator could provide.

Arthur looked at the path before him and smiled. Large ships and huge titans stood between him and his destination. It looked impossible, but in Arthur's eyes, he never felt so sure of his math.

"Time to start threshing on the Threshing Floor." It was now time for Arthur to attack.

A reading from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 41, verse 15.

"Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff."

ZOOOOOOM!!

A sonic boom blasted through the path. Mechs of metal and ships of steel stood in front of him, but carved metals and splintered steel lay before him.

The Threshing Floor.

This was Arthur's most powerful attack. With speeds that only a World Champion could control, Arthur pierced through the swarm of enemies grinding anything along its path to dust.

The moment Arthur pierced through the last enemy ship, light-speed attacks pierced through his torso. A large hole could be seen as the light-speed attack ended.

Without a doubt, Arthur would die.

Time seemed to stop for Arthur. He looked in disdain towards the three Gargantuants.

"Hmp! Idiots. We've already won." Arthur clutched the Nuke Emitter on his hand and it self-destructed.

A powerful nuclear explosion shook the three Gargantuants. The explosion was so big that it seemed to cover the entire mountain range. The explosion caused the three ships to move away from each other. Sadly, its hard armor plating resisted the blast and did not critically damage the ship. But what Arthur did was enough.

The World Champions made their move when the Threshing Floor started and even before the flames of the nuclear blast could recede, the World Champions pierced through and boarded they're assigned Gargantuant.

The rage of the Champions could not be easily quenched during that battle. For in the entire history of the war, there was only one recorded instance that several World Champions manage to win a battle by deliberately sacrificing a Ranked Hero.

Seeker's eyes grew red as he saw the powerful blast. It was beautiful. Arthur's artistic side was clearly displayed as the explosion formed what looked like a gold crown in the sky. No doubt, a work of Arthur's calculations. The UN Armies morale soared.

"There it is men! The last gift of your General! The Stephanos! The Victors Crown! We have won! Let us claim it!" Seeker roared.

He clutched his sword and flew towards the enemies with a berserker expression and the army followed.

Without the support of the Gargantuants the African army was easily subdued.

Mission Hundred Mountain Hunt Successful.

The UN Armies of Asia successfully eliminated a third of the African forces. Victory attributed to the brave sacrifice of Ranked Hero, General Arthur Humphrey.

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