“So we’re finally here,” I said as I look at the big castle of [Taurus] while we’re standing in front of it.

It is a castle as big as Sagiru’s but with a very different design and structure. This castle is made of pure gray metal designed with lots of pointed steel bars. Just from one glance and you can see how the castle is well-built.

Behind me are Ciana, Iwa, Honoka, Chen and Darkness while Ruby is on my right shoulder.

“We’re ready,” Ciana said with a smile and looked at Iwa.

“Th-that’s right!” Iwa replied nervously.

“Raiki…let’s go?” Honoka asked with a smile.

“Yeah. Let’s go and beat [Taurus]!” I responded with a serious smile.

Ciana is now at level 53 and Iwa is at level 50. With Honoka’s help, I’m sure that beating one of [Taurus]’s level 50 [weapon] will be a piece of cake.

The big two-way steel gate suddenly opened and a big open yard with lots of [empire soldiers] welcomed us.

“What the—” I reacted with a surprised expression.

“Welcome, Raiki and Chen,” [Taurus] said while at the rear end of the wide field, sitting on a big chair. There are also five soldiers behind him.

“What’s the meaning of this?” I asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“Can’t you see just by looking? You have to defeat my 54 soldiers first before you can fight me,” he replied with an amused expression.

“Th-that’s not in the rules!” Ciana retorted, surprised.

“I’m the [Empire Deity] here so I’ll be the one who will make the rules!” [Taurus] shouted angrily and a strong gust of wind hit us. What pressure!

“Wh-what should we do, Raiki?” Iwa asked nervously.

“I can’t defeat them alone if those soldiers decided to attack me at once,” I replied in a serious tone.

“Raiki, Honoka and I will help you fight,” Ciana suggested with a serious face.

“That’s right. With the three of us, we can defeat these soldiers,” Honoka followed with a confident smile.

“I guess we don’t have a choice. Iwa, Chen, Darkness and Ruby, all of you stay here. We’ll handle this,” I announced.

“Raiki…sorry for not being useful,” Iwa muttered with a sad expression.

“I’ll be counting on you to help defeat [Taurus] later. As for now, just wait here,” I followed with a smile.

“A-as you wish!” she replied with a sudden determined expression.

“Raiki, good luck,” Chen said with a worried expression.

“Leave it to me,” I answered with a smile.

*ruu!* Ruby said while he’s on Iwa’s arms.

“Yeah. We’ll surely win this,” I replied.

Ciana then brought out her dagger and Honoka assembled her steel staff.

“Men, get them!!!” [Taurus] ordered and the soldiers charged towards us.

I then brought out [Raiden] and bended my knees. In an instant, I passed through a couple of soldiers and after I whispered “[Steel Thrust]”, five got blown over and fainted after hitting the ground.

“A-attack Raiki at the same time!” the leader of the soldiers shouted and all soldiers sprinted towards me with their respective ordinary weapons.

Honoka then appeared before me and swung her staff to a soldier. That soldier flew away and hit two of his comrades.

“I can’t let you harm our precious [wielder],” Honoka said and pointed her staff to the wave of soldiers.

“Why you!” the leader soldier shouted and prepared to slash Honoka but before he know it, he suddenly hit the far wall with a bang and collapsed face first on the ground.

“Don’t forget about me,” Ciana said and pointed her dagger towards the soldiers.

“If you want to defeat him, you have to get through us first!” Ciana and Honoka shouted to the soldiers with a smile.

“How cool…” Iwa reacted while watching the battle.

“Those girls are strong,” one soldier reacted, now nervous.

“D-don’t just stand there and charge!” one soldier said and a wave of men ran towards us.

We three then charged towards them and defeated everyone that entered our line of vision. Before we know it, all the fifty soldiers were now on the ground, unconscious.

“I didn’t know that you have comrades that strong, Raiki,” [Taurus] said while still sitting with his arms and legs crossed. “But…”

“[Jean]!” one soldier called.

“[Eris]!” another followed.

Both those [wielder] soldiers behind him called their [weapons]’s name and walked towards the three of us while holding their respective swords.

“So we’re now fighting the [wielders] of [Taurus],” I whispered.

“Raiki, Honoka should rest now. We need her strength to defeat [Taurus] later. Let me handle these two,” Ciana suggested.

“Honoka, go back to Iwa’s side and let Ruby heal you,” I ordered.

“I got it,” Honoka said with a nod and jogged away.

“Let’s go! [Ciana]!” I said and drew out my left palm.

“Leave it to me!” she replied and became a sickle on my hand.

The two [wielders] then charged at the same time and swung their swords at me. I managed to dodge the two attacks by jumping up.

“[Frozen Flare]!!!” both of them suddenly shouted after pointing both of their swords towards me. A blue-red flame then hit me in mid-air.

“Gaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!” I screamed out of pain and landed on the ground in a kneeling position.

(That’s a [sync attack]!) Ciana reacted.

“Sync attack?” I repeated.

(When two [wielders] activated two [special attacks] at the same time, creating a new one. That’s a [synch attack].)

I then stood up and made a defensive stance.

“These guys are stronger than I expected,” I whispered.

(Do you have a plan?)

“Yeah!” I replied with a smile and drew out [Raiden].

(That’s--)

“Double Wielding!” I shouted and made a fighting pose with [Ciana] on my left hand and [Raiden] on my right.

Even though [Raiden] doesn’t have the ability of [Mjolnir], it is still the [strongest monster weapon] so I’m sure that it can keep up with other [beast weapons] no matter how high their levels are!

“[Twin Slash]!” I shouted.

“[Flame Slash]!”

“[Frozen Cut]!”

*ka-booooooooooooooooooooooooom*

Our exchange of attacks continued without either side getting the advantage. The clash continued for a long period and after a while, the three of us jumped backwards.

“You two are really strong,” I commented with a smile.

“You too,” both of them replied with a smirk and charged towards me again.

“But I’ll still be the winner!” I said and jumped up.

“!”

“!”

If the rotation of the wheel blade is vertical, let’s see what will happen if I rotated horizontally with two bladed weapons!

“[Top Blade]!!!!” I yelled and rotated as fast as I can.

The whirlwind-like attack then landed on the ground and hit the both of them, making the two flew away and hit the ground heavily. With my newest [physical attack], both of them fainted together with their [weapons].

Ciana then transformed back and whispered, “Raiki, I’ll go back at the stand-by area and let Ruby heal me.”

“Yeah,” I said and Ciana sprinted towards Iwa’s side.

[Taurus] then stood up and went before me, leaving the last soldier at his side’s stand-by area.

“I didn’t think that you’ll really reach this far, Raiki,” he said with an amused yet intimidating expression.

“So how about we start the [soldier challenge] now?” I asked with a serious smile.

“If that’s what you want, challenger! [Rocky]!”

“Affirmative,” the last soldier replied and became a big hammer on [Taurus]’s right hand.

“That [weapon], it’s a level 70!” I reacted with a very surprised expression.

“Well, you’re special after all. I can’t just underestimate you and use my usual level 50 [weapon]. That is why I decided to use Rocky,” [Taurus] responded and laughed out loud.

“[Ciana]!” I called.

“Leave it to me!” she replied and became a sickle on my left hand.

“Haaaaaahhhh!!!”

“Haaaaaahhhh!!!”

*KA-BOOOOOOOM*

When both of our [weapons] collided, an explosion of smoke shook the area. Suddenly, [Ciana] went back to the stand-by area with an exhausted expression.

“Sorry, Raiki,” she apologized.

He defeated Ciana…just like that?

“That’s the difference in their level,” [Taurus] said with an intimidating smile.

“[Iwa]!”

“At your service!” she replied and became a kite shield on my left arm. I then jumped backwards as far as I can.

“So that’s the shield that has the [Clay Morph] [ability],” [Taurus] muttered with a grin.

“Long-range Mode: Blaster!” I shouted and a cannon appeared on top of my shield.

“Hohhh~,” [Taurus] reacted with an amused expression.

I then pointed my [weapon] towards him and yelled, “[Earth Blast]!”

Without even moving an inch from his position, [Taurus] used his hammer as a shield.

*ka-booooooooooooooooooom*

But when the smoke lifted, [Taurus] is just standing there with his [weapon] not even scratched by our attack.

“What the—” I reacted, shocked.

(That…can’t be...)

“Like I said, that’s the difference in their level,” [Taurus] muttered and started walking towards me slowly.

“Shoot! [Earth Blast]!!!”

*ka-boooooooooooooooooooooooom*

“Is that all you’ve got?” he asked as he slowly lessens the distance between us.

“[Earth Blast]!!!”

*ka-booooooooooooooooooooooooooooom*

(Raiki, nothing is happening!)

“[Earth Blast]! [Earth Blast]! [Earth Blast]! [Earth Blast]!!!”

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOM*

Before I know it, [Taurus] is now before me, ready to whack me with his hammer.

Just one hit and Iwa will surely be unable to battle! I have to do something!

[Counter Kick]!” I screamed and hit [Taurus] on the leg.

“Are you even trying to attack me?” [Taurus] asked with a grin.

“No…effect?” I reacted with a surprised expression.

“[Boulder Pound]!!!” he shouted and his gigantic [weapon] is now heading towards me.

(I won’t let you harm my [wielder]!!!)

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

“What the—” [Taurus] reacted and took a couple of steps backward after a sudden gust of wind got created.

“Iwa…this is…” I muttered.

When the smoke lifted, a formation of solidified rocks thrice as tall and wide as me appeared before me. It just deflected [Taurus]’s attack like it was nothing.

“This is amazing, Iwa!” I said with a smile and looked at the kite shield on my arm.

(This is my new [special attack] [Wall Shield]. It can deflect any attack once no matter how strong it is and will get weaker if used consecutively. Anyway Raiki, I’m now at level 53. I can now store an additional mode.)

“So that means…” I said and stood up. The solidified rocks then disappeared.

“You really won’t stop surprising me, Raiki,” [Taurus] commented with an amused expression.

“Then, will this surprise you again? Hammer Mode: Whacker!” I shouted and Iwa transformed into a hammer as big as [Taurus]’s.

“Amazing but…quite the lightweight if you asked me,” [Taurus] commented derisively.

“We’ll see about that!” I said and vanished from his vision.

Before he know it, an attack suddenly whacked him from behind.

“Gahaa!” he reacted, clearly feeling the attack.

“[Light Pound],” I whispered and [Taurus] got blown away. He then landed on the ground heavily on his feet.

“What speed. How can you move so fast with that kind of [weapon]?” he asked with a serious expression.

“Well, she’s just a light hammer, that’s all,” I replied and swung [Iwa] like a bat.

“But despite that, it’s still powerful,” he said and readied his hammer.

“Here we go!” I said and sprinted towards him.

“[Earthquake]!!!” [Taurus] shouted and smashed the ground using his hammer.

Suddenly, the ground shook very strongly, making me lose my balance and hit the floor in a sitting position.

“[Landslide]!” he followed and pointed his hammer up in the air. Then, tons of rocks appeared above and buried me.

“With that attack, it’s the end!” [Taurus] said with a victorious smile.

“Raiki!” Ciana and Honoka shouted in the stand-by area.

“[Earth Blast]!” I shouted and the rubbles covering me got blown away. I then stood up and gave [Taurus] a smile.

“Hoohh~. You survived that attack, huh,” [Taurus] reacted with a smile.

“Of course,” I replied and made a smile.

I then looked at the pile of rocks beneath me and saw the destroyed [Crimson Protector]. It looks like it can no longer be repaired by Arjen in that kind of state. Thanks for all the help. Without you, I’m sure that I couldn’t survive that [Landslide].

“But…” [Taurus] said and looked at my kite shield.

(Sorry…Raiki. I can’t…maintain this mode…anymore.)

“Iwa?” I called.

Iwa then transformed back into a brown light and went back to the stand-by area.

“So with this, you’ve only got one [weapon] left,” [Taurus] said and pointed his hammer to me.

“Not really. I still got two!” I announced with a confident smile and [Taurus] got surprised.

Ciana and the others got surprised too and looked at Darkness.

“So that little girl is your new [weapon],” [Taurus] muttered and looked at Darkness with a serious face. “That girl…is a level 80 [weapon], huh. So you’re saving the best one for the last.”

“She’s not. I’m just her guardian,” I answered.

“Then, are you saying that Chen can now become a [weapon]?” [Taurus] asked with a sudden surprised face.

“M-me?” Chen reacted with a bewildered expression.

“I mean this one,” I said and brought out [Raiden].

“Huh? Are you an idiot? You know that fighting a [Constellation Deity] with an ordinary weapon is close to conceding defeat. Your [beast weapons] weren’t able to defeat mine so how can that mere short sword defeat me?”

“We’ll see about that!” I said and bended my knees. Before he realized it, the blade of my weapon is now on his hammer.

“[Steel Thrust],” I whispered and a crack finally appeared on his hard hammer.

“What?” [Taurus] reacted, surprised.

He then drew in his hammer and prepared to pound me.

“[Boulder Smash]!”

“[Wheel Blade]!”

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOM*

After I landed on the ground in a kneeling position, [Taurus] stared at my weapon and said, “That’s…a [monster weapon], huh.”

“Yeah,” I replied with a smile and stood up.

“So that is the reason why it can withstand my [special attack],” he continued with a serious face.

“But it is still too early to be surprised!” I shouted and sheathed my sword. I then made a drawing stance and lightning sparks suddenly appeared around me.

“That’s…” [Taurus] reacted with a surprised expression.

“Feast your eyes. You will be the first Deity to see the true strength of the [Raiden]!”

“Then, just try it!!!” he said and sprinted towards me.

I then teleported behind him and whispered, “[Lightning Bolt].”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” [Taurus] reacted after his whole right arm got electrocuted together with his [weapon].

“[Honoka]!” I called.

“I’ll…definitely win!” she replied and transformed into a katana on my left hand.

“Raiki!!!” [Taurus] screamed furiously and smashed his hammer towards me.

I then bended my knees and [Honoka]’s blade got enveloped by fire.

“[Flame Thrust]!” I shouted and in an instant, I flew towards his [weapon].

*crack*

“Impossible!!!” [Taurus] reacted with a surprised expression.

“[Honoka]’s blade pierced through his hammer?” Ciana and Iwa reacted with surprised expressions.

I delivered all of my attacks at this same spot and finally pierced through on his invincible hammer!

“Your [weapon] is tough on the outside but…how about inside?” I asked and gave him a smile.

“Darn it!!!” [Taurus] shouted furiously.

“[Flame Burst]!!!!!” I yelled.

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

“Why you!” [Taurus] shouted and swung his [weapon] like a bat, making me flew straight up.

(Raiki, watch out!)

[Rock Blast]!” he said and a big rock got fired towards me.

“[Wheel Blade]!!!”

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOM*

Both attacks cancelled out each other so [Taurus] prepared to fire a [Rock Blast] again.

“It’s useless! [Flame Thrust]!” I said and [Honoka] delivered me to his hammer in an instant.

*crack*

After the blade pierced through his [weapon] again, I muttered, “With this, it’s the end!”

“No!!!” [Taurus] shouted in despair.

“[Flame Burst]!!!!!!”I screamed.

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

When the smoke lifted, his [weapon] transformed back at his side’s stand-by area, making me the winner of this [soldier challenge].

“We did it!” I said happily and jumped around.

“Raiki!” Ciana yelled as all of them ran towards me. “We did it!”

“Yeah!” I happily responded.

“You really are strong, Raiki,” [Taurus] said after stopping before me.

The three girls then went behind me and gave me a smile.

“You defeated me completely. Congratulations,” [Taurus] said with seriousness and handed a small chest.

I then opened it and saw a similar silver ring to the [Archer Ring] but with a different design.

“It’s the proof of your victory, the [Bull Ring]. With that symbol, you can now go to the next empire and challenge [Scorpio],” [Taurus] continued.

“Thanks,” I said and placed it on my left middle finger. With the [Archer Ring] on my index finger, I now have two [empire symbols].

“I hate how fearless you are but my policy is to accept the attitude of strong ones. But remember this: Arrogance will only bring you to destruction. Accept the fact that anything can happen in a battle so no matter whom you face, don’t let arrogance bring you to the path of losing,” [Taurus] said to me and made a smile at the end, making me a little surprised.

“I’ll...remember that,” I said, still with a surprised face and gave him a smile afterwards.

“Chen…” [Taurus] continued with a sudden serious look and faced Honoka’s master.

“What is it, Sir?” Chen asked.

“I won’t force you to become a soldier anymore. Do what you want from now on. That’s what I promised after all.”

“Thank you very much!” Chen replied with a bow. “But I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?” [Taurus] asked with a slight surprised face.

“Can you join us eat dinner? We’re gonna have a feast at the slums to celebrate Raiki’s victory,” Chen asked with a smile.

[Taurus] then smiled and replied, “Suit yourself.”

“[Taurus]...” I replied, changing my impression on him.

[Taurus] then turned around and said, “Anyway, Raiki, [Scorpio] is much stronger than me but don’t you dare lose miserably. You’re now carrying my symbol so the least you can do is to become a high-rank soldier!”

“Affirmative!” I responded with conviction.

After defeating God [Taurus], I am now a 5th class soldier. I’ll become much stronger so I can become a high-rank soldier and win the upcoming [Deity Tournament].