Chapter 10

'' I'm willing ''

Radhan's words reverberated through the endless white space. A ferocious grin adorned his face as he waited for the trial to begin. 

The Rage God nodded his head and said '' Good, When I was alive, I had no equals when it came to my physical body, everyone and everything was subdued with these two fists, and my second trial will have you following in my footsteps, you'll only rely on the power of your physical body to fight against waves of enemies, Do you understand? ''

His words reminded Radhan of the endless battlefields he fought in the past, the bodies piled high to form mountains, death and decay, blood and piss permeating every inch of the battlefield he stepped into, the wars were not his but he fought anyway, his loyalty to the golden order at that time demanded that, but now… he isn't the Old General Radhan, he chooses what he fights for, willingly. The contrast between his old life and his new one was huge.

' If this is what it takes to find our mother faster, I'll do it. '

'' Yes, I understand. Shall we begin '' Radhan replied ending his train of thoughts.

The Remnant soul waved his hand and profound formation and a weapon rack, with different kinds of weapons, appeared on the floor '' You may choose a weapon to fight with. Once done you can step into the formation, it'll take you to the trial grounds ''

Radhan walked to the weapon rack and picked a one-meter-long saber then stepped into the formation and disappeared.

'' Hopefully, he'll inherit my full legacy… It has been too long… this remnant soul needs to rest.. ''

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In a flash Radhan appeared on an empty battlefield, armor, shields, and weapons were thrown haphazardly on the ground. The skies were red as if burning with fury at what had transpired here in the past, and the soil beneath his feet felt solid enough to withstand his power. He put the saber in his spatial ring and waited for the enemies to appear.

'' The second trial officially begins now '' With the arrival of the sound 8 figures appeared, they were tall reaching two meters in height. Their bodies were made of deep-red stone resembling blood, every one of them was in the same level as he was, the 7th level of the emperor realm.

Having observed his opponents enough, he didn't waste time and let them attack first, he stomped the ground hard and appeared before the first enemy, he lowered his stance and delivered a heavy punch to his midsection, effectively breaking the figure into two parts.

He didn't stop and immediately caught a spear that was thrown at him and flung it back at the opponent's head, ending it. The third attack came from his left with a punch heading straight to his head. He leisurely evaded the punch, then advanced, catching the opponent's face and slamming it hard to the ground, before jumping and engaging once again before no was left. What had transpired only took 10 seconds from start to finish.

'' The second wave '' came with the voice once again and 16 figures appeared, similar to the previous one.

' It's going to be a long day ' Radhan thought to himself, as he jumped into their fray once again.

Any of his punches would end an enemy, stones, and fragments were thrown in the air, and in no time he was the only one standing, he didn't feel the pressure and no one managed to land a hit on him. 

'' The third wave ''

This time 36 figures appeared, Radhan understood that the enemies would keep doubling in numbers each round, he didn't know how many waves would come but it didn't matter. He would end them all.

A long spear was hurtled at him, but he didn't panic and let it approach, once it was within one meter from his head he quickly caught it from the air and spun, redirecting it where it came from, the figures at the front raised their shield in defense but the force behind the spear was so big that it pierced through their shield and skewered everyone in its path. 

The soldiers had no emotions to care about their comrades, they stepped on the ground and advanced in red light streaks, in a moment they were on him once again weapon raised striking from all angles

Radhan didn't let their pressure affect him and took a step back appearing ten meters behind, his right arm muscles bulged, with veins squirming beneath his flesh as he struck the air in front of him, producing a shockwave, the pressure quickly moved to the soldiers and halted their advance.

One of them tried to take a step forward, but cracks started to appear on their bodies from head to bottom as he crumbled along the other soldiers to the ground.

'' The Forth wave ''

72 soldiers appeared again, this time with a bunch at the back carrying bows and arrows. They immediately took aim and flung their arrows at him, the projectiles sliced through the air toward him 

Radhan took a stance and struck the air once again, blowing the arrows back.

' The difficulty keeps increasing during each wave, not only through their number but also through the type of soldiers. I gotta end them quickly lest they annoy me too much '

He took a breath and inserted his hand through the hard soil beneath his feet and flipped the earth open revealing several irregular ball-shaped boulders weighting hundreds of kilograms, he picked one and flung it at the archers in the back. 

The rocks traveled at such a speed that the wind started howling along its path and struck deadly the rank of the archers, blowing several of them to bits.

The other soldiers weren't sitting still waiting to receive Radhan's attack. They ran quickly towards him and reached him in no time. Radhan picked several small rocks before they reached him and retreated while flinging them at the archers, reducing their numbers.

Having felt that he had done enough damage he advanced and quickly tore through the advancing ranks, explosions sounded as he collided directly against them, sending several of their figures flying through the air.

After a few minutes of intense fighting, there was no soldier left standing.

'' The Fifth wave ''

144 soldiers flashed into existence, this time they didn't wait for a second and advanced immediately, their steps left dust in their wake. Radhan began running in their direction as well and the moment they collided, stones were flung in every direction, then he was drowned in their midst. 

The sounds of Collison were heard as figures kept flying about, he stood in their middle, moving as fast as lighting, blocking, delivering punches and kicks, evading strikes aimed at his back. They couldn't step within one meter of him, and if they managed to step in they wouldn't know what hit them before exploding into bits.

Radhan perfected his art of war long ago when he led his soldiers from one battlefield to another. Having fought so many bloody wars his soul remembered every scar he once had, he was The Great General he was born to lead and fight on the frontlines.

The fight went on for a while, after half an hour dust settled revealing Radhan's dirt-smeared face, he was without injuries but his clothes weren't the same. As they were torn all over, he couldn't keep fighting like this so he quickly changed his clothes.

'' The sixth wave ''

288 soldiers appeared, and he once again continued to decimate them, after one hour he finished them with no injuries.

'' The seventh wave '' 

576 figures flashed into existence and engaged immediately… at this point, Radhan began to feel the pressure.. The fight went on for 2 hours.

'' The eighth wave '' 

Radhan was breathing heavily, he was covered in red dust and had a few wounds on his body. He dusted himself and looked at the front, as 1152 soldiers materialised in front of him. His face grimaced when he looked at their numbers

 ' i now understand why no one had managed to fully inherit the madman, this whole trial is a grave specially made to bury the participants, but if one starts something, he must finish it... I have to be fast '

Radhan's spatial ring flashed and two sabers appeared in his hands, he waved them a few times then ran toward their left flank where he spotted the ranks of unarmed soldiers.

He ran directly towards them, the central section and right flank moved in a half circle as they followed him from behind, intending to close all of his escape routes. 

But he was fast, way faster than them, he quickly tore through the left flank. His saber danced and tore dozens of soldiers, every time he swung a tearing wind followed and a large score of soldiers fell.

He kept advancing and thinin their number until he broke out from the encirclement and retreated further back, stopping once he was far away.

He took a deep breath and once they were close to reaching him, he jumped in their midst like lightning.

He continued advancing and retreating until their number reached five hundred, he used every tool he could find on the battlefield, if he found boulders, he would throw them at them, if he found spears he would fling them, tearing through their ranks.

War to Radhan is how you survive to the end, it doesn't matter what weapons you use as long as you end your opponent's life… and in front of him was a war of survival and strength.

After 5 hours of intense fighting without rest, he was the only one left standing. He was dirtied beyond belief, spears were stuck to his back, and a mixture of dust and blood was stuck on his open chest wounds.

He stuck his cracked sabers on the ground and breathed heavily waiting for the next wave to arrive.

'' You have two hours of rest before you face the last wave '' 

Radhan sighed as he sat down, propping up two healing pills in his mouth

' Fortunately he gave me some time to rest, I've been fighting for the whole day.

It's tough to fight relying only on my body strength… i don't think anyone can survive past the sixth wave, it's simply a death sentence.. i had been training my body since i was a little boy, but it can't go on like this. My chances of winning are slim, i think it's time for that… '

He closed his eyes, spread his will through every inch of his body, and tried to awaken the hidden strength inside his veins, it was now or never, he could die, two thousand emperor realm soldier, is something no one can face within the same stage relying only on the might of their bodies... 

he put enormous pressure on every cell, simulating them and putting them in danger. He felt his body heat rising, something deep within him started to wake up.

Cracks started to appear on his profound veins, as golden light flashed within them, he felt the surge of profound strength and allowed it to circle in his body.

At this moment his profound veins were entirely golden, and he felt his body shuddering trying to contain what was happening inside.

Suddenly he roared with all of his might, as golden light emitted from his eyes and his cracked skin, he felt his cultivation rising.

Ninth level of the emperor realm.. Tenth level… First stage of the Tyrant realm… second realm … third realm… seventh… eighth.. Ninth realm of The tyrant realm.

His increase didn't stop and he directly stepped into the Sovereign Realm 

First level.. Second level.. It kept increasing and only stopped when it reached the fifth level.

Everything went quiet as he circled his energy to stabilize his cultivation base.

He inspected his veins and felt that his powers awakened only partially and deep immeasurable strength was still hiding inside.

Two hours weren't enough for him to completely stabilize himself or heal his wounds but he knew that his body strength had transcended a high barrier.

'' This is the ninth and the last wave, do your best to survive… ''

Suddenly a light flashed hundreds of meters away from Radhan, the earth shook as 2304 soldiers, all of them in the emperor realm, took a step forward.

Radhan ferociously grinned at them, feeling his newfound strength, he crouched a bit low, his leg muscles tensed, and then he launched himself high toward the sky.

He felt the wind hitting his face and whipping his hair about as went past the clouds, he continued his flight until the temperature started to drop and his inertia stopped for a moment. There were no stars above him… it was a complete void… deathly silent… he enjoyed the quiet moment for a second then gravity got hold of him, bringing him back down.

He fell slowly at first, but his speed kept increasing ' it isn't enough to finish them i need more speed. '

He pushed the air with his legs producing a shockwave and felt himself breaking the sound barrier he kept pushing himself until heat started to generate due to air friction and he broke past the clouds, appearing several kilometers above the army he kept increasing his speed not paying attention to the damage he would suffer later on and dived towards them as a flaming meteorite.

* Boom!!! *

The earth exploded in a cloud of dust, cracks formed then spread for several kilometers, and the ground fragmented into rings and sunk for hundreds of meters below the surface. The whole trial space shook as the cracks kept spreading way beyond the observable horizon.

After a while, the dust hadn't settled down, and a burnt smell could faintly be smelled. It was a scene of total destruction. A tattered figure jumped through the dust and landed beside the edge of the hole. He turned back and looked down inside and said

'' This sure does bring back memories ''

After a moment of silence, the voice boomed through the trial space 

'' SECOND STAGE OF THE TRIAL CLEARED!! ''