Second Arc: Dragon God's First Trial

A voice rang in Percy's head." Why do you not choose a weapon? Hehehe, I can provide one." Percy shook his head." Most weapons cannot bear my power. Ordinary swords shatter under my power. I require weapons that can release my brute strength, like my fists. My ideal weapon, that would be a heavy sword, capable of cutting down an army with a single strike! Meant for close combat!" the dragon god chuckled."why?to kill all your enemies?" Percy shook his head. So that I can stand with my loved ones and friends behind me and protect them even if an army were to come forward!". The dragon god laughed with delight." Trial challenger, I can feel the problem you have with weapons. So I grant you this weapon, a quasi divine weapon, used by a tyrant more than fifteen thousand years ago. This is the sword the last king of snow song city used! The Overlord colossal sword!" in Percy's hands an enormous sword appeared. He almost dropped it. The dragon god chuckled." It weighs exactly 1950 kilograms! With your strength, you should be able to use it!"

This was a dry and barren highland. Gazing outwards, the surroundings were full of steep-sloped mountains which pierced into the sea of clouds. The encircling mountain range surrounded the area, turning this place into an inescapable and isolated land, where even half of the emitted light-rays were blocked.

Percy, who passed through the 'Gate' of Trial and entered this place, looked at the surroundings, and frowned. The platform he was standing on was very small. It was so small that he was even able to see the extreme ends of the platform in his current position. The length of the platform was not more than a quarter of a kilometer, and its width was barely a hundred meters. The surroundings were all mountains, so there were basically no roads to walk on. And, all the mountain peaks were seemingly hidden within the clouds; even if one were to think of climbing to the top of one of them, it was absolutely impossible to do so.

"Release… me…"

Piper, who was in his embrace, emitted out a frail voice, and even her right arm, the only limb she could freely move, was making a slight struggle. Percy knew she was not used to it, or, to be exact, she absolutely hated contact with men. He knelt down, took out a light pink-colored blanket and laid it on the floor. After that, he placed Piper onto it, and said gently, "You don't have to worry. Unless it is absolutely necessary, I will not casually touch you. Currently, we have already entered the Dragon God's trial grounds. No matter if you're willing or not, our current destinies, are already completely connected. If we were to successfully pass this trial, both of us will be able to live, and even obtain tremendous benefits. If we were to fail… then both of us will die."

"But, before our failure, you must definitely not possess the thought of dying, and work hard to keep yourself alive, alright? Because this is not a trial of mine alone, rather, it's a trial belonging to the both of us, and it relates to both of our destinies. I hope that you can give me strength and give yourself hope… Hope of not just being able to live on, but having a complete recovery of your profound veins and meridians, and even directly breaking into Level Eight Warrior!"

Since young, Piper had the qualifications to reach the absolute top, and no one of the same age was able to stand against her. She had not yet become middle-aged, but was already a half-step away from the Level Eight Warrior. She basically spent most of her life being admired and looked up to. She was used to standing on heights where no one would even dream of, and mightily, pridefully, look down on others… But now, like a little girl being coaxed, she was being comforted by Percy. She was neither used to it, nor was she able to explain the sort of feeling she currently felt. She closed her eyes, and did not give any other reply, but the thought of death in her heart, had already silently disappeared a long while ago.

"You actually took my blanket and gave it to another girl. Aren't you afraid that I will get angry?" Artemis said a little grumpily.

"Artemis, you have such a big heart, so you will definitely not fuss over such a small matter. Once I return to Hope City, I will definitely buy you a better one."

Artemis snorted coldly. "Hmph! We can talk about that again once you're able to return to the Hope City with your life intact. You actually insisted on bringing this woman into the trial grounds. I really don't know what you're thinking! Not only will the difficulty increase, you will definitely be distracted because of her… This is the Dragon God's trial! Its level of difficulty, is something impossible for you to imagine! In my current state, I can't use even an ounce of my strength, you're on your own."

Artemis's voice was filled with bitterness. In her eyes, Percy's decision of bringing Piper into the trial grounds was undoubtedly a death-seeking move. But with her understanding of Percy's personality in the Three years she had been with him, this move of his, was not the least bit unexpected to her.

In the skies above, the Primordial Azure Dragon's voice suddenly resounded:

"Welcome to the Dragon God's trial grounds, two young humans. In this trial, there will be a total of three stages. Where you two are now, is where the first stage will be held. In front of you, is the only entrance to where the second stage will be held. Defeat all the Stone Dragon Warriors in this place, and the entrance will naturally open… I wish you two best of luck."

As the Primordial Azure Dragon's voice disappeared, in front of Percy, two balls of dirt-yellow light suddenly started to flash… Percy quickly took a step forward, and with his two hands, he wielded the Overlord's Colossal Sword horizontally in front of him.

The yellow light scattered, and two figures appeared before Percy's eyes. Their bodies were no different from an average person, but they seemed to be carved from stone, and looked unbelievably firm. Their heads looked half-human, and half-dragon. They were holding onto a stone spear on one hand and a stone shield on the other, as their pairs of expressionless eyes firmly locked onto Percy.

Are these the Stone Dragon Warriors the Primordial Azure Dragon spoke of? Percy's alertness in his heart rose, but immediately after, his heart calmed. Because, he did not feel any trace of intimidation from the aura of strength emitted out from the two Stone Dragon Warriors.

"Their strength is probably at the Seventh Level Warrior, same as you." Artemis said.

The two Stone Dragon Warriors had already begun to move as charged straight towards Percy. Their bodies were seemingly heavy, as their running steps were exceptionally deafening.

Facing enemies of the same level at the same time, to an average practitioner, was indeed very difficult. However, to Percy, it was fundamentally not the least bit intimidating. Because he, who possessed Two great divine abilities in a single body, could completely eliminate opponents of the same level in an instant.

Percy waited for the two Stone Dragon Warriors to approach, and swept his sword… which, was even longer than the spears the Stone Dragon Warriors were holding. When the first Stone Dragon Warrior had only just raised its spear and took up an attacking posture, Percy's sword had already smashed onto the stone spear, instantly breaking it into pieces. Then, without any loss of momentum, his sword broke into its waist… However, even at this point, there was no sign of the force behind the sword decreasing, as it continued to sweep across the air, smashing into the body of the second Stone Dragon Warrior.

The shattered bodies of the two Stone Dragon Warriors laid on the floor and then, disappeared completely in a flash of light.

Percy had only swung once… and in only a single breath's time, he destroyed two Stone Dragon Warriors and a stone spear. It's completely not exaggerated to say that, in the entire younger generation within Hope city, it was impossible to find a second person, at the same level as Percy, who was capable of doing this.

After instantly defeating two opponents of the same level, Percy did not relax because of this. This was the Dragon God's trial, so how could it be this easy? If the difficulty of the trial was only at this level, then it would not make sense for all of the previous hundred and twenty nine people who took the trial to lose their lives.

Ziiiiing~

Not even three breaths' time after Percy defeated the two Stone Dragon Warriors, in front of him, four yellow balls of light suddenly started to flash, and right after, four Stone Dragon Warriors, with exactly the same figures as the ones before, held up their spears as they charged towards Percy.

Although the number was increased to four, the strength of these Stone Dragon Warriors did not change and was still at the same level as Percy, the Level Seven Warrior. Percy took a step forward; his heavy sword swept across like a dragon's tail, and with a loud bang, the four Stone Dragon Warriors which weighed at least several hundred kilos were sent flying far away. When they landed, all four of them shattered into countless pieces.

Four Stone Dragon Warriors, were still instantly eliminated. The tyranny and the attack range of a heavy sword, was something a longspear could never compare to.

Without even giving Percy time to wait, after the four shattered Stone Dragon Warriors disappeared, the yellow rays of light once again flashed in front of Percy, and this time, there were eight of them.

Eight Stone Dragon Warriors appeared in a single line in front of Percy. Even with these numbers, Percy was still not afraid. Without waiting for the Stone Dragon Warriors to attack, he took the initiative to rush towards them and swept his heavy sword across with more strength than before.

BANG BANG BANG!

Three Stone Dragon Warriors had only just appeared, but their heads had already turned into rubble, falling upright onto the ground. At this moment, three spears came thrusting towards Percy from his sides. Without even looking at them, Percy swept his sword, then three stone spears were instantly destroyed, and the airwave brought about by the sweep forced the remaining five Stone Dragon Warriors to retreat. Right after, he sped forward and slashed three times. Three heavy bangs resounded, and the five Stone Dragon Warriors shattered one after another… In this entire process, not only were the eight Stone Dragon Warriors not able to touch Percy, they were not even able to approach within three steps from him.

At this moment, in Percy's mind, Artemis's warning sounded. "Don't attack them so ferociously. Try to limit your profound energy usage as much as possible. Haven't you noticed that the number of these Stone Dragon Warriors double in every subsequent wave? In the last few waves, there will be definitely even more of them!"

"I know." Percy nodded. The first wave had two, the second wave had four, and the third wave had eight. Following this pattern, the next wave will definitely have sixteen of them, and the next wave after that will have thirty-two, and then sixty-four…

"Fighting against opponents of the same level, and even a dozen of them at the same time, if it was someone else, it will definitely be despair. But to me… even if a hundred of them were to come at the same time, I will still be able to kill them all without even leaving a single one!" Percy said solemnly.

As he was saying that, yellow light once again flashed in front of him, and eight new Stone Dragon Warriors appeared.

Mn? Eight of them? Why are there only eight? Is eight actually the limit? In his heart, Percy was a little surprised. When he was about to head forward to attack, suddenly, he felt something was wrong… Because the auras of these Stone Dragon Warriors were not only present in front of him, but he could faintly feel them behind him as well.

He stopped his tracks and quickly turned about. He was shocked to see eight spear-wielding Stone Dragon Warriors appearing at the back as well, and they were currently charging towards the Piper, who was laid on the floor.

"You're courting death!"

Enraged, Percy ran back at lightning speed. Like a dragon, a swing of his sword brought about a windstorm, pushing back all of the Stone Dragon Warriors approaching Piper, and then, he quickly headed to Piper's side. But this time, he did not dare to take the initiative to take them head on. Rather, he stood by Piper's side, and destroyed the Stone Dragon Warriors that charged towards them one after another… But, before he could finish dealing with the ones in front of him, the eight Stone Dragon Warriors behind came charging towards them together. They seemed to have came to know of Percy's weakness, as all of their longspears thrusted towards Piper, who had been laid on the floor.

Attacks coming from his front and back; to Percy, they were a small matter. But Piper was in the midst of danger, so he could not afford the slightest negligence; as with Piper's current state, she could die at any time. And currently, there were only sixteen Stone Dragon Warriors, yet there would be even more in each subsequent wave. If she was going to lay on the ground the entire time while he simply stood guard her by her side, it was simply impossible to ensure her safety.

Percy thus made a decision. He wildly brandished his heavy sword, drawing a pale-black full moon around his body, which forced all of the Stone Dragon Warriors to retreat about six meters away. Then, he released his left hand from the sword handle, and wielded it with only his right hand. He brought Piper up with his left arm, and tightly held onto her against his shoulder. Then, he plunged into the group of Stone Dragon Warriors; wherever his heavy sword was swung, shattered rocks would fly.

"Are you crazy!?" Percy's action completely stunned Artemis as she exclaimed. "You're actually wielding your heavy sword with a single hand… This will cause your strength to fall twice as fast! By carrying her, not only will it increase your stamina depletion rate, it will also affect your movements, and cause you to be constantly distracted… If you don't wish to die here, hurry and throw her aside and then control your energy consumption."

"I can't do that!" Percy said unhesitatingly. "You can call me an idiot and even call me conceited, but I will never put her down… If you were in her place, I would never throw you aside either!"

As he said that, Percy's heavy sword had already swung out six crescents, shattering all of the sixteen Stone Dragon Warriors.

Artemis: "…"

Percy's words stabbed into one of Artemis's many nerves, and she no longer said anything.

Within this period of time, the fifth wave of Stone Dragon Warriors were summoned. A total of thirty-two Stone Dragon Warriors appeared in a circling formation and surrounded Percy.

"Don't… care about me…" Piper had always been awake and she clearly understood the current predicament. She, who was pressed against on Percy's shoulder, slightly struggled.

Percy turned a deaf ear on her, and wielding his sword with a single hand, he engaged the incoming Stone Dragon Warriors. His sword swinging speed naturally decreased, as he was wielding a one thousand nine hundred and fifty kilo heavy sword with a single hand; however, it was still as ferocious and tyrannical as before. Each one of his swings were huge and wide, bringing about the whistling of the wind as the sword sliced through the air, causing the destruction of the Stone Dragon Warriors one after another before they could even approach him.

The sounds of exploding stone continued without rest. Although he was wielding the heavy sword with a single hand, although he was hugging onto and protecting someone with his left arm, these thirty-two Stone Dragon Warriors still did not threaten Percy. In less than two minutes, under Percy's dozens of continuous swings with his heavy sword, they all turned into shattered rocks on the ground.

But, the fifth wave, was still not the end. Immediately after, the sixth wave of Stone Dragon Warriors appeared before Percy, and this time, there were sixty-four of them!

Looking at the sixty-four Stone Dragon Warriors encircling him, Percy took a deep breath as the hand he was using to wield the sword unconsciously tightened. The Blood of Poseidon was able to give him complete mastery over the control of heavy swords, but it definitely did not mean it could allow him to ignore the weight of the heavy swords themselves. Holding a heavy sword with a single hand was unwise to begin with, and after eliminating the fifth wave of Stone Dragon Warriors, his right hand had already begun to feel numb.

Boom… Boom…

The sixty-four Stone Dragon Warriors started running together and the ground they ran on shook with every step they take. Percy growled, raised his sword and plunged into the crowd of Stone Dragon Warriors which just doubled in numbers. He charged. He clashed. His heavy sword was swung to the left. And then, it was swept to the right. Over and over again. The enemies were swept away one after another, and their bodies shattered one after another… Right here and now, he who had Piper in his embrace, was extremely glad that he chose a heavy sword as his weapon back then. Because, when heavily surrounded, the only weapon that would allow one to fearlessly sweep in all directions like now, was only the heavy sword! The only weapon that could allow one to embrace a person, and protect her from the slightest bit of harm, was only the heavy sword! The only weapon that could easily shatter these Stone Dragon Warriors, whose hard and sturdy bodies could hardly be harmed by any other weapons, was also only the heavy sword!

The advantages of a heavy sword, in a battle like this, were thoroughly displayed. Percy absolutely believed that if he was currently wielding a light sword in his hand, he would not be able to move effortlessly in this encirclement of many Stone Dragon Warriors, and he would not be able to protect Piper this perfectly.

But at the same time these advantages were being displayed, the disadvantages were slowly revealing themselves as well.

Boom…

Bang…

Boom… Boom….

With another set of tyrannical brandishing with the heavy sword, the sixth wave of Stone Dragon Warriors had turned into rubble as well. And the time taken, was exactly four times the time he had taken to finish the fifth wave.

Percy stabbed his heavy sword into the ground as he finally began to pant. Under Artemis's "command", Percy had carried the heaviest rock he could bear on his back and in his arms, so as to get used to its weight. However, no matter how one gets used to it, it definitely did not mean that it could be be completely ignored. Because that weight of a thousand nine hundred and fifty kilos, will always be there. It will neither decrease, nor will it disappear.

The sixth wave, was still not the end.

Ziiing… Ziiiing…

A large number of yellow rays of light flashed around Percy, and the figures of an exact total of a hundred and twenty-eight Stone Dragon Warriors appeared. And these Stone Dragon Warriors had undergone changes as well. Their weapons were no longer just longspears; at the back, there were Stone Dragon Warriors who decided to discard their shields, and were wielding two longswords and two longblades.

"More than a hundred of them… Facing more than a hundred enemies of the same level at the same time, and even after a large consumption of energy, how the hell could this be a trial? It's basically abuse! This should probably be the last wave, I guess."

Percy thought as such. His initial ragged breathing had already calmed down after he regulated it. He threw a Phoenix Pellet into his mouth, and adjusted his left shoulder so he could tighten his hold on Piper by a little bit. He then pulled out the heavy sword from the ground with a single hand, and pointed it to the front.

The fierce battle between a one-handed person and a hundred warriors, thus began.

The Stone Dragon Warriors wielding longswords and longblades were not only different weapon-wise; even their movement speed was evidently faster than the Stone Dragon Warriors wielding spears. They rushed towards the front, and silhouettes of swords and blades enveloped Percy… Until now, what Percy was really consoled about, was that these Stone Dragon Warriors did not possess any long-ranged profound skills. Under the swings of his heavy sword, they were not able to approach him, which also meant that basically, they were not able to harm him and Piper. Otherwise, their predicament would undoubtedly be several times more difficult.

However, the condition for this situation to persist was for him to maintain the frequency of his swings. But with the combination of his increasing energy consumption and increasing sense of fatigue in his arm, the speed of his heavy sword swings, and their level of ferociousness, were evidently falling. This also lead to even bigger openings and flaws after his every swing.

Bang bang bang…

In a series of explosions, five Stone Dragon Warriors that came to attack together were sent flying with a crescent swing of the heavy sword. But because of the gradually piling exhaustion from exerting his strength, when Percy was withdrawing his sword, his posture suddenly became unbalanced for a moment, so the longspear of a Stone Dragon Warrior came thrusting from his side and ruthlessly pierced into Percy's waist.

Blood splattered out, and the Stone Dragon Warrior's spear-tip was instantly broken as well. With a protective veil of profound energy on the exterior, and adding the hardness brought about by the Flow Like Silk, although this thrust did cause a bit of blood to spill, it did not bring about any serious damage. However, it was enough to allow Percy to feel a heavier sense of danger.

"Haah!"

The nearby Stone Dragon Warriors were smashed with a single swing of Percy's sword. He then suddenly flung his right arm and threw the heavy sword in the air. Right after, he quickly and gently moved Piper to the right and held her tightly with her right arm. His left hand grabbed onto the descending heavy sword, and with a single swing, it brought about a howl that was similar to the roar of a furious dragon…

With the swapping of arms, the numbness in his right arm finally eased up by a little. Although he could not wield the heavy sword as freely with his left arm, the frequency of his swings and the power behind them slightly increased. However, the energy exhausting rate, was also evidently faster than when he wielded it with his right arm.

The Stone Dragon Warriors swarmed together towards Percy, and they shattered together by him as well. If these were not Stone Dragon Warriors, but actual living human beings, Percy's entire body definitely would have already been dyed in fresh blood.

His left arm then began to feel heavier, gradually reaching the point of unsustainability. He once again returned the heavy sword to his right hand, which had eased up slightly from the numbness, and continued the close quarter combat.

The amount of time he took to clear this wave, to him, was very much longer than the previous wave, to the point where he did not even know the total amount of time he used. When the final Stone Dragon Warrior was destroyed, only heavy panting came out from his mouth. When he finally stabbed his heavy sword into the ground, and when his right hand left its handle, that sense of relief, was basically as if he was soaring into the heavens.

"Hu… hu… hu…"

Percy's entire face was flushed red; he was panting extremely severely, and the hot beads of sweat on his forehead were so fine that they looked like raindrops. Piper, who was hooped before his chest, could clearly feel the shivering arm hugging onto her.

Ziiing~~~

Not even three breaths' time after Percy let go of his heavy sword did an even larger number of yellow light flash around him. These rays of light caused Percy's ragged breathing to abruptly stop. He forcefully raised his head, abruptly stopped the shuddering of his right arm, and firmly gripped onto the hilt of the heavy sword.

The eighth wave… two hundred and fifty-six Stone Dragon Warriors!

This trial could no longer be described as "difficult", but extremely brutal, and as brutal as hell. Within this brutality, not only did one have to face enemies with the same profound level, and not only did one have to face twice as many enemies after exhausting a large amount of energy, the most frightening thing was that the time between the clearing of a wave and the appearance of the next wave, did not even reach five breaths of time…

It completely did not give the person taking the trial any time for a breather and recover… or even the chance to heal his injuries!

With the appearance of these Stone Dragon Warriors, Percy's hand had returned to the heavy sword's handle. His expression was calm, but his pupils had evidently shrank a little.

There was actually… another wave!

The crowd of Stone Dragon Warriors that appeared charged towards Percy with uniform movements. Percy looked beyond the group, and at the back of the group, he was shocked to see Stone Dragon Warriors whose bodies were entangled with long metal chains, in which ball-shaped stone hammers were suspended at both ends of each metal chain.

Those are… meteor hammers!

The Stone Dragon Warriors swarmed over with their overwhelming numbers like a huge wave that tried to drown Percy within it. Percy's heavy sword was swept back and forth across the crowd of Stone Dragon Warriors but currently, his heavy sword felt particularly heavy. Every single time he swung, he was seemingly required to use his full strength. The Stone Dragon Warriors at the front of the crowd were falling one after another, while the Stone Dragon Warriors carrying the meteor hammers at the back were also quickly approaching.

Swish… Swish… Swish…

Five to six meteor hammers flew towards Percy and Piper, who was in his embrace, from different directions.

Every single time Percy swung his heavy sword, he would always be able to tyrannically blast away the surrounding enemies, and prevent them from approaching too close. But attacks with the meteor hammers basically did not need the users to approach their enemies. These Stone Dragon Warriors were standing about six meters away, but the thrown meteor hammers were enough to accurately crash towards Percy. And, these meteor hammers also came from above, so when he was attacking the Stone Dragon Warriors, he basically could not sweep his sword towards the meteor hammers. If he were to sweep his swords towards these meteor hammers, he would be unable to sweep towards the surrounding Stone Dragon Warriors in time, which would cause them to approach too close…

To Percy, the addition of these meteor hammer warriors were undoubtedly a nightmare within a nightmare. He could not help but use the Moon God's Moonlight Flash to move and cut through the crowd of Stone Dragon Warriors. But, because of this, no matter his energy consumption, attacking efficiency, or the number of dangerous elements, all of them had greatly increased.

Swish… Swish… Swish… Swish… Swish… Swish…

More and more Stone Dragon hammer wielders were charging over, and the meteor hammers flying towards Percy were becoming more concentrated, to the point where, in every moment, there were at least dozens of meteor hammers pounding towards him from different directions. He continuously moved and dodged, and once again, moved and dodged. He basically did not have the chance to retaliate…

Bang!

A good number of meteor hammers smashed together, creating dazzling sparks. Percy leaped high into the air, and when he was the highest point, dozens of meteor hammers came flying over. Percy took a deep breath, and used Moonlight Flash to descend instantly, but when he landed, his right leg stepped on a fist-sized rock… In these type of situations, it usually would not have affected Percy in the slightest, but currently, because of the heavy consumption of energy, and with his mind strained, it was enough to influence his balance… His body leaned towards the left as he landed, and he staggered a distance of two steps… And this opening, was easily caught by Stone Dragon Warriors on his left, for three longblades came cleaving down ferociously at Piper's position.

The approaching blade waves caused Percy to forcefully raise his head. But currently, he already had no time left to retreat, nor did he have the time to use his heavy sword to block them. Watching the trajectory of the three incoming longblades, Percy straightened his left arm, which was holding onto Piper, at lightning speed, and took the three stone blades head on…

Sss…

Three stone blades cut onto Percy's left arm at the same time. The sounds of the impact allowed Percy to know that, not only did the three blades cut into his flesh, they even cut into his bones. Percy's eyes widened. With a loud roar, he used his profound energy to push out the stone blades cutting into his bones. He wildly swung his heavy sword, smashing away all of the Stone Dragon Warriors that approached him. This sweep was exceptionally ferocious; although he was able to sweep away all of the surrounding Stone Dragon Warriors, it also revealed a large enough opening. A meteor hammer suddenly flew over, and with a loud bonk, it smashed into Percy's head.

Percy's mind was currently shaking as his vision became a field of white. He quickly bit the tip of his tongue to recover his calm… But this split second of dizziness in this heavy encirclement, was enough to cause him his life.

Swish…Swish… Swish… Swish… Swish…

The moment his vision cleared up, he heard piercing sounds come from close proximity; a total of seven meteor hammers were currently flying over… Without even thinking about it, Percy instantly took a lowered body stance, and at the same time, used his two hands to firmly embrace Piper.

BANG BANG BANG…

Seven meteor hammers struck Percy's back at the same time, immediately smashing Percy onto the ground. Percy's complexion paled as a large mouthful of blood welled up and gushed out of his mouth. He did not stand up. While releasing a roar similar to that of a wild beast's, a huge ripple spread from him into the ground and the surrounding dragon warriors.' Bring all of Creation to Ruin! Earthshaker!'

The ground shook, and all the warriors shuddered and shattered. He rarely used Earthshaker, which had a large radius, because the consumption of this move was enormous. Within a short period of time, he could only use this ability once, and once used, he would definitely be close to total burnout. Hence, this was his final trump card. In the predicament earlier, he had no choice but to use it… Right now, he could only pray that the eighth wave was the last wave.

Since the eighth wave was already terrifying to this degree, it's impossible for a ninth wave to appear, right…

Unless, this Primordial Azure Dragon was simply just a crazed beast that liked to toy and deliberately murder the challengers taking its trial!

As the EarthShaker's ripple slowly extinguished, more than two hundred Stone Dragon Warriors were shattered as they broke and fell into pieces along with their weapons. Peace returned to the area once again as only Percy's heavy gasps for breath and the "drip" sounds from the fall of his sweat and blood could be heard.

With a "boom", the heavy sword fell onto the ground. With great effort, Percy straightened his back to allow Piper to lean on his shoulder. "Are you alright? Are you injured?"

Piper was unharmed. Let alone injured, those creatures couldn't even touch her. Looking at Percy's pale face, she knew clearly that if it hadn't been for Percy protecting her, he wouldn't have been injured at all, and the two hundred or more Stone Dragon Warriors from before wouldn't have almost pushed him to the edge.

"Your… hands…" Piper mumbled with difficulty.

Percy's left hand was in unbearable pain. Although he could barely embrace Piper, wielding the heavy sword was already impossible. He shook his head and laughed effortlessly, "I'm fine, their blades are made of stones and are blunt. I'd only received some superficial injuries."

"Let me go… or else… you will die!" Piper's voice was cold and weak. Although her body was crippled and her aura was weak, her five senses were fine. The sound of the three swords cutting into bone had rang by her ears just now, so how could she not have heard it clearly?

After popping an Intermediate Profound Recovering Pellet into his mouth, he reached for some ointment and spread it across his wounds on his left arm. Without the body strengthening from the Blood of Poseidon, his left arm would've definitely been chopped into pieces. Upon hearing what Piper had said, he shook his head. "Unless I'm dead, I will never abandon you. Don't think yourself as a burden. In this situation, the will to protect you is my greatest motivation to move on. Besides, haven't we already managed to pass? This trial's first stage, we should have already…"

Before he finish his sentenced, a large wave of Stone Dragon Warriors…. larger than the one previously, appeared after a bright flash of yellow light.

Dragon God Trial's first stage, ninth wave… five hundred and twelve Stone Dragon Warriors!

Percy's voice stopped there, as he was unable to continue saying a single word. His hand pointing downwards, he grabbed at the heavy sword's hilt, pulling the heavy sword that had sunk in from the ground again.

Within his line of sight, there were twice the number of Stone Dragon Warriors as before, and there were even more than the total of the previous eight waves…. If this wasn't a delusion, then it was a nightmare; a well and true nightmare.

Amongst these Stone Dragon Warriors, the ones in front held broadswords, swords, and spears, while those at the back no longer wielded meteor hammers. What they held in their hands were obviously especially massive longbows!

Stone Dragon Archers!

Bows and arrows that could shoot further and were a bigger menace than the meteor hammer!

"…..Piper, can you tell me….. if you regret coming with me now?" Percy asked as he embraced Piper, supported himself up with the heavy sword, and watched the streaming group of Stone Dragon Warriors closed in.

The surrounding noises informed Piper of the unfavourable situation they were currently in. She had already lost track of how many years it had been, but she had never felt anyone better than her. But at that moment, when hearing Percy's voice, she couldn't muster the strength to reject him no matter what. Within the footsteps that cause the ground to shudder, her weak voice slowly spread:

" No….I…..Don't.….."

"Piper..…." Percy recited softly. Then, he started smiling, "then if you truly do not regret it then I shall not let you die!"

Piper: "…"

"Now that it has reached to this point, I'm already unable to tell if this is a trial or a completely unsurpassable trap." Percy lifted the heavy sword, and pointed it at the Stone Dragon Warriors that had reached a distance within fifteen meters from them, "But, whether it's me or you, we can't die for nothing here….. I won't die, nor will I let you die…. So, you'll have to use your strength to… give me strength!"

"Haah!"

With a loud roar, Percy's aura went berserk in a split second; his gaze grew extremely blood-thirsty and the blood in his body frantically boiled. His spirit, willpower, conviction, and soul also seemed to come ablaze all at once….. In these two lives, the number of dangerous situations he'd encountered had been too many to count; the number of impossible situations, had also been far too many. But the formation in front of his eyes that made men despair, made his heart palpitate….. But the reason for this throbbing was all because of Piper; throwing away the need to protect Piper, a flame ignited in his heart with unexpected slivers of excitement.

A sort of twisted excitement rose in his soul after encountering countless thrilling impasses…

"Come as much as you want… No matter how many that come, I'll kill them all!"

Percy gave a low growl, and after releasing the "Earthshaker", a berserk energy that came from somewhere unknown, was produced once again from his originally exhausted body. He didn't retreat. Rather, he hugged Piper tight and rushed into the massive procession of Stone Dragon Warriors.

Bang!

In a swoop, an entire four Stone Dragon Warriors were sent flying.

Boom!

Another strike, and five more Stone Dragon Warriors were chopped into ten segments, and even a section of Stone Dragon Warriors in the rear were knocked down.

He, who should clearly have been exhausted, was currently actually wielding his sword even faster than before, and his strength had actually grown more ferocious. His heavy sword was like the Death God's scythe that did not stop rotating as it crazily reaped the lives of many Stone Dragon Warriors.

Artemis, who was within his Inner World, felt a burst of shock. She was the clearest on Percy's body state. How could he, who previously could not even hold the heavy sword steadily, suddenly explode with this force that far outmatched his previous output. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she delicately perceived Percy's current condition. Her small face revealed shock, and her shock also expanded subsequently.

This wave of energy was actually from his willpower; it was actually squeezed out forcefully from his vitality!

Artemis had no way of knowing how exactly he managed this; to have extracted strength from his life force. It was unknown what a gigantic amount of willpower and perseverance it would take to achieve this, but she was clear that this would have incomparably severe consequences….. Because Percy's current actions, was clearly using up his life crazily! The most direct consequence would be that his lifespan would reduce greatly, and after today, he would fall gravely ill and if lucky, he would even be completely powerless for as long as months without being able to leave the bed. But if he was unlucky, all his bodily functions and organs would fail and never recover.

The current Percy, was just like an enraged lion rushing into a flock of sheep. Wherever he rushed to, large piles of carcasses would be left behind.

The skies were filled with piercing sounds and a large volley of arrows spread through the skies as a large range of arrows rained down.

Swoosh…..

Percy's right arm was shot by three arrows.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh…..

Percy's back was hit by another three arrows, and amongst them, one of these arrows dangerously hit the vital center of his back.

Reaching this sort of impossible situation and facing more than five hundred Stone Dragon Warriors, Percy made the most correct, as well as the most crazy decision; that was to concentrate mostly on his attack, and as for defense, it basically stopped at Piper. Because the faster he killed, the less pressure there would be. Traveling through the enemy ranks, he crazily chopped and cleared the Stone Dragon Warriors like a hurricane rushing through fallen leaves. The sounds of roars, crashes and explosions were ear-splitting, yet they never ceased.

Before two minutes had even passed, Percy had already been hit by twelve arrows, pierced by twelve spears, and hacked at by nine swords and thirteen blades at his back, shoulder and chest. More and more wounds opened up, and following his violent actions, these wounds no longer just bled, but were continually gushing blood. Horrifyingly, his shirt had long been completely dyed red by his blood.

The greatest threat to Percy was undoubtedly the Stone Dragon Archers in the rear. The wounds on Percy's body were mostly the outcome of trying to escape lethal attacks from the arrows. These Stone Dragon Archers were also the most critical targets to be killed. However, there were layers after layers of Stone Dragon Warriors, and he was inhibited from directly rushing to the Stone Dragon Archers. Out of all the profound skills he had, the one that could attack the furthest, was the Divine Sea Tsunami… but the Divine Sea Tsunami's consumption was far too large. If he really used it, he would be completely spent through and through.

He had to dispose of these Stone Dragon Archers. If he didn't, and continued to get injured this way, he would die before killing all the Stone Dragon Warriors here…..

Fixating his gaze on the Stone Dragon Warriors outside, Percy's gaze grew more and more solemn. On the surface of his body, a sea breeze began to swirl and the air trembled with vibrations. Suddenly, his eyes flashed, and the vibrations on his body all rushed towards his heavy sword. Following which, along with the brandishing of his heavy sword, the vibration was flung out far away.

Scree~~

In its wake, a resonant Dragon Roar sounded and an enormous Sea Dragon flew from Percy's heavy sword. Passing through the Stone Dragon Warriors' carcasses, it fell sixty five meters away in the middle of the pack of Stone Dragon Archers, and then exploded; in the Shaking space, a dozen or so Stone Dragon Archers were sent exploding into the sky as their bodies smashed into powder in midair.

"He….. He went as far as to merge the Sea Gods Vibrations into the Heavy Sword Slash fundamental formula… to give rise to a profound skill that combines the heavy sword with Poseidons Power over the waves!" Artemis blurted out in surprise from within his Inner World, and then mumbled, "To actually combine the two divine arts that normal people might never be able to fully grasp in their lifetimes, and to do so in under this nearly impossible situation, and to be successful on the first try… How much of a monstrous perception does he possess!"

This was Percy's first self-made profound skill. Watching the dozen or so Stone Dragon Archers that had exploded, he mumbled this profound skill's name quietly…

"Wave Break!"

The Wave Break was a large-scale Vibration attack that was no different than the EarthShaker. Although it had a much smaller range, it could attack from a long distance and its consumption was much less in comparison. The corners of Percy's mouth lifted. A wave of energy that came from who knows where, yet again welled up throughout his body and ignited the brandished heavy sword. He flung out a Roaring Dragon that gave off a low roar one after another. These Sea Dragons rushed close to the Stone Dragon Warrior's body and flew to the Stone Dragon Archers far away, exterminating wave after wave of Stone Dragon Archers that were originally already not many in number.

As the injuries on his body grew more and more severe, the blood that had flowed out from his body had unknowingly become a third of the total amount of blood in his body. His clothes had been completely dyed and a large portion of Piper's clothes were also dyed red, yet his expression was terrifyingly calm. His movements were still fierce and it was as if he completely did not feel any pain, let alone know that his body had already sustained so many horrifying injuries.

Him squeezing out his life, was also squeezing at his limits. Where his limit was located… perhaps even he himself did not know.

This almost miraculous profound skill that was self-made by fusion, became a light of hope to the Percy who was in despair. His focus of attack switched to the far away Stone Dragon Archers; following the brandishing of the heavy sword, the close by Stone Dragon Warriors were blown away. What's more, the Dragon shaped Ripples that were shot flying out also blew up the Stone Dragon Archers one by one.

Percy's resounding roars, the heavy sword's howling, the rumbling collisions, and dragon's low Roars weaved into a dreadful sonata in this isolated valley. Percy's vision gradually grew hazy. His body almost became entirely numb, to the extent that he almost could not feel the existence of his arm. But his right arm that tightly gripped the heavy sword, still continued to swing mechanically. After a few tens of Dragon Roars, all of the Stone Dragon Archers fell, and more than half of the Stone Dragon Warriors that had numbered over five hundred also fell at this time. Nevertheless, the dancing of the heavy sword still did not stop, and made the numbers of fallen Stone Dragon Warriors higher and higher… Three hundred…. Four hundred…. Five hundred….

Boom!

Following the sounds of an explosion, the earth broke apart. Mustering up the last of his strength, Percy attacked. All the Stone Dragon Warriors were blown far away, and a fifteen meter radius void of nothingness instantly appeared around Percy. After this blow, Percy was finally going to black out as he knelt down… If it weren't for the heavy sword's support, he would have already collapsed to the ground. However, in his left arm, he still tightly held onto Piper… His entire arm was covered in more than twenty blade, sword, spear and arrow injuries. His arm was blood red and there was essentially no area that was left unscathed. Piper, who was under the protection of this arm, did not suffer any injuries although her clothes had been stained red with fresh blood.

Under the Percy's last strike, the group of the Stone Dragon Warriors that was likewise the last, fell. The breath he had held on to with all his might, also exhausted along with the falling motion of his body. Let alone standing up, he couldn't even heavily pant. Even though his eyes were open, he could only see a field of white…

Even he himself could not believe that he actually trudged through this ninth wave of Stone Dragon Warriors. However, he was already incapable of remembering how he did it.

Crunch…

A burst of heavy sounds came from his front and made him subconsciously raise his head. In the midst of his blurry vision, he saw one Stone Dragon Warrior that fell down from his last attack, actually slowly stood up. It then wielded its spear, and pierced toward him at a running pace.

There was… one more…

Percy's teeth viciously bit onto the tip of his tongue as he abruptly lifted his body…. However, his current body felt as if it weighed millions of kilos; under all his strength, not only did he fail to stand up, it also instigated an acute and heart-drilling pain in his entire body instead. It was simply impossible for him to lift the heavy sword; even nudging it was an impossibility.

The Stone Dragon Warrior was already a foot away as it came piercing in a straight line…. He had already killed an entire nine waves of Stone Dragon Warriors, which amounted to over a thousand. But this last one, instead, became a turbulent river that was seemingly impossible to cross.

If this spear strike was pierced toward Percy, it was quite possible for it to directly take Percy's life. However, it aligned the head of its spear, at Piper.

The stone spear that stabbed toward Piper, heavily touched a certain very sensitive nerve of Percy's. With strength that he mustered from who knows where, his left hand shot out like a bolt of lightning, and firmly gripped onto the spear's tip. His right hand grasped into a fist, and violently smashed out. With a heavy sound, it directly smashed through the Stone Dragon Warrior's chest.

With a 'bam' sound, the Stone Dragon Warrior heavily crashed down onto the ground. Percy's vision also went black once again, and he couldn't even keep his kneeling posture. After letting out a wheeze, he fell onto the ground facing upwards.

His entire being had already turned into a bloodied person through and through. Countless wounds and bloody holes dispersed throughout his entire body. Even he himself didn't expect that after receiving so many injuries, losing so much blood, and even exhausting his life on top of that, he was actually still alive.

No wonder all the previous challengers had died here… Percy closed his eyes and let out a powerlessly bitter laugh. This was only the trial's first stage and it had not even ended yet. Even though Percy had the aid of several divine skills and god's secret arts, he was already in such a predicament. If it were anyone else, he might not even pass the fourth wave or even just the third wave. The later stages were definitely a nightmare or abyss that became scarier and scarier.

Is this really just a trial? How could there be such a scary trial in this world… This trial, compared to the Battle Qi Institute Trial, was not just ten times more difficult. It was at least a hundred or even a thousand times more difficult…

"Percy… Percy!" Piper shouted gently, but did not get a response from Percy.

Suddenly, the voice of the Primordial Azure Dragon rang from above.

"Very good, young human. The fact that you were able to reach this stage is already an unimaginable miracle. If it weren't for the lady by your side, this trial would be several times simpler; at least you would not be in such a desperate situation. However, the first stage of the trial has not yet been completed. The last wave, which is also the most difficult challenge, is going to start soon. But before that, I will give you sixty breaths of time of rest… No, with your injuries, this sixty breaths might not help you rest properly, and might instead even worsen your injuries, causing you to lose more life force… Everything, will be decided by your own fortune."

Percy laid down on the floor motionless. Even though his eyes were open, they were lifeless, as though he had not heard the Primordial Azure Dragon's voice. Just as his consciousness was about to fade into stillness, Artemis's voice seemed like a wake-up call, shocking him back to life.

"If you do not want to die, hurry up and use water to stabilize your injuries!"

Percy's eyes sprang back to life as his body slightly moved. A small water bag floated out from his inner world space and exploded over him. In just less than ten breaths of time, all the bleeding on his body had stopped.

"Piper, don't worry. I'm fine…" While stabilizing his own breathing, Percy turned around and revealed a smile to Piper to comfort her: "You also heard it just now… There's only one wave left… Victory, is just before our eyes. W… We, will definitely endure through this together!"

"If… it weren't for me, you… at least… would only suffer some slight injuries… At least, you would still have thirty percent of your strength left… to deal with the next trial… You're… really… stupid…."

"Haha…." Percy started to laugh. This laugh, instantly affected the countless wounds on his body, and made the muscles on his face intensely cramp from pain: "Since I've already been stupid for so long, then let me be stupid till the end. But you definitely cannot say such words like leaving you behind anymore. Otherwise, wouldn't I have suffered all these wounds on my body for nothing."

Sixty breaths of time silently passed.

At this time, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the mountain cliffs directly in front of him. Along with the sound, a gate that was near ten meters in height suddenly opened in the mountain cliff. Within the mountain gate, a towering silhouette slowly walked out with heavy steps. As it fully walked out, the stone gate behind him also closed amidst the rumbling sound.

This silhouette's outer shape was very similar to the Stone Dragon Warriors, however, it was much bigger than an ordinary Stone Dragon Warrior. Its body was over three meters, and its entire body was covered in thick and heavy golden colored armor; the weapon in its hands was more so extraordinarily eye-catching… That was a colossal sword with a completely grey body, and was even a size larger than the Overlord's Colossal Sword in Percy's hands. The sword's shape was twisted, as if it was an oddly shaped dragon bone. As for the sword's tip, it impressively displayed the shape of a ferocious roaring dragon.

Whether it was this enormous Stone Dragon Warrior, or the sword in its hand, both emitted an extremely terrifying aura… An aura that was even more terrifying than the five hundred Stone Dragon Warriors that appeared altogether at the same time.

The last trial of the first stage of the Dragon God Trial, only had one opponent — Stone Dragon General!

A.N.: my plan had been a 10K chapter. But this is what you get. Well the next battle is a major boss battle! Hope you guys enjoy!