City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

"You did not fail, Colonel," said Azalia, to the shock of the young man.

"I did not defeat the golems, General," the man said, confusion tightening his voice.

"Defeating them was never the purpose," Azalia replied. "Fighting them with integrity was. You and your men did exactly that."

We had never told him that we doubted victory was the true goal of the trial.

We had no wish to keep the truth from him; we simply could not give him an answer we had doubts about ourselves.

"The truth, Colonel, we were not completely sure about it ourselves. So, we selected the best person, whom we believe could accomplish both purposes." She added.

It eased his expressions.

"Thank you for the trust, General," he replied, to which she smiled. "Rest, Colonel. We will talk more when you recover."

He nodded and walked away. He is injured; there are many; thankfully, we have prepared healers.

Though we took his briefing, and when we heard it. Our eyes begin to shine.

"He learned two of the three aura methods in a single battle; he is really something," commented Garzong, and there was a deep regret in the man's eyes.

"We gained another top powerhouse," stated Azalia, and I smiled brightly.

He was very good, powerful. That barely anyone below Lv. 40 was his match. Except for those with aura methods, and now he could go against them as well.

He might defeat many of them given his talent, hard work, and those envious skills he has.

A few minutes later, most people left, and only Lord Silver and Azalia remained.

"General, prepare; we are going for the next trial," Silver said. It's time for me to step into the field. He thought, looking at the powerful golems, behind the sixty.

"We have seven days, my lord; we could wait. Plan for things," He shook his head.

"We have no new information, nor would we get it by waiting around. We have to fight, and this time, we have to win," Lord Silver replied and turned to the translated text in my hand.

Inheritance Trial Two: The Trial of Strength

Remember this: the inheritance was not left to conquer kingdoms, but for the day when kingdoms themselves would no longer matter.

When annihilation returns, armies will rise to meet it—but armies alone will not be enough.

Pillars of strength will be needed—those capable of standing against the greatest forces of annihilation.

Only those who can stand against the impossible are worthy of the Forgeband.

Prove your strength.

Defeat the Twin Wardens.

It's clear without a doubt that we have to win this challenge. It is a challenge of strength. We have seven days and only two chances to win it.

Only after winning will we gain command of the golems and gain entry to the building.

"Then we should not waste any time," she replied, and the next moment. She removed the saber hanging at her waist and handed it to Irab.

I willed the ring floating above my hand toward Zela, who took it in her hand, then I handed her my bag and the things in my pocket.

Artifacts aren't allowed in the challenge, so aren't potions or other things; only the enchanted weapons.

Jon did the same with half-artifice blades and a bag; he handed them to Garzong.

I looked at the weapon in my hand, the first one I used. The enchanted saber of my mother. However, it has now completely changed.

It now bears three powerful enchantments. Instead of two of medium power, but it's not the best weapon, I could use.

There are better enchanted blades in the arsenal, with even four enchantments that are a lot more powerful than this, which are limited by the material and making of the blade.

Still, I chose it because of the familiarity and emotional attachment.

Which I believe will give me a greater advantage than a slightly better enchanted blade would do.

I nodded, and three of us stepped through the screen.

Only Jon, General Azalia, and I will fight in the second trial. A mage would have helped, but I do not have one at Great Mage level.

Though I might get one very soon.

The challenge means I have to choose the best of my people, and these are the best. Jon is a stealthy and amazing fighter with extensive experience.

Most importantly, he has an aura and mastered aura methods. Also, given what could be inferred from fights with the golems, his ability with them is more essential than the other two.

General Azalia is not the best of our fighters, even among Lv. 40, but no one could compare to her group battle skills.

She is very good at fighting and leading it. It will be her who leads the battle, making her another essential person. As for me, I am here because I am the Lord.

I do not underestimate my power, but I am spare here. If we don't win with this attempt, I am going to replace myself with someone better.

We passed by the golems, and up close, they looked incredible and dangerous. Though not as dangerous as those two standing fifty meters behind them.

I turned to the two; they looked like a better version of a shield golem and aerial artillery.

I looked, shield one on the right is like the armored golems. It is larger than a shield golem, with a thicker, higher-quality shell. Holding a massive shield in one hand, while a huge spiked war hammer in the other.

The golem beside it just looked like a bigger, more intricate, and additionally dangerous version of the aerial artillery.

These are Grade VI golems; the S-class. Technically, they could fight against the Grand Mages and warriors of Lv. 50 and above. Very few possess weapons of such power.

They are a deadly combination; one could fight on the ground, while the other attacks through the air.

I already know the battle is going to be hard, but seeing these three-meter-long, huge golems. It would be even harder than I had thought.

When there were thirty meters to go, we stopped, and Azalia turned to me.

"My lord?" she said, and I nodded.

The next moment, I felt her skill. She used her skill Gift of Arms on me to copy one of my skills. I have excellent skills, not as envious as Orok, but envious enough.

She copied my Lightning Reflexes. It's a great skill that increases reaction speed.

With that, we move, taking each step carefully and stopping once more when we approach the twenty-meter line. The forgeband reacted when the troops crossed this line earlier.

"Ready?" asked Azalia. She is now in the middle with Jon on the left and me to her right.

She will be leading the battle; I have no problem with it. She is the best at it in the whole dominion.

Jon and I nodded.

With that, she took a step forward, and I followed behind, while Jon disappeared.

The moment we crossed, the golems activated.

They lit up, and the energy film appeared, covering them before they moved toward us.

The artillery golem went up, while the shield golem came at me at a speed faster than we had thought it capable of. Azalia and I looked at each other, and a moment later, our aura burst out.

This is our greatest power, and we have used it together after what happened in the last battle.

The power of Sap Pulse and Root Mind filled me, while twenty-four cyan blades of aura appeared around me. At the same time, another set of aura blades appeared; they were thinner, longer, and very red.

The color is the same shade as the fire that came from her artifact.

It is said that the artifacts affect the soul and the will. I do not believe it's a coincidence that her aura is of the same shade as the power of her artifact.

'Now!' she said, explaining the attack through emotion, which is another of her specialties.

It is far clearer than words.

My blades moved forward and mingled with hers. The combination of twenty-four went toward the armored golem, while another twenty-four went to the artillery golem.

The blades moved fast, reaching the golems within a moment. They did not react until they were almost reached, when they moved.

The hammer of the golem moved at incredible speed and caught the first blade, destroying it. The blade wasn't able to stop the massive hammer for even a fraction of a second, much less scratch it before it moved toward another blade.

It destroyed the second, third, and fourth, and most of the rest that came in its path.

Its massive shield stopped the few blades that avoided the hammer.

I turned to the artillery, which had launched intricate lances of royal violet, made of dense energy. They clashed against our aura blades and destroyed them.

Not a single one reached it. Between them, they have stopped every single blade.

The moment it did, a figure appeared behind it. Holding daggers covered in moon white, which were moving toward the artillery core, when a dense shield of royal violet appeared and stopped the blades.

Seeing that, I sighed internally. "I knew it wouldn't be easy defeating them, but it seemed like I had underestimated these things," I said, while the woman just smiled.

The next moment, aura blades covered our weapons.

Yes, it would be more difficult than we thought, but it makes no difference to our aim. We have to defeat this test, no matter how powerful they are.

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