"Really?" Uathach looked on with suspicion. Cú Chulainn was supporting himself on his knees, panting heavily. It had to be said that this man had an incredible amount of energy, and only now was he beginning to show signs of fatigue.
Asher's gaze had been focused on Cú Chulainn from beginning to end, a thoughtful expression on his face. Through his observations just now, he roughly understood why Shishou said Cú Chulainn was close to passing the trial.
"Ughhhhh!"
Cú Chulainn suddenly let out a beast-like roar. A kind of brilliant golden light seemed to surge from his head. His lips curled inward, his pupils widened, his calves and joints began to tremble, and red patterns grew on his face. At the same time, his legs and hands seemed to be covered by some kind of black armor, and even his skin began to turn dark. A light of irrational ferocity seemed to ignite in his red eyes.
Combat power overload. When a person's combat power is so strong that their body itself cannot support it, the shape of their body will change, also known as a berserk state.
The current Cú Chulainn had entered this berserk state. The only difference was that he still possessed his reason, clearly knowing what he was doing. The sun god Lugh had healed the weak Cú Chulainn in his childhood, and he had been bestowed with the blessing of the sun god by Lugh. At this moment, his combat power soared in an instant, and he did not lose his reason.
Cú Chulainn suddenly turned his head to look in Asher's direction, his lips spreading into a wild and uninhibited smile. "Watch closely, brat! It doesn't matter if your heart is restless, as long as you stick to your own path, it will definitely be right!"
Cú Chulainn took his first step forward, and the ground seemed to tremble. The flying insects and beasts in the forest fled in all directions.
In the next moment, Cú Chulainn moved. His speed was astonishingly fast, but when he sprinted to the middle of the bridge, the bridge began to flip again.
"Don't even think about it!!"
Cú Chulainn roared, his right leg exerting force, and he leaped up, landing steadily on the other side of the flipping bridge.
Then, he placed his other foot on the bridge surface, made a leap, and finally landed on the land at the end.
Asher's eyes slightly widened in understanding.
So it wasn't necessarily about being the same as everyone else, as long as you followed your own path. The advice of others could be listened to, but didn't necessarily have to be adopted... Cú Chulainn didn't listen to Scáthach's advice, but he still crossed the bridge.
"It's so hot!"
The spear that Cú Chulainn had given to Asher suddenly emitted an extremely high temperature. He subconsciously let go of the spear, which had changed as Cú Chulainn went berserk. Just as the spear slipped from his grasp, Cú Chulainn arrived in front of Asher and caught the spear.
Asher looked up. The red patterns on Cú Chulainn's body were slowly fading, and the somewhat terrifying spikes on his body also quietly disappeared.
"What exactly is the origin of this bridge? Why do I feel like something is being bestowed upon me after crossing it?" Cú Chulainn asked Scáthach.
Scáthach shook her head. "Regarding this, I'm also not clear. This bridge existed when I established the Land of Shadows. Perhaps it was created by a certain god, or perhaps it formed naturally. Only I and some gods can open this Trial Bridge. So far, you are the only disciple who has crossed it."
"Disciple... so, you crossed it a long time ago?" Cú Chulainn chuckled lightly and looked up. "In that case, is the trial complete?"
"Yes," Scáthach nodded. "You have clarified your own path. Just continue to follow your own path in the future. There's nothing more I can help you with."
"Is that so?" Cú Chulainn was silent, closing his eyes.
A moment later, he opened his eyes again.
"Are you leaving?" Asher asked calmly, but there was a hint of reluctance in his eyes.
In the past, they had trained together under Scáthach. Now that Cú Chulainn had crossed this bridge and truly completed his training, this departure would probably mean a long time before they could meet again.
"Yeah, I'm going to find that old geezer and make him keep his promise to betroth his daughter to me," Cú Chulainn looked towards the horizon. "And... my strength has reached a bottleneck. I need more experience to have a chance to improve. Leaving is inevitable."
As he finished speaking, he turned to look at Asher, gave a bright smile, and patted Asher's head. "Brat, the magic cauldron can only be an aid, but it can't make you rise to prominence easily. If you want to become stronger, you still have to rely on yourself more."
"See you in the future," Cú Chulainn said, shouldering his spear, waving his hand casually, and walked dashingly towards the setting sun.
"Brother Cú Chulainn," Asher called out, stopping Cú Chulainn.
Cú Chulainn halted, not turning back.
"If you ever have difficulties in the future, I will definitely help you," Asher said firmly, looking at Cú Chulainn.
Cú Chulainn was taken aback, then laughed. "Don't underestimate me too much, brat."
His smile faded slightly. "If I were to be saved by the current you, then I would be too weak, wouldn't I? If you want to help me, at least wait until you have the ability to pass the trial before spouting such big words."
Uathach frowned, glaring at Cú Chulainn with displeasure.
Could this guy not speak properly? Why was he saying such discouraging things to Asher for no good reason?
Cú Chulainn noticed Uathach's gaze but completely ignored it, continuing, "But you don't need to be discouraged. With Shishou here, she will definitely be able to train you into an excellent warrior."
"So, work hard."
Cú Chulainn waved his hand, his figure gradually disappearing into the sunset.
Just you wait, I'll definitely make you look at me in a new light later.
Watching Cú Chulainn's receding figure, Asher secretly made up his mind.
Then, Asher turned his head, gazing at the long arched bridge that had already disappeared in the distance.
"Ash, what are you thinking about?" Uathach asked curiously, blinking her watery eyes.
"I want to try it too," Asher said, his voice eager by the end.
After watching Cú Chulainn's trial, his desire to pass the final trial had become even stronger, because after passing the trial, there would be some mysterious blessing bestowed upon oneself, granting greater power.
"Now? Isn't it too early?" Uathach frowned.
"You can try," Scáthach said. "This bridge can last for about three more hours. If you want to try, you can warm up beforehand."
Asher nodded and turned to look at Uathach. "Big Sister, do you want to stay and try?"
Uathach recalled Cú Chulainn's miserable appearance of constantly falling into the water and quickly shook her head. "Forget it, I'm not interested. You try it yourself. Big Sister will watch you here."
"You come with me for a moment, Uathach," Scáthach glanced at Uathach.
"Why?!"
"Your training for today hasn't started yet. Since Asher is staying here to undergo the trial, you should also start training early."
"...No!"
"Ash, Ash, save me!" Uathach shouted as she was dragged away by Scáthach. Asher could only offer a helpless wry smile in return.
What else could he do? Go up and defeat Shishou to save her?
It was obviously unrealistic.
After watching Scáthach leave, Asher withdrew his gaze and turned his attention to the golden arched bridge before him.
Alright... he should try and see what was so special about this bridge.
He started walking onto the arched bridge.
"It doesn't seem to be anything special... apart from being quite steep and tiring to walk on, there's nothing particularly special about it," Asher muttered.
If he hadn't seen Cú Chulainn get the short end of the stick earlier, he probably would have thought this bridge was just an ordinary bridge.
"I remember brother Cú Chulainn reached the middle of the bridge before it started to flip..." Asher became more and more careful as he walked forward, afraid that the bridge would suddenly flip over.
One step... two steps... three steps... four steps...
The more Asher walked forward, the more surprised and uncertain his expression became.
What was going on? Why didn't the bridge flip over when he walked across it?
Unknowingly, Asher steadily leaped off the bridge and stood on the beach.
He turned his head to look at the golden arched bridge, his face showing an expression of utter astonishment.
He... passed just like that?
But why didn't he feel any blessing?
Asher quickly sensed that something was wrong. Logically, when passing the Trial Bridge, some kind of mysterious blessing should appear, but he didn't feel any blessing at all.
Whoosh!
An image suddenly flashed before his eyes. Asher's pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly retreated.
And in that instant, a sword landed in the spot where he had been standing.
Then, a clear female voice rang out.
"Who are you? Why have you appeared in our territory?"
The voice sounded clear and slightly youthful. When Asher heard this voice, he raised his head, and his gaze couldn't help but freeze on the girl before him.
Under a white spaghetti-strap dress, snow-white skin was exposed. Flowing golden hair was slightly lifted by the sea breeze. Her emerald green eyes seemed particularly bright even in the sunset, giving off a gentle and virtuous feeling of fragility.
But it was this seemingly delicate girl who was now holding a long sword, pointing it towards Asher.
"In any case, trespassing into my country is wrong. If you surrender now, I can consider lenient punishment."
"Of course, you can also choose to fight me—"
"I surrender," Before she could finish speaking, Asher raised his hands.
The golden-haired girl, or rather, the future Knight King Artoria, was stunned for a good while upon hearing Asher's words.
That was a very straightforward surrender, wasn't it?
-------------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter