"Quick Shot War Art… Fusion Form." William said with determination. "Blitzer Railgun!"
William's body merged with the wooden staff, before it shot towards the center of the Heavenly Gate at a speed that broke the sound barrier.
The Celestial Soldiers that were deployed a kilometer away from the Heavenly Gate were completely caught off guard by William's unexpected move that they were unable to do anything to stop him.
When William was only a hundred meters away from the Heavenly Gate, several Celestial Warriors wearing gray armor flew into the air and collided with him. A resounding clap ensued and the Gray Knights were pushed back by the collision, sending them flying in different directions.
The wooden staff continued its flight towards the Heavenly Gate, but its acceleration had greatly diminished. It was then when a Black Celestial Knight flew towards him holding a golden shield.
A loud crackling sound reverberated in the air as the wooden staff and the golden shield collided. The red-headed boy's form appeared in front of the golden knight with a stream of blood oozing from the side of his lips.
However, William didn't falter, he stepped on the head of the Knight and used it as a stepping stone to jump forward.
The Heavenly gate was only a few dozen meters away from him and he took this opportunity to propel himself to it.
Suddenly, another Black Knight appeared. This time, it grew in size like a giant and used its hand to swat the Half-Elf like a fly.
As the hand descended, William raised his staff to face it head on.
"Magnum Burst!" William roared as he executed the very first multi-purpose skill he had used since he acquired the Shepherd Job Class. The small wooden staff nullified the force of the hand and pushed it back, along with the Giant Knight, due to its 'Knockback Effect'.
'Three, two…' William counted inside his head. 'One!'
William aimed his wooden staff at the Gate and prayed that he would make it in time.
'Quick Shot War Art, Fusion Form,' William yelled internally. 'Blitzer Rail-Gaaah!'
A Crimson Knight suddenly appeared in front of William and unleashed a Battle Aura that caused a powerful gust of wind that blew William away, injuring him, and preventing him from finishing his move.
The Crimson Knight then unsheathed his blade and flew towards William. His intention was to cut William in half to end his life, and bring his soul back to the Cycle of Reincarnation.
The Half-Elf couldn't see the Heavenly Gate from his vantage point because he got disoriented by the Crimson Knight's surprise attack. In the end, William pointed his wooden staff in the direction opposite of where the Knight was coming from and shouted.
"Blitzer-Railgun!"
The red-headed boy shot out like a blur, dodging the Crimson Knight's attack that would have sliced him in half.
A few seconds later, an explosion was heard a few miles away from the Heavenly Gate. The Crimson Knight gazed at the cloud of smoke rising in the distance and sheathed his weapon back to his scabbard. Frankly, the Crimson Knight felt admiration for the boy because the Half-Elf almost succeeded in his plan. If he was only a second late, the boy would have definitely passed through the gate due to his unexpected display of skill.
----
William's body, which was covered in injuries, laid in the center of a ten-meter-deep crater. The impact he received during the collision with the knights had broken several bones in his body. His desperate struggle to escape from the Crimson Knight had succeeded. However, the injuries he sustained in his emergency landing worsened those injuries.
Right now, William was paralyzed because his spine had received significant injury due to the force of his landing. Fortunately it didn't snap, but he was currently in very bad shape.
William had his eyes closed, but his senses were still active. It was then when he felt two familiar presences approaching him, which made him sigh in relief.
"Oink! Are you still alive, Boy?" Zhu asked as he tapped William's face with his hand. "Sha, I think the boy is dead. Can I eat him?"
William couldn't raise his arms, but he still managed to raise his middle finger to prove that he was still alive.
Zhu pretended to not see the injured boy's attempt to prevent himself from getting eaten. Sha, on the other hand, just shook his head and sat beside the fallen boy.
"You almost did it, Kid," Sha said. His voice was laced with respect and admiration because this was the first time he had seen someone almost clear the Trial in less than a minute.
William sighed internally as he endured the pain that was wracking his body. The red-headed boy was not new to pain. He had suffered many times in the past and the pain he was feeling now was just second nature to him.
Since he couldn't move his body, the Shepherd decided to sleep in order to recover from his exhaustion. Soon, a loud snore escaped from William's lips, startling the Pig Demon and the Sand Demon by his side.
Zhu and Sha, who were watching over the boy, glanced at each other in surprise. They never thought that the boy would be able to sleep in his current state, let alone snore at the same time!
"What a weirdo. Oink!" Zhu gasped. "Bro, are you sure I can't eat him? Looking at him annoys me right now."
Sha snorted as he gazed at the Heavenly Gate in the distance. His eyes narrowed into slits as a possibility crossed his mind.
-----
"That was so close!" Lily waved her hands and stomped her foot in frustration. "If that annoying Crimson Knight hadn't interfered, William would have cleared the trial!"
(A/N: Crimson Knights are equivalent to the Saint Rank in mortal standards. If we are going to compare the Rank to those of Beasts, he would be in between the Millennial and Myriad Beast Rank Categories. The rule of thumb is that Saints will always be weaker than Myriad Beasts if they fought one on one.)
Issei and David both sighed at the same time. Both of them agreed with Lily. Even David was surprised by William's ingenuity to create the Fusion Art. Basically, the Quick Shot Shepherd Job Class allowed William to create his own skills, as long as they were within the scope of its limitations.
The First Skill that William Created when he defeated the Second Trial was the "Quick Shot War Art". This skill was inspired from the various War Arts that belonged to the Martial Classes. Since it was an acceptable skill, the laws of the Heavenly Trial approved of it.
The Fusion War Art was the last skill that William decided to create after winning against Zhu and Sha. He figured that using himself as Ammunition was a good alternative in order to surprise the defenders of the Heavenly Gate.
Of course, it also gave William excellent mobility during battles, and a good means of escape when things got out of hand. After all, very few beings could catch him if he traveled at the speed of sound.
-----
The Immortal Warriors that had watched William's battle had their mouths opened wide. They couldn't believe what they saw and some of them even wondered if they were capable of preventing the boy from passing through the gate if they were the ones in the position of the Celestial Knights.
The King grinned as a playful expression appeared on his face.
"Unexpected. Truly unexpected," the King said softly before drinking from the winecup in his hand. He sighed deeply in order to appreciate the taste of the Heavenly Wine made from the Immortal Peaches from the Garden of Xiwangmu.
'That trick will only work once.' The King thought as he glanced at the sleeping boy who was riddled with injuries. "What are you going to do next, Kid?'