I'll kill you after I finish this game!

Esther held onto Razer's large hand tightly, her fair and delicate brows furrowed slightly. The atmosphere here was quite noisy, and she couldn't understand why Razer had come here.

"Well, just bear with it." Rezhe patted Esther's little head beside him, and the smooth touch made him stroke it a little longer. He sighed and said, "After all, I didn't expect that there was still a little idiot who didn't go up, and I had to worry about sending him up."

Are there still idiots who haven't gone up? Who is it that makes Reiji care so much?

Esther was unaware of this and silently followed the other person in search of them.

A minute later, Reiji also stopped with Esther, looking helplessly at a baby-faced samurai in front of them.

The other person's face, which was more delicate than a woman's, was now filled with helplessness and sorrow. His samurai attire made him look rather petite, which was looked down upon by the burly samurai around him.

"Yo~"

Lei Zhe stepped forward, patted the other person on the shoulder, and signaled to start a conversation.

"Oh? Is there something you need?"

The boy shuddered, completely unaware that someone was approaching from behind and patting his shoulder, causing him to unconsciously shift his hand slightly towards the katana at his waist.

But when he turned around and saw a man and a woman behind him who seemed harmless, he breathed a sigh of relief, though he was also surprised inside.

A strong feeling arose in my heart, after all, the samurai boy's strength was inversely proportional to his harmless appearance.

The fact that someone could approach him without him noticing their presence naturally makes him think that such a person is very strong.

Reiji and Esther looked at the samurai-dressed boy in front of them. Reiji raised his hand, smiled, and pointed in a direction above his head, saying, "Are you going there?"

"...yes."

Upon hearing this, the young samurai looked up at the enormous, suspended city, then lowered his head and sighed helplessly, saying with a hint of resentment and disappointment:

"I originally wanted to ask those Onmyoji to take me up, since I can't fly, but those people were demanding exorbitant prices, and I didn't have enough money to get them to do their job."

The reason for coming here is naturally to participate in the Imperial Martial Arts Tournament. Before that, we need to find a way to ascend to the Sky City, but there are many people who have the strength but cannot fly.

This young samurai was one of them. He was very interested in participating in the imperial duel, but he was stopped at the first stage.

He felt resentful, resentful that he was eliminated before even going.

However, the Onmyoji who could take people up there were raising their prices, which troubled the young man.

If possible, he would prefer to ask some monsters to take him up there, but monsters would definitely be targeted if they dared to fly over the capital, so that wouldn't work.

"So, would you like to come up with us?"

Lei Zhe felt somewhat helpless. The person in front of him was his "Prince," a being endowed with divinity.

Unexpectedly, the other party was stumped here, so I came here specifically to help them out and tell them to hurry up and participate in the imperial martial arts competition.

Seeing the samurai youth in front of him slightly surprised by his invitation, Rai Zhe waved his hand and offered a price he didn't seem to care about, saying, "As a price, how about you protect us for a while with your martial arts skills after we go up? Samurai brother."

"...Is that alright?" The young samurai was tempted; the price was indeed quite reasonable.

The person in front of him may have other motives, but he is willing to do anything as long as he can be taken along. It is just an invitation to be hired as a bodyguard for a period of time.

Moreover, if the person in front of me dares to say that, then he must have the ability to climb up there.

"Of course you can. Although you can't fly, I feel your combat strength is not too bad. That giant city up there has at least a hundred floors. It certainly won't be easy for you to get through it."

Lei Zhe said this, after all, the suspended city he prepared contained many monsters, and there were some that could clean up the surface.

He said this to dispel the suspicions of the young samurai in front of him. After all, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and helping others for no reason may arouse their suspicion.

This reasonable explanation was accepted by the young samurai before him. He looked up at the enormous city, nodded, and smiled as he replied:

“I have agreed. So you will be my lord for the time being. My sword will be your aid until the imperial duel begins. My name is Mibu.”

As he spoke, the gentle, smiling man in front of him extended his hand to Lei Zhe and introduced himself.

"Mibu Sojiro, thank you for your help. And please tell me your name, my temporary lord."

————!

Instantly, both Reiji and Esther felt a chilling blade appear before their eyes, and their skin stung.

Esther, as the sword spirit goddess, slightly raised her eyebrows, feeling that she had been provoked.

The person in front of her was a skilled swordsman, Esther sensed, and she also felt the imposing aura of a young swordsman emanating from him.

Although the chill was fleeting, Reiji smiled inwardly, reached out and grasped the hand of the samurai boy before him, Mibu Soujiro, and said meaningfully:

"You are a fine sword. Just call me Taiyi, Donghuang Taiyi. This lady beside me is my sister, Esther, who can also be considered my shikigami."

"Sigh! A shikigami? I really couldn't tell."

Mibu Soujiro looked at the delicate and lovely Esther with some surprise. Her snow-silver hair was very similar to the symbol of the Fiend Moon Clan, but her eyes were not crimson, nor did she have the ominous aura of the Fiend Moon Clan.

However, it gave Mibu Sojiro an indescribable feeling, a feeling that made him want to draw his sword from the girl in front of him.

Even though she was just a woman, he didn't know why he had this impulse.

"Let's not talk about that now. Let's get you up there first. You're going to participate in the Imperial Martial Arts Tournament in a month, right? It would be best if we set off now."

Lei Zhe spoke casually, wanting only to throw this idiot swordsman up as soon as possible. After waving his hand casually, ignoring the shocked gazes of those around him, a huge golden vortex door appeared behind him.

Then, before Mibu Sojiro's wide-eyed eyes, a golden flying boat slowly appeared from the golden spatial portal.

The golden hull is approximately ten meters long, with emerald wings on either side and a prominent throne in the center. This radiant "ship," made of gold and emeralds, is capable of soaring through the sky.

The surrounding crowd erupted in excitement upon seeing such a luxurious ship.

"What?! Is that a ship?!"

"Holy crap, could it all be made of gold?!"

"There's absolutely no mistake, those strange wings are emeralds! That's so damn luxurious!"

The surrounding crowd of samurai and even Onmyoji stared wide-eyed at the suddenly appearing golden spaceship in disbelief.

No wonder they were so shocked; anyone with eyes could see that this ship was incredibly luxurious.

It would be strange if using gold for the hull and emeralds for those strange wings didn't attract attention.

There is absolutely no other flying ship in the world as magnificent and dazzling as this; such an exquisitely crafted ship is simply breathtaking.

"Let's go, Sojiro, don't just stand there."

Reiji pulled Esther onto the Vimana, while urging the somewhat bewildered Mibu Sojiro, who seemed to have never seen anything like it before, to hurry up and get on the boat.

"Ah, here it comes!"

Mibu Sojiro immediately thought of the incredibly luxurious ship in front of him, the one that was meant to take him flying into the sky. Although he was amazed by the ship's extravagant construction, he still jumped on immediately.

Amidst the bewildered, then gradually astonished gazes of those around him, Vimana began to slowly ascend into the air.

So this ship isn't just gorgeous, it can actually fly!?

Realizing this, those around him immediately became envious and anxious, rushing over to try and hitch a ride, while anxiously calling out to Vimana as he ascended into the air, trying to make him stop.

"Hey! Sir, could you give us a ride? I'm willing to pay!"

"Stop flying, give us a ride!"

"..."

Lei Zhe completely ignored the noise from the people below. He found even a glance at those clueless idiots who wanted to pay for a ride an eyesore.

Putting aside the fact that he doesn't need money, he's traveling on such a huge gold spaceship. Do you think someone like that would be short of money?

It increased its speed immediately, breaking the sound barrier in an instant. The explosive sound wave blew away some people who wanted to jump up below, causing them serious injuries.

"so amazing."

Even at this speed, and in vertical flight, Mibu Sojiro felt as if he were walking on flat ground, standing very steadily without feeling any impact.

This magical ship seems to be filled with a strange force, making it difficult to fall off if you are fixed on it. Moreover, in terms of flight angle, even if the ship flies upside down, it will feel like walking on flat ground.

The ship, flying in disregard of the laws of physics, quickly approached the enormous city nestled among clouds tens of thousands of meters high. At one end of the rapidly floating clouds, the azure sky was revealed.

A deep blue that seemed to penetrate everything.

Among them, the most conspicuous suspended city also showed its enormous presence. Mibu Sojiro looked up at this huge city, which seemed like a miracle and was dozens of times taller than the mountains.

The giant city nestled in the clouds resembles a tower, both tall and massive.

"Mr. Taiyi, has no one flown directly to the top from here?"

Mibu Sojiro knew that there were many special beings who could fly. Could someone fly directly from the outside to the top of such a huge city?

Hearing this, Reiji, who was sitting on the throne holding Esther, curled his lip, pointed in another direction with a hint of disdain, raised his chin, and said:

"Isn't there a self-righteous monster?"

Upon hearing this, Mibu Sojiro immediately looked over and narrowed his eyes to see a monster flying in from another direction. The monster was wearing a tengu mask and had black wings like crows on its back, making it look exactly like a Japanese crow tengu.

The opponent, wielding a golden Zen staff-sword, intended to fly directly from the outside of the giant city to the very top.

There are quite a few self-righteous fools like this, but if victory can be achieved through trickery, then such a victory is truly cheap and despicable.

A strange distortion began to occur in front of the tengu flying straight to the top, a rule that could subvert the normal laws of physics unfolding.

The tengu, which was originally able to fly, suddenly felt that its wings could no longer provide it with the convenience of flight.

It's not that we've forgotten how to fly, but rather that beyond this distance, this space lacks any concepts like 'floating' or 'flying' that would allow us to continue upwards.

It's more troublesome than the so-called no-fly zone, because even spatial movement can't break through this distance.

So, the tengu fell to the ground in a sorry state, flapping its wings.

"You idiot."

"They're just trying to be clever and making a fool of themselves."

"Crow Tengu? I think he just has a dog's brain."

The various monsters that slowly flew into the Sky City saw this scene and immediately let out a mocking laugh.

This made the Tengu even more ashamed and angry. He brandished his Zen sword, unleashing his demonic power, and launched an attack on the demon who had mocked him.

The flying yokai were locked in a fierce battle, blocking Reiji and his companions' path. Seeing this, Mibu Soujiro gripped the hilt of his sword and looked at Reiji, saying:

"Mr. Taiyi, should we kill these guys?"

"No need, why waste time on these pathetic things?"

Rezhe shook his head, loosened his grip on Esther's arm, and then gently tapped the armrest of the throne beneath him.

An opening appeared beneath the Vimana airship, and a silvery, missile-like object burst forth with immense magical power, spewing forth flames.