Chapter 9: Kidnapping
In the reception room.
"I'm truly sorry, Curator Maia," Linley said humbly. "I really don't want to auction or exhibit this stone sculpture for now. But I can promise that if I ever decide to sell or display it in the future, I will definitely ask the Proxus Guild for help."
Curator Maia, leaning on his cane, smiled at Linley. "Oh, don't worry about it. My main purpose in coming this time wasn't to have your work exhibited at our guild—that was secondary. The most important thing was to meet the once-in-a-million-years genius of the sculpture world."
Just then, the hotel manager walked in.
The manager smiled apologetically at Chief Curator Maia, then looked at Linley and Yale. "Young Master Yale, Young Master Linley, a group of people from the Rhine Empire has arrived outside the hotel. They wish to meet with Young Master Linley."
"Haha." Curator Maia stood up with a laugh. "It seems you're quite busy right now, Linley. I won't disturb you any longer. I'll take my leave."
With that, Curator Maia led his subordinates out of the reception room.
Linley looked at the hotel manager. "Please help me turn them away. I don't want to meet anyone from the Four Empires or the Dark Alliance right now." Linley flatly refused all those who came to recruit him. He was very clear that if he met with representatives from the Four Empires or the Dark Alliance now, it might provoke strong dissatisfaction from the Radiant Church.
After all, even if he didn't agree to anything during the meeting, the Radiant Church's people weren't present, so they would naturally become suspicious.
Moreover, the Radiant Church's influence across the entire Yulan Continent was formidable, no weaker than any empire. Linley didn't necessarily need to join another empire or the Dark Alliance.
******
Three days later, inside the carriage heading to Fenlai City. Only Linley and Yale were in the carriage, while Reynolds and George had remained at the academy.
"Third brother, you were indeed wise. Over these past two or three days, people from the Four Empires and the Dark Alliance have all wanted to meet you," Yale said with a laugh. Those who came to see Linley were all local representatives of the Four Empires and the Dark Alliance handling certain affairs within the Holy Alliance.
None of those figures were major players. After all, news of a seventeen-year-old dual-element magus of the seventh rank would take quite some time to reach the Four Empires and the Dark Alliance, given the vast distances involved.
The representatives of other powers within the Holy Alliance had made their own decisions to come see Linley.
Unfortunately, they were all turned away by Linley.
"Yale, about that family called Lucas, which has been keeping my Baruch family's heirloom—if I want to get back the warblade 'Slaughterer' from them, is it really that difficult?" Linley was heading to Fenlai City this time precisely for this matter.
Yale nodded. "Yes. When I first told you in a hurry, I didn't pay much attention to this family. But now it seems the Lucas family is no ordinary one."
Linley nodded slightly.
Having kept his family's heirloom for several hundred years at least showed that this family wasn't a newly risen one.
"The Lucas family is a relatively ancient one, with nearly a thousand years of history. Although their wealth is only average within the entire Fenlai Kingdom, their influence among the nobility is immense. Most importantly... the head of the Lucas family is a very stubborn old man, and he's extremely fond of collecting. Your family's heirloom was the personal weapon of the first Dragonblood Warrior. Although no Dragonblood Warrior has appeared in over a thousand years, this weapon still carries great significance. Moreover, your family's weapon is worth at least several hundred thousand gold coins."
"But even with gold coins, given the stubbornness of the Lucas family head, it might be very difficult to get it."
Yale said with a sigh.
Some people couldn't be moved by gold coins alone.
"Linley, if I ask my second uncle to help, using our guild's network to put some pressure on that old stubborn man, the matter wouldn't be too difficult," Yale suggested.
Linley knew Yale meant well, but he really didn't like asking others for help.
"Let me try first. If I really can't manage it, I'll ask you for help, Big Brother Yale," Linley said with a smile.
Suddenly, Linley felt a stir beside his hip, and then Bebe's small body popped out from beside him. Bebe opened his bleary eyes, glanced at Yale, then looked at Linley. At the same time, he communicated through soul transmission: "Boss, this carriage is way too slow. I've already taken a nap, and we still haven't reached Fenlai City."
Linley scooped up Bebe. "Alright, stop fussing. We should be there soon."
Suddenly—
"Ah!" Several screams rang out, and the carriage came to an abrupt halt.
Linley and Yale, sitting inside the carriage, felt it lurch. Yale's face changed. "Not good."
"Please, Young Master Linley and Young Master Yale, come out," a slightly grating voice called from outside.
Linley and Yale exchanged a glance. The fact that the other party had trapped them without their noticing anything showed they were far stronger. Not wanting to resist unnecessarily, they stepped out of the carriage.
As soon as they got out, Linley and Yale's faces changed.
The two seventh-rank warrior guards had already fallen from their horses, blood pooling on the ground. Even the coachman had collapsed. The seventh-rank warriors hadn't even put up a fight before being killed, clearly demonstrating the overwhelming strength of their opponents.
"Young Masters Yale and Linley, we mean no harm. We only wish to invite Linley to come with us for a visit. As for Young Master Yale, we naturally won't harm you." Three men in green robes stood not far away, and the scar-faced man at the front spoke.
Though Yale was furious about the death of the seventh-rank warriors, he held back, recognizing the gap in their strength.
The scar-faced man smiled at Linley. "Linley, don't resist. My subordinates could easily capture you, let alone me. Right now, you just need to come with us obediently. Will you come willingly, or do we have to use force?"
Linley glanced at Yale beside him. He really didn't want to drag Yale into this.
"Third brother, don't go with them," Yale said urgently.
Linley understood clearly. These three experts were likely from either the Dark Alliance or one of the Four Empires. Given their strength, even if he and Bebe went all out, they probably wouldn't come out on top. Besides, since they were looking for him, they probably wanted him to join them—at least they wouldn't harm him.
"Alright, I'll go with you," Linley nodded.
The scar-faced man smiled. "Good. Young Master Yale, I hope you'll forget what just happened." He then signaled to the other two men with a glance. The two green-robed men quickly moved to Linley's side.
"Let's go," the scar-faced man ordered.
Linley, holding Bebe, began walking southeast under the escort of the two green-robed men.
"Boss, should I kill these two? The ones next to you—I'm confident I can take them out. But that scar-faced guy, I'm not so sure about," Bebe transmitted mentally.
Linley knew Bebe's instincts were very sharp.
He also deduced that the two beside him were likely eighth-rank warriors, while the scar-faced leader was probably a ninth-rank expert. Sending out a ninth-rank expert and two eighth-rank experts wasn't something an ordinary force could afford.
"Bebe, don't be impulsive," Linley stopped him.
"Why are there so many experts these days?" Linley thought helplessly.
Delin Cowart appeared beside him, glancing at Linley with a smile. "Your status and position are different now, so naturally, you're encountering different levels of experts. I told you long ago that on the Yulan Continent, reaching the seventh rank is only the threshold of the expert realm. In any of the Four Empires, Saint-level experts may be rare, but there are still dozens of ninth-rank experts. Sending one out for you isn't a big deal."
An empire or an alliance had populations of several hundred million.
Out of those hundreds of millions, only a few dozen were ninth-rank experts—roughly one in ten million. Ninth-rank experts were still extremely rare.
"Where are they taking me?" Linley asked Delin Cowart in confusion.
"If I'm not mistaken, these three are from the Dark Alliance, meaning the Dark Church. They're probably planning to enter the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts first, then travel south through it to reach the Dark Alliance's territory," Delin Cowart replied confidently.
Linley thought about it and agreed.
The Four Empires and the two alliances all had stationed troops along their borders, but the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts had no such garrisons. For magical beasts, ordinary troops were nothing but food.
To ordinary warriors, the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts was a dangerous place.
But to a ninth-rank expert and two eighth-rank experts, it was a clear path. As long as they didn't venture into the core area of the mountain range, they wouldn't face much danger.
******
At the site of the earlier battle, Yale looked at the three dead bodies, sighed, and began walking toward Fenlai City on foot. No sooner had he left than a black-clad figure suddenly appeared at the spot. The figure glanced in the direction Linley had been taken, then pulled a special black vertical flute from his bosom.
"Yoo~" A strange, piercing sound came from the flute.
The sound was very peculiar. If four people stood at four different directions from the flute, the person standing in the direction of Fenlai City would hear a sound a thousand times louder than the person in the opposite direction.
This flute focused almost all the sound waves in one direction. Moreover, the flute's message wasn't transmitted through sound but through a special kind of vibration.
……
Linley, holding Bebe, obediently followed the three men. The scar-faced man was quite satisfied with Linley's cooperation.
But when they were still two or three miles from the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, the scar-faced man's expression changed.
"Whoosh." The scar-faced man instantly retreated to Linley's side, then coldly scanned the surroundings. "Come out."
Immediately, six black-clad men appeared. The scar-faced man didn't pay much attention to them; instead, his gaze locked onto a figure in the distance. An old man in a black robe and another old man in linen clothes walked over from afar.
"Linley is a member of the Holy Alliance. How dare you, a 'Judge' of the Dark Church, try to seize someone from the Holy Alliance? Are you not taking our Radiant Church seriously?" the black-robed old man said coldly.
The scar-faced man chuckled. "I didn't expect to draw the Deputy Chief Inquisitor himself out in person. Oh, and you've even brought a 'Ascetic' along, along with the 'Deacons' of the Inquisition. It seems you value this Linley quite a bit."
Though he knew the other side was strong, the scar-faced man wasn't worried.
"I only wanted to invite Linley to visit the Dark Alliance. Since you've come to stop me, I'll let it go," the scar-faced man said, looking at the black-robed old man. "Deputy Chief Inquisitor, I want your word: I release Linley, and you let me and my two subordinates go. How about that?"
The black-robed old man knew well that the scar-faced man was a 'Judge' of the Dark Church. Even he would find it very difficult to kill him. However, he had brought an Ascetic from the temple this time, so killing the opponent wouldn't be impossible.
But... Linley was still in their hands.
"Fine. I swear on my honor that you and your two subordinates may leave, but you must leave Linley behind," the black-robed old man said, unwilling to engage in a bloody fight.
"Alright, I'm leaving."
The scar-faced man left without hesitation, even warmly calling out to Linley, "Linley, if you ever have the time or opportunity, feel free to visit the Dark Alliance anytime. Haha... The Dark Alliance always welcomes you."
With that, the scar-faced man and his two subordinates suddenly accelerated, leaving behind three afterimages before vanishing.