Chapter 31: I, Am Unwilling
"This genius of the Baruch family truly can already undergo dragonification. Although there are some differences from the Dragonblood Warriors recorded in history, to reach the ninth rank at such a young age... the Dragonblood Warrior truly is the ultimate warrior."
The Radiant Pope Haydyn had a faint, indifferent smile on his lips as he looked down below.
The over a thousand dead below, the earth stained red with blood, could not stir even a ripple in the Radiant Pope's heart. Clyde shouted urgently and loudly.
Clyde had never imagined that, with the protection of Fate's Guard, he would be forced to this point. And this was still the Holy Capital, Fenlai City.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Caesar shouted as he spoke, simultaneously swinging his greatsword at Linley.
Linley showed no sign of defense. "Even if I have to take this blow head-on, I will kill Clyde." The death of his parents filled Linley with endless hatred for Clyde. Only by killing Clyde would he be satisfied. Otherwise, he would be unwilling. Even in death, he would be unwilling!
"Pfft!" The greatsword struck Linley's body.
Linley, who had been prepared to endure the blow, strangely discovered that this greatsword was not meant to attack him, but rather to block the momentum of his charge. Caesar, however, used the rebound force to rush towards Clyde at an even greater speed.
"Whoosh." Bebe shot towards Clyde again.
"Bang." The greatsword arced through the air, perfectly blocking Bebe. Bebe's sharp claws clashed heavily against the greatsword once.
"Sss..."
Bebe only felt a wave of scorching energy transmit from the greatsword, along with a sharp burst of battle-qi rushing towards him. Bebe immediately dodged at extreme speed, but was still struck on the surface of his body by that blazing force. Relying on his astonishing defense, however, Bebe flipped in midair and landed again.
Caesar stood firmly in front of Clyde, coldly staring at Linley and Bebe.
"Boss, this guy is really strong." Bebe's fur stood on end as he stared fixedly at Caesar.
Linley also sensed Caesar's strength. In terms of speed, Caesar was not at all slower than him. His sword speed in particular was astonishingly fast. This Caesar was a true ninth-rank expert, with extremely rich experience as well.
"Who are you? Why do you want to kill His Majesty?" Caesar held his greatsword, coldly staring at Linley and Bebe.
Linley did not speak. He wiped his waist, and the Violet Blood Divine Sword appeared in his hand once more. At the same time, Linley immediately cast a wind-type support spell, Speed. The Speed support spell of a seventh-rank mage could still increase Linley's current speed somewhat.
"A dual magic and martial arts practitioner." Caesar's expression changed.
"Clyde." Linley's low, hoarse voice rang out.
By now, a group of warriors had already formed a protective line in front of Clyde. But in Linley's eyes, aside from that Caesar, none of the others posed any obstacle to him at all.
"Whoosh!" Linley's right leg stomped fiercely against the ground, causing the earth to crack and split in all directions. Linley himself, using that terrifying rebound force, transformed directly into a black blur as he charged towards Clyde.
His body rushed forward at extreme speed. The mere wind pressure caused by his velocity made Caesar and the others grow serious.
"Whoosh." The Shadowmouse Bebe, sharing a telepathic connection with Linley, also shot forward at the same time.
"Sssss..." The Violet Blood Divine Sword transformed into a violet sword-light, stabbing directly at Caesar. Caesar twisted his wrist, and his greatsword nimbly pressed down towards Linley's Violet Blood flexible sword. But at that moment—
The originally straight Violet Blood Divine Sword suddenly curved, bypassing the greatsword, and continued stabbing towards Caesar.
Too close!
Caesar almost had no time to dodge.
"Pfft!"
The tip of the Violet Blood Divine Sword stopped three centimeters in front of Caesar's face. A thick, fiery red battle-qi shield forcefully blocked Linley's strike. This Caesar, as a ninth-rank expert, was still slightly stronger than Linley at this moment.
Linley's strike having failed, he didn't hesitate at all. He immediately charged towards Clyde from the side.
"Stop." Caesar let out a low shout, preparing to block Linley.
But out of the corner of his eye, Caesar noticed a black blur had already reached the side of his neck. Caesar knew well how terrifying this special magical beast was and didn't dare to use his battle-qi to directly block the beast's sharp claws.
Caesar took an elegant sidestep, creating distance from Bebe. He flipped his greatsword once more and slashed at Bebe.
"Caesar, save me!" Clyde cried out urgently.
Caesar's heart grew anxious. Both Linley and this terrifying magical beast possessed strength at the ninth-rank level. Moreover, Linley and this beast were both of the agile type with extremely strong defenses. Handling one, he was confident. Handling both, he had a headache.
"Pshh—"
The Violet Blood Divine Sword arced through the air. Severed limbs and broken legs flew everywhere as blood splattered.
Linley's dark golden pupils were fixed on Clyde. His entire body charged towards Clyde at extreme speed. Anyone who blocked Linley's path was split in two by his Violet Blood Divine Sword. Blood had already stained Linley's scales!
Ten kills with every step!
"Pfft!" Slicing apart the two warriors closest to Clyde, Linley now faced him directly.
"Don't, don't kill me!" At this moment, Clyde was truly terrified.
Caesar was still entangled by the astonishingly defensive Bebe, unable to save him in time. As for the other warriors, they were merely snacks for Linley. With his fully dragonified combat power, aside from Saint-level experts, he was unafraid of ordinary ninth-rank experts.
"Clyde, die!"
This time, Linley didn't use his sword. Instead, his right claw grabbed fiercely at Clyde's neck. He wanted to crush Clyde to death with his bare hands.
"Ah!" Clyde dove backwards in a desperate leap, collapsing beside a rockery.
But Linley moved in an instant, appearing right beside him. His sharp claw was already directly in front of Clyde's eyes.
"Father, mother, I have finally avenged you." Linley's heart trembled as his right claw suddenly tightened. Clyde, completely defenseless before Linley, was like a beast stripped of its fangs and claws.
Clyde's eyes were filled with terror and disbelief.
"Hum—"
A strange ripple suddenly appeared between heaven and earth. In an instant, it completely enveloped Linley. Linley felt as if he had fallen into a quagmire, his entire body completely bound, unable even to clench his right claw.
Although Linley only needed to exert a little more force to snap Clyde's neck, at this moment, he couldn't move.
Clyde was stunned for a moment, then burst into ecstasy.
"Ha, haha..."
Clyde laughed loudly, then slowly backed away, retreating several steps. He then looked up at the sky. At that moment, a figure in a white robe slowly descended from midair. It was His Holiness, Pope Haydyn.
"Your Holiness the Pope." Clyde immediately bowed in salute.
All the surrounding warriors, including Caesar, were momentarily stunned, but they immediately bowed respectfully and said in unison, "Your Holiness the Pope!"
The supreme ruler of the Sacred Alliance, the pinnacle figure with the power to depose kings—the Radiant Pope Haydyn—had appeared.
The Radiant Pope, however, walked step by step towards Linley. Linley suddenly felt himself break free from that quagmire-like sensation and could move again. But facing the Radiant Pope's gaze, Linley felt a tremor in his heart.
"Your Holiness." At that moment, a squad rushed in from outside, led by two Red Archbishops, along with some enforcers from the Inquisition.
"A heretic." Gilmore's expression changed the moment he saw the fully dragonified Linley.
The Radiant Pope Haydyn glanced indifferently at Gilmore, who immediately fell silent and dared not speak.
"Move aside."
Linley's low, hoarse voice rang out. The Radiant Pope Haydyn looked at Linley in surprise. He could still resist under his pressure? Haydyn knew well that his pressure was different from that of ordinary Saint-level experts, for he also carried the Radiant Church's ultimate treasure.
"Surrender." Haydyn spoke.
"Whoosh!"
Linley suddenly moved, transforming into a blur as he charged towards Clyde. His dragon tail arced in a curve, lashing fiercely at Clyde. Without a doubt, with the terrifying power of Linley's dragon tail, he could definitely whip Clyde to death.
Haydyn's right hand waved abruptly. "Smack!" Linley was sent flying, crashing heavily into a distant rockery. Stones shattered. Blood seeped from Linley's entire body. His originally astonishingly defensive scales, under this single blow, were now oozing blood.
Haydyn glanced at Gilmore.
Gilmore understood in his heart. He immediately shouted to the Inquisition's executors, "Take this demon away!"
Immediately, four executors rushed towards Linley.
"Boss." Bebe's voice rang out in Linley's mind.
Linley knelt on one knee on the ground, blood gushing from his mouth. "Bebe, go. You go quickly. While they haven't noticed you, go quickly!"
"I'm not going." Bebe crouched in a distant corner, but he kept communicating with Linley through their soul link.
"No. The Radiant Pope is here. We have no hope. He hasn't noticed you yet. You still have a chance to slip away unnoticed. Bebe... go quickly. I must kill that Clyde. Even if I die, I want you to kill him for me. If you're caught now, I'll have no hope in the future."
"Boss..."
"Go, or I will never forgive you, even in death." Linley roared in his heart.
Bebe, in the corner, stared at Linley. His small eyes were filled with reluctance, pain, and anger.
"Go now!"
Linley shouted furiously in his heart. At that moment, the four executors reached Linley and reached out to subdue him. But just then—
Linley, who had been kneeling on one knee, leaped up like a crouching grasshopper.
"Whoosh!" Violet light flashed. The four executors were all cut in half at the waist.
"Die!!!" Linley charged at Clyde once more.
Clyde's face changed drastically.
"I will kill you, even if I die!" Linley roared in his heart.
"Hmph!"
The Radiant Pope Haydyn's eyes flashed coldly. He let out a low snort, extended his right palm, and slapped directly at Linley through the air. A terrifying force pressed down on Linley from all directions. Linley felt as if a mountain had crashed down upon him.
"Bang!" Linley was slammed into the ground.
"Crack..." Linley felt over a dozen bones in his body snap at once. His entire body went limp, lying on the ground, completely unable to move. With his bones broken to this extent, even the strongest person would be incapacitated.
"Take him back." Gilmore immediately ordered again.
"Boss..." Bebe, seeing Linley's current state, tears streamed from his small eyes.
Linley now lay completely limp on the ground. His legs, arms, and ribs were broken beyond count. His entire body was utterly immobile. The black scales on his body were shattered in many places, revealing bloody, torn muscles. Blood soaked his entire body.
"Boss."
"Go, Bebe. Go now!" Linley roared in his heart.
Several Inquisition executors roughly lifted Linley up. Perhaps resentful that Linley had just killed four of their companions, they handled him carelessly, paying no attention to his injuries. Their method of carrying him caused excruciating pain to wrack his entire body.
As he was lifted, Linley still stared fixedly at Clyde.
"Ha, haha..." Clyde laughed.
Linley's dark golden pupils locked onto Clyde as he roared in fury, "If I don't kill you, I, am unwilling! Even in death, I am unwilling!!!" Linley's voice caused the distant Shadowmouse Bebe to tremble all over.
Hearing this voice filled with hatred, Clyde's heart couldn't help but shudder.
"I, am unwilling!" Two streams of tears flowed from Linley's eyes. He had been so close to success, yet in the end, he still hadn't killed Clyde.