Chapter 8: One Hand
In a secluded courtyard of the royal palace, the important figures of the Finlay royal family had gathered. Clyde, along with his many wives and numerous children, were all assembled here.
"The entire city of Finlay is overrun with magical beasts. We absolutely cannot gather in large groups—that would only attract the attention of extremely powerful beasts," Clyde said with a grave expression. This was common knowledge. It was also why Chief Curator Maia and Monroe Dawson's cavalry squad consisted of only a few people.
A group of several dozen people moving through Finlay City was common and inconspicuous.
But if it were a group of several hundred, even ninth-rank magical beasts, or even Saint-level beasts, might take notice and attack. At this moment, attracting the attention of magical beasts was the last thing they wanted.
"Kare, you and your mother will lead a Thunderbolt Squad. Here are five ownerless magic crystal cards. Remember, this is the wealth our royal family has accumulated over thousands of years!" Clyde said sternly to his eldest son.
The royal family had too many members; they had to split up and leave in batches. Clyde didn't want the royal family to be wiped out. By splitting up, the chances of the royal lineage surviving were higher.
"Yes, Father." Kare was overjoyed inside.
Thousands of years of accumulated wealth—what an enormous fortune that was.
"Shack, you, your mother, and your sister will also lead a Thunderbolt Squad. Here are five ownerless magic crystal cards." Clyde also took out five magic crystal cards and handed them to his second son. Both princes felt a surge of excitement inside.
Clyde spoke solemnly, "Our royal family's elite will be divided into three groups: Kare's group, Shack's group, and my group. No matter who survives in the end, at least we can ensure our family does not perish. Alright, let's move out now!"
"Caesar. As the instructor of the Thunderbolt Squadron, you will come with me." Clyde looked at Caesar.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Caesar nodded.
The Thunderbolt Squadron was the most elite royal guard squadron of the Finlay royal family. The entire squadron, including Caesar, numbered only one hundred, with each squad consisting of just thirty-three members. With such a small number, the quality was naturally extremely high. Among these one hundred members, the weakest was a seventh-rank warrior.
The Finlay royal family immediately split into three squads and began fleeing in three different directions.
******
"Whoosh!" Linley leaped up with incredible speed. At the same time, an eerie purple light flashed, and the Thunder-Winged Pegasus in midair, which had been continuously attacking Linley with lightning, was cleaved in two. Linley then continued his rapid dash toward the royal palace.
Along the way, there were far too many corpses—both human and magical beast.
"The royal palace is here." As Linley leaped, his entire body turned into a blur, covering dozens of meters with each movement. This astonishing speed made it impossible for most fifth- and sixth-rank magical beasts to even attack him.
"Whoosh."
Linley easily leaped over ten meters and landed inside the royal palace.
"Roar~~" The roars of magical beasts echoed throughout the palace, along with the shouts and battle cries of soldiers. At the main gate of the palace, there were no guards left—only scattered pieces of flesh, blood, and corpses. Occasionally, a massive magical beast carcass could be seen.
Linley moved like a wildcat, nimbly leaping across the palace's buildings.
But when Linley landed on the roof of one building, he suddenly spotted a cavalry squad in the distance. During an escape, no one used carriages anymore—they were far too slow.
"That is…"
Linley immediately recognized the golden-haired man at the center—the man known as the "Golden Lion," Clyde. Clyde was directing the squad to kill the magical beasts attacking them. The cavalry squad moved with remarkable coordination.
A group of elite warriors composed of seventh-rank and eighth-rank fighters, when working together, was far more efficient than a chaotic group of eighth-rank warriors.
"Clyde." Linley's eyes lit up.
"Boss, let's make our move." Bebe was also getting excited.
"Wait. We need to catch them off guard. When their cavalry squad gets close to us, we'll launch a surprise attack." Linley crouched on the rooftop, his eyes coldly fixed on the cavalry squad not far away.
…
"Don't waste time. Move!" Clyde swung his greatsword, cleaving a Winged Wyvern from the sky.
Over the past half-month, Clyde had managed to refine a small portion of the "Hemolytic Poison," allowing him to use one-tenth of his battle qi. Though it was only one-tenth, it gave him the strength of an eighth-rank warrior.
However, ninety percent of the Hemolytic Poison remained, and Clyde estimated it would take half a year to fully refine it.
"Where did all these magical beasts come from? Damn it!" The more Clyde thought about it, the angrier he got.
These beasts had destroyed his capital and were now threatening his life—how could he not be furious?
"Hurry!"
After killing the group of magical beasts that had surrounded them, Clyde urged the squad to move faster. As they galloped through the palace streets, none of them noticed a figure lying prone on the wall ahead, atop a rooftop.
Linley watched the approaching group, his eyes narrowing.
Bebe's fur stood on end.
"Now!"
Linley's voice rang directly in Bebe's mind. The two of them shot off the rooftop simultaneously, hurtling toward Clyde. In that instant, black scales emerged across Linley's body, spikes sprouted from his forehead, back, elbows, and knees, and a steel dragon tail extended from his tailbone.
Full Dragonization!
The cavalry squad was indeed elite. The moment Linley and Bebe burst forth, they reacted. But Linley and Bebe were too fast!
"Ah, it's you!" Clyde recognized the terrifying figure instantly—it was Linley!
He had no time to wonder why Linley was still alive, because Linley's dragon tail was already lashing toward him, less than two meters away. Behind him, Caesar was locked in combat with the black shadow rat and couldn't come to his aid.
"Smack!"
Linley's dragon tail struck down without mercy. Clyde flipped backward off his horse, barely avoiding the blow. The tail slammed into Clyde's mount instead. The warhorse, struck by Linley's full-force attack, was snapped in two. It let out a mournful whinny before collapsing.
Clyde hit the ground, pushed himself up with both hands, and leaped backward.
Linley pursued relentlessly.
"Shhhhk—" Eight spears, glowing with battle qi, thrust toward Linley simultaneously.
"Ha!"
Linley's Dragonblood Battle Qi exploded, and he stomped hard on the ground. His momentum surged to its peak as he charged forward like a boulder launched from a catapult, crashing into the eight spears.
The eight spears trembled in unison, and the combined force of their vibrations nearly neutralized Linley's impact.
"Troublesome." Linley frowned.
He hadn't expected these eight knights to block his charge so easily.
But Linley didn't realize that the eight knights were even more shocked. They were Clyde's personal guards—the elite of the Thunderbolt Squadron. All eight were eighth-rank warriors. Together, they could even hold off a ninth-rank warrior.
But even a ninth-rank warrior wouldn't dare to charge headfirst into their spear tips. Linley had.
"What insane defense." Clyde, now retreating to a safe distance protected by over a dozen knights, was stunned.
"Yiiip!"
Bebe screeched again, its claws slashing at Caesar while its fangs snapped at him. Caesar, however, remained composed, using his greatsword to block Bebe's attacks with elegant efficiency. Each movement was simple yet effective.
A step back, a thrust—it was hard to counter.
"Clyde, who's going to save you this time?" Linley glanced at the formidable warriors and sneered. "Fine. You want to gang up on me?" As he spoke, Linley charged straight at one of the knights.
He ignored the attacks from the others, focusing solely on that one target.
Their coordinated assault immediately fell apart.
"Whoosh." Linley was too fast. In an instant, he was in front of an eighth-rank knight. Linley's clawed fist smashed toward the knight's face. The knight leaned back, but Linley's dragon tail whipped around and crushed his skull.
"Sal!" Several knights cried out in grief.
The members of the Thunderbolt Squadron had trained together for years; their bond was like that of brothers. Enraged, many knights charged at Linley. Even in their fury, they instinctively coordinated their attacks, alternating between greatswords and spears.
"Pfft!" Linley's Bloodviolet Godsword suddenly appeared in his hand. Ignoring the incoming attacks, he closed in on another knight and drove the sword straight through his eye, piercing his skull. The knight died instantly.
"Die!" Another knight thrust his spear at Linley's head in fury.
Linley swung Bloodviolet to parry, but just as the knight tried to block, the sword curved unnaturally and effortlessly severed his head. Without battle qi, Bloodviolet could easily kill seventh-rank warriors. Now infused with Dragonblood Battle Qi, it could dispatch eighth-rank warriors with ease.
Bizarre!
Three eighth-rank warriors had fallen in the blink of an eye.
"Let's see you stop me now!" Linley leaped again, charging toward Clyde. The eerie purple sword flickered in his hand, and no knight dared to approach him. That sword was too "demonic."
"Roar~~"
Suddenly, a roar echoed from the distance.
"Thump, thump, thump…" Heavy footsteps sounded. Such a thunderous rhythm could only belong to a massive magical beast, and it was drawing closer.
Linley ignored it.
"Block him! Block him!" Clyde shouted as he continued to retreat.
Linley suddenly leaped diagonally, kicked off a wall, and shot toward Clyde. Seeing this, Caesar stomped the ground, turning into a blur as he swung his greatsword at Linley.
"Come on." Linley ignored the sword entirely, swinging Bloodviolet at Clyde.
"Last time, a Saint-level magic scroll saved you. Haintz saved you. Let's see who saves you now." Linley's dark-golden pupils locked onto Clyde as Bloodviolet struck like a viper toward his throat. Clyde, half-mad with fear, swung his greatsword to block.
"Ha!" Without warning, Caesar hurled his greatsword.
"Bang!" Caught off guard, Linley's right arm was struck hard by the flying sword. The scorching battle qi within it exploded, sending a jolt of pain through his arm. The impact knocked Bloodviolet nearly a meter off course from Clyde.
"Hmph."
Bloodviolet suddenly bent, wrapping around Clyde's greatsword and coiling onto his arm before slicing down viciously.
"Smack!"
Clyde's severed right hand fell to the ground. The fingers of the detached hand still twitched as the greatsword clattered nearby. On the middle finger of that severed hand was a ring—the Finlay royal family's precious spatial ring.
"My hand! Get it back! Get it back!" Clyde's face was pale with pain, but he still roared.
Inside that spatial ring were twenty-two magic crystal cards—twenty-two million gold coins—along with dozens of rare treasures accumulated by the royal family over thousands of years. Even if it cost him his life, he couldn't lose that ring. It was the royal family's millennia of wealth!
"Whoosh!"
A black shadow flashed by, snatching the severed hand and landing on Linley's shoulder.
"Boss, the more Clyde values that hand, the less we should give it back," Bebe transmitted telepathically from Linley's shoulder. "But boss, what's so precious about that hand? Is it the ring?"