Chapter 2
Linley quietly slipped away and returned to his own courtyard.
From the wall outside Clayde's mansion back to his own courtyard, Linley's brow remained tightly furrowed. The information he had just obtained had already made him realize the trouble he was in.
"Linley, what have you decided to do?" Delin Kevort emerged from the Coiling Dragon Ring.
There was still some distance between Linley's courtyard and Clayde's mansion. Delin Kevort, a peak-stage Saint-level expert from over five thousand years ago, wasn't worried about that Lord Fallen Leaf discovering him.
"Me?"
Linley clenched his fists. "Endure. I can only endure."
Delin Kevort nodded approvingly. He had watched Linley grow up all along, and cherished Linley like a grandson.
He didn't want Linley to act too rashly either.
"Linley, rest assured," Delin Kevort said confidently while stroking his beard. "That so-called Fallen Leaf is probably just traveling with Clayde by chance. He definitely won't stay with Clayde for long. In the past, Clayde was the king of a kingdom, and his status was far lower than Fallen Leaf's. Now that the Finlay Kingdom has been destroyed, Clayde is even less significant. Based on what we know, the new holy capital chosen by the Radiant Church shouldn't be Hess City. Fallen Leaf won't stay in Hess City for long either."
Linley nodded.
The old holy capital, Finlay City, had been destroyed by the great army from the Magical Beast Mountain Range, reduced to ruins. The people of the Radiant Church would never allow such a thing to happen again. Naturally, they wouldn't set the new holy capital in Hess City, which was closest to the border between the two sides.
After all, the king of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Dylin, had stated that the magical beasts of the range might occupy half of the Sacred Alliance's territory. So far, they had only taken a third. If they were to occupy half, Hess City would be included.
Radiant Church leaders like Haines didn't have the confidence to contend with Dylin, who had reached the Demigod level.
Although the Radiant Church had hidden powers they hadn't revealed, if they did bring them out to truly fight Dylin, the outcome would only be the destruction of the Radiant Church's ten-thousand-year accumulation.
Haines didn't have the courage to fight.
"Wait," Linley said, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to stay calm. Now that he knew Clayde's whereabouts, as long as he didn't make a mistake, Clayde wouldn't escape.
Not far from the mansion Shaq had purchased was a tavern. This tavern was also where the two servants Linley had hired often kept watch over Shaq and the others.
That same day.
Wearing a very ordinary sleeveless undershirt, Linley's chest muscles were naturally visible. His strong, powerful arms revealed his immense strength, and a heavy sword was strapped to his back.
A heavy sword warrior!
Linley's attire was very common, as warriors valued physical training. Most powerful warriors had strong bodies, and many used heavy swords.
"Boss, two plates of roasted meat and two bottles of Matador," Linley said in a low voice.
"Please have a seat, sir," the waiter said respectfully upon seeing Linley's appearance. Linley chose a seat near the back, one that allowed him to see the entrance of Clayde's mansion through the door and windows.
The waiter immediately pulled out a chair and respectfully invited Linley to sit.
"Please wait a moment, sir," the waiter said with a smile. Meanwhile, another waiter had already brought over two bottles of Matador. Matador was an extremely strong liquor, a favorite of many powerful warriors.
The waiter secretly glanced at the heavy sword on Linley's shoulder and thought to himself, "Oh, Lord. Such a thick, long heavy sword. Judging by its color, it shouldn't be ordinary steel. It must weigh several hundred jin. This gentleman must be a powerful warrior."
Working as waiters in a tavern, they would secretly observe every guest when bored. Over time, they had developed sharp instincts. This waiter judged from Linley's relaxed demeanor and the style of his heavy sword that he was a formidable warrior.
Not far from Linley, the elder of the two brothers Linley had hired immediately walked over.
"Take some roasted meat back and eat with Bebe," Linley ordered without waiting for the other to speak. "Yes, sir."
The elder brother didn't have anything important to report, so he followed Linley's orders and took some roasted meat back.
After that, Linley sat quietly in the tavern, drinking.
Linley drank slowly. He could make a bottle last two or three hours. As he drank leisurely, he kept an eye on the entrance of Clayde's mansion.
Evening came.
In a corner of the tavern, a bard was singing loudly. The whole tavern was noisy, with many warriors shouting and making a ruckus.
Because of this disaster, Hess City was more lively than ever before.
Even in this tavern, one could see many formidable warriors. Most warriors were bold and unrestrained, and they ended up competing in arm wrestling.
"Ten thousand gold coins! The winner gets ten thousand gold coins!" the host of the competition shouted loudly.
For many powerful warriors who had fled, ten thousand gold coins was neither a small sum nor an enormous one.
"Come on, these ten thousand gold coins are mine!" A man over two meters tall, with a back as broad as a bear and arms as thick as an average person's thighs, sat down. He had short brown hair.
"Hmph, I'll take you on!"
Another red-haired man, similar in build to Linley, walked over. The two immediately extended their arms. When their hands clasped, the muscles on their arms began to bulge visibly.
The men around, holding large mugs, shouted loudly.
"This kind of life is actually quite interesting," Linley thought. He knew that waiting for Fallen Leaf and the other ascetics to leave would be very boring. Who knew how long they would stay? One day? Two days? Or ten days to half a month?
Linley watched with interest.
"These two are not weak. At least at the sixth-stage warrior level," Linley nodded to himself. Hess City was indeed a gathering place for experts now.
The two men's muscles bulged as they exerted strength exceeding ten thousand jin.
"Ha!" The brown-haired short-haired man with arms as thick as an average person's thighs suddenly shouted. The veins on his arms twisted like earthworms, making one wonder if they might burst at any moment.
The red-haired man's face was flushed red, and he refused to back down.
"Creak, creak~~" The table under their elbows began to tremble.
The tables and chairs in this tavern were made of black iron, very sturdy. Usually, when powerful warriors arm-wrestled, they could precisely control their strength to do it in midair without touching the table. The fact that their strength was affecting the table showed that both had reached their limits.
"Haha, come on, Harold!"
"Harold, dammit, push harder!"
"Second brother, don't lose for me!"
The warriors around them shouted in waves. Gradually, the taller warrior named Harold, with his thicker arms, gained an advantage. The red-haired warrior grew anxious and tried desperately to exert more force.
"Ha!"
Harold shouted loudly, forcefully pressing his opponent's wrist down and slamming it hard onto the table, even leaving a dent in the steel surface.
"Haha, I won!" Harold laughed heartily.
"Damn it, second brother, move aside. Let me handle this big oaf who thinks he can win ten thousand gold coins." A one-eyed red-haired warrior walked over.
The tavern was lively at night. The boisterous warriors shouted loudly, and the bard by the wall sang earnestly for the few gold coins the tavern offered.
Chaos.
Yet in this tavern, three or four people remained very quiet. The warriors around them wisely didn't disturb them. Those who had been out in the world had sharp eyes and knew who to provoke and who not to.
The next morning, Linley had just sat down.
"Hmm?"
Linley suddenly spotted a familiar figure—Lord Fallen Leaf.
The thin, beggar-like Lord Fallen Leaf, followed by two barefoot ascetics in linen robes, walked out of Clayde's residence and left.
"Leaving? But only Fallen Leaf and two ascetics have come out," Linley thought in confusion. He knew that this group of ascetics was large, with many experts among them. Only three had come out so far.
"Keep waiting." Linley took a sip of his drink and continued waiting.
Clayde and Shaq saw off Fallen Leaf and the other two at the entrance.
"Father, I forgot to tell you something," Shaq said, slapping his forehead. "Father, Lord Linley was with us a few days ago, but he left a few days ago and headed north."
"Linley."
Clayde almost screamed in shock.
This Linley had nearly taken his life twice.
"What's wrong, Father?" Shaq asked in confusion. In Shaq's view, this wasn't a big deal. After all, the Finlay Kingdom had been destroyed, and the Finlay royal family was now only nominally in power. It would be strange if Linley continued to serve them.
"He was with you. Does he know this place?" Clayde immediately asked.
"Yes, he even stayed here for a night," Shaq said naively.
Clayde's heart trembled. "This Linley must be in Hess City." Clayde knew that if Linley wanted to kill him, he wouldn't simply leave.
"It's fine. There are still these ascetics staying here," Clayde comforted himself.
"But when the ascetics leave, I'll leave with them," Clayde decided in his heart. Only by staying with these ascetics did he feel safe.
Clayde cautiously looked around.
He even felt that Linley was watching him from somewhere nearby.
One day passed, then two... Linley only went back to sleep late at night. During the day, he stayed in the tavern. Once, a reckless person tried to cause trouble for Linley, but after Linley kicked him from inside the tavern to outside, no one bothered him again.
Six days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these six days, only Fallen Leaf and two ascetics had left. The other ascetics remained.
In Clayde's mansion.
"Why are you all in such a hurry to leave?" Clayde asked, looking at the three representatives of the ascetics.
One of them, an old man with long golden hair, said coldly, "Clayde, we must head to the new holy capital. We've troubled you by staying here these past few days. We'll take our leave now."
The three representatives ignored Clayde's attempts to persuade them and prepared to leave.
"Gentlemen, you're going to the new holy capital? I'd like to go too. How about we go together?" Clayde immediately said, then turned to his son Shaq and ordered, "Shaq, quickly prepare the supplies. We'll leave immediately."
Clayde felt no sense of security at all.
Alone with Caesar, Linley and that monstrous magical beast—Clayde didn't think Caesar could absolutely protect him.
"Go with us?" The golden-haired old man frowned.
This time, they weren't actually heading to the new holy capital. They had a secret mission.
"No, the Church has strict orders," the golden-haired old man said coldly.
The other two also glanced coldly at Clayde. "If you follow us, you know the consequences." With that, the three left, leaving Clayde dumbfounded.
Clayde hadn't expected that this group of ascetics wouldn't even let him go with them.
"Gentlemen!" Clayde chased after them to the entrance of the living room, but the fifty-plus ascetics had already filed out of the mansion's gate. Not one of them looked back at him.
Clayde thought about it and didn't dare follow. Although the Radiant Church's teachings seemed benevolent, when they acted, they showed no mercy. Now that Clayde was of little use to the Radiant Church, those ascetics would dare to kill him outright.
"Father." Shaq walked over and looked at Clayde.
Clayde frowned, pondered for a moment, then directly ordered, "We'll leave through the back door. Right now. Yes, right now. Every extra minute we waste is another minute of danger."