Chapter 23: The Red Archbishop
The fat man said in confusion, "Hey, according to what you two said, this Wharton guy—someone like that should have become famous long ago. But why have we never heard of him before?"
The bald man nodded and said, "I was puzzled by that question too at first, so I looked into it. This Wharton has never participated in any competitions at O'Brien Academy over the years, nor has he fought any experts. So he has no reputation at all."
"Having strength but not showing it." The green-haired man and the fat man both sighed in admiration.
"Forget the past," the bald man said confidently. "After this year's seventh-grade tournament at O'Brien Academy, Wharton will definitely shine even brighter."
In the quiet tavern, Linley savored his fine wine, a smile spreading across his face.
"Little Wharton, two meters two? He's taller than me now."
When Wharton left Wushan Town, he was only six years old. Back then, little Wharton still had his baby teeth and was extremely adorable. In the blink of an eye, eleven years had passed.
"Little Wharton!"
A warm feeling surged in Linley's heart—it was the bond of brotherly affection.
"Wharton's Dragonblood Warrior bloodline concentration is higher than mine, and his warrior talent surpasses mine as well. Defeating an eighth-rank warrior at seventeen? Hmm... I estimate Wharton should have reached the seventh-rank warrior level two or three years ago."
Linley's guess was spot on.
Back then, when Wharton was only six, he traveled with the steward Hiri, enduring a long journey until they finally arrived at O'Brien Academy. With Wharton's talent, he naturally entered O'Brien Academy with ease.
But Steward Hiri understood that the Baruch family still belonged to the Sacred Alliance. So he always had Wharton hide his strength and not reveal it casually. If Wharton's brilliance became too dazzling, O'Brien Academy might not easily let him return to the Sacred Alliance after graduation.
Wharton also strictly followed Hiri's instructions. When he was young, he occasionally revealed a bit of strength, but he was too young to attract much attention. When he grew older and understood things, he naturally learned to conceal his abilities.
Years of hard training.
Especially at O'Brien Academy, the highest institution of learning in this foremost warrior empire, Wharton's training efficiency was extremely high.
When Wharton turned fourteen, Hillman, entrusted by Linley, traveled to O'Brien Academy.
In reality, by the time Hillman arrived at the imperial capital, the Day of Destruction had already occurred long ago. The royal family and other high-ranking nobles had learned of this news through the empire's special communication system. O'Brien Academy, as an elite institution of the empire, naturally received the news very early as well.
By the time Hillman reached the imperial capital, Wharton already knew about the Day of Destruction.
Hillman told Wharton about Hogg's death and his eldest brother Linley's decision to seek revenge. Wharton was stunned. He had no idea what to do.
With Hillman, Steward Hiri, and others by his side, along with the battle knife 'Slaughter' that Linley had sent via Hillman, Wharton resolved to take on the family's responsibilities. But deep down, he was always worried about his eldest brother, Linley, not knowing what had become of him.
The Sacred Alliance and the O'Brien Empire were too far apart. Just the journey alone would take a year.
Fortunately, later on, people from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce found Wharton and delivered a secret letter to him.
That secret letter was written by Yale, detailing Linley's conflict with the Radiant Church and with Clay. It also told Wharton that Linley was fine, just that he had started a long period of solitary training alone.
After learning this news, Wharton breathed a sigh of relief.
But Wharton also felt increasingly proud of his eldest brother. At the same time, he resolved to work even harder so that he could join forces with his brother in the future. Wharton had already been very diligent in the past, but in the following three years, he became even more hardworking. At fifteen, Wharton reached the seventh-rank warrior level.
When he turned seventeen, Wharton, feeling that his blade technique had reached a certain level of mastery after using the battle knife 'Slaughter,' finally decided to participate in the grade tournament. In that single tournament, Wharton made a stunning debut and instantly became the most dazzling new star in the imperial capital. The Emperor even bestowed upon him the title of Count.
******
Linley sat in a corner of the tavern, feeling an unprecedented sense of joy.
"Boss, Wharton? That's your little brother, right?" Bebe was curled up on a chair, looking at Linley with his shiny black eyes.
Linley smiled and nodded.
"That little brat can already defeat an eighth-rank warrior." Bebe exclaimed in amazement. "Boss, can your little brother also transform into a Dragonblood Warrior?"
"Of course."
Linley was very proud of his younger brother. "Bebe, I awakened the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline within me by drinking the blood of a Spiked-backed Armored Dragon. My little brother's Dragonblood Warrior bloodline concentration is much higher than mine, so he can transform directly into a Dragonblood Warrior. But his transformation is different from mine."
Linley still remembered the records about 'Dragonblood Warriors' in the family books.
If the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline concentration is high enough, after cultivating the 'Dragonblood Codex,' one can transform directly into a Dragonblood Warrior. The normal form features cyan dragon scales, a cyan dragon tail, and a single dragon horn on the forehead.
Linley's form, however, is covered in black dragon scales, with black spikes on his forehead, back, elbows, and knees, and a black dragon tail as well.
"Give everyone a bottle of Emerald Green." A voice familiar to Linley rang out in the tavern.
"This is?"
Linley felt as if struck by lightning. His entire body stiffened for a moment, and then he immediately sent a soul transmission to Bebe: "Bebe, come over to my side. Don't stick your head out." Linley placed Bebe on the inner chair beside him.
The tavern was very dim.
Moreover, each table was separated by screens. Linley's body was almost entirely blocked by the screen, so the familiar person couldn't see him at all.
Linley turned his head, peeking out with one eye to look—
The plump figure, the eyes that squinted into slits when smiling.
"It really is him."
Linley immediately pulled his head back. "Red Archbishop Lampson, why is he in the O'Brien Empire? And the few people beside him are no pushovers. One of them is that ascetic from the highest level of the Radiant Temple."
That ascetic was one of the ascetics who had set up the formation with Heiting back then. That person was also a
strong expert.
Just Lampson and that ascetic alone were two ninth-rank experts.
"I don't know the others, but judging by their auras, they're not much weaker than Lampson. They might be ninth-rank experts too."
Linley was shocked inwardly.
"In a place like Ershire County City, so many experts from the Radiant Church have appeared. Could it be..." Linley's heart skipped a beat. "Could it be that my identity has been exposed?"
Linley knew that a behemoth like the Radiant Church would have intelligence networks in other empires. But would those networks be dense enough to cover even a county city?
"Boss, what's going on?" Bebe was still confused. He was puzzled by Linley's order to stay hidden in the corner.
Linley looked at Bebe, a hint of a smile on his lips, and transmitted, "Bebe, experts from the Radiant Church have arrived. There should be a few ninth-rank experts."
"Radiant Church?" A murderous gleam flashed in Bebe's eyes.
"If they make a move, I'll make sure none of them leave Ershire County City alive." Linley also felt a surge of killing intent. His strength now was far greater than before.
When dragonized, he was at the peak of the ninth-rank. Moreover, with his current mastery of the Black Heavy Sword, Linley had reached the peak of 'force' and was gradually touching upon another, higher level of existence.
Linley listened carefully with his ears.
Clearly, those people from the Radiant Church hadn't noticed Linley's presence.
"For this guy, we've spent two years. Finally, in another ten days or half a month, we can go back." Lampson's voice was very low.
Lampson was also very careful in his speech, not revealing any content that might expose their identities.
"Two years." Another black-robed man, whose back was to Linley, shook his head and said, "To deal with this old man, all my good brothers are dead."
"As long as we catch him, it's all worth it," Lampson said.
...
Hearing their conversation, Linley frowned.
"What does that mean?"
He had killed six special-grade executors before, but he wouldn't exactly be called an 'old man.'
"Old man? And they said they're going back?" Linley began to understand. These people had come here to deal with someone else.
Linley grew curious. Who was this person that the Radiant Church would go to such great lengths for?
"Old man, what are you looking at?" one of the black-robed men growled in a low voice.
"What are you being so arrogant about?" An aged voice rang out. "If it weren't for you outnumbering me and using those underhanded tactics, would I have fallen into your hands? Dream on."
Linley's eyelids twitched.
It seemed that this old man with the aged voice was the person the Radiant Church valued so highly.
"Even when dealing with me, the Radiant Church didn't send so many experts to other countries to hunt me down. But for this old man... who exactly is he?"
Linley pondered inwardly.
"No matter what, and no matter who this old man is, I'm definitely going to save him." Linley sneered inwardly. "Being able to disrupt an important plan of the Radiant Church will at least make me feel a bit better."
Uprooting the Radiant Church entirely was too difficult.
For now, he would take it step by step.
After waiting for about an hour, Lampson and his group finally left the tavern with the old man. From start to finish, Lampson and his people never saw Linley behind the screen.
Linley stepped out from behind the screen.
"Bebe, let's go." Linley casually tossed a few gold coins to pay the bill and immediately slipped out of the tavern with Bebe, quietly tailing Lampson's group.
Linley's understanding of 'force' had now reached a peak level. Relying solely on his comprehension of 'force,' he could walk on water without sinking—something even ordinary ninth-rank experts couldn't do. This was a matter of realm, not just strong battle qi or physical strength.
Walking on the street, as long as others didn't see Linley, they would never sense that someone was behind them.
Following Lampson's group, Linley finally got a clear look at the people on the other side.
"Six people from the Radiant Church, plus one mysterious old man under escort." Linley had a feeling that all six people from the Radiant Church were ninth-rank experts.
Six ninth-rank experts escorting an old man, with Red Archbishop Lampson personally leading the team.
From their conversation, it seemed Lampson and his group had spent two years on this matter and had lost quite a few people in the process.
"Who exactly is this old man?" Linley also managed to catch a glimpse of the old man's appearance from behind.
He was extremely gaunt, with white eyebrows so long they hung down to his chest. Most importantly, the old man was wearing a pair of shackles, but a piece of cloth was draped over them. If someone wasn't paying close attention, they wouldn't notice. Linley had been tailing them for a long time, and it was only when the wind blew the cloth aside that he saw the shackles underneath.
"Hmm? That is..." Linley saw this legendary tool for the first time. "Mana-suppressing handcuffs?"
According to books, anyone wearing mana-suppressing handcuffs could no longer use any magical power. Even the strongest mage would become as weak as an ordinary person. However, mana-suppressing handcuffs were very rare and precious. This was Linley's first time seeing them.
Linley moved through the crowd on the street, sometimes dodging, sometimes advancing, moving with an ethereal grace. Lampson and his group couldn't sense him at all.
After a while, Lampson and his group arrived at an alley and stopped in front of a two-story building with a courtyard. A black-robed man knocked on the door.
"Sir." The courtyard door opened, and a middle-aged man came out, bowing respectfully. "Everything is ready. Please rest, gentlemen."
Lampson and the others nodded.
"Kosates, you two brothers watch this old man first. We'll switch shifts later," Lampson said.
Linley was secretly shocked. "Even with mana-suppressing handcuffs on, they still guard him so tightly. This old man is truly extraordinary." Linley became even more determined to disrupt the Radiant Church's plan.
(First chapter today. There was no update yesterday, so today there will be three chapters. This is to make up for one!)