Chapter 34: Desperate Situation
Kecheng City was a medium-sized city housing over three hundred thousand people. As a border city connecting to the North Sea Province, the flow of people through Dekecheng City was enormous every day.
"We've arrived."
Looking at the massive city in the distance, Linley halted his steps.
After running over eight hundred li in six hours, Linley's breathing wasn't even slightly disordered. In truth, this was far from Linley's limit speed. For the Blackscale Cloud Leopard 'Heilu,' it was naturally even easier.
"We've arrived, and the sun hasn't even set yet." Sessler turned his head to look at the sun hanging in the western sky and let out a sigh.
Perry actually had a clear address in his memory because he had planned to personally travel to Dekecheng City to welcome them.
Linley, Sessler, and the others rented a courtyard not far from that address.
With money, anything was easy!
Afterward, Linley and Sessler quietly cultivated, waiting for the escort team to walk right into their trap.
*******
More than ten days later, after traveling over two thousand li along the winding roads of the North Sea Province, Shitler and the escort team finally left the boundaries of the North Sea Province.
"Giddyup, giddyup." A man rode his fine horse up beside Shitler and said respectfully, "Sir, the intelligence says that Count Perry, the overall person in charge of the Northwest Province, has been killed. Should we still follow the originally planned route?"
Shitler, riding on his horse, was silent for a moment before saying calmly, "Count Perry's faith in the Lord is beyond doubt. He would never betray the Lord. Continue on the original route."
"Yes." The knight beside him acknowledged respectfully.
Those knights weren't worried either.
First, Count Perry was indeed a fanatical religious follower of the Radiant Church and would never betray them. Second, even if they interrogated Count Perry, they would at most ask about some secrets of the Radiant Church. They would never be able to extract the plans of this escort team.
Besides, with a strongman like Shitler in the team, what was there to fear?
By the time evening arrived, Shitler and his group finally reached Dekecheng City. The people inside Dekecheng City had received orders before Perry's death.
They had long been waiting for this escort team.
"Honored sirs, you may rest here tonight. Meals and such will be prepared for you," the person in charge of Dekecheng City said respectfully.
A ninth-level expert looked at him and asked, "Has there been any trouble around here recently?"
"No," the person in charge replied respectfully.
"Alright, you may leave. Have the servants prepare the meals and then leave as well. We don't need them here," the ninth-level expert ordered.
"Yes." The person in charge acknowledged respectfully.
After dismounting, Shitler walked straight into the courtyard, found a room, and settled in. "Skarlo, call me for dinner." With that, he closed the door.
The ninth-level expert acknowledged respectfully.
Skarlo was originally the captain of this escort team, but since Shitler was here, naturally everything had to follow Shitler's orders. Skarlo carefully examined the servants and, finding them all ordinary people, felt relieved.
"Bring them out," Skarlo shouted.
The five brothers were immediately escorted out of the carriage one by one. Fortunately, the carriage compartment was quite spacious; otherwise, with their builds, they wouldn't have fit.
"Listen up, you five. If you shout or yell, once, we'll break your hands. The second time, we'll cut out your tongues," Skarlo said coldly.
Then his subordinates removed the towels stuffed in the five brothers' mouths.
The five brothers glared at Skarlo, but they knew Skarlo and his men meant what they said. The five brothers weren't foolish enough to ask for trouble.
"Skarlo, one day, the five of us brothers will kill you," the eldest of the five brothers, 'Buck,' said coldly.
Skarlo let out a derisive laugh.
Others didn't know, but he did… In the end, these five brothers would become vessels for angels, and their souls would be destroyed.
"If you ever get the chance, I'll welcome it anytime," Skarlo snorted.
Buck and his four brothers lived in the eighteen duchies of the Northern Domain. They were orphans, raised by an old man they called Grandpa.
Grandpa owned a simple tavern, enough to raise the five brothers. From a young age, they had great strength. Their grandpa had once been a soldier, so he trained them from childhood. Unexpectedly, the five brothers had astonishing talent. At just sixteen, their physical bodies had already reached the sixth level. Now, just past thirty, their bodies had reached the eighth level.
After their grandpa died, the five brothers joined the military.
In one of the duchies of the Northern Domain, these five brothers were heroes. They led their army to victory after victory. In battles between duchies, eighth-level warriors were already considered top-tier. These five brothers were so physically formidable that their offensive power was terrifying.
But…
They were eventually discovered by the Radiant Church. The Church immediately dispatched the two nearest ninth-level experts with their men to capture them. They resisted, but the Church's people directly killed all their families.
Buck and his brothers glared hatefully at this group.
Three of the five brothers had wives and children, and the other two had women they loved. But now, the Radiant Church had destroyed everything.
*******
"They've arrived."
Linley, who had been watching that courtyard every day, noticed that the previously empty courtyard finally had people. And from the sounds, there were quite a few.
A flash of green light flickered in Sessler's eyes, and he grinned wickedly. "We've been waiting over ten days, and finally they're here. Linley, when do you plan to strike?" In Sessler's view, they had an overwhelming advantage; they could succeed at any time.
"Late at night," Linley decided.
Sessler nodded.
Beside them, the Blackscale Cloud Leopard 'Heilu' lay in the courtyard, pretending to sleep, quietly waiting for the late-night hour to arrive. Dekecheng City grew quieter and quieter, and by deep night, the entire city was almost silent.
Linley, who had been sitting cross-legged in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes.
"Let's go." Linley glanced at Sessler beside him. "Be careful."
"Don't worry." Sessler smiled confidently. "I'll summon the undead now." In an instant, two Golden-Eyed Corpse Demons appeared out of thin air in the courtyard. A moment later, a humanoid figure draped in a black robe appeared in the courtyard.
"This is?" Linley looked at the black-robed humanoid figure with confusion.
"A ninth-level peak Lich," Sessler said with a smug smile.
Linley nodded. With so many experts on their side, and the enemy having only two ninth-level experts, plus the element of surprise, this battle was hardly a challenge.
"Let's go."
Linley leaped over the courtyard wall, with Bebe and the Blackscale Cloud Leopard following closely. Sessler, the two Golden-Eyed Corpse Demons, and the Lich followed as well.
In moments, they arrived outside that courtyard.
"Everyone split up. I'll handle the guards watching the five brothers. Then, everyone attack the various rooms," Linley said in a low voice.
"Move."
…
Buck and his four brothers were in the same room. Outside the room, two eighth-level warriors stood guard, casually looking around and occasionally exchanging a few words.
"Hm?"
At the moment of life and death, they seemed to sense something and turned to look to the side, but all they saw were two eerie purple flashes.
Bright red blood spurted from their necks.
"Whoosh!" Bebe, Heilu, the Lich, and the two Golden-Eyed Corpse Demons immediately pounced toward the other rooms, while Linley rushed into the room where the five brothers were.
As soon as he entered, Buck and his brothers stared in shock at the monster that had run in. Its entire body was covered in black dragon scales, the spikes on its forehead and back looked ferocious, and especially its dark golden pupils sent chills down their spines.
"Who… who are you?" Buck, bold as he was, felt a shock in his heart.
The answer to Buck was a flash of purple sword light.
"Pfft!"
The dark golden ropes snapped apart one by one under Linley's 'Purple Blood Divine Sword.' After comprehending 'Force,' Linley's skill with the Purple Blood Soft Sword had reached a new level.
This 'Force' was not limited to weapons.
Fists could also draw upon the force of heaven and earth. Swords and blades could too. The Purple Blood Soft Sword itself was extremely sharp, and with Linley's battle qi infused into it, cutting through the ropes was effortless.
Seeing the ropes break, the five brothers immediately understood that this person had come to rescue them. Before they could even say thank you, suddenly—
"Get lost!" a furious shout rang out.
"Ah!" a pained cry followed.
Linley's expression changed, and he immediately dashed into the courtyard. There, the black-robed Lich was writhing in pain on the ground. The courtyard's stone floor had shattered into pieces, clearly the result of the Lich being blasted out and crashing into it. There was also green blood on the ground.
"What happened?" Linley was greatly alarmed.
Sessler was also shocked. "Not good, there's an expert." The Lich was a ninth-level peak powerhouse, renowned for its physical toughness. For the expert in that room to send the Lich flying and severely injured with a single blow was terrifying.
"Bebe, Heilu, come back!" Linley shouted through soul transmission.
Bebe and Heilu turned into two black shadows and dashed into the courtyard. By then, Buck and his brothers had also come out, but Linley was staring fixedly at that room.
"Hmph."
With a cold snort, a small, lean man walked out of the room. His silver, needle-like short hair gave him a resolute and cold demeanor, especially his icy eyes.
Shitler glanced coldly at the Lich. "An undead creature?"
He looked up at Linley and Sessler, sneering. "I thought who it was. Turns out it's the necromancer Sessler and the so-called genius, the Dragonblood Warrior Linley!"
Linley's Dragonblood Warrior transformation was very familiar to the Radiant Church's high-ranking members.
"Excellent. You're both targets the Church needs to capture. Today, I'll take you all at once." The corners of Shitler's mouth curled up into a cold smile.
"Zzzz—" Linley's dragon tail swung, cutting into the ground.
Suddenly, a layer of earthy yellow light covered the entire courtyard floor. Everyone in the courtyard felt their heads spin. Sessler couldn't help but kneel on one knee, but then a yellow glow enveloped Sessler, the Lich, the two Golden-Eyed Corpse Demons, Bebe, and Heilu, freeing them from the gravity's effect.
Earth magic—Gravity Spell.
"Just as the reports said. Not only a Dragonblood Warrior, but also a magic prodigy." Shitler smiled faintly. "Your Gravity Spell should be eightfold. I didn't expect that in just a few years, you've gone from a seventh-level mage to an eighth-level mage. What a pity. A genius like you will die today."
Shitler walked step by step toward Linley.
"Attack," Sessler ordered in a low voice.
The two Golden-Eyed Corpse Demons let out low roars and charged at Shitler with large strides. At the same time, Sessler, Linley, and the others, acting in perfect unison, immediately began to flee outside.
A flash of dazzling sword light passed by.
The two Golden-Eyed Corpse Demons were sliced in half and fell to the ground in the courtyard.
"You want to run?"
Shitler himself, in the blink of an eye, flew to the air in front of Linley's group, hovering there, holding the sword still stained with the blood of the two Golden-Eyed Corpse Demons.
"As expected, a Saint-level expert." Sessler let out a bitter laugh.
In truth, when they saw the ninth-level peak Lich being so easily wounded, Linley and the others had already sensed something was wrong and suspected the man might be a Saint-level expert. Now, it was confirmed. Saint-level experts flew too fast; there was no escape.
Linley and Sessler exchanged glances, both understanding their current predicament.
"I thought today's operation would be easy, but I never expected to run into a Saint-level expert." Linley felt a surge of unwillingness, his dark golden pupils fixed on Shitler. "We have no choice but to fight to the death."
(Three chapters updated today.)