Chapter 38: The Church’s Countermeasures
After Hesse left, Linley and his group set out early in the morning toward the provincial capital of Basil. This time, they weren’t in too much of a hurry, but the five Barker brothers, who had just joined the team, were all warriors of the eighth rank, so their travel speed was still fairly fast.
By dusk on the second day, Linley and the others arrived at a small town on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Basil.
“This town is called Cloud Peak Town,” Sessler introduced with a smile. “I once lived here for over a decade. The residents of Cloud Peak Town are quite simple folk, and it’s not a major transportation hub. Few people usually come here, so it’s very peaceful.”
Linley nodded.
Peace was exactly what they needed. After the fight with Stello nearly cost him his life, Linley had made up his mind. At the very least, he would train his normal human form to the ninth-rank warrior level. In his dragon form, that would put him at the early Saint realm.
“If I reach the early Saint realm, in a few more years, with my insights into swordsmanship and my speed, even if I run into Stello again, even if I can’t beat him, I should be able to escape.”
Linley was very clear about his abilities as a mutated Dragonblood Warrior.
Having devoured the living dragon blood and the dragon crystal of the Spiked-Back Iron-Armored Dragon, Linley, as this mutated Dragonblood Warrior, possessed the strengths of that dragon—speed and defense.
The five Barker brothers also gazed at this peaceful town, their eyes resolute.
“One day, we will avenge our poor wife and son,” they thought. The Barker brothers also knew about the enmity between Linley, Sessler, and the Radiant Church.
Without a doubt, their group now looked to Linley as their leader.
This small team was all deeply at odds with the Radiant Church.
At the westernmost edge of Cloud Peak Town, Linley and the others negotiated with the local noble, then spent ten thousand gold coins to hire a number of people to begin building a mansion.
Ten thousand gold coins was enough to build an extremely luxurious estate in the countryside.
The next day, Linley had Rebecca and Nina, the two sisters, brought over. From then on, Linley and his group settled down here peacefully, focusing entirely on training.
“Crash!”
The waves slammed violently against the shore, sending up countless splashes. At the edge of the blue sea, a figure flew rapidly from the distant horizon. In just a moment, the figure landed on the coast. It was Stello.
“This time, things are troublesome,” Stello thought with frustration.
The Church’s value for those five eighth-rank bodies was so great that they would be willing to sacrifice a Saint-level expert or even offend the O’Brien Empire. Haines had even sent Stello himself to be safe.
But the result…
Stello’s gaze locked onto the distant, towering Radiant Temple.
“Whoosh.” Stello flew directly through the air. The Temple Knights guarding the area tensed when they saw someone flying toward the temple, but relaxed upon recognizing Stello.
The ninth floor of the Radiant Temple.
“Stello is back,” Haines said, watching from the window as Stello flew back. “What’s going on? Why is Stello returning alone?”
Haines had a bad feeling.
“Creak.” Without any announcement, the door opened directly.
Stello, as cold as eternal ice, walked in with an indifferent expression.
“Stello, what happened? Where are the others? What about the five eighth-rank bodies?” Haines frowned and asked urgently.
Stello shook his head. “Your Holiness, we won’t be getting those five eighth-rank bodies.”
“What do you mean?” Haines’s face darkened.
Eighth-rank bodies were equivalent to peak Saint-level experts for the Radiant Church.
Stello said in a low voice, “Your Holiness, I and the others were escorting those five brothers along the way. But when we stopped for the night in Decoe County City, we encountered two people.”
“Which two?” Haines didn’t think anyone could stop Stello.
“Linley and Sessler,” Stello said coldly.
“Linley? Sessler?” Haines was taken aback.
Linley had disappeared for over three years and now suddenly reappeared?
The memories from three years ago resurfaced in Haines’s mind. Killing Linley, that prodigious genius, was something Haines had been very reluctant to do. But there was no choice. However, after Linley vanished from Hess City over three years ago, no one had found any trace of him.
But how had Linley ended up with Sessler?
“You mean Sessler was rescued by Linley?” Haines’s eyes lit up.
Stello nodded. “Yes. Linley’s strength is now extremely, extremely formidable. No one below the Saint realm can defeat him. Only Saint-level or higher experts can overcome him.”
“He killed six ninth-rank experts?” Haines found it hard to believe.
Stello said solemnly, “Your Holiness, I must make it clear to you. First, Linley has two very powerful magical beasts, both likely at the peak of the ninth rank. Second… Linley himself has reached a level of insight close to the peak of the Saint realm.”
“Close to the peak of the Saint realm?” Haines was astonished.
He knew that improving one’s level of insight was extremely difficult. Some people spent centuries without making any progress.
“Yes. Linley has surpassed the stage of drawing upon the power of heaven and earth. His attacks are now very strange and unique. I can sense that he has only just begun to grasp this new level of understanding, but even so, it inflicted a minor injury on me,” Stello said, recalling the strange nature of Linley’s ‘Earthly Essence’ attack.
“I’ve never encountered this type of attack before. It’s not battle qi, nor is it pure physical force, but rather…” Stello struggled to find the words to describe it.
Hearing this, Haines was deeply shocked.
The fact that it could lightly injure Stello, a peak Saint-level expert, was already astonishing.
“What makes his attack special, and how can it be defended against?” Haines pressed.
Stello nodded. “His attack can penetrate through the muscles on the surface of the body and reach the inside. In other words, no matter how dense the external defense, it’s almost useless.”
“Oh?” Haines frowned.
“This technique attacks the internal organs of the body. The best way to defend against it is to use battle qi to protect the internal organs, covering them with as much battle qi as possible.”
In truth, Linley’s vibrational waves would lose some of their power when passing through matter.
However, because it was a transmission of vibrations, even if the external defense was high, it could still penetrate. But if the opponent’s internal organs were densely protected by layers of battle qi, the vibrational waves would be weakened step by step, and by the time they reached the organs, their power would be relatively low.
“This kind of attack cannot be completely blocked. The only way is to use as much battle qi as possible to reduce its power,” Stello said with a sigh. “And I have a feeling that Linley has only just begun to understand this. In the future, this attack might become even more terrifying. It’s probably the most bizarre attack I’ve ever seen.”
Stello’s assessment was extremely high.
Haines’s heart grew more anxious.
“This Linley must be killed,” Haines thought. He was truly afraid now. If Linley was allowed to grow further, the threat to the Radiant Church would be immense.
“Go on. I believe those two couldn’t stop you,” Haines said in a deep voice.
Stello nodded. “Yes. Neither Linley nor Sessler is anything more than ninth-rank. But just as I was about to kill Linley, another person appeared… Hesse, the King of Assassins!”
“Hesse?” Haines said doubtfully. “He shouldn’t dare to openly oppose our Radiant Church.”
“No, he dares,” Stello said with a sigh. “Hesse has reached the Demigod level.”
“Reached the Demigod level!”
These words struck Haines like a thunderbolt, leaving him dizzy. Another Demigod-level expert had been born on the Yulan Continent.
“Demigod?” Haines stared at Stello.
“Yes, Demigod,” Stello confirmed again.
Haines was silent for a long time.
“What did Hesse say?” Haines asked calmly.
“Hesse said that from now on, our Radiant Church must never touch those five brothers. Otherwise, he would tear up all pretense and directly attack the Holy Island,” Stello’s words hit Haines’s heart like a hammer.
Five eighth-rank bodies meant five peak Saint-level angels.
It was truly painful and unwilling.
Unwilling!!!
“Why would Hesse say that?” Haines narrowed his eyes. “Based on my understanding of Hesse, he doesn’t care about power or status. He lives a carefree life. He wouldn’t lift a finger for a stranger.”
Indeed, Hesse’s philosophy was to ignore the lives of others.
“For Hesse, that lazy man, to act like this…”
Haines suddenly raised an eyebrow, his eyes brightening.
“I understand,” Haines said with a sigh.
“What’s the reason, Your Holiness?” Stello asked instead.
Haines sighed and said, “In our Church’s records on Hesse, there is a detailed account of the chaotic era over five thousand years ago, when Hesse and his good brother Amand were together. If there is anyone Hesse truly values, it should be the descendants of Amand.”
“The Undying Warrior?” Stello began to understand.
“Yes. I’ve always been surprised how eighth-rank bodies appeared on the Yulan Continent. Now it all makes sense. The Undying Warrior—the strongest body among the Four Ultimate Warriors.”
Haines was silent for a moment, his mind clearing.
“Those five brothers cannot be touched. That’s beyond doubt.” No one would dare offend a Demigod-level expert.
“Linley’s talent is too terrifying. We absolutely cannot let him live,” Haines said, turning to Stello. “Stello, Hesse didn’t say he would go to war with our Radiant Church over Linley, did he?”
Stello nodded.
Haines smiled confidently.
“That’s the real Hesse. Although he likes stone sculptures, he wouldn’t go to war with our Church over a sculptor.”
Hesse was aloof by nature.
There were very few people he would risk his life for, and Linley wasn’t one of them.
“Stello, go rest for now. On your way out, have someone summon Landi,” Haines ordered.
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
About ten minutes later, a knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Haines said indifferently.
A tall, silver-haired beauty walked in. Without a doubt, she was an incredibly beautiful woman, almost to an excessive degree. But her icy demeanor made people hesitant to approach.
“Your Holiness,” Landi said, bowing.
Haines ordered directly, “Tomorrow, you will lead five ninth-rank angels and head to the O’Brien Empire. Your mission is to kill Linley. I’ll have someone send you Linley’s file shortly.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
Landi was an angel who had descended into a sixth-rank body. Seventh- and eighth-rank bodies were hard to find, but sixth-rank bodies were easy to come by. This meant the Radiant Church had many angels with ninth-rank strength.
“Remember, kill Linley at all costs,” Haines added.
Landi was startled for a moment, then acknowledged the order.
Angels were very powerful. Even the weakest two-winged angel had early Saint-level strength. Landi and her group were all very strong, but limited by their bodies, they couldn’t unleash their full power.
But if they were willing to sacrifice themselves…
They could unleash Saint-level power in their final moments.
Most importantly, six angels could form the legendary ‘Angel Battle Formation.’ With the six of them acting together, even Linley, or even an early Saint-level expert, might be killed.
“Go.”
Haines said indifferently.
Six ninth-rank angels were nothing. To kill Linley, he would gladly sacrifice six more. Linley’s talent had already filled Haines with dread.
“He cannot be allowed to grow any further!”