Chapter 35: Target, the Chaos Territory!
The wind blew, stirring Linley’s hair, while Linley himself sat quietly with his eyes closed in meditation. His heart was perfectly attuned to the earth and the wind.
“Rumble, rumble~~~” Linley could sense the scorching magma flowing deep beneath the ground.
“Whoosh, whoosh~~~” Linley felt the changes in wind speed in the sky. The wind high above was fierce, but within the imperial capital’s manor, it was much gentler. Every shift in the wind was reflected in Linley’s mind.
…
Linley truly enjoyed training. Every insight, every breakthrough, was a sublimation of the soul, a transformation of the heart!
That sense of awe made one’s heart tremble.
“What the War God said back then might have been correct—focus on a single path. The Laws of the Earth are vast and boundless, and this ‘Earth Pulse’ should be one of its more profound aspects,” Linley mused.
That Hedderson had also comprehended the Laws of the Earth, but his path was different from Linley’s. Yet Linley’s vibration-wave attack was clearly far more efficient than his opponent’s!
“Thump!” “Thump!” The earth’s unique pulse once again captivated Linley, drawing him into a state of enlightenment as he strove to unravel its mysteries.
××××××
Ever since Linley’s battle with Hedderson, he had been recognized as one of the most powerful peak experts on the Yulan continent, standing alongside Hedderson, the Radiant Pope, the Dark Pope, and others. In the imperial capital of Blazing Flame City, the Baruch family’s status had become even more transcendent.
Clearly, despite his fame, no one dared to disturb Linley.
“Every time I seek understanding, I gain a different feeling.” Linley opened his eyes, an involuntary smile spreading across his face. He marveled inwardly, “Even the Earth Pulse is so profound and unfathomable—how vast must the ‘Laws of the Earth’ be?”
No wonder reaching the Deity realm was so difficult.
Even someone as remarkable as the War God had remained a Lesser God for over five thousand years.
“Big brother!” Wharton and the five Barker brothers came running over.
“I knew you all were coming.” Linley stood up with a smile, sensing their approach as he comprehended the Earth Pulse.
After they finished lunch together.
“Cessar.” Linley stood up directly, calling out to Cessar with a smile. He led Cessar to his courtyard, where they sat facing each other.
“Lord Linley, is there something you need?” Cessar asked curiously.
Linley’s expression was complex. He sighed and said, “Cessar, you must know about my Baruch family’s affairs by now.” Having stayed in the count’s manor for so long, Cessar naturally knew everything. He nodded immediately.
Linley said coldly, “Both my parents died, and the culprit was the Radiant Church. That day, when I left Hess City, I swore that one day I would uproot the Radiant Church entirely.”
Cessar was well aware of Linley’s goal.
Linley looked at Cessar. “I know my own strength is steadily improving. Especially with Bebe, Haeru, and the five Barker brothers… I have confidence in facing the Radiant Church. I plan to begin dealing with them.”
“Begin?” Cessar was startled.
Was Linley about to formally strike at the Radiant Church?
“Linley, while our strength is considerable, the Radiant Church’s foundation is also solid…” Cessar quickly tried to advise him. Though he too wanted to destroy the Radiant Church, they had to be wise about it.
Linley smiled and waved his hand dismissively. “No, of course I won’t rush into a direct confrontation with them.”
“I recall you mentioned the Chaos Territory before, saying the Radiant Church places great importance on it and has a strong presence there?” Linley then asked.
Cessar was over eight hundred years old and had lived in the Chaos Territory for a long time.
“Of course they value it!” Cessar explained in detail. “Linley, from what I know of the Radiant Church, aside from offering pure souls to the Radiant Sovereign, what the Radiant Sovereign needs most is sufficient faith! The more believers, the more faith. The Radiant Church has always proclaimed that the Lord’s light should shine over a wider land—that’s exactly their purpose.”
Linley nodded slightly.
Cessar counted on his fingers. “Linley, the chaotic places on the continent are the Far East Prairie, the Chaos Territory, and the Eighteen Northern Duchies.”
“Among them, the Far East Prairie is a place of constant slaughter, with prairie cavalry known for their cruelty. They have warlike blood in their bones—how could they ever believe in the Radiant Church? The nature of the prairie warriors ensures the Radiant Church can never succeed there.” Cessar spoke fluently. “As for the Eighteen Northern Duchies, they actually worship the Ice Goddess.”
“The Ice Goddess?” Linley indeed didn’t know much about the Eighteen Northern Duchies.
“Yes.” Cessar nodded. “Though the Eighteen Northern Duchies fight among themselves, the Ice Goddess Temple holds absolute control over them. Moreover, the Ice Goddess Temple is unfathomably deep… and they have no ambition, always staying within the Eighteen Northern Duchies. The Radiant Church naturally wouldn’t provoke such a powerful enemy.”
Linley smiled.
He had always wondered why the Eighteen Northern Duchies, located north of the Dark Forest and bordering only the O’Brien Empire, hadn’t been conquered by the empire despite being only slightly larger than a province. Now he understood—it was related to the Ice Goddess Temple.
“Those two places are impossible, leaving only the Chaos Territory!” Cessar sighed. “The Chaos Territory is extremely chaotic. Frighteningly so.”
“How chaotic?”
Cessar explained, “First, back in the day, it was recorded that the Chaos Territory had forty-eight duchies. But that was just a record. With constant warfare, the number of duchies changes every few years. Maybe now there are over fifty, maybe forty. Hard to say. That’s the first chaos.”
“The second chaos is the surrounding environment. It borders the O’Brien Empire, the Rohault Empire, and the Far East Prairie—all three major powers have designs on it!”
“Third, the Radiant Church and the Dark Church have always tried to conquer the Chaos Territory. These two are the strongest and most influential there. The two churches are naturally opposed, constantly fighting each other.”
Linley sighed. With all that, if the Chaos Territory wasn’t chaotic, there would be no justice in the world.
“And there’s a fourth chaos!” Cessar continued. “To the north of the Chaos Territory lies the vast Dark Forest. The magical beasts in the Dark Forest are almost as numerous as those in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Every few decades, or even every ten-plus years, there’s a beast tide… countless magical beasts surge from the Dark Forest into the Chaos Territory. It’s an absolute disaster!”
Linley’s expression changed.
A beast tide? He had experienced the Holy Alliance’s “Day of Destruction” and knew how terrifying it was when a massive horde of magical beasts charged out. It was nothing short of an apocalypse.
“Of course, while it’s called a beast tide, the numbers aren’t as terrifying as that ‘Day of Destruction’,” Cessar said with a laugh. “The magical beasts that emerge from the Dark Forest are mostly mid-grade and low-grade, with very few high-grade ones. And though the numbers are large, during such times, all the duchies in the Chaos Territory unite and can usually wipe them out.”
Linley understood.
With fewer high-grade magical beasts, the destructive power was much lower. And since the numbers were far smaller than during the Holy Alliance’s disaster, the damage wasn’t as severe.
“Linley, unlike the former Holy Alliance, the beast tides from the Dark Forest don’t happen just once. They occur every few decades or every ten-plus years. This frequency keeps the Chaos Territory from ever achieving peace,” Cessar sighed.
Linley silently lamented.
These four reasons ensured the Chaos Territory would remain in perpetual chaos.
“Though the duchies are small, forty-eight of them add up to a large territory. The Chaos Territory is definitely half the size of the O’Brien Empire. In fact, it’s probably about the same size as the current Holy Alliance.”
Linley nodded.
After the “Day of Destruction,” the Holy Alliance’s territory was only two-thirds of what it had been. And the O’Brien Empire had always been the largest empire.
The Chaos Territory, being half the size of the O’Brien Empire, was comparable to the current Holy Alliance.
“With such a large territory, it’s no wonder the Radiant Church covets it. Both the Radiant Church and the Dark Church have many experts there, with deep roots.”
Hearing this, Linley smiled.
A territory nearly the size of the current Holy Alliance—how many people would the Radiant Church send?
“If the Radiant Church has twenty or thirty Saint-level experts, they’d probably send five or six, or even seven or eight, to the Chaos Territory,” Linley thought to himself.
The Sacred Isle was undoubtedly the gathering place for the Radiant Church’s strongest experts.
The experts in the Chaos Territory probably weren’t the top-tier ones.
“After my younger brother’s wedding, we’ll set out for the Chaos Territory.” Linley looked at Cessar with a smile. “The war against the Radiant Church will begin in the Chaos Territory.”
Destroying the Radiant Church’s millennia-old foundation in the Chaos Territory would surely drive them mad with rage.
“The Chaos Territory?” Cessar’s eyes lit up. “Good!”
Linley smiled faintly. Uprooting the Radiant Church’s centuries-old roots in the Chaos Territory would take more than a year or two.
“I’ll train while dealing with them. By the time I’ve wiped out the Radiant Church’s forces in the Chaos Territory, I’ll probably have stepped into the Saint-level in human form. By then, my understanding of the ‘Earth Pulse’ will be even deeper… and I can directly confront the Radiant Church.”
Linley had a clear plan in mind.
Step by step, without haste or impatience, he would uproot the Radiant Church entirely!
××××××
Wharton had said earlier that he couldn’t happily marry Nina until Linley’s battle with Hedderson was over. Now, they had set the wedding date—September 15th.
And now, it was already September. The count’s manor and the royal family were both preparing for this grand wedding.
The wedding banquet would be far more lavish than the engagement ceremony.
In Linley’s courtyard at the count’s manor.
“Linley, our fleet is returning to the Yulan Empire, and I need to go back with my teacher.” Delia looked at Linley, biting her lip as she spoke softly. Linley’s smile froze.
Knowing Delia was leaving, Linley felt a pang in his heart.
The months Delia had spent with him were the most relaxed days Linley had experienced in the past ten years. Every day, he had been full of smiles.
“Leaving?” Linley forced a smile. “Well, I wish you a smooth journey.”
But Delia laughed. She could see the reluctance in Linley’s heart. “But I talked to my teacher and told him to go ahead. I’ll stay on as a private individual.”
“Ah.” Linley was caught between laughter and tears.
“You’re not happy?” Delia frowned.
“Happy, very happy.” Linley quickly replied. Then, looking at Delia seriously, he said, “Delia, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?” Delia looked at him expectantly.
“After my younger brother’s wedding, I should be heading to the Chaos Territory,” Linley said.
“Oh, then I’ll go with you,” Delia said without hesitation.
Just then, several excited shouts rang out in the distance, and a few figures quickly rushed to the entrance of Linley’s courtyard. Gates’s loud voice was the first to ring out: “Lord, my fourth brother has also broken through and reached the ninth rank!”
Among the five Barker brothers, a fourth had reached the Saint-level.
“Another Saint-level?” A smile involuntarily appeared on Linley’s face. The five Barker brothers really did have a knack for surprising him.