Chapter 43: The Corpse
If alive, see the person; if dead, see the corpse!
Linley had only learned from Yale that Reynolds's corpse had actually been taken away by the enemy. This time, no matter what, he had to bring his brother's body back. But before that, Linley had to go to Neil City first. After all, the garrison at Neil City should be the clearest about what happened to Reynolds that day.
"Boss, don't be too sad." Bebe said in a low voice.
Linley looked at the boundless sky in the distance, then turned his head to glance at Bebe, forcing a faint smile: "Bebe, I'm fine." But on Linley's face, transformed as a Dragonblood Warrior, it was hard to read any expression; one could only see the corners of his mouth lift slightly.
After flying for a while, Neil City appeared in the distance.
"We're here." The temperature around Linley seemed to drop by a level.
Several dozen miles outside Neil City, the army of the O'Brien Empire was stationed. Ten miles opposite them, the army of the Luo'ao Empire was also stationed, the two nations' forces facing off against each other.
As for Reynolds's matter, after Prince Yulin left, the Golden Flame Legion quickly launched a retaliation. The Luo'ao Empire, having been prepared, naturally wouldn't back down. After several rounds of fierce fighting between the two legions, tens of thousands had died, and they had temporarily ceased hostilities, ready for the next attack at any moment.
At this time, the garrison on the city wall of Neil City was relatively relaxed. After all, tens of thousands of troops were stationed ahead.
"Hey, that so-called prince is really pathetic. He let the enemy reach the city walls and still wouldn't let us go out." A few resting soldiers gathered together in a small tower on the city wall, chatting casually.
"It's a pity that Captain Reynolds died so unjustly, and even his corpse was taken by the enemy."
The Golden Flame Legion was an absolute elite legion. What happened in Neil City last time was a disgrace to the entire Golden Flame Legion. But the officers on the city wall at the time didn't dare to defy Prince Yulin.
"Who are you!" Suddenly, panicked shouts rang out one after another from outside. The soldiers resting in the small towers along the city wall all came out, but when they saw the Dragonblood Warrior transformation hovering in midair, surrounded by swirling black-green mist, they all trembled in fear.
They were elite warriors, warriors who struggled between life and death.
But when they saw a powerful figure hovering in the air, they all realized that the monster before them was a Saint-level expert. As soldiers, they had no power to resist.
"You… are you Master Linley?" Suddenly, an officer spoke in a low voice.
The surrounding elite warriors' eyes lit up. Linley's transformed appearance had long been widely known. Those elite warriors carefully examined Linley's figure within the mist. It indeed closely matched the legends.
"It's me." A deep voice came from the swirling black-green mist.
Master Linley, a magical genius, a master sculptor, a peak Saint-level expert. The pride of the entire O'Brien Empire… countless people in the empire worshipped Linley. Knowing that the monster before them was Linley, the surrounding elite warriors instead felt that Linley's transformation was very fierce and had a very masculine feel.
This was truly the most valiant warrior.
"Master Linley, if you have any questions, please ask freely." The officer quickly said.
"A while ago, a patrol unit of yours was chased by people from the Luo'ao Empire all the way to the city walls. The captain who died in battle at that time, was his name Reynolds?" Linley's voice was hoarse.
The officer spoke up: "Yes, Master Linley."
The surrounding soldiers all felt a sense of shame. This was a disgrace to the Golden Flame Legion, and even Master Linley knew about it. These soldiers felt deeply embarrassed.
"Where is Reynolds's corpse?" Linley pressed on.
"Master Linley, Captain Reynolds's corpse was taken away by the enemy." The officer's face turned slightly pale. He truly felt ashamed. Three hundred men, right under their noses, not only were Reynolds and his men killed, but Reynolds's corpse was also taken away.
Linley asked: "Is there anyone here who personally witnessed the scene back then?"
Many people looked at each other. These people had only heard about Reynolds's matter. The unit that had been on guard duty on the city wall and personally witnessed the scene back then had already been punished and sent to the front lines to fight the enemy.
Seeing their expressions, Linley frowned.
"I… I saw it back then." An old voice came from behind. The surrounding soldiers parted, and an old man in an ornate robe walked over. This old man was the city lord of Neil City.
"Lord City Lord!" The surrounding soldiers all saluted.
The city lord of Neil City looked at Linley, surrounded by black-green mist, and sighed inwardly. As the city lord of a border city like Neil City, how could he be a weak-willed person? Back then, he had been accompanying Prince Yulin. When he saw Reynolds and his men being chased, he immediately wanted to order a rescue.
But Prince Yulin's attitude at the time clearly indicated that no one was allowed to go out. They had to hold their ground! The city lord of Neil City was old and had his own sons and grandsons; he didn't dare to defy Prince Yulin's orders.
"You are the city lord of Neil City? Good. Tell me clearly about the scene when Reynolds was killed and taken away." Linley said coldly.
The city lord of Neil City nodded and said: "When Reynolds and his men fled over, they were already injured. Reynolds had an arrow in his shoulder. When they reached the city walls, over a dozen enemy experts charged over, ignoring the garrison's arrows, and directly slaughtered Reynolds and his men. Reynolds was slashed across the chest and abdomen, killing him. Then the enemy leader carried him on his back and took him away."
Linley nodded inwardly.
The information the Dawson Chamber of Commerce had gathered was true.
"The enemy leader? Do you know where he is?" Linley looked at the city lord of Neil City. "I must find Reynolds's corpse."
The city lord of Neil City nodded and said: "Right now, the Luo'ao Empire's army is facing off against our empire's legion, just a few dozen miles outside Neil City. The enemy leader should be among them. By the way… that enemy leader should be an eighth-rank warrior."
"Oh…"
Linley turned his head to look south. The bloody aura from the south was very clear to Linley. The blood aura from tens of thousands of people killing and dying—how thick it was!
"Bebe, let's go."
"Boom!" A terrifying sonic boom sounded. Linley and Bebe, one human and one magical beast, instantly tore through the sky and reached the far southern horizon. The city lord of Neil City, seeing this, had a hint of excitement on his face: "Those bastards from the Luo'ao Empire are going to be in trouble."
The city lord of Neil City immediately descended from the city wall, led a small squad out of Neil City, and set off for the Golden Flame Legion's main army.
The legions of the two empires faced each other. In the central battlefield, many soldiers were carrying the corpses of their own fallen comrades. At this moment, both legions had consciously ceased fighting.
Corpses lay scattered across the field, one by one being carried away. The dark red earth was stained even redder by the blood, and the bloody aura attracted many insects to gather.
In the Luo'ao Empire's military camp, the tall military flags fluttered noisily in the wind. Squads of soldiers patrolled the camp. Just then, a mass of black-green mist appeared above the Luo'ao Empire's camp.
"Not here?" Linley's spiritual energy instantly covered the entire camp, but Linley couldn't find Reynolds's corpse anywhere.
Captain Hook was in his own tent, drinking strong liquor in large gulps, feeling extremely pleased. Hook believed that after this war ended, he would definitely be promoted.
"I estimate I'll at least be a deputy division commander." Hook thought to himself.
But at that moment, a terrifying force directly tore open the sturdy tent. Hook was shocked: "What's happening? Has the enemy broken into the camp?" Thinking this, Hook rushed out, but as soon as he emerged, he felt a fierce wind howling, to the point where he couldn't even keep his balance.
Looking around, Hook's face turned pale. Countless terrifying airwaves swept through the entire Luo'ao Empire camp. Soldiers struggled to stay on their feet.
After a moment, the fierce wind disappeared.
"All officers of the Luo'ao Empire, gather in the central open area. Hurry." A cold voice came from high above. Everyone looked up toward the source of the sound. It was that constantly swirling, spreading black-green mist. Inside the mist, a blurry, terrifying monster's silhouette could be seen.
"I am Legion Commander Shaster of the Luo'ao Empire's Light Legion. May I ask, respected expert, what is your purpose here?" Legion Commander Shaster said respectfully.
From the energy the other party had just displayed, Shaster understood that this terrifying expert had the strength to sweep through the entire legion single-handedly.
The black-green mist retracted, clinging to the surface of his body. Everyone below could now clearly see Linley's form.
"Monster!"
"Demon!"
Many soldiers let out frightened exclamations. Linley's body landed heavily, shaking the ground and causing cracks to spread. Linley's dragon tail gently swayed, plowing a deep furrow into the earth.
"May I ask, respected expert, are you Master Linley?" Shaster said respectfully.
Linley glanced at Shaster. As a legion commander, he was indeed well-informed. As Linley's fame had grown, the appearance of his transformation had also spread widely.
"It's me." Linley said coldly.
A wave of suppressed gasps arose from the countless soldiers around. They had all heard of Linley's strength, but Linley was on the side of the O'Brien Empire. And now they were fighting against the O'Brien Empire.
"Master Linley, are you going to violate the rules of war? As a Saint-level expert, do you intend to join the battle?" Shaster said without being servile or overbearing. When two empires fought, unless it was a life-or-death struggle, Saint-level experts were generally not allowed to participate.
Linley coldly glanced at him: "I hate it when people threaten me."
Shaster immediately dared not speak. If Linley went mad and actually killed everyone in the entire camp, there would be nothing he could do about it.
"Tell me, a while ago, you sent people to ambush a small unit of the O'Brien Empire, chasing them all the way to Neil City. Who was the leader of that three-hundred-man unit?" Linley said coldly.
Hearing this, almost all the soldiers around looked at Hook, who was not far away.
Hook's body trembled.
Without needing anyone else to answer, Linley also looked at Hook. Hook immediately said respectfully: "Master Linley, a while ago, I did lead my men to chase down a unit and ultimately annihilated them all."
"Annihilated them all?" Hearing this, the muscles around Linley's eyes twitched.
Linley stared at this Hook. His icy gaze made Hook feel as if he had fallen into a frozen wasteland: "I heard that not only did you kill everyone in that unit, but you also took away the captain's corpse."
"Yes." Hook's face showed a hint of pride. In Hook's view, this was something to be proud of.
Linley's heart trembled.
This man had admitted it, but Reynolds's corpse wasn't in the camp. Could it be that Reynolds's corpse had already been destroyed? Thinking of this, Linley grew even more anxious and furious.
Linley's figure moved, and in an instant, he was in front of Hook.
"Ah!" Before Hook could even try to escape, Linley extended one arm, and his strong, powerful right hand grabbed Hook by the throat, lifting him into the air.
Linley's dark golden eyes stared fixedly at Hook: "Do you know that the captain's name was Reynolds? He was my sworn brother, Linley's blood brother!" Linley said through gritted teeth.
The surrounding soldiers now fully understood why Linley was doing this.
A look of shock appeared in Hook's eyes as well. At the same time, he felt Linley's grip on his throat tightening. Hook's face turned bright red, and he forced out through a mouthful of battle qi: "No, that… that Reynolds, he… he didn't die!"
Linley was stunned.
His hand loosened, and Hook fell to the ground. Hook immediately clutched his throat, coughing.