Chapter 44: The Slave
"Old Four isn't dead?" Linley blurted out in shock, but then he quickly reacted. "You're saying, Reynolds isn't dead?"
At this moment, Linley's heart was pounding rapidly—surprise, tension, disbelief, excitement, fear... all kinds of emotions surged into his chest at once. Now, he could only look expectantly at the officer of the O'Brien Empire before him.
Hook clutched his throat and said in panic, "Yes, he's not dead. He really isn't dead."
"Hook, when you reported your military merits, didn't you say the battalion commander you captured was already dead?" The legion commander, Shaster, frowned and barked from not far away.
Deceiving a Saint-level powerhouse was extremely unwise. Shaster even suspected that Hook was fabricating this out of fear of death.
Linley also looked at Hook. He truly hoped Hook wasn't making this up.
"Speak quickly." Linley's gaze fixed on Hook, and the entire chaotic camp's attention was focused on him. Hook straightened up and quickly defended himself, "Lord Linley, I really am not lying. At first, I carried the corpse of that battalion commander—the one you call Reynolds—on my back. But later, I noticed that the corpse actually moved. That's when I realized he wasn't dead!"
Linley's heart clenched violently.
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Hook's face as he continued, "Lord Linley, that Reynolds was very handsome and also a noble mage. Based on the magic he used while we were chasing him, we deduced he was a seventh-rank mage. A handsome young seventh-rank mage—that's extremely valuable on the slave market."
Hearing this, Linley already understood.
The crowd of officers around also realized what was going on. During wartime, large numbers of slaves were often captured, and these slaves would be sold to slave-trading organizations. The military had good relations with these organizations. A handsome young seventh-rank mage was indeed a valuable commodity.
A seventh-rank mage was someone of high status. To make such a mage one's slave—especially for some noble ladies—was quite appealing. They would be willing to spend huge sums of money to buy one. Selling such a seventh-rank mage would likely fetch far more than Hook could earn from military rewards.
"You're saying... you sold Reynolds to a slave-trading organization?" Linley pressed.
"Yes." Hook said fearfully. He now knew that Reynolds was actually Lord Linley's brother.
"Was Reynolds seriously injured?" Linley asked worriedly. Based on the intelligence, Reynolds had suffered a nearly fatal wound. Linley was concerned.
Hook affirmed with absolute certainty, "Lord Linley, please rest assured. When I brought Reynolds back to the city, I immediately had someone treat him. After selling him to the slave-trading organization, they certainly wouldn't let such an important piece of merchandise die."
Important merchandise?
Linley was deeply worried for his good brother. Reynolds had actually fallen to the point of being a slave.
"Let's go. You'll take me to find that slave organization. You know where it is, right?" Linley grabbed Hook by the clothes, and Hook quickly said, "Yes, I remember clearly."
Shaster, standing nearby, also barked, "Hook, from now on, you will follow Lord Linley. Whatever Lord Linley demands, you must obey." Shaster then looked at Linley humbly and said, "Lord Linley, I'm truly sorry. I hope you won't take this too hard."
Shaster had no choice, really.
During wartime, one generally didn't dare to involve the family or brothers of a Saint-level powerhouse. After all, a Saint-level going berserk was a terrifying thing.
In history, it wasn't uncommon for a Saint-level to kill tens of thousands of people in a fit of rage.
However, Saint-level powerhouses were usually aloof. As long as you didn't provoke them, they wouldn't stoop to quarreling with ordinary people. Linley glanced at Shaster, then grabbed Hook and said, "Let's go!" He soared into the air and flew south alongside Bebe...
Watching Linley fly away, everyone in the camp finally breathed a sigh of relief. Facing a powerful Saint-level, the soldiers on the field had no chance of resistance.
"Several division commanders, go and control your men. I'm worried the Golden Flame Legion might take advantage of the chaos," Shaster said, looking at the now-disorderly camp with concern. The camp was in disarray, and the soldiers' morale had been shaken by Linley's display.
Shaster's guess was correct. Before long, the Golden Flame Legion launched another fierce attack.
In a border city of the O'Brien Empire, Linley grabbed Hook and descended directly into a seemingly ordinary mansion. Inside the mansion were some well-equipped guards.
"Whoosh!" A gust of wind stirred up as Linley, having returned to human form, landed on the ground holding Hook. He was no longer as grief-stricken and frenzied as when he first sought revenge for his brother. Now, he had calmed down considerably.
Regardless, at least Old Four was still alive.
"Old White, Old White!" Hook shouted loudly as soon as he landed.
"Who are you people?" Before Old White appeared, a circle of guards quickly surrounded them, weapons at the ready. Just then, a silver-haired old man dressed like a gentleman walked in from a side gate. He looked at Hook and laughed heartily, "Oh, if it isn't dear Hook. Why are you so anxious, barging in like this?"
"Hook, and this is?" Old White had sharp eyes. He immediately noticed that the man in the black robe beside him was no ordinary person. Since Linley had reverted to human form, he wasn't wearing anything underneath, only a pair of tattered trousers.
Linley frowned and gave Old White a cold look.
"Old White, this is Lord Linley!" Hook quickly said.
"Lord Linley?" Old White was stunned, then shock filled his eyes. "Could it be Lord Linley, the Dragonblood Warrior of the O'Brien Empire?"
Hook nodded repeatedly. "I was brought here flying by Lord Linley himself."
Old White couldn't believe it. He was just a regional head of a slave-trading organization—how could someone like Linley, a peak powerhouse on the continent, come to him?
"Old White..." Linley looked at him.
"Lord Linley." Old White was very deferential.
Linley got straight to the point. "Old White, about a month ago, Hook should have sold you a young seventh-rank mage."
Old White glanced at Hook, then nodded to Linley. "Yes."
"That seventh-rank mage is named Reynolds. He is my brother!" Linley's voice was calm, but his icy eyes were fixed on Old White.
Old White's eyes went wide. "L-Lord Linley's brother?" His face was full of shock, fear, and disbelief.
Their slave-trading organization, though formidable and connected to the four major assassin organizations, wouldn't dare offend a Saint-level powerhouse, let alone someone of Linley's caliber at the peak of Saint-level!
"Hook, you—" Old White glared at Hook.
That Reynolds was sold to them by Hook. Selling anyone else—even members of noble families—their organization dared. But the brother of a Saint-level?
Hook's face was full of bitter regret.
He hadn't known. If he had, would he have dared to mess with Reynolds? His life was still in Linley's hands.
"Old White," Linley spoke up.
Old White reacted quickly and immediately said to Linley, "Lord Linley, please rest assured. Since Reynolds is your brother, our organization will certainly not harm him further. I will immediately send word to our headquarters..."
"What's going on? Where is Reynolds now?" Linley pressed.
"This, this..." Old White's face showed fear. After all, Reynolds had been captured and sold as a slave nearly a month ago.
Linley felt a sense of dread and barked, "Speak!"
Old White was terrified. If a Saint-level like Linley got angry, their entire organization could be destroyed overnight. He quickly said, "Lord Linley, when Reynolds was first brought to us, we had his injuries treated. Then, after about ten days, we shipped a large batch of slaves all at once. Reynolds was among them. Based on my estimate, he should have already arrived at our headquarters."
"Headquarters?" Linley frowned.
Hook, standing nearby, asked in confusion, "Old White, what's going on? Doesn't your organization usually sell slaves directly to the slave markets? Why send Reynolds to your headquarters?"
Old White quickly explained, "Ordinary slaves can be sold directly, but Reynolds was different. He's a seventh-rank mage—very dangerous. If we sold him to a customer and he cast a spell, killing the buyer, our organization would have to pay compensation."
Linley stared at Old White.
"So, for dangerous top-tier slaves like Reynolds, they are all sent to headquarters for three months of training. They are trained to be submissive and obedient to their masters before being delivered to customers," Old White explained.
Linley's expression changed. Trained to be submissive and obedient? And the trainees were people like Reynolds... Linley could fully imagine the dark, brutal nature of such training.
"Where is your headquarters? Take me there now." Linley's face darkened as he ordered.
Old White hesitated for a moment, but seeing Linley's terrifying gaze, he nodded immediately. "Yes, Lord Linley. I'll take you to headquarters right away."
"The headquarters is deep within the O'Brien Empire. From this border, following the winding roads, it's over three thousand miles away," Old White said.
"My boss can just fly you there, can't he?" Bebe said discontentedly from the side. Bebe was also worried about Reynolds. Back at Ernst Institute, Bebe had often played around with Reynolds.
Old White nodded quickly, not daring to say anything else.
"Lord Linley, do I have to come along?" Hook asked fearfully from the side.
Linley turned to look at Hook. Now, Reynolds was probably enduring inhuman torture at the slave organization's headquarters. Just thinking about it made Linley's anger flare.
"Pfft—" A claw shadow flashed. Hook clutched his throat in terror, but blood still gushed out. In moments, Hook collapsed to the ground.
Bebe hovered in the air, glancing disdainfully at Hook. "You bastard, thinking you could keep your life? Dream on. You must have had a great time killing the soldiers of Reynolds' battalion, huh? Today, I, Bebe, will give you a taste of your own medicine."
Seeing this, Old White's body trembled slightly.
"Old man, don't be afraid. As long as you obey my boss, I, Bebe, won't bully you, got it?" Bebe grinned, showing his sharp teeth. Old White had heard that during Linley's battle with Hodson, Linley's two Saint-level magical beasts had suddenly appeared, and one of them, a rat-like beast, had easily toyed with Hodson. Looking at the hovering Bebe, Old White realized this must be that terrifying magical beast.
Old White could only force a fearful smile at Bebe.
Linley, however, grabbed Old White and shot into the air, flying southeast. "Old White, give me directions!" Swallowing hard, Old White glanced down and then pointed the way to the headquarters.