Chapter 4: War Machine
Rumble~~~"
The waterfall, dozens of meters high, cascaded down with a fierce torrent, crashing into the deep pool below, sending countless splashes into the air. The water from this deep pool flowed slowly along a narrow river. Barker and Sessler followed this narrow river, steadily advancing deeper into the Black Crow Mountains.
At the end of this river lay a tranquil lake, with an elegant wooden cabin at its center.
In front of the cabin, a figure in a loose robe with long flowing hair was slowly wielding a purple longsword. Calling it "slow" was an illusion for Barker and Sessler. It appeared slow, but in reality, it was terrifyingly fast.
This sense of visual disorientation made Barker and Sessler feel like vomiting blood.
With each sword stroke, it seemed as if the surrounding space itself twisted.
Barker and Sessler exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock. It had only been a few months, and Linley had broken through again! They had never seen Linley use this kind of swordsmanship before. From what they had just witnessed, they were certain... the power of this sword technique was terrifying.
Barker and Sessler stood on the lakeshore, waiting silently.
After a long while, Linley sheathed his sword.
"Come over," Linley said, flicking his sleeve. A surge of energy rippled across the lake toward the opposite shore, and then a "bridge of energy" formed by the air current appeared between the cabin and the lakeshore. "Just walk straight across. Don't be afraid; you won't fall."
Barker and Sessler exchanged another glance before finally stepping onto this "energy bridge" and making their way to the cabin at the center of the lake.
Linley sat down at a stone table beside the cabin, produced a flask of wine and three cups, and said with a faint smile, "Sessler, if you had come a few days earlier, I would have had to use the wind to carry you over. I couldn't have done what I just did."
Sessler was a ninth-level necromancer. Though he was close to breaking through to the Saint-level, he couldn't fly, and given his physical condition, he couldn't even walk on water.
"Master, what was that just now?" Barker was still in shock.
Sessler also looked at Linley, who smiled and explained, "That was an application of the principles of wind-element laws. Recently, I've gained some insight into the path of 'slowness,' which allowed me to do what I just did. But I'm still a long way from achieving spatial stasis."
"What's spatial stasis?" Sessler asked, puzzled.
Linley didn't elaborate further. Neither Sessler nor Barker cultivated the wind-element laws, so how could they understand? After sparring with Miller, the expert from that mysterious mountain village, Linley had gained a clear path in his mind for cultivating the realm of 'slowness.' Naturally, his progress was twice as efficient.
If Miller had seen Linley's cultivation progress, he would have been shocked.
In just a few months to reach this level—such a terrifying speed of cultivation.
Linley poured a cup of wine for each of them, raised his glass, and said with a smile, "You've come this time—speak your minds."
Barker said, "Master, after a period of management in our territory, the army has been reorganized and trained for three months. We're now ready to attack other cities." As soon as he finished, a smile spread across Linley's face.
He had been looking forward to this day.
"This time, we should attack that prefectural city, right?" Linley said.
Sessler nodded beside him. "Yes, according to our plan, we're going to attack three small cities and Mott Prefectural City." By now, Linley's side controlled six cities and six legion divisions, totaling over fifty thousand troops. This strength was comparable to that of a prefectural city.
But—
Linley's side had experts! That was an absolute advantage.
"Once we take the prefectural city, we'll have the right to declare the establishment of a duchy," Barker said with a chuckle.
Linley had always been focused on establishing a duchy. He still remembered the promise in Delia's letter: once he successfully founded a duchy, she would leave the Yulan Empire and come to him.
"Linley," Sessler asked, "after we capture Mott Prefectural City, how should we proceed? Should we continue conquering cities not controlled by the Radiant Church or the Dark Church, or should we attack the duchies under the Radiant Church's control?"
According to the map, once Mott Prefectural City was taken, the southernmost tip of Linley's territory would border the region controlled by the Radiant Church.
Of course, the Radiant Church's control was covert. On the surface, everything was a collection of duchies. It was easy to tell whether a duchy was controlled by the Radiant Church or the Dark Church: if the prefectural city had a Radiant Temple, the duchy was secretly under the Radiant Church's control.
If it had a Dark Temple, it was under the Dark Church's control.
"Attack the duchies controlled by the Radiant Church," Linley said, narrowing his eyes as he made his decision. "As our actions grow larger, the Radiant Church's intelligence agents will notice the five of you, Barker. Once they recognize you five, they'll know this force belongs to me, Linley. That's inevitable."
Linley looked at Barker and Sessler and smiled. "After we take the prefectural city, stabilize first and reorganize the army. Once that's done, launch an offensive into the Radiant Church's territory."
"Of course, the scale of the offensive should be small. We need to see how the Radiant Church reacts first," Linley said with a faint smile. "Whether they counterattack directly, tolerate it, or send experts to find me."
Sessler understood Linley's intent and laughed. "Right. If the Radiant Church wants a direct confrontation with you, Linley, then the duchy's name will be based on your surname—'Baruch Duchy'!"
"If the Radiant Church tolerates it, we'll play dumb. We won't reveal your existence yet, and the duchy can be given some random name."
Hearing Sessler's words, Linley nodded in agreement.
Now it all depended on the Radiant Church's reaction. If their experts didn't show up, Linley wouldn't act either. He'd let Barker and his brothers cause trouble first, continuously conquering cities and territories. If the enemy's experts appeared... then it would be time for a showdown.
"When do we attack Mott Prefectural City?" Barker looked at Linley.
"Start as soon as possible," Linley replied.
...
With Linley's single command, the machinery of his six cities began to turn rapidly. One legion division of 9,000 men, under the leadership of three commanders, attacked three cities respectively. Another four divisions, led by Barker and Gates, attacked Mott Prefectural City.
Sessler remained stationed in Blacksoil City.
"Kill!" The ground outside Mott Prefectural City was completely stained red. The city had initially sent out a 20,000-strong army to deliver a heavy blow on the plains, but they were instead routed by the forces led by Gates and Barker, suffering countless casualties.
Gates and Barker were like two demons of war.
Wielding their massive battle-axes, they swung them wherever they went, mowing down enemies in droves. Every army had elite vanguard squads, but Gates and Barker specifically targeted those squads. Wherever the resistance was toughest, they charged in.
In no time, Mott Prefectural City's 20,000-strong army was shattered, their morale destroyed. Many surrendered on the spot.
More than half were dead or wounded; the survivors were all taken prisoner.
They couldn't escape even if they wanted to. The gates of Mott Prefectural City had been shut. The city lord didn't dare open them—if those two demons charged in, they would all be dead for sure. At this moment, the defending forces inside Mott Prefectural City numbered only about 20,000.
The Blacksoil City army stood in orderly formation outside, while the more than 10,000 prisoners had no morale left, most of them wounded. Only about two or three thousand were still combat-ready. Blood soaked the ground, and the morale of Mott Prefectural City's defenders hit rock bottom.
"What's going on? Why are they standing so far away?" The defending commander grew anxious. At that distance, they were well out of arrow range.
Suddenly, the two figures at the front, like war gods, charged forward at incredible speed, their massive axes in hand. The defending commander immediately shouted, "Archers, prepare! Target those two! Fire!"
Nearly a hundred elite archers, selected from the regular troops, drew their composite longbows and shot at the two men below. But Barker and Gates were too fast. Only a few arrows struck them, and even those bounced off harmlessly.
"Haha, watch this!" Gates roared in excitement, raising his terrifyingly large axe and swinging it at the distant city gate.
"Boom!"
A deafening sound came from the gate. The towering gate shook, and small cracks appeared, but it didn't break.
"The gates of a prefectural city are much sturdier than those of a small town," Gates laughed, his voice echoing across the battlefield. "Boss, you don't need to bother. I can handle this broken gate myself."
The violent tremor from that single strike had already turned the soldiers on the wall pale.
Was this how war was fought?
Bursting through the gate directly?
"Drop the boulder! Hurry, drop the boulder!" The city lord's shrill voice rang out. In a large city like this, the walls were over ten meters thick. Besides the usual gates, there were mechanisms at the gate. A massive stone slab, ten meters thick, could be dropped from above to block the entrance.
Once that solid stone slab fell, even a ninth-level expert couldn't break through it. It was specifically designed to counter powerful warriors.
"Drop the boulder?"
Gates's expression changed, and he roared, "Damn it, open up!" His massive axe, as light as a falling leaf, gently touched the gate. The gate shuddered violently, and most of it shattered into powder. But then came a low rumble—the stone slab had fallen, completely sealing the gate.
"Break!" Barker used the same technique—"Heavy as Light."
"Boom!" The stone slab shook, and stone dust rained down. A deep crater nearly a meter deep appeared on its surface. But compared to the slab's terrifying size, this crater was nothing.
Barker and Gates exchanged glances.
"We'll have to follow the master's instructions," Gates said with a grin.
According to Linley, the identity of the Barker brothers as Undying Warriors was to be kept secret. It was one of Linley's trump cards, since the Radiant Church didn't know about it. If they had to reveal anything, it should be what the Radiant Church already knew.
"Blackscale!" Barker shouted.
"Roar!" A deafening roar erupted. The terrifying black panther in the army suddenly grew in size, becoming ten meters tall and twenty meters long—the height of a three-story building. Seeing such a massive magical beast, everyone in Mott Prefectural City was stunned.
"A Saint-level magical beast!"
The defending officer stammered.
"Boom!" The three-story-tall Blackscale turned into a black blur and charged at the gate. The thousand-meter distance was covered in the blink of an eye. The gate was over twenty meters high, and Blackscale's terrifying body slammed into the ten-meter-thick stone slab.
A horrible crash echoed.
The stone slab shattered like tofu, sending countless fragments flying backward. Inside the city, many soldiers were struck by the high-speed debris, their heads crushed, their chests caved in... and that was just the appetizer.
The terrifying magical beast, Blackscale, rampaged through the city.
An absolute war machine. Everyone in its path was either trampled to death or sent flying. The casualties were countless.
"We surrender! We surrender!"
"Surrender!!!"
Even the bravest soldiers felt powerless in the face of such a terrifying magical beast. One by one, they dropped their weapons and knelt in surrender. A Saint-level magical beast... how could ordinary soldiers possibly contend with such an existence?
"I surrender, I surrender." The city lord of Mott Prefectural City also knelt, trembling.
With the capture of Mott Prefectural City, Linley's domain now included one prefectural city and nine small towns, with a population of nearly nine million. It could already be considered a sizable duchy.