Chapter 13: Linley Returns
Senor transformed into a streak of black light, chasing after Heiru at extreme speed.
"His speed is too fast, not good!" Heiru fled frantically toward the southeast, but his spiritual force clearly detected Wusenor rapidly closing in. In terms of pure speed, Heiru was far slower than Wusenor. Heiru knew his own strength well.
In truth, Heiru was merely a magical beast that had just entered the Saint realm. Because magical beasts had far greater innate talent than humans, he could barely match a peak-stage Saint-level human. For example, an Earth Bear, even if it had just entered the Saint realm, could defeat an ordinary peak Saint-level human. That was talent!
The same applied to Bebe.
Bebe had also only recently entered the Saint realm, but Bebe belonged to an extremely rare and precious race. Even as a new Saint, his strength was such that even the Panshi Sword Saint 'Hederson' was no match for him. His terrifying talent surpassed even that of the Earth Bear.
"Trying to escape?" Wusenor soon spotted the black-striped cloud leopard fleeing ahead.
At this moment, Wusenor's body surface faintly burned with black flames, making him look like a demon god from hell. Wusenor dove sharply, charging toward the black-striped cloud leopard below. The black-striped cloud leopard 'Heiru' trembled with fear, his body rapidly shrinking until he was the size of a palm.
"Swoosh!"
The black-striped cloud leopard, now the size of a mouse, directly burrowed into the ground.
"Boom!" A terrifying blast of black flame shot toward the ground. The stones and soil on the surface instantly turned to nothing, leaving a bottomless pit in the earth. Wusenor landed and glanced at the deep hole.
"Hmph, you sure can run!" Wusenor snorted coldly.
Saint-level magical beasts could expand or shrink at will, and when they shrank, their burrowing speed was extremely fast. Human Saint-level experts lacked this ability. Though Wusenor was powerful, he was far inferior to a Saint-level magical beast when it came to digging underground.
Hundreds of meters beneath the earth.
Heiru sped through the ground, the front of his body naturally forming a sharp air current that parted the soil as he tunneled forward.
"Master, Master!"
Heiru was frantic with worry. "When Master left, he only said he was going south. The distance is too great—I can't even communicate with him through the soul bond." The soul link between a magical beast and its master had a distance limit. The stronger the spiritual force of both master and beast, the greater the range of their soul communication.
Currently, Linley and Heiru could communicate within a range of nearly a thousand miles.
But at this moment, Linley was at the southernmost tip of the Chaos Territory, a full three thousand miles away from Heiru. Heiru couldn't communicate with Linley through the soul bond; he could only vaguely sense Linley's general direction and location. Heiru sped through the earth, rushing toward Linley's location.
...
Wusenor returned, flying to the skies above Mot County City. He directly ordered the four-winged angels, "You two escort these two Undying Warriors to Sheli County City and lock them up with the other three Undying Warriors. I'll go check out Heitu City."
Wusenor flipped his hand and produced two chains mixed with black jade, tossing them to his angel subordinates.
"Yes, sir." The angels respectfully acknowledged.
Wusenor looked north. Based on his estimate, Linley should be in the Heitu City area. "That leopard-type magical beast of his has probably already informed him of what happened here. I wonder if this Linley will flee or come to face me!"
With that, Wusenor transformed into a streak of black light and flew directly north.
*******
In the southern part of the Chaos Territory, within the small forest of the mysterious mountain village, there was a stone house in the center with a stone table in front of it. Linley had been drinking with Renault all night, and it was now around three or four in the morning. When dawn came, Linley planned to leave.
"In another two or three hours, Bebe and I will leave. Fourth brother, when you have free time, go back to the imperial capital and visit your parents. They've probably been worried about you all this time," Linley said to Renault, then glanced at Monnica beside him and smiled. "Alright, fourth brother, go get some rest. You haven't slept all night."
Renault and Monnica stood side by side.
"Third brother, thank you for this," Renault said gratefully.
Whether it was being able to be with Monnica so easily or having the privilege to leave the mountain village once a year, it was all thanks to Linley. Renault knew that with his own limited abilities, he probably wouldn't have caught the attention of people like Desri.
Linley smirked and scolded playfully, "Third brother, why are you being so polite with me?"
"Hmm?"
Linley's expression suddenly changed. At that moment, Heiru was less than a thousand miles away, and his voice echoed in Linley's mind: "Master, something terrible has happened! The Holy See's Saint-level experts have attacked! Buck and his four brothers have all been captured."
This news shocked Linley.
"Renault." Linley's face suddenly turned serious. "Sorry, I have urgent business and need to leave immediately."
"What happened?" Renault and Monnica were also startled.
Linley shook his head. "Just some personal matters. Hmm, fourth brother, don't worry about it." Linley forced a smile and lightly punched Renault's chest. "Alright, I'm off." With a flicker, Linley turned into a blur and arrived at the entrance of Desri's cave dwelling. He called out, "Mr. Desri!"
Around the cave dwelling were several stone houses where Hayward and Fuman lived.
"Linley, what's wrong?" Hayward, who had been in the middle of training, stopped and walked out of his stone house, looking at Linley with confusion. For Linley to rush over so quickly, something must have happened.
After a moment...
Desri and the others came out.
Linley looked at Desri, Hayward, and the others, and immediately apologized, "Mr. Desri, and everyone... I have something important to attend to, so I'll be leaving now." Linley's face carried a hint of apology.
"What happened? Do you need my help?" Desri asked.
"No need," Linley said, shaking his head.
Linley knew that Desri and his group were cultivating here in seclusion and likely disliked power struggles. Desri's offer was just politeness. If Linley actually asked Desri to fight the Holy See, Desri might resent it deep down.
Most importantly...
After getting to know them over this period, Linley had discovered that Desri had once been a member of the Holy See. Of course, he had since left. And it wasn't just Desri—Higginson had also been with the Holy See.
"Farewell, everyone."
Linley bowed, then cast the 'Wind Shadow Technique,' rising into the air. Bebe, who had been sleeping on the grass in the distance, also turned into a black shadow and flew over. Under the watchful eyes of Desri and the others, the man and beast left the mysterious mountain village, flew out of the mountain range, and sped north.
It was still deep in the night.
"Boss, what happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" Bebe asked curiously as they flew side by side.
"The Holy See is getting serious with us," Linley said, his eyes narrowing, a cold, blade-like light flashing from them.
Bebe immediately grew excited. "Oh? The Holy See actually dares to come at us? Great! These days have been so boring. Now there's something fun to do!" Bebe's eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty light. "It's been ages since I've had a good slaughter."
A murderous intent also rose in Linley's eyes. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time!"
Toward the Holy See, Linley harbored a deep-seated hatred. Whether it was his father, his mother, or Grandpa Doehring, the loss of his loved ones was all tied to the Holy See. This organization, outwardly bright but inwardly sinister, was one Linley had long wanted to destroy.
Linley, Bebe, and the beast flew at top speed.
Soon, a black shadow burst out from the ground below and flew up to Linley's side.
"Master," Heiru said respectfully.
Bebe immediately shouted, "Heiru, what exactly happened? Spit it out!"
As they flew, Heiru explained, "Buck, Bune, and I were in Mot County City when suddenly seven four-winged angels and a human Saint-level expert attacked."
"Seven four-winged angels?" Bebe's eyes lit up. "Whoa, nice!"
"The four-winged angels were manageable, but that human Saint-level expert was terrifying. In an instant, he kicked Buck and Bune, who had already transformed, into severe injuries and unable to move. I didn't dare fight him and could only flee. When I burrowed underground, he unleashed a black flame that burned the earth hundreds of meters deep. I almost lost my life. That human Saint-level expert was far more terrifying than Hederson." Heiru still trembled at the memory of Wusenor.
Linley pondered.
"According to the War God, the Holy See's strongest, the 'Holy Emperor,' is one level below Desri and Fahn but one level above Hederson. The person who came today... sounds like he's on par with the Holy Emperor."
Black flames, strength comparable to the Holy Emperor...
"Could it be the one with a status equal to the Holy Emperor and strength nearly the same—the most brutal and vicious... the Inquisitor, Wusenor?" Linley thought to himself.
Linley didn't think the Holy Emperor would come personally, but Wusenor's arrival was very possible.
"Bebe, this enemy is stronger than Hederson. You need to be careful too," Linley warned. "This time... we can't afford to be careless. Once we're about to reach the Sheli Duchy, I'll cast the 'Wind Shadow Technique' on both of you."
The Wind Shadow Technique, a ninth-level spell, was an auxiliary magic but consumed a lot of magical power. However, with the 'Coiling Dragon Ring,' Linley only needed one-sixth of the normal magical power and mental energy to cast spells.
"Wind Shadow Technique?" Bebe blinked. "Is that guy as fast as me?"
"We can't take this lightly," Linley said, shaking his head.
Bebe nodded. Linley then instructed Heiru, "Heiru, leave the human Saint-level expert to Bebe and me. You handle the four-winged angels. We'll try to take out as many of them as possible first."
"Yes, Master," Heiru acknowledged.
With that, the man and two beasts sped north. By around five in the morning, when the sky was faintly lit, Linley, Bebe, and Heiru had entered the Sheli Duchy. Upon arrival, Linley immediately transformed into a Dragonblood Warrior and cast the 'Wind Shadow Technique' on Bebe and Heiru.
"Boss, I feel like I'm moving a lot faster now," Bebe said, feeling the enhanced speed from the Wind Shadow Technique, and looked curiously at Linley beside him.
"I've gained some insights into the wind-element laws, so my speed has improved a bit," Linley said with a smile. He had made breakthroughs in both the 'Fast' and 'Slow' aspects of the wind-element laws, making his movements even more fluid and his speed greater.
Combined with his Dragonblood Warrior speed and the Wind Shadow Technique, Linley's speed had indeed risen to a new level compared to when he fought Hederson.
"So lively," Linley remarked, looking at a small city in the Sheli Duchy. The city was brightly lit and bustling. The angels' descent earlier that night had excited the residents, making them even more devout in their faith in the Lord of Light.
Linley noticed that the flag on the city wall had changed, reverting to the Sheli Duchy's original banner.
"With the angels here, the lost territory has been reclaimed."
Linley couldn't be bothered with such a small city and flew directly toward the Sheli Duchy's county city. Soon, the man and two beasts arrived above Sheli County City. By now, the sky was brighter, and the fresh air of early morning filled the land.
Transformed into a Dragonblood Warrior, Linley, along with Bebe and Heiru, hovered above Sheli County City.
"Only six angels and Buck and the others. No other Saint-level experts," Linley said, his soul force instantly covering the area below.
"Only six?" Bebe seemed unsatisfied.
At that moment, the six four-winged angels detected Linley's soul force scanning them and flew up from below. Their dazzling holy light blazed like six small suns rising from the ground. Linley's eyes flashed with lightning-like sharpness, and he said coldly, "Six angels—kill them all!"
"Yes, Boss (Master)!" Bebe and Heiru transformed into two streaks of black light, charging at the six four-winged angels.