Chapter 21: The Law of Light
Useno and Leiming flew at extreme speed toward Black Crow Mountain, while simultaneously releasing their spiritual power to cover the entire mountain.
"Linley is on Black Crow Mountain, the one in the sky-blue robe!" Useno immediately said.
"I know."
Leiming's eyes flashed with brilliant light as he began to accumulate energy within his body. A long staff, a full three meters in length, abruptly appeared in his hands. Calling it a "staff" might be an understatement—to an ordinary person, it would be more like a "pillar." But with Leiming's two-and-a-half-meter height, his large hands could easily grip this extremely thick staff.
The staff was entirely silver, with various patterns spiraling across its surface.
"That magical beast rat isn't there, but there are two other Saint-level experts, along with a woman of average strength. Could that be Delia?" Useno wondered inwardly.
At this moment, there was no time to think too much.
"Boom—" Like a bolt of lightning striking down, Leiming charged downward with his long staff, ignoring everyone else and heading straight for his target—Linley.
...
Linley and Delia were currently entertaining guests—Desri and his wife! The couple had been on their way back from the Temple of the Ice Goddess when they stopped by Linley's place, also taking the opportunity to congratulate him. Just as the two couples were chatting happily—
A terrifying force descended from the sky, targeting Linley!
"Get back!" Linley's face changed drastically as he shoved Delia aside. A gust of wind immediately wrapped around her, while Linley himself transformed into a Dragonblood Warrior. His sky-blue robe burst into shreds with a "bang," and the Black-Edged Heavy Sword appeared in his hand.
The silver staff, brimming with boundless power, came into view.
"Whoosh!"
Space rippled like waves, as if tearing apart, as the silver staff, gripped by a pair of massive hands, smashed viciously toward Linley. Linley felt an unprecedented crisis. He sensed that he was completely locked onto, and the surrounding space seemed to press down on him.
"Linley!" Delia, pushed to the side, had terror in her eyes.
But at that moment—
A soft, milky-white light appeared in front of Linley, like a piece of white silk. The silver staff, carrying enough force to shatter the entire Black Crow Mountain, struck this "white silk" formed by the gentle, milky-white energy.
The "white silk" merely dented slightly, and the silver staff could no longer press downward.
Leiming, holding the silver staff, was sent flying back by the rebound force, landing on the ground a hundred meters away. Useno also landed beside Leiming, staring in shock at Desri. He knew clearly that this man had blocked Leiming's attack.
"Who are you?" Useno demanded.
"Useno, it's you!" Linley's face darkened. Delia immediately ran to his side, her heart full of worry.
At this moment, Linley, Desri, and the others were in the middle of the lake, while Useno and Leiming stood on the shore. The two sides faced each other across the water.
"People from the Radiant Church?" Desri frowned.
Linley's heart tightened: "Desri was once on the side of the Radiant Church. He wouldn't still have feelings for them, would he?" At the same time, Linley immediately sent a mental message to Bebe: "Bebe, don't stay in the Dark Forest. Come back quickly. The Radiant Church has come knocking."
"Boss, I'll be there as fast as I can!" Bebe replied instantly.
Linley now carefully observed Useno and Leiming. In particular, Leiming's terrifying two-and-a-half-meter-tall physique gave Linley a sense of pressure: "The one who attacked me just now was this big guy. His strength is definitely not weaker than Useno's."
"Delia, protect yourself," Linley said quietly to Delia beside him.
Delia remained silent, not wanting to distract Linley.
"Who exactly are you?" Useno stared at Desri. "This is a matter between the Radiant Church and Linley. I hope you won't interfere. You seem to cultivate the Law of Light as well... If you step aside today, you'll be doing our Church a favor. In the future, we will surely repay you."
The arrogant Leiming also kept quiet now.
Desri's earlier move had made him feel a tremendous threat.
"My name is... Desri," Desri said calmly.
"Desri? It's you!" Useno and Leiming both changed expression drastically.
Desri was a legendary figure within the Radiant Church. Long ago, the legendary Pope Ernst founded the Holy Alliance, and in that era, Desri was the leader of the ascetics of the Radiant Church.
His status was akin to that of Lord Fallen Leaf today.
Useno and Leiming exchanged glances, both feeling the fear in each other's hearts. A Saint-level expert from the same era as the legendary Pope—his strength after all these years was terrifying to imagine.
"Lord Desri, we hope that in consideration of past ties, you will not involve yourself in this matter," Useno said earnestly.
"Hmph, dream on." A cold voice rang out—it was Ice-Serlin beside him.
Ice-Serlin gave Linley a reassuring look. Linley, still on high alert, felt a surge of gratitude upon hearing her words. But he still looked at Desri... after all, Desri was the one who made the decisions.
"What are you thinking?" Ice-Serlin said discontentedly, seeing Desri hesitate. In her view, there was no need for hesitation.
Delia was also tense, watching Desri anxiously.
"Lord Desri, have you forgotten the kindness of Lord Ernst in the past?" Useno quickly added. Desri hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "I won't let you kill Linley. Leave now."
Desri did have some feelings for the Radiant Church.
Especially Ernst, who had been like a brother to him.
"Lord Desri!" Useno urged anxiously. "Linley has killed six angels and shown no mercy to our Radiant Church. If we let him grow, especially with the other five Undying Warriors, the threat to our Church will be enormous. Lord Desri, do you intend to watch the Church be destroyed by them?"
Desri frowned.
"I said, leave," Desri said in a low voice.
Leiming and Useno exchanged glances and reached a decision.
Leiming stared at Desri and said in a booming voice, "Desri, since that's your choice, we have no other option." They now addressed him directly by name. White flames suddenly erupted from Leiming's body, radiating a terrifying aura that turned the surrounding grass to nothingness.
Holding the silver staff, which now seemed to crackle with lightning, Leiming stood ready.
"A zealot?" Desri said with a faint smile.
Black flames coiled around Useno's body, and with a flicker, he split into four copies of himself. "Leiming, I'll hold off Desri. Linley is yours." Useno believed that while he was no match for Desri, he could at least tie him down with his clones.
...
"Lady Ice-Serlin, take care of Delia," Linley said quietly.
"Rest assured." Ice-Serlin immediately pulled Delia to a distance. Delia didn't say much, only giving Linley an encouraging look. Linley felt his fighting spirit surge: "No matter what, for Delia's sake, I cannot die."
Linley then coldly stared at Leiming.
"His attacks are fierce, but can he kill me with one strike?" Linley thought. The black-green energy rippled around his body. "My Pulse Defense has reached 152 layers, and with my dragon scales protecting me, killing me in one blow is a dream!" He had confidence in himself.
His Earth-style insights were no joke either: "At this point, I'll have to use my last resort." Linley also held the Violet Blood Soft Sword in his left hand. In the most critical moment, he would activate the terrifying killing intent within it.
...
"Boom!" A deafening air blast rang out as Leiming charged forward.
At the same time, the four copies of Useno rushed toward Desri. Their sudden acceleration to maximum speed caused a howling gale, even blowing the stones of Linley's stone house into the air. The lake water surged upward violently.
"Ridiculous!"
A clear voice rang out from Desri's mouth. He floated in midair, his entire body radiating dazzling white light. In an instant, Desri became as blinding as the sun, and beams of white light surged toward the four Usenos and Leiming.
No matter how fast they were, they couldn't match the speed of light.
The four Usenos and Leiming were all struck by the white light. The four Usenos trembled, and three clones collapsed instantly. The real body's black flames burned fiercely to resist the white light.
"Ah!" Leiming roared, the white flame mark on his forehead blazing brightly.
"Bang!" Holding the silver staff, Leiming actually broke through Desri's obstruction. Desri was greatly startled, but before he could launch a second attack, Linley and Leiming clashed.
The moment Leiming broke through Desri's barrier, he saw a pair of cold, dark-golden eyes and a deep cyan heavy sword. Leiming's heart jolted: "It's Linley!" Without hesitation, he swung his long staff viciously at Linley.
Linley showed no mercy either, swinging both the Black-Edged Heavy Sword and the Violet Blood Soft Sword at his opponent.
"Die!" Leiming roared in fury, his face twisted. The white flame mark on his forehead grew even brighter, and the space around the silver staff rippled like water as the terrifying force smashed toward Linley.
Linley instantly activated the killing intent within the Violet Blood Soft Sword.
A trace of red appeared in Linley's dark-golden eyes, and the familiar scene flooded his mind—corpses of nearly ten-meter-tall giants covered in scales and horns, white bones faintly glowing with a strange gold...
Every corpse and bone emitted an aura at least at the Saint level, some even more terrifying.
"Ah!" Leiming suddenly screamed.
The overwhelming killing intent surged into his mind. Even a powerhouse like Leiming felt his heart tremble, and even the white flame mark on his forehead flickered. The power in his silver staff naturally weakened slightly.
"Bang!"
The silver staff collided with the Black-Edged Heavy Sword.
Earth-style insight—152 vibration waves!
Linley's Black-Edged Heavy Sword was knocked back into his own body. The terrifying force slammed into his Pulse Defense, causing the black-green energy to churn violently. But the unprecedented power still pierced through the defense.
Linley's body was sent flying...
"Linley!" Delia cried out in panic from afar.
Linley somersaulted in midair and landed on the distant shore. He grinned at Delia: "Don't worry, I'm fine." As he spoke, he swallowed the blood that had risen to his throat. Looking at the shattered dragon scales on his chest, he felt a chill inside.
If he hadn't used the Violet Blood Soft Sword, he might have been severely injured and on the ground by now.
Leiming hovered in midair, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, his eyes now clear.
"Bastard!" Leiming roared, gripping the silver staff as he charged at Linley again.
"Hmph."
A cold snort rang out. A visible, transparent ripple erupted from Desri's body and struck Leiming instantly. The giant's body trembled, and he fell from midair, plunging into the lake with a "splash."
"Both of you, don't push me!" Desri's face darkened.