Chapter 46: Falling Out
Senner was utterly horrified in his heart: "So, so fast!" Just now, he had been hit while using four afterimages. If he hadn't used two Saint-level angels as shields in that critical moment, he, Usenno, would have been killed by Linley in a single exchange.
In truth, in his human form, Linley wasn't much stronger than Usenno.
The main reason was that Linley had launched a sudden attack. With the speed of the Violet Blood Soft Sword, by the time Usenno reacted, Linley's sword was already before him. If Usenno had been prepared, he wouldn't have been so embarrassed.
"Linley, what is the meaning of this!" Heiting said coldly, his voice like a thunderclap.
At the same time, Heiting and Luoye stood up. Afleck, O'Casey, and Clemenson of the Dark Church also rose, staring coldly at Linley. The leaders of the two major religious organizations of the Yulan Continent, the 'Radiant Church' and the 'Dark Church', now had a common enemy—
Linley!
Looking at the gazes of Heiting, Afleck, Luoye, and the others, Linley actually felt a trace of joy in his heart.
"Grandpa Doehring, do you see this?"
Over twenty years!
Leaving Hess City and entering the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, that year was exactly 10000 Yulan Calendar. At that time, Linley wasn't even twenty years old. Back then, he had sworn to uproot the Radiant Church completely. But he knew very well... he had to take it step by step.
The Radiant Church valued faith power.
Now, the Holy Union, having lost a third of its territory, had a population of only four to five hundred million. Meanwhile, the area the Radiant Church controlled in the Chaos Territory had a population of over two hundred million. If Linley unified this region and prohibited preaching, etc., it would be an unprecedented blow to the Radiant Church.
"In my eyes back then, the Radiant Church was still a behemoth, but now..." Linley glanced at Usenno, who was clutching his bleeding chest. "Even the Chief Inquisitor 'Usenno' is far from my match." Linley murmured in his heart, "Grandpa Doehring, watch. Soon, soon. The day to uproot the Radiant Church is near. This is just the first step!"
Doehring Cowart held an extremely high place in Linley's heart.
He had taught Linley from childhood, selflessly. Whether it was magical training or flat knife carving, it was indeed Grandpa Doehring who made Linley who he was. Even in moments of danger, Grandpa Doehring had sacrificed his soul to save Linley.
Using ruthless methods against the Radiant Church—Linley had long awaited this day.
Now, the Radiant Church had walked right into his trap. Would Linley show any mercy?
"What?" Linley swept his gaze across the hall. "Do you want to fight?" Heiting and Afleck were about to speak, but at that moment, Linley's body instantly transformed. The deep cyan dragon scales covered his entire body. His robe burst apart instantly, and the fabric fragments shot forward like sharp arrows.
The experts from the Radiant Church and the Dark Church easily blocked these fragments with their respective methods.
Linley's cold dragon tail gently flicked, making a sound like air being cut. His dark golden pupils swept over the group: "If you want to fight, I'm ready anytime!"
"And I've been waiting for you." Barker's deep voice rang out, and his body immediately began to change. It suddenly expanded, his height shooting up to three meters, and his entire skin turned cyan. The bulging, snake-like veins coiled around Barker's body, extremely terrifying.
A rock-like white armor quickly grew from his skin, then covered Barker's entire body.
Saint-level ultimate warrior—Undying Warrior!
"Hehe." A sinister laugh came from the side. Sesslar's emerald-green eyes swept over the group. "I, Sesslar, haven't had a good fight since reaching the Saint-level. Radiant Church... the 'favors' you gave me back then, I'm going to 'repay' them well now."
"Gaga, fighting, of course I can't miss out!" Bebe hovered beside Linley as well.
The situation on the top floor of this ship had deteriorated to the extreme.
The Radiant Pope 'Heiting' and the Dark Pope 'Afleck' exchanged a glance. They had calculated it clearly: although Linley's side had four strong warriors, in terms of strength, Sesslar had only just stepped into the Saint-level and probably couldn't threaten experts at the level of Heiting and Afleck.
As for Barker, a Saint-level Undying Warrior, he might be a bit more troublesome.
Bebe's threat was no less than Barker's.
The greatest threat... was Linley. Not only was he a Saint-level Dragonblood Warrior, but his comprehension of the laws was also extremely high. Among ultimate warriors, most had very low law comprehension. Someone who reached Linley's level had never existed before.
In history, the strongest Dragonblood Warrior!
"If I use the Grand Prophecy, I should be able to hold Linley back. Combined with Luoye's help, defeating Linley might be possible." Heiting thought to himself. The power of the 'Grand Prophecy' was not something Usenno's 'Shadow Clone Technique' could compare to.
Heiting and Afleck only exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's intentions.
"Ha, haha." Heiting laughed three times in a row. Luoye, Usenno, and the others, who had received the signal, immediately made their move.
...
"Boom!"
The entire top floor of the ship exploded and was torn open. Over a dozen figures shot into the sky like arrows. The hull of the large ship cracked open, and the crew below, who were controlling the ship's movement, immediately jumped into the river and swam toward the shore.
As they swam to the shore, these crew members looked up at the sky.
They were all soldiers of the Baruch Kingdom. When they were ordered to come, they knew that the person negotiating on the ship was the spiritual pillar of the Baruch Kingdom, 'Linley'.
"Ah, what is that? A legendary phoenix?" The crew members opened their mouths in shock.
In the high sky, a massive bird with a wingspan of over a hundred meters was covered in flames. Its black feathers covered its entire body, and its crown-like plumage made this black bird appear even more noble. This was a Saint-level magical beast, the legendary 'Hellfire Phoenix'!
Hellfire Phoenix: A Saint-level magical beast with both darkness and fire attributes.
In the vast sky, this Hellfire Phoenix hung like a black cloud over the Liuyan River. The Fallen Angel leader 'Clemenson' stood on the back of the Hellfire Phoenix, coldly looking at Linley, who was standing in mid-air.
"Roar~~~" A terrifying roar.
A black dragon with enormous fleshy wings and a body over a hundred meters long flew over. Its eyes seemed to burn with flames, and its overwhelming aura caused the air to tremble. The Dark Pope 'Afleck' stood on the head of this Saint-level Black Dragon.
The Dark Church's side had actually hidden two Saint-level magical beasts nearby, and now they appeared.
As for the Radiant Church's side, they also had a Saint-level magical beast.
Gorgeous, radiant silver scales covered its entire body. Under the sunlight, this Silver Dragon appeared so elegant. Among dragons, the Silver Dragon was known as the noble aristocrat, and for good reason. However, this serpentine dragon, over a hundred meters long, actually had two heads.
A mutated Saint-level magical beast—the Saint-level Two-headed Silver Dragon!
The gaunt Lord Luoye was standing on top of this Saint-level Two-headed Silver Dragon.
"Whoosh." The crew members on the riverbank felt their hearts clench violently. Good heavens, they had suddenly seen three massive Saint-level magical beasts, and most importantly, so many people were floating in the air.
These were all Saint-level experts!
"So many Saint-level experts, and Saint-level magical beasts. Even if I die, it's worth it." A crew member looked up in worship at the scene, muttering to himself.
At this moment, these crew members felt the same way about the Saint-level experts and magical beasts in the sky as Linley had when he was a child watching two Saint-level experts fight. In their eyes, these dragons and Saint-level experts were lofty and transcendent, beyond ordinary mortals.
"Look! That's the Dragonblood Warrior, our Lord Linley." Many crew members saw Linley after his transformation. Their gazes toward Linley were filled with worship and a hint of pride—pride in being subjects of the Baruch Kingdom.
"Lord Linley seems to be about to fight those Saint-level experts. There are so many of them on the other side." The crew members began to sober up.
"Lord Linley will definitely win." A crew member who blindly worshipped Linley said firmly.
******
Above the Liuyan River, Linley, Barker, Sesslar, and Bebe were all floating. Sesslar was still chanting a spell, and after a moment, three dreamlike rays of light suddenly appeared behind him. Three Saint-level undead beings descended.
Two were skeletons, but their bones were like diamonds and emitted dazzling light. These were Saint-level Skeleton Kings! The other was a strong, humanoid monster in tattered robes—a Saint-level Corpse Fiend, known for its immense strength.
The Radiant Church and Dark Church sides, however, were not worried. Dealing with these Saint-level undead beings was enough for the Fallen Angels and ordinary Saint-level angels.
"Linley, we only ask to preach. You can still rule the Chaos Territory. I hope you'll reconsider at this final moment." Even as he said this, Heiting had already produced the Radiant Church's treasure, the original Bible bestowed by the Lord.
The Bible, radiating a soft halo, floated before Heiting.
"Reconsider my ass." Bebe knew Linley's thoughts well.
Whether to unify the Chaos Territory was just a small matter. Destroying the Radiant Church was the big one.
"Don't harbor any illusions. The Chaos Territory is my domain. No one may set foot in it. As for you..." Linley floated in mid-air with empty hands. "Either you obediently roll back to your territory, or... we settle this with our fists!"
Heiting and Afleck were furious.
A high-pitched, angry cry came from the massive Hellfire Phoenix. Then, the Hellfire Phoenix spoke in human tongue: "You despicable human." Immediately, a stream of pure black flame spread toward Linley.
"Crackle~~" The black flame engulfed Linley.
Linley, with a faint fluctuation of battle qi on his body surface, was completely unharmed. His dark golden pupils swept coldly over the group: "You attacked me first!" As he spoke, Linley's figure suddenly moved at extreme speed. With the Dragonblood Warrior transformation and his comprehension of the wind, his speed was far greater than Usenno's.
There was almost no sound of wind. It was as if space had twisted slightly. Linley directly appeared beside the Hellfire Phoenix. The Hellfire Phoenix's eyes, as large as carriage wheels, immediately emitted fine black threads that shot straight at Linley.
The Fallen Angel leader 'Clemenson' flapped his six black wings and charged directly at Linley.
"Haha~~~" Linley laughed loudly, fully displaying the terrifying power of the Dragonblood Warrior. Especially when Linley combined it with his law techniques, this fusion didn't just increase his strength simply—it was a transformation.
Like a gentle breeze, he easily dodged the black threads.
Then, Linley reached out his hand like a blade, carrying the unmatched power of the Dragonblood Warrior, and struck directly at the Hellfire Phoenix. Although the force was immense, as Linley's hand blade descended, the space around it sometimes froze and sometimes produced strange overlapping afterimages.
Linley's entire figure appeared blurry.
Sensing danger, the Hellfire Phoenix let out a terrified, high-pitched cry. Its body shrank rapidly in an attempt to dodge, while the Fallen Six-Winged Angel 'Clemenson' let out a furious shout and thrust his black sword at Linley.
"Pfft!"
Linley was too fast, especially after his transformation. The Hellfire Phoenix couldn't dodge in time, even after shrinking.
With a 'pfft' sound, the head of the Hellfire Phoenix, which had shrunk to only about ten meters long, was split in two by the strike. The Saint-level magical beast was killed in a single blow by Linley in his Dragonblood Warrior form.
This move was a fusion of the second layer of the Rhythm of the Wind—the 'Stagnant Space' of the slow realm and the 'Space Overlap' of the fast realm.
It was also Linley's sharpest physical attack at present.
"Heh~~" Linley's hand blade split open the Hellfire Phoenix's head. Then, his hands, like steel claws, grabbed the two halves of the split head. The terrifying power of the Dragonblood Warrior fully erupted as he forcefully tore it apart—
"Splash!"
Blood scattered like raindrops. The Hellfire Phoenix's body was horrifyingly torn apart from the head down through its torso.
"Shing—" The Fallen Six-Winged Angel 'Clemenson' thrust his sword as if piercing through the void. However, when it struck Linley's body, the faintly rippling 'Pulsating Defense' on Linley's surface was incredibly resilient. The sword didn't even touch Linley's scales.
At that moment, Linley's dragon claws were each gripping a piece of the Hellfire Phoenix's massive corpse. The blood from the corpse flowed directly down into the Liuyan River below.
"What!" Clemenson was shocked. His attack couldn't even break through the 'Pulsating Defense'.
Linley's dark golden eyes locked onto Clemenson, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "Next, it's your turn!" As he spoke, the two massive halves of the Saint-level Hellfire Phoenix's corpse fell from the sky. "Plop!" They dropped into the surging Liuyan River.