Chapter 7: The Metal Castle
This Clay wasn't injured at all, yet he actually conceded. Linley chuckled softly and directly stored the Bloodsoft Sword into his interspatial ring, then flew downward.
The many experts below now had a clear understanding of Linley's strength. Clay was among the top of this group of experts, with only a few stronger than him. Those experts knew… Clay's strongest attacks came from his fists.
His physical defense was slightly weaker than his fists.
Linley's earlier sword strike had already left a faint bloody mark on that fist. If it had struck Clay's body, it would have at least drawn blood.
"Linley, thirteen years without seeing you, and your strength has actually progressed to this level." Fain's eyes also blazed with a hint of battle intent.
From the previous battle, Fain knew that Linley's comprehension of the laws was already quite high. Combined with his Dragonblood Warrior talent, Linley should have the strength to fight him. Fain now felt a desire to spar with Linley.
"Everyone wants to fight my boss. If you've got the skill, fight me?" Bebe, sensing Fain's battle intent, immediately flew in front of Fain.
Fain looked at the Bebe before him, startled, then seemed to recall something and quickly said, "Oh, Bebe, right?" Fain no longer brought up the sparring matter. Instead, he warmly pulled Linley and Bebe along to drink and chat.
******
In the middle of the night, the mountain wind blew fiercely. The early spring night wind was very cold, but of course, the experts paid it no mind, still chatting and laughing.
"This Olivier, even his aura has changed from before." Linley glanced at Olivier, who was sitting in the distance. Olivier was also one of the twenty-two experts. "In the past, Olivier would still joke and laugh, but now, he seems much colder, and his gaze is much sharper."
At this moment, Olivier was like an unsheathed sword, extremely sharp.
This caused the surrounding experts to actively keep their distance from him. Clearly, this Olivier was not easy to get close to.
"Linley. In this group of ours, you and Olivier have mainly stood out. Although Olivier's strength isn't as good as yours, he is still slightly stronger than Clay." Fain said admiringly. "His attack power is truly astonishing."
"Oh?" Linley was surprised.
Linley knew Olivier's strength very well: "Back then, Olivier lost to Hudderson. Although I heard that twelve years later, he killed Hudderson with a single sword strike, it was only twelve years. How could his progress be so terrifying?"
He himself had broken through to the Saint realm, and his peak Dragonblood Warrior strength had increased more than tenfold. Combined with his deeper comprehension, his strength had improved this much.
But Olivier, his battle qi had long reached the Saint realm peak. His progress could only be in comprehending the laws. Why had he improved so much?
"Olivier's sword. Not only is it fast, but it also contains both the laws of Darkness and Light. When the sword strikes… even Clay doesn't dare to block it head-on." Fain praised. "A single sword strike containing two laws. This is the first time I've seen such a thing in my life. Even my teacher praised it endlessly."
"What?" Linley couldn't believe it.
Linley looked at the distant Olivier in disbelief, his heart filled with shock: "A single sword strike containing two laws? How can different laws be used together?" For Linley, the profound mysteries of the Earth were the profound mysteries of the Earth. The profound mysteries of the Wind were the profound mysteries of the Wind.
To fuse the profound mysteries of the Earth and the Wind, that was impossible!
After all, these were two different laws.
"Yes. When Olivier's sword strikes, Darkness and Light coexist… Back then, Hudderson was directly split in two by that single sword strike." Fain said admiringly.
Linley nodded slightly.
Linley had to admit that the power of Olivier's sword strike, purely from the aspect of the laws, had already surpassed Linley's 'Rhythm of the Wind' sword strike.
"I wonder how his sword strike compares to my 'Pulse of the Earth' in power." Linley was also confident. The Pulse of the Earth had already transformed from 256 layers to 128 layers, increasing its attack power several times over. Most importantly…
Relying on the talent of a peak Dragonblood Warrior, Linley's own battle qi, strength, and defense were ten times that of Olivier.
His foundation was far too high.
This was also the reason Fain, Desri, and others regarded Linley as an opponent of the same level.
……
Through a night of chatting and laughing, Linley got to know these experts. The ones Linley remembered more clearly were Clay, Bodich, and the 'Third Senior Brother' of the War God's Sect, among a few others. The rest he only vaguely remembered their names and appearances.
Morning.
The fiery red sun rose over the eastern mountains, its warm rays covering War God Mountain. Although the twenty-two experts hadn't slept all night, none of them felt the slightest discomfort. At their level, they had long surpassed the need for sleep.
"Creak!" The door to the quiet, secluded courtyard, which had been closed, opened.
The twenty-two experts almost simultaneously stood up. They all respectfully looked at the person who walked out of the courtyard. He had long, blood-red hair, and when his eyes opened and closed, it was as if sword light shot out. The domineering aura made the twenty-two experts not even dare to breathe.
This person was none other than the War God, 'O'Brien'!
The War God swept his gaze over the crowd, pausing slightly on 'Bebe' who was on Linley's shoulder, then said indifferently, "Since you've all arrived, follow me and depart." After speaking, the War God himself directly soared into the air.
"This War God is quite straightforward." Linley couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
But on the surface, Linley, like the others, very obediently flew up directly, following behind the War God as they flew eastward. These twenty-two people flew in a certain order, with Fain and Linley at the very front.
Everyone had a clear understanding of their own strength.
The strong were at the front, the weak at the back.
"Fain, are we going to the Dark Forest now?" Linley looked at the majestic figure flying ahead, heading in the direction of the Dark Forest, and couldn't help but ask Fain in a low voice.
"Yes." Fain also replied in a low voice. "Every time we set out for the Necropolis of the Gods, the experts of the Yulan continent gather in the Dark Forest. After all, the passage to the Necropolis of the Gods can only be opened by Lord Beirut."
"Oh." Linley's heart stirred. "It seems opening the passage to the Necropolis of the Gods is very difficult, even the War God can't do it."
"Bebe, right?" A sonorous, forceful voice sounded.
Linley and Fain were both startled. The War God had suddenly appeared beside Linley. What was most shocking was that the War God actually had a gentle smile on his face. Even Fain had rarely seen his teacher smile.
"It's me." Bebe also looked at the War God.
The War God carefully observed Bebe for a moment, then nodded and said, "Lord Beirut actually allowed you to enter the Necropolis of the Gods."
"What's there to be afraid of? If my boss is going, why can't I go?" Bebe said, lifting his head.
The War God smiled faintly and said nothing more.
"Lord War God." Linley spoke.
The War God looked over at Linley, waiting for his question. Linley immediately said, "Lord War God, I have a good brother named Barker. He also wishes to go to the Necropolis of the Gods. I wonder…"
"Lord Beirut only gave me the authority over twenty-two slots." The War God said indifferently. "If you want someone else to enter the Necropolis of the Gods, have this Bebe talk to Lord Beirut. After all, it is Lord Beirut who decides who enters the Necropolis of the Gods."
After speaking, the War God flew to the front again.
Linley secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "A Deity-level expert. Even when chatting and laughing, the pressure they give off is immense." Just now, Linley had felt a suffocating sensation, like when he first saw a Velociraptor as a child. It was a deep, instinctive fear.
"This… is probably the divine might." Linley thought to himself.
……
The group, facing the morning sun, flew at extreme speed deep into the Dark Forest. In just a short while, under the War God's lead, Linley's group arrived at the core of the Dark Forest. This was the first time Linley had ventured so deep into the Dark Forest.
"I wonder what the legendary Lord Beirut is like." Linley was very curious.
Soon, a pitch-black metal castle within the Dark Forest came into everyone's view. This castle occupied an area comparable to Linley's own, covering a few square miles. However, this castle was entirely pitch-black, formed from a strange black metal.
"Everyone stay in the open square outside the castle. Do not enter without permission." The War God said coldly, then he himself flew directly into the castle.
At this moment, quite a few experts were already outside the black metal castle.
"Many of these people are Saint-level Grand Mages. They should be brought by the High Priest." Fain said as he descended from the sky, explaining to Linley. Linley nodded slightly. The Saint-level experts of the Yulan continent mainly belonged to the factions of the Deity-level experts.
"Don't any of you barge in. This metal castle will automatically attack intruders." Fain said loudly.
Actually, only Linley and Olivier, who were here for the first time, didn't know this. The others were all clear about it.
"Automatically attacks intruders?" Linley was very surprised. Bebe whispered playfully, "Boss, this metal castle is actually a metal lifeform. It has intelligence."
Linley was secretly shocked.
This ruler of the Dark Forest was truly extraordinary, even his castle was a living being. This was the first time Linley had seen such a peculiar lifeform.
"Boss, you wait here. Weren't you going to talk about Barker's matter? I'll go talk to Grandpa Beirut." Bebe said.
Linley nodded slightly.
Bebe moved, directly darting into the pitch-black metal castle. Seeing Bebe go in, many of the Saint-level experts outside the castle were surprised. They all knew… anyone who barged in would be attacked. But the Bebe just now didn't seem to be attacked at all!
"Linley, you're here." A laughing voice sounded. Linley turned his head to look.
He saw Desri, Hayward, and Higginson walking over. Linley immediately went to meet them: "Mr. Desri, what about your wife? She didn't come?"
"Her strength is still a bit weak." Desri said with a smile. "But speaking of which, I really must congratulate you for having Bebe as a magical beast. Twenty or thirty years ago, Lord Beirut personally sent us a soul transmission. We were all wondering which lucky fellow had gotten Bebe as his magical beast."
Linley understood in his heart.
Not long after Bebe was born, Lord Beirut had probably accidentally discovered Bebe's existence. So he had directly sent soul transmissions to the War God, the High Priest, and Saint-level ultimate experts like Desri and Rosalie, asking them to look after him a bit.
Lord Beirut must be very concerned about this Bebe.
"The four of us—me, Rosalie, Tulily, and Rutherford—are the ones who directly take orders from Lord Beirut." Desri explained. "On the Yulan continent, the Saint-level experts in seclusion are mainly divided into three factions: Lord Beirut's, the War God's, and the High Priest's."
Linley understood.
Although the Yulan continent had five Deity-level experts, Dylin and Sikes had only appeared in the last few decades, so naturally, few Saint-level experts were attached to them.
"Lord Sikes has also arrived." Desri suddenly said.
Linley looked up. He saw Sikes, wearing a loose robe with a lazy smile on his face, flying towards the metal castle.
"You all stay here. Don't go in, or don't blame me if you die." A cold, indifferent voice sounded. Linley and the others couldn't help but turn to look. They saw a seemingly demonic youth wearing a dark gold robe, giving orders to the magical beasts following him before also entering the metal castle.
"It's Dylin!" Linley had seen Dylin with his own eyes back in Fenlai City back then.
Behind Dylin followed three 'kittens' and six Saint-level magical beasts that had shrunk to the size of a human. Linley looked closely. Indeed, these three 'kittens' had wings attached to their backs, and on their faces, above their open eyes, there were two more pairs of closed eyes.
Six eyes, with wings.
"Saint-level magical beast 'Six-Eyed Golden Lion', Dylin's child." Linley thought to himself.
At that moment, one of the Six-Eyed Golden Lions looked at Linley. Suddenly… all six eyes opened simultaneously, and it actually grinned at Linley: "Linley, right? Thank you!"