Chapter 16: Five Years
The war between the Baruch Empire and the Rohault Empire had fallen into a stalemate.
"Father. What do you all say? What should we do now?" In the great hall of Dragonblood Castle, a group of people including Sini, Wharton, Gates, Hillman, and Nina had gathered. They were discussing the matter of two Saint-level powerhouses who had suddenly emerged from the Rohault Empire.
Wharton, Sessler, Gates, and the others had just finished listening to Sini's account.
They were all deeply shocked.
"When did the Rohault Empire produce two such formidable Saint-level experts?" Hillman frowned.
Hillman had been cultivating a top-tier secret manual of battle qi and had now reached the eighth-rank warrior level. Although his strength was far inferior to Wharton, Gates, and the others, Hillman held a high status in Dragonblood Castle.
"Father, uncles, do you have confidence in dealing with them?" Sini looked at Wharton, Gates, and the others.
Wharton pondered for a moment and said, "Although our comprehension of the laws is not high, we possess divine artifacts and are ultimate warriors. If we truly confront those two Saint-level powerhouses, we should have a chance of victory."
Gates, Anko, and the others also nodded.
Sessler let out a low laugh: "Wharton, do you still think you can fight them?"
"What's wrong?" Wharton looked at Sessler.
"Sessler, you think it's not possible?" Gates and Anko both turned to Sessler.
Sessler let out a laugh. But his smile always seemed cold and sinister: "First, let me ask you all. If it were one of you, facing a Saint-level Golden Dragon and a Saint-level Tyrannosaurus Dragon, could you easily defeat those two Saint-level magical beasts?"
"Well..." Wharton, Gates, and the others hesitated.
Dealing with one Saint-level magical beast would be relatively easy for them.
But dealing with two at the same time? It would be good just to hold their own.
"Hmph. You're not sure, and yet you want to go?" Sessler smiled disdainfully. "Have you forgotten what Lord Linley said before he went into seclusion?"
Wharton and the others were immediately silenced.
They all recalled it.
Linley had specifically emphasized at the time that if certain situations arose, they were absolutely not allowed to act recklessly. He had also said that this war harbored a great crisis, which was the reason for his unease.
"Lord Linley said at the time that this war concealed a terrible crisis, one that even Deity-level powerhouses dared not take lightly." Sessler looked at Wharton and the others. "You didn't understand before. What kind of crisis could this war, which seemed to have its outcome predetermined, possibly hold? Now, do you understand?"
Before the war began, even Linley didn't know what the crisis was.
It was only because Lord Beirut had warned him that Linley felt uneasy and said those things to Wharton and the others.
Wharton and the others hadn't understood either. They had also thought that the war shouldn't encounter any unexpected problems.
"Mr. Sessler, what do you mean?" Sini frowned. Wharton, Gates, and the others were all secretly alarmed.
"Think about it. The Yulan continent has only so many Saint-level powerhouses. Even if there are some who cultivate in seclusion, Lord Linley and Lord Desri should at least know about them, right? But they both said that the Rohault Empire had no top-tier Saint-level experts. So where did these two Saint-level powerhouses suddenly come from?" Sessler said.
"They appeared out of nowhere and turned the battle into a stalemate."
Sessler gave a cold smile. "Obviously, the crisis lurking in this war has already begun to show its face."
"What should we do now..." Wharton looked at Sessler. He remembered Linley's instructions: when encountering important matters, they should consult the experienced Sessler.
Sessler said calmly, "It's simple. Don't rush to deal with those two Saint-level powerhouses. Lord Linley also said that in this war, we don't necessarily have to completely conquer the other empires. It's fine if we occupy less territory. What's important is to protect ourselves."
Everyone nodded slightly.
Wharton pondered and said, "Alright, let's wait and see what crisis is truly lurking in this war."
"If we encounter a major crisis, don't act recklessly. It's better to go and ask Lord Linley for help." Sessler said. "Of course, it's only been a little over five years since Lord Linley went into seclusion. And the situation isn't too serious yet. We don't need to disturb him for now."
Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, Linley had been in seclusion for over five years.
In these five years, the Yulan continent had been in a state of extreme chaos. Whether it was the Baruch Empire, the Yulan Empire, or the O'Brien Empire, their wars had all fallen into a stalemate. Both the Sacred Alliance and the Dark Alliance had seen the emergence of some mysterious powerhouses.
These mysterious powerhouses were extremely powerful.
Thus, the war reached a deadlock.
Winter of Yulan Calendar 10039. The early morning of deep winter was very cold. Three middle-aged men in thick robes rode side by side on fine horses, speeding along a deserted official road, hurrying toward a distant city.
"Haha, ahead is Blueshire City. When we get to Blueshire City, us three brothers should have a good drink or two to warm ourselves up." The burly man at the lead laughed heartily. They had just successfully negotiated a business deal, so they were naturally in a very good mood.
Ahead, the city walls of Blueshire City were already visible.
They rode for a while.
"Strange, why is it so quiet?" The three brothers arrived at the city gate of Blueshire City, only to find the gates wide open, but there was no one in sight.
"Blueshire City may not be a major city, but it's considered quite prosperous, with a population of nearly a hundred thousand. Why is there not a single person at this early hour?" The three brothers dismounted and led their horses into Blueshire City with puzzled expressions.
The wide streets were completely empty.
Silence!
It was now around seven or eight in the morning. Normally, the streets should be bustling with activity.
"What the hell is going on?" The three middle-aged men, who had traveled far and wide, couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.
The eerie scene made them sense something unusual.
"Look, what's that up ahead!" One of them pointed ahead in shock. Not far away, two people were lying on the street. The three middle-aged men immediately ran forward to get a closer look.
But as they approached—
"Dead bodies!" The faces of the three middle-aged men changed. The two people lying on the ground had blood oozing from all seven orifices, staining the ground with a large, horrifying pool of dark purple.
The cold winter wind blew, making the three middle-aged men shiver.
"Ahhh—" A terrified scream came from a distance.
The three middle-aged men immediately turned to look. In the distance, a disheveled woman ran out, screaming in terror.
"What are you running for? What happened?" The leading middle-aged man immediately shouted. They had traveled far and wide and had seen dead bodies before; that alone wasn't enough to scare them. What made their hearts tremble was the deathly silence of the surroundings.
"Dead, they're all dead, everyone is dead." The woman looked at the three middle-aged men, her eyes wide open.
"What do you mean, everyone is dead?" A trace of fear crept into the hearts of the three middle-aged men.
"The entire city's people, all dead. Everyone is dead, all dead!" The woman spoke in a somewhat neurotic manner.
The three middle-aged men were instantly stunned.
The entire city's people... all dead?
"All dead, all dead!" The woman ran around frantically, seemingly out of her mind.
In one night, nearly a hundred thousand people in Blueshire City had died, with only a few dozen survivors. Most of those survivors waited until dawn, then opened the city gates in terror and fled this terrible city.
A city of the dead!
This incident spread at lightning speed to the imperial capital, reaching the ears of Emperor Sini.
Enraged and alarmed, Sini immediately sent people to investigate thoroughly, to find out why Blueshire City had become a city of the dead overnight. He also questioned the few dozen survivors about what had happened.
When the results of the investigation came in, Sini, sensing that something was wrong, immediately rushed to Dragonblood Castle.
A large group of people had gathered in Dragonblood Castle. Not only Wharton, Gates, and their group, but also Nina, Rebecca, Lina, and the others were there. Everyone felt the gravity of the situation. They gathered together to discuss how to resolve this matter.
"The situation is very strange. The nearly a hundred thousand people who died in the city all had blood oozing from their seven orifices, with no wounds on their bodies. From the weakest children to the most powerful seventh-rank warriors, it was the same." Sini narrated.
In a single night, an entire city's population had died, and in such a bizarre manner.
Even Wharton and his group of Saint-level powerhouses felt a chill in their hearts.
"From what I know, this isn't the first time something like this has happened—an entire city's population nearly wiped out." Sini said seriously.
"Oh?" Wharton and the others looked at Sini.
Sini continued, "As far as I know, about a month ago, a similar incident occurred within the O'Brien Empire. In one night, almost everyone in a city died. Since it wasn't within our empire, I didn't pay much attention to it."
The butler, Hiri, frowned and said, "This matter is very strange. For example, in Blueshire City with nearly a hundred thousand people, why did only a few dozen survive?"
"Yes, why were there survivors?" Sessler also found this point puzzling.
If it were some super-powerful expert using some unknown forbidden magic to kill people, everyone within the spell's range should have died. Even if there were survivors, they should have been super-powerful experts. But the survivors were all ordinary people.
"And the buildings and such weren't damaged at all." Sini added.
In the hall, the large group was very puzzled.
"I sent people to investigate, but we couldn't find any clues at all." Sini was also troubled. "Oh, by the way, the few dozen survivors had one thing in common."
Everyone in the hall immediately looked at Sini.
"At the time, the survivors were all in places that were difficult to enter. For example, half of the survivors were in the most heavily guarded prison in Blueshire City. The others were in basements or other hard-to-reach places at the time." Sini explained.
"Difficult to enter, so they didn't die?" Sessler nodded. "Perhaps this wasn't a magical attack. After all, a spell that covers an entire city wouldn't care whether a person's hiding place was hard to enter or not."
"I suggest we go and ask Lord Linley." Sessler sighed.
"Lord Linley?" Wharton and the others' eyes lit up.
If Linley were here, they would have a pillar of support. They wouldn't panic when encountering problems.
"Yes, so many things have happened in these past five years. The war has fallen into a stalemate, mysterious religions have appeared within our empire, and now this city of the dead incident..." Sessler said in one breath.
"I agree. Let's go and ask big brother." Wharton also nodded.
Lina's face now had a smile on it: "If Brother Linley comes out, he can easily solve this. He's been in seclusion for over five years now. I wonder what level he has reached."
Mentioning Linley, the faces of the group of powerhouses in the hall all lit up with smiles.
Finally, Wharton, Gates, and Sessler, as representatives of the group, arrived at the entrance to the secret chamber in the underground plane.
"Wait for me here." A layer of battle qi emanated from Wharton's body, and he stepped directly into the micro-plane secret chamber.
Just a moment later.
"Whoosh—" With the rush of air currents from the door, Linley, wearing a set of sky-blue robes and with extremely long, flowing hair, walked out together with Wharton. When Sessler, Gates, and the others saw Linley, they felt their hearts settle.
"Gates, Sessler, what happened? Why were you so eager to find me?" Linley said with a smile.