Chapter 4: Arrogance
Rumble, rumble, rumble~~~ Dark clouds covered the sky, and rolling thunderclaps came in waves.
A blurry figure instantly streaked across the sky, weaving beneath the thick clouds as he flew north at tremendous speed. It was Linley, filled with anxiety. The Yulan Empire and the O'Brien Empire had been attacked one after another, and Linley naturally worried about his own Baruch Empire.
"Hopefully, hopefully Sini and the others are alright," Linley murmured to himself.
Within the Baruch Empire's imperial palace resided the current emperor, Sini, along with the empress and others. Of course, an empire's palace was also guarded by a Saint-level powerhouse. The one stationed there was Anke, the second of the five Barker brothers.
Linley's rapid flight suddenly halted, and his gaze locked onto two blurry figures on the northern horizon.
One figure was tall, and the other was also much larger than an ordinary person.
"Not good," Linley instantly recognized them. These two figures were Sini and Anke, who had transformed into ultimate warriors. Sini was now at the peak of the ninth rank, and after transforming, he reached the Saint level as well. Anke had reached the Saint level long ago.
"Lord Linley!" Anke and Sini, fleeing in panic, saw Linley and immediately cried out.
Linley also saw that Sini, transformed into a Dragonblood Warrior, had many dragon scales torn open and stained with blood. As for Anke, who had transformed into a Saint-level Undying Warrior, although he wasn't seriously injured, he was clearly in a very sorry state.
"Uncle!" Sini burst into tears the moment he saw Linley.
Linley's heart clenched.
Sini was usually very composed. For him to break down crying...
Severely injured, Sini relaxed slightly upon seeing Linley and reverted to his human form. His pants were tattered, and his body was covered in blood and wounds. Linley immediately reached out with one hand, placing it on Sini's shoulder, and channeled the energy of the Life Pearl into Sini's body.
Sini's injuries were quickly healed.
"They're all dead, every single one of them," Sini sobbed, his whole body trembling. "Uncle, everyone in the palace except for me and Uncle Anke is dead. My wife, my son... all of them are dead!!!"
"All dead?" Linley couldn't suppress the surge of anger in his heart.
He had anticipated that this situation would be severe, but it was even worse than he had imagined.
"Why did those Deity-level experts slaughter ordinary people? Could it be that their authority can only be demonstrated by killing commoners? Sini's child... his name was Kasa, right?" Linley remembered that just over ten days ago.
It was the Yulan Festival. Sini had brought his wife and child to Dragonblood Castle to celebrate the holiday together.
That little Kasa, who had just turned seven. Linley had planned to wait until Kasa was a bit older, then have him and Anuo awaken their Dragonblood Warrior bloodline together. But who would have thought... Kasa's future had ended before it even truly began.
"Bastards!!!" Linley couldn't help but curse under his breath.
Sini gritted his teeth as well. "I really want to kill those people."
The descendants of the Dragonblood Warriors were very few.
For instance, Linley only had Taylor and Sasha, the twins. Wharton only had Sini as his son. Sini himself had only one son. Although he was an emperor with many women, he had only this one child.
"Uncle, you have to help us get revenge, you have to!" Sini's face was covered in tears.
Linley nodded solemnly.
"Anke, tell me exactly what happened, in detail." Linley looked seriously at Anke.
Anke nodded and began, "Lord Linley, not long ago, I was still in the palace. Suddenly, I sensed a terrifying aura above the palace and immediately rushed out of the house to look up. But all I saw were... nearly a hundred strong figures flying in the air."
"Nearly a hundred?" Linley's heart trembled slightly.
Back then, when Olivier's single sword strike split the Borsa Dike, several thousand strong figures had escaped. Many of those figures were far more powerful than Linley. Of course, among those thousands, there were plenty of Saints, but there were definitely Demigods, Magi, and even Archmages.
Now, Linley heard that nearly a hundred people had appeared above the capital of the Baruch Empire.
In such a group, the leader's strength was likely at least that of a Demigod, possibly even a Magus!
"Before I could even speak, the man at the front, who had a smile on his face, fixed his gaze on me and sent me a divine sense message. He said... 'Little one, go back and tell that Linley that the Baruch Empire belongs to me, Ogavin, from today onward.'" Anke paused for a moment as he spoke.
Linley's face darkened.
"Ogavin?" Linley had never heard that name before, but he could tell that the other party clearly knew everything about him.
"And then?" Linley pressed.
A trace of fear flickered in Anke's eyes as he continued, "Then, Ogavin just smiled, and his entire body emitted a dazzling white light, much like the holy light of the Radiant Church back then. The palace, bathed in that holy light, was directly reduced to ruins. Countless maids, court attendants, and guards were burned to ashes by that light. I immediately transformed, and Sini did too. Under that light, my defense held up, but Sini was severely injured."
Linley's heart grew heavy.
"Just the light emitted from his body severely injured Sini, who had reached the Saint level after transforming?" Linley knew very well that an ordinary Demigod definitely wouldn't have such power.
For a Demigod to kill a Saint, they would usually need to use their divine domain or other abilities. Just standing there, with light radiating from their body covering an area as large as the palace and causing such devastation... it was almost certain that the opponent was a Magus. Even if he were a Demigod, he would be at the peak of the Demigod level.
"For now, let's go back first," Linley said, his brow furrowed.
Sini and Anke nodded slightly and followed Linley as they flew south toward Dragonblood Castle.
...
Dragonblood Castle.
Linley, Sini, and Anke landed at the entrance of the castle's main hall. Inside the hall, many people were standing around, talking in low voices. Dixie, Fain, and the others all felt terrible, but the one with the worst expression was Olivier.
Fain had told Olivier that his younger brother, Bloomer, was dead!
His own brother!
Their parents had died early, and Olivier had raised his younger brother himself. He was his only family! Back then, when Bloomer joined the War God's Gate, Olivier felt relieved and devoted himself fully to training. Who would have thought... today, he would hear such devastating news!
Bloomer was to Olivier what Wharton was to Linley!
His own brother!
How could he not be furious?
"Linley, what happened?" Delia immediately came over. Seeing Linley, Sini, and Anke arrive, everyone quickly gathered around.
Linley's expression was grim, and he just shook his head.
"Sini, what happened?" Wharton asked urgently, his face full of anxiety.
"Thump!"
Sini knelt directly in front of Wharton, sobbing, "Father, everyone in the palace except for me and Uncle Anke is dead. My wife, my son, little Kasa... all dead!" Sini loved his son deeply.
His only son!
"Little Kasa is dead too?" Wharton looked as if he had been struck by lightning, his face turning pale. Nina, standing beside Wharton, was equally incredulous.
The youngest generation of the Baruch family now consisted of only two children: Anuo and Kasa. Linley and Wharton doted on these two little treasures. Anuo usually lived with his father, Taylor, at Dragonblood Castle, while Kasa lived with his parents in the imperial palace.
"Brother, we have to get revenge," Wharton said, looking at Linley.
Linley remained silent.
"Father, Uncle," Sini said, gradually recovering from his anger and grief and regaining his usual composure, "the enemies who appeared this time had nearly a hundred people just flying. That leader, 'Ogavin,' is terrifyingly strong. Without sufficient certainty, we can only endure for now."
Endure!
Linley glanced at Sini. After forming a vague understanding of Ogavin's strength, Linley didn't dare to confront him lightly.
After all...
These strong figures had all escaped from the Gebados Planar Prison. Who knew how powerful they were? If it were just a Demigod, it might be manageable. But if it were a Magus, with his current strength, he would likely be walking to his death. A child had already died.
But there were still more loved ones alive!
Looking at Delia beside him, then at his son Taylor, and at the Hillman family in the distance, as well as the descendants of the five Barker brothers... the hall was filled with people. They were all Linley's relatives and friends.
"I can't take risks," Linley thought to himself.
Fain, sitting not far away, stood up and said solemnly, "Too many strong figures have suddenly appeared this time. Nearly a thousand attacked our War God Mountain. And only one of them actually attacked, reducing the War God Mountain to ashes with a wave of his hand! The gap in strength is too great! Linley, you need to be cautious as well."
"Linley," Olivier also looked at Linley, "Endure."
Linley nodded slightly.
Olivier was also enduring at this moment. He wanted to avenge Bloomer. Perhaps Bloomer wasn't much in the eyes of others, but in Olivier's heart, he was his only family. However, from Fain's description, Olivier understood...
He couldn't get revenge, at least not now.
"For now, everyone stay in Dragonblood Castle and don't go out," Linley ordered, looking around at everyone. "Wait a few more months. By then, the War God and the others will be back, and we can discuss things carefully."
There was no choice. They could only endure.
...
Several thousand strong figures had escaped from the Gebados Planar Prison. Only a small number of them headed to the Arctic Ice Plains, leaving the Yulan Continent plane to go to the Four Higher Planes and the Seven Divine Planes. Most of them, however, settled down on the Yulan Continent.
The strong figures from the Gebados Planar Prison almost all hailed from the Yulan Continent plane.
Of course, a long time ago, the Yulan Continent plane also had elemental life forms, beastmen, and so on. Over time, the Yulan Continent plane had become what it was today. Now that these strong figures had returned to their homeland, each made their own choices.
Those who were weaker occupied a region and became local lords.
Those who were stronger directly destroyed the original imperial families, used their overwhelming strength to intimidate, and took control of entire empires.
In the face of the many strong figures who had escaped from the Gebados Planar Prison, the original strong figures of the Yulan Continent were powerless to resist. The gap in strength was too great. Even the strongest among them, like Linley and Olivier, could only choose to endure. Ordinary Saints were even worse off.
...
The Eighteen Northern Duchies.
Dozens of strong figures flew over the Eighteen Northern Duchies. At the head were twin brothers. Although they were twins, there were slight differences. One had slightly darker skin, while the other had slightly paler skin.
"Big brother, the Yulan Empire and the Baruch Empire have already been taken. Even the great Lord Adkins has deigned to occupy that O'Brien Empire. It seems we brothers can only come to this remote corner. This place called the 'Eighteen Northern Duchies' might be a bit out of the way, but at least we can establish a foothold here," said the younger brother with paler skin.
His elder brother nodded. "Let's follow Lord Adkins's example. First, we destroy that Snow Goddess Temple. Then those duchies will obediently submit."
"If they don't submit, we kill them," the younger brother said.
The two brothers looked at each other and laughed.
"The Eighteen Northern Duchies are our territory!" A purple-golden figure flew over and transformed into the Violet-Gold Rat King. "You want to destroy the Snow Goddess Temple and kill people to intimidate?" The Violet-Gold Rat King stared at the group of strong figures with its shiny black eyes.
The two brothers were stunned for a moment, and their subordinates behind them burst into laughter.
A Saint-level magical beast dared to stop them?
"Ridiculous. Die," the elder brother sneered disdainfully, waving his hand—
"Boom!"
But suddenly, a massive black palm appeared in the sky above the dozens of strong figures. The area covered by the black palm left the dozens of strong figures unable to move. They all looked up in terror at the black palm.
But the black palm mercilessly descended.
"Thump!" It was as if it were slapping tofu.
The dozens of strong figures, including the twin brothers who had reached the Demigod level, were crushed into powder without any resistance.
"All Saints and Deities still on the Yulan Continent plane, listen carefully. Anyone who kills or destroys in the Eighteen Northern Duchies or the Dark Forest will have their soul obliterated! Hmph, you'd all better behave yourselves."
An icy divine sense message instantly spread across the entire Yulan Continent plane, resounding shockingly in the minds of all Saints and Deities.
Many Deities who had been acting arrogantly suddenly had their smiles wiped away.
All the strong figures on the Yulan Continent immediately turned their gazes toward the direction of the Eighteen Northern Duchies.