Chapter 24: The Death Mountain Range
Linley and Bebe had secretly left Dragonblood Castle, known to very few. At first, Warden and Taylor didn’t find it strange when they noticed Linley wasn’t around the castle. They assumed he was cultivating in the micro-plane secret chamber. But after ten or fifteen days had passed, they learned from Delia that Linley and Bebe had actually gone out. Even the ordinary guards and maids of Dragonblood Castle only found out about this much later.
Although after the Dead City incident, the population of the O’Brien Empire had plummeted, making it unworthy of being called an empire, it still had some citizens within its borders. Especially now, twenty years later, the population of the O’Brien Empire had increased somewhat. In the O’Brien Empire, within a quiet little city, in the largest estate in terms of land area, the guards standing watch had straight backs, and even the maids dared not laugh or play around.
A middle-aged man in luxurious robes, with a cold expression, walked through this estate. “Lord Anras!” the guards said with great respect. Anras nodded slightly and continued forward. After a short while, he arrived at a quiet courtyard. In this courtyard, a man wearing a robe embroidered with golden threads was lying in a chair, holding a book that was a full five centimeters thick.
“Lord Sadista!” Anras bowed respectfully. The man reading was none other than Sadista. Sadista had come to the Yulan continent nearly twenty years ago and had been lying low in this small city ever since. Yet, nothing that happened anywhere on the Yulan continent escaped Sadista’s detection. As for Anras, he was one of Sadista’s three subordinate middle-tier gods.
“Anras, is there something?” Sadista continued looking at his book, speaking indifferently. Anras said respectfully, “Lord Sadista, according to information from our people placed in Dragonblood Castle, Linley has already left Dragonblood Castle, and it should have been for quite some time.” With Sadista’s methods, it wasn’t difficult to plant agents in Dragonblood Castle.
The two places Sadista valued most were the O’Brien Empire’s imperial palace and Dragonblood Castle. He planted agents in the palace to keep track of Adkins’s movements, as the only two on the Yulan continent who could make Sadista feel wary were Adkins and Beirut. However, Beirut’s ‘Metallic Castle’ didn’t recruit outsiders. Sadista couldn’t plant agents there, so he had to settle for the next best thing—planting agents in Dragonblood Castle. He planted agents in Dragonblood Castle partly because of Beirut and partly because of the Dragonblood Warriors and Undying Warriors.
“Snap!” The brick-thick book suddenly closed. Sadista turned his head to look at Anras. “Linley left Dragonblood Castle? Did he leave alone?” “No, there’s also that God-eating Mouse named Bebe,” Anras said respectfully. “Hmph.” Sadista let out an unwilling snort. “This Linley is always with that God-eating Mouse. Killing this Linley is somewhat troublesome.” Sadista had never given up on his plan to kill the descendants of the Four Divine Beasts clan.
“This Linley, in less than a hundred years, has reached such a level. Even among the Four Divine Beasts clan, he would be considered a top-tier genius. And this is without him having returned to the clan’s ancestral hall for baptism. If he enters the ancestral hall and undergoes the baptism, with such a genius, it won’t be long before he absolutely becomes another great general of the ‘Azure Blue Prefecture,’ and our clan will gain another major enemy.” Sadista’s expression was serious.
Sadista was well aware of the legends of the Four Divine Beasts clan. “Linley hasn’t returned to the clan’s ancestral hall and is already this powerful. The day he returns to the clan’s ancestral hall will indeed be troublesome,” Anras nodded in agreement. “If the ‘Azure Blue Prefecture’ knew that on the Yulan continent plane, the Four Divine Beasts clan had such a genius, they would definitely spare no expense to take this Linley away,” Sadista said coldly. “In this Dragonblood Castle, the others—what’s his name, Warden, and Buck, and so on—are all mediocrities. Even if they return to the Four Divine Beasts clan, they’ll only add a bit to the population. It’s impossible for any stunning figures to emerge. Only this Linley…”
Anras nodded inwardly as well. The children of the Four Divine Beasts clan generally underwent the ancestral hall baptism, which would then lead to a significant boost. Someone like Linley, who was already this powerful without undergoing the baptism, would, once he returned to the clan’s ancestral hall, achieve a level that worried Sadista. After all, becoming a god independently in less than a hundred years already demonstrated Linley’s potential.
“However, our primary goal this time is still the Necropolis of the Gods,” Sadista said with a frown. To enter the Necropolis of the Gods, he couldn’t offend Beirut. If he wanted to kill Linley, but Linley was with Bebe, Bebe would definitely remember the aura of the person who killed Linley. Then, naturally, it could be traced back to him, Sadista.
“No matter what, I cannot kill that God-eating Mouse named ‘Bebe’.” Sadista was well aware that among Beirut’s descendants, there was only this one God-eating Mouse. Beirut had even sent his two sons to Dragonblood Castle to protect Bebe. It was clear how much Beirut valued Bebe. If they killed Bebe, then Beirut’s wrath would be something even he, Sadista, couldn’t bear.
“Especially since this Beirut’s background is far from ordinary. If I truly fall out with this Beirut, even our clan would probably suffer a great disaster.” Sadista only vaguely knew how terrifying Beirut’s background was. “To kill Linley, I must find an opportunity, wait until this Linley and that God-eating Mouse named ‘Bebe’ are separated, not together. Then, change my appearance, seize the chance, and kill Linley!” Sadista’s eyes gleamed coldly as he spoke. “Hmph, even if this Linley and Bebe are soul-linked, at most, he can transmit the enemy’s appearance. The enemy’s aura—this cannot be transmitted.”
Sadista wasn’t worried at all about being discovered by Beirut in such a situation. Because… even a powerful Sovereign couldn’t know what would happen in the past or future. As long as Beirut couldn’t find the murderer, what did he, Sadista, have to fear?
“Let me see now. Where is this Linley!” Sadista’s divine sense instantly spread out, almost instantly encompassing the entire Yulan continent. Of course, he deliberately avoided the Dark Forest and the O’Brien Empire’s imperial capital. “In the far eastern plains!” Sadista sneered coldly. Then he looked at Anras. “Anras.” Anras immediately bowed. “Anras, you go to the far eastern plains immediately,” Sadista ordered. “Yes, Lord Sadista,” Anras said respectfully.
Sadista nodded calmly and said, “When you go to the far eastern plains, you don’t need to deliberately look for Linley. I will occasionally personally check on Linley’s situation. Once Linley and Bebe are separated, not together, I will send you a divine sense message, telling you to go kill Linley. Remember, change your appearance.” “Yes.” Anras’s appearance immediately began to change slowly. For powerful gods, they could use divine power to repair their bodies, so naturally, they could use divine power to change their appearance.
“This Linley, running out of Dragonblood Castle for no reason, is truly seeking death. I was worried he would stay in that Dragonblood Castle forever, giving me no chance.” Sadista sneered inwardly.
Linley and Bebe had arrived in the far eastern plains a full three months ago. During these three months, Linley and Bebe had relied purely on their legs to trek all the way from the border between the Baruch Empire and the far eastern plains, heading south. They crossed mountains and rivers, traversing the grasslands. Over the three months, Linley and Bebe had encountered many herders. Linley completely treated himself as an ordinary person, living the trekking life of an ordinary person.
In the southern part of the far eastern plains, near the ‘Scorching Desert,’ there were also some mountain ranges in the surrounding area. Linley and Bebe were currently moving through one of these desolate mountain ranges. “So this is the Death Mountain Range the herders talk about,” Linley said, looking around with a sigh. “But I don’t see why it’s called the ‘Death Mountain Range.’” Linley was wearing a sleeveless shirt, his strong chest muscles stretching the fabric.
After three months of travel, Linley felt he had regained the passion of his youth. He liked the feeling of experiencing unique places. Bebe was wearing a straw hat, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth as he looked around. “Boss, those ordinary people say it’s the Death Mountain Range, but to us, of course, there’s no danger at all.” “It’s not dangerous to us, but at least there should be something a bit special, right?” Linley took another big step forward. “Come on, let’s go deeper into the mountains and take a better look.” Bebe leaped over a dozen meters in one bound, landing beside Linley. The two continued walking side by side.
The Death Mountain Range was a very dangerous place in the herders’ legends. This Death Mountain Range was especially famous in the ‘Kashar Tribe’ region of the southern far eastern plains. Many herders dared not enter this Death Mountain Range. “Child!” “Child!” … Faint, mournful cries came from deep within the mountains. “Huh?” Linley and Bebe exchanged a glance. Without hesitation, the two immediately increased their speed, moving like two wisps of smoke, heading straight toward the source of the sound along a direct path. When they encountered gorges, giant boulders, or other obstacles, they simply leaped over them with ease.
Soon, Linley and Bebe saw the person making the sound. “Someone dares to enter this Death Mountain Range?” Linley and Bebe were both surprised. The one making the sound was a grassland man. At this moment, the man was shouting mournfully. His clothes were torn, and he looked very disheveled. Listening to the hoarse, sorrowful cries, Linley and Bebe could feel the man’s urgency and grief.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” Bebe jumped directly in front of the grassland man. The grassland man was startled by Bebe’s sudden appearance, then immediately said with some urgency, “Kid, what are you doing in the Death Mountain Range? Get out of here! It’s very dangerous here!” Seeing Bebe’s appearance, the grassland man could tell he was just a youth.
“Bang!” Bebe’s slender arm swung, striking a nearby tree that was thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around. The tree snapped in half at the waist. Bebe swung his palm again, slapping the broken trunk. The entire trunk flew in an arc, soaring hundreds of meters before falling somewhere deep in the mountains. “Are you worried about me?” Bebe wrinkled his nose.
The grassland man was stunned by what he had just seen. How heavy was that tree that two people could wrap their arms around? Even the strongest person he knew, their tribe’s chieftain, couldn’t slap such a heavy tree out of sight with one palm. “Excuse me, what exactly happened? Why are you in this Death Mountain Range? Aren’t you afraid of the danger?” Linley also walked over.
The grassland man looked at Linley, then at the youth in the straw hat in front of him. He began to understand that he had encountered true experts. The grassland man fell to his knees with a ‘thud.’ “Two lords, I beg you, please save my child.” “Tell me, what happened?” Linley asked. “My son disappeared in these mountains,” the grassland man said urgently. “You knew it was dangerous, yet you still brought your son in?” Bebe said somewhat disapprovingly.
The grassland man quickly explained, “Two lords, you don’t understand. The Death Mountain Range is said to be very eerie on the outside, but it’s not that terrifying. The Death Mountain Range only has one dangerous area deep inside. The rest of the place is very safe. We herders living nearby all know this. We often go into the mountains to chop firewood and so on. As long as we don’t go near the dangerous area, it’s fine. Earlier, while chopping wood, I told my son to stay nearby. But when I turned my head, my son was gone. I don’t know where he ran off to.”
“Please, two lords, help me find my son.” The grassland man was crying. Linley nodded. “Is your son a seven- or eight-year-old child wearing a red cotton-padded jacket?” Bebe asked. “How… how do you know?” The grassland man was stunned, greatly surprised. Linley and Bebe exchanged a glance and both laughed. They had already spread their divine sense, instantly covering the entire mountain, so naturally, they could find the child.