Chapter 18: The Bloody Moluo Decree
Upon hearing this, the red-haired young man raised his eyebrows sharply, his gaze turning icy cold.
The silver-haired old man let out an angry snort. "You'd better be sensible. It's just a set of clothes, isn't it? Be careful—don't lose your lives over it!" BeBe paid no heed to the silver-haired old man's threat.
"Are you threatening me?" BeBe rolled his eyes and snapped angrily.
But Linley had already picked up on some implications.
Linley took a closer look at the red-haired young man, then glanced at the silver-haired old man before him, and thought to himself: "Most people shopping on the fourth floor of this Free Castle are wealthy, and those with great wealth in the Infernal Realm usually have sufficient strength to match. In a place like this, the silver-haired old man dares to act so arrogantly toward us—he must have some backing."
In an unfamiliar place, though Linley was not afraid, he also didn't want to make enemies.
"BeBe, Delia, let's go." Linley tugged at the furious BeBe and headed straight for the shop's exit. Linley didn't want to get tangled up with these people any further.
"Whoosh!" The four men behind the red-haired young man immediately blocked Linley's path. These four were also Highgods!
"Leaving?" The cold, handsome red-haired young man sneered, adopting a condescending posture. "There's nothing I want that I can't get! I'm in a good mood today and don't feel like fighting. You'd better hand over that set of clothes. Otherwise!"
A surge of anger rose in Linley's heart as well.
"There's no double price now, but we'll still give you the same amount. Don't say the Bagshaw family bullies people!" The silver-haired old man let out a mocking laugh. As soon as he said this, the shop owner's face changed color.
The Bagshaw family?
Linley's heart stirred, but unfortunately, this was his first time on Moluo Island, and he had never heard of the Bagshaw family.
"You'd better just give them the clothes," the shop owner advised as well.
"Linley, the Bagshaw family seems very powerful. Just give them the clothes," Delia said to Linley via divine sense transmission. Linley looked at Delia beside him and knew that she must be very reluctant inside.
But Delia was willing to avoid offending others for his sake.
"It's fine," Linley said with a faint smile.
Then he turned to face those people and shouted coldly, "What? Do you intend to start a fight here in the Free Castle?"
The group was momentarily stunned.
This was the Free Castle, where it was explicitly forbidden to fight. Anyone who engaged in conflict or killing would be mercilessly executed by the island's guardian warriors.
Just then, the guardian warriors patrolling the fourth-floor hall noticed the commotion. A squad of ten quickly approached. The burly, bald-headed leader barked, "What's going on? Trying to cause trouble here? Do you want to die?"
"Yes, they're the ones causing trouble!" BeBe said angrily. "Everyone, we bought a set of clothes, and these people are forcing us to sell it to them. When we refused, they blocked our way."
Linley watched the scene calmly.
Since the Free Castle had this rule, it would never break it, no matter who was involved. Otherwise, where would its authority be?
"Captain, these people are really arrogant," the other guardian warriors immediately chimed in.
"Forcing someone to sell clothes to you?" The bald-headed man's eyes were as wide as a bull's as he glared at the group. "You've got some nerve, acting so arrogantly in the Free Castle! No matter who you are, no one has the right to be arrogant here!"
BeBe immediately broke into a grin.
The cold, handsome red-haired young man frowned, cast a cold glance at the guardian warrior leader, and flipped his hand to reveal a blood-red token. The token bore intricate patterns that closely resembled the patterns on the guardian warriors' armor.
"The Bloody Moluo Decree!" The bald-headed man stared blankly, then his face changed dramatically.
"My lord!" The ten guardian warriors, including the bald-headed man, all bowed respectfully.
Linley, Delia, and BeBe were all shocked.
"It's the highest-grade Bloody Moluo Decree!" The shop owner was also stunned. On Moluo Island, the highly authoritative Moluo Decrees came in two types: one was the Green Moluo Decree, and the other was the Bloody Moluo Decree. The Bloody Moluo Decree held the highest authority.
But at the same time, the Bloody Moluo Decree was extremely rare.
"Bloody Moluo Decree?" Linley had no idea what kind of treasure this was. But judging by the reaction of the ten guardian warriors, he understood its value.
Other guardian warriors on the fourth floor also noticed the commotion, and many rushed over. Even the overall person in charge of the fourth floor arrived. Soon, hundreds of guardian warriors had gathered around.
"Master Sekra? Buying clothes for your wife?" The person in charge, a handsome blond young man, greeted the young master warmly.
The cold, handsome red-haired young man, Sekra, nodded with a faint smile.
"Boss, this doesn't look good," BeBe said via divine sense transmission.
Linley could also see that the situation was unfavorable.
"Linley, let's just give them the clothes," Delia urged via divine sense transmission. Linley thought it over. Delia clearly liked the clothes, and he wanted to keep them for her. But the other party's background was obviously terrifyingly powerful.
He would swallow his pride for now.
"I'm sorry, Delia." Linley looked at Delia, who smiled and shook her head.
Seeing this, the silver-haired old man smirked, and the cold, handsome red-haired young man let out a derisive laugh.
"Hmph, it's too late now!" The silver-haired old man sneered condescendingly. "We won't give you a single Inkstone now. Will you offer the clothes or not?" The silver-haired old man was full of pent-up anger. As a member of the Bagshaw family, when had he ever been humiliated like this?
"But if you give them to us now, we'll be generous and spare you," the silver-haired old man said dismissively.
"Dream on, you bastard!" BeBe was furious.
Linley laughed—a laugh of extreme anger.
He had been willing to let things go, but the other side was treating him like a pushover!
"What's going on with this Free Castle? Buying things here, and you get coerced into giving them away for free? This Free Castle isn't free at all! It seems the reputation of Moluo Island is all fake, and these guardian warriors are just decorations!" Linley's voice echoed through the fourth-floor hall.
The other customers also turned their attention to the scene.
The guardian warriors' faces turned ugly. The Bagshaw family's young master, Sekra, also darkened his expression. The rules of Moluo Island, passed down from ancient times, stated that no one was allowed to fight or kill in the Free Castle.
Violators would be executed!
If the rules were broken, who would come to do business here in the future?
"Young Master Sekra, this is tricky," the blond person in charge said via divine sense transmission. The cold and stern Sekra understood the gravity of the situation. He glanced at Linley and the others and said indifferently, "Let's go!" With that, he led his people away.
The blond person in charge turned back to look at Linley and sent a divine sense message: "Kid, be careful! On Moluo Island, offending Sekra might be safe in the Free Castle, but once you leave..." Then the blond young man left, and the guardian warriors dispersed one by one.
"Those people are really damn excessive," BeBe said, still fuming.
"Linley, it's all my fault," Delia said softly.
Linley tightened his grip on Delia's hand and shook his head. "It's not your fault. In the Infernal Realm, sometimes you have to endure, but if they go too far, we'll just fight it out." Linley sneered inwardly. If it came to it, he would burn the sky down!
Spending a drop of Sovereign's power to go on a killing spree—what was there to fear?
"Let's go. We're leaving," Linley said.
Linley was well aware that the Bagshaw family must hold immense power on Moluo Island, likely one of the five ruling families. He immediately decided to buy everything he needed at the Free Castle and then set off to leave Moluo Island!
"I originally planned to watch the last nine days of the competition at the Colosseum," Linley shook his head with a sigh.
Linley and the others deliberately wandered through the other three floors of the Free Castle before finally heading to the meeting point. Most of the group had already gathered there. They waited less than an hour before the last one, Aichi, finally arrived.
"Sorry, sorry! The Free Castle has so many goods that you can't usually find at the Black Sand Castle or the Violet Thorn Castle. It took me a bit longer," Aichi quickly apologized.
Linley and the others knew that Aichi was a merchant, so it wasn't surprising that he took more time. "Everyone, let's head out first," Linley said.
"Huh?" Big Beard Betts, Aichi, and the others immediately looked at Linley.
"We ran into some people from the Bagshaw family on Moluo Island inside the Free Castle. Someone is tailing us now. For safety, you all leave first... Hmm, meet us at the restaurant where we ate earlier. If I haven't arrived in a day, you can set off on your own," Linley said bluntly.
Betts and the others were shocked, but in the end, they wisely left first.
However, Delia, BeBe, and Olivia stayed with Linley.
Linley waited for a while after the others had left before heading toward the Free Castle's exit. Behind them, the silver-haired old man was following alone, staring at Linley's back. "Offend my young master and think you can leave alive?"
The silver-haired old man quickened his pace to follow.
"We're out. Everyone, be careful," Linley said as he stepped out of the Free Castle's exit. Suddenly, his expression changed.
On both sides of the wide street outside the exit, a dozen or so people on each side immediately approached them. These two rows of people quickly surrounded Linley and the others, also blocking off other customers from the Free Castle.
"Haha, you think you can leave?" The silver-haired old man walked out of the exit at that moment.
As soon as he had come out of the fourth-floor hall, he had arranged for two of his young master's guards and ten other Highgods to wait at the exit. No matter what, they couldn't let Linley and his group escape. His young master hadn't been humiliated like this in a long time.
"Boss, they really did set a trap," BeBe said quietly.
Linley glanced at the twelve Highgods on both sides. They were about ten meters away from him, but for Highgods, that distance was nothing. A fight could break out at any moment.
At the same time, a large crowd gathered around the street to watch, buzzing with chatter.
"So many Highgods, surrounding those few people?"
"That silver-haired old man is the steward of the Bagshaw family. I recognize him. Those people are in trouble for offending the Bagshaw family."
"Walk ahead," Linley sent via divine sense transmission.
Then Linley and the other three walked straight ahead, ignoring the twelve Highgods on either side.
"Trying to leave!" With a roar, one of the Highgods lunged at Linley. He clearly thought that since Linley was only a Demigod, he could handle him alone.
"Get lost!" Linley didn't take this ordinary Highgod seriously.
The divine power of the earth surged around his body, and a tremendous repulsive force struck the Highgod. The Highgod, who had been charging at Linley with his divine artifact, was sent flying back before he could even touch Linley. Linley himself kept walking.
"How is that possible?" The Highgod's eyes widened.
The silver-haired old man's face changed, and he shouted, "Attack!"
All twelve Highgods lunged at Linley at once. At that moment, a pale yellow hemispherical barrier with a ten-meter radius appeared around Linley, enveloping all twelve attackers.
Blackstone Space!
The twelve Highgods, caught by the immense gravitational pull, were slammed to the ground.
"How is this possible?" Before the twelve could react, a strange sound like wind entered their minds. It was similar to the eerie wind zone in the Violet Crystal Mountains. Their souls were affected, and they instantly fell into a dazed stupor.
"Swish!"
An eerie violet sword light flashed. The violet sword light swept across the heads of the twelve like a giant guillotine.
"Bang!" "Bang!"...
The heads of the twelve exploded one after another, and divine sparks scattered all over the ground.
Everyone watching on the wide street in front of the Free Castle was stunned. The once-noisy street fell into dead silence. The most shocked was the silver-haired old man, who stared in disbelief at the scene.
Twelve Highgods, killed with one sword strike?
"These ordinary Highgods, trapped in the Blackstone Space, would have their souls fall into a dazed state. They were just standing there like logs for me to kill." Linley naturally didn't take these small fry seriously. Highgods in a dazed state were nothing but immobile targets.
Killing them was easy!
"Linley." Delia looked at Linley with a hint of excitement in her eyes. Women liked their men to be strong.
"Let's go," Linley said with a faint smile.
Linley and the other three continued forward. The once-crowded street immediately parted to make way for them. Everyone who had witnessed Linley's single sword strike watched him with shock and reverence.
In the Infernal Realm, strength was worshipped!
"Killing twelve Highgods with one sword strike—this lord is incredible! I thought he was just a Demigod demon at first."
"What do you know? This lord was hiding his true strength. I think he's at least a Six-Star Demon."
"So powerful!"
At that moment, the cold, handsome red-haired young master Sekra and the blond young man appeared at the exit. In truth, Sekra had orchestrated this whole affair and had been watching from the shadows. Now, he stared at Linley's retreating back in shock.
"Young master," the silver-haired old man quickly said.
Sekra frowned and looked at the blond young man. "That man killed twelve Highgods with one sword strike so easily. I thought he was a Demigod, but he turned out to be a Highgod hiding his strength. Can you see through his power?" Sekra knew the blond young man's strength well. As a thousand-man commander of the guardian warriors, he had the power of a Six-Star Demon.
If even the blond young man couldn't see through him, then the other party's strength was terrifying.
"I can't see through him!" The blond young man kept his gaze fixed on Linley. "That man hides his strength so well that I can't detect anything. And looking at that sword strike... actually, the strike itself wasn't that impressive. What was terrifying was that those twelve Highgods stood there like fools, letting themselves be killed with one blow!"
"First, we find a suspected Seven-Star Demon like Luomiu at the Colosseum, and now another suspected Seven-Star Demon pops up here." The blond young man's expression turned serious.