Chapter 24: Give Me a Ride
Linley, clad in a sky-blue robe, traveled through the world. The robe billowed in the strong wind, while the ten Six Star Demons behind him also wore various colored garments. During external battles, wearing uniform, overly conspicuous clothing would make it easier for enemies to spot them.
"Everyone, be careful. Our target this time is a small squad from the Barbary clan. Make sure we aren't discovered by other clans. Fly close to the ground," Linley instructed. As he spoke, he dove downward, then skimmed along the ground in flight. The ten team members did the same.
"Don't worry, Captain. Unless we deliberately seek a fight, they won't even find us," Melina said with a laugh.
Deliberately seek a fight?
Linley couldn't help but recall some information the Grand Elder had told him when assigning the mission. Both the Eight Great Clans and the Four Divine Beasts Clan attacked each other, deliberately waiting for the other side to come.
Take the Four Divine Beasts Clan, for example. If they didn't want to fight, they could all hole up in the Celestial Sacrifice Mountain Range, and the Eight Great Clans couldn't do a thing to them. If the Eight Great Clans stayed in their own territories and didn't come out, the Four Divine Beasts Clan wouldn't be foolish enough to charge in.
But...
The Eight Great Clans hated their enemies to the bone, and the Four Divine Beasts Clan hated them just as much! So they deliberately provoked and fought each other time and again. Neither side ever backed down. Even knowing it was a war of attrition, the Eight Great Clans were willing to pay the price. The Four Divine Beasts Clan, too proud to yield, refused to submit.
"These Eight Great Clans are interesting. They always take fixed routes, purely as a provocation," Linley mused to himself.
Of the Eight Great Clans, four were on the eastern border of the Azure Prefecture, and four were gathered on the western border. They were very united, fearing that if they scattered, the Four Divine Beasts Clan would pick them off one by one.
As things stood, the Four Divine Beasts Clan had no way to break them up one by one.
Moreover...
The Eight Great Clans, stationed on both sides of the Azure Prefecture, often sent strong teams back and forth along two fixed routes. Anyone from the Four Divine Beasts Clan found along the way was killed without exception!
Sometimes, they even ambushed and killed people on the outskirts of the Celestial Sacrifice Mountain Range.
"Such provocation—how can our Four Divine Beasts Clan swallow this insult? They flaunt themselves, taking fixed routes. If we retreat further, the Four Divine Beasts Clan will become a laughingstock." Linley understood well that in these battles, the enemy held the initiative, given their overwhelming number of experts.
After flying for about three days, Linley and his team reached their destination—an intelligence outpost near the fixed route. Linley glanced at a distant sand dune, which was inconspicuous among the wild grasslands.
"Come out," Linley said calmly.
The intelligence outpost had been provided by the Grand Elder.
The sand dune rippled, and a figure emerged—a lean young man in a yellow robe. He looked at Linley with slight confusion. Linley smiled, flipped his hand, and produced an Elder token.
"Greetings, Elder," the young man quickly said.
"When will the Barbary clan's people arrive?" Linley asked.
The intelligence station used special techniques and methods like dispersing avatars across two locations to transmit information rapidly. The speed was incredibly fast. Even if the enemy was hundreds of millions of miles away, their movement news might already be known.
"To be precise, it's a team suspected to be from the Barbary clan," the young intelligence officer said. "This suspected Barbary clan team is still a few million miles away. Based on their speed, they should arrive here in about a day and a half."
Linley nodded.
"You said 'suspected'? Can't you confirm for sure it's the Barbary clan?" Linley asked with some concern.
"Not fully confirmed. According to intelligence, most of the team are water-element experts, but two are not. We can only tentatively judge it to be the Barbary clan. It might also be a joint team from two clans," the young man said.
Linley frowned.
A mixed team? That was extremely rare.
Because the Elders of the Four Divine Beasts Clan generally each had a drop of 'Divine Power of a Sovereign.' If they disregarded life and death and used a drop of Divine Power of a Sovereign to fight desperately, even if the enemy had two Seven Star Demons, they'd likely be in trouble.
Thus, both sides preferred one-on-one fights. Unless it was a special case, like when the opponent was a Clan Leader, Grand Elder, or other super expert, they might send a joint team.
"Withdraw," Linley ordered.
"You, follow me." Linley flew up directly, and the ten Six Star Demons immediately followed.
The young intelligence officer looked up at the departing figures, murmuring, "Clansmen, you must win." As an intelligence agent, he walked on the edge of life and death. If discovered by the enemy, they would kill him without hesitation.
And these intelligence agents were mostly very weak.
They could only hope that strong ones like Linley would avenge them!
About a few thousand miles from the intelligence outpost, Linley and his team stopped and hid in a forest on a hillside. Everyone's expression was grim. They all understood that once battle began, death was a real possibility.
"Captain, when the enemy comes, how should we handle it?" the big guy 'Shanta' asked, and the other team members looked at Linley.
"First target: the enemy's Seven Star Demon," Linley said with a faint smile. "Ambush is useless. Their divine sense will detect us anyway. Just stay here. When the enemy arrives, fly into my 'Blackstone Space' and fight them there."
"Fly in?" Some team members caught the implication. "Captain, aren't you attacking with us?"
If they were together, Linley's Blackstone Space would naturally envelop them, and they wouldn't need to fly in.
"Right, I'll launch a sneak attack first," Linley said with a smile.
"Huh?" The ten were shocked.
"Captain, you can't take such a risk. It's better if we all work together. How can you charge in alone? It's too dangerous. Even if all ten of us die, you can't," a lean man quickly said.
Seven Star Demons were the most precious in the clan, the pillars of its strength.
"Relax. If I sneak attack alone, I have over ninety percent confidence," Linley said with a smile.
"Huh?" The ten team members were stunned.
"I'll hide my aura. They'll only think I'm a mid-level god and won't pay me any attention," Linley explained. The Azure Prefecture, like other prefectures, was filled with countless tribes everywhere.
Mid-level gods were the most common in the Infernal Realm.
As Linley and his team flew along, they had encountered many mid-level and low-level gods without ever paying them any mind.
"They won't care about me. But when I get closest to them, I'll launch a sudden attack. It's sure to have an unexpected effect," Linley said confidently.
"Captain," Melina said worriedly, "From our observation, you do look like a mid-level god. Your ability to hide your aura is indeed strong. But the enemy has a Seven Star Demon too. They might detect your true strength and realize you're a high-level god."
The fact that Linley was a mid-level god was known only to a very few in the Azure Dragon clan.
For instance, the Clan Leader and the Grand Elder had discovered it themselves. Others, like Emanuel, all believed Linley was a high-level god who had been hiding his strength before.
"The enemy detecting my true strength? Realizing I'm a high-level god?" Linley laughed.
He was genuinely a mid-level god—why would he need to hide his aura?
"Relax. They won't detect anything," Linley said very confidently.
Some team members grew anxious: "Captain, you can't take such a risk. Let's all attack together. If we coordinate well, we can still..."
"Enough."
Linley frowned. "I've made up my mind. Don't say another word."
The ten team members exchanged glances but could only reluctantly agree. Linley was the captain, and in such moments, obeying the captain's orders was the most basic requirement.
"Stay here. I'll be ten miles away," Linley instructed. "At that distance, once battle starts, you'll notice instantly and rush over. Their divine sense won't have time to detect you."
A high-level god's divine sense typically covered a range of over a thousand meters.
Even a Seven Star Demon's limit was a few thousand meters, but who would fully extend their divine sense in normal circumstances? Even in a battle team, the leading Seven Star Demon would at most spread it over a thousand meters for safety.
"Remember, once the fight begins, go immediately. Before that, don't come close," Linley commanded.
The ten were all worried for Linley.
"Did you hear me?" Linley barked.
"Yes, Captain," the ten replied.
Linley then flew ahead along the route. "Captain, be careful," came voices from behind. Linley smiled faintly and flew ten miles away to a small hill. He dug a cave into the cliff face and entered.
Sitting inside the cave, he looked out through the opening at the sky.
"I'll just play the part of an ordinary mid-level god," Linley thought with a smile.
He had full confidence in this sneak attack. It would be strange if he were seen through—after all, he really was a mid-level god.
Time passed. In the blink of an eye, over a day had gone by.
"Whoosh!"
Linley saw a figure flying toward him at high speed—it was the intelligence officer. Over the past day, he had reported the enemy's position to Linley several times.
"Elder, the enemy is almost here. They're probably less than ten thousand miles away now," the young man said quickly. "Remember, Elder, the metal lifeform they're riding is a jade-green serpent-shaped metal lifeform."
"Less than ten thousand miles?" Linley snapped to attention.
The metal lifeforms of the Eight Great Clans' squads traveled quite fast, covering four to five million miles a day. Less than ten thousand miles meant they'd arrive any moment.
"Go tell the others immediately," Linley ordered.
"Yes, Elder." The intelligence officer knew a great battle was imminent and flew off.
Linley immediately flew out of his cave and walked through the forest. Traveling in the Infernal Realm was dangerous because one often encountered other gods. But Linley was pleased—the realm's dense population made it easy for him to blend in.
A massive green serpent flew overhead—it was a metal lifeform.
"Elder, do you think the Four Divine Beasts Clan will dare to ambush us this time?" Inside the metal lifeform, there were over a dozen people.
"Ambush us?"
The captain was a bald, burly man, three meters tall. The other team members were also tall, none under two and a half meters. This was due to the Barbary clan's bloodline. The captain's eyes glowed green as he laughed, "This time, we have Mr. Mosri with us. I specialize in material attacks, and he excels in soul attacks. No matter who comes, they won't leave alive."
"Kolo, I believe your Barbary clan can handle it without me needing to lift a finger," said a bald old man in a simple gray robe, with two small snakes coiled around his ears.
"Kid, a mid-level god daring to brave the Infernal Realm? Hand over your spatial ring now." A dozen bandits appeared before Linley. The Infernal Realm was full of bandits. Despite trying to avoid them, Linley had run into some.
"Spatial ring?" Linley pretended to be timid. "Uh, okay, I'll give it to you."
"Heh, not bad." The bandits were pleased with his obedience. One of them laughed, "We're feeling merciful today. We'll spare your life. But you have to join us. Otherwise..."
"I'll join," Linley quickly agreed.
Just then, a massive green serpent flew swiftly across the sky in the distance. Linley's heart leaped with joy—it was the enemy's metal lifeform.
"Hey, why haven't you handed over the spatial ring yet?" a bandit barked.
"Whoosh!" Linley suddenly shot upward.
The bandits were stunned, then furious, and immediately flew after him.
The metal lifeform flew over, and Linley, soaring upward, got close to it. The Six Star Demons and Seven Star Demon inside were somewhat annoyed.
"Damn it. A bunch of bandits causing trouble, and now they're charging right at us."
They all saw that the people below were mid-level gods and felt no vigilance at all.
"Milords, save me! Please, give me a ride! They're trying to kill me!" Linley flew directly to the side of the metal lifeform, his face full of panic.
"Get lost!" a Six Star Demon barked directly.