Chapter 44: Along the Way
At the city gates of Mil City, the intelligence outpost of the Eight Great Clans was stationed.
"Sir, Linley and the other three, along with a baby, have already set out. They should be arriving at the city gates soon."
"Oh? They even brought the baby out? Looks like they really are leaving the city. No rush, though. We'll wait slowly. Once we see Linley and the others appear at the city gates, we'll report this to the eight Elders." The speaker was a seemingly simple and honest young man.
This honest-looking young man was standing by the window of a tall building, casually looking down below.
From his position, he could clearly see the city gates.
After a long while...
The honest young man's pupils contracted. Within his field of vision, amidst the bustling crowd, Linley and the others appeared.
"Linley, Linley, you've finally shown yourself. I thought you were going to stay in this Mil City for a thousand or ten thousand years. Now it seems it's only been a little over a year." The honest young man squinted his eyes, a very simple smile on his face.
"Hurry, send this news to the Elders." The honest young man immediately gave the order via divine sense.
"Yes!"
In a mountain forest about a thousand miles from Mil City, a very ordinary stone house was built. The stone house was quite spacious, with eight meditation cushions inside. Eight gray-robed figures sat cross-legged on the cushions, silently waiting.
Over a year!
Originally, they had come with a murderous intent, wanting to kill Linley. But they had been waiting for an opportunity to strike, and it never came. As time passed, their killing intent naturally diminished.
"This Linley doesn't want to come out of the city. I wonder how long he plans to stay there. Ten years? A thousand years? Ten thousand years?" A gray-robed man with long black hair and a thick black beard said somewhat angrily.
Waiting without a definite deadline was the most frustrating thing.
"Temple!" An elegant voice rang out. "People from your Reynards family still can't keep their hearts calm."
The bearded gray-robed man snorted softly and said nothing more.
"Someone is coming from outside." Suddenly, a cold, sharp voice sounded. As soon as the words fell, a figure rushed over at extreme speed. This person was one of the intelligence personnel stationed there, ready to deliver messages to the eight Elders at any time.
"Eight Elders, Linley, Linley has left the city!" An excited voice rang out.
"Whoosh!" The eight gray-robed men stood up almost simultaneously. Even the calmest among them, the leader, Elder Chab, showed a hint of joy on his face. He then said, "This Linley has finally shown himself. Everyone... remember. As soon as you make a move, immediately use Sovereign power. Do your utmost, and kill Linley."
Outside the city gates of Mil City, many members of the Azure Dragon clan were gathering. Because of the clan emblem, everyone could clearly sense their fellow clansmen.
"Elder Linley, you're here earlier than usual today." Tewila came over and sent a divine sense message.
Linley smiled and nodded. "If I had come any later, I'm afraid you, Elder Tewila, would be annoyed." Tewila turned his gaze to the baby, Wade, who was being held by Delia, and sent a message: "Linley, this is your son, right? He's beautiful."
"When Wade was first born, he looked like a little old man," Linley said. When others praised his son, Linley was naturally happy.
"By the way, when do we set off?" Linley asked.
Tewila glanced around. "It looks like almost everyone is here. Let's wait a little longer. Oh, by the way, Linley, on this metal lifeform of ours today, there is a very special passenger."
"Oh? A special passenger?" Linley was a little surprised.
"Yes, the Patriarch personally instructed me to bring him along to the Sacred Mountain of Trials." Tewila smiled. "Come with me, I'll introduce you."
Linley was curious about who this special passenger could be. Under Tewila's guidance, Linley met him. He was a very thin young man with short golden hair and an innocent smile on his face.
But... looking at him, Linley felt a sense of familiarity.
"Haha, Linley." A hearty voice rang out in Linley's mind. Linley was suddenly startled. It was Posero! That was Posero's voice!
"You?" Linley stared in astonishment at the thin young man before him. The thin young man winked and sent a message: "There's no other way. Your Patriarch said that my last appearance probably let the Eight Great Clans know what I look like. Even riding your metal lifeform, I have to change my appearance. Really... what's there to be afraid of? Even if a few Elders come, I can handle them alone."
Linley couldn't help but laugh.
Posero was a Sovereign's messenger. Linley had personally seen his strength. Even Bro, who had used Sovereign power, was no match for him. Killing a few Elders alone would be a piece of cake.
"Haha, the Patriarch is thinking about the clan." Linley laughed. "By the way, how did you get involved with our Patriarch?" The last time Posero had saved him, he didn't even know the Patriarch.
But five hundred years had passed. Anything could happen.
"You don't need to worry about that." Posero sent a mysterious message. "Just know that me meeting your Patriarch is only good for you, not bad."
Linley smiled and nodded. "Regardless of anything else, just having you accompany us back to the Sacred Mountain of Trials is a huge benefit." With Posero present, especially with himself and Tewila, this group's strength was considerable.
One Posero could match several Seven-Star Fiends.
"And I haven't even seen Posero's full power unleashed," Linley thought.
"Linley, who is this?" Delia and Bebe looked at the thin young man with confusion. Linley smiled. "I'll introduce you in detail once we're on the metal lifeform."
Posero deliberately winked.
"Woo, wah..." Wade, in Delia's arms, stretched out his chubby little hand and pointed at Posero. Posero had held Wade many times before. Although Posero's appearance had changed drastically, Wade, who was less than a year old, had a special sense about him.
"Wade, be good." Posero smiled at Wade.
Delia and Bebe were startled. How did this thin young man know Wade's name?
"Everyone's here. Let's set off." Tewila came over and said. Immediately, a giant silver wolf-shaped lifeform appeared in mid-air, and a passage opened in its belly. The members of the Azure Dragon clan entered the metal lifeform one by one.
Linley, Posero, Tewila, Bebe, Delia, and the others also went up together.
"Swoosh!"
The metal lifeform instantly turned into a blur and disappeared into the sky.
"The metal lifeform is flying towards position two! Flying towards position two!" The intelligence personnel of the Eight Great Clans immediately spread the information.
Nine figures were flying at extreme speed in the sky. Eight of them wore gray robes, and one wore a blue robe. The blue-robed man quickly said, "Elders, the metal lifeform Linley is on was originally flying towards position two. Now it has slightly changed direction. It should pass through position four. We are still a few hundred miles away from there. We'll be there soon!" The intelligence department of the Eight Great Clans had put in a lot of effort this time.
With the city gates as the center, spreading out in a fan shape, there were many outposts within a range of several thousand miles. No matter which direction the Azure Dragon clan's metal lifeform flew, those intelligence personnel could easily detect it.
And this blue-robed man had a clone at headquarters, constantly receiving updates on the metal lifeform's position.
"Very good." Elder Chab sent a faint smile via divine sense. "Everyone, there are only a few hundred miles left. As soon as we encounter the metal lifeform, immediately cover it with our divine sense and pinpoint Linley's location. Then... Annexi, you will be responsible for holding back the Elder protecting the metal lifeform. The other seven, including me, will launch a full-force attack, joining forces to surround and kill Linley. Don't give him any chance."
"Yes." The seven Elders acknowledged.
Among these eight Elders, three possessed Sovereign power. Annexi was just an ordinary Elder.
This joint attack to kill Linley consisted of the three Elders with Sovereign power and the other four Elders. With such formidable strength, even if it were Patriarch Galesian himself, it would be difficult for him to withstand such a fierce assault.
"Actually, Elder Chab, you alone using Sovereign power would be enough to kill Linley. Even without using Sovereign power, the seven Elders joining forces would leave no room for accidents." The bearded Elder sent a message.
"We cannot afford the slightest carelessness!" "Remember, use Sovereign power immediately. Don't even think about saving it. Killing Linley must not have the slightest mistake." Elder Chab gave another strict order. "Nis, Temple, you two must use Sovereign power when you make your move."
Killing a chicken with a butcher's knife was overkill.
Killing a Linley with three drops of Sovereign power was indeed exaggerated.
The giant silver wolf-shaped metal lifeform was flying at extreme speed. Inside the cabin, the clan members were gathered together, chatting. As an Elder, Linley was naturally arranged to have his own private room.
Linley and Delia were inside. Delia was holding little Wade in her arms.
"Wade, Wade." Linley teased his son.
"Woo, woo..." Wade, who couldn't talk yet, just stared at Linley with his clear, big eyes, babbling something unintelligible.
Delia watched this scene—her husband playing with their son. A smile couldn't help but appear on her face. At this moment, she felt a deep sense of happiness filling her heart. Even now, she was grateful for her decision to wait ten years for Linley.
Linley turned his head and smiled at Delia. "Delia, what are you staring at and smiling foolishly about?"
"Looking at you and our son." Delia's smile was radiant.
Just then—
Eight streams of divine sense simultaneously covered the metal lifeform. Everyone inside the metal lifeform was within the scope of the search. Many clan members in the cabin changed their expressions. Delia, as a Highgod, also sensed the divine sense.
Eight Highgods suddenly probing with their divine sense—this was definitely not a good sign.
"Linley, eight Highgods are probing this metal lifeform." Delia quickly sent a divine sense message; there was no time to speak.
Linley's expression changed in shock. He quickly spread his divine sense outward...
In mid-air, eight gray-robed figures were diving towards the metal lifeform at extreme speed. In particular, three of them were radiating a terrifying energy that made one's heart tremble. Linley instantly recognized it—it was Sovereign power.
"Sovereign power!!!" Linley's face changed drastically.
Among the eight gray-robed figures, one slowed down.
The other seven gray-robed figures, especially the three whose bodies were surging with Sovereign power, charged directly towards the metal lifeform, towards the private room where Linley was.
"Die!"
"Linley, run!!!"
Posero and Tewila's voices instantly rang out in Linley's mind. They had obviously detected the enemy earlier than Linley.
But it was too late!
"Boom!"
A terrifying wave of energy struck the metal lifeform. The metal lifeform, fragile as paper in the face of such power, exploded with a loud bang. Fragments of the metal lifeform flew in all directions. Linley let out a furious roar. Dragon scales instantly emerged, and he immediately underwent Dragonization.
"Pfft!" Metal fragments shot everywhere. Delia quickly lowered her head, protecting Wade. "Delia, run!" Linley shoved Delia hard, sending her flying like an arrow, and sent a divine sense message: "Tewila, protect Delia!" The enemy was clearly targeting him. He and Posero would handle this battle.
"Linley!" Delia was pushed away like a sharp arrow, a divine power barrier forming around her body to protect little Wade. But Delia still turned her head to look—
A hazy, earthy yellow light spread out—Gravity Space!
A cyan halo also spread out—Water-type Sovereign power!
In an instant, Linley unleashed all his strength!
A fiery red figure rushed over, sending a message: "Delia, get far away! Leave the fighting to us!"
"Roar!" A furious dragon's roar erupted from within!
"Boom!"
A terrifying, soul-shaking explosion came from the core of the earthy yellow light barrier. Space itself shattered into countless cracks. The violent energy, like ripples in water, spread rapidly in all directions. Some of the weaker clan members who were caught in the blast had their bodies explode directly.