Chapter 62: Thorn in the Flesh
Elder Garvey was locked in combat with the enemy. The aura of Sovereign power radiated outward. This also caused the other three clans of the Four Divine Beasts family to rush over. When they saw from afar six figures surrounding Linley, their faces changed drastically.
"Not good, all six are using Sovereign power. And two of them are clan leaders!" The Vermillion Bird clan elder recognized the enemy experts at a glance from a distance.
"How can this be? Have these eight great clans all gone mad?"
The White Tiger clan leader, the Black Tortoise clan leader, and the other elders couldn't comprehend the scene before them. No matter how formidable Linley was, he was just a Seven Star Demon. Why would he provoke the eight great clans to the point that six of them immediately used Sovereign power without hesitation, including two clan leaders?
Among the eight great clan leaders, seven were Sovereign's envoys, and the remaining one was even stronger. What kind of status did these eight men hold? Yet two of them would unhesitatingly, without regard for face, join forces to kill Linley, a junior? It was utterly unbelievable!
"Linley, retreat!!!" A thunderous roar echoed in Linley's mind. At that moment, Linley also caught sight of six experts charging toward him. He was shocked: "Six people? And all using Sovereign power?"
The eyes of these six were filled with murderous intent, like six lions about to devour a little lamb. "Haha, clan leader, Linley has actually flown out of the Sacrificial Grounds Mountain Range. This is a heaven-sent opportunity!" A burly man entirely wrapped in a white robe transmitted his voice mentally.
"We must seize the opportunity. Kill him at all costs!"
"He won't escape!"
These six stared fixedly at Linley. Over the past thousand years, the eight great clans had been frantically attacking the Four Divine Beasts family, fearing that time would drag on until Linley became a Highgod. They wanted to force Linley out.
Yet… over all these years, Linley had never appeared.
Linley's existence was like a thorn lodged in the throats of the eight great clans. They dreamed of eliminating this scourge. Today, heaven had granted them a perfect opportunity! How could these six hold back? They wouldn't…
And Linley wasn't foolish. He knew his limits.
Seeing six such men charging at him, Linley retreated explosively while mentally shouting, "Garvey, retreat!"
As he retreated, a earthen yellow halo spread outward from Linley like ripples, instantly enveloping a spherical range of five hundred meters, covering Elder Garvey and his opponent, who were still locked in battle.
Blackstone Space!
The Blackstone Space was Reisgem's ultimate technique. Today, however, Linley was using 'Earth Sovereign power' to execute it. The Blackstone Space was originally an earth-element attack, and using Earth Sovereign power was the most compatible… The power of this 'Blackstone Space' reached a terrifying level.
With Highgod earth divine power, using 'Blackstone Space' could affect weaker Seven Star Demons.
With Highgod earth divine power, using 'Blackstone Space' could even affect experts close to the level of a Paragon—this was Reisgem's level.
But with 'Earth Sovereign power', using 'Blackstone Space' meant the enemy also had to use Sovereign power and be a super expert to barely resist… Otherwise, within the Blackstone Space, they would have no ability to fight back.
"Ah!" The burly man from the Barbary clan, who was fighting Elder Garvey, was caught off guard by the gravitational pull and stumbled downward. In a battle between experts, revealing a flaw was fatal!
"Bam!" Elder Garvey seized the opportunity and slammed his palm onto the burly Barbary clan man's head, directly smashing it apart. The divine spark flew away.
The Barbary clan elder was dead!
At that moment—
"Whoosh!" Six figures all charged into the 'Blackstone Space'. The range of the Blackstone Space was too large; to kill Linley, they had to close the distance. Even knowing how dangerous the Blackstone Space was, they had to charge in.
But the power of the Blackstone Space exceeded their imagination!
Blackstone Space—Maximum Repulsive Force!
The six figures, which had been charging at top speed, suddenly had their velocity plummet. Caught off guard, two of them were even pushed back and expelled from the 'Blackstone Space'. Having been sprinting forward at full speed, being repelled by the opposite force caused their bodies to shudder, their faces flushing red as they were injured in this way.
Such was the terror of the ultimate 'Blackstone Space'!
"How is this possible?" The other four barely managed to avoid being expelled, but their speed was far too slow.
There was no way they could catch Linley!
"Attack!" The leading Bolin clan leader mentally roared. At the same time, white wings of light spread from his back, and holy white Sovereign power of Fate permeated his entire body. Bolin clan leader's sacred face became expressionless as he coldly gazed at Linley.
"Swish!" A semi-transparent white arrow instantly tore through the air, shooting toward Linley.
"Hmph!" A low snort.
A cold-faced man with flowing cyan eyebrows and deep blue eyes flicked his right hand. Instantly, a cyan curved blade shot out. Where the blade passed, the spatial fabric of the Infernal Realm was cut like paper, leaving a fine slit.
If a blade is sharp enough to slice through a head, it only leaves a red line on the neck. This curved blade cutting through space was the same—it left only a fine slit, barely noticeable unless one looked closely. But the power of this blade had reached a terrifying level.
A white arrow and a curved blade shot over simultaneously.
"Hmph!" Linley willed it, and instantly, earthen yellow walls materialized out of thin air, blocking the path of the white arrow and the curved blade. However, the curved blade was too fast, swiftly overtaking the white arrow and easily slicing through wall after wall.
Linley was shocked: "This curved blade…"
These earthen yellow walls were formed using Earth Sovereign power. Their defensive power was terrifying. Yet against this 'curved blade', they were like tattered paper, offering no resistance at all.
"Could it be a Sovereign artifact?" Linley kept retreating.
"Whoosh!" The curved blade instantly tore through the air and reached Linley. Only then did Linley clearly notice… as the blade passed, a neat, fine crack appeared in space. "Too fast, too fast!" Linley couldn't dodge.
At this critical, fatal moment—
A black fist, like a mountain, appeared in front of Linley. This massive black fist lightly brushed against the curved blade. With a crisp clang, the cyan blade's trajectory was altered. "Swish!" It grazed Linley's chest and easily pierced through.
"Quick, retreat!" The black hand grabbed Linley and flew back.
"Clan leader." Linley glanced at the figure beside him with gratitude. The one who had just saved him was none other than the clan leader, Galesreisen.
The semi-transparent white arrow, slightly slower than the 'curved blade', struck Galesreisen. He didn't even flinch and didn't counterattack… Instead, he grabbed Linley and swiftly darted back into the Sacrificial Grounds Mountain Range.
It sounds slow, but in reality, from the moment Linley flew out, Elder Garvey killed the enemy, and Linley and Galesreisen fled back, it all happened in the blink of an eye. Yet in that instant, it was breathtakingly thrilling!
On the side of the Sacrificial Grounds Mountain Range.
Galesreisen and Linley flew back, finally breathing a sigh of relief. Elder Garvey had also managed to escape. In truth, the enemy had focused on Linley as their target, allowing Garvey to take the chance to flee.
"Clan leader, thank you for saving my life." Linley looked at his chest, still feeling a lingering fear.
"You really are bold." Galesreisen let out a long sigh, then looked into the distance. "The enemy sent six people at once, all using Sovereign power. Even I was startled… Especially the clan leader of the Wenner family, who actually used an offensive Sovereign artifact."
Linley was secretly shocked. So it was indeed a Sovereign artifact!
"But," Galesreisen smiled at Linley, "your Gravitational Space is truly terrifying. Especially when used with 'Earth Sovereign power'. Those two weaker ones, even using Sovereign power, were expelled. As for Bolin clan leader and the others, they couldn't even come close to chasing us."
Wasn't that the truth?
The 'Blackstone Space' radiated around Linley, forcing the enemy to rely only on long-range attacks, unable to get near.
"Linley, thank you." A pale-faced Elder Garvey approached, expressing his gratitude.
"Linley!" A deep voice rang out. The Black Tortoise clan leader, Vermillion Bird clan leader, White Tiger clan leader, and other elders also flew over. "What exactly happened? As soon as you made a move, those eight great clans went mad trying to kill you. Two clan leaders joined forces. Do you have a deep grudge against them too?"
Linley himself was baffled.
"I don't know either. I've only fought for the family a few times, killing a few enemy elders. Nothing more." Linley looked into the distance. He didn't understand why the eight great clans wanted him dead so badly. Their obsession had reached a paranoid level, treating him as a thorn in their flesh.
Above the eight great clans' front lines, the eight clan leaders and over a hundred elders had gathered.
"What a perfect opportunity." Bolin clan leader closed his eyes in frustration.
"With such a golden chance, the two of you joined forces and still couldn't kill Linley!" A sinister man wrapped in a black robe, with snakes hanging from his ears, spoke in a low voice. "Wenner clan leader, how did your blade miss?"
The cold-faced man with cyan eyebrows snorted coldly and didn't bother to explain.
"Talking about it now is pointless." A gentle voice sounded. The Eddrick clan leader spoke up. "Let the past be past. What we need to do now is find a way to kill Linley. This Linley's Gravitational Space is astonishingly powerful. If he doesn't use Sovereign power, fine, but once he does… only a few of us clan leaders have any hope of killing him."
"Never mind who goes to kill him. The most important thing now is to force Linley out." A low voice rang out.
"Let me try. See if I can lure Linley out." Suddenly, an elf elder flew forward.
The clan leaders and elders of the Four Divine Beasts family gathered together, their hearts burning with rage at the actions of the eight great clans. But they had to endure, as the disparity in the number of experts was too great.
"Boss, that was too risky." Bebe had also arrived by then.
Linley could only smile wryly. "I didn't expect the eight great clans to be so crazed about me." He had thought that if he made a move, the enemy would at most send one elder to block him… In that case, Linley was confident he could save Elder Garvey. But their reaction was far too exaggerated, scaring even him.
Just then, mocking voices rang out from the opposite side.
"That should be Linley, the elder of the Azure Dragon clan, right? Oh, the Azure Worm clan elder. I thought Linley was someone noteworthy, but watching your performance just now… tsk tsk, truly disappointing!" A sneering voice sounded. "I, an ordinary elder of the Eddrick family, am right here today. Do you, this Azure Worm clan elder, dare to fight me?"
The jeering voice echoed over the Sacrificial Grounds Mountain Range.
Azure Worm clan?
The members of the Four Divine Beasts family were all furious. Many glared at the people of the eight great clans.
Linley looked at the gray-robed elf elder who had spoken, pondering: "What's going on with these eight great clans? They want me to come out? Why are they always targeting me?" Linley could already sense something was wrong.
"Linley, don't go out." Galesreisen quickly warned.
"Hey…" Bebe shouted loudly, "And they call themselves the eight great clans! Just now, six people ganged up on Linley, including two clan leaders. How great, the eight great clans! Two clan leaders and four elders joined forces to attack Elder Linley, but he didn't even get a scratch!"
On the side of the eight great clans, the eight clan leaders and a large group of elders racked their brains. What they wanted most was to make Linley fly out of the Sacrificial Grounds Mountain Range. Among the Four Divine Beasts family, this Linley was the true thorn in their flesh, the splinter in their hearts.