Lord of the Mists: Book 8 of the Coiling Dragon Saga

by Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi

  “Let’s go. Those two are sparring yet again.” Linley laughed calmly.

  Immediately, Linley’s group advanced at a faster pace. A blurred shadow flashed, and it was as though they had disappeared into thin air.

  On the grassy earth, there was a building formed from elemental essence. Ahead of it, there was a gleaming, rippling lake.

  Two figures were in the air above the lake, fighting and moving at high speed.

  “Swish!” An azure-robed figure, body crackling with lightning, was constantly moving about at a pace far greater than the other, white-robed figure.

  Still, the white-robed figure moved very quickly as well; only, he wasn’t able to catch up to his foe. His defense, however, was extremely strong.

  “Hmph.”

  With a low growl, the white-robed figure’s body suddenly expanded. His skin instantly turned azure, and his arms and legs increased in size. White runes appeared atop his body as well, and the blue veins on his body bulged out, snaking and twisting across his form, while two sharp horns emerged from his forehead.

  “Bang!”

  “Bang!”

  The azure-robed figure’s attacks landed consecutively atop the body of the white-robed figure, but the leather-like skin of the white-robed figure was protected by that white light, and he borrowed from the force of the collision to retreat.

  “The two can only be considered as being near the commander level.” Linley watched the two distant figures flash about above the lake, and he laughed calmly as he came to his conclusion.

  “Sovereign,” Commander Wilhelm said respectfully, “This Gansla is extremely fast, and his attacks can be considered extremely strong as well. He doesn’t have any real weaknesses. But at the same time, he doesn’t have any real, overwhelming strengths either! As for this Bresle, his uniqueness lies in his body and his defense! His defense is extremely strong, especially after transforming. Even experts at a higher level would generally find it hard to kill him. Look; although that Gansla, by relying on his speed, is able to land multiple blows on Bresle, and yet Bresle isn’t affected at all.”

  Linley nodded slightly.

  Although the white-robed Bresle had exceedingly strong defense, in this battle, Gansla clearly held the upper hand.

  “Haha, my friend Gansla, let’s stop here.” The white-robed man laughed. “If you were to unleash your most vicious technique, my soul defense wouldn’t be able to withstand it.”

  “Bresle, your physical defense is simply too strong.” The azure-robed man laughed as well.

  The white-robed man’s figure began to slowly transform back to normal. His two horns on his forehead disappeared, and he changed back into a normal, human appearance.

  “The power of my body is part of my innate gifts, but in terms of actual strength, I’m still weaker than you, my friend Gansla.” The white-robed figure laughed. Suddenly, he frowned and stared into the distance, while the azure-robed figure by his side did the same. Linley’s group was slowly strolling towards them from far away.

  Of Linley’s group, only the commander of the Black Tortoise Army, Wilhelm, was a native of the Divine Earth Plane.

  Given his status, these two had never seen him before.

  But of course…

  Although these two had no idea as to who the members of Linley’s group were, they could sense that this group was not to be easily offended.

  “Bresle, be careful. As I see it, they should all be quite strong,” the azure-robed figure sent.

  “It should be fine, Gansla. We didn’t offend them; they wouldn’t act against us for no reason.” The white-robed figure chortled.

  “Don’t think that everyone is like you.” The azure-robed Gansla was clearly readying himself, as he stared fixedly at Linley’s advancing group.

  And then, Gansla barked in a cold voice, “Everyone, might I ask why you have come to my place?”

  “I want to have a chat with him in private,” the leader of the group, a brown-haired figure, pointed at the white-robed Bresle as he spoke.

  “My name is Bresle. Who might you be?” Bresle laughed as he walked forward.

  “Bresle!” The nearby azure-robed Gansla immediately grew frantic, and he sent mentally, wanting to stop him, “You don’t even know them. Don’t go near them!”

  Linley glanced sideways at Gansla.

  With but a thought…

  “Rumble…” A surge of earth-type Sovereign power immediately spread out, filled with powerful Sovereign’s Will. It instantly separated Gansla and Bresle, forming into a barrier that contained Bresle and Linley’s group, with Gansla kept outside.

  The azure-robed Gansla was stunned by the earth-type Sovereign power. He couldn’t help but be knocked flying backwards, but with a backflip, he immediately rose to his feet again. He stared at the group within the translucent, earthen yellow barrier, and his face changed dramatically. “Sov, Sovereign…”

  The power of Linley’s simple technique was simply overwhelmingly terrifying.

  The white-robed Bresle, seeing the situation, immediately came to his senses as well. He hurriedly knelt down. “Bresle pays his respects to the Sovereign. Dare I ask what you need from me, Sovereign? If there is anything you need, just instruct me.”

  “Bresle, I have a test for you. If you are willing to participate, you will become my Emissary, and I will bestow upon you a Sovereign artifact of your choosing.” Linley laughed calmly.

  “Ah!” Bresle was stunned.

  To become a Sovereign’s Emissary? To acquire a Sovereign artifact?

  This was a stroke of fortune descending upon him from the heavens! Bresle felt dizzy for a moment. After training for countless years, who wouldn’t seek to reach the pinnacle? Only, even someone at the Domain Lord level or the Lord Prefect level wouldn’t necessarily be able to acquire a Sovereign artifact. After all, there were only so many Emissaries, while the number of commander-level experts were far more numerous.

  “Me… a Sovereign’s Emissary?” Bresle couldn’t help but repeat the words.

  “Naturally.” Linley nodded. “The prerequisite, however, is for you to attend this trial.”

  “Dare I ask, Sovereign, what sort of a trial is this?” Bresle was so excited that his face was starting to turn red.

  Linley let out a calm laugh. “Don’t be in a hurry to agree; first, listen closely to the details of this trial! I need you to participate in a Planar War, but this Planar War is different…” Linley explained in detail exactly how dangerous this Planar War would be.

  As he listened, the look in Bresle’s eyes only grew even firmer.

  He felt that he had a chance at surviving, even within this terrifying Planar War!

  “Sovereign, I wish to acquire a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact,” Bresle said hurriedly.

  “All done. Six of them.” Linley felt a surge of delight.

  “Lord Linley!” Right at this moment, a voice rang out in Linley’s mind.

  “Eh?” Linley turned to look, only to see two figures flash towards him from far away, descending upon the ground. “Two Sovereigns?”

  80

  GATHERING POINT

  Linley swept the two with his gaze, ascertaining their identities.

  Of the two, one was dressed in a fiery long robe and had long, fiery red hair, with an amiable look on his face. This was a Lesser Sovereign of Fire, Borte. As for the other, this man appeared rather muscular, and was comparable to Linley in height. He was dressed in a long, gray robe, and had tousled, short hair. This was the Lesser Sovereign of Earth, Manlu.

  “Borte, Manlu.” Linley laughed calmly. “What a coincidence it is, to run into the two of you here. Why have you two come here?”

  The two Lesser Sovereigns, Borte and Manlu, exchanged a glance, and then Borte smiled very modestly and sent, “Lord Linley, to tell the truth, Manlu and I have come to search for an Emissary. This Bresle was one of the individuals we had decided on long ago. We came for the sake of letting him become our Emiss
ary. Lord Linley, please assist us in this.”

  Not every Sovereign had filled up every slot for their Emissaries. For example, Bluefire only had a single Emissary; Phusro. His second Emissary had yet to be selected.

  Because of this upcoming Planar War, the few Sovereigns who had open Emissary slots began to recruit and fill up their slot.

  “Hmph.” Linley’s face couldn’t help but sink.

  Borte and Manlu couldn’t help but tremble slightly in their hearts. Linley was, after all, someone who surpassed the Chief Sovereign of Lightning and Chief Sovereign of Light, a terrifying power. Only the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts surpassed Linley. The two of them, mere Lesser Sovereigns… how could they compare to Linley?

  “Borte, I told you to forget it, but you? You insisted on coming,” Manlu couldn’t help but send.

  “Don’t worry. As long as we are respectful, Linley wouldn’t dare act against us. If he does, he would be violating the Pact,” the Lesser Sovereign of Fire, Borte, sent back. And then, he smiled towards Linley and said, “Lord Linley, in the Divine Earth Plane, there are many people aside from Bresle who have strong defense. You can easily choose another person.”

  Linley swept a cold glance past Borte and Manlu.

  Before Linley had said anything, the nearby Bebe grew angry and barked, “My Boss has chosen an Emissary. What makes you think you have the right to take him away?”

  “Shut your mouth,” Manlu couldn’t help but bark angrily as he gave Bebe a cold glance.

  The two feared Linley, but they didn’t hold a mere Highgod like Bebe in any regard. In the eyes of a Sovereign… a Highgod like Bebe was but an ant. And now, this ant actually dared to angrily lecture them? How could this be permitted? If it weren’t for the fact that Linley was right there, the two probably would’ve killed Bebe right away.”

  “As I see it, it’s the two of you who need to shut your mouths,” Linley growled.

  Borte and Manlu’s faces changed slightly.

  “Lord Linley, how about, we let Bresle choose for himself. What do you say?” Borte said shamelessly, and then, ignoring Linley’s reaction, he turned to look towards Bresle. Smiling, he said, “Bresle, if you are willing to become an Emissary under my command, I can gift you a Sovereign artifact.”

  Bresle was completely puzzled.

  “What is going on today? Why are Sovereigns fighting over the chance to make me their Emissary?” Bresle was confused.

  Not just him; even Linley was puzzled.

  “What is wrong with these two?” Linley didn’t understand. “He’s just an Emissary. There are quite a few Seven Star level experts in the Divine Earth Plane. They can go find someone else. Why irritate me for the sake of this Bresle? What has caused them to act like this?”

  Because of his puzzlement, Linley didn’t immediately shoo off these two Sovereigns. He wanted to figure out exactly what was going on with them.

  “I…” Bresle hesitated slightly.

  Becoming Linley’s Emissary involved an exceedingly dangerous trial.

  But this Sovereign who had just appeared didn’t mention any trial. Naturally, Bresle hesitated.

  “Borte. Can it be that you aren’t intending to send him into the Planar Battlefield?” Linley said coldly.

  The Sovereign of Fire, Borte, let out a casual laugh. “If one wishes to become an Emissary, one naturally must be tested.”

  Bresle couldn’t help but glance at this Sovereign of Fire, Borte. He mused to himself, “This Sovereign of Fire didn’t mention this earlier. Most likely, he would only inform me about it after I agreed. His actions aren’t very honorable.” Not hesitating at all, Bresle said respectfully, “Apologies. I’ve already accepted this Sovereign’s offer.”

  Linley laughed.

  Borte and Manlu exchanged a glance.

  “I want to see what else these two have to say for themselves.” Linley was now truly interested. What caused these two to insist on fight with Linley over Bresle, to the point of even offending him?

  Just for an Emissary? Linley didn’t believe it.

  They shouldn’t be willing to offend a powerful Chief Sovereign level expert, even if it meant losing out on an Emissary.

  Were these Sovereigns fools? Was something wrong with their heads? That wasn’t likely either.

  Then… what was the real reason?

  “Lord Linley.” Borte bowed slightly, then sent, “It was Lord Orloff, the Chief Sovereign of Fate, who ordered us to make this Bresle our Emissary. The two of us are simply following orders. There was nothing we could do. Please help us out a bit, Lord Linley.”

  Linley was stunned.

  The Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff?

  Linley knew that each of the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts had a group of Sovereigns under their control. For example, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction had quite a few Sovereigns he protected, many of whom trained in the Elemental Laws, who had entered the Infernal Realm and stood on his side.

  The Sovereigns all knew, after all, that the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts were the most powerful, and thus they naturally knew it was necessary to follow one of them.

  The Chief Sovereign of Fate was unfathomably powerful, and so there were quite a few Sovereigns who obeyed his orders. The two Sovereigns before Linley were amongst them! In fact, even the Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta, could be considered someone on the side of the Chief Sovereign of Fate, although he couldn’t be said to be completely subordinate to him.

  “Haha, Lord Orloff already has his army of Twelve-Winged Angels. Why would he care about an Emissary or two?” Linley sent back with a calm laugh.

  “We aren’t able to comprehend Lord Orloff’s plans.” Borte and Manlu were both very respectful. Borte sent back, “Lord Orloff gave us the order to come here and have someone called ‘Bresle’ become his Emissary. Although Lord Orloff didn’t tell us that we absolutely had to accomplish this mission, we can’t disappoint him, right? Thus… we would like to ask you, Lord Linley, to help out.”

  Linley now began to understand. However, there was still one thing he was puzzled on. “Orloff is the Chief Sovereign of Fate! He is such a high, lofty figure that even the Chief Sovereign of Destruction isn’t able to do anything to him. Why, then, would he remember a mere Highgod, Bresle?”

  “Lord Linley…” Borte said again.

  “Apologies. I’ve already accepted this Bresle as my Emissary; this is akin to giving Bresle a promise. As a Sovereign, once I’ve given my word, how can I simply take it back?” Linley gave the two a calm glance. “The two of you had best leave and depart.”

  Borte and Manlu couldn’t help but frown slightly.

  “Lord Linley, this is someone the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Lord Orloff, chose personally. If you do this, once Lord Orloff knows…” Borte said fearlessly.

  Linley’s face sank.

  Threats?

  His gaze turned icy cold. He looked at the two, and he only said two words: “Fuck off!”

  Borte and Manlu’s faces changes dramatically. No longer daring to say a word, they bowed slightly, then immediately flew away, fleeing at high speed.

  “To use the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, to threaten me?” Linley shook his head mentally. These two Sovereigns were trying to bluff him with threats. Linley knew what type of person Orloff was; he wasn’t the sort to avenge every enmity. Sometimes, a superior might be a very good person, but because of the frivolous actions of his subordinates, have his own reputation tarnished.

  There was indeed a great difference between Lesser Sovereigns and Chief Sovereigns.

  Only, because of the Pact of Sovereigns, unless there was a grievance between them, the Chief Sovereigns were not to attack Lesser Sovereigns.

  Borte and Manlu had already flown very far away.

  “Linley is too wild and arrogant,” Borte couldn’t help but send. “We even lowered ourselves to beg him for help, and even told him that this was for the Chief Sovereign of Fate. He actually still ref
uses to give any face at all.”

  “Borte, today, you went a bit too far as well. Linley is at the Chief Sovereign level, after all,” Manlu sent back.

  Borte snickered as he sent back, “Chief Sovereign level? He’s just a punk who got tremendously lucky, and somehow in less than ten thousand years, reached that level. That’s only because he fused three Sovereign sparks and has an Overgod weapon. And, Manlu, you don’t need to be afraid of him. As long as we don’t make a huge mistake, would he dare act against us?”

  Borte had a bad impression of Linley.

  Linley had suddenly risen to prominence. First, as a Lesser Sovereign, he had fought the Chief Sovereign of Wind, Diya, to a standstill. And then, he had actually destroyed a Sovereign clone of the Chief Sovereign of Lightning, then heavily injured the Chief Sovereign of Light.

  Linley’s rise to prominence was simply too fast. Naturally, this would arouse the jealousy of quite a few Sovereigns. Borte was one of them.

  “Enough of that. You would only dare to imagine offending him, but would you dare to actually do it?” Manlu couldn’t help but laugh and ask him this question.

  Borte cringed.

  Would he dare? Absolutely not!

  “Let’s go back to the Celestial Realm. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to fulfill Lord Orloff’s commands,” Manlu said helplessly. “However, Lord Orloff didn’t make it a forceful imperative. It isn’t a big deal for us to fail to accomplish the order.”

  After the two Sovereigns left, Linley looked towards Bresle, then laughed calmly. “Since you asked it of me, I shall bestow upon you a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. From today onwards, you will become the sixth Emissary under my control.” Linley waved his hand, and a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, in the form of a ring, appeared.”

  “Thank you, Sovereign!” Bresle fell to his knees, excited, as he accepted the Sovereign artifact.

  Linley glanced at Bresle, then at his other five Emissaries. Laughing, he said, “From today onwards, the six of you will remain together. Train well and learn to coordinate with each other! If the six of you join forces within the Planar Battlefield, as long as you are cautious, you still have a good chance of surviving.”