“Yes, your Highness,” the guard acknowledged, and then left to find a manor.
Linley quietly drank his wine, watching everything.
“A manor? I wonder which manor it will be. When Clayde comes, most likely he will head to that manor as well.” By finding out the place where Clayde was going to stay, all he would need to do was lie in wait. When the opportunity came, he would send Clayde to his death.
Hess City. A very ordinary manor on Keyan Road.
Under normal conditions, a manor in Hess City like this that was not located in the city center would generally be worth two or three hundred thousand gold coins. But Prince Shaq had to pay a million gold coins just to buy it. A large number of nobles and magnates had entered Hess City, causing inflation to skyrocket.
That night.
Linley also stayed in this manor for now.
“That Clayde, after he comes, should be residing in one of these two or three rooms.” Linley was walking in the middle of the manor, carefully inspecting its internal layout. He was making preparations for killing Clayde in the future.
The night wind was cool and refreshing, but Linley ignored it, only paying attention to the location and layout of every part of this manor.
“Lord Linley, why haven’t you rested yet?” that enchanting consort said to Linley in a soft voice, standing in the doorway to her room.
“Found being in my room to be too stuffy. Thought I’d get some fresh air,” Linley replied casually.
“I also feel it’s rather stuffy.” That consort walked out of her room towards Linley. Her coquettish gaze only made Linley feel apprehensive, and he immediately said, “Then Royal Consort, you should get some air. I’ll go back to my room and get some rest now.” After he spoke, Linley immediately left.
Watching Linley leave, the consort couldn’t help but let out a little hmph of displeasure.
The next morning.
“Second Prince, Royal Consort, Princess. I have some things to take care of, so I’ll leave now.” Linley bid his farewells.
“Lord Linley, why are you in such a rush to leave? Wait for my royal father to come back first, then decide.” Shaq immediately tried to convince him to stay.
Linley laughed coldly inside. “Wait for your royal father? If Clayde saw that I was living here, I probably would have to openly attack and kill him. The chance of killing him openly is lower than assassinating him.” Linley had already had enough setbacks.
This time, Linley wanted to be absolutely certain of success.
“This time, I’ll have to endure and be patient. I’ll wait for the moment when Clayde and Kaiser aren’t together. When Clayde is alone, I’ll kill him. That will definitely be successful.” Linley knew that so long as Kaiser was there, he wouldn’t be able to kill Clayde quickly.
But as long as Kaiser was not present, he definitely would succeed.
“Then where are you going, Lord Linley?” Shaq asked.
“I plan to leave Hess City and continue north. As for where exactly, I’m not yet sure,” Linley replied. “Alright. Second Prince, Royal Consort, Princess. I bid you farewell.”
Bowing slightly, Linley led Bebe away from the manor.
That very night, Linley moved into a small courtyard on the same street as Shaq’s manor. The manor which Shaq had bought took up a large amount of space, enough to very comfortably fit thirty people. But the house which Linley bought was very small, only enough for three or four people.
This little courtyard had still cost Linley fifty thousand gold coins. In normal times, a few thousand coins would have been enough.
“Ah Da, Ah Er, have you seen anyone new enter the manor?” Linley was seated at his dinner table as he asked these two men.
“No.”
Linley had casually picked these two men up from the streets for his employ. Right now, in Hess City, there were many commoners as well as nobles. After fleeing here, those commoners had no food to eat and place to live. All they could do was beg or do manual labor. Thus, it was easy for Linley to find people to work for him. A salary of two gold coins each day, with food and board included, was an opportunity which any of these impoverished refugees would have fought for.
Linley saw that these two men seemed the reliable sort, and so had chosen them.
“At night, you can sleep, but by day, keep a close watch. As long as any strangers enter the manor, especially in large numbers, you have to inform me. Pay special attention to a man who has only one hand,” Linley repeated his instructions.
There was no need to keep a watch at night, because the gates to Hess City were barred shut at night.
And Linley was confident that with two people watching during the day, as long as Clayde’s men arrived, he would definitely find out. Shaq and his people believed that Linley had really left the city, but in reality, Linley continued his watch from a courtyard very near them.
“Clayde, I’ll just keep waiting here for as long as it takes. Let’s see how long it takes you to get here.” Linley’s gaze was cold.
Seeing the look on Linley’s face, those two brothers shuddered.
“Go,” Linley ordered.
“Yes, milord.”
79
The Clan of the Violetflame Warriors
A sky-blue magus robe and a magistaff in hand.
This was how Linley was dressed now as he walked on the streets.
On this outing, Bebe had stayed behind in the little courtyard on Keyan Road. Linley’s instructions were for Bebe to instantly tell him once Clayde appeared. Given the soul link between Linley and Bebe, no matter how far apart they were, they would be able to sense each other’s thoughts.
Today, Linley had made this outing for the sake of his ‘heavy sword’.
“Hrm?” Linley noticed a weapons shop nearby and immediately went inside.
The weapons shop’s business was quite average. There were only two customers inside inspecting the various weapons. Linley went straight to the counter and asked calmly, “In Hess City, who is the best weaponsmith around?”
The store clerk glanced at Linley. Realizing he was a magus, the shopkeeper immediately said courteously, “Milord magus, the master blacksmith of our shop possesses very high skills. There’s no weapon that he cannot forge.”
“My question was, in Hess City, who is the best blacksmith around?” Linley’s face turned cold. “If your so-called master blacksmith is unable to produce the weapon I need, don’t blame me when I wreck your shop.”
The store clerk was frightened by Linley’s words. Previously, he had wanted to try and win a customer, but now he no longer dared to make any rash claims. “Milord magus, the number one blacksmith of Hess City resides in West Hess City. His name is Master Corby, and his weapons shop is quite close to the Radiant Temple.”
“Corby?” Linley memorized this name. He immediately left.
“But milord magus,” that store clerk said in a quiet voice.
“Hrm?” Linley turned his head to look at the clerk, curious what he had to say.
The store clerk said respectfully, “Milord magus, if you want a good magistaff, you should go to a magic weapons store. These weapons are all meant for warriors to choose from.” In the eyes of this store clerk, it was very strange indeed for a magus to not only want a weapon, but to want one made by a master blacksmith.
The weapon of a magus was his magistaff.
And in order to produce a magistaff, one needed high skills in alchemy.
Linley’s lips curved upwards in a smile, and he left the weapons store.
Half an hour later, Linley arrived near the Radiant Temple in the west part of the city. Based on Linley’s investigations, the Holy Emperor of the Radiant Church and the other Saint-level combatants hadn’t arrived in Hess City yet. Supposedly, only a single Cardinal had arrived here, but to better assist the ruler of the Kingdom of Hess, he had taken residence along with the soldiers at the border.
As for where that group of Saint-level combatants
of the Radiant Church had gone, no one knew.
“I really hope that ‘King’ of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts killed a few of those Saint-levels,” Linley secretly said to himself. The Holy Emperor Heidens had used the Divine Baptism against Linley. Although Linley didn’t know what exactly it had been meant to do, he knew that its divine power had tried to merge into his very soul.
His soul.
This was the most important core of a person. Linley was certain that Heidens had been up to no good.
“This is the weapons store of the so-called number one blacksmith in Hess City?” Linley glanced at the weapons store. The store was tens of meters long, and on each side of the door there were two powerfully built warriors in beautifully wrought armor standing guard, weapons in hand.
This weapons store did indeed seem quite impressive. Clearly, it was much better than the store which Linley had gone into just a while earlier.
Entering the weapons store, Linley saw that the attendant was a beautiful young woman. The woman’s eyes lit up when she saw how Linley was dressed, and she courteously said, “Milord magus, what sort of weapon do you desire? Come with me. We have all sorts of beautiful court rapiers.”
Linley chuckled with resignation.
It seemed this woman thought that he was nothing more than a magus who wanted a weapon to play around with.
“I heard your Master Corby is here?” Linley said directly to the woman.
The attendant nodded. “Right. Master Corby is the head blacksmith here, and he is definitely the number one blacksmith within the City of Hess. I’ve never heard of Master Corby being unable to forge a weapon of any sort.”
“Oh? Have Master Corby come out. I wish for him to make me a weapon,” Linley said immediately.
“Have… have Master Corby come out?” The attendant laughed awkwardly. “Milord magus, Master Corby never comes out to meet with customers. If you wish to meet with Master Corby, you’ll have to go find him yourself. And… if you want to meet Master Corby, you need to spend some money, as otherwise, he won’t meet with you.”
Linley had to admit that this man really did know how to put on airs.
“Fine. How much money for me to go meet him?” Linley asked directly.
“Not much. Fifty gold coins,” the attendant said.
Fifty gold coins was nothing to those members of rich clans, but this price was enough for a commoner to survive off of for a year or two.
“Fifty?” Linley withdrew a sack of gold from his clothes. This sack contained a hundred pieces of gold. Linley poured out fifty, then instructed, “Lead the way.” Linley usually only carried a hundred gold coins on him. He had magicrystal cards on him, after all. If he needed any more, he could go withdraw it.
“Yes, milord magus.” The attendant was extremely happy.
Five minutes later, guided by the attendant, Linley arrived at a very plain-looking residence. The guard to the residence clearly was familiar with the attendant, and let them in immediately.
When Linley saw Master Corby, the man was reclining on a chair while sipping a cup of tea. This Corby’s hair was totally white, but the powerful muscles bulging from his body showed that he was still a powerful warrior.
Most weaponsmiths were extremely powerful warriors.
“Master Corby, this lord magus wishes to meet with you,” the attendant said respectfully.
Corby glanced at Linley and laughed. “Youngster, my fees are quite high. If you want me to forge a weapon for you, at the very least it will cost you ten thousand gold coins.”
Linley could sense this Master Corby’s approximate level of power.
If he wasn’t a warrior of the seventh rank, then he was one of the eighth.
“Fine.” Linley nodded. “But this weapon will use special materials. Right. Can the other people here leave?”
“Of course.” Master Corby nodded at his servants, who immediately left.
Master Corby looked at Linley curiously. “Youngster, what special materials do you bring?”
“Adamantine,” Linley said directly.
Previously sitting lazily on his chair, Master Corby suddenly shot to his feet as though thunderstruck. He stared at Linley in amazement. “What did you just say? Adamantine? Did I hear you correctly?” Adamantine was a material that appeared only in legends. He, Corby, had been a weaponsmith his entire life, but hadn’t seen any.
“Right. I intend to use adamantine to forge a weapon. Are you capable of doing so?” Linley looked expectantly at Master Corby.
Master Corby hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he sighed and said, “Youngster, I actually do not have the ability to smith adamantine.” Hearing these words, Linley couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
“Youngster, can… can you show the adamantine to me?” Corby said somewhat awkwardly.
Linley could understand the desire of a master blacksmith like Corby to see adamantine with his own eyes. He immediately removed the adamantine chunk from his bag and handed it over to Master Corby. This thousand-pound chunk of adamantine didn’t seem to be heavy at all to Linley.
However, when the totally unprepared Master Corby accepted the chunk of adamantine, his hand couldn’t help but sink down.
“It really is heavy.” Master Corby recovered and easily lifted it back up.
But Corby still glanced at Linley in surprise. For this Linley to be able to hold this heavy chunk of adamantine so easily meant that he was at least a warrior of the sixth rank.
“Adamantine. Having seen it, I’m satisfied.” Corby stared lovingly at the chunk of adamantine, but in the end he returned it to Linley. In truth, Corby did feel a hint of greed and desire for it, but he knew that for Linley to so casually hand it to him meant that Linley wasn’t worried at all about being unable to get it back.
What’s more, Corby also knew that he didn’t have the ability to smith this adamantine chunk.
“Master Corby, do you know who is capable of smithing adamantine?” Linley asked.
Corby considered for a moment. “From what I know, the Radiant Church has specialized master weaponsmiths. The Radiant Church has a long history and it should possess the techniques needed to smith adamantine. I expect that the master weaponsmiths belonging to the Four Great Empires and to the Cult of Shadows should all be in possession of such techniques as well.”
Linley nodded.
“Farewell, then.” Linley left, somewhat disappointed.
Linley knew from the beginning that adamantine wasn’t so easily smelted, and so he had made some mental preparations. Departing from this location, he headed back towards his own residence. But halfway back, Linley suddenly heard a familiar voice.
“Third Bro.”
Linley immediately turned his head to look.
Yale, George, and Reynolds were staring back at him in astonishment.
“Boss Yale. Second Bro. Fourth Bro.” Linley immediately ran over excitedly. He didn’t expect to be able to meet with his dear bros again. Under Yale’s invitation, Linley decided to go to the Dawson Conglomerate’s headquarters to have a good meal with his bros.
Within a very secluded manor.
Linley, Yale, Reynolds, and George were all happily exchanging stories of recent events.
“You want to find a master weaponsmith? Mm, I don’t know any either.” Yale shook his head.
Reynolds said questioningly, “Third Bro, you said adamantine? What is adamantine?”
Neither Reynolds, nor Yale, nor George had ever heard of adamantine.
Adamantine was simply too rare and too precious.
“Linley, we just barely had a chance to meet last time. Only today do I have the opportunity to have a good chat with a genius like you.” Monroe Dawson walked in from the main hall, holding his big belly and chuckling. “Hey, did you just say adamantine?”
Linley nodded. “Lord Chairman, I managed to acquire some adamantine and plan to use it to forge a weapon. But I’m not able to find a master weaponsmith cap
able of forging it.”
“Oh.”
What sort of a person was Monroe Dawson? How could he not know what adamantine was? “You actually address me as Chairman? You and Yale are like brothers! Just call me Uncle. You say you need to find a master weaponsmith who can smelt adamantine? I happen to know one.”
Linley actually didn’t feel too excited upon hearing this.
Because even if Monroe Dawson knew a person, that person most likely wasn’t in the City of Hess.
“Uncle Monroe, who is that master weaponsmith?” Linley asked.
Monroe Dawson grinned. “That master weaponsmith is known as Master Vincente, the leader of the Hyde clan.”
“Vincente?” Linley was a bit curious.
Suddenly, Linley started. “Uncle Dawson, what clan did you just say he belonged to?”
“The Hyde clan,” Monroe Dawson replied with a chortle.
Linley had totally memorized that book he had read back in his clan’s manor which introduced the Four Supreme Warriors. One piece of information included within was the clan names of the Four Supreme Warriors. The Violetflame Warriors clan… was the Hyde clan! However… there was more than one clan named ‘Hyde’, and thus this Hyde clan wasn’t necessarily the clan of the Violetflame Warriors.
“You thought of them? Haha. Right. This Hyde clan is just like your Baruch clan. They are a clan of Supreme Warriors. The Hyde clan lived within a small city in the Holy Union’s Kingdom of Hanmu. After this catastrophe, they fled here to Hess City,” Monroe Dawson said with a laugh.
“They are here in Hess City?” Linley was surprised.
“And they are living right next to my manor. I personally arranged for them to be put there,” Monroe Dawson continued.
Linley stared at Monroe Dawson in astonishment.
Actually, Monroe Dawson knew several people who were capable of smelting adamantine. The master weaponsmith of the Dawson Conglomerate was capable of smelting adamantine as well. But none of those other people whom Monroe Dawson knew were currently in Hess City. Thus, Monroe Dawson only mentioned this one person.
Dragonblood: Book 2 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 62
