Perry was starting to become truly worried.
He had an extremely bad premonition.
“Could it be possible that Lord Lampson encountered the attack of a powerful foe and was killed?” Perry didn’t dare to believe it. After all, Lampson and the others were all extremely powerful. To kill the six of them would require their opponents to number multiple experts of the ninth level, or a Saint-level combatant.
Perry suddenly looked at the hawk-nosed man. In a cold voice, he ordered, “Go at your fastest speed to find old Pori. Tell him to bring his three Bluewind Hawks to my study.”
“Yes, milord Count.” The hawk-nosed man knew exactly how important this situation was.
Perry hurriedly walked towards his study, and wrote three letters regarding Lampson’s squad’s affairs. Each copy was given to a different Bluewind Hawk and addressed to be delivered to the ‘Sacred Isle’.
Ever since the Holy Capital, Fenlai City, had been destroyed, the Radiant Church set up their new headquarters on an island not too far away from the Yulan continent. They publicly announced this place as being the ‘Sacred Isle’.
Within the secluded valley outside the prefectural city of Cerre.
Right now, there were four wooden rooms here. One was for Linley and Bebe, another was for Zassler, the third was for Rebecca and Leena, while the last one was for Haeru.
Dawn. The valley was very quiet and peaceful.
A pair of twin beauties, so lovely they seemed to be an illusion, were chatting and laughing while washing some clothes. These clothes belonged to them, Linley, and Zassler. Within the valley, they handled all the cooking and cleaning.
“Big sis. Do you think Grandpa Zassler gets tired from spending all his time in that room training?” Rebecca asked Leena quietly.
Zassler’s wooden room was totally shrouded by a black, deathly aura. That dense, black, deathly aura made Rebecca and Leena scared to even approach it.
Leena wrinkled her nose in a frown, an adorable sight. In consideration she said, “Perhaps powerful experts all have to train very hard like that. However, I still feel more comfortable watching big brother Linley train.” As she spoke, she turned to look at the distant blue pond, and Rebecca turned to look as well.
In the center of the pond, Linley was standing on the water, not sinking at all.
“Ripple, ripple.”
The water beneath Linley’s feet was a few centimeters lower than the water around him, because Linley was constantly releasing battle-qi from his feet, creating small waves in the middle of the pond.
Linley was wielding the adamantine heavy sword in his right hand. Occasionally, he would chop with it, while other times, he would just thrust. Every movement would cause the nearby air to tremble. It was as though the air was made of mud, and when the adamantine heavy sword chopped through it, there was a sense that it was breaking through space itself.
“This ‘Profound Truths of the Earth’ technique sometimes works, but sometimes doesn’t work.”
Linley’s forehead was furrowed.
When he had killed Lampson, although Linley had slashed Lampson with his sword, the outside of Lampson’s body hadn’t been injured in the slightest. His internal organs, however, had all been disintegrated.
As Linley viewed it, the third level of using the adamantine heavy sword was the ‘impose’ level. But the fourth level, was the ‘Profound Truths of the Earth’.
Through using this heavy weapon, the adamantine heavy sword, Linley was now capable of unleashing the portion of the Laws of the Earth he had come to understand. This sort of attack could, in the blink of an eye, transform all the attacking power into vibrations which would enter the opponent’s body.
This sort of vibrational attack, when fully mastered, could all but ignore an opponent’s defense.
After all, the throbbing pulse of the world was something which had existed since the heavens and the earth had been formed. The secrets it contained within it were extremely deep and profound.
The principles of the ‘Profound Truths of the Earth’ was this:
Completely convert one’s attacking power into the same sort of vibrations as the throbbing pulse of the world itself. When these vibrations entered the opponent’s body, the opponent’s internals would also begin to resonate. The resonance would be very powerful; after all, it had been created through Linley’s attack power.
The body’s internal organs weren’t nearly as durable as a person’s external defenses.
This sort of resonance could easily annihilate the opponent’s internal organs, shaking them into tiny pieces.
“However, it is incredibly difficult to transform attack power into resonating vibrations.” Linley understood that the battle-qi and strength he normally used was a totally different sort of attack, compared to this sort of ‘resonance wave’ attack.
Only by relying on his partial understanding of the Laws of the Earth was Linley able to convert his normal attacks into this sort of ‘resonance wave’ attack.
Per Linley’s line of thought, the more ‘resonance waves’ were created, the more successful the power transformation had been.
“Sometimes, I can create over ten tremors in the blink of an eye, but other times, I can’t even create one.” Linley’s head hurt.
Linley understood that once his skill in using the heavy sword had reached this sort of level, he could already be considered as having entered the realm of using the ‘Laws of the Earth’.
But Linley was only able to grasp a small part of it.
“I can’t be too greedy. Right now, I shouldn’t focus too much on creating as many vibrations as possible. I should focus on just one resonance wave at a time.” Wielding the adamantine heavy sword in one hand, Linley’s face was very solemn.
Suddenly…
The adamantine heavy sword seemed to tear the air apart as it chopped down against the lake.
The strange thing was, not a single ripple was created on the surface of the lake. But suddenly, the entire lake began to emit a strange gurgling sound… and then, as though it had been lifted by a giant, the entire surface of the lake suddenly rose up, forming a one-meter-high wall of water.
“I succeeded again this time.”
Linley actually wasn’t too excited. He sometimes succeeded and sometimes failed when training with this ‘Profound Truths of the Earth’. He wasn’t able to reproduce the results with any regularity.
“Big brother Linley, time to eat.” Leena stood at the not-too-distant shore, laughing as she called out to him.
“Grandpa Zassler, time to eat! Stop training!” Rebecca began calling out from outside of Zassler’s wooden room.
With a flip of his hand, Linley sent the adamantine heavy sword flying into the air. When it landed, it landed neatly into its sheath. Linley had already fully mastered the ‘impose’ level, and the weight of the adamantine heavy sword didn’t impede Linley in the slightest.
On the grass, a rectangular table had been laid out.
Linley, Zassler, Rebecca, and Leena were seated around the table.
“Linley, what are you training on? I saw that bizarre training method you were working on. I’ve never seen a warrior train in such a manner,” Zassler said with curiosity.
Zassler had an extremely broad array of knowledge, but comparatively speaking, he didn’t know much about warrior training methods.
In truth, the most important thing for peak-stage experts of the ninth rank to enter the Saint level was to advance to a higher level of understanding. And for Saint-levels to advance to the Deity level, they also needed to understand the various laws of heaven and earth before they could attain a divine spark.
“I am training to gain a greater understanding. It is similar to a magus’ attempts to gain insights in the nature of the elemental essences,” Linley said casually.
Zassler immediately understood.
As an Arch Magus necromancer of the ninth rank, Zassler would often envelop himself with the bound
less deathly aura from the undead realm to try and understand the elusive and illusory Laws of Death.
“Zassler, we killed Lampson and their men. Do you think the Radiant Church will be able to swallow their rage?” Linley was still concerned about this affair.
Zassler laughed very confidently. “Don’t worry. Let me tell you, the O’Brien Empire and the Radiant Church are very far apart. Even if they used flying magical beasts to send messages, they would need ten days or half a month. And if they were to send experts over, it would still take quite a while.”
“But if Saint-level experts were to fly here, they would be able to travel extremely fast,” Linley said solemnly.
After having killed so many of the Radiant Church’s men, it was very possible that the Radiant Church would send over Saint-level experts.
“Haha, don’t worry. They don’t dare send any Saint-level experts. Think about it. Why didn’t they send Saint-level experts to capture me, and instead send combatants of the ninth rank?” Zassler laughed loudly in delight.
Linley was curious about this as well.
If Saint-level experts had been sent after Zassler, capturing him would be very easy.
“Linley, you must understand, the O’Brien Empire is overseen by the War God. Long ago, the War God decreed that the Saint-level combatants of other nations would not be permitted to act wildly within the boundaries of the O’Brien Empire. If they came for the purpose of pleasure, that was fine, but if they were discovered engaging in acts of violence, the repercussions would be very severe.”
Zassler laughed coldly. “Even if the Radiant Church had ten times the courage, they wouldn’t dare go against the War God’s edict.”
The prestige of the War God could not be violated.
“Not necessarily.”
Linley shook his head. “Didn’t you just say it? ‘If they were discovered engaging in acts of violence.’ But what if they weren’t discovered? Remember, the prefectural city of Cerre doesn’t have any experts, and the War God is far away, in the imperial capital. If a Saint-level combatant suddenly appears in the prefectural city of Cerre, he wouldn’t necessarily know.”
Zassler was startled.
“The Radiant Church wouldn’t be that insane, right?” Zassler was a bit uncertain.
“Hard to say. After all, we killed six of their combatants of the ninth rank in one breath, this time. And when they were trying to capture you, you killed several of them as well. The Radiant Church won’t easily take this lying down, without a fight,” Linley said solemnly.
Zassler considered this for a while, then laughed. “It’s fine. Although the prefectural city of Cerre doesn’t have any Saint-level combatants, Basil City does have one. McKenzie. If Saint-level experts of the Radiant Church are sent here to fight with us, McKenzie would definitely notice it. McKenzie definitely wouldn’t permit the forces of the Radiant Church to act in such an unbridled manner on his turf. By then, with two Saint-level experts engaged in battle here, the War God would definitely find out.”
“True.” Linley began to laugh as well.
If he was able to incite the Radiant Church into a battle against the O’Brien Empire, the Radiant Church would truly have bitten off more than it could chew.
“Linley, when I was under armed escort by Lampson and the others in the Northwest Administrative Province, the people whom the Radiant Church secretly placed within the Northwest Administrative Province went to go welcome them. I remember one of them was an old man named ‘Perry’, who was responsible for their affairs in the province. Judging from their conversation, that Perry should belong to the provincial capital of Basil.
Zassler laughed sinisterly. “Since we’re going to go to Basil anyways, we might as well dispose of that Perry fellow. Perhaps we might even discover some more secrets of the Radiant Church.”
“The manager for their affairs in the Northwest Administrative Province?” Linley’s eyes lit up. “Alright. We’ll head out tomorrow.”
119
The Five Year Agreement
Keane, the governor of the prefectural city of Cerre, was just a fourteen-year-old child. Although he had his older sister Jenne helping him, in truth, how much did Jenne know herself? Most of the time, it was still up to their old servant, Lambert, to help out.
Lambert’s clothes were very sharp and creased. His combed hair was gleaming as he slowly strolled about in the interior of the castle, appearing every inch the noble.
“Why must the young miss always be thinking about Lord Ley?” Lambert was sighing to himself. Jenne wanted to go visit Linley, but after Linley had told her that he didn’t like being disturbed in the middle of his training, Jenne had no choice but to stay in the castle. Unfortunately, it had been a long time since Linley had come to the castle.
As he watched Jenne slowly grow thinner, Lambert felt very heartsick.
“Lambert.”
Hearing his name called, Lambert turned around and saw Linley walking in by himself, dressed in a light blue warrior’s outfit. Jenne and Keane had issued orders early on that if the castle guards were to see Linley, they were to let him in immediately without need for any notification.
“Lord Ley!” Lambert was extremely happy.
“Lord Ley, wait in the main hall for just a moment. I will immediately go inform the young master and the young miss.”
Within the main hall.
Linley was quietly sitting on a chair. This trip to the provincial capital of Basil he was going to make with Zassler, Leena, and her sister was most likely one where they would end up staying in the area around Basil.
After all, Linley had to be wary of the Radiant Church secretly sending Saint-level experts over. As the City of Basil had McKenzie, the Radiant Church wouldn’t dare to act too wildly.
“Big brother Ley.”
A surprised and happy voice rang out from the doorway. Linley turned his head and saw Jenne, her face flushed, rush in wearing a faint red dress. Her chest was rising and falling, and she was panting. As soon as she heard the news that Linley was back, Jenne had immediately ran over as fast as she could.
“Why’d you run so fast? Look at how out of breath you are. Have a seat.” Linley laughed.
“Okay.” Jenne very obediently sat down.
After a while, Keane and Lambert entered as well. Laughing, Keane complained, “Sis, you ran too fast. I couldn’t even keep up with you.”
Jenne was a bit embarrassed. She shot a vicious glare at Keane.
“Big brother Ley, it’s been a long time since you last came. How long do you plan to stay this time?” Keane asked Linley.
Linley shook his head. “This time, I’ve come to bid you farewell. I plan to leave the prefectural city of Cerre.”
“What?”
Keane and Lambert were both startled. Simultaneously, they turned their heads to look at Jenne. Where before, her face had been flushed with excitement and shyness, a stunned look was now on Jenne’s face.
“Big brother Ley, where are you going?” Jenne was the first to ask.
“For now, I plan to go to the provincial capital of Basil,” Linley replied.
The provincial capital of Basil and the prefectural city of Cerre were fairly far apart. Normal people would need to spend two or three days by carriage to get there.
“Big brother Ley, I’ll go with you,” Jenne summoned her courage and said.
Linley sighed to himself. How could he not know what Jenne was thinking? But towards Jenne, Linley felt nothing more than the love he would feel towards a younger sister. This was a familial, platonic love.
“Enough, Jenne. I’m going on business. I might encounter danger. There’s no need for you to follow me.” Linley refused.
Jenne shook her head resolutely. “I’m not afraid.”
Looking at Jenne, Linley knew that if he didn’t refuse her very openly and firmly, she wouldn’t give up. Linley let out a long sigh. “Jenne, all I care about is training. Nothing else. Jenne, there’s no way
I can take care of you.”
Linley spoke with tact, but how could Jenne not understand his meaning?
Jenne’s face was somewhat pale. Since she had been eight years old, she had lived in that countryside village. The life she had lived there was both peaceful as well as harsh. On this trip to the prefectural city of Cerre, Linley had protected them the entire time, which was the only reason her and her brother had survived the trip and took over the governorship.
“Big brother Ley, I don’t want to continue repressing my feelings. Big brother Ley, I know you don’t like me that way. I don’t want to ask too much. All I want to do is to ask that you allow me to accompany you. Big brother Ley, I’m willing to be your maidservant. As long as I can be by your side, I’ll be happy,” Jenne said hopefully.
Keane and Lambert were both silent.
Linley felt extremely anxious as well. Jenne really was an extremely kind girl, but…
“Jenne, there’s no need for you to follow me and expose yourself to danger. Right now, you are a noble lady. In the prefectural city of Cerre, there are definitely many outstanding young men who are pursuing you,” Linley said.
Jenne bit her lips, then resolutely shook her head. Her eyes were growing moist.
“Big brother Ley,” Keane said. “Please agree to my sister’s request. These past days when you haven’t been around, she’s had almost no appetite. She’s grown thinner now.”
Her eyes moist, Jenne looked at Linley with an appeal in her eyes.
“Jenne…”
In the end, Linley’s heart softened. “Five years. I will give you five years, and you give me five years as well. Five years from now, I’ll come meet you. If at that time you are still resolute in your decision, I’ll agree to let you accompany me.”
Time was the best medicine.
Five years from now, Jenne would have matured and her thoughts and beliefs would have changed as well. Linley believed that perhaps because Jenne didn’t have parents to take care of her when she was young, she had come to depend on and love him. In a few more years, when Jenne grew more mature, her mind would change. By then, Linley wouldn’t be under any pressure.
Dragonblood: Book 2 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 93
