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

by Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi

  “Yes, Lord Prefect.”

  A hundred clones emerged.

  “Then head out.” Molde didn’t wish to waste any time. The hundred Highgods assented, and then separated into six squads and left. With the members of the squads keeping an eye on the other members, and given how deadly the consequences of exposing the secret was, as well as the rich reward of a billion inkstones for successfully completing the mission, Molde felt confident that nothing would go amiss.

  Molde laughed calmly. “Bloodridge Continent? I’ll go make that notification.”

  Molde was still an Emissary of the Bloodridge Sovereign. It wasn’t hard for him to go pay a visit to the Sovereign. If he went in person, there was no way that Linley would learn the secret.

  That very day, Molde flew out of the castle and headed towards the residence of the Bloodridge Sovereign.

  The Bloodridge Continent. Cloudlink Mountains.

  Deep within the Cloudlink Mountains, there was a lake that was a thousand kilometers in circumferences. The air above the lake was perpetually covered with mist and fog. This sort of scene was actually quite common in the Infernal Realm, and very few people would pay attention to it. As for those people who lived near the Cloudlink Mountains, they all knew that anyone who entered deep into the middle of the lake would disappear into the mist, and then, dazed, reappear on the shore.

  No one knew what was in the center.

  “Splash…” The waters of the lake gently rolled out in waves, lapping at the shore.

  A figure descended from the skies at high speed, landing at the edges of the lake. It was Molde. Molde stood there at the side of the lake for a moment, then flew into that endless fog.

  At the center of the lake, there was a small island. The island was filled with all sorts of beautiful flowers, and all sorts of flying birds that lived here peacefully.

  On the island, there was a plain, unadorned, cone-shaped palace. In the rear side of the palace, amidst the flowers, there was a stone table, where two men were seated, facing each other, staring raptly at the many chess pieces on the table. Behind these two men, there were two maids, whose faces were covered in smiles.

  One of the two men had long, blood-red hair. This man had a wavy, blood-colored tattoo on his face. He was currently smiling, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the chess pieces.

  Opposite him was a silver-haired, hawk-nosed man. This hawk-nosed man had two long, narrow eyes. Occasionally, a hint of a cold aura would flash within his eyes, capable of causing one to tremble.

  “Teresia, you lose again, haha,” the blood-haired man said with a loud laugh.

  “Another one, another one! I just learned this game!” the hawk-nosed man said hurriedly. “Boson, you’ve been playing for years.”

  “Fine, let’s play again. You’ll still lose though,” the blood-haired man said with a laugh.

  This was a game with 256 pieces, representing soldiers and generals. Although it seemed to be simple, it actually contained within it many different ways of mobilizing armies. It also required a person to be adaptive and act based on the opponent’s situation. The more powerful one’s soul was, the more complicated one’s thought patterns would become, and the more interesting this game would be. In addition, one side would only win after all of the pieces of the other side were completely eliminated.

  Even if one was slightly losing at the beginning, one still had a chance to win by using fewer numbers to overcome superior numbers.

  Different situations required different resolutions. If one managed to calculate things out thoroughly, a single game could last for a very long time. These two people could spend several years playing a single game.

  This was a war simulation game that a general in a material plane had developed to be used to help train military officers. But Sovereigns with eternal life who had no real pursuits loved to find and play these time-consuming games.

  “This game of the 256 Soldiers and Generals… where did you find it?” The hawk-nosed man laughed.

  “This? I discovered it from the ‘Siya’ material plane. I must say, this game is far more complicated and exciting than those games I played in the past. It’s quite fun!” The blood-haired man laughed as he began to control his pieces and make them move.

  Those two women smiled as they watched, quietly chatting through divine sense.

  “Sovereigns feel bored as well.”

  “Lord Teresia, Sovereign of Wind, probably won’t be able to win. Last time, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction competed against our Sovereign for a thousand years without winning a single match.”

  Right at this moment, a maid flew over from afar, then bowed and said, “Sovereign, Molde has come. He has an important matter to discuss with you, Sovereign.”

  “Molde? Why is he coming at a time like this?” The Bloodridge Sovereign, Boson, frowned.

  The hawk-nosed man laughed. “Haha, Boson, hurry up and deal with him.”

  “Don’t try to rearrange the pieces and don’t try to cheat. I’ve memorized all of the pieces’ locations.” The Bloodridge Sovereign, Boson, gave Teresia a glance, and then walked away.

  Within the Sovereign’s main hall.

  The Lord Prefect of Skymount, Molde, was standing respectfully in front of the main hall. He saw a bloody mirage suddenly appear, and then, there in the main hall, the Bloodridge Sovereign took form.

  Molde raised his head. Seeing the Bloodridge Sovereign, he couldn’t help but feel his heart tremble, and he hurriedly knelt down.

  “Is there something you need from me?” the Bloodridge Continent said calmly.

  The Bloodridge Sovereign was a lofty, exalted Sovereign, after all. He might jest and jape with the other Sovereigns, but in front of Deities, he, a Sovereign, was far beyond them.

  “Sovereign, I just learned of a tremendous, heaven-shaking secret,” Molde said respectfully.

  “Oh?” The Bloodridge Sovereign couldn’t help but give Molde a careful look. “Speak!”

  “Sovereign, please look at this.” Molde produced a black piece of parchment. The Bloodridge Sovereign’s gaze fixed upon it, and instantly, that black parchment flew over towards him, then hovering in front of him. Sweeping it with a glance, the Bloodridge Sovereign’s face changed slightly as he then looked downwards towards Molde in surprise.

  Molde remained on his knees, not daring to speak.

  “Where did you obtain this information from?” the Bloodridge Sovereign said in a low voice. “How could a scroll containing such information possibly be made from such ordinary paper?”

  “I acquired it by accident,” Molde said hurriedly.

  He didn’t dare say that he had already acquired the nine pearls previously. If he did… the Sovereign might be so infuriated at the fact that he hadn’t offered it right away that he might kill Molde.

  There was nothing Molde could do. He had already destroyed that original piece of paper.

  Would Sovereigns necessarily believe it when they saw an earth-shaking revelation on an ordinary piece of paper?

  If that green paper was still here, the Sovereign would definitely believe it! Because Sovereigns, at a glance, would know exactly where that green paper came from. Naturally, they would believe the words it contained. But the words on an ordinary piece of paper… would the Sovereigns believe it?

  “You claim that Linley has those nine soul pearls?” the Bloodridge Sovereign said.

  “I’m not the one making the claim. It is this piece of paper which states it.” Molde didn’t dare say anything else. This secret was simply too great. If he got involved, then he, a Lord Prefect, would probably lose his little life.

  “Your most powerful divine clone is dead? Who killed it?” the Bloodridge Sovereign suddenly asked.

  Molde was stunned. It was Linley who destroyed his most powerful divine clone. If the Sovereign wished to investigate, this would be fairly easy to discern. If one was to lie to a Sovereign, one would have to consider what sort of lie one was going to tell. If
one was going to tell a lie that would be easily discovered, it would probably be better to tell the truth instead. But if the lie couldn’t be discovered, then never admit it, even under threat of death!

  “It was Linley who killed it,” Molde admitted it.

  The Bloodridge Sovereign suddenly rose to his feet. Molde couldn’t help but feel startled.

  “Hmph…” The Bloodridge Sovereign icily swept Molde with his gaze, then barked, “Molde, if an Overgod issued a mission, the paper on which the mission was written would definitely not be ordinary paper. How is it that you dare counterfeit information of such gravity?”

  “I didn’t,” Molde said hurriedly terrified.

  The Bloodridge Sovereign stood there in his hall, staring down at the kneeling Molde. In a calm voice, he said, “Molde, you made three mistakes. First of all, a mission issued by the Overgods would definitely not come on a piece of paper like this. Second, if an Overgod issued a mission, even if it involved three talismans, the Overgod would at most give a basic description of the three talismans. The Overgod would definitely not name someone in specific as carrying a talisman! Even if the Overgod was going to do so, the Overgod would clearly state the locations of all three talismans. Why would the Overgod just mention one? And third, your most powerful divine clone, Molde, just so happened to have been destroyed by Linley! This information states that Linley acquired the nine soul pearls? How could there be such a coincidence? And you are the first person to bring me this information? This is all too coincidental, isn’t it?”

  Molde’s face changed.

  “Hmph. Molde, because you have served me sincerely and diligently for so many years, I will spare your life. Begone,” the Bloodridge Sovereign said calmly.

  “No rush, no rush. Talismans from the Overgods? Let me see?” A figure suddenly appeared in the main hall. It was that hawk-nosed man.

  “Go ahead and look. You heard what I said earlier, right?” the Bloodridge Sovereign said calmly.

  The hawk-nosed man swept the parchment with his gaze, then nodded slightly. “The likelihood that the information your subordinate provided is true… is quite low. The paper is wrong, and the information only mentions a single person, Linley. And your subordinate just so happens to have a great enmity with Linley? It is quite odd. In addition, it has already been countless years since the last time the Overgods issued a mission.”

  “However…”

  The hawk-nosed man laughed calmly. “If your subordinate wanted to harm Linley, how could he come up with something like this on his own? Ever since the universe was created, the Overgods have only issued six missions. There are very few Deities who even know that such a thing exists. Thus, I believe there is a chance that this is real.”

  “That’s just the first point. The second point is, based on how long it has been since the sixth mission… I have the feeling that it is about time for the Overgods to issue another mission. It has been countless years.”

  “Haha, Boson, I’m not busy anyhow, so I might as well go take a look. Haha…”

  The hawk-nosed man disappeared from within that hall.

  15

  THE SOVEREIGN DESCENDS

  Within the main hall, Molde remained on his knees.

  But upon seeing the Sovereign of Wind suddenly depart, he felt a surge of wild joy in his heart. “Based on the conversation they had, it seems this person was a Sovereign as well! Good. Although the Bloodridge Sovereign didn’t believe me, at least one Sovereign has gone… this Linley, hmph, even if he hands over the nine soul pearls, he will find it hard to avoid death!”

  When Molde thought about what that parchment had written on it, he couldn’t help but feel smug. If he had described things clearly, perhaps Linley would simply hand over the nine soul pearls, and the Sovereign would release Linley. But… in disseminating the news, Molde had changed things slightly.

  Although he wasn’t able to make his scheme perfect in such a short period of time, as Molde saw it… it was enough to make Linley die.

  “Linley, oh, Linley… a Paragon is going to die, just like that,” Molde mused to himself.

  “Molde!” a cold voice suddenly rang out.

  “Sovereign.” Molde hurriedly pressed his forehead against the floor, kowtowing.

  The Bloodridge Sovereign’s cold gaze fell down upon Molde from up high. “I ask you this. Is the information contained in the parchment true or false? Are you certain of the information?” The Bloodridge Sovereign was still quite surprised that Molde was able to deliver a piece of paper like this. The words of the Sovereign of Wind were correct; how long ago had it been since an Overgod had issued a mission?

  Very few people even knew about such a thing. Even if Molde wanted to make something up, how would he even know about it?

  “Sovereign, your subordinate doesn’t know if it is true or fals,” Molde said respectfully. “Your subordinate simply came in possession of this parchment. Because the information it contained was simply too astonishing, I knew… that you, Sovereign, would probably be intrigued by it. And so I immediately came to give it to you, Sovereign.”

  Molde wouldn’t dare testify as to whether it was true or false.

  If he dared to testify regarding its veracity, then it meant that he, Molde, had seen the true original!

  “Hmph. Scram,” the Bloodridge Sovereign snapped.

  “Yes.” Molde hurriedly bowed with respect, then left.

  But there, at the front of the main hall, the Bloodridge Sovereign began to furrow his brows while standing there. “Why did Molde have to come now, instead of earlier or later? Teresia just so happened to be here when Molde came. Now that Teresia knows this, things will be tricky.” As he pondered, the Bloodridge Sovereign stretched out his divine sense.

  Soon, the Bloodridge Sovereign’s divine sense spread out to cover the entire Bloodridge Continent.

  Moments later, the Bloodridge Sovereign retracted his divine sense. Shaking his head and laughing, his body also flickered, then disappeared from the main hall.

  As for Molde, he traversed the hazy white mist, then quickly departed.

  “Hmph. As soon as I retrieved my Sovereign artifact, I immediately began to plan this out, and then I delivered this news to the Sovereigns. Even as fast as Linley travels, I imagine he probably hasn’t reached Indigo Prefecture yet.” Molde was very efficient in carrying things out. He was afraid that if too much time passed, there would be new variables.

  Thus, he had travelled here by himself at top speed to notify the Sovereign.

  As for the Sovereigns, if they were to chase after Linley, their speed would be terrifyingly fast.

  MOUNTAINS ROSE, one after the other in a never-ending chain.

  A metallic lifeform was traversing the skies.

  “We’ve already passed through the Indigo Prefecture border. In a short period of time, we will reach the Skyrite Mountains.” Linley, standing at the front of the metallic lifeform, stared at the outside world through the translucent metal. He laughed while speaking.

  “Indigo Prefecture.” Diana and Olivier both stood there as well, staring into the distance.

  Suddenly…

  “Whooosh.” A terrifying tornado suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the skies, surrounding Linley’s metallic lifeform, causing the world to suddenly grow dim and hazy.

  “What’s going on?” Bebe was shocked.

  “Not good.” Linley’s face changed dramatically. The sudden descent of this tornado caught even him completely off-guard. The person who had just come was too terrifying. Linley didn’t have any reservations; with a thought, he instantly spread out earth-type Sovereign power, forming a protective barrier around the five of them.

  The entire metallic lifeform trembled, then was blown into smithereens.

  Linley’s group of five were still completely dazed, but right at this moment, the tornado vanished.

  “Eh?” Linley looked in front of him. There was a man currently standing in midair in front of them. This
person had long silver hair, a hawk-nose, and pair of slender eyes. The man’s gaze was like a knife, making those who saw his gaze feel coldness in their hearts. This silver-haired man looked calmly at Linley’s group of five.

  “Boss, who is he?” Bebe sent mentally.

  The faces of Olivier, Diana, and their son Deia changed dramatically.

  “Who else could it be? Aside from a Sovereign, who could possibly suddenly appear in front of us without me sensing anything?” Linley sent back. And then, smiling, Linley bowed towards the man in front of him. “Linley of Indigo Prefecture greets you, Sovereign!” After having met with the Chief Sovereign of Death and the Abyssal Fruit Tree, Linley understood one thing!

  Sovereigns might appear as an energy construct or with their true bodies, or in the shape of a human.

  In short, one couldn’t judge a Sovereign through appearance, only by power. A girl might appear before you, but that girl could very well be a Sovereign. There was no way at all to judge such a person’s strength from the outside.

  The silver-haired man revealed a hint of a smile on his face as well. “Oh, you are able to infuse Will? You really are a Paragon. You were able to ascertain my identity so soon.” This Sovereign of Wind could tell from the barrier Linley had created with earth-type Sovereign power that there was a surge of Will infused within it.

  More importantly…

  Linley didn’t waste a single bit of his Sovereign power. This made it simple to judge Linley’s power.

  “Sovereign, might I ask why you have stopped us?” Linley smiled as he bowed. “Please instruct me!”

  “The rest of you, step aside.” The Sovereign of Wind gave a calm glance to Bebe and the others.

  As Sovereigns saw it, the fewer Deities who knew about Overgod talismans and missions, the better. Sovereigns felt that Deities weren’t even qualified to know about these things. Linley was a Paragon, and so he could speak amiably with Linley, but the Sovereign of Wind didn’t want the other four nearby to listen in.

  “Leave for now.” Linley glanced at them.