“Linley. It’s nothing. I just didn’t want anyone to know that you and I met.” Duke Patterson chortled.
Linley looked suspiciously at Duke Patterson. “You don’t want anyone to know?”
Duke Patterson nodded confidently. “Don’t worry at all. This secret meeting place was arranged by Bernard per my instructions. Bernard only knows that I’ll use this place, but he doesn’t know who I meet with. The only servant who knows that we have met is dead now. Thus, no one will know that we have met.”
Linley made up his mind. He stepped into the main hall.
“Duke Patterson. This matter seems to be quite important.” Linley smiled at Duke Patterson.
Patterson nodded. “Of course. And, I have arranged for a decoy as well. In the eyes of others, I have returned to my estate long ago. Aside from Bernard and my housekeeper, I’m afraid you are the only one who knows I am here.”
“A decoy?”
“Duke Patterson, what exactly do you intend to do, for you to meet with me here so secretively?” Linley asked with some curiosity.
Duke Patterson looked around the area, then closed the door to the main hall.
“Come. Let’s chat inside.” Pulling Linley by the hand, Duke Patterson headed for a room within the main hall. After entering the room, Duke Patterson activated a mechanism. With a grinding sound, the stone wall began to move, revealing a stone passageway.
So within this secret little building, there was a secret underground room as well.
“Linley. Come in.” Patterson smiled at Linley.
Linley nodded and stepped inside.
The inside of the underground room was pitch dark. Patterson lit three candles, then turned to smile at Linley.
“There’s nothing for it. Neither my Duke’s manor nor your own manor is suitable. There are too many spies in both places. It’s not safe.” Duke Patterson let out a long breath.
Linley also knew that his manor was under constant surveillance from the Radiant Church as well as Clayde.
Because this manor was gifted to him by Clayde. The servants belonged to Clayde as well. It was quite normal for the place to be filled with Clayde’s spies. At the same time, his guard corps belonged to the Radiant Church. Frankly speaking, Linley’s actions within his manor was under the constant, watchful eye of these two parties.
“Duke Patterson. Today, the topic of our conversation seems to be quite important. Go ahead, tell me what this is all about.” Linley smiled.
Patterson withdrew a magicrystal card from his clothes. “Linley. There are ten million gold coins in this card.”
“Ten million gold coins?” Linley waited for Patterson’s explanation.
Patterson said helplessly, “Linley, I’ll tell you the truth. After my elder brother tasked me with the position of Minister of Finance for the kingdom, I have used my authority to accumulate wealth for myself. Up until now, my activities have been hidden perfectly, but this time, the smuggling activity I engaged in with another clan was simply too large-scale. Based on what my sources tell me, my elder brother… may have already found out.”
Patterson was still holding back, as he did not reveal that the clan in question was the Debs clan.
“The smuggling was on too large a scale? But does this have anything to do with me?” Linley laughed as he looked at Patterson.
Patterson hurriedly said, “Of course this has something to do with you. Although I am King Clayde’s younger brother, I know very well that when he makes his move, he never shows any mercy at all. I must find a path of retreat. After all, over the course of all these years, I have done too many things. Once this affair comes to light, many other affairs will be dug up as well.”
“Thus… I want you to speak on my behalf with young master Yale of the Dawson Conglomerate. I know that you are good friends with Yale.” A hint of a smile appeared on Patterson’s face.
“Yale?” Linley began to understand Patterson’s intentions.
Patterson said helplessly, “In the future, when these events come to pass, there are not many local powers capable of rescuing me from Fenlai City. But the Dawson Conglomerate is definitely one of them. The Kingdom of Fenlai does not dare to offend the Dawson Conglomerate! At the same time, the Radiant Church will not go to loggerheads against the Dawson Conglomerate for the sake of a minor corruption scandal.”
“As long as the Dawson Conglomerate is willing to act, they can easily rescue me. However, I spoke with the Dawson Conglomerate, and they were not willing to offend King Clayde on my behalf.” Patterson looked hopefully at Linley.
“Linley, Yale is the son of the Chairman of the Dawson Conglomerate. His words are extremely influential. What’s more, the Dawson Conglomerate values you quite highly as well. As long as you are willing to help me, there definitely won’t be any problems,” Duke Patterson begged. “If you don’t help me, I most likely am going to die. I beg of you, please help. No one will know that you and I have spoken.”
“As long as you are willing to save me, these ten million gold coins are yours, Linley. I beg you.” Patterson’s words were very sincere. His eyes were filled with hope!
Linley laughed.
“No one will know?” Linley’s smile was incandescent.
“Right. No one will know.” Patterson hurriedly nodded. A look of joy had already appeared in his eyes.
Suddenly, Linley’s body began to transform at a high speed. Black draconic scales began to come out of his body, while a single black horn sprouted out of his forehead. His two hands transformed into draconic claws. His pupils also transformed from their original color to the dark, golden color of the Armored Razorback Wyrm.
“You…” Duke Patterson’s face changed. Knowing that something was wrong, he hurriedly roused his own battle-qi, and all of the muscles of his body began to tighten.
“Whoosh!”
Linley’s iron-whip-like tail slashed through the air with a terrifying howl. Given Duke Patterson’s reaction time and speed, he was unable to avoid it, and it landed a vicious blow on his body.
“WHACK!”
Patterson, warrior of the seventh rank, was sent flying. Blood splattered everywhere.
But then in the next instant, that whip-like tail wrapped around Patterson. The sounds of bones clattering could be heard as Patterson’s entire body was bound tightly, preventing him from moving in the slightest. Patterson struggled as much as he could, but his arms were unable to break free from his bonds.
Linley controlled his draconic tail to pull Patterson towards himself.
Linley was now under full Dragonform. His cold, merciless, dark golden eyes stared death directly into Patterson’s eyes. A hint of a cruel smile played about the corners of Linley’s lips. “You say… no one will know? Haha. That’s just perfect. I’ve waited so very long for this opportunity.”
“You… you…” Patterson had been absolutely scared stupid by this sudden development.
11
The Man Behind the Curtain
His entire body was covered in black scales, while sharp black spikes jutted out from his elbows and his knees. His entire back was lined with a row of sharp spikes coming from his spine. And his eyes had turned a dark golden color. Just seeing that cold, dark, golden set of eyes staring at him was enough to terrify Duke Patterson.
“Who are… who are you?” Duke Patterson was so terrified that his face was ashen white. His mouth flapped for a long while before he managed to say these words.
What was this monstrosity in front of him?
“Who am I?” Linley’s cold gaze was fixed on Patterson.
“Squeak, squeak.” The sounds of bones chattering emanated from throughout Patterson’s body, as Linley continued to apply force through his iron-whip-like tail in constricting Patterson. No matter how hard Patterson struggled, he couldn’t budge at all.
Pain began to spread from his arms to the rest of his body.
“You are from another plane?” Patterson’s eyes were filled with te
rror. From what he could tell, based on Linley’s current appearance, only a different species from another plane could do what Linley had just done. “Linley, I beg you, spare me, spare my life. I definitely will keep your secret, definitely.”
Transfixed by Linley’s dark golden gaze, Patterson had totally lost his equanimity.
“Spare your life?” A hint of a cold smile appeared on Linley’s face. “That’s not impossible. I want to ask you something. Around twelve or thirteen years ago, did you send some people out to kidnap a woman.”
Patterson was startled.
He immediately frantically tried to recollect the affairs of twelve or thirteen years past, but twelve or thirteen years was an extremely long period of time. Most importantly… “Linley, no, Lord Linley, I… I can’t remember,” Patterson said frantically.
“That was a long time ago, and I often would have women I took a fancy to captured and brought to my mansion. I don’t know exactly which one you are talking about.”
That murderous intent in Linley’s heart began to grow.
This Patterson actually often abducted women?
From Linley’s face, Patterson had no idea as to the transformation that was currently occurring in Linley’s heart. Having completely undergone the Dragonform, Linley appeared totally cold and emotionless, terrifying sinister.
“A woman who had just given birth not long beforehand, who had just finished a pilgrimage to the Radiant Temple, and then returned to her hotel.” Linley still stared icily at Patterson. His voice didn’t rise at all.
Hearing Linley say these things, Patterson’s entire body went stiff. And then he stared at Linley in astonishment.
“You remember now?” Linley said coldly.
Of course Patterson remembered now. Throughout all these years, he had only abducted women who had just given birth on two occasions. His memories of those affairs was quite keen. Especially that one time, thirteen years ago. That time, the person whom had instructed him to act had severely warned him to maintain secrecy.
“I really can’t remember,” Patterson said, terrified. “Lord Linley, I beg you, spare me. I really don’t know. You must be mistaken.”
Linley’s dark golden eyes flashed.
“You want to die?” Linley’s voice grew even colder.
“Ahhhh!” Patterson’s screamed in terror as Linley’s tail increased the pressure around him. This greater pressure was causing all of the bones in Patterson’s body to moan in protest.
“Clatter. Clatter.” The sound of bones nearly cracking was enough to make one’s heart shudder.
But Linley still only stared coldly at Patterson.
“Crunch!”
“Ahhhhh!”
The crisp sound of a bone snapping, mixed with the tortured screams of Patterson. His left arm bone had actually been snapped clean by this terrifying pressure.
“Not bad.” Linley’s lips quivered slightly. As though he were smiling.
But Patterson didn’t view it as a smile. Under the Dragonform, the slight curve of Linley’s lips only filled Patterson’s with even more fear.
“You know what matters and what doesn’t. The vast majority of your battle-qi has been used to protect your vital organs. Only a small amount of battle-qi was used to protect your arm. It’s true. A broken arm isn’t a life-threatening condition. But if your organs were to rupture, then you really will lose your life.” Linley’s voice was very calm.
Patterson felt his throat go dry.
He had never imagined that Linley would have such a terrifying side.
“Now, do you remember yet?” Linley asked again.
Patterson really wanted to answer him, but when he thought about the punishment which would await him if he spoke, he couldn’t help but shudder. His face growing still more pitiful, he cried out miserably, “Lord Linley, I beg of you, don’t torture me. I really don’t know. Even if you kill me, I still don’t know.”
Patterson firmly believed that, with this affair having been over thirteen years ago and Linley being so young, there was no way Linley could be certain about what had happened.
Most likely, Linley had received some sketchy details and was not absolutely certain. As long as he clenched his teeth and refused to speak, perhaps Linley would believe him in the end.
“Lord Linley, if I knew, I would’ve told you long ago, and avoided all this suffering. Lord Linley, I beg of you, please investigate this matter clearly.” Tears began to pour out of Patterson’s eyes, and his face was a picture of sincerity. If it weren’t for the fact that Linley had read that letter from his father, he might really have hesitated.
Staring at Patterson, Linley’s lips began to curve upwards even more.
Patterson’s heart felt a sudden chill.
“Good. Wonderful.” Linley’s tail was still wrapped around Patterson. Suddenly, the draconic tail sent Patterson smashing directly, viciously into the stone floor. Fortunately, though, Linley smashed Patterson feet-first, rather than head-first.
Linley gave full reign to the power of his draconic tail!
Patterson’s two legs smashed against the stone floor.
“Crush!”
The sound of bones splintering instantly, mixed with Patterson’s terrifying, high-pitched howls of agony.
On Patterson’s left knee, the shattered white bone was visible to the eye, piercing both through his leg and his pants. His right leg, even worse off, simply lay limply on the ground, while blood stained his pants around the ankles in particular.
“Ahhh! Ahhhh! Ahhhh!” Patterson was screaming nonstop.
This level of pain was killing him. Fortunately, though, his organs had been protected by his battle-qi, and so his life was not yet in danger.
“Demon. Demon.” Patterson was cursing nonstop in his heart. He knew what a tremendous force Linley was using. Based on his strength as a warrior of the seventh rank, he was only just barely able to protect his internal organs with his battle-qi, and couldn’t protect the rest of his body.
Patterson didn’t want to die.
Crippled legs?
Not a problem. With enough money, he definitely could invite an Arch Magus of the ninth-rank of the Radiant Church to use the ‘Song of Life’ on him. As long as he didn’t already die, any wound, no matter how serious, could be healed!
“Do you remember yet? That woman you abducted?” Linley’s voice was still very calm, not rising in the slightest.
But the terror in Patterson’s heart was growing.
“I remember. I remember.” Beads of sweat were flowing down Patterson’s face. Not from pain. From fear.
Patterson knew very well that in this sealed underground room in which he and Linley were currently in, nobody outside could hear anything, no matter how loud the screams. Perhaps someone directly outside, leaning against the stone door, could just barely hear something.
But who would be outside of this secret little room, pressing their ears against the stone door?
No matter how loud he screamed, no one would know.
“If you said so earlier, wouldn’t you have suffered less?” Linley’s dark golden eyes stared peacefully at Patterson. “Speak, then. Explain what happened to me.”
Patterson hurriedly nodded. “Lord Linley, that year, that woman was extremely beautiful. I was bewitched, and hatched an evil plot to abduct that woman and bring her back to my place. I wanted that woman to sleep with me, but she was too headstrong. She committed suicide by ramming her head against the stone wall.”
Stuttering as he spoke, Patterson looked at Linley.
In Patterson’s opinion, there were very few people who knew what had really happened to that woman. Linley shouldn’t have had any clue.
“You continue to lie!!!”
Linley finally grew angry. Those dark golden eyes seemed to slowly turn red. Using his draconic tail, Linley brought Patterson directly before him. Linley all but pressed his face directly against Patterson’s, coldly staring into his eyes.
Pressed against Linley, seeing Linley’s black scales and the black horn on his forehead, Patterson grew even more terrified.
“I’m not lying! I’m not lying!” Patterson hurriedly said.
Linley’s hands, already transformed into claws by the Dragonform, suddenly delivered a mighty slap to Patterson’s face.
“THWACK!” Five pieces of flesh were ripped from Patterson’s face, and blood began to flow out in a steady stream. Fortunately, Linley wasn’t trying to kill him. Otherwise, he would’ve crushed Patterson’s brain to a pulp with this blow.
“Sob… sob… sob…” Patterson was in so much pain that his voice changed.
Linley stared coldly at Patterson. “Patterson, listen closely. I already know very much about what had happened, which is why it’s best for you not to lie to me. Otherwise, the torment you will suffer definitely will not be limited to just this. Let me tell you this. The woman that you abducted was my mother!”
“Mother?” Patterson was stunned, even forgetting his pain for the moment.
“I am very clear about what happened that day with my mother, and I have been investigating this entire time. Thus, it’s best if you tell me everything about what happened to my mother. Otherwise… you will definitely die.” Linley’s voice grew even more freezing.
Actually, no matter what Patterson said, he was still definitely going to die.
Because Linley’s father had been pursued and heavily injured by Patterson’s men, and had died as a result. Patterson didn’t yet know that the person he had sent people out to hunt and kill was Linley’s father. If he had known… perhaps Patterson would be reacting in a totally different way.
“Tell me. Who did you give my mother to?” Linley stared at Patterson.
“You knew?” Patterson’s face turned pale.
Linley actually knew that he had given the woman away to someone else?
“Tell me his name, but you’d best not lie to me. If I discover that you have lied to me, I will make your life worse than death.” Linley’s voice was very calm again, not rising in the slightest.
Dragonblood: Book 2 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 9