The Infernal Plane: Book 5 of the Coiling Dragon Saga

by Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi

  “Huh?”

  The three Edwards brothers were greatly shocked. They couldn’t help but look at Linley.

  The azure-golden draconic scales covered his entire body, with a faint blue light swirling above the scales. An ancient, powerful aura emanated out from Linley’s Dragonform. Even Highgods couldn’t help but to turn and look. The powerful Dragonformed body didn’t fear the penetrative power of those electric sparks at all.

  “He is…?” The three Edwards brothers exchanged glances, coming to the same hypothesis.

  With his body so incredibly endurable, there was no way Linley was one of those common Draconians. In addition, that aura he carried was also astonishing.

  “It doesn’t matter who he is. Our target is only that white-horned old man. Brothers, let’s do it.” The three Edward brothers leapt forward at virtually the same instant, each wielding a thin knife, with faint electric light crackling on the surface.

  The white-horned elder let out an angry shout, and the longstaff in his hand came smashing down!

  “Crackle…” Space began to crack and split open.

  “The old fellow was pretending to be weak all along!” The three Edward brothers had savage looks on their faces, with the eldest of them using his knife to smash against the longstaff.

  “Bang!”

  Like echoing thunder, the white-horned elder’s longstaff in his hands began to crackle with electricity, and he couldn’t help but shudder slightly for a moment. At this time, the other two Edward brothers simultaneously shot in this direction like arrows, moving so quickly that even Linley and the others could only feel astonished.

  “Absolutely trampled!” Linley frowned. He couldn’t help but to glance at Salomon.

  This was the old servant of Salomon!

  But Salomon didn’t move at all. He just watched quietly. Clearly, Salomon didn’t want to intervene at all, or perhaps… he didn’t have enough strength to intervene.

  “Alas, this old fellow is doing to die.” Linley sighed to himself.

  “Growl…” The roar of a dragon could be heard as an enormous electric dragon opened its mouth, bellowing and chomping down towards the white-horned elder. Facing death, the white-horned elder let out a wild, savage cry, and a deep explosion could be heard.

  As the lightning dragon dispersed, the corpse of the white-horned elder fell to the ground as well.

  The eldest of the three Edward brothers immediately grabbed the interspatial ring, and smiles appeared on their faces as well.

  “We finally got it!” The three Edward brothers were incomparably excited.

  The boiling, bubbling lava’s golden light shot out towards that interspatial ring, which was so dazzling to behold!

  But right now, Linley’s attention was on Salomon and Nisse. Salomon was still very calm, but Nisse’s eyes were beginning to fill with tears.

  “This Salomon definitely is unwilling to reveal his identity. The two old fellows are dead. Precisely speaking, this escort mission has lost its employers,” Linley said to himself, and then Linley glanced at the wildly celebrating Edward brothers.

  Linley knew very well that the actual priceless treasure lay with Salomon!

  “Haha…” Suddenly, a cold, sinister laugh echoed within the cave. Everyone, including the three Edward brothers, turned their heads to look. From another tunnel in the cave, a person appeared, completely covered in a black robe!

  The black-robed man’s face was utterly pale, and in his hands, he held a golden kitten. He calmly said, “Do you three brothers think that you’ll be able to acquire the treasure of the Boyd clan?”

  These words instantly caused the looks on the faces of the three Edward brothers to change.

  “Be good boys and put down the interspatial ring, and I can spare your lives and permit you to depart this place,” the black-robed man, Elquin, said coldly.

  Linley and the others very wisely withdrew to the corners of the cave.

  “It seems things are going to become increasingly exciting.” Bebe’s eyes were shining.

  Linley’s attention was still on the nearby Salomon, who had a hint of a cold laugh on his face. Clearly, the coming disaster for the three Edward brothers was a source of pleasure for him. However, Linley was still puzzled. “Isn’t Salomon worried that the black-robed man will act against him as well?”

  “The priceless treasures of the Boyd clan. In your dreams!” the eldest of the three Edward brothers shouted angrily.

  “Bang!”

  The three simultaneously transformed into three enormous electric serpents, snaking towards Elquin.

  Elquin continued to hold the kitten with his left hand. He stretched out his right hand, which was covered with a translucent glove. Through the glove, one could see the details of his right hand clearly… this was a hand which was slightly black and had a yellow tint to it.

  A deathly aura!

  The right hand stretched out and slapped towards the air in the direction of the three attackers. The three attacking electric serpents bizarrely began to break apart inch by inch, suddenly transforming back into the three Edward brothers. The three Edward brothers were extremely shocked and frightened. Without hesitating, they chose…

  To flee!

  “Swoosh!” “Swoosh!” “Swoosh!”

  The three went flying towards the three different exits. After having exchanged blows, the three Edward brothers had discovered very clearly that they weren’t even close to being a match for the black-robed man. Their difference in power was simply too great. “He is at least a Seven Star Fiend, and he might even be a retired Asura!” The three brothers were terrified.

  “Fleeing?” Elquin laughed calmly. “Phusro!”

  “Meow.” The kitten in his arms let out a meow.

  Suddenly…

  The three corridors immediately closed, with this cave now being completely sealed off from the outside.

  Seeing this, the three Edward brothers were completely stunned. They all turned and looked at each other, then their leader, the eldest, hurriedly said respectfully, “Milord, we three brothers no longer desire the priceless treasure. We offer it to you, milord, and hope that just like you said earlier, you can spare our lives, milord.”

  “Oh. You don’t want it anymore?” Elquin laughed.

  The three Edward brothers hurriedly nodded.

  “Unfortunately, I’ll only give someone a single chance! Just now, you didn’t take that chance…” As he spoke, Elquin suddenly transformed into hundreds of doppelgangers, surrounding the three Edward brothers.

  “Shadowshape Doppelganger technique.” Bebe stared in astonishment, his eyes wide.

  Elquin’s usage of it was clearly far superior to Bebe’s, whether in terms of speed or in the number of doppelgangers.

  The three Edward brothers were momentarily unable to determine which one was the real body. With a sudden “BOOM!”, Elquin’s palm came slamming down towards the youngest of the three Edward brothers, and his head immediately exploded apart.

  “Third brother!”

  The eyes of the eldest brother and second brother of the three Edwards brothers instantly turned red, while at the same time, they hurriedly began to dodge.

  The Shadowshape technique was very terrifying, because the true body could constantly fluctuate between every single shadow. They could dodge a single shadow, but could they dodge so many?

  “Soon, it will be your turn,” Elquin’s voice rang out.

  “Bang!” Yet another palm suddenly caused a man’s head to shatter.

  “Second brother!” Only one remained.

  “Bang!” Another black shadow flashed by, and a right hand covered by a translucent glove smashed in the skull of the eldest of the three Edward brothers.

  Immediately afterwards, all of the shadows reformed into a single form. The black-robed man was still holding the golden kitten.

  Within the cave, Linley and the others didn’t dare to so much as breathe too loudly.

  To
o terrifying!

  “Can it be that he is a Seven Star Fiend? Or even a former Asura?” Linley couldn’t help but make this guess. Linley could tell that this Elquin’s speed was very terrifying. The three Edward brothers weren’t able to react to a single palm attack.

  In addition, his strength was formidable as well; the combined attack of the three Edward brothers had been dispersed with a single palm slap!

  “Those three idiots wanted to acquire the treasures of the Boyd clan, but they didn’t even know who the real owner of the treasure is.” Elquin snickered. When these words came out, the muscles on Salomon’s face began to twitch.

  Elquin turned to look at Salomon. With a calm laugh, he said, “Child of the Boyd clan, did you think that by hiding amongst the other Fiends that I wouldn’t be able to recognize you? Hand over the fortune of your clan to me. I will give you one chance as well. Give me the treasure, and I will let you leave!”

  Salomon’s face instantly turned ashen, without any hint of blood at all.

  Salomon turned his head, staring hatefully at Linley. His eyes were filled with venom!

  The only person he had told his identity to was Linley!

  49

  Salomon’s Rage

  Salomon’s face was savage, and the fury in his heart was roaring.

  He, Salomon, was only an illegitimate child of the Boyd clan. He had been kicked out of the household after entering it for only a single day! Alone and without any support, he had been escorted to his teacher’s place, a reclusive expert who had only accepted him as a disciple for his father’s sake.

  However, his teacher was a person with an extremely perverted disposition.

  “I endured the humiliation of being expelled from the clan, and the life of torment I lived with Teacher I endured as well. I dreamed of one day standing at the pinnacle of the Infernal Realm, and trample down upon those bastards who looked down on me. Everything was for the sake of this!” Salomon thought back to all of the past years.

  He had been enduring this entire time.

  After receiving the news from the two servants that the Boyd clan had been destroyed, and that the only remaining person with the blood of the Boyd clan remaining was him, he hadn’t been heartbroken; instead, he had been wildly jubilant!

  If they died, good! Those bastards deserved to die!

  His chance had come!

  Because those two servants had brought an enormous fortune with them, in accordance with the plans his father had laid prior to dying, Salomon had remained hidden with his teacher for a long period of time. After achieving success, he led the two servants and his ignorant little sister out towards the Jadefloat Continent!

  On this trip, Salomon was planning to spread his wings and become without peer!

  His plans had been very perfect.

  The two servants had been two chess pieces he had been prepared to sacrifice to begin with. When he first saw Linley transform, Salomon had guessed Linley’s identity. For the sake of drawing a closer relationship with Linley, he had revealed his own name. At that time, he had thought that Linley wouldn’t immediately know his true identity.

  After all, it was just a single character.

  Salomon had thought that in the future, after Linley learned more about the affairs of the Boyd clan, he would feel Salomon had behaved very sincerely to him. Salomon had been in such danger, and yet had still revealed his identity! This action was a bit risky, but in order to win Linley’s trust, it was worth it.

  More importantly…

  First, he felt that Linley wouldn’t immediately know about the affairs of the Boyd clan.

  Second, he could tell what sort of a person Linley was, especially from the way Linley had risked his own life to rescue Salomon’s little sister. This let him understand that Linley shouldn’t be the sort of person who would lust after a friend’s wealth. After all, Linley had been willing to risk his own life for Salomon’s little sister; would he care about a little money?

  Salomon’s calculations had been very clear.

  However, who would have imagined that the affair at the castle of sand had caused the Boyd clan’s affairs to be revealed. Linley and Bebe couldn’t help but suspect who Salomon was. In order to reduce their suspicions, Salomon had told Linley his true identity. As Salomon saw it… Linley shouldn’t have been able to reveal it.

  First of all, Linley’s character. He shouldn’t have been the type to reveal it.

  Secondly, Linley remained within the metallic lifeform. He shouldn’t have had a chance to reveal it.

  But now…

  This black-robed man had immediately been able to recognize him.

  “The Boyd clan was destroyed, and those two old servants died as well. Who else in the entire Infernal Realm knows who I am? It must be Linley. Right. It was Linley. It was Linley who must have sent a message with someone else at Yilan City through divine sense and revealed my secrets. That must be it!”

  Salomon was absolutely enraged.

  “That bastard, Linley. He really puts on quite an act. Even I was tricked by him. I was wrong about him!” Salomon’s mind was filled with hatred. As he stared at Linley, his eyes betrayed his desire to devour Linley and tear his life away.

  His dreams!

  His goals for which he had struggled towards for countless years!

  It was very likely that it was Linley who caused them to all come to naught!

  How could he not hate Linley?

  Linley was currently flabbergasted. Salomon was staring at him viperously, but he hadn’t revealed Salomon’s identity!

  “Linley, you… you are impressive!” Salomon ground his teeth, his eyes turning red.

  “I…” Linley felt completely wronged.

  He could guess that this Salomon definitely believed that it was he, Linley, who had revealed the secret. But he had never spoken of it.

  “Salomon.” Linley wanted to speak.

  “You don’t need to say anything!” Salomon’s gaze was viperous. By his side, even Nisse, so familiar with him, felt her heart quiver. Was this her warm, friendly big brother?

  “Salomon, why are you staring at my Boss like that? What sort of look is that? What sort of attitude is that?” Bebe shouted angrily. In Bebe’s mind, Linley was like his parent or older brother; he wouldn’t permit anyone to treat Linley like this, even if the person was the big brother of the girl he liked.

  Within the cave, the golden magma continued to bubble and boil.

  But the aura now seemed very strange.

  “Child of the Boyd clan, stop wasting time. My patience has limits.” The black-robed Elquin, carrying the golden kitten, laughed calmly as he spoke.

  Salomon immediately turned his head to stare at him.

  “You want the fortunes of my Boyd clan. I’ll tell you this…” Salomon’s face was savage. “I don’t have it!”

  The smile on Elquin’s pale face vanished, leaving behind only a cold emotionless look. He stared coldly at Salomon. “It seems you want to die.”

  “Even if you kill me, I still don’t have it.” Salomon raised his head.

  “Hmph.”

  Elquin sneered coldly, and then he suddenly seemed to have teleported as a black blur appeared in front of them. Elquin himself appeared right in front of Salomon, casually slapping towards Salomon with a palm.

  It was still that sallow, yellow hand that was covered by a translucent glove.

  Salomon’s eyes were savage. He retreated at high speed, while at the same time, an explosive, gloomy black light burst forth from his hands. “Rumble…” The air shuddered, and the gloomy black light shot directly towards that seemingly slow but actually incredibly fast right hand.

  “Bang!”

  A very gentle sound. Elquin’s right hand trembled, then he hurriedly retracted it. His right hand remained that sallow yellow color, and he hadn’t been harmed at all.

  “You… this is…? Tell me, who is your teacher?” Elquin gave Salomon a surprised glance.

>   Salomon, who had retreated to the distant edges of the cave, snickered. “Why ask about my teacher? Can it be that you are already afraid after I used just a minor technique like this?”

  A hint of anger appeared within Elquin’s ashen face. He let out a cold snort. “I gave you a chance, but you didn’t take it!” Elquin’s right hand stretched out slowly, and it gradually began to turn blood-red, and it swelled in size as well.

  The entire right hand was now even larger than an ordinary person’s head, and it was as scarlet red as a drop of blood.

  Elquin placed the golden kitten in his arms down, then turned to stare at Salomon. “Did you think that you would be able to threaten me with those little tricks?” As soon as he spoke, Elquin suddenly transformed into hundreds of shadows, filling virtually the entire cave.

  Elemental Laws of Darkness – Shadowshape Doppelganger technique!

  “Am I really going to be forced to use that technique?” Salomon hesitated.

  Suddenly, a fan-sized blood red hand came slapping down towards his head. The air around the blood-red hand was twisting and distorting like a vortex, while at the same time the vortex of space was faintly swirling with a black smoke.

  Salomon’s face changed dramatically, and then turned savage. He actually shot out with his own twin hands, a black light covering his right hand which clashed directly with that blood red palm.

  “BANG!” The cave itself trembled.

  Salomon was knocked backwards like a bag of sand from the blow. “Crunch!” The bones of his arms were shattered, revealing red flesh and blood as well as white chunks of bone that went flying everywhere. Salomon himself was smashed into the wall, and he spewed out fresh blood from his lips, then slid down to the ground.

  “Big brother!” Nisse called out in alarm.

  Linley, Delia, and Bebe all frowned.

  “Linley, why did Salomon act that way towards you? Can it be that it is because of his identity, that he thinks you revealed it?” Delia asked through her divine sense.