Baruch Rising_Book 3 of the Coiling Dragon Saga

by Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi

  “What is a ‘Spatial Lock’?” Zassler questioned.

  Linley didn’t explain further. Zassler and Barker weren’t practitioners of the Elemental Laws of the Wind. How could they possibly understand his explanations? When Linley had sparred against Miller, that expert from the mysterious mountain village, Linley had suddenly seen a clearer path to gaining a deeper understanding in the ‘Slow’ aspect of the wind. Naturally, that made training progress twice as fast for half the effort.

  If Miller were to have seen Linley training, he would’ve been shocked.

  In just a few short months, Linley had been able to advance this much. This sort of rate of improvement was simply terrifyingly fast.

  Pouring cups of wine for each man, Linley raised his own winecup in a toast. Smiling, he said, “Just tell me why you have come.”

  Barker said, “Lord, after spending some time on the management of our current territory, we have completed our military reorganization, and given them three months of training. It is about time to attack a few other cities.” As soon as he heard these words, a smile crept onto Linley’s face.

  He had been eagerly awaiting this day.

  “This time, we should be attacking that prefectural city, right?” Linley said.

  The nearby Zassler nodded. “Right. According to my plans, this time, we should attack three small cities and the prefectural city of Moat.” Linley’s side currently had six cities and six legions with fifty thousand soldiers. This sort of military power was on par with that of a prefectural city.

  However…

  Linley’s side had experts as well! This was a definite advantage.

  “After we take down the prefectural city, we will be able to announce publicly that we have founded a duchy.” Barker chortled.

  Linley had been eagerly awaiting the founding of the duchy. He still remembered Delia’s appointment with him in that letter. The day he founded his own duchy was the day on which Delia would leave the Yulan Empire to come looking for him.

  “Linley,” Zassler asked, “After we take down the prefectural city, what should we do next? Should we continue taking over cities that belong to neither the Radiant Church nor the Cult of Shadows? Or should we begin to launch attacks against the cities which the Radiant Church controls?”

  Per their battle maps, after taking down the prefectural city, to the south of the territory that Linley controlled was the territory under the dominion of the Radiant Church.

  Of course, the Radiant Church’s control was in secret. On the surface, they were all duchies. But in truth, it was quite easy to tell which were controlled by the Radiant Church and which were controlled by the Cult of Shadows! The way to do so was to simply look at the temples in those prefectural cities. If the city had a Radiant Temple, then that duchy was secretly controlled by the Radiant Church.

  If it had a Shadow Temple, then it was controlled by the Cult of Shadows.

  “Begin attacking the duchies controlled by the Radiant Church.” Linley’s eyes narrowed as he made his decision. “As our activities grow more and more pronounced, the intelligence network of the Radiant Church would definitely take note of the five Barker brothers. Knowing that you are here, it would be strange if they didn’t realize that I, Linley, was here as well.”

  Linley looked at Barker and Zassler, then chuckled. “After we take down the prefectural city, we’ll spend some time stabilizing it and do a wholesale reorganization of our armies. After reorganizing our armies, then we will begin attacking the territory controlled by the Radiant Church!”

  “But of course, let’s only launch some small attacks at first, and see how the Radiant Church responds.” Linley laughed calmly. “Let’s see if they immediately counterattack, or if they refrain from doing so, or if they send over experts to find me.”

  Zassler understood Linley’s intentions. Laughing, he said, “Right. If the Radiant Church decides to openly fight you, Linley, then… the name of the duchy will be based off of your family name. Let us call it the ‘Baruch Duchy’!”

  “But if the Radiant Church refrains, then we can continue to pretend you are not here, and we can just choose a name for the duchy at random.”

  Hearing Zassler’s words, Linley nodded in approval.

  Right now, what they needed to see was how the Radiant Church would react. If the experts of the Radiant Church did not appear, then Linley wouldn’t act. He would let Barker and his brothers stir up trouble, repeatedly attacking cities. If enemy experts appeared… then they would respond in this manner.

  “When will we attack the City of Moat?” Barker looked at Linley.

  “Hurry up and start,” Linley replied.

  Linley’s words caused all six cities to begin gearing up for war. One legion with nine thousand men, led by Boone, Ankh, and Hazer, went to attack three smaller cities, while the other four legions, under the leadership of Gates and Barker, went to attack the prefectural city of Moat.

  Zassler watched over Blackdirt City.

  “Kill!” The grounds beneath the walls of the prefectural city of Moat were totally red with blood. At first, the prefectural city of Moat had sent their army of twenty thousand out, preparing to directly battle against the enemy. But when the troops led by Gates and Barker had charged into them, massive casualties had resulted.

  Gates and Barker were two terrible gods of battle.

  Wherever those massive greataxes whirled about, people died in vast numbers. Each army had its own elite squads, and Gates and Barker focused precisely on those people. Wherever there was a tough pocket of resistance, they went to snuff it out.

  Quickly, the twenty-thousand-man army of the prefectural city of Moat was utterly shattered. Their morale totally gone, many people immediately surrendered, then and there.

  More than half had died. The lucky survivors… were all captured.

  They couldn’t flee even if they wanted to. The city gates to the prefectural city of Moat were firmly shut. The city governor of the prefectural city of Moat simply didn’t dare to open the gates. Once he did, those two fiends would charge inside and he would definitely die. Right now, the prefectural city of Moat only had twenty thousand soldiers.

  The soldiers of Blackdirt City were arranged in neat, orderly rows. Those ten thousand prisoners were utterly demoralized, with many wounded. Only two or three thousand were in battle-shape. Blood covered the ground, and the morale of the city guards of the prefectural city of Moat was at rock bottom.

  “What is going on? Why are they standing so far away?” The garrison troops were growing frantic. The range the enemy was at was far beyond bow range.

  Suddenly, those two godlike leaders suddenly charged forward at high speed, greataxes in hand. Their speed was so fast that everyone gaped as they watched. The garrison troops immediately shouted out, “Archers, prepare to attack those two men. Fire!”

  The hundred elite archers selected from within the ordinary ranged division were all equipped with powerful bows, which they began to use to fire down upon the two men. However, Barker and Gates were simply too fast. Only a few arrows hit them, but even the ones that hit them were deflected off.

  “Haha, watch this!” Gates roared in excitement. Raising his heart-stoppingly terrifying greataxe, he chopped down in the direction of that distant city gate.

  “Bam!”

  A sudden, terrifying sound rang out from the city gates. The tall, strong city gates shuddered and then began to crack, but it didn’t actually break.

  “The gates of a prefectural city are far sturdier than those of smaller cities.” Gates laughed loudly, the sound of his laughter shaking the heavens. The soldiers on the walls of Moat could hear it clearly. “Big Brother, no need for you to get involved, I can deal with that gate.”

  That powerful blast of force from afar had already caused the soldiers on the wall to turn pale-faced.

  Who fought battles like this?!

  Smashing straight through the front gates and charging in?!

&n
bsp; “Drop the boulders, quick, drop the boulders!” the shrill voice of the city governor rang out. The walls of this prefectural city were over ten meters thick. Aside from the normally closed city gates, there were actually a few other apertures. From those apertures, massive boulders began to fall down.

  Those ten plus thick, heavy boulders crashed down with enough power that not even a warrior of the ninth rank could disregard them. These were used especially for dealing with experts.

  “Dropping boulders?”

  Gates’ face changed, and he howled angrily, “Motherfucker, out of my way!” That greataxe moved as agilely as a leaf, gently touching the city gate. The gate shuddered violently, and then half of it broke apart and crumbled. But with a low rumbling sound, those boulders began to fall down, blocking off the city entrance.

  “Break.” Barker also used the same technique, ‘wielding something heavy as though it were light’.

  “Boom!” The boulder shuddered, and pieces of rock were sent flying everywhere. Over a one-meter-deep crack appeared on the surface of the boulder, but compared to its terrifyingly massive size, even a deep crack meant little to it.

  Gates and Barker glanced at each other.

  “We’ll have to act per his Lordship’s orders.” Gates laughed.

  As Linley had directed, Barker and his brothers were to keep their identity as Undying Warriors a secret. They were one of Linley’s hidden weapons. After all, the Radiant Church didn’t know their identity for certain. The only thing they could reveal was what the Radiant Church already knew.

  “Haeru!” Barker let out a loud roar.

  “Grooooowl!” An earth-shaking roar could be heard, and that terrifying black panther that had been in the middle of the army suddenly grew dramatically larger, reaching a height of ten meters and a length of twenty. Seeing this enormous, three-story-tall magical beast… all of the people in the prefectural city of Moat were utterly stunned.

  “A Saint-level magical beast!”

  Those guards were speechless.

  “Bang!” The three-story-tall Haeru transformed into a black blur, charging at the city gates. In the blink of an eye, he traversed the thousand meters of distance to the city gates. The city gates were twenty meters high, but Haeru’s terrifying body slammed directly against that ten-meter-thick boulder.

  A terrifying explosion could be heard.

  That boulder split apart as though it were made of tofu, exploding into countless pieces that went flying every which way. Many of the garrison soldiers in the city were struck by the flying stones and had their heads broken open or their chests caved in… and that was just the appetizer.

  The terrifying magical beast, Haeru, charged through and began to kill.

  He was an absolute war machine. Anything standing before him would be trampled to death or knocked flying. Countless casualties!

  “Surrender! We surrender!”

  “Surrender!!!”

  Even the sturdiest of warriors, when faced with such a terrifying magical beast, would feel powerless. All of them immediately threw down their weapons and knelt, signifying surrender. A Saint-level magical beast… how could soldiers like them possibly resist against such an overpowering force?

  “Surrender. I surrender.” The city governor of the prefectural city of Moat fell to his knees, his entire body shaking.

  After taking over the prefectural city of Moat, Linley’s side now had a prefectural city and nine smaller cities, and now controlled a population of nine million. They could already be considered a relatively large duchy in size.

  55

  Heading Out

  Late night. Within a quiet study, there was a desk with a lit lamp atop it, flickering with dim light.

  Atop the table, there was a hawk-nosed, skinny man with long violet hair. This man was flipping through a thick book. Under the dim light of the lamp, the hawk-nosed man’s appearance couldn’t be clearly made out. But just at this moment… “Knock, knock, knock.” The sound of knocking.

  “Enter.” The hawk-nosed man didn’t even look up, continuing to leaf through the book.

  “Creaaaak.” The door swung open, and a handsome-looking golden-haired middle-aged man walked in. As soon as he walked in, he shut the door, then bowed respectfully. “Lord Praetor, Linley’s forces have already taken the prefectural city of Moat.”

  The hawk-nosed man was the awe-inspiring Praetor of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of the Radiant Church, Osenno.

  Publicly, the Holy Emperor was the leader of the Radiant Church. The church did, however, whitewash its actions to make itself look pure. When dealing with some experts, they had the Ecclesiastical Tribunal carry out missions with extreme ruthlessness. Their leader, the Praetor, within the Radiant Church itself, had power and authority not one whit lower than the Holy Emperor’s.

  “Oh.” Osenno continued to read his book.

  The golden-haired man said respectfully, “Taking over the prefectural city of Moat is a small affair. More importantly… Linley’s side used that mysterious Saint-level panther-type magical beast in order to break through the city walls!”

  “They used the Saint-level beast?” Osenno’s head suddenly snapped up.

  Osenno’s eyes were as deep and dark as the depths of the sea. The golden-haired man felt his heart shake from Osenno’s gaze, but he forced down his fear and said, “Lord Praetor, Linley’s side actually used Saints to do battle. This is a clear provocation.”

  Generally speaking, Saints did not get involved in battles.

  Once a Saint got involved, that meant that there was no leeway left, nor any chance of reconciliation. It would be a fight to the death.

  As the prefectural city of Moat was not part of the Radiant Church’s territory, for Linley to act in such a way wasn’t a direct provocation towards the Radiant Church. But for him to have Saint-level magical beasts engage in battle… this was a gesture. A provoking gesture towards the Radiant Church. Linley’s intentions were quite clear…

  My magical beast has already shown himself. These forces belong to me, Linley. So what is your Radiant Church going to do about it?

  At the same time, Linley’s side was displaying their might. ‘Since I dare to send out my Saint-level magical beast to do battle, if your Radiant Church wishes to battle me, you’d best bring your Saints along as well. Don’t bother with the soldiers.’

  “Lord Praetor?” The golden-haired man looked at Osenno.

  Osenno’s deep, dark eyes were totally unreadable. Suddenly, Osenno spoke. “Remember. From today forward, don’t fight head on against Linley. We will endure!” The golden-haired man was shocked, and he stared at Osenno in disbelief.

  Osenno was definitely an extremely, terrifyingly, powerful expert.

  As one of the towering figures of the Radiant Church, his power was no lower than Haydson’s, and probably higher. The Radiant Church had quite a few Saints in the Anarchic Lands as well. There was no need for them to fear Linley.

  “Lord Praetor, Linley’s side only includes himself and those two magical beasts,” the golden-haired man said uncomprehendingly.

  Osenno said calmly, “No. He doesn’t only have so few Saints. Those five Barker brothers, if our predictions are correct, should be the descendants of Armand. They are all warriors of the ninth rank now. Upon transforming, they would be early-stage Saints. Only experts on the level of mid-stage Saints would be able to beat them.”

  “Undying Warriors?” The golden-haired man was shocked.

  Osenno glanced at him.

  When Cesar had rescued Barker and his brothers and threatened Stehle, the Holy Emperor Heidens had immediately suspected that the Barker brothers were of the Armand clan. After all, for Cesar to act in such a way and so strongly… there was no other explanation.

  “They aren’t much weaker than us.” Osenno lowered his head to his book again. He said a few final, calm words. “Remember. Endure.”

  “Then what if Linley erects a duchy and begins attacking our territo
ry?” the golden-haired man asked. Although he was the managing supervisor for the Radiant Church’s forces in the Anarchic Lands, now that Osenno was here, naturally Osenno was now in charge.

  Osenno said calmly, “If they attack our territory, we retreat and let them take it.”

  “Uh…” The golden-haired man stared at Osenno in shock.

  Osenno said calmly, “If they provoke us, we will endure. If they attack our territory, we will retreat! Let Linley think that we fear them and that our power is less than theirs… however, understand this: when he takes over our territory, he will naturally reorganize and make use of the soldiers of those cities.”

  “Ah!” The golden-haired man’s eyes lit up. He understood Osenno’s hidden meaning.

  “The Lord Praetor is wise,” the golden-haired man said excitedly.

  Osenno chuckled calmly. “This is how warfare has always been. Human resources are of the highest importance! In terms of ensuring loyalty, what can be more powerful than faith? Linley… I’ll let you know how terrifyingly powerful ‘faith’ can be.”

  The golden-haired man was secretly shaken.

  Osenno was simply too sinister.

  They possessed great power and many experts, but they still used such sinister methods. The golden-haired man could fully visualize… how the cocky, overconfident Linley’s forces would suddenly be beaten back to the starting point.

  “You can leave now.” Osenno lowered his head to his book as he spoke calmly.

  “Yes, Lord Praetor.”

  The golden-haired man left respectfully, leaving behind Osenno by himself in that dimly-lit study. He quietly continued to read that book. Next to it, there was another scroll, which had a few words written atop it; ‘Linley Baruch.’

  In the northern area of the Anarchic Lands. In one breath, they had taken over a prefectural city and nine small cities, erecting a dominion which controlled nine million citizens. But although they had taken over the prefectural city of Moat, the political center of Linley’s side was still in Blackdirt City.