Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “Impossible.” Linley said with certainty. “There definitely was a man with a missing hand.”

  Bebe had already seen half of Clayde’s face, and given Bebe’s eyesight, he definitely wouldn’t have been mistaken. Since Bebe was certain he had seen him, then Clayde was definitely in that group.

  “Definitely?” Hearing how certain Linley was, the man felt awkward. “Milord, perhaps…perhaps there were too many people in the group, so my elder brother and I didn’t see him.”

  Linley frowned.

  Too many people?

  Originally, when he fought with Clayde’s squad at the palace, Linley and Bebe had killed quite a number, leaving only ten or so knights remaining. And given the number of magical beasts on the road here, it would be quite exceptional if all ten of Clayde’s men were still alive. How could this be considered ‘too many people’?

  “Many people? How many?” Linley asked.

  “Very many. At least seventy or eighty.” The man said haltingly, seemingly uncertain. “Regardless, there were very many. That group suddenly appeared and then entered the manor. We two brothers couldn’t clearly see every single person in the group. Perhaps there really was a man with a missing hand amongst them.”

  Linley was confused.

  Seventy or eighty people?

  Even when he had attempted to kill Clayde in the palace, Clayde’s Wildthunder squad had only thirty or so people. What’s more, after having been reduced in numbers by himself and Bebe, how could so many more people have appeared out of nowhere?

  Linley didn’t understand it.

  “Boss, there really were a lot of people.” Bebe’s voice also sounded out now, in Linley’s mind. “By the time I noticed Clayde, he was just about to enter the manor. I only had the chance to catch a glimpse of half his face. But behind him there were at least fifty or so people. But as to how many people entered the manor before Clayde, I’m not too sure.”

  Linley definitely trusted Bebe, of course.

  “That many people?” Linley wondered to himself.

  “Alright, you can go now. This is a reward for you and your brother. Keep watching for me.” Linley tossed the half-filled sack of gold, which had fifty coins in it.

  Accepting the sack, he took a peek inside through the opening. The insides were filled with gleaming gold. This half-bag had to have near fifty coins in it! His heart began to be filled with excitement. When he had escaped here to Hess City, he hadn’t even been able to feed himself. Now, after only having worked for Linley for a few days, the man tossed him a sack with fifty gold coins? How could he not be wildly excited?

  “Thank you, milord. Thank you, milord.” He made up his mind. He and his elder brother would consider keeping a close watch on the people inside the manor. He immediately departed, then ran to the top floor of the nearby restaurant where he and his elder brother kept watch.

  Within the courtyard.

  All alone, Linley was pondering what he should do next.

  A white light shone out from the Coiling Dragon ring, transforming into the white-robed, white-haired, white-bearded Doehring Cowart. Doehring Cowart stroked his beard. Chuckling, he said, “Linley, what’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood?”

  Linley lifted his head up to look at Doehring Cowart. Upon seeing his Grandpa Doehring, Linley felt his heart calm down a little. With such an experienced elder by his side, at least Linley wouldn’t grow frantic or feel unsure of himself.

  “Grandpa Doehring. I’m wondering where that group of people with Clayde came from.” Linley said.

  Doehring Cowart chuckled. “You are wasting your time wondering about this. Why don’t you act instead? Hide in a corner of a wall in their manor and take a look for yourself. By then, you will know exactly who these people with Clayde are.”

  Linley began to laugh.

  Right. Why was he wasting time?

  “Carrying this heavy sword will still impact my speed.” Linley removed his adamantine heavy sword, then entered his bedroom and placed it under his bed, then grabbed his bedsheets.

  Standing on Linley’s shoulders, Bebe stared curiously at the adamantine heavy sword. He mentally asked Linley, “Boss, is this heavy sword the treasure which you had created for you using that adamantine ore?”

  Linley laughed and nodded.

  “How heavy is this heavy sword?” Bebe asked curiously.

  “3600 pounds.” Linley replied honestly.

  Bebe rubbed his little nose with his paws in surprise, while his beady little eyes spun around in shock as well as he stared at the adamantine heavy sword.

  “Enough. You’ll have plenty of time to look at it later.” Linley put down the bedsheets, hiding the heavy sword.

  “Ah. Hey boss, I suddenly remember something. That Clayde probably already knows that you are right here.” Bebe looked at the interspatial ring on Linley’s finger and cried out in alarm.

  “What? Why?” Linley was extremely shocked. “Boss, you personalized and bound your Bloodviolet Godsword using a drop of blood. I remember you saying that when you were imprisoned within the Radiant Temple, although Bloodviolet was confiscated, you could still sense where it was. Interspatial rings are also personalized through blood. Wouldn’t Clayde then be able to sense the location of his interspatial ring?” Bebe urgently transmitted his thoughts to Linley.

  But hearing this, Linley only began to laugh.

  “Haha.” Standing next to them, Doehring Cowart began to laugh as well. Only, Bebe wasn’t able to hear Doehring Cowart’s laughter.

  Immediately upon leaving the city of Fenlai, Linley had already questioned Doehring Cowart regarding this interspatial ring he had taken.

  “Bebe.” Linley laughed as he explained. “This interspatial ring is different from a divine artifact such as Bloodviolet. Technically speaking, an interspatial ring isn’t a divine artifact, just a very valuable magical item. Its basic underpinnings are quite similar to the magicrystal cards, which use fingerprints to personalize and recognize an owner, while interspatial rings use blood to do the same. Only the owner of an interspatial ring can open it and take out its contents. However, when a magical item is taken away, there’s no way for the owner of it to sense the exact location of his item. Do you think divine artifacts are that common? Even my adamantine heavy sword, Bladeless, isn’t at the level of divine artifacts.”

  Divine artifacts.

  It was impossible for a divine artifact to be forged within this material plane, in the Yulan continent. Things such as the Coiling Dragon ring and the Bloodviolet sword were both very ancient items.

  “The Coiling Dragon ring had suddenly emitted a terrifying burst of energy back at the Radiant Temple and saved me. What’s more, when using magic through it, it reduces the amount of mageforce and spiritual energy needed to a sixth of normal. Bloodviolet, in turn, can become flexible or straight as the wielder chooses, and is virtually indestructible.”

  Linley had a certain theory.

  It was already a fact that the Coiling Dragon ring had secrets hidden within that he hadn’t yet discovered. That terrifying burst of energy at the Radiant Temple was proof.

  As for Bloodviolet?

  For it to be used as a focusing seal for that mysterious magical formation meant that it definitely had special qualities to it as well. Only, right now Linley was still too weak and couldn’t discover what was so special about it.

  “Bloodviolet.” Linley glanced at the sword at his waist which he was wearing like a belt. What was the real ability of this mysterious Bloodviolet flexible sword?

  “Bebe, you stay here for now.” Linley instructed.

  “Got it.” Bebe obediently remained within the courtyard, while Linley stealthily slipped out of his residence and headed quietly towards Clayde and Shaq’s manor.

  Linley pressed himself against one of the walls of the manor which Shaq had purchased.

  “Snick.”

  Linley’s sharp claws emerged. He easily cut a small opening into the wall, then tr
ansformed his hands back to normal as he peered inside through the opening.

  That night Linley had stayed at the residence with Shaq, he had memorized the entire layout, including the manmade hill and which rooms were which. Linley had chosen to make his cut in a very particular location; through this cut, he was able to see into both the front courtyard and the back courtyard, without anything obstructing his vision.

  “My royal father.”

  Linley’s sensitive ears actually managed to pick up the conversation between Shaq and Clayde in the back courtyard. Linley carefully peered in that direction. Indeed, Clayde and Shaq were walking shoulder by shoulder within Linley’s area of vision.

  “It’s Clayde.” Linley watched carefully.

  But what he saw utterly stunned him. “Clayde’s hand…his hand…”

  Right now, both of Clayde’s hands were in perfect condition. But Linley had clearly seen Clayde’s hand fall off after being cut. He had even stolen the interspatial ring from the hand. There definitely was no mistake.

  “To regenerate a lost hand would require the services of a light-style Arch Magus of the ninth rank at least.” Linley was astonished.

  When Clayde left, he didn’t have a single magus with him. How did he get mixed up with an Arch Magus of the ninth rank?

  “Royal father, how did you end up encountering forces belonging to the Radiant Church? Those people are all so formidable.” Shaq said in a somewhat astonished voice.

  Clayde nodded. “Of course they are. These people are amongst the most terrifying people the Radiant Church leads. The Ascetics led by Lord Fallen Leaf have many combatants of the ninth rank amongst them. Travelling by their side, we were quite safe the entire time.”

  Clayde was speaking in a normal tone. Logically speaking, someone from the opposite side of a distant wall shouldn’t be able to hear him. But Linley, as a Dragonblood Warrior, possessed freakishly enhanced hearing, and heard every word clearly.

  “A group of Ascetics? Led by Lord Fallen Leaf?” The look on Linley’s face changed.

  Lord Fallen Leaf was a peak-stage Saint-level combatant. And he had with him a group of freakishly strong Ascetics, quite a few of whom had reached the ninth rank.

  Book 7, Heaven and Earth Turned Upside Down – Chapter 19, With Bated Breath

  Linley quietly left, returning to his own manor.

  On the road back from Clayde’s residence to his own, Linley’s face was a mask of unhappiness. This news he had just received had made Linley think that things would be much more difficult now.

  “Linley. What decision have you come to?” Doehring Cowart appeared from within the Coiling Dragon ring.

  There was still a degree of distance between Linley’s residence and Clayde’s manor. Doehring Cowart, this five-thousand year old ghost of a peak-stage Saint level combatant, wasn’t afraid that Lord Fallen Leaf would see him here.

  “Me?”

  Linley balled his fists. “Endure. I can only endure and wait.”

  Doehring Cowart nodded with satisfaction. He had watched every step of Linley’s journey and growth. Doehring Cowart felt affection and love for Linley as he might a grandson.

  He didn’t wish for Linley to act too rashly.

  “Linley. Don’t worry.” Stroking his beard, Doehring Cowart spoke confidently. “That Fallen Leaf probably just let Clayde travel along with him since it didn’t inconvenience him. He definitely won’t stay with Clayde for too long. In the past, when Clayde was still the king of a kingdom, his status was already much lower than that of Fallen Leaf. As for the current Clayde…the Kingdom of Fenlai itself has been destroyed, making him even less important. What’s more, based on my calculations, the new Holy Capital which the Radiant Church will select most likely will not be Hess City. Thus, Fallen Leaf won’t stay here too long.”

  Linley nodded.

  The previous Holy Capital, ‘Fenlai City’, had been totally annihilated by the army of magical beasts from the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Only rubble was left. The Radiant Church definitely would not permit such an event to happen again. Naturally, they wouldn’t erect the new Holy Capital in a location like Hess City, which was so near their new borders.

  After all, the ‘King’ of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, Dylin, had previously said that the magical beasts under his domain could possibly expand to the point of taking up half of the Holy Union. Right now, they had only taken up a third of the Holy Union’s territory. If they were to truly take over half, then Hess City would fall into that area as well.

  Heidens and the other top level members of the Radiant Church simply did not have confidence in their ability to resist this Deity-level Dylin.

  Although the Radiant Church still had untapped powers of its own that it hadn’t put on display yet, once they deployed those powers against Dylin, it would be equivalent to them expending all of the resources they had saved up over ten millennia in one battle.

  Heidens didn’t dare to act in such a way.

  “Just wait.” Linley took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. He already knew where Clayde was. So long as he didn’t make any mistakes, Clayde definitely wouldn’t be able to escape.

  Within a restaurant opposite of Shaq’s manor, the same restaurant where Linley’s two servants maintained their vigil over Shaq and Clayde.

  That very day.

  Wearing a very ordinary sleeveless sweatshirt, Linley’s powerful chest muscles were plainly visible. Those two mighty, muscled arms and that heavy sword on his back gave the impression of an extremely strong man.

  A heavy sword warrior!

  Linley’s current appearance was a very commonly seen one. Warriors prioritized muscular training the most, and thus many of them had powerful bodies, and quite a few used heavy swords as well.

  “Two plates of roast meat and two bottles of Bullfighters.” Linley said in a deep voice.

  “Sir, please take a seat first.” Seeing how powerful Linley appeared, the waiter was extremely respectful to him. Linley selected a seat located towards the interior of the restaurant which still offered a clear vantage point to see through the door and the windows towards Clayde’s manor.

  The waiter immediately pulled the chair out for Linley to sit on.

  “Sir, please wait a moment.” The waiter said with a smile. At this time, another waiter came over with those two bottles of Bullfighters. Bullfighter was a type of extremely strong liquor, particularly favored by powerful warriors.

  Casting a sneak glance at the heavy sword on Linley’s back, the attendant was secretly shocked. “Oh my lord. What a long, thick heavy sword, and from the coloration, it must have been made from special materials. It must weigh at least a few hundred pounds. This gentleman must be an extremely strong warrior.”

  At this restaurant, when the servers were bored, they would sneak peeks at their various customers. After having done so for a long time, their eyes had become quite sharp and their guesses accurate. Seeing how easily Linley was carrying this heavy sword about, they could immediately tell that Linley was an extremely powerful warrior.

  The elder of the two brothers whom Linley had stationed in this restaurant walked over at this time.

  “Take this roasted meat back and give it to Bebe.” Linley didn’t give him a chance to speak before issuing orders. “Yes, milord.”

  The elder of the two brothers didn’t have anything important to do either. He immediately carried out Linley’s instructions and took the roast meat back.

  And then, Linley just quietly sat in the restaurant and drank his liquor.

  Linley drank wine very slowly. A single bottle of liquor was enough to last him two or three hours. He just continued to drink while keeping an eye on Clayde’s manor.

  That night.

  In the higher levels of the restaurant, a travelling bard was belting out songs, and the entire bar was extremely rowdy. Quite a few warriors were shouting and laughing at each other.

  Because of the catastrophe, He
ss City was more lively than it had ever been.

  Many powerful warriors patronized this restaurant, and all of them were very energetic. They actually began to compete in arm wrestling.

  “Ten thousand gold coins! The winner gets ten thousand gold coins!” The contest organizer shouted in a high pitched voice.

  To many of the powerful warriors who had fled here after the disaster, although ten thousand gold coins wasn’t a small sum of money, it wasn’t a particularly large sum either.

  “I’ll join. These ten thousand gold coins are mine.” A 2.2 meter tall brown-haired warrior with a barrel-sized chest sat down. His arms were definitely thicker than most people’s legs.

  “Hrmph, I’ll give you a go.”

  A red-haired man with a body similar to Linley’s walked over and sat down as well. The two immediately stretched their arms out and clasped hands. Immediately afterwards, the muscles in their arms began to bulge.

  Those warriors drinking next to them all began to shout out loudly in encouragement.

  “This sort of life isn’t that bad.” Linley knew that waiting for Fallen Leaf to leave would be an extremely boring event. Who knew how long Fallen Leaf would stay? One day? Two days? Ten?

  Linley turned to watch with interest as well.

  “Neither of these two are weak. They are at least warriors of the sixth rank.” Linley nodded to himself. Right now, experts could be seen everywhere in Hess City.

  Their arms locked against each other, these two warriors were exerting ten thousand pounds of force against each other.

  “Grrr!” That brown-haired warrior whose arms were thicker than most people’s legs suddenly let out a mighty shout, and all of the veins on his arm began to pop out, criss-crossing his arm like worms beneath the skin. Anyone looking at him would think that his veins were about to explode at any moment.

  The red-haired man’s face had turned red as well, as he wasn’t willing to back down in the slightest.