Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  He walked barefooted on the ground.

  Linley continued on his path of training, constantly harmonizing himself with the pulsing thrum of the earth and the indistinct ebbs and flows of the wind. In turn, Linley’s spirit became purified by nature, becoming more agile and graceful.

  ….

  Winter arrived.

  In the morning, a great blizzard had descended, covering the entire world with blankets of falling snow. Standing in the middle of the snowstorm, Linley stared up at the snowflakes falling from the sky. His heart was very peaceful.

  Suddenly, Linley sat down cross-legged, placing the adamantine heavy sword across his lap. His upper body was still bare, and he still wore that ragged pair of hempcloth pants.

  The snow settled on top of Linley’s body, but Linley didn’t notice it at all.

  Time passed. The snow continued to fall from morning until nightfall, covering the entire area with a layer of snow as thick as one’s foot.

  Bebe and Haeru had hidden themselves underneath a large pine tree, where they watched Linley.

  “Impose.”

  Linley’s eyes opened. Within them, there was a hint of a smile. Raising his head to stare in front of him, he saw that the snow had ceased to fall. Although it was almost dark, the entire world had been painted a light white color by the snow.

  “Grooooowl!” From far away, the roar of a magical beast could be heard.

  A Glacial Snow Lion was striding on the snow. Apparently having discovered Linley, it began to draw close to Linley, one step at a time. Watching the Glacial Snow Lion draw near, Linley didn’t seem to react at all.

  “Swoosh!” With a mighty leap, the Glacial Snow Lion pounced towards Linley.

  Linley watched as the Glacial Snow Lion pounced towards him. Very casually, he grabbed the adamantine heavy sword that had been lying in his lap and chopped directly towards the Glacial Snow Lion.

  “Rumble!” The moment Linley swung the adamantine heavy sword, space itself seemed to suddenly be compressed in the area around the sword, in the direction of the Glacial Snow Lion.

  Terrified, the Glacial Snow Lion wished to flee, but the entire area around it was compressed by that pressuring force. It had nowhere to run.

  Facing this heavy sword, it had no choice but to take it head on.

  “Bam!”

  The heavy sword slammed against the Glacial Snow Lion’s body. The Glacial Snow Lion’s entire body trembled momentarily, then suddenly disintegrated into a pile of flesh and blood.

  “So ‘impose’ refers to ‘imposing’ one’s will on the heavens and the earth, to the point where even space itself can become used to constrict someone. Haha…” Linley laughed.

  After having experienced that huge blizzard, Linley finally entered the third level of wielding heavy weapons; the ‘impose’ level. Only, Linley understood that he had just barely begun to grasp this level.

  “To be able to so quickly grasp the ‘impose’ level, I really must give thanks to my training as a stonesculptor as well as my insights as a magus.” Linley felt very happy.

  Because he was a magus, Linley’s soul could more clearly sense the throbbing pulse of the earth as well as the flows of the wind. His soul was capable now of becoming one with nature. In addition, this entire time, Linley had been extremely focused on his training and had accumulated a great deal of experience. This allowed Linley to finally surpass that initial barrier and enter the ‘impose’ level of wielding the heavy sword.

  In terms of power, the ‘impose’ level was far more terrifying than the level of ‘wielding something heavy as though it were light’. It was also far more profound and mysterious.

  ….

  Spring. Year 10003 of the Yulan calendar. The northernmost edge of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts was only a few kilometers away from the North Sea. In fact, from the northernmost point in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, one could see the vast, endless expanse of water known as the North Sea.

  Between the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts and the North Sea, there was a corridor which linked the Holy Union and the O’Brien Empire together. Almost every day, large numbers of people passed through this wide road.

  Virtually everyone, be it the merchants of the O’Brien Empire, the merchants of the Holy Union, or others, passed through this corridor.

  However, the citizens of the O’Brien Empire, when facing the citizens of the Holy Union, felt a sense of natural superiority. This was because the O’Brien Empire was the most powerful Empire in the entire Yulan continent. What’s more, it possessed the ‘War God’. In the war-loving O’Brien Empire, virtually every citizen was proud to belong to the O’Brien Empire.

  Right now, on the wide corridor, there was a merchant caravan with hundreds of people that were camping and resting. Many people were currently eating.

  “Old Hett [Hei’te].”

  A young man riding on a carriage chuckled at a chubby man next to him. “You’ve made a fortune on this latest deal.”

  “Haha.” That middle-aged fatty laughed contentedly. “Petrie [Pi’te’li], you are a smart young fellow. If you continue to work for me, in three years time, you’ll be able to buy a manor in your hometown, then buy a few beautiful serving maids and hire a few manservants. You’ll be able to live a happy life as an estate owner.”

  “Three years? Shit, in three more years I probably will have lost my life.” The youngster swore. “A new person like myself is always assigned the most dangerous tasks. Alas…in one year, I’ll go back home, buy a beautiful girl, and enjoy life. Estate owner? That’ll depend on whether or not I have that good fortune.”

  The middle-aged fatty began to laugh. “You are a newcomer. Of course it falls on you to take on the most dangerous tasks. However, that means you get a large share as well. Oh, right. Petrie, this time in our caravan, there’s a very beautiful girl. As we are headed the same way, we are escorting her.”

  “Are you talking about Miss Jenne [Zhan’en]?” The young fellow’s eyes instantly lit up. “If I had a woman like that, I’d be willing to work for ten more years. That figure. That aura. Oh, man…”

  “But she clearly is a noble, and that old servant of hers isn’t weak either.” The middle aged fatty chortled.

  “Can’t I at least fantasize?” The youngster said unhappily.

  The middle aged fatty began to laugh, but then he suddenly looked towards the south. “Hrm? Petrie, look. Someone is coming out from within the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.” Petrie immediately looked south towards the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.

  Dressed in an ordinary blue warrior’s uniform, a man carrying a heavy sword on his back was walking out from within the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. His long brown hair just barely reached his shoulders. By the looks of it, he was nearly two meters tall.

  By his side was a black panther that was nearly as tall as he was, and on the back of that black panther was a black Shadowmouse.

  “What is that black panther?” Petrie said in astonishment.

  Staring with wide eyes, the middle-aged man said, “Don’t cause a ruckus! I’ve heard that all panther-type and lion-type magical beasts are very powerful. Generally speaking, they are at least magical beasts of the sixth rank, or even higher.”

  Immediately, Petrie no longer dared to make a sound.

  Right at this moment, the brown-haired man began jogging towards their caravan with long strides. The caravan guards immediately became alert. The person coming towards them was clearly a powerful warrior.

  …….

  Right now, Linley was in an excellent mood. After three full years of hard training, he had finally left the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.

  “The Northern Sea is indeed vast.” This was the first time Linley had seen the North Sea, and the sight of that enormous, boundless sky-blue sea stunned Linley, filling him with awe.

  Seeing the resting caravan in front of him, Linley jogged in that direction.

  “Hey, friend,
what do you want?” A heavily bearded guard shouted out loudly. Smiling, Linley replied, “I’m headed for the O’Brien Empire. I hope you can take me along with you.”

  The heavily bearded guard looked at Linley, then turned towards a middle-aged, golden-haired man next to him. After exchanging a few words, he said to Linley in a loud voice, “That’s easy. Twenty gold coins, and we’ll take you with us.”

  “Fine.” Linley agreed very readily. He immediately pulled out a small sack of gold, counted out twenty gold coins, and handed it over.

  This outfit Linley was currently wearing had been stored in the interspatial ring, ready for just an occasion such as this. In his interspatial ring, Linley naturally had prepared quite a few things.

  “Hey, friend, since you already have a mount, do you plan to ride in a carriage, or on this panther?” The heavily bearded man asked warmly.

  “In a carriage, I suppose.” Linley said.

  “Fine. You can go get inside that cart in the back. That one right there, the flat cart with two people in it.” The heavily bearded man pointed as he spoke. Actual covered carriages were rather expensive, and in this caravan, the majority of the soldiers all rode in flat carts.

  “Sure.” Linley agreed quite casually.

  As he walked over to and reached that flat cart, the two men already in the cart, previously engaged in conversation, were immediately terrified by Haeru, who was walking alongside Linley. Panther-type magical beasts were generally high class magical beasts, after all.

  “Ah, friend, please, sit.” The two men were incredibly friendly.

  Linley entered the cart. The cart had mattresses made of hay inside, which were covered by a thick cotton cloth. As Linley sat on top of a hay mattress, Bebe jumped right onto Linley’s shoulders as well.

  “Come, friend, have some wine.” The slightly older one of the two men warmly offered.

  “Thanks.” Linley accepted the wineskin and took a large gulp.

  “Hey, everybody, get ready. We’re about to start moving again!” A loud voice rang out, and all the people who had got off their carriages for a rest immediately got back into their carriages.

  The caravan began to move forward again, embarking once more on its journey towards the O’Brien Empire…

  Book 8, The Ten Thousand Kilometer Journey – Chapter 9, Olivier

  Travelling on this seemingly endless, winding road, this caravan with hundreds of people didn’t move at too rapid a pace. All of the guards of the caravan maintained a careful eye in the direction of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts at all times.

  There were two major sources of danger on this road. The first was the magical beasts in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. The second was bandits. Because this road which was hundreds of miles long was controlled by neither the Holy Union nor the O’Brien Empire, there naturally were many bandits here.

  “Squeak. Squeak.” The carriage wheels squeaked rhythmically, and Linley lay back, enjoying the strong liquor in the wineskin.

  “It’s been three years since I’ve touched alcohol. This rough liquor feels even more enjoyable to me than those exquisite wines the Jade Water Paradise used to have.” Though he laughed, Linley was sighing in his heart as well. Meanwhile, by his side, Bebe was very enjoyably munching on pieces of roasted meat.

  The older of the two soldiers whom Linley was sharing this cart with said, “Friend, my name is Lowndes [Lang’si]. This is my younger friend. His name is Luther [Lu’de].”

  Linley was slightly startled. He understood that these two wished to know his name, but Linley knew that his name was already on the Red List of the Radiant Church as someone who must be killed on sight.

  “You can call me ‘Ley’.” Linley said with a laugh.

  “Ley, what level of magical beast is this panther of yours?” That young fellow named Luther immediately asked enthusiastically. “This magical beast’s fur is so smooth. Riding on such a magical beast really would be so majestic! I think it must be at least a magical beast of the seventh rank.”

  “All you need to know is that he is a high-class magical beast.” Linley said casually.

  The Blackcloud Panther, Haeru, who had been loping alongside the cart, suddenly fixed Luther with its cold eyes. Seeing Haeru’s gaze, Luther immediately was so frightened that he could only smile weakly in response.

  Everyone in the Yulan continent knew that magical beasts possessed intelligence which was no less than that of men. They definitely couldn’t be treated like domesticated household pets. If you tried to, the results would be disastrous.

  “The two of you belong to the Holy Union? Or to the O’Brien Empire?” Linley asked.

  Linley knew very little regarding the O’Brien Empire.

  “We are both from the O’Brien Empire.” Lowndes said with a chortle. “Ley, how about you?”

  “This will be my first trip to the O’Brien Empire. I’ve long heard that the O’Brien Empire has a tremendous martial spirit, but have never experienced it for myself.” Linley said calmly.

  Both Luther and Lowndes lived by the edges of their blades. They possessed quite good insight, and could easily tell that Linley was an extremely powerful person. After all, in order to be able to subdue a powerful magical beast, one had to be able to totally dominate it with power first. Only then would it submit.

  “Ley, we citizens of the O’Brien Empire greatly revere powerful combatants. No matter where you go, you will be received with great courtesy, given your power.” Lowndes said with a chuckle. “Ley, if this is your first time visiting the O’Brien Empire, do you know much about it?”

  “Aside from knowing that the O’Brien Empire has seven administrative provinces and knowing about the War God, I don’t know much.” Linley laughed.

  As the most militarily powerful of the Four Great Empires, the O’Brien Empire’s territory was also the largest amongst the six major powers. Each of those seven provinces was significantly larger than a kingdom.

  “Ley, let me explain. Our Empire has a large number of experts. Even combatants of the ninth rank don’t dare to be arrogant in the Imperial Capital. After all, the War God’s College is settled down atop one of the mountains just outside the Imperial Capital.” Lowndes explained enthusiastically.

  “The War God’s College?” Linley had no idea what this was.

  Next to him, Luther hurriedly said, “Ley, you absolutely must be aware of this. The highest, most holiest training site in the entire O’Brien Empire is the War God’s College. Every hundred years or so, or sometimes every few hundred years, the War God will accept a single disciple whom he will personally teach. The number of direct disciples he has is extremely few, but eight or nine out of every ten people whom the War God accepts as a disciple will become a Saint-level combatant.”

  Hearing this, Linley was truly stunned.

  Previously, he was under the impression that the O’Brien Academy was the most elite training academy in existence, but now, clearly, this War God’s College was far superior to it.

  “But it really is too difficult for one to be accepted as a disciple by the War God. Even the honorary disciples whom he doesn’t personally teach will only see one added to their number every two years or so.” Lowndes sighed.

  Just one disciple every year or two, and an honorary one at that.

  This acceptance rate was even lower by far than that of the Ernst Institute. But one could understand if one thought about it. After all, this had to do with taking the War God as one’s teacher and master. The War God…an entity who had surpassed the Saint-level over five thousand years ago.

  “Therefore, Ley, in the future, if you meet anyone from the War God’s College, you have to be careful. Even if they decide to kill someone, usually no one will interfere.” Lowndes advised.

  Linley understood.

  The War God, O’Brien, was the founding Emperor of the O’Brien Empire. Although he had abdicated long ago, his influence in the O’Brien Empire was much higher than the reigni
ng Emperor. The War God O’Brien absolutely was the backbone and main pillar of the entire O’Brien Empire.

  “Right. Have you heard of any geniuses appearing recently in the O’Brien Empire?” Linley suddenly asked. What Linley was thinking was, “The density of Dragonblood in the veins of Wharton was even higher than mine, hence he could naturally become a Dragonblood Warrior. His potential should be higher than mine as well. By now, Wharton should be seventeen. He should be very famous in the O’Brien Empire.”

  Given the speed at which a Dragonblood Warrior trained at…

  Generally speaking, in a few decades, they could reach the Saint-level. If one trained hard, one would be able to reach the ninth rank within twenty years, and the eighth rank within ten.

  Wharton’s innate talent definitely should be enough to stun the Empire.

  “Prodigy? Are you talking about Olivier, the Prodigy Sword Saint?” Lowndes asked.

  “The Prodigy Sword Saint, Olivier?” Linley had never heard this name before. “Why is this Olivier known as the Prodigy Sword Saint?”

  Next to him, Luther hurriedly said, “Ley, if in the Empire, someone hears you say that you don’t know who the Prodigy Sword Saint is, they will laugh at you. Do you know how old Lord Olivier was when he reached the Saint-level?”

  He was a Saint-level combatant?

  “How old?” Linley actually was extremely calm. He was a member of the Dragonblood Warrior clan, who generally could reach the Saint-level in a few decades. Generally speaking, those so-called Prodigyes would still need nearly a century.

  “Forty seven!” Luther said worshipfully. “Lord Olivier was a combatant of the ninth rank by age thirty, and by age forty seven, entered the Saint-level. And three years ago, that year when the Holy Union and the Dark Alliance suffered the ‘Apocalypse Day’, Olivier entered the Saint-level.”

  Linley nodded slightly.

  It seemed as though that cataclysmic day had been dubbed the ‘Apocalypse Day’.