Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “Young master Wharton, don’t worry too much. Young master Linley will come find you once his training reaches a certain level. After all, he knows exactly where you are living.” Housekeeper Hiri said consolingly.

  Wharton nodded, then chuckled at himself. “When big brother sees me, I wonder if he’ll still recognize me.”

  “The little six year old kid has changed quite a bit. Haha…it’s true that your big brother might not recognize you.” Hillman began to laugh.

  Nader nodded as well. “When I came along with my father from the Holy Union, I initially couldn’t recognize you either, young master Wharton. It was only after I saw Housekeeper Hiri did I realize that this big fellow who was even taller than me was actually that little kid I used to know.”

  “Nader, you punk.” Wharton glared at him.

  Nader was Hillman’s son. However, Nader didn’t have much talent as a warrior; although he was already twenty five years old, Nader was only a warrior of the fourth rank. But Nader was extremely discreet and careful, and so alongside his father Hillman, he managed and oversaw the work of all the guards of the manor.

  “Whoah, it’s getting late.” Wharton took out a pocket watch and cast it a glance. “Grandpa Hiri, Uncle Hillman, I need to head out.”

  “He must be meeting up with the Seventh Princess again.” Nader snickered, intentionally putting a smirk on his face.

  Wharton laughed confidently towards Nader. “Naturally. What, are you jealous?” As he spoke, Wharton chortled as he walked out of the manor.

  Watching Wharton leave, Housekeeper Hiri felt very moved.

  “When we came, young master Wharton was just a child. But now, he’s all grown up. I have fulfilled the task Lord Hogg gave me.” When he thought of Hogg, Hiri couldn’t stop sighing.

  “The Baruch clan has been slumbering for many years. But now, it has finally begun to awaken. In another ten years, most likely the entire Yulan continent will once again be filled with people discussing the legendary Dragonblood Warriors.” Hillman said confidently.

  Carrying the warblade ‘Slaughterer’, Wharton rode on a Saber-Toothed Tiger on the streets. Saber-Toothed Tigers were magical beasts of the eighth rank, and thus their aura would make ordinary magical beasts cower away from it. What’s more, Wharton was so physically huge himself. Together, they posed such a terrifying sight that everyone who saw him felt dread.

  Thus, the pedestrians on the street all made way for him.

  “That’s the genius student of the O’Brien Academy, Wharton. Look. He’s riding a magical beast of the eighth rank.”

  “Saber-Toothed Tiger. How fierce! If I had a magical beast of my own, how great that would be.”

  Many people on the streets chatted about Wharton as he passed by. In the past, when Linley had seen that Velocidragon for the first time, he too had dreamed of having a powerful magical beast like a Velocidragon for his companion. In the eyes of many youths, Wharton was their role model.

  Saber-Toothed Tigers were extremely fast. Even when travelling on the streets, it moved forward very rapidly and very nimbly.

  “Here we are.” Wharton saw that magnificent hotel from far away. This was the appointed meeting spot for him and the Seventh Princess. The receptionist for the hotel recognized Wharton as well, and immediately opened the door for Wharton to enter.

  Leading the Saber-Toothed Tiger behind him, Wharton entered the hotel.

  Wharton looked around the hotel, his gaze finally settling on the person he cared about the most. He immediately called out happily, “Nina.” But just at this moment, Wharton suddenly frowned…because he also once again saw the person who irritated him.

  “Wharton.”

  Nina had a head of full, lustrous blonde hair, and her pale face was as charming as ever. Her brilliant, shining eyes didn’t have a single hint of impurity in them.

  Nina ran over happily towards Wharton, who immediately stepped forward, taking Nina by the hand.

  “That guy is bothering me again.” Nina whispered to Wharton.

  Wharton glanced at the distant man, saying in a low voice, “Nina, don’t pay any attention to that guy.” But just at that moment, the handsome young man walked over. With a calm laugh, he said, “Wharton, I really didn’t expect to see you here. Why is it that you always appear wherever Nina is?”

  “Shut your mouth, Lamonte [Lan’mo].” Wharton frowned. “Remember. Nina’s name isn’t for the likes of you to call out. And also. The question you asked me, I should be asking you. Why is it that wherever Nina is, you always appear?”

  Lamonte glanced at Wharton, a smile that was not a smile on his face.

  Although on the surface, he didn’t seem to care much, in his heart, Lamonte really disliked this Wharton. After all, it was Wharton who had taken Nina away from him.

  “Oh, a Saber-Toothed Tiger.” Lamonte looked at Wharton’s Saber-Toothed Tiger. Laughing, he said, “Wharton, any interest in letting my Blue-eyed Tiger Mastiff have a fight with your Saber-Toothed Tiger? I’ll wager that my Blue-eyed Tiger Mastiff would definitely win.”

  Blue-eyed Tiger Mastiffs and Saber-Toothed Tigers were both magical beasts of the eighth rank.

  However, there were differences in power amongst magical beasts of the eighth rank as well. For example, Goldmane Mastiffs and Blue-eyed Tiger Mastiffs were considered one of the top kinds of magical beasts of the eighth rank. Blue-eyed Tiger Mastiffs were particularly effective against tiger-type magical beasts.

  “Not interested.” Wharton paid his suggestion no heed at all. Looking coldly at Lamonte, Wharton said, “Lamonte, if you really want to have a competition, I wouldn’t object to having a sparring match against you. As for having magical beasts, compete? Hrmph.”

  “A competition between men?”

  Lamonte chuckled, then no longer said anything.

  He, Lamonte, was an honorary disciple of the War God’s College, and he was a warrior of the ninth rank. He was indeed qualified to be arrogant. But right now, virtually all of the ancient clans of the imperial city knew that Wharton was of the Baruch clan, which in turn was the clan of the Dragonblood Warriors. And Wharton was clearly able to use battle-qi.

  A scion of the Dragonblood Warrior clan who could use battle-qi was definitely capable of Dragonforming as well.

  Lamonte knew very well that although Wharton appeared to be only a warrior of the eighth rank, when using that unique, special warblade of his to attack, he could fight on par with ordinary warriors of the ninth rank. But once Wharton transformed, he, Lamonte, wouldn’t be a match at all.

  “Let’s leave.” Gently stroking the head of his Blue-eyed Tiger Mastiff, Lamonte chuckled lightly.

  And then, Lamonte left along with his magical beast, just like that.

  Nina and Wharton headed directly to a private deluxe room on the second room of the hotel. As for Nina’s female attendant, she stayed outside the room.

  “You big lunk, tell me, what should we do about that Lamonte? He is so annoying.” Nina nestled in Wharton’s arms, asking in a soft voice.

  ‘Big lunk’. This was how Nina had addressed Wharton the first time they had met. Whenever they met in private, this was how Nina would address him.

  “It is your own fault for being so charming, Nina.” Wharton grinned as he tweaked Nina’s nose. “Actually, I don’t care too much about that Lamonte fellow. The one I’m worried about is Caylan [Kai’lan].”

  “Big brother Caylan?” Nina said with resignation, “I only think of him as a big brother, but he…sigh.”

  Caylan was twenty three years old, but was already a magus of the seventh rank.

  There were quite a few twenty three year old warriors of the seventh rank, but very few twenty three year old magi of the seventh rank. Moreover, Caylan had reached the seventh rank as a magus when he was twenty one years old.

  If Linley hadn’t sculpted ‘Awakening From the Dream’, most likely it would’ve taken him until the age of twenty to reach the seventh rank.

&nbs
p; In the imperial capital, Caylan was considered a genius magus. He had been childhood friends with Nina. And more importantly, Caylan’s father was the Left Premier of the Empire, an extremely powerful man. Caylan himself was, simply put, a very good person as well. It could be said that he was a nearly perfect individual.

  Book 8, The Ten Thousand Kilometer Journey – Chapter 52, The Beirut Clan

  “In terms of lineage as well as personality, Caylan is a fine man.” Wharton held Nina in his arms, speaking softly. “I’m afraid that your Imperial father will give your hand in marriage to Caylan.”

  Nina nodded. “It is true that Imperial father values Caylan due to his high talent for magic. In the future, he has a high chance of becoming an Arch Magus of the ninth rank, and even has a chance to become a Saint-level Grand Magus. The Empire has many Saint-level experts, but most of them are Saint-level warriors. There are extremely few Saint-level Grand Magi.”

  Wharton sensed that Caylan was a threat.

  Although Lamonte belonged to the War God’s College, he was just an honorary disciple. In addition, his clan wasn’t particularly powerful either. He, Wharton, was a Dragonblood Warrior after all. As long as the Emperor wasn’t a fool, he would definitely select Wharton.

  But if Caylan were to compete against Wharton, things would be different. His father was, after all, the powerful and influential Left Premier of the Empire.

  “Nina.” Wharton became very solemn.

  “Hrm?” Nestled in Wharton’s arms, Nina looked up at him.

  “I am preparing to request an audience with His Imperial Majesty, and to personally ask for him to give me your hand in marriage.” Wharton said with a very solemn expression on his face.

  Nina started, and then a look of wild joy appeared on her face.

  “Truly?” Nina was very excited.

  “Yes.” Wharton nodded. “Nina, before I do so, you can chat with your Imperial father and get a sense of which way the wind is blowing.”

  Nina shook her head helplessly. “I thought I told you already. My Imperial father himself has yet to make up his mind. The only thing he says is, ‘no rush’, ‘no rush’….but my Imperial father does have a very favorable impression of you, and he values you as well. If you really were to ask for my hand, I think your chances would be very high.” Nina was very hopeful.

  Only one of her older sister’s had married someone whom she loved. For the rest of Nina’s sisters, their marriages were marriages of political convenience, and not very happy ones.

  Wharton nodded slightly.

  “Don’t worry, Nina. I won’t let anyone take you from me.” Wharton tightly embraced Nina, who placed her head against Wharton’s massive, sturdy chest.

  The Northwest Administrative Province. Cloudpeaks Village, outside the provincial capital. On the west side of Cloudpeaks Village, there was a forest. The already Dragonformed Linley was currently sparring with Bebe.

  “Bebe, don’t force me.” Linley said helplessly as he wielded the adamantine heavy sword. “If you keep doing this to me, then I’ll be forced to use the Profound Truths of the Earth.”

  “Heh heh, Boss, I know you care about me too much to do that to me.” Bebe was hovering in midair, speaking in the human tongue.

  Upon reaching the Saint-level, magical beasts could freely alter their size, and also speak in human tongues. But only a Deity-level magical beast could transform into a human shape.

  In the entire Yulan continent, only the King of the Forest of Darkness and the King of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, these two powerful Deity-level experts, could transform into a human form.

  As for Bebe, who knew how long it would be before he could reach such a level?

  “You rascal.” Linley sighed. “I reached the Saint-level and finally caught up to you in terms of speed and defense. But you, you immediately entered the Saint-level as well. Your speed became even more ridiculous.”

  But movement speed and attack speed remained two different concepts.

  The speed of swinging a sword was far faster than movement speed. Although in terms of dodging and agility, Linley was no match for Bebe, his adamantine heavy sword was still able to block Bebe’s attacks. Thus, facing Bebe, Linley usually just stood there, using his sword to defend himself.

  “Heh heh.” Bebe laughed proudly.

  Actually, Linley’s Profound Truths of the Earth still posed a real threat to Bebe. After all, the Profound Truths of the Earth all but ignored external defenses, rendering Bebe’s powerful defense useless.

  But how could Linley bear to use such a vicious attack against Bebe?

  Thus, Bebe continuously teased and taunted Linley in their spars.

  “Enough. My body has two claw marks on it now. Are you happy?” Linley laughed as he rubbed Bebe’s little head. “Let’s go back. It’s time to eat.”

  As he spoke, Linley reverted to his human form, then put on a new set of clothes.

  “The Boss is always the best.” Bebe flew to Linley’s shoulders and giggled.

  In Linley’s current squad, if Linley were to avoid using the Profound Truths of the Earth, there was no one here who was a match for Bebe. Bebe was a truly powerful Saint-level magical beast, through and through.

  “Bebe, what sort of magical beast are you, exactly?” Linley walked while chatting with Bebe.

  “I really don’t know either.” Bebe rapidly shook his little head.

  Linley suddenly remembered something, then looked towards Bebe in astonishment. “Bebe, do you remember back when we initiated our ‘bond of equals’, I asked you what your name was? At that time you said, ‘Bei’, ‘Bei’. You didn’t say whatever it was you wanted to say very clearly.”

  Linley remembered that scene very clearly.

  “Little Shadowmouse, what is your name?” Linley had mentally asked him.

  The little Shadowmouse had said, somewhat excitedly, “Bei….bei….”

  Linley had stared at the little Shadowmouse.

  “What’s the little Shadowmouse saying?” Linley didn’t really understand.

  His white beard flowing, Doehring Cowart had floated next to him and mentally said,”Linley, this little Shadowmouse is still an infant. He can’t form precise sounds yet. Even when engaging in mental communication with you, for now, he can only communicate simple intentions.”

  Due to their spiritual link, Linley had been able to feel the little Shadowmouse’s excitement, but the little Shadowmouse simply couldn’t speak at all.

  “Okay. You were saying ‘Bei’….’Bei’….then I’m going to call you ‘Bebe’. How’s that?” Linley had grinned as he watched the little Shadowmouse.

  The little Shadowmouse had seemed to ponder for a while, and then had happily nodded.

  And just like that, Linley had named him ‘Bebe’.

  “Did I say that?”

  Bebe was startled.

  “Oh, right.” Bebe remembered. “I remember now. When I was very, very young, so young that I couldn’t even open my eyes, I heard a very close, very warm voice speak to me.”

  Linley immediately looked at Bebe. He had never heard Bebe speak of this before.

  It was normal for magical beasts to be unable to open their eyes soon after they were born. At that time, Bebe most likely had just been born not long ago. That was a very distant memory. If Linley hadn’t brought it up, Bebe wouldn’t have recalled it either.

  “That voice told me that I belonged to some clan. It instructed me to hide in the back courtyard of your clan’s manor and to not run around. And then, the voice disappeared.” Bebe was very puzzled.

  “The Bei-something clan?” Linley said questioningly.

  “I don’t recall very well. It seems to have been Bei…Bei…oh!” Bebe’s little eyes lit up. “‘Beirut’ [Bei’lu’te]. Right. It seems to have been ‘Beirut’. That voice told me that I was a member of the mighty Beirut clan. It told me not to run around, because it was dangerous outside. That’s why I stayed in your manor’s back courtya
rd the entire time, Boss, as I slowly grew up there.”

  Linley now understood.

  “The Beirut clan?” Linley was puzzled. “Magical beasts have clans?”

  Bebe shook his head in confusion as well. “I don’t know either. I never met my parents after I was born. I just stayed at the back courtyard of your clan’s manor, and all I had to eat were those pieces of rubble.”

  Linley firmly imprinted this name into his memory – the Beirut clan!

  Linley was absolutely certain that he had never heard of any powerful clan in the Yulan continent named ‘Beirut’. But this clan was most likely a magical beast clan.

  A magical beast clan?

  Linley didn’t know about it because he was not a magical beast.

  But Bebe didn’t know either, because he had no parents.

  Ten more days passed for Linley within Cloudpeaks Village. Per Linley’s agreement with McKenzie, all he had to do was make a single trip to visit the Jacques clan within thirty days.

  “Big brother Linley, you have a letter.” Jenne ran in excitedly from outside.

  “Oh, it should be from the Dawson Conglomerate.”

  The Dawson Conglomerate sent a letter every month. Linley immediately walked out. There was a young man leading a horse outside. Upon seeing Linley, the young man immediately bowed and said courteously, “Lord Ley, here is your letter.”

  Linley accepted the letter and laughed. “Next month, there will be no need for you to come here.”

  The young man looked at Linley questioningly.

  “By this time next month, I will no longer be here.” Linley had made the decision long ago that in the next few days, he would head to the Jacques clan.

  His wounds had healed long ago, and after Dragonforming, he was a Saint-level combatant. It was time to go visit his little brother.

  It had been a long, long time since he had met with Wharton. In his heart, Linley had always missed this one and only sibling of his.

  “Yes, Lord Ley.” The young man said respectfully, and then he mounted his horse and left.

  As for Linley, he opened the letter and read it. The letter had quite a good amount of general information regarding the current state of affairs for the Radiant Church and the Yulan continent as a whole. It also had some information about Reynolds, George, and Yale. At the bottom was information regarding Wharton.