Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “Lord Desri, I hope that you will consider the former affection and relationship between our two parties and not get involved in this matter.” Osenno said sincerely.

  “Hrmph. In your dreams.” An ice cold voice rang out from behind. It was the nearby Pennslyn.

  Pennslyn gave Linley a ‘no need to worry’ look. Hearing Pennslyn’s words, the formerly nervous Linley felt a sense of gratitude. But Linley still turned to look at Desri…after all, the decision maker here was Desri.

  “What are you thinking about?” Pennslyn said angrily as she saw that Desri was hesitating. As far as Pennslyn was concerned, there was nothing to hesitate over.

  Delia began to grow nervous as well. She looked at Desri with concern.

  “Lord Desri, can it be that you’ve forgotten the kindness which Lord Ernst showed you in the past?” Osenno hurriedly said. Desri hesitated for a while, but then sighed and said, “I won’t allow you to kill Linley. You can leave, now.”

  Desri did indeed feel some degree of affection for the Radiant Church.

  Especially Ernst. In the past, the two had been as close as real brothers.

  “Lord Desri!” Osenno said frantically. “This Linley killed six Angels and shows no mercy to our Radiant Church at all. If he is allowed to develop, especially alongside those five Undying Warriors, the threat he will pose to our Church is simply too great. Can it be, Lord Desri, that you are just going to watch as the Church is destroyed by him?”

  Desri frowned.

  “I told you to leave.” Desri’s voice turned heavy.

  Osenno and Lehman glanced at each other. They had already made a decision.

  Lehman stared at Desri and said loudly, “Desri, since you are going to be like this, we don’t have any choice either.” They now addressed Desri directly by his name. Lehman’s body suddenly began to glow with a white fire, and a terrifying surge of power began to emanate from him, turning the grass nearby into nothingness.

  The silver longstaff in his hands flashed like a bolt of lightning.

  “Zealot?” Desri chuckled calmly.

  Osenno’s body began to emanate with that black fire, and his body transformed into four Osennos. “Lehman, I’ll deal with this Desri. I’ll hand Linley to you.” Osenno felt that although he was weaker than Desri, by using his doppelgangers, he should be able to hold down Desri without too much trouble.

  “Madame Pennslyn, I entrust Delia to you.” Linley whispered.

  “Don’t worry.” Pennslyn immediately pulled Delia away. Delia didn’t say anything, just giving Linley a meaningful look. Linley felt his heart swell with the desire to do battle: “No matter what, for Delia’s sake, I can’t die.”

  Linley immediately stared coldly at Lehman.

  “So what if your attack is powerful? Can you kill me with one blow from your staff?” Linley’s body began to be surrounded by that roiling azurish-black energy. “My Pulseguard Defense has already reached 152 layers. With my draconic scales protecting me as well…kill me in one blow? In his dreams!” Linley felt confident in his heart.

  His Profound Truths of the Earth was nothing to laugh at. “At this time, I have to use my last, fallback technique.” Linley’s left hand gripped Bloodviolet. At the critical juncture, he would have to utilize the terrifying baleful aura held within Bloodviolet.

  “Boom!” A terrifying sonic boom could be heard as Lehman charged forward.

  At the same time, the four Osennos also emitted sonic booms as he charged forward to try and entangle Desri. Because of his sudden acceleration, the nearby wind began to howl, and stones were actually blown loose from Linley’s stone house and were knocked far away, while the water of the lake began to rise in waves.

  “How laughable!”

  A clear sound rang out from Desri’s mouth. Desri simply stood there in mid-air, while his entire body began to emanate a dazzling white light. Instantly…Desri transformed into the sun, and lines of white light shot towards all four of the Osennos as well as Lehman.

  No matter how fast someone was, they couldn’t be faster than light.

  The four Osennos and Lehman were all struck instantly by those beams of white light. All four Osennos shuddered, and three of them instantly collapsed, while the last one blazed with that black fire, using it to resist the white light.

  “Ah!” Lehman let out a furious howl, and the seal of white fire on his forehead instantly lit up.

  “Bang!” Lehman actually smashed straight through Desri’s protective barrier with his silver longstaff. Desri was extremely shocked. Before he had the chance to let out a second attack, Linley and Lehman exchanged blows.

  After having broken through Desri’s first barrier, Lehman saw a pair of cold, dark golden eyes and a dark blue heavy sword. Lehman was startled. “It’s Linley!” Not hesitating at all, he swung his longstaff down and smashed it hard against Linley.

  Linley didn’t hold anything in reserve either, attacking simultaneously with his adamantine heavy sword and his Bloodviolet longsword.

  “Die!” Lehman howled with rage, a fierce look on his face. The seal of a white flame on his forehead became even brighter, and the silver longstaff in his hands seemed to have created ripples in space as it smashed down against Linley with terrifying force.

  Linley instantly activated the ‘baleful aura’ hidden within Bloodviolet.

  Linley’s dark golden eyes suddenly contained a hint of red, and his consciousness immediately became filled with that familiar scene…the boundless sea of blood, with skeletons and corpses of various species littering the place. Corpses of ten meter tall giants covered with scales and two horns on their forehead. White skeletons that had a hint of strange gold tint…

  All of the corpses and skeletons had the aura of at least a Saint, and some were even more terrifying.

  “Ah!” Lehman suddenly let out a wild howl.

  That terrifying baleful force penetrated his consciousness. That baleful aura that belonged to an incomprehensibly powerful expert caused even the likes of Lehman to quail in fear. Even the white flame seal on his forehead shook, and the longstaff in his hands naturally weakened.

  “Bang!”

  The silver longstaff and the adamantine heavy sword clashed.

  Profound Truths of the Earth – 152 Layered Waves!

  Linley’s adamantine heavy sword was smashed so hard, it was knocked back towards his own body. When that terrifying force struck his Pulseguard Defense, the energy of the defense immediately sprang up, but a terrifying power which he had never before experienced still was able to break through the defense.

  Linley was knocked back flying…

  “Linley.” The distant Delia grew frantic.

  With a somersault, Linley landed on the edges of the lake. He flashed Delia a smile. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.” As he spoke, Linley forced down the blood that had risen to his throat. Seeing the shattered draconic scales on his chest, Linley couldn’t help but be secretly startled.

  If just then, he hadn’t used the Bloodviolet longsword, he probably would’ve been deeply injured and collapsed.

  Lehman was still standing in mid-air, a hint of blood leaking from his mouth. His gaze was clear now.

  “Bastard.” Lehman let out a furious howl, once more smashing down against Linley with his silver longstaff.

  “Hrmph.”

  A cold sneer could be heard, and a translucent ripple that could be seen by the naked eye emanated forth from Desri’s body. In the blink of an eye, it struck against Lehman. Lehman’s massive body trembled, and then collapsed down from the skies. “Splash!” He sank directly into the lake.

  “The two of you, don’t force my hand!” Desri’s face had turned grim.

  Book 10, Baruch – Chapter 22, The Four Sided Gathering

  “Such powerful spiritual energy. He is able to cause injuries from a distance with it. Lehman wasn’t able to resist at all.” Linley was utterly shocked. “No wonder the War God said that Desri and Fain are two of the five Prime Sa
ints who were at the doorway to becoming a Deity. They only need to take that last step! They are simply too strong.”

  Osenno no longer dared to move. His heart, too, was filled with terror.

  “Burst.” A human figure charged up through the water. It was Lehman. Lehman, at this point, obediently flew to Osenno’s side. His face was exceedingly pale, and he stared at Desri with a hint of dread in his eyes.

  Desri looked at these two men with furrowed brows. “You know that in the past, I was the leader of the Ascetics. You should also know that I am a Grand Magus Saint.”

  Osenno and Lehman exchanged glances.

  Grand Magus Saints specialized in powerful spiritual energy, especially this sort of expert like Desri, who had trained for millennia. When using his spiritual energy, he was on a far higher level than his good friend Hayward. In terms of spiritual energy or in understanding the Elemental Laws of Light, Desri was at the absolute limit of power a Saint could reach.

  With one more step, he would become a Deity.

  “Lord Desri.” Osenno once more addressed Desri as ‘Lord’.

  Osenno still remember the information regarding Desri in the scrolls of the Radiant Church. He knew that Desri had been on extremely close terms with the legendary Holy Emperor Ernst.

  “Lord Ernst worked all his life to raise up the Radiant Church. He founded the Holy Union. He let the Radiant Church rise to glory! These five thousand years, we have never given up and never stopped working hard.” Osenno’s voice was very low.

  Desri frowned.

  In his heart, he didn’t feel much affection for the Radiant Church. But, he felt a great deal of guilt towards Ernst. Ernst was like an older brother to him! His older brother had indeed labored on behalf of the Radiant Church his entire life, and in the end, he had gone to the Divine Plane of Light.

  “But Linley…not only is he himself a Dragonblood Warrior, he has a younger brother and five Undying Warriors under his control. He also has that magical beast, Bebe, who is no weaker than him.” Osenno looked at Desri. “In a few decades, that means he will have seven peak-stage Supreme Warriors and a terrifying magical beast. If they were to attack together, our Church would be finished!”

  “Lord Desri, our Church would be finished!”

  “The life’s labor of Lord Ernst would be destroyed!”

  Osenno’s voice caused Desri’s heart to tremble. He still remember the help and affection which Ernst, his ‘big brother’, had given him.

  Linley, Pennslyn, and Delia were standing together. Pennslyn sighed softly to Linley. “The only person Desri feels guilty towards is Ernst. He must feel very torn right now.”

  The Ernst Institute got its name from Ernst.

  Linley naturally knew much about Ernst as well.

  A sigh could be heard from Desri. Desri stared at both sides, then said in a bright voice. “How about this. Both sides take a step back. Consider it giving me, Desri, some face. Alright?”

  “Take a step back?” Osenno and Lehman stared at Desri in confusion.

  Linley was mystified as well.

  “Both of you, come to the center of the lake.” Desri said. Linley trusted Desri, and so with Delia’s hand in his own, he flew to the center of the lake. Osenno and Lehman also quite obediently flew to the center of the lake.

  Linley and Delia stood on one side of the massive central boulder, while Osenno and Lehman stood on the other side. Both of them were on guard.

  “What is Desri planning?” Linley frowned.

  Desri smiled calmly. “I know very well that there is a deep grudge between the two of you. How about this…in the next twenty years, the Radiant Church is not permitted to kill Linley.”

  “Twenty years?” Osenno was unhappy. “Lord Desri, twenty years later, Linley will be at the Saint level in human form. Even if we wanted to kill him, we wouldn’t be able to. Unfair. Unfair!”

  “Shut your mouth!” Desri had a hint of anger on his face.

  Osenno’s heart shook. He suddenly remembered at this moment…it was Desri whose words counted.

  “This requirement is the same as asking the Radiant Church to take a step. As for you, Linley, I also wish for you to take a step back.” Desri looked at Linley.

  “Lord Desri, pray tell.” Linley said.

  Desri smiled apologetically. “Osenno’s words are true as well. Linley, you yourself aren’t a major threat, but combined with your little brother and those five Undying Warriors, you represent a force of seven Supreme Warriors. That is indeed capable of destroying the Radiant Church. Thus, I want you to agree that from today onward, if you want to seek revenge on the Radiant Church, you have to do so by yourself. The others, including your magical beast, cannot.”

  Hearing these words, Osenno and Lehman both let out a sigh of relief.

  What sort of place was the Sacred Isle?

  That was the headquarters for the entire Radiant Church. They had a huge pile of Angel Saints, and the likes of Heidens and Lord Fallen Leaf. And given that the Sacred Isle was also protected by some large-scale magical formations…anything short of a Deity would definitely die if they attacked.

  “Do you understand what I intend, now?” Desri looked at the two sides.

  “Our side, within the next twenty years, is not to act against Linley. In exchange for Linley only being allowed to seek revenge on his own?” Osenno laughed calmly. “I can agree. If we can’t even hold you off by yourself, then there is nothing I can say on behalf of our Radiant Church if we are destroyed.”

  Osenno agreed easily as well.

  The Radiant Church wasn’t afraid of Linley. They were afraid of the entire group of people behind Linley.

  “Linley, how about you?” Desri looked at Linley.

  In his heart, Linley was rather unwilling.

  “Exterminate the Radiant Church by myself?” Linley still knew his own limits. “A Church which has existed for ten thousand years…that’s no easy task. But to reach the Deity-level…even Cesar spent five thousand years. The legendary War God who reached the Deity-level in a short time period actually was simply fortunate enough to find a divine spark. If it was just based on his own abilities, who knows how long it would have taken?”

  Linley frowned.

  “Linley!” Desri spoke again. Osenno and Lehman were both looking at him.

  Linley suddenly turned to look at Delia by his side. Linley’s heart trembled. “No matter what, I can’t let Delia come to harm.” Linley made up his mind. He immediately said to Desri, “The Radiant Church is not permitted to attack me within the next twenty years, fine, but there’s one more clause…they are forever forbidden from harming my family and friends.”

  “Fine.” Osenno hurriedly said.

  Linley looked at Osenno, a hint of cold light in his eyes. He secretly said to himself, “By myself? Although I might not dare to attack the Sacred Isle, but if I ever meet you people traveling alone, can’t I kill you then? If you want, then just stay inside the Sacred Isle forever!”

  For the sake of his family and friends, Linley chose to accept this compromise.

  Osenno and Lehman both let out secret sighs of relief. After all, Desri was on Linley’s side. They didn’t have much support here.

  In the middle of the lake in Mt. Blackraven, Linley’s side and the Radiant Church both accepted this treaty.

  “If in the next twenty years, Linley comes to attack us, we will counterattack. If he dies due to our counterattack, we cannot be blamed.” Osenno hurriedly said. Linley sneered. “Hrmph. Don’t worry. I don’t plan to play word games with you.”

  Linley suddenly laughed loudly. “If in the future, someone like the War God leads experts to attack the Sacred Isle, I’ll also seize the opportunity to go. I cannot be blamed in that situation.”

  “That naturally wouldn’t be your fault.” Osenno shook his head.

  If the War God wanted to destroy the Radiant Church, most likely the Radiant Church would’ve been finished long ago.

  Afte
r the two agreed to the treaty, Delia suddenly said, “Then what about the territory in the Anarchic Lands? Will Saints take part in the battles?”

  “Saints?” Osenno frowned.

  Indeed. The Radiant Church had a large expanse of territory under its control in the Anarchic Lands, and Linley did as well. If the two came to a fight…once Saints got involved in the battle, then perhaps before the twenty years was up, Linley and the Radiant Church would come to blows.

  “How about this.” Desri spoke.

  “Mortal, worldly battles…Saints are not to be involved.” Desri looked towards Pennslyn. “Madame, go find O’Casey [Ao’ke’xi] of the Cult of Shadows. Tell him I need to speak with him. We’ll wait for you here.”

  “Fine.” Pennslyn nodded, then flew away immediately.

  “O’Casey? Who is he?” Linley frowned as he asked.

  Osenno said, “O’Casey is the Elder Judge of the Cult of Shadow’s Tribunal. His position is equivalent to mine in the Radiant Church. He is also the general supervisor for the Cult of Shadows in the Anarchic Lands.”

  Linley nodded.

  “In mortal battles, Saints are not to participate. Linley…dare you accept?” Osenno stared coldly at Linley.

  “Barker and his brothers aren’t Saints in their human form. They should be able to participate in battle, right?” Linley asked.

  “Of course. They are just five warriors of the ninth rank.” Osenno said disdainfully. “Linley, in terms of the numbers of experts of the ninth rank, you are far from being able to match our Radiant Church and the Cult of Shadows.”

  Linley smiled confidently, not paying any attention to him.

  “Delia.” Linley held Delia’s hand. Right now, he was still in Dragonform, and his hand was covered with scales, but Delia didn’t mind at all. She looked at Linley, and in a soft voice, she said, “Linley, thank you.”

  Delia knew that Linley had compromised for her sake in part.

  Linley didn’t say anything.

  After all these years and having suffered so much, Linley had learned something. Sometimes, a single mistake caused by being unbending could cause someone to suffer a lifetime of regret. The occasional compromise that allows one’s loved ones to be safe also allowed one to pursue revenge with even greater ferocity!