Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  Linley, too, could sense the thick density of natural elemental essence here.

  Earth, fire, water, wind, thunder, light, darkness. The density of all the elements here was unbelievably high. Aside from these seven, Linley could sense other sorts of energy as well. There was a sort of energy that was rather similar to Zassler’s, a terrifying destructive energy, and also an energy filled with life…

  “This should be the energy belonging to the Four Overgods.” Linley knew that aside from the seven elemental types of energy, there were also four types of unique, profound energy.

  Linley looked at Barker. “That door should be a connection between the Yulan continent and this dimension. Most likely, this secret room attracted a great deal of elemental energy, which created a huge magicite mine surrounding the door.”

  “However…”

  “The mysterious expert who trained here should have left a long, long time ago.” Linley was very certain of this.

  “Oh?” Barker looked at Linley questioningly.

  “Without this mysterious expert training here, there is no way such a large amount of elemental essence would have been drawn here. We’ve been in the Anarchic Lands for a while now. If we didn’t come mining here, who would have discovered all of these magicite gems?”

  Linley laughed. “Logically speaking, to form such a massive magicite deposit, there should have been a huge amount of elemental essence here, a terrifying amount. Most likely, the experts of the entire Yulan continent would have sensed it.”

  “But no one in our history has ever mentioned such a thing. Thus, the large amount of elemental energy being drawn here should have been something that happened an extremely long time ago.”

  As he spoke, Linley suddenly shut his eyes and sat down.

  “Lord Linley?” Barker called out softly.

  But Linley seemed to have not noticed him at all, as he sat there in the meditative position quietly.

  The pulse of the world, and its massiveness…

  The ferociousness of the wind, and its gentle agility…

  The scorching heat of the fire, and its explosiveness…

  The softness of the water, like an endless field of cotton…

  Within this pocket dimension, Linley could sense nature with greater clarity than he ever had before. Right now, he could also sense with a hundred times his previous clarity the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’, and the unique tempos possessed by the wind. He could also clearly sense the path he should take next.

  Even the average elemental affinity he had for ‘fire elemental essence’ was magnified. Linley could clearly sense the fire elemental essence to such a high level that it was as strong as his normal affinity was for earth elemental essence outside of this pocket dimension.

  Although the water elemental essence was still quite indistinct, Linley could still sense its unique rhythm and flows.

  And he could also sense the unique energy coming from the Four Overgods.

  “So this is how the throbbing pulse of the world works.” Linley felt a surge of joy in his heart. He felt as though his previous training was akin to listening to the sound of a clock from thousands of kilometers away. The sound of the clock was indistinct. But now, he was next to a grandfather clock, listening to the sound. He could clearly sense and hear the unique rhythms of that clock now.

  The mysteries of the Throbbing Pulse of the World suddenly became clear to him.

  “256 layers of vibrations? Haha…so that’s how it works. Here in the Yulan continent, it feels as though there are countless layers to the Throbbing Pulse of the World. But now it seems that although the Throbbing Pulse of the World has layer after layer, that is just the countless mysteries contained with a single layer which carries infinite mysteries, encapsulating all of the mysteries of my 256 layers.”

  Linley instantly understood what his path of training should be.

  In the past, Linley’s training was similar to reading a book and making the book ‘thicker’. But now, what he had to do was make the book ‘thin’ again. And the book was…the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’, one of the profound truths of the Elemental Laws of Earth.

  “Upon having reached the 256 layers, I am halfway through my mastery of the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’. Now, what I must do is…reduced the Profound Truths of the Earth to a single layered wave.”

  Originally, he went from one to 256, and now…he needed to go back to one.

  Whenever Linley was able to contain all of the profound truths of that Law within a single vibration, and was able to utilize the full force of the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ in that vibration, only then would he be at the level of mastery. Most likely by then…with a single, simple blow from his sword, he would be able to shake his opponent into a pile of mud.

  “A precious training ground.” Linley opened his eyes, now filled with shocked delight.

  “Lord Linley?” Barker saw that Linley had woken up. He finally relaxed. “Lord, you sat there for three days.”

  “Three days?” Linley knew that when immersed in sensing the Laws, the flow of time would become imperceptible. However, it was worth it…he had been stuck at the bottleneck with the 256 layers for over a year.

  Without the mysterious training room…

  Perhaps he would have been like many other experts and would be stuck at this bottleneck for dozens or hundreds of years, waiting for that moment of sudden insight. Only then would he know how to proceed.

  “No wonder that mysterious expert created his own pocket dimension training room. Indeed…training within a pocket dimension in chaotic space allows one to sense the various Laws with a much greater clarity.” Linley had already become aware of the benefits of this place.

  Although there weren’t any treasures or divine artifacts in this room, to an expert training in the various Laws, this room itself was a priceless treasure.

  “Thank you for your gift, elder.” Linley bowed formally towards the training room.

  Turning his head to look at the puzzled Barker, he said, “Barker, let’s go out for now. Most likely in a few days, the battle at the prefectural city of Cod will occur.” As he spoke, Linley walked out of the pocket dimension.

  Barker was somewhat puzzled. Why had Linley bowed towards that expert who was currently who-knows-where?

  He didn’t understand how grateful Linley felt.

  He had been meditating and pondering for over a year, but hadn’t improved at all. That sort of stifling feeling was quite uncomfortable. No one knew how long Linley would have been stuck at that bottleneck. But thanks to the secret room, his path of training in the Laws would be a bit easier to walk.

  “Nobody is permitted to enter this excavation tunnel. In the future, no one is allowed to mine here as well.” As he walked out of the tunnel, he gave the order to the military officers nearby. This pocket dimension was something which one could only dream.

  It was far more precious than any sort of divine artifact.

  Perhaps even the War God or the High Priest would feel envious and desirous if they found out about it.

  “Demigods shouldn’t have the ability to create a pocket dimension.” Linley secretly thought to himself. Linley had the feeling that the ability to create a stable pocket dimension within chaotic space, even a small one, was something only a terrifyingly powerful expert could do.

  Linley and Barker flew side by side towards the prefectural city of Cod.

  The two headed directly to the military headquarters. Within the third floor of that hotel, Watts and his assistants were in a loud argument, but upon seeing Linley and Barker come in, all of them saluted respectfully.

  “Watts, what is the current situation?” Linley asked.

  Watts hurriedly reported, “Lord Linley, according to our investigation, the Radiant Church and the Cult of Shadows are constantly sending people over the river. However, their numbers are too great, and they have all sorts of siege weapons. Most likely, they won’t be finished w
ith the river crossing until nightfall.”

  Linley nodded slightly.

  “I heard arguing just then. What are you arguing about?” Barker asked questioningly.

  Watts said, “It’s like this. Over sixty to seventy thousand troops have already crossed the river. Their forces are somewhat in disarray, which is only natural following a river crossing. My assistants are recommending that we seize the opportunity to go out and attack them.”

  “However, I vetoed that idea.” Watts said.

  Book 10, Baruch – Chapter 37: The Power of Magicite Cannons

  “Oh? You vetoed it?” Linley looked questioningly at Watts.

  He felt that the suggestion was a rather reasonable one. When the enemy forces were in disarray, a sudden attack could definitely give the forces of the Radiant Church and the Cult of Shadows a bloody nose.

  Watts said respectfully, “Lord Linley, the reason I vetoed this subjection has three parts to it.”

  Three parts?

  Linley had to admit that he didn’t know much about warfare, and so he carefully listened to Watts’ explanation.

  “First of all, the chances of success are not high, because there is a distance of several dozen kilometers from the prefectural city of Cod to the river. If we were to send our troops over, by the time they arrived, the enemy forces would number over a million, and the disposition of the troops would have been reformed again.”

  Barker shook his head. “For a million soldiers to set up their formations and be battle-ready is not something done so easily.”

  Watts nodded. “That is indeed true. I’m just saying that the enemy forces would be prepared for battle. We only have half a million soldiers. How many can we send out on a sneak attack? And this is just the first consideration. The second is…I believe that the commanders of the Radiant Church and the Cult of Shadows would not have made such an elementary mistake.”

  “If I was the commander of the enemy forces…”

  Watts smiled. “I would first have my most elite soldiers cross the river, then put on a façade of being in a state of disorder on the other side to lure the enemy to attack. When the enemy truly came to attack, the elite troops would immediately deliver a headache-causing blow to them.”

  “It must be understood that our biggest support is the city walls!” Watts said seriously. “With the city walls, we can kill three of them for every one of us they kill. Thus, they want to seduce us into fighting with them on a level playing field.”

  Linley nodded in approval.

  Watts continued, “As for the third reason, it is because in warfare, tactics are of less importance than strategy. Our goal is to keep the enemy outside and not let them break into the city. This is the most important thing. As long as we succeed, then this battle will be our victory.”

  “Therefore, there is no need for us to pay any attention to the ‘flaws’ of the enemy. Who knows if those flaws are even real or not?”

  Watts laughed calmly. “All we need to do is stay inside the prefectural city of Cod and rely on the advantage of the walls to stand guard. Unless something happens beyond our expectations, victory will be ours.”

  The night passed. The day slowly brightened.

  The Dark Cardinal, Weiss Porter, was riding a darkness-element demonic tiger as he stared in the direction of the prefectural city of Cod.

  “Guillermo, I have the feeling that this is going to be a very labor-some battle.” Weiss Porter said with a frown. “We already slowed down the speed of our troops crossing the river, and also had our troops be in a state of ‘disorder.’ But the prefectural city of Cod acted as though they didn’t notice. They didn’t send anyone over to attack.”

  Guillermo nodded.

  They had prepared a ‘welcoming feast’ for the enemies, but unfortunately, the plan had failed.

  Right now, the entire army had crossed the river and rested an entire night. They were now steadily advancing in the direction of the prefectural city of Cod. Their total forces numbered 1.6 million soldiers. Such a terrifyingly large army covered the entire area like an endless tide.

  “I’m not afraid that Linley’s commanding general is intelligent or sly. What I’m afraid of is that he’ll just hide in the city like a turtle in its shell.” Weiss Porter said.

  Guillermo nodded as well.

  If the opponent relied on the advantage of the city walls, breaking through the prefectural city of Cod would most likely cause heavy losses to their side. Although they had 1.6 million soldiers, they weren’t willing to waste too many lives.

  “Weiss Porter.” Guillermo said. “Then what should we do?”

  The commanding generals of this battle was naturally Guillermo and Weiss Porter. In terms of stratagems, Guillermo was inferior to Weiss Porter. Weiss laughed calmly. “There’s nothing for us. Right now, let’s go test the enemy’s strength.”

  Only when one knew the opponent and knew one’s self was one capable of being ever victorious.

  The entire prefectural city of Cod had been transformed into an enormous military fort. The civilians had been moved out long ago, and most of the houses had been renovated and demolished. Tunnels and pits had been dug. Large numbers of soldiers were clustered on the walls of the east city and the south city. On the west and north sides, however, there were fewer soldiers.

  All sorts of weapons had been dragged onto the city walls.

  Linley and Barker were dressed in armor, pretending to be military officers doing an inspection on the southern walls. The city walls were a hotbed of activity, and the multi-kilometer long walls were packed with people. There were over a hundred thousand people on the walls of the south side of the city alone.

  “So many people.” Linley and Barker stared from afar.

  They looked like densely clustered locusts. The 1.6 million man army of the Radiant Church and the Cult of Shadows covered the land, streaming towards the prefectural city of Cod. 1.6 million people! A number that was easy to say, but when so many soldiers came charging over…

  It was terrifying!

  Even Linley felt a tremendous sense of pressure.

  “Who knows how many people will die as a result of this battle.” Barker sighed.

  Staring at the dense mass of soldiers, Linley also felt that this battle would definitely be a vicious, cruel one. But ever since human society began, wars had existed as well.

  Although Linley and his men could see the forces of the Radiant Church and the Cult of Shadows, in reality, those soldiers were still quite a distance off.

  Only, because the enemy forces were simply too massive in number, the soldiers on the wall could see them from far, far away.

  “Let’s go to Watts. He is our commanding general. We can’t let anything happen to him.” Linley led Barker to the city walls of the south city. Watts was currently in an unremarkable little building in the south city.

  Seeing Linley and Barker, Watts immediately bowed.

  “Watts, Lord Linley and I have come to protect you.” Barker laughed.

  No matter how steady Watts was normally, he grew excited now. Linley laughed. “Enough. Focus on preparing to deal with the enemy. What is your strategy for dealing with a million man army?” Linley personally felt lost.

  Watts laughed. “No rush. Whatever methods they use, I’ll use the appropriate countermeasures.”

  “What do you think they will do for their attack?” Barker asked.

  “After they crossed the river, they weren’t in a rush to attack. Instead, they let their soldiers rest and waited for dawn. I expect…in about an hour, they will reach the city. At noon, they will begin their first wave of attacks.” Watts laughed calmly.

  “The first wave shouldn’t be too strong. They will only be testing our strength. How do you plan to respond?” Barker asked.

  “Magicite cannons.”

  Watts replied.

  “You’ll use magicite cannons immediately?” Barker frowned. The magicite cannons were their secret weapons. It sho
uld be better to use them at a critical moment. Watts said with certainty, “Lord Grand Marshall, don’t worry. Just watch and enjoy. When the time comes, you will understand.”

  “You put on mysterious airs in front of me?” Barker shook his head and laughed.

  Linley just sat there to one side quietly. All he had to do was hand the affairs of running this battle to these men. A long time later…Linley suddenly opened his eyes and said to Watts, “Begin to prepare. The Radiant Church and the Cult of Shadows have sent their vanguard to prepare their attack.”

  Watts looked at Linley in surprise.

  Linley didn’t explain too much. Although he hadn’t used his spiritual energy, given Linley’s insights into the Elemental Laws of the Wind, even from kilometers away, Linley could clearly sense everything going on if he so chose.

  “Milord, two legions of the enemy have begun to attack towards our gates.” A military officer suddenly ran inside.

  Although the city walls were tens of kilometers long, the attacks would generally be centered around the city gates.

  Watts glanced at Linley, then immediately began to issue orders. “Carry out our original plans. Prepare ten magicite cannons. Give our guests a ‘welcoming present’.” Watts chuckled, and the military officer’s eyes had a hint of excitement in them as well. “Yes, milord.”

  “Come, let’s go watch.” Linley stood up.

  On the city wall, Linley and Barker were staring down. They saw two legions with a large number of people charge forward. Compared to an army of 1.6 million, 40,000 soldiers wasn’t much, but when they charged over, they still felt like a human wave of attackers.

  “Kill!”

  The tens of thousands of soldiers below raised their shields, charging the city gates with their weapons in hand. Their angry roars sounded like the thunder. A number of soldiers were charging forward while carrying massive escalades, while in their hearts, they were nervous about being shot by the arrows of the soldiers on the wall.

  But what shocked them was, no arrows were fired.