Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  But although he was angry, he had to face reality!

  “No matter what, all I can do right now is to hope that the baldy won’t notice us.” Linley quietly hoped.

  This wasn’t impossible.

  After all, Linley’s group was in the rear cabin, while Crompton was in the front cabin. As long as they didn’t run into each other, there wouldn’t be any problems.

  “Linley.” Delia looked at him, her eyes also holding a hint of worry.

  “Don’t worry.” Linley said softly.

  Bebe looked at Linley as well. Although Bebe liked to cause trouble, he wasn’t a fool. He knew that with the baldy mixed into this group, things had just potentially become disastrous. Bebe immediately said mentally, “Boss, if we really run into trouble, I’ll deal with the baldy! Although I won’t be able to beat him, I am confident that I’ll be able to tie him up for a time while staying alive.”

  Linley glanced at Bebe with some surprise.

  Bebe had only reached the God level a few decades ago, but he was confident in being able to tie up a Highgod for a time? Even though this one had fused with a divine spark…

  “Truly?” Linley’s eyes held a hint of laughter in them.

  “Hmph!” Bebe raised his head proudly, then said using his divine sense, “Boss, I’m the second Godeater Rat to ever exist in the countless planes of the universe! Don’t underestimate me!” Bebe was capable of easily eating divine sparks. How could he not have some special abilities?

  The metallic creature began to move!

  “Whoosh!”

  The enormous black shadow slashed through the air, disappearing from above Royalwing City and becoming a faint speck in the distant horizons. And then, in the blink of an eye, it was completely gone.

  Within the metallic lifeform, the people all looked towards the outside.

  “What’s going on? Up till now, we still don’t know what the mission is.” Bebe muttered.

  “Don’t be impatient.” Linley laughed calmly.

  A woman seated next to Linley with short silver hair spoke out. “The Fiend trial mission has a set location. It must be very far away from Royalwing City. Most likely, this journey will be a very long one. The people of Fiend Castle naturally aren’t in a hurry to tell us about the Fiend trial just yet.”

  Linley nodded to himself.

  “My name is Linley.” Linley laughed as he greeted the silver-haired woman.

  This silver-haired woman was wearing a silver outfit as well. She looked very clean and sharp. She glanced at him, a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips. “My name is Regina [Rui’jin’na]. Mr. Linley, those two next to you are traveling with you, right?”

  Regina knew very well that during a Fiend trial, several people joining forces together would have a much higher chance of success. If she were to encounter danger amidst the trials, if someone helped her out slightly, that might change her fate.

  So she wanted to get on good terms with Linley’s group.

  “Right.” Linley laughed and nodded. The nearby Bebe’s eyes lit up, and he turned to look in this direction. “Miss Regina, your eyes are so enchanting. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Bebe.”

  Regina looked at Bebe, and his lively, playful eyes instantly captivated her. “Bebe. Your eyes are even more bewitching.” Bebe’s smile immediately became even brighter.

  “Miss Regina, do you know why those Fiends are travelling along with us?” Linley gave voice to his confusion. “This is a Fiend trial. Those people are already Fiends, but they are coming along as well…”

  Regina shook her head. “I’m not sure about this either.”

  Linley could only once more bury his suspicions deep in his heart.

  The metallic lifeform flew for an entire day. At nightfall, the staff of the Fiend Castle finally came to the rear cabin.

  “The Fiend Castle staff members are here.” Regina said.

  Linley’s group immediately sat up straight. They raised their heads, staring towards the three figures standing at the very front of the cabin. These three were staff members sent over by the Fiend Castle, with the leader being that silver-haired old man.

  “Everyone!” The silver-haired old man had a smile on his face. He said in a clear voice, “There are, in total, a thousand people taking part in this Fiend trial! I imagine everyone knows this already. The Fiend trial is extremely dangerous, and the death rate is extremely high! But everyone has come despite that…so in terms of courage, at least, you are all worthy of becoming Fiends.”

  The silver-haired old man’s face grew solemn. “But courage alone is insufficient. You also need power!”

  “This Fiend trial will take place in a place located roughly thirty million miles away from Royalwing City. This place is known as the Moon Lake! Given the flying speed of the metallic lifeform, I expect it will take roughly a month before we reach our destination.” The silver-haired elder said.

  At this moment, the rear cabin of the metallic lifeform was completely silent.

  A thousand Fiend trial participants were all listening closely.

  “There is something important which has to be made clear. The Fiend trial mission isn’t something which is designed or set up by the Fiend Castle.” The silver-haired elder’s voice echoed in the rear cabin. “Everyone who knows anything about Fiends should know that Fiends can accept missions at the Fiend Castle! Missions are divided into different levels!”

  “As for your trial, it was selected from the many available missions, a one star mission which is suitable for you!”

  The silver-haired elder said solemnly, “As long as you can complete this mission, you will thus become a One Star Fiend!”

  “As for the details of the mission…Lauren [Lao’lin], you tell them.” The silver-haired elder stood off to one side while Lauren, a bewitchingly beautiful woman dressed in a long black cloak stepped forward.

  Lauren’s voice was clear and bright. “The location of the mission is Moon Lake! Above Moon Lake, there is an ancient castle. The master of this ancient castle is extremely, terrifyingly powerful. He has one steward, eighteen black-robed guards, and hundreds of gold-robed guards!”

  “Your mission is to kill one of the gold-robed guards. Remember…after killing the gold-robed guards, take their interspatial ring, that ‘moon ring’, and bring it back to the Fiend Castle. Only the possession of this moon ring will be accepted as proof that you completed the mission!

  “But of course, you can take out and make use of the wealth and items contained within the moon rings.” Lauren laughed as she spoke. “That’s all. I’m done speaking.”

  Immediately, a hubbub arose in the rear cabin, as everyone began to discuss this.

  “Quiet.” The silver-haired elder’s voice rang out.

  Everyone’s voices lowered.

  “If you have any questions, speak.” The silver-haired elder said.

  Immediately, a powerfully built blue-robed man who was three meters tall stood up. In a sonorous voice, he said, “Milord, you say that the proof of completing this mission is the ‘moon ring’. Can it be that every gold-robed guard has one?”

  “According to our intelligence reports, all of them should have one. Even if their interspatial rings aren’t actually moon rings, the moon rings should be stored within their interspatial rings.” The silver-robed elder laughed calmly. “But of course, we can’t rule out special circumstances.”

  “Therefore, if you kill a gold-robed guard but can’t find a moon ring, that’s bad luck for you. Without a moon ring, you won’t be acknowledged by the Fiend Castle.” The silver-haired elder pursed his lips. “However, it should be very rare for a gold-robed guard to not have a moon ring.”

  The man sat back down.

  The silver-haired woman by Linley’s side, Regina, stood up. “Milord. You said that the lord of that castle is very powerful, and that he has a steward and black-robed guards! You only want us to kill the gold-robed guards. Would the black-robed guards and
the lord of the castle really just let us do as we please?”

  Linley had a sudden thought.

  Not just Linley. Many of the other people who had come on this Fiend trial with them had also guessed what the answer was.

  “On this trip to Moon Lake, others are going as well. There are also some Three and Four Star Fiends, and even a Five Star Fiend squad.” The silver-robed elder laughed calmly. “Most likely, when you get off the metallic creature, the group of Fiends will arrive as well.”

  “As I thought!” Linley was very certain about this response.

  The silver-haired elder continued, “Their mission is to deal with the black-robed guards, the steward, and the lord of the castle!”

  From what the Fiend Castle staff member had explained, Linley and the others could guess that the gold-robed guards should be at the God level of power, while the black-robed guards, the steward, and the lord of the castle were all Highgods.

  They spent thirty two days in that metallic creature. Finally, they arrived at the destination.

  “After you disembark, all you have to do is head south a few kilometers. Moon Lake is there.”

  The silver-haired elder said loudly in the rear cabin, “This place isn’t Royalwing City. Life and death battles can happen at any moment. Everyone needs to be careful. We will quietly wait here for you return. If you successfully return with a moon ring, you can return to the metallic lifeform.”

  Everyone maintained their silence.

  They all felt tremendous pressure!

  A thousand people had come to take part in the Fiend trials. But how many of them would survive to return? The number of people who had come to take part in the Fiend trials was testament to how dangerous Fiend trials were.

  Since the Fiend Castle had specially picked out this mission to test them, the difficulty level definitely wouldn’t be low.

  “Everyone in the front cabins has disembarked. Now all of you need to disembark!” The silver-haired elder said calmly. “Let me give you one parting advice; you don’t need to just be on guard against the dwellers of Moon Lake. You also need to be on guard against the other Fiend trial participants. There are always many who don’t die during the mission, but are killed by other Fiend trial participants. I’ve seen this far too many times.”

  Linley’s heart shook slightly.

  Indeed. If someone else didn’t have a moon ring but you did, the other person might ambush you so as to kill you and seize your moon ring. This was very common.

  After all, this wasn’t Royalwing City!

  “Let’s go.” Linley, Delia, and Bebe followed the flow of people outside, the densely packed group slowly disembarking the metallic lifeform.

  At this moment, the metallic lifeform was on a broad, empty land. There were twenty three Fiends gathered there. Amongst them, the bald ‘Crompton’ was standing in front of his friends, glancing about casually. But then, his gaze suddenly turned.

  “Hrm?” Crompton stared at the entrance to the metallic creature.

  And then, Crompton’s face immediately had a hint of a smile appear on it. “I didn’t expect that the three of them would also be assigned to this Fiend trial. What a coincidence.”

  Book 14, Fiend – Chapter 19, The Pink Mist

  Linley didn’t want to come face to face with Crompton, but no matter what, the three of them would have to exit the metallic creature. This was unavoidable. As soon as Linley’s group exited through the opening, Crompton accidentally saw them.

  Linley cautiously looked at Crompton out of the corner of his eyes as well.

  At this moment, Linley was at the opening, while Crompton was currently standing amidst a tall patch of wild grass, but at that moment…

  Their gazes crossed and locked!

  “Not good!” Linley’s face instantly changed.

  Linley’s face was now ugly to behold, but Crompton’s face had a hint of a smile on it.

  “I won’t get involved with that baldy for now. If he insists on making trouble, all I can do is go all out.” Linley didn’t have any other choice for now either. All he could do was enter the group with the rest of the Fiend trial participants. All of them flew down from the metallic lifeform, landing on the patch of land with exuberant plant growth.

  “Hey, bro, look.” Crompton nudged someone nearby, and then gestured with his eyes towards the front. “It’s that punk who made me lose face at Royalwing City.”

  “Hey, it really is the three of them.” The Fiends next to Crompton also looked towards Linley, clearly surprised. One of them began to laugh. “Crompton, your luck is quite good. It seems you’ll have a chance to get revenge.”

  Crompton let out a sinister laugh.

  “I originally thought I wouldn’t have a chance, but who would have imagined that he would be delivered right to me?” Crompton naturally wouldn’t give up this opportunity.

  Soon, the thousand participants of the Fiend trials had all finished disembarking.

  Linley’s team was in the middle of this group.

  “Linley?” That Regina greeted Linley’s group, but they only casually acknowledged her, not paying any extra attention. Regina frowned. She couldn’t help but feel puzzled, but how could she know that the three were currently worrying about Crompton?

  “Boss, that Crompton is walking over.” Bebe suddenly said.

  Linley looked over as well.

  Crompton was sneering coldly while walking over.

  “Retreat!” Linley and the other two immediately moved backwards. Seeing this, Crompton immediately snickered, “You want to flee?” Crompton’s speed suddenly increased. No longer trying to disguise it, he charged straight towards Linley’s group, his face ferocious.

  “When you were a Demigod, you dared to curse at me!” The rage in Crompton’s heart which had been suppressed for thirty plus years was now exploding forth.

  If it hadn’t been for the fact that they were within Royalwing City, he would’ve acted long ago.

  “Delia, you immediately retreat off to a distance while using your ‘Spatial Wind’ to restrict him and slow his movements.” Linley said through his divine sense. “Bebe, the two of us will prepare to fight.” Linley’s gaze turned cold. Since Crompton was coming for trouble…

  Then it was time for them to go all out!

  “Kill that foul baldy!” Bebe’s eyes had a vicious look flash through them as well.

  “Hmph…” Crompton sneered coldly, and then suddenly moved to pursue, while of Linley’s group, Delia retreated at high speed, but Linley and Bebe did not; instead slowing down as though waiting for Crompton to come over.

  “What are you doing!” A cold shout shook in Crompton’s mind.

  At the same time, a figure appeared in front of Crompton.

  Although Crompton’s mind had been clouded by his fury, when he saw this person, he was immediately frightened into his senses. He immediately said respectfully, “Lord Loysius [Luo’yi’xiu’si], I, I…”

  “Huh?”

  Linley’s group came together once more, watching with confusion. A Fiend had suddenly appeared in front of Crompton, blocking him. In front of this Fiend, Crompton appeared to be extremely frightened.

  “Who is he?” Linley looked at the Fiend in confusion.

  This Fiend had long, brownish-black hair which was unbound casually, but his gaze was cold and fierce.

  “Crompton, you want to kill those three?” Loysius looked coldly at Crompton.

  “I…” Crompton wanted to speak, but he didn’t know how he should explain.

  Loysius, a Five Star Fiend.

  On this trip to Moon Lake, the leader of the Fiends was this Loysius as well as his two partners. Five Star Fiends, all three of them! This was an extremely powerful force amongst the Fiends.

  “Hmph, I don’t care what you think you were doing.” Loysius said coldly. “However, the battle has yet to begin. If because you killed these three Gods, you created energy ripples that attracted the notice of the master of Moo
n Lake Castle, causing him to flee without engaging in battle, our mission would be a failure. If that happens, don’t blame me for acting merciless!”

  “Yes, yes, I understand!” Crompton’s heart shuddered.

  In his heart, he thought regretfully, “How could I have forgotten!” The energy ripples caused by battling Deities were very apparent, especially if a Highgod was to fight against three Gods…such a battle would definitely create energy ripples, and Moon Lake was only a few kilometers away from here.

  Once the battle began, the master of Moon Lake would definitely take notice.

  If the master of the castle fled, then this mission of Loysius and the other Fiends would have failed.

  “Hmph.” Loysius gave him a hard look, then left.

  Crompton immediately gave Linley’s group a hard look as well. He said to himself, “Count yourselves lucky. However, when the battle begins, I will definitely kill the three of you to vent my anger. Right now, I’ll just let you live a bit longer!”

  After having been rebuked by Loysius, the anger which Crompton felt naturally was transferred towards Linley’s group.

  “Everyone, we know that you are here to take part in the Fiend trials.” A voice rang out in the minds of all one thousand test-takers, Linley included. “We are different from you; our mission is to kill that master of Moon Lake Castle. Thus, I hope you won’t be impatient. Wait for us to kill the master of Moon Lake Castle before making your moves.”

  Linley and everyone else felt shocked.

  “A divine sense which encapsulates everyone? It at least covers hundreds of meters.”

  In the Infernal Realm, using divine sense to speak was very difficult.

  When Linley had been in the Necropolis of the Gods, as soon as he moved through the interdimensional gateway and into the Necropolis of the Gods, he had realized that his spiritual energy’s maximum area had shrunk to just a few dozen meters, while in the Yulan continent, it had been over a thousand kilometers.

  In the Infernal Realm, one of the Higher Planes, the restriction was even greater.

  When Linley had first arrived in the Infernal Realm, he was only a Demigod. Although his soul was fairly powerful, his divine sense was still only able to encapsulate ten meters. After absorbing eleven amethysts and breaking through to the God level, Linley’s divine sense was still only a hundred meters.