Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “Die.” Mosley stared at Linley.

  That enormous coiling black serpent behind him also stared at Linley with its solitary, blood-red eye. “Not good.” Linley hurriedly controlled his ‘Blackstone Space’, making the direction of the gravity orient downwards, wanting to impact his opponent.

  “Rumble…” A translucent ray of light shot out from the center of Mosley’s forehead, piercing directly towards Linley.

  Innate divine ability: ‘Soul Extinguisher’!

  “Captain!” The other Six Star Fiends were greatly shocked.

  “No time.” The attack of this innate ability was simply too fast. He wasn’t even able to dodge. Linley couldn’t help but just grit his teeth, planning to take it head on.

  “Swish!” An arm suddenly appeared in front of Linley, blocking for him just as that translucent ray of light was about to hit him. That translucent ray of light shot directly into the arm. Linley turned to look. Shocked, he said, “Scar [Si’ka’er]!”

  Scar, one of the ten Six Star Fiends under Linley’s command. Scar normally was a man of few words, but he had never hesitated with regards to Linley’s orders. Who would have imagined at this moment, Scar would suddenly sacrifice himself to save Linley?

  Scar fell directly the skies. “Kill!” At the same time, the other squad members transformed into rays of light, attacking directly towards Mosley’s head.

  “Roaaaaaaar!” Mosley once more emitted that furious roar.

  But before he was able to launch that soul attack yet again, the sound of the air exploding could be heard, and his head transformed into a pile of mud-like flesh as a divine spark flew out.

  Mosley, dead!

  The world suddenly turned quiet. In mid-air, Linley and the others remained quiet for quite some time. In this battle, they had killed two enemy Seven Star Fiends and twelve Six Star Fiends, with three Six Star Fiends escaping.

  “Three still managed to flee.” Melina said unhappily.

  “It’s my fault. I didn’t expect that Mosley would be completely unaffected.” Linley said. Although they had killed the vast majority of the enemy’s Six Star Fiends, when Linley and Mosley had been fighting, those remaining Six Star Fiends had known that there was no hope of victory, and so had immediately fled.

  “Scar. Thank you.” Linley turned to look at a Six Star Fiend. It was Scar, who had just saved him. Scar himself had a total of three bodies. During this battle, he had left only one divine clone back in Bloodbath Gorge, keeping another one in his body.

  Just now, when Mosley had used his innate divine ability, ‘Soul Extinguisher’, Scar had immediately separated his two clones, allowing his divine clone to stretch his arm out and block that attack.

  “Captain, it doesn’t matter too much that I lost a divine clone. Seven Star Fiends are the true pillars of our clan. You can’t die.” Scar said.

  “When we came, there were eleven of us. Now, three of us have lost our most powerful divine clones.” Linley looked around, then sighed. The three had been killed by Mosley. “It was my miscalculation.”

  If Mosley had been affected by the Spiritual Chaos, then Shanda and the others would have been able to kill him.

  “Captain, this is already a major victory.”

  “Right, a tremendous win!”

  “Scar only lost a weak divine clone. It isn’t a huge loss to him. Our only true losses are those three Six Star Fiends. However, today, we actually killed twelve Six Star Fiends, and even Seven Star Fiends.”

  “We killed Seven Star Fiends. Two of them! And Captain, you didn’t die yourself. We didn’t lose much.”

  “Using my divine clone to trade for the most powerful body of a Seven Star Fiend? Worth it.”

  Hearing the words of his squad members, Linley felt slightly calmer. According to the historical accomplishments of his clan in battle, it was indeed a grand victory for their side to only lose three Six Star Fiends while killing so many enemy experts, especially given that there were two Seven Star Fiends amongst them.

  “In our battle against the eight great clans, our normal casualty ratio is close to one-to-one. It is quite rare for us to gain a complete victory like this.” Melina hurriedly said.

  “Let’s go back.” Linley took a deep sigh.

  This was the first time he had engaged in this brutal clan war, and Linley himself felt that this battle was a very brutal one. But he looked at the other squad members. “None of them seem to care that three of our squad members lost their most powerful divine clones. Clearly, they’ve experienced too much.”

  Linley thought back to those red lettered names written on the stone pillar outside Squad Thirteen’s residences.

  Those names represented dead squad members.

  “The war between the Four Divine Beasts clan and the eight great clans is nothing more than a war of attrition. Many in our clan have died, but the same is true for theirs.” Linley sighed to himself. At the same time, he flew into the air alongside the other seven squad members.

  “Captain, your ambush was truly formidable. You immediately killed one of the Seven Star Fiends.”

  “Ambush? It was a one use-strategy. In the future, the enemy won’t give us such a good opportunity.” Linley understand that both Mosley as well as the Seven Star Fiend he had killed at the very start would most likely have divine clones back in their base.

  By now, the enemy clan was definitely aware of his ambush.

  From today onwards, the enemy squads would definitely be very vigilant against enemy Gods. They wouldn’t be caught off-guard again.

  In the distant mountain forests, a group of bandits watched as Linley’s squad flew away. For a long, long moment, they remained speechless and terrified.

  “Leader, what was that enormous black serpent just now? It was so terrifying.”

  “That was the innate divine ability of a divine beast. I’ve seen a divine beast use an innate divine ability before. However, compared to what we just saw…that great black serpent was thousands of times more terrifying. The aura of it alone made me feel as though I couldn’t breathe.”

  The battle just now had utterly terrified these God-level bandits.

  “And we actually had dared to try and rob that supreme expert…” The bandits were overcome with endless regret. After having witnessed this battle, they knew that for Linley, killing them was something that could be accomplished in the blink of an eye.

  Most likely, this memory would remain with them for the rest of their lives.

  They would never forget that they once tried to waylay a supreme expert.

  Linley led his squad of seven, quietly sneaking back towards the Skyrite Mountains. They were very careful on the way back, afraid that the eight great clans might discover them. After flying for a long time, Linley’s group finally arrived at the Skyrite Mountains.

  They flew directly to the air above the Skyrite Mountains.

  “Why are there so many people?” Linley stared in astonishment. There were quite a few people in the air above Bloodbath Gorge, with the leader of the group including the Patriarch, the Grand Elder, and some others. Patriarch Gislason currently had a hint of a smile on his face.

  Book 17, Indigo Prefecture – Chapter 27, Bestowal

  Above Bloodbath Gorge, at the edges of the cliff. A large group of people was standing here, with the leader being the Patriarch and the Grand Elder.

  “What are they doing here?” Linley was somewhat puzzled.

  Linley immediately flew over, but before he even had the chance to salute, the Patriarch, ‘Gislason’, laughed and said, “Welcome back, Linley!” By the side of the Patriarch was the Grand Elder, dressed in a long black robe and wearing that silver mask.

  “Well done, Linley.” The Grand Elder spoke as well.

  “Linley, quite impressive. You killed two Seven Star Fiends. Admirable, admirable!” The nearby Elder Garvey laughed loudly as well.

  “Elder Linley’s very first act is so impressive.” The golden-haired Elder, ‘
Forhan’, laughed brightly as well.

  Faced with the praise of the Patriarch and this group of Elders, Linley was rather stupefied. “My clones as well as clones of the other squad members left behind in Bloodbath Gorge haven’t gone to inform the Patriarch or the Grand Elder of this matter yet.”

  Because the trip back wasn’t too long of a trip, Linley had been planning to make the report upon returning.

  Who would have imagined that the Patriarch and the Grand Elder already knew about it?

  What he didn’t know…was that this sort of wonderful news pertaining to their clansmen would also be very quickly reported back to the Four Divine Beasts clan by their intelligence agents.

  “Enough. Everyone, don’t just stand here. Come. I’ve already ordered for a grand banquet to be prepared for celebration.” Gislason laughed loudly, then looked at Linley. “Linley, come, walk with me.”

  Linley immediately flew over.

  Gislason slapped Linley on the shoulders, his face wreathed in smiles. “Well done.”

  “Just luck.” Linley immediately said. If he had fought them head on, those two Seven Star Fiends definitely would have been stronger than him. Thus, he succeeded only because he suddenly killed one, and then gathered his forces to join together to kill the other one.

  “Why so humble?” Gislason laughed.

  “This time, I really was quite worried about him. I didn’t expect that the mission would be completed even more perfectly than I could have hoped for.” The Grand Elder said.

  Immediately, Gislason, the Grand Elder, and Linley flew together in front of that group of Elders, as well as the lucky survivors of Squad Thirteen, straight into the depths of the Skyrite Mountains. After a long time, Linley’s group arrived at a lavishly, gray crystal palace.

  Quite a few maidservants of the clan were carrying platters in a steady stream into the palace.

  The palace was very wide, and it was tens of meters high as well. Within the palace, there were nine stone pillars that were holding the ceiling up. The Patriarch and the Grand Elder flew straight to the front of the palace, then sat down together. In the clan, the status of the Patriarch was just slightly higher than that of the Grand Elder.

  However, in the clan, the Patriarch and the Grand Elder were considered the highest level figures, while the other Elders were subordinate to them.

  “All of you, take your seats.” Patriarch ‘Gislason’ waved his hand and laughed.

  “Linley, you can take the seat of honor to the left.” Gislason pointed to a seat, then laughed. “After all, today’s celebratory banquet is held in your honor.”

  “Me?” Linley was stunned.

  There were quite a few Elders more powerful than him, and his record of accomplishments was still quite low.

  “Linley, since the Patriarch told you to sit, then sit!” A silver-haired, cold-faced youth walked over, a rare smile on his face.

  “Elder Blue.” Linley nodded, then sat.

  As for this Elder Blue, he sat down directly next to Linley, in the secondary seat of honor on the left. Nobody dared say anything when he took this spot. After all, this Elder Blue was the clan’s ‘Genius Elder’!

  According to legend, his power was only inferior to that of the Patriarch and the Grand Elder, and was vastly superior to that of the other Elders. One of the three ‘trump cards’ of the clan!

  In addition, when their ancestor, the ‘Azure Dragon’ was still alive, he doted dearly on Blue, and had spent a large amount of effort to strengthen Blue’s body, making Blue’s body extremely powerful.

  “Our Four Divine Beasts clan has battled with the eight great clans for ten thousand years, but such major victories have been very rare.” Seated at the front of the palace, Gislason let out a sigh. Normally speaking, if one side felt they would be unable to win, they would immediately flee.

  To kill a Seven Star Fiend who was trying to flee was very difficult. Killing two Seven Star Fiends in a row, with one’s own side suffering only minimal losses, was extremely rare.

  “It’s rare to have such a magnificent victory. If we can kill two of their Seven Star Fiends every time, no matter how many experts the eight great clans have, they won’t be able to last against us.” Immediately, some Elders began to laugh.

  The entire palace became filled with the sound of laughter.

  “Linley, what is it?” Blue, seated next to Linley, realized that Linley wasn’t laughing.

  “I’m fine. I’m just thinking about Elder Arhaus, and the sacrifices of the many other Elders.” Linley sighed softly.

  Immediately, quite a few Elders in the hall fell silent.

  Over the past ten thousand years of nonstop battle, when they had slaughtered the enemy Seven Star Fiends, their own side’s experts had been steadily dwindling as well. Six Star Fiends died in entire batches. The foundation of power which the clan had built up over countless hundreds of millions of years was being steadily whittled away.

  “What sort of attitude is this, all of you!” The Grand Elder barked.

  Everyone couldn’t help but look at the Grand Elder.

  The Grand Elder said coldly, “Even if our entire Four Divine Beasts clan dies out, we won’t permit those eight clowns to besmirch the reputation of our clan! When our ancestors were present, did those eight great clans dare to resist us? But now that the ancestor is dead, they’ll come for revenge? Hmph. How can clowns like these possibly make our Four Divine Beasts clan submit?”

  “For the sake of the clan, so what if we die?” Elder Blue said arrogantly as well.

  “For the sake of the clan!”

  Linley, too, could sense the arrogance and pride of the many Elders in the palace. That they would rather die than submit.

  As they saying goes, better to be a shattered piece of jade than an undamaged tile of brick!

  “For the sake of the clan?” Linley said quietly in his heart. When he was young, Linley had always wanted to retrieve the ancestral heirloom of the Baruch clan, the warblade ‘Slaughterer’. Linley had a deep sense of belonging towards the Baruch clan.

  Nowadays, although he had joined the Azure Dragon clan and met countless clansmen who had the same draconic lineage as he did, and thus had a sense of belonging…

  …Linley still couldn’t completely understand that sort of pride and arrogance.

  If Linley was in control of the clan, he probably would have his clansmen all hide themselves within the Skyrite Mountains and wait for the day when they had a 90% chance of success in gaining revenge before going and battling with the enemy.

  “Perhaps…it’s because I never experienced the glory days of the Four Divine Beasts clan.” Linley said to himself.

  The arrogance of the Four Divine Beasts clan came from countless years of being mighty. Countless years of glory. The illustriousness of the clan had long ago been embedded in the hearts of every single Elder.

  “Enough.” Gislason laughed loudly. “Just look at those looks on your faces. Today is a day of celebration. Why are we all discussing those things? Come, let’s have a toast. Enough of that topic. Today, let’s just drink to our heart’s content and have a good celebration, a celebration for Linley’s victory!”

  “Yes, let’s celebrate!” All of the Elders raised their wine glasses while looking towards Linley.

  Linley couldn’t help but feel the blood boiling in his veins. He, too, raised his glass, and each and every single member of Squad Thirteen, seated at the margins of the palace, all raised their cups as well.

  “Cheers!” Gislason said brightly.

  “Cheers!”

  Everyone in the palace replied, and they all downed their wine in one gulp.

  During this banquet, nobody else raised any dispiriting matters. There had been far too many brutal, vicious happenings over the past few years. A good celebration was long past overdue. But this sort of happiness only made Linley feel all the more aware of the dreary sadness hidden behind this formerly unsurpassably powerful Four Divine Beasts
clan!

  The dreary desolateness of an ancient clan which had fallen.

  But although they had fallen, the clan still had their pride! Even in the face of despair, they wouldn’t compromise at all! Anybody who wanted to attack the clan in their moment of weakness would have to pay an enormous price as well!

  The celebratory mood of the banquet finally came to an end, and each of the Elders left. Linley and the members of Squad Thirteen were about to leave as well.

  “Linley. Stay.” The voice of the Patriarch came from the front of the palace.

  Linley couldn’t help but feel puzzled, but he immediately instructed the members of Squad Thirteen, “You can go back first.”

  “Yes, Captain.” Melina and the others all flew back.

  Linley returned to the palace. The many platters within the palace were currently being taken away by the serving maids at high speed. Patriarch Gislason walked down from his position at the front of the palace, then instructed, “Linley, let’s chat inside.”

  “Yes, Patriarch.”

  Linley followed Gislason into a side room next to the palace.

  The side room wasn’t very large. After Linley walked into it, he only heard a ‘squeak’ as the door actually closed automatically.

  “Sit.” A hint of a smile was on Gislason’s face.

  Linley sat down, then asked, “Patriarch, is there something you need?”

  “I made you an Elder, but I didn’t expect that during the Conclave of Elders, they would actually have you go to Bloodbath Gorge. By the time I found out about it, I couldn’t order you to come back.” Gislason sighed. “You are only a God. It isn’t very appropriate to have you in Bloodbath Gorge.”

  Gislason valued Linley very highly. One reason was because of Linley’s connection to his father, the ‘Azure Dragon’, while the other reason was because of the power which Linley had displayed.

  “I originally thought that my younger sister wouldn’t give you any assignments, but who would’ve thought that she did?” Gislason continued.

  “The other Elders are all fight on behalf of the clan. How can I be an exception?” Linley said.