Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  Odin was stunned. “God? How is that possible?”

  “Based on the projections of the eight great clans, now that Linley is a Highgod, it is very likely that he has reached the level of being a Paragon! Even if the projections of the eight great clans are incorrect, given his amazing performance as a God, now that Linley is a Highgod, his strength is such that even I am not certain of victory against him!” Sayant sent back.

  Not to mention, ‘victory over’ and ‘killing’ were two different concepts.

  Sayant wasn’t confident of even being able to defeat Linley, much less kill him.

  “Tell me, am I supposed to go kill a presumed Paragon-level expert?” Sayant sent back.

  Odin was stupefied.

  He knew that Linley was powerful, but not even in his wildest imaginings would he have thought that the Ashcroft clan’s Patriarch would acknowledge Linley’s power, and even suspect him to be a Paragon. This was an extremely high-level appraisal! After all, there was no way to judge from the surface if someone was a Highgod Paragon or not.

  For example, Dunnington. Others only ‘suspected’ him of being a Paragon.

  Even after someone fused all six profound mysteries, others wouldn’t be able to judge that just from looking at the person.

  It was precisely because he knew Linley to be incredibly powerful that Sayant was so courteous. Otherwise, given his status as a Sovereign’s Emissary, why would he act in such a manner? Unfortunately…none of them knew that Linley had the ‘black stone’ which the Redbud Sovereign had bestowed upon him, which was why he had such astonishing power.

  “Lord Prefect. Lord Prefect!” Odin sent back frantically. “Linley is fixated on killing me. Lord Prefect, I beg of you, please help me come up with a way to kill Linley. Oh, right…Lord Prefect, Linley wants to meet a Sovereign, right? Have the Sovereign kill him.”

  “Have you gone stupid?” Sayant was truly beginning to grow angry now. He immediately sent back, “Do you think the Sovereigns will act at your beck and call?”

  Only now did Odin come to his senses.

  “But your suggestion does remind me of a method.” Sayant said.

  “You have a method?” Odin was overjoyed.

  “Enough. Don’t speak to me through divine sense again. Wait there.” Sayant barked.

  Conversations through divine sense occurred at lightning speed. Although they had exchanged tens of sentences, in truth, not even a second had passed. In the banquet hall, Linley and Bebe were looking at Sayant, awaiting Sayant’s answer.

  “I do know where a Sovereign lives, but Linley.” Sayant said with a solemn expression. “The residence of a Sovereign is set up to prevent others from disturbing them. Thus, their residences are in very dangerous locations…even Seven Star Fiends wouldn’t dare to casually go barging in. Thus, Linley, I urge you to reconsider it.”

  “Mr. Sayant, no need for you to be concerned. Please tell me where to go.” Linley said urgently.

  “Tell us where it is. We’re growing really impatient.” Bebe mumbled to the side.

  Sayant hesitated momentarily, but then nodded. “Fine, then. Our Netherworld has a very dangerous location; the number one mountain peak of the Netherworld, the Abyssal Mountain! Everyone in the Netherworld knows that the Abyssal Mountain is an extremely dangerous place, but what they don’t know…is that within the Abyss Mountain lies the residence of a Sovereign!”

  Sayant’s wife, ‘Anita’, glanced towards Sayant in surprise upon hearing this. Clearly, this response by her husband caused her to feel surprise!

  “Abyssal Mountain?” Linley frowned.

  In the book provided him by Beirut, the descriptions of the various places had also included a description of the number one tall mountain of the Netherworld…Abyssal Mountain. According to what the book said, the Abyssal Mountain was the most dangerous location of the Netherworld, and that no matter what, no one was permitted to barge in.

  “I want to see how dangerous it can be.” Linley made his decision.

  “Madame Anita, what’s that look on your face?” Bebe’s eyes were keen, and he noticed that Anita’s expression seemed strange. “Can it be that the Lord Prefect’s words are incorrect?”

  “That’s not it.” Madame Anita laughed in response. “I’m just surprised. Abyssal Mountain actually has a Sovereign living there? I didn’t know about it prior to this either.”

  “Oh.” Bebe nodded as though suddenly enlightened.

  “Boss, I feel as though something is off.” Bebe sent through divine sense to Linley. “When Madame Anita heard Sayant say ‘Abyssal Mountain’, the look in her eyes was very strange. Something is off.” Although Bebe had a rather childish disposition, as a Godeater Rat, his senses were very keen.

  “Don’t guess rashly.” Linley sent back.

  Sayant then urged, “Linley, Abyssal Mountain is far too dangerous. I urge you not to go. How about this…why don’t you stay here with me? As a Sovereign’s Emissary, although I’m not able to actively reach out to the Sovereign, perhaps at some point, the Sovereign will summon me…at which point, I’ll be able to help you convey the message to the Sovereign.”

  “Unable to actively reach out to the Sovereign?” Linley frowned.

  How long would he have to wait?

  “That’s not necessarily so.” Bebe snorted. “I saw a Sovereign’s Emissary burn a sheet of sheepskin parchment covered in magic runes, and the Sovereign appeared.”

  This was what Beirut had done, and then the Bloodridge Sovereign had appeared. With but a single word, he had sent the eight great clans away, dispersing them.

  Sayant glanced at Bebe in astonishment, then laughed. “Bebe, I didn’t imagine that you’d even know about this. Indeed, this is a type of method by which one can summon a Sovereign. Only, that paper with magic runes isn’t something that I can create; the Sovereign has to personally create it. That’s the only reason why the Sovereign would sense the paper being burned.”

  “However, the Sovereign didn’t bestow one upon me.” Sayant said apologetically.

  And Linley understood that even if Sayant had one, why would he use up such a precious item on behalf of Linley?

  “Mr. Sayant, I am already extremely grateful to you. But Abyssal Mountain is deep within the Netherworld, and it will take me thirty or forty years to travel there from here. It will take too long. I wonder…if you know any of the residences of the other six Sovereigns?” Linley asked.

  Linley wanted to waste no time in saving his father and brothers.

  Abyssal Mountain was indeed a bit too far.

  “I’m not.” Sayant shook his head regretfully. “Linley, although I’m a Sovereign’s Emissary, I don’t know where the Sovereigns live. The only reason I know of Abyssal Mountain as being one such place is because I once heard the Sovereign speak of it. As for the others…I truly have no idea. I imagine the Sovereigns don’t wish to be disturbed.”

  Linley felt rather resigned.

  Still…

  He had already gained something on this visit. At least he now knew that Abyssal Mountain was the residence of a Sovereign.

  “Abyssal Mountain!” Linley had made up his mind.

  His father and brothers had spent nearly two thousand years in the Undead Realm. If they had been able to last for so many years, lasting a few more decades probably wouldn’t be too hard.

  “Linley, let’s not just chat. Come, taste some of the special delicacies of the Netherworld.” Sayant laughed while speaking.

  Linley and Bebe continued to chat casually with Sayant and his wife while drinking wine…spending quite a bit of time in the process.

  Afterwards, Lord Prefect Sayant of Northbone Prefecture and his wife, Madame Anita, escorted Linley and Bebe all the way out to the perimeters of the guard camp.

  “Mr. Sayant, Madame Anita, no need to see us any further.” Linley said gratefully.

  Sayant let out a sigh. “Linley, to be honest, I truly do not wish to see you go to Abyssal Mountain. Abys
sal Mountain truly is dangerous…although I haven’t gone deep into it myself, I’ve heard others speak of how dangerous it is long ago. Watching you head to Abyssal Mountain, I…alas! Linley, I urge you to just wait. In a few hundred thousand years or a few million years, perhaps the Sovereign will summon me.”

  Hundreds of thousands of years? Millions of years?

  If his father and siblings hadn’t transformed into Deities, they would die in the battles between undead. No matter how hard Linley worked, by then, it would all be fruitless.

  “No need.” Linley laughed.

  Bebe, standing there to one side, seemed rather unhappy.

  Linley suddenly thought of something. On this trip to the Netherworld, aside from helping his father and his brothers regain their memories, which was his primary goal, he had another goal…if he had the chance, he would kill Odin!

  As Linley saw it, since Sayant was the Lord Prefect of Northbone Prefecture, he should know quite a few experts.

  “Mr. Sayant, Madame Anita. I would like to ask you if you’ve heard of a person. This person is roughly at the Seven Star Fiend level of power. His name…is Odin!” Linley looked at Sayant and Madame Ania. Sayant raised an eyebrow, but Anita began to laugh.

  “Haha, Odin. Of course we’ve heard of him.” Madame Anita laughed as she spoke.

  Linley’s eyes immediately lit up, and Bebe turned to look as well.

  “You know him?” Linley said in surprised delight.

  Madame Anita let out two chuckles. “Yes. When Sayant and I were roaming within the borders of Northbone Prefecture, we once ran into Odin. Odin’s power was indeed not bad…but compared to my husband, ‘Sayant’, he was still quite a ways off. He lost multiple times, and submitted whole-heartedly, and so chatted with us for a time. We asked him to stay with us for a while, but he said that he had just arrived in the Netherworld, and wanted to roam about the other regions of the Netherworld and do some adventuring. We didn’t stop him. I have no idea where in the Netherworld he is now.”

  “Oh.” Linley and Bebe couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

  “Then we won’t disturb you any further.” Linley and Bebe bade them farewell, then entered their metallic lifeform and flew to the south, disappearing into the horizon.

  “Why did you want me to deceive them?” Anita turned to look at her husband. When she said these words, Anita also vigilantly set up a Godrealm, preventing others from hearing.

  Sayant laughed calmly, “Do you know that between Linley and Odin, there lies a tremendous and irreconcilable hatred?”

  “Ah?” Anita said, surprised. “Then just now, when you said that the Sovereign was at Abyssal Mountain, it was also because…?”

  “Right.” Sayant laughed calmly. “Odin is one of us, after all. In addition, Linley and the Nether Serpent can be considered antagonistic…although Linley isn’t an enemy, he can’t be said to be a friend either! However, Linley is very powerful. It isn’t worth offending Linley for the sake of Odin. Still…all I did was give him a location.”

  “But you are having him throw his life away.” Anita said.

  “He is indeed throwing his life away.”

  Sayant laughed. “However…Abyssal Mountain is indeed the residence of a Sovereign!”

  “Huh? It really is?” Anita looked towards him in surprise.

  “Right. And not an ordinary Sovereign; the most powerful of the seven Sovereigns of the Netherworld. It is the residence of the Chief Sovereign of Death!” Sayant laughed calmly. “I urged Linley not to go, but he insisted. If he dies, it has nothing to do with me.”

  “The Chief Sovereign of Death…”

  Sayant let out a sigh.

  Book 18, Highgod – Chapter 16, Abyssal Mountain

  That eerie, crescent red moon hung up high in the void.

  A metallic lifeform flew through the skies, bathed in that eerie red glow. Linley peered through the window towards the outside, seeing the occasional castle pop up in the distant mountain forests. Surrounding those rare castles were some massive flying dragons, immortal phoenixes, and other Saint-type magical beasts. These enormous magical beasts were reared in captivity.

  Within the metallic lifeform.

  “Boss.” Bebe was holding a goblet of wine. Sipping from it, he frowned. “Are we really going to the Abyssal Mountain? The book Grandpa gave us spoke of it, and said that it was the most dangerous location in the entire Netherworld. Although I want to adventure as well, I keep on having the feeling that Sayant’s words are unreliable.”

  “Whether his words are reliable or not, we can’t be certain for now.”

  Linley put down his goblet, laughing calmly. “We’ve just spoken to a single Lord Prefect. The Netherworld has more of them than just Sayant himself. When we reach the next Prefecture, we’ll ask again. After having spoken to a number of Lord Prefects, we can make our decision!”

  Speaking with a Lord Prefect would only take a day or two, but travelling to the Abyssal Mountain would require decades.

  Nursing his goblet while walking to the front of the metallic lifeform, Linley stared through the window again, into the ancient night-time scenery of the Netherworld. Linley sighed emotionally, “I hope that the souls of Father, Yale, George, and Dixie were able to stay alive in the Undead Realm.”

  From Northbone Prefecture to the Abyssal Mountain was a journey that entailed crossing through six other prefectures. In two of them, the Lord Prefects were situated in rather remote, distant corners. If Linley was to go visit with them, he would have to deviate significantly from his route by hundreds of millions of kilometers…and so Linley gave up and didn’t go visit them.

  He went to visit the other four Lord Prefects instead.

  Of the other four, two of the Lord Prefects were not present within their residences. It was possible that they were outside adventuring, and so Linley left empty-handed. But Linley did, in fact, meet the other two. One of the two was present in his prefecture and received Linley, but this Lord Prefect didn’t know a thing about the residences of the Sovereigns.

  As for the other Lord Prefect, this one did indeed know a bit regarding the Sovereigns.

  He said to Linley, “Linley, based on what I know, deep within the Nether Sea, in the Azurewave Island, there lies the residence of a Sovereign. But of course, based on what I know, the ‘Abyssal Mountain’ which Sayant mentioned also does indeed have the residence of a Sovereign. Only, Abyssal Mountain is far too dangerous. It is best if you go to the island instead!”

  Upon hearing this, Linley immediately expressed his gratitude and leave.

  The entire Netherworld was formed from one enormous continent which was vaster than the five continents of the Infernal Realm put together. At the ends of the Netherworld was a vast, endless sea which was known as the Nether Sea. The Nether Sea was truly endless, and the Azurewave Island was deep within it.

  “Go to Azurewave Island?”

  Linley shook his head internally. “Traversing the entire Netherworld alone will take nearly two centuries. To then venture into the Nether Sea and travel to Azurewave Island will most likely take another century or two. The trip to Azurewave Island will take at least three or four centuries!” Linley sighed to himself. “In addition, who knows if I will even be able to meet the Sovereign once I reach Azurewave Island? If I’m not even able to meet the Sovereign, I’d have to leave and head to the Abyssal Mountain and spend another three or four centuries! This round trip would take seven or eight centuries. Not worth it. Not worth it!”

  The danger level of Azurewave Island was much lower, but it was too far.

  Time. Time was precisely what he couldn’t afford to waste right now. The sooner he could save his father and the others, the better. If too much time passed, his father, Yale, and the others might have truly died.

  “Boss, you made your decision? We are going to the Abyssal Mountain?” Bebe asked.

  “Right. We’re going to the Abyssal Mountain. So what if it is a bit dangerous? At least I a
m now certain that the Abyssal Mountain is indeed the residence of a Sovereign. If we fail in our journey to the Abyssal Mountain, we can then hurry to Azurewave Island. No matter what, we can’t waste any time on roundabout trips!” Linley said.

  “Hey, Boss, take a look outside.” Bebe suddenly said in astonishment.

  Linley looked through the translucent metal to the outside as well. He saw that far in the distance, above a tall mountain, in the air above an ancient castle, two men were standing in mid-air, staring at each other. Both were dressed in long black robes, while one had long silver hair and the other had long violet hair. The violet-haired man’s entire body was crackling with lightning.

  The two flashed like lightning across the skies, exchanging blows.

  BANG!

  A large crack in space appeared.

  “These two are both fairly strong. They should be at the Seven Star Fiend level of power.” Linley evaluated.

  “This journey was so boring. All we saw were some Gods or some weak Highgods fighting amongst themselves. It’s rare to see supreme experts battle. Boss, let’s take a break and see who wins!” Bebe’s eyes were shining as he spoke. Bebe was rather interested in battles between supreme experts.

  Linley was helpless.

  “We’ll only stop for a short period of time.” Linley still brought the metallic lifeform to a halt.

  In the distant horizon, those two supreme experts exchanged multiple blows, their power causing the skies to split open time and time ago. But a few moments later, the body of the silver-haired man suddenly vanished like an illusory shadow as he fled at high speed into the distant skies. As for the violet-haired man, he pursued at high speed.

  “Hey…that’s boring. They ran away before anyone died.” Bebe said resignedly.

  “Enough. It doesn’t matter who lives or dies. We aren’t too far from the Abyssal Mountain by now. We’ll be there in a few months. Let’s make haste.” Linley once more controlled the metallic lifeform, sending it flying forward.