Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  No!

  This was something which would allow the father he had lost in his youth to return. To let his brothers who had died such unjust deaths to return.

  “Father. Boss Yale. George.” Linley shut his eyes and murmured. “I…can save at least one of you now! My father, my brothers…you have to wait for me. Wait for me to emerge from the Planar Wars. You’ve already endured for nearly two thousand years. Just endure a little longer!”

  “Wait for me…”

  Tears unconsciously began to seep out from the corners of his eyes.

  Ever since he had entered the Netherworld, over the past few decades, Linley had been under great pressure. He felt as though a giant stone was constantly pressing against his heart! First, he had to go to the Abyssal Mountain to meet the Chief Sovereign of Death, from whom he just barely saw a glimmer of hope. He then went to Tartarus to challenge the Redcliff Lord, finally succeeding and becoming qualified to enter the Planar Battlefield.

  But that had only been the beginning.

  After entering the Planar Battlefield, Linley was under constant pressure, and he had a lost feeling in his heart. Deep in his heart, he even felt a hint of dread.

  This seemingly peaceful Planar Battlefield had too many powerful experts hiding within it! Linley was afraid that he could encounter a truly supreme expert who would kill himself and Bebe. He wasn’t afraid of dying himself, but if Bebe were to die, Linley would forever regret it. And…if that happened, he would never again be able to save his father and his brothers.

  After having been in the Planar Battlefield for more than half a year, and after repeated failures, Linley had even begun to doubt himself.

  Nervousness, restlessness! These emotions had constantly ensnarled Linley!

  Although on the surface, it appeared as though Linley had lain in wait calmly, in his heart, Linley was frantic. This was because he hadn’t killed a single commander. He had begun to doubt if he would be able to acquire a single commander’s badge. This was the sort of nervous restlessness in which Linley had been living. But now…just now, such a huge battle had suddenly erupted.

  And it had brought such an unexpected delight.

  “I finally succeeded. A gold badge.” Linley said to himself. “Bebe and I, working together, will definitely succeed. It hasn’t even been a year, but I’ve already acquired a gold badge. In addition, there are nearly nine centuries left to this Planar War. I will definitely acquire enough gold badges.”

  This success had allowed Linley’s heart to calm down greatly!

  No matter how vicious and dangerous the future days would be, Linley would confidently face them!

  “Right. There’s another gold badge.” Linley suddenly turned to look towards Bebe, saying hurriedly, “Bebe, that interspatial ring. Hurry up and open it and take a look. When Roland was killed, that gold badge was placed into the interspatial ring.” Linley was feeling rather excited.

  Bebe had been paying attention to Linley’s facial expressions this entire time, and he immediately laughed. “Alright, I’ll open it up right away.” Bebe understood that the tears Linley had just shed were tears of joy.

  A single drop of blood flew out from Bebe’s skin, landing atop the interspatial ring.

  “Eh?” Bebe stared.

  Linley couldn’t help but frown.

  The drop of blood actually splashed onto the interspatial ring, then rolled off and fell to the ground, striking it with a ‘whap’ sound.

  “Damn! That Lancelot has a divine clone that is still alive!” Bebe said angrily.

  “So it really was the case!” Linley had been mentally prepared for this all along.

  Generally speaking, the vast majority of commanders who entered the Planar Battlefield would leave a divine clone outside. After all, the chance of death in the Planar Battlefield was simply too high. As for Lancelot…clearly, he had left a divine clone outside as well, causing Linley to be completely unable to open this interspatial ring.

  “Aaaargh!” Bebe immediately called out furiously. “The defensive Sovereign artifact! The defensive Sovereign artifact is also useless!”

  If even the interspatial ring couldn’t be bound, then the same would naturally be true for the defensive Sovereign artifact.

  Linley glanced at the dark golden armor, then laughed and said, “Bebe, don’t worry about that. You should know…this defensive Sovereign artifact was given to Lancelot by a Sovereign. Even though we killed him, the Sovereign will still take back the Sovereign artifact. At most, we’d be able to use it temporarily for a time.”

  “I know this principle, but we should’ve at least been able to wear it for a time, right?” Bebe said helplessly.

  “For a time? Who knows when the Sovereign would come and take back the Sovereign artifact.” Linley said with a calm laugh.

  Linley even suspected that Sovereigns were monitoring the Planar Wars at all times. The Sovereigns might immediately take back their artifact, or they might wait…wait for a bit of time to pass before taking it. But one thing was certain; a Sovereign artifact acquired through killing someone would definitely be taken away by the Sovereign in the end.

  “To me, what I really feel is unfortunate is the loss of that badge.” Linley shook his head and sighed.

  “Right. We can’t take the badge out either.” Bebe said resignedly.

  According to the rules of trading for military merits, once the Planar War concluded and the combatants exited through the interspatial gate, they would immediately receive military merits based on the number of badges acquired. Even if Linley found Lancelot’s clone in the future and forced him to withdraw the gold badge, it would be useless.

  “So some badges actually end up going to waste like this.” Linley said with a bitter laugh.

  Perhaps an expert might kill seven or eight other commanders and acquire seven or eight badges. But if the expert was in turn killed, that person would only acquire a single badge. As for the seven or eight badges in the interspatial ring, there was no way to retrieve them. They had to go to waste.

  “There must be many that go to waste. For example, during the final battle in the Stellar Sea corridors.” Bebe said with a sigh. “That’s a place where you gamble with your life. Perhaps you’ll end up fighting all the way into the chaotic space regions of the Stellar Sea. Also, some badges will fall into the chaotic space regions or the spatial tears of the Stellar Sea.” Bebe said.

  Linley nodded slightly.

  “It seems as though relying on taking advantage of the work of others isn’t a simple thing. Unless the person has no divine clone outside, of course. But the number of people who would do that is too little.” Linley said, shaking his head.

  Acquiring enough military merits wasn’t a simple task. It had to be done step by step.

  “Boss, what should we do with the interspatial ring? Destroy it, or keep it?” Bebe said.

  “Keeping it will only result in problems and no benefits. Destroy it.” Linley said with a calm laugh.

  “Whap!” Bebe exerted some force, completely crushing the interspatial ring in his fingers. The items within the interspatial ring all transformed into nothingness as well.

  “This Sovereign artifact…leave it here for the Sovereign to collect.” Linley said with a calm laugh.

  “Haha, actually, even if we wanted to destroy it, we wouldn’t be able to.” Bebe said, then he gave the dark golden armor a few kicks. “Damn, it’s pretty hard. Hmph…my body hasn’t reached its limits yet. In the future, I definitely won’t be weaker than any Sovereign artifact.” Bebe harrumphed.

  Although Bebe’s defensive power was great, each time he devoured a divine spark, he continued to use the essence of the divine spark to strengthen his body.

  It was a process that took some time. The amount of time Bebe had spent at the Highgod level was a million years less than what Beirut had spent. There was still a difference between the two of them.

  Linley calmly trained there in the cave, while his
original body continued to control his Deathgod Golem as bait.

  The Planar Battlefield was the same as it previously had been. On the surface, it was calm, but in the shadows, battles and massacres occasionally erupted. Although the Planar Battlefield was very dangerous, Linley, having succeeded once, was now confident in himself. He had acquired a gold badge in less than a year. If he could acquire one every ten years, much less every year, he would easily accomplish his goal.

  He calmly waited. Waited for a big fish to bite on his bait.

  “With my heart at peace…my training has increased in speed as well.” Linley laughed calmly, opening his eyes.

  “Eh?” Bebe, as though sensing it, opened his eyes to look at Linley as well. “Boss, what is it?”

  “Bebe, make your preparations. I’ve already discovered people nearby.” A hint of light flashed through Linley’s eyes.

  “We have a target?” Bebe instantly grew excited, jumping to his feet. “Haha, it’s been less than half a month, but we have a new target. It’s time for me to show my skills off yet again. Haha!” Bebe was extremely energetic.

  “Don’t be impatient. Let’s see if they are enemies first. Let’s go!”

  Linley and Bebe immediately, quietly slipped through the underground tunnels, leaving the mountain.

  Book 19, Metamorphosis – Chapter 21, Flee on Sight

  A short, black-robed figure flew out, moving like dark smoke through the cold, clammy underground earth of the Planar Battlefield.

  “Eh?”

  The figure suddenly came to a halt, staring stealthily into the distance. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s, but the strange thing was that he was bald, but a layer of dark black light was atop his bald head, like a thin layer of black metal. This dark black scalp also had a round rune atop it.

  “Someone is actually here?” The bald youth stared into the distance. “An enemy!”

  After ascertaining the enemy’s status, the bald youth didn’t hesitate at all. “Swoosh!” Very suddenly, the bald youth accelerated explosively, shooting out like a meteor towards the black-robed man.

  The black-robed man suddenly turned his head, clearly seeing him. Not hesitating at all, the black-robed man immediately fled with a ‘whoosh’.

  “You won’t be able to escape!” The bald youth’s body flashed forward bizarrely.

  The surrounding area saw the formation of a spherical, earthen yellow glow which completely ‘surrounded’ the black-robed man, who was trying to flee. Stuck within the earthen yellow light, the black-robed man’s speed dropped dramatically. The bald youth seized the chance to immediately charge forwards, mercilessly striking out with his right hand.

  The bald youth was wearing a black glove on his right hand.

  His hand stretched out like the claws of a divine dragon, and as the space it passed through rippled and trembled. His claws instantly landed on the black-robed figure’s shoulder. “F*ck off!” The black-robed man growled, and then he struck back with his right leg, kicking towards the youth.

  “Crunch!” A very clear sound. The black-robed man’s shoulder was completely ripped apart.

  “How tough.” The bald youth felt slightly startled, but he didn’t show any mercy.

  As the right hand claw smashed down against the shoulder, it also then struck directly towards the black-robed man’s head. As the right claw struck out, it actually formed a bizarre, spherical ball of light, causing even the nearby space to be bound, making it impossible for the black-robed man’s head to dodge to any great degree.

  “Slash!” The five fingers of the bald youth’s right hand pierced directly into the black-robed man’s skull, and the man’s head immediately exploded. The bald youth was very confident. “This kick of yours won’t be able to land on me.” As the bald youth saw it, once the black-robed man died, he naturally wouldn’t be able to continue to attack.

  “BANG!” The force of the black-robed man’s right kick didn’t lessen at all, crashing straight against the chest of the bald youth.

  The bald youth was knocked backwards, and he landed on the ground.

  “Wait. That’s a Deathgod Golem!” The bald youth came to a shocked awareness. “This is a trap!”

  “Bang!” The bald youth kicked off furiously from the ground, and as he did, that spherical glow emanated from his right foot, the foot which kicked downwards. Instantly, he rocketed away, moving at high speed. As he moved, he would occasionally kick off from the ground again, each time creating that spherical glow, causing his speed to rise to a terrifying level.

  Moving as fast as lightning, in two or three leaps, he disappeared from the field of view.

  “This fellow ran too fast!”

  By the time Linley and Bebe emerged from the ground, all they could see was the departing back of the bald youth. Linley and Bebe had no choice but to vent their anger on a nearby boulder. “As soon as the Deathgod Golem discovered him, he almost instantly discovered that it was a Deathgod Golem and that it was a trap! After discovering it was a Deathgod Golem, he didn’t even pause and instead immediately fled. Jeeze!” Linley couldn’t help but shake his head.

  “Nothing to show for it.” Bebe pursed his lips and said, then turned to look at the distant, headless Deathgod Golem. “And we even lost a Deathgod Golem. Boss, who was that person?”

  “Cloyd [Ke’luo’yi’de]! An extremely strong commander who belongs to the Divine Earth Plane. He likes to travel alone.” Linley said with a laugh. Through the Deathgod Golem, Linley saw Cloyd’s attack, and just by seeing Cloyd’s attack, Linley became completely certain of who Cloyd was. “However, Cloyd doesn’t have a single Sovereign artifact. We are completely capable of killing him.”

  Linley felt rather regretful.

  It was an excellent opportunity. Unfortunately, Cloyd was too cautious. Upon discovering that it was a trap, he had immediately fled without hesitating at all.

  “He doesn’t have a single Sovereign artifact, and yet he’s strong?” Bebe said with a frown.

  “That’s what the intelligence reports your Grandpa Beirut provided to me said. Cloyd simply doesn’t wish to be restricted and so doesn’t wish to become a Sovereign’s Emissary, which is why he has no Sovereign artifacts. But despite that…killing him is extremely difficult.” Linley let out a sigh. “An expert of the Laws of the Earth! He must have fused at least five of the profound mysteries.”

  The clawing blow he had delivered which had shattered the Deathgod Golem’s shoulder contained five profound mysteries.

  The Deathgod Golem was torn through like mud.

  Just as Linley and Bebe were chatting mentally, from the corner of his eyes, Linley saw a distant figure suddenly appear. He immediately turned to look…only to see that roughly two or three hundred meters away, a black figure was lying in hiding, seeming to inspect the Deathgod Golem that was lying on the ground.

  Linley suddenly grew excited. “Bebe, we have a target. Three hundred meters to our left.”

  “Target?” Bebe turned to look as well.

  Just at this moment…

  The distant black-robed figure, also vigilant, discovered that there were two figures not far away who were lying against the corner of a mountain boulder. Right at this moment…the gazes of Linley and the black-robed man met.

  Linley was suddenly startled, and he immediately sent through divine sense to Bebe, “Bebe, this black-robed man…I can’t sense the badge aura on him. He is an enemy. Let’s attack!” The closer one was, the more easily one could sense the badge aura. Linley and the enemy were less than three hundred meters away.

  Logically speaking, even if he didn’t have a clear sense, he should still sense a bit of the badge’s aura.

  But if he didn’t sense anything at all…

  “Haha, one ran away, but another one was drawn close. Haha.” Bebe was extremely excited.

  This black-robed person was indeed drawn here by the earlier actions of the bald youth. He had snuck over and watched quietly to the side. But
Linley and Bebe were in a fairly hidden location, from which they just so happened to be able to clearly see the black-robed figure.

  “Hmph.” The black-robed figure very calmly turned and fled.

  “He’s running?”

  Linley’s first reaction was to unleash his Blackstone Field. An enormous earthen yellow aura instantly sprang out, with Linley at the center, expanding to a radius of five hundred meters. This Blackstone Space spread out far faster than the black-robed man ran; as soon as the man moved, he fell within the Blackstone Space.

  The gravity pulling was towards Linley!

  “Gravitational Space? What a powerful gravity, and it is pulling to the rear!”

  The black-robed man was now shocked. He couldn’t help but turn to look, and the already Dragonformed Linley and Bebe had transformed into a pair of azure and black blurs, advancing towards him rapidly.

  “Pursuing me?” The black-robed man didn’t resist, instead choosing to flee.

  But attempting to flee while completely pulling against the gravitational force…how fast could he move?

  “You want to run?” Linley stared fixedly at the black-robed man, pursuing at high speed. In Linley’s eyes, this black-robed man definitely had a gold badge. Every single gold badge represented that he would be able to save another one of his family or friends. While in hot pursuit, the distance between the two quickly shrank to less than a few dozen meters.

  In the Blackstone Space, the black-robed man’s speed was reduced by simply too much.

  The black-robed man was angry now!

  “I don’t want to fight with you two. Let me leave.” A divine sense rang out, echoing in Linley and Bebe’s minds. “Otherwise, don’t blame me for being discourteous!”

  “You want to leave? And be discourteous?” Linley laughed.

  “Bebe, you can act now. He won’t be able to escape at this distance.” Linley sent mentally.

  “Don’t worry, Boss.” Bebe laughed delightedly.

  Right at this moment…

  “You are looking for death.” The black-robed man, who had been suppressing his temper, suddenly stabbed backwards with a dagger.