Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  The death of his father had caused Linley to sink into an abyss of darkness. He was willing to give up everything for revenge.

  But now…

  Everything was better!

  Within the room.

  A group of people were seated around two tables, while Hogg was still feeling completely mystified. He hurriedly asked Linley, “Linley, what is going on here? Before, I was a Saint-level Black Knight. How did I suddenly regain my memory and be brought here, then see you?”

  Hogg had never heard of an undead regaining its memories.

  “The Boss asked the Sovereign to do it.” Bebe chortled.

  “Haha.” The nearby Dixie sighed, then said, “Uncle Hogg, in the past two thousand years, Linley has gone beyond just being a genius student at the Ernst Institute. He is an expert who stands at the very peak of the Netherworld, the Infernal Realm, and the other Higher Realms. It was he who asked the Sovereign to restore all of our memories and send for people to find us, then bring us here. Myself, Yale, and George; we were all brought back by Seven Star Specter level experts.

  “He asked the Sovereign to find us, and even arrange for people to bring us?”

  Hogg couldn’t help but look at his son, who stood before him. In the Yulan continent, Hogg knew that his son had potential, but Hogg only believed that Linley would one day become a powerful magus, or perhaps even bring back their family’s ancestral heirloom. But…ask a Sovereign for favors? Hogg felt his head spin, just thinking about it.

  “Linley, how are you…” Hogg didn’t even know what to ask.

  Ask about his son’s level of power? What his son had been doing these years?

  “Boss is a Highgod Paragon.” Bebe said proudly. The nearby Yale and the others, over the past few years, had learned this as well.

  “What’s a Paragon?” Hogg asked.

  Bebe was startled.

  Previously, Yale and Bebe’s parents were also unaware of what being a ‘Paragon’ meant. Only after hearing an explanation did they understand. Bebe’s mother, that violet-robed woman, said with a laugh, “Hogg, being a Highgod Paragon means…amongst Deities, your son is an unmatched individual! Even Sovereigns would warmly invite him to become an Emissary for them.”

  “Amongst Deities…he’s unmatched?” Hogg blinked several times, staring at Linley in astonishment.

  Hogg had the sense that everything that had happened today – seeing Linley, hearing all these things – was all a dream.

  Hogg’s reaction was what everyone had thought it would be. When Yale and George had asked about Linley’s abilities, after they were given clear answers, they had also been stunned for a long time. Everyone knew exactly how many Deities there were in the Netherworld and Infernal Realm. They were counted in the trillions.

  There were countless Deities in the countless planes. How terrifyingly powerful must one be, to stand at the very top of this pyramid?

  Hogg had experienced two thousand years of life in the Undead Realm, and his mental fortitude was now much greater than before. He quickly recovered, then his eyes lit up and he asked hurriedly, “Linley, your mother’s death. It was that Duke Patterson of the Kingdom of Fenlai…were you able to get vengeance?”

  “He died. I personally killed him.” Linley said solemnly.

  “And the person behind him? Did you find out who it was?” Hogg said frantically.

  Hogg had found out that behind Duke Patterson, there was yet another figure controlling things from behind the scenes. However, he was attacked and pursued by Patterson’s forces before he was able to figure out who that person was, and then Hogg had died.

  “I did. Behind him was the King of Fenlai, ‘Clayde’.” Linley nodded. “Afterwards, in the city of Hess, I killed Clayde!”

  “It was King Clayde?” Hogg was stunned.

  “Although I killed Clayde, this matter still wasn’t finished. Mother had been offered by Clayde to the Radiant Church. It was the Radiant Church which killed my mother, then offered Mother’s soul to the Chief Sovereign of Light.” Linley’s voice was very low. Linley still harbored tremendous hatred for the Radiant Church. It could be said that Doehring Cowart also died due to the Radiant Church.

  Hogg, hearing this, frowned. A baleful aura gathered on his face, and he said in a low voice, “The Radiant Church?”

  “Afterwards, I eradicated the Radiant Church, pulling them out by the roots.” Linley continued.

  Hogg glanced at his son, startled. In the Yulan continent, the Radiant Church had been an enormous entity. Still Hogg knew that, logically, given that his son was now at the peak of power, it made sense that in the past, he would be capable of eradicating the Radiant Church.

  “Everything has been resolved!” Hogg let out a long sigh, then shook his head and laughed self-mockingly. “I was too stubborn. It has been two thousand years, but I still haven’t been able to forget these matters. Still, what’s the point of thinking of them? Lina died long ago.”

  “Father. Mother didn’t truly die.” Linley said.

  “Eh?” Hogg’s eyes instantly lit up, and he appeared full of energy as he stared towards Linley with hope in his eyes.

  Linley nodded solemnly. “Father, when Mother was killed, her soul was offered to the Chief Sovereign of Light. She should currently be one of the Angels of the Divine Light Plane! Only, those who have been transformed into Angels are absolutely loyal to the Sovereigns of Light…to help Mother acquire her freedom and have her be with us again will be very hard.”

  “You…even you cannot accomplish it?” Hogg asked hurriedly.

  Currently, as Hogg saw it, given that his son was one of the most powerful of Deities, and that even Sovereigns would fight over having Linley be an Emissary for them, his son’s status should be enough for an Angel to be restored to her free will. Hogg felt that this shouldn’t be hard.

  “I have no confidence in being able to do so.” Linley shook his head.

  The nearby Bebe said, a sour look on his face, “The Chief Sovereign of Death said that even if she personally went to speak to the Chief Sovereign of Light about this, it still would be unlikely. For even the Chief Sovereign of Death to be unable to accomplish this…the chances of Boss going and succeeding are most likely very, very low.” Bebe didn’t have any confidence in Linley either.

  Linley himself felt rather guilty over this!

  “Haha, forget it.” Hogg let out a long sigh, then laughed, “Linley, we should thank the heavens that the two of us, father and son, are able to meet again. To reunite with your mother as well? That’s just a vain hope. Don’t worry about it. That’s just looking for trouble.”

  “Father…” Linley looked at his father, astonished.

  From the final letter his father had left before his death, Linley understood how deep his father’s love for his mother was. His father was willing to die for her; why was he now willing to give up so easily?

  “Forget about it. How can everything in the world truly be perfect and as we desire?” Hogg said with a soft laugh.

  That very day, Hogg, Linley, Yale, George, and the others began to energetically discuss the various matters that had happened to their homeland, the Yulan continent. Afterwards, Hogg began to discuss his life as an undead, while Linley discussed his experiences over the past three thousand years. Hogg now truly understood how long a journey Linley had embarked on. He felt worried each time he listened to Linley narrate one of his dangerous experiences, but at the same time, a feeling of pride swelled within his chest.

  In front of the Abyssal Inn. Linley’s group was preparing to depart.

  “Wait a moment. I’ll come over in a bit.” Linley said to his father and friends, then walked to the pool which was in the center of the grassy area close to the Abyssal Inn. Next to the pool, there was a beautiful, red-haired maiden who was fishing happily. Others didn’t know who the red-haired maiden truly was, but Linley knew.

  She liked to personally witness one expert of the Netherworld after another come her
e in search the Abyssal Fruit, then die. The Chief Sovereign of Death.

  Putting aside her fishing rod, the red-haired maiden turned to glance at Linley. “What, you are leaving?”

  Linley could notice the spatial distortions nearby; the Chief Sovereign of Death had created a spatial barrier, preventing others from listening in and preventing their words from leaking out. Linley sighed inwardly at the terrifying strength of the Chief Sovereign of Death, then replied, “Yes, Sovereign. The six people I was waiting to receive have already arrived. Thank you, Sovereign, for the pains you have taken over during this period of time.”

  The red-haired maiden smiled slightly, revealing pearly, pristine white teeth. “The first time I saw you, you were just a little fellow who had just barely reached the level of a commander. In the blink of an eye, you’ve become a Paragon.”

  “Sovereign, there is one last thing I would like to ask you to help me with.” Linley hesitated slightly, then spoke out.

  “You really are troublesome. Speak.” Over the past few years, Linley often met the Chief Sovereign of Death around the Abyssal Inn, and so their relationship had improved significantly.

  “Sovereign, I wish to find a Seven Star Specter named ‘Odin’. I don’t know if you have any method by which you can accomplish this?” Linley asked expectantly. During this recent time period, Yale had always wanted to go find Odin, but unfortunately, the Netherworld was endlessly vast. Although Linley was powerful, looking for Odin was like searching for a needle in the sea.

  “Find a Seven Star Specter? Odin?” The red-haired maiden frowned slightly. She couldn’t help but give out a faint snort. “Do you really think that I’m bored and have nothing better to do? I have no idea what sort of spiritual aura this ‘Odin’ of yours has. All you give me is a name; how am I supposed to find him? Unless, of course, he was once undead. Only then can I use the Netherworld Heart to look for him. Otherwise, there is no way.”

  Linley could only laugh awkwardly.

  It was indeed hard to find someone with just a name. It was precisely because it was hard that Linley had come to bother the Chief Sovereign of Death about this. Linley thought that the Netherworld Heart would be able to find him, but from the sound of it, only those who had once become undead could be found through the Netherworld Heart.

  “To find a single person shouldn’t be too hard, given your current status.” The red-haired maiden laughed softly. “Just find a Specter Castle and issue a mission. Say that you want to find a Seven Star Specter named Odin. The missions that you, Linley, issue? I imagine there will be some commanders and Lord Prefects who would fight over the chance.”

  Perhaps few ordinary Highgods would have heard of Linley, but amongst the commanders and Lord Prefects, within a thousand years, most likely all of them would have learned of his name.

  The red-haired maiden then turned her head and went back to her fishing. “Enough. You can leave now!”

  “Thank you, Sovereign.” Linley bowed slightly, then turned and left.

  “Let’s go. Let’s go to the Sacred Undead Mountain!” Linley smiled towards his father and his friends, then released an enormous metallic lifeform. It hovered there in midair, and then this group of experts boarded it. With a flash, the metallic lifeform transformed into a speck of light, disappearing into the horizon.

  Book 20, The Crown’s Riddle – Chapter 2, An Inescapable Calamity

  The metallic lifeform advanced at high speed, and within it, laughter rang out uninterrupted.

  “Boss Yale, don’t worry. Third Bro gave you his word. Odin is definitely going to die.” George snickered nearby. Yale’s hatred towards Odin had sunk into Yale’s very soul. Unless and until he truly killed Odin, Yale would forever feel a thorn in his heart.

  Yale nodded, then chuckled towards Linley. “Sorry to trouble you, Third Bro.”

  “From the Abyssal Mountain to the Sacred Undead Mountain will take quite some time.” Linley said with a laugh. “On the way over, I’ll use my divine sense to search, and also control the metallic lifeform to fly by some important areas. Perhaps on our journey, I will find Odin.”

  Linley’s spiritual power was more powerful than even when using Sovereign’s Might.

  The spatial bindings controlling the Netherworld were far weaker than those which controlled the Planar Battlefield. In the Netherworld, through using his divine sense, Linley was able to reach to a distance of eight million kilometers! The metallic lifeform which Linley controlled could roughly fly roughly ten million kilometers each day. At this speed, Linley only had to search once a day.

  Searching personally, and issuing a mission; these were two methods.

  If searching failed, then he would issue a mission. Given Linley’s prestige and power, finding Odin wouldn’t be hard!

  “If we find him on the journey, that would be wonderful.” Yale said with a smile.

  Linley, seeing Yale like this, couldn’t help but sigh mentally. In the past, Yale had always been dissolute, free, and easy. But now, Linley realized how great a mental pressure Yale felt. Hatred had gnawed away at Yale’s soul, and although Yale wanted to relax and be dissolute once more, he wasn’t able to.

  Under Linley’s control, the metallic lifeform flew at high speed. In three years time, it reached the borders of Northbone Prefecture.

  “After this prefecture, we will be very close to the Sacred Undead Mountain.” George chortled.

  Bebe mumbled, “Northbone Prefecture is the northernmost prefecture of the Netherworld. We still haven’t found Odin. It seems that Boss is going to have to go to the Specter Castle to issue a mission…hmph. We’ll just let Odin live a bit longer.”

  Linley saw that Yale’s face was rather ugly right now.

  “The impact of Odin’s actions on Yale truly are severe.” Linley sighed to himself.

  Linley could completely understand. If, when Linley was a Saint, a Highgod were to control him to kill his wife, kill his son, kill his brothers, kill his friends…then torture him to death? Most likely, Linley would also go insane with the need for revenge! He would rather die than not get revenge.

  Linley patted Yale on the shoulders. “Don’t worry. He won’t be able to escape.”

  “Right.” Yale squeezed out a smile. “It’s fine. I can wait. At least I have a chance for revenge now.”

  The Netherworld. Northbone Prefecture. The grasslands outside the city of Hide.

  There were many soldiers stationed here, and quite a few castles. The number one expert of Northbone Prefecture here was Sayant, a Sovereign’s Emissary and the Lord Prefect of Northbone Prefecture. Sayant had quite a few experts under his command, one of whom was the Seven Star Specter, Odin.

  A black-robed blur descended from the skies.

  “Milord!” The soldiers immediately bowed.

  “Mm.” The black-robed man nodded calmly, then strode inside.

  Moments later, the black-robed figure saw Sayant.

  “Lord Prefect, the matter is dealt with.” The black-robed figure said respectfully to Sayant. Sayant was dressed in a white robe, and was reclining against a chair, holding a book and leisurely flipping through it. Hearing the report from the black-robed figure, he smiled and nodded. “Mm. Very well. Right, Odin. Have you heard any news regarding the Planar Wars while traveling outside? Nearly a century should have passed since this Planar War.”

  Sayant himself didn’t participate in the Planar Wars. Given how far away Northbone Prefecture was, news came here at a much slower rate.

  “Your subordinate ran into a few people, most of whom were fairly average in strength. I didn’t run into a single Lord Prefect or Tartarus Lord level expert. I didn’t hear any news regarding the Planar Wars; or, perhaps the news simply takes too long to arrive here. Still, on this trip, your subordinate did find out something else.”

  “What news have you?” Sayant raised his head, glancing at Odin curiously.

  The black-robed Odin revealed a hint of a smile. “Lord Prefect. The news
has been made public from the Abyssal Mountain that a fourth person has acquired the Abyssal Fruit! According to my investigations, the name of the person is Bailey.”

  “Bailey? It seems Linley failed.” Sayant laughed as well.

  “The Abyssal Mountain is incredibly dangerous.” Odin laughed smugly. “Bailey succeeded, so I imagine that Linley must have died within the Abyssal Mountain. Even if he didn’t die, given it has been a thousand years, he has probably left the Netherworld by now.”

  “If Linley knew what was good for him and so retreated, he might still be alive. But from what I saw, he definitely wouldn’t easily give up his goal of meeting the Sovereign. Nine out of ten, he died there on the Abyssal Mountain.” Sayant laughed calmly. “Enough. Odin, you should now be completely at ease.”

  Indeed, Linley was Odin’s nightmare.

  “I feel much more relieved. I won’t disturb you any further, Lord Prefect.” Odin bowed slightly, then departed.

  In the air above Northbone Prefecture.

  Just like before, Linley was using his divine sense to search while chatting casually. “We are about to reach the place where the Lord Prefect of Northbone Prefecture, Sayant, lives. Sayant was the one who told me to go to the Abyssal Mountain. To be honest, I need to go thank him for his role in my current accomplishments. Eh?” Linley’s face suddenly changed.

  “What is it, Boss?” The nearby Bebe said, puzzled.

  “Third Bro, did you find Odin?” Yale immediately asked. Whenever he saw any changes on Linley’s face while Linley was searching, Yale would suspect that it was Odin. But prior to this, every single time Yale had made this guess, he was wrong.

  Linley looked towards Yale. He couldn’t help but laugh loudly. “Odin. It’s Odin! Haha, Odin has finally revealed himself, and he’s right there with Sayant…” A hint of a cold light flashed through Linley’s eyes. “It seems that Sayant and his wife intentionally deceived me back then.”