Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  Molde was growing frantic, but up till now…he still believed that Linley was just relying on his speed.

  Linley’s attacks weren’t necessarily stronger than his.

  “Oh?” Linley’s face sank. “Since you want to die, don’t blame me.”

  After reaching his current level of power, Linley would rarely act to kill ordinary commanders. This was because…for Linley to act against commanders would be an absolute massacre! It would be a form of abuse. Linley had simply wanted to teach Molde a lesson and have him f*ck off, but Molde seemed to be quite confident in his power. Linley couldn’t help but begin to grow angry.

  “Haha…if you are able to kill me, then do so!” Molde laughed wildly, and then, launching himself from the ground, he charged towards Linley, carrying the power of a mountain.

  Molde’s right hand was like a sword, piercing through space and shooting towards Linley.

  “Whap!” Linley struck out, lightning-fast.

  Fist against fist!

  Molde was knocked flying back. After landing, he stared at Linley in disbelief. “You…how can you…you didn’t use Sovereign’s Might. How could you have blocked my punch?” Molde was very confident in his own strength, and he had also used a drop of Sovereign’s Might. And yet, he was actually knocked flying back by Linley.

  “Your punch? Compared to Hemmers, you are quite lacking.” Linley said calmly.

  “Hemmers?” Molde frowned, but then he seemed to think of something, as he began to laugh coldly. “Your power isn’t bad. Then taste my soul attack.”

  Molde’s face turned solemn, and then he opened his mouth…

  “Swish!” A translucent ripple, shaped like a blade of wind, shot at high speed towards Linley.

  “Die, then!” Linley no longer showed any mercy, and he growled as he attacked.

  A single Voidwave Sword ripple shot out from Linley’s body, the size of an ordinary longsword. It smashed onto that translucent wind blade, and with a ‘bang’, tore through it like rotting wood. The translucent wind blade disappeared, while Linley’s Voidwave Sword ripple just decreased a small bit in size.

  Molde’s face changed dramatically. He seemed to want to say something, but it was too late.

  The Voidwave Sword ripple silently and soundlessly entered Molde’s body. Linley’s most powerful type of attack was his soul attacks; even compared to a Paragon of Fate, he could be said to be on roughly the same level. How could an ordinary Lord Prefect possibly block Linley’s soul attack?

  Molde’s body trembled, and then his gaze grew dim as he slowly collapsed.

  “Lord Prefect…” The white-browed man and the other two were shocked. Their Lord Prefect…had died, just like that?

  “This Molde didn’t know his own limits. He really was seeking death.” Bebe snorted.

  Linley turned and walked towards Olivier and the others. Laughing calmly, he said, “Let’s go!”

  “Linley!” Olivier’s face changed as he let out a cry of alarm, staring behind Linley, stunned.

  “Hrm?” Linley turned his head, puzzled.

  Lord Prefect Molde, who should have been dead, actually once more rose to his face. His eyes were flashing as he stared at Linley, stunned. “You…who are you?”

  Linley looked back at him, also stunned. “You didn’t die?” Just now, he had clearly seen Molde be struck by his attack, and then collapse. His eyes had turned glassy and lifeless. How had he come back to life?

  “Boss, this old fellow didn’t die. That’s odd.” Bebe called out.

  It was indeed quite odd. If Molde had a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, then he shouldn’t have reacted at all to Linley’s soul attack. But just now, Molde had clearly collapsed, and yet, moments later, he had completely recovered and was completely fine. This was indeed bizarre.

  “His soul attack is this powerful…and his material attacks are so strong as well…and he is so fast…he has no weaknesses at all.” Molde was stunned.

  “You are a Paragon? Which Paragon of the Infernal Realm…” Molde said. Aside from Paragons, Molde couldn’t think of any other possibilities. “You are Mr. Linley?” Molde actually guessed the truth right away.

  Truthfully, that wasn’t surprising. There were only three individuals in the Infernal Realm who were suspected of being Paragons.

  Molde had acquired information on the other two long ago. As for Linley, he had just risen to prominence two centuries ago after the Planar War. The Infernal Realm was simply too vast, and so in the past two centuries, news about him hadn’t spread everywhere just yet. Although Molde had run into an old friend who had informed about Linley, all Molde had learned was Linley’s name, and the fact that he was a member of the Azure Dragon clan who was capable of Dragonforming.

  As for Linley’s appearance, he had no idea.

  “Yes, I am Linley.” Linley laughed calmly.

  “Paragon Linley?” Molde’s three subordinates were utterly terrified as well. Their Lord Prefect had actually attempted to take revenge upon a Paragon. Wasn’t this suicide? They were stunned, but Molde was both stunned and enraged.

  “That punk, Bonin, is just a Six Star Fiend. No matter how much trouble he causes, how could he have gotten a Paragon involved?” Molde was incomprehensibly angry and shocked. He knew that the enemy was fairly powerful, but Bonin was just a Six Star Fiend, after all. Molde believed…that at most, the enemy would be a Lord Prefect level expert. A Paragon? Using a Paragon to deal with his son was a waste of talent.

  How few Paragons did the entire Infernal Realm have? Just three, and that was including Linley! How could there be such a coincidence?

  If it had been Dunnington or the other one, Molde would have immediately recognized him and given up. Unfortunately, it just so happened to be Linley. Linley was a Paragon who had just recently risen to sudden prominence ,and he didn’t have any accurate information about Linley at all.

  His son had actually managed to offend a Paragon. Molde’s luck really was quite terrible.

  “This…Mr. Linley…I apologize.” Molde forced out a smile. “Since it is you, Mr. Linley, then I’ll leave now.”

  “Leave now? If my Boss was weak, he would’ve been killed by you, and the rest of us would have as well, right?” Bebe barked. “It’s too late for you to leave now!”

  “I am quite curious. How is it that you were hit by my technique but didn’t die?” Linley looked at this Lord Prefect, Molde.

  Molde’s face changed dramatically. Not hesitating at all, with a ‘swish’, he rose into the skies, intending to flee! Against a Paragon like Linley, even if Linley wasn’t able to kill him, he would be able to control a spatial tear and shove Molde into it. Molde didn’t believe that his Sovereign would waste any time or effort in entering chaotic space to save him.

  Linley blinked, and two Voidwave Sword ripples shot towards Molde, who was in mid-flight.

  No matter how fast he moved, how could he move faster than a soul attack?

  The two Voidwave Sword ripples entered Molde’s body, and instantly, Molde’s formerly flying body became powerless. He once more fell down from the skies, smashing onto the ground. But just an instant later, Molde actually once more flipped to his feet.

  “Queer. How queer.” Linley began to laugh. “If you have a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, you shouldn’t feel a thing from my soul attack. But clearly, you don’t have one. But if you don’t have one, how could it be that you are able to survive repeated soul attacks from me?”

  Linley didn’t understand.

  “Mr. Linley, no, Lord Linley!” Molde’s face changed dramatically. He was confident in his ability to escape anyone besides a Paragon, but Paragons…they were strong in every aspect, without any flaws.

  “It really is strange.” Linley frowned, puzzled.

  “Swish!” “Swish!”

  Two more Voidwave Sword ripples shot out, once more entering Molde’s body. Molde’s eyes immediately became lifeless, and he once more fell onto the ground. This time
, Linley used his divine sense to keep a close watch on Molde, carefully inspecting Molde for any changes. Linley’s divine sense thoroughly filled every single part of Molde’s body; it was extremely forceful and dominating.

  Molde’s eyes opened, and he once more regained consciousness.

  “So that’s how it is.” Linley finally discovered where the secret lay.

  “Lord Prefect…” The white-browed man and the other two, seeing the situation was turning grim, hurriedly fled, leaving behind only Molde himself.

  After regaining consciousness, the first thing Molde saw was Linley walking towards him. His face changed dramatically, and he suddenly tunneled underground.

  “Haha, you won’t be able to escape.”

  Linley laughed loudly, and then his body suddenly appeared next to Molde, and he grabbed Molde by the shoulders.

  Linley’s other hand then grabbed at Molde’s ‘bracelet’. “No!” Feeling Linley grab the bracelet, the Lord Prefect of Skymount instantly grew frantic, but Linley gave his left hand a forceful tug, and with a ‘crack’, the bracelet shattered as the nine green pearls flew into Linley’s hand.

  “The reason why you were able to survive despite being hit by me multiple times has something to do with these nine soul pearls, yes?” Linley glanced at him.

  Seeing that Linley held the soul pearls in his hand, the Lord Prefect’s face instantly turned ashen.

  Book 20, The Crown’s Riddle – Chapter 13, The Secret of the Nine Pearls

  “Boss, the reason why you weren’t able to kill him was these nine soul pearls? What are these nine soul pearls?” Bebe flew next to Linley as well, inspecting the nine soul pearls hovering in Linley’s hands with curiosity. “Boss, I don’t feel anything special about these nine pearls?”

  Linley chuckled. “When I first saw the Lord Prefect of Skymount, I didn’t sense anything special about these soul pearls either; I thought that wearing a bracelet was just personal habit of his. Only when I tried to kill him multiple times with no success did I notice that these soul pearls were rather unique.”

  How keen was Linley’s judgment now?

  He was able to immediately tell, at a glance, that the Lord Prefect of Skymount’s bracelet wasn’t a divine artifact, and so Linley had taken it for a mere trinket with no value. And, indeed, the bracelet wasn’t a divine artifact. Linley was able to crush the bracelet with his fingers with ease. The truly valuable items were those nine soul pearls.

  “Lord Prefect of Skymount, is my guess correct?”

  “Lord Linley!” The Lord Prefect of Skymount’s face was ashen. He hurriedly said, “Correct. Your guess is correct. These nine soul pearls are a precious treasure that were naturally formed, and they contain an incomprehensible life force within them. As long as you are wearing these nine soul pearls, an inexhaustible, endless amount of life energy will fill your entire body and soul. Although your soul attack was powerful, Lord Linley, the energy of the soul pearls continuously protected me, and so even though my soul was damaged, it was quickly healed.”

  Molde no longer had anything left he could rely on.

  He had thought that by relying on his soul pearls, others wouldn’t be able to kill him. And Molde’s power was indeed quite great. Matching that with the soul pearls…meant that he could be considered one of the topmost commanders. This was why Molde had so confidently come to fight.

  After seeing Linley’s unfamiliar face, he had felt all the more confident.

  But who would have imagined…that this was Linley, the Paragon who had risen to sudden prominence in the Infernal Realm! A Paragon…they were the most powerful entities amongst Deities. The soul pearls could protect Molde, but they weren’t able to increase his attack power. In front of Linley, Molde was nothing more than a punching bag!

  Now that he lost those nine soul pearls, he had nothing left at all.

  “Oh, these soul pearls are so special?” Bebe mumbled in surprise.

  “Molde. Did you bind these soul pearls?” Linley said calmly.

  “No.” Molde said hurriedly.

  Linley willed a drop of blood to emerge from his finger, which then flew towards one of the soul pearls hovering above his hand.

  “Drip!”

  The blood fell atop this jade green soul pearl, splattered, then rolled down and fell onto Linley’s palm.

  “It actually didn’t go in?” Linley said with a frown.

  “Lord Linley, these soul pearls are a miraculous treasure which was naturally formed by the heavens, rather than a divine artifact. There is no way to bind them with blood.” Molde said hurriedly. Linley gave Molde a sidelong glance, then held the nine soul pearls within his palm. Instantly, he felt a surge of unique energy fill his entire body. Under Linley’s control, this surge of energy even flooded into his soul.

  Comfortable!

  Linley felt as though his soul was being protected by this very unique type of energy.

  “How curious. This sort of treasure…only the heavens themselves could give birth to such a thing.” Linley sighed in praise.

  “Right. Right.” Molde hurriedly said.

  “Boss, these soul pearls are quite unique, but how can you be certain that the reason why Molde was struck by your soul attack without dying was because of these pearls?” Bebe pursed his lips. “Perhaps the soul pearls are unique, but they aren’t necessarily the true treasure which protected Molde from dying. Perhaps he might have another treasure as well.”

  Molde’s face changed dramatically.

  “The best way to test it, Boss, is to give this Molde yet another soul attack. If this time, Molde dies, then that proves that it really was the soul pearls which were protecting him. If he doesn’t die, then it means he was lying.” Bebe laughed as he spoke, but in the eyes of Molde, Bebe’s laughter was so evil, so terrifying!

  “Molde, what do you think? Is my reasoning correct?” Bebe looked at Molde and laughed, but he didn’t even attempt to hide the killing intent in his eyes.

  These words were like the pronouncement of a death sentence upon Molde.

  In terms of mentality, Bebe, a divine beast, still had a stronger desire to kill than Linley. Anyone who posed a threat to Linley or who had ever attacked Linley…as far as Bebe was concerned, such a person deserved death.

  “Boss, if Molde doesn’t die, he will cause problems in the future, eventually. He is currently the Lord Prefect of Skymount, and won’t dare to take his revenge on you, Boss. That’s only because he isn’t strong enough. But if, one day, he were to make a breakthrough and become a Paragon, he probably would no longer fear you, Boss. Even if he isn’t able to take revenge on you, Olivier will be in danger.” Bebe sent mentally.

  Bebe was farsighted. Anything that might pose a threat should be killed!

  “Lord Linley…” Molde stammered in terror.

  Molde’s current attitude was completely opposite to his earlier, brash, murderous attitude.

  “When you thought you were strong, you attacked; when you discovered that the enemy was too strong, you submitted.” After having experienced the savagery of the Planar Wars, Linley wouldn’t be as soft-hearted as a woman. “Swish!” A Voidwave Sword ripple shot forth from Linley’s forehead, so fast that Molde wasn’t able to react at all as it drove into his body.

  Molde’s body trembled, and then the light disappeared from his eyes as he slumped down.

  “Clink!” A blood-red set of armor fell out from his body onto the ground. This was his defensive Sovereign artifact.

  “This time, he’s really dead.” Bebe laughed.

  Olivier, Diana, and their son, ‘Deia’, walked over now. Olivier looked at the deceased Lord Prefect, then looked towards Linley with gratitude. “Linley, thank you. You helped me yet again.” If the Lord Prefect didn’t die, Olivier definitely would have been unable to rest easy.

  “Thank you, Uncle Linley.” Deia said as well, and then he gave the corpse of Molde a vicious look, as though placing the blame for the death of his older brother up
on the Lord Prefect.

  “When I dealt with Bonin, I prepared myself for the possible eventuality of having to deal with Molde as well. Only…I didn’t expect that Molde would actually be in possession of this sort of miraculous natural treasure.” Linley looked at the nine soul pearls in his hand and sighed.

  “How unfortunate. Molde, as suspected, has clones somewhere.” Bebe dripped a drop of blood onto the armor, but it didn’t go in.

  “Forget it. Just leave it there.” Linley said with a calm laugh. “After having lost his most powerful divine clone, Molde is no longer much of a threat.” Without his most powerful divine clone, even if Molde had a Saint-level clone somewhere who was able to fuse with a divine sparks all the way to the Highgod level, he wouldn’t be able to make any more advances. This meant that there was no hope for Molde to reach the level of Paragons. Anyone not at the Paragon level, as far as Linley was concerned, could be slaughtered easily by him.

  “Hmph. I’m not going to let him get anything back.” Bebe waved his hand, drawing Molde’s interspatial ring towards him, and then with a vicious clench and a ‘crack’, Bebe shattered the interspatial ring.

  If he couldn’t get it, he wouldn’t let Molde get it either!

  As for that Sovereign artifact…it was made by a Sovereign, and Bebe didn’t dare do anything to it. Sovereigns wouldn’t care about you killing an Emissary, as that was the fault of the Emissary for being too weak. But destroying a Sovereign artifact or tossing it into chaotic space? The Sovereign would be angered. The artifact was something which a Sovereign had spent a tremendous amount of time and effort on, after all.

  “This treasure isn’t bad, but it’s not very useful for me.” Linley glanced at the nine soul pearls.

  “Let’s go.”

  With a thought, Linley stored the nine soul pearls into his interspatial ring.

  “We’re off to Indigo Prefecture!” Bebe laughed. Olivier looked at his wife and son, then laughed as well, content. Linley’s group of five once more boarded their metallic lifeform and began to fly at high speed towards Indigo Prefecture, in the west.