Book 10, Baruch – Chapter 8, The Terrifying Power of Grand Magus Saints
“Oh?” The beautiful woman was surprised.
A hint of a smile was on Desri’s face. When he had seen Bebe on Linley’s shoulders, he had been shocked as well. As soon as he saw Bebe, Desri had decided…he had to build up a good relationship with Linley, no matter what the cost was.
In Desri’s heart, he found it hard to believe that Bebe would recognize a human as his master.
But Desri understood that since Linley was Bebe’s master, then building a good relationship with Linley was absolutely necessary.
“I want to see what sort of magical beast this is.” Seeing the secretive air that Desri was putting on, she chuckled then followed him out. After walking for a while, Desri and his wife arrived at the place where Hayward, Livingston, and Linley and the others were.
The beautiful woman immediately stared at Linley’s shoulders.
But…there was nothing on Linley’s shoulders.
“On the table.” Desri’s voice rang out in the beautiful woman’s mind. Only now did the beautiful woman notice that adorable little Shadowmouse, Bebe, was holding a cup of wine and drinking it in a very satisfied manner. “The fur is black!” The beautiful woman’s heart shook.
Mice with black fur weren’t necessarily restricted to just the lowest type of Shadowmice.
Perhaps the Radiant Church and the War God’s College weren’t familiar with what Bebe was, but the Anarchic Lands and the Frost Goddess Shrine definitely were.
“Father. Mother.” Monica was extremely happy, but upon seeing her mother, Monica began to worry for Reynolds. She knew what sort of temper her mother had.
Desri and the beautiful woman walked towards the table together, taking the hosts’ seats.
“Desri’s wife?” Linley stared at this beautiful woman in astonishment. In terms of hair and every other aspect, Monica and her mother looked identical. Outsiders would think that they were siblings. However, that icy aura surrounding this beautiful woman made Linley feel surprise in his heart.
“Yet another expert, one who isn’t much weaker than Miller.”
Linley once more felt that the War God’s words were very true. The War God had said…of those experts who had quietly trained in seclusion for thousands of years in the Yulan continent, aside from the Deities, the highest tier was the five Prime Saints including Fain and Desri. The second tier was the tier of the Holy Emperor, while the third was Haydson. Haydson’s level was just an ordinary level amongst the hidden experts.
This was the reason why Olivier had tasted bitter defeat in the Arctic Icecap. After all, he wasn’t even able to defeat Haydson. Who could he possibly defeat?
Desri said warmly, “Linley, let me make the introductions. This is my wife, Pennslyn [Bing’se’lin].”
“Sincerest greetings, Madame.” Linley said humbly.
A friendly smile appeared on Pennslyn’s face. “I truly am sorry. I’ve been training this entire time and just came out now. I hope you don’t mind.” As soon as she said these words, the nearby Monica was shocked. Her mother’s temper was such that aside from Monica’s father, her mother paid others no heed.
But…her mother had actually apologized? Was being polite?
Was this her icy, cold mother?
This was the first time Linley met Pennslyn. Naturally, he didn’t know about her normal temper. He thought Pennslyn was very friendly by nature, and he immediately laughed, “Madame, you are too courteous.”
“Monica, this is the Reynolds you’ve spoken of?” Pennslyn chuckled as she looked over at her daughter, and then her gaze rested on Reynolds. Reynolds had been warned by Monica early on, and thus he felt some dread towards this future mother-in-law of his.
Monica hurriedly said, “Yes, mother.”
“Sincerest greetings, Madame.” Reynolds felt rather nervous.
An approving look was in Pennslyn’s eyes. “Mmm, not bad at all. Monica…good eye. Why didn’t you bring Reynolds over sooner?” These words from Pennslyn instantly filled Reynolds with joy. It seemed as though this future mother-in-law had taken a liking to him.
But Monica was flabbergasted once again.
Was this her mother?
Linley’s impression towards Pennslyn became even more favorable. Just at this time, a clear, loud voice rang out. “Big brother, I hear we have guests?” A middle-aged man with long, dazzling golden hair walked in. His gaze immediately fell upon Linley, but at the same time, when he noticed the nearby Bebe, he raised an eyebrow.
“Higginson [Xi’jin’seng], hurry on over. You are the last one.” Desri laughed.
Immediately, Desri turned to look at Linley. “Linley, Higginson, like Hayward, came alongside me to this place. He also trains in the Elemental Laws of Light.”
“Sincerest greetings, Mr. Higginson.” Linley immediately said.
Higginson found an empty seat and sat down, then laughed, “Linley, don’t be so courteous. Just treat this place like you would your own home.” Hearing these words, Linley felt warmth in his heart. Desri and his gang truly were incomparably hospitable.
Within this inner mountain residence, there were some serving maids as well.
The serving maids brought over all sorts of delicacies, and the group began to engage in idle conversation. Reynolds and Monica sat there, not daring to say much. It was primarily Desri and the others chatting with Linley, while occasionally mentioning Bebe.
But today, Bebe didn’t have much to say. As Linley would’ve described it…Bebe was ‘playing it cool’.
Over the course of this discussion, Linley had discovered that the leader of this group was Desri, of course, followed by Hayward and Higginson, who had come to this place alongside Desri. Next was Miller, Livingston, and Foreman. This was obvious because…Miller, Livingston, and Foreman all addressed Desri as ‘Lord’, while Hayward and Higginson addressed him as ‘big brother’.
After the meal.
After having eaten and drank their fill, these people naturally wanted to go do something.
Linley and the other experts naturally wanted to engage in some sparring.
“Linley, Foreman is also a practitioner of the Elemental Laws of Earth, just like yourself. How about you two have a spar?” Miller chuckled, while a hint of a smile appeared on Foreman’s face as well, revealing two large dimples. “Miller, there’s no need for me to spar with Linley. My training path in the Elemental Laws of Earth is roughly the same as Haydson’s. Since he has already competed against Haydson, there’s no need for him to spar with me.”
Livingston glanced at him. “Foreman, you scared?”
Desri laughed, “Foreman speaks the truth. His power is almost identical to Haydson’s. There’s not much point to him sparring with Linley. How about this…Hayward, why don’t you spar with Linley instead?” Desri glanced at Linley. “Linley, you need to be careful. Hayward’s power is extremely strong.”
“But he is a Grand Magus Saint.” Linley still remembered Desri’s introduction.
“So what if I am?” Hayward laughed.
Linley let out an awkward laugh. In his view, a Grand Magus Saint without the protection of a magical beast who was to engage in open battle against a Saint-level warrior would be at a great disadvantage. Linley asked, “Mr. Hayward, can it be that you don’t have a magical beast companion?”
“I did, and he was a Saint. But unfortunately, he is dead already.” Hayward sighed.
Desri nodded. “Two thousand years ago, for the sake of protecting Hayward, that Saint-level magical beast died. That time, another one of my close friends died as well. I wanted to save him, but I wasn’t able to help in time…alas…” Desri, Hayward, and Higginson seemed to be reminiscing about past events.
Linley was secretly shocked.
Despite Desri having been there, a Saint-level magical beast had died in order to protect Hayward. Just how fierce had that battle been?
“Why did you bring up magical beasts? Can it be that you believe a Grand Magus Saint with no magical beast is inadequate?” Hayward looked at Linley with a laugh.
Linley could only chuckle.
As Linley saw it…in sparring with a Grand Magus Saint, he would rely on his speed to charge over and defeat the opponent before his opponent had even had the chance to use any magic. Wouldn’t that be an easy victory? If he were to allow his opponent to use his magic, on the other hand, then he probably wouldn’t even have a chance to run.
The main thing that mattered was speed. What was the point of competing?
“Linley, after reaching the Saint-level, you’ve been living in the O’Brien Empire, right?” Desri suddenly said.
Linley nodded. “Right. What of it?” Linley was confused as to why Desri would suddenly ask him this.
Desri laughed, “That makes sense. The O’Brien Empire is famous for its warriors, while the Yulan Empire is famous for its magi. Most likely, all the Saints you encountered in the O’Brien Empire were Warrior Saints, and you haven’t truly sparred against a Grand Magus Saint.”