Oh, right.” Bebe remembered. “I remember now. When I was very, very young, so young that I couldn’t even open my eyes, I heard a very close, very warm voice speak to me.”
Linley immediately looked at Bebe. He had never heard Bebe speak of this before.
It was normal for magical beasts to be unable to open their eyes soon after they were born. At that time, Bebe most likely had just been born not long ago. That was a very distant memory. If Linley hadn’t brought it up, Bebe wouldn’t have recalled it either.
“That voice told me that I belonged to some clan. It instructed me to hide in the back courtyard of your clan’s manor and to not run around. And then, the voice disappeared.” Bebe was very puzzled.
“The Bei-something clan?” Linley said questioningly.
“I don’t recall very well. It seems to have been Bei…Bei…oh!” Bebe’s little eyes lit up. “‘Beirut’ [Bei’lu’te]. Right. It seems to have been ‘Beirut’. That voice told me that I was a member of the mighty Beirut clan. It told me not to run around, because it was dangerous outside. That’s why I stayed in your manor’s back courtyard the entire time, Boss, as I slowly grew up there.”
Linley now understood.
“The Beirut clan?” Linley was puzzled. “Magical beasts have clans?”
Bebe shook his head in confusion as well. “I don’t know either. I never met my parents after I was born. I just stayed at the back courtyard of your clan’s manor, and all I had to eat were those pieces of rubble.”
Linley firmly imprinted this name into his memory – the Beirut clan!
Linley was absolutely certain that he had never heard of any powerful clan in the Yulan continent named ‘Beirut’. But this clan was most likely a magical beast clan.
A magical beast clan?
Linley didn’t know about it because he was not a magical beast.
But Bebe didn’t know either, because he had no parents.
Ten more days passed for Linley within Cloudpeaks Village. Per Linley’s agreement with McKenzie, all he had to do was make a single trip to visit the Jacques clan within thirty days.
“Big brother Linley, you have a letter.” Jenne ran in excitedly from outside.
“Oh, it should be from the Dawson Conglomerate.”
The Dawson Conglomerate sent a letter every month. Linley immediately walked out. There was a young man leading a horse outside. Upon seeing Linley, the young man immediately bowed and said courteously, “Lord Ley, here is your letter.”
Linley accepted the letter and laughed. “Next month, there will be no need for you to come here.”
The young man looked at Linley questioningly.
“By this time next month, I will no longer be here.” Linley had made the decision long ago that in the next few days, he would head to the Jacques clan.
His wounds had healed long ago, and after Dragonforming, he was a Saint-level combatant. It was time to go visit his little brother.
It had been a long, long time since he had met with Wharton. In his heart, Linley had always missed this one and only sibling of his.
“Yes, Lord Ley.” The young man said respectfully, and then he mounted his horse and left.
As for Linley, he opened the letter and read it. The letter had quite a good amount of general information regarding the current state of affairs for the Radiant Church and the Yulan continent as a whole. It also had some information about Reynolds, George, and Yale. At the bottom was information regarding Wharton.
“George is really formidable.” Linley mentally sighed in praise.
With the support of the Walsh family, George had continued on his upward trajectory within the Yulan Empire. He himself was very talented as well, but more importantly…
The Third Prince of the Yulan Empire had successfully inherited the imperial throne, becoming the Emperor of the Yulan Empire.
Prior to the Third Prince assuming the position of Emperor, George had been on very close terms with him. The two of them were politically of one mind. Now that the Third Prince had succeeded his father as Emperor, George had become the youngest Grand Secretary in the Yulan Empire.
The entire Yulan Empire only had twelve Grand Secretaries. Each of them possessed extraordinary power and authority. What’s more, George was also the Deputy for the Right Premier of the Yulan Empire.
“By comparison, Reynolds hasn’t done as well as George.” Linley chuckled, then he closely read the information regarding Wharton. Linley had a general idea of what Wharton was up to.
But upon reading the letter…
“What?!” Linley was shocked. “Wharton has asked the Emperor for the Seventh Princess’s hand in marriage?”
The Dawson Conglomerate had just transmitted this news to the provincial capital of Basil not long ago. After all, this event only happened a few days ago.
“The Emperor didn’t agree?”
Frowning, Linley continued to read. “Fortunately, although he didn’t agree, he didn’t refuse too harshly either.”
According to the letter, the Emperor was continuing to delay.
That Lamonte had gone long ago to ask the same question, and the Emperor hadn’t agreed then either. Now that Wharton had gone, the Emperor still declined to agree. What he said was, “Nina is still young. There is no rush.”
Nina was already twenty one years old. She wasn’t that young.
But Nina was both a magus and a warrior, and her affinity as a magus was to water magic, which was of exceeding benefit to one’s body. Nina’s lifespan would definitely be very long. It would be easy for her to live for three or four hundred years. Given this, it was true that she did not need to be in a rush to marry.
“One is the son of the Left Premier of the Empire, while the other is an honorary disciple of the War God’s College.” Linley could immediately tell who his younger brother’s greatest adversary was. It was the Left Premier’s son, that magus named Caylan.
“It seems as though the situation isn’t looking good.” Linley’s forehead was furrowed. A cold light flashed in his eyes. “No matter what, I can’t let Wharton walk the same road that I did. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’ll go pay a visit to the Jacques clan. After satisfying the agreement, we’ll head directly to the imperial capital.”
Linley had made his decision.
But right at that moment…
“Lord, Lord!” The familiar voice of Gates rang out. Gates was probably the most lively of the five brothers.
“Lord!” It wasn’t just Gates; the others were shouting as well.
Puzzled, Linley returned to the courtyard. As he did, Gates and the others immediately rushed to him, their faces filled with wild joy.
“All of you are so happy. What’s the good news?” Linley laughed.
“Second brother, second brother has already reached the ninth rank!” Gates was the first to speak.
“Ankh, our second brother, is at the Saint-level as well after transforming.” The third brother, Hazer, said with joy.
Linley was startled.
Of the five brothers, Barker was the first to reach the ninth rank. After he possessed the power of the Saint-level, the other four brothers, all at the peak of the eighth rank, continued to work hard. Unexpectedly, another one had reached the ninth rank so soon.
“Myself. Bebe. Barker. Ankh. All of a sudden, four of us have reached the Saint-level.” Linley had never heard of a clan possessing four Saint-level combatants. The scariest part of it was…the other three brothers could break through at any moment as well.
Linley had no idea, but he was grinning so widely that his lips threatened to split apart.
Perhaps the very next day, someone would come running over to tell him that another one of the five brothers had broken through. They would then have yet another Saint-level in their ranks.
Linley now felt all the more convinced that his decision to go rescue Barker and his brothers was an absolutely genius decision. By now, aside from Barker and Ankh, the other three brothers could be considered Saint-levels in the making.