Book 8, The Ten Thousand Kilometer Journey – Chapter 38, The Church’s Strategy
After Cesar left, Linley’s group immediately headed off that morning in the direction of the provincial capital of Basil. This time, they weren’t in too much of a hurry. But for the five Barker brothers, who were warriors of the eighth rank, the speed at which they travelled was still quite fast.
By nightfall the next day, Linley’s group arrived at a town near the provincial capital of Basil.
“This town is called Cloudpeaks Village.” Zassler laughed as he introduced the town. “In the past, I spent over ten years in this small town. The people here are fairly honest and simple, and they rarely interact with the outside world. Generally speaking, very few people come here. It is quite peaceful.”
Linley nodded.
What they needed was a peaceful place. This time, when he fought against Stehle, he had very nearly lost his life. Linley made up his mind that he would have to train until he was at least a warrior of the ninth rank in human form. That way, after being Dragonformed, his power would be at the Saint-level.
“If I can reach the Saint-level, then a few years later after that, when I combine my insights and understanding of the principles of using the sword with my superior speed, even if I encounter Stehle again, I’ll still be able to flee, even if I can’t win.”
Linley had a very good grasp of the strengths of this mutated Dragonform he had.
After devouring the blood as well as the draconic core of that Armored Razorback Wyrm, Linley’s mutated Dragonform had inherited the strengths of the Armored Razorback Wyrm; its speed and its defense.
As the five Barker brothers stared at the peaceful town, their eyes were firm and resolute as well.
“There will definitely come the day when I will get revenge for my wife and my son.” Barker and his brothers also knew the state of affairs between Linley, Zassler, and the Radiant Church.
Without question, this group was now under the leadership of Linley.
This squad was completely composed of the enemies of the Radiant Church.
On the west side of Cloudpeaks Village, Linley and his people engaged in a quick transaction with some local nobles, spending ten thousand gold coins to invite many laborers to come and erect a new residence.
Ten thousand gold coins, in a countryside town such as this, was enough to build a very lavish residence.
The very next day, Linley brought Rebecca and Leena to this place. From this day forward, Linley’s team all quietly took up residence here, focusing on their training.
“Rumble.”
The ocean waves crashed against the shore, throwing up countless sprays of foam. Above the jade-blue ocean waters, a human figure could be seen flying over at high speed. In a short period of time, the human figure arrived at the shore. It was Stehle.
“Things have gotten complicated now.” Stehle was extremely frustrated.
The Church had placed a very high degree of importance on obtaining those five bodies. Most likely, it would even be willing to give up one of its Saint-level combatants or offend the O’Brien Empire to do so. In order to make sure nothing would go amiss, Heidens had even asked him, Stehle, to handle it.
But the result was…
Stehle stared at that distant, mighty Radiant Cathedral.
“Woosh.” Stehle once more took to the air. The knights surrounding the Radiant Temple, upon seeing someone flying towards it, couldn’t help but tense. Only after seeing that it was Stehle did they calm down.
Within the ninth floor of the Radiant Temple.
“Oh, Stehle’s back.” Heidens had already seen through his window the sight of Stehle flying back through the air. “What’s going on? Why did Stehle come back alone?”
Heidens had a very bad premonition.
“Creak.” Without any forewarning, the door to his room swung upon. Stehle, as cold as thousand-year glacial ice, walked in.
“Stehle, what happened? Where are they? Where are those five bodies of the eighth rank?” Heidens was frowning and he asked his questions hurriedly.
Stehle shook his head. “Your Holiness, acquiring those five bodies is no longer an option for us.”
“What happened?” Heidens’ face sank.
Those five bodies represented five peak-stage Saint-level combatants. Their importance to the Radiant Church couldn’t be understated.
Stehle said in a low, somber voice, “Your Holiness, originally, I was escorting those five brothers along the way. But when we entered the prefectural city of Deco, we ran into two people.”
“Which two people?” Heidens didn’t believe there was someone capable of stopping Stehle.
“Linley, Zassler.” Stehle’s voice was extremely cold.
“Linley? Zassler?” Heidens was startled.
This Linley had disappeared for three years. He now appeared out of nowhere?
Heidens couldn’t help but think back to three years ago. Heidens truly did not wish to kill an ultimate genius such as Linley. But he had no other choice. However, three years ago, after Linley disappeared from Hess City, no one ever found any trace of him again.
But now, Linley was in cahoots with Zassler?
“Are you telling me that it was Linley who had rescued Zassler?” Heidens’ eyes lit up.
Stehle nodded. “Yes. This Linley is already extremely, extremely powerful. Beneath the Saint-level, there’s definitely no one who can match him. Only Saint-level fighters or other extremely powerful fighters can defeat him.”
“Six combatants of the ninth rank. He can kill that many?” Heidens found it rather hard to believe.
Stehle nodded somberly. “Your Holiness, I must inform you that this Linley has two extremely powerful magical beasts. Both of them should be peak-stage magical beasts of the ninth rank. And in addition…in terms of insight and understanding regarding fundamental principles, Linley is already nearing the peak-stage Saint level.”
“Nearing the peak-stage Saint-level?” Heidens was very shocked.
After all, the higher one’s level of understanding was already at, the harder it would be to progress to the next level of understanding. There were people who would spend hundreds of years training yet still fail to improve whatsoever.
“Yes. Linley has already surpassed the level of using the force of the heavens. His current form of attack is extremely strange and unique. What’s more, I have the feeling that right now, he has only mastered a small part of that level. Despite that, he was able to cause me a light wound.” Stehle couldn’t help but reflect on how bizarre Linley’s attack using the ‘Profound Truths of the Earth’ was.
“I’ve never encountered an attack such as that. That sort of attack wasn’t based on battle-qi, nor was it based purely on strength. It was…” Stehle paused, not quite able to find the right words to express it.
Hearing Stehle say such things, Heidens was very surprised.
An attack which could cause a light wound to a peak-stage Saint-level combatant such as Stehle was already, in and of itself, quite astonishing.
“What was so special about his attack? How would one defend against it?” Heidens immediately asked.
Stehle nodded. “His attack could pass through the exterior muscles and transmit its force directly into the internal organs. In other words, exterior layers of defense, no matter how powerful, are virtually useless.”