Book 1, Chapter 18 – The Coiling Dragon Spirit (part 1)
In the eastern sky, the gray-robed man still stood on the head of the Black Dragon which lay coiled in the sky. A self-assured smile was on his face, as he watched the green-robed man battle against his earthen giant.
“Sschhhhwiing!”
A piercing sound split the air as the green-robed man’s sword pierced directly into the earthen giant’s head. “Rumble!” The earthen giant’s head split apart, but the earthen giant didn’t collapse. It’s boulder-like fists directly slammed onto the green-robed man’s body.
“Ah!” Then green-robed man spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire face turning ashen white.
And then, the earthen giant’s shattered head began to reform and regenerate, as though no damage had been done at all!
“Dillon, you’d best just hand it over. The World Protector that I summoned isn’t something that you can overcome.” The gray-robed man riding the Black Dragon said calmly.
The green-robed man stared coldly at the gray-robed man. He suddenly said in a fierce voice, “Rudi, if I can’t have it, then you won’t either!” A bright green light began to shine from within the green-robed man’s hands. Upon seeing this, the gray-robed man who had previously been standing so calmly on the head of the Black Dragon immediately grew startled and anxious. “Stop!”
“Splatter!”
The green-robed man’s arms suddenly shone as bright as the sun. An explosive sound could be heard, and then immediately disappeared.
“Dillon, you-!” The gray-robed man pointed angrily at the green-robed man, but couldn’t say anything.
The green-robed man’s face was ashen white as he stared at the gray-robed man, whose face had also turned white. “Now, nobody has it. Rudi, I’ve been injured, but if you want to kill me, that’s still going to be quite hard to accomplish!” With a cold laugh, the green-robed man transformed into a beam of green light as he flew off at a fast speed into the northeastern skies.
The gray-robed man watched him fly off. He only frowned, and did not pursue.
The earthen giant by the gray-robed man’s side also slowly disappeared.
“The ‘Stellar Sword Saint’ Dillon? Pity. I can’t kill him yet.” The gray-robed man said in a low voice. And then the Black Dragon underneath his feat, as though knowing his master’s wishes, flapped its enormous wings and went flying off into the southeastern direction.
In the blink of an eye, these two Saint-level combatants had disappeared.
But Wushan township was still filled with the sight of utter devastation. Nearly a thousand houses had collapsed, and screams of pain, angry curses, and sorrowful, pain-filled cries filled the air. In a short period of time, the previously peaceful township had turned into a disaster area.
................
Within the Baruch clan manor courtyard, there was only Hogg.
Hogg was seated at a table, his forehead furrowed. As the controller of Wushan township, he absolutely had to think carefully about how to take care of his people.
Footsteps. Uncle Hiri emerged from within the living room. “Lord.”
“How is Linley?” Hogg immediately turned his head and asked.
Hiri chuckled. “Lord, please be at ease. I’ve already washed and cleaned young master Linley’s wounds, then re-bandaged them. I’ve made him eat a big meal, and then change his clothes and go to bed. By the time he wakes up, he’ll be much better.”
Only now did Hogg feel relieved, and he nodded. But his forehead was still furrowed.
“Lord, are you worrying about the people of Wushan township?” Hiri asked.
Hogg nodded. Smiling wryly, he said, “Uncle Hiri, most of the people in Wushan township aren’t like us. Wushan township’s men won’t be too bad off, as most of them are warriors of the first or second rank, but the women aren’t. For so many boulders to come raining from the skies non-stop, it would be hard for them to block any at all!”
Hiri nodded as well.
The number of people in Wushan township who were able to utilize ‘battle-qi’ could be counted on one hand. Just now, thousands of rocks had descended from the heavens. If people hadn’t managed to hide in cellars early on, or use thick shields to block, then as soon as the stones came crashing down...
“There’s nothing we can do now, aside from waiting on Hillman’s report.” Hogg felt extremely restless.
After a long time, urgent, rushed footsteps could be heard entering the manor.
Hogg’s eyes brightened. Turning, he saw Hillman striding quickly into the manor.
“Hillman, what’s the situation in Wushan township?” Hogg quickly asked.
Hillman let out a pain-filled sigh. “We just ran some calculations. Over three hundred people died, and a thousand were injured.” The entire township only had a population of five thousand. This meant the casualty ratio was about 20%! And this was for those who lived in stone houses. This really was a diaster.
“So many casualties?” Hogg couldn’t help but begin to grow worried.
Food was the lifesblood of any nation, and a small town was the same. For their workforce to suddenly decrease dramatically, but the number of injured and crippled to skyrocket...the economic situation of the town was going to worsen even further.
“Ugh!” Hogg let out a long sigh.
He wanted to lower their taxes, but Wushan townships tax rate was already very low. Right now, his own clan’s survival had already become a problem. How could he assist the commoners of the town? The situation was different from those other towns, where taxes were so high that many commoners died of exhaustion and misery.
“Lord Hogg, all the commoners in Wushan township greatly appreciate your kindness and generosity. Everybody knows how much you have done for us. Please don’t be too vexed.” Hillman said from the side.
Hillman himself was born in Wushan township.
Based on his status as a warrior of the sixth rank, even in the capital, he could be the guard captain for a noble family. But because Hillman felt gratitude towards the Baruch clan due to their kindness and generosity, after Hillman retired from his army career, he directly became the captain of the guard for this decaying old noble Baruch clan.
“Hillman, lead the guard squad to do some more scouting about the township. Uncle Hiri, go and get some rest.” Hogg directly instructed.
“Yes, lord.” Hillman said.
Housekeeper Hiri also bowed respectfully and departed. After Hillman also left the pavilion, once again, the only person left remaining was Hogg.
....
Within Linley’s bedroom.
Due to Linley’s head injury, Hiri had instructed everybody not to bother Linley and to let him get some rest. While Wushan township was a whirlwind of activity, Linley’s bedroom was peaceful and quiet. Linley himself had been drawn deeply into a world of dreams.
“Ding!”
A gentle, chime-like sound could be heard as rays of light began to leak out from Linley’s chest area. And then, a cage of light surrounded the pitch-black Coiling Dragon ring, which slowly flew out from under Linley’s pajamas and began to hover roughly ten centimeters away from him.
The ring began trembling more strongly, and the glow from the Coiling Dragon ring began to grow as well.
Fortunately, there was no one in Linley’s bedroom right now. Anyone entering the room would have been stunned. Linley, however, was still blissfully asleep, and didn’t notice at all that the Coiling Dragon ring was now floating.
“Ting!” The glow surrounding the Coiling Dragon ring suddenly began to contract rapidly, and then a single ray of hazy light flew out from within the ring. Descending next to Linley’s bed, it transformed into a person’s image.
The image was of an amiable looking old gentleman with moon-white robes and a long white beard.
At this point in time, the Coiling Dragon ring directly fell back onto Linley’s chest, powerless. Linley’s eyelids flickered, and then slowly opened. Upon seeing an old man whom he had never met before at the head of his bed, he couldn’t help but feel shocked. “You...who are you?!”
“Hello, kiddo. My name is Doehring Cowart [De’lin Ke’wo’te]. I am a Saint-level Grand Magus of the Pouant [Pu’ang] Empire!” The amiable looking old man said with a smile.
Linley’s eyes suddenly turned round. “You...you are a Saint-level magus instructor?”
The white-haired old man nodded confidently.
“No way. Gramps, you just said you are from the Pouant Empire. The Pouant Empire that was eradicated over five thousand years ago?” Linley was quite familiar with the history of the world, and he knew very well that the Pouant Empire had ceased to exist before his own clan had even came to be. In the modern era, the Pouant Empire was not one of the four great empires of the world.