Book 01, Coiling Dragon Ring Read online

  Hiri was facing Linley, and simply couldn’t see the giant boulder headed towards the warehouse. But Linley saw everything clearly. When the boulder descended and shattered the room, how could little Wharton survive?

  “Young master Linley?” Seeing how Linley was acting, Hiri couldn’t help but feel shocked.

  Three more boulders came crashing down near Linley, but moving like a panther, Linley continued to charge forwards, his gaze fixed on little Wharton as he finally entered the warehouse. Hiri, turning around, only now became aware of that two-meter long boulder descending towards the warehouse. His face immediately turned white.

  “Lie down!” Linley roared angrily, his face fierce.

  Wharton had never seen his big brother look so angry before, and was so terrified that he immediately lay down. His eyes filled with tears, he looked at Linley and mumbled, “Big brother… ” But with a flying hug, Linley tackled Wharton and covered him with his own body.

  Almost just at that instant…

  “CRASH!”

  The sound of the boulder crashing into the warehouse. That enormous boulder had smashed into the warehouse roof with terrifying power. Although the stone roof of the warehouse was sturdy, when slammed into by such a huge boulder, it still broke apart. Even the floor of the warehouse was shattered apart by the vibrations from that collision.

  “Young master-” Housekeeper Hiri’s eyes immediately turned red. The battle-qi in his body exploded, and like a bolt of red lightning, he flew towards them. Using his own body as a protective barrier, he also used his two hands to push at a huge piece of the falling roof which was going to fall on Linley’s body. Hiri and that collapsing ceiling arrived next to Linley at almost the same time.

  “Rumble, rumble… “

  In the blink of an eye, Wharton, Linley, and Hiri were totally trapped and pressed down under the falling rubble.

  Hogg was in the courtyard, wielding an enormous sword, deflecting one boulder after another. But when he turned his head towards Linley, he saw Linley risk everything to protect Wharton, and then Housekeeper Hiri fly towards them to protect them both. His mind immediately went blank.

  The warehouse collapsed, and rubble poured down into it.

  “Linley!” Hogg’s eyes turned red.

  Right now, there was no way for Hogg to tell if Hiri had managed to position himself in front of Linley in time, or if the falling rocks had slammed into Linley first.

  *

  Book 1, Chapter 17 – Catastrophe (part 2)

  “Thud! Thud! Thud!”

  A few more crashing sounds continued to sound out from within Wushan township, but a short period of time later, no more stones fell from the sky. All of the boulders had been thoroughly demolished by the green-robed swordsman. But by now, no one in Wushan township had any spare energy left to pay attention to their battle.

  “Lord Hogg, Wushan township is in bad shape. Just then-… .Lord Hogg? What’s wrong?” Hillman rushed into the manor. Just as he was beginning to report on the town’s situation, he saw that Hogg was standing there in a daze, not making a single sound.

  Hogg’s body trembled. Only then did he regain his usual faculties. “Linley.” Hogg charged violently towards the warehouse at an astonishing speed. Seeing this, Hillman guessed what had happened and immediately followed Hogg.

  “Smash!” Before Hogg had arrived, the rubble covering Hiri, Linley, and Wharton had been blasted apart.

  Housekeeper Hiri stood up from within the rubble.

  “Uncle Hiri, what’s the situation?” Hogg’s voice was trembling. At the same time, he stared at the prone bodies. The first thing he saw was Linley, head covered with blood. The sight of the blood was so piercing to the eye that Hogg felt his head grow foggy, and his body swayed, almost falling down.

  Up til now, Linley’s body was still elevated from the ground, as he had been using his fists in a push-up position, so as not to crush Wharton.

  “Father.” A youthful voice emanated from beneath.

  Wharton slowly crawled out from under Linley. His body was small, and he had been fully covered by Linley, so he didn’t experience any injuries at all.

  “Big brother, big brother, what’s wrong?” Wharton tugged at Linley’s body.

  “Linley. Linley!” Hogg’s voice was quavering.

  Housekeeper Hiri said from off to the side, “I was still a little too slow. There was one piece of rubble that I managed to block, but before it struck young master Linley in the head. Although I believe that the strike shouldn’t have been too heavy.”

  “I… I’m fine.” A low, hoarse voice. Linley forced himself to lift up his head and stare at Hogg, managing a weak smile.

  At this moment, upon seeing Linley’s smile, Hogg’s tears came spilling out.

  Linley straightened his body and sat up. His clothes were covered with blood, as was his face and his hair. When the stone had struck him, it had caused a great deal of blood loss. At the moment, Linley also felt slightly woozy. Still staring at his father, Linley said in a weak, low voice, “Father, you are crying.”

  “I, I’m fine.” An excited smile appeared on Hogg’s face.

  “Wharton? Why were you at the doorway earlier?” Linley rubbed his little brother’s head and said in a reproving tone.

  Wharton also knew that he had made a mistake. Lowering his head, he said, “Big brother, I’m sorry.”

  Housetaker Hiri, off to the side, said, “This was my fault. This disaster came too suddenly, and as soon as I had taken Wharton into the warehouse, I saw young master Linley in great danger, so I immediately rushed forward to help him. I didn’t imagine that in just that instant, a huge boulder would head for the warehouse. This was my fault.”

  “RUMBLE!”

  Suddenly, a huge tremblor shook the earth.

  Everyone’s facial expressions changed as they stared towards the eastern sky. A giant had appeared, hovering in the sky, over ten meters tall, muscles bound tightly, with a ruthless expression on its face. Its entire body was the color of yellow earth. At the moment, this earthen giant was engaging in a fierce battle with the green robed swordsman, and their every exchange of blows created a sound like crashing lightning or roaring thunder.

  The sound of the blows alone gave testament to how mighty the earthen giant was. Every single one of its blows was more powerful than the combined force of those countless boulders from earlier.

  Linley stared at this battle in awe. “This earthen giant must have been conjured by the magic of the gray-robed magus.” Linley could easily come to this conclusion, since the gray-robed magus was a mighty magus, after all.

  “Linley, how are you feeling?” Hogg said with concern.

  Linley squeezed out a smile. “I’m fine. There’s just a cut on my head, is all. I just lost some blood.”

  “Young master Linley, you actually lost quite a bit of blood. If you lose too much, you could die.” Housekeeper Hiri immediately retrieved some white gauze from within the warehouse and wrapped it around the injury on Linley’s head.

  Hogg took a close look at Linley. “Uncle Hiri, how does his injury look?”

  Uncle Hiri smiled at Hogg. “Not bad. Linley is in excellent physical shape, and he hasn’t fainted. There shouldn’t be too much to worry about. In the coming days, he just needs to eat more meat to replenish his blood, and he’ll be fine.”

  Only now did Hogg secretly let go of a breath he had been holding.

  Just then, when he saw Linley charge over to protect Wharton, Hogg had truly been scared silly. He had truly been terrified that his sons would’ve died, just like that.

  After taking a deep breath, Hogg looked at Hillman. “Right, Hillman, you were just saying that Wushan township was in bad shape. How bad of a shape is it in?”

  “I can’t say with exact precision as to how bad the condition is,” Hillman said, his face grim. “But from what I could see, some people must have died, and many were injured or even crippled! This catastrophe came simply too quic
kly. Even though I shouted for everyone to hide, many people didn’t have the chance to barricade themselves in their cellars.”

  “It really did come too fast.” Hogg turned his head to stare at the eastern sky.

  Saint-level combatants were on a totally different level than the people of Wushan township. A Saint-level combatant could wipe out the entire town with the wave of a hand. Earlier, the rain of boulders and the green-robed man’s destruction of said boulders was nothing but the opening gambits of these two combatants.

  But even the side effects of just those initial, testing blows were enough to cause an utter castastrophe to Wushan township.

  “The legendary earth-style incantation of the tenth rank, a forbidden spell – the earth element ‘World Protector’. The power of this ‘World Protector’is extremely terrifying. It’s considered the most powerful offensive spell available to an earth-style magus.” Staring at the earthen giant, Hogg’s face had grown cold as he spoke.

  Hogg was a member of the Dragonblood Warrior clan. Although the Dragonblood Warrior clan had fallen on hard times, their five thousand years of history meant that within their family archives, there was information about all of the most powerful magical attacks used by the most powerful people in history. Hogg naturally could tell what was going on at a glance.

  “An incantation of the tenth rank… ” Linley took a deep breath.

  Linley badly wanted to one day also ride a Black Dragon and utilize apocalyptic incantations of the tenth rank. His thoughts naturally turned to the magical testing and recruiting event. “The test will only be held in autumn in the capital. There’s still half a year left… “

  From the bottom of his heart, Linley was eagerly awaiting the magical ability examination in half a year.

  “Hillman, in a little while, accompany me in inspecting the situation of the residents of Wushan township.” Hogg said, and then looked at Hiri. “Uncle Hiri, after these two Saint-level combatants depart, take Linley home to change his clothes and make sure he gets some rest.”

  “Yes, lord.” Hiri nodded.

  Hogg turned back to look at Linley, who was enraptured watching the exciting battle between two Saint-level combatants. Laughing, he said, “Oh, Linley, you little rascal. Even though you are injured, you still want to watch Saint-level combatants fight. Fortunately, given that the Saint-level magus has unleashed the ‘World Protector’, this battle is about to come to a close soon.”

  Absorbed in the shocking battle going on off in the distant, Linley didn’t notice at all that around his chest area… .

  Since his head was injured, the so-called ‘Coiling Dragon’ ring he wore underneath his clothes had also been stained by blood. But the blood on the Coiling Dragon ring seemed to have disappeared, like water into an endless ocean, as the strange black material slowly absorbed it all.

  And then, the Coiling Dragon ring actually began to shine with a faint, dim light.

  But since it was being worn underneath his clothes, no one could possibly notice the faint light coming off from the surface of the Coiling Dragon ring.

  *

  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 nonstop, 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 w
as 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.