The Hunt

Only two days passed.

The news of Linley's father's passing spread throughout Fenlai City.

In an instant, countless nobles and factions headed over to offer their condolences; Clyde, Gilmer, and others were all set to attend.

Jonathan volunteered to go.

"Lord Wesport, our status as members of the Dark Church is sensitive here. Wushan Town is mostly populated by commoners; if we are pointed at and gossiped about, it will only damage our reputation."

"But since I haven't officially joined yet, I don't think it will cause much of a reaction. I can also gather some intelligence while I'm at it."

Wesport thought for a moment. "That is true. Very well, you go. Once you return, we shall leave this place and head back to the Dark Alliance."

"Yes, my lord!"

The next day.

Yale, Reynolds, and George were the first to arrive at the Baruch family residence in Wushan Town. They knew that with Linley's father having passed away, countless big shots would surely come to pay their respects.

Fearing that Linley lacked experience in hosting such events, they brought quite a few people along to help.

By noon, people began to arrive one after another.

On this day, the peaceful Wushan Town was destined to be anything but calm. The townspeople gathered in twos and threes, discussing the figures who were arriving.

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. In the distance, the sound of dense, rhythmic hoofbeats echoed—a sound far louder than the carriages from that morning.

A troop of knights clad in shining armor came galloping in, followed by two luxurious carriages, each pulled by four fine horses.

The residents had never seen such a grand display; they stood there, dumbfounded.

Even the people driving the carriages appeared to them to be incredibly powerful warriors.

"Who are these people?" The residents of Wushan Town were filled with shock and confusion.

The procession stopped in front of the Baruch residence, where people were specifically assigned to handle the carriages and horses.

A loud, resonant voice rang out.

"His Eminence, Cardinal Gilmer, and His Eminence, Cardinal Lampson, have arrived—"

At this, everyone knew who they were. Once they realized, the townspeople became even more boisterous; they never expected such important figures to visit their small town.

Shortly after, another large procession, no less impressive than the first, arrived. In terms of sheer luxury, it was even more extravagant.

"His Majesty, King Clyde of the Fenlai Kingdom, has arrived—"

The residents of Wushan Town were startled once again.

Not only had the big shots of the Light Church arrived, but now the King himself had come. They truly found it all hard to believe.

However, they all knew that everything they were seeing was because of Linley.

The sound of hoofbeats continued.

People arrived one after another, and just by hearing their names, one could tell they were major figures of the Fenlai Kingdom.

As for Jonathan, he had come in a personal capacity, so he appeared quite inconspicuous among them, though Linley's eyes flickered slightly when he heard his name.

Upon seeing him, Linley did not display any sign of familiarity.

The crowd took turns stepping forward to bow, while Linley knelt to the side, his expression cold and mechanical as he offered his thanks repeatedly.

"Please accept my condolences!"

When it was Jonathan's turn, he said this to Linley.

Many others had said the same thing, so it didn't attract any attention. The only thing that made people look twice was the fact that Jonathan had come at all.

Some began to speculate about the relationship between the two.

Linley replied with formal courtesy, "Thank you."

It was here that Jonathan saw his future wife, Delia, for the first time. She was indeed a stunning beauty with an outstanding temperament.

By that evening, many people had returned to Fenlai City.

Very few remained.

There were only Delia, Yale and his friends, and the two Cardinals of the Light Church.

Delia had stayed to bid farewell to Linley; the ten-thousand-year Yulan Festival was approaching, and she had to return to the Yulan Empire.

The Yulan Festival was an important holiday for the entire continent, but it was especially significant for the Yulan Empire. As one of the top five super-clans in the Yulan Empire, the Ryan family held a position of great importance.

On that day, the entire nation would celebrate, and all direct descendants were required to be present.

As for Yale and the others, they stayed out of brotherly love, wanting to keep Linley company for a while longer.

The Cardinals remained to wait for Linley's answer once his period of mourning was over.

Jonathan did not stray too far from Wushan Town, choosing instead to lurk in the shadows.

Since Gilmer and Lampson had nothing to do while they waited, they often toured the surroundings of Wushan Town, sometimes even venturing into the Wushan mountains.

On the third day of their stay.

The two of them entered the Wushan mountains together, bringing only a small fraction of their knight escort.

"It is time, Gilmer. You had better be prepared to pay for the grudge from the hunt in Fenlai City last time."

He wore black night-traveling clothes over a layer of light armor inscribed with durability and anti-gravity magic. He activated the magic arrays on his armor, soared into the air, and headed toward Wushan Mountain.

Their group was quite large, and wherever they passed, birds and beasts were startled.

Jonathan determined their position at a glance and then approached rapidly from the sky.

Upon getting close, he landed on a giant tree. Because he had not used magic or battle qi along the way, combined with his breath-concealing technique, Gilmer and Lampson—despite both being level nine Grand Magi—could not detect him unless they specifically projected their spiritual power to scout.

"Shadow Mist!"

A vast expanse of black mist spread out, instantly shrouding the area for several miles around.

"Dark Magic! Everyone, be careful! There is an enemy!" Gilmer immediately shouted.

Within the black mist, all the Temple Knights stood ready, while several White-robed Priests began to disperse the fog.

However, the range of the black mist was too wide, and they could not disperse it completely in an instant.

Jonathan arrived in the air, standing tall above them.

"He's up there!"

A Temple Knight spotted him and shouted loudly, causing everyone to look up.

Jonathan gave a cold smile and whispered, "Gravity Field, twenty times!"

He instantly unleashed the strongest Gravity Field he could muster after channeling the Stone Orb.

In an instant, a powerful gravity twenty times stronger than normal descended. Gilmer and Lampson were extremely alert and activated Light Guardian before the Gravity Field could fully settle.

This was a high-level level seven spell with formidable defensive capabilities.

A pale golden, spherical barrier immediately protected them, along with the nearby White-robed Priests and five or six Temple Knights.

But the others were not so lucky.

Under the twenty-fold Gravity Field, everyone else was immediately pressed flat against the ground. The sound of bones snapping echoed throughout their bodies, and screams rose one after another.

In just a moment, they died on the spot due to severe injuries and excessive blood loss.

As for those protected by Light Guardian, although they were safe for the moment, the barrier was in jeopardy under such intense gravity and could not last long.

Lampson had already launched an attack, condensing a Holy Spear—a level eight light-element offensive spell of great power—and firing it toward Jonathan in the sky.

Unfortunately, under the Gravity Field, the speed and power of the Holy Spear were greatly suppressed. Although it reached Jonathan quickly, the speed was slow enough for him to dodge it with ease.

Pfft.

Just as the Light Guardian was about to shatter, Gilmer immediately cast another one to sustain it.

With his strength as a level nine Grand Magus, he could already cast level seven spells instantly and release them in succession.

"You want to rely on a light-element defensive spell to hold out? I want to see how long you can last!"

The level seven Light Guardian was only a level seven spell, while the power of the twenty-fold Gravity Field exceeded that of an ordinary level nine Gravity Spell. It was only because Light Guardian was unique that it wasn't crushed instantly.

However, each time it was cast, it could only last for a dozen seconds or so.