The Coiling Dragon Ring Emerges

The Eighth-Level Dual-Element Mage, riding his magical beast—a Seventh-Level Velociraptor—soon clashed with that mercenary squad just as in the original story.

Not to mention an Eighth-Level Dual-Element Mage—even the Seventh-Level Velociraptor was beyond what this mercenary squad could handle.

Thus, the battle came quickly and ended just as quickly.

As the Velociraptor entangled the enemy, the mage atop its head chanted an incantation before abruptly unleashing powerful Eighth-Level Fire Magic:

"Dance of the Fire Serpent!"

Several fire serpents, each longer than the Velociraptor itself, darted about. The temperature of the entire street soared, and many surrounding houses exploded under the searing heat!

Fortunately, the residents had heard the commotion and fled beforehand, so there were no casualties.

The massive fire serpents moved with incredible speed, directly coiling around the members of the mercenary squad. Under the might of Eighth-Level Magic, they lasted only a few seconds before being reduced to ash.

And with that, the battle ended!

"If I got close enough, I could kill that mage instantly."

Moke watched from the shadows, but he did not choose to make a move.

He was only eight years old. If he launched a sneak attack, his chances of success would be higher than those of even the greatest assassins!

After all, no one would believe that an eight-year-old child possessed the strength of an Eighth-Level Warrior.

"Pedro Shadow Diamond... I never expected to encounter a Pedro Shadow Diamond here!"

The mage standing atop the Velociraptor's head found a crystal among the ashes of the mercenaries and looked extremely pleased.

"Whose territory is this?" he suddenly asked, sweeping his gaze around.

Moke clearly sensed Linley behind him becoming worried.

"Don't worry. It's fine. That mage doesn't seem like he'll harm Father." Moke quietly reassured him.

Both of them saw Hogg emerge from another direction.

"My lord, this is my territory," he said respectfully.

"Mm. Some houses were damaged in this battle. That mercenary squad should have had some gold coins on them. Find them and use them to compensate for the losses."

The mage spoke casually.

"Thank you, Lord Mage." Hogg was delighted. It seemed this mage would not casually kill anyone else.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground shook again as the Eighth-Level Mage left atop his Velociraptor.

"Linley, Moke, what are you two doing here?!"

At that moment, after giving Hillman a few instructions, Hogg caught sight of Linley and Moke nearby from the corner of his eye. He immediately let out a low, frightened rebuke.

"Father, we..." Linley stammered.

"Lord Hogg, it was my fault. I failed to notice Young Master Linley and Young Master Moke."

Hillman was startled as well. He had not noticed the two little ones earlier.

"Forget it."

Hogg glared at the two of them, then waved his hand. "Hillman, go collect the gold coins and distribute them to the residents whose houses were damaged."

"Yes, my lord."

Hillman quickly left with the guards.

"Father!"

Moke suddenly spoke.

"What is it?" Hogg looked at his eldest son.

Moke said, "Father, should we have all the residents build basements? That way, if they encounter a similar conflict, they'll have somewhere to hide."

"Build basements?" Hogg began to consider it.

Moke pressed on while the iron was hot. "This time, the gap in strength between them was too great, so the battle ended quickly. But if people of similar strength fought, it would probably be difficult to end the battle quickly, and the damage caused would be much greater."

"And if a battle breaks out suddenly, or if there's a large-scale attack, the residents will have nowhere to hide."

"All right. I'll have the word sent out." Hogg finally nodded with a smile.

Building bunkers wouldn't be difficult. It was just a matter of digging a hole, and some households already had bunkers.

Seeing Hogg nod, Moke also breathed a sigh of relief.

If there were bunkers, far fewer people would likely die in the Saint Realm battle that would take place before long.

This was already the limit of what he could do.

After all, even if Moke transformed, he only possessed the strength of an Eighth-Level Warrior for now.

There was no way he could stop two Saint Realm experts.

The Saint Realm lay beyond the ninth level, and Saint Realm experts were far stronger than Ninth-Level experts.

They were not on the same level at all.

"Eh? You caught prey again?" Hogg looked at the two sika deer in the kitchen in surprise.

Over the past half year, Moke had often trained in Wu Mountain and frequently brought prey back with him.

"Looks like you have some talent for hunting."

Hogg did not care much about that. He was more pleased with his eldest son's talent in cultivation.

Before reaching eight years old, Moke had already become a Second-Level Warrior. That had delighted Hogg for quite some time.

Perhaps Moke could become a Seventh-Level Warrior through physical strength alone, just like his great-grandfather.

A Seventh-Level Warrior was already an Advanced Warrior, far stronger than a Sixth-Level Warrior like himself.

"Oh, there's meat to eat! There's meat to eat!" Wharton, now five and a half years old, cheered.

"Brother, look what I found in the ancestral house!"

One day, Moke, who was training in his room, was interrupted by Linley suddenly barging in.

In little Linley's palm lay a pitch-black ring.

"The Coiling Dragon Ring!" Linley grinned. "I named it the Coiling Dragon Ring!"

"The Coiling Dragon Ring."

The corners of Moke's mouth lifted unconsciously. "Linley, this ring looks pretty nice."

"Brother, you think so too?"

Little Linley was thrilled. Though he thought the ring was ugly from the bottom of his heart, he had gone through great effort to find it, so he treasured it deeply.

Because of it, he had even been late for training and was punished by Hillman with double the training assignments!

Linley had obtained the Coiling Dragon Ring. Then the battle between those two Saint Realm experts should not be far off, right?

And that Saint Realm Mage from over five thousand years ago who would have such a profound influence on Linley... Doering Cowart!

As Moke chatted with Linley, he pondered the events that would follow.

Moke had long since made up his mind.

He would watch over Linley's growth, but he would not interfere.