After the Baruch Kingdom, several years of peace and tranquility followed.
Wharton governed the kingdom effectively, bringing this fragmented and chaotic land under control, winning the hearts of all races. Linley, true to his nature, did not remain in the capital, but instead cultivated in a simple stone hut atop the mountain. The one truly holding the kingdom in place was Doehring —an old man who had long since stepped into the Deity Realm, who had never left since that night when he drove away the visitors from the Holy Island.
One afternoon, in front of a remote rock wall at the foot of the mountain city, several miners were chiseling open a piece of blue rock when they suddenly froze.
Deep within the rock face, a dark, luminous crystal vein was revealed, layer upon layer, gleaming with a captivating Azure Light under the slanting sunlight. A magic crystal mine. This crystal vein was enormous, overflowing with riches, enough to sustain a medium-sized kingdom for a hundred years.
When the news reached the capital, Wharton was overjoyed and immediately dispatched a large force to guard the mine, where mining began day and night.
But great success attracts great attention. News of the magic crystal mine quickly spread throughout the Yulan Continent. When this news reached the ears of the Radiant Church and its old rival, the Dark Church, a real crisis began to brew in secret.
The enmity between the Radiant Church and Linley has a long history. Useno and Leiming suffered a crushing defeat that night, causing the Radiant Church to lose face. Although the Dark Church is the Holy See of Radiant Church's mortal enemy, it has always been wary of Doehring, the Deity Level powerhouse who is in charge of the Chaotic Territory—the Chaotic Territory under his control is a tough nut for the Radiant Church to penetrate.
Now, the Baruch Kingdom has suddenly unearthed a rich mine, which happens to be the location of Doehring's headquarters. With such a tempting prize right in front of them, the long-time enemies, the Radiant Church and the Dark Church, have surprisingly put aside their differences and secretly formed an alliance.
The reason is simple—in secular wars, those above the Saint Realm are not allowed to intervene.
This is a rule that has been tacitly agreed upon by all forces on the Yulan Continent for thousands of years. Deity Level, Peak Saint Realm, and even Deity Level -Saint Realm powerhouses are not allowed to interfere in the wars of mortal kingdoms, otherwise they will be jointly attacked by the entire continent. Because of this, even with the god-level Doehring in charge, Linley's side cannot obtain a truly stable kingdom - because the deterrent power of Deity Level being is only aimed at those above the Saint Realm, and cannot suppress the tens of thousands of mortal troops trampling in.
That is precisely the Radiant Church's calculation.
" Doehring is Deity Level, but can he possibly defeat a mortal army?" The bishop of the Dark Church twirled his fingers, his voice chilling. "If he doesn't intervene, Linley will have to use his own flesh and blood to block it. If he does intervene—hmph, that would be Deity Level Carnage mortals, and the condemnation of the entire continent would fall upon his head."
The cardinal of the Radiant Church was equally certain. "This deal is a sure thing. We'll split the mine, and we'll also have leverage over Doehring."
So, on a dark and windy night, the two armies arrived at the border of the Baruch Kingdom almost simultaneously.
There were no Saint Realm experts, no angels, and no holy light. Leading the troops were the elite mortal armies dispatched by the Radiant Church and the Dark Church —a white torrent composed of tens of thousands of devout believers, and black iron cavalry clad in dark armor, advancing from the west and south, their forces aimed directly at the two important mining towns.
The garrison of the mining town was caught off guard. The Radiant Church's army launched a full-scale attack, and although the elite troops trained by Linley fought desperately, they were no match for the combined forces of the two religions, who outnumbered them several times over. Overnight, the two mining towns fell one after another, the miners scattered and fled, and the crystal veins fell into the hands of the two religions.
When the news reached the mountain town, it caused an uproar.
" The Radiant Church has gone too far!" Gates slammed his fist on the table. "They've seized my mines and killed my miners! Do they think Baruch is helpless?!"
"Even the Dark Church has gotten involved this time," Wharton said in a deep voice, suppressing his anger. "These two have always been bitter enemies, and now they've joined forces to steal our prize. It's clear they've planned this all along to tear us apart."
When Linley learned of the news, he was sitting quietly on the mountaintop. He didn't rush to get angry, but slowly opened his eyes, looked at the night sky in the west, and said in a deep voice, "They knew that Grandpa Doehring was here, yet they still dared to send mortal troops to rob him—they were certain that Deity Level couldn't attack mortals."
"Exactly." Doehring appeared behind him unnoticed, his voice calm. "The rule that those above the Saint Realm are forbidden from interfering in secular wars is their greatest asset. If I were to intervene forcefully, I would fall into their trap and give the entire continent cause for criticism."
Linley nodded. "I know. This battle must be fought with ordinary methods."
Just as he was about to get up and make arrangements, Bebe suddenly darted out of the stone house, squeaking urgently at him. Linley paused, squatted down to look at it, and asked, "Tell me... what's your plan?"
Bebe was the king of the Dark Forest rats, of noble blood, and could command endless hordes of rats. Its eyes darted around, it squeaked a few times at Linley, and then leaped into the air, transforming into a black shadow, disappearing into the dense forest to the southwest in a few bounds.
"Where did Bebe go?" Delia rushed to the door, only to catch a glimpse of the departing dark figure.
"They've gone to fetch reinforcements." Linley gazed in that direction. "It said its people are in the Dark Forest."
Bebe headed straight for the depths of the Dark Forest. In that dark, dense forest where the sun never shines, there lived two ancient races that even the Radiant Church feared: the Shadowmouse, agile and elusive, natural scouts and assassins; Stone-Eater Rat, born with teeth capable of crushing stubborn rocks and carving through mountains, unparalleled weapons for sieges and breaches.
The instant that Bebe's bloodline, belonging to the King of the Rat, was suddenly released deep within the Dark Forest—
A muffled commotion arose from the depths of the earth. Countless eerie green and crimson eyes lit up one after another in the shadows, densely packed, filling the entire forest with shadows. Shadowmouse and Stone-Eater Rat surged out from every corner of the Dark Forest like a tide. The current Shadowmouse Chieftain, following the familiar scent of blood, found himself before Bebe and bowed his head.
"Let's go." Linley's eyes lit up as he watched the approaching swarm of rats. "Tonight, the Radiant Church will know— the Baruch Kingdom isn't so easy to devour."
The allied forces of the two religions were still gloating over their capture of the mining town and the division of the crystal veins. Little did they expect that the army that came to reclaim the mountain before dawn would not be the army of the Baruch Kingdom, but an overwhelming and countless swarm of rats.
The Shadowmouse silently burrowed into the Radiant Church's camp, severing the sentries' throats in their sleep; the Stone-Eater Rat dug their way through the ground, turning the warehouses where the two churches stored their weapons and the fortifications they had set up upside down. The armies of the two churches had never seen such a sight before. Tens of thousands of cavalrymen were routed overnight, and the mortal armies of the two bishops were torn to shreds by the rat horde, unable to support each other, and fled in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons.
When Linley arrived with the Dragonblood Warrior ' army, the two allied forces were reduced to a few remnants, scattering and fleeing under the siege of the rat horde.
Linley stood on the hillside, watching this scene, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
" Bebe," he looked down at the Rat King, who was perched on his shoulder with his back ramrod straight, "This time, we owe you a great debt."
Bebe raised her little head, which was natural.
The allied forces of the two religions were thus defeated. The mines were recovered, and the Baruch Kingdom regained control of the two mining towns. After this battle, Bebe's reputation for defeating the armies of the two religions overnight with the help of billions of rats from the Dark Forest spread throughout the Yulan Continent.
At night, Linley Lei stood on the mountaintop, gazing at the gradually calming western direction, and remained silent for a long time.
"Those two families won't let this go," Delia said softly as she walked to his side.
"I know," Linley said, gazing into the distance, "But this battle has taught them that just because Deity Level being unable to intervene doesn't mean we lack other abilities. As long as Bebe is here, as long as the Dark Forest remains, they'll have to think twice before trying to take a bite out of this prize."
"However, we have a long-standing grudge against the Radiant Church, and it seems it's time to find an opportunity to make them pay a price."