That single sentence left Lin Lei completely stunned.
Revenge for what?
"No, that's not right!" Lin Lei instantly understood — Fourth Brother's death had indeed been unjust.
Lin Lei gripped Yeru's hand. "Yeru, calm down. Come with me to my place. Tell me exactly what happened, every detail." Yeru gave a slight nod.
They arrived at Lin Lei's courtyard.
"What exactly happened with Fourth Brother's death?" Lin Lei's expression was grave.
Yeru said solemnly, "Third Brother, Fourth Brother was out on patrol with his men that day. But who would have thought they'd run into the Luo'ao Empire's army? Fourth Brother's men were far too few. Even fighting to the death, only Fourth Brother and several dozen others managed to escape. They fled to the walls of Nier City. And the pursuers numbered only three hundred in total."
"Three hundred?" Lin Lei found it unbelievable.
"Yes. The Luo'ao Empire's soldiers fired arrows at the city walls. And Prince Yulin happened to be on the battlements at the time. That arrow frightened him, and he immediately ordered that no one open the city gates, that everyone hold their positions — all to protect his own safety. As for Fourth Brother and his men, they shouted 'Open the gates!' from below, but no one dared to open them... Just like that, Fourth Brother and his entire group were killed."
Rage burned in Lin Lei's heart.
He could perfectly imagine that scene — Fourth Brother and his men screaming desperately 'Open the gates!', while Prince Yulin had ordered that the gates stay shut. No one was sent to their rescue.
Fourth Brother had died just like that.
Such an unjust death — he could have survived!
"Where is Fourth Brother's body?" Lin Lei pressed immediately.
Yeru said bitterly, "According to our Dawson Trading Company's intelligence, Fourth Brother was first struck by an arrow in the shoulder, then hacked in the chest by an enemy's war blade. He collapsed at the base of the wall. Then the enemy commander seized his body and carried it away."
"What?" Lin Lei could hardly believe it. "Three hundred men, at the walls of Nier City, and the garrison not only didn't attack them but let them take Fourth Brother's body?"
It was absurd.
"To be precise, the vast majority of those three hundred were out of arrow range. Only a dozen or so elites actually attacked. Those elites didn't care about arrows at all." Yeru's voice was laced with bitterness. "Those dozen elites killed Fourth Brother and his men, then took his body... And under Prince Yulin's orders, no one in the Nier City garrison dared to sortie."
The soldiers of the O'Brien Empire were indeed very obedient to military orders.
But such an absurd command was utterly shameful.
"Fourth Brother..." In Lin Lei's mind, he pictured Fourth Brother at the base of Nier City's walls, crying out in grief and fury 'Open the gates!', while the soldiers on the battlements remained indifferent, refusing to open them.
To die so unjustly — Lin Lei felt a fierce refusal to accept it.
Fourth Brother should never have died!
"This Qiao'an, and the Dunstan Family — they both lied to me." Now that Lin Lei knew the truth, he understood. The Dunstan Family had probably done this to avoid offending Prince Yulin, to avoid offending King Qiao'an.
"So behind it all, there was that Prince Yulin!" Lin Lei's fury surged.
He had long heard of Prince Yulin's reputation. King Qiao'an was famous for being protective of his own. His useless brother had somehow become the ruler of an entire province. That alone showed how doting King Qiao'an was toward his brother.
"Third Brother, Fourth Brother's revenge can only depend on you," Yeru said with grief and anger.
At that moment, Yeru was also consumed with self-blame. He wanted to take revenge too, but his strength was far too weak. And the Dawson Trading Company wasn't his to command.
Lin Lei nodded, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. "That Prince Yulin caused Fourth Brother's death. Then he must die as well." Lin Lei turned to Yeru. "Yeru, rest here for now. I'm going out."
"What for? Are you going to act now?"
"No."
Lin Lei shook his head calmly. "If I go directly and kill Prince Yulin, I expect that King Qiao'an would take his revenge on the Dunstan Family... Fourth Brother is dead. I don't want his family to decline as well."
Martial God Mountain.
Lin Lei now stood before the cave where the Martial God was in seclusion, waiting quietly. At that moment, someone flew toward him at great speed from the distance — it was Caslote.
"Lin Lei, what are you doing here?" Caslote asked, puzzled.
"I want to see the Martial God," Lin Lei answered.
Caslote nodded. "In that case, let me announce your arrival." But just then, a voice rang out simultaneously in the ears of both Lin Lei and Caslote: "Lin Lei, come in."
Lin Lei had already activated the Wind Shadow Technique. He immediately flew into the cave, following the familiar path into its deep recesses. He plummeted several thousand meters before reaching the bottom.
Moments later, Lin Lei arrived before that dark stone door.
"Ssss~~" Terrifying heat scorched the crimson stone walls.
Lin Lei said respectfully, "Lord Martial God, I believe you already know about my battle with Hedesen. I think I should now be qualified to learn the secret you once spoke of."
"Enter." The Martial God's cold voice rang out.
"Rumble~~~" The dark stone door automatically slid upward, revealing the passage. A terrifying wave of heat crashed over him.
Lin Lei's Dragon Blood Battle Qi naturally formed a 'Pulse Defense' across his body's surface.
"What a scorching place." Lin Lei was stunned by what he saw deep within the cave. Before him, far inside the cavern, lay a massive magma lake easily a hundred meters across. Boiling magma flowed within it — and that wasn't even the most shocking part.
What was truly shocking... was the fireball hovering above the magma lake, condensed to a diameter of nearly three meters.
The fireball was entirely crimson, and the terrifying waves of heat radiated continuously from it as it hovered in midair. That it could force Lin Lei to use 'Pulse Defense' spoke volumes about how fearsome that heat truly was.