Transforming into a Dragon Blood Warrior, Lin Lei carefully searched along the line from the Bonay River to the imperial border city of Neil. After each stretch of searching, he had to rest to recover his Mental Power.
For six full days and nights, he searched every city along that entire route.
But…
He couldn't find Rein at all.
"Master Lin Lei, please rest assured. Once our Dawson Trading Company discovers Young Master Rein, we will immediately ensure his safe return."
The head of the Dawson Trading Company branch in a provincial city within the Luo'ao Empire spoke respectfully to Lin Lei.
Lin Lei gave a slight nod.
He could only entrust the matter to the Dawson Trading Company now. But something nagged at him: "The Fourth escaped, so why didn't he go to a Dawson Trading Company branch? They have offices in many provincial cities."
What Lin Lei didn't know was that the suffering Rein endured on the slave ship had genuinely terrified him. Rein had made up his mind that as long as he was within the Luo'ao Empire, he would avoid large cities no matter what. Sure, large cities had Dawson Trading Company branches, but they also harbored slave organizations. If those slave organizations were hunting him down and found him first, he'd be finished.
"I can't take even the slightest risk of being caught. I'd rather walk the extra distance." Rein's conviction was firm.
With his strength, following back roads to reach the Land of Chaos was no great difficulty. Once he got there, he could contact the Dawson Trading Company people and return safely from there.
At dusk, in an ordinary courtyard within a provincial city in the southeastern province of the Yulan Empire, Cecil, the five Bucker brothers, Rebecca, Jenny, and Lina—all three of them—were gathered there.
A knock sounded. Gates, standing two meters and two-tall with that terrifying giant axe strapped to his back, strode over and opened the door. Three servants stood outside, each pushing a serving cart.
"Only now?" Gates swept his massive bull-eyes over the three of them. The servants shivered. In front of someone as overwhelmingly muscular as Gates, they felt like children.
They stepped into the courtyard when suddenly a beast's roar rang out. The three servants looked toward the source—
The Clouded Leopard 'Hei Lu' lay lazily on the ground, but the menacing aura unique to this top-tier magic beast still made one's heart tremble. Those cold, dark eyes glanced briefly at the three servants before turning away with indifference as the leopard resumed its resting position.
The three servants exchanged glances and didn't dare make a sound.
Only after every dish from the serving carts had been arranged on the dining table did the three servants quickly depart. Once they were outside the courtyard, all three wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.
"What kind of people are those? Those five big guys are absolutely enormous."
"That axe is truly massive. Must weigh at least a thousand jin."
"And that old man—he's like a walking skeleton. Just one look from him and I felt scared. But those three beauties really are gorgeous. If I could marry women like that, I wouldn't mind living a few decades less."
In the eyes of the hotel's various servants, the guests staying in that courtyard were absolutely the most terrifying sort. While Cecil and the others were having their meal, Bei Bei and Hei Lu remained in the courtyard, because they both sensed that Lin Lei was rushing toward them at tremendous speed.
Before long, Lin Lei, wearing a dark cyan robe, descended from the sky.
"Lord Lin Lei." The five Bucker brothers greeted him excitedly, and Jenny and the Rebecca sisters came forward as well.
"Lin Lei, how is it? Did you find Rein?" Cecil asked.
Lin Lei shook his head. His mood was still relatively decent—the slave organization hadn't found Rein either. With Rein's strength as a level seven mage, as long as he didn't cross paths with any major enemy, he should be in no danger.
"The Fourth spent so many years in the army, and the slave organization isn't even pursuing him anymore. Under these circumstances, his escape should be a sure thing." Lin Lei had great confidence in his brother.
"If even then Rein can't make it back, he doesn't deserve to be the Lord's brother. The Luo'ao Empire is usually perfectly stable—no danger at all," Gates said carelessly. "Back when we brothers were only level seven warriors, we were living it up in the eighteen duchies of the Northern Domain just fine."
Lin Lei smiled.
The group then took their seats and began dinner.
"Lin Lei," Cecil set down his cutlery and asked, "This time when we set out for the Land of Chaos, what are you planning to do?"
Lin Lei knew that among their group, Cecil was the most experienced. Having a man over eight hundred years old by his side made many things much easier.
"Cecil, what do you think we should do?" Lin Lei asked.
Buck spoke up from the side: "Lord Lin Lei, I think the Land of Chaos is probably similar to our eighteen duchies of the Northern Domain. Everything's decided with fists. With our formidable strength, we can definitely quickly establish a powerful force."
Cecil nodded beside him. "What Buck says is one valid approach. Lin Lei… I think there are two options. One is what Buck suggested—using the prestige of a Saint Realm powerhouse to rapidly expand our influence. Saint Realm experts have enormous rallying power in the Land of Chaos."
Lin Lei nodded slightly.
The Land of Chaos had been in a state of perpetual warfare. Ordinary people caught in the conflict yearned for a strong leader. If someone with the backing of a Saint Realm powerhouse stepped forward, no shortage of people would pledge their loyalty.
After all, a Saint Realm expert gave people a great sense of security.
"The second option is to keep your identity hidden for now, Lin Lei. We start small—first find a struggling minor city where the people are suffering. Even with just me taking action, we could easily seize control of a small city. Then we gradually expand, conquer larger cities, establish a duchy, and build from there step by step. You know, back in the day… I was actually a Grand Duke in the Land of Chaos," Cecil said with a smile.