“Rumble~~~”
The waterfall, towering dozens of meters high, surged downward with a furious torrent, crashing into the deep pool below and sending up countless splashes. The water from this pool flowed onward through a narrow river. Buck and Cesle followed this narrow river, steadily advancing deeper into Black Crow Mountain.
At the end of this river lay a tranquil lake, and in the center of the lake stood an elegant wooden cabin.
Before the cabin, a figure in loose robes with long hair was slowly waving a purple longsword. That is to say... it was a slowness only Buck and Cesle perceived. It looked slow, but was actually terrifyingly fast.
That disorienting visual illusion made Buck and Cesle want to spit blood.
With a single sword stroke, it seemed as if the surrounding space itself twisted.
Buck and Cesle exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock. In just a few months, Lin Lei had broken through again! They had never seen Lin Lei use this kind of sword technique before. That scene they had just witnessed... the power of this technique must be absolutely terrifying.
Buck and Cesle stood quietly on the lakeshore, waiting.
After a long while, Lin Lei sheathed his sword.
"Come over," Lin Lei said, waving his sleeve. A wave of air surged across the lake, and to their amazement, an "air bridge" formed of air currents appeared between the cabin and the shore. "Just walk across. Don't worry, you won't fall."
Buck and Cesle exchanged another glance, then stepped onto the "air bridge" to reach the wooden cabin in the middle of the lake.
Lin Lei sat down at the stone table beside the cabin. With a flip of his hand, he produced a jug of wine and three cups, saying with a faint smile, "Cesle, if you had come a few days earlier, I would probably only have been able to blow you over here with wind. I couldn't have done what I just did."
Cesle was a ninth-level undead grand magician, and though he was also close to breaking through to the Saint Realm, he could not fly. With his physical condition, even walking on water was impossible.
"My Lord, what was that just now?" Buck was still in a state of shock.
Cesle also looked at Lin Lei. Lin Lei smiled and explained, "This is a use of the Wind System elemental laws. Recently, I've gained some insight along the path of 'slowness,' which allowed me to do just now. But I'm still some way off from achieving spatial stagnation."
"Spatial stagnation?" Cesle asked, confused.
Lin Lei said no more. Neither Cesle nor Buck practiced the Wind System elemental laws; explaining it to them would be pointless. After his exchange with the mysterious master Miller from that hidden mountain village, Lin Lei had gained a clear roadmap for cultivating this "state of slowness," making his training much more efficient.
If Miller saw the scene of Lin Lei practicing, he would surely be shocked.
To reach this level in just a few months—this rate of cultivation was terrifying.
He poured a cup of wine for each of them. Lin Lei raised his cup with a smile. "You came here for a reason. Just say what's on your minds."
Buck said, "My Lord, the territories under our control have been managed for some time. The army has been reorganized, and after three months of training, we are now pretty much ready to attack other cities." As soon as his words fell, a hint of a smile appeared on Lin Lei's face.
He had been waiting for this day.
"This time, we should be attacking that commandery city, right?" Lin Lei asked.
Cesle, standing nearby, nodded. "Yes. According to our plan, this time we are preparing to attack three smaller cities and Motte Commandery City." Currently, Lin Lei's side already controlled six cities and had six divisional armies, totaling over fifty thousand troops. This strength was comparable to a commandery city's.
However—
Lin Lei's side had experts! This was an absolute advantage.
"After we take the commandery city, we'll have the right to declare the establishment of a principality," Buck chuckled.
Lin Lei had always been looking forward to establishing a principality. He still remembered the promise Dilia had made him in her letter: once he successfully established a principality, she would leave the Yulan Empire to find him.
"Lin Lei," Cesle inquired, "after we capture Motte Commandery City, how should we proceed? Do we continue conquering cities not under the control of the Church of Light or the Church of Darkness, or do we attack the principality controlled by the Church of Light?"
According to the map, once they took Motte Commandery City, the southernmost point of Lin Lei's territory would border the area controlled by the Church of Light.
Of course, the Church of Light's control was covert. On the surface, it was all just principalities. It was actually simple to tell whether a principality was secretly controlled by the Church of Light or the Church of Darkness: one only had to look at the temple in the commandery city. If the city had a Temple of Light, then that principality was secretly under the Church of Light's control. If it had a Temple of Darkness, it was under the Church of Darkness.
"We attack the principality controlled by the Church of Light," Lin Lei said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he made his decision. "As our actions grow larger, the Church of Light's intelligence agents have surely noticed you five. They know about the five of you. If they still don't realize that this force is mine, Lin Lei's, then they are fools."
Lin Lei looked at Buck and Cesle with a smile. "After we take the commandery city, we'll first consolidate our position and reorganize the army. Once the army is ready, we will launch an attack on the area under the Church of Light's control!"
"Of course, the scale of the attack must be limited at first. We want to see the Church of Light's reaction," Lin Lei continued with a faint smile. "See whether they counterattack directly, tolerate it, or come straight for me with their experts."
Cesle understood Lin Lei's meaning and smiled. "Exactly. If the Church of Light wants a direct confrontation with you, Lin Lei, then... we'll name the principality after your surname—the 'Baruch Principality'!"
"If the Church of Light chooses to back down, then we'll play dumb. We won't publicly reveal your existence for now, and we'll just give the principality some random name."
Hearing Cesle's words, Lin Lei nodded in agreement.
Now, it all depended on the Church of Light's reaction. If their experts didn't show up, Lin Lei wouldn't make a move either. He would let Buck and his four brothers stir up trouble first, constantly capturing cities and territories. If their experts did appear... then it was time for a showdown.
"When do we attack Motte Commandery City?" Buck looked at Lin Lei.
"As soon as possible," Lin Lei replied.