"Rumble~~~" Dark clouds blanketed the sky as rolling peals of thunder echoed one after another.
A blurred figure streaked across the sky in an instant, darting beneath the thick shroud of black clouds, flying northward at extreme speed. It was none other than Lin Lei, consumed with anxiety. The Yulan Empire and the O'Brien Empire had been attacked in succession, and naturally he feared for his own Baruch Empire.
"I hope... I hope Xini and the others are all right," Lin Lei murmured to himself.
Inside the Baruch Empire's imperial palace resided the current emperor, Xini, along with the empress and a host of others. Of course, an empire's imperial palace would have a Saint Realm powerhouse stationed there as well. The one holding that post was the second of the five Bak brothers, "Anke."
Lin Lei's rapidly flying figure suddenly faltered, his gaze instantly locking onto two blurry figures on the northern horizon.
One figure was tall, and the other was also much larger than an ordinary person.
"This is bad." Lin Lei instantly recognized them. The two figures were Anke and Xini, both transformed into Ultimate Warriors. Xini was now at the peak of the ninth rank, and after transforming had also reached the Saint Realm. Anke, meanwhile, had achieved the Saint Realm long ago.
"Lord Lin Lei!" Anke and Xini, fleeing in a wretched state, cried out the moment they saw him.
Lin Lei could see that Xini, transformed into a Dragon Blood Warrior, had many of his dragon scales torn open, stained with blood. Anke, transformed into a Saint Realm Undead Warrior, bore no serious injuries, but he was clearly in a wretched state.
"Uncle!" The instant Xini spotted Lin Lei, tears actually streamed down his face.
Lin Lei's heart lurched.
Xini was an extraordinarily composed person. For something to bring him to tears, the situation had to be dire indeed.
The gravely wounded Xini finally relaxed slightly upon seeing Lin Lei and reverted to his human form. His pants were completely tattered, and his body was covered in blood and wounds. Lin Lei immediately extended one hand and placed it on Xini's shoulder, channeling the energy of the Life Source Pearl into Xini's body.
Xini's injuries were soon healed.
"They're all dead... every last one of them," Xini sobbed, his entire body trembling. "Uncle, everyone in the entire palace—except for me and Uncle Anke—is dead. My wives... and my son... they're all dead!!!"
"All dead?" A surge of fury rose unbidden in Lin Lei's heart.
He had anticipated that things would be dire this time, but the reality was even worse than he had imagined.
"Why would those Deity-level powerhouses slaughter ordinary people? Was their majesty something that could only be demonstrated through the slaughter of commoners? Xini's child... his name was Kasa, wasn't it..." Lin Lei still remembered, just over ten days ago.
It had been the Yulan Festival. Xini had brought his wife and child to Dragon Blood Castle to celebrate together.
Little Kasa, who had just turned seven over the New Year. Lin Lei had even planned to wait until Kasa was a bit older and then have him and Arno together awaken the Dragon Blood Warrior bloodline within them. But... who could have imagined that Kasa's future would end before it truly began.
"Bastards!!!" Lin Lei couldn't help but curse under his breath.
Xini also gritted his teeth. "I want nothing more than to kill them all."
Dragon Blood Warriors had very few descendants.
Lin Lei, for instance, had only the twins Tyler and Sasha. Wotton had only Xini as his sole son. Xini likewise had produced only one child—though as the empire's emperor he had many women, there was this single heir and no more.
"Uncle, you have to help me get revenge—you must!" Xini's face was streaked with tears.
Lin Lei nodded solemnly.
"Anke, tell me exactly what happened, in full detail," Lin Lei said gravely, fixing Anke with a stern look.
Anke nodded and replied, "Lord Lin Lei, not long ago I was still stationed in the palace. But suddenly I felt a terrifying aura descend from above, so I immediately rushed outside and looked up. All I saw was... nearly a hundred powerhouses flying in the sky."
"Nearly a hundred?" Lin Lei's heart trembled.
Back when Olivier's single sword strike had split open the Bosha Dam, several thousand powerhouses had been released, many of whom far surpassed Lin Lei in strength. Among those thousands there were certainly many in the Saint Realm, but there were also Low Gods and Mid Gods, and perhaps even High Gods.
Now Lin Lei was told that nearly a hundred had come to the skies above the Baruch Empire's capital palace.
In a group like that, the leader's strength was surely at least that of a Low God—possibly even a Mid God!
"Before I could even speak," Anke continued, "the leading man, who wore a smile on his face, fixed his gaze upon me and transmitted his voice directly to me via divine sense. He said... 'Little one, go back and tell the one called Lin Lei that from this day forward, the Baruch Empire belongs to me, Ogavin.'" Anke paused at this point.
Lin Lei's expression darkened.
"Ogavin?" Lin Lei had never heard this name, but he could tell that the other party clearly knew him inside and out.
"What happened next?" Lin Lei pressed.
A hint of fear flickered in Anke's eyes. "Then that Ogavin simply smiled, and blinding white light erupted from his entire body—just like the holy radiance of the Church of Light from days past. The palace, bathed in that holy light, was instantly reduced to rubble. Countless palace maids, attendants, and guards were directly incinerated to ash by that light. I immediately transformed, and Xini transformed as well. Under that radiance, my defenses could barely hold, but Xini was severely wounded."
Lin Lei's heart grew heavy.
Just the light radiating from his body had severely wounded Xini, who had reached the Saint Realm after transforming? Lin Lei knew full well that an ordinary Low God absolutely did not possess such power.
For a Low God to kill a Saint Realm cultivator, they would generally need to unleash their Divine Domain or employ some other ability. To simply stand there and have the light emanating from one's body cover an area as large as the palace, yet still produce such destructive force... nine times out of ten, the opponent was a Mid God. Even if it was a Low God, it would be one at the absolute peak.
"For now, let's head back." Lin Lei's brow was tightly furrowed.
Xini and Anke both nodded faintly and, following behind Lin Lei, flew directly south toward Dragon Blood Castle.
Dragon Blood Castle.
Lin Lei, Xini, and Anke landed at the entrance of the great hall. Inside, quite a few people were gathered, all whispering among themselves. Dikexi, Fane, and the rest were all feeling wretched, but the one with the worst expression of all was Olivier.
Olivier had learned from Fane that his younger brother Bulmer was dead!
His own brother!
Their parents had died young, and Olivier had raised his younger brother with his own hands—his only family! When Bulmer had entered the Martial God's Gate, Olivier had finally felt at ease and thrown himself fully into cultivation. Who could have imagined... receiving such devastating news today!
Bulmer to Olivier was like Wotton to Lin Lei!
With his own brother dead, how could he not be furious?