Calamity (Part 2)

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”

Intermittent impacts still echoed through Wushan Town. Before long, not a single fragment remained in the sky. The green-robed man had completely shattered all the boulders, but the people of Wushan Town had no attention to spare for the battle in the sky.

“Lord Hogg, the situation in Wushan Town is very bad. Just now... Lord Hogg? What is wrong?” Hillman rushed into the estate and had only reported a few words when he saw Hogg’s stunned expression.

Hogg’s body trembled, and his mind finally cleared. “Linley.” He suddenly rushed toward the storeroom at a frightening speed. Hillman guessed what had happened and immediately followed.

“Bang!” Before Hogg could reach them, the pile of rubble covering Hiri, Linley, Wharton, and the others burst apart.

Steward Hiri straightened up from within it.

“Uncle Hiri, how are they?” Hogg’s voice trembled as he looked toward the figures lying on the ground. The first thing he saw was a large patch of blood on Linley’s head. The sight was so glaring that Hogg’s head swam and his body swayed.

Linley was still bracing himself with both hands, keeping himself from pressing down on Wharton beneath him.

“Father.” A childish voice came from the very bottom.

Wharton crawled out from beneath Linley. He was small, and Linley had shielded him completely, so he was not injured at all.

“Big Brother, Big Brother, what’s wrong?” Wharton pushed Linley’s body.

“Linley, Linley.” Hogg’s voice shook as well.

Hiri spoke from the side. “I was still a little too late. I blocked one fragment, but it still struck Young Master Linley’s head. The impact should not have been too heavy.”

“I... I’m fine.” A low, hoarse voice sounded. Linley struggled to raise his head, glanced at Hogg, and forced out a smile.

At that moment, seeing his son smile, tears immediately streamed down Hogg’s face.

Linley propped himself up and sat down. His clothes were covered in a large patch of blood, and blood covered his face and neck as well. The stone had struck his head, and he had lost a great deal of blood. Though he felt dizzy, he still looked at his father and said weakly, “Father, you’re crying.”

“I... it’s nothing.” An emotional smile appeared on Hogg’s face.

“Wharton? Why were you at the storeroom entrance just now?” Linley asked, rubbing his younger brother’s head in displeasure.

Wharton knew he had done wrong. He lowered his little head. “Big Brother, I’m sorry.”

Steward Hiri said, “It was my fault. This disaster came too suddenly. I had only brought Wharton to the storeroom when I saw Young Master Linley in danger and immediately went to rescue him. I did not expect that in that brief moment a huge boulder would strike the storeroom. It was all my fault.”

“Boom!”

Another violent tremor suddenly came.

Everyone’s faces changed as they looked toward the eastern sky. A giant floated in midair, nearly ten meters tall, its muscles knotted and face cold, its entire body earthen yellow. The giant was fighting the green-robed man without pause, and the roar of their blows sounded like thunder.

The sound of their impacts alone showed how terrifyingly powerful the earthen-yellow giant was. Every one of its strikes exceeded the force of a 110,000-pound boulder.

Linley watched the sky enviously. “That earthen-yellow giant must have been summoned by the gray-robed man’s magic.” He could work it out, since the gray-robed man was a powerful Saint-level magus.

“Linley, how do you feel?” Hogg asked anxiously.

Linley forced out a smile. “It’s nothing. My head is just cut, and I lost some blood.”

“Young Master Linley, you have lost a lot of blood. Losing too much blood can kill.” Hiri had already taken a strip of white silk cloth from the storeroom and used it to bandage Linley’s wound.

Hogg looked deeply at Linley, then asked Hiri, “Uncle Hiri, how is Linley?”

Hiri smiled at Hogg. “It is all right. Young Master Linley has an excellent physique, and he did not even lose consciousness. It should not be serious. He only needs to eat more meat for a while to replenish his blood, and he will be fine.”

Only then did Hogg quietly relax.

When he had seen Linley rush toward Wharton to protect him, Hogg had been terrified senseless. He had truly feared that his son would die.

Taking a deep breath, Hogg looked at Hillman. “By the way, Hillman, you mentioned Wushan Town. What are the casualties now?”

“The full count is not complete yet.” Hillman’s expression was grave. “But from what I saw, some people in town have probably died, and many are seriously injured or crippled. Sigh, this disaster came too fast. Even though I shouted warnings, many people still had no time to get into their cellars.”

“It was too fast.” Hogg looked toward the eastern sky.

Saint-level experts and the residents of Wushan Town were beings on completely different levels. A Saint-level expert could destroy the town with a wave of a hand. The huge boulder barrage and the green-robed man’s destruction of those boulders had only been a probing exchange at the beginning of their fight.

Yet the resulting fragments alone had brought disaster to Wushan Town.

“The legendary tenth-rank Earth-element spell, also a Forbidden Magic: Guardian of the Earth. This Guardian of the Earth is extremely powerful. It is the strongest single-target attack of an Earth-element Saint-level Grand Magus.” Hogg looked at the earthen-yellow giant, his expression solemn.

As the head of the Dragonblood Warrior Clan, Hogg could recognize it at a glance. The Dragonblood Clan had declined, but its ancient inheritance of more than five thousand years included records of the various magic attacks wielded by powerful experts.

“A tenth-rank spell...” Linley took a deep breath.

How Linley yearned for the day when he could stand atop a Black Dragon and cast tenth-rank magic capable of destroying heaven and earth. Thinking of that, he naturally thought of the test to admit magic students in the royal capital. “It will not be until late autumn, when the royal capital recruits magic students. Another half year...”

Linley looked forward to the magic admission test half a year later.

“Hillman, later accompany me to inspect the condition of Wushan Town’s residents.” Hogg spoke, then looked at Hiri. “Uncle Hiri, after those two Saint-level experts leave, take Linley to wash and change his clothes. Let him rest properly.”

“Yes, my lord.” Hiri nodded.

Hogg looked at Linley, who was now watching the battle between the two Saint-level experts with rapt attention, and smiled. “That boy Linley still wants to watch the Saint-level experts fight despite his injury. Fortunately, the Saint-level magus has cast Guardian of the Earth. This battle should be ending soon.”

Linley’s eyes were shining as he watched the earthshaking battle in the sky. He did not notice the pendant hanging from his neck—

After his head was struck, the Coiling Dragon Ring he wore as a pendant beneath his clothes had also been stained with blood. The black, wood-and-stone-like material drank in the blood.

A misty halo faintly flickered over the surface of the Coiling Dragon Ring.

But the ring was covered by Linley’s clothes, and no one noticed the misty halo on its surface.