Coiling Dragon Book 6 (Chp 8 onwards)

Book 6, The Road to Revenge - Chapter 28, Mother's Life or Death

Linley cautiously glanced about the room, saying in a low voice, "Your Majesty, just a moment. Let me order out the people who are outside." As he spoke, Linley walked out the door, then barked at the two guards outside. "Both of you, stand down. Without my direct orders, do not permit anyone to enter this courtyard."

"Yes, Lord Linley."

Those two guards saluted respectfully, then left. Now, the only ones left in this standalone courtyard were Linley, Clayde, Merritt, and Ransome.

"Creaaak." Linley quietly shut the door.

"Linley, what sort of secret is this, that you even close the door?" Clayde chuckled.

Linley glanced at Clayde, laughing coldly in his heart. He himself knew that Clayde had already been poisoned by the Bloodrupture poison. As the Bloodrupture poison didn't actually cause any damage to the body, just prevent the generation of battle-qi, it was only after a person attempted to generate battle-qi that they would discover that they had been poisoned.

"This affair really is quite important." Linley's face was solemn.

At this time, Ransome subtly moved closer towards Clayde. As the personal bodyguard of the king, Ransome was beginning to feel that this environment was vaguely dangerous. At the same time, Ransome also felt that as Clayde was a warrior of the ninth rank, and he Ransome was a warrior of the eighth rank, by all rights, nobody here should be capable of being a threat to them.

But one could never be too careful.

"Your Majesty." Linley stared solemnly at Clayde. "My mother left this world when I was young."

Clayde nodded. He had investigated Linley's background, and had discovered that Linley's mother had died in childbirth, while giving birth to Linley's younger brother, Wharton.

"I have no memories of receiving motherly love, only of the strictness of my father. My father was quite severe towards me in terms of both warrior training as well as all the education which nobles were expected to have. My father's requirements for me were very high and very strict."

Linley looked at Clayde as he spoke slowly.

Clayde was beginning to be confused. He didn't understand what any of this had to do with the so-called 'important matter' which Linley had mentioned. But as the ruler of the kingdom, Clayde showed a kingly poise and didn't interrupt.

"Your Majesty, I expect that you know that my clan, the Baruch clan, is also the clan of the Dragonblood Warriors." A slightly proud look was on Linley's face.

"That's right. One of the Four Supreme Warrior clans, the Dragonblood Warrior clan. This is an illustrious, ancient lineage." Clayde sighed with praise.

Linley shook his head. "We were only illustrious in the past. My clan had fallen so far that even our ancestral heirloom had been lost for hundreds of years. Each and every generation of Baruch clan leaders had desired to seize back this heirloom for centuries, but this never occurred. Your Majesty, when I was accepted by the Ernst Institute and left home, do you know what my father said to me the day I left?"

"What did he say?" Clayde looked at Linley.

"My father said, if in the future I do not bring back the ancestral heirloom of our clan, even in his death, he wouldn't forgive me!" Linley's body was trembling slightly.

Clayde, Merritt, and even Ransome all stared in amazement. A father could actually say such a thing to his son? "Your father went a bit too far." Clayde said.

"No."

Linley shook his head solemnly. "I understand my father's desire. My Dragonblood Warrior clan had been downtrodden for centuries, without a single truly powerful person appearing in all that time. My father understood that I would be the strongest person my clan had produced in centuries. Hundreds of years of hopes and desires all rested on my shoulders. Tell me, how could my father permit me to be a failure?" Clayde began to understand.