Chapter Eighty-Nine: Arriving in Bath City

In the original Saint Seiya, the cloth-bursting terror Dragon Purple used this technique to annihilate a great host of underworld warriors in a single stroke. Its power was such that even an ordinary Gold Saint might not have been able to endure it.

Although Saga was still far from unleashing the true might of the Hundred Dragons, able to call forth only a little over thirty dragon forces and still nowhere near the majesty of a full hundred, the attack was still fearsome in practice. Even those thirty-odd emerald dragons were a nightmare for the black-clad assailants.

The thirty-some green dragons rampaged furiously, and everything in their path was reduced to ruin. Whether ghouls or black-clad men, none escaped being shattered to pieces. Moreover, the Hundred Dragons’ attack covered an enormous area, sweeping across in a fan-shaped arc and flattening nearly the entire lord’s mansion. Its destructive power was comparable to a full-force strike from a sixth-rank expert. In the end, after the black-clad men were consumed, the rift in space and time was also ravaged by the dragon forces. The tendrils upon it were blasted into ash, and the rift itself closed in the same instant.

When the divine dragon energy finally dispersed, only wreckage remained of the lord’s mansion, every black-clad attacker had been utterly wiped out, and even the barrier had vanished with them.

With that one move, every enemy had been dealt with.

Ross, who had witnessed the entire scene with his own eyes, stood there dumbfounded. Looking at Saga, who still held the stance of his unleashed technique before him, he suddenly felt that this youth, younger than he by several decades, seemed taller than anyone he had ever seen. That unyielding bearing deeply subdued him, and for the first time the words Saint Seiya truly registered in his heart.

“Could it be that all Saint Seiya are this powerful?”

Ross could not help but think this, but at that very moment the sound of something heavy collapsing rang out, snapping him back to himself. Looking closely, he saw Saga lying on his back upon the ground, while at the same time the Dragon Cloth was covered in countless cracks, as though the force Saga had erupted with had been too great even for the armor to bear.

The next moment, the Cloth reverted to a crystal state, though cracks had also appeared across the crystal, and its color had faded considerably.

Ross was frantic at the sight, and just then the people outside finally rushed in. The count immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, “Quickly, bring someone to save this child! Whatever happens, you must heal him!”

Brand, who had led the charge inside, was stunned by the words. Seeing Saga collapsed on the ground, he immediately ordered the military doctors to treat him and sent men searching for any surviving remnants, while he himself ran to his father’s side to tend to him.

Not long after, a scream rang out. The father and son of the Bass family, as well as the soldiers present, who had been about to savor the moment of reunion, all turned toward the sound. They saw a burly man in black armor send a large group of soldiers flying, then pick up a black-clad figure whose life or death was unclear and sling her over his shoulder. That black-clad figure was the woman who had earlier tried to persuade Saga to surrender.

The black-armored man’s presence was stern and formidable, brimming with oppressive force. The soldiers surrounded him, terrified to the core and too frightened to advance. The armored man paid them no mind at all, only casting a look of regret at Saga, who was being treated by the military doctors, before turning to the father and son of the Bass family and saying, “You have survived this deadly ordeal, which means you have passed the test of the Holy Lord. Before the day of judgment arrives, my order will not attack you again. Enjoy the time you have left.”

With that, the black-armored man shot skyward like a cannonball, stirring fierce currents of air that sent many people tumbling. Seeing this, everyone drew a sharp breath.

That was the bearing of a seventh-rank powerhouse.

The father and son of the Bass family exchanged a look of utter shock and fell silent. At last Ross said in a low voice, “Immediately report this matter to His Majesty the King, and write to Archbishop Neil. Tell him about young Saga...” With that, he looked sorrowfully at Saga, still unconscious, and let out a deep sigh.

That was what had happened in Bass City the previous night. After learning the entire course of events from White Spirit, Link was astonished, alarmed, and bewildered in equal measure. It took him quite some time to digest this blood-soaked and perilous tale.

In the end, Link’s brows were tightly knit, his expression grave. The people who had attacked the Bass family last night were almost certainly from the Bale Church. Even if they were not, they were certainly connected to it. Either way, it was terrible news, because the other side actually possessed a seventh-rank powerhouse. That was terrifying beyond measure. Throughout the entire Kingdom of Stars, there were only four known seventh-rank powerhouses: two from the religious orders and two in the service of the royal family, all of them extraordinary figures.

And now, out of nowhere, an unknown seventh-rank powerhouse had appeared, one who might well alter the balance of power within the Kingdom of Stars.

At that thought, Link gave a self-mocking shake of his head. “What change in the balance of power? The balance has already begun to change. Spatial rifts are everywhere now, and every faction must face this crisis. For the weaker powers, this is absolutely a nightmare. Especially the religious world—perhaps many faiths will vanish in a very short time.”

This was not merely Link indulging in wild conjecture; it was something that might truly happen. One should not be deceived by the current abundance of religious orders, nor by the apparent indifference of the major churches. In truth, this was a situation deliberately cultivated by the authorities, precisely to restrain the power of the larger faiths.

Now that the calamity of the spatial rifts had appeared, it had not yet reached the level of destroying the nation, but it would certainly consume a great deal of the government’s manpower and military strength. The major religions would surely not miss such a golden opportunity. A new round of religious competition was inevitable, and this time it would be unimaginably cruel.

In this process, not only the smaller and medium-sized faiths, but even the most powerful churches would have to tread as if across thin ice. A single misstep could send them into an abyss from which there was no return. Moreover, once the influence of the great religions expanded to a certain degree, they would inevitably come into irreconcilable conflict with the authorities, and at that point the struggle would become one between the religious world and royal power.

In the end, whether the religious world or the government, both would have to face a war they did not wish to fight.

Perhaps many high-ranking figures within the churches understood this and did not want matters to develop into an outright confrontation between altar and throne. Yet before the lure of expansion, not everyone could restrain themselves. Once one religion began to seize the disorder for its own growth, the others would be forced into the same game of domination, because those who did not participate would simply be swallowed up.

“So this is what they call power driving people mad?” Link murmured. “If even I can think of this, how could those shrewd old foxes not? Looks like once I get back, we’ll have to hold another meeting.”

He did not believe the other factions were fools. If he could think of it, then many others surely could as well. What remained to be seen was who could make the best use of this chaos.

But all of that belonged to the future. Right now, what Link had to do was rush to Bass City and save the boy. By the time White Spirit returned, Saga had already been half dead; heaven knew what state he was in now. If he arrived too late and failed to save him because of a single step, he would not even know where to cry.

Now that he had healing spells, Link no longer feared White Spirit exhausting herself. Along the way, he repeatedly used Sacred Light’s Touch to restore her strength, and White Spirit sped forward at full gallop. In the end, it took only two and a half hours to reach Bass City, and she plunged straight into the military camp in the northern part of the city—where the father and son of the Bass family, along with Saga, were currently staying.

To save time, Link had no leisure to worry about misunderstanding. He descended directly before the room where Saga was being kept, so frightening the guards that they nearly loosed their arrows. The officer at the door was a Bass family retainer who had once met Link. The moment he saw who had arrived, he hurriedly called off his men and exclaimed in astonishment, “Archbishop Neil, how did you get here so quickly? The man the count sent to inform you only departed last night!”

“I learned of it by other means,” Link replied, having no time to explain in detail. He said curtly, “The child Saga is inside, yes? Open the door at once. I can save him!”

Upon hearing this, the guard hurriedly opened the door, and Link rushed inside at once. In the spacious room, a group of doctors and mages capable of healing spells were striving desperately to save the boy, but with limited effect, while the father and son of the Bass family waited anxiously at one side.

Seeing someone suddenly burst in, the already irritable Count Ross was about to lose his temper. But when he realized it was Link, his anger instantly turned to delight. “Archbishop Neil, you, you arrived so quickly?”

Just by looking at the condition of the room, Link knew Saga was still alive, and he let out a breath of relief before saying in a low voice, “My lord count, please have these people leave. I can save Saga!”

Hearing this, the healers, who had already been astonished that Count Ross addressed Link with the formal honorific, were even more shocked. Several of them immediately grew anxious. They did not know the relationship between Saga and Link; they only knew that the Bass family valued Saga greatly. If Link were to seize the treatment from them now, was he not stealing their livelihood and prospects?

At once, one priest—no one knew from which church—did not wait for Count Ross to speak, but darkened his face and said, “Who are you to barge into a military stronghold like this and order us to leave? What qualifications do you have? Do you think your medical skill and healing arts are better than ours?”

As he spoke, he exchanged a glance with the others nearby. Those who had been hoping to use the opportunity to curry favor with the count immediately joined in, denouncing Link and belittling him as worthless, as though they would have liked nothing more than to throw him to the ground and trample him beneath their feet.

They failed to notice that Count Ross’s face was growing darker and darker. They even assumed he was finding their words reasonable, while those who had noticed something amiss quickly distanced themselves from these blinded opportunists, lest disaster befall them as well.

Just as Count Ross was about to erupt, Link, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly moved. In a speed invisible to the naked eye, he shot before the group of critics and slapped each of them in the face, sending them all flying. Those slaps were delivered with inner force, and as the group was hurled out of the room, many teeth were shattered. Even in the midst of flight, one could see bloody teeth flying from their mouths.

By the time those men crashed to the floor, they were already unconscious. Their swollen faces made it plain to everyone what a pig’s head truly meant.

The entire room fell silent at the sight. No one had expected the normally gentle and refined Link to suddenly explode, and in such a domineering fashion at that. Link, however, felt no guilt whatsoever. He gave a cold snort and said in an emotionless tone, “A pack of trash. You have no skill and yet you still dare to make a racket. Will you leave on your own, or must I cripple you like the others and have people carry you out?” The second half of the sentence was directed at the remaining healers. Though phrased as a question, the unmistakable coercion in his tone was something anyone could feel.