Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1134 - 1133 - Pride Fall

"Lind, are you sure you want me to stay here?" Chu was playing with Katerina but she was looking northward now and again. Their quarters were decently large for being only guests but the 4 rooms attached to the open courtyard reminded him of home.

The formation protecting residents from the crystal was sufficient protection to let the sunlight and nature in. Rain was rare but fog was not impossible.

Currently a stream of sunlight was coming down to make the green grass, slim trees, and tasteful stone garden at its center tranquil.

Chu let her tail swirl above Katerina's hands just out of her reach. She was laughing joyfully and Chu had a strong desire for a child with Lind at that moment but some annoying gnats were in the way!

He looked on warmly and read her mind like an open book! Even without his draconic instincts, he felt the intense stare easily but he had a powerful ally with him.

"Auntie play!" Katerina's cute voice broke the spell and Chu could not resist her. Lind gave the little girl a thumbs up in his mind but froze as she winked at him!

He forgot her cultivation had advanced her mental abilities!

He smiled and left the room before going out into the now cleared halls of the palace. The open yard was massive as soldiers patrolled it alongside craftsmen still working on repairs.

The city had been prioritized outside of security so only the palace remained to be fixed. It was only later that Lind learned the gateway had been damaged but compared to before, it was much easier to fix.

He saw elegant pillars that held light crystals mounted every few meters. They lit up in the early evening to let people find their way but dimmed later. They also had clever security formations inscribed on them.

He rated them between mid to high grade 7 alone but if they built up on top of each other they could touch on peak grade 7!

The pale rose stone path was wide enough for a carriage but he had never seen any inside the grounds. The rising levels above showed the palace exterior was completely intact.

He now saw the spires actively protecting the grounds glowing to his Eyes. The extent of the damage had not been apparent before but now that things were repaired he saw how profound the protections were.

Without them, the Crimson Harmony Law Crystal would be too much for random visitors and servants. The sheer resources needed to maintain it was the ultimate driving force why they could not build a second palace for the royal family.

It would have destroyed their treasury to maintain 2 such sets of formations for so long.

Lind saw several lightning qilin smartly walk next to their partners in the army but they all bowed to him as he passed. Now that he did not hide his aura, their bloodline reacted to his True Lord status.

No one asked him why they did that but he knew the dragon-phoenix had revealed what he was to the royal family. They did not fully grasp what that meant but the new guests would likely change that.

He was about to use a communication jade when a voice boomed across the air.

[Human ants! The true masters of the land have come to put you in your place!] Lind just wanted to go right back to his courtyard right then but he had to go address the owner of that voice.

He leapt into the air as walking was no longer an option. He also did not want to presume upon King Risselle's indulgence of his unilateral actions too much.

He hopped a tram heading down the slope north and he noticed more soldiers than normal on board. Merchants, tradesmen, and general laborers were normal currently. The outer cities were sending materials for repairs as well as some family members coming to honor the dead.

The tram made none of the regular stops which only confirmed his theory that trouble was brewing on the northern walls.

Eventually he got low enough to hop from one roof to the next but saw a few plumes of dirt in the distance. Another sigh left him as he extended his aura. Unlike before, no one panicked since he was now registered.

Still, some areas were blocked off since he was not being forceful. The area outside the city revealed 5 individuals standing around beaten but alive soldiers.

Princess Fyre was looking on concerned from atop the wall which only made Lind look deadpan as he saw a person who should not be out there at all facing the 5 people!

King Risselle was in a vest and pants as he bled from several wounds. His face was full of smiles as he was shouting something about worthy opponents most likely but Lind quietly stopped atop a part of the wall out of sight.

All the soldiers were being disciplined so did not react to his arrival and kept watch for any more issues. They were well trained.

Unlike their King!

"Do you know who they are, Lord Emerald Immortal?" The officer in charge was an older man but he moved with a grace of a warrior half his age. Lind shook his head as he really took them in.

There were 3 women and 2 men. The slimmer man had pale skin and slicked back hair that was likely some kind of scales if his senses were not wrong. A python or boa constrictor of some kind based on a very faint reaction.

The other 4 were more impressive. One of the women had short antlers coming out of the top of her blonde hair but her subdued robes let her nearly blend into the forest behind her. Her eyes were hard to make out but he would bet she was a qilin.

A thunder qilin. Lightning and thunder were the same in nature as the bolt created the sound with its arrival but beasts could take on aspects of each part. It usually resulted in greater power and thunder was an extreme end of the sound spectrum of power.

The other man had 2 massive horns just above his temples. His body was massive with heavily muscled arms exposed. The muscles were dense too as he could feel the power in them even from his current distance.

His rust colored hair and vest revealed him to be a Blood Bull! They were insanely powerful bulls that had a lot of earth elements when they cultivated. A living fortress would not be an incorrect description.

The last 2 women were twins and the disdain they showed for all around them almost made him nostalgic.

Rocs, he recognized that attitude anywhere! One was pure gold robes with silver hair and the other was the reverse. Both had dark violet eyes but the arrogance was the strongest of them all.

Lind could tell they were all peak Crystal Tiers. Yet, he frowned. They were somewhat protected thanks to the Crimson Harmony Law Crystal, but they felt fragile to his senses. King Risselle should be able to win one on one but in a group he stood no chance.

Why were they so full of themselves? Also, why had that fungus felt far stronger?

"You are all so pathetic but you dare hold one of us prisoner?" Lind narrowed his eyes. Prisoner? Were they idiots? The one speaking was the bull. His eyes were molten iron as he sneered at the king.

The King smiled wide as he spit out blood on the ground.

"Ran, I can accept we will never be able to coexist peacefully, but do not insult my honor!" The usually happy go lucky king was now actually angry but it was all a farce in Lind's eyes.

Both sides were too full of pride to hold a simple conversation!

"Ran, do not play anymore, we are here to collect our fellow Daoist. They have spent too much time with the humans without paying homage to us." The slim man spoke softly but he also looked bored.

The only one that frowned at his words was the thunder qilin woman. The 2 rocs smirked as if it was a great joke for some reason. Lind had to think before he just wanted to go back home!

"Do they really think I owe them anything?" He mumbled but the soldiers near him paled. Their faces all said the same thing.

'Do not pull us into that!'

The fight looked like it was about to take a serious turn so Lind decided to put an end to it.

[KNEEL] His voice carried his full authority and all the beasts instantly fell to their knees aside from the thunder qilin woman. He only spared her because she seemed to find it distasteful to disparage him and the humans.

Lind then slowly hopped down and walked over to the battle as King Risselle looked displeased at him.

"I did not ask for help! Why are you interfering in this, Lord Emerald Immortal?" Lind was sorely tempted to smack the man but instead he let his proxy do it.

"FATHER!" Princess Fyre's voice seemed to snap the King out of his bloodlust and then he paled as he slowly looked up to not only see his angry daughter but also his own father looking down at him from the wall!

"Ahem, I mean I am grateful for you coming to resolve this issue." The King suddenly got all polite as if nothing he said before ever happened!

"You did not start it but that is the only thing I will give you. These people have come to bother me for some reason so I will deal with them." Lind spoke while looking right at the king which made the kneeling beasts angry but their bodies were not responding!

"Release us! You have no right to–" One of the roc sisters tried to yell but Lind then fully turned on his draconic aura. His emerald eyes were cold as he looked down at them.

"Any chance of polite conversation died when you insisted on affirming your useless pride. The 4 of you can continue to kneel there until you learn some manners!" He was short and to the point with them.

Of all of them, the snake man was panicking the most. His bloodline was likely screaming at him to obey no matter what even without his True Lord status.

"True Lord, could you please forgive them this once?" The thunder qilin finally spoke but he was disappointed. She could not be serious.

"You seem to misunderstand my mercy, so let me be clear. None of you are acting appropriately. I have fought a major battle on several fronts and was enjoying time with my family happily when you arrived. Tell me, how would any of you feel?" He smiled at them but it was cold!

All 5 froze before the qilin woman and snake man paled. The 2 roc sisters seemed to ignore reality but the Blood Bull seemed to try and stand up even more than before. Lind sighed as he transformed one of his arms.

It towered over them all but it also expressed his full aura.

The humans were suppressed but the beasts in all directions instantly bowed.

"D–d–divine Progenitor!" The snake man actually impressed him by grasping that just from his aura. His words transformed the others. The Blood Bull looked like he wanted to faint.

[Release] His word finally let them go free as he retracted all of his aura.

"Go and reflect on your pride. It will get you killed if you do not learn to control it in the future. With your permission, majesty?" Lind looked back at the king who looked confused but nodded. Lind smiled as he vanished from all their sights!

He reappeared in his own courtyard and sat down heavily. He doubted they would leave but any arrogance had been properly shattered. Still, they were too weak to be the overlords. The dragons he had met were more powerful than them!

What was going on?