Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1202 - 1201 - Whisper Peaks

Lind shot through the sky as an emerald streak. His speed was far faster than any artifact could possibly maintain but he could still go faster if he wished.

He was currently flying as fast as he could to recover his Qi. The trick was that he allocated the different elemental sets at a rotation.

He would exhaust his natural Qi, then do demonic, and finally Celestial Qi. No one else could do it so it made for an excellent way to hide his movements. The demons used a combination of flying artifacts and some strange harnesses.

He assumed they were for larger beasts at one time but had been adapted such that a group of Radiant Tiers could switch between carrying it as a group and the others could rest. It simply demonstrated the insane power of a Radiant Tier but the risks were clear.

There were still flying beasts living in the 3rd layer but the true threat was the soulless. In both cases, the Radiant Tiers could not defend as they flew as it took all their concentration. The resting Immortals then had to fight and protect the fliers.

He had seen many such battles and the beasts, if they had a Heaven Realm in charge, left the demons alone. The beasts knew the demons were why they still lived.

Lind, on the other hand, never saw a single beast as his aura kept them away. The soulless might cross him but they were usually smaller numbers before he arrived. Now, they always traveled in large groups so he could not wipe them out.

Given enough time, Lind knew he could win but if the soulless started avoiding him actively, it would become a game of tag without end.

Still, it might give him the time to finally grow if they left him alone and the demons were free to use him as a shield if they paid tribute to use his aura.

That was only a possible future, so he had to move as the main forces did.

According to the information brokers, the hordes had moved to the Whisper Peaks. A rather desolate area even for the Endless Peaks.

There were no connecting bridges of land or manufacture there. There never had been due to the unique situation of the peaks.

Wind would travel through it and sound like voices. Noise did not carry in a way that was comfortable for any beast race too. It was rumored a scream from a thousand years ago could still circulate between those peaks.

There were, however, several forts put into those peaks since the soulless might hide there if they did not keep them out. It was a tactic they used in the early days.

Enough powers had ignored barren or dangerous areas since they assumed nothing could live there save resilient beasts. They had paid a horrific price for such assumptions.

Thus the demons had quickly erected towers that were heavily fortified against the various elemental or situational issues. The Whisper Peaks had silencing wards stronger than anything ever created before.

Lind felt they misunderstood how the air moved but he had not yet been to that area. It was far to the north of the Icy Path. The narrow points became visible as he left another bank of clouds but his ears finally picked up on what he had heard rumors of.

At first, it was just a high pitched whistle as racing air would make in a narrow space but his eyes narrowed as he realized the problem. None of the peaks in his vision were remotely close enough to cause it!

It was only when the head wind slammed into him that he realized his error. There was one other method and that was incredible strength! The air was flowing like a gale at all times!

He adjusted his flight to go with it until he could get better control. The swirl of wind carried him around far faster than even he had been flying at before!

He quickly angled himself to be ejected out near a peak. The roar of wind and whistling between peaks was perfectly normal otherwise, so he felt the rumors were–

{Lost True Lord, do you not hear the cries anymore?}

A faint voice suddenly reached his ears but he could not even concentrate on the source when more started coming the closer to the peaks he got.

{So weak but so strong, pathetic.}

{I don't want to be eaten! Please no–}

{Death is an old friend, but not a kind one.}

{The end hangs on such a fickle heart, we are lost.}

Various voices across man, demon, and beast reached him. The cadence, tone, and even some accents identified them for him. His eyes narrowed as some seemed for him but others were random.

Was he reading too much into it? Were they truly old voices left behind?

He could not believe it but intent was a powerful thing. If, at their last moment in those mountains, words were infused with the final intent, it could continue for a very long time.

Still, why only in that one place? The voices were not all clear too, some were muffled but his peak hearing ability picked it apart and frowned.

A great deal dealt with being eaten but according to all records, nothing lived in the peaks. So what was eating people? The soulless consumed everything a person was, even intent, so it could not be them.

He did not detect anything on the slim peak he finally landed on but his harmony flickered in a way it had not in a very long time. His eyes narrowed but no Fiend Qi was in range.

His aura was actively scanning but he did not even find the towers. He had to be too far from them at the edge as he was.

He charted the flow of air and frowned. It was not natural. Even if a natural treasure was generating the wind from somewhere, the flow of air was rigid. He could actually plot a path to follow it in or out if he wished.

There was not a chance that it was a natural phenomenon in any way.

He would have to chart out the entirety of the Whisper Peaks but then he pushed it aside. Unless he learned something relevant to increasing his strength, it did not matter.

"Cough!" He suddenly coughed but he had no idea why? He checked his body but nothing was wrong and there was no way his body would be affected by random debris at its current strength. What caused it?

He had to set it aside as nothing seemed wrong. After a few more moments, he launched into the air and let the currents carry him. He made stunning progress into the interior of the peaks before he finally smelled blood.

He frowned once more as it was not demon or human blood. It was a beast scent but not one that could fly. Was it an Immortal?

He shifted his course to get upwind of the source. The closer he got, the more blood entered his nose but it was not the sound of battle he heard. It was torture!

"Damn beast! You think you could waste our food like that?!" Lind narrowed his eyes as that seemed a damn flimsy excuse. The demons normally kept their towers well stocked so that a feast could be held to a ridiculous degree and still have food for a few years.

Cultivators did not need that much food anyway aside from the Qi contained in flesh to help them recover. Even so, the voices were not demons but humans. He frowned as he saw a tower finally come into his view.

Its turrets were sharply maintained but he could see some damage to the exterior recently inflicted by something. He also did not see any scouts which was near suicidal!

He landed lightly on one of the paths along the wall and saw down into a lower roof. The tower was only hollow to 3 floors below, likely to allow large artifacts to be summoned as needed.

A gathering of rather worn down humans were laughing and pointed as a slim being was bleeding at the center of them. The scent of blood was not just the beast as several humans were clearly injured.

He was confused but about to leave when another human spoke.

"Just like that filthy Emerald Fool! We don't need beasts taking from us in our time of need." A sigh left Lind. Why were humans so idiotic? Even when faced with near extinction, they never changed.

He knew part of it was frustration at the situation but it was no excuse to take it out on someone. He was also not going to let the line slide. He had to assert his authority.

His skin shimmered briefly as he stepped into open air before someone happened to glance up. His emerald hair floated on the wind which anyone after the last 2 centuries would recognize.

The sweating man was about to shout when Lind vanished before his fist slammed into the large man that spoke before. The wall cracked as he impacted into it, but he was not dead. His teeth were gone, but that was a small issue a pill could fix.

"I was not aware I was being a burden. Does anyone else wish to speak up?" His skin was all emerald scales now and his reptilian eyes were cold as ice as he looked around. Some of them had the decency to look down in shame but anger was in most of them.

That finally piqued his interest. What was going on at this tower?

"R–run. They betrayed us–" A weak voice reached him. He looked at the small form and something inside him broke. His flames flared as he saw a child! It was a child no more than a Heaven Realm at best!

The tower began to shake before a voice shouted.

"Attack him with the spears! We will be given a lot for his death!" A soldier in steel and leather armor had appeared in the doorway to the lower floors.

The instant Lind saw him the truth was laid bare.

A thrall!