novelraw Chapter 1218 - 1217 - Elusive Prey
Chapter 1218 - 1217 - Elusive Prey
A hacking cough was followed by blood on the stone floor. Slim arms barely held up Lind as he looked more haggard every day.
The weakness passed and he could breathe again. As he took each breath, his body swelled back to its normal size and health. It was like he was only sick as long as he coughed!
"Master Frey, you need to rest." A young woman with pale gold hair and eyes looked at him sternly but he ignored her. He had tried to return the fox girl to the demons but she refused to leave his side.
She even swore a spirits' cursed Oath to stay by him until he was cured! The instant the Heavens rumbled, it was too late! She had backed him into a corner when she was only a little girl!
She even used his damn name in the Oath!
"Rest makes no difference and you know it. What did Evie say?" She rolled her eyes at him. A thousand years together and she had quickly learned he purposely kept people at a distance. No names, no friends, and no connections of any kind if he could help it.
The pair that ascended had sworn Oaths to protect Lind but a day had come when he showed a tiny fraction of what must have been his old self.
Ozymandias died.
He had lived far longer than any World Realm should, even one that had fallen from being an Immortal.
His life had been further extended by Lind's intervention as well as his wife's administrations. He might have set a record for all anyone knew but not all cultivators revealed their tricks.
Still, World Realms could only endure for so long before any external help no longer worked.
The old man had been funny and kind. Lind had actually smiled but still refused to explain himself. His wife was angry with him yet did not challenge him on that day.
"She says the new defenses are not only holding, the Silver Flame Sect and Midnight Blade Sect reported thwarting the last 2 waves in their respective bases. There was also a report of a new bulwark established in Golden Hook Mountain." Lind nodded as that was good news but it was not what he wanted.
"What about the information I requested?" An update on the hordes was not all he wanted.
She frowned but not in frustration. It was that the information was not helpful.
"She–she said cultivators can't get sick normally. There has to be a flaw or Qi deviation but when I told her none was found, she said only an incompetent healer could be blamed then." He did not entirely disagree but it left him frustrated.
Even he could not ignore his condition as it continued to worsen. The extremely annoying thing was his body and foundation were fine! He could find no sign of Qi deviation nor of a foreign infiltration of any kind!
His crystal shined perfectly as it should for a Radiant Tier as well. Every test he could conceive of found nothing wrong with him so he was forced to ask for help.
Evie would have pounced if he had gone himself. He had refrained from going out at times too. He was able to regulate his condition a bit but it was getting worse. He would not be able to hide it for much longer.
Oz had known with a glance but understood. The 2 men had shared a deep bond like before but did not address it. He was always like that to Lind.
The fact the man had clung on far beyond even their best estimations spoke of his stubbornness.
Lind knew he had been barely alive but still alive nonetheless. They had parted on good terms even though Oz called him an idiotic fool at the end.
Lind pushed the memories aside and tried to ponder what else he could do. Something was causing him to become ill when most Immortals never even sneezed. There were some times when Immortals would be ill but that was usually about recovery and regaining their strength.
He had no such issue even after fighting for days on end to destroy hordes of the soulless creatures.
The bouts of weakness and coughing were becoming more frequent and lasting longer but the cause eluded him. Why couldn't he find the cause?
"There was one more thing. Evie hinted someone else has ascended recently but she has not confirmed what happened." Lind froze. He recognized bait but she never used entirely false bait.
If the worst had happened, she would not be baiting him, so there was some consolation there. Still, who else had arrived? She knew something and that he would want to know as well.
"Thank you." He swept from the simple cave room and went into the ice storm. She could not follow him as the storm had become stronger as it did. He let the cold wash over him and his fevered mind cleared.
It was ironic that a dragon who bathed in flames found solace in the cold.
He had been hunting his affliction for the last 1000 years but it was something no current pill or elixir he knew of could help him. They could help him bounce back or suppress some of the damage, but that was all.
Nothing cured him nor could he seem to narrow it down either. He had access to many complete records as he had been outed as a Triple Maester once more. He could not hide it after successfully repelling a Divine Realm wraith.
He still engaged in battles but the hordes had become more manageable in the last century. His condition was also getting harder to hide.
He retreated to the depths of the Icy Path as it was a good place to hide but also he acted as a deterrent to the horde.
He had already wiped out 2 attempts on the area alone but they were scouting forces. He had also noticed the instant the creatures were defeated, the surviving ones dove to retrieve them.
It had become much harder to collect the remains for destruction.
Still, it was just one aspect of the battle that had shifted into a stalemate.
The other issue was the moves had become more strategic. Before, the hordes tried to simply overwhelm with numbers and power. Now, they scouted like a normal army but he did not understand how.
No signals, no artifacts, and nothing to reveal how any contact was done.
The previous trap had been planned for someone like him looking for such easy targets. It was clear that his original target was also as elusive as his malady.
"We have to change our tactics. Defense is not enough anymore." Both sides were buying time but the soulless horde was the more dangerous between the 2 of them. Formations, weavings, and essentially everything required resources while the soulless only required to kill.
It was impossible to defend everywhere for all time and eventually the hordes would rise again in numbers if enough bodies reduced to husks were taken back to wherever they came from.
The issue was that even if he created his old weapons that used his harmony, it took far more power than a single artifact to kill them stone dead.
They were not truly Fiends, just made by them. His harmony was effective but it only sapped them of their false life. The moment a soul or similar energy is given to the flesh, it would be reanimated.
"Are they sent out with targets? So why can't I trace them back?" He had tried following them but their speed far exceeded his own. Tearing through space needed a firm destination and if he overshot them, he would not know.
He would find more of them in various places in the 3rd layer; the only difference was that the far fewer numbers actually made it harder.
It was normal for weeks to pass with no sign of the soulless.
Trying to track them with the speed they had was only part of the problem. Their creators knew they would be chased so they dispersed in as many directions as possible.
Unless he wanted to try and find a needle in a haystack, it was impossible to track them. Somehow, they knew a cultivator was near.
The Fiends' long term planning truly reared its head during those tactics.
It was clear they had designed the soulless to buy time and kill as many as possible. They were damned good at it, even after suffering such a massive defeat.
Only a truly prepared enemy could accept such a loss and make a comeback without ever revealing their base!
The storm increased its power around him but he merely looked up as if he could pierce the howling winds around him. Which would happen first?
Would he succumb to his ailment or would the Fiends reveal a new horror to take back what they had lost?
Lind knew they had set them back but they never stayed that way. Worse, the Great One was paying more attention. The bastard wanted him dead and may not be beneath exerting his will somehow once again.
A Radiant Tier had been left in charge in the 2nd layer, it would be disturbing if a Sovereign Tier was somehow kept in the current facility.
The thought brought him up short. The howling winds and ice began to flow over his body, but he did not notice at all.
Of course! Why had he not grasped it after facing the Divine Realm wraith?! If they could hide a Divine Realm in the void, how hard would it be to suppress a Sovereign Tier?!
Even if it was just to use some skill only they could access, it would be enough!
"Pseudo-Dao! Just like the weapon I made! They are using pseudo-Dao!" It had to be something tied to the Fiends themselves but it was something more important to him at that moment!
He remembered what it felt like! The power of pseudo-Dao was not something any sane person would look for but if they were using it to bypass the Radiant Tiers, it would work! No one would find it as only Sovereign Tiers touch on it at the very end of their journey!
A smile stretched across his frost covered face before a hacking cough shattered it all. The joy of the moment was robbed as blood splattered on the ground. It was so soon?!
He fell to his hands and knees. Weakness was making the cold bite into him at last. He had to force his flames to protect him which only made him worse! He crawled back to the cave and collapsed just inside it.
Hope and despair warred in his heart as darkness claimed him.