Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1233 - 1232 - Sent Packing

Lind awoke to the smell of blood and antiseptic. The former was not unusual given the lives of cultivators but the latter told him pills and elixirs were exhausted.

He also only knew of 1 woman proficient in their use even as an Immortal.

He glanced to his left and found a mostly white divider separating him from the rest of a tent. He saw a head of dark hair sleeping on his left arm calmly but firmly holding on to him.

He was unworthy.

He had tried to push all of it away and she had to smack him around, literally, to wake him up from his tantrum. Maybe he was overdue since he did not really have any as a child.

"Mom…" He only spoke a single word but her vibrant green eyes snapped open instantly to look up at him. She smiled wide and hugged him tightly.

It took some time to let him speak but she fussed over him as she told him Lina was recovering nicely. She was in far better shape than him.

The limb must have healed her somehow.

Why it did not bother with him was a mystery but possibly simply a lack of time.

"The Fiend?" Her eyes darkened but then a grim smile crossed her face. His draconic instincts suddenly screamed at him to run!

"Kal and Kexin ripped his head off after I poisoned him with that little pill we made." Confusion crossed his face until he recalled a very old experiment from the early days of his harmonic research.

He had wondered if others could use his Qi in their creations and only 1 person could. His mother!

The pill had been as vibrantly emerald as his harmony but the batch only made 3 pills. They used up 2 trying to see what it did but nothing happened.

"How did you get him to swallow a pill?" She suddenly became evasive and his eyes narrowed. "Mother?!"

She flinched but then sighed.

"Tessa covered my crystal in her harmonic flames. She has that unique gift it seems, but the Fiend just thought to use me as a hostage as he seemed to be panicking. He was terrified of Kal once the soulless were being reduced to ash by the other 2." Tessa's harmony did as well? He would look into that later.

"Anyway, I simply cracked it open and it was like a disease. It spread like lightning along his veins and he got weak as a kitten. They tried to find out what happened to you but you know how those vile things are." He nodded but looked at her harshly.

"Explain to me how a healer got to the frontlines?" She suddenly whisked away as if someone had called her. She had come running when the Fiend appeared! He knew it!

Still, he took a breath and truly enjoyed the feeling of Qi and Laws all around him. He suddenly felt like his Laws were pathetic after comparing them to the limb creature.

Now that he carefully examined the 3rd layer he saw something he missed. The Laws in his dantian were of the same level as the Laws around him.

Always before, an Immortal had to refine and comprehend various Laws related to their cultivation to advance. Understanding and expanding their grasp of their path through Laws was what built their Immortal foundation.

Yet, now that he looked around with a clearer head, he realized that method was not going to work.

He was about to grasp something important when a flush faced Kal came running around his divider. Lind did not even have time to say hello when a fist slammed into his jaw.

It was hardly at full strength as he was still on his cot but it held enough impact to hurt. He rubbed his jaw but slowly nodded.

"I deserve that and more. I take it–" Words did not even get to leave his mouth before Kexin slammed into his stomach followed by Tessa kicking him in his chest! Did they have to his so hard?!

The cot's legs snapped but while he was hardly bothered, a chill suddenly washed over the area.

"I believe I only said that he woke up, not that you could vent to my son. Also, this is a healing ward. Do you have anything to say before I begin?" The fact his Mother was the weakest Radiant Tier did not seem to matter one bit as she began to chew them out.

The 4 of them jumped as a roaring laughter came from Lind. Tears fell from his eyes as he looked at the confused faces before he calmed enough to speak.

"You sent the horde packing, killed a peak Radiant Tier Fiend, and beheaded another but my Mother scolding you scares you all?" The 3 demons looked at each other for only a beat before turning back to him in unison.

"""YES!"""

Laughter began again but now Mother and son were united. Lind felt like the last of the lingering darkness left his heart but he knew it was not so easy. He also had to answer to far more terrifying people.

"How much trouble am I in?" The 3 demons fell back as his Mother stepped forward. She had on a stained apron now that he looked at her. He frowned to know how many died but her next words made him shiver to his soul.

"I have the following message from them all: We will be talking on arrival." He suddenly felt a drive to get stronger and buy himself some time!

"Lord Emerald Immortal, are you awake?" A voice came from beyond the divider but he recognized it. It was the receptionist for Evie. The woman poked her head around carefully and he noticed she was missing an eye.

The bandage was well wrapped and clean but her clothes were a mess. Out of instinct he waved his hand and all 18 elements washed over her. He had to work on his healing Arts but her injuries were well within his purview.

Shock spread on her face as his Mother swiftly unbandaged her to reveal a completely intact new eye! Tears welled up but she quickly composed herself.

"Thank you very much, Lord Emerald Immortal. My Lady wishes to see you as soon as possible. The horde is acting strangely and she wants to know if you can share why." Lind smiled as he was only partially to blame.

"Actually, you should thank Lina. She is the one that broke the Fiend's supply routes." Confusion appeared on them all but he waved it off. He was still weakened but more than recovered enough to move.

He quickly followed his nose to her cot and saw she was sleeping. She was now more human than beast once again but there was a more profound feeling coming off of her too.

"She advanced." The experience in the vile factory island must have pushed her forward a bit. She had a ways to go yet but he could feel she was close to a tribulation.

He gently picked her up and princess carried her out of the healing ward. He would not leave her behind as word would spread too fast.

He emerged from the tent flap and froze at what he saw. He had known it would be bad but the stark contrast was brutal. Not a single building remained standing. He could see all the way to the bridges no matter the direction he chose to look at.

He noticed the black bridge was cracked open. The structure they could not even scratch had been destroyed by a force greater than anything the 3rd layer could produce.

The curling smoke he recalled from his return was gone but he saw several bonfires with vacant eyed humans, demons, and aether children around them. The numbers were depressingly low as well.

"How many?" His voice was grim but Kexin answered him.

"I don't have firm figures but there were supposedly a few million here and now there are only a few thousand. Anyone below the Immortal Realm died or succumbed to injuries as healers were targeted. If not for Lady Mira, there would only be hundreds left." The soulless were tenacious but with active orders they were clearly worse than ever before.

He could only pray that the island was reduced to nothing in the void.

The group moved down streets of debris and skeletal structures reaching for the sky. The once vibrant life was gone. The Knife Edge Bazaar had fallen to the blade.

"What about other areas?" The woman leading them paused but then resumed before speaking.

"Some reports came of attacks but not on the same scale. Without the normal Radiant Tier Immortals, however, it did not go well. We are not as bad as before but if it had continued–" She stopped speaking and simply waved her hands around.

It would have been the end.

The Fiends had planned well. Even if the demons recovered and pushed back the hordes, it was only to wait for the true force to come and crush everything in one swoop!

They had won but the price was devastatingly high.