Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1235 - 1234 - This is not War

A council was quickly pulled together from the surviving Radiant Tiers. Lind looked around the large tent space and saw only 2 dozen Immortals. His recovery was improving but time was not on his side.

He would happily concoct some elixirs but there was simply no materials left! His Mother and other experts had exhausted them to save as many lives as they could. He noticed the respect his Mother had from even peak Radiant Tiers.

Kal, Kexin, and Tessa also had deep respect but he understood why there.

Kal, especially, was revered by the demons even as he suppressed his physique.

"Why are you suddenly so sociable, Emerald Immortal?" A demon spoke up with nearly wire thin limbs. Lind knew he was able to nearly disappear due to his faint presence but he could only bow at the question.

"I thought I knew how to grow stronger but instead I made myself weak. I am correcting my ways." His blunt admission surprised but was accepted by many.

Many noticed that the 3 recent additions to their forces shared similarities to him but it was not time for that discussion.

"All right, enough delay. We all need to be updated on our crisis." Evie spoke up as she tossed out an azure jade slip cut roughly as so many were. A massive projection appeared that showed some familiar landmarks to the north but many frowned at what they saw.

A new landmass was nearly buried by red dots that all knew denoted the soulless on many maps. The red was nearly a blob the size of half the land in all the Endless Peaks!

"This is not inaccurate. The Serenity Sect has relayed this scan of the northern area and a massive horde is currently wiping out all the northern powers there." Evie spoke while the red mass spread outward as they watched.

"How are there so many? Why have we not encountered such massive numbers before?" A demoness with a massive warhammer on her back spoke up but Lind was the one who answered her.

"The goal of the horde was not death, but to buy time. They were to seal away the 4th layer where it is far easier to reach the Radiante Tier and even some Sovereign Tier power could be exerted to defend the lower layers. That could not be allowed." Lind saw many look at him in curiosity.

He then explained his history. The group were shocked to hear what had been happening in the lower layers and realms.

Some wanted to deny his words but he and 2 of the demons revealed the harmonies they wielded.

The strange feeling of the Qi was not of an element but a few recognized the 6 elemental oddity from long ago in their past.

"Are you saying those defective beings are able to hurt Fiends and soulless far easier than the rest of us?" A demon missing an arm spoke up. His massive frame was covered in less effective bandages but it was clear the ministrations were letting him heal faster.

Lind nodded but then shook his head.

"It is not like 6 elementals exist to fight Fiends. It is the fact their cultivation path includes fusing their souls far earlier to their harmony. We cannot advance without that step and thus by quirk of that nature, the harmony becomes our soul. In other words, our souls are not simply tempered into the sliver when we become an Immortal, we fused all we have learned as well." Shock went around the table but he wanted to move on.

The finer details of cultivation could be covered later.

"We have no time. The Serenity Sect and others are the current northern border. All powers have been weakened to an extent with the last attack but now you see the true depth of our enemy." The projection suddenly flickered as it was updated.

The red blobs were becoming defined shapes! The horde was forming up to attack!

"It does not change what we have to do, Lord Emerald Immortal. We will fight to win the war!" A demoness with violently pink hair and eyes roared and the other demons cheered.

Kal did not and it quickly stifled them. Kexin and Tessa looked at the group with pity.

"War? You think this has been a war?" Lind's voice was not dismissive but he was flabbergasted.

He stood up and looked at them. His emerald eyes seemed to pierce their pride and arrogance like it was so much thin paper.

"War implies 2 or more forces coming together to fight for victory. The winners will achieve their goals and the losers will die or disperse. Yet, there is a shared understanding that once a certain amount of death has passed, war is pointless." It was true even for cultivators.

War was a waste of life and resources no matter how anyone looked at it but there were bottom lines for any power that they would not allow to be crossed. Some were ambitious, while others were simply greedy.

It did not change the fact that those that paid the price for war rarely saw its benefits.

Still, it remained that even the most insane dictator had to swallow defeat or their power base would abandon them to survive.

"The Fiends do not see us as enemies. They never have. We are resources. We are the same as beast cores, Qi stones, or herbs are to us. That is all they ever think of us. This is not war. It is a farmer coming for his harvest. It is the hunter bringing his sword down. If you go in thinking we can win, you will find a fate far worse than death." The words shook the Immortals.

Theoretically, they were able to survive the death of their bodies assuming they had not exhausted their vitality as a soul. The Fiends and soulless did not allow that. The first thing to die was the soul, not the body!

Some looked frustrated but others became solemn as they understood what Lind was saying.

A war mentality looked for victory. The fight for survival, however, meant to endure. Endure until no enemy remained. Endure until every Fiend and soulless were dead or destroyed. Endure until all avenues of survival were exhausted.

There was no hope of escaping. The soulless could scour the entire Endless Peaks with ease at those numbers. Even the Icy Path would only be a slow death.

There was no retreating from the coming battle and treating it like any other war would only get themselves turned into resources for the Fiends! Better to completely burnout all they have now than to feed their enemies.

"What can we do? We are a small number and too far from the northern border to be of aid. There is no teleportation array due to the fact we could not place this island before. It will take weeks to get to the nearest one. By then, it will all be over." Lind nodded at the slim demoness that spoke up.

"You are correct. We are too far as we are to be of help, but my harmony allows me a few tricks. We are also of a number that I can handle. I can get us there but only those that are willing to go all out." His words would be treated as lunacy by anyone else.

Even as distant as he had been in the last 1300 years, he had never failed to deliver on his promises. Further, he had done rather impossible things that others could not fully explain. If his harmony truly availed him of a skill, then they could believe it.

"What exactly can you do?" Lind looked at Kexin who slowly nodded at him.

"Each harmony has a kind of overarching purpose. Kexin, here, has the Harmony of Domination." Obsidian flames suddenly appeared and everyone present felt it. They were flames that would not allow disobedience. They would conquer all!

They vanished and the lithe figure smirked at the cold sweat many seemed to have.

Lind then stepped forward.

"I do not have a firm grasp on my harmony like she does. Mine is complex, but my progress has pushed it past being a Living Law long ago. Why you were affected by Kexin was because she has pushed her own harmony to that stage. This is mine." A small spark of emerald appeared in his hand.

Yet, every demon, aether child, human, and beast suddenly felt their cultivation be invigorated. Wounds that had been slowly healing accelerated and some even felt like their mental scars were no longer so haunting!

It was just a spark and it did all of that?!

Lind doused his flame. He had never stopped honing it but it still eluded him. It was frustrating that he could progress but most other 6 elementals knew what their harmony was for.

Tessa was similar to him in that her harmony was a bit obscure but he had learned she had made a lot of progress. A few other 6 elementals struggled with complex harmonies as well.

The Crimson Harmony Law Crystal had become such a complex harmony as well.

"I can see it is beneficial to others but how will that get us to the frontlines?" The one armed demon spoke up again and Lind smiled.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. He was only just barely able to pull it off now. It had taken over a day to get to that point.

The air began to stir around them before a fissure appeared in the middle of the tent. Pressure began to build as it all flowed towards the fissure. It slowly spread apart but a simple tear in space was not what they saw.

It was the courtyard of the Serenity Sect! There were 3 gorgeous fountains in pure white stone happily spraying water into the air. Cultivators were forming squads to attack but froze in confusion as they saw the otherside of the tear as well!

"Go, now, if you intend to fight. I can only hold this open for so long." The demons were snapped out of their shock and quickly leapt through. Kexin, Kal, and Tessa followed but Evie stayed still.

He looked at her and saw she was afraid. She wanted him to heal her but knew it was not the time. Yet, she did not want to die when she was so close!

"There is no certainty anymore, Evie. We live, or we die. It is not war. It never was." His words echoed his earlier ones and she swallowed her pride before diving in. He glanced as his Mother and saw her conflict but he pulled her into a hug.

"We will fight, Mom. Side by side." She smiled up at him and hugged him back. Either of them could die in the next few days but they would do so on their feet! The pair vanished from the island.

The critically wounded would recover as they could. The next battle would decide all their fates.