Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1290 - 1289 - Path of Regrets

Lind looked at the corpses that survived the battle. He was immensely happy no one he loved had died but the injuries were no joke.

His Mother and other healers were doing their best. Even he had found it was very hard to heal Ethry and Chu. They were doing better than others due to their draconic bloodlines recovery ability.

Still, he noticed it was far slower than anything he had ever encountered.

There were 2 beds he had to exert his supreme control not to look over but they were in the best shape as mostly it was exhaustion from keeping formations running that made them pass out.

"You are pathetically bad at not looking at them. You were always transparent, Sonny." Lind flinched as Firella walked up next to him. Her lavender skin was rather pale but he knew she had not fought.

It was more the severe drain all had suffered towards the end of the battle. The formation plate Annabelle created was a work of art. It was also easily at peak Law Grade, touching on Dao.

He recognized that power.

"I promised to not be involved. There are many skilled healers here and they are just exhausted. Annabelle may need some careful monitoring but she should only benefit from using this." He held up the plate. The inscription lines were burnt into the plate. The metal was warped from the force exerted by the formation.

Firella looked concerned but he smiled to reassure her.

He then quickly left the fortress to inspect the peaks but really he had felt a signal from his ring.

Once he was far enough away from his forces, he summoned a rough cut jewel that shimmered with all 18 elements. It was his first attempt at making something with his Forging trying to incorporate all 18 elements at the peak of his ability.

Previously, he kind of cheated by carefully complimenting each element with what Law would work or what intent could bind them together if he had to combine from different elemental sets.

Since his return, he had been trying to get his elixir mastery and Forging up to spec with his weaving.

It was a much longer road away from the spirit world but he was having success more often than not at the present.

[True Lord, the foolish human has been warned. The Grand Elder of the Divine Sword Sect also acted. The guild alliance also poked their noses in but did not dare ignore our claims.] A gravelly voice was imparted to him that made him smile.

In the last 500 years, the dragons had practically thrown envoys at him. His return included the various signs of being their True Lord once more. The stark difference was the quality.

If before, when the 3 trials affirmed he was to become the True Lord, now he was fully matured.

Even peak Sovereign Tier dragons felt inferior to him despite their vastly superior cultivation. It did not help that he was a Divine Progenitor on top of that as well.

Even without being a True Lord, he would have been highly valued by the dragons. The difference was how they related to him.

A fellow Divine Dragon, even a progenitor, would be simply a welcome challenge to shake up the complacent world things had become. Dragons were happy with change compared to most races.

A Divine Progenitor True Lord might as well be a god to dragons. He also had put out feelers to the other 3 clans but they were a bit cooler to him.

The white tigers were the warmest but mostly that was because of Lan and Bori. His actions in the 1st layer were now public so they were not entirely happy with him. They did not resent him, but they were not going to be his buddies anytime soon.

The phoenix and tortoise beasts were very chill to him. Feng had already prepared him but the enmity between the dragons and them was hard to bridge. Illyria no longer being close to him was also a hard pill to swallow.

Regardless if she ever forgave him, the race as a whole did not want to interact with anyone much. His desire to pass on the last will of Illyria's mother was the one thing he had yet to resolve and they were willing to meet him when it suited them.

All in all, his actions came back to bite him in various ways. He sighed as he realized how much easier his life would have been if he had not had his head lost in his back end for so long.

Still, he had avoided heart demons on that subject. It was a hard road but he had to walk it. He was about to turn around when he froze.

Pain pierced his heart at the cold aura washing over him. He recognized it perfectly well.

He turned slowly with his hands raised to placate the person looking at him but a fist slammed into his jaw. It did not hurt at all but he ensured they did not suffer any backlash.

A gorgeous woman with bright golden hair, pale skin and sapphire eyes was scowling at him as she looked up at him. Her dark brown robes marked her as a member of a refining guild if he recalled correctly but her face was so much like her mother's at that moment.

"How dare you come here after it is all over!" Sally was shouting but they were far enough away that few would overhear them. Her Sliver Tier aura was sold at the low end of her tier.

She had come to help her mother when the others called but he had not seen her until now. He noticed her left arm was bandaged so she had been injured. His heart flared with concern but he kept a tight rein on it.

"Half Step Sovereign Tiers were detected. Those cannot be ignored and my family was in danger. Further, I was explicitly told not to come by almost all of you. I know your strengths–" He was keeping calm but another fist came flying at him in a very painful groin direction.

He reflexively backed up but she then kicked him! It did not hurt but his heart was not doing at all well.

"What do you want me to say? You and your mother made your stance clear with me." He tried the direct approach but tears were in her eyes.

"I EXPECTED MY FATHER TO CARE THAT WE NEARLY DIED!" The sky rumbled suddenly but Lind swiped it away.

[I deserve any anger she has.] He sent a message to the Heavens. Defying a True Lord, especially within his own bloodline, was likely to be punished unless he acted.

Sally never even blinked.

"You think I stopped caring? You think I did not want to show up and help no matter what I was told?" He somehow kept calm. He deserved her anger. Even so, he had his own limits.

"It is all your fault! If you had not abandoned us, none of this would have happened!" The truth in those words could not be entirely denied.

Annabelle was only isolated because of his choices and the consequences from them.

He nodded at her words and even accepted them.

"You are right. I am at fault but so is everyone else involved. Your mother could have simply joined a branch and been safe. She could have moved on and I would have to accept that but safety would be easy to ensure. The Illusion Immortal could have abided by the treaties the Sovereign Tiers are enforcing but he did not." He revealed something that few knew about.

That last part actually made Sally pause her anger. Still, it only paused it.

"You still could have come! Why weren't you here to help us?!" He narrowed his eyes at her. For the first time, his anger became apparent.

"Did not come? You think I was not here?! You think I happily stood by all the way over at the Icy Peaks like a good boy when I learned how dangerous the foes coming were?!" He loomed over her and she had fear in her eyes.

His daughter had fear in her eyes looking at him!

It broke his anger to pieces. Why was he angry? From her perspective, he had only come once it was all over.

"There are 2 reasons I was not there. One was I was trying to find a way to strike at Half Step Sovereign Tiers without making things worse for us all. The other was this." He held up the warped plate and Sally recognized it.

Confusion flared as she did not understand but he quickly isolated them behind a barrier with his weavings.

"This is not a Law grade formation, Sally. It is touching on the Dao of illusions. Pseudo Grade 8 or even Dao Grade. I had no power to break it." His eyes became full of the worry he had felt when the strange distortion swept over the Endless Peaks.

He had been safe from it but he could not act either. It was a very frustrating place to be!

Silence descended as he dispersed the barrier. Some of the Frey Clan patrols came by but he waved them off. He gave her all the time she needed.

"You really came?" It was a whisper but he nodded. He pointed to a peak that was scorched. It was visible even at the distance they floated at. Her aura stretched out and she felt it.

His desperation to move had marked that peak deeply. It would take months for it to dissipate.

Fresh tears fell before he was bowled over by a hug. Her arms were nearly crushing his ribs but he was lost. They had just been fighting and now they were hugging?

"I thought we were going to die. I thought mom was going to die and you did not care because we were so cold to you! I thought–I thought—!" He felt his own tears as he slowly hugged her back.

He did not believe it was forgiveness but when facing the end of your life, maybe your whole world, it can give new perspectives.

"I never stopped loving you. You are my daughter. I hurt you and I had to accept what you wanted to do. I will always support you so long as you are not doing yourself harm. Short of that. I will always come to help you whether you ask or not. I will try not to cross lines doing it though if I can." It was a wishy washy answer but it was true.

He believed in his family to stand on their own. She hugged him tighter and he just enjoyed it. Tomorrow they may be back to being distant and he had missed her hugs.

The touching scene made the Frey Clan members smile but none dared interfere. The restoration of the fortress and healing continued unabated.