Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1374 - 1373 - Sovereign Barbatos

After confirming no one knew of such an old man, Lind left with the dryad to the west. In his presence and with some wards he erected on the journey, she not only reached her peak but actually broke through!

It was clear she was in far better shape than the humans or demons.

Flying was impossible for Lind at the moment but the journey was very peaceful. Lind was able to observe the massive fields and a few sparse forests. They were mortal trees for the most part, but he saw a few Soul Realm plants on the way.

Herbs were almost non-existent save the most common type in grade 1.

"How has there been no revolt or attempts to make a path back to the Sovereign Lands?" Lind could not accept anyone just rolling over and living with the current state of affairs.

The dryad, who had no name he could pronounce, nodded.

"There have been several attempts every few thousand years. Whoever designed the formation that suppresses the Under Lands expected it but the result is a foregone conclusion. We are too weak to fight fully empowered cultivators." Lind frowned at that.

He had faced far more powerful foes running on empty and won. A desperate foe could pull off miracles and he had read millions of examples. If the entirety of the Under Lands unified–

He came up short at that thought.

Of course, unity was not something cultivators had. Even when confronted with the threat of the Fiends, there had always been schemes and those that tried to stand aside to preserve their strength.

Of course, the numbers needed to win could not come together as self interest would make the Immortals nervous.

He did learn the largest village was not dictated by the Immortal but by the success of their crops.

The crops were the primary resource of not only food but Qi absorption.

Pills and elixirs were a dream.

The humans and demoness were simply the closest to him. Of the 4, the demoness was only ranked third in strength.

The pair were not bothered by anyone on their journey. In fact, he saw several farmers bow to the dryad as they passed.

It seemed the envoy of the forest lord was welcomed by the lower realm cultivators compared to the Immortals.

He could understand as their pride made it hard to accept their current fate on top of being at the whim of a beast.

It amused him.

For 7 months, he saw what was essentially a natural world with primitive villages. He actually wondered if science could be applied to the Under Lands but that still required resources he doubted existed.

Metal was a serious concern as even the blacksmiths could only work basic materials. Artifacts were just a joke aside from the few brought over by Immortals.

Lind was a walking treasure trove in that sense but he knew the instant he exposed his artifacts, armor, and weapons to the open air, they would have the Qi pulled forcibly from them.

After the months of travel, he saw a massive forest ahead of them. Unlike the simple trees on their journey, these were what he was used to in the 2nd layer. Ancient forests with towering trees that made whole worlds under their leaves.

He could feel a familiar pressure and even his dantian rejoiced to feel the faint aura coming from the massive forest.

He felt excitement too for some reason he could not pin down. His emerald eyes narrowed as he tried to find the source of his excitement.

It was only when they were a day away from arrival that he felt something close in quickly.

A powerful aura at the peak of the Sovereign Tier was coming at them! The dryad sighed in exasperation but Lind raised his hand and casually deflected an attack.

A pure silver tiger that was easily 5 meters tall and 9 meters long appeared in front of them. Lind felt its bloodline was not bad but inferior to Lan or Bori even when he met them. It was not a Divine beast.

Still, to reach the peak of the Sovereign Tier was not an easy thing.

The silver tiger roared and he recognized it as joy. He sighed as battle maniacs seemed to love him far too much!

The tiger launched at him but he could easily track its movements. The strike of claws was almost laughable. His scales easily deflected the attack.

The tiger roared in joy as its tail tried to trip him up but Lind used his speed to ensnare the tail into his own hands. He then heard surprise before he slammed the tiger into the soil. He noticed that it accommodated the attack.

It was odd to have sentient soil but it was what it was.

Still, the tiger was hurt by his response. Blood came from several scrapes but it hardly seemed impeded. In fact, it seemed pleased.

Lind wished sincerely he was wrong but the tiger smiled at him! Its golden eyes looked full of joy.

He then decided to end it.

He used his aura to slam the tiger into the soil again. He had no intention to enjoy a fight.

The silver tiger tried to stand up but his paws scraped at the land with no chance of standing up.

"Senior, I will not indulge in further combat. I have come to use your communication channel." The tiger looked annoyed in defeat but slowly transformed into a massive figure in humanoid form.

His muscles bulged as sleeveless robes covered him.

"Ba ha ha ha! It has been too long since a dragon came to the Under Lands! Please indulge me more!" The silver haired man seemed raring to go but LInd had had enough.

His eyes flared with power before gravity slammed into the man. He was pushed into the ground with ease.

"I have long fought descendants of the White Tiger, so if you think you can keep up with me, you are mistaken." Lind spoke the truth but he omitted that they had transformed after trials.

The silver tiger roared in defiance one more time before he finally seemed to give up. Lind hoped it was not a trick and recalled his aura.

The massively muscled man stood up instantly and laughed out loud.

"You are worthy of being a True Lord! Welcome! I am hoping we have many battles ahead!" Lind turned to the dryad and she looked resigned as she bowed and presented the tiger to him.

"True Lord, this is Lord Barbatos." Lind had already suspected that but he hoped he was some reckless fool.

The muscled man flexed his arms in clear joy as his golden eyes looked on in happiness as well.

"Your body is so slim, True Lord. You should embrace the truth of beauty! Muscles are joy!" George suddenly appeared in front of him. A certain muscle bound officer of an anime that made him laugh came roaring back into his mind.

Lind wished real life stopped making George seem so smart!

"Lord Barbatos, I wish to use–" The large figure blurred and Lind sighed as he casually used his left arm to stop an attack.

The pair engaged in battle but Lind noticed that despite being a peak Sovereign Tier, Lind was able to match him with ease. It seemed even being calm did not stop Barbatos from acting out.

He then transformed.

A massive dragon loomed over the forest and all inside felt the desire to kneel. Even Barbatos, who had been laughing and enjoying himself, fell to his knees.

[I would like to use your communication channels to reach my Clan. I am Lind Frey, a Divine Progenitor and True Lord of the dragon race.] The dryad snapped her head up to him in surprise but he ignored her as he focused on the silver tiger.

Lord Barbatos only seemed to be more amused! Lind grew tired once more and used a sealing technique to finally lock the muscled man in place.

He strained against the restraints conjured by Qi but it was to no avail. Lind could use Arts and skills with equal measure but his ability to resist the suppression made him far more troublesome to anyone in the Under Lands.

"All right, I will accept your dominance, True Lord Frey." Finally, Barbatos accepted his defeat after a full day of battle.

The 3 of them finally sat down just outside the forest. The dryad looked worn out but Lind simply frowned at the supposed ruler of the forest he was visiting.

"Welcome to my home, True Lord! Will you be conquering us?" Lind felt a vein throb in on his forehead.

"I only wish to use your communication array. I have no other interest in your forest." Barbatos frowned at those words but Lind did not care as his aura flared once more.

"Well, that would be a problem, as recently the Frey Clan has betrayed us." Lind wanted to bash his head onto a rock! If his damned descendants were acting up again, he would bash some heads.

"Allow me to talk to them and we will see if we can come to an accommodation for us all." He hoped that would be enough but both the dryad and Barbatos looked at him as if he was very dim.