novelraw Chapter 1426 - 1425 - Elementals' Gambit
Chapter 1426 - 1425 - Elementals' Gambit
Various powers were now investing not only in their Sovereign Tiers to maintain power, but to possibly finally change the balance of power. Underhanded tricks did not really exist but a proof of concept training ward had been distributed to each power.
The fact that a few weaving plates could create wards that allowed Sovereign Tiers to go out in a limited time and space brought rapid improvement to those that had to restrict their power for so long!
It was still expensive but well worth it for many powers to invest. Further, the current batch was covered!
True Lord Lind Frey had agreed to supply the first generation of competitors with a way to train until the first tournament was held.
The incentive simply appealed to them more but the prizes list potential was ever growing. Just because a treasure existed, did not mean it was compatible or helpful to a Sovereign Tier that a power held it had.
Natural resources wasted away, some quite literally, without ever having a use. So some powers offered them up in auctions or trade for something they needed, but the tournament allowed for a level of anonymity unlike any before!
The Throne of Defiance was something anyone would want but taking it was useless. The lack of fate isolated all their progress and further would not allow them to face a tribulation!
Only the Harmonic Dragons and Lind Frey could truly benefit from it!
Yet, the resources were there and they had witnessed how it took the dragons to nurture the various areas they coveted. It was a neatly tied up Throne that no one yet knew how to conquer.
Further, Heaven and Earth did not like it if a True Lord was stabbed in the back to steal from them. Open battle was absolutely fine, but it was well recorded that betraying a True Lord led to dire consequences.
Since they had agreed, it bound them but the accommodations were more than enough. The sealing wards began to pop up but no one ever saw who deployed them.
The connections to the 3 lands were now regulated and only both sides' agreement would allow free passage. Otherwise a hefty price would be needed to move any number of Sovereign Tiers as they wanted.
Some tried to trick them by sealing their cultivation but it failed every time. No one quite knew how they worked as the sigils defied all analysis! The best Weaving Maesters tried for months but could make neither heads nor tales of them!
It took an ancient peak Sovereign Tier weaver to finally grasp what made them so damn powerful. Dao. Once more, Lind Frey proved how powerful he was with Dao so casually!
How was he not a peak Sovereign Tier if he could use Dao like that?!
It was a mystery but it also hinted that he had a very harsh threshold to pass. It was quite possible he had reached the end of his potential but it also meant that at the peak of the Sovereign Tier he would be unstoppable!
Such revelations slowly spread through all 3 lands until a floating mass of elements appeared near the Throne of Defiance. It was not common to make a floating land in the 4th layer.
Some floating masses of ore, stone, etc might be created for ease of access if they could stabilize it, but floating masses were notoriously unstable.
There was 1 exception.
The Elementals. They were made of the elemental Qi itself so a floating mass was right up their alley!
While the ephemeral elementals could be anywhere, they generally stuck close to the solids of their race for protection.
Unlike the lower layers, a Sovereign Tier Elemental was near suicide to go against. Aether children often sought refuge with them as they shared a strong affinity to each other in their persecution and lifestyle.
The floating mass was one of many they held separate from the surface of the Sovereign Lands proper. They still had to fend off various alliances or hunters but their kind was often captured.
A group of solids appeared at the entrance of the Throne of Defiance. There were 2 women and 1 man. They were extremely beautiful but to different extremes.
The man was a shimmering of elements with a very robust frame. Lind would call him an Adonis as he wore a toga style attire rather than robes that exposed his near perfect physique.
His eyes actually looked with interest as he rubbed his chin looking at the wall of flames.
His aura was clear to his own kind but very subdued to others. He was a high Sovereign Tier.
One of the women was very voluptuous even as thick robes covered her. Her hair was neatly tied up into a single bun with a dark staff in her hand as she looked at the flames grimly. Her cold gaze left no doubt she was reluctant to be there.
The pair were both the most common Elementals but their third companion was a rarity.
A demonic Elemental!
They were only seen every few hundreds of thousands of years but they did exist. Even Lind had never met one but now one was at his Throne's border.
Unlike her voluptuous companion, she was very thin, impossibly thin for a flesh and blood being. Elemental solids could have humanoid forms but while the natural elements generally mimicked humans, the demonic Elementals almost always were impossibly thin.
Their power was no less for it but their bodies were a weakness. Both women were peak Sovereign Tiers.
Unlike her counterpart, she was looking amused at her companion's coldness.
"Valentieraolan, you will ruin our plans with that gaze of ice. Try to warm to the True Lord! He could be a fun time if you entice him with–" The demonic Elemental nearly bent in half as the staff passed through where her head had been.
Her slim body revealed her hair was cut short nearly to the point of a pixie cut one moment but then grew to flare out like needles the next!
The bare chested man sighed but did not stop them. He merely cupped his hands and bowed.
"True Lord Lind Frey, I, Halenteroid, humble request an audience with yourself or a chosen representative to discuss a proposal." His words stopped the 2 women from fighting as they all 3 focused on the flames.
[No.]
It was a simple answer but not unexpected. The man's smile grew as he at least confirmed they were heard.
"I swear to Heaven and Earth I am not seeking any advantage or other shortcut in the upcoming tournament. In fact, we are willing to supply resources or elemental Qi if needed to at least pay for a meeting. As stated, a chosen representative is fine." The rumble in the sky confirmed the Oath but it was a light one.
A long pause followed before the curtain of flame pulled back. All 3 Elementals were surprised with a lithe demoness with 2 short swords walked out with a woman in white battle robes and whip.
The short green hair and cream skin next to the lavender skin of the demoness stood out with the emerald flames.
Both women were low Sovereign Tiers but the 3 Elementals could tell at a glance they could fight above their minor realm.
"Speak" The demoness began but the human woman followed. "Quickly."
Valentieraolan bristled but the man held up his hand and bowed low followed by the demonic Elemental.
"We come to ask if the stories are true. Young ones finally ascended recently from the Endless Peaks and told us about the Frey Clan but mostly about True Lord Frey. About how he honored our dead and saved our trapped young solids in the Heaven Realm Lands." The women actually smiled at his words.
"If that is all you wanted to know, then yes, he learned a great deal from your people and wished to return the favor. The Frey Clan actually has Elementals if you wish to meet them anytime." Halenteroid nodded but then waved to the cloud above.
Demonic elements in faded forms drifted down and the demoness actually gasped in shock. The faint forms slowly floated down and seemed to react to her. The 3 Elementals tensed but instead of danger, the faint forms were happy to see her.
"I thought they were rare?" The awe in her voice made the 3 smile.
"I am Milaner, 1 of 2 Sovereign Tier demonic Elementals. We are rare still but our numbers are increasing. The same phenomenon that is restoring the Under Lands began to cause them to appear in more numbers than ever before, but they are very weak." The cold features of her counterpart softened.
Maybe they would get lucky?
[Let them in.] His voice suddenly reached them all. The pair of women bowed and the floating cloud flowed into the opening.
The gambit paid off. The changes to the 4th layer were more than anyone suspected and now Lind Frey was going to listen to what the Elementals had to say.