novelraw Chapter 1514 - 1513 - Prey
Chapter 1514 - 1513 - Prey
While Lind heard more screams, he killed 3 more Fiends. They were no longer the hunters, but the prey!
Still, he felt off. The Fiends actually looked terrified of something but he felt no danger at all save from them.
The words of the female Fiend stuck in his mind. Before she died, she had told the man he had been warned. Warned of what?
The forest had not reacted much to them but they had not gone too deep. He had heard Fiends avoided it but not the specifics.
What was killing them? The ones he killed were consumed by their energies per normal but he found pristine corpses from time to time. They looked terrified in death.
He felt nothing inside them. They were just perfectly preserved husks!
He could not reveal his aura or the remaining Fiends might aim to trip up their trap even at the sacrifice of their lives.
The chaos went on for the night and he realized there was another party in the forest! How many Fiends had come?!
It was only at the break of day he could see at the edge of the gray sky that the screams spread out sporadically. He became still and waited until his own senses felt the forest settle. It was calm once more.
He then merged with the shadows and traveled back to the camp he had seen before. It was only a limited hope but he wanted to see if they had left anything in their rush to find him.
He carefully poked his ear out and waited. Only when he was sure no one was there, he stuck his head out and saw 2 exhausted humans.
Yet, the cloaks marked them as well as his own senses. Fiends! They were still in disguise despite the others discarding them.
The one holding the soul tracking artifact was one of them but the other was an older Fiend. While many things could be hidden, Lind felt powerful vitality from them both. Despite that, they were weakened.
Their Qi was lethargic and completely suppressed.
"Which damned fool used their Qi?! He got all 3 teams killed!" The older Fiend suddenly screamed but Lind perked up.
"It was likely Godel. That damned fool was too brash! I told Midria not to bring him. I hope she screams for eternity in the hands of those spirits!" Lind narrowed his eyes at that. So he had truly felt the spirits.
"If the spirits took Lind Frey, we may yet find his corpse! We must find that at least!" Confusion filled his face as the younger Fiend went to stand up but the older punched him in the jaw.
The crack of bone was clear but it healed quickly.
"Yarendil, you are a fool! If Godel or any of those blood thirsty idiots triggered the spirits, Lind Frey could have found the core of the damned forest and they would not care! They would prioritize taking us!" The word choice left Lind even more curious but the pair simply argued until he grew bored.
Lind summoned 2 bombs. They were harmless to just about everyone save one race. He tossed them after infusing Qi and waited.
The pair only sensed them at the last moment, but it was far too late.
Emerald flames engulfed them! Screams were heard but for far longer than last night. He then took his original form and strode out while slamming the entire area with his aura.
Emerald light flared in all directions as formations, artifacts, and other traps across the border were consumed. If he had been near any of them, he would have been in danger but he frowned as a few things broke with no apparent effect.
Damn it! They had set up contingency artifacts! Now that they were destroyed, his enemies would know he was alive!
The screams reduced to one and he dispersed them. The young Fiend was charcoal but the older was barely alive.
His exposed Fiend form stared daggers at Lind but fear was there in the disturbing eyes. He was slowly healing but then a tremor in the forest drew both their attention.
Now true fear crossed his face.
[Kill me! If you have any mercy at all, kill me!] The vile voice was terrified and Lind suddenly smiled wide at him like a predator.
"Oh I think I will just watch." A pressure came from the forest as a force caused the Qi to nearly form a massive hand! It grasped the Fiend but the body did not move. Instead, an ephemeral form was pulled out.
Lind blanched as a scream filled his mind and the pain the Fiend was in shocked him. Further, the many souls he had refined exploded outward to join the forest!
They were malformed and screaming in pain but also in dark joy. They made him shiver but quickly fled into the heart of the forest.
The burnt corpse was now perfectly preserved like the rest.
The one he had killed was falling apart but the other did not. Now that he was in his original form, he studied it and felt a tremor of fear.
The body was still alive! The vitality was trying to maintain it but the soul was gone!
What was that?! How did it work?! The Fiend did not seem to have any defense at all against it.
Lind looked back at the Phantasm Forest and felt a dangerous thought enter his mind.
The Fiends seemed to know what was causing the strange forest beyond the legend. Had someone done something foolish long ago? There was only one way to know.
Lind sighed before bowing low to the forest.
[Spirits of the Forest. I am Lind Frey. I am a True Lord of the dragon race and seek wisdom against the Fiends. May I enter?] He then waited in the bowing position.
Time passed until midday when a vague feeling washed over him. He was not sure it was permission but the disturbing feeling from the forest waned and he bowed lower before advancing.
He walked calmly and without rush. He wanted to give whatever was running the forest time to be certain and he felt no obstruction or misdirection as he had been told to expect.
Instead, he was allowed a leisurely stroll and only slowed when he saw a shocking scene.
He was a day in and found Fiend corpses! They were not fresh as they were decomposing but like the others, the remaining cells were clinging to life. How long did that take?
Lind did not pause too long and kept going when ruins finally appeared.
Unlike stone, metal, or wood, he found living trees formed into buildings that had been twisted like the rest of the forest.
Branches were drooping that had once supported rooms and walls were wide open as the flow of plants had become crippled.
Lind paused as it was the first confirmation of the legend. A power based on nature would live with it but what he saw was using nature rather than harmonious existence.
The only difference was not culling life to make boards or other materials and conforming entire plants to their needs.
He sighed as he wanted to look at them even in their wasted state and moved on. After days of walking, he felt Fiends!
He also began to hear screams and appeals for mercy.
The feeling of the spirits also increased as he finally came to a place unlike any other.
Golden sky replaced gray and Lind was shocked to realize what he was looking at!
It was a piece of the spirit world in the 4th layer!
How?! It was impossible, or at least it should have been but that was not all! He saw a massive dark metal structure planted into the soil that made him feel sick just looking at it.
Around the structure were souls being tortured by ephemeral limbs. The metal was not a weapon but shaped almost like a trefoil buried into the soil. It shimmered with power he well recognized.
Fiend Qi!
It was not like the other structures he had broken but he had no doubt of its origin. The Great Bastard had tried something here!
It seemed to have backfired spectacularly. Rather than make an area under their control, they had brought the spirits of Heaven and Earth to the 4th layer. It had made the Fiends and their allies prey to be slaughtered!
[Spirits, how may I help?] Lind bowed with his hands cupped in front of him. He was humble and waited. Time passed when one of the Fiends stopped screaming.
[I will speak! I will speak!] Lind heard the vile voice desperate to comply and recognized the old man.
He looked at Lind Frey with his soul and seemed desperate.
[They say you walk the path of completion and can free them and the souls here. They say they want your help to return home. Please do it! They will–] The scream that followed clearly meant he had overstepped.
Lind was curious why the spirits could not speak for themselves.
Still, he bowed and then approached the massive artifact. While he could negate the Fiend Qi, it may not do what they wished. He had to study what it was and go from there.