novelraw Chapter 1525 - 1524 - Warp
Chapter 1525 - 1524 - Warp
Lind had learned much but not least that his list of enemies was much longer than he had expected.
Gilda could not give him names of the factions but she could give him some powers. Most were high or supreme powers which made sense but she actually warned him about the Divine Sword Sect.
They were not exactly enemies but they were not in the same faction as the Heavenly Maiden Sect. Their interests did not always align and they had allies that were not happy with him.
As such, members of that sect might turn on him if ordered to do so.
That particular sect never seemed the kind to do that but she told him that was because they were all sword maniacs. They pursued the sword and what better way than fighting strong foes!
He had known that from the beginning but he took her advice with a grain of salt. It was likely her own faction had ordered her to sow doubts in him.
As for the faction that was already tied to him, she did not seem to know about it. Likely, that was by design or simply they did not care to know why he was connected already.
He put all his effort into making sure he was ready to move before attempting to leave Carta. Various forces were trying to meet with him but as a Sovereign Tier, he had the right to refuse.
As a True Lord, few beast powers bothered him, but the other races were not so easily deflected.
Lind ignored them all as he contemplated a way out of all the powers around him. The Maidens could try to escort him out but it would be an unmitigated disaster. He had other disguises but none of them were registered in the city.
A stranger leaving would immediately draw attention.
He contemplated several scenarios but it all circled back to the same problem, he could not get out of range of any Sovereign Tier even if he tried!
Tearing through space inside the inn was fine but trying to leave was equally useless to all other methods. Wards, detection barriers, and even just Sovereign Tier senses would find him quickly.
[Haro, do you know of any Arts that could help?] Lind knew there were limits on what Haro could share with him but in the current instance, it should be fine. He was not asking for a Dao or Divine Art, but anything that could help.
Silence greeted him but then Haro seemed to think of something.
[I would not call it an Art but a theory. Space Dao and Gravity Dao are not the same thing but I have heard of cultivators that tried to combine them to create a new Art. None have succeeded to my knowledge but it was a step above tearing through space.] Lind listened intently.
Essentially, it boiled down to attempting to move faster without alerting others to the attempt. Lind thought it was simply trying to move the body or explosive physical ability but as Haro spoke, it sounded awfully familiar.
Lind suddenly felt a cold sweat break out on his body and he began to shiver. Haro was startled to the point he almost went for help until Lind stopped him.
"That blasted lecture actually made it here of all places! George was my friend but that was nearly my breaking point!" Lind had a horrific flashback of a white board with equations, definitions, and the rotund form of George explaining a science fiction concept loved by many.
It was a way to bypass the limitation of light speed but Lind had desperately wanted to burrow to the center of the Earth as George had expounded on real world physics versus the theory of it!
It had consumed a whole weekend that he planned to go out to find a date!
It had started at a bar, someone made an offhand comment about an upcoming movie and how unrealistic it was, and then the true hell began! Lind recalled cursing that drunk until his dying day!
Yet, as if to mock him, that very bad experience was now his salvation.
Essentially, instead of moving himself, he would move the world around him at extremely fast speeds. Haro, however, had told him none had succeeded but they did not have George and a PTSD memory to lay the foundation!
Lind asked for some scrolls and began to make some calculations. While the science fiction version was based on matter and antimatter power sources, he had far more reliable forces to work with.
He had Laws and Daos!
Rather than trying to balance awe inspiring interactions of energy with machines, he had to grasp what was needed to achieve the aptly named warp.
He quickly understood why other cultivators failed. They were trying to impose their intent and missed an aspect that was needed for it to work, Time. Time Dao was fundamental when he sadly relived the lecture of how warp worked via George.
Light speed was the upper limit of universal travel but warp allowed one to bypass 2 limitations. The distance covered and time dilation effect of going faster than light.
He almost looked possessed as he filled out his 10th scroll before he finally felt confident he understood what he was creating.
It also inspired him on his ship creations. His ideas for ships had worked but still ran into many issues. Namely the barriers between established lands!
Now, he had an idea! The Void!
It was the nearest equivalent to what he needed! Laws and Daos danced in his hands as the idea was tested. The room was nearly wrecked by his first attempt!
Gilda came running only to find him laughing. He had never felt so free in such a long time!
No plots, no near death experiences, just pure research!
Months passed before he finally confirmed his theory! Warping through the void bypassed all detection!
It had serious drawbacks, however.
Qi consumption was enormous but the strain on the mind was devastating. Lind felt like he had put his head through a cheese grater! It was like he was back at the Soul Realm and experiencing teleportation arrays!
There was the obvious danger as well. If he did not properly set up the Art, he would be dropped into the void and not traverse it! Creating a tear into the void would be bad for everyone!
It was of course when freedom was only a few more steps away that trouble finally loomed its ugly head.
[I am Sentinel Koshara of the Beryl Knights. I have been sent to retrieve Lind Frey for safe keeping.]
Lind just about felt a vein burst on his forehead.
He quickly wracked his brain for the organization and quickly confirmed it was a force under an ancient supreme power. Worse, it was a Throne.
Throne Archades was one of the few that had been claimed by humans after the original owners were either dead or simply consumed by other powers. The Throne was an ideal place for body focused cultivators to go.
It had harsh environments and tempered flesh better than any place in existence. Further, progress with internal tempering was done with half the effort there!
It was quite normal that a kingdom rose up that promoted battalions of warriors that were unparalleled in physical combat. Even Lind, with his full draconic strength, might only be on par with a Sovereign Tier from that Throne.
They were also, of course, a nest of battle maniacs!
"Not a chance in–" He was denying reality when Astra came to get him. Apparently there was quite the crowd outside the inn now.
Sentinel Koshara was just the first one to breach the communication barrier and now a small fight had broken out! It was only small due to the fact that Carta City had extremely strong backing for its own soldiers.
They would have every right to expel anyone that caused trouble in the city. That included Lind too!
He had no chance of calming them down but then had a better idea. There was a way to get things to calm down in the city and give him a running start!
He quickly packed away everything he had and moved towards the entrances. As he got closer he saw what was essentially a verbal fist fight but it was soon to be a real one if someone did not stop it.
The flush faces and loud voices went silent as he emerged. Gilda looked at him crossly but he only smiled before winking at her. His strange good mood actually put her on alert but he turned to the crowd.
"I apologize but my wounds to my soul were aggravated by the last battle. I truly must thank the Heavenly Maiden Sect for their indulgence to let me heal in peace." The words were pure truth. As such, Gilda was now preening but it also did not escape her that he had lifted the burden from their sect for keeping everyone away.
Lind made it seem like he wanted isolation to heal and requested it of them. While some would doubt that, they would not do so openly. The Sect Master would be pleased by that at least!
"Now, as to the friendly offer from Sentinal Koshara–" He glanced around and saw a group with what he would call aqua colored robes and a variety of weapons on each person but discipline as a unit was clear. "I am afraid I do not wish to invite the obvious violence that would follow accepting any such request."
Frowns crossed the group but then Lind smiled ear to ear.
"Instead, you will all peacefully leave Carta and participate in the race." Confusion flared in the group as they did not understand what he was talking about. Lind's aura surged and all trembled as the fabric of the world bent around him. "Catch me if you can but if I hear of any damage or injury in Carta, I will never go with you anywhere!"
Lind felt the disturbance reach its peak before the world distorted around him. He could only count to 3 before he had to stop and when he came back, he was flying through the dark of the Hollow Lands!
He quickly stopped his forward momentum until he could orient himself. Still, he was smiling wide! It worked!
He would send a message to his family to observe Carta City for exactly the chaos he expected but now he had likely made the whole anthill rise up in chaos. Some would think he tore through space or teleported somewhere but none would expect he had used the void to bypass everything!
He found a safe space and quickly tried to figure out where he was.