Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1594 - 1593 - Ingratitude

Misham was cultivating back in his courtyard. His old bones no longer ached since his foundation had settled but his progress back to his peak was murky at best. Still, his physical strength hardly changed.

His spiritual foundation may have fallen but his body retained its power. Such a strange situation was the best result considering what he went through.

He would have to step down as leader of the city yet that was not a thing to happen quickly. The entire situation was still chaotic. Those that reunited were in no rush to let go of loved ones while those that lost family and friends wanted a proper mourning period.

The issue came from the outsiders. There were several Apprentice Tiers that sneered at him being in charge as he was only a Radiant Tier. If not for the fact the mansion still answered to him with its own Apprentice and Journeyman Tiers, things could have gotten ugly.

The searing light in his dantian was brighter than he recalled but it was strange seeing a crystal again in his dantian. He had been on the cusp finishing his Earth Mysteries before he dissolved his foundation to protect his people in those caves.

That sacrifice was part of why no one was in a rush to oust him. Combined with his initial moves to safeguard the lives of his people when the bounty hunters came with their strange artifacts, it proved his will was more than capable at the moment.

Even so, word reached him that several of the humans were trying to get some kind of 'compensation' for what was done to them. While he sympathized that they were dragged in unexpectedly to such a dastardly event, he was not responsible for their fate.

As they were outsiders, he could ignore them with the backing of the mansion but he was now trying to select his replacement during such a turbulent time.

A light on the wall glowed to catch his attention. Interrupting the city lord during their cultivation was a punishable offense regardless of realm so the unobtrusive method was employed to draw attention without being too annoying.

He placed his callused hand on a plate on his desk and a click was heard as the light was extinguished.

One of the Vice City Lords entered. She was a shadow seal native and a long time friend. Her scarred face did not mar her beauty in either form she took but her current humanoid state was for convenience of their offices.

Her dark hair was tied back and her skin was deeply tanned. Her eyes were dark pools currently brimming with frustration.

Misham sighed internally as he could predict what was coming.

She proceeded to kick one of his walls and the stone chipped due to it but she showed no sign of pain! Her Apprentice Tier aura fluctuated as if the wall had offended her by not being obliterated by that kick!

"Nera, the last time you broke my furniture, you had to pay for its repairs and replacements out of your personal pocket. How much more expensive do you think fixing the mansion will cost?" Her face paused before a lot of the tension left it in a long sigh.

"Leader, I simply needed a vent and the wall was convenient. Those bastards in the council are already demanding we expel all the outsiders, including the benefactor!" Misham sighed aloud that time.

Some of the city council members were taken to the caverns but most were left in the city to give it a semblance to any passing cultivator they could not afford to draw attention from.

It had been months of imprisonment waiting for Lord Lind Frey to arrive but the only port the krakens and leviathans trusted was their cove.

He wondered if they understood the implication of angering the current envoy with their actions.

The leviathan envoy had been heavily injured but not killed for fear of alerting his people, thus his true opinion was currently unknown until they healed.

The problem was that it would take so much time the council could enact plans before anyone could stop them.

"They think there will not be a riot if they did that?" He had to ask even as he knew what she would say.

She sneered as she began to imitate one of the members by stooping over and looking sternly down at the floor.

"The great Shadow Seal Cove has no need for the troubles dragons bring. Our people were only in danger because of the dragon and thus we need to remove further threats to our humble people." The cranky old man flashed in his mind but Misham knew his words were not spoken lightly.

Lind Frey was partially the cause of their woes but to blame him for the actions of others far beyond his control was ludicrous.

The fact he had not even paused but saved both city and hostage was equally commendable. Dismissing such a person, regardless of their history with dragons, was unacceptable to Misham and likely many others.

"Anything else?" He was almost afraid to ask but Nera then became somewhat serious before nodding.

"Councilor Kang told me one of the dead was Loren Shar. Her intended has made it clear he holds Lord Lind Frey directly responsible for her death." Misham winced.

While he was the City Lord in truth, his power was not without limit and the council was a check on wanton power anyway. It had saved the city from collapsing unlike other self sufficient city-states in the Divine Lands.

Unchecked power in any direction was too dangerous to be allowed for long but curbing it came with its own headaches that now loomed in the form of Councilor Kang and his son.

They were a very powerful force as he represents the founding families. To limit their control of the council, they were only allowed 1 or 2 members to represent their voice but that restriction was applied equally to all.

The guilds, traders, and so forth also had the same restricted representation.

The issue was the effectiveness behind each councilor was not equal. Kang could make the entirety of Shadow Seal Cove shut down if he so wished.

"What, exactly, do they want to do to him?" Misham felt his own anger rise but Nera shook her head.

"He was too careful for that. He knows that at this time there would be open revolt if they pushed too hard but with the others already turning against him due to the old ways, he may get leverage soon enough." Misham wanted to charge into the council and bust heads but while he was still respected, he no longer had real power to do anything.

Nera was his friend and came to him not just out of habit but to warn him. They needed to find Lord Frey as quickly as possible and get him out of Shadow Seal Cove!

"Still no word on where he is?" Nera shook her head again. After some of the chaos settled, it was discovered the 2 heroes were no longer with the group. That was understandable as it had gotten kind of out of hand, yet no one could find them even afterward!

Some thought they had slipped away but Misham and some others knew Lind would not just leave yet. He needed some basic necessities as well as letters of introduction for his next steps.

Without those, he was essentially stuck in the Cove.

Misham had spent the next few days checking but no one reported his presence at all!

It then became clear that someone was hiding him but not with any malice. Pick any innkeeper and they all got their family back from the caverns alive.

While shadow seals were instinctively distrustful of outsiders, that act alone would wipe away that instinct.

Further, if LInd had paid them well, they would be even less inclined to out a client to anyone, even the City Lord!

Perhaps only the leviathan envoy could bypass that particular restriction but only due to current circumstances.

"If he has been isolated for this long, the battle in the cavern must have dangerously drained him. His companion was a nine-tails so her hiding is normal as well. Keep an ear out but if he surfaces, we need to get to him quickly." Nera nodded before bowing and leaving the room.

As the door shut, Misham felt a little hollow. She was the only one that still came to him as if nothing had changed. The guards obeyed his daily orders but that was just administration.

It had to be done and there was nothing wrong with following the old routine but he could see it in their eyes.

At first shock and pity at what had happened to him. It was followed then by rising respect when the story spread but in just a few days it had begun to fade. He was weak.

He knew he was quickly just becoming a placeholder for the next City Lord. He sighed and picked up a jade slip. It had a shortlist of names but he had no idea if his choices would be respected if he waited any longer.

Traditionally, he had the strongest voice for his replacement but he doubted that would hold much longer for him.

He looked around at the now empty office shelves. He had many personal items he kept to break up his official duties but now those were gone. He had left the cultivation resources alone as those were the purview of his office, not himself.

A feeling of frustration rose as he realized he was being made to leave because he had lost his foundation but that had nothing to do with doing the job. He had been proud to lead the city of beasts to prosperity and harmony for so many millenia.

He had been considering retiring to go back out into the world but it was different when it was forced on him. He then walked to his dark wood desk and inserted the slip into a slot on it.

The slip flared briefly before going dark. The list was submitted and now it was only a matter of finding out if there was any gratitude left to honor his voice or if he had already been made into a shadow people could ignore.

Misham sat down and filed some reports as he waited to see what the future would bring.