Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1608 - 1607 - Using a Trap

Lind and Karu had lived in the depths of the wilds of Nar Peninsula for 10 years.

Karu had made some progress in her cultivation but Lind was still stuck. He was still an Apprentice Tier but he had polished his Life and Death layers to their limit. Karu could not help him as he was following a drastically different path.

They moved south towards the mission Lind had originally promised, the Glass Palace. Karu felt it was suicide as it was in many of their alternate futures but the Bastard had not touched it.

Lind knew it was a trap. Yet, he smiled.

He wanted to advance and battle was not a bad piece of pressure to accelerate that process.

He had promised the krakens and leviathans that he would act and could not ignore it but Karu tried to free him from it.

They had often freed the slaves or failed before but Lind chose to continue the mission for another reason.

The Bastard had not attacked that area so either he expected them there and would lay traps or there were limits to what he could do.

Lind chose to believe the latter but did not discard the former. Either way, he had to fulfill his Oath.

After a decade of travel, the forests and plains gave way to a stretch of desert before the coastline. Villages sprung up and Lind noticed that slavery skyrocketed compared to the northern and eastern regions.

What was once an occasional brand or artifact binding another individual, he now passed shops with people on display! Some were modeling clothes truly but others were for the people themselves!

He noticed there were harsh regulations and not even a single report of thievery. It was odd until he learned anyone caught stealing a slave was not just made a slave but they were crippled at the end of their term or if they tried to break free.

As to how both of them were moving unnoticed, Lind had discovered that Mysteries were far more potent than he ever realized.

He did not look like his old human self from the mortal realm nor even his original body from his old life as he doubted either would get by the Bastard, but he was able to change to an identity he had worn once before.

A demon with dark lavender skin and scarred exposed muscles with an open leather vest walked next to a human woman with silver hair and crows feet but stable power coming from her.

Both showed their true cultivation but that was it. Lind was not able to entirely hide his harmony but he had learned that products with his harmonic signature had been circulating before he closed off the Celestial Fields.

His bald head revealed even more scars as the massive rough blade on his back confirmed his weapon choice.

He also had an artificial eye to look at him! His eyes had been the one part he could not change before but with his Life layer Mysteries, he was able to alter everything about him and Karu.

She had been shocked. Supposedly, she had never heard of such a disguise ability like he had come up with but they had no choice.

The Bastard had cut off any possible route but he could not stop. Stopping sealed all their fates.

As for the futures, that knowledge has mostly been burned now. Only the Glass Palace and the location in the Eastern Continent his wives were ascending into were left intact.

The markets were so loud they snapped out of his thoughts to find 2 competing galleries of slaves. Lind did not understand why but one seemed to be selling gladiators while the other sold combat slaves.

The distinction was mostly for the former. Gladiators were sold to fight as proxies in the local arenas but were usually bred to fight and could earn their freedom if the crowds willed it. Lind had confirmed it had happened and some of those former slaves now bought their own!

The sun was unrelenting but the breeze off the coast kept it comfortable. Still, there were way too many people.

In the far distance, he saw a bright star near the water. Glass Palace was named for a good reason. A natural crystal formation was so clear it was as good as glass but harder than it by far. It made for an excellent medium for inscriptions or Forging.

Thus, the local power that rose on the coast created a literal fortress out of it. Only the very top was reflective or let the light through to exert the power of the Glass Palace.

The waste of resources for an ego trip made Lind sigh but he had more pressing issues.

"Sol, get me to an inn, now." Karu's voice was hoarse but being parched was not an act! They had not dared to rely on their own Qi until Lind discovered how to completely disguise them.

Until then, they used up any resources they carried or could harvest from the forest. The latter had not been easy as many peak Journeyman and even a few Master Tier beasts did not want to allow visitors at all!

Even Lind was restrained from using his Authority as Karu confirmed other True Lords could track him in the Divine Lands. Apparently there was something else the Bastard had left untouched but Karu said she could not reveal it. There were Oath bindings and if she spoke without permission, she would likely die from Heavenly Wrath.

She assured him, though, the Fiends could not affect it.

He was deeply curious but first thing was first, his promise.

Despite having to hide in the intricate disguises, Lind was not hindered from detecting what he was looking for. The sandy streets were full of all kinds of races but the one he sought was there, just not on the surface.

Fiends, a LOT of Fiends.

Their auras and any trace were suppressed but his harmony found them. Further, he saw many traces in the crowds. Not just slavers, but everyone.

A child that successfully snatched a leather pouch from a middle-aged man's belt to a frail old woman being carried by strong men to the doctor. He saw it everywhere!

No wonder the Bastard did not cull the Glass Palace! He ran it!

It was not just a trap but a stronghold and he doubted many knew about it. Humans were greedy to the point of self destruction so creating the mercantile empire based on suffering was well within anyone's expectations.

Maybe it originally had been purely human hands too, but the Fiends had a ready made front to not only make a lot of resources but also to siphon away the most precious thing to them, living souls!

How had no one thought of that?! Lind had come down on slavery for many reasons but even he had not considered that angle!

A flash then of the Law Binding came back and the farms. He kept forgetting. To Fiends, all other races were just livestock to be slaughtered.

They were not really people at all.

All of those thoughts were hidden behind the snarl of his demonic face as he parted the crowd for his 'Mistress.' His skill in creating a path without roughing up anyone left quite a few shocked but then an idea came to him.

"That damned bastard said he was coming, Mistress. We need to get him for the bounty!" Some auras brushed against him but only enough to hear. Karu frowned at him but then huffed.

"If you believe that sanctimonious fool would come here where he would stand out like a sore thumb, you really are all muscle, Sol!" Lind glared but did not argue until a slim man in blue robes seemed to appear.

"My dear guests, I could not help but overhear. You are seeking a bounty? If you have information to sell, I am willing to buy." Lind glanced back at his Mistress who seemed to peer through the man to his very soul.

He was not sweating before but his balding head showed a sudden sheen of reflection before she sighed and waved her hand.

"We just came from Traych Forest. We were hunting for the–" A sudden cane slammed into his skull as Karu glared at him. "Ahem, we were looking for our own goals when we came across a pair too fine for roughing it. They were no stronger than us but the man gave me chills. A reptile with those emerald eyes of his!"

The instant he said those words, a chill swept the market. Many figures visibly flinched and the man in blue robes was no exception. Lind frowned in confusion before the smile returned to him.

"Did the pair fight you?" Lind snorted but then felt a new glare from Karu.

"Yes, but I fought–" Another attack from the cane.

"Enough! They needed help to move somewhere with a lot of ores or herbs, either seemed fine with them. This idiot thought they wanted to steal from us and started a fight. He was flattened with some weird arrow Art that gave even me chills." Her voice cracked and she glanced with a plea to the right where a stall owner quickly brought her water.

The man in the blue robes smiled wide at them.

"How long ago?" Lind became silent before smiling. Understanding flared and a peak Divine Qi Stone was given over. He frowned more but it was snatched up by his Mistress. She then shooed him to answer.

"Not more than 3 days. We were already on our way–" Lind did not even get to finish as the man was gone and so were a good chunk of the people around them. They were not even hiding it but he smiled internally.

The best lie is hidden in truth. They really had encountered another pair out gathering but Lind had to fog their memories and send them on their way. They had met them a little over 5 days ago, however, so they should be fine.

Still, the signs of battle would be there and so would his harmony.

The trap was sprung but it had missed its target! Now, they would scour the forest and give him some precious time!