novelraw Chapter 1617 - 1616 - Gaps
Chapter 1617 - 1616 - Gaps
The attacks on the foundation of the Glass Palace were largely unnoticed as he emerged into the streets. The sun beat down as a breeze from the coast barely cut the heat.
He walked normally as if out shopping but it was there that some oddities were finally noticed.
Stall to shops had their bosses practically glaring at artifacts they relied on for everyday operations.
Storage treasures linked to displays or trading operations were crashing everywhere.
The unrest was not yet spreading but it would when the readily available knowledge and resources were gone and the secured versions were not accessible.
The rules of the Glass Palace were working against it there. The agreements to keep an active inventory of their shops so the rulers could maximize their profits now came back to bite them.
The further inward he moved, the worse it got on that front.
He had noticed some unintended consequences but to the positive. The pylons keeping the demon foxes enslaved were still floating but their field emissions were becoming erratic.
He had not realized everything was connected!
A single array network was in charge of all the items the Glass Palace used for control as well as trade!
Yet, he dared not push that facet. The Fiends might be reduced and quickly realize an issue was occurring but if he went for them now, he might as well put a flare up and wait to die.
In fact, he assumed he was on a clock.
Hacking was a very modern thing to do and the Bastard would recognize the tactic.
So, Lind made a faster beeline for his true target. The vaults.
The guards were used to badges, passes, and other artifacts revealing who was allowed or not in high security places. It was that facet he was attacking by crashing the array network.
No one had noticed! People acted as they always had and the harsh punishments of the Glass Palace system stopped anyone testing it yet!
He was now in the high markets but did not stop as he came to a giant shimmering wall. The wards were fully active but the friend or foe ident system was not!
Lind did not even feel a thing as he confidently strode up to the gate. His ragged appearance made the 2 guards in dark metal armor frown but saw he was not stopped by the wards so they did not stop him!
Appearances could be very deceiving or ill timed depending on what a cultivator survived. He looked like a frail old human with nothing to his name but the current system meant he moved unchallenged since nothing reacted to him!
The lack of response from the wards gave him authority to proceed!
He came upon opulent halls inside transparent structures. The glass material was molded to perfectly refract the internal to be invisible but the external was clear as day.
The light of the sun made it seem like a person was walking through pure corridors of light. The gaudy decorations were outshone by the sun but he saw them all.
He also noted more security artifacts that were tied to the system. Their erratic attempts to connect were clear to him but those controlling them were only just realizing the seriousness of the issue.
He saw guards tense up as new orders flowed down but it was too late!
He ducked into a small armory and found a guard about to don his tools. Lind snapped his arm too fast for the man to realize he was even attacked.
Lind quickly took on his features and put on the armor. He did not kill the man as soul slates or other tracking artifacts were tied only to the owner. Death would give him away.
He did, however, bind his limbs into the fetal position and sealed his low Apprentice Tier foundation.
He then left the armory to nearly run into 4 men swiftly sweeping the area.
"Lu! Get to the upper north tower! An intruder has entered the main palace!" Lind mimicked the salute he had seen the soldiers make in both the city and the palace during his time there.
He had confirmed the rank of the man was higher than his disguise and the swift return salute left Lind with more time.
He activated his Eyes and nearly vomited. The chains were rife in the entire place! It was chaos!
He tried his Touch and had a better result. He could feel the difference between personal chains compared to inanimate ones.
The fate of the Glass Palace was a group effort forged over its long history and the vault was tied to it.
He followed that feeling until he came to much higher security. He noticed an entire platoon were heavily armed in front of it but he did not stop before zeroing in on the leader.
He saluted and the man's stern glare with a scar over his left eye made him almost malevolent by his face alone.
"Sir! A report from the north tower! An old man was seen there but vanished! All eyes are to report him the instant he is seen again!" A half truth was followed by someone confirming his assignment.
Lind waited until they began to gather more information when he summoned the very sphere he had created to advance his Forging.
It had but one effect, yet it was exactly what he needed at that moment.
Emerald Qi swept outward before anyone detected it. The thralls mixed in the guards began to scream and Lind joined them.
His acting was on point as the commander was not affected and began to order those like him to spread out in formation.
The instant they shoved him aside to put behind the healthy guards, he struck.
Emerald claws and tail swept outward on unsuspecting targets. Only the commander was a Journeyman Tier and Lind had already killed that man.
An emerald blade shot up from the sphere he had dropped and bisected the man. Lind saw a tiny piece return faintly before terror spread on his face just before death.
Lind shredded the rest as if they were nothing. Their armor had Fiend traces in all o f them. It was as good as arming someone with paper in front of him.
The corpses piled up until all the guards were dead. Lind crushed a ruby red jade stone in his hand before turning to the vault. There was no time left. The Bastard would come soon.
Lind transformed his arm fully and smashed the vault arrays directly with his harmony flames. The arrays tried to resist but core functions were still down.
It was unexpected but he took anything that sped up his attack.
The golden doors began to melt as they became only ores refined into a shape. He dove into the gap of molten metal and found many treasures. He did not even pause as he breathed his flames on it all.
The Fiend Qi was powerful in the room! Many treasures burst apart in black smoke while others simply tried to resist.
Only a third succeeded but none were Fiend treasures. He took them all. The security arrays were not just useless at the moment but actively adding to the chaos trying to demand confirmation from a system straining under the pressure he had already brought down on it.
Lind then felt what he was looking for. The pylon central core!
Karu had told him it was always in the vault but it was only when he saw it that he truly understood why.
It was gigantic! The inscriptions on the giant red sphere were so fine yet the thing towered over him in his dragon form!
It would be impossible to hide such a thing on the surface!
He wished he could study it for his own needs but instinct screamed at him. Time was up!
Emerald light gathered on his claws, hair, and eyes. Weaving was like a storm before an intricate engraving was laid over the sphere. It was only Law Grade but it would be enough.
He was not looking to destroy the sphere but to turn it on its masters!
Slavery worked on a simple principle no matter how complex the system. There was an owner and the owned. The artifact designated that hierarchy regardless of the will of those involved. Lind did not try to break it nor free the demon foxes but put them in command!
The pylons were also isolated from the network in the same stroke.
He was nearly exhausted but did not stay to see the result. He used all his will to tear open space and slip away. It felt like moving through mud but he also felt a pressure closing in!
He had to move! He pushed his gigantic body to the limit until the pressure passed him by.
He did not stop and kept moving until finally he could not endure any longer. He turned back into his demon form and returned to the world. He was in midair!
The sunlight and blue sky were his only warning when he began to tumble.
He had no strength to fly but he had anticipated that issue. Instead of soil and forest, the glorious starfield of the Void Ocean laid out under him.
He was very far from the coast and anywhere the Bastard could find him! He smiled as he looked back at a giant plume of smoke rising from the Glass Palace direction.
Suppression had a counterforce. The instant the pressure was released, it would cause a wave of anarchy and revenge. Lind had pricked apart the foundation until the Glass Palace was torn apart.
The strange sensation of the Void Ocean parting around him greeted him and the world vanished in a field of stars.