Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1631 - 1630 - Crusade

Lind had not seen Sun for several months before Old Yana cackled as she explained he had gone hunting.

He had no idea what she could be referring to but it did not take long after he heard excited murmurs from the other natives.

A group of peak Heaven Realm monkeys were downing wine like it was water and leaping from branch to branch as they loudly extolled Sun's current achievements.

Apparently, Sun was sending back recordings via a communication artifact of what he was doing and it made Lind sigh while looking at the placid flow of clouds in the blue sky.

Sun, after securing most of what Lind needed, decided to make a ruckus in the north and west.

The damned monkey True Lord was going all out!

He raided various shady areas where black market deals to simply suspicious activity were flattened or exposed to the light of day.

Some were true Fiend connections and no one dared complain but the vast majority were how many powerful cultivators kept their profits or support against rivals secret. It was not just a matter of inconvenient exposure, but true crimes brought to light all at once.

If there was a truly righteous power to appeal to, Sun might have been lauded for his efforts. Yet, it seemed the Western Lament was a bog of back room deals and understandings of how the world operated to get ahead for them all.

In essence, Sun was a government's worst nightmare. Any secret, dark deal, or simple abuse of power could not seem to hide from the man.

Lind knew, though, that part of it was to make it clear that Sun had truly ascended as his old self once more as well as make the Bastard assign any issues to Sun, himself.

It was risky but given several variables, Sun had apparently often cleaned out the Western Lament at different rates before.

It was not even his earliest version according to Karu but he could not prove any version of himself caused it.

His antics were a bit more directed but if the triggering event was related, like the ouster of Sun by the Fiends, the Bastard might actually not think much of it at all.

Lind just let it be for 2 months until Sun returned smiling ear to ear. His robes were singed and some of his fur had been scarred but it was healing. Such damage could only have come from a fellow Journeyman Tier or Master Tier but Sun did not mention it at all!

Instead, he brought out a very old dark gold bracelet and dropped a mountain of resources at Lind's feet!

He stared, slack jawed, as it was easily several treasuries worth of material across every medium imaginable! He even detected a few materials that felt threatening to him!

Haro actually reacted inside his ring in shock as well!

"That was so much fun!" Any doubt that Sun had gone to blow off steam were put to rest at that moment. "Those vile monsters were just everywhere I went. Did you know old man Blade had let them infect his little island empire?"

A vein twitched on Lind's forehead. Sun could not possibly be referring to the island controlled by a Master Tier? Profound Blade Isle was a forbidden zone by even the factions!

Azure Isle was the rumored true leader of the Creation Island but that was only a rumor.

The Broken Steppes were actually isolated but a chain of islands to the east and north of Sun's island.

Despite his worst estimates, Sun happily regaled with tales of assaulting all 3 Master Tier strongholds like they were nothing!

The main factions also suffered from his 'help.' How Sun was not dead mystified him but the monkey True Lord was not done.

Oh no, that would be far too easy.

On top of his little crusade of terror on the surface, he also routed the Fiends en-masse from just about every major hub of power left in the Western Lament until they were driven to their secret bases littered in the less populated islands.

Sun then followed them by means of 'instinct' and smashed those open as well! Lind wanted to claim he was exaggerating but somehow, he doubted it.

A Journeyman Tier is a powerhouse in the Divine Lands. There were only 3 Master Tiers in the entirety of the Western Lament and a single Journeyman Tier while annoying, might have leeway so long as a bottomline was not crossed.

There was also the distinct possibility they used Sun to stir up the various islands for their own gain but how that could happen, he had no idea.

Regardless, if they knew what Sun had brought back with him, they might have changed their tune immensely.

It was in fact possible they were just finding out that each area visited by Sun was considerably poorer than before!

"Sun, won't they come looking for you?" Lind had to ask but the smile on his face never wavered as the staff twirled until it rested on his shoulder. Despite his injuries, Lind had to admit it looked impressive.

"I hope they do! I am just getting warmed up!" Hopeless, absolutely hopeless battle maniac!

Lind parsed the pile of stuff and only took a few things to study or he needed. The rest he left Sun to deal with who went bug-eyed at the largess he was stuck with.

Don't steal everything that isn't nailed down and expect others to deal with it!

Lind used a few things to improve the stress stabilization and infrastructure of the ship. The months flew by and he finally finished the ship's improvements.

He took it for a test flight and it was far smoother than before. He also discovered his thrusters were still an issue. They caused a vibration he could not seem to insulate the rest of the ship from.

He would need a better material or perhaps Forge a better effect he could not yet grasp. It would just take some testing now that he knew what to look for.

Now that they were ready, the trio came back together and began to plan for what they needed to do. Lind knew he would be heading in alone to the actually Ruined Islands, yet Karu and Gaia could not just float in the ship waiting for him.

The unstable situation in that area dictated the ship would have to leave after Lind dove into the area at a safe entry point.

Neither Karu nor Sun knew of such a point so it would have to be found by them.

It would just be a matter of time. He had done it once so there had to be a way and it was his only chance in the current circumstances. It may be that the Bastard intended to leave him no safe avenues for greater power intentionally to corner him.

Thus, after the ship and the trio were ready, Sun insisted on a feast before they could slip away. If he thought they could escape the staff weapon, Lind had been tempted to try, they would have.

The damned monkey True Lord kept bringing food from somewhere and he suspected the same source as the resources previously were the true origin.

After a solid week, Lind insisted on leaving and practically had to flee the damned monkey!

His ship smoothly sailed up before shimmering away to invisibility as it rose to get above the clouds once more.

While it had been very chaotic, the time with Sun and his people had been very good for them.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

Sun stood with his staff firmly in his grasp looking up at where the fantastical vessel had vanished into the sky. His memories stretched back so far but while many only saw the pure battle True Lord he really was, very few knew how crafty he could be.

A wrinkled hand chopped down on his head but he only smiled.

"Old Hag." Old Yana appeared next to him glaring at him harshly.

"That is no way to call your wife!" He smirked but a gentle smile came into his eyes. She was the only survivor of his last family. His children had been too bull headed to avoid fatal fights but Yana had always been the wisest of them.

It was rare for him to be reborn so soon and that was why he had gone out of his way to help Lind Frey. His instincts screamed at him that time was running out.

He never told Lind that his little trick to trigger his awakening also showed him Lind's life and secrets only an ancient monster like him could grasp.

"You never tell people outright what you are doing. You always have to be so grandiose and silly! You are more!" He scratched the side of his face before smiling down at her.

"I am who I always am. I am the True Lord of–" A fist slammed into his ribs and he could not summon breath to speak as Old Yana loomed over his partially collapsed form.

"Why did you lie?" Her serious tone made him stop acting up but he still need a few moments to gather his air.

He slowly stood up and looked back up at the sky before a sad look crossed over his face.

"Is it so wrong to prolong a friend's life?" Yana froze before she looked up like he did. Sun was many things but he was a creature that had almost supernatural instincts about the future and his enemies.

If he said someone was going to die, then they were going to die.

"When?" Sun wanted to ignore it but he could not.

"He will face his enemy but there is nothing beyond that. Whether we endure I do not know." Such a statement made her shiver but he was no different. He had never had an abyss in his senses before.

It was there in the future. Whether it was an end for all or simply a future he could not unravel he had no way to know. It was not his ability to pierce the future like that but the feeling was not good.

So he had not wanted to let such a good man go into danger so soon. Sun sighed and sent a prayer to the spirits. Not as a True Lord, but as a one friend to another.