novelraw Chapter 1634 - 1633 - The Hunted
Chapter 1634 - 1633 - The Hunted
Yue slowly came to in a strange place. She panicked at first but then calmed down as medicinal scents came to her and the dark wood was well kept on the ceiling. She glanced around and took in the empty beds with places for a drink or food at the head of each.
She also saw an area for a cauldron or to concoct in general. She was strapped to the bed but the releases were freely available to her.
She figured out how to unlock them and slowly sat up.
So, it was not a dream right before death? She was alive?
A flash of the tanned face and emerald eyes made her blush as she vividly recalled her last thought!
A sudden swish of air made her look back to see a young girl with faded marks of an aether child on her look surprised at her before smiling.
"You are awake! Here!" She produced some food and a sealed crystal container of water. Yue's stomach rumbled and she knew she was not only hungry but needed to cultivate!
She bowed and quickly ate with abandon. It was nothing like the fancy meals at the palace but at that moment, it was the best food she had ever had!
Tears formed but the young woman seemed to understand and gently patted her back.
"Take your time. It is not going anywhere." Yue nodded and slowed down.
Eventually, she was full and relieved. She then glanced around and her questions must have been obvious.
"It was 3 days ago that we saved you. Grand Maester Lind had to return to the control room to go over some things with Senior Karu." The term Grand Maester made Yue's eyes turn into saucers!
Such an esteemed person saved her?! She trembled as she had only ever heard stories of such beings. Even her father, a peak Journeyman Tier Divine Realm cultivator, had never met such a person.
They were far beyond their kingdom's reach even for a national treasure Dao Grade item. She worried if she would have to work off her debt to them but the girl's attitude made hope bloom.
"Am–am I safe?" Her question seemed to confuse the young woman before she became serious.
"I will leave that to Lind." An Immortal could not be a Grand Maester yet the Immortal in front of her used his first name!
Yue hoped for the best.
She then cultivated for the first time in a year. It felt like it was so much longer than that to her but her foundation was surprisingly well. She also seemed farther along in her cultivation than she should be but the last few months were a blur to her.
Teleportation arrays, tearing through space, hiding in remote areas, and finally fleeing over the Void Ocean had been her life recently.
The memories began to seep back in and she felt new tears well up. She felt small and warm arms encircle her. She grasped onto the woman and just let herself grieve.
Her family, her friends, and even the close servants were all gone! Her entire life was gone! Was her kingdom already gone too?
She believed so. The Broken Tower had shown no mercy in its actions. They had far more Divine Realm cultivators than them and they used them.
She also recalled what old Hu had told her before the end. Had their ancestors really brought it on themselves?
She did not know but such a vendetta with no client only made sense to her that way.
After an unknown amount of time, she cried herself out and laid back down. Sleep claimed her as the emotional exhaustion had wiped out her stamina.
⬧⬧⬧⬧
Lind had arrived partway through and saw Gaia consoling the young woman. Such pain and grief could not be faked right in front of him. That was not a spoiled young mistress of a kingdom or sect but a young girl that had lost everything.
Gaia held her until she passed out and then tucked her away. He left her with the patient and returned to the control room.
As he entered the room, he saw Karu was frowned at one of the jade crystal displays. He glanced at it and saw 3 shapes coming into range.
"Lind, Haro said the power chasing this girl was called the Broken Tower?" He nodded and she pointed at the symbol blazing on all 3 objects. Flying artifacts with a shimmering green tower being struck by lightning.
Effective branding indeed but odd to him. Why would a power advertise like that?
"They are a mercenary band. Senior Sun spoke about them as formidable forces for hire in the north western area of the Western Lament." The fact they were a mercenary band made the blazing symbol understood but their location did not.
Even if they were hired, why go all the way to the southwest to chase a Heaven Realm brat? He knew people could be professional but that was taking it to an extreme.
[Haro?] His ring spirit affirmed no new information. The partial log was left in a hurry so likely the owner was long dead.
"Have they seen us?" They might be above the clouds but they were not currently camouflaging the outer hull. It consumed a lot of power to do so without a good reason, he was unwilling to use it.
Besides, the draw of the ship on the environment would make it stand out regardless without being near a more complex situation like a forest or a sect.
Still, no one would look for them normally at their height.
"Not yet but they are looking for something. Not only is it setting off our own detection arrays but they are using personal artifacts well. Even an ant would not escape such a detailed net." The extreme tactics stood out once more.
It was a bit vindictive but if they were actually hunting for the girl, it proved they were not so well known without reason. Eventually, the 3 artifact platforms slowed long before the ever changing area that was the Ruined Islands.
"I am going out. Put the ship in as low a power mode as you can." The less active flow of energy, the better.
He moved to the top deck and then simply floated away from the ship. He was a tiny speck but he waited until he was far enough away before activating his Talents.
Touch and Sight were powerful but combined he could do a little trick. He observed the flow of Qi, Dao, and Laws below until he was able to manipulate a current to catch the 3 artifacts in a dome that would not stand out.
It was delicate as hell but it had the advantage of not being detected as a formation or weaving.
{...ean nothing?!} A woman's voice cut through the roaring wind. A discussion about losing the traces of a dead Divine Realm had self-destructed to buy the young woman time to escape.
Her grief only affirmed his assessment with the new information.
{If she fled into the Ruined Islands, she is dead.} A male voice spoke but a slap was heard as he barely could make out a dot moving backward from another.
He was quickly grasping they had a female leader despite having 3 separate forces for each artifact.
{They betrayed our people! We were forced to scrape out existence and only by the sacrifice of generations have we risen again. Do you claim the death of our grandfathers was for nothing?!} The history was out of context but Lind could tell things were not good in the past.
Still, it was one sided and the woman affirmed they were powerful now.
Grievances from the past were hard to let go but bringing it down on every living being that benefited for all of time was not good either.
He spied on them for a bit longer but appreciated that the leader was not reckless, just unrelenting. She was a hunter.
She ordered her people to spread out a net to confirm any possible location of her prey with no stone unturned but he was unsure what they would find.
The area the girl had been saved from had been torn asunder several times since.
Not just by a void tear, but also an entire landmass appeared, blew into pieces, and then vanished entirely to boot!
He did pick up a few more things and closed his eyes.
The girl was the last of her family. Her power was gone and her siblings were confirmed dead. She was the last thread but Lind did not care.
She was only 20 years old! In terms of the Divine Lands, she was a child! A mere 2 decades was not enough to even begin formal social interaction according to what he had learned in his time there!
He let his Talents loosen their hold and floated away. He had no doubt they would stay in the area so he was likely left with no choice.
The hunters would now become the hunted. He sighed as it was a distraction but he had no time to waste waiting for them to leave.