novelraw Chapter 183 - 182 - Players
Chapter 183 - 182 - Players
At the once ornate entrance of the Aether Sect, the ground had been reshaped by Diamond Tier World Arts. The aether silver had been harvested entirely from the mountain used to make the now open plain in front of the sect.
The teleportation arrays that had been damaged during the assault were now repaired but no longer in control of the Aether Sect. Instead, 2 were held by medium powers the Arathi Sect from a plains area far to the south that had many aether children living in servitude but not slavery. They had suffered from mild raids for years that had some criminal activity but the last 3 years had been absolute attacks.
Sadly, Lind's lessons in elemental theory made aether children far more powerful when working together. The results left many powers short handed as they were used to powerful individuals to be wary of but a mediocre group of cultivators could suddenly become terrifying together.
No one but Lind knew that since the vengeance side of the sect would never acknowledge a human taught them anything.
The other medium power was the Republic of Sil. They were a rare power where democracy had some sway. The government was built on the concept that cultivation could be a more cooperative effort to raise everyone. That was their claim, anyway.
Lind was not surprised to learn that while there were elected representatives, most of them were powerful Iron or Gold Tiers that had the most resources. They promised the Heavens themselves but hardly delivered. Much of the issue there stemmed from their endorsement of slavery of demons and aether children.
Compared to the Arathi Sect, Sil, on the other hand, was known for poor dealings and to have been responsible for some heinous slavery graft but as it was a medium power, it knew who not to offend. So long as they kept out from underfoot, their representatives could live lives of corruption without worries.
As always, strength dictated reality.
They had taken over the teleportation arrays as they were the ones to find them at the edge of the Silver Peaks. The last array was held by Lind ostensibly.
The Divine Sword Sect had held it as no one found it until the assault occurred. Once Lind showed up and changed the course of the battle, no one argued with them. The woman in charge had handed it over to him as she did not want the headache of administration.
Lind had not officially returned it to the Aether Sect as the other powers would jump at the chance to control the flow of people and resources to choke off any last resistance. He held it so he could resupply the herbs, cores, and other items he had to replace what was lost in the Relic.
Sil and Arathi were prominent at the main negotiation table set up in the newly opened space. Next to them, there were guild representatives from Cimmeria which did include the 2 most powerful slave guild leaders.
One was a man who looked like a celebrity from Earth to Lind. He had perfect skin, hair, and generally fine silk robes that spoke of money. If not for the 3 miserable aether children behind him collared clearly, most would think the low Gold Tier man was a normal merchant of great standing in Cimmeria.
The other was a more conservatively dressed woman. Her robes were of fine make but were practical more than decorative. The man's fine silk robes were pretty but had no feeling of formations in them. Hers, on the other hand, gave some Diamond Tiers a shiver.
She had long black hair down to her mid back with tanned skin and dark eyes. Her face seemed constantly scrunched but she also looked very young. She also had slaves but there were standing with her proudly. One was a young human boy, a demon, and finally an aether child. The collars they wore looked far better than the man's slaves.
Lind knew of her but he had seen the man at Midnight's all those years ago. He felt a headache as the man sent a knowing nod to him. Lind had no idea who he was precisely but his slave guild was known as Desire Guild. It took little imagination to wonder what his slaves were used for but Cimmerian laws were very strict about it. Lind frowned at the 3 aether children as he suspected they were picked up on the way here.
The woman was from the Leonide Guild. She was called the Lioness but her name was Cynthia from what he knew. She seemed to measure him to within an inch of her life and seemed surprised. She spoke no words but Lind could have sworn she smirked at him.
Aside from those obvious members, Lind had a run down of who is who from Indelia and a few Saint Kingdom powers as well. If rated on the scale the continents went by, the Aether Sect had essentially only left the great powers alone.
Large to back water had been open game if they held, or were perceived to hold, aether children in their borders. The Aether Sect had clearly let their new understanding of cooperative arts go to their heads.
Lind glanced over his shoulder and smiled to see Elder Tyr looming over his left shoulder while the leader of the Divine Sword Sect group was on his right. Her silver hair was from old age but the woman was a warrior even standing still in her gray robes. The slim sword at her waist was devastating in close combat but could enact sword Qi far better than anything Lind had seen to date.
Her name was Barb, and it was not short for Barbara. He had asked. She took the name and discarded her old one. She meant it to mean people would regret trying to cross her as they would stepping on a barb.
With those two Sky Realms behind him, very few would ignore Lind. He appreciated them lending their support to him at that moment.
"Good morning all. Please settle and we can begin." Lind called out but noted several directly defy his attempt to bring things to order. He sighed but before he could speak again, a whistling sound filled the room as 3 whips cracked the air. One was physical while the other 2 were made of darkness and water.
Lind appreciated Shoti's new level of skill as the crack robbed all of the ability to pretend to ignore him while reminding people that he was not simply assuming authority but had real connections to it.
The table was clearly refined from the few trees in the Silver Peaks but it was well made for the current meeting. Lind waved his hands and arrays appeared that began to project a list to all present.
"Rather than hear each grievance and spend days arguing who was attacked more, I have collected and corroborated exactly all that happened to each of you." Some were stunned but they did not understand how deep the hatred ran in half the Aether Sect. They were proud of what they had done and happy to brag about the exact details.
"How are proving that these are accurate?" The man from Desire was haughty but many nodded at his question.
"Mythra." Lind spoke one name and a gorgeous woman appeared with the robes of Starfire House on her. Anyone that had a bit of sense recognized the adopted daughter of Lady Estelle. She was a low Diamond Tier now. Her bright smile at Lind turned serious looking at the rest of the table.
"I do not think I need to explain the resources at our disposal. Master Frey made a request a few days after he returned and we happily complied." She left off the part where she and Lady Su had nearly crushed him with their auras in happiness to see him again.
Lind rubbed his ribs but he was glad his friends were doing well.
No one could argue with the simple fact of the power of Starfire House. There were some who grumbled but then Lind activated another array.
"Here are your claims I could verify as well." Many faces brightened but the man from Desire darkened. He looked hard at Lind but a glance to the 2 Sky Realms clearly made the man calm himself first.
"Master Frey, why does my list state to release my illegal slaves?" Lind glanced at Mythra once more who seemed to now smile in a way that made every man shiver to look at.
"It was discovered that you have several slaves that were acquired illegally under Stardust Emporium trade laws. For instance, the 3 behind you are wearing criminal collars but have not been convicted of any crime." His handsome face blanched at how accurate Mythra was but he then sneered back at her.
"You may be an adopted daughter of Starfire House, but it is clear you are abusing your position if you are accusing me of baseless claims." Lind frowned but then waved his hand forward.
"Sigh, it was not Starfire that learned that piece of knowledge, but us." The room became dead silent as Barb spoke. Unlike the Maidens, the Divine Sword Sect was only known to be friendly to LInd. That, however, did not mean they would ever lie or cover for him save in protecting his life.
The Divine Sword Sect were known to be justice driven but mostly they loved swords and fighting with swords. They did not voluntarily stand up to get involved in schemes like the head of Desire was trying to do.
The fierce woman glared at him and then pointed at the far left female aether child slave.
"She was taken from Hiatha in the west and we caught her stealing food when she escaped from the raiding team of the Aether Sect." A glow came from Barb and a brand appeared on the girl's red arm as clear as day.
Desire blanched before he noticed the whole room staring at him.
Cackling laughter came from Cynthia as she looked down on Desire right next to him. Several others enjoyed seeing him taken down a peg as he clearly thought he was the spirits' gift to the cultivation world.
Lind noted Sil was not laughing but he knew why.
Their list was not good either but they were more troublesome than Desire. Pushing a Guild, especially one based in Cimmeria, was well within his influence, but the Republic and Arathi were going to be the more troublesome powers to deal with.
"Master Frey, may I ask about this request for an assessment of our camps?" The slim man from Arathi asked his question while most were distracted but his words had many glancing at their lists but all looked confused.
"What request do you speak of, sir?" The amber eyed man now looked caught off guard. He clearly had assumed they all had that request as his counterpart from Sil.
"I had a recounting of the battle as well as confirmation after some further inquiries and there are some missing bodies we cannot account for. Further, I have learned that your camps in the forest at the edge of the Silver Peaks tried to leave before this meeting was called." That action had been surprising to some, but not to Lind. He was used to humans being what they are.
Both Sil and Arathi paled as Lind seemed informed of everything they did.
"We are starting this by stating, aether children are not guilty by just existing. If they have committed a crime, we will deal with it.
If there are more than one claim on an individual, arbitration will be done by the Maidens or the Divine Sword Sect. For any of that to happen, however, you all need to return any prisoners right now." Lind was no longer giving off the vibe of a scholar. His Stone Tier aura was not that impressive compared to many, but his level of power was far beyond what all expected.
Many began to recall how much this man had changed the world when only at the Soul Realm. The fact he had successfully broken through where none had done before meant more radical changes were coming soon.
They could be on his bad side and pay the price, or remain in his good graces and comply. He was not denying them justice but many were reluctant to let go of their prisoners. His offer was reasonable but they outnumbered him. Surely he understood the 2 great sects would not intervene that much.
Before anyone could object, the skies above began to cloud over and all felt the power of the world slip away from them! What was going on? All suddenly felt the flow move towards one person as his staff extended quickly as his dark green eyes looked out over them all.
"I am not asking you, I am telling you. In this place, at this moment, I can disrupt any art all of you combined could try to use. I have done nothing but master my tier and my understanding of the World Realm. Your ways are flawed and I am showing you how badly they are flawed." The very fear all felt earlier manifested far faster than expected.
This was not a weak 6 elemental in front of them. This was a rising powerhouse that was warning them he had a bottomline. He was not denying them anything by his will but he would extract a price if they wanted to defy him.
The pale blue Maiden smiled wide looking at him in approval while Barb clearly wanted to challenge him to a fight. Any idea of resistance vanished as all bowed towards him and the clouds dispersed. Lind smiled and leaned back while all used jade stones to contact their camps.