Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 192 - 191 - Fierce Fairy

"Who is attacking us?!"  Fires burned as a bleeding man crawled through the rubble that had once been their base.  The bandit had been part of Black Skulls, a powerful group that raided towns and villages outside of the Brielle Kingdom.  They were a minor power but the flow of goods was nice and steady.

Indelia was so massive that a few terrorized towns and villages were not worth the time of the kingdom's forces.  It was a plain fact that resources were limited and the hope that words meant something from politicians was a naive belief.

Thus the Black Skulls had become the de facto overlords of their area but now, they were wiped out in a few days.

It had started with some of their raiding parties not coming back, followed by one of their patrols shortly disappearing.  It sped up from there and now the man with blood flowing out of his body like a river tried to get to his chest full of healing pills.

His cultivation was not crippled but it was barely keeping him alive.

"Oh?  Did I miss one?"  A voice spoke out into the smoldering ruins of the camp and the starlight between columns of smoke was just enough to make out a cloaked person walking slowly through the wreckage.

The man felt terror fill his body as he felt peak Iron Tier aura coming off of them.  In that part of the world, Iron Tiers barely held power and were rare, so an Iron Tier was very powerful.

A breeze revealed a shocking surprise to the dying man.  It was a young woman.  She had brown hair and it was braided to keep it out of her eyes for battle.  Her cold eyes made any beauty slip by his notice as all he saw was death and a rumor came back to him.

"T-the Fierce Fairy of the Heavenly Maiden Sect!"  Her white robes were covered in blood and soot but he could still see the golden emblem on her right breast.  Only they could make someone so young a peak Iron Tier.

"I don't like that name.  Not that it matters to you."  A flash of light was the last thing the man knew as sword Qi took his life.  Her cold eyes did not fade but then a slow clap came from outside the battle area.

She turned towards it to find a demon looking at her.  She frowned but noticed the emblem of Darkmoor Kingdom on him.  His slim form was deceiving as she well knew.  This man was annoying to her for the last 3 years.

One side effect of cultivation when she hit puberty was it accelerated her body but she was now 17 years old only yesterday.  She finally matched her physical appearance.

"What do you want Kir?"  She had run into him too many times on both continents she had been to for it to be a coincidence.  His smile looked good but she only felt disgusted looking at him.

"Why, my dear Fierce Fairy, surely you know by now?  I have waited for you to notice but your being away from the sect for 2 years made it hard to reach you."  She had intentionally taken a long term missing cleaning up these scum.  It had also helped her reach the very peak of the Iron Tier.

She should head back to prepare for the Gold Tier.  A pained flash went over her face.  She did not want to face that tribulation yet.  She wanted to wait!  Her damn ability to cultivate was monstrous by any standard but she had been focused on getting stronger.

"I believe I told you directly.  Stay away from me."  She collected the head of the last bandit into her storage necklace since her bracelet was full.  This group had been quite large and their leader had been almost up to her strength.

She began to walk away but froze when she felt Kir was walking behind her.  She did not need to turn to see the lewd look on his face.  She hated it.  She did not mind demons at all, but Kir she loathed.

He had never hidden his desire for her but he also was the one that gave her the name she hated.  He loved her prowess in battle on top of her body.  To him, it was no doubt a compliment but she had refrained from fighting with him.

At first, it was because he was far stronger than her, but now they were even.  He had not slacked on his cultivation but Gold Tier was a difficult step.  Even Darkmoor had people die if they were not ready.  No resource could get someone through it since they had to face their first tribulation in their cultivation journey.

A flash of a man with dark green eyes and a smiling face came to her at that thought and she got angry.  He had died.  He had to have died.  There had been no word for over 5 years although she had stopped looking.  Even so, she still was so fond of him.

"You look troubled, my dark angel."  Her sword whipped around but Kir had excellent reflexes as the sword Qi tore through the air and even severed a few of the smoke trails rising behind them.

"If you do not go away, I will cripple you right here."  Her anger finally overcame the other issue with Kir.  He was a high member of a powerful clan.  He was not the young master, but he was close to them.  The Bone Clan was a body tempering clan for the demons.

Unlike humans, demons had several options to temper a body.  Humans would bulk up and become more muscled as they tempered their bodies but demons could be like Kir.  A lot of power packed into a small frame.

The only known fact was the clan focused on its namesake, the bones.

Kir easily dodged and flipped as he expected more attacks but he then looked confused as he found a stranger standing next to his Fairy.  It was a young looking human with dirty blonde hair and dark green eyes.  He had on crimson robes with 2 badges on his chest.

Kir was about to express his anger when he froze.  Platinum.  It was a platinum badge!  His senses told him it was real easily enough.  He had met a few such masters at a gathering of his royal highness Ryu.

Normally, they were all Gold Tier but a few were Iron Tier.  The one before him, however, was Stone Tier.  How was that possible?!

"You have grown up!  Not sure how to feel about taking such a long term mission, but I am glad you are safe."  The man's voice was grating and Kir did not like how happy his Fairy looked.  The shock on her face had transformed into joy.

Who was this man?  What was he to her?

"I suppose I cannot keep calling you Little Fey anymore?"  The man asked a question that shook Kir.  He had never been sure if the Maiden was the same prodigy rumors had spoken about.  Age was hard to determine in cultivators as they progressed, but his desire for her rose even more.  She must be his!

"BIG BROTHER!"  Those 2 words shattered Kir's world.  The story of the prodigy of Fey of the Heavenly Maiden Sect was well known.  Her description was not, but many speculated.  Even so, only 1 person would be called 'Big Brother.'

"Impossible!  He is dead!"  Kir had heard the stories from Ryu about Lind Frey.  They sounded exaggerated but no one would dare contradict him.  The discovery of elemental theory relationships had led to a complete shift in the human and aether child cultivation power.

Further, it was rumored his elixirs were miraculous compared to even the best elixir master currently raised by any power.  Forging was just an impossibility as no one existed to learn from him before he died.

There were supposedly reclusive masters but no one could confirm it.

This had to be an imposter!  It just had to be.

As if to crush his spirit, 6 elements were summoned as a disc appeared next to them.  Kir could tell it was not an artifact or other treasure supplementing the missing elements.  Also, the signature emerald flame flickered that was well known with Master Frey.

He could only watch as his lovely Fairy happily hopped on board before the young human turned to him.  Compared to the gentle tone and warmth he had shown before, there was now a coldness coming from those dark green eyes.

Kir felt all the hair rise on the back of his neck.

"I read the reports about you.  Shoti kept an eye on anyone that was annoying Little Fey.  Her language choice over the last 3 years was..colorful."  The smile was not in amusement and the cold face told Kir this man was not happy at all.

"Aunt Shoti spied on me?!"  Fey's voice came from the floating disc but Master Frey ignored her and stayed focused on Kir.

"What Fey does with her life I will always support.  What she does not want in her life, I will be more than happy to remove.  Do I make myself clear?"  Kir wanted to retort as a Stone Tier was acting arrogant but only a complete fool would cross a platinum badge holder.  Further, Lind Frey was off limits per royal decree.

Dead or not, the decree was never rescinded.

"I-I understand, Master Frey.  Please excuse me."  Kir felt frustrated but he could not do anything.  He would not give up but he would have to follow more formal channels.  He had to prove he was the only one worthy.

He tried to catch one last glimpse of his Fierce Fairy but the flying artifact was already gone somehow without the slightest noise.  The level of finesse needed for that terrified Kir even more.  Could all the stories have been true?

⬧⬧⬧⬧

Lind felt content.  He had finally reunited with Cyntilla and while things were a bit awkward, there was still a vibrant connection between them.  He had officially come back to the Heavenly Maiden Sect where he met the new Vice-Sect Master Min in Cimmeria.

Fey had stayed at that branch once she reached the Stone Tier and began doing much harder missions.  Her ferocious rise in cultivation was heavily treasured but he was sad she focused more on sword techniques than her alchemy.

Shoti had kept a close eye on her over the years and had a general idea where she was.  Lind only had to follow the bandit gang destruction after that.  She now clung to him as she wept openly.  She was so much taller now!

The little girl with a bubbly smile was now a teenager!  Lind thought he would not mind it so much, but to have missed the last 6 and a half years of her life hurt.  He promised over and over he was not going away again.

They flew through the skies back to the sect to collect the other 4 to start a new journey.  Lind was going home.