novelraw Chapter 213 - 212 - Guiding Servants Enroute
Chapter 213 - 212 - Guiding Servants Enroute
It took 3 days to sort out the over 200 women. He was stunned that nearly 50 stayed behind. They simply did not understand the problem with staying but Lind had the guards swear on Heaven and Earth to not allow the women to be harmed in any way.
Marie did find some promising women who were able to pass the test the Dancing Flame Sect had set up. He had also learned how her sect had discovered elixir masters did not need the fire element to create. It had been an accident.
The test for essence manipulation was easy to do if tedious. It had been surprising to see many try that had no fire element but had excellent essence control. After that, it had been a little trial and error but they learned that a fire element cultivator could work with one that did not have it to create elixirs successfully.
Lind was glad it had been discovered independently from his own theories but her methods had some inefficiencies. Lind made some notes on a jade slip and freely passed them to Marie to give her sect. She had practically slept with that jade slip in front of him until she left back to the northwest.
Marie terrified him. He made a strong mental note to avoid any misunderstandings in the future with her. That thought led to him risking contact via jade to Qing. She was a fully fledged famous Maiden so few would dare to eavesdrop on her.
After he relayed the strange events he suddenly felt afraid but he had not left anything out! He had made sure to mention his oaths to be safe!
"Am I to understand you are surrounded by a large group of women who were used for pleasure until recently?" Lind felt the need to not talk but he did not run away.
"They are a mix of captured women and a former slaves that were snatched up by that lecher! Once I am done in Altair, I plan on freeing them to go where they wish!" Lind was never so glad to be alone in his room at that moment. "I can't just leave them in this hellish place!"
"What happened Lind?" His cracked voice now clearly concerned Qing and he told her about the village. He told her everything as she had heard all the secrets he had. There was a long silence but a very warm voice came through after a while.
"You don't hold any responsibility for Altair, Lind. You may be facing it but you are not guilty by association. You are a good man. I understand now. Don't worry, I just felt a little jealous. I wish you luck!" Lind felt the connection break and knew Qing would seek out the other 3 after that.
He was glad to hear her voice after so long away from the happy times at the Frey Clan. Lind felt alone in Altair and hearing Qing had recentered him quite a bit. He then cultivated the rest of the night as the transport was finally set up to move out. He did not wait for the capital to find him and planned out the rest of his trip.
The artifact he had was too small to carry the nearly 100 women following him but Lind had found there was a caravan he could fund to take him to the capital. The owner was more than happy to let the prince of the land ride on his caravan with his entourage.
Lind made it very, very clear he was expecting all of them to be allowed to ride as well and the leader had winked but then frowned as Lind made him swear not to touch even one of them against their will.
The last thing Lind did was impromptu.
Reya was close to breaking through so he helped her do so. Despite demon blood in her veins, she awoke light, fire, and air. A fearsome combination of elements and she was happy to learn Soul Arts from him. The lessons had drawn more eyes so Lind taught them all.
The caravan leader was bug eyed from seeing the near 100 group of women cultivate so efficiently but he was too busy doing his job with his helpers to pay attention. He only picked up bits and pieces that did not make sense.
Reya made the most progress as she swiftly reached mid-tier 1 in Soul Realm. Over half of the others broke through so Lind distributed mid grade 2 tempering elixirs to help them both stabilize and empower their cores.
It was normally a matter of hours to days depending on how stable a foundation was to settle into a new tier, but Lind's elixirs solved the most difficult part of tempering the cores so all that was left was their foundation.
The rest reached the peak of the Body Refining Realm after Lind made them some elixirs to facilitate the flow of Qi in their bodies. The caravan went from only a handful of Soul Realms to over 50 in a few days!
The rest of the trip was spent training and cultivating under Lind's instruction. He also provided food for the whole caravan which was much appreciated as travel rations in Altair were far below appetizing.
It was a month after they set out that an artifact was flying above them with the emblem of Altair on it. Lind felt a peak Iron Tier and a Gold Tier on the artifact. Of the 2, he suspected the Iron Tier was the one that would come to see them and he was right.
A soldier appeared on top of the floating cylinder and quickly found Lind. He had a scraggly dark beard but most of his other features were hidden by the steel helm on his head. He never took it off even as he knelt down.
"Your Highness. We have been sent to retrieve you at once to the capital." There was no respect in his voice at all but Lind had expected it. He then glanced up at the artifact and waited. He made no sound or move to acknowledge the guard and the women held still until he gave a command.
Finally, the guard looked up and frowned but realized where Lind was looking. Shock crossed his face as he realized Lind knew there was a higher person on the artifact. Lind also seemed to know the rules of etiquette. The guard had not identified who he represented!
"Ahem, I am here at the behest of my lord, Nimon of House Sarad." Lind felt a headache just hearing the name. He knew little of the politics as it was shrouded in petty squabbles and normal drama, but whoever named their child that should be beaten soundly.
"Inform your lord I am pleased to greet him but his transport lacks space for my entourage." Lind waved his hand and the guard realized the women all wore some variation of crimson robes. Lind had Forged them himself although he was not the best at cloth he could combine it with metal for better results.
The guard also realized he was surrounded by over 50 Soul Realms! While in other places that would be nothing, in Altair that was considerable! The guard noted the one closest to Lind was a tier 3 Soul Realm. Most of the rest were tier 2 with only a handful of tier 1 after that but the rest were very close to breaking through!
If that happened, he would have 100 female servants in the Soul Realm!
"Excuse me, your Highness." The guard left without waiting for a response which made Reya enraged but Lind waved it off.
"I was a pawn to them and an annoyance now. Until I face the Trial of Stone, I am just a young master at best." Lind's words made some worry but they had been treated very well by him over the last month.
Also, their robes hid their cultivation! Reya was tier 5, not 3! Lind felt it wise to hide the strength on his side while in Altair and any advantage he could give these women, he would.
It was not a massive difference in evaluation save in 1 respect, all of them were in the Soul Realm but they were still learning Soul Arts. Lind also was careful not to rely on his elixirs unless truly needed. Having them right at the beginning was an immense help but after that it was situation dependent.
He spoke on the dao of the elemental relationships and they absorbed it like a sponge. They were not as gifted as Fey, but they still advanced quickly. They were driven to grow stronger.
The guard returned looking like he had been slapped. Lind was confused as to why that was.
"Highness, could my lord join you on your journey to the capital?" Lind looked hard at that moment. The question was not spoken as if there was an option but as if there was no doubt Nimon would be joining regardless of Lind's wishes. The caravan leader looked worried but Lind finally smiled as he thought of something.
"I, of course, have no objections, but according to the laws of Altair, I am on my way to the Trial of Stone. Does he intend to be my second?" The guard finally shivered looking at Lind. A high Stone Tier made a peak Iron Tier feel fear. The dark green eyes were pools of cruel judgment as Lind already knew the answer.
A large man finally appeared all smiles but the guard only paled as he approached. It was clear lord Nimon did not wait for an answer since he had decided to join the caravan.
"Prince Lind, it is a pleasure to meet you. I see you are finally adapting to our homeland!" Nimon's dark gaze was practically drooling as he looked at the women around Lind. Soul Realms were nothing in his eyes but the shaking guard caught his attention.
"Fool, get up and prepare to join us. We will be making our leisurely way back to civilization shortly!" Lind only smiled wider as the guard now openly sweat in fear.
"M-my lord. His highness will welcome you if you are accepting the role of his Second." Nimon froze as he stared at the guard then slowly stared at Lind. Lind could almost see the gears turning in his head as he understood there would be many rivals happy to back up such an absurd notion. Wariness finally entered his face.
"Ah, it would seem I have to get back to the capital for personal business, your highness. I will just take this one with me and be on my way." Nimon went to reach for one of the girls when his hand passed right through her. Shock flooded his features as Nimon realized she was an illusion!
"My lord, could you possibly be intending to take my servants, inducted to serve the royal family, on my way to the Trial of Stone? Only my Second or Third could do so, correct?" All blood drained from Nimon's face as he swiftly hopped back onto the floating cylinder followed by the guard.
The artifact took off and flew away at very high speed as Lind stared at it. After it was only a speck in the sky, the whole caravan seemed to shift backwards a good 30 meters from where it had been before.
"Annabelle is a genius." Concealment was not her only illusion skill she had mastered but the alteration of perception as well. Nimon and his guard had not realized at all that the entire caravan route had been moved.
Lind had set up the formation plates on each carriage and used her own arrays of detection to trigger them if needed. A Gold Tier aura could be subtle so Lind's precautions had paid off.
The caravan leader looked on with new respect to Lind but also some fear while the women looked at him in deep appreciation.
"I suspect more annoyances will come so let's double down on your training." They all nodded and followed his guidance as they grew stronger faster than anyone could possibly imagine.