novelraw Chapter 222 - 221 - Unbridled
Chapter 222 - 221 - Unbridled
Reya was repressing rage for the last month. Her sisters that served his Highness had been living the fantasy of many women of Altair. The dream of being in control of their own lives and being able to cultivate like the men did so easily.
They were no longer at the whim of the disgusting creatures that pretended to be above them. She knew the truth. They were just overgrown children indulging in their power fantasy but the larger world laughed at them.
Reya had been a child when she was taken from a caravan her family had been running at the edges of Altair and the Lotus Empire. They also would make treks north to a medium power sect that had a lot of goods to be sold in the backwater powers to the south.
She barely remembered laughing with her father and brother for some time before that final trip. She clearly remembered her brother changing when he got older. There was a conflict while she was learning to read and do her numbers. They had been shouting but she had not understood why.
Suddenly, they went silent. Her body had felt cold when she looked over to see her brother's twisted sneer as her father looked shocked down at a dagger in his gut. Blood flowed like rivers as her tears also fell. She tried to get to her father, but her brother had knocked her out.
It was the last time she had seen him.
It had been over 10 years and she had barely started Body Refining Realm. If not for her good memory, she doubted she would have been able to cultivate as she had. She had often been beaten and held in dark places but her rage was her comfort.
The last time, at Obsidian Cliff, had been the time hope had dimmed. She had no power to resist a World Realm but the man enjoyed breaking her spirit first. He had let her try to escape and punished her while telling her what was going to happen.
She had been losing her sanity in that dark cage when something miraculous happened.
She learned her tormentor had been crippled and his replacement wanted to know what she chose to do. Freedom, she was granted freedom after so many years without it.
"Senior Reya, those idiots are back." A smirk was on her fellow sister as Reya frowned a bit. Why did they not learn? Lady Cyntilla had gone somewhere but her power was clear as the manor they occupied was sacrosanct until she returned.
The scum of the Kingdom, however, seemed to have a very low level of intelligence when it came to such a concept. Reya picked up the formation plate her Lady gave her and let the power of her fonts flow in her meridians.
They descended as Reya's crimson eyes glinted darkly. While she was fervent and obedient to his Highness as well as forever grateful, but to the rest of his sex, she had but one feeling. Revenge.
The plush carpets were rare in Altair, at least she had never heard of rugs being put in anywhere in Obsidian Cliff and that fool was very indulgent. The capital was likely the only place as she had constantly seen them in the castle and now the manor they were in.
Stone was still the base material but it was highly polished to make these manors look good to visitors. They came to the main stairs that led to the welcome hall to find a group of haughty men flexing their aura at their sisters.
"Come, come. It is time to perform your duties. Your owner is out so you have nothing else to do." A sandy haired young man was leering and Reya merely felt a dark joy burn in her heart as she tossed the formation plate as her Qi lit it up.
The motion drew all eyes to the stairwell but the women instantly backed off which confused the men until an acidic dome sprang up around them. If anyone was sharp eyed, they would have noticed the curve of the dome perfectly came up to a curve at the start of the carpet.
The truly intelligent would realize it was not the first time the formation plate had been used.
"What are you useless creatures doing?! How dare you defy–" The sandy haired youth was screaming when the first drip hit him. As it was mid-Gold Tier strength, his body instantly melted where it dropped on his shoulder. The acid melted the socket entirely in only a few breaths while blood began to flow like rivers from it.
Screams came from the dome but not a single woman so much as blinked or looked away as the group was turned into sludge before the dome disengaged. Reya looked at where those creatures used to be before waving her hands and the others moved to clean up the mess.
After a month in the manor, it was not the first group to meet such a fate. Lady Cyntilla and his Highness were powerful enough that few could do more than whine about it. The fact no one had returned yet was good as it meant the Trial of Stone was on going.
Reya retrieved the plate and inspected it to be sure there was no damage to it but a grade 4 plate was hard to hurt simply by throwing it. She did frown at the amount of Gold Tier Qi left in it but she could not refill it. She had one more plate but if his Highness did not return, she was unsure if Lady Cynitlla could safely take them all away.
A Gold Tier was powerful but she had seen Sky Realms in the 5 days they spent waiting in his Highness' quarters. Their ability to fly in the sky was terrifying. No artifact but the sky was their playground.
She shivered as she thought about what kind of power they wielded. She was only at the low Sand Tier and Lady Cynitlla was not as good a teacher for obvious reasons. Even so, her combat skills were far above his highness and she had taught them the basics of dual wielding.
Some of them grasped it but most of them could only use a single sword.
Even so, their battle ability had jumped enormously compared to before. Reya was in awe of his Highness to have such a capable wife. More, he freely taught them and confirmed they would still be able to choose their fate once he settled things in Altair.
She was about to reach the second floor when one of the sisters out tending the garden came running inside. At first she thought it was another bunch of gnats but the smile on her face made Reya relax her shoulders at last.
"His Highness has returned and is now King!" Reya gathered up all her sisters and they smartly marched out of the manor to the palace. The roar of a mountain lion echoed in the air to announce the return of their King!
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Lind had a much easier ride back as his body was more adaptable. The lioness was happy too, he could tell. He felt her joy as she roared in front of the castle. The guards knew what his return meant.
The sudden appearance of artifacts flying in the air and Sky Realms just made it all the more sure. His face was cold as he looked at the guards who suddenly realized what they were doing.
All knelt and he waited.
Sure enough, a little over 100 women, all now at the low Sand Tier, arrived in pale crimson robes. He looked over but did not see Cyntilla. He wondered where she was but knew she was safe as he would pity anyone that crossed her.
He waved them over and let the lioness follow him as well. He doubted anyone could stop anyone that followed him at that point. Lind moved towards the main hall as he knew there were nobles coming from the former area of the Relic. His body was recovering at a stunning pace too.
He had felt so weak but now power thrummed in his muscles and flesh. He had also noticed his Qi was recovering at a startling rate.
"Reya, please update me on all that has happened during the trial." While the movers and shakers had been with him, he doubted things had been serene in his absence. Lind also suspected his particular group of servants had more issues in his absence despite Cyntilla standing with them.
As Reya spoke, Lind felt a chill in his spine at Cyntilla's approach but honestly he was not surprised. The culture of Altair had made the men in power close to insane and the commoners broken.
He gave a few orders to prepare the presentation of the nobles and powerful merchants for his official acknowledgement. The final rituals had to be performed but during his giving of orders, Cyntilla suddenly appeared with Lewis in tow.
One glance told him the man tried to kill himself as he seemed to have lost all hope as well as looking frustrated at Cyntilla.
"I brought him to you." Lind nodded at her but looked grimly at the Regent's son. He would deal with him after the noble presentation. Very shortly the carriage train arrived and the heads of houses presented themselves but it was all a formality.
"I see you inspired my servants." Lind's words made Cyntilla blush but she shrugged as she knew Altair was a troublesome place to begin with. He only sighed and let it pass. He was about to cause enough chaos as it was.
The nobles all pledged their loyalty but Lind ignored Lewis for the moment.
"As I announced, there will be a banquet in 2 days. I am not unaware that a lot of wealth was used on the Relic recently." His hard look at the nobles made them all glance away. Lind simply moved on as he had benefited greatly from the Relic. "I have some resources but if I am funding it, I will control it."
The nobles frowned but they could hardly argue. Lind's resources would currently outstrip their own by several factors. His status as a grade 4 elixir master alone would easily pull in Qi stones of a quality they could only dream of.
Lind tossed out several storage bags and the nobles felt only shock as they understood their new King was very serious about his stated goals. As to what else he might do, they could only imagine.
"I will retire for today but tomorrow, we will begin to have meetings. If anyone needs to reach me, Reya or Cyntilla will be the points of contact." Lind smirked at their discomfort but he had had a long month. He needed at least a day to start to digest all he had comprehended and attune to his body.
Lind moved towards his quarters and all the women in the room followed him as he began to think about his final steps.