Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 446 - 445 - Inviting War

"Are you insane?!"  Lady Gua was incensed as Lind held a meeting with the various hall leaders and her about the upcoming new disciples.  The reaction was expected but only Ethry, Tal, Kora, and he understood it.

The Illusion Pythons made no objection but they also understood it.  Essentially every beast or those that understood beast perspectives, understood why Lady Gua was reacting the way she was.

"You knew how my sect worked when you agreed to let us be here.  Did we lie or hide our admissions requirements?"  Lind was calm.  He was well aware of what he was inviting but given the facts, it was unavoidable.

The last war was due to outside forces wishing to attack a perceived weakness or gain resources to advance but the current issue was different.

It was a clash of cultivators versus how aether beasts lived.

In the cultivation world, if a power was waning and sent their progenty to a sect, so long as the sect was strong enough, that would be the end of the matter.  The sect would protect its disciples and raise them to walk their own path.

What the cultivator did with that power was up to them after they left the sect but until that moment, their enemies would be either cautious or indifferent depending on the depth of the enmity.

Aether beasts were much more direct and brutal.

If a leader moved on or died, the succession would be a bloodbath.  In the case of Lady Frostfang, she was aware of her near rise to the Moon Tier.  She was planning to send her son away from danger but he had to also agree to it.

It was why Lind agreed to take 4 people.  He felt it highly likely there were those close to her son he would not want to leave behind.  They could not take a massive amount, but 4 would be easily done.

The key at that point was what got Lady Gua angry.

"You will destroy us if you do this!  There are beasts that do not care what we do inside our territory but if we actually try to protect younglings like this, they will act as well!"  Lind narrowed his eyes at that comment.

A jade slip appeared in his hand and he tossed it to her.

"I am aware of them, all of them have actually reached out to Ethry or others.  Some are simply paying respects after our victory but others are sniffing around our wounds."  Lind could feel it in the way they worded their messages.

Some were honestly excited by what they saw and wanted to know if they could spar.  Others were simply acknowledging the Moebius Sect had earned its place correctly in the Wild Heart Isle.  The last few seemed to suggest they could take up any freed up land.

It was the last group that was what motivated Lind.

"We cannot appear weak but also, I will not close my doors because it will bring trouble.  If you ever doubted that, then you should not have allowed us here at all."  Lind was not speaking as a junior to a senior.  He was currently the Sect Master of Moebius Sect.

A sect was not a greenhouse flower.  It faced the harsh winters with the warm summers.  The difference between rising powers and stagnant ones was the willingness to take risks.  The risk of taking in the scion of Lady Frostfang was clear but the benefits were clear as well.

"We are not welcome here, despite recent messages."  Lind now spoke to the others.  "If we are to rise to our goals, we must prove ourselves over and over to our neighbors.  They respect strength but they also always test it."

Lind then stood up and moved towards the newest members of the Fire Hawks and Mother of Blood.

"Did Lord Han ever stop fighting?"  The question caught all off guard but the Fire Hawk was quick to shake their large head.

"Have you ever stopped fighting?"  Mother of Blood sneered as her 5 tails clacked in challenge.

"Never."  Her voice made several beasts shiver.  The blood lust was clear to all.

Lind looked at Lady Gua as understanding lit up her 8 eyes.

"None of us got here by a bloodless route but for cultivators that is about being attacked or simply surviving.  We can find peace or at least attain a level of strength to be left alone.  Beasts do not work that way."  Lind felt Lady Frostfang knew how he would look at it.  The world of aether beasts seemed crueler but he preferred it.

"So why has no one attacked us until now?"  Cyntilla was the one to ask but the question was clear in the cultivators' eyes.  Lind smirked and looked at the Illusion Pythons and Lady Gua.  A sigh came from her as she understood.

"They did attack but I protected you.  I also had several allies that disliked the attackers but they were all on my level.  Even we beasts would not consume lower realm beings.  They do little for us."  Lind stared hard at her as she closed her eyes and added the last part.  "Of course, they may take you for their young to grow stronger."

The cultivators suddenly understood how sheltered they had been.  The war was a level of conflict none could ignore but beasts were always prepared to attack or defend!  Lady Gua disappeared at times and some beasts they befriended never came back.

As they were cultivators, they never asked but new understanding filled their minds.

"So, the choice becomes being passive and always defending ourselves from threats or to invite war.  We already experienced the former and barely survived by the skin of our teeth.  I would rather invite a war and prepare than be caught off guard again."  His words were like thunder to all.

Mother of Blood actually purred in approval while the Fire Hawk's eyes glinted with anticipation.

"Understand, we are still cultivators.  You have not changed but this is where the sect is.  This is a fact of our lives.  It will continue until we have more Star Tiers than anyone else, yet I suspect even then, it will not stop."  Lind could see the bloody path they would have to walk even then.

Wild Heart Isle was their home but they would never be able to master its freedom.  The beasts yearned to be free and it was why most beasts lived there at least part of their lives if not all of it.

Moebius Sect was on a path to carve out a path but Lind would not convert the island into a cultivator island.  That was not what he wanted.

"We will need to temper ourselves more vigorously then."  Shoti spoke up but Lysanna was nodding while Cyntilla caressed the hilts of her swords.  His wives were there and each would do what they must.

Little Fey was solemn but she was just as much behind him.  Slowly but surely the resolution filled all the cultivators' eyes.  Lady Gua actually was impressed and Mother of Blood approved as well.

"So we invite war.  Prepare places for our new disciples.  Test them as we would anyone else.  Also, I want all the Forgers, weavers, and elixir masters to meet me in a week's time.  We will be pushing ourselves hard to supply artifacts to help fill in our weaknesses."  The primary jobs were already on task but Lind had been imparting his knowledge remotely for a long time.

It was time to step up and push the boundaries!

The excitement was clear to all as the meeting broke up but Lind stayed in the massive room as he looked at the surface of the table.  He believed all he said but he knew that the faces of many may never be seen again.

"This isn't just about where we are, is it?"  A voice pulled him out of his thoughts as Qing was still with him.  She was still in charge of the Healing Hall so had more than enough on her plate but she read him far deeper than anyone else alive.

"My mother is safe?"  Lind's odd question threw her but she nodded.

"She was scouted and accepted to the Eternal Pyre Sect.  They specialize in alchemy and her knowledge modified by your elemental theories have revolutionized many of their methods.  She is a highly valued legacy disciple."  Lind slowly nodded as he knew it was a powerful sect but it did not change his worries.

"I hurt them, Qing.  The enemy of us all, I hurt them badly."  He had held nothing back but in the back of his mind he felt a pressure building.  "They operated in the near open without a single person catching them but I wiped out that power in a single night.  I then spread the way to find out about their agents and the intel in the belongings of the demons I killed."

She sat in his lap and put her head on his shoulder.  She felt a chill in her heart as she began to understand.

"We are already at war, it just has to find us."  Lind nodded.  He had already invited war but their enemy did not know where they were.  It was only a matter of time.  The Fiends were hunting for them already and they were too weak.

"I need for all of us to get stronger but I also need a way to get materials.  The beasts have things they do not want but we do.  I have something they want but do not realize yet."  Qing looked up in surprise at him.  What did they have?

He looked at her and her heart began to race as his dark green eyes sparkled.

"Han ascended when fighting Ethry.  Aether beasts in the Star Tier are not like cultivators.  They need to experience elements in battle or by luck of resources.  I have 6 elementals!  I have people that can teach them!"  Shock flooded her as she understood!

Lady Gua had been stuck for centuries but was already adding a 4th element to her dantian while a 5th was starting to coalesce after only a few decades!

It had sped up when Lind came too!

"So, we invite war."  She smiled up at him as he saw she understood.  They held each other until an upset Ethry and jealous Lysanna found them.  Lind paid a price that night but he paid it happily.

The path would be bloody but it would give him what he needed most, resources and tempering!  Let the wars begin!