novelraw Chapter 461 - 460 - Strange Caravans
Chapter 461 - 460 - Strange Caravans
Lind walked through the healing tents. Normally they had minor to severe injuries but in limited numbers. Now, they were bursting with wounded and poisoned disciples.
A few were drawn over with white cloth to show they no longer lived. None had been consumed, thankfully, but Lind took no consolation in it. He looked at the row of 10 cloth covered bodies but knew some could not be recovered due to the extensive damage done to their bodies.
The necessity could not be denied but Lind did not have to like the results.
"You are back." An exhausted Qing stood before him. Before he could think he pulled her into a hug and simply listened to her heartbeat. He had done much the same for his other wives when he saw them.
He wanted to feel life at that moment and reassure himself they were fine. He felt his shoulder dampen and kept holding Qing.
"Get some rest soon. I can't have you getting hurt." His words made her actually smile widely into his robes. There were times that she wondered if they would fall out of love on the long journey through cultivation but he kept showing them all how he treasured them.
She had seen how cold some couples and harems became as time progressed. Yet, she knew of many that kept the flame alive too. She thanked all the spirits Lind was the latter.
"I will but make sure to tell Little Fey the same. Kora and Tal can last longer than us but they need to rest too for what is to come." Lind nodded and gave her a kiss. His open display of affection took her off guard but she suddenly realized she did not feel so burdened anymore.
Her soul felt much lighter than before!
She only noticed Lind had left when she came out of her stupor. She returned to her patients but made a note to take a break before lunch.
⬧⬧⬧⬧
Lind moved through the sect but the feeling of home was broken. It felt more like a fortress at war. Even the aether beasts, normally so lively, were subdued. The revelations of not only Fiend corrupted traitors but larders placed throughout the Wild Heart Isle had shaken them.
They had found a dozen thus far and the number kept increasing.
Some were only a tenth full but others were over 80% full. The corpses were carved with profane arrays to preserve the lifeforce inside each. Lind had also found some with signs the traitor beasts had been inside over the years.
What disturbed him was the timeline. Even the most untouched larder was no more than 30 years old. Fiend's were wary of aether beasts for obvious reasons but something had changed.
What was it that had changed to take such risks?
As he reached a large house near his tower, he saw Little Fey was sitting at her office looking over jade slips and scrolls. The bags under her eyes did not begin to cover how exhausted they all were.
He paused before simply walking in. Fey never sensed him which spoke volumes about her mental state. Despite any tricks he might have used to hide himself, he did none of it.
She was simply too tired after the battle until that moment to even notice anyone coming next to her.
"Little Fey." His voice made her jump but a tired smile stretched on her face as she saw him. He had to catch her as her body stumbled from how tired she was. "You are going to bed right now. You need sleep."
"N-no. I almost have it all. The strange caravans that have been seen but had no interaction with any beasts has to be the source. They have increased in numbe–" Her voice trailed off as Lind put her to sleep.
Normally, a tier 4 could do nothing like that to a tier 7 but again, she was completely exhausted. She felt so light as he laid her down. He was about to leave when he found his arm was in an iron grip.
Lind sighed as he sat down and began to hum for her. The grip loosened but he did not move as a serene smile crossed her face.
"Father…" Her words shocked him. He knew he treated Fey as part of his family but the exact role had been as his disciple but as time passed, he knew it was closer than that. Her parents were dead long ago and her grandparents raised her.
She had regained some early memories of them as her cultivation progressed but she seemed to have shifted how she looked at him. He was not opposed to it. Tal and Fey already acted like true sisters too.
Kora did not.
She was closer to Qing and the others, save Ethry. They got along but their racial differences kept them at a distance.
His family was more than direct blood or marriage already and he was more than content about that.
Using air and earth Qi, he brought some of the slips to himself and smiled at her work, but frowned deeply at the content.
[First confirmed caravan arrived 50 years ago that moved around Wild Heart Isle and traded a little but then seemed to vanish until it left a few years later. Wagons were empty but with only a few resources gained.]
It was nearly the time of their own interest in the island as a new home. Yet, the next caravan was not until he arrived at the sect. That was nearly 25 years difference. Could there have been more interactions?
Still, they had not discovered any larder or other area older than 30 years old.
"A scouting mission. Prospects, weak targets, and maybe they planted a few seeds." It made more sense if the Fiends took the long view and planted those 3 beasts who grew their numbers slowly.
Beasts killing each other was completely normal so absolutely no one would notice a thing unless they examined the corpses which no beast would.
The fact only 3 took them up on their offer spoke to their desire to live and grow stronger more than their honor as beasts.
[Last 30 years, regular caravans of similar size and lack of resource returns began. No issue raised with Warders only possible with insiders. Elder Triton seems to have not only approved access but kept scrutiny away.]
Triton came back up but even Romana said that activity was not unusual. Elders were neutral but that did not mean they could not be made to look the other way if some resources were given to them.
They still adhered to the rules of the island, but it just meant that if a merchant or power wanted to quietly enter and leave the island, they could do so. The line was they could not prevent anyone from going at all.
Records still had to be kept for the elders to review but it was possible to make those records not draw attention. Lind had simply had Ethry arrive openly while the others used disguises which were not forbidden.
An Elder simply had to approve their arrival and confirm their aura had no criminal tags on it. He saw how the same loophole had been used by the Fiends. It was nearly impossible to catch as there was no harm noted but the recent cargo was the true problem.
Not only Triton, but inspectors and guards had to be on their side as well. It spoke of Triton's reach expanding in the Warders. It just did not answer why.
Lind was about to put the slip back when the information just entered solidified from her imprint. He read it over and nearly bolted upright to his feet.
[Similar to Lucid Dream Sect that acted as a legal front to Fiend agents, these caravans may be real but are now controlled by the Fiends at the source. They rule an island and likely it is Severis since both Triton and the papers trace back to there. The corpses are prepared there and brought to Wild Heart Isle.]
"We are not the only place! Wild Heart is not the sole target!" Lind began to grasp the why. It was not a single target, it would be many! It prepared for a campaign for beings like the demonic Fiends he had faced before.
Their supplies would not be able to be cut off since they were already there!
Lind summoned a communication jade stone and called for someone to come to Fey's quarters. He patted her head while he waited.
"You have done very well…my daughter." It did not feel awkward at all to say the words but they would have to have a serious talk. Lind kissed the top of her head and squeezed her hand before slipping away.
She was deeply in sleep as he reviewed any scrolls on the desk but the slip summed it up nicely. He did add a few details for his own reference.
A young girl with bright pink hair was on Fey's doorstep when he left.
"You made her sleep?" There was no teasing or silliness right then and he had heard it had vanished when the Fiends were discovered.
"Yes. She is not the only one." Lind had seen many of his elders and disciples working on fumes. It had been a very long week for them all.
"Good. What did you need from me, Master Frey?" Lind tossed the jade slip to her and she reviewed it before her face darkened.
"I was never part of such operations but I heard about them. The wicked powers are rarely connected to the Fiends in our experience but the open powers that are. They are far better covers." Lind nodded at the logic.
"I need you to tell me Maidens you trust that are not known to me. Lady Chyou is respected by my wives and many others. Her Qi deviation is widely known as well as the actions after the demonic fiends were exposed confirmed she is not one of their agents." It was a point many leaders of the supreme sects did to prove to all they were not taken in by such a promise from the Fiends.
The testing was public and under the supervision of a panel of other cultivators to reduce faking the results.
Lind was more shocked that Severis Island was missed as it clearly was well established.
It meant Severis was so important that they kept all in the dark about it.
"I will have a list but remember my information is a century out of date and they may have fallen as some were like me back then. They had no future left." Lind nodded but his eyes were cold.
"If they have been taken in, all the better as it will save time." Romana shivered at his tone but then moved off to get the list. The announcement of Moebius Sect was coming soon and it would reveal a nightmare they may not be able to survive.