novelraw Chapter 464 - 463 - Despair
Chapter 464 - 463 - Despair
Far to the south of the Warders main fortress, a man with torn robes and some blood from light gashes was moving as fast as he could through wild forest. Beasts generally ignored him as he was near the peak of tier 8 Sky Realm.
That was sufficient for areas regulated by cultivators to basically be left alone. Star Tier beasts were located mostly in the beast controlled islands or in the supreme sect only. Tier 9 beasts were rather rare for similar reasons.
The harried man was heaving breath but he did not stop, did not dare to stop.
He had failed!
Triton had the ability to monitor the various bases that had slowly been built up in both Wild Heart Isle and the surrounding islands under the Warders' control.
As they all suddenly went dark, he knew his time was running out! He used his underlings as cover by giving the orders to pull out. Those were legitimate insofar as they existed but his master had given no such permission.
Triton was simply buying time from his master and his former power of the Warders.
He had long made plans of his own to ensure his survival. It was all that mattered to him and he knew the truth of his masters.
He was just food or a tool to them. If he had no use as a tool, then all that was left was food.
It had been days since he fled and his vindication that Lind Frey was indeed on Wild Heart Isle was no comfort as the words sealed his fate.
Triton had abandoned all Fiend artifacts and treasures long ago on a false trail if anyone found them. He also avoided all villages, towns, and sects he knew of to the south.
He did not sleep but a Sky Realm could normally go years without sleep or food if needed, but Triton had also been burning Qi to move as fast as he could. The combination was pushing him to the brink of exhaustion far faster than normal.
Still, he downed elixirs and pills to keep going. His very real fears kept him motivated to not stop until he reached his safe destination.
There were myriad ways to disappear from the righteous powers even as a Fiend collaborator. Without any evidence, all Triton had to do was change his appearance and cultivate diligently somewhere else.
The real issue was his master.
Escaping Fiends was very difficult as his aura, blood, and other identifying queues were well known and mapped out by his master. His only hope was to reach a place Fiends could not enter.
There were a few powers that actively looked for them across the spectrum of levels. Triton was heading to a medium power for several reasons.
The chief one being that most would look to high or supreme powers but their threshold for admittance was difficult to meet. Triton was too old despite being a tier 8 Sky Realm.
He was considered decent but high and supreme powers would look at him like trash. Medium powers would love him. They only had a few tier 9s at best and would not question a fairly older tier 8 Sky Realm looking for a place to call home.
The forest was finally thinning out when Triton stumbled in shock.
A lone figure stood before him calmly covered in a cloak that seemed to bend the very light and air around it. A void cloak! It allowed a cultivator to move through formations or artifacts' area of effect without being noticed.
They were legendary items as the process to make them was lost long ago. Any existing cloaks were heavily protected by various powers. Triton knew how they were made, however.
Fiends made them!
They were still highly resource intensive but they could be made. Triton had no idea why more were not created but seeing it told him he had failed to escape.
"I have several messages to relay. The first being actually well done on cutting all leads so effectively. The trash you sent running all made it to the rendezvous as planned. We killed them all." Triton felt his spine shiver at how calmly the man spoke.
He could not tell if it was a man or a demon, but it did not really matter. The being behind the face was the true danger.
"Second, your failure had ruined all the plans that were coming to fruition despite the setbacks caused by Lind Frey. You should be congratulated as there has never been a failure of such a magnitude before in the history of the war." Triton whimpered as the figure seemed to become larger before his eyes.
The bright sunshine and chittering of birds did not exist for him as the world became dim.
"I–I–I…" Words could not come as his eyes began to water with tears of fear. His heart racing became precious as the figure floated closer right above the bright green grass. Each breath became a wonder but his terror simply consumed all his thoughts.
"Third, you are applauded for a well thought out escape plan. Many would simply believe they would rise to power and not think about failure. Such clear pragmatism made you an ideal tool all these centuries. It also made you predictable." The hood was a bottomless pool of black Triton could not pierce.
The heat in his body was drained away as his breath frosted suddenly.
"Did you think you were the only one to try and leave us? You are better than most but only barely. Your only hope were powers we cannot go near even with this cloak. After that, your own patterns were enough." Triton began to heave breath even faster than when he was sprinting.
He was crying. He knew what was coming, so why were they dragging it out?
"You might be wondering why I was here and not closer to the Warders' HQ? Well we are wary of Lind Frey and he once more proved us wise to be wary. All our agents and contacts were just purified by his strange harmony. Further, he seems to have added some annoying items we will need to test in the future." Triton suddenly realized he was on his back.
When did that happen? Why couldn't he see the light of day anymore?
"Due to such knowledge gained fairly cheaply, you might have been spared but the complete breakdown of all our plans, your demise will be a long time coming." Triton felt restrictions ensnare him but the Qi was completely undetectable!
The void cloak extended to the Qi as well?!
"W–what will happen to me?" Triton had no idea where the will to ask came from but he was still alive. He still had breath. He was desperate to buy more time.
The feeling of the cloaked man smiling came across but it was not warm at all!
"You know what will happen but I do not think you understand it. You see, you are all wrong." Triton felt the world shift and a stone ceiling suddenly blocked the world away.
Teleportation! They had teleported to the caverns beneath Severis Island!
Such a thing should not be possible for any Sky Realm over such a distance without an array to assist them. There had been nothing! It was all the skill of the being in front of him.
"Much better, where was I? Oh, yes, your future." The cloaked man did not reveal himself but pulled Triton after him who could not resist at all. The sickening torches lit the tunnel but then the sound of metal clashing reached his ears.
Triton was curious, despite himself, to see where he was going. The tunnel gave way to a massive room. There were caskets lining the walls but they were mostly empty.
He recognized the cargo that was being transported to Wild Heart Isle but the sheer numbers were far beyond his imagination.
He was so distracted by the thought of being put in those caskets that he missed the central dias that had a familiar figure on it.
The cold angelic being was working a stone pedestal cut with harsh arrays. A massive disc laid out across the dias began to hum.
"You found him, good. I am almost ready." The grating voice snapped Triton to the dias but he began to struggle. He knew it was futile but he did not want to be consumed! "Ha, they always struggle at the end. How did the cloak work for your vessel?"
Triton froze as the hood was finally pulled back to reveal a woman! It was not a man at all but then a man's voice came out once more.
"It was passable but the vessel is still breaking down. Heaven and Earth would have found me if I delayed much longer." Triton wept that his speed betrayed him at the end.
His former master nodded, but then infused Fiend Qi into the pedestal to trigger the array. The air warped and twisted until a massive tear was ripped open. Triton barely registered the terrifying darkness inside before he was tossed inside.
The woman with cracked skin followed him and waved back at his former master before the tear closed behind them!
"NO! PLEASE NO! FORGIVE ME! I WILL DO ANYTHING!" Triton knew what was coming but the distorted face smiled wide as the twilight sky suddenly appeared. Triton wondered where they were in some part of his mind but then his restraints fell away.
"Like I said, you simply do not understand. You think you are going to be eaten and die. It is not so pleasant a process." The skin fractured and the frame grew until another coldly angelic being stood in front of him.
The final stage of the Fiend technique was revealed in full. The user was an extension of the Fiend and would become their vessel wherever they were. Heaven and Earth would expunge them if exposed but Triton quickly noticed no pressure was coming.
Instead, he saw more Fiends floating down and finally took in the facility around him.
There were more teleportation arrays all around him as long lines of humans, demons, and aether children were led onto them.
"Welcome back, Commander." The impossibly pretty women and handsome men were all making Triton shiver in terror. The one that brought him nodded back but then smiled at him.
"Bring her forward. It is time." A young girl that shared features with that commander was led up. Triton could tell she was far weaker than him but she also felt different. Where the other Fiends were cold and vile, this child was just a pretty girl.
His mind could not process it as she seemed eager to start.
"Now, before my daughter starts, I will tell you the truth. You see, like all cultivators, we refine our resources within our dantian. It has some annoying downsides but I can assure you a long life. Inside the dantian of my daughter as she refines you into her foundation." Triton felt all strength fade from his body.
The world was getting dimmer but at the same time he felt like a channel opened in front of him. His wails and screams were ignored as the body became a desiccated husk before silence descended.
The Fiends looked on as the once innocent girl became coldly beautiful. Her hair was dark gray and her skin glowed darkly with Qi as the sky rumbled in protest but no more. She calmly broke through to the World Realm as if it was as easy as breathing.
"Proceed with operations and prepare for some more potent resources than we expected. The lambs are coming to the slaughter." The Fiends all smiled as they looked at the various teleportation arrays working non-stop.
Living humans, demons, and aether children marched soulessly forward with no restraints or being forced to it. They were broken as they were turned into preserved resources like Qi stones were for cultivators. The living Hell went on for kilometers and the Commander smiled over it all as he imagined more lively beings coming soon.
Lind Frey ruined their main plan but it did not mean they could not use it to their advantage. It would not go his way that time. He might escape but his loss would be worth witnessing soon.