Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 562 - 561 - The 6 Empires

Lind spent a month finishing up healing the 'bandits.'  He still could not completely heal them but now that he had a clear weaving to study, he would see what he could learn.

The soldiers were at first terrified when they found their cultivation sealed but were then shocked to see Lind living with the exiles.

They saw him freely use weaving to increase the defenses of the Two Rivers but not all wanted to stay.  They appreciated his help but none left without agreeing that the Two Rivers would now be a neutral place.

Many stayed because of that but mostly families.

They wanted their children to grow up in a better environment but that revelation made Lind curious.  He asked and found out that even having children was restricted!

Rather, the weaving had a limitation built into it.  The way they were branded was now clear as it was done at birth!

Someone with a deep understanding of dantian formation in the Soul Realm had made it so when the dantian formed, the brand did too!

How was such a thing possible?

A weaving self propagating was already interesting but how it worked was odd.  For instance, it still required a weaver to activate it, so a Soulmancer was always there.

The more Lind learned, the more he had darker suspicions.  The Soulmancers sounded like a weaving version of the Fiends.  They were able to extend their lives according to rumor but only a few could be confirmed to have been alive for the last 100,000 years which was far beyond most Heaven Realm lifespans.

Glenda confirmed aside from herself and Lind, there were only a handful of bloodlines that had naturally longer lifespans.

Still, none could live as long as him.

Lind knew his lifespan was insane at being millions of years but it was contingent on him not breaking his cultivation or other possible injuries.  It was merely potential until he reached such an age but he had no desire to outlive his loved ones like that.

"I have heard about some of them, but does anyone have details on the 6 empires?"  Lind thought he asked a simple question but the bandits scratched their heads or looked a little guilty.

"While we may know where we came from, many frontier villages hardly feel like they are part of anything.  It is why we left, afterall, to break free from the oppression when they did not live our lives."  Lind nodded at that but then looked at the sole Star Tier in their prisoners.

The men and women were disarmed and their storage treasures removed but he made sure they were taken care of.

The Star Tier, Logan Olver, began sweating before Lind even moved towards him.  How did such a man ever become a cultivator let alone a soldier?

"I have some questions but nothing that would betray your homes.  Simply tell me about these lands."  Logan refused, even fearing his death, because he knew he would be suffering worse than death if he revealed the secrets he knew.

"I can tell you!"  A young girl spoke up.  She was a very slim body but packed with a lot of power.  She also had excellent balance despite her cultivation being locked down.

She was only a tier 7 Sky Realm but Lind suspected she could fight above her tier.

"Shut up peasant!  Do not betray the realm to an invader!"  Lind cocked his head as he turned to Glenda but even she did not know.  The others also did not know what Logan was referring to.

He turned back to the dark haired woman.  Her dark violet eyes were clear but there was a trace of fear there.

"What is an invader?"  His question seemed to make several soldiers uncomfortable but Logan actually answered him.

"You are!  You are an alien to our realm.  Only the pure and noble cultivators can ascend yet you are a filthy mongrel!"  Lind found his choice of words unwise as Glenda had murderous intent alone but the other humans of the Two Rivers were also ready to kill him.

"Are you saying there are ascenders then?"  Logan sneered but said nothing.  Still, a voice answered coldly.

"They cannot.  The Law Binding excludes all ascension from either direction.  The only exception would be an ascension pool as those are made by Heaven and Earth."  Lind nodded but then used some weavings to isolate Logan's senses.

"He can neither hear nor see anything.  All I want is general and common information.  Please."  He waved at the woman but saw Logan wriggling around yet unable to move outside of a small area.

He was clearly shouting something but she simply shivered.

"Great Lord, even if he cannot see it happen, he will know."  Lind narrowed his eyes but then she continued.  "I would swear fealty to you."  Some of the other soldiers looked at her in shock but Lind noted a few that seemed to agree with her.

"I have no need for an army and desire none.  I am a stranger here and only seek knowledge.  What your future holds will not be up to me, but yourselves."  Surprise passed over their faces but that time it was also the natives of the Two Rivers.

"Perot soldiers hunt us for sport every year!  We can never forgive them!"  Lind held up his hand.

"Given all you have said, I suspect it is not by choice, or at least not by enjoyment."  He looked back and saw a few grave faces but the woman in front of him actually looked relieved.

"The Great Lord is wise!  A squad is always forced to find a group of exiles and bring them back per the order of the Empress."  Lind noted the choice of word but would come back to it.

"The internal politics will be a separate conversation.  Right now, a simple overview would be enough."  The woman nodded and sat up as she organized her thoughts.

"Our Perot Empire is in the south west and the smallest of the great powers.  We do have the most Star Tiers per capita though!"  Lind nodded for her to continue.

The information was not very detailed but it was perfect.

The Hinterlands was between all the empires but had paths blazed long ago that were kept up for trade.  There were branches of the Hinterlands acting as a natural border while the empires carved out places for themselves.

Perot Empire was the smallest but could have held the entirety of Lind's mortal realm!  That was massive and it was only one empire!

As he already knew, the closest neighbors were north of Perot in the form of Karridan and Hilden.  Karridan was between them and the largest.

Sheena and most of her people were from there apparently but did not know much about the other powers.  Karridan was the major trade connection and had many mercantile and mercenary headquarters.

It was located roughly 3 to 4 months west but it had cleared a frontier to act as a shield between the wild Hinterlands and the official empire.

Sheena and Gail both grumbled at that description but kept silent.

The Hilden Empire had a terrifying facet.  It was the main place Soulmancers held power in the northwest.  Lind had been surprised but then found it smart.

Karridan was powerful but they were under the direct oversight of the Soulmancers at all times.  The 3 empires were closest to each other but the other 3 were spread out to the east.

The soldiers he had met were from the friendliest empires.  Commoners could join the army and rise up on merit to claim a place for themselves where other empires basically enslaved them.

The woman in front of him had been chosen from the servants of a noble house but still a commoner yet above the vagrants on the streets.

In Orwellia, it was a utopia for the common folk.  Lind felt alarms at such a description but reserved judgment until he saw more.  The Orwellia Empire was not spread out in a large area horizontally but actually had floating landmasses they lived on while the rest of the commoners lived below.

The familiar setup gave Lind a smile but the size boggled his mind.

If Perot could swallow his mortal realm, Orwellia could take over 10 of his mortal realm.  Karridan was only half that size!

The last 2 empires were a bit different.

Requera Empire was just barely bigger than Perot but held far more power.  The Immortal's final resting place was there as well as another Soulmancer main branch.  Lind found it odd they spread out so far from each other but all assured him the Soulmancers were everywhere.

The final empire was on par with Karridan but stayed relatively isolated.

Dar Empire was built on one concept alone.  Humanity is supreme.  They found the other empires impure but acceptable.

Demons finally were brought up but aether beasts were also enslaved.  Lind realized there was no mention of demons in the other empires but even Sheena knew demons only lived in Dar.

He filed away the oddity and digested the rest but then noticed an omission.

"What about aether children?"  The humans on both sides looked confused at him but Glenda became sad.  She transmitted the information.

[They were exterminated and none have been manifested since.  Nor have any ascended.]

Lind felt hollow.  The darkness just kept getting worse but the extreme of it was just insane.

Why?  Why go so far?

Lind looked up and prayed very hard no one else came to this part of the Heaven Realm.  He had a lot to learn and plans to make.