novelraw Chapter 579 - 578 - Battlelines
Chapter 579 - 578 - Battlelines
The Hinterlands became frustratingly complex the farther from the trade routes one moved. Aether beasts or individuals would hardly be bothered but a massive group would run into nothing but problems.
Normally, a large army would be bogged down by the logistics and tactical nightmare of moving through such untamed land, but Marsh simply used Suzen's Seal to cheat. It had many powers but the most useful one was manipulation of all land inside the Law Binding.
In a very real sense, the Law Binding treated the 6 empires like an Inheritance realm. Inside that realm, the master of it could make anything move or work the way they wished. Unlike an Inheritance, however, Marsh needed the Seal and it had a limited range.
Even so, it made traveling smooth and no beast would come near them as they felt the power of an Immortal Realm when he used the Seal. If Marsh was also an Immortal Realm, he could do far more but he was stuck at the Sun Tier.
"Lord Marsh, we have come across a barrier." A soldier came running up to him on the floating platform but Marsh already knew. There was an area the Seal could no longer touch!
How was such a thing possible?!
A cold sweat had begun to form as the level of power to fight a Law Binding was without question. An Immortal Realm! The only Immortal left was that damned flood dragon but she never left her nest.
How could an ascender break the restrictions of the Law Binding and become an Immortal?! Further, how could he do it so quickly?!
If he did not have the Soulless and the one million strong army with him, he would have been more worried but numbers meant nothing in front of an Immortal!
The commanders of each section were Sun Tiers and the controllers were also peak Moon Tiers. The rest of the army were all at least peak Sky Realm to Star Tier. It was a considerable amount of power.
He also had battle formations he would be employing and if push came to shove, all the souls there could empower Marsh to an insane degree.
"Set up scouts at the barrier and make camp! We will arrange our forces quickly!" Marsh then sent out the 20 Soulless he controlled but they were all stopped a mere 2 kilometers away and at least 75 kilometers across.
Such a massive formation was impressive but he saw no formation eyes nor did he see any plates. The moment they got a kilometer away, however, he felt his soul resonate!
A weaving! It was a massive weaving!
A sneer crossed his face but then he recalled Helena was dead. She was one of the best at taking over another's weaving and making it her own, yet she was now dead. It meant the creator of that weaving was at least a 6th circle!
How could there be a weaver at that level without using other souls?!
Marsh felt greed rise as he wanted that secret. It would make him far more powerful than his contemporaries! He kept his desire in check as the result of conflict was clear if he rushed in.
He would crush the enemy and leave no survivors. He was taking no chances and both Linghu and Xing had approved. Shi had some small objections but they were ignored.
For the moment, he landed as tents began to go up and forces deployed. A kilometer was nothing to a Star Tier but they could not be too far as the Seal had set limits.
The Hinterland was back in place behind them and the enemy was in front. They now had to plan out the war and the first thing on the agenda was the weaving barrier.
He swept his black robes behind him as marched off to the rising command ten.
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On the outer wall of the Two Rivers, Glenda, Orbas, Livera, and Lind looked on as the enemy made their arrangements.
"We could attack them right now! We could crush them!" The massively muscled and bald man, Livera, shouted. There was no fear of the enemy hearing them but all turned to look at him in frustration.
"If you think what we see is all there is to them, Livera, you need your thick head examined!" Orbas sneered at him and flames rose around Livera but were snuffed out by the pressure from Lind.
"Enough! Orbas is right. There are complex and dangerous weavings. I can remove them but if the Soulmancer is skilled enough, it will be a stalemate at best." The Fire Hawk nodded as he understood the problem.
"Another issue is how they arrived. What was that?" Glenda made them all nod but Lind narrowed his emerald eyes and frowned.
"There is an artifact or something that had many strands of Qi flying out to everything in all directions save us. Ideas?" All shrugged but understood something terrifying was in possession of the enemy.
"So the battle must take place inside the area you changed?" Orbas asked and Lind slowly nodded.
"Without knowing the limits of that artifact, we need the home court advantage." All looked at him in confusion. Lind sighed as sometimes he simply forgot Earth sayings were not a thing in the Cultivation world for the most part.
"Lord Frey, the northern side has movement as well." Sheena's voice came from his jade stone bracelet. Lind frowned as he flew across the city. Aside from the aether beasts that had flight, he was the only cultivator that could fly. He landed on the northern wall and his eyes glowed before he frowned.
"Soulless." The others strained but saw nothing.
"How are you doing that?" Glenda was honestly curious as her eyesight was the best next to Levira. Lind turned in confusion before he scratched the side of his cheek.
"Sorry, I think it is due to my harmony and my recent activity. They can't hide from me." He looked out again and concentrated before the greens and browns became dominant and lost all sense of the Soulless.
Once he relaxed, the near 60 beings in motion became clear to his eyes once more.
They seemed dark to him, or maybe the absence of most of their souls stood out as he knew what to look for.
"So the main army draws our attention while the Soulless scout out the size of our barrier?" Orbas nailed it on the head in Lind's mind. They were not attacking but moving quickly and mapping out the area.
"Let them but keep an eye on the weavings for any sign of forces settling in." Lind's greatest concern was another army moving towards them. The population of the 6 empires could easily send 6 armies a million strong without losing defenses for their homes.
"Sheena, set up ⅓ rotations. I mean you too and that is a direct order." Sheena frowned but did not fight him. Blindly loyal as she was, she retained her battle instincts so she knew Lind was right.
They were severely outnumbered as it was so being at anything less than peak condition was unacceptable.
Lind moved on the ground back to the south eastern side of the wall. There was no hurry as his barrier would prove far trickier to take down compared to before. He had learned a lot and had time to make changes to it since the woman attacked.
As he moved through the city, he looked sad as he saw children at 10 or 12 years of age sharpening blades or practicing spear wielding. Only the truly young were exempt but there were only a handful as the rough journey through the Hinterland was difficult to make even as an adult.
He saw Gail holding onto Gravis while Benny hugged them both. They were not related by blood, but they were family. Melody was teaching Keke, now a strong warrior, how to hold his bow properly.
The scared little boy had recovered slowly but Melody's unconditional love as his sister healed him as well as the happier environment of the Two Rivers.
So many faces, old and new, were getting ready to fight, making final goodbyes, and just accepting the fact not all could come out alive this time.
"I am going to the prisoners one last time." Lind surprised them all. Orbas and Livera frowned deeply but Glenda only sighed.
"You should just kill them. It would be more merciful than what is to come." Briel popped up but looked grim. He smiled at her and hugged her suddenly.
"We all choose our own path. If they ask, I will painlessly send them on their way." Time was up. Win or lose, the prisoner's lives were no longer able to be put off. All the information that could be gathered had been.
If the Soulmancers won the day, the prisoners would all be turned into fuel for weavings for their failure.
Lind marched off to the castle one last time.
⬧⬧⬧⬧
"What are you saying, my lord?!" Logan looked at the shocked faces of the last 6 men with him in the cage. They had never wavered in their loyalty but Logan knew time was up. A true army had come and they were of no use to their enemies anymore.
Further, even if their comrades won, their fates were sealed.
"I am going to choose death rather than betray Perot. You all are not like me. You have the option to fight for freedom. You all have seen it." Logan wanted to deny his conclusions but having spent nearly 13 years at the Two Rivers, he could not deny the benevolence of Lind Frey.
He had cared for them and ensured they were healthy. He never demeaned their empires nor the prisoners. He was always willing to talk or try and convince them to change their minds.
Briel was far more powerful than she ever could have become back in the empire.
The last straw was the Soulless. He knew not which empire they came from but the explanation of what they were destroyed his last hope of rescue. The empires were wrong.
The elites were parasites that used the commoners as sacrifices to save themselves from the Soulmancers. Still, he honored his oaths. He would not break them.
"We die with you, my lord!" The 6 men saluted and Logan felt warmth in his heart.
"Do you truly not wish to live?" A voice softly spoke and all turned to see Lind Frey looking at them sadly. There was no lie in his face. He did not want to kill them but clearly heard their conviction.
"Yes, Lord Frey, they foolishly seem to want to follow me to the end." They both glanced at the Karridan prisoners but they were all looking on.
A long sigh came from Lind before he slowly nodded.
"Very well. I will say one thing then. We are enemies but you have honor. I am sorry we could not be allies in this life. I wish you peace in the next one." Logan bowed low and all 6 men followed suit.
Lind took out 7 elixir vials. They were dark and just looking at them gave a chill but not terror.
"Dreamless Sleep was an accident but it is absolutely painless. I leave the final choice to all of you." He set the vials inside the bars. Logan did not hesitate but looked at Lind as he popped the cork and downed the bottle.
He expected pain or something but instead, he simply smiled and fell down as darkness claimed him. From the ways he expected to die, it was not bad!
He thought that would be the end but a gentle golden light drew his attention as he saw 6 others with him. His men had truly followed him!
"Honestly, he is too kind." A massive creature appeared but they felt no fear as several more soldiers appeared. "Follow me. You have all been blessed by karmic restitution to follow you into your next lives."
Logan realized what those words meant and actually began to weep. He meant it! Lind Frey actually meant he hoped they could be friends in his next life!
He bowed once more to the darkness and all with them followed suit. An approving nod came from the metallic creature that seemed too thin to move its long limbs but all the dead soldiers followed it to the trial of samsara as golden threads trailed them all.
All of them wished Lind Frey luck in the coming war.