novelraw Chapter 593 - 592 - Why Would Anyone be Emperor?
Chapter 593 - 592 - Why Would Anyone be Emperor?
For 50 years the Two Rivers Empire had grown immensely fast. The potential was always there but survival and damaged cultivation always stood in the way. Also, the complete lack of consistent resources.
Lind's ring was loaded with herbs and thus the seeds of grade 1 to grade 6. He started many gardens and over the first couple decades, alchemists and even a few elixir masters finally appeared.
They were all, however, from the children born in the empire. In other words, the brand did something he could not repair or worse, simply prevented the gift in a way he did not yet grasp.
Considering how invasive it was and far above him, it was already a miracle he could remove it as he did. He had finally broken through to high Heaven grade 6 a decade ago and it made the process a LOT easier.
Still, the fact it took so long to raise such production masters made him very busy for the first 25 years. On top of that, there were meetings, paperwork, and the thrice be damned lifestyle issues everytime they expanded.
The councils did a lot of good work but they simply had no experience in running an empire or anything beyond the rough lifestyle they lived before. The city had been fairly strict due to the threat of incoming forces but it was still a bunch of runaways.
Gravis had trained them up to fight cohesively but that was a far cry from actual law and order. Lind had been beating his head against the wall some days in frustration.
He just wanted to cultivate but there was too much to do!
The children actually helped change things for the better. As families were established, it was like a dream really came together for them all. They wanted a better future for the children and began to really understand what it was they were building.
Lind almost wept when his paperwork was cut in half but then the meetings got petty.
He had heard of and attended a few meetings in his life that were absolute wastes of time but the meetings about how to allocate resources for the children made him want to pull his hair out!
They also began bickering about living space, schools, and so many things that did not need his personal attention!
Endless rounds before he lost his temper and actually went off on them for a full day and night!
Anyone who wanted to be an Emperor had to be a masochist and insane on top of it!
After his little outburst, the councils seemed to wake up to how childish they were being, or they at least only called him for serious meetings after that.
Lind was the only one that could construct things quickly so he still had that on his plate but he had found ways to improve the Art further than Wyndam had originally intended. It made things a lot more efficient but he could not pull off the same trick he did the first time.
Still, he could build whole districts with some ease and he did all the planning for the major roadways and basic buildings but few complained about his aesthetic as he stuck to the basics.
He did leave spaces and room for decorations as people liked but there were limits to what his ring held. Still, as gardens and other facilities began to be built, he did discover a mine or 2 of ores.
They were only at grade 3 but that was good enough for his purposes in general.
The aether beasts Lords and Ladies agreed to help the exiles as they fled in exchange for any hunting parties that entered their territory. Normally, they ignored humans fighting humans but Lind asked for their help.
His bloodline was greater than theirs but he did not make it an order, only a request. He also spread his understanding to all via jade slips and scrolls. Even the aether beasts benefited so helping them was fine. Besides, they liked him far more than the other 6 Emperors.
He had slowly built up a few intelligence gathering spots but it was limited. The brands on the dantian made it impossible. He already suspected one of the aspects of the Law Binding was to track or at least know if someone had a brand.
The aether child that currently headed 1 of the Emerald Soul brigades told him he had actually used an ascension pool. He had taken the name Arid for himself as he had made his way through his mortal realm.
Arid had come from a similar mortal realm like Lind's but there were 7 continents and rather than a floating version, there was a holy mountain range that reached above the clouds.
Appropriately named Sky Piercer Range, each mountain had been carved down by experts to make areas to settle and locals had to work their way up in their chosen power or good fortune.
Lind had heard from him that no Star Tier could reach Moon Tier in his realm and even Star Tier was rare. It seemed like the ascension pool was their main method but Arid admitted very few qualified.
Lind suspected they were in collusion with the Soulmancers. The Heaven Realm branches had worked with their lower world counterparts to know what was going on to what kind of prospects were ascending.
He did not know where the ascension pool was for certain as even Arid only recalled the searing pain of the branding done when he arrived then woke up in a cell deep underground.
He never saw daylight until he was a Soulless and those memories were a bit foggy.
As the years progressed, some of the ministers had cultivated to the peak of the Moon Tier and began to break through to the Sun Tier.
Lind had actually been stunned but then had a theory. Since the Law Binding suppressed Immortal Ascension, there had to be a counter force or something would have to give.
It was also possible karma played a role but either way, a startling number of the first generation of citizens began to ascend in short order. They went from only a rising count of Moon Tiers to all of them smoothly stepping into Sun Tier like it was a walk in the park!
Lind had no time to study the phenomenon but all their foundations were stable and they let him ask questions afterwards.
Lind was able to easily see the small suns inside each dantian but he was stunned to actually study Sun Tiers.
Their constellations were the flaring surface with swirls and flows of Qi of all 6 elements flowing around it. The streams of Qi into the dantian were much thicker than a Moon Tier by far.
Even Lind's 6 primary flows were not as impressive as the Sun Tiers.
Lind could only make some notes as his responsibilities only grew after that. The major issue was should the councils be only Sun Tiers at that point or should the Sun Tiers become a sort of protective class that stood aside from the Empire?
To them, Sun Tier was as far as they could go, but Lind refused to believe that. He was not being trapped inside that Law Binding and neither would they!
Lind told them to stay on the council but to train back ups they saw fit to carry on their role.
For some, like Gravis or even Glenda, it was easy but Sheena's standards were very…high.
Lind felt a headache anytime she reported on another 'failure' in selecting a replacement.
Benny, the youngest at the time he arrived, had become a full fledged Moon Tier so quickly. She had not mellowed out at all, however!
Still, he liked someone being lively.
Now, after 50 years since the founding of the Empire, Lind sat in a dark room with no windows and enough weavings to make sure no words or transmissions got out.
On a dark wooden table was a detailed breakdown of the Dar Empire. He did not know if whoever controlled the Law Binding knew he was moving to take it, but he assumed so regardless.
Only a fool believes their enemies are ignorant. Plan for the worst and enjoy the best if it comes.
"Emperor Frey?" Lind sighed as he looked up to see Arid looking at the map across from him. It outlined not only the public side of the empire's capital but also the very dark pathways the Soulless used.
It took the better part of 3 years for all the former Soulless to agree it was fairly close to accurate.
Part of that had been surviving their former memories and he gave them the time to do so. He needed time to create the path the teams would use to set up supplies and later their forces would march down.
It was weird to have an army.
He had disciples follow his orders in war but that was different. He was not sending them to their deaths, they volunteered and often he could act with them to keep them safe.
Also, a sect was a lot less likely to be involved in war than an Empire.
Again, who in the world would want to be an Emperor?
"Sorry, you were saying?" Lind was in simple robes of gold and emerald. He had tried really hard to have simpler ones but no one was letting him have his way in that department.
"As I was saying, I think you are right that the Soulless are the greatest threat but with your plan it should cut down a lot of issues. Further, if we can get to the underground facility, there are likely to be many prisoners there awaiting conversion." He pointed to an inconspicuous building on the west side of the capital.
"All right, then we are settled on a plan. Now, we just need to build the path." Lind went to stand up when a knock came at the stone door. The only way a knock got through was if the guard outside did it.
Lind frowned and waved his hand before sigils flared and a loud click was heard.
An Emerald Soul ran in and knelt but looked winded.
"Emperor Frey! One of the scouts came back and reported a caravan of Soulmancers just passed through on the main route to Dar!" Lind frowned. So, they were watching.
He tilted back a bit before sighing. It was going to be bloody.
"It does not change the plan. We have time. Let's prepare." He gave a firm order and both men nodded before leaving. Once gone, Lind looked back at the map but it was not a simple scroll he saw.
He saw fires, screams, and blood. Seriously, why would anyone be Emperor?