Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 604 - 603 - Truth mixed with Lies

Lind nearly passed out after breaking the connection.  If not for his draconic constitution, he would have collapsed after only a few breaths of using the node the way he had.  It was now a cracked crystal as he had forcibly traced back its connection to the seal.

Having retrieved the simple seal from the last Soulmancer 50 years ago, he had learned a lot but it was still far beyond normal abilities to use it.  If not for how strong the node crystal was, he doubted he could pull off his little trick at all.

"Are you all right, Master?"  Lind twitched at the voice in a little frustration.  He was getting tired of people calling him things without permission!  He had been called master by many disciples but it was simply respect and perhaps honest joy to see him as the Sect Master.

The woman before him was still pale but she was completely without any jewelry at all.  Her vivacious body was now covered by simple tan robes with no marking otherwise.  Afterall, she had been executed 3 days ago.

Lind had not lied.  Removing the artifacts from her was lethal, but Shi had been saved by his elixirs.  No pill could save her certainly and even his elixirs just barely kept her alive.  Watching her suffer so horribly made even the demons relent.

For a brief period she was dead, but Lind had anchored her soul long enough to restore her body.  She had also seemed to transform, as if the crucible of death freed her from something.

When he investigated, all signs of using souls were gone!  He had no explanation!

His only theory was that Heaven and Earth refined her soul to be purified from things she did not wish to do.  Maybe it also had to do with the fact he found Fiend arrays inside her bones that had to be removed as well.

That Xing, assuming that was her name, was ruthless.

Once she awoke after dying, she swore to serve him for eternity before Heaven and Earth.  He had not been able to stop her!  Sheena had nodded as if that was the only outcome possible while Gravis simply smiled sadly at him.

He had also possibly exaggerated about the state of Dar.  It had absolutely fallen but hardly under his control.  He already had his forces working around the clock to help set up the artifacts he needed to isolate the territory of the empire from the sight of the Law Binding.

He also would not put it past Xing to try and attack again as she had 50 years ago.  He was nowhere near ready but he made it seem like he was.  It also answered the question on why she did not attack earlier.

She did not want to threaten the node!

It only took him a glance to see what it was and solve one of his oldest questions after being told about the Soulmancers.  What did they need all those souls for?

They needed it to beef up the Law Binding which had led him to the revelations Lanbao had given him.  The entire enterprise was a Fiend plot.  Suzen had betrayed them in fact but he used their ideas for his own gain.

Now, a Fiend had survived and was likely using Suzen as a component but Lind remembered the boy he had seen.  Even separated by distance, he felt a kinship he could not explain when he saw Linghu.

It was like recognizing one of your own kind by instinct yet Shi was human without doubt and she affirmed Linghu was as well.  So it was not his draconic instincts but the only other metric he shared with them.

Linghu was like Lind as a weaver.  He could use the other elements!  Or he was very close to it.  Either way, Xing was in need of him badly and Lind had a terrible idea as to why.

"Your brother is very good at cultivation?"  His question made Shi blush before nodding quickly.  He felt his mood sour.  "He will become an Immortal Realm soon.  Xing wants to use him to replace Suzen."

Shi was confused.  So far as she knew, Suzen was dead.  Lind relayed what he had learned from Lanbao and Shi was shocked.

"Anyway, I have to release the few innocents left.  The demons and aether children get the rest."  Lind had been able to modify the weaving far faster than he could believe.  Like the node, the idea was advanced but the implementation was just pathetic.

He could not understand why their weavings for such important things were so weak.

Shi wanted to argue but she had watched him basically wave his hand and refine the node in moments.  It was hard to fight that kind of demonstration.

The fires still burned in the capital but they were now funeral pyres more than anything.  The main square was full of cheering as the executions continued.  Lind had freed the slaves in all the cities but under a condition.

Sheena and Gravis swept the other cities easily while the capital was saved for last.  It took less than a week for Lind to conquer Dar after that.

It was terrifying and had been near massacres at every turn, yet now Haim, the newly elected Emperor, was curtailing the worst of it through his brutal methods.

Demons respected strength and Haim was now at the Moon Tier.  The Soulless were all rounded up and not even the demons bothered with them.  They only cheered when Lind freed them slowly over the next few days.

It exhausted him as much as other things, but he was like a machine.  He used elixirs to keep going and they were awe inspiring.

The death toll was likely in the millions but no one kept a real tally save for names of important criminals.  Many young masters and mistresses begged for forgiveness but it was too late.

Lind avoided the square on those days.

He knew what they had done but reconciling his desire to protect the young with their crimes was not easy for him.  He was not heartless.

Still, he could be damned cold when he needed to be.

Several demons had wanted to torture 5 and 7 year old children in front of their aristocratic parents.  He had killed those demons without pause but then passed the sentence on the parents instantly.

Even Haim was not so brutal but he said nothing against Lind.

Lind crushed the node entirely so it could never be used again.  He then flew off with Shi in his arms.  She blushed deeply but could not get used to flying.

"Master, what will happen here?"  Shi knew the immediate unified anger would give way to factions once more but Lind smiled.

"I did not lie to that Fiend.  Haim and I have many disagreements but there is one thing all the demons and aether children agree on.  The empires must fall."  It could not happen in a day but Lind hoped to focus the rage into something constructive.

They crossed the skies and cheers rose up from the streets.  Demons were many things, but they were not ungrateful.  It had not taken long before the flying Emperor Lind was the symbol of their freedom.

Haim even declared a holiday in Lind's name!

They landed on a balcony where Gravis was waiting.  The man looked much happier than in recent months.

"Saw your baby?"  Lind started with that and Gravis blushed.  Once the cities fell, Lind had granted some time to his forces to fall back and be with their families.  Compared to the time to get there, they had much quicker travel time.

Shi wondered how they did that but Lind had never explained.

"She is growing like a weed but smiled when I held her!"  Lind smiled at patted Gravis on his shoulder.  "I also brought back the supplies you requested.  Glenda and Benny are setting it up for you as we speak."

Lind nodded but then froze as he saw Keke standing in the quarters as well.  He was now a strapping young man but he looked a bit like pouting at the moment.

"You promised I could come fight."  Lind sighed as Melody was no doubt crying somewhere but still let the boy come.  It was hard not to see the little boy from the caravan.

"I did, but things unfolded differently than I expected.  Besides, this is not over."  Lind's voice grew cold at the end.  "The Supreme Lord Soulmancer is a Fiend named Xing."

He did not hide what he had learned.  Gravis and Keke looked grim but did not react much to the revelation.  Lind had already spoken with his advisors and told them not to hide the truth that Fiends still lived outside the Law Binding.

"Shi, give Keke the quarters for my guard.  He will be working with the new team."  Gravis smirked as the boy looked shocked.  Guarding Emperor Frey was a big deal and Keke's smile shone like the sun.

Shi bowed and led the boy out.

"What about the rest?"  Lind no longer smiled as Gravis looked grim.

"It was a massacre as you expected.  Glenda said the beasts went wild due to being repressed for so long.  She thinks they will still listen to you but you might have to flex your bloodline on some.  Orbas agrees."  Lind sighed.

He had known the risk of opening the door of species warfare but things could not continue.  Lanbao was going to die in that swamp if he did nothing and who knew if another Immortal was just as trapped.

Further, if Xing really replaced Suzen, the Law Binding could be made so much worse.  He had to talk to Lanbao again but his list of things to do extended to the horizon!

A new empire was being born and he had to try and help it lay a solid foundation not of vengeance but of life.  He had a lot of experience with demons but he wished Cyntilla was there as even his dragon form was not as terrifying as she could be when angry.

Lind wished he could talk to them as he missed them so dearly when he froze.  Ever so faintly, he felt a tug on his soul.

He concentrated deeply and it almost slipped away but then it came back!  Ethry!  He could feel Ethry looking for him!  He tried to reach out but whatever allowed it snapped back into place!

She had been so far away but why could he suddenly sense her?!  He then recalled the node and realized the loss of the node disrupted the Law Binding more than he thought!  The urge to race to the other empires filled him but he calmed himself down.

He had to be steady or he would lose.  His enemy would kill him or worse if given the chance.  He had to build it one brick at a time but he would shatter the cage he was in if it was the last thing he did!