novelraw Chapter 608 - 607 - Scale of Life
Chapter 608 - 607 - Scale of Life
For the executions, there had been mass packing into the dungeons. For those not caught or killed during the chaos leading up to the freedom of the slaves, it had been a depressing affair all around.
Afterwards, Lind put the few prisoners from the army he had been able to grasp. As his forces had taken them, the demons did not argue about his provenance over them.
He made his way down the many stairs and passages that led to the dungeons. Unlike other important areas, it was intentionally complicated so even if someone escaped or wanted to get in, it was essentially a maze.
Cultivators had a good sense of direction but the various arrays in the walls worked against that.
Lind actually appreciated such a simple application since it did not create an illusion but simply gave a feeling of deja vu. Such a sensation was hard to argue with as the corridors really repeated.
Lind finally came to a thick metal door that was heavily engraved with weavings. Unlike the other shoddy work he had seen, that one was incredibly profound. Thankfully, it was mostly an enhancement and security construct.
Basically, even a tactical nuke could not put a dent in that door and damned few Arts LInd knew of could either. He studied the weaving any chance he could get as he suspected it was grade 7!
He only grasped the very basics of it even after a solid month of studying!
He touched a pale red brick just to the right of the door. Rather than a key, one had to be a weaver to open it! The sigils glowed and spread across the door before a loud click was heard.
Lind made a point of making sure the aides that helped him had an artifact to mimic what was needed but he took that same month to figure out that much of the weaving.
He descended down a dreary set of steps lit by simple light crystals. Simplicity was often the solution to everyday issues but the light crystals were at least grade 3.
His steps did not go unnoticed as a few people looked up but they were still healthy looking. Lind saw no need to make them more miserable. If not for their strength and likelihood to cause a riot among the demons, he would let them out now and again as well.
He walked past the handful of people locked up. Unlike the usual amenities of a dungeon, he had given them modern convenience which included a basic bath. If not for being locked up, it would not be much different from a cheap apartment.
Then again, some apartments did not have such nice furnishing now that Lind thought about it.
He dismissed his random thoughts. He knew he was missing his wives and family so thoughts of Earth were intruding where they had become scarce.
He walked all the way back to a suspended cage over a chasm of sharp points. They were spears that could kill even a peak Sun Tier instantly.
There were also several weapons and binding artifacts around the cage as it hung in midair. Lind looked at the woman inside and frowned. Her food was untouched once more.
She looked like she badly needed a bath but refused to use even the accommodations he provided.
"You are really stubborn, Lili." She flinched and slowly turned to look at him. Her eyes were bloodshot but still mostly clear. Her once shining auburn hair was now dull and scraggly. He also noted sores starting to form.
It had taken over a few years but even a cultivator would succumb to ignoring their body for so long and not cultivating.
"Eh? Go away." She rarely spoke anymore as it was clear no help was coming. The more years passed the more she gave up hope of rescue.
The fact she expected rescue actually spoke of hope of some values in her native empire. Lind, however, noticed none of the prisoners expected Orwellia Empire to send help.
He found that odd. Even the native Dar soldiers had no such expectation.
"We are planning to attack the Requera Empire." He revealed the plan just discussed and finally saw her try to sit upright but her disregard for her body came back to haunt her. Bones creaked and clearly muscles spasmed.
Lind tossed an elixir into the cell. The jade vial made a rather loud sound as it hit metal. She stared at it like it was the most vile thing to ever exist but sighed as she finally drank it.
The change was rather dramatic as her body was healed and the luster to her hair returned in short order. Cultivator bodies were amazing the more they advanced. Given enough Qi they could recover remarkably on their own let alone with a pill or elixir to help guide the process.
"Why my empire?! We have done nothing–" Lind's aura flared at her audacious words.
"A million years! A million years you have suppressed the people in this damned cage and consumed the souls of innocents to fuel it! Further, you damned well know what the black robed Soulmancers do!" Lili turned her head away from him.
She was odd.
She clearly had a moral compass much closer to Lind but still supported the system of the 6 empires. It reminded him of the complication of the other 5 empires compared to Dar. Dar Empire had been a literal cesspool.
The very system corrupted people as they grew up and they saw other races as nothing.
That dehumanizing aspect made it more palatable for his scorched earth tactics when it came to devising attacks. Lind still had issues grappling with being the attacker when he had so many lives in his hands.
"You can't just sum it up with–" Lili tried her tired argument once more but Lind's eyes actually turned reptilian in his rage.
"A FIEND IS YOUR LEADER! You dare tell me things can stand as they are?!" Lili flatly rejected that fact but Lind then tossed something out.
It was an artifact in the shape of black square but the feeling of it was vile to all normal cultivators. Even demons did not feel good around it.
"W-what is that thing?!" Lili moved as far back as the cage allowed but she still felt sick looking at the black square.
"What you are feeling is Fiend Qi. It is the enemy of us all and currently the master of this place. I found this in the treasure hall of the imperial palace. It is not very old, only 400,000 years at most." Lili was still in denial but the artifact was real enough.
"Whether you believe me or not, only Fiends can make such a thing. Your former Supreme Lord can confirm if you like." Lili refused to see Shi. She knew who Shi was but by betraying the 6 empires, Lili dismissed any claims from her.
"Will you just slaughter my people like you did in Dar?" Lili asked a question she had not asked before. Lind uses his Qi to pick up the Fiend artifact before his emerald Qi washed over it.
The vile feeling vanished as the square turned to ash. It was not his flames, just his harmony. He wished he understood why that happened better but he needed more to test it on.
"What–what did you just do?" Lili was stunned by what just happened but Lind could only shrug.
"I am not truly sure myself. It is like an instinct to convert Fiend Qi back into natural Qi." Lind then turned serious. "I do not intend to wage war as I did in Dar. It was bad enough."
Lind summoned a chair and sat down.
"I want to do as little death and destruction as it takes to bring the Law Binding down and free us from this place." Lind spoke openly. "I need your help to keep the casualties to a minimum."
Lili looked disgusted at him but then he set up an isolation weaving.
"What is wrong with Orwellia Empire?" Lili looked wide eyed as his change in questions. Wasn't he asking about her empire?
"What do you mean?" Lind checked his ward before continuing.
"I have read over the records of trade and Orwellia, despite having nearly twice the land mass with its floating lands but the amount of food it trades and production are far below what it should be." Lind produced several summaries and gave them to her.
Lili read over them and frowned.
"I have never dealt with much regarding them but honestly they keep to themselves for the most part unless given explicit orders." Lili revealed that much as it was public knowledge but as she studied the report, her frown deepened.
"You see it too now?" Lind had understood but Haim thought nothing of it.
"Yes, this does not make sense. They boast a population greater than the other empires. They should need to trade and produce something on the scale of 600 million people, but they are not even reaching half of that." Lili was confused. Why was this not known?
Why would an empire be so low in demand and production when it was the largest of them all next to Karridan?
"I will be still taking Requera Empire but I think I need to investigate Orwellia Empire. Can you go there or not?" Lind felt something very wrong with that empire. The army they sent was very powerful but did not seem to fear death at all.
The aether beasts reported very strange tactics of throwing bodies at them yet even the leaders did so as well!
"So what will it be? Will you help me end this war faster with less loss of life or should I let the demons have their way?" Lind looked at Lili and saw her weighing his words for the first time.
He had shown her that Fiend Qi at least was real and now the strange inconsistency with Orwellia.
"I can help you investigate Orwellia but Requera Empire will never be betrayed by me." Lind sighed but accepted what he could get.
"Then we will begin to plan and I will tell you how we will proceed." He dismissed the ward and then left but his mind was whirling with who to put in charge of the main army while he was heading out into the wild.
He could already hear the many objections but as he moved he began to weave a very unique thing. He could not mimic it perfectly, but he could mimic it enough. Before he got back to his quarters a brand had appeared on his dantian nearly as good as the real thing!
He had to get to the bottom of the Orwellia Empire while his forces fought in the war. If he left that enemy at his back he could never relax!