novelraw Chapter 619 - 618 - Return of the Dragon
Chapter 619 - 618 - Return of the Dragon
Lanbao had been simply passing time as she was long used to. She had watched over the stunning transformation of the Two Rivers Empire in less than a century. It was clear Lind Frey knew a great deal about organizing a new power.
Many cultivators were strong individuals but were beyond miserable rulers. Sects did a bit better since the structure required specialized Elders to carry the load already so it was not so bad.
A new kingdom, however, often ran into many issues and loner cultivators simply did not care about those weaker than them anymore. Yet, Lind Frey not only built a good structure of power, he made sure to have rules to help even the weakest Body Refining Realm reach World Realm very quickly.
The profound foundations were shocking to her but the resource consumption was so damned efficient compared to her memories of the 6 empires and other powers she had seen.
Though their population could only be measured in the hundreds of thousands, their power was far above the average of any empire currently. The constant culling and suppression by the Soulmancers had taken its toll on the 6 empires.
Lind, on the other hand, had few resource flows set up yet was able to already raise the average cultivation realm of his subjects to Gold Tier with profound foundations! Even the former exiles that had severe Qi deviation had made full recoveries!
There were still limits which was part of why he went out to conquer the Dar Empire. The other reason was simply because he had no choice. He was an enemy of the 6 empires and they would not let him simply continue to grow.
If not for their own issues after constant defeats and in-fighting, Lind would have had far less than 50 years to develop.
She looked up at the bleak sky and wished to fly away once more as she had in her youth. She was still young for her race but being stagnant was always troublesome. She was only mid-Sliver Tier for an Immortal and could still strive for the peak!
As she was about to dive under, all the hairs in her mane stood on end and her blood began to sing in her veins. Her spirit began to feel invigorated and she looked to the west. Her azure eyes narrowed as it felt far but only one thing could trigger such responses.
"Someone is about to die a very horrible death. Do not wake the dragon unless you are prepared for the flame." She sneered at whatever fool had angered a progenitor Divine Dragon. Even a Law Binding could not make Heaven and Earth bend that far.
She dove back into the waters and comprehended the new feeling to see if she could evolve on her own. Real dragon blood would be useful but if she could comprehend it on her own, the benefits would be enormous!
As she sunk into her meditation, the sky began to rumble.
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Timat stood behind the sweating controller of the puppet masters. While the Sky Realms could control the puppets safely for their current tasks, he did not trust them yet for such a mission they were doing now.
They were launching ahead of schedule and further, he wanted to confirm his target was killed personally. The Sky Realm that monitored them was looking at him as if he would pass out at any time.
Timat resisted smashing his head open as he could not fully use the tools in the caskets.
He had expanded the puppet technique with the assistance of his pets but it needed normal cultivators as any excessive Fiend Qi would trigger the Law Binding as he had long learned.
Thus far, he was pleased with the results. The puppets were brutal and unyielding. Even if they were weaker than their target, the technique made them resilient to a full 2 tiers above at least.
He only lost a handful but the rebels were not very strong. The average was tier 2 to 4 of the Sky Realm so enough World Realms at the Gold or Diamond Tier would overwhelm them in such a situation.
It helped that the rebels had poor cultivation techniques as well.
One on one, a poor Sky Realm could flatten World Realms, but the worse the technique, the less power a cultivator could pull forth. The puppet technique forced out such potential but the soul was suppressed while the body became a living artifact.
At least a dozen small rebel camps had been fully razed to the ground with no survivors and a good 30 more were devastated before anyone could fully react. Men, women, and even children were dismembered or ripped apart.
Blood flowed like rivers but all moving inward. The survivors practically led them to the headquarters Timat knew about.
The army would follow afterward to gain credit and get any stragglers.
It was too early to reveal his cards. The jade stones relayed the many views of the puppets. A mortal could not keep track of all that information but Timat found it laughable to watch it all at once.
"Is that the main structure?" The narrow tunnels were widening into a major cavern. Timat frowned at how close to the capital it was. His son had been audacious, if nothing else, in his planning.
"Yes, my lord. They are already spent and on their last legs. The greatest experts are known to be at the peak of the Sky Realm, so we will lose some of our puppets." He waved off the warning as it made for a good gauge of how the puppets were working.
Enough devastation would bring the remaining rebels to their knees regardless. He saw the wailing victims run away and he wished he could be there to reap their souls and cultivation for himself but it was impossible.
The Soulmancers would have a field day but that would allay any suspicions of Xing.
Suddenly, the cavern filled with emerald light and a dragon appeared. A spirits blessed dragon! It had vibrant emerald scales, mane, and eyes. It was a sinuous kind with four short legs and massive fangs to boot!
It looked at them through the puppets and Timat could feel the sneer from it. While he was shocked a real dragon was there, it could not be an Immortal. Nor could it be the flood dragon.
Even if she evolved, she would retain her coloring, so it was a new one.
"Xing, you fool, the intruder is a dragon. Of course you can't stop it." Timat felt some nervousness break out. If that dragon was protected by Heaven and Earth, it was a small wonder Xing had lost.
Still, he knew even dragons could die if outnumbered enough.
"Send in the Sky Realms." The man nearby flinched but touched a crystal that glowed red as powerful Fiend puppets flooded past the World Realms. He would never entrust regular cultivators for his truly powerful puppets.
There were over 100 Sky Realms and with the Fiend Qi hidden by being underground, there was nowhere for the dragon to run! It would be killed instantly!
The vile Qi filled the air and the few cultivators still nearby were greatly affected. They stumbled and seemed to be unable to function properly. Timat felt a smile stretch across his face as he recalled all the stubborn fools that stood up to his kind.
They all ended up pleading to be spared at the end. He missed those days and truly looked forward to them.
The attacks of lightning, flame, and so forth reached the dragon but Timat fell out of his chair at the next few moments.
Emerald flames covered the dragon from snout to tail. The Fiend attacks, that devastated so many in passing, simply vanished into those flames!
A clear sneer came from the dragon as it opened its mouth and emerald flames shot out in a column of death. Timat expected to see buildings and cave ceilings collapse, but not even a stone flickered until it hit his puppets.
One after another went dark and further, the associated casket exploded in emerald flames! It reached them all they way from there?!
"What is going on?!" Timat roared but every view went dark so fast it was simply stunning. All of the puppets were defeated in less than 5 breaths!
It was not pure power either. The World Realms would indeed be easily wiped out by a Star Tier or above but the Sky Realms should not have fallen so easily. Further, why did the flames reach the caskets?
Timat examined the caskets and felt his blood go cold. Any Fiend Qi was gone! It had been converted back into natural Qi!
How was such a thing possible? Breaking the converting matrix on their arrays was perfectly normal but changing Fiend Qi back?! How?!
Timat actually felt fear. For the first time in his 20 million years, he felt real fear of another being. He had long since resigned himself to being stuck in the backwater 6 empires but the Law Binding was a treasure if it could be harnessed.
He had been so close to conquering it and now a factor he had never predicted showed up. A being that could unravel anything remotely touched by Fiend Qi!
He felt his heart stop at the implications. The Fiends had infiltrated Orwellia nearly since its inception. The power hungry but paranoid man that made it was as easy to manipulate as a child!
Now, all of it was threatened by just a single dragon! Timat could only stare at the smoldering caskets and wondered what he was going to do going forward.