novelraw Chapter 629 - 628 - Shifts in Power
Chapter 629 - 628 - Shifts in Power
It had been 100 humiliating years. Xing now sat on a dark stone throne in the Core Hall as Linghu stood proudly next to her. To anyone looking, it seemed that way.
He had not been allowed to speak in over 80 years and his eyes were full of hatred.
Before her were the supposed 3 Emperors of Perot, Karridan, and Hilden were currently sweating before her in obedience while the few high ranked Soulmancers were not much better. Before the fall of the eastern empires, they were relatively free to do as they wished.
After the horrible losses over there, the Imperial families became pure puppets while the Soulmancers were suddenly no longer free to wreak havoc like before.
Everything was very strict and aligned to a single plan, Xing's.
She had always been truly in control but did not want the hassle of the day to day things bother her. That slack attitude had given an opening for rifts the enemy had abused fully.
No more.
She had ordered the death of all that defied her and the Soulmancers had not escaped her purge. As such, nearly 100 million had died in less than 3 years. Suzen was topped up on life even after the waste of her inefficient transfer so now they had time.
In that time, the once separate armies now acted in perfect concert with each other. Any disagreements were resolved by murder. Soulmancers killed those who disobeyed and after a century none dared imagine to do so.
The Law Core had finally become safe to use in that same century but her control was limited. The Heavenly Wrath had damaged something she did not understand nor could not repair fully.
In time, the Law Arrays would but it could take millions of years to do so! It irritated her!
The entire eastern side and much of the Hinterlands was now blind to her! They knew nothing of what happened on that side of the world.
In a little under 2 centuries, her million years of rule had unraveled!
"Report." Her body was no longer the plain woman she had pretended to be. She was done hiding and it had been effective. Her impossibly dark beauty with vile Qi shattered many hopes people had they could one day rise to overcome her.
The legendary foe had been leading them all along!
"The aether beasts continue to harass our scouting forces but do not advance. Also, there have been signs of increased Qi flows from the eastern Hinterlands but nothing appeared for us to fight." A well muscled old man spoke. His vibrant red hair marked him a direct member of Karridan's Imperial family.
Xing had not bothered to learn his name as he was the 16th Emperor since she assumed control. They were stubborn fools in that family.
"We have much the same but there has been a feeling of change. The beasts seem almost eager to advance." A young man with a slim but sleek body spoke up. His fine features hid the true warrior he was from a casual glance.
He was only the 3rd Emperor of Perot as the previous 2 had died to beasts instead of defiance. Eland was ruthless but a clever bastard. Many knew he was frustrated by his current status as puppet but he dared not defy her.
Xing glanced at the last one but the woman knelt there in silence. Despite expectations of anger or immediate execution, they only saw Xing nod before moving on.
The other 2 emperors gnashed their teeth at the blatant favoritism. The Empress of Hilden was slim and pretty but that was all that could be said. Very little was known about Hilden even in the last century of forced cooperation.
Their soldiers were effective and damned efficient.
"Any issues with our weavings?" Xing looked at the Soulmancers who shook their heads vigorously.
"They are completely covering all routes through the Hinterlands and nothing has undone them. Once the enemy moves, we will know." Xing nodded but felt disquiet.
It only took 75 years to conquer the 3 eastern empires like they were nothing despite a million years of foundation. The aether beasts had always been a threat but never united, yet now the enemy had brought all of it against her!
Linghu was so close! A few more centuries and her dream would come true and reinforcements could finally get in!
Worst case scenario, she collapsed the Law Binding and lose all that progress while retaining a new Immortal Realm puppet to try again, but it would be near impossible to make such an investment with the capricious appetites of Fiends.
A pre-existing idea was one thing, but starting from scratch was not something they would do if it was rife with such risks. The clear manipulation of Suzen had likely made future endeavors moot.
Linghu would prove it was still feasible if she could do it!
So close, but so far from her desires!
"Very good. I want the new soul cages set up to catch our fallen enemies at a moment's notice. We will make them pay for their defiance!" Not a single person did not withhold a shiver at the mention of the new artifacts.
They forcibly caught a soul freed from a body and then maintained it for a time. Without the brand, Xing had no choice to avoid wasting all those souls!
She had based them off of old designs of Fiend conversion caskets. The principle was similar but could not use Fiend Qi so it could only hold a soul, not prepare it for consumption.
She could do that once it was in her grasp! She especially looked forward to that damned intruder! She would enjoy refining his soul for the next billion years and make sure he watched all he saved turned into sustenance for the war efforts in the wider Heaven Realm!
Her smile would normally be seductive on such a beauty yet none of the humans present felt anything but terror and revulsion.
The meeting was about to be adjourned when a jade stone lit up on all 3 leaders. Xing narrowed her disturbing eyes before waving her hand to let them answer.
Instead of a clear message, chaotic screaming came through.
It was as if every army leader in all the camps were trying to get at them at the same time! What was going on?!
"ONE PERSON ONLY SPEAK!" The Karridan emperor's gruff voice cut through most of the noise on all the stones but it simply did not stop.
Xing was about to scream when all the chaos went silent. The stillness made her spine freeze. Why did they all go silent at once?
The communication jade stones were still working so their owners were not dead. What was going on?
After a short time, a voice echoed all at once from all 3 of the jade stones.
"It has been some time, Xing. I had worried you would have fierce defenses but your thinking has become as limited as a mortal. Any backwater power knows you need to defend effectively but you did not. You still rely on the Law Binding to protect you and paid a steep price." Xing raged at that voice!
It was him!
He was at her army's first forces! How had he gotten there without no one noticing?!
"Before you worry too much, your forces fought well and caused me some issues but I have all your leaders here in front of me. I do mean all of them." His voice was cold but Xing only sneered.
"You will die and all your precious people will be mine to consume once again. You can no longer fight as you like!" She did not know how he got through the Hinterlands but she would not be stopped.
The crystal Seal appeared in her hands and she summoned the display of the eastern border only to freeze.
Massive ships floated in the air as scorched ground was along the entire length of their forces' former locations. There were no survivors!
There were some ships with smoke rising from them but not a single one was on the ground! In front of one that had landed was a man looking straight up at her with a smile. His dark hair with emerald streaks was clear like before.
"So, you have recovered some control. It makes the next part easier." In front of him were the leaders of each force. Some were missing limbs but all were alive with their jade stones right in front of them.
A sneer crossed his face as one of his arms transformed into a massive claw that swept out and killed them all!
"We are coming for you. You are not prepared." The jade stones went dark as the man in the displayed image waved before flying up on his own! The ships moved as one and left the image.
Xing shook in rage. She wanted to deny his words but she had indeed become lax in regard to basic tactics.
"Activate all arrays, and I mean all of them. Cull 200 thousand to fuel the ancient weavings right now! Air defenses at maximum!" Her orders were obeyed as all knew that their fates were death if they did not fight.
The Two Rivers Empire had made it clear what happened to the former leaders and nobles. Even if Xing was going to fall, they had to fight. They were stuck on her boat wherever it went.
As the room became silent, Xing felt Linghu's eyes glowed with joy for the first time in 80 years but Xing sneered at him.
"Such artifacts will drain cultivators quickly. Don't get your hopes up as I will quickly bring that fleet down!" She was impressed the enemy could make so many flying artifacts but that was all, impressed. She was well aware of the weakness of flying.
It was a draining experience just to fly under your own Qi let alone fueling all the functions of an artifact.
She knew it would be a rough start to the war, but her victory was not sealed away by the new facet brought out. She would see them all die!