novelraw Chapter 661 - 660 - Flood and Fire
Chapter 661 - 660 - Flood and Fire
Lian looked over the monitors as the few Sky Realms she brought with her brough the newest refugees into the Nautilus Class sky ship.
She felt frustrated she could not be in more places. Only 2 ships could come through and each trip took several weeks to turn around on each side. Lord Linghu was doing what he could but he had pushed it as safely as he could.
Any more and it could put all of the mortal realm in danger.
Still, she saw the smoldering camp and wondered how many prisoners had been killed as well. She knew there were innocents but she could not save them all. The energy reserves were too limited in the lower world to be complicated about her attacks.
They also used themselves as an energy source but the ship was thirsty compared to a normal artifact. Still, it drew in Qi from around it so it did not lose Qi too quickly.
"Mistress, the last are on board. We can move on to the next target." Lian nodded as she felt the ship lift off as they rose over the empty battlefield.
At each place she gave them a choice as her master commanded. The Great Lord was so merciful and she felt her battered spirit soothed each day she saw a new side of it.
Yet, as she saw the devastation across all the lands, she felt so powerless. She was stuck inside the ship as if she set foot outside, Heaven would force her to ascend or possibly punish her for being there.
The ships worked and were not artifacts so they did not trigger a response because all the dangerous things were inside. They were likely thought of as Relics so far as Heaven and Earth were concerned.
The hatches had been modified to seal off the inside even when opened. It allowed them to let people in and out without incurring issues.
The ship rose over the next ridge to find a sea of flames where a city was supposed to be.
Lian felt her heart shudder as the last days of Orwellia came back to her.
Unlike that time, it was not a purifying flame but the flame of greed that was destroying all those lives.
"Mistress?" Lian snapped out of it as one of the crew called out to her.
"Scan for any groups as we move over." Some frowned but did not countermand her. Scanning was not too intensive.
She saw it was not only flame but a water reservoir had been shattered to flood several sections while flames consumed the parts above the surface. There was simply no escape if anyone had tried to get away from the water as they were just consumed by flames.
The scan confirmed that no one survived. The city was large enough to hold tens of millions.
They moved on. The maps given to them by the powers they had rescued from the Shining Continent had been used to plan out their routes.
The sky ships could move very quickly and due to how long their turnaround time had been, the devastation had been like an unyielding tide of death.
It was rare for a whole sect to hold on that long but Lian held out hope each time they arrived. Thus far the only sect that held out was the last one.
Their array was quite profound for peak grade 4. She noted it for later as her Master was always looking for new knowledge.
"The Golden Mirage Empire is ahead." The strange name was hard to understand from above but even then, Lian could see how the heavy fog of Qi made the desert already lethal even more so.
It would confuse the senses of a cultivator if they were unwary and make things appear closer or in different directions compared to reality.
She saw mountains of corpses, not all from battles, littering the sands. The once golden color now made crimson.
How many had to die to make a desert turn so red with blood?
The curling columns of smoke from the once glittering buildings of the seat of the Empire told the story but it was not too late!
Lian saw flares of Qi!
"GO!" The ship moved and quickly arrived above what was clearly the tail end of a savage breakdown of society. It was not clear battle lines but what seemed like simple rage run amok.
"Scan." Lian lost hope but she still had them scan. That time no one argued as it would take too long to search the various buildings.
The images of savagery were intermingled with clear signs of people trying to protect what they loved. The dead bodies curled around tiny forms stung her heart.
She had to recall that day, over and over again, of the gentle emerald eyes that saved her from a darkness none could fathom.
"Please…" She did not pray to any spirits but to the Master that saved her. She wanted to believe the world would not disappoint him that much.
"The merchant district!" A voice called out and Lian pulled up the display on her controls. It showed battered and bloody men and women with weapons fighting off a crazed horde!
They were clearly refiners and formation masters working together to carve out a place of safety as crazed people were trying to get at the resources or the weeping women and children behind them.
They could not hold on much longer.
Lian slammed her fist onto a panel as she closed her eyes. It lit up blue as many voices reached her mind.
"Cease all battles or face the consequences." She blasted the whole city, not just the current fight. She hoped to buy time but the raggedly dressed fighters did not stop.
She flicked a crystal and beams of crimson light shot out. It was a lower intensity weapon than the lightning and still quite effective.
She saw the once crazed mass of people sober up as if waking from a group hallucination.
[There is no greater threat than a mob. People that would normally not even harm a fly would become bloodthirsty savages because they were no longer alone. Furthermore, they do not want to be harmed by the group.]
Lind's words came back to her from when she went on the first mission. He was preparing her for the insanity she would see. Compared to what happened in the War of Liberation, she could only say all the inner monsters of every person were unleashed.
The ship landed and while some still tried to attack, the auto defenses killed them instantly. Lian saw the exhausted defenders slumped while Sky Realms emerged. The moment such strong beings flared their aura, the mob broke and fled.
She let them go as they were far smaller than before. She did not have the energy to spare to kill them all.
Weeping children and women were picked up but there were maybe only 100 total, if that. They were almost at capacity but Lian did not stop.
They spent the remainder of the day finding small pockets of defense and her previous order had bought time for them to arrive. It seemed word of their ship had spread as suddenly the mobs fled anywhere they went.
It saved power so she was fine with it but then the expected thing came.
Unlike sects that were devoted to nurturing the next generation, kingdoms and empires protected their nobility over all.
An artifact came zooming out of the highest tower of the opulent palace. Lightning, shards of earth, and ice spikes flew up at it but clearly they were amateurs.
The massive square platform was packed full of individuals in fine robes. They looked afraid but hopeful as they neared Lian's ship.
She flicked a switch to let her hear voices and the flickering flames as well as small explosions could be heard amidst screams for mercy or simply rage filled roars.
"Who are you?" Her voice could reach them and a massively obese man smiled wide as he waved with many rings on his fingers.
Did he need that many rings?
"I am the 1047th Great Emperor Wan of our lands. By the providence of Heaven, open your doors to carry us away from this…unpleasantness." Lian wanted to open fire for those words alone. She had grown up in a palace so she recognized the kind of people on that large platform.
She saw several withered people moving massive amounts of Qi to keep the artifact working but no one acted like they were there. She touched the screen on each to make an outline appear on them to her eyes.
"What about the rest in the palace?" She asked knowing the answer but still had to hear the words.
Confusion spread on the obese man's face but he did not anger the person flying the ship in front of him.
"Just some useless concubines and slaves. A few idiot nobles are trying to die with them too. No one of importance remains aside from us!" Lian sighed before she touched a green panel.
She saw 4 Sky Realms fly to the platform as smiles spread on the fools on it.
"You supported the Fiends. Reap what you sow." Her words were the call to action as the Sky Realms snatched up the ones infusing the platform. The nobles had only a moment to realize what happened when it began to fall.
It was not too fast as it was a safety measure but it was falling into the chaos below!
Lian saw them panic as they tried to get it to fly but none of them actually knew how. The stunned people in the arms of the Sky Realms wept as they begged for their families to be saved.
"Head to the palace. We will save who we can." Lian's voice was cold but none argued with her actions. The ship moved on as the last emperor of the Golden Mirage Empire screamed in impotence as the horde of crazed people snatched them out of the smoldering skies.