novelraw Chapter 709 - 708 - Woes of Empire
Chapter 709 - 708 - Woes of Empire
Lind was on the mend but the Empire did not wait for him to recover. His antics were not entirely unnoticed.
The recovery of a key warrior of the Heartpiercer Sect drew many eyes but it was well known that Lind's harmony was the most effective of them all against Fiends. As such, there were many requests for other crippled or otherwise incapacitated cultivators due to similar injuries.
Lind was happy to look them over, but not for free. The Heartpiercer Sect had sacrificed a lot for his family and former sect. A few savvy political experts noticed that and acted accordingly.
Those that also helped in the defense of Moebius Sect were quickly helped with no additional request but a few greedy fools learned Lind was not to be trifled with.
If that was all, Lind would actually be happy, but compared to his life in the Law Binding, the number of meetings he had to attend increased exponentially.
As forces rebuilt or wanted something, they sent more envoys or special representatives. It was especially true of those specializing in production. Lind's status as grade 7 drew thousands of experts on that subject alone.
He was growing irritated at the repeated requests but his attempts to combine them failed as many powers did not want to share what they were offering him or their capabilities! They were supposed to be allies in the first place!
Meetings aside, Lind was also getting reports that annoyed him. Spies, pushback, and also straight up obstruction were occurring as the Sanctuary Empire rebuilt the new land it had. The floating landmass was his.
No one bothered him or his people but as they spread out, he was getting back claims of land or other mines being owned long ago and now they wanted compensation.
Lysanna was a godsend and Shi with Kin were making her terrifying. The trio of women became the Ministers Three from what the emerald cloaks had heard. It largely had to do with some schemes not only getting derailed but benefiting the Sanctuary Empire.
What Lind had not expected to deal with and was currently making him want to go back to the Law Binding, was negotiations for trade and being part of the Alliance.
It went without question his defeat of Zerod was a massive contribution few could match but because there were vested interests in elixirs, Forging, and so forth, the official acceptance was stalled.
Ridiculous conditions like acknowledging the sovereignty of any Immortal that chose to leave his empire to setting up special districts for certain powers to be immune to his laws!
No other power had such an issue! He had checked!
It was clear that the chaos of rebuilding gave many openings and every politician was doing their best to take advantage.
What kind of masochist would choose to be emperor?!
"Master, how do I look?" Lua was in a new set of robes, freshly minted for the change in location. The Sanctuary Empire stole one thing from the Moebius Sect. The Imperial Sigil was still the Moebius Strip.
Lua now had a golden robe with white lining and a black Moebius Strip on her right side. It marked her as a personal disciple of the Imperial Family.
There were no noble houses as such, but he knew that would likely change in time as he assigned several key positions. His wives were all more relaxed but they had been used to running things long before he returned.
Still, Shoti and Cyntilla were happy to find replacements so they could be freed up to do things they wanted to do.
Lind also had met his mother in law since his little escapades. She was a handful, but he had some ideas about her blindness. Chief among them being a few elixirs he already made in the Law Binding but he was too strapped for time as it was!
Gravis and the others that came with him were settling down. He entrusted them some of their old duties as they were already good at them but Gravis was one that finally got to go back to his roots.
He kind of took over from Cyntilla on training the soldiers. She approved of his methods too but gave him tips on aether beasts and aether children tactics as there were far more in the larger world.
The final chunk of Lind's time dealt with the Law Gate he had created. It could not run forever and had closed down but now it could be opened again if the appropriate price of Qi stones was paid.
It took a massive amount of Sky Stones to open so getting profits was not impossible but Heaven Stones were much harder to come by in any quantity so his coffers were being filled by the lower quality stone.
It was similar to teleportation arrays so few complained but not many could afford it for the numbers they wanted to send through. Linghu could open it on his side with the effects of the Law Binding alone but the process was now one way, not two as Lind hoped.
The griping was annoying but Lind simply endured it.
"Master?" Lind snapped out of his contemplations as Lua called out to him again.
"You look lovely, Lua." She smiled wide. She was maturing much more now that they had moved. Likely part of it was wanting to impress Little Fey and the others. "You are sure you want to be there for this meeting? It will be quite boring."
She nodded so quickly he was worried her tied up hair in 2 buns would come loose.
The current meeting was a new one. Namely there were those nobles in other powers that wanted to form marriage alliances with key figures in his empire. Unlike other meetings, Lind wished to all that would listen for an emergency to come up to postpone them.
The others were annoying but had to be done or dealt with as soon as possible. The upcoming one was entirely possible to ask him to pledge his unborn children in marriage!
Speaking of, none of his wives reported any changes after the marathon they put him through. He was spending time with each of them as he had before. Some nights were just pleasant talk and rest, but others he could swear they were trying to kill him by exhaustion!
"Emperor, the meeting hall is ready." An emerald clock spoke up from the door and Lind sighed as he looked at the gaudy affair he was stuck with.
His wives had betrayed him by supporting the chance in his attire! His once crimson robes were now white with some gold lining but his back side had a giant red Moebius Strip. He also noticed that the robes he wore previously had mysteriously vanished!
He moved into the new meeting room. Unlike the throne room where he lorded over all that entered, the current room had a long table that he sat at the end of while the attending nobles took up either side.
He noticed a few were nervous while others sneered openly at the servants.
Those got noted right away and he saw a couple emerald cloaks nod before one left. He would have a detailed report before the day was out.
"Welcome to my humble Empire, what can I do for all?" Lind did not hide his displeasure and some frowned but a glance at the 7 Immortals they could see stopped them from retaliating verbally.
"Emperor Frey, we represent–" Lind's aura spiked as one of the men behind a seated woman tried to speak.
"I am well aware of the many noble houses from the various powers currently in the Alliance. Some of you are Dukes from places like Solaris Kingdom that is practically next door to the Divine Sword Sect. Some of you are from as far as the Priarc Shores that is nearly an ocean to the east dotted with many islands." Some were surprised as Lind's knowledge was stunningly accurate.
Still, he stopped talking and looked out at them all. Waiting.
"May I speak, Emperor Frey?" An older woman raised her hand. She had a closed fan in it that had precious stones embedded but Lind's sharp eye noted it was a peak grade 6 artifact. He suspected it might be Immortal grade but until its aura came out, he was unsure.
"Please, Princess Giselle. It is my honor to host the current protector from the Shanliang Peaks Empire." He bowed to her and murmurs filled the room at how easily he identified her but the older woman merely smirked.
Her white hair was tied back by a simple leather tong but her robes were of the finest silk. All of it was refined items of peak grade 6 yet she was a Sliver Tier Immortal. Her empire was only a high power when all was said and done.
It was a policy that her role became protector once an heir and alliances were settled. It was said she had been a peerless beauty but had no interest in the annoyance of relationships.
"I think I do speak for us all that your sudden rise has left many with concerns that could be allayed by marriage connections. Most of these people would cover it up with offers of treasures or resources but it comes down to that." Lind appreciated her candor but most of the others deeply frowned and clearly wanted to speak.
"Thank you for saving time, you were better than the last 3 meetings." That made several heads swivel but the smile on his face actually made blood drain from most of their faces.
"To be very clear, and I would appreciate passing this along to others faster at this point: I will never stop honest connections between people but I will not dictate anyone's relationship. I understand that is now how most empires and kingdoms work but it is how I do. Honest pursuit will not be denied but deciding the fate of others before they are born or simply by virtue of being related to my important people is." Lind's aura now flowed and Lua behind him was blushing deeply.
There had been more than one person trying to secure her!
"Now, are there any trade issues or other concrete things anyone wishes to discuss aside from marriage alliances?" Dead silence greeted him but Princess Giselle was smirking behind her fan from what his senses could tell.
Lind liked her!
"Very well, thank you for coming and I look forward to having mutual trade agreements in the future!" Lind then stood up and they all stood up to watch him leave. Lua followed after him quickly. It had been the fifth meeting of such a nature and Lind had reached the end of his patience as some were repeated with simply higher ranked members.
He felt a small headache as he left the room as the list of things to do included far too many meetings!