Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 742 - 741 - Power of Greed

"Momma, what is this?"  A little boy was pointing at a word on a scroll with a giant picture of 2 dragons floating in the sky.  He had shockingly blue hair but his chubby cheeks were adorable as he looked up with his pale yellow eyes in wonder.

Eldrian was a bundle of curiosity but Lysanna did not mind at all.  They were in her office as she helped administer the policies of the Sanctuary Empire.

"It is Ethry.  Your other mother.  The pretty hair that glitters in the sunlight."  Eldrian smiled wide to show his bright white teeth.  He giggled as he crawled and half walked over to her.

"Who is dis?"  She smirked as he pointed to the green dragon in the picture.

"That is your daddy.  He loves you very much and wished he could stay but he had to go on a journey."  He seemed to become absorbed in the picture as he often did when someone told him it was one of his father.

Eldrian got sad sometimes but Cyntilla often comforted him.  Lysanna found it amusing that the one many thought of as the Wolf of Death, was so gentle with a child not quite her own.  His siblings also told him stories when they could.

They were growing up too fast!

"Majesty, may I enter?"  One of the servants had arrived at her door.  Lysanna simply used her Qi to unlock it as she held Eldrian to her.  She was a bit possessive of him.

Her daughter often complained about how tightly she held onto Eldrian but the other siblings quickly point out Lysanna did the same to her, but she fought to be free while he snuggled up to her.

The young man came in and bowed low just inside the doorway.

Her shelves of scrolls and jade slips were neatly sitting behind her while a simple set of chairs were between her and the servant.

"Rise and speak, what do you need?"  She knew her schedule and did not know why a servant would come running.

"Majesty, there are envoys of the border villages here complaining about something you asked to be apprised of."  Lysanna frowned.  The word choice was vague due to the lack of isolation wards.

"I see, then please get the relevant information to me by lunch.  I will look it over then."  The servant bowed and left.  Eldrian looked up and poked her cheek while smiling.

Lysanna smiled down at him and wished all of her life was as joyful as raising her children.

She reached out to Annabelle as she was likely the most free at the moment.

[Sister, can you come for Eldrian–]  She had not even finished when an affirmative came back that made her smile.  Of all of them, Annabelle was considered the favorite of all the mothers.

She was joy personified and the moment she came around the corner, Eldrian lit up and reached out while smiling.

"Come here!"  Annabelle swept him up and Lysanna had to repress a giggle.  Not least because there was a pouting Isolde not far behind her!

"I have a meeting at lunch so be good for Mother Annabelle."  Eldrian nodded and then looked like he was accepting a solemn mission before tickling broke him!

Lysanna left them and headed down the stairs several levels to a room with extremely strong wards.  She put a drop of blood on a stone just to the right of the door and it glowed with complex sigils before it seemed to disappear.

Lind's abilities were always powerful but he often downplayed his skill in his professions.  He was able to create things that few others understood but were extremely effective.

When it came to the safety of his family and their protection of their specialities, he was highly effective and terrifying in his power.

The room was quite large but lit solely by weavings of light that let the room be illuminated but not have a particular source.  She did not quite understand how that worked but it did so she accepted it.

She sat behind a dark wooden desk before a knock came at her door.  She touched a simple weaving and it opened inward to let in 3 people.  They were hardly envoys as their presence was almost non-existent.

While Shoti and even Fey were fairly good at parsing information to build strategies, the truly terrifying mind in their group was Lysanna.

"I thank you in advance for all your hard work.  Please take a seat."  There were a couple couches around a simple table.  The 3 bowed before they pulled down their hoods.

"Lady Lysanna, as you expected, the absence of Emperor Frey has made some think they can begin to chip away at our resources."  An aether child woman with dark and tan skin spoke up first.  She was very slim and her hair was cut very short.

Anyone looking at her would find their vision sliding off.  It was true of all of them.  The Emerald Souls were the heart of the emerald cloaks guarding the family and palace.

They were the formal Soulless and retained strange abilities from that time.  The other 2 were just the same.

A human and a demon.  The 2 men barely had a presence yet they reported on a few things Lysanna expected.

Basically, everyone seemed to have short memories.  Lind had made a massive impression then swept the world with an influx of Immortals.

The power balance had been thrown out of whack.  It allowed the Sanctuary Empire to grow and stabilize as Lind wished but now he was gone.

Greedy powers were trying to take in profits they had not earned.  They were chipping away at merchant caravans and sources of goods to try and weaken the Empire without anyone noticing.

Martial conflict was forbidden under the Alliance but Lysanna knew war had many forms.  She preferred open fights but she was more than prepared to fight a financial one.

"Also, Lady Lysanna, a particular group has claimed ownership over some of our mining towns to try and monopolize them."  The demon spoke up and Lysanna narrowed her eyes.  Her fine robe of silver and emerald rustled as her peak Sun Tier aura flared.

"Where?"  Her words were cold and all 3 smirked at it.

"Southeast and it is the specialized city under the mid level power, Kuan Kingdom.  The King is being threatened due to his daughter being held hostage."  Lysanna saw red for a moment.  The thought of her own children being threatened had passed through her mind.

"Is he loyal?"  The human with salt and pepper hair smiled as he spoke up.

"We received a lot of information with little effort.  He is not hiding the situation that well."  She nodded and began to summon a few jade slips before distributing it to each of them.

The fact she did not have to imprint a single one spoke volumes of her preparation.

"Go and follow my orders.  Expect more to follow."  All 3 bowed before leaving.  She had tried asking them to relax and rest before but they simply ignored such ideas.

They were nothing compared to Reyas, but they were still fanatics in their own way.

Lysanna leaned back and closed her eyes.  She suspected the ones involved but they really did not matter.

They were simply hired hands to keep someone else's hands clean.  It is how she would do it if Lind allowed them to work that way.  She smiled that no matter how serious he was as an Emperor, he remained Lind.

[Shoti, I am in room 3.  I need you to unleash the 3 prongs.]  Lysanna sent a message that would help no one if intercepted.  Of course, there would be those that could draw some conclusions shortly.

A contingent of warriors would be heading out.  She smiled as many would think they would be going to attack but honestly, it was just a decoy.

The real strike would come in a very different way.

"Try to threaten my empire and you will learn the consequences.  Greed made you feel powerful, now it will lead you to the grave."  She then got up as she had some plans to pull off on her end.

She moved up as she considered the safest path for them all.  The issue was it was only the beginning.

The power of greed would lead many reasonable people to do foolish things in the hope of lining their pockets.

Those people were then used by others that wanted to make the Sanctuary Empire lose some face in the Alliance.

"You will not succeed."  Her face was not the kind mother nor loving wife, but the fierce cultivator that had carved out her path through wars and obstacles.

There were many fools who assumed she was the weakest of Lind's wives but strength had many forms.  If given a choice, almost none of the wives would face Lysanna in a battle of the abstract or mental fields.

Shoti was a tricky fighter but none of her tricks meant a damn if she could never even use them!  Annabelle was perhaps the best with her illusions but Lysanna could still out maneuver her given time.

"Let the war begin."  She returned to her office and began to issue out orders.