novelraw Chapter 796 - 795 - Broken Civilization
Chapter 796 - 795 - Broken Civilization
Lind found things for humans were not as nice as Ella seemed to think. She seemed to believe that they lived lives of luxury in their villages and towns but it was barely able to have such lofty names.
Huts, poorly constructed ones, were clustered around a few main paths with simple walls around them. He saw stone and wood implements everywhere with no sign of metal at all.
Even the other village was not much more than a few thousand. The population was too low.
Over a million years of carving out a place might have serious attrition but there was still too few. Why were they so low in population?
It was like they were dying faster than they could reproduce. It made no sense as there were massive numbers of children but there were very few older folks. The villages in his range came to no more than 10 or 20 million.
Based on the number of beasts, it should be closer to 100 million. What had happened to the other 80 million?
It was still a conservative estimate based on the Heaven Realm lands that suffered far more death thanks to the Fiend War.
In reality, with the primitive cultivation he saw all around with beasts, the humans seemed to be in a similar boat. He had lowered the number based on that as well since mortality would be far higher.
Still, they were far too few and also too far apart.
Humans' strength came from their numbers and working together. Aether beasts, powerful plants, and even powerful rogue cultivators needed alliances to survive them. So why were they spread so far out?
Did they fight each other on the brink of death as well?
It would not be impossible but why had none of them absorbed the defeated into their own village? That was the real mystery to him. The villages were all roughly the same in size while a few were agrarian based, others were like the slavery village.
It was human power they consumed to live.
Still, why had those not grown either?
It made no sense to him at all. Even the most basic ambition of a community was to grow and become stronger in the cultivation world, yet these did not.
"Something is restricting them or killing them at an atrocious level." Lis had no knowledge or rather she was too young to give it context. He knew her parents had died as the scent of pain was well known to him.
Yet looking at a large swath of it now, he saw a lot more than that. It was like a thin pane of glass held them all in place. Push too hard and the human race would be wiped from that part of the world.
Law and order barely existed. It made him feel pity and anger in equal measure.
He chose the village Lis had pointed out as it was one of the better ones. Mostly farmers and some trade with its neighbors. The law and order barely existed as it seemed one of the members of the village acted like an overseer.
He chose to walk in as flying in would likely cause a crisis. If Ella had such a reaction to the caretakers, as she called them, he could only imagine how terrified humans would be.
His simple robes were something he could do nothing about, however, as most of the clothes he saw were basic leather, linen, or woolen. The huts were made of light wood and dark slats of bark and grass held together by mud.
It was the definition of primitive but he saw a few grade 1 and 2 inscriptions. They were simple but he could feel a sort of repelling barrier for beasts.
It showed how they stayed safe but did not explain the small size as they could easily expand.
Grade 1 and 2 were also more than simple enough to not need too many resources even in the current strange environment they all lived in.
Mysteries piled on top of each other but he had no time to ponder as several large men came running with swords and spears. They were stone and decent, so they were likely the best.
"Halt! Who are you?!" A man with a yellow leather vest and several scars across his exposed arms and chest strode forward. He had simple white woolen pants but the man did not seem to sweat despite how warm the sunny day was.
The others were equally powerful but he saw they were only in the peak of Gold Tier at best.
In other words, they were not a threat to him at all. He also frowned as he found no Sky Realms at all. It made no sense with how Ella had troubles with those humans earlier.
Why were they so much stronger than the village in front of him?
He pushed it aside as he held up his hands.
"I am Lind Frey, a rogue cultivator." There was no point hiding his identity. The group did not seem happy to hear that but did not react too negatively.
"He got past the barrier, Hort. He is human." Lind had to suppress a sight and roll of his eyes. A simple child in the Soul Realm from his Empire could bypass any such crude formations.
"What have you come for? Did you bring trade?" Hort, the leader, seemed to be the oldest. His dark hair had very slight streaks of gray in it but that was all Lind could confirm on his age.
Given their poor foundations, they might be lucky to get to 300 years old.
"I came for knowledge. Do you have a village elder I may speak with?" Being open was his best policy but it seemed he had finally touched a nerve.
"Kill him! He has come for Elder Vai!" All the men snapped their heads at the skinniest one. He had a narrow face and Lind had to resist laughing at the cliche.
"Gil, I will talk with you later. Outsider, you are not welcome here. Leave before we kill you." Hort waved his stone spear at him. Lind narrowed his eyes.
He could force the issue but given that would entail a slaughter, he felt it would be useless. He would not gain anything but enmity.
"Very well but I will be outside your barrier. When someone of wisdom wishes to discuss the Dao, I will be waiting." He turned and left the village but he did not even take 5 steps before he seemed to vanish.
A spear passed through the space he had been standing. He reappeared right next to Gil and broke his arm that was still extended after throwing the spear.
"I take it there is no issue with my action?" Lind's voice was cold and Hort swallowed as all the men realized the being in front of them was far stronger than them.
"N-not at all, senior." Lind narrowed his eyes. That standard address revealed either they had some legacy or something else might be going on.
"You will not kill this man?!" Gil screamed but then a sword pierced his chest from behind. Lind had felt the person coming but did not expect them to kill the man.
It was an older woman with a wool cloak the color of dirt. It was not soiled, it seemed to be a kind of inscription but its quality was as bad as the barrier.
"Fools that do not understand the danger of an enemy deserve death." She spoke and Lind confirmed she was a peak Sky Realm. Her foundation was just as terrible as the rest but her power was impressive.
"There was no need to kill him." Lind did think they were not in a position to kill members of their village. Yet the old woman merely glared at him before turning and walking away.
He took that as an invitation and followed her. The children and other villagers examined him like some kind of exhibit but he only noted that aside from the old woman, none of them were in the Sky Realm.
The more he confirmed with his own eyes the more he became suspicious. The condition of the aether beasts made sense once he understood the importance of Laws to the Celestial Fields.
The condition of the village was too stagnant. It was too primitive. It was like they were reluctant to take a step forward or make progress. Further, it matched his scan of the other villages too closely.
"Your civilization is broken, Elder Vai." She grunted at his words but her long white hair was frayed and stiff so it seemed to not move smoothly. They eventually got to a slightly larger hut at the center of the village.
"Your observations are a clear sign. You are not from this realm." The interior was very austere and clearly for a single person. Lind did note a few simple artifacts but they basically just let the hut gather Qi a bit better.
He focused on her, however, as she sat down heavily into a simple wooden chair.
"You know of other realms?" She nodded but her pale eyes were not clear. They were fogged over.
"Most of the leaders do. We carry the legacy of wisdom from the time the world started to die. I understood the pathway to the Heaven Realm was lost." Lind had expected to find some clues but the old woman was blowing his theories out of the water.
As if reading his mind, she cackled.
"There is nothing sharing it will do. All I know is anyone ignorant of our ways only has one source. Not of this world." She looked at him as if it was obvious and Lind slowly began to understand.
"They are already coming, aren't they?" The old women became solemn.
"No. I do not have the power to summon them but some do. I am afraid word has already spread so they could be on their way. Do not do battle here, just surrender." Lind was about to say he would not fight when a chill came over his skin.
He knew that feeling.
Fiends!