Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 805 - 804 - Oath Suppression

Lind had to push aside his radical theory as he had no way to prove it at the moment.  The Fiends were not going to kindly let him study them anytime soon.

He returned to his original questions.

"Sit here."  He manipulated the stone of the cavern and the moss to create a simple chair with padding.  Gel was impressed at the smooth transition as normally conjuring or manipulating Qi caused a change in the environment.

The chair, however, seemed to smoothly rise and there was no loss to the surrounding stone.  She was curious how he did that.

As she sat, she realized he was floating!  There was no sense of Qi being used at all!

"Who are you and why were you able to get so close to us?"  Gel took some pride in that but swallowed it as the aura of an immense beast glaring at her became overwhelming.

"I am Sgt Gel of the 178th patrol unit out of the Demon Prefecture."  She then saw that meant little to him and moved on.  "We have been 1 of 20 patrols that have been deployed due to the pseudo beast tide incidents."

He nodded as he was more than aware of that.

"Due to the reports and loss of resources, I was tasked with finding any solution with others.  I noted a few reports of eye-witnesses stating that they were in the forests when the roar came from directly overhead yet nothing was there."  Lind frowned as he thought he had avoided that.

Still, he knew timing could never be truly covered in every aspect.  He noted it for the future to add some conditions if he could to the formations but Annabelle would have to work that out.

"Go on."  He waved his hand at her.

"Well, once I realized it might be due to an agent working to foment chaos, I began to try and find a pattern but my patrol leader simply reported it to the overseer and it was all dismissed."  Gel let some of her frustration bleed through but Lind merely noted more knew of him in theory at least.

"How long before you are declared dead or a deserter?'  Lind already let her know that going back was not an option.  He was not insane nor did he have any chance of turning someone.

Even if a demon volunteered, they were not in charge of anything.  They served and that was their role.

Further, he had no doubt each and every demon had their souls examined in ways none of them knew.  Certainly, some were thralls but others could simply be one or two moves away from becoming one.

Gel had no mark which he found odd but then he came back to her physique.

"Very well, please explain how you suppressed the Akashic Physique."  He saw her eyes widen again.  The metallic nature of her eyes was interesting but he simply waited, yet nothing came out.

She clearly wanted to speak, but her veins bulged on her neck and face as blood began to come from her nose when he held up his hand.

"An Oath?"  She nodded as relief was clear on her face.  He pondered that for a moment before a different idea came to him.

"Are you opposed to learning to master the physique?"  He asked but clear skepticism was on her face.  "I have done it before."

Gel seemed to find his words beyond any belief but he summoned a simple jade stone and let it play a projection.

She watched as Kal first ran wild then slowly mastered the easily identified Akashic Physique.  Her disbelief faded as he held nothing back.  There was nothing easy to replicate without the expertise anyway.

"Is he still alive?"  Lind smiled and nodded.

"He is an Immortal Demon.  His sister and he have been staunch allies since I met them."  Now Gel looked confused at his words.

"Demons serve you?"  He sighed as she misinterpreted his words.

"No, they joined me.  They supported me and also others.  My people are humans, aether children, demons, aether beasts, and even some Elementals."  He had not thought deeply on the Sanctuary Empire in some time so it was nice to reminisce.

"That is impossible!  The races are always at their throats!"  Gel actually stood bolt upright but he pushed her back to sit down.

"It is impossible up here, but I am not from here."  Lind did not elaborate as it would not be something to prove to her but the demoness saw he was sincere at least.

He then summoned 2 jade slips.  One was what he learned from Tessa and Cyntilla working with Kal and the other was his own work with Kal.

Gel immersed herself in them and the more she read, the more amazed she became!  How had no one ever learned to master her physique like that before?

"I believe these are real, but it is of no help to me, sadly."  Lind nodded in agreement.  She had somehow suppressed the physique.

"What can you tell me?"  His question made her blush for some reason but she then squirmed.

She then pointed at her back.  He quirked his eyebrow at her before understanding flooded him.  He then closed his eyes and his aura flared.  Gel felt a cold sweat breakout as she felt the full power of an Immortal looking at her!

He quickly opened his eyes but once more Lind was confused.  He had been able to perceive the inscriptions on her armor but it did not impede his Talents.  Using his Eyes and Touch, he was able to see the ugly scars carved into her back.

Yet, there did not seem to be any Fiend Qi in them, but only demonic.  It was also of all 6 demonic elements as well.

The figures carved were primitive yet profound which made no sense to him.  An inscription on a living person made no sense but could it be a weaving?

It did not feel right, but then a thought occurred to him.

"Sealed with a blood bond."  Surprise flickered on her face but she could not confirm it for him one way or the other.  Her oath clearly covered talking about the mark more than pointing it out.

He had to think on the issue of the Oath.

Oaths were very dangerous if imposed on a cultivator compared to choosing to do one.  Generally the veracity of words was harmless so long as you stuck to the truth.

He began to slowly grasp that the Oath was separate from the suppression.  Someone was hiding it, but the reason to hide it was key to unraveling the Oath.

"Are you able to tell me who made you take the Oath?"  Gel could easily shake her head as his knowing of it allowed that much freedom.  "Can the blood bond be broken by a condition?"

No response from her meant it could or could not.  Whoever made her swear that Oath had been damned detail oriented.  They left few to no loopholes.  Still, he was only attacking the obvious ways.

"If I broke the suppression would it break the Oath?"  She actually shivered at first but clearly it was at the memory of what was done to her.

"Most likely yes as the reason for the Oath relies on my physique being suppressed."  That perked up Lind quite well.  It meant the Oath was not vindictive.

It also narrowed the reasons by a large margin.

"A protective or legacy Oath then."  He was about to ask a few more questions when she sneered at his words.  He looked at her and she pointed at her back.

"I am no better than a slave with that–"  Blood instantly spurted from her mouth, nose, and ears when she tried to talk.  He quickly summoned a demonic elixir to stop the damage cold and repair what he could.

The Heaven Grade 5 elixir shocked her.  She had seen a Heaven grade item before!

"I get it!"  He realized she had reacted out of instinct so it was long held resentment.

"T-thank you.  Even if I could change my current situation, I am in the Nightfall Realm.  I would did the moment it started to work."  She danced around the subject just barely from what his senses could tell but that feeling gave him an idea!

"Are you able to swear fealty to someone else under the Oath or will it prevent you?"  She actually looked at him like he was mad.

"Aside from a few other issue, if I swore an Oath to anyone but the Regent and future Imperial Family, I would die right this instant."  Now it was Lind's turn to sneer.

"Oaths to Fiends do not concern me.  Is there a demon you swore to follow?"  She flinched at his casual dismissal of the true masters of the empire but nodded at his question.

"My family head also has a loyalty Oath we all have to take before training as warriors."  He nodded and then hovered once more to consider his options.

Fiend Oaths were as good as paper to his harmony Qi.  She was already free of them even is she did not realize it but demonic Oaths clearly still held her.  He could not remove those as easily.

There was but one path left but it was up to her.

"I can break the seal on your physique.  It will be unleashed instantly but I can help you if you are willing.  Think it over and let me know."  He then dismissed the barrier and watched over Hope.

Gel felt shocked at how quickly he dismissed her but he knew she could neither leave nor harm either of them.

He was simply that powerful.  It would be like an ant trying to stab a human all alone.  They would not even notice as they crushed the ant in passing!

He was about to ask more general questions when his various wards triggered.  More intruders had come!