novelraw Chapter 816 - 815 - Broken Highlands
Chapter 816 - 815 - Broken Highlands
Lind had pictured many things when told he was going to highlands, but the void looming over everything as the once gorgeous mountains were slowly crumbling to dust was not anywhere on the list.
The highlands were a massive stretch of mountains and valleys There were no sharp peaks, but rather large flat stone plateaus where many beasts once roamed.
Line was simply walking along a trail long worn into the ground as Gel and a wolf trailed behind him. They had set out to see if they could find a xiezhi that would be willing to help.
None of them had expected that the highlands were literally falling apart even as they looked on.
The farther east they moved, the more concerned Lind had become until the Qi began to thin in a way he was all too familiar with.
"Do you think they are still here?" Gel asked as she seemed far more emotional than usual but the wolf growled softly in response.
"She says she can still smell a fresh scent from them. I am not sure why they would stay, however." He could understand the Sky Realm wolf but he was confused too.
Any sane beast would not stay near a crumbling edge like he was looking at.
The highlands that Gel described were vast and idyllic but were now only 5 or so mountains he could see and a couple valleys left. The waterfall was even weakening as the source was likely being ripped apart from the mountain half dismantled into dust!
His aura could see several kinds of beasts but a few packs and herds were moving slightly west. It made no sense as the danger was clear.
He focused to the west and frowned.
"We have a problem." Gel and the wolf looked to the west but it was far outside their ability to detect.
"What is the problem?" Lind felt anger as he confirmed what he was sensing.
"Humans." Surprise crossed Gel's face but the wolf became angry like LInd.
"What are they doing?" Lind held up a hand as he quickly dropped a formation plate. They vanished from all senses instantly but did not move closer.
"They have set up a kill zone on the only trails to the direct west. The south was laid with some traps but limited. It is why we did not come across them on our own journey. Further, if I am not mistaken, they are from the citadel." Gel understood.
"They are using the crumbling to harvest resources from rare beasts enmasse." It was not a question and she did not seem too bothered. He understood but it was not why he was angry.
"Not quite. They are trying to use pseudo Fiend techniques to directly consume the beasts' cultivations." Gel now looked shocked before she became confused.
"That is impossible. Even Fiends cannot do that. It has to be the same kind of life or quality as the realms increase. Everyone knows that." He almost wished that was true.
"Not quite. What Fiends need are the souls to extend their lives and density of Qi converted to Fiend Qi in that refinement process. Beasts, humans, and even demons can be used without issue. It is just that the rate of return is better with humanoid souls over beasts." Lind narrowed his eyes as his fingers glowed with emerald light.
A scream suddenly came from the line of trees before a scraggly man in grimy robes stumbled out waving at something only he could see.
"Blasted bugs! Go away!" Gel looked at Lind in confusion but he only looked grimly at the man as another came out behind him in rage.
"You idiot, you tripped the trap again!" Both men were very thin and had patchy beards of black and white color. They also seemed to be barely able to stand on their own legs very well.
Why were they so weak?
"I did not trip it! I was sure I was outside that damned array's range!" They began to argue but the 3 hidden from them just looked on quietly.
"I thought that lazy bastard said a couple beasts came up this path. Where are they?" The original man now looked down the path but could not see them. Gel became concerned about their footsteps yet when she looked back, they were gone!
She looked closer at the formation plate but could not discern how it had done that.
"You can speak normally, they cannot hear us." She nodded at his words.
"What is wrong with them? They look worse than the Fiends that fed on humans." He nodded at her words.
"It is as you said, Fiends do not use beasts in the current Celestial Fields. I suspect it would be far more dangerous compared to humans or demons." She grasped it instantly. While beasts could be used, the current flawed foundations of all living things aside from demons had harsher results with beasts compared to where Lind came from.
"Bah, he just wanted to keep playing with that aether child wench–" The world suddenly went dark for both men as a dragon loomed over them. They were slammed into the dirt like their bodies had increased in mass by over 500%!
[Speak quickly and truthfully or you will pray for death, I promise you.] Lind was building up his flames as his fangs dripped with saliva. He was also looming close to the now terrified men with no chance to process what was going on.
Gel was shocked as she had not seen him react like that before even when fighting the Empire. He had been brutal, but it was war for him.
"S-s-sen–" The crack of bone was heard as the man on the left screamed in pain.
[I warned you, do not waste my time.]
"Paul captured an aether child girl a year ago. They are very rare but it is too far from the citadel. We thought we would share her–" A bloom of blood suddenly replaced the man on the right.
[Speak]
He gave the one on the left a second chance but the man soiled himself before passing out. Lind sighed before the man burst into blood as well!
[Wait here and do not leave the formation. I will be right back.] Lind took to the sky and left them behind.
An aether child. He had known they were rare but to be used like that would anger him regardless. The consumption of beasts was already bad enough but he knew the fate of the aether child as supposedly they formed with perfect foundations that only demons enjoyed currently.
The forest blurred as he came over the primitive camp.
Several formations tried to activate but a simple swipe of a few sigils shattered them like glass.
He saw several xiezhi kids braying in traps. Their single horn on their head was actually wrapped up to entangle it so they cannot get free.
He snorted and normal flames, but at Immortal power, destroyed the restraints. The xiezhi ran from the killzone with chaos unfolding as several ragged men tried to recapture them.
Larger goatlike beasts appeared to save the kids. The more powerful xiezhi had come but he saw how thin they were.
He had to hurry.
His aura was unimpeded as he found something that lit the rage in his heart.
A whimpering girl of crimson and gold with a dark collar around her neck was being beaten half to death in one of the few huts in the camp.
Further, others were watching to cheer it on.
Any mercy in Lind died at that moment. He increased to his full size and roared in rage. Silence descended across the camp.
The humans were falling over themselves in fear and the leader, a man just as haggard but with dark hair without any trace of gray walked out in anger.
"Who is–" The man's head exploded as a snap of a tail went through it.
[It seems there is an infestation of pests. A pity it is a lost cause.]
The words made no sense until lighting danced along the length of his body.
Lind's emerald eyes glowed before bolts slammed into every human without fail. None escaped as he had locked onto each of their dantians. They were fried from the inside out and killed in an instant.
The xiezhi looked up at him not in awe but in satisfaction. They bowed low and he bowed back.
[I am looking for the Shadowflame Clan, if they still exist. I am only wishing to meet, but I have something to deal with first.]
The few in sight had gray to dark fur and one even had bright blue fur, but none matched what he was looking for. They bowed again before braying loudly and taking their young away.
He understood they would pass along his request which gave him some hope.
He transformed back to his human body and landed outside the hut. The only survivor was the aether child. She was only in the Soul Realm but he was unsure how to proceed. He wished Fey or Qing were around at that moment.
"I have some elixirs here to heal you. I will stay out here until you are ready." Most would rush in like a hero but someone hurt so badly could react in ways that saw all the world as an enemy.
He started with giving her the power to choose as he could tell she was alive and able to move.
He set out the Heaven grade 2 elixirs. One of them danced with lighting inside it as it was designed to help a fire and light dantian recover from Qi deviation.
He then stepped far back and cleaned up the remains. He found a few jade communication stones but they were all cracked or shattered by his attack.
He contacted the wolf and confirmed everything was fine but he would take some time.
The pair began to move towards him as the path had been cleared on his way. They arrived shortly but he waved them back before they approached the hut.
"We will wait here for now. Keep an eye on the door but do nothing no matter what happens. I am going to finish destroying the traps in the killzone." Gel and the wolf nodded solemnly as his rage was still apparent.
Both swore to never make Lind angry, ever as he quietly destroyed any sign of the horrific tools ever existing in the camp. Both also wondered what was going on until a frail looking girl with a broken arm stared out at them.
There was no life in those eyes but she saw the vials and swiftly took them and ran back inside. Gel had seen a lot of cruelty in her Empire but the girl she had just seen was a child. She now wished she could have killed these men too!
The 3 of them waited quietly as the highlands continued to crumble but no further signs of reaction came until a week later. The Shadowflame Clan had come.