Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 819 - 818 - Citadel's Shadow

While the central structure of the citadel was clearly once part of a larger building, the sprawling city that had slowly grown around it was far neater.  The massive tower at the center lorded over the much smaller buildings.

The city had normal facilities but like any massive power, there were forces that hid from the sun and public.  They were varied from simple dark markets for hard to find items obtained illegally to slave trade.

Down an alley that looked unremarkable. There was a door receded into the uneven brick walls that many would miss if they did not know it was there.

A cloaked figure seemed to emerge from one of the shadows.  No one had seen them walk down the street or down the alley, they just seemed to manifest into existence.

They came to the door and a flare of fire revealed a strange stone above the grimy door.  It had a formation carved into it.

A silver medallion was pushed against and a click was heard.  The cloaked figure pushed the door inward and left the alley.

A dimly lit corridor with no passages presented itself but the figure moved confidently down it.  It slowly wound downwards until a door appeared on the right.  The corridor continued but the cloaked figure waved their gloved hand and the door swung inward as well.

A room with a few lit candles half melted or more were around a simple desk and chair with a few shelves filled with jade slips and scrolls.

It was not a pristine room at all but the figure at the desk was carefully penning something onto a scroll when the cloaked person entered the room.

"Far from your shining halls of order, aren't you?"  The man at the desk was grizzled but his clothes were decent.  His dark eyes never stopped looking at the scroll he was writing on.

"The beacon was lit and then extinguished but you did not send anyone.  Are you letting our merchandise get away?"  It was surprisingly a woman's voice from the cloak.  The man finally turned into the light and revealed his sunken cheeks.

He was not sickly but his body was not as robust as it should be for a Star Tier.

"Your foundation has gotten worse, it seems."  The man frowned but did not confirm the observation.

"Any nearby agent vanished that went to investigate the beacon.  Most likely the peak Sun Tier beasts finally found a way around our traps or more likely took some sacrifices to save the rest.  They are a bit more unified than us."  A snort came from the hood before she pulled it back to reveal a very healthy looking young woman.

Her Immortal aura was steady and she looked rosy cheeked and full of life.

"You took your most recent dose I see."  Her full head of blonde hair was not as healthy looking as her face but it would come in time.

"My last dose.  I need more materials."  The man sighed but then shrugged.

"You know without the Empire, it will be harder to hide the best option for that."  She frowned but then shook her head.

"I don't care.  Send a few teams and gather up that rabble.  Force feed them some pills so they are at least Sky Realm when I need them."  He hardly flinched at such cold orders.

"I heard there is a troublemaker in the villages now.  Is that true?"  The man nodded.

"Some brat and a fox have been causing a ruckus but no one can find them or so my little agents say.  To be honest, there are some strange things about them.  The fox is just a beast but it is getting stronger way faster than normal.  The brat is also supposedly an orphan that barely got to the Body Refining Realm but now a few years later they are at peak Gold Tier."  He had heard the stories but it took time to confirm them.

"I want them both."  He sighed at her words.  Of course she wanted them.

"Very well, Councilor Helen.  I will do my best but it will take time as they are slippery.  If I act too overtly, it will draw attention you do not want."  Her aura spiked as he was not supposed to use her name, even in that room, but she took his warning.

If they acted too swiftly her secret could be exposed.

"In the meantime, here."  The man summoned several vials of pale blue gaseous material in a box.  The woman quickly took it and then left the room.

She was gone for quite a while before a voice came from a jade stone hidden by a scroll on a shelf.

"She may become a liability, Li.  Do you want me to have her revealed?"  The voice was neutral but Li grunted as he finally finished the scroll he was working on.

"No need, she is already doomed.  The greater issue is what wiped out our operation at the edge of the world.  It was too fast.  That kind of power is an Immortal which should not be out there."  There was silence after that.

Li thought it was over but then the voice came back.

"It is not far from the Wolf Goddess Yue's territory.  Wasn't there an issue with one of the scouts sent out there not too long ago?"  Li did not know but quickly confirmed it with a slip he kept of records.

"Huh, it seems so.  Do you think the supposed dragon did this?"  Li did not seem too concerned as it was all rumor at the moment but the voice then surprised him.

"Send no one else out there.  Further, recall any other gathering operations in that area now."  Li did not understand.

"We are running?"  They had faced several losses but the fall of the Empire was an opportunity they could not overlook!

"We will let others bleed and grasp better opportunities.  It would be better to assume an Immortal is out there we cannot match."  Li saw the wisdom in that.

"I take it I should be a little loud about falling back then?"  The voice gave a grunt of agreement before the connection broke.

"A rogue Immortal Dragon it seems.  That could be profitable."  Li sent out some messages rather messily.  He used known troublesome messengers as well.  It was leaked to all that his unnamed organization was panicking after an unknown attack.

Smelling blood, similar groups quickly tried to swoop in and get the jump on their competitors to take over the newly freed up resources.

Li heard it all from his reliable networks and waited to see the fallout.

"Fools really should question good news more."  Li sipped at tea and moved on to the next issue.  He had a lot more work to do and prepared for Immortal Helen to be outed as a vile soul eater.

He should know, he had planted the seeds for others to find.  It was always better to cut off trouble before it could lead back to him.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

Yue was in her natural form but well within the dappled shadows as she saw yet another group of humans rushing to various areas the Starbreaker Empire once held full sway over.

[Goddess, what should we do?]  One of her pack asked the question but the smile of his snout showed he knew the answer.

[Begin the hunt.]  She only gave those 3 words and the howls of wolves cried out across the forest.

She did wonder about Lind and where he was.  He had been gone for some time and Hope was getting depressed.

She even felt the young girl slowly walk up.

"Is Big Brother coming back?"  The teary eyed face made Yue feel a tightness in her chest as she nuzzled the girl.

[Of course he is.  He would never leave you behind.]  Yue believed that but she wondered what was taking so long.

She took Hope back to the lair and let her pack gain resources and experience against the humans.

If they were officials or some kind of envoy, they would have asked permission, but they did not.

She thought of something as she walked back.

[Do not leave our territory.  Let the others deal with the invaders if they cross their borders.]  She felt acknowledgement come back.

The warning may not have been needed but better to be sure than assume in her experience.

Hope began to study the slips left behind but she was not very enthused.

Yue was about to sit down when her ears perked up.

"Little Fluffy, come back!"  A human voice reached her and Hope seemed to perk up.  A scent came back to Yue and her eyes narrowed.

A fox!  It was not an ordinary fox either.

Yue stood between Hope and the opening when a golden fox appeared that was nearly as big as Yue!  It had 3 tails as well!

It looked surprised to see Yue and bowed low before a young human girl came running around the corner.

"Little Fluffy!  You know better, why did you suddenly–"  Yue bared her fangs but then Hope popped her on the head.

"They are friends!  Are you Lis?"  Yue was shocked but Lis was stunned that someone knew who she was!  Hope's golden skin stood out as distinctly not human.  "Big Brother Lind told me about you!  He wondered if you were doing ok!"

Yue could only watch as Hope casually began to ruffle the fur of the fox and Lis got patted on the head.  She was smiling widely unlike before and did not have the heart to demand answers.

Instead, Hope took over and the 2 new arrivals were taken in where at least one answer was found.

Little Fluffy has caught the scent of Lind on the air and followed it to their lair.  More questions followed but it was hard for her to answer as Hope kept petting her like mad.  The power of Hope was not to be underestimated!