Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 933 - 932 - Licking of Wounds

It took the better part of 3 months for reconstruction and healing to be completely done. In that time, the dragons, Frey Clan, and a few other powers that had previously been too far away, had stepped up as temporary guardians against the Fiends.

Surprisingly, the Fiends were very quiet and many suspected why. Lind had decimated them and it was not entirely impossible he could kill them all.

The Shard Tier Immortals also became active once more but only to protect the local areas from banditry or other opportunists.

The revelation about the Belnath Consortium was a harsh wakeup call to many.

They were only as safe as the powers they trusted and the division between how Fiends were viewed vanished. Before, the newer powers could only take the word of the former Alliance or records they had.

Seeing it in action, however, was far more effective.

Lind would have been pleased if the more honest interactions and treaties had come about without the loss of life.

Even as the other powers recovered, the devastation to the ranks of Immortals was bad.

Promising seeds had also been targeted which led to future issues as well. His need for an heir to start to take over the Clan from him became even more important as he had to ignore the Clan to keep the realm safe.

His duties as a True Lord took precedence and the current situation was well within his purview.

Time, what he needed badly was time.

Rasker actually came out of it the best. Despite the attacks they previously suffered, they were only humans. With the amazing skill of their healers now demonstrated, they had a massive influx of support and requests to spread to the other side of the realm!

It was impossible to do so but Kyren was considering setting up a school to train healers in her legacy that could travel where they wished. The artifacts and other methods required a lot of support but now the need was there, she could spread the legacy of her master farther than she ever dreamed.

Hei brought those close to him in either the Clan or the city. Their support further bolstered Rasker.

The Frey Clan faced a similar boon as while their products had always been touted as fundamentally better, most went with the economical aspect compared to results.

Now, his Clan was basically considered the premier source of the best elixirs and pills at least. Other things were harder to compare but still, if 2 professions could be so good, how could the rest be bad?

Lind also suspended the price of elixirs and pills as well as key artifacts necessary to survival. He used his personal coffers to cover it so the Clan did not suffer overall. The treasures inside his ring were coming in handy at a good time.

All of that being said, the plan fact was they would be licking their wounds for centuries to come. Only the Divine Sword Sect and Heavenly Maiden sect retained the majority of their Immortals.

The few majorly injured people had recovered and thus they too were being looked to for more protection than other previous supreme powers.

Yue's pack members grieved her loss. Lind had burned her corpse in front of them on a pyre and met her successor. He was a powerful wolf that was at the Sliver Tier but near the peak of it.

They were under his protection previously but they no longer needed him. The wolves were extremely powerful thanks to living under the dense Qi and Laws created by the tree towering in their territory.

He smiled at how happy the tree was to see him.

The rest of the 3 months was simply spent attacking but the Fiends had learned new tricks. Before, he could have easily found and eliminated them but they had been learning to use the materials they were previously denied to confuse his senses.

They also clearly focused on 6 elementals in general. The Fiends themselves were still very vulnerable but they could start to defend their cities.

If he could devote his entire life to it, it was not impossible to exterminate the current Fiends in front of him. Sadly, that would not fix the issue.

He knew the truth that there were likely Fiends in far greater numbers in the upper layers of the Celestial Fields and also that the Heaven Realm lands had way too many enclaves that just had to hide from him.

Waiting for his death was well within their means!

Lind did set up new defenses at not only the forts and kingdoms around the Fiends, but also set up weavings that could sustain themselves over time.

Delenn could not help him with weavings but she did help him work out some ideas on his Forging. With that, he made the equivalent of satellites that could monitor the borders better. They had a myriad number of issues, chief among them being their fragility.

A simple storm could take them out!

Still, simpler versions could be made by other Forgers or even refiners. It would take a lot of collaborative effort but the peace of mind would be worth it to the various powers.

The final thing he instituted directly was a standard of interaction with various powers. Cultivators were prideful beings and being shunned or ignored could lead to future openings for the Fiends.

Essentially, it all boiled down to the reminder that all of them were mortal once. While it was not wrong to punish a criminal, it was wrong to punish a stubborn fool stuck in their ways. Those that thought they knew better would now be brought to the Fiend area and watch the battle there.

They would meet cultivators at their level and see how they had to live.

It was hoped that it would instill a better sense of belonging. It was only for the short term as the Celestial Fields recovered, no action he took could bind them all together.

He currently sat in his tent after a long day of reports and fighting. He was clean but his soul was tired.

"Founder." A voice came from outside his tent that surprised him.

He waved his hand and the flap opened. A young woman with blonde hair and a streak of azure covered in sweat and dirt entered. She had work overalls on but she moved with a simple grace.

"Little Abby, what brings out all the way out here from the Clan?" Her blue eyes had visible flecks of yellow but they were just human. His blood told him a trace was inside her but it was dormant.

"Grandmother Lysanna needed helpers managing the resources from the storehouses. They were not all in good shape so any hand that could help was called for. I have good marks from the valley so I was sent." He nodded but then waited. That was why she was at the camp, but why was she coming to him?

She fidgeted a bit before she knelt down.

"I would like to withdraw from the trials." Lind was surprised. She was the first to ask him. Many had wanted another chance but none had wanted to walk away.

"May I know why?" Normally, a Sky Realm facing an Immortal Realm would feel like an ant but Lind never did that with family. He was happy to see all his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was even rejoicing that some were having a new generation soon!

She was silent before she let down her defenses. He saw her foundation was damaged. It was minor, easily fixed even, but she had not done so. Why?

His eyes narrowed and he saw deeper until he discovered the cause. It was a tiny thing but her cultivation technique was reacting to her dormant bloodline! The dragon bloodline was powerful even in a dormant state!

She used a technique for her fire and darkness elements but it reacted to her dragon blood negatively.

"Why are you using that technique?" She then flinched but looked up at him at last.

"I just wanted to be with the herbs and then the crystals. I like my work. My technique allows me to harvest even better as my elements nurture the herbs or break the crystals perfectly." He slowly nodded but frowned.

Such a thing would not disqualify her but the damaged foundation should have. How had she endured for so long? Her foundation should have fractured under the stress but she did not.

It made no sense. He then exerted his full power and she paled but he did not stop until he felt it. A response from the bloodline.

It was dormant, completely inactive, but at the moment her foundation was stressed, it repaired it! The damage was reduced but the technique would aggravate it again.

"You are not allowed to withdraw. You are not allowed to give up. I appreciate you are tired but you will see it through to the end. Also, your parents need to know about your condition. There should be a way to fix it and retain what you want. Am I clear?" Abby swallowed and nodded.

She did not resist anymore and left the room. Only when she was gone did Lind erect a ward. He quickly contacted Lysanna.

[Abby? Is she ok?] Lind smiled at her concern.

[Ok? She is better than ok. Her dormant bloodline is preparing to wake up!] Aside from Ethry's children, most of his other children showed zero dragon characteristics. Zao was clearly his mother's son and Syrilla was as demon as you could get.

Their offspring usually kept the same result. They had benefited from his dragon blood clearly. Their cultivation speed was nothing short of astonishing and bottlenecks may as well not exist.

Abby would be the first one of his lineage to awaken her bloodline! She may still not be the heir but such a thing made him happy regardless! The darkness around him was now not so bad and he had a few ideas of testing the 9 candidates along that very avenue!

Lind smiled as he planned and wanted to go home faster but he kept his duty and protected the rest of the powers from their common enemy. War was coming. They all knew it, but he would put it off for a little longer.