Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 961 - 960 - A Dismal Present

Lind acted the part of servant to perfection he thought but the dark looks Delenn gave him made him shiver. He also had the oddest sensation of Shoti laughing at him which did not make it any better!

He had listened to the absurd charges laid against the young girl but she had been screaming answers. Not begging and not even denying she helped someone. The instant she seemed to be going away from what the damned scum wanted, however, he whipped her again.

His nose burned with the arousal of the bastard and his joy he took care to hide from the humans.

Still, Lind took care to confirm he was correct before acting. Criminals might become repentant but he was not a God. The issue was they repeated the cycle twice in the time he watched. There was no point but hurting a young girl at that point!

Even if guilty, and it was very thin at that, simply move on to the punishment or kill her! Torture was entirely unnecessary.

The picnic atmosphere had not made him any happier either.

The 2 young girls were huddled behind him but he did not mind. One was exhausted from his healing while the other had been crying her eyes out since they reunited.

He looked on as Delenn requested an alchemist for a pill he had never heard of exactly. The man in fine robes seemed to want to escape but she now had her full power back.

He had as much chance of escaping as a bug between 2 fingers.

"Here is the Revelation Pill." A bright green pill was handed to Delenn and the administrator began to whimper which made many begin to look at him in deep suspicion.

"You can take it yourself, or you will be forced to. Choose." Her cold words made all shiver. Lind, however, noticed an older man in a fine shirt and pants looking nervous. He quietly tossed a cube while all were distracted.

The man took the pill and Lind observed some interesting changes in him. He compared it to his Elixir of Truth and the effects were similar.

The pill affected the Qi in the cultivator's body but it was like it created a pseudo formation effect. The mind was forced to speak the truth or in the case of the pill's name, reveal what is hidden.

"Now we will begin…" Lind looked on as the interrogation began. She started with simple questions that others confirmed but swiftly moved to the whipping.

Faces twisted as he smiled in a disturbing way that it had been so long since he had beaten a defiant woman. He expounded on his favorite techniques and Delenn just let him talk for a time until she asked about the latest details.

The girl really had helped a possible bandit. The issue was no guard had actually confirmed if the man was a bandit. He simply left in a hurry during the hunt for bandits in the village!

It was perfectly normal as the administrator began to tell some things both he and Delenn had to school their faces to not react.

Harsh rules were arbitrarily enforced on the populace at the whim of the village head and the administrator.

The pair of girls currently huddling behind Lind were orphans that had good potential but declined to follow an offer from the City Lord from the south! The administrator had practically salivated that he would get to inflict pain publicly on a woman once more.

He then turned to the man Lind had noticed before.

"Village Head, do you remember the triplets last month? They screamed so well when we took their fingers one at a time?" Dead silence filled the room. He noted some were shifting their eyes and knew the villagers had known!

They at least suspected but never acted.

The man now targeted had graying hair tied back but he looked pale as Delenn locked her eyes on him.

"He lies! I never–" Shock filled the room as the cube opened up behind him and ethereal dragon claws slammed him into the floorboards.

All heads swiveled to him as he slowly advanced and extracted a blade covered in poison in the man's hands. He tried to resist but no one in the village was as strong as the new pair there.

"Immortals!" Someone called it out but a few looked at someone like they were an idiot. Why would Immortals bother with their village?

Lind examined the blade and frowned.

"This is a grade 6 dagger." His voice made all jump. Why would an Iron Tier have an Immortal weapon.

Lind noted that Delenn was not surprised at all.

"Check his left wrist on the inside." He did as she asked and found nothing visible but then applied his Eyes and arched his eyebrow. He then used his aura to reveal a black circle with a broken chain inside it.

"A Fiend Worshipper!" Lind nearly stumbled as many said those words but looked at Delenn and saw her shake her head. The man was not a thrall or any sign of Fiend Qi.

"Kill him!" New shouts went up but Delenn held up her hand.

"The village head and administrator are guilty of abusing their power as well as obviously being linked to enemies of humanity. Cripple them and lock them up. We will need to summon an Arbitrator if one is not available." All bowed and several burly figures took the 2 men away after striking their dantians.

Lind was amazed at how calm they all were.

"I need a set of rooms but I will compensate the owner of the establishment. Also, give me a day and I will deal with any issues until a new village head is appointed." The remaining people bowed and Lind was about to follow when he saw the pair of girls looking lost.

He waved for them to follow and they practically ran.

They left the tavern and moved back towards the center of the town. They moved north and came to a 4 story building and were led up to the top floor. Lind found it was a double room connected by a doorway between them.

Once the 4 of them were left alone, Lind felt some pressure fall off his shoulders but Delenn then stared at him.

"Since when does a student of mine act like a servant?" Lind smiled and shrugged.

"It felt simpler than trying to assert my own authority. Or would they recognize a True Lord?" She shook her head as they both turned to the 2 women with them.

They looked confused but he smiled at them.

"We will not harm you. Relax and recover. You have been through a lot." They bowed low and retired to the other room. Once they were gone, Delenn relaxed as well.

"Do you know where we are now?" He asked her but she shook her head.

"They know of me but I never heard of the Ogros Kingdom. It does not mean it did not exist, I simply focused on my Forging back then." He nodded but quickly produced a storage treasure that made her look at him in confusion.

"Well, the village head did not need it anymore, right?" She looked shocked but he removed the imprint and then examined the contents. There were a few World Stones that were a pittance to them but he noted they were contaminated much like everything else.

The barrier did a fair job keeping the Fiend Qi out but only to an extent. He could purify at 100% but the barriers did about a 75 to 80% job.

There were some scrolls and standard notes about the village but he found a jade slip that was grade 6.

The slip was not native to the kingdom she had named.

"Do you know about a sect called the Silver Shadow Sect?" His question made her sigh.

"They are like the assassins or troublemakers to be more accurate. At least they were when I was up here before. They are, however, made up of Immortals at the top so a grade 6 item would be nothing to them." He nodded and continued to examine the slip but frowned even more.

"If I am understanding this correctly, the village head was not just a spy but a recruiter. He has recruited a minister of this kingdom after only 3 years of attempts." Delenn frowned deeply at his words.

"Why would they care about such a low power as this one?" Lind looked up grimly at her.

"The Ogros Kingdom is not a low power. It is a high power." She sat up sharply at his words.

"That is impossible! The king is a peak Sky Realm!" He nodded at her words.

"It seems Immortals no longer are possible unless they already existed. Sky Realm is the highest level they can reach before major issues crop up. Heaven Realms still exist but their numbers are sharply decreased." He saw she was confused but he only had the slip to refer to.

"Master, the slip refers to the shrinking Heaven Realm population directly. Only a handful have broken through in the nearby 17 powers." It was shocking to her but given the taint of the Fiend Qi, it made it obvious why it was happening.

The tainted Qi not only reduced their foundation but would make advancement a much more difficult journey.

"This kingdom had to rise up after I left. Even I knew of most high powers." Her words made him nod but the slip had little else.

The inference left them with a stark outlook at the current 2nd layer. Whatever was happening, the Fiend facility was devastating the population in general with tainted Qi.

The 1st Layer had been nearly consumed but the 2nd layer was left with little power. No wonder nobody descended. They couldn't!

To descend, a Crystal Tier was needed and with the tainted Qi, the full power was denied them!

Lind could still do it, but Delenn, even with his bracelet, could not.

"We need to warn the 1st layer. Can I do that?" Lind asked her and she nodded as a strange jade stone was tossed to him.

"I left a link in the Frey Clan so it should work. It is only one way but you can at least send a message." He bowed and did exactly as they discussed. The 2nd layer was no place for anyone to ascend!