Chapter 1895 - 1894 - At What Price?

Lind sat in a partially melted hall. He had faced an expert from an alien race that was able to make almost anything liquid. He or she had said nothing but just as with Older Twin, they had all their skills to bring to bear.

Thankfully, they were still a thrall or they would have struggled to end them. His dragon scales had allowed him to get close enough to vaporize the alien as well. It was the 4th Eternal Realm mimic he had killed.

Lind did not understand. Older Twin was a good gamble. Lind and his forces would be pushed hard by such a powerful and versatile enemy but the ones that came after seemed more like a delay tactic than a true attempt to kill them.

Then the failsafe sprang into effect.

Annabelle and Qing were with him at the time, thankfully, but he had barely felt the danger when the dark wave of Fiend Qi swept through. It was unlike anything he had seen and moved so fast he could only save most of the people near him.

Those farther out died horribly and any losses were more than made up.

It was both a trap and a message to him.

The Bastard was not a fool nor a simple creature. He had a goal and nothing would stand in his way. He could accept sacrifices so long as his long term goal was fulfilled.

The horrific plans and artifacts he had faced all his life came back to him. The reports from his other wives only affirmed he had grown arrogant. They had finally found their target and he was carving out a path. The thralls were broken and he had felt he was closing in.

The Bastard then tossed a wrench into it all with normal Eternal Realm thralls. He had not been prepared for that at all and the Fiend knew it. Further, their skills were devastating enough to buy time for something nasty.

Lind looked at his 2 wives currently resting and felt a chill go down his spine. It was not luck that they were alive. People had chosen to die to shield them because they thought he would deviate.

They thought he would lose his way. They were not entirely wrong but now, he knew he had to accept the hard truth.

He was going to lose some or all of them. They would sacrifice their lives to achieve their goal. It was bigger than his family and he had to swallow the grief that would come.

Annabelle and Qing had the highest chance to live given their skillsets. They would not be in immediate danger in most scenarios of battle but between 2 Eternal Realm cultivators, he had to accept he could not protect them at all.

What price would he pay when it was all over and what would he do once it was? If he truly believed he could win, what was he going to do with Eternity? Ascend surely, but after that, what?

He let his mind wander until his other wives and their surviving forces came back. He took a quick count and felt his heart go heavy.

The price was very high.

Nearly 5,000 had come with him from his hold. Most of those were a mix of new and recently ascended Eternal Realm cultivators but the older ones were still over 2000. Most of them were dead.

Only 927 remained. It seemed like a lot but without knowing what they were to face next, it was clear it might not be enough. The reality seemed to have hit them all as well.

None of them may ever leave the fortress ever again. It was one thing to declare they were ready to fight to the end but another to face it after living for so long. They had escaped fading only to face a horrific possible end against a single enemy.

Bloodsight came to him and stood over him. The corrupted demon was grim as he knelt down.

[You are carrying the weight of everything. You need to let it go.] The unusually calm words made Lind focus on the demon. His eyes, normally burning blood and battle were clear.

[I think I have. I have accepted this may be the last moment I see my wives and friends. What else can I do?] He did not hide his thoughts but the demon frowned at him.

[We all accepted that coming here. If you were thinking you could protect us all, you were too naive. I am talking about the fact you look like you are walking to your own death. You need to be that bright explorer I first met. You did not accept what we said as true and found a path no one had known for so long. You are not a warrior, but a thinker.] Lind froze as he slowly looked up at the demon.

He had been fighting and forcing his way lately. He had incinerated his latest obstacles and had realized he was the one being cornered just now! The Bastard knew his strengths so he was forcing Lind to use his weakest path, raw power!

Raw power could do a lot but it was predictable. Brute force could be guided or used against its owner with ease. The Bastard really had thought things through!

He looked over his options and felt refreshed. Still, it did not change his original issue. Bloodsight, however, smiled and patted him hard on the shoulder.

The demon achieved his goal and went to recover himself.

Lind changed his thinking. Rather than trying to ponder how to overcome a battle, he planned how to win! The Bastard could fight better than anyone alive. He was a coward but not without skill.

He would have anticipated any possible technique or Art to survive. Whether it was pure countermeasures or preset artifacts to negate it would be waiting for him for sure. If he went in with his flames and Arts, he would lose.

Bloodsight was right, he had been getting pushed into a corner compared to when he broke the Myriad Maze. He had thought his way out but what came after made him react and he kept reacting!

He looked through his ring and most of his artifacts were consumed. He had plenty of elixirs and a few weaving plates but the latter was not much use. He realized he was not thinking wide enough.

He looked up and Annabelle came into his sight. A smile stretched across his face as new ideas came to him.

His reinvigorated state actually drew attention but then a barrier was erected around him and his wives. He was not alone and it was long past time he stopped thinking like a general. He was an investigator and a craftsman.

He was also stubborn and had carried the path all on his own.

[I need your help.] It was a simple sentence but his wives smiled at him and they began to pitch ideas. Shoti was a bit off but as they spoke, she seemed to regain her shine.

They mostly ran into dead ends but it inspired him. He began to smile and his eyes sparkled with a way forward.

[Annabelle, I think we start with you. We have been at the mercy of the Bastard and you can change that. The materials are no longer made by the Bastard but by his thralls of Eternal Realm cultivators. Your illusions will work to start.] They started there and began to expand on it.

Hope bloomed and Lind wondered if he could live to see a future he had only dreamed of. A future without the Bastard.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

The monitors went silent. The Great One stared as if the information would change but nothing happened. One moment, he was watching the gnats gathering then they vanished!

There was no transition at all, it just happened!

He sent out several more thralls specially made for detection but they found nothing and no one attacked them! Where had they gone?!

He checked the entrances and activated random traps but nothing happened! HOW?!

They had not retreated and they had not just vanished into thin air, where were they?! He knew that whore of an aether child had special illusions but he had a passive disruption flowing along the pathways to his lair.

She should not be able to overcome his preparations so how was she doing it?!

He kept trying but all failed! He was smashing his control interfaces when laughter filled the room. He slowly turned to the cage holding a figure in the shadows.

"Something wrong, Bastard?" He wanted to absorb them. He wanted to wipe the smirk from their face but he needed them. The azure sphere nearby also flickered with amusement.

[Not going to plan, is it?] He screamed at Lanbao. He had no words but he could not contain his rage.

"I will kill you both! I do not care any–" A crack was his only warning as whips snagged all his limbs. He cracked a ring on his left hand and acidic Qi melted the restraints.

He snapped up and figures appeared in his control center. They were his combative wives!

HOW?! He had the entrance so heavily trapped that nothing could get through without at least 500 deaths! He had made sure of it!

"You seem surprised, Bastard." Shoti was glaring at him but he was calming down. He did not see Lind Frey. Still, he was prepared.

The azure sphere shot into his hands. He glared at them as he held up Lanbao. While none of them would recognize her on sight, one person would.

"I do not know where you are, but I have her right here! The one you watched die for you! Do you know how many times she saved you? I do!" He carefully scanned the far too empty room.

Where were the rest of the Eternal Realm cultivators?

His words made all the warrior women pause. They were not fools but the dragon soul called out to them.

[KILL HIM NOW! DO NOT SPARE A THOUGHT FOR ME!] He sneered as he knew how foolish the dragon was. Still he was panicking. There had to be a way to flush out Lind Frey.

He was about to reveal his final trump card when he froze. Why were they not reacting? They should easily see the other prisoner but they did not even glance at them. Why?

His aura flared and Fiend Qi washed across the room. The figures of the women flickered and he was incensed!

` Illusions! They were illusions! The fact they were so real they caught him off guard was annoying enough but just as he was about to attack, he realized what they were.

Distractions! He quickly looked at the monitors and the missing cultivators were there! They were moving enmasse right at him!

"I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS HUMILIATION!" He slammed his fist on a panel and power surged. He would kill as many as he could and Lind Frey would know despair! He would make sure of it!