Amazon Apocalypse 5: Chapter 62 [Interlude]

Interlude: The Goddess in Jade, in the Eternal Spring Sect’s war camp.

The huge flood of refugees was causing enormous problems for the Goddess in Jade.

It began with his return following his first mission.

“I’m back. Got your refugees too,” Carter said upon returning to Jade’s study.

“Well done, and quickly, too. How many were you able to save?” Jade asked.

Carter shrugged. “Few hundred.”

“That few? I knew my followers were being persecuted in that realm. It’s a shame, but I’m gratified you could save any at all.” Jade shook her head in disappointment, but Carter was scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

“Well.. no. I mean, to say a few hundred thousand. Not as many as I thought, but we cleared out the city-state your coordinates brought me to and the surrounding towns. I didn’t see any other settlements on that world, but maybe rumors of an apocalypse will convince them to dig bunkers. I certainly wasn’t subtle.”

“Did you say a few hundred thousand?” Jade asked, blinking as she did so.

“Yeah. Your king didn’t make it, but I suspect you wouldn’t have liked him anyway. I think they’re essentially a theocracy under your high priest, which should suit your goals. A lot of people have been converting over in a hurry.” Carter shrugged, like what he’d said was no big deal.

“Senior Sister Jade... we only prepared pocket realm space a few fifty thousand mortal followers in total. We’ll run out of room, and we barely started.”

Carter winced. “Ah, I see. I wasn’t sure how selective you wanted me to be in saving people. I don’t know how practical it would be to take them back though...”

Jade pinched her brows a moment at this unexpected development. “I suppose I can’t complain about getting more followers. Whatever you did brought a noticeable increase in divine energy I sense coming from them.”

Carter chuckled awkwardly as he ran fingers through his hair. “Like I said, I wasn’t subtle about the end of the world.”

“We will find more room. Hyacinth? Requisition a mystic realm for us. Stock it with supplies. The refugees must build their own homes, but we will make room for them.”

Outer Disciple Hyacinth bowed and departed while Carter’s expression lifted.

“So... about those rewards?” he asked.

“Yes, I compiled a list of suggestions while you were away, though it’s not done yet. I admit I hadn’t expected you back so soon. Choose any treasure from the list there, and Hyacinth will bring it to you when she returns,” Jade said.

Jade returned to reading reports from the Black Beast Sect, while Carter did something similar and read through the list of rewards she'd prepared for him. The Black Beast Sect's scrolls were tedious to comb through, since the Black Beast Sect wasn’t exactly honest with their allies in the Eternal Spring Sect.

They claimed to be winning every battle and that the Vaust family was completely spent, but having the Eternal Spring Sect keep the remaining Vaust family defenders would be a dream come true for them. They would like nothing better than to loot and pillage to their heart’s content without fear of System A-Grades challenging them.

More and more, she peeked over her scroll to watch the young man humming to himself as he picked out his next sacred treasure from the Eternal Spring Sect's vaults.

Like most far-weaker people, Jade had initially looked at him like one might a wild fox cub. He was cute, in a wild sort of way. Perhaps he could even be tamed and kept close, though he seemed better suited to the wilds when she'd first given him her blessing to recruit him.

That image of him in her mind was undergoing a rapid shift. How long had it been since he was merely a D-Grade? Months? Not even a year? That was hardly a blink to an immortal like her.

If this young man was like a stray fox cub, seeing him now was like seeing that cub suddenly grow up, learn to speak, and offer to run errands for more treats. It was a surreal feeling. Perhaps in another few years, she’d be the one running around getting treats from him.

“Something the matter?” Carter asked, suddenly looking up from his scroll.

“Ah? Nothing. Nothing at all...” the Goddess in Jade’s eyes returned to the scroll she’d been pretending to read.

Ancient veins fought to pump blood into her cheeks and make them blush, but Jade had long since mastered her physical body and forced her expression to remain as beautiful as a carved and polished jade statue.

Eventually, Hyacinth returned. Carter took his reward and delivered his refugees. While people streamed through one mystic realm portal to the next, Jade gave him his next destination.

“Go to this world. And there is no need to take the entire civilization this time. Just my worshipers,” Jade said.

“Orders received. One people delivery coming up.” Carter grinned, gave her a strange salute, and then hastily departed.

Once he was gone, Jade’s personal assistant, Outer Disciple Hyacinth, leaned over and whispered conspiratorially.

“There is still time to kidnap him, senior sister. I’m certain we could lock him in a dungeon, though getting that mystic realm anchor away from him before he could escape would be difficult. It’s a shame you helped him gain such high resistance to our seduction techniques. That would have made leashing him far easier.”

Jade shook her head. “Hush, you. We are not kidnapping him. And he is doing good work for me, though he’s more zealous than I expected. I did not think he thought highly of divinities, but he plays the role of a holy saint well enough that many of those refugees who wanted my followers put to death yesterday are praising my name today.”

“Senior sister Jade, forgive me, but the entire civilization he uprooted is not worth either of the rewards you’ve given him. Why maintain this farce? Why not simply force him to remain here, either through carrot or stick?”

“Wild fox cubs must roam free if they are to grow strong,” Jade replied. Her cryptic words left Hyacinth more confused than ever, but the younger cultivator questioned her no further.

In truth, Jade was anxious. She’d peered into fate and knew that somehow, someway, Carter Smith was crucial to her future. But as of now, he seemed like a normal young man, albeit a fast-growing one.

She was missing something, but she could only keep Carter close and hope whatever conspiracy he was linked to would tilt the future in her favor.

Her eyes returned to the scroll resting in her hands, and she read the words scribed there.

‘The final battle is near at hand...’

Time would soon tell what Carter Smith had planned.


<Note>
Kind of a short chapter, but it was a tough one for me. Believe it or not, this took me three days for some reason. I rewrote it three times, getting shorter each time.

I had hoped to make up for the short chapter with a bonus chapter, alas, I forgot it was a holiday weekend and I gotta do some stuff on Sunday for Easter. If I somehow squeeze out another chapter between now and Sunday I'll drop a bonus, but I wouldn't count on it.