NOVEL NEXT Chapter 574: The wailing swarm
Damon's eyes immediately lit up. If he could somehow subdue this order or even form a new contract with them, then he would finally get his hands on a soul attack technique. Both of them would be a lot more profitable to him than simply eradicating them all.
However, this wouldn't be like the easy time he had with the Venom Sigils. This was a gun fight when it came down to it. Would his poison strike first, or their soul attack strike first? Whoever succeeds in making the first move would have the other by the balls. That was that.
It was a little bit of a risk, which made Damon hesitate slightly. Then he thought of something. "So what do you guys have over them?" He turned around and asked Meloman. "Do you have a soul-strengthening technique that is based on poison?"
Even as he asked, Damon couldn't help but get excited over it. If they truly possessed such a thing, then he would have definitely struck a jackpot.
But it looked like he was not that lucky just yet.
"We have a soul-clouding poison," Meloman answered without hiding anything. "We don't trust anyone from that order despite our peace treaty. Most of us are typically in seclusion, only acting when needed. So it doesn't really affect us. But when we do venture outside, we use the soul-clouding poison."
"The soul-clouding poison temporarily makes us weak and vulnerable, but at the same time, it offers a good enough soul defense."
"A poison that clouds the soul, huh?" Damon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Do you have some with you?"
"Of course, my lord." Meloman immediately transferred many potion bottles to Damon. "Who is the alchemist who makes this potion?"
"All of us are capable of brewing both potions and poisons, my lord. But the Ninth elder, Lazar, is the one who specializes in brewing soul-clouding potions."
Damon nodded. "Okay. Bring him here then."
An old man walked over, and Damon quickly opened up a Blood Gate for him. He immediately sent him and a few of the soul-clouding potion bottles to Arya. Arya might be more capable than this old man in the long run, but the guy had many years of experience, which could be invaluable to her.
Damon settled a few more things with the order and then finally wrapped up things in the Dune of Graves. However, he was not convinced about Pain Serpents being their next target.
"What about the Beast Lords?" Damon asked Meloman.
"Ah, they are extremely formidable, my lord. I wouldn't suggest attacking them at all. They are not normal beast tamers who ride the desert centipedes and the desert wolves. They have extremely deadly, poisonous beasts, some of which even we do not have access to."
"We trade with them on a regular basis to acquire these beasts. They also possess deadly swarms of poisonous beasts, which makes it difficult even to approach their territory," Meloman continued grimly.
"Their main fortress lies within the Toxic Wastes. The Beast Lords have turned the area into their nest. If not for some of our unique poison antidotes and the untouchable miasma of the Dune of Graves, they would have erased us all a long time ago."
Damon smiled. "You should have started with this then. Sounds like they would be the perfect next target for me."
Meloman shook his head fervently. "Please reconsider, my lord. Their leader, Grand Tamer Zothar, is not a mere beast tamer. He's a hybrid himself. Some even say his blood can infect other tamers, enslaving them to his hive."
"So some sort of mental attack?" Damon nodded. "It should be fine. As long as we can turn up and surprise those motherfuckers, we should still have the upper hand."
It was definitely risky, but if he could pump up his poison a little bit more before paying the elf a visit, then it would all be worth it.
Damon immediately checked back in with Lirae, and absolutely nothing had changed. They were simply waiting and spending time in a nearby city with nothing much to do. The whole thing felt extremely fishy. He was not comfortable waiting any longer.
If he was now strong enough and his poison was potent enough to subdue the Venom Sigil, he felt confident in approaching Erelion.
"Ok, give me the coordinates of the Beast Lords." Damon quickly got to work.
"My lord…" Meloman hesitated.
"It's fine. If you don't want to accompany me, then I can go by myself." Damon smiled.
Meloman immediately shook his head vigorously. "No, my lord. Please allow me to come. It would be my utmost honor to stand beside you in this siege."
Damon nodded. He did not take many people with him. Only two of the elders. Meloman and the other called Narsi. Thankfully, they had the precise coordinates, which helped Damon arrive at the spot without wasting much time.
But the moment he arrived, he understood why the other two elders dreaded coming to this place. Almost instantly, chaos erupted all around them, and the three of them were surrounded by an incessant humming sound.
Hundreds and thousands of venomous wasps filled the air like a living storm, blotting out the sun. The sky itself seemed to crawl with wings.
Each insect shimmered with metallic carapaces, their stingers dripping with venom that hissed and sizzled as it fell onto the sand. The entire area pulsed like a single organism, a hive made of nightmares.
Meloman and Narsi immediately summoned defensive barriers, their poison-imbued auras flaring around them like green domes. But the buzzing was overwhelming, vibrating inside their skulls.
"My lord! This is their first layer of defense! The Wailing Swarm!" Meloman shouted over the noise. "The venom they carry can melt steel in seconds!"
Damon nodded and raised his hand. A surge of blood mist erupted from his body, forming barriers around the two elders, followed by a circle of poisonous aura that burst outward. For a moment, nothing happened, but then it started raining.
A rain of wasp corpses.