The barrage of Pieckers shot through the densely grown flora and fauna without being restricted in any way.
They impacted hard and drilled deep into the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King's joints where the Blood Parthen poison began to spread.
The Blood Oath Demon Monkey King roared out once again. He tried to locate the invaders, who were daring enough to attack him in his own territory. Yet, before he could find the invaders, a second barrage of Pieckers came flying at him.
The Blood Oath Demon Monkey King's lengthy arms and tail shot out. He plucked two Pieckers out of the air while blocking a third with his tail. Meanwhile, the fourth Piecker found its way into the monster's left calf.
A roar escaped the Monkey King's mouth as he felt something invading his body.
His palms began to itch, and it was only now that the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King saw the dark-red Blood Parthen Poison that was seeping into his palms.
Blood Parthen Poison was semi-sentient and said to be alive. It would move and infiltrate the bloodstream of any being whose blood was exposed. That turned it into a deadly weapon, but also into a dangerous tool. A small cut in your palm was enough to activate the Blood Parthen Poison. In the worst case, it would infiltrate the bloodstream of the person, who initially wanted to use it on others.
It had to be used with extreme caution!
The Forest Elves used it carefully. They avoided getting poisoned and rushed out of the patch of fiend trees when they knew that the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King had been poisoned.
Now it was Liopham's turn to keep the monster under the influence of the Spirit Totem.
The Forest Elves disappeared long before the ordinary Blood Oath Demon Monkeys reached their former position. They roared loudly but couldn't find the perpetrators.
They didn't stop searching for the ghost-like invader for a long time. Their king didn't order them to stop, which meant that they would relentlessly seek their enemy. Only after their enemy was split into two halves in front of their eyes would they be able to calm down.
But some Blood Oath Demon Monkeys were confused after a while. Their king would have given them orders to spread out and continue their search by now. However, there hadn't been an order since the invaders arrived.
A few demon monkeys turned back to the lair of their King, only to find out that their King had disappeared.
The Blood Oath Demon Monkey King's eyes were bloodshot as he nimbly moved through the Untamed Jungle. He was extremely fast and pursued the thing that caused constant pain and suffering in his head.
When he found the Spirit Totem the first time, he lunged forward but it disappeared a moment before he could crush it. The Spirit Totem then reappeared a few kilometers ahead. Enraged, and void of rationality, the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King unleashed his physical strength and burst in the direction of the Spirit Totem once again.
His arms lunged toward the thick tree branches high in the air to grasp them tightly, swing and gain more momentum. This allowed the monster to avoid the obstacle posed by the densely grown undergrowth and move even faster through the Untamed Jungle.
"This guy is really mad," Michael mumbled when he saw the agility of the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King beneath him.
Michael and Liopham were seated on Icarus, who was circling above the Untamed Jungle at a low altitude. That way, Michael and Liopham could focus on the Spirit Totems without the need to move around faster than the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King – which was not possible, in the first place.
The Monkey King was much faster than Lilica and the others as well. The moment the Monkey King found them; the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team would end up dead.
They might be strong enough to stall the Monkey King for a while given their strength, but the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team was likely to die the moment the Monkey King caught up.
That was something Michael realized only now. Mika and Liopham hadn't been joking when they talked about the dangers of facing the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King!
They had to be quick. Michael's attention moved to Liopham, who was sweating buckets. His right hand was pressed against Liopham's back. He utilized Lesser Enhancement on the Spirit Totem Liopham manifested, providing Liopham with the means to utilize Rage of the Primal like he had never been able to do before.
The range of his Spirit Totem had expanded by more than two kilometers, and the potency of the bloody hue had increased by more than half.
Liopham had been shocked when he first felt the effect of Michael's Lesser Enhancement. It was quite terrifying if he was to be honest. But at the same time, it was really helpful.
Unfortunately, the consumption of energy and the difficulty of controlling his Soultrait increased with the expanding range and potency of the Spirit Totem.
He had to use his entire focus on controlling Rage of the Primal and to disperse the Spirit Totem in the perfect moment.
Maintaining the Soultrait for close to 15 minutes was necessary to drag the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King inside the lizard cave where everyone was already waiting to ambush him.
Yet, at the same time, Liopham had to stall some more time to ensure that Lilica and the others could reach the lizard cave just before the monster stepped in.
This forced Liopham to gulp down more than ten energy pills and a few energy potions. Swallowing too many energy potions and pills in a short period was harmful to the body, but that was not something the young Forest Elf could pay attention to right now. Headaches and some short-term issues with his health were nothing compared to the safety of the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team, and to ensure that he lived up to everyone's expectations and trust placed on him.
He didn't want to be the reason for everyone's death. If they all died facing the Jungle Expedition, Liopham wanted to be the reason they could face the Jungle Expedition for so long and not the reason for their demise!
Michael knew that he could trust the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team. After fighting side by side for several months, their Link of Loyalty had grown firm enough for him to consider the Forest Elves great allies. Their trust and loyalty might be founded on his deepening relationship with the Forest Elven tribe, but Michael didn't think that it mattered whether they were loyal to him because they loved and respected him, or because of the benefits he provided to their tribe.
One way or another, the Forest Elves were now part of his territory. Almost a third of his territory's subjects were Forest Elf Summons due to the increased probability of summoning Forest Elves. Even if the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team were to dislike him, they would have to fight next to him to ensure the safety of their deceased ancestors.
That may not be just, but being fair and square while his territory was at stake was laughable.
He relied on Liopham and the rest of the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team to injure and enrage the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King before pulling him to the lizard cave.
The plan worked out nearly perfectly as well.
All members of the EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team arrived near the entrance of the lizard cave when the three-meter-tall figure of the black-furred Blood Oath Demon Monkey King passed by.
The Blood Oath Demon Monkey King's rage had been steadily building up for the last 20 minutes, and he was about to go insane. The constant pain and voices that swept through his head affected him a lot. The monster didn't even notice that his movements had slowed down and that it became increasingly more difficult to control his body precisely.
The Blood Oath Demon Monkey King only realized that something was wrong when he arrived in front of the Spirit Totem. Enraged, he destroyed the Spirit Totem, tearing it into small shreds with a few simple movements. Little did he know, he was distracted and the real danger was slowly advancing towards him.
By the time the Spirit Totem was destroyed, Michael and Liopham arrived at the lizard cave as well.
Everyone was prepared to move as they entered the lizard cave.
The Blood Oath Demon Monkey King had been led into a dead end deep down in the lizard cave, and the Blood Parthern poison was slowly taking control over his body and mind. While he moved rapidly through the Untamed Jungle, the poison spread much faster through the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King's body. He could only roar in anger when he saw a dozen figures appearing in front of him – just as he was about to leave.
At this point, the Monkey King realized that he had been tricked.
Being more intelligent than ordinary monsters at Tier-2, the Monkey King figured that the last half an hour was all part of a setup and an elaborate, well-thought plan. However, he also knew that he couldn't have done anything against it. The plan had been meticulous, abusing the few weaknesses of his kind precisely.
His blood was poisoned, his mind corrupted and dragged away from his underlings, the Monkey King's biggest strength had been taken away, and now he was left to fend off the dangers alone.
The Monkey King tensed as he lowered himself slowly. He knew that the poison spreading through his bloodstream had weakened him and that the effect would increase over time.
It was either now or never!
Yet, just as the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King was about to burst forward with every ounce of strength residing in his mighty body, Michael began to smile.
"Sorry, but I didn't work that hard to fight with you," He said calmly.
The next moment the two Elemental Mages made their move. They combined their power and released the spell, which they'd been chanting for several minutes.
The walls around the Monkey King began to move. The ground beneath the monster burst, and it was like someone was pulling his legs down. Mud ropes shot out from all directions before another barrage of Pieckers shot through the narrow space of the cavern tunnel with terrific velocity.
"I lured you into the lizard cave to make you mine without giving you a chance to retaliate!" Michael added, his lips curling upward.
A second later, the cavern tunnel collapsed as the ceiling burst open. Rocks the size of the Black Bear crashed down, followed by wet soil weighing hundreds of tons, burying the Blood Oath Demon Monkey King alive.
Meanwhile, Michael swallowed three energy pills at once before he began utilizing the Taming Soultrait for the first time since he'd obtained it.
A large array of silver lines manifested in front of Michael. It moved in complex patterns forming intricate symbols that connected and combined, slowly forming a huge array with a diameter of five meters.
"You should surrender and become my loyal subject before it's too late. You won't have long before you'll die miserably. Suffocating isn't nice, you know?"
Comments