Chapter 498: 498. Deep Valley Poison Sect Members
"Slither... capture her..." the bald man with the thick moustache ordered, his voice sharp with anger.
"Yessss ...." The snake-man, Slither, hissed in reply and slithered forward. With a swift motion, he seized Lanny by the wrist and lifted her into the air as though she weighed nothing. Lanny, short and light, dangled helplessly, her feet kicking just above the ground.
The moustached man’s gaze fell upon the shattered bottle of Virgin Maiden Blood Wine. His eyes darkened with regret, almost mourning the spilled treasure. Kneeling, he carefully dipped his finger into the glistening liquid and brought it to his lips.
At the first taste, his eyes widened with rapture. Then, unable to resist, he dropped to his knees fully, pressing his face into the blood-soaked ground. He licked greedily, like a man starved, the unholy wine staining his lips crimson.
Slither, still restraining Lanny, blinked in disbelief at his companion’s degrading display. But the aroma of the wine pulled him in like a predator drawn to fresh prey. Wrapping Lanny tighter with his coiling tail, he leaned forward. His serpentine tongue flicked out, tasting the ground.
The moment the wine touched his tongue, a shudder ran through him. His pupils contracted, his body trembled, and his eyes sharpened with a hungry gleam. A cacophony of phantom wails filled his mind —piercing screams of long-lost maidens echoing inside his skull. intoxication and ecstasy crashed over him at once.
Unaware, Slither’s grip on Lanny grew tighter.
"Aahh..." she gasped in pain, the pressure making her wince.
Bam!
Another person dropped from the hole above. Unlike Lanny, Myrtle landed with the grace, her feet touching stone lightly as a feather. She straightened, her eyes narrowing at the scene before her— Lanny bound in a serpent’s coils, the snake-man and the bald fool licking the ground like crazed beasts, and the suffocating stench of blood and wine thick in the air.
Without hesitation, Myrtle strode forward. Her hand clamped around Slither’s tail, her fingers digging in with unshakable strength. With a simple pull, she unraveled his coils as though he were no more than a rope. Lanny slipped free, stumbling into her arms.
"Thank you..." Lanny breathed, her voice trembling but sincere.
Myrtle gave a faint nod, her sharp gaze never leaving the two men still writhing on the ground.
Just then, Mana emerged— quite literally—from the bald man’s body, phasing out of him like a shadow tearing itself loose. She stretched her limbs and spoke in her usual childish tone.
"It wasn’t easy knocking him out... Mana had to trick him into drinking the wine himself. But Mana didn’t expect this foolish snake to lick it too." Her eyes sparkled mischievously, though her tone carried warning.
"I thought you escaped." Lanny said.
"Hehehe..." Mana just giggled in response.
The moustached man twitched on the ground, overwhelmed by the vicious intoxication, while Slither hissed weakly, his mind clouded by the phantom screams.
At that moment, Tyler dropped down from the shaft above, landing solidly on the stone. His gaze swept over the scene— the fallen men, the spilled wine, the girls gathered together. He raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? Did I miss something?" he asked dryly.
"You’re late..." Mana giggled, floating around him with a mischievous grin.
---
"So... they’re the members of the Deep Valley Poison Sect?" Tyler asked, his voice low as his sharp eyes swept over the unconscious figures sprawled on the ground.
"Yeah..." Mana floated a little above the bald man, smirking as if she had pulled off some great prank. "They were carrying a valuable wine bottle to their master. But then our clumsy Lanny went and ruined it." Her tone was full of mischief.
"I am not clumsy!" Lanny puffed her cheeks under the mask, stamping a foot. Then her head tilted in curiosity. "Wait... how do you even know all that?"
"Mana can read memories of a person. At least... a little." Tyler cut in before Mana could toy with her further.
"Oh..." Lanny’s tone softened, thoughtful now. She looked away, her fingers brushing against her mask as if lost in another place.
Mana, meanwhile, crouched down beside the shattered wine and dabbed her finger into the glowing red liquid. She licked it once, her eyes glimmering unnaturally. "Mmm... the wine tastes good. It carries soul fragments."
Tyler’s mouth twitched as he watched her. "The way they make that wine... makes me more than a little uncomfortable." His voice carried both disgust and restraint.
After a moment of silence, Lanny suddenly turned toward Mana. "Then... could you possess me? Sneak into my memories?"
The question startled the others. Lanny’s voice was quiet, but her words carried weight. She had long since lost her childhood memories. She didn’t remember her parents, her home world, or even the faintest face of her mother. That emptiness haunted her. If there was even a small chance Mana could uncover something, she wanted to take it.
Mana, for once, didn’t joke or smirk. She nodded immediately. "We can do it. After we leave this place."
Lanny’s eyes widened slightly behind her mask, gratitude flickering within them.
Myrtle, however, broke the silence with a blunt question. "Should we kill them?" She pointed to the unconscious sect members sprawled out on the ground.
Mana shook her head firmly. "Don’t. Each of them carries a poison mark. Whoever kills them will be cursed by it, and then the entire Deep Valley Poison Sect will pursue the killer like rabid dogs. It’s not worth the trouble."
Tyler exhaled slowly and nodded. "Alright then. Let’s move. Our goal is still to find the Silver Mace Traders."
The group quickly left the area, their footsteps echoing softly through the stone passages.
As they descended deeper into the cavern network, the air grew thicker, tinged with a faint metallic taste. A strange green glow pulsed along the walls, seeping out from mineral veins that looked alive under the dim light. Clanking sounds reverberated faintly through the tunnels, the steady rhythm of metal striking stone.
"Miners..." Tyler muttered.
"Why would kids be here?" Mana tilted her head, confused.
Tyler pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "I said miners, not minors. Since when did you start acting like Lily?"
Mana giggled, her laughter echoing eerily in the cavern.
As they emerged into a larger chamber, the sight became clearer. Dozens of workers were scattered throughout, chiseling glowing ores out of the walls. They all wore uniforms bearing the emblem of the Silver Mace Traders. The faint green light reflected on their sweat-streaked faces as the sound of tools filled the chamber.
The workers paused when they noticed Tyler’s group entering. One man, wearing a slightly better uniform and carrying himself like a foreman, approached with wary eyes.
"This area belongs to the Silver Mace Traders," he said politely but firmly. "I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to take another route."
Tyler lifted a hand in apology, lowering his voice as he stepped closer. "I’m sorry for the intrusion. Actually... Charl recommended me here. I’m looking for some Melty Ashes." He kept his tone calm, deliberately skipping formalities.
The man froze at the mention of Charl. His eyes flicked to Tyler, then to the women behind him. He studied them for a long moment before nodding faintly.
"Alright," he said after a pause. "But you’ll have to come back after half a day. We’re finishing a current batch. This area isn’t safe for outsiders while the extraction is in progress."
"No problem." Tyler nodded, offering a brief smile. He didn’t push further.
The foreman gave one last cautious glance before returning to his men, shouting orders to continue their work. The rhythmic clanking resumed, echoing like a heartbeat in the glowing chamber.
As Tyler led the group away from the miners, the faint cries of bats and dripping water in the distance reminded them that they totally forgot a dragon out there.
---
Slither’s snake-like eyes fluttered open first. He blinked several times, his forked tongue flicking out nervously as he realized he was lying on the cold stone floor. A groan came from beside him as the moustache man sat up, clutching his head. Both looked confused, disoriented, and clearly irritated at having been knocked unconscious.
"Where are they?!" the moustache man barked, his voice echoing through the cavern.
Slither merely shrugged, still woozy. His scaled tail twitched with unease.
Before either of them could make sense of the situation, a shadow dropped from the hole above. Zuzia landed with a heavy thud, her wings flaring slightly to steady herself.
The moustache man’s eyes widened in alarm. "Who is it this time?!" Without hesitation, he pulled a poison needle from his sleeve and hurled it at the figure.
Clink. Clank.
The needle bounced harmlessly off Zuzia’s scales, dropping to the ground with a faint metallic ring. Zuzia slowly turned her head toward him, her orange eyes narrowing in annoyance.
"You..." she muttered.
She swiped her hand through the air, a wave of raw force crashing into both men. Their screams echoed briefly before cutting off into silence as their bodies slumped lifelessly to the ground.
Zuzia sniffed, catching Tyler’s lingering scent, and started walking in his direction. She didn’t notice the faint shimmer of two green marks seeping from the corpses, slipping unseen into her body like venomous tattoos.