Chapter 577: What? He is still alive?

"It’s been a while. Do you think that he is really okay down there?" Meloman furrowed his brows as he looked at the dunes in the distance.

The hole Damon had plummeted through was no longer open, and the desert looked as calm and still as if nothing had ever happened there. Not even a trace of poison lingered in the air anymore, something that, in itself, felt profoundly wrong.

Actually, this was to be expected. While their Dune of Graves openly showcased the deadly miasma, the endless caverns were basically a death trap that caught innocent passersby. That was not the surprising part.

The thing was... the man the caverns swallowed this time was neither innocent nor a simple passerby.

"He is most definitely fine. Otherwise, our contracts would have been nullified already." Narsi replied as a matter of fact. Such a thing would truly be a pity, but such was the world. One day, there was a new overlord, and the next day, the world would continue to breathe even if he ceased to exist.

"Hmm... I think so too. He completely tamed our Dune of Graves. I don’t think he would die so easily in the Endless Caverns. Those assholes are strong, but not as strong as us."

"What are you talking about, you old farts, and what the hell are you doing here?" A tanned young man emerged from behind a sand dune, his dark hair tied messily behind his head and his upper body bare except for a few leather straps and beast-hide armor.

His eyes gleamed with the faint green tint of venom cultivators, sharp and arrogant. He was riding a massive scorpion that looked savage and deadly.

"Rhazir. Hmph." Meloman harrumphed. "Show some respect if you don’t want to die."

Rhazir smirked, flashing a row of sharp white teeth. "Why? Did you two old farts forget that you are now standing in our base and not yours? Did you finally get some old age dementia?"

Meloman’s expression darkened instantly, his aura flaring just slightly, a ripple of venomous energy curling around his body like a warning snake. "Watch your tongue, boy. You might have grown some muscles, but you’re still just a cub wagging its tail in another’s den."

The young man only laughed. "Cub? You think you’re lions now because you licked some vampire’s boots?" He leaned forward on his scorpion mount, its pincers clicking menacingly.

"The rumors are spreading fast, you know. The great Venom Sigil, bowing to some outsider. A bloodsucker, no less. What’s next, you going to start worshipping the Holy Church too? Wait, is he why you two fools are standing here right now? Don’t tell me... he did not enter the caverns, did he?"

Narsi’s expression didn’t change. The other party had already guessed pretty much everything, and besides, if they could sense all the disturbance down in the caverns, there was no way the Beast Lords did not know about it. There was no point in hiding anything.

"You speak too much for someone who doesn’t understand what he’s talking about," Narsi answered calmly. "And yes, he entered. Why? Do you want to go in and check on him?"

Rhazir barked out a laugh, slapping the carapace of his scorpion. "Check on him? Are you insane? Even I wouldn’t set foot in there. If your precious bloodsucker went in there, then he’s already fertilizer. In a second, even his bones would have been devoured clean. Ba ha ha ha! Why are you two old farts still waiting for him?"

Meloman’s eyes narrowed. "Careful, boy. You shall not speak about our Master with your lowly tongue."

But Rhazir just smirked wider, utterly unbothered. "Oh, don’t glare at me. I’m just saying the truth. Maybe you two should start running before I change my mind. Don’t forget, you are standing on my territory now. We have allowed you to exist until now, but that doesn’t mean you can freely barge into our house unannounced."

"What is all this commotion?"

Another voice sounded as yet another man emerged, this time from under the ground. Sand swirled around him as he rose up, riding a giant snake. His eyes, pale and slit like a serpent’s, locked on Meloman and Narsi with the cool disinterest of a predator gauging whether to strike or ignore.

"Zothar, look who is here. You were correct. Someone did indeed enter our caverns. If you knew who, you would get a good laugh!"

"Hmmm?"

"It’s the bloodsucker! Ba ha ha ha! It’s the same bloodsucker to whom these fools signed their lives away!"

Zothar tilted his head slightly, the corners of his lips curving upward in a faint, humorless smile. "So that’s what crawled into my hive."

Rhazir grinned wildly. "Yes, and these two fossils are still pretending he’s alive. Apparently, the mighty vampire ’entered of his own will’" he snickered, "straight into the mouths of the brood."

Meloman’s jaw tightened, his aura flaring just enough to make the air shimmer. "Watch your words, boy. You laugh too early."

"Oh?" Zothar interrupted softly. His serpent coiled in lazy circles, and its molten eyes reflected the faint outline of the Venom Sigil elders. "You seem confident for someone standing on borrowed land. Tell me, how long do you think you’ll last if I order my beasts to devour you?"

Narsi’s lips curved into a small, unreadable smile. "You could try," he said simply. "When our Master is still alive, there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to survive either?" He smirked.

Rhazir’s grin froze. "What? He is still alive? No way. You fuckers are just messing with us."

It was Meloman and Narsi’s turn to grin. "Why would we do something like that? Why would we still be standing here if not for our master? If you want to fight, go ahead. I am ready to go all out right here. These old bones have been itching for a fight for a while now."

Right at this moment, the sand trembled. More quakes started to appear. A violent shockwave ripped through the air, tearing the dunes apart. The ground split open in a long, jagged line that reached the horizon.

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