บท 88: Destruction of the prison and the compound (5)
"Now, it's not that I don't trust you or anything… heck, it's exactly because i don't trust you that i'll do this. however, you do understand my dilemma here…"
The prison leader said to Curtis, while extending a small potion to him.
Seeing this potion, Curtis didn't display any intense reaction, as he had already foreseen things coming to this point.
This potion was made by the leader's wife, the potion magician. The formula for this potion was unlocked when she advanced her artifact to the third level.
Basically, this formula enabled the leader's wife to make use of the secreting glands of any poisonous beast to create poison potions. The effects of these potions vary depending on the type of poisonous beast which the poisonous glands were taken from.
Two months ago, a small salamander-like poisonous creature was hunted near the river.
Using certain additives, and by utilizing her innate spell, which conjures an illusionary and mysterious magical pot, the leader's wife could produce a poison potion that when consumed, can cause death within a week, if an antidote is not administered within the period.
As for the antidote for this poison, it was actually made from the same poison gland that was used to make the poison, but, with different additives.
Anyway, given that this potion had a strong foul odor, making it easily detectable, and the fact that it gives effect only when consumed… it became useless to be used against the beasts. The leaders' wife was successful in only producing five of these potions with four antidotes. And she made them only to increase her experience in concocting potions.
The leader had already used two of these potions few weeks ago as punishment for two magicians that had disobeyed his orders. He had only given them the antidotes five days later.
As such, Curtis already foreseen the leader using this strategy with him to ensure that he wouldn't just escape after they let him go… the leader wanted to poison him, so that unless he do as asked, the antidote would not be given to him, and he'd be left to die.
A savage look flashed by Curtis's eyes for a second, before disappearing. He knew that there was no way out of this, not with his current strength.
Swallowing his hatred and resentment, he yanked off the small bottles' lid and drank the green content.
A wide smile plastered across the leaders' face.
"Don't worry Curtis; I have the antidote prepared for you. Just do us this favor, and I'll organize two hunting trips for your sake. Everyone here will be a witness for my word; whatever we get in these trips goes to you."
As the leaders' voice fell, the present warriors and magicians all started speaking up for the leader.
"Yes, yes. The leaders' words are as precious as gold. I bear witness for that."
"Did you hear Curtis; you'll get a massive reward for only doing this one service... What more do you want Curtis?"
"Exactly Curtis…! Don't think of this poison as us harming you… it's just a small motivation so that you don't get any funny ideas. Actually, when you think of it, it is only natural that we don't trust you, and do all we can to ensure that you do your part here in the prison."
One after another starting throwing righteous words at him, fueling his emotions to the point of exploding…
Curtis didn't speak; he just scanned everyone with his sharp eyes, wanting to deeply memories their faces.
These people were throwing him to the maw of death, yet they had the shamelessness to promise him rewards, and act as if it was a simple task.
The creatures of the hive had an unimaginable sense of unity. If one of the thousands of bugs in the hive was killed, then the entire hive would chase the culprit and devour it no matter where it goes.
For this reason, the area of several kilometers around the hive was completely free from any beast. Not even second tier beasts dared to go there.
Although the bugs there had a weak perception or aura, however… they had an unspeakably heightened sense of smell.
Curtis's new self-learned spell could definitely isolate sound. However, its smell isolating property was only theoretical. He had yet to practically test it.
Yet, for the sake of calming his vengeful heart, the leader was throwing him at the face of death.
Imprinting their faces in his heart, Curtis clenched his fists to the point of sinking his nails deep into his hands' flesh: 'If I survive this, and get the antidote, I'll exact revenge on all of you in the future. You think you can make use of me like this, and I wouldn't pay you back for it…'
Lowering his head, an ice-cold look glowed subtly in his eyes: 'You better think again then…!'
…
Sneaking away from a small valley, the figure of a man moved carefully, hiding behind one large boulder after another.
The man's pale face was mask of fear and agitation. Moving with utmost caution, He was borderline witlessly frightened.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that there was a football-sized, semi-transparent, cocoon-like mass floating over his left hand. This mass was filled with a cluster of the bug's eggs.
A dome-shaped thin membrane of air was rotating around the man, enclosing and separating him from the surrounding. The cocoon floating over his hand too was enclosed by small sphere of wind.
Reaching a certain distance away from the valley, the man waved his hand in impatient. Following which, a whirlpool of wind surrounded him, lifting him off the ground.
The man then waved his hand frantically, and in response, the hurricane around him started rotating at a higher speed, allowing him to scurry away as if he was a speeding car.
Curtis's eyes were completely bloodshot, his heart was beating so hard that it was about to burst out of his chest. "It actually worked…! It actually worked…!"
He was really stunned.
By using his innate spell – wind manipulation to create a thin, isolating barrier of wind around him, he was intending to create a technique to isolates all sounds. He came up with this idea after a sudden insight.
And it worked. As after surrounding himself with this membrane, no sound could transmit through this barrier, both from the inside and the outside.
Apparently, this barrier prevents vibrations from spreading through it, hence, and since sound transmits through vibrations, this barrier was completely sound proof.
Anyway, the scent blocking feature of this new technique was untested, as there was no dog or any animal with sharp sense of smell in the prison to test it on. This aspect was completely theoretical.
However, in the end, he was actually able to sneak into the hive, steal over ten eggs, and actually flee away without being surrounded and killed…!
The bugs' weak sense of sight, hearing, and aura was also a huge contributor to his successful quest.
During his infiltration, and in at least three occasions, he was a hair width away from being discovered and devoured, with not even clothe as remains.
His intention was to kill a bug, and to carry part of it with him. However, after sneaking deep into the area, the number of bugs that he saw was really low, unlike what he had heard about this place from the prison warriors. More ever, he was actually able to sneak to the inside and even seize a cluster of bug egg, before sneaking out, without being found!
This made him really stunned! Why would these bugs that were highly protective of each other abandon their eggs without guarding it? It didn't make sense.
Regardless, the unspeakable terror and trepidation he suffered as he snuck to this nest of over-sized bugs had probably cost him few years of age…
Reaching a safe distance away from the valley, Curtis raised his head to the sky and let out a wrathful roar of hatred and malice: "Prison dogs, you forced me into a dead end, thinking that I'm too weak to resist… you just wait! Some day in the future, I'll turn the table around, and pay you back the debt a hundred fold!"
Releasing his accumulated anger, Curtis steadied his mental state, and continued his way toward the prison direction.
…
At certain unpaved roadside few kilometers away from the prison…
Many tanks and armored vehicles could be seen scattered in the area. These war machines were all devastated and ruined beyond repair. Dust started covering them. The entire area was filled with craters and signs of an intense battle taken place here months ago.
The place looked like a war-zone.
Suddenly, a faint sound of wind could be heard in the area, intensifying by the second.
Not long afterward, a man dressed in black attire came floating. He landed near a particular flipped over armored vehicle.
"Belly, come out." The man called out.
Creak!
The flipped over armored vehicles' door was pushed open, and a man clad in a leather armor crawled out.
The man with the black attire asked impatiently: "Tell me… what they are planning for me after I return…?"
Seeing the hovering sphere above Curtis's hand, the man shuddered, before saying:"… The-They… they are planning… to recede on their promise to you… the moment you go back… they agreed on locking you up, and letting you die. They… they already agreed on whom will get your gemstone…"
…
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