After receiving the Golden Cicada bloodline, Jiang Chen bestowed the eight drops upon the golem brothers.
When the Stone Golems had first seen the diminutive and cowardly Cicada, they'd first been dismissive. That prejudice was quickly discarded for wide smiles when their savior told them the blood would make them impervious to poison.
In the primordial age, apart from tremendous brute force in fights, Stone Golems hadn't been particularly strong in any other area. Opponents with specialized skills could run circles around the strong golem warriors. Poison, in particular, was something the tribe had been very wary of.
Back then, races adept at poison had littered the ground, bringing a world of hurt to the Stone Golems. They were naturally delighted when they heard that refining the Golden Cicada bloodline would put this weakness to rest, once and for all.
The process didn't take too long.
"Savior, do us brothers really not have to be afraid of poison in the future?" Big Stone was still a little uneasy at the prospect.
Jiang Chen chuckled. "Are you still worried?"
Big Stone scratched his head and smiled honestly. "If our savior says it's so, then it must be so."
"Don't worry, there's not that many poisons in the world that can overcome a Golden Cicada bloodline." Jiang Chen refrained from talking in absolutes. Though it was a strong bloodline, everything had its counter. Incidentally, the young lord also knew what the Golden Cicada's was.
The golem brothers had now received a boost to their fighting capabilities. They were used to simply brute forcing fights, so the cicada's bloodline would be highly useful protection in the future.
Jiang Chen then set his mind to the task of brainstorming battle strategies.
Over on Veluriyam's side, Elders Peng and Mo had set up nets above and snares below, waiting for the young lord to return from the Ninesuns Sky Sect. They didn't have many with them, but all were elites and deeply trusted men of the Order. These were all confidantes that the young master had brought from Myriad Abyss Island.
"Elder Peng, Elder Mo, we've arranged scouts at the appropriate locations. We'll have firsthand notification as soon as Jiang Chen shows up," a one-eyed man reported in respectfully.
Elder Peng smiled. "Very good. By my estimation, Jiang Chen's group should be here no later than three days. He'll come back with everything he has to reinforce his city."
Elder Mo nodded as well. "The child values relationships. This is his weakness."
"It doesn't matter. He's just a mundane brat who's exhausted most of his luck to get to this point. The future of the Divine Abyss Continent falls to Myriad Abyss Island after all."
The one-eyed man suddenly interjected, "Elder Peng, what if that Jiang Chen doesn't take this road?"
"He has to, this is the fastest way to Veluriyam. He'll have to take a long detour if he doesn't come this way. The value of an army lies in its speed. He won't waste needless effort like that. He probably wishes that he could instantly transport all of his men back home!" Elder Peng had a deeper understanding of Jiang Chen since he'd collected a great deal of intelligence about the young lord during this time.
Elder Mo however, added in, "We still need to be mentally prepared for the possibility."
"Elder Mo, you too think that Jiang Chen won't take this route?" The other elder smiled merrily. "How about we make a bet? Jiang Chen will certainly rush back at top speed when he hears the news and will certainly come down this road. There's no doubt about it." Elder Peng was highly confident.
Elder Mo shook his head. "No. I too think there's a 90% chance that he will pass by here. However, we must be prepared for exceptions."
"There won't be." Elder Peng gave further orders to his men. "Make your preparations, it's harvest time! Remember, capture them alive. Our supreme lord needs more manpower, and while these cretins of the human domain aren't worth much, they're the strongest the region can offer at the moment. It'd be a waste to kill them.
"Especially Jiang Chen! Keep him alive at all costs! He possesses many secrets and we need him to resolve them!"
Taking the young lord alive was absolutely not because the Order treasured talent. They just wanted the treasures that Jiang Chen possessed. There was no fear about the valuables getting away if they had control over their owner, but miraculous pill recipes like the Emperor Supremacy Pill and Pinecrane Pill needed the boy to give them up himself. If he was killed out of hand, it was highly likely that the recipes would be lost.
Such wanton waste was something the Order never wanted to see.
"Stop worrying, Elder Mo. Nothing will go wrong." Elder Peng could tell that his counterpart was still preoccupied.
The elder sighed softly. "I'm not worried, I just feel that something's amiss."
"What's amiss?" Elder Peng laugh heartily. "With our plans, the human domain would be far too scary if anything still crops up after our plans. And be honest, is this domain really that frightening? Look at the Heavenly Dragon Sect, the Ninesuns Sky Sect, and the so-called behemoth Pillfire City. This is no longer the human domain of the ancient times, there's no need to scare ourselves like this. These worthless trash have utterly embarrassed all of our ancestors!"
Whether it was the inhabitants of Myriad Abyss Island or the human domain, all shared ancestors from the ancient age.
Elder Mo had much he still wanted to say, but he wasn't at liberty to say much else under the circumstances. There had to be an extent to the amount of cold water one poured out. Too much and it would impact troop morale, leading to grave consequences.
He changed the topic instead. "Elder Peng, will the supreme lord be able to handle his side?"
Elder Peng pondered for a moment. "That Vermillion Bird is at the end of its tether. The supreme lord can absolutely contend with it and not come off worse in the fight. The question now is that we don't know how many Stone Golems were left in Veluriyam Capital."
"With Jiang Chen's cautiousness, he certainly left a couple."
As they spoke, the one-eyed underling hurried back to them. "Elder Peng, Elder Mo. Four giants are coming from Veluriyam at an exceptionally fast speed."
"Four giants?" The elders looked at each other and recalled something at the same time.
"Can it be the Stone Golems?" Elder Peng wondered in a solemn tone. "Anything else? Any specifics?"
"Not yet. The four giants move at a terrifying speed and momentum. They seem like they want to challenge the heavens themselves."
"It must be the Stone Golems." Elder Peng concluded with certainty. "Are you sure there's only four?"
"Just four, that I'm sure of."
Elder Peng fell silent for a moment and abruptly chuckled after a light flashed through his eyes.
"Elder Peng, why are you laughing?" The other elder found this development strange.
"Elder Mo, this is a good thing. Don't you think it's strange that the Stone Golems are coming from Veluriyam?" Elder Peng couldn't stop chuckling.
"Not at all. They must be guarding Veluriyam, so why is it odd they're coming from there? I rather worry about our master instead."
"Stop worrying over nothing, our master will be fine. It's even better that the Stone Golems have left. If my guess is correct, these four must be worried that Jiang Chen will meet with an accident along the way, so have come out to meet their young lord. This means that Jiang Chen only has four of them by his side, and these four approaching are here to meet him! It looks like Veluriyam has already deduced that our master is just surrounding them and plan on attacking their reinforcements instead!"
Elder Peng's speculation did indeed make sense.
Elder Mo also nodded after some thought. "Yes, that makes sense. It looks like Veluriyam isn't the average mediocrity after all."
"Hmph, of course not. Why else would our master go to such trouble and care in his plans? This faction is his only concern!" Though Elder Peng disliked Jiang Chen and Veluriyam Capital, he had a very high opinion of the faction. "Alright, everyone take your positions. We're going to run into Stone Golems from Veluriyam before we see Jiang Chen from the Ninesuns Sky Sect. This is a warm up!"
Elder Peng cackled darkly. "This is possibly an opportunity for us! If the Stone Golems end up in our hands, House Xiahou's position on Myriad Abyss Island will climb even further! This will give us even more resources when challenging the rest of the world in the future!"
Stone Golems were a strong race from the primordial times. Inhabitants of Myriad Abyss Island knew about this to a certain extent. Elder Peng had quite an appetite.
Elder Mo's expression shifted slightly as well, plainly infected by his colleague's enthusiasm. Taking the Stone Golems for themselves and returning them to their peak power would make them a frightening existence in Myriad Abyss Island! Just how frightening would House Xiahou be then?
"Everyone get ready, haul in the nets and get ready for four fat fish first!" Elder Peng called out excitedly. This was one hell of an appetizer!
The four Stone Golems were barefoot and had strapped heavy weapons to their back. They were charging forward like they were back on a primordial battlefield. Each one of their strides matched several of a human's and were powered by extreme speed. They charged forward like four currents of vicious tidewater.
"Hook, line, and sinker!" Joy dawned in the elder's eyes.