Legacy of Hatred

Lancelot could manifest the phoenix through his flames, so Liam was sure he could do the same through his poison. He was also confident in his ability to succeed on the first try.

The skill stemmed from the very depths of Liam’s bloodline. It was an inborn ability, something he only had to call upon to unleash, not even needing much control to build.

After all, the dream during the breakthrough into the rooting stage was still vivid in Liam’s mind. He recalled the feeling of being a snake, the Snake, of slithering through space in a body bigger than the world, wielding fangs that put mountains to shame.

As for why Liam hadn’t been able to do it earlier, he could only guess. The most likely explanation was that Liam hadn’t been as close to his nature as Lancelot. Raw talent, specific training, and maturity could have also played a part.

Power was another variable, one Liam felt as clear as day as he summoned that instinctive ability. He was unleashing everything, calling upon all the poison he had spread, but the manifestation stopped at the giant reptilian head.

Lancelot was a direct descendant, but Liam was an actual son. He carried far more of the Ancestral Beast in him, being the inheritor of its legendary Hatred, which likely created higher requirements.

Even now, the head was infinitesimally smaller than what Liam had seen in the breakthrough’s dream. It was but a pale imitation limited by his current level and the infection’s reach.

Still, it was a new ability, a new path toward using the world Liam swallowed through his poison, even a partial culmination of what he had started to develop while fighting Caspar. The issue was how to unleash it.

The reptilian head was dense, but not as much as the alchemical spell. It didn’t surpass the limits of Liam’s Qi, but it went beyond martial arts, especially when it came to its intense poisonous properties.

Also, Liam felt it through the connection in the back of his mind. The reptilian head was almost alive, echoing his own Hatred and the one he had inherited, wanting to act upon them.

’Hatred swallows,’ Liam thought as he stored the greatsword and summoned the Black Bow. When in doubt, he would default to the skill he was most confident with.

The giant reptilian head closed as soon as Liam pointed the bow at Andrew, seemingly swallowing him. The condensed poison churned before going completely still, the picture speaking to Andrew’s primal instincts once more.

That was the same stillness predators wielded before lunging at prey. In that shape, it was exactly like a snake ready to launch itself at Andrew. Before he knew it, he had summoned a flying sword, retreating at full speed.

The firing happened almost simultaneously, with another sky-splitting hiss. The giant reptilian head shot upward, taking all the poison with it, which created a black trail in the air it crossed.

The reptilian head was actually faster than Andrew. It burned its own poison to accelerate toward its prey, but it was also flying in a straight line. As big as it was, Andrew could simply get out of its trajectory.

However, the reptilian head was no arrow. It was a predator fueled by pristine Hatred, and it had locked on a specific prey.

Andrew didn’t perform any narrow dodge. He flew out of the way and kept going while considering his situation. He was far from defeated, but the battle had long since gotten too expensive.

There was also the incredible discovery to account for, and capturing was harder than killing. Andrew had to discuss the matter with his brother Daniel, but catching Liam far away from powerful allies again would be unlikely, especially after today.

All those thoughts vanished when the reptilian head turned abruptly. Actually, the maneuver was an instantaneous, momentum-defying change of trajectory. The triangular mouth was pointing upward when its shape morphed, aiming at Andrew and going after him.

The reptilian head even unleashed another speed burst right away, with no warning or sound, catching Andrew by surprise. He had put what he thought was a safe distance from it, only to find himself in its open maw.

The mouth closed before Andrew could do anything, and the reptilian head shrank, as if imploding, almost as if gulping.

The dense attack melted into toxic fumes as something fell from it, shooting toward the ground with no sign of stopping, leaving a trail in the air.

Andrew could only crash into the rocky surface, pieces of his body turning into a gory, black pulp upon the impact, splashing more poison in his surroundings. His limbs were gone. His whole body was dark, sizzling and partially melted, any Qi that leaked out being pitch-black.

Footsteps resounded behind Andrew, which his ears failed to capture. He sensed Liam’s arrival, but not with his body.

"It’s like a poison concentrate," Liam uttered, mostly to himself. "It doesn’t have the same destructive power as the alchemical spell, but it’s far deadlier."

Liam nodded to himself, his hyper-clarity aiding in the absorption of every detail. At once, he knew he had developed a new finishing blow, one perfect for the powerful opponents he often faced.

"The issue is infecting enough of the world to amass so much poison," Liam said. "And it needs to be a direct hit. I would just kill the external defenses otherwise."

Despite the drawbacks, the new attack was exactly what Liam needed. Branching experts just wouldn’t die. They were too resilient, resourceful, and powerful. Even when Liam poisoned them multiple times, they had ways to keep struggling.

That wasn’t to say that Liam’s poisons were ineffective. Without the amphoras, Andrew would have died multiple times over, but the reptilian head created a more immediate option, a true killing blow that left no way back.

Moreover, the new ability wasn’t limited to the reptilian head. Liam’s first creation had been an arrow, and he could continue using that shape, tweaking the poison’s concentration according to his needs.

"I wonder," Liam hissed. "Can I swallow cultivators, too?"

The answer arrived through another hiss, just ancient and inside Liam’s mind. ’Not yet, my son. Not yet.’

"So, I can," Liam muttered, but Andrew couldn’t hear that. He couldn’t hear anything anymore. He had died midway through the previous question.